James Ralls

James Ralls

Bio: James Ralls is a native upstate New Yorker; and a graduate from SUNY Fredonia where he majored in English and Music. James is passionate about music, film, philosophy and politics. He is hoping this opportunity with NYC tastemakers will help him hone his writing and editing skills.
Sports

Op-Ed: Baltimore Ravens, Lamar Jackson Contract Woes are a Bad Omen

This isn’t the precedent set by any previous NFL contract negotiation, as far as I’ve seen. However, the NFL is in new territory, with the recent fully guaranteed contract to Deshaun Watson (which, without getting into too much detail, is quite possibly the most ill-informed business decision I’ve seen since Shark Tank turned down Ring doorbell cameras).

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Politics

Doubts, Concerns Plague Potential Trump Indictment

Over the weekend, Trump announced that he might be arrested on Tuesday, stemming from the accusation that he paid $130,000 dollars in hush money to former porn star Stormy Daniels via his ex-attorney/fixer, Michael Cohen, to cover up an extramarital affair. The funds were then paid back to Michael Cohen via several mislabeled payments over time. Although the statute of limitations has expired on this particular type of misdemeanor, DA Alvin Bragg is attempting to move the charge to the level of a felony by claiming that the act of paying hush money on Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election was done to affect the results of the election.

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Politics

Op-Ed: China-Russia Relations are Becoming Too “Chummy” To Be Ignored

A recent meeting between President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin has put an exclamation point on their, until recently, cordial acquaintanceship. Gone were the casual remarks about admiration of each side, maybe best characterized and encapsulated in the 2001 Treaty of Good Neighborliness and friendly cooperation (which sounds like the title penned by The Simpsons’ source of puritanical emotional repression, Ned Flanders).

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Latest News

Tiktok Facing Renewed Pressures to Sell or Face a Ban from U.S

The proceedings are reminiscent of an emergency executive order in 2020 under the Trump administration, levying broad sanctions against tik tok to pressure them into selling to the US buyer. Some of the sanctions threatened were the withdrawal of American advertisers through the app and possibly pulling the app from Apple and Google app stores.

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Music

Op-Ed: Has Modern Hip-Hop Really Become More Destructive? Probably not.

With a current millennial rapper facing down RICO chargers for the content of his lyrics (Young Thug), it seems reasonable that early rap fans would point to their being some credence in indicting lyrical content as being dangerous, offensive, brazen, and influential. And, to be fair, Young Thug’s lyrics are mild compared to some of the content coming from the Chicago and Jacksonville drill scenes, which tend to make fun of dead gang rivals openly, or some of the raw Soundcloud-based music, which tends to be incredibly overt in it’s handling of sexual themes a la Robb Bank$ or the deceased Xxxtentacion.

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Latest News

Video Footage of Irvo Otieno’s Death Released, as Indictments Handed Down

The video shows an already restrained and seemingly calm Otieno being restrained by two deputies on the floor at Central State Hospital in Dinwiddie County. The deputies’ bodies partially block a clear view of Mr. Otieno, but he appears docile, with nearly imperceptible movements. At some point, deputies seem to sense that Otieno is presenting some type of threat and/or combativeness and proceed to lay him on the hospital floor and begin to restrain him. More and more officers join in until there are 7 deputies kneeling on him. The attempt to restrain him reportedly lasted for roughly 12 minutes before medical professionals were called in to administer life-saving procedures, as Mr. Otieno was rendered unconscious and completely unresponsive.

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Food

Food historian, Cruz Miguel Ortiz Cuadra, Dies at Age 67

Renowned food historian, author, and educator, Cruz Miguel Ortiz Cuadra has died at the age of 67.  His brother noted that, although the author had been in remission from a battle with lung cancer, he had recently suffered a heart attack that led to a downturn in his health.

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Sports

Veteran QB Aaron Rodgers in Limbo as Trade Talks Reach Standstill

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has made his intentions clear this off-season: he has seen all he has wanted to see from the Green Bay Packers.  He’s ready to move onto the greener pasture (and depleted quarterback room) that is the New York Jets. The New York Jets want the exact same thing.

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Politics

Desantis Criticizes Manhattan DA on Potential Trump Indictment

Florida Governor Ron Desantis is continuing his middle path approach in staying out of the muckraking scrum when it comes to former president Donald J. Trump; even as Trump appears to be on the ropes with a potential arrest coming down the pipeline, tied to former porn star, and thorn in Trump’s side, Stormy Daniels.

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Food

After Four Years, Ben and Jerry’s Brings Back Free Cone Day

The pandemic cost us our mobility and our gatherings. It shed light on the small things, the people, and the places that we take for granted. On April 3rd, we get one of those small things back. After a four-year hiatus, out of an abundance of caution for the safety of their fans and loyal customers, Ben and Jerry’s is bringing back free cone day.

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Sports

Former Falcons QB Marcus Mariota Signs with Eagles

Former Falcons starting QB Marcus Mariota has agreed to a 1-year/$5 million dollar deal with the NFC-defending Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles. The deal comes after news on Friday of backup Eagles QB Gardner Minschew signing with the Indianapolis Colts.

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Latest News

Credit Suisse Rescue Drains Public Funds, Unsettles Investors

In the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, the blowback continues to ripple outward globally with the current death throes of Credit Suisse Bank. In an announcement made on Sunday by Swiss regulators FINMA, the world was made aware of the Swiss National Bank and UBS (a multinational investment bank) coming together to acquire Credit Suisse, with the backing of Swiss authorities. This purchase was done in an effort to save the rival Swiss bank (and financial system) from collapse.

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