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Team Twerk is shaking that ass... How low can you go!
Official Twerk Team: How Low from DTP TV on Vimeo.
Tiger Woods had surgery after enraged wife clubbed him in face with 9-Iron: U.S. sportswriter
BY STAFF, CANWEST NEWS SERVICE
Enraged over reports of her husband's philandering ways and set off by the discovery of an "incriminating" text message, Elin Nordegren smashed Tiger Woods in the face with a 9-iron on Thanksgiving Day and then chased a bleeding and woozy Woods as he fled from his Florida home, a prominent sportswriter relays in a Boxing Day blog that has caught the attention of celebrity gadfly Perez Hilton.
Furman Bisher, a retired sports columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution who has covered every Kentucky Derby since 1950, posts on his blog, located here, what he says is a "legitimate message" he received from a "trustworthy journalist" he has known for years.
The source tells Bisher that Woods wasn't home when Florida State Troopers came to question him following the crash outside his home because he had already been whisked away to Phoenix, where he underwent reconstructive surgery to repair the damage to his face, which included a gash to the right side near the nose, a broken facial bone and damaged teeth.
According to Bisher's source, Tiger was kicking back and watching football after turkey dinner on that fateful day, texting his alleged mistress Rachel Uchitel about the National Enquirer story that trumpeted their alleged affair, when things began to unravel for the world's No. 1 golfer.
A friend of Woods invited him to play poker and he left for the game, leaving his cell phone behind, replete with a text message from Uchitel he neglected to delete, according to Bisher's source.
When Woods returned about midnight, according to the source, Nordegren confronted Woods and eventually blindsided him with a golf club. She chased a frantic Tiger through the house, causing significant damage to the interior of their home, and then chased Tiger as he fled in the Escalade, smashing out the windows.
Following the crash, the source continued, Nordegren phoned Woods' agent and accompanied Woods in the ambulance to hospital.
The source also claims that Woods is receiving sympathy from legendary golfer Arnold Palmer and that Woods is living in Palmer's Bay Hill neighbourhood, where he hits balls late at night beneath the lights at a driving range.
It will be at least a month before Woods is seen in public, the source said, because his injuries need time to heal.
Enraged over reports of her husband's philandering ways and set off by the discovery of an "incriminating" text message, Elin Nordegren smashed Tiger Woods in the face with a 9-iron on Thanksgiving Day and then chased a bleeding and woozy Woods as he fled from his Florida home, a prominent sportswriter relays in a Boxing Day blog that has caught the attention of celebrity gadfly Perez Hilton.
Furman Bisher, a retired sports columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution who has covered every Kentucky Derby since 1950, posts on his blog, located here, what he says is a "legitimate message" he received from a "trustworthy journalist" he has known for years.
The source tells Bisher that Woods wasn't home when Florida State Troopers came to question him following the crash outside his home because he had already been whisked away to Phoenix, where he underwent reconstructive surgery to repair the damage to his face, which included a gash to the right side near the nose, a broken facial bone and damaged teeth.
According to Bisher's source, Tiger was kicking back and watching football after turkey dinner on that fateful day, texting his alleged mistress Rachel Uchitel about the National Enquirer story that trumpeted their alleged affair, when things began to unravel for the world's No. 1 golfer.
A friend of Woods invited him to play poker and he left for the game, leaving his cell phone behind, replete with a text message from Uchitel he neglected to delete, according to Bisher's source.
When Woods returned about midnight, according to the source, Nordegren confronted Woods and eventually blindsided him with a golf club. She chased a frantic Tiger through the house, causing significant damage to the interior of their home, and then chased Tiger as he fled in the Escalade, smashing out the windows.
Following the crash, the source continued, Nordegren phoned Woods' agent and accompanied Woods in the ambulance to hospital.
The source also claims that Woods is receiving sympathy from legendary golfer Arnold Palmer and that Woods is living in Palmer's Bay Hill neighbourhood, where he hits balls late at night beneath the lights at a driving range.
It will be at least a month before Woods is seen in public, the source said, because his injuries need time to heal.
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T,I, Home from Prison... almost! Click on the Original Link to read more...!
CNN) -- Rapper T.I. was released from prison on Tuesday after seven months, his attorney confirmed.
The performer, whose real name is Clifford Harris Jr., will serve the remainder of a reduced sentence in a correctional center near Fulton County Airport in Atlanta, Georgia.
Harris was sentenced to a year and a day in March 2009 resulting from weapons charges related to purchasing machine guns and silencers.
Officials charged him with providing a bodyguard with $12,000 to buy weapons.
In May, he reported to a federal prison complex in Forrest City, Arkansas, to begin serving his sentence.
In addition to serving prison time, T.I. was placed on house arrest, given community service and was ordered to pay a $100,300 fine.
It was not the first time the platinum-selling artist had been in trouble with the law.
Harris was not permitted to own any guns because he had been convicted in 1998 on felony drug charges, possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute, in Cobb County in suburban Atlanta.
After the rapper's arrest, he entered a plea agreement, which federal authorities called unique because it allowed him to remain out of prison for a year while he performed.
Steve Sadow, Harris' attorney, said prisoners with Harris' sentence are eligible for a 54-day sentence reduction for good behavior.
Harris is expected to remain at the halfway house for three months and will still be required to finish serving slightly less than 500 hours of community service and about 23 days of home incarceration.
Before reporting to prison, Harris threw himself a going-away party/concert attended by thousands at Philips Arena in Atlanta.
The performer, whose real name is Clifford Harris Jr., will serve the remainder of a reduced sentence in a correctional center near Fulton County Airport in Atlanta, Georgia.
Harris was sentenced to a year and a day in March 2009 resulting from weapons charges related to purchasing machine guns and silencers.
Officials charged him with providing a bodyguard with $12,000 to buy weapons.
In May, he reported to a federal prison complex in Forrest City, Arkansas, to begin serving his sentence.
In addition to serving prison time, T.I. was placed on house arrest, given community service and was ordered to pay a $100,300 fine.
It was not the first time the platinum-selling artist had been in trouble with the law.
Harris was not permitted to own any guns because he had been convicted in 1998 on felony drug charges, possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute, in Cobb County in suburban Atlanta.
After the rapper's arrest, he entered a plea agreement, which federal authorities called unique because it allowed him to remain out of prison for a year while he performed.
Steve Sadow, Harris' attorney, said prisoners with Harris' sentence are eligible for a 54-day sentence reduction for good behavior.
Harris is expected to remain at the halfway house for three months and will still be required to finish serving slightly less than 500 hours of community service and about 23 days of home incarceration.
Before reporting to prison, Harris threw himself a going-away party/concert attended by thousands at Philips Arena in Atlanta.
Since when don't we have value for human life! SMH Rest in Peace Chris Henry!
Chris Henry of the Cincinnati Bengals died on Dec. 17, 2009, after falling off the back of a pickup truck during what police are calling a domestic dispute with his fiancée. He was 26 years old.
MONTREAL – The National Football League is sending out the wrong message by asking teams to observe a moment of silence before this weekend's games to honour Cincinnati Bengals wide-receiver Chris Henry.
Henry's death this week was a tragedy, but all the evidence suggests Henry, who was once the poster boy for the National Felon League, was committing a criminal act when he was thrown from the back of a moving truck.
Police in North Carolina reported Henry and his fiancée were involved in a domestic dispute before she attempted to drive away. Henry jumped into the bed of the truck and a woman who called 911 reported he was banging on the rear window. "It's just crazy," the caller said.
If the police had intercepted the vehicle before Henry was thrown from the truck, there's a good chance he would have been arrested. And, instead of asking teams to honour Henry today, commissioner Roger Goodell would be suspending the receiver for the fourth time in his troubled career.
Domestic violence is a major problem in our society and Goodell's decision is an insult to every woman who has been a victim of spousal abuse.
In the hours after his death, much was made of the way Henry had turned his life around, but the hours before his death suggest he had stopped short of 180 degrees.
It was interesting to hear his college coach say Henry was never a problem. Except maybe for that time he was ejected from a game, or maybe the time he was suspended for another game. Henry was such a problem that he went from being a first-round draft prospect to a third-round pick.
During his NFL career, Henry was arrested five times in 28 months for assault, driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana possession, and he served multiple suspensions for violating the league's personal-conduct policy, missing a total of 14 games. He served jail time for drinking in a hotel room with underage girls.
After serving an eight-game suspension in 2007 for violating the league's personal-conduct policy, he was arrested again for assault in April 2008. He was waived by the Bengals, and a local judge told Henry: "You've kind of become a one-man crime wave."
The Bengals gave Henry, a second - or was it a fourth of fifth? - chance. They did so, not because general manager Mike Brown is a social worker at heart, but because Henry had talent. He played well for eight games before breaking his arm, but in the end he proved he was one tiger who couldn't change his stripes.
MONTREAL – The National Football League is sending out the wrong message by asking teams to observe a moment of silence before this weekend's games to honour Cincinnati Bengals wide-receiver Chris Henry.
Henry's death this week was a tragedy, but all the evidence suggests Henry, who was once the poster boy for the National Felon League, was committing a criminal act when he was thrown from the back of a moving truck.
Police in North Carolina reported Henry and his fiancée were involved in a domestic dispute before she attempted to drive away. Henry jumped into the bed of the truck and a woman who called 911 reported he was banging on the rear window. "It's just crazy," the caller said.
If the police had intercepted the vehicle before Henry was thrown from the truck, there's a good chance he would have been arrested. And, instead of asking teams to honour Henry today, commissioner Roger Goodell would be suspending the receiver for the fourth time in his troubled career.
Domestic violence is a major problem in our society and Goodell's decision is an insult to every woman who has been a victim of spousal abuse.
In the hours after his death, much was made of the way Henry had turned his life around, but the hours before his death suggest he had stopped short of 180 degrees.
It was interesting to hear his college coach say Henry was never a problem. Except maybe for that time he was ejected from a game, or maybe the time he was suspended for another game. Henry was such a problem that he went from being a first-round draft prospect to a third-round pick.
During his NFL career, Henry was arrested five times in 28 months for assault, driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana possession, and he served multiple suspensions for violating the league's personal-conduct policy, missing a total of 14 games. He served jail time for drinking in a hotel room with underage girls.
After serving an eight-game suspension in 2007 for violating the league's personal-conduct policy, he was arrested again for assault in April 2008. He was waived by the Bengals, and a local judge told Henry: "You've kind of become a one-man crime wave."
The Bengals gave Henry, a second - or was it a fourth of fifth? - chance. They did so, not because general manager Mike Brown is a social worker at heart, but because Henry had talent. He played well for eight games before breaking his arm, but in the end he proved he was one tiger who couldn't change his stripes.
Man attempts to steal under 300 bucks worth of stuff, and now he's dead! SMH
Wal-Mart should have just let this man go... now, his family is going to sue the crap out of them.
Alleged Wal-Mart shoplifter dies after scuffle with store cops
By Christian Boone
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
6:45 p.m. Monday, December 21, 2009
Dunwoody Police are investigating the death Saturday of an alleged shoplifter after he was forcibly apprehended by Wal-Mart loss prevention officers.
Marty Bridges, 38, was attempting to flee the store, at 4725 Ashford Dunwoody Rd., when the officers grabbed him, Dunwoody Police spokesman Sgt. Mike Carlson said. Another shopper intervened and a slight altercation ensued.
"It was basically a big pile-up," he said. "They had him pinned on the ground to keep him from running."
When police arrived around 1 p.m., two bystanders were administering CPR, but they were unable to save Bridges. He was pronounced dead shortly after being transported to Northside Hospital.
It's unclear what Bridges allegedly tried to steal, but Carlson said the amount of the item or items was less than $300, and would have amounted to a misdemeanor were he tried and convicted of shop lifting.
Wal-Mart employees were able to recover the item or items, police said.
It doesn't appear that any undue force was used on the suspect, Carlson said. An autopsy is underway.
Return to AJC.com for updates.
-- Staff reporter Marcus K. Garner contributed to this story.
Alleged Wal-Mart shoplifter dies after scuffle with store cops
By Christian Boone
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
6:45 p.m. Monday, December 21, 2009
Dunwoody Police are investigating the death Saturday of an alleged shoplifter after he was forcibly apprehended by Wal-Mart loss prevention officers.
Marty Bridges, 38, was attempting to flee the store, at 4725 Ashford Dunwoody Rd., when the officers grabbed him, Dunwoody Police spokesman Sgt. Mike Carlson said. Another shopper intervened and a slight altercation ensued.
"It was basically a big pile-up," he said. "They had him pinned on the ground to keep him from running."
When police arrived around 1 p.m., two bystanders were administering CPR, but they were unable to save Bridges. He was pronounced dead shortly after being transported to Northside Hospital.
It's unclear what Bridges allegedly tried to steal, but Carlson said the amount of the item or items was less than $300, and would have amounted to a misdemeanor were he tried and convicted of shop lifting.
Wal-Mart employees were able to recover the item or items, police said.
It doesn't appear that any undue force was used on the suspect, Carlson said. An autopsy is underway.
Return to AJC.com for updates.
-- Staff reporter Marcus K. Garner contributed to this story.
Cooking with weed, getting high and eating at the same time! Mission Accomplished.
Dec 17, 6:30 AM (ET)
By KRISTEN WYATT
DENVER (AP) - Any slacker living over his parents' garage can make pot brownies. Gourmet chefs are taking the art of cooking with marijuana to a higher level.
In Denver, a new medical-marijuana shop called Ganja Gourmet serves cannabis-infused specialties such as pizza, hummus and lasagna. Across town in the Mile-High City, a Caribbean restaurant plans to offer classes on how to make multi-course meals with pot in every dish. And in Southern California, a low-budget TV show called "Cannabis Planet" has won fans with a cooking segment showing viewers how to use weed in teriyaki chicken, shrimp capellini and steak sandwiches.
The evolution of pot cooking was perhaps inevitable given the explosion of medical marijuana around the country in recent years. Many health-conscious patients would rather eat the drug than smoke it. And they would prefer to eat something other than sugary treats.
"When I started using marijuana, I was eating a brownie every day. I gained a ton of weight," said Michael DeLao, a former hotel chef who hosts the "Cannabis Planet" cooking segments on Los Angeles' KJLA. "Then I learned how to really cook with marijuana, and once more people learn about all the possibilities, we're going to see a lot more people wanting this in their food."
Ganja Gourmet's menu includes lasagna ("LaGanja"), "Panama Red Pizza" and an olive tapenade called "ganjanade," along with a sweets such as cheesecake, muffins and brownies. Employees wear tie-dyed T-shirts that proclaim, "Our food is so great, you need a license to eat it!!!"
All patrons at the Ganja Gourmet must show a medical marijuana card that proves they have a doctor's permission to use pot for some kind of malady. The place opened last week, and so far, 90 percent of its business has been takeout.
The food isn't cheap. A whole pizza sells for $89, and a dozen sweet treats called Almond Horns cost $120.
"The food is really good," said Jamie Hillyer, a 41-year-old medical marijuana patient who paid $12 for a serving of vegetable LaGanja. Hillyer said that he can't taste the weed in the food and that it gives him a "more mellow" buzz than smoking pot.
Chefs are able to use marijuana in cooking because its key ingredient, the mind-altering drug THC, is fat-soluble, meaning it binds with oils or fats.
Marijuana chefs put leaves or buds in a food processor and grind the marijuana into green flour. Then they add the flour to oil or butter, cook it slowly for up to a couple of days while the THC binds to the fat, and strain out the green flakes.
The result is "cannabutter," or butter that makes a diner high. Chefs say 2 teaspoons of cannabutter typically contain the amount of THC in an ounce of weed.
The pot-infused oils and butters have a greenish tint and an earthy taste, but chefs say the flavor can easily be masked with garlic or other herbs and spices.
Denver's 8 Rivers Modern Caribbean restaurant does not serve pot-infused food, but its husband-and-wife owners, Scott Durran and Wanda James, plan to offer cooking-with-marijuana classes starting next month. They also own a medical marijuana dispensary, which they hope will eventually offer take-home soups and roasted chicken.
Marijuana chefs say it takes 20 minutes to two hours for the pot-laced food to produce a high. The biggest problem, they say, is that users often eat too much, thinking the food isn't working. While you can't exactly overdose on marijuana food, people who eat too much may feel more sluggish or disoriented than they would like.
So at Ganja Gourmet, customers are allowed to eat only one menu item every 45 minutes.
(The drug takes so long to start working that there's little chance of a customer developing a case of the munchies and getting hungrier the more he ate.)
Ganja Gourmet owner Scott Horowitz tried to get liability insurance of the sort bars take out to protect themselves against damage caused by intoxicated patrons. But he said he couldn't any insurers selling similar coverage for pot shops.
Ganja Gourmet does offer customers a ride home if they need one. "If someone leaves my place wasted, I'm liable," Horowitz said.
Horowitz's liability worry may be shortlived. Denver's City Council is considering an ordinance banning dispensaries from allowing marijuana to be smoked or eaten on site.
---
On the Net:
Cannabis Planet: http://cannabisplanet.tv
By KRISTEN WYATT
DENVER (AP) - Any slacker living over his parents' garage can make pot brownies. Gourmet chefs are taking the art of cooking with marijuana to a higher level.
In Denver, a new medical-marijuana shop called Ganja Gourmet serves cannabis-infused specialties such as pizza, hummus and lasagna. Across town in the Mile-High City, a Caribbean restaurant plans to offer classes on how to make multi-course meals with pot in every dish. And in Southern California, a low-budget TV show called "Cannabis Planet" has won fans with a cooking segment showing viewers how to use weed in teriyaki chicken, shrimp capellini and steak sandwiches.
The evolution of pot cooking was perhaps inevitable given the explosion of medical marijuana around the country in recent years. Many health-conscious patients would rather eat the drug than smoke it. And they would prefer to eat something other than sugary treats.
"When I started using marijuana, I was eating a brownie every day. I gained a ton of weight," said Michael DeLao, a former hotel chef who hosts the "Cannabis Planet" cooking segments on Los Angeles' KJLA. "Then I learned how to really cook with marijuana, and once more people learn about all the possibilities, we're going to see a lot more people wanting this in their food."
Ganja Gourmet's menu includes lasagna ("LaGanja"), "Panama Red Pizza" and an olive tapenade called "ganjanade," along with a sweets such as cheesecake, muffins and brownies. Employees wear tie-dyed T-shirts that proclaim, "Our food is so great, you need a license to eat it!!!"
All patrons at the Ganja Gourmet must show a medical marijuana card that proves they have a doctor's permission to use pot for some kind of malady. The place opened last week, and so far, 90 percent of its business has been takeout.
The food isn't cheap. A whole pizza sells for $89, and a dozen sweet treats called Almond Horns cost $120.
"The food is really good," said Jamie Hillyer, a 41-year-old medical marijuana patient who paid $12 for a serving of vegetable LaGanja. Hillyer said that he can't taste the weed in the food and that it gives him a "more mellow" buzz than smoking pot.
Chefs are able to use marijuana in cooking because its key ingredient, the mind-altering drug THC, is fat-soluble, meaning it binds with oils or fats.
Marijuana chefs put leaves or buds in a food processor and grind the marijuana into green flour. Then they add the flour to oil or butter, cook it slowly for up to a couple of days while the THC binds to the fat, and strain out the green flakes.
The result is "cannabutter," or butter that makes a diner high. Chefs say 2 teaspoons of cannabutter typically contain the amount of THC in an ounce of weed.
The pot-infused oils and butters have a greenish tint and an earthy taste, but chefs say the flavor can easily be masked with garlic or other herbs and spices.
Denver's 8 Rivers Modern Caribbean restaurant does not serve pot-infused food, but its husband-and-wife owners, Scott Durran and Wanda James, plan to offer cooking-with-marijuana classes starting next month. They also own a medical marijuana dispensary, which they hope will eventually offer take-home soups and roasted chicken.
Marijuana chefs say it takes 20 minutes to two hours for the pot-laced food to produce a high. The biggest problem, they say, is that users often eat too much, thinking the food isn't working. While you can't exactly overdose on marijuana food, people who eat too much may feel more sluggish or disoriented than they would like.
So at Ganja Gourmet, customers are allowed to eat only one menu item every 45 minutes.
(The drug takes so long to start working that there's little chance of a customer developing a case of the munchies and getting hungrier the more he ate.)
Ganja Gourmet owner Scott Horowitz tried to get liability insurance of the sort bars take out to protect themselves against damage caused by intoxicated patrons. But he said he couldn't any insurers selling similar coverage for pot shops.
Ganja Gourmet does offer customers a ride home if they need one. "If someone leaves my place wasted, I'm liable," Horowitz said.
Horowitz's liability worry may be shortlived. Denver's City Council is considering an ordinance banning dispensaries from allowing marijuana to be smoked or eaten on site.
---
On the Net:
Cannabis Planet: http://cannabisplanet.tv
Damn, sucks to be you... Cameron Pettigrew FIRED for playing fantasy football at work...
Fired Over Fantasy Football: The Unfortunate Case of Cameron Pettigrew
12/17/2009 8:30 AM ET By Tom Herrera
On the surface, Cameron Pettigrew seems a lot like many people you might know. A young, ambitious guy who felt he found his ideal job at Fidelity Investments in Westlake, Texas. He even joked one time about getting a Fidelity tattoo.
Good thing he didn't.
In late October, Pettigrew and three other fantasy football league commissioners were fired by Fidelity. Pettigrew, a distinguished employee in the Private Client Group who had been with the company for two and a half years, was left scrambling for further explanation. Pettigrew said he never received a single verbal or written warning before his dismissal.
His slip-up had overridden an impressive resume, which contains multiple company honors, including being the only person chosen for an exclusive, 10-member program (Future Leaders of Westlake) who was not already in a management position. Three weeks before his firing, he was offered a position at Fidelity's prestigious Wall Street branch, but Pettigrew said he chose to decline the offer due to the high cost of living in New York City.
"I loved my job, my coworkers, and frankly, I loved Fidelity. I practically begged to have my job back," Pettigrew told FanHouse. "I spent weeks trying to appeal my termination ... I even said I would take a demotion if they accepted me back."
Pettigrew was commissioner of a $20 entry fee league with nine other employees. According to Pettigrew, those other nine league members -- which included three team leaders and a manager -- were simply given warnings and got to keep their jobs. "They are all dear friends of mine and I would never want for them to be fired or additionally reprimanded," said Pettigrew, "but the way in which Fidelity applied our punishment was flawed and unequal."
According to Pettigrew, he was questioned by two company investigators for an hour and a half, where they wanted to know everything he knew about fantasy sports at the Westlake site. "They were insistent upon knowing about everyone involved, especially leadership, and whether those persons even mentioned a league," said Pattigrew. "I kept thinking, 'All of this over a $20 fantasy football league?' "
In the past, Fidelity made it known to employees via e-mail that participation in fantasy sports activities is not permitted on company time. However, Pettigrew says "nobody at the entire Westlake site took the policy seriously." He claims there are numerous different active leagues at Fidelity and team leaders, managers and directors discussed fantasy sports regularly. For many participants, fantasy sports is considered a harmless hobby that has potential to bolster camaraderie between employees and overall morale.
When FanHouse contacted Fidelity for details on the policy Pettigrew violated, FanHouse was told by spokesman Vin Loporchio that the company doesn't comment on either current or former employees "out of respect for their privacy and confidentiality" and that nothing should be construed from the lack of a comment.
"I kept thinking, 'All of this over a $20 fantasy football league?' "
-- Cameron Pettigrew "The only official communication I ever received about Fidelity's policy against fantasy sports was a very generic e-mail which could easily be overlooked," said Pettigrew. "We were definitely never told that this could be a 'fireable' offense."
According to Pettigrew, that fireable offense included two incoming instant messages from league members, wherein brief conversations followed about teams and players. "Those two messages were received when I was idle and not in contact with any clients."
The league Web page, which was hosted on Yahoo! Sports, is blocked from access on work computers, according to Pettigrew, so members did not check their lineups on company time. And he claims the $20 league buy-in was only paid by a couple of guys on work property. "I only accepted the money during a scheduled break or after work, so I thought I was not doing so on company time."
Despite his appeals to Fidelity, Pettigrew was labeled with a stain on the Termination Explanation of his U5 form (Uniform Termination Notice for Securities Industry Regulation) ... VIOLATION OF COMPANY GAMBLING POLICY INVOLVING FANTASY FOOTBALL.
"They see the word gambling and it's as though I am toxic," said Pettigrew, who made note of the tough economy. "I have been blackballed in my industry."
According to Pettigrew, his department director and local leadership fought hard for his job, but he was considered an "organizer of gambling activities" by the corporation, because he was commissioner of the league.
Interestingly, Pettigrew says he never played fantasy football before coming to Fidelity. "Last season I was approached by one of the managers who asked that I be in his league. I knew vaguely about the policy at the time but figured that if a manager was involved than the rule was probably just something of an outdated law, like how it's illegal in Michigan for a woman to cut her own hair without asking her husband first."
In a statement offered to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram last week, Fidelity spokesman Vin Loporchio said: "We have clear policies that relate to gambling. Participation in any form of gambling through the use of Fidelity time or equipment or any other company resource is prohibited. In addition to being illegal in a lot of places, it can also be disruptive. We want our employees to be focused on our customers and clients."
That "gambling" label has drawn the ire of leading Fantasy Sports Trade Association members. While fantasy sports may be considered gambling in a minority of states, it has been deemed one of the exemptions in the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, according to Professor I. Nelson Rose, who is a published expert on gambling law.
Paul Charchian, president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, had this to offer: "No fantasy sports company has been the subject of prosecution for gambling. No person has been the subject of prosecution for gambling related to fantasy sports participation."
A former Fidelity employee, who spoke to FanHouse on the condition of anonymity, claimed: "Saying the word 'gamble' at Fidelity is like saying 'bomb' on an airplane." He also alleges that "Fidelity likes to make examples out of people and this was probably seen as a good opportunity to do so."
With the evidence available, this seems more of a corporate culture issue than anything. On one hand, you could just ignore Pettigrew's strong track record and say company policy is company policy, end of story. Even if any given policy outlaws fantasy sports, or for that matter, Facebook usage and 15-minute smoke breaks. On the other, you can show leniency and let him off with probation, or perhaps even soften the termination explanation on his U5 form to exclude "gambling".
In a way, Pettigrew and three other employees are out of work because they were fantasy league commissioners -- the "organizers" -- and therefore the easier targets for Fidelity to exhibit that said activities will not be tolerated.
Certainly, it's not the first sympathetic termination story we'll hear, and it won't be the last. Yesterday, a woman e-mailed FanHouse to say her daughter was fired after eight years of service for bringing a one-pound puppy to work to show her friends for five minutes. One year later, she claims her daughter still can't find a job.
Sounds outrageous? In these times, you can believe it.
In the meantime, Cameron Pettigrew is available for employment.
He just wishes he could have his job and his life back.
12/17/2009 8:30 AM ET By Tom Herrera
On the surface, Cameron Pettigrew seems a lot like many people you might know. A young, ambitious guy who felt he found his ideal job at Fidelity Investments in Westlake, Texas. He even joked one time about getting a Fidelity tattoo.
Good thing he didn't.
In late October, Pettigrew and three other fantasy football league commissioners were fired by Fidelity. Pettigrew, a distinguished employee in the Private Client Group who had been with the company for two and a half years, was left scrambling for further explanation. Pettigrew said he never received a single verbal or written warning before his dismissal.
His slip-up had overridden an impressive resume, which contains multiple company honors, including being the only person chosen for an exclusive, 10-member program (Future Leaders of Westlake) who was not already in a management position. Three weeks before his firing, he was offered a position at Fidelity's prestigious Wall Street branch, but Pettigrew said he chose to decline the offer due to the high cost of living in New York City.
"I loved my job, my coworkers, and frankly, I loved Fidelity. I practically begged to have my job back," Pettigrew told FanHouse. "I spent weeks trying to appeal my termination ... I even said I would take a demotion if they accepted me back."
Pettigrew was commissioner of a $20 entry fee league with nine other employees. According to Pettigrew, those other nine league members -- which included three team leaders and a manager -- were simply given warnings and got to keep their jobs. "They are all dear friends of mine and I would never want for them to be fired or additionally reprimanded," said Pettigrew, "but the way in which Fidelity applied our punishment was flawed and unequal."
According to Pettigrew, he was questioned by two company investigators for an hour and a half, where they wanted to know everything he knew about fantasy sports at the Westlake site. "They were insistent upon knowing about everyone involved, especially leadership, and whether those persons even mentioned a league," said Pattigrew. "I kept thinking, 'All of this over a $20 fantasy football league?' "
In the past, Fidelity made it known to employees via e-mail that participation in fantasy sports activities is not permitted on company time. However, Pettigrew says "nobody at the entire Westlake site took the policy seriously." He claims there are numerous different active leagues at Fidelity and team leaders, managers and directors discussed fantasy sports regularly. For many participants, fantasy sports is considered a harmless hobby that has potential to bolster camaraderie between employees and overall morale.
When FanHouse contacted Fidelity for details on the policy Pettigrew violated, FanHouse was told by spokesman Vin Loporchio that the company doesn't comment on either current or former employees "out of respect for their privacy and confidentiality" and that nothing should be construed from the lack of a comment.
"I kept thinking, 'All of this over a $20 fantasy football league?' "
-- Cameron Pettigrew "The only official communication I ever received about Fidelity's policy against fantasy sports was a very generic e-mail which could easily be overlooked," said Pettigrew. "We were definitely never told that this could be a 'fireable' offense."
According to Pettigrew, that fireable offense included two incoming instant messages from league members, wherein brief conversations followed about teams and players. "Those two messages were received when I was idle and not in contact with any clients."
The league Web page, which was hosted on Yahoo! Sports, is blocked from access on work computers, according to Pettigrew, so members did not check their lineups on company time. And he claims the $20 league buy-in was only paid by a couple of guys on work property. "I only accepted the money during a scheduled break or after work, so I thought I was not doing so on company time."
Despite his appeals to Fidelity, Pettigrew was labeled with a stain on the Termination Explanation of his U5 form (Uniform Termination Notice for Securities Industry Regulation) ... VIOLATION OF COMPANY GAMBLING POLICY INVOLVING FANTASY FOOTBALL.
"They see the word gambling and it's as though I am toxic," said Pettigrew, who made note of the tough economy. "I have been blackballed in my industry."
According to Pettigrew, his department director and local leadership fought hard for his job, but he was considered an "organizer of gambling activities" by the corporation, because he was commissioner of the league.
Interestingly, Pettigrew says he never played fantasy football before coming to Fidelity. "Last season I was approached by one of the managers who asked that I be in his league. I knew vaguely about the policy at the time but figured that if a manager was involved than the rule was probably just something of an outdated law, like how it's illegal in Michigan for a woman to cut her own hair without asking her husband first."
In a statement offered to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram last week, Fidelity spokesman Vin Loporchio said: "We have clear policies that relate to gambling. Participation in any form of gambling through the use of Fidelity time or equipment or any other company resource is prohibited. In addition to being illegal in a lot of places, it can also be disruptive. We want our employees to be focused on our customers and clients."
That "gambling" label has drawn the ire of leading Fantasy Sports Trade Association members. While fantasy sports may be considered gambling in a minority of states, it has been deemed one of the exemptions in the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, according to Professor I. Nelson Rose, who is a published expert on gambling law.
Paul Charchian, president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, had this to offer: "No fantasy sports company has been the subject of prosecution for gambling. No person has been the subject of prosecution for gambling related to fantasy sports participation."
A former Fidelity employee, who spoke to FanHouse on the condition of anonymity, claimed: "Saying the word 'gamble' at Fidelity is like saying 'bomb' on an airplane." He also alleges that "Fidelity likes to make examples out of people and this was probably seen as a good opportunity to do so."
With the evidence available, this seems more of a corporate culture issue than anything. On one hand, you could just ignore Pettigrew's strong track record and say company policy is company policy, end of story. Even if any given policy outlaws fantasy sports, or for that matter, Facebook usage and 15-minute smoke breaks. On the other, you can show leniency and let him off with probation, or perhaps even soften the termination explanation on his U5 form to exclude "gambling".
In a way, Pettigrew and three other employees are out of work because they were fantasy league commissioners -- the "organizers" -- and therefore the easier targets for Fidelity to exhibit that said activities will not be tolerated.
Certainly, it's not the first sympathetic termination story we'll hear, and it won't be the last. Yesterday, a woman e-mailed FanHouse to say her daughter was fired after eight years of service for bringing a one-pound puppy to work to show her friends for five minutes. One year later, she claims her daughter still can't find a job.
Sounds outrageous? In these times, you can believe it.
In the meantime, Cameron Pettigrew is available for employment.
He just wishes he could have his job and his life back.
Man exhonorated after serving 35 years in prision.... SMGDH
I am getting a little tired of hearing about these stories about BLACK men being exhonorated, and freed by DNA after serving a CRAZY amount of time for crimes that they did not commit. Now, let's think for a moment if there are a few cases here and there that we hear about in the media... what about the ones we don't ...heat about. The judicial systems is in need of revamping their old slave ways! SMGDH
White people will no longer be the majority come mid-century... Click on original post to view this article
White Americans' majority to end by mid-century
By HOPE YEN (AP) – 1 day ago
WASHINGTON — The estimated time when whites will no longer make up the majority of Americans has been pushed back eight years — to 2050 — because the recession and stricter immigration policies have slowed the flow of foreigners into the U.S.
Census Bureau projections released Wednesday update last year's prediction that white children would become a minority in 2023 and the overall white population would follow in 2042. The earlier estimate did not take into account a drop in the number of people moving into the U.S. because of the economic crisis and the immigration policies imposed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
The United States has 308 million people today; two-thirds are non-Hispanic whites.
The total population should climb to 399 million by 2050, under the new projections, with whites making up 49.9 percent of the population. Blacks will make up 12.2 percent, virtually unchanged from today. Hispanics, currently 15 percent of the population, will rise to 28 percent in 2050.
Asians are expected to increase from 4.4 percent of the population to 6 percent.
The projections are based on rates for births and deaths and a scenario in which immigration continues its more recent, slower pace of adding nearly 1 million new foreigners each year.
The point when minority children become the majority is expected to have a similar delay of roughly eight years, moving from 2023 to 2031.
The population 85 and older is projected to more than triple by 2050, to 18.6 million.
The actual shift in demographics will be influenced by a host of factors that can't be accurately forecast — the pace of the economic recovery, cultural changes, natural or manmade disasters, as well as an overhaul of immigration law, which may be debated in Congress as early as next year.
As a result, the Census Bureau said the projections should used mostly as a guide.
The agency also released numbers showing projections based on "high" rates of immigration — more likely if more-flexible government policies and a booming U.S. economy attract large numbers of foreigners — as well as "low" immigration, a possible scenario if U.S. policies don't change much while the economy substantially improves.
_With high immigration, the minority "tipping point" is moved up to 2040, two years earlier than the previous estimate. At that time, Asians would have a much larger share, at 8 percent, since their population growth is more dependent on immigration than birth rates.
_With low immigration, the "tipping point" arrives by 2045.
Under a purely theoretical "zero immigration" scenario in which the U.S. effectively does not take in any immigrants, whites would remain the majority in 2050, making up a solid 58 percent of the U.S. population. In such a case, the share of Hispanics would increase to 21 percent because of high fertility rates and a younger population.
On the Net:
Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov
By HOPE YEN (AP) – 1 day ago
WASHINGTON — The estimated time when whites will no longer make up the majority of Americans has been pushed back eight years — to 2050 — because the recession and stricter immigration policies have slowed the flow of foreigners into the U.S.
Census Bureau projections released Wednesday update last year's prediction that white children would become a minority in 2023 and the overall white population would follow in 2042. The earlier estimate did not take into account a drop in the number of people moving into the U.S. because of the economic crisis and the immigration policies imposed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
The United States has 308 million people today; two-thirds are non-Hispanic whites.
The total population should climb to 399 million by 2050, under the new projections, with whites making up 49.9 percent of the population. Blacks will make up 12.2 percent, virtually unchanged from today. Hispanics, currently 15 percent of the population, will rise to 28 percent in 2050.
Asians are expected to increase from 4.4 percent of the population to 6 percent.
The projections are based on rates for births and deaths and a scenario in which immigration continues its more recent, slower pace of adding nearly 1 million new foreigners each year.
The point when minority children become the majority is expected to have a similar delay of roughly eight years, moving from 2023 to 2031.
The population 85 and older is projected to more than triple by 2050, to 18.6 million.
The actual shift in demographics will be influenced by a host of factors that can't be accurately forecast — the pace of the economic recovery, cultural changes, natural or manmade disasters, as well as an overhaul of immigration law, which may be debated in Congress as early as next year.
As a result, the Census Bureau said the projections should used mostly as a guide.
The agency also released numbers showing projections based on "high" rates of immigration — more likely if more-flexible government policies and a booming U.S. economy attract large numbers of foreigners — as well as "low" immigration, a possible scenario if U.S. policies don't change much while the economy substantially improves.
_With high immigration, the minority "tipping point" is moved up to 2040, two years earlier than the previous estimate. At that time, Asians would have a much larger share, at 8 percent, since their population growth is more dependent on immigration than birth rates.
_With low immigration, the "tipping point" arrives by 2045.
Under a purely theoretical "zero immigration" scenario in which the U.S. effectively does not take in any immigrants, whites would remain the majority in 2050, making up a solid 58 percent of the U.S. population. In such a case, the share of Hispanics would increase to 21 percent because of high fertility rates and a younger population.
On the Net:
Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov
My man T.I. Is on his way to a halfway house... he will be home soon!
Rapper T.I. may be moving to a halfway house soon
By Rhonda Cook
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
5:08 p.m. Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Atlanta rap star T.I. is expected to be moved to a halfway house shortly after the first of the year as he nears the end of his federal prison sentence for illegal firearms possession and for possessing a gun as a convicted felon, officials confirmed Tuesday.
T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris Jr., began serving his sentence of a year and a day at a low-security prison in Arkansas last May. He is expected to be released from Bureau of Prisons custody on March 23, after serving 85 percent of his sentence.
Bureau of Prisons spokesman Edmond Ross said it was customary for an inmate to transition from prison to freedom via a halfway house if there is no danger to the community and if there is space at a facility near where he is to live after his prison time.
Usually that process begins when there are 18 months remaining on a sentence, “but in this case it would have to start sooner. It’s not uncommon for inmates to be placed in community corrections for the last portion of their confinement to help with his transition.”
Harris also could spend the final month of his sentenced confined to his house, Ross said.
Harris pleaded guilty in 2008 to possessing two silencers, three machine guns, a rifle and six handguns. In total, federal officers found 24 handguns, machine guns and rifles in Harris' Range Rover and hree machine guns at his house in College Park.
Harris -- convicted Cobb County in 1998 for possessing cocaine with intent to distribute -- he also pleaded guilty to possession of a firearms by a felon.
Federal agents targeted Harris in 2007 after they arrested his body guard, who bought guns from undercover agents. He said the three machine guns and two silencers were for Harris.
Shortly after the bodyguard arrest, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents arrested T.I. when he took delivery of the weapons from the bodyguard. The arrest took place just hours before, and blocks away from where Harris was to receive two awards at the 2007 BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta.
As part of his plea deal, Harris agreed to spend 1,500 hours talking to at-risk children and teens; including 1,000 due before prison. After he is released, Harris has a year on house arrest and two more on probation. The government fined him $100,000.
By Rhonda Cook
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
5:08 p.m. Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Atlanta rap star T.I. is expected to be moved to a halfway house shortly after the first of the year as he nears the end of his federal prison sentence for illegal firearms possession and for possessing a gun as a convicted felon, officials confirmed Tuesday.
T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris Jr., began serving his sentence of a year and a day at a low-security prison in Arkansas last May. He is expected to be released from Bureau of Prisons custody on March 23, after serving 85 percent of his sentence.
Bureau of Prisons spokesman Edmond Ross said it was customary for an inmate to transition from prison to freedom via a halfway house if there is no danger to the community and if there is space at a facility near where he is to live after his prison time.
Usually that process begins when there are 18 months remaining on a sentence, “but in this case it would have to start sooner. It’s not uncommon for inmates to be placed in community corrections for the last portion of their confinement to help with his transition.”
Harris also could spend the final month of his sentenced confined to his house, Ross said.
Harris pleaded guilty in 2008 to possessing two silencers, three machine guns, a rifle and six handguns. In total, federal officers found 24 handguns, machine guns and rifles in Harris' Range Rover and hree machine guns at his house in College Park.
Harris -- convicted Cobb County in 1998 for possessing cocaine with intent to distribute -- he also pleaded guilty to possession of a firearms by a felon.
Federal agents targeted Harris in 2007 after they arrested his body guard, who bought guns from undercover agents. He said the three machine guns and two silencers were for Harris.
Shortly after the bodyguard arrest, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents arrested T.I. when he took delivery of the weapons from the bodyguard. The arrest took place just hours before, and blocks away from where Harris was to receive two awards at the 2007 BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta.
As part of his plea deal, Harris agreed to spend 1,500 hours talking to at-risk children and teens; including 1,000 due before prison. After he is released, Harris has a year on house arrest and two more on probation. The government fined him $100,000.
Tiger Woods, do black women really care about his affairs?
Amid all the headlines generated by Tiger Woods' troubles — the puzzling car accident, the suggestions of marital turmoil and multiple mistresses — little attention has been given to the race of the women linked with the world's greatest golfer.
Except in the black community.
When three white women were said to be romantically involved with Woods in addition to his blonde, Swedish wife, blogs, airwaves and barbershops started humming, and Woods' already tenuous standing among many blacks took a beating.
On the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner radio show, Woods was the butt of jokes all week.
"Thankfully, Tiger, you didn't marry a black woman. Because if a sister caught you running around with a bunch of white hoochie-mamas," one parody suggests in song, she would have castrated him.
"The Grinch's Theme Song" didn't stop there: "The question everyone in America wants to ask you is, how many white women does one brother waaant?"
As one blogger, Robert Paul Reyes, wrote: "If Tiger Woods had cheated on his gorgeous white wife with black women, the golfing great's accident would have been barely a blip in the blogosphere."
The darts reflect blacks' resistance to interracial romance. They also are a reflection of discomfort with a man who has smashed barriers in one of America's whitest sports and assumed the mantle of the world's most famous athlete, once worn by Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan.
But Woods has declined to identify himself as black, and famously chose the term "Cablinasian" (Caucasian, black, Indian and Asian) to describe the racial mixture he inherited from his African-American father and Thai mother.
This vexed some blacks, but it hasn't stopped them from claiming Woods as one of their own. Or from disapproving of his marriage to Elin Nordegren, despite blacks' historical fight against white racist opponents of mixed marriage.
On the one hand, Ebonie Johnson Cooper doesn't care that Tiger Woods' wife and alleged mistresses are white because Woods is "quote-unquote not really black."
"But at the same time we still see him as a black man with a white woman, and it makes a difference," said Johnson Cooper, a 26-year-old African-American from New York City. "There's just this preservation thing we have among one another. We like to see each other with each other."
Black women have long felt slighted by the tendency of famous black men to pair with white women, and many have a list of current transgressors at the ready.
"We've discussed this for years among black women," said Denene Millner, author of several books on black relationships. "Why is it when they get to this level ... they tend to go directly for the nearest blonde?"
This tendency may be more prominent due to a relative lack of interracial marriages among average blacks. Although a recent Pew poll showed that 94 percent of blacks say it's all right for blacks and whites to date, a study published this year in Sociological Quarterly showed that blacks are less likely to actually date outside their race than are other groups.
"There is a call for loyalty that is stronger in some ways than in other racial communities," said the author of the study, George Yancey, a sociology professor at the University of North Texas and author of the book "Just Don't Marry One."
The color of one's companion has long been a major measure of "blackness" — which is a big reason why the biracial Barack Obama was able to fend off early questions about his black authenticity.
"Had Barack had a white wife, I would have thought twice about voting for him," Johnson Cooper said.
So do Woods' women say something about the intensely private golfer's views on race?
"I would like to say no, but I think it garners a bit of a yes," Johnson Cooper said.
Carmen Van Kerckhove, founder of the race-meets-pop-culture blog Racialicious, said there have been frequent discussions on her site about the fine line between preference and fetish.
"Is there any difference between a white guy with a thing for blondes, and a non-white guy with a thing for blondes?" asked Van Kerckhove, who has a Chinese mother, a Belgian father and a husband born in America to parents from Benin.
She claims that Asians don't fully embrace Woods, either.
"There are two layers of suspicion toward him," Van Kerkhove said. "One toward the apparent pattern in the race of his partners, and the second in the way he sees himself. ... People have been giving him the side-eye for a while."
There's nothing wrong with wanting a mate who shares your culture, as long as it's for the right reasons, the comedienne Sheryl Underwood said after unleashing a withering Woods monologue on Tom Joyner's radio show.
"Would we question when a Jewish person wants to marry other Jewish people?" she said in an interview. "It's not racist. It's not bigotry. It's cultural pride."
"The issue comes in when you choose something white because you think it's better," Underwood said. "And then you never date a black woman or a woman of color or you never sample the greatness of the international buffet of human beings. If you never do that, we got a problem."
Except in the black community.
When three white women were said to be romantically involved with Woods in addition to his blonde, Swedish wife, blogs, airwaves and barbershops started humming, and Woods' already tenuous standing among many blacks took a beating.
On the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner radio show, Woods was the butt of jokes all week.
"Thankfully, Tiger, you didn't marry a black woman. Because if a sister caught you running around with a bunch of white hoochie-mamas," one parody suggests in song, she would have castrated him.
"The Grinch's Theme Song" didn't stop there: "The question everyone in America wants to ask you is, how many white women does one brother waaant?"
As one blogger, Robert Paul Reyes, wrote: "If Tiger Woods had cheated on his gorgeous white wife with black women, the golfing great's accident would have been barely a blip in the blogosphere."
The darts reflect blacks' resistance to interracial romance. They also are a reflection of discomfort with a man who has smashed barriers in one of America's whitest sports and assumed the mantle of the world's most famous athlete, once worn by Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan.
But Woods has declined to identify himself as black, and famously chose the term "Cablinasian" (Caucasian, black, Indian and Asian) to describe the racial mixture he inherited from his African-American father and Thai mother.
This vexed some blacks, but it hasn't stopped them from claiming Woods as one of their own. Or from disapproving of his marriage to Elin Nordegren, despite blacks' historical fight against white racist opponents of mixed marriage.
On the one hand, Ebonie Johnson Cooper doesn't care that Tiger Woods' wife and alleged mistresses are white because Woods is "quote-unquote not really black."
"But at the same time we still see him as a black man with a white woman, and it makes a difference," said Johnson Cooper, a 26-year-old African-American from New York City. "There's just this preservation thing we have among one another. We like to see each other with each other."
Black women have long felt slighted by the tendency of famous black men to pair with white women, and many have a list of current transgressors at the ready.
"We've discussed this for years among black women," said Denene Millner, author of several books on black relationships. "Why is it when they get to this level ... they tend to go directly for the nearest blonde?"
This tendency may be more prominent due to a relative lack of interracial marriages among average blacks. Although a recent Pew poll showed that 94 percent of blacks say it's all right for blacks and whites to date, a study published this year in Sociological Quarterly showed that blacks are less likely to actually date outside their race than are other groups.
"There is a call for loyalty that is stronger in some ways than in other racial communities," said the author of the study, George Yancey, a sociology professor at the University of North Texas and author of the book "Just Don't Marry One."
The color of one's companion has long been a major measure of "blackness" — which is a big reason why the biracial Barack Obama was able to fend off early questions about his black authenticity.
"Had Barack had a white wife, I would have thought twice about voting for him," Johnson Cooper said.
So do Woods' women say something about the intensely private golfer's views on race?
"I would like to say no, but I think it garners a bit of a yes," Johnson Cooper said.
Carmen Van Kerckhove, founder of the race-meets-pop-culture blog Racialicious, said there have been frequent discussions on her site about the fine line between preference and fetish.
"Is there any difference between a white guy with a thing for blondes, and a non-white guy with a thing for blondes?" asked Van Kerckhove, who has a Chinese mother, a Belgian father and a husband born in America to parents from Benin.
She claims that Asians don't fully embrace Woods, either.
"There are two layers of suspicion toward him," Van Kerkhove said. "One toward the apparent pattern in the race of his partners, and the second in the way he sees himself. ... People have been giving him the side-eye for a while."
There's nothing wrong with wanting a mate who shares your culture, as long as it's for the right reasons, the comedienne Sheryl Underwood said after unleashing a withering Woods monologue on Tom Joyner's radio show.
"Would we question when a Jewish person wants to marry other Jewish people?" she said in an interview. "It's not racist. It's not bigotry. It's cultural pride."
"The issue comes in when you choose something white because you think it's better," Underwood said. "And then you never date a black woman or a woman of color or you never sample the greatness of the international buffet of human beings. If you never do that, we got a problem."
Plexico jail, not so much!
NEW YORK -- Former Super Bowl star Plaxico Burress wants to get a break from prison, but prosecutors said Tuesday they will likely try to block his bid for work release because he hasn't served enough time.
The former New York Giant applied for a work furlough -- which would let him spend some portion of his time at home -- on Nov. 25, about two months into his two-year sentence for carrying an unlicensed gun that went off and wounded him at a Manhattan nightclub. State prison system officials are expected to decide on his request next month.
Prosecutors said the bullet narrowly missed a security guard, and they insisted on at least a two-year prison term. A quick furlough would send "a very bad message," Manhattan Chief Assistant District Attorney Mark Dwyer said Tuesday.
"It's too early," he said.
Burress' lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, declined to comment.
Statistically, Burress' effort is a long shot. Less than 5 percent of the more than 31,500 work release applications statewide were granted last year, according to the state Department of Correctional Services.
Under state law, inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses can apply for work furloughs within two years of their release dates. Burress pleaded guilty in August to a form of attempted criminal possession of a weapon that allows him to be eligible for work release, state corrections spokeswoman Linda Foglia said.
Officials deciding on furloughs weigh factors including the inmate's crime, his prison behavior and any opposition to the release, she said.
Burress, then a Giants receiver, was at the Latin Quarter nightclub in November 2008 with a .40-caliber gun tucked into his waistband. He later said he was concerned for his safety because a teammate had been held up at gunpoint elsewhere days before. The weapon slipped down Burress' leg and fired, injuring his right thigh.
The gun wasn't licensed in New York or New Jersey, where Burress lived; his Florida concealed-weapons permit had expired.
Sentenced in September, Burress is now being held in protective custody at an upstate prison because of his notoriety.
Inmates on work release generally get to spend several days and nights each week out of prison working and reconnecting with their families; the exact arrangements vary for each inmate. Some are allowed out full-time for the last few months of their sentence, Foglia said.
It's unclear what work Burress, 32, might do if given a furlough. The Giants released him in April, and the NFL has suspended him for the duration of his sentence.
Burress, who caught the Giants' winning touchdown over the New England Patriots in the final minute of the 2008 Super Bowl, has said he hopes to play again.
The former New York Giant applied for a work furlough -- which would let him spend some portion of his time at home -- on Nov. 25, about two months into his two-year sentence for carrying an unlicensed gun that went off and wounded him at a Manhattan nightclub. State prison system officials are expected to decide on his request next month.
Prosecutors said the bullet narrowly missed a security guard, and they insisted on at least a two-year prison term. A quick furlough would send "a very bad message," Manhattan Chief Assistant District Attorney Mark Dwyer said Tuesday.
"It's too early," he said.
Burress' lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, declined to comment.
Statistically, Burress' effort is a long shot. Less than 5 percent of the more than 31,500 work release applications statewide were granted last year, according to the state Department of Correctional Services.
Under state law, inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses can apply for work furloughs within two years of their release dates. Burress pleaded guilty in August to a form of attempted criminal possession of a weapon that allows him to be eligible for work release, state corrections spokeswoman Linda Foglia said.
Officials deciding on furloughs weigh factors including the inmate's crime, his prison behavior and any opposition to the release, she said.
Burress, then a Giants receiver, was at the Latin Quarter nightclub in November 2008 with a .40-caliber gun tucked into his waistband. He later said he was concerned for his safety because a teammate had been held up at gunpoint elsewhere days before. The weapon slipped down Burress' leg and fired, injuring his right thigh.
The gun wasn't licensed in New York or New Jersey, where Burress lived; his Florida concealed-weapons permit had expired.
Sentenced in September, Burress is now being held in protective custody at an upstate prison because of his notoriety.
Inmates on work release generally get to spend several days and nights each week out of prison working and reconnecting with their families; the exact arrangements vary for each inmate. Some are allowed out full-time for the last few months of their sentence, Foglia said.
It's unclear what work Burress, 32, might do if given a furlough. The Giants released him in April, and the NFL has suspended him for the duration of his sentence.
Burress, who caught the Giants' winning touchdown over the New England Patriots in the final minute of the 2008 Super Bowl, has said he hopes to play again.
Ron Artest I used to drink Hennessy at halftime
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/10463220/Artest:-I-used-to-drink-Hennessy-at-halftime?GT1=39002
Tisk, Tisk, Tisk Sheila Dixon Convicted
(CNN) -- A jury convicted Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon on Tuesday of embezzlement for improperly using gift cards intended for the needy, the chief investigator for the state prosecutor's office said.
She was found guilty of a single misdemeanor count of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary. She could be removed from office because it is a theft-related crime, James I. Cabezas said.
Dixon solicited several cards for her own use from two developers, including Patrick Turner, who testified this month that Dixon asked him to donate gift cards from retailers and have them delivered to her office. He said he spent $1,000 total -- $500 for a Best Buy gift card and $500 for a Target one, according to the Baltimore Sun newspaper.
No date was set for sentencing. Cabezas said Dixon, Baltimore's first black female mayor, faces up to five years in prison. She was indicted in January.
The 55-year-old mayor was acquitted of two counts of felony theft and one count of misconduct in office in connection to allegations that the Democrat misused gift cards sponsored by the mayor's office and to various stores.
In a statement, Dixon said she would continue with her work. "The jury's verdict today does not impact my responsibility to continue serving, and I remain focused on keeping Baltimore on course in these trying economic times," she said.
Her spokesman, Scott Peterson, told CNN that the verdict was confusing, since she was also found not guilty of stealing the gift cards.
"I don't know how to deal with that," he said in a telephone interview.
Jurors deliberated more than six days before reaching their verdict. A second trial is scheduled for March to address Dixon's alleged financial disclosure violations and perjuries, Cabezas said.
"The city will still continue to move forward. ... We won't miss a step," Dixon said outside the courthouse after the verdict.
Turner "has a significant development project in progress now," Cabezas said.
The investigation into alleged wrongdoing at City Hall began in March 2006, when Dixon was on the City Council. Several other people related to the case already have been convicted, Cabezas said.
Dixon was president of the City Council when she became mayor in January 2007, after then-Mayor Martin O'Malley was elected governor. She was serving a four-year term in November of that year.
She was found guilty of a single misdemeanor count of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary. She could be removed from office because it is a theft-related crime, James I. Cabezas said.
Dixon solicited several cards for her own use from two developers, including Patrick Turner, who testified this month that Dixon asked him to donate gift cards from retailers and have them delivered to her office. He said he spent $1,000 total -- $500 for a Best Buy gift card and $500 for a Target one, according to the Baltimore Sun newspaper.
No date was set for sentencing. Cabezas said Dixon, Baltimore's first black female mayor, faces up to five years in prison. She was indicted in January.
The 55-year-old mayor was acquitted of two counts of felony theft and one count of misconduct in office in connection to allegations that the Democrat misused gift cards sponsored by the mayor's office and to various stores.
In a statement, Dixon said she would continue with her work. "The jury's verdict today does not impact my responsibility to continue serving, and I remain focused on keeping Baltimore on course in these trying economic times," she said.
Her spokesman, Scott Peterson, told CNN that the verdict was confusing, since she was also found not guilty of stealing the gift cards.
"I don't know how to deal with that," he said in a telephone interview.
Jurors deliberated more than six days before reaching their verdict. A second trial is scheduled for March to address Dixon's alleged financial disclosure violations and perjuries, Cabezas said.
"The city will still continue to move forward. ... We won't miss a step," Dixon said outside the courthouse after the verdict.
Turner "has a significant development project in progress now," Cabezas said.
The investigation into alleged wrongdoing at City Hall began in March 2006, when Dixon was on the City Council. Several other people related to the case already have been convicted, Cabezas said.
Dixon was president of the City Council when she became mayor in January 2007, after then-Mayor Martin O'Malley was elected governor. She was serving a four-year term in November of that year.
