New Jersey Teenager Arrested After Racially Charged Walmart Intercom Statement

After making a racially offensive comment on a Wal-Mart intercom in Turnersville, N.J., last week a 16-year old boy was arrested and later released to his parents where he will remain until his first court appearance.

The Associated Press has confirmed that authorities took a young boy into custody after he allegedly spoke on the Wal-Mart intercom and made an inappropriate remark toward black customers in the store.

Police are still investigating to see whether the boy had an accomplice.

"Attention, Walmart customers: All black people, leave the store now," stated the boy over the intercom last week.

The name of the child in question has been unreleased due to his age. There is no word on what the sentence will be for the troubled teen but he was charged with biased intimidation and harassment.

"This was an extremely disturbing event on many levels. Any statements like these that can cause harm or grave concern must be addressed as quickly as we can," stated Prosecutor Sean Dalton to New York Daily News.

Walmart said they are working toward reducing public access to intercoms in stores.

The St. Mary Gaels become first cinderella in Sweet Sixteen

Maybe the St. Mary Gaels are for real. It certainly looked that way as they controlled most of the game against #2 seed Villanova en route to a 75-68 win.

The Wildcats could not corral Gaels center Omar Sandham who finished with the game of his career, 32 points and 7 boards. Conversely, Villanova star guard Scottie Reynolds struggled the entire tournament finishing an astounding 4-25 from the field.

The 10 seeded Gaels will face the winner of the ODU/Baylor matchup in Houston in the Sweet Sixteen.

Black Members: Tea Partiers Used N-Word

Rep. André Carson (D-Ind.) said tea party protesters opposed to the health care reform legislation yelled racial epithets at Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Lewis’ chief of staff earlier today.

Carson said the taunts against Lewis came as the three men — all African-American — walked out of the Cannon House Office Building for votes this afternoon.

“They were shouting the N-word,” Carson said. “It was like a page out of a time machine.” Carson said Capitol Police surrounded the group and escorted them across the street to the Capitol.

And staffers and Members reported seeing Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) slurred for being a homosexual and a protester spitting on Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), another African-American lawmaker.

Carson said he didn’t feel physically threatened, though he was concerned for Lewis. But he added Lewis, a veteran of the civil rights movement, remained calm, telling him, “I’m being reminded of an old time.”

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (S.C.) echoed that sentiment, saying the shouting protesters harks back to his days marching for civil rights in his home state.

“It was absolutely shocking to me,” he said. “I heard people saying things today I had not heard since March 15, 1960, when I was marching to try to get off the back of the bus.”

Thousands of tea party activists descended on the Capitol grounds today to register their opposition to the health care overhaul.

By Tory Newmyer and Daniel Newhauser

Michelle McGee's Ex-Husband Files For Full Custody Of Their Son

I don't know if any tattoo'd woman has gotten so much press overnight! I guess it takes botching a celebrity marriage to get that sort of attention. "Bombshell's" ex husband, who may actually carry some shreds of dignity, is filing for full custody of their son.

According to court documents filed in San Diego, Calif. on Friday, Ronald Shane Modica now seeks temporary and legal custody of Avery, their five-year-old son.

Modica filed his latest motion as a direct result of the tabloid scandal involving his ex-wife and James; McGee reportedly called her ex-husband on Thursday, telling him she planned to "hide out" from photographers. Although the judge denied Modica's request late Friday, the court documents shed alarming new light on Michelle "Bombshell" McGee.

Source

The Real Housewives Beverly Hills Cast Revealed

The Real Housewives franchise just got a fabulous face-lift—in Beverly Hills!—and E! News has learned the identities of the new crop of camera-friendly ladies who lunch.

Bringing the real to Rodeo Drive are Paris Hilton's aunts, a British restaurateur, actor Kelsey Grammer's wife and a Maloof (whose family owns the Las Vegas Palms Hotel and Casino).

Photo's of the week: Sexy Elizabeth Hurley Naughty Wet Wild Pictures Exsposed

Elizabeth Jane Hurley (born 10 June 1965) is an English model and actress who became known as a girlfriend of Hugh Grant in the 1990s. Born in Basingstoke, Hurley was a struggling actress in 1987, when she met Grant while working on a Spanish production called Remando Al Viento. In 1994, Grant became the focus of worldwide media attention due to the global box office success of his film Four Weddings and a Funeral





Hurley started working as an actress in the late 1980s and became a model in 1995. During the 2000s, she worked unsuccessfully as a reality television presenter in Britain. Allmovie described her as "one of the world's most famous arm ornaments, model, and sometimes-actress," with the first being a reference to her red-carpet appearances accompanying Hugh Grant to his film premieres and other social functions while they were a couple until 2000. She has appeared three times on the cover of British Vogue.

German Archbishop Expresses Shame Over Scandal

The leader of the Catholic Church in Bavaria expressed “deep shame” on Thursday for cases of sexual molestation that have shaken the home region of Pope Benedict XVI, and said he was in favor of changing German law so that church officials would have a greater duty to report suspected child abuse to prosecutors.
Reinhard Marx, the Archbishop of Munich and Freising, said he felt “deep shame” over the reports of abuse of children in church-run schools during a news conference on Thursday.

But in an often combative exchange with reporters at a hilltop pilgrimage site north of Nuremberg, the church official, Archbishop Reinhard Marx, defended the overall integrity of the church and said it would never be possible to ensure there is no abuse. He also refused to discuss individual cases or shift any responsibility to Benedict.

“I reject any blanket suspicion,” Archbishop Marx said, praising the thousands of people who work for the church. “There will never be 100-percent security in this world; we can only make a 100-percent effort.”

The archbishop’s comments came after revelations last week that a priest in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising who was accused of molesting boys was allowed to continue working with children, even after being convicted of abuse.


He was suspended from duty only this week as scrutiny of the case grew amid questions over the role Benedict had played in its handling in 1980, when he led the archdiocese.

At that time, the future pope, Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger, approved the priest’s transfer for therapy.


A subordinate took full responsibility for allowing the priest to later resume pastoral work, the archdiocese said in a statement. Archbishop Ratzinger went on to supervise the Vatican’s review of abuse cases before succeeding Pope John Paul II.

Archbishop Marx, who now heads the Munich archdiocese, refused to discuss specifics of that case.

Speaking Thursday outside a meeting of Bavarian bishops near a famous basilica, he said he was open to financially compensating abuse victims, and to extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases.

Many cases come to light decades after the fact, when the victims are adults, often in middle age. Archbishop Marx said the church had a moral obligation to investigate reports of abuse even if the statute of limitations had expired.

At the same time, Archbishop Marx criticized news reports that have cited anonymous sources for accusations against priests or the church. “The examination of the past must remain just,” he said.

Asked if the pope himself should speak to Bavarian Catholics on the abuse cases, Father Marx said Benedict had already repeatedly addressed the issue around the world.

“I don’t sense any deficit of support from the pope,” Archbishop Marx said. “It’s clear to everyone where he stands.”

On Saturday, Benedict is expected to release a pastoral letter to Catholics in Ireland, where a separate abuse scandal has embroiled the church and now threatens to topple the leading Irish cardinal.


The pope has said the letter would assist with “repentance, healing and renewal.”

Addressing the issue of church secrecy in abuse cases, Archbishop Marx said the Bavarian bishops were in favor of strengthening the duty of church officials to report cases of abuse, and said the church would do so independent of any legislative changes.

“We really need a culture of seeing and attentiveness,” said Ludwig Schick, the archbishop of nearby Bamberg, who also attended the press conference. There should not be “taboo zones where sexual as well as physical abuse is possible,” Archbishop Schick said.

The basilica where the archbishop spoke traces its origins to a shepherd who, in the 15th century, had a vision of 14 children who told him to build a chapel on the site. “Vierzehnheiligen” means “14 holy ones.”

The basilica, designed by the Baroque architect Johann Balthasar Neumann, remains a destination for pilgrims as well as people who hope to benefit from its healing powers.

The bishops’ gathering attracted a lone protester, 52-year-old Sigrid Behm, who stood in front of the basilica wearing a traffic sign around her neck of the kind used to warn children of a dangerous crossing.

Ms. Behm had placed a lace cloth on the ground before her with the handwritten slogan, “Not to the cloister — to jail.”

Archbishop Marx said he and other bishops had prayed in the basilica for forgiveness.

Chris Evans Has Been 'Offered' the Role of Captain America!

I'm tired of reporting on this endless speculative game of who may be playing Captain America. Just pick a damn actor already, stop messing with us Marvel! Not that this is casting confirmation, but Heat Vision is now reporting that Chris Evans has been "offered" the big role. So what does this mean? Well, pretty much nothing, because Evans has to first accept it and deals have to be made, but it sounds like Channing Tatum may have passed on the role if Evans has been offered it instead. Earlier today it was reported that the new "shortlist" for Cap had been trimmed down to three actors: Evans, Tatum, and Gossip Girl's Sebastian Stan.

Heat Vision that Evans' offer includes starring in up to three Captain America movies, plus The Avengers movies, and appearances in other Marvel movies. Sounds similar to how Samuel Jackson got contracted for nine upcoming Marvel movies as S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Nick Fury. We'll obviously let you know if Evans gets the role or not, because this still isn't finalized and we don't know when it will be. I'm actually much happier with Evans than Tatum. He's not perfect, but he could do a great job as Steve Rogers. Although I wasn't fond of him in the Fantastic Four films, I think he really showed his potential in Danny Boyle's Sunshine.

Joe Johnston is directing The First Avenger: Captain America, which will shoot in England sometime later this year. Paramount has set the big Marvel movie for release on July 22nd, 2011 next summer, that will eventually lead up to The Avengers in 2012. Would you be satisfied with Chris Evans playing Cap?

by Alex Billington

Muffled Black Criticisms Reflect Racial Pride, Pragmatism

Many Blacks may choose to squelch criticisms of President Obama because they are still in the throes of race pride as seen here exhibited by Zeboraqh Ball-Paul as she reacts to the news of his election in Grant Park in Chicago, Nov. 4, 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

African Americans have given President Obama a racial pass – that’s something on which his Black supporters and opponents agree.

That uncomfortable truth, however, seems to be creating an increasingly persistent itch within the Black community, especially in light of the disproportionate growth of joblessness that plague their neighborhoods and the president’s unwillingness to consider targeted policies to ameliorate that chronic unemployment.

“I can’t pass laws that say I’m just helping Black folks. I’m the president of the United States,” the president said in a Dec. 21 interview with American Urban Radio Networks. “What I can do is make sure that I am passing laws that help all people, particularly those who are most vulnerable and most in need. That in turn is going to help lift up the African-American community.”

But that so-called philosophy of “a rising tide lifts all boats” continues to stick in the craw of many, including Black Capitol Hill lawmakers, who met with the president last week to discuss jobs.

That stance sparked on-air fisticuffs between the Rev. Al Sharpton and talk show host Tavis Smiley, who seemed to question the president’s responsiveness to the “Black agenda” and accused Black leaders – including Sharpton – who met with the president last month to talk about jobs of being Obama’s “chorus.” Sharpton had said in post-meeting comments to The New York Times that the president was “smart not to ballyhoo a Black agenda.”

Read More...

Bots and Botnets—A Growing Threat

Bots are one of the most sophisticated and popular types of cybercrime today. They allow hackers to take control of many computers at a time, and turn them into "zombie" computers, which operate as part of a powerful "botnet" to spread viruses, generate spam, and commit other types of online crime and fraud.

What is a Bot?
A "bot" is a type of malware that allows an attacker to take control over an affected computer. Also known as “Web robots”, bots are usually part of a network of infected machines, known as a “botnet”, which is typically made up of victim machines that stretch across the globe

Since a bot infected computer does the bidding of its master, many people refer to these victim machines as “zombies.” The cybercriminals that control these bots are called botherders or botmasters.

Some botnets might have a few hundred or a couple thousand computers, but others have tens and even hundreds of thousands of zombies at their disposal. Many of these computers are infected without their owners' knowledge. Some possible warning signs? A bot might cause your computer to slow down, display mysterious messages, or even crash.


How Bots Work
Bots sneak onto a person’s computer in many ways. Bots often spread themselves across the Internet by searching for vulnerable, unprotected computers to infect. When they find an exposed computer, they quickly infect the machine and then report back to their master. Their goal is then to stay hidden until they are instructed to carry out a task.

After a computer is taken over by a bot, it can be used to carry out a variety of automated tasks, including the following:


Sending Stealing DoS (Denial of Service) Clickfraud
They send- spam
- viruses
- spyware They steal personal and private information and communicate it back to

the malicious user:
- credit card numbers
- bank credentials
- other sensitive personal information Launching denial of service (DoS) attacks against a specified target. Cybercriminals extort money from Web site owners, in exchange for regaining control of the compromised sites.

More commonly, however, the systems of everyday users are the targets of these attacks -- for the simple thrill of the botherder. Fraudsters use bots to boost Web advertising billings by automatically clicking on Internet ads.

Did Desiree Rogers Get the White House Boot for Being a Grinch?

By Ruth Manuel-Logan

First there was the 'gate-crashers' scandal that revolved around a crafty, star-struck pair--Tareq and Michaele Salahi--who 'snuck' into President Obama's first state dinner last November. Who did fingers eventually point at? Desiree Rogers.


Then there were the Vogue magazine photos, the Wall Street Journal cover, the front and center spot during Fashion Week in New York City, blah, blah, blah.... Then, no Christmas cards to some of Obama's biggest fundraisers--Gasp!


According to Politico.com, there is now speculation, that Rogers allegedly failed to send Christmas cards to the Obama supporters who are major players with mega bucks. Roger's card faux pas was quite possibly the last straw. According to a White House source, who disclosed the card incident to Politico, the "donors rose up, and that was another reason Desiree got pushed out."

Political watchdogs are predicting that Roger's merryless slight might indeed have implications that won't be pretty.


Really?

According to an analysis by Politico, only 15-- or just 10 percent-- of the 150 biggest fundraisers for the Obama campaign gave the maximum $30,400 to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) last year.


The idea that the absence of a yuletide greeting from the White House might make the remaining elite DNC supporters hold back on donating doesn't make sense.


The 'brand promoter' has left the building. On to bigger and better, Desiree!

Daily News: Asthma in Black Children Linked to Low Vitamin D

Black children with asthma in metropolitan Washington, D.C., are
significantly more likely to have low levels of vitamin D than healthy black
children, according to researchers at Children's National Medical Center.

Vitamin D deficiency recently has been linked to a variety of
non-bone-related diseases, including depression, autoimmune disorders and
now asthma.

"It's been well-documented that as a group, African-Americans are more
likely than other racial groups to have low levels of vitamin D," Robert
Freishtat, MD, MPH, an emergency medicine physician and lead author of the
study, said in a news release. "But we were shocked to see that almost all
of the African-American children with asthma that we tested had low vitamin
D levels. After adjusting for differences in age, weight, and the time of
year of the testing, the odds of these kids with asthma being vitamin D
deficient were nearly 20 times those of healthy kids."

These findings may mean that low vitamin D levels have more serious effects
on a child's lung health than previously believed.

"The District of Columbia has among the highest rates of pediatric asthma in
the United States, and we're working to find out why," Stephen Teach, MD,
MPH, senior author of the study, said in the release. "For African-American
kids with asthma, vitamin D testing and ensuring adequate vitamin D intake
may need to become necessary steps in their primary care."

ALG’s TimesCheck.com Calls Times Coverage of Supreme Court Decisions “Slanted”

March 19th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government’s TimesCheck.com today released an analysis of New York Times’ coverage of recent significant Supreme Court decisions.

“Americans from both sides of the political spectrum must accommodate themselves to Supreme Court decisions that are offensive to their ideological convictions. The liberal editors with The New York Times resolve this dilemma by ignoring the majority opinions in their coverage, while martyring dissenting justices,” said Kevin Mooney, Editor of TimesCheck.com.

“Despite all of the editorial posturing on behalf of civil liberties and constitutional rights, it is evident from recent reports that The Gray Lady has not come to terms with high court rulings that expand on First Amendment and Second Amendment freedoms,” Mooney added.

“Whatever the merits of a particular case, the majority opinion is the law of the land and deserves consideration and attention in the reporting,” said Mooney. “The cases should be open to criticism and scrutiny and it’s find to give at least one dissenting view space and attention but not at the expense of arguments that carried the day in court.”

The McDonald v. Chicago case now before the court is in many respects a sequel to the District of Columbia v. Heller case that ruled in favor of an individual right to own a gun. “The Times shows its hand by marginalizing the majority of opinion in Heller written by Justice Antonin Scalia. This does a great disserve to the readers because the justices who joined Scalia in Heller could very well rule the same way in McDonald,” said ALG President Bill Wilson.

Get full story here.

ALG Letter to House Members against "ObamaCare"

To the Members of House of Representatives:

Sunday’s expected vote on the government takeover of our nation’s health care system promises to be the most important vote of your political career. As you are already well aware, the American people do not support this takeover. In Congressional District after Congressional District, the American people express strong majority opposition to the plan.

The only thing that remains is for you to do the right thing. ObamaCare must be defeated.

Nothing has changed in this bill. President Barack Obama’s plan – despite its numerous incarnations – will still ration care away from seniors, drive Americans off of their private health options and onto a government-run system, reduce quality, increase premiums, and saddle taxpayers with runaway costs, more spending, confiscatory taxes, and a debt that can never be paid.

That, of course, has not prevented Mr. Obama from intentionally misrepresenting the increased cost of insurance premiums as reported by the Congressional Budget Office at his fraudulent ‘bipartisan’ health takeover summit.

The relevant Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report stated, “CBO and JCT estimate that the average premium per person covered (including dependents) for new nongroup policies would be about 10 percent to 13 percent higher in 2016 than the average premium for nongroup coverage in that same year under current law… Average premiums per policy in the nongroup market in 2016 would be roughly $5,800 for single policies and $15,200 for family policies under the proposal, compared with roughly $5,500 for single policies and $13,100 for family policies under current law.”

The CBO also reported, “About half of those enrollees would receive government subsidies that would reduce their costs well below the premiums that would be charged for such policies under current law,” which formed the basis of Mr. Obama’s claim, responding to Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) at the “bipartisan” health care summit, stating, “Lamar, when you mentioned earlier that you said premiums go up, that's just not the case, according to the Congressional Budget Office.”
Mr. Obama is misleading the American people. This is not a case where Mr. Obama and Senator Alexander were “both right.” Mr. Obama was wrong.

Get full story here.

Obama Seeks Votes on Health-Care Reform

U.S. President Barack Obama is heading to the Capitol on Saturday for a final, personal appeal to Congressional Democrats for support in what he calls a "fateful debate" about the future of health care in the United States.

Republicans, however, are maintaining their staunch opposition to the bill. Speaking for the party's Saturday response address, House Republican leader John Boehner said the bill would mean higher taxes and too much government intervention in health-care decisions.

Nevertheless, Mr. Obama's administration is pressing hard for public support to persuade Congress to approve the legislation.

At a rally outside Washington on Friday, Mr. Obama said a "yes" vote on health-care reform would be a victory for the American people.

Privately, Mr. Obama has been lobbying to gain the votes of House members who say they are undecided about the sweeping health-care reform bill.

The U.S. Senate passed a health-care bill last year, and the House is to vote Sunday on that bill.

The White House and Democratic Party leaders in the House predict they will have the votes of at least 216 representatives - a simple majority of the lower house of Congress - needed to pass the legislation.

Mr. Obama was to have left on a trip to Indonesia and Australia Thursday, but he postponed it until June, so he can be in Washington for the vote and subsequent Congressional action.

On Thursday, the independent Congressional Budget Office said the health care plan will cost $940 billion in its first 10 years. The CBO said the bill will reduce the federal deficit by $130 billion during that same decade, and in the next 10 years will cut more than $1 trillion from the national debt.

The proposed legislation would provide health-care insurance to more than 30 million Americans who do not have it, and would ban certain insurance company practices, such as denying benefits for pre-existing medical conditions or refusing to continue providing coverage for some individuals. It would also require that most Americans purchase insurance or face penalties.

Lady Gaga's Ex Sues For $30 Million

The newest pop princesses, Lady Gaga, has been named in a lawsuit filed by an ex-boyfriend in New York State Supreme Court, which claims that he deserves compensation for helping the singer launch her career.

Among his claims, Rob Fusari alleges in the lawsuit that he came up with the stage name "Lady Gaga," worked as her producer early in her career, and co-wrote several of her songs, including the chart-topper, Paparazzi.

According to Fuscari, his association with Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stephanie Germanotta, began as a business relationship, but later developed into a romantic affair. However, once the romance was gone, their business dealings fell apart, Viagogo.co.uk reports.

"All business is personal," the lawsuit says. "When those personal relationships evolve into romantic entanglements, any corresponding business relationship usually follows the same trajectory so that when one crashes they all burn - that is what happened here."

Now, Fusari says the he is owed more than $30 million in royalties and unpaid producer fees.

Lady Gaga's debut album The Fame was released in August 2008, and has sold more than 8 million albums worldwide.

Raceday at Bristol: All eyes on Edwards and Keselowski

By Jim Utter -

THREE THINGS TO WATCH

1 . Will added SAFER barriers really tighten the racing at Bristol? There’s a mixed chorus from drivers, but if it does, Turn 4 will likely be a point of contention.

2. All eyes will be on Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski in today’s race, but it’s unlikely either would be foolish enough to intentionally get involved in another incident. However, NASCAR’s willingness to allow drivers to self-police and “have at it” should make for an interesting finish.

3. Jimmie Johnson may have won four consecutive Cup titles but one thing he still lacks on his resume is a win at Bristol. She starts fourth today; his third-best start in 17 races at the track.

OBSERVATIONS

--Lost in the Carl Edwards-Brad Keselowski aftermath, which includes several other Sprint Cup drivers continually expressing concern over Keselowski’s driving style, is this simple fact: NASCAR has never penalized Keselowski for any aggressive driving incident on the track. That’s right, NASCAR has never found anything wrong with any incident any other driver has accused Keselowski of instigating. Carl Edwards can’t say that. Most other drivers can’t say that, either. So if NASCAR doesn’t have a problem with how Keselowski drives, why should he make any effort to change?

--The further we go into the 2010 season the more legit Scott Speed appears. While he may not finish the season in the Top 12 and make the Chase, he has already shown far more patience and car control than a year ago.

--Bristol’s idea, started last season, to have drivers choose their own to song to be played at pre-race introductions is one of the most creative – and popular – in the sport.

Acorn Going Bankrupt

It's been a disastrous couple of years for community organizing group Acorn, but the end seems mercifully near. The organization is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection, The New York Times reports, finally collapsing under the weight of a loss of government funding, a series of tough attacks from the right, and numerous scandals involving fraud and incompetence. According to the Times, 15 of the group's 30 state chapters have disbanded in the last six months, while two of its largest chapters, New York and California, have broken off to form their own organizations.

Read it at The New York Times