The Grio

Obama: President or Product?

By Talia Whyte

The Grio

President Obama will be traveling to Denmark to lobby on behalf of Chicago, his hometown, for the 2016 Summer Olympics. He will be the first American president in modern times to pitch for a city at the International Olympic Committee meeting. By the mere fact that he is making an appearance in Copenhagen, some speculate that Obama has already sealed the deal for the Windy City. Nine months after his ascension to the White House, President Obama is still an international phenomenon and quite possibly the greatest marketing tool of all time.

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African-Americans need to ‘raise hell’ about climate change

By Talia Whyte

The Grio

Yesterday, President Obama spoke before world leaders at the United Nations about the ongoing global climate change debate. The president acknowledged that the over the last century, the industrialized world has “caused much of the damage to our climate” and now has the responsibility to lead.

For the most part this week, this issue will be discussed from an international context, leading up to the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen later this year. Developing countries have suffered most from global carbon emissions, and they are now seeking 1 percent of the world’s GDP to help them adapt to the climate crisis. While I support this notion of international benevolence, climate change also has to be viewed from a domestic perspective as well.

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Kanye sparks an explosion of racism online

By Talia Whyte

The Grio

Kanye West’s latest outburst at the MTV Video Music Awards has drawn mostly negative reactions. After his unsavory diss of country singer Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech for the best female video, many people immediately went to their various online social media tools to share their thoughts about the hip-hop star.

I agree with the opinion that West’s blowup was horribly rude and childish. However, there were some Internet users who took their thoughts about him too far. This was particularly obvious on Twitter, which was awash in a flood of racism, with the so-called “post-racial” levees fully giving way.

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