You Go Girl: Oprah Winfrey named 2010 Kennedy Center Honoree

 

 

Well, hello, Oprah! The Kennedy Center announced Tuesday that Oprah Winfrey, the doyenne of daytime television, will be among the five artists receiving this year's Kennedy Center Honors.

The others are musician-songwriters Sir Paul McCartney and Merle Haggard, dancer-choreographer Bill T. Jones and composer-lyricist Jerry Herman of "Hello, Dolly!" fame.

The selection of Winfrey may be startling, but it's not without precedent. The choice harks back to 1993 when late-night television host Johnny Carson was selected, breaking the long line of honorees who were strictly traditional performing artists. Winfrey, taking a break from taping for her 25th season and reviewing the nearly 5,000 hours of footage, let out with a buoyant "Wow-zee!"

She explained, "This feels like an official American citizenship in a very exclusive club of artists and contributors to the nation in a very special way. It feels like an elevated kind of award and there aren't many in this category. They look at your work, your life work, who you are as a human being and the spirit of who you are as a human being. Not many honors look at that depth."

David M. Rubenstein, the center's chairman, talked about the "cultural vibrancy" of all five honorees.

"For more than 25 years, Oprah Winfrey has established one of the most innovative careers in the entertainment world, with distinctive accomplishments in television and film," he said.

 

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Commentary: Why Men Hate Church

 

 

 

By: David Murrow

 

Ask him why he doesn't go to church, and he'll offer up words like boring, irrelevant, and hypocrite. But the real reason Cliff doesn't go to church is that he's already practicing another religion. That religion is masculinity.

The ideology of masculinity has replaced Christianity as the true religion of men. We live in a society with a female religion and a male religion: Christianity, of various sorts, for women and non-masculine men; and masculinity . . . for men.

Cliff practices his religion with a single-mindedness the Pharisees would envy. His work, his hobbies, his entertainment, his follies, his addictions, everything he does is designed to prove to the world he is a man. His religion also demands that he avoid anything that might call his manhood into question. This includes church, because Cliff believes deep in his heart that church is something for women and children, not men.

Cliff is not alone. Men have believed this for centuries. In the 1800s, Charles Spurgeon said, "There has got abroad a notion, somehow, that if you become a Christian you must sink your manliness and turn milksop." Cliff sees Christianity as incongruous with his manhood. It's a women's thing.

CHURCH ...A WOMEN'S THING?

We're only in chapter 1, and I know I'm already in trouble with a lot of you. I can just imagine what you're thinking: Church is not a women's thing—it's a men's thing! It certainly looks that way, doesn't it? After all, a man and His male disciples founded Christianity, most of its major saints and heroes were men, men penned all of the New Testament books, all of the popes were men, all of the Catholic priests are men, and 95 percent of the senior pastors in America are men. Feminists have been telling us for years that the church is male dominated and patriarchal. Are they right?

The answer is yes and no. The pastorate is a men's club. But almost every other area of church life is dominated by women. Whenever large numbers of Christians gather, men are never in the majority. Not at revivals. Not at crusades. Not at conferences. Not at retreats. Not at concerts. With the exception of men's events and pastoral conferences, can you think of any large gathering of Christians that attracts more men than women?

Visit the church during the week, and you'll find most of the people working there are female. Drop in on a committee meeting, and you'll find a majority of the volunteers are women—unless it's that small bastion of male presence, the building committee. Look over the leadership roster: the pastor is likely to be a man, but at least two-thirds of the ministry leaders will be women. Examine the sign-up sheets for volunteer work, prayer, Sunday school, and nursery duty. You'll be lucky to see more than a couple of men's names on these lists. One pastor recently told me, "If it weren't for the postman, every visitor to the church during the week would be a woman."

Male pastors come and go, but faithful women provide a matriarchal continuity in our congregations. Women are the devoted ones who build their lives around their commitments to Christ and His church. Women are more likely to teach and volunteer in church and are the greatest participants in Christian culture. The sad reality in many churches today is this: the only man who actually practices his faith is the pastor.

With so much female presence and participation, the church has gained a reputation as a ladies' club in the minds of men. Cliff does not attend church for the same reason he does not wear pink: neither is proper to his gender. Does Cliff know why he hates going to church? No. Can he offer a detailed explanation of his feelings? Of course not. He's a guy, remember? Cliff knows one thing: he hates going to church.

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Statement by President Obama on the Passing of Little Rock Nine's Jefferson Thomas

 

Jefferson Thomas died Sunday of pancreatic cancer.   He was 68.

Thomas was part of the Little Rock Nine, the first black students to attend Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas.

In 1957, the group braved the crowds and an order from that state's governor forbidding them to attend the then all-white school.  With the protection of the United States Army, their bravery helped lead to desegregation across the country.

 

Here is what the President wrote:

Michelle and I are saddened by the passing of Jefferson Thomas, who as one of the "Little Rock Nine," took a stand against segregation and helped open the eyes of our nation to the struggle for civil rights.  Mr. Thomas was just a teenager when he became one of the first African-American students to enroll in Little Rock Central High School.  Yet even at such a young age, he had the courage to risk his own safety, to defy a governor and a mob, and to walk proudly into that school even though it would have been far easier to give up and turn back.  And through this simple act of pursuing an equal education, he and his fellow members of the Little Rock Nine helped open the doors of opportunity for their generation and for those that followed. The searing images of soldiers guarding students from those days will forever serve as a testament to the progress we've made, the barriers that previous generations have torn down, and the power of ordinary men and women to help us build a more perfect union. Our nation owes Mr. Thomas a debt of gratitude for the stand he took half a century ago, and the leadership he showed in the decades since.  Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Second woman reports being victim of acid attack

 

 

Just days after Bethany Storro was viciously attacked by a stranger who threw a cup of acid in her face, a second woman is being treated for acid burns, victim of an eerily similar crime.

Derri Velarde, 41, was walking in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Mesa, Ariz. when a woman suddenly appeared and threw a cup of acid at her.

"I saw...a woman, you know, walking up with what looked like a drink in her hand," Velarde told local television station KPNX-TV. "It immediately just started to burn, I was on fire."

Police are still searching for the woman, who fled the scene after the attack.

Velarde is being treated for second-degree burns to her face and chest, The Associated Press reports.

The incident bears an uncanny resemblance to the attack Storro suffered on Monday in Vancouver, Wash, leading to fears that the first crime launched a copycat.

Storro, 28, was celebrating a new job when a woman walked up to her and asked "Hey pretty girl, do you want to drink this?"

The woman then threw a cup of acid into Storro's face, burning her skin.

"It was the most painful thing ever," Storro said. "My heart stopped. It ripped through my clothing the instant it touched my shirt; I could feel it burning through my second layer of skin."

Storro's attacker is also still on the loose.

Police, however, do not believe Velarde's attack was random, the AP reports.

"You're talking about rage, power and anger as the primary motivators," Brad Garrett, a former FBI Profiler, told ABC News.

"The motivations are about something that a person has done that another does not like. I think if you look at high profile crime, there will be copycats afterwards," he said.

"People use it as a justification to commit an act they have been thinking about."

 

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Chicago gangs to top cop: You're not playing fair

Jim Allen, a member of the Vice Lords, second left, speaks at a news conference, joined by several current and former gang members, including from left, Reginald Akkeem Barry Sr., Allen, Mark Carter, and Walter 'Gator" Bradley, right. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Several current and ex-gang members lashed out at Chicago's police chief on Thursday, calling his so-called "gang summit" initiative to crack down on crime a wasted effort that will have little effect on the streets of the county's third largest city.

After calling a news conference outside a park district building, gang members complained to assembled TV cameras about the ultimatum police Superintendent Jody Weis gave them at a recent meeting - that if gangs resort to violence, police will go after their leaders.

In response, they offered their own message to police: You're not playing fair.

"Is it possible for one person to micromanage a group?" Vice Lords gang member Jim Allen asked reporters, wearing a black baseball cap with the words, "Mess with the Best, Die like the Rest." ''We will not be responsible for anyone's actions but our own."

Weis is facing mounting criticism for holding the unpublicized Aug. 17 meeting with reputed gang leaders, even though several police departments across the country have relied on similar approaches for decades to help reduce crime.

Some reputed members of gangs like the Four Corner Hustlers and the Traveling Vice Lords said they were surprised to see Weis there after being told by their parole officers to show up. Many were visibly angry, with some even leaving the meeting, which was first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.

The police chief has defended the initiative with the support of Mayor Richard M. Daley and U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who likened the tactic to his office holding parolee forums to warn people leaving prison that they'll be watched.

Weis told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his message was simple: "If you should resort to violence, we'll sharpen our focus on you and really, really make your lives uncomfortable. You have the ability to influence people within your sphere. You guys are in the position to stop the killing."

Weis said prosecutors at the Aug. 17 meeting threatened attendees that they could be charged under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act if killings were traced back to gangs with members attending the meeting. The federal law, commonly known as RICO, provides stiffer penalties for acts performed as part of a criminal organization such as the Mafia.

At Thursday's unlikely media event, activist Mark Carter criticized Daley and the police department, asking how gang leaders could be asked to take responsibility for their subordinates when city government leaders don't take responsibility for alleged misdeeds by their employees.

"Is the mayor going to be held accountable for the corruption that takes place under his watch?" he said at the news conference. "And the biggest gang in the city of Chicago is the Chicago police department."

Thursday's media event was attended by some participants who described themselves as current gang members, though others said they left gangs and are now community activists devoted to stopping violent crime.

Activist Wallace Bradley said the recent emphasis on gang leaders by police is misplaced, and instead, the focus of resources should be on saving those who want to improve their lives.

 

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE.

 

 

*****Side Note*****

 

I must have been living under a rock or something.  Since when did gang members start having press conferences?  I must've missed the memo.  I'm just saying....

Did You Know: Website to ease student debt

Tempestt Hazel, a recent Columbia College graduate, has had luck with Lily's List.
(Al Podgorski/Sun-Times)

 

Tempestt Hazel graduated from Columbia College with $25,000 in student loans and a keen awareness that she was going to need to start paying them off if she didn't head straight to graduate school.

So the Bronzeville resident put herself on Lilyslist.com, an online student loan registry.

"I see it as a kick-starter, an online resource for people to get creative process funding," said Hazel, who studied art history and visual arts management and is currently working on a nonprofit startup archiving local contemporary art projects. "You get people to come and donate different amounts toward your cause."

She said she has received a few small anonymous donations toward her loans, which she said was "shocking, though it could have very well been family members."

Lily's List is an Internet startup designed by a group of suburban Riverside moms to provide debt-laden graduates a way to get help paying off their debt. The Project on Student Debt estimated in 2008 the average student loan load for graduating seniors was $23,200.

At lilyslist.com, family and friends -- or even a generous anonymous benefactor -- can direct gifts toward debt instead of writing a check or buying a sweater for birthdays or graduation.

Joining Hazel in asking for help on Lily's List are a Minnesota law school graduate with $20,000 in unsubsidized loans who wants to be a priest but doesn't want his loans to accrue interest while he is in the seminary; a Tennessee man looking to pay off $4,500 in loans so he can start an import/export business, and a New York-based writer and editor who offers writing and editing to charitable organizations at reduced rates.

Money given through the site isn't "going to a party or a dress or a keg of beer, it's going to go someplace," said Beverly Gibson of Riverside, who is working with Lily's List.

Lily's List joins Education registry.com and upon ourstar.com, two other online student loan registries. Those websites target engaged couples or new parents who would rather register for their student loans or for their child's future education than standard wedding or new baby gifts.

"This speaks to what a burden this is for people," said Edie Irons of the Institute for College Access and Success. "Most people aren't going to be able to zero out their student loan debt this way, but it could make a real difference for people. It could be more helpful than a blender or microwave or crockpot."

Irons said in the age of increasing student debt loads, asking for help isn't the same as shirking responsibility.

"I think any way people can find to pay back their student loans is fair game," she said.

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Chicago schools debut Safe Passage Program

 

Wearing neon yellow vests and packing cell phones, more than a dozen "community watchers'' will line the busiest street leading to Corliss High School for a mile today as a new Safe Passage program sweeps across the city's public high schools.

These new "eyes and ears on the street" already have made some kids feel safer at Corliss, a year-round school that launched its Safe Passage program in early August when its classes began.

"People are not going to do anything when they see adults around,'' Corliss junior Louise Bohannon, 17, said last week. "We have somebody now to watch us.''

After the tensest budget season in years, Chicago Public Schools throw open their doors for the start of the traditional school year today with more kids than last year, fewer teachers, longer bus rides, but, around some schools like Corliss, more security.

With massive systemwide cost- cutting, the Safe Passage program is one of the few CPS efforts to expand -- from the $2 million originally envisioned for this school year to $8 million, and from the 13 high schools once planned to 23 schools by October.

Not all kids are convinced the 20 community watchers around Corliss High School, at 103rd and Corliss, will make a difference.

"They can't jump in front of any bullets,'' said one 16-year-old Corliss junior.

But Principal Anthony Spivey thinks the program already has had an impact.

On Aug. 11, Spivey said, an alert Corliss community watcher spotted a group of gang members, including some Corliss students, gathering at a park and alerted the principal and police. Spivey and security officers went to the park, averting trouble. They learned the group apparently was headed for another gang positioned at a gas station.

Officials later determined that the first group was intent on retaliating against the second for a gang shooting the day before that inadvertently claimed the life of 8-year-old Tanaja Stokes as she jumped rope with her cousin.

"If the community watchers had not been out here, we'd have been on the inside, not knowing what was going on outside,'' Spivey said.

The Safe Passage program is one prong of a three-part anti-violence plan designed to reduce student shootings that have plagued CPS in recent years. Budget-tightening shrank the overall $60 million, two-year effort to a $40 million one, but the Safe Passage part grew, as police and school officials identified more troublesome school passage ways, said CPS Safety and Security Chief Michael Shields.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer at a loss for words in first debate

Gov. Jan Brewer's Opening Statement - 9/1/2010 Debate @ Yahoo! Video

It's a politician's worst nightmare: Drawing a complete blank in a high-profile debate.

That's what happened to Arizona GOP Gov. Jan Brewer, who lost her train of thought during her opening statement during her first televised debate with her Democratic challenger, state Attorney General Terry Goddard.

Brewer was in the middle of talking up her record in office. "We have done everything that we could possibly do," Brewer said, as she suddenly seemed at loss for words."We have, uh, did what was right for Arizona."

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Gabrielle Union 'Army Wives' Spin-off Rejected

Over at Lifetime, the network has passed on the Army Wives spinoff, whose pilot aired as an episode of the series this season. The spinoff, starring Brigid Brannagh and Gabrielle Union as Atlanta detectives, got a lot of attention recently following Deadline's story about Wives executive producer Mark Gordon's use of racial slur during the backdoor pilot's table read. Meanwhile, renewal talks for the mothership series between Lifetime and producer ABC Studios are ongoing.

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Rep. Jennifer Carroll running for Lt. Governor of Florida

GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott on Thursday morning announced that state Rep. Jennifer Carroll of Jacksonville will be his running mate as lieutenant governor.

`I am honored that Jennifer is the first African-American Republican woman to be part of a statewide ticket in Florida,” Scott said.

`Jennifer Carroll is the embodiment of the American dream. She came to America as a young girl, decided to serve her country with the United States Navy, pursued a higher education, started a small business, and then was elected the first African-American female Republican in the Florida Legislature,” said Scott, who launched a new website featuring his new running mate (www.ScottCarrollforFlorida.com).



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Lawsuit claims former SCLC leader taped sexual encounters with employees

A former Dayton SCLC employee who has claimed the Rev. Raleigh Trammell repeatedly sexually harassed her has filed a lawsuit, detailing numerous allegations against Trammell, including that he videotaped sexual encounters with several female employees.

DaMisha Douglas filed the lawsuit on Tuesday, Aug. 31, in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. Those named as defendants include the SCLC’s offices in Dayton and Atlanta, the Ohio Baptists General Convention offices in Dayton and Columbus and the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance offices in Columbus and Dayton. It asks for damages in excess of $1 million for sexual harassment, retaliation, assault, battery, emotional distress, libel, slander, wrongful termination and other charges.

Trammell’s attorney, Mia Wortham Spells, declined to comment. So did the Rev. Sylvester Walker of St. Luke Baptist Church in Dayton, who is executive secretary of the Ohio Baptist General Convention. Trammell did not return messages left at his office and at home.

In June, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission found probable cause that the SCLC allowed discrimination against Douglas, who filed her complaint with the OCRC in November, claiming Trammell “made numerous unwanted sexual advances toward her and subjected her to unwelcome sexual contact,” the commission said.

The lawsuit complaint goes into significantly more detail, describing alleged events that started when Douglas, now 34, was 13. At that time, Douglas’ mother had been assigned to perform community service at the Dayton SCLC after her release from prison. Douglas said she walked in on Trammell and her mother having sex at the office, but her mother, who was married, asked her not to tell anyone.

Her mother sent her to live with Trammell when she was 14 “so she could attend summer school,” and she told Trammell that she had been sexually abused by two family members. Later, when Douglas worked for the SCLC, Trammell would tell her he wished he was one of those family members and said he would have had sex with her, too, according to the lawsuit.

She started working for the Dayton IMA and SCLC when she was 16. Her mother approached her and told her the family had money problems, but that Trammell would give them money if she agreed to have sex with him. She reluctantly agreed, and had sex with Trammell, according to the suit.

During her employment with the IMA and SCLC, Douglas claimed in the lawsuit that she was repeatedly harassed and propositioned by Trammell. One female co-worker told Douglas that Trammell wanted to watch them have sex. While Douglas declined at first, she agreed on a limited basis when offered $1,000, according to the suit, and taped encounters between him and the other woman

Douglas also found videotapes of Trammell engaged in sexual activity with employees or former employees of the organization, including one involving a mother and daughter, according to the suit.

During the spring and summer of 2009, Douglas complained of Trammell’s behavior to SCLC’s general counsel, Dexter Wimbish, and to Wilbert Shanklin, the group’s compliance officer. But, according to the lawsuit, the harassment continued. During one incident , Trammell came into Douglas’ office and complained about her failing to give him attention . He touched her and exposed himself, but she pushed him away.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE.

Oprah's Book Club Return This Month

Oprah Winfrey will resurrect her book club during the first week of her show’s 25th and final season.

A Harpo spokeswoman said Thursday that she’ll announce her 64th pick during a live episode airing on Sept. 17, which would be 14 years to the day Oprah announced her first book club selection — Jacquelyn Mitchard’s “The Deep End of the Ocean” — on Sept. 17, 1996.

Oprah’s last book club pick was author Uwem Akpan’s short story collection “Say You’re One Of Them.”

It’s not known if her latest selection will be her last on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” which is set to premiere on Sept. 13.

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Bernice King led group officially in charge of SCLC

 

 

A faction of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference led by two men under criminal investigation is out and the group that opposed them is officially in control of the once-premier civil rights group, a judge ruled Wednesday.

The ruling issued from Fulton County Superior Court Judge Alford Dempsey effectively places control of the organization with the faction siding with the Rev. Bernice King, who was elected last October to lead the group.

The SCLC was co-founded by King's father, Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph David Abernathy, Joseph Lowery and others in 1957 and was a leading force in the civil rights struggle of the 1960s.

Last fall, federal and local authorities launched an investigation of allegations that the SCLC chairman and treasurer mismanaged at least $569,000 of the group's money.

The two denied the allegations and have continued to challenge their dismissal by some board members.

A public struggle for control was taken to court where both sides hoped to have the final word. The judge ruled it belonged to the group that tried to push out the leaders under investigation.

Dempsey said in his order that the board led by former Chairman Raleigh Trammell of Dayton, Ohio, former Treasurer Spiver Gordon of Eutaw, Ala., and President Markel Hutchins of Atlanta does not have a role any more.

The order also found that the defendants illegally interfered with the SCLC's Atlanta headquarters, which Hutchins padlocked in May.

"Just like the first page of this order where 'judgment' is misspelled, everything in it is in error," Hutchins said, adding that he would hold a news conference today to discuss it in detail. It was not immediately known if the losing faction will challenge the order.

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T.I. and Tiny Arrested on Drug Charges

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Rapper T.I. and wife Tameka Cottle also known as "Tiny" were arrested late Wednesday night on drug charges after police smelled alleged marijuana coming from their car, authorities said.

The arrests for possession of a controlled substance came on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood during a traffic stop, Los Angeles sheriff's deputy Mark Pope told The Associated Press.

"Deputies smelled a strong odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle," the department said. "A narcotics investigation ensued" that resulted in the arrests.

The arrests reflected that last week of socialite Paris Hilton, whose is being investigated for felony cocaine possession after a motorcycle officer smelled pot wafting from her car.

The Atlanta-based T.I., 29, whose real name is Clifford Harris Jr., and Cottle, a 36-year-old singer with the group Xscape, were booked at the West Hollywood sheriff's station and bail was set at $10,000 each.

Pope said at 4 a.m. PDT Thursday that he didn't know if they were still being held.

Deputies said it also wasn't clear what specific drug the possession charge is linked to.

T.I., who has a key role in the current top box office movie "Takers," served seven months in an Arkansas federal prison and three months in a Georgia halfway house on federal weapons charges and was released in March.

TMZ reports that T.I. is on probation stemming from the prison term.

Since then, things were looking up for the Grammy winner.

The father of five married Cottle in late July. "Takers," a shoot 'em up about an armored truck robbery that goes bad, was released in late August, and a new album, "King Uncaged," is due later this month.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.

It's Raining Men: Blair, Boris, and Lance Cover October Issue of Essence Magazine

 

 

Now isn't this a very yummy cover?  Blair Undwerwood, Boris Kodjoe, and Lance Gross cover the October issue of Essence Magazine and their dishing on why they love black women.  Yes ladies you read that last line correctly.  Despite what the media may have you to believe there are actually black men out there who love you.

 

****Side Note****

 

Does Blair Underwood even age?  I swear that man gets finer the older he gets.

 

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WTF: Calif doctor gets stuck in chimney, dies

 

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A doctor involved in an "on-again, off-again" relationship apparently tried to force her way into her boyfriend's home by sliding down the chimney, police said Tuesday. Her decomposing body was found there three days later.

Dr. Jacquelyn Kotarac, 49, first tried to get into the house with a shovel, then climbed a ladder to the roof last Wednesday night, removed the chimney cap and slid feet first down the flue, Bakersfield police Sgt. Mary DeGeare said.

While she was trying to break in, the man she was pursuing escaped unnoticed from another exit "to avoid a confrontation," authorities said.

DeGeare said the two were in an "on-again, off-again" relationship.

The man's identity was not revealed by police, but the man who resides in the home is William Moodie, 58.

"She made an unbelievable error in judgment and nobody understands why, and unfortunately she's passed away," Moodie told The Associated Press. "She had her issues — she had her demons — but I never lost my respect for her."

Reached by telephone, Moodie did not dispute the police's characterization of his relationship with Kotarac. He would not comment on the circumstances that led to her death, saying it was more important to focus on the good she did in life.

Moodie, who runs an engineering consulting firm, said Kotarac was a superb internist who often provided service and medication free of charge to her patients.

Kotarac apparently died in the chimney, but her body was not discovered until a house-sitter noticed a stench and fluids coming from the fireplace Saturday, according to a police statement. The house-sitter and her son investigated with a flashlight and found Kotarac dead, wedged about two feet above the top of the interior fireplace opening.

Firefighters spent five hours late Saturday dismantling the chimney and flue from outside the home to extract Kotarac's body, DeGeare said.

Officials said Kotarac's office staff reported her missing two days prior when she failed to show for work. Her car and belongings remained near the man's house.

A cause of death has not been determined, and an autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday. Foul play is not suspected, though investigators have been looking into the incident as suspicious.

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Quote of the Day

A woman cannot take a man's manhood. A man can only give away his manhood.

By Steven James Dixon

-From The Extra Ordinary Man vs. The Extraordinary Man

BET's My Mic Sounds Nice: A Truth About Women in Hip Hop (video)

Part 1

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Part 2

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Part 3

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Threats from Carmelo Anthony's Twitter Feed Towards Kat Stacks Stir Controversy

 

 

Via The Grio:

 

NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony is back to tweeting after saying his Twitter account was hacked over the weekend.

On Sunday Anthony tweeted, "Im back on! My account was hacked. Thanks twitter for getting me str8. Jst finished my first movie in China now im headed back to the States"

Anthony's claim came after a series of tweets were posted to his account, which seemed to indicate Anthony had a Twitter beef with hip hop socialite Kat Stacks.

Various entertainment sites including MediaTakeOut report that Anthony's alleged tweets came after an inappropriate tweet from Stacks to Anthony "hey @carmeloanthony do you taste like caramel?" The suggestive message prompted a back and forth between Anthony, his wife television personality LaLa Vasquez, and Stacks.

Anthony's alleged response, "I got 5k for whoever see @ihatekatstacks and slap the s**t out her pigeon face a**. Real talk. U f**ked with the right one now."

The next tweet, "When u do it record it and send it to me along with name and address. Real talk" included a picture of what appears to be $5,000 posted to the basketball player's Yfrog account.

Stacks a former stripper is well known in the hip-hop world because she regularly discusses her liaisons with rappers, athletes, and others inside the entertainment industry.Though Anthony's tweets were scrubbed from Twitter the drama may not be over quite yet.

Stacks tweeted last night, "See you in court @CarmeloAnthony"

For Anthony's part he's back to sending out messages and communicating his fans as if the incident never occurred.

It's unclear if Anthony faces any repercussions from the league though the NBA has a social media policy; it's aimed at preventing players from tweeting during games from the bench or sidelines. The individual teams govern any other use of Twitter by players.

Pittsburgh teenager sues over police beating

Jordan Miles (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

 

JOE MANDAK, Associated Press Writer

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Jordan Miles, a black teen who attended Pittsburgh's prestigious Creative and Performing Arts High School, has filed a federal lawsuit saying three white Pittsburgh police officers wrongfully beat him in January, then conspired to file false charges against him and concocted a cover story for their actions.

The city is not commenting on the lawsuit filed by Miles on Monday in U.S. District Court.

Miles claims the officers assumed he was a troublemaker because of his race and beat him without cause. Miles says in the lawsuit he thought he was being kidnapped by the plainclothes officers, and muttered "The Lord's Prayer" out of fear as they allegedly beat him.

Miles, an 18-year-old high school student, hopes to go to college to study crime scene investigation, and played the viola at the performing arts school. Miles was charged Jan. 13 with assault and resisting arrest and his family says he was hospitalized after being hit with a stun gun and suffering head lacerations. He claims that he resisted because he thought the men were trying to abduct him and didn't identify themselves as police.

The officers remain on paid leave. The Associated Press could not immediately reach the officers for comment.

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