Yasmin Shiraz

Meet this 15 year old who is attempting to fly from California to Virginia to become the youngest black female pilot to fly transcontinentally! Talk about having goals… (You may want to fast forward through the first 20 seconds of the video)

I cannot blog, tweet or write through my tears. And so I’ll leave you all these three words: Gone Too Soon.

**Update- I’m going through my feelings right now**
It’s real quiet where I live. I cut off the tv. I don’t want to look at a Michael Jackson tribute reel to remind me of his great talent. I look at Michael Jackson everyday as the Thriller album is framed over the piano in my library.

It’s real quiet where I live. I don’t want to hear anybody talking about their Michael Jackson experiences. I have Michael Jackson experiences of my own, including attending the Victory concert and having multiple MJ posters in my bedroom as a teen.

It’s real quiet where I live. I’ve gone outside for a while to see if the world knows that someone great has left. And you know what? Its quiet outside too. Even the birds aren’t singing…

There’s a reason why young people shouldn’t be on the wrong side of the law. I don’t know what this girl did, but was their reaction to her appropriate? I wonder…

What do you think? It seems that young people in juvenile detention are not treated with the kid gloves. I imagine adults who work with youth in juvenile detention have their own side of the story. In any case, was this behavior acceptable? I haven’t heard if the officer was even “reprimanded” or “patted on the back.” What do you think about how the officers treated this juvenile in custody?

Let me know.

This offends me. I don’t know why this young girl got all up in this old lady’s face while singing a SouljaBoy song… I bet SouljaBoy doesn’t speak to his grandmother like this. Seriously….

Anybody think there aren’t a lot of young people who need guidance? Think again.

Update:
**One of my colleagues informed me that this is actually old video from like a year ago or more. But I think it deserves to stay on this page. Hug a kid today! So we don’t have to see this again while riding on the metro.

The verdict is that this 25 year old woman who looks like a teen girl is bipolar. Too bad.**

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/16249105/detail.html

As Chris Brown faces a judge and jury for accusations of beating Rihanna, many of us are watching with baited breath. What will happen to this young popstar who has never had any trouble with the law until now? Will he be made an example of and be given a sentence harsher than anyone before him? Will he be given leniency–the same kind that other people are given when they are first time offenders. With the American criminal justice system, you can never know for sure.

This weekend I held a couple of workshops with teen girls. These workshops dealt with healthy relationships, dating violence and the like. We did a poll and I asked the 23 ladies who were in my workshop, “Who is more at fault? Chris Brown or Rihanna?” 83% felt Chris Brown was more at fault, but 17% felt that Rihanna was more at fault. Though this wasn’t a scientific study, I asked the young ladies to vote according to what they’d heard in the media and what their feelings were about the situation.

The young ladies who fell into the 17% who “blamed” Rihanna for the altercation felt that she must have hit Chris first, or did something that caused him to react in such a way. One young lady went as far as to say, “Sometimes people can really make you go off. He ain’t like that so she must have done something…”  Thank goodness there were a sea of ladies who chimed in, “No matter what she did, he shouldn’t have hit her. No man should put a hand on a woman.” Thank goodness for that.

What do you think should happen at the trial today. Based on what you’ve heard, should this first time offender have the book thrown at him or should he receive leniency. I’d love to know your thoughts.

**UPDATE**

Chris Brown enters a plea deal and gets 5 years probation and 180 days of community service!

Below is on his Chris Brown’s fans supporting him no matter what! Beware: We live in a cult of celebrity where we believe in people based on how much we like their music!

17 year old, Daniel Petric was sentenced to 23 years in prison for killing his mother after she tried to take away his Halo 3 video game. Video games are popular, but dag-on, killing one’s mother? That’s simply outrageous. Apparently Daniel shot both his parents, but only his father survived. What do you think should have been his punishment for killing his mother over a video game? His father spoke to the court and said that Daniel was sorry for killing his mother. No matter how sorry he is, his mother is still dead. What do you think about it? Is 23 years an adequate sentence for killing one’s mother over a video game? If you believe in God and that the mother made it to heaven. What do you think she feels about her son being sentenced to 23 years. He’ll be 40 by the times he gets out of jail. Will it be time enough to start his life anew? It’s sad, but I’d like to hear your thoughts. Also, could Daniel’s dad sue the makers of Halo 3 for creating a game so addictive that it possibly ‘encouraged’ his son to kill? Who knows? Are the makers of the video game responsible? It’s something to think about.

Peace…

Some people are disputing the level of animosity that girls have with each other. But the way that this fight went down really shows the hatred that these girls have for one another. When is it ever justified for 5 girls to beat up on one girl. Seriously. When? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

Teens: its never too early to start perfecting your craft and to start working!! According to the Hollywood Reporter, 14 year old chef, Greg Grossman has signed a contract to star in his own reality series. According to the report Greg started catering at the age of 11 and was making meals for rich families in East Hampton, NY. A whole three years later, he’s really gonna be famous and probably already has a significant down payment for his culinary college fund! If he can do it, so can you. If you have an idea that you’re passionate about, make it happen. It’s never too early, and its never too late.

Should a mother allow her 15 year old daughter to have sexual trysts with a 25 year old man? Allegedly in Victorville, CA, that is a question that one mom didn’t ask herself. A recent report from www.vvdailypress.com says that the San Bernadino County police allegedly caught a 25 year old parolee and a 15 year old girl in the act at a Travelodge hotel. The report further states that the mom knew about these sexual trysts for weeks.

Here’s my question: How much was the mom getting paid for her daughter to have sex with this 25 year old man?

I’m willing to bet that the mother was getting some form of payment for turning her head the other way. The way that I read the report, it doesn’t seem that a relationship is alleged. It looks like sex for payment. I’m shaking my head. I know times are hard in this recession, but this is ridiculous.

What do you think? Do you think this might be a mom pimping her daughter out for income? Do you think it’s a 15 year old girl who is hopelessly in love with a 25 year old parolee and has asked for her mom’s permission to have sexual relations with the guy at the Travelodge?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

In a celebration that should be heard around the world, a Texas man, Phillippe Padieu, was recently convicted of INTENTIONALLY infecting six women with the HIV virus.  Why should we be celebrating? We should be celebrating because my recent research on the subject of HIV infection shows that it is difficult to prosecute someone for intentionally spreading the HIV virus. The success of this case should set some legal precedent for other victims. Meaning: It will be easier for other HIV victims to see justice by having the person who INTENTIONALLY infected them incarcerated. If you feel that you have been intentionally infected with HIV, you should definitely call your state’s attorney.

I realize that everyone who has HIV is not intentionally infecting other people, but unfortunately there are a crop of people out there who are. It is those people that we must me weary of. When I read the article on Mr. Padieu, he was called a “modern day Casanova.” And with his looks, he probably appeared to everyone as if he was completely healthy.  Of the six women that he infected, over the past 4 years, one already has full blown AIDS. During the trial, Padieu stated that he was “the victim here.” It seems to me that he was a victim who was angry because he had been infected and acted on his anger to infect others.

I think we should learn from this case and realize a couple of things:
1) A handsome person is not necessarily a healthy person.
2) If you feel that you have been intentionally infected, there is LEGALLY something you can do! Call your state’s attorney. There is no fee to speak with the state prosecutor.

What do you think we should learn from this case?

**Note** HIV does not discriminate due to age, race, sex, religion, or economic status. If you are a young person engaging in unprotected sex, you are at risk like everybody else.