Video: Condemnation for Burn the Quran day Express Tribune

“One Night In Vegas” (Revelry Turns To Tragedy)

The story goes… on the evening of Sept. 7, 1996, Mike Tyson, the WBC heavyweight champion, attempted to take Bruce Seldon’s WBA title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. At this point in his career, Tyson’s fights had become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon, where the ever-present hype of the professional boxing scene would come face to face with the worlds of big business, Hollywood, and hip hop.
Sitting ringside was Tupac Shakur, a very close friend of Tyson’s, given their familiar storied rags to riches backgrounds. After Tyson’s victory that night, he and Shakur were to celebrate at an after party, but the rap star never arrived, for it was the night that Shakur was fatally shot, and the scene in Las Vegas quickly turned from would-be celebratory revelry to ill-fated tragedy.


The new documentary, One Night In Vegas, directed by Reggie Rock Bythewood, with the full cooperation of Mike Tyson, tells not only the story of that infamous night but of the remarkable friendship between Tyson and Tupac.

It made its TV broadcast premiere last night on ESPN, and I missed it. If you did too, you’ll have 4 more opportunities to watch it: tomorrow, Thursday the 9th, at 10PM on ESPN Classic, on Thursday, the 30th, at 9PM on ESPN2, on Sunday October 24th at 10PM on ESPN, and on Sunday November 28th at 3:30 on ESPN Classic.

It’s all part of ESPN’s 30 for 30, documentary series.
I’m sure I’ll catch it on one of those dates… likely tomorrow night!
Here’s a preview:

MIKE TYSON ANNOUNCES HE IS EXPECTING BABY NUMBER EIGHT

MIKE TYSON and wife LEKIHA SPICER are expecting baby number eight. Just a year ago MIKE suffered the tragic loss of his four year old daughter Exodus. They got married two days after the experience, and now they are working towards expecting the healthy arrive of their second child together. Tyson’s other children are Rayna, Amir, Mikey, Miguel, D’Mato and Milan.

Mike said on ”The View’ earlier this year: “I’m totally destitute and broke. But I have an awesome life, I have an awesome wife who cares about me. I’m very grateful. I don’t deserve to have the wife that I have; I don’t deserve the kids that I have, but I do, and I’m very grateful.”

Source

Stephen Hawking and the supernatural

Interesting timing, as Jupiter and Uranus continue their conjunction in Pisces, blowing apart (Uranus) the conventional wisdom and accepted belief systems (Jupiter) having to do with all that is transcendent and beyond ordinary understanding (Pisces).

Stephen Hawking has created a firestorm in his new book, The Grand Design, in which he declares that an intelligent creator was not necessary for the creation of the Universe. This is nothing new - Hawking has long argued against the need for a supernatural being to create the Universe, but in this new book he speaks out with particular clarity, saying that the laws of physics can create the universe out of nothing, it doesn't require God.

Though not a scientist, I will argue that the creation of the Universe and the planet is a separate issue entirely from the creation of consciousness. Human beings are conscious creatures, and there is growing evidence to suggest that most animals and birds possess a level of consciousness as well. I am certainly not arguing for the Genesis-tale of creation, where a god variously termed Jehovah, Yahweh, and the Elohim (Plural) created the heavens and the earth. But it is difficult to imagine a scenario where conscious beings formed without a conscious intention of some kind.

Hawking's Sun is in achievement-oriented Capricorn, and he has a Grand Trine of planets in earth that includes Mercury, Uranus and Neptune. Uranus opens his mind (Mercury) to fresh new insights, and Neptune adds a creative note which helps to raise his mental abilities.  Hawking was an underachiever in college until ALS began to rob his physical body of its abilities, after which time he began to work hard and focus all of his energies through the mind.  He is now thought by some to be the smartest man in the world.

Uranus in Hawkins chart conjoins Saturn, a combination that requires a balance of one's radical and individualistic (Uranus) nature with the more structured rules of Saturn.  Often individuals with this combination of planets tend to embrace one over the other and a war between the two impulses can result.  Hawkings was first diagnosed when he was 21 years old - an age at which transiting Saturn forms a square to Saturn in the birthchart at the same time that Uranus squares the natal Uranus.  This is a big time of change for every human being, but with Saturn and Uranus conjoined in the birthchart it took on greater force and likely drove all of his focus towards the aspect of his personality which worked well, which is the Grand Trine involving Mercury.

Posted by Lynn Hayes 

New Music: Willow Smith – ‘Whip My Hair’

Willow Smith is on her grown girl steez with her new track “Whip My Hair,” her introduction to the music biz. The sleek, club-ready joint sees the nine-year-old encouraging her fellow gals to snap their heads back and forth and whip that hair like a helicopter. Taking cues from her fashion idol Rihanna, the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith shows that this little diva-in-training has what it takes to tussle with the big girls—and her ’tude hasn’t gone unnoticed.

She’s already received a co-sign from Solange Knowles, known for her own experimental hairstyles. “WIllow Smith make me wanna whip some haiiirrr in this house. Ummm kill em girl. Kill em!” she tweeted.

September 8, 2010 CNN names Piers Morgan as Larry King’s replacement

FILE - In this April 26, 2010 file photo, Piers Morgan, a judge on the NBC show "America's Got Talent," participates in a panel discussion during the NBC Universal 2010 Summer Press Day in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, file)

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NEW YORK (AP) — CNN says Piers Morgan of “America’s Got Talent” will replace Larry King on the network’s prime-time lineup in January.

Morgan, a veteran journalist who hosts a popular interview program in Britain, will do a similar show for CNN. His selection as King’s replacement had been widely expected for the past few months.

CNN President Jon Klein says Morgan is “able to look at all aspects of the news with style and humor with an occasional good laugh in the process.”

The struggling news network will debut another prime-time show with former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer  and columnist Kathleen Parker in October.

'Mind-Reading Machine' Can Convert Thoughts Into Speech

Researchers have been able to translate brain signals into speech using sensors attached to the surface of the brain for the first time.

The breakthrough, which is up to 90 per cent accurate, offers a way to communicate for paralysed patients who cannot speak and could eventually lead to being able to read anyone thoughts.

"We were beside ourselves with excitement when it started working," said Professor Bradley Greger, a bioengineer at Utah University who led the team of researchers.

"It was just one of the moments when everything came together.'

Read more...

Fidel Castro Calls on Ahmadinejad to Stop Slandering the Jews and Denying the Holocaust; Cuban Leader Unequivocally Endorses Israel's Right to Exist

A neo-conservative, American Jewish journalist was invited to Cuba for an astonishing interview with Fidel Castro. Click here for the journalist's blog posting.

Not only did Castro call on Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to stop slandering the Jews and denying that the Holocaust ever happened; the Communist leader, apparently in the process of reinventing himself as an international statesman, conceded that the Cuban Missile Crisis "wasn't worth it."

He also hinted that Iran, which Cuba supports politically, possesses weapons of mass destruction and/or means of attacking Israel and the United States in ways that could result in a nuclear war.

Iran and Cuba have cooperated closely in the field of germ warfare; and Iran and North Korea, which Cuba also supports, have jointly developed systems for launching ballistic missiles from cargo vessels. Could Castro have been referring to these weapons?

Castro may also know or suspect that Iran has several radiological weapons, commonly called dirty bombs, and a plan for detonating the devices in U.S. cities.

Obama even gets tax cuts wrong

By Rick Manning
How could someone seemingly get everything they touch wrong? You would think proposing tax cuts would be safe territory for our incumbent president, until you examine his actual proposed cuts.

President Obama is expected to announce a $200 billion two year tax cut for business to encourage them to move up their capital expenditures and stimulate the economy through their purchases — essentially applying the “cash for clunkers” car sales economic model to capital spending by business.

Some would ask what is wrong with a business tax cut that purports to stimulate the economy? It sounds almost Republican.
The answer is at least three fold.

1. This tax cut just like the grants and spending from the stimulus package, attempts to pick winners and losers favoring businesses with heavy capital expenditure outlays like the U.S. government-owned General Motors, or the UAW-owned Chrysler Corporation, over service-oriented businesses who will derive little if any benefit.

Get full story here.

Where’s Feingold?

Get permalink here.

Krugman Views Tax Cuts as an “Expensive Proposition” But not “Stimulus” Legislation

By Kevin Mooney
 
Whatever voters may think of former President George W. Bush these days, they think very highly of their disposable income, cost of living and bank accounts. That’s why it’s smart politically for Republicans to call for an extension of the Bush tax cuts set to expire at the end of this year.

But it’s also makes good public policy, contrary to what New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has argued. With the U.S. still mired in recession, now would be a particularly bad time to further burden Americans with tax rate increases. Here’s what the expiration will mean for working families and average citizens.

• 35 percent bracket which will increase to 39.6 percent
• 33 percent bracket which will increase to 36 percent
• 28 percent bracket which will increase to 31 percent
• 25 percent bracket which will increase to 28 percent
• 10 percent and 15 percent will condense to 15 percent
• The capital gains tax will increase from 15 percent to 20 percent
• The tax on dividends will increase from 15 percent to 39.6 percent

Get full story here.

Big Government Knows Best for Retirement Savings?

By Robert Romano
New legislation being proposed by Senators Jeff Bingaman and John Kerry could force as many as 60 million Americans to invest in government bonds via mandatory retirement accounts.
According to a recent report by World Net Daily’s Jerome Corsi, the law would require “employers and employees to contribute into a retirement account for every employee and demand that a portion of that contribution go into a federal-government created annuity that would be funded by purchasing Treasury debt.”

On the surface, it appears the nation’s cash-strapped government wants to force Americans to lend money to the Treasury to keep up with is ever-widening funding obligations.
Get full story here.

Olivier Martinez: Halle Berry's New Boyfriend

Halle Berry has allegedly found a new man! As seen in the photo below, Halle was photographed smooching on her 'Dark Tide' co-star Olivier Martinez while the two were hanging out together in France.

Sources tell People magazine that the couple had their arms around each other while taking in the sites, and looked very happy together. They even gave details of the moment leading up to Halle and Olivier's big kiss.
"It was the classic 'I'm going to kiss you here in a dark corner' move. And she was waiting to be kissed." 

"They had their arms around each other as they walked. They were both smiling and laughing. Their body language was very flirtatious. They definitely seemed like a couple – absolutely looked like more than friends." 

In case you're clueless as to who in the hell Olivier Martinez is, he was the hot guy in Unfaithful who was sexing Diane Lane every chance he got, until Richard Gere killed him with a snow globe. What a cheesy tragedy!

I don't think this will be a lasting relationship, but it'll be a fun f*ckfest while they're filming together!

The Anvil Pops Pills Harder Than Advil

Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart got himself into a pretty sticky situation earlier this week. The former WWF tag-team champion of the 80s and 90s was arrested on some serious drug and buglary charges: two counts possession of a controlled substance, two counts trafficking illegal drugs, one count of burglary, and one count grand theft. And here I was, thinking JaMarcus Russell was the alpha athlete turned drug kingpin.
Now, I understand that this is a pretty hefty block-quote, but bear with me. It’s the greatest thing you’ll read all week.

Just before 3 p.m. Sunday, Neidhart was pumping gas at the A.J. Food Market, 9806 Tom Folsom Road, Thonotosassa, when he began yelling and causing a disturbance, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s arrest report said he was seen opening pill bottles located in the trunk of his silver Pontiac Sunfire.

When deputies arrived at the scene, he was agitated and aggressive. He was observed “ingesting multiple pills that he dropped on the ground while inside the trunk of his vehicle,” the sheriff’s office arrest report states.

He was found in possession of 55.6 grams of Oxycontin and 17.4 grams of methadone. The prescription pills were in three bottles with the name Mary Cutillo written on the bottles, the sheriff’s office said.

Cutillo had reported her Hillsborough County home had been burglarized and that her medication had been stolen, the sheriff’s office said.

Neidhart, who is a friend of Cutillo, allegedly went to her home and pried open the rear door of the home. He then stole her prescription pills, which are valued at more than $300, the sheriff’s office said. –Tampa Tribune

Let’s recap. A title-winning former professional wrestler, now a shadow of his former self, is yelling and screaming while popping pills and pumping gas at a Tampa gas station. When the authorities come to investigate, Jim decides that his best play is to continue ingesting drugs. Said drugs make the authorities suspicious, and further investigation finds out that he has 55.6 GRAMS OF OXYCONTIN AND 17.4 GRAMS OF METHADONE, which he stole by ripping off the door of his friend’s house.

That is an incredible amount of drugs, and it doesn’t even consider the pills that he was popping like Flintstone Vitamins. I’m already banking on an older Robert Downey Junior getting an Oscar when someone writes this into a screenplay. Well him, or Daniel Day-Lewis. Daniel’s been known to do a mean geeked-up-homeless-person yelling impression.
Here’s a vide

A Case of Green Tea: Misleading Health Claims Place Canada Dry and Lipton Under FDA Scrutiny

Liliana Dumitru-Steffens

 

Dr Pepper Snapple Group and Unilever face a PR crisis if they fail to address the warnings released against their green tea based products by the FDA.

The US  Food and Drug Administration warned producers of two popular brands of green tea against misleading health claims on labels and promotional websites for their green tea products. In a warning letter issued Aug. 30, the FDA took issue with Dr Pepper Snapple Group which produces the popular Canada Dry Sparkling Green Tea Ginger Ale that bears the claim, “ENHANCED WITH 200 mg OF ANTIOXIDANTS FROM GREEN TEA & VITAMIN C**”. A week earlier the FDA issued a similar letter to Unilever Inc, maker of Lipton Green Tea.

The FDA “does not consider it appropriate to fortify snack foods such as carbonated beverages.” But this is not really the problem with Canada Dry. The product does not meet federal requirements to carry the claim that the drink is “enhanced with 200 mg of antioxidants from green tea and vitamin C” and its ingredients “are not nutrients with recognized antioxidant activity.”

In the warning letter addressed to Unilever, the FDA aimed at Lipton Green Tea 100% Naturally Decaffeinated which claimed that consumption of green tea reduces cholesterol and it is beneficial for people at risk of heart disease – a health claim that would make the Lipton green tea a drug.
The FDA gave both companies 15 days to respond to the citations with an outline of their plans for addressing the problems:

Please respond to this letter within 15 days from receipt with the actions you plan to take in response to this letter, including an explanation of each step being taken to correct the current violations and prevent similar violations. Include any documentation necessary to show that correction has been achieved. If you cannot complete corrective action within fifteen working days, state the reason for the delay and the time within which you will complete the correction.

15 days are not a too generous offer – this time-frame is not enough to address (and correct) all instances where misleading information appears on product labels, websites, advertisements, and so on. Although both companies already answered, expressing their willingness to correct the problems, the effect of FDA’s warning letters on the two brands is unfortunate. Both companies appear now as misleading and dishonest in their relationship with consumers. Media reports criticizing the two brands have already been published on high authority channels like Time Magazine blogs, The Associated Press and others. Both companies will now need to engage in a PR battle to counter the effects of negative media.

Harry Reid: “I Had Nothing To Do” With Economic Collapse

See, it was all just Bush’s fault. Harry Reid has been trying to protect the economy.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid insists that despite his powerful post he had “nothing to do” with the economic downturn.

Reid’s home state of Nevada has been hit hard by falling home prices and foreclosures, but in an interview Tuesday on ABC’s “Top Line” Reid said he’s not to blame.

“You know that I had nothing to do with the massive foreclosures here,” Reid said. “You know that I had nothing to do with these unemployment figures.

“In fact, I’ve worked hard to change them,” he added. “My job is to create jobs. My opponent says that is not her job to create jobs. And I think that is really wrong. I think it is my job to create jobs, and I’ve done my best. Is there more that needs to take place? Of course, there is.”
Reid contended that the recession was the fault of the Bush administration and Republicans, saying “I don’t have any hand in what took place during the Bush administration. I tried to rein that in.”

Reid tried to rein it in by…voting for $787 billion in deficit spending? Voting for trillions on bank bailouts? Voting for spending that has created over $1 trillion in budget deficits? Voting to increase the minimum wage and expand unemployment benefits, both burdens that are carried by businesses who we want to create jobs?
Reid is also supporting a regulatory environment that has most businesses sitting on their money as opposed to investing it in expanding their operations and hiring more workers. People don’t know what is going to come from the Democrat controlled federal government next, and it’s stagnating our economy.
But no, Harry Reid didn’t do anything to hurt the economy. Just ask him.

Man Arrested For Telling Kids To Get Off His Lawn With Bullets

It was like a scene out of Gran Torino.  When confronting a group of youths on the lawn of his Uniondale, Long Island home, 31-year-old George Grier went out onto his porch with a rifle.  He told the group of youths to get off his lawn.  During the ensuing argument, Grier did what every movie hero has done throughout time:  he fired a warning shot into the air.  Presumably, the men scrambled, and Grier… well, Grier, in the course of protecting his family, was arrested on felony charges of reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon.

Apparently, according to some sources, the group of Hispanic men were members of the M-13 gang.  Grier is black.  I guess in New York, you’re supposed to run and hide and hope that the cops get through traffic in time to recover your body while it’s still warm rather than defend yourself.  Not that Grier actually defended himself; shooting into the air is like fireworks in most of the world.

by Ron Hogan

Rodney King Engaged To Juror From Cop Beating Trial

Rodney King is reportedly engaged to one of the jurors who awarded him his $3.8 million settlement when the L.A. Police Department were videotaped beating an armed King nearly to death.
Cynthia Kelley, King's fiancée, said they first felt a romantic spark when they met in a Newport Beach pizzeria the day after jury award in 1994.
Four officers were tried for using excessive force but later acquitted, sparking the infamous LA riots left 55 dead and more than 2,000 injured.
According to Radar Online, both were married at the time, which complicated the blossoming relationship.
They later separated when King joined the cast of VH1's "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" after multiple arrests for being under the influence of PCP or alcohol.
Four months ago, King, 44, called Kelley on a whim.

"We hadn't spoken to each other for many years, and it just so happened that we reconnected....It was like we were never apart from one another," Kelley told Radar.

"She is a godsend, a blessing in my life," King told the website. "I don't know what I would have done without her in my life...I can't wait to make her my wife."

'Move beyond fear': Planned Quran burning is religious stupidity

From ELO- How can anyone think that an act of hate and religious fanaticism -- the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 -- can somehow be redeemed by an act of intolerance and religious stupidity?

I have been trying to decide whether Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove Center in Gainesville, who is planning to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, has any idea of how much harm and persecution his action will bring upon Christians living around the world -- and specifically those living in countries with a majority Muslim population.

I have traveled extensively in the Middle East, and I am quite familiar with the precarious situation of Christians in that area. I can only appeal to him to desist from an action that will hurt his Christian brothers and sisters around the world; they are the ones who will suffer the consequences of his fanatical act. As an American, I also appeal to his patriotism and concern for our U.S. troops.

General David Petraeus, our commander in Afghanistan, has warned that this planned act of disrespect and destruction of the Muslim scriptures will both endanger our troops already in perilous situations and harm our relationship with those Muslim countries that are our sincere allies. Every page of the Quran that burns will recruit to the ranks of Islamic extremists hundreds of irate Muslims, who will see in this action a confirmation of claims by Al Qaeda and the Taliban that Americans are engaged in our own jihad against the followers of Islam.

Posted by Jim Simons

The Washington Redskins Are Trying To Trade Away Albert Haynesworth

Mike Shanahan has done everything to show the world how much he passionately hates Albert Haynesworth. The head coach has even tried to publicly embarrass the defensive tackle on several occasions, but today the coach must of finally had enough. It sounds like the Redskins are desperately trying to find a trade partner to get rid of him.



And surprise surprise, one of his possible trade suitors happens to be his former team, the Tennessee Titans.



“If they’re willing to look into the possibility of dealing him, of course we’ll listen to them. We listen to those types of things almost every day,” Titans Coach Jeff Fisher said.



“This just happens to be a big story because of the circumstances and the situation that arose with the offseason payment and then of course with all the drama associated with the offseason conditioning and the conditioning test and everything. Our focus right now is on the Raiders.”



As much as Shanahan so obviously hates Albert, I’d be surprised if they didn’t trade him away before week four.

by Brian Ethridge

“That’s A Job I Really Want”: Daley’s Exit Opens Door For Rahm

Fox News:
Longtime Chicago Mayor Richard Daley announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election, a stunning decision that apparently ends a political dynasty that has dominated the city for more than a half century and paves the way for White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to chase his dream job.



Emanuel once told Fox News that if Daley didn’t seek re-election, he would likely throw his hat in the ring, raising the possibility that his days in the White House are numbered.


“That’s a job I really want,” Emanuel once told Fox News’ Bret Baier.


Daley, who was elected in 1989 and has served six terms in office, dropped the news during a press conference to announce a new cabinet member. He said he had been thinking about it for several months, called the move a “personal decision,” and said that “it just feels right.”


“In the end this is a personal decision, no more, no less,” Daley said.

The decision immediately raises speculation about whether Emanuel will make a move for the seat. Emanuel said in an interview in April that if Daley did not seek another term, he would like to run for the office.


“If Mayor Daley doesn’t (run), one day I would like to run for mayor of the city of Chicago. That’s always been an aspiration of mine even when I was in the House of Representatives,” Emanuel said told PBS Charlie Rose.
The White House had no immediate comment.
The mayor’s wife Maggie has been battling breast cancer. She has made a few public appearances but does not talk publicly about her health.


Daley, 68, did not take questions after making the announcement Tuesday.


The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Posted By Pat Dollard