Revolution and Religion: The Fight For Emancipation and The Role Of Religion

On November 15, 2014, at 3:00-7:00 pm (doors open at 1:30), an unprecedented event will take place at the Riverside Church in New York City. BOB AVAKIAN, a revolutionary communist leader, will be in dialogue with DR. CORNEL WEST, a revolutionary Christian. The topic of their exchange is "REVOLUTION AND RELIGION: THE FIGHT FOR EMANCIPATION AND THE ROLE OF RELIGION."

Sponsored by: Revolution Books and The Bob Avakian Institute. Tickets: General $25, Students/youth/unemployed/underemployed $15, Premium Benefit Tickets $100, Premium Benefit Tickets $250.

Tickets and information online or at Revolution Books, 146 W. 26 Street, (212) 691-3345.

The subject of the Dialogue, "the fight for emancipation and the role of religion," impacts the lives of billions of people across the planet, and both speakers have written extensively on the question. Dr. Cornel West, Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice at Union Theological Seminary in New York, just released a new book this month Black Prophetic Fire, and the e-book version of Bob Avakian's Away With All Gods: Unchaining the Mind and Radically Changing the World, will be available soon.

This will be a rare chance to see Bob Avakian live and in person, speaking about the prospects for revolution and what transformations have to be undertaken to truly get free of the terrible confines of the present system.

What is required of people of conscience in the fight for emancipation? What is a life worth living in a world of suffering? What is religion's role in fighting injustices and advancing towards truly emancipatory social revolution? Can religion help or is it a hindrance? These are some of the questions Avakian and West will explore, sharing points of unity as well as difference with a broad audience.

Annie Day from The Bob Avakian Institute: "For decades, revolution has been written off the map, yet the world is a horror, worse today than ever before. This Dialogue between two visionary and outspoken thinkers aims to put the possibility of real revolution back into the public discourse, raising sights about what people see as possible and necessary. Cornel West is widely recognized as one of the most provocative and important public intellectuals in the country and Bob Avakian, the leader of the Revolutionary Communist Party, is the architect of a whole new framework for the emancipation of humanity.

Interest in the Dialogue is exceptionally wide-ranging, evidenced in part by the Host Committee of esteemed academics, artists, theologians, and parents of children killed by the police. They include former U.S. poet laureate Robert Hass; Dr. Donald Shriver, President Emeritus of Faculty, Union Theological Seminary, NY; actors Ed Asner and Peter Coyote; Grammy award-winning musician Arturo O'Farrill; author and professor Kwame Anthony Appiah (NYU); and Carl Dix, revolutionary and co-initiator of the Stop Mass Incarceration Network. Click here to view the full Host Committee, and click here to read statements from Alice Walker, Ngugi wa Thiong'o and many others.

In the video below, What's The 411 host, Kizzy Cox and reporter, Rita Obi are talking about the legendary Bobbi Humphrey's upcoming concert at Ginny's Supper Club.

The First Lady Of Flute is best known for her massive hit, Harlem River Drive, will be performing live on Saturday, November 8 at Ginny's Supper Club, 310 Lenox Avenue, in Harlem, New York City. If you like jazz, you won't want to miss the musically gifted and engaging, Bobbi Humphrey.

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) held its 2014 Q3 earnings call on Tuesday and we thought it would be good to look at Facebook by the numbers:

• 1.35 billion monthly active users as of September 30, 2014, an increase of 14% year-over-year.
• 864 million Daily Active Users on average for September 2014, an increase of 19% year-over-year and up from 829 million in the second quarter of 2014
• 703 million Daily Active Users on average for September 2014, an increase of 39% year-over-year
• 1.12 billion Mobile MAUs as of September 30, 2014, an increase of 29% year-over-year.
• $3.2b in total revenue for third quarter of 2014, an increase of 59%, compared with $2.02 billion in the third quarter of 2013. Excluding the impact of year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates, revenue would have increased by 58%.
• Free cash flow for the third quarter of 2014 was $766 million
• Advertising revenue grew 64% for the third quarter of 2014,
• Mobile advertising revenue represented approximately 66% of advertising revenue for the third quarter of 2014, up from approximately 49% of advertising revenue in the third quarter of 2013.
• 700 million people use Facebook groups every month
• 1 billion engagement every week between public figures and their Facebook fanpage fans
• 1 billion video views a day in September 2014
• 30 million active Facebook fan pages
• Instagram has 200 million users, goal is to get to 1billion in short term
• Average Instagram user spends 21 minutes per day on the app
• Whatsapp has 600 million monthly active users, on track for 1billion
• 1.5 million total advertisers on Facebook
• 3 billion links have been created through Facebook applink
• Price per Facebook ad increased 247% due to higher quality
• Total advertising impressions declined 56% year over year
• Payment volume from games decreased 2% year over year
• Users respond 20% faster on FB messenger app versus native FB messenger
• 8300 employees up 40% since last year

Facebook's numbers are impressive and the standouts are video and mobile. Facebook's mobile numbers show that marketers need to have a mobile strategy for their business. With Facebook groups probably becoming apps, page owners may want to consider creating groups, otherwise going forward the only way to talk to all of your fans on Facebook may only be through ads. Unless, of course, Facebook bans brands from creating groups.

Do you know anyone that likes to see the pre-roll ads in YouTube videos?

You can't think of anyone? I didn't think so.

Well, soon enough, you won't have to worry about seeing those ads, unless of course, you like them.

An ad-free YouTube has been talked about for a while now, but YouTube's CEO Susan Wojcicki has stated YouTube will soon offer ad-free subscriptions to those who are willing to pay a small monthly fee.

"YouTube right now is ad-supported, which is great because it has enabled us to scale to a billion users; but there's going to be a point where people don't want to see the ads," Wojcicki said at Re/Code's Code Mobile conference, adding that consumers "will either choose ads, or pay a fee, which is an interesting model. ... We're thinking about how to give users options."

Wojcicki believes that there is always a certain customer base that wants access to video without the ads and those users will be willing to pay a small amount each month to be ad-free.

The paid subscription model works for Netflix and Spotify, but will subscription model truly work for YouTube given YouTube's ecosystem and how it was created?

Also, according to Wojcicki, YouTube's long-awaited subscription music service is coming, but there is still no launch date.