ElBaradei, Muslim Brotherhood rapproach in Egypt

Both the New York Times and Ha'aretz from Israel report that Mohamed ElBaradei, former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Muslim Brotherhood have reached rapproachment on forming a national unity government, broad based, to include everybody but current Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party.

From Ha'aretz:

"I have been authorized -- mandated -- by the people who organized these demonstrations and many other parties to agree on a national unity government," (ElBaradei) told CNN.

The NYT notes that ElBaradei is not afraid to call out the Obama Administration for continuing to prop up Mubarak.

“It’s better for President Obama not to appear that he is the last one to say to President Mubarak, it’s time for you to go,” Dr. ElBaradei said.

Given how he refused to sign off on BushCo bullshit in Iraq, while running the IAEA, this should be of no surprise.

It is seeming more and more clear that the police aren't strongly in Mubarak's corner. The military, with hardware largely paid for by the U.S., still seems strong for the moment. But, remember, Nicholas II lost the gendarmes first, then the military, in 1917.

So, too, did a certain Reza Pahlavi in 1979. Will Mubarak's path follow the late Shah of Iran's, who, ironically, lived his last days in Egypt, which led the Muslim Brotherhood to assassinate Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, which put Mubarak in power?

Former President Jimmy Carter, who is certainly in a position to remember Iran and the Shah's fall in 1979, agrees that Mubarak is eventually likely to go.

And, speaking of that, will ElBaradei pull this off? Or, will Mubarak try to co-opt him, to make him, in essence, Egypt's Shapour Bakhtiar? I doubt ElBaradei can be co-opted. If we were talking about former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, that would be different. Indeed, that might be Mubarak's next move.

And, Ross Douthat completes a circle of sorts by reminding us that the U.S.'s continued propping up of Mubarak was surely a major factor in 9/11. Remember, mastermind Mohamed Atta, among others, was Egyptian.

However, it is possible that ElBaradie could be undercut by the Brotherhood at some point, and become Egypt's equivalent of Abolhassan Banisadr.

Meanwhile, here's more on Omar Suleman, the thuggish CIA pal that Mjbarak has lined up to replace him, it seems.

Posted by Gadfly

The police beat: Maryland cops shooting hostage taking bank robber is shown live on TV. Detroit’s chief releases video of shootout at police station.

While we focus almost exclusively on fire and EMS here, this is one of those days that dramatic video involving law enforcement from two separate parts of the country is front and center.

The video above is today’s botched bank robbery in Maryland. Police from Prince George’s County and Takoma Park quickly found themselves face to face with the gunman walking out the door of the bank holding a female hostage. She was able to break free when the robber was tripped up by a snow bank. It gave police a chance to shoot the gunman. He died. A Prince George’s County Police officer was wounded in the leg, apparently from a bullet that ricocheted.

TV stations in the Washington area were in the breaking news mode as this all happened. It was one of those moments where someone being shot and killed was seen live on television. Since then the news operations, as far as we can tell, are only showing the edited chopper video on the air. It stops before the gunman falls to the ground. The exception is WTTG-TV, which has put the complete raw video on its website. Click here for that video.

You can read more about the robbery, here. Click here for a police news conference. Earlier fire department briefing about a suspected bomb left by the robber.

The other video is from the shootout inside a Detroit police station five days ago. It shows Lamar Moore entering the Northwest District on January 23 and ambushing the officers. Moore was killed in this gun battle and four police officers are recovering from their wounds. The 68 second video, showing two camera angles, was released today by the Detroit Police Department.

The video opens with a message from Police Chief Ralph Godbee. Chief Godbee explains the decision to release this video. The chief called it a commitment to transparency and to show citizens the heroism of his officers. The chief also believes it will of help in the training of police officers.

Below is some of the police radio traffic during the shootout that was posted on YouTube by FirefighterDispatch.

Here is a description of the video by Gina Damron of the Detroit Free Press:

In one view Cmdr. Brian Davis is seen walking up the the desk, where Modreci Draper, owner of a shoe repair business who had come to the station to shine officers’ shoes, is talking to Officer David Anderson.

In the camera view at the door, Moore is seen walking into the building, but a gun is not visible. Then you can see him walk close to the desk.

Davis is talking to Sgt. Ray Saati, with his back initially turned to Moore. Draper leans down, wiping salt from Anderson’s shoes, he told the Free Press Thursday. Suddenly, there is a blast and Anderson falls away into a corridor, with only his feet visible in the frame.

Moore shoots down another hallway, where Sgt. Carrie Schulz is shot in her bullet-proof vest. From that corridor, Sgts. Mike Ingels and James Kirkland begin shooting at Moore, who backs up, according to police.

Behind the desk, Davis takes Saati’s gun and he and Officer Theodore Jackson begin shooting over the desk at Moore, who hurls himself over the counter.

Moore moves toward Davis, who extends his right arm, shooting at point-blank range with the gunman. Moore shoots and hits Davis’ hand and Davis is also hit in the back. He takes cover, while Moore moves to the other side of the desk area. At this point, according to police, Moore is mortally wounded.

Davis throws a trash can at Moore, who staggers and falls into chairs.

Also on STATter911 …

• A snapshot of Detroit EMS: Pictures appear to show supervisors sleeping on the job. Wife of EMS chief being investigated. – May 2, 2010
• Field amputation of engineer’s arm following train collision. Video & details from Fontana, California. – September 10, 2010
• Detroit fire documentary getting caught up in aftermath of police chief scandal. Mayor’s office has to set policy. It’s an image thing. – August 9, 2010
• Video: Car crashes into Hooters & catches fire. The story from St. Louis. – January 22, 2011

Posted by dave statter

Police: Officer Made Up Story About Shooting Near High School

Los Angeles (CNN) -- A police officer in Los Angeles who claimed he was shot while patrolling near a high school has now been arrested for making up the story, authorities said.

Officer Jeff Stenroos of the Los Angeles Unified School District Police Department had said he was shot in the chest on January 19 in the west San Fernando Valley. He said the shooting happened when he got out of his squad car to check on a man peering into parked vehicles near the El Camino High School.

The alleged shooting prompted an hours-long lockdown of several schools as police scoured the area looking for the shooter.

In the following days, authorities released a sketch of the alleged gunman, and the reward for information grew to $100,000.

But Thursday night, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said Stenroos had been arrested on a felony count of filing a false police report.

"The current state of the investigation refutes Stenroos' initial account of the incident and we are now certain that there is no outstanding suspect in this shooting," he said in a statement.

GO HERE to read more.

American Missionary Killed by Gunman in Mexico, Husband Says

A U.S. missionary working in Mexico who brought his mortally wounded wife to the border told authorities in the United States that gunmen in a pickup truck shot her in the head, police in Texas say. Nancy Davis, 59, died in a South Texas hospital Wednesday about 90 minutes after her husband drove the couple's truck against traffic across the Pharr International Bridge, according to a statement issued by the Pharr Police Department. The husband relayed to Texas authorities and U.S. Customs agents a frantic episode of the couple being fired upon in Mexico and then flooring their truck at top speed to border. Police described the couple as missionaries who travel extensively into Mexico. The scene echoed one described four months ago by an American tourist, who said her husband was gunned down by Mexican pirates on a border lake as the couple tried fleeing on Jet Skis...more

Posted by Frank DuBois

Congressman Jim Moran Talks to Arab TV

And denounces those who oppose Obama's agenda as racists. From Politico:

Speaking to Arab television network Alhurra, Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) said Republicans made big gains in November in part because “a lot of people in this country … don’t want to be governed by an African-American.”

Even more objectionable to some Americans, he said, is that Obama is a black president “who is inclusive, who is liberal, who wants to spend money on everyone and who wants to reach out to include everyone in our society — that’s a basic philosophical clash.”

Moran’s remarks came Tuesday in an interview conducted after Obama delivered his State of the Union speech. Democrats, Moran said, lost for “the same reason the Civil War Happened in the United States … the Southern states, particularly the slaveholding states, didn’t want to see a president who was opposed to slavery.” Virginia, of course, is one of those Southern, formerly slaveholding states....

Thus, Moran is promoting white guilt.

The Civil War is over. Sure, racism still exists in the United States. There's no denying that fact. But to attribute the results of the 2010 elections exclusively to racism is inaccurate and denial of the will of the American people as they exercised that will at the ballot box last November. Besides, the district from which Moran runs for office is overwhelmingly white (liberal), and Democrat Moran got re-elected. Or maybe Moran has decided that Virginia, particularly Northern Virginia is not part of the South - never mind that slaves were indeed held in bondage here in Northern Virginia.

And what the hell is Moran doing talking to Arab television, anyway? Following Obama's lead, I suppose. Obama spoke with al-Arabiya in one of his first interviews after taking office in January 2009.

Here in Northern Virginia, Congressman Moran sometimes runs for office without opposition. And when an opponent does challenge Moran for that particular seat in Congress, Moran trounces him. Never mind Moran's frequent off-the-cuff remarks:

Moran has gotten in trouble for his off-the-cuff remarks in the past. In 2007, he alleged that the “extraordinarily powerful” pro-Israel lobby played a major role in promoting the U.S. war in Iraq. A strong supporter of his district’s Muslim community, Moran faced criticism from Jewish groups in 2003 for saying that then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was visiting Washington “probably seeking a warrant from President Bush to kill at will with weapons we’ve paid for.”

Moran is standing by his recent statements about Obama and racist America.

posted by Always On Watch

Financial Commission Issues Useless, Partisan Report

This is what happens when you allow partisan hacks to conduct an investigation:

Taxpayers got the short end of the stick on Thursday when Phil Angelides, Democratic chairman of the taxpayer-funded Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, released the panel's final report on the causes of the Great Recession of 2008.

Rather than provide the bipartisan view of the origins of the financial crisis, as mandated by Congress, the panel split along partisan lines because of Angelides' refusal to incorporate the views of Republican members. So, instead of one consensus report, there are three competing assessments (that of the majority, a minority report signed by three Republican members, and an individual dissent by Commissioner Peter Wallison).

Commissioner Douglas Holtz-Eakin told The Examiner that the Republican commissioners would provide edits to drafts of the report, only to have returned new drafts that still didn't reflect their changes, only "to be asked at the last minute to sign off." Vice Chairman Bill Thomas, former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, told The Examiner that he was exasperated by such tactics: "I was not aware that the material we thought had been cooperatively agreed to wasn't in [thereport ] because it didn't pass muster." In fact, Thomas said, Angelides "went through by himself and made changes which were not known until the document was presented to the commission." Holtz-Eakin added that "the fact that we have to guess at what the process [to write the report] was shows you exactly the problem with the commission."

More than 700 interviews were conducted by FCIC staff, most of which had no input from commissioners on the questions to be asked. In fact, the commissioners had no idea many of them were happening at all, having not been invited to sit in on important meetings such as those with executives of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, or with Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Larry Summers. The obstructions didn't stop there, either. A commission staff member who requested anonymity told The Examiner that interactions with commissioners were rare. Commissioners, in turn, spoke of the difficulty of not having access to staffers.

by Rick Moore

Joan Rivers Calls Michelle Obama 'Blackie O'

Joan Rivers may have outlived her time. On the Howard Stern radio show, Rivers noted that she was going to use a joke onstage, but chose to self-censor, primarily because she knew it would be offensive to African Americans.

But, of course, when Stern asked her to tell the joke, she said it on national radio, referring to First Lady Michelle Obama's sense of style:

"We used to have Jackie O," Rivers said, "now we have Blackie O!"

Stern and Rivers then spent their time complaining about how everything's off limits, when it comes to African Americans.

Apparently, they both seemed disappointed about not being able to use racially disrespectful rhetoric that we've been forced to listen to for the past 400 years.

Stern's co-host, Robin Quivers, didn't have much to say either, but then again, that seems to be the role of the trusty black sidekick these days: to give a racial pass when someone says something that might be deemed offensive (perhaps we can call this the "I have black friends" defense).

Don Imus of the "nappy-headed-ho" fame also has a black co-host, who is, of course, a comedian, since black people are so much more fun when they make everyone laugh.

In all seriousness, though, Rivers did try to squash some of the criticism of her joke by saying that she wouldn't be offended if someone were to refer to her as "Jewie O."

The problem with that comparison is that "blackie" is an incredibly derogatory term with indisputable roots in racial degradation.

It is similar to referring to black people as monkeys, showing us eating watermelon or calling us the N-word.

Part of me feels sorry for Rivers.

She grew up at a time when offending black people was simply not a big deal. She gets one plastic surgery after another to hold on to the youth that is slipping through her fingers, and she's as persistent as any entertainer when it comes to maintaining her relevance.

I actually respect her, find her to be very funny and don't consider her words to be malicious, but one thing that Rivers has to understand is that if your goal is to remain truly hip and relevant, you have to realize that America is slowly working to move beyond its racist past.

Calling the First Lady of the United States "blackie" only makes Rivers look like an entertainment dinosaur, which is the opposite of what she's trying to be.

By Boyce Watkins, PhD

10 Myths About Single Black Mothers

Myth 1: Single black moms have low-incomes: The ‘single black mom’ is most often portrayed as struggling and welfare-bound. She is not self-sufficient and because of this her children suffer.

Truth: Until you’ve seen or heard the reality of the situation with your own eyes and ears, reserve judgment. Many single, black mothers manage to maintain excellent jobs which allows them to support themselves, their children and anyone else she feels so inclined to bless.

Myth 2: A single Black mom raises delinquent children: Rarely does the media show a single black mother whose children can ‘do right.’ The child of a single Black mom is often portrayed as leading a doomed life filled with drugs, run-ins with the law, and illegitimate children.

Truth: Who among us doesn’t personally know someone who consistently overcomes obstacles, triumphs over any task and just so happened to be raised by a single mother. There are thousands. Never underestimate a black woman on a mission to raise a strong, successful child. Neither one of them can be stopped.

Myth 3: The single Black mom is just a ‘baby mama’: Most often, the assumption is that a single Black mom is and will always be a ‘baby mama’. She was not and will never be married and she is likely to continue to have children out of wedlock.

Truth: Many black women who have children out of wedlock do eventually marry the father of their children. When you have children with someone, you two will always share something and it’s difficult to walk away from that. Even if the mother and father of that particular child never get married, their situation may be beyond our understanding. The couple may not believe in a formalized, legal commitment, or more frequently the mother will find another man to marry.

Myth 4: Single Black moms are bad role models: Because they don’t have the “normal” family unit—mom, dad, and baby—many people assume that they are setting a poor example for their children and that their children are destined to do the same.

Truth: Single mothers can often serve as some of the best role models for their children. In any parenting situation, if the mother is honest, the child can learn from her mistakes, even if becoming a single mother wasn’t one of them. Portraits of single, black mothers often fail to include the possibility of death. Besides that, there are several single mothers who raise their children, obtain degrees, and serve as an inspiration for their children as well as others in their communities.

Myth 5: The father isn’t involved: When you’re a single Black mom—there is always the assumption that your child simply doesn’t have a father. As though, the child was just a product of some careless decision void of vows, love, or relationship.

Truth: There are countless examples of parents who aren’t together as a couple, but manage to stand as a united front when it comes to their children. If the parents are still together as a couple there are even more opportunities for him to bond with his children. Regardless of the situation there have always been black men who are invested in the rearing and nurturing of their little ones. This false assumption reflects poorly not just on black women but black men as well. Click here for more

Recalling the Challenger Disaster

By Richard A. Lee

Twenty-five years ago, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, and all seven of its crew members perished. It was one of the moments, like the JFK assassination and the 9/11 attacks, which we always remember where we were and what we did in the aftermath of learning the news.

At the time, I was a State House reporter for The News Tribune, and what I remember vividly was the Associated Press taping photos on the walls outside its bureau office – photos of the launch, the crowd cheering the takeoff, and then the smoke plume from the falling aircraft. It was long before the days when the Internet brought breaking news, photos and videos to our computers and telephones. Later in the day, I spoke with members of New Jersey’s Congressional delegation for a sidebar on the state’s reaction to the tragedy.

Over the years, the Challenger disaster became part of a speechwriting lesson I taught as part of a public relations course at Mercer County Community College. I would ask my students to put themselves in the place of Peggy Noonan, who wrote the speech that President Reagan delivered to the nation the evening of the Challenger disaster. Then, after they explained how they would go about preparing the President’s remarks, I would explain the steps that Noonan took, as described in her book What I Saw at the Revolution: A Political Life in the Reagan Era.

Noonan made the speech personal by making sure the President mentioned the names of all seven crew members. She made sure he spoke directly to children because so many had been in school watching the shuttle’s launch and explosion on television and because a school teacher had been among the seven astronauts. Noonan also included words reassuring the public that, despite the tragedy, the U.S. would continue to move forward with its space program.

Years later in 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas on its way back to earth, I was working as Deputy Communications Director for Governor McGreevey. It was a Saturday morning, and as I was watching the initial television reports, something clicked in my head and I realized the Governor was going to need a statement.

I quickly drafted something and got it to the Governor, who was preparing for his annual budget address. After a few tweaks, we were done. The statement went out, and in a matter of minutes, it was being read on TV as part of the coverage.

The short statement was a far cry from the classic speech that Noonan crafted. But knowing how she went about her task on that fateful day in 1986 made my job a little bit easier when another space shuttle tragedy took place 17 years later.

# # #

Richard A. Lee is Communications Director of the Hall Institute. A former State House reporter and Deputy Communications Director for the Governor, he also teaches courses in media, politics and government at Rutgers University, where he is completing work on a Ph.D. in media studies. Read more of Rich’s columns at richleeonline and follow him on Twitter.

GOP Split On Bankruptcy For States

The Hill:
A split between prominent Republicans emerged Thursday over whether Congress should allow states to declare bankruptcy.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) wrote in the Los Angeles Times that Congress should authorize a new law allowing states to declare bankruptcy, a move that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has derided as a “bailout of the states.”

Gingrich, who is mulling a bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, wrote the op-ed with another prominent Republican, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the brother of former President George W. Bush.

“The new Congress has the opportunity to prepare a fair, orderly, predictable and lawful approach to help struggling state governments address their financial challenges without resorting to wasteful bailouts,” Gingrich and Bush wrote. “This approach begins with a new chapter in the federal Bankruptcy Code that provides for voluntary bankruptcy by states, a proven option already available to all cities and towns across America.”
Gingrich has previously floated the idea of state bankruptcy, but publicly pushed the option again after Cantor all but ruled it out earlier this week. That Bush signed onto the article could add significant heft to the option among conservatives. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) flagged the article on his Twitter account on Thursday.
“I think some … have mentioned this Chapter 9 equivalent for states is somehow going to stave off some kind of federal bailout — we don’t need that to stave off a federal bailout. There will be no bailout of the states,” Cantor told reporters earlier this week. “States can deal with this, and have the ability to do so on their own.”

At issue are the massive amounts of debt that some state have accrued after years of running deficits. The existing state debts are only exacerbated by massive liabilities in state pension accounts in coming years, which have made it difficult for states to meet their obligations.

A new bankruptcy law would allow states to enter court protection to help reorganize their finances. The New York Times has reported on the political sensitivities surrounding the situation, and most lawmakers have been careful not to stake out positions on the possible solution.

Gingrich was more pointed, however, and it is notable his op-ed ran in a newspaper in California, the state facing perhaps the most intense budget crisis.

“Federal bailouts must come to an end. Federal taxpayers in states that balance their budgets should not have to bail out the irresponsible, pandering politicians who cannot balance their budgets,” Gingrich and Bush wrote. “Congress must allow a safe, orderly way under federal bankruptcy law for states to reorganize their finances.”

Republican governors like Chris Christie in New Jersey have scored political points for taking on local unions and seeking concessions in the state’s pension liabilities. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, also a Republican, has sought similar reforms, as have some new Democratic governors. These moves have been met with stiff resistance by labor unions that represent state and municipal employees, who worry their workers will be shortchanged by state budget crunches.

Posted By Pat Dollard.

Federal Budget Deficit to Reach Record $1.5 trillion in 2011

At WSJ, "Deficit Outlook Darkens: Stark Warning for 2011 Fuels Battle Over Government Spending and Taxation":

WASHINGTON—The federal budget deficit will reach a record of nearly $1.5 trillion in 2011 due to the weak economy, higher spending and fresh tax cuts, congressional budget analysts said, in a stark warning that will drive the growing battle over government spending and taxation.

At that size, the deficit—up from $1.29 trillion in 2010—would be roughly $60 billion more than the White House projected last summer, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday. Last year's tax-cut package alone will add roughly $400 billion to the deficit, the CBO said. As a percentage of the nation's economic output, the 9.8% deficit would be the second-largest since World War II, behind only the 10% level in 2009.

The grim outlook landed a day after President Barack Obama outlined plans to push for new spending that he said would help keep the U.S. globally competitive in his State of the Union speech, and the data could complicate that effort. Republicans have dismissed the president's plans as ignoring the more pressing need to reduce the deficit.

Wednesday, the battle lines sharpened. "This report is a reflection of the gross mismanagement of our nation's finances," said Rep. Tom Price (R., Ga.). "It should make every American think twice about the latest calls by the president to increase spending at a time when Washington can clearly not afford to pay its bills."

More at the link.

RELATED: At Fox News, "CBO Director: Trillion-Dollar Deficits Risk 'Fiscal Crisis' in U.S." Posted by Donald Douglas

2011 NBA All-Star Starters Announced -- Kobe Bryant Topped All Players In Votes

By Randall Stevens, Published

The 2011 All-Star teams were announced on Thursday evening (January 27), and it's many of the usual suspects and superstars around the league. In the West, the starting five are: Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, and Yao Ming. Melo, who has been the talk of the NBA as of late, is headed to his fourth All-Star Game, and third as a starter. With all the drama he's doing through, and the boos he's been receiving at home, in Denver, he's just happy to be chosen. "It feels good especially at the time with everything going on," Anthony told NBA.com of his support. "I've been able to stay focused and it feels good that the fans recognize that. I appreciate it." Kobe has been voted as a starter 13 times now -- only Jerry West, Karl Malone and Shaquille O'Neal, with 14 straight nods each, have more -- and this season is the leading vote-getter. Paul will go into his fourth game, and second start, and rightfully so. He's currently third in the league in assists and first in steals. Durant is a certified star in the league now, and he's only 22. He made his first All-Star Game last season, and this year, led all West forwards in voting. Durant is also leading all NBA players in scoring, averaging 28.1 points a game. As for Yao, well, it's his eighth starting All-Star selection, but he won't play for the second time, due to problems with his feet. Right now, his return is iffy, at best. NBA.com says Pau Gasol, Tim Duncan, and Denver's Nene couple fill out the spot -- the choice is at commissioner Stern's discretion. In the East, the starting five are: Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Lebron James, Amar'e Stoudemire, and Dwight Howard. Orlando Magic center, Dwight Howard, is the second leading vote-getter overall, behind Kobe, and first in the East, earning 2,099,204 votes. It's his fifth year as an All-Star. "It's a great honor and I thank the fans for voting for me," Howard said. "It means a lot to be to be a guy that the fans voted for. It's the best when the fans are voting for you. That's the highest praise. The All-Star Game is still a lot of fun, and I always like being around the other guys." James will represent the Heat for the first time, and will be participating in his seventh All-Star Game. He's currently third in the league in scoring (25.9) and 12th in assists (7.2). D-Wade, also repping the Heat, is an All-Star for the seventh time. He's averaging 25.1 per night. Both Rose (Chicago) and Stoudemire (New York) are starting for the first time. Stoudemire has been there six previous times though, but this will be his first as a New York Knick. "Representing New York at the NBA All-Star Game is a huge honor for me," Stoudemire said. "If it wasn't for the support of the most loyal fans in the world, I wouldn't be in this position today." Rose earned his second All-Star selection and first career start. He's single-handedly carried the Bulls through injuries to Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, and has Chicago running away with the Central Division. The NBA's 60th All-Star Game is being broadcast live Feb. 20 from Staples Center in Los

Celtics Hold Off Blazers 88-78

Ray Allen scored  a game high 18 points while Paul Pierce added  17 more as the Boston Celtics out lasted the Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden Thursday night as they would get the win by a score of 88-78. LaMarcus Aldridge racked up a double-double for the injury depleted team from Portland as he knocked down 17 points and grabbed 16 boards in the loss. The contest was the first of a four game West Coast swing for the Celtics which will include a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals on Sunday as the club travels to the Staples Center to take on the Lakers.

Neither team was an offensive juggernaught in this game but the Celtics were just a tad better than the Blazers in each of the contest’s four quarters. Marquis Daniels hit a pair at the line with 1:29 left on the clock in the first and that would be good enough to give Boston a 21-18 advantage at the end of the period. Portland would grab the lead with 3:29 left in the second when the veteran point guard Andre Miller drove the lane putting the ball up and in and making it a 34-33 affair. The Celtics though would have momentum on their side down the stretch and would enter the locker room as the game reached the half on top 41-37.

Boston looked like they were ready to take over the proceedings with 3:23 remaining in the third as Allen had a lay up giving his team the upper hand at 62-52. The Blazers would reduce their deficit by the end of the period and trailed at the end of the period 64-58. Portland could never get closer to their opponents than being five points down in the final 12 minutes and the Celtics would begin their road trip with a victory.

Allen dropped 18 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block in the Celtics win. Paul Pierce scored 17 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks while Rajon Rondo had 11 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Kevin Garnett just missed a triple-double as he put up 10 points, 9 assists, 9 rebounds and 1 steal while Kendrick  Perkins came off the bench with 10 points, 9 rebounds and 1 block.

LaMarcus Aldridge recorded a double-double with 17 points, 16 boards, 2 steals, 1 assist and 1 block while Miller added 14 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 1 steal. Wesley Matthews scored 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist while Rudy Fernandez came off the bench and had 11 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals, Boston improves to 35-10 and will play Friday night in Phoenix as  the face the Suns while Portland now sits at 25-22 and are off until Tuesday when they will host the San Antonio Spurs.

Official Statements From Tennesee Titans and Jeff Fisher

Statement from the Titans: “We will be forever appreciative of Jeff Fisher’s leadership and accomplishments through his time with our franchise. We reached some of our greatest heights and experienced some unforgettable moments during his tenure.

“After the season was complete, we had numerous discussions on the direction of the team and were pleased that we were moving forward with Jeff at the helm. Since that time, it became evident that consensus was increasingly hard to find and reality wasn’t matching the vision we discussed. It is unfortunate that this decision is coming at this juncture, but we believe that we have reached the point where change is in the best interest of both parties.


“We will start the head coaching search tomorrow. We expect to talk to a broad and diverse group of candidates. We are confident the coaching pool still has a number of quality candidates that can lead our football team.”

 Statement from Jeff Fisher: “I want to thank Mr. Adams and the organization for a special 17 years. I can’t thank the fans enough for the support they showed us through the years; it has been a tremendous experience. We all did our very best and I think I can look back with fond memories and be very proud of what we accomplished. I want to wish the organization, the current players and the fans nothing but the best in the future.”

by TMR Newswire

Nelson Mandela spends second night in hospital

Johannesburg, January 28,2011:Former South African President Nelson Mandela is spending a second night in a hospital under medical supervision, amid growing concerns over his health.

The president’s office said Mr Mandela, aged 92, was undergoing “specialised” tests in Johannes burg and “there is no need to panic”.Friends and family visited Mr Mandela on Thursday.

Security was tight outside the hospital and police were called to control traffic as a scrum of journalists grew.
Journalists have also gathered outside Mr Mandela’s home in Houghton, near Johannesburg.

In a statement on Thursday, the South African presidency said it wanted to “assure the nation and the world that the former president is in high spirit”.

“Dr Mandela suffers from ailment common to people of his age, and conditions that have developed over years. We may recall that he has suffered from tuberculosis whilst on Robben Island and has had previous respiratory infections.”

President Jacob Zuma earlier said Mr Mandela had flown from Cape Town to Johannesburg and had gone to the Milpark Hospital on Wednesday for a check-up.

Mr Zuma, speaking from Davos in Switzerland where he has been attending the World Economic Forum, said: “Given his age he has been taken into a hospital for a check-up. I’m sure check-ups are more frequent than when he was a healthy young man.”

Children at a local school have hung messages of support outside the Milpark Hospital.

Word has quickly spread that Mr Mandela is in hospital, with US President Barack Obama adding his voice and wishes for a speedy recovery.

Homicide Bombers and Explosive Imams Crossing Over the Border

Here is an update on the recent border stories ......... homicide bombers, OTMs, and devout, jihadi imams.

Muslim cleric arrested by US border agents

In 2007, Jaziri was deported from Canada to Tunisia for lying on his refugee application about jail time he served in France years earlier. His supporters said Canadian officials targeted him for his Islamic fundamentalism, according to news reports in Canada.

As imam of the Al-Qods mosque in Montreal, Jaziri was well-known for being outspoken on behalf of Sharia, a strict form of Islamic law, including his denunciation of homosexuality.
News reports also said he was a notable figure on issues related to reasonable accommodation, which in Canada refers to the debate over whether anti-discrimination laws require the government, schools, businesses and others to change certain practices to honor minorities’ cultural and religious beliefs.

Posted by Pamela Geller

Iranian book celebrating jihad-martyrdom suicide bombers found in Arizona desert

Underscoring yet again that border control is a national security issue, obscured as it is by spurious charges of "racism." "Iranian Book Celebrating Suicide Bombers Found in Arizona Desert," by William La Jeunesse for FoxNews.com, January 27 (thanks to Anne Crockett):

EXCLUSIVE: A book celebrating suicide bombers has been found in the Arizona desert just north of the U.S.- Mexican border, authorities tell Fox News. 

The book, "In Memory of Our Martyrs," was spotted Tuesday by a U.S. Border Patrol agent out of the Casa Grande substation who was patrolling a route known for smuggling illegal immigrants and drugs.

Published in Iran, it consists of short biographies of Islamic suicide bombers and other Islamic militants who died carrying out attacks.

According to internal U.S. Customs and Border Protection documents, "The book also includes letters from suicide attackers to their families, as well as some of their last wills and testaments." Each biographical page contains "the terrorist's name, date of death, and how they died."...
Statements from U.S. officials, including FBI director Robert Mueller, have raised serious concerns in recent years over "OTMs" -- or illegal immigrants other than Mexicans -- who have crossed the southwest border at alarming rates.

Mueller testified before the House Appropriations Committee in March 2005 that "there are individuals from countries with known Al Qaeda connections who are changing their Islamic surnames to Hispanic-sounding names and obtaining false Hispanic identities, learning to speak Spanish and pretending to be Hispanic."

Just last year, the Department of Homeland Security had in custody thousands of detainees from Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. U.S. Border Patrol statistics indicate that there were 108,025 OTMs detained in 2006, compared to 165,178 in 2005 and 44,614 in 2004.

Authorities would not release a picture of the book to Fox News, or reveal how long they believe it was lying in the desert. Immigration officials have previously discovered items along the U.S.-Mexico border from Middle Eastern origin, including Iranian currency in Zapata, Texas, and a jacket found in Jim Hogg County, Texas, that was covered in patches including an Arabic military badge that illustrates an airplane flying into a tower.

Illinois Supreme Court Holds Rahm Emanuel Is Eligible to Run for Mayor of Chicago

The opinion is here; here’s an excerpt from the concluding paragraph:

This court’s decision is based on the following and only on the following: (1) what it means to be a resident for election purposes was clearly established long ago, and Illinois law has been consistent on the matter since at least the 19th Century; (2) the novel standard adopted by the appellate court majority is without any foundation in Illinois law; (3) the Board’s factual findings were not against the manifest weight of the evidence; and (4) the Board’s decision was not clearly erroneous.

More on the now-reversed Appellate Court decision here. Two Justices concurred in the judgment, but opined that the law was not as clear as the majority said it was, and that it was therefore “unfair of the majority to state that the appellate court majority ‘toss[ed] out 150 years of settled residency law,’ adopted a ‘previously unheard-of test for residency,’ or was engaged in a ‘mysterious’ analysis.”
Thanks to commenter Morbo for the pointer.

Eugene Volokh

It’s On In Egypt – With Videos

See what happens when you’re not too psyched out by fear?
CAIRO (AP) — Thousands of Egyptian anti-government protesters clashed Friday with police in Cairo, who fired rubber bullets into the crowds and used tear gas and water cannons to disperse them. It was a major escalation in what was already the biggest challenge to President Hosni Mubarak’s 30 year-rule.

Police also used water cannons against Egypt’s pro-democracy leader Mohamed ElBaradei and his supporters as they joined the latest wave of protests after noon prayers. Police also used batons to beat some of ElBaradei’s supporters, who surrounded him to protect him. A soaking wet ElBaradei was trapped inside a mosque nearly an hour after him and his supporters were water cannoned. Hundreds of riot police laid siege to the mosque, firing tear gas in the streets surrounding it so no one could leave. The tear gas canisters set several cars ablaze outside the mosque. Several people fainted and suffered burns.

Large groups of protesters, in the thousands, were gathered at at least six venues in Cairo, a city of about 18 million people. They are demanding Mubarak’s ouster.



There were smaller protests in Assiut south of Cairo and al-Arish in the Sinai peninsula. Regional television stations were reporting clashes between thousands of demonstrators and police in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria and Minya south of Cairo.

At the upscale Mohandiseen district, at least 10,000 of people were marching toward the city center chanting “down, down with Mubarak.” The crowd later swelled to about 20,000 as they made their way through residential areas. Residents looking on from apartment block windows waved at them and whistled in support. Others waved the red, white and black Egyptian flags.

At Ramsis square in the heart of the city, thousands of protesters clashed with police as they left the al-Nur mosque after prayers. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets and some of the tear gas was fired inside the mosque where women were taking refuge.
Clusters of riot police with helmets and shields were stationed around the city, at the entrances to bridges across the Nile and other key intersections.

Near the city’s main Tahrir Square downtown, hundreds of riot police clustered together and moved in, anticipating the arrival of a large crowd of protesters. A short while later, thousands of protesters marched across a bridge over the Nile and moved toward the square, where police began firing tear gas into the crowds.

Internet and cell-phone services were disrupted across Egypt starting overnight and throughout the day as authorities used extreme measures to hamper protesters from organizing the mass rallies called after Friday prayers.

Mubarak is Washington’s closest Arab ally, but Washington has signaled that he no longer enjoys its full backing, publicly counseling him to introduce reform and refrain from using violence against the protesters. He has not been seen publicly or heard from since the protests began Tuesday.

Friday’s demonstrations were energized by the return of Nobel Peace laureate ElBaradei on Thursday night, when he said he was ready to lead the opposition toward a regime change. They also got a boost from the endorsement of the country’s biggest opposition group, the Islamic fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood.

Posted By Pat Dollard.

Powerful winter storm takes aim on Mercer and Trenton

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Some New Jersey schools scrambled to close early Wednesday as yet another winter storm passed over the state, hitting many areas earlier and harder than expected.

The New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway both had lanes in each direction that were virtually impassable by late morning as snow and slush accumulated.

And that was just the first round of a storm expected to come in multiple waves, with snow tapering off to rain in the afternoon, then turning into an even more vigorous snow by evening.

Some parts of central New Jersey had more than 4 inches of snow by midmorning.
In the state's Philadelphia suburbs, the snow gave way to rain around midday.

Valerie Meola, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said the forecast snow totals were increased Wednesday morning as the storm got off to a stronger start than expected.

One band stretching from just outside Wilmington, Del., nearly to New York City, was expected to get over 9 inches by the time the storm ended. Winter storm warnings were put in place until 4 a.m. Thursday.

NJ Transit said buses across the state were delayed by 15 to 45 minutes late in the morning.
There were also delays at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Feds indict 24 in Arizona for buying guns for drug cartels

Federal authorities announced charges today against 34 Arizonans accused of buying about 700 guns in gun stores in the state on behalf of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel.

This has been speculated on for months by both pro- and anti- gun supporters. Now we have what appears to be actual evidence that drug cartels are getting assault weapons in quantity from the US. The guns were bought from gun stores in Arizona. Authorities say one defendant, a straw buyer for a cartel, bought 38 AK-47 type rifles in about a month, lying that they were for his personal use

The arrests and seizures are proof that Arizona has become an iron highway for guns headed south of the border, according to federal authorities, who say they don’t know how many weapons are being smuggled into Mexico every day.

Yet Arizona is also subject to some of the worst drug violence in the country. BTW, all the defendants are US citizens or legal residents.
I would say this is a big problem. And I’m agnostic about guns.

The Drive For $1.5 CBO Raises Estimate For 2011 Deficit to One and a Half Trillion

As if it was a thinly hidden message to President Obama, today the Congressional Budget Office raised its projection for the United States budget deficit in the present fiscal year:

For 2011, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that if current laws remain unchanged, the federal budget will show a deficit of close to $1.5 trillion, or 9.8 percent of GDP. The deficits in CBO's baseline projections drop markedly over the next few years as a share of output and average 3.1 percent of GDP from 2014 to 2021. Those projections, however, are based on the assumption that tax and spending policies unfold as specified in current law. Consequently, they understate the budget deficits that would occur if many policies currently in place were continued, rather than allowed to expire as scheduled under current law.

 In other words the CBO is saying, this projection says that things are going to get better after this year, but if the government doesn't get off its hind quarters and do something about the deficit, this country will be in very deep do-do.

When President Obama announced last night that “this is our generation’s Sputnik moment” not only was the metaphor clumsy, but it was misdirected. If he was trying to say that its time for the nation to understand that we are in a crisis and we must unite behind a common goal, that was correct, but that goal must be to cut government spending and return the United States to fiscal health.

But that was not the President's message last night. He tried to persuade the American people that government should be the mechanism for job creation and that economic recovery is dependent on more government spending which we do not have.  Evidently the president still believes in magic, that you can maintain record-high spending levels and pay down the debt at the same time.

Based on the continuing lousy deficit numbers, if drastic steps are not taken soon the US will fall into the  abyss of financial ruin.

Posted by Jeff Dunetz

US deficit to reach historic high: Forecast

WASHINGTON — The US budget deficit will hit a record-breaking 1.5 trillion this year, the Congressional Budget Office projected Wednesday, thanks in part to a recent tax cut deal.

Constrained revenues and increased spending to revive the economy will push the deficit to a whopping 9.8 percent of gross domestic product this year, according to the forecast.

The CBO, which is considered a bipartisan scorekeeper in the hotly contested debate over US debt, said an expected uptick in tax revenues as the economy improves would not fully materialize.

"The recovery now under way might be expected to lessen the budget imbalance in 2011 by increasing tax revenues and decreasing spending for certain income-support programs, such as unemployment compensation," it said.

"However, revenue growth will be restrained by the slow and tentative pace of the recovery and by the 2010 tax act."

In December President Barack Obama signed into law a cross-party deal that extended tax cuts passed by former president George W. Bush along with unemployment benefits.

With an aging population taking more in benefits and contributing less to revenues, the cumulative deficit is expected to rise to $12 trillion between 2012 and 2021, or 97 percent of annual GDP.

Read More

Video: Manitowoc Viewing Party WLUK

Jaw, Jaw and Bromides: Obama's State of His Next Campaign for President Address

By Warner Huston
 
I sat through President Obama's 2011 State of the Union Address last night. During the event I live Tweeted the whole thing (You can read that all at http://twitter.com/#!/warnerthuston) and ended up with an empty feeling and a headache. Obama's address was long on calls for spending, filled with bromides, and weighted with jaw, jaw but pretty short on substance. In fact, it seemed like his 12 new spending ideas and his patriotic vagaries was simply his first step onto the 2012 campaign trail as opposed to a serious address to the nation.

Obama fittingly began his address citing John Boehner, the new Speaker of the House, and memorializing the wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. He then said that we had a "robust" debate in our politics and averred that it was one thing for the parties to sit together that night but it depended on what they all do "tomorrow" and he used that point to plead for moving forward with more bi-partisanship.

Tellingly, even as Obama has paid lip service to bipartisanship for three years, when he became president neither he nor his party made any moves to implement any bipartisanship. In fact, when Democrat Nancy Pelosi was Speaker of the House she never met with any Republicans on anything. This whole claim or bipartisanship is simply a farce on Obama's part and Obama continued that farce in the SOTU speech.
Obama went on to claim that the stock market had "come roaring back," and that the economy is growing again. He intimated that the Internet was one of the engines of this growing economy, yet he didn't seem to remember to mention that his own Federal Communications Commission is well on the road to regulating the Internet to death and stifling that powerful engine.

One thing Obama had right early in the speech was when he noted that despite our bad economic times, the U.S. is still the largest, most powerful economy in the world. We have a tendency to imagine that it has all fallen apart, but the truth is we are still the number one economy in the world. Despite our troubles, we should remember this.

Obama waxed enthusiastic over our "freedom" and our get-it-done nature, he praised our entrepreneurialism and free enterprise, but here is where he first began to go off the rails. We are in a "Sputnik" moment, he claimed, and the only way to insure that we stay on top is for government "investment" in research and development.

"Investment" is Obama's byword for spending and from here Obama began rolling out all sorts of areas we need to "invest" in. This is typical Big Governmentism and just more over liberal spending.

Obama laid out his ideas to "invest" in absurd boondoggles like high speed rail and high speed Internet for "93% of America." High speed rail is certainly a boondoggle. After all, few municipal rail systems in America make money. Almost all of them lose millions of tax dollars every year. And the cost of putting in high speed Internet in the most remote areas is so cost prohibitive that it would make the whole system too costly. Billions spent in such areas to serve so few people is not sensible.

Obama also wanted to "reinvent our energy policy." Yet his entire presidency has been used to quash our energy sectors. Gas, Coal, Oil, Nuclear, all these areas have come in for punishment under the Obama regime. And even as he claims we should "invest" in green energy he never answers to the fact that so-called green energy technologies cannot fulfill even a fraction of our energy needs.
The president then went on to plead for more money for education. Missing from his assessment of American education was any sense that the biggest impediment to our kid's education is teachers unions. He called for people to serve the nation as teachers and demanded we “fix” our educational system.

Again, he misleads here. He and his party are responsible for eliminating a program that was working well to help disadvantaged kids get a better education. Right there in Washington D.C. Democrats have torpedoed a school voucher program that was generating excellent results.

But, you see, the unions were against this successful program and that is why Obama’s wonderful, soaring rhetoric in defense of our kids was empty talk. When it comes to choosing between kids and unions, Obama and the Democrats choose unions.

Next Obama called for more people to get a college education. "We will once again have the highest number of college graduates in the world," Obama said.

Unfortunately, we've dumbed down our curriculum so badly that a degree isn't worth the paper it’s printed on. And our lower education is so bad that many colleges have to put their young first year students through remedial classes just to get up to speed to start college.

None of this is because of a lack of money.

Obama then gave us whiplash with an about face. He careened from asking for all sorts of vague new spending to claiming that we have to cut the budget and become fiscally responsible. But after 10 minutes or more of talking cuts he warned that no cuts should be made in his favorite programs.

He called for a federal spending freeze at current levels to last for the next five years. Naturally, this is a trap to catch Republicans and not a serious proposal. After all, if we freeze everything as it is that means cutting can occur because it is frozen in place! Republicans want to eliminate programs and spending, not freeze them in place.
In the end, Obama’s confusing message was that we need new spending, we need to cut spending, but we cannot cut his favored programs. In other words, liberal status quo.

The most interesting thing about his speech, though was that it was pretty empty of specifics. He had a lot of general ideas, a lot of bromides, and a ton of vague statements, sure, but he asked for no specific amounts of money, he did not offer to cut any specific programs and he did not announce any concrete programs of his own.

In fact, the whole speech was reminiscent of his 2008 campaign, a lot of generalizations and yes-we-cans but not much on specifics. This is what made it seem clear that this speech was his first step back on the campaign trail and will set the tone for his initial campaign for reelection in 2012.

I've seen Obama soar at the podium. This was not one of those times.

Amid Street Protests, Twitter Shuttered in Egypt

Twitter confirmed Tuesday evening that its microblogging site has been shuttered by Egyptian authorities. This came hours after widespread reports that access had been cut off, as Egyptians took to the streets in what many hope and some fear would be a sequel to the revolution in Tunisia last week. The day’s speculation that the Mubarak administration might have pulled the plug on Twitter underscored the power of the site and other social networks as tools to both coordinate and disperse news of a citizen uprising.

The rest is here:
Amid Street Protests, Twitter Shuttered in Egypt

Sign the petition for Kelly WIlliams-Polar.Single mother trying to break circle of poverty.

CLICK HERE

“An Ohio mother of two was sentenced to 10 days in jail and placed on three years probation after sending her kids to a school district in which they did not live. Kelley Williams-Bolar was sentenced by Judge Patricia Cosgrove on Tuesday and will begin serving her sentence immediately. The jury deliberated for seven hours and the courtroom was packed as the sentence was handed down. She was convicted on two counts of tampering with court records after registering her two girls as living with Williams Bolar’s father when they actually lived with her. The family lived in the housing projects in Akron, Ohio, and the father’s address was in nearby Copley Township. Additionally, Williams-Bolar’s father, Edward L. Williams, was charged with a fourth-degree felony of grand theft, in which he and his daughter are charged with defrauding the school system for two years of educational services for their girls. The court determined that sending their children to the wrong school was worth $30,500 in tuition. - Dr. Boyce Watkins

As punishment for doing everything in her power to keep her children educated and safe in a public education environment that allows for $30k “tuition” discrepancies to form between districts, Ms. Williams-Bolar, a single mother with no previous criminal record, has been made a felon by Ohio judge Patricia Cosgrove. In addition to jail time, a large fine and probation, Ms. Williams-Bolar’s felony conviction has also robbed her of her future.

“‘Because of the felony conviction, you will not be allowed to get your teaching degree under Ohio law as it stands today. The court’s taking into consideration that is also a punishment that you will have to serve.” – Judge Patricia Cosgrove

Although Ms. Williams-Bolar had nearly completed her education to become a teacher, under Ohio law felons are not permitted to teach. This sentence has all but ensured that the dire social and economic circumstances which drove Ms. Williams-Bolar to de-fraud the school system in the first place will never change. She has been robbed of the opportunity to elevate her life and the lives of her family through her own hard work. Judge Cosgrove has essentially handed Ms. Williams-Bolar a life sentence for attempting to protect and enrich her children.  In a time of overwhelming economic disadvantage for so many US citizens, are loving single mothers like Williams-Bolar truly the enemy our court system should be making examples of in this way?
Ms. Williams-Bolar’s attorneys are currently preparing for an appeal. Please sign this petition to let Ohio lawmakers and the judicial office of Patricia Cosgrove know that you do not feel that Kelley Williams-Bolar’s punishment appropriately fits her crime, and that you support a reduction of her sentence upon her appeal.

I’m hoping this story gains ground and even more attention so that hopefully we can get this appealed.

Wouldn’t it also be nice if those same celebrities who spend $100,00′s on jewelry and shenanigans, could help this woman with her legal fund??

Sure would be nice….

by Ohh I'm just so SlausTacular on January 26, 2011

in Real Talk

Mike Tyson has become a father for the eighth time

Mike Tyson has become a father for the eighth time.

The former heavyweight world champion boxer and his wife, Lakiha Spicer Tyson, welcomed a baby boy into the world yesterday (25.01.11).

A source close to the couple told RadarOnline.com: “Mike and Lakiha are very happy and everyone is doing great.”

The couple, who already have a two-year-old daughter Milan together, are yet to name their new arrival.

The happy news comes 18 months after the tragic death of Mike’s four-year-old daughter Exodus in a horrific accident in 2009 when a chord from a treadmill became wrapped around her neck. Mike and Lakiha, 32, married just 10 days after the ordeal.

Mike has been married twice before, to actress Robin Givens and Monica Turner and has five other children: Rayna, Amir, Mikey, Miguel and D'Mato, from his marriages and by ex-girlfriends.

The 44-year-old retired boxer – who became the youngest heavyweight champion of all time when he won his first title in 1986 – is thought to have earned over $300 million throughout his in-ring career, but in May last year claimed he was broke but happy with his position in life.

He said: "I'm totally destitute and broke. But I have an awesome life, I have an awesome wife who cares about me. I'm totally broke. I had a lot of fun. It just happened.

"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."

by Lisa McGarry

Nas Is $6 Mill In Tax Debt?!

Jan 25 | by Natasha

And the money woes just keep on coming for Nasir.  Deets on how the feds just hit the legendary rapper with a new $6.46 million past due tax bill when you read on....

According to Yo Raps, Nas' troubles really started back in '09 in his home area of New York:

The trouble started in October of 2009 in New York. The IRS filed a $2,584,236 lien against the Illmatic rapper behind owed taxes, listing the address of his Eagles Landing property in Georgia, and then followed it up a few months later in February of 2010 with a second lien for $3,365,671. Then earlier this month, the government agency filed a lien with the New York City Register of Deeds for $514,298, bringing his grand total to just over $6.46 million.

Even the condo association of his Queens condo filed against him last year behind $3,860 worth of fees that he has yet to pay including a $420 monthly assessment, which according to them; he hasn’t paid since January 2010.

Damn homie.  I know he'd trade those $50K/month payments he now doesn't have to pay Kelis over THIS ish any day....

A recap of his debts:

The IRS filed a $514,298 lien Jan. 10 with the New York City Register of Deeds.
The IRS filed a $3,365,671lien Feb. 3, 2010, in New York.
The IRS filed a $2,584,236 lien Oct. 16, 2009, in New York.

And he has a tax lien on this Mcmansion in Georgia.

Source: Yo Raps/Detroit News