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What is so intriguing about SL is its a totaly interactive way to communicate and interact with other people. It’s different then modern social networks. Yes the “profile” it gives it’s users to fill out is not very appealing, but using SL makes you feel like you’re there face to face talking, touching, feeling, breathing with the other residents. Honestly it’s so capitvating that literaly it has pre ocupied my time for the past two months for twelve hours a day! That’s the downside to SL, because it is so addicting. The best thing is in SL you can be whomever you want to be, and do whatever you want to do. It doesn’t matter what kind of person you are in RL, or even what kind of personality you have in RL. SL can take a obscure geeky nerd and transform him into a modern day gangster, or excuse me “gangsta” and place him in a simulated ghetto (that’s exactly what it did to me, ha, ha).

Throughout my four months on SL I’ve come to learn alot about the game, which I cannot agree on that classifcation, that in which I will discuss later in this article. The main two things is, nice people, I mean really down to earth nice people that are willing to help noobes (new, first time users) are scarce and rude, mean, obnoxious idiots are plentyful! It seems that people who use SL think they don’t have to use the same manners and common courtesy they would use in real life. Luckily users who are in-world (those who are currently playing Sl) have the power to ban, eject, or freeze people who cause problems, so long as they have been given special rights to a perticular land parcel or SIM (A sim can be a city, or basically several land parcels as one unit).

Owning land is not that difficult thanks to Linden Labs. You can pay tiers (as they are called in SL, which is more like rent) per week and have total control over a land parcel, or a SIM or you can buy it outright from Linden. Paying tiers is the cheapest way to do so as you are dealing with indipendent users, but beware as you can be scammed by some unruly residents. Owning a shop is even eaiser, you don’t even need to pay for land, as you can just rent a location per week. Of course you have to be talanted at creating some kind of product, which in SL range from Clothes, Furniture, Cars, you name it. If you have it in RL (real life) you have it ins SL. Not to mention all these items can be sold in-world. For that, Linden Labs created SL’s own currancy known as the Linden Dollar, or “L’s” for short. Linden Dollars can be purchased using US currancy and even exchanged for US currancy. L’s aren’t worth that amuch though as $2,000L’s is about $8 or $9 USD.

As I mentioned earlier in this article the creator of SL, Linden Labs considers this to be a game, which is in my opinion a bad classification. To me, a game is something you play in an effort to win or beat the game. You don’t do that in SL, as they’re nothing to win, nothing to beat. If you die in SL (which is possible in certain SIM’s/Land Parcels) you will just be teleported back to your home SIM. The whole porpoise of SL is the experience, the adventure, the ability to do what you cannot do in real life, to live out your fantasies, whatever those may be.

In-world I spent the last several  months as “Jaydon Breda” a half black young gangster who decides to run for Mayor of a SIM city known as New Jack City (which is based on the movie with the same title btw). As Breda I also became a car salesman as I opened two car shops known as “Breda House of Cars”. I have a girlfriend, a campaign manager, lots of friends, several adoring fans, and of course, employees who work at my car shop, selling cars. None of this in which I can say is true in real life! That’s the beauty of it though, as mentioned before you can be whatever you want to be in SL. So as my “educational” journey and reporting on SL comes to a close of course I will be playing the “game” less and less, but there will always be a time in which I will run back to my “Second Life”. (FW)

Not only does Southland focus on several different types of  characters, it’s extremely realistic. More so than Law and Order. Watching any particular episode of Southland is like watching an episode of Cops, without the narration and a hell of a lot longer time slot. Southland also brings to the table a cast of extremely talented actors. Actors that make the viewers feel like they’re riding shotgun with the detectives or officers. Southland places you in a modern and hip atmosphere and showcases the good, the bad and the ugly in regards to the job of law enforcement. It does not try to paint you a picture that all cops are wonderful either. It showcases those who are questionable such as in Episode 3 “See the Woman”, Dewey becomes star struck by a famous, self obsessed actor. As a result, Chickie finds herself questioning her decision to take him on as her partner.

Now the best thing that sets this show apart from the other police dramas is that the viewers primarily get to see  everything through the eyes of the show’s main character Ben Sherman who happens to be a rookie cop. Which is so refreshing being that most shows focus on the big detectives only. Ben Sherman, played by Benjamin McKenzie who previously appeared on The O.C. as a troubled kid. In closing this show is rapidly moving up the charts and could be #1 before we know it. Southland’s 5th episode “Two Gangs”  premiers today Thursday May 7, 2009 on NBC.

The Swine Flu — Is it a very big deal? No actually, the seasonal flu is worse than the actual new strain that’s been code named the swine flu. Simple common sense is a big factor here, simply keep your self clean by washing your hands, and if you are sick or your kids are sick then stay home. Obviously the germ-fobes are going to freak out during this well what the government calls a pandemic, but the main thing to keep in mind that you are not at risk, as long as you do what you normally do during flu season. So although in a sense pigs are now airborne, they are no worse to eat than they were prior to this situation. Watch the full length video…

Islam's basic creed (shahadah) written on a plaque in the Great Mosque of Xi'an, China.

“I agree some people wage war in the name of religion. Most Muslims I know are peaceful! However some claim ‘Jihad’,” Jay Peroni, a friend of mine on Twitter, recently said to me in a conversation. “There are extremists in almost every religion. I don’t agree with the crazy Christians who bomb abortion clinics. But we also cannot deny that most of the terrorists are claiming they are waging a ‘jihad’ against America.”

My response? The terrorists claim that they are waging a ‘Jihad’ against America because it’s so easy to make that claim. They (the terrorists) know the relationship between the Muslim world & America is shaky, so they take advantage of that situation because they know the world will believe it. My response is not a theory, it would be the same if the Jewish world, for example, had a bad relationship with America, and the terrorists took advantage of that situation.  Some Americans (and people across the world) do feel sorry for the millions of peaceful Muslims who get a bad rep for the actions of a small radical group, and Muslims do appreciate that feeling.

I’m myself is Muslim, and I was always taught peace, even if I was wronged. We were taught to forgive first, help those who wronged you second, then share the experience with the world. That’s what a TRUE Muslim is taught to do. Don’t get me wrong, there some Muslims that go astray but once they go against the grain they are no longer Muslims. Believe me, you the  reader you cannot possibly begin to know how many times people have asked me why don’t all ‘good’ Muslims stand up and dispel the bad ones. It’s simple, we were taught not to judge people, we were told that is not our job to dispel or speak bad against someone else. It’s God’s job to judge, and dispel, and it is God who will banish Muslims from the religion once they go against the grain, not a Sheikh (a Muslim Priest) or any faith/political leader.

Under the rules of Islam, to be Muslim is to be completely submissive to God. The word Islam actually means submission, or total surrender of oneself to god. Yes, help your fellow man, but we cannot do God’s work, only God can. So therefore under that same Islamic rule, when the terrorists/radicals commit those heinous crimes, they are trying to do God’s work to satisfy their agenda, or their independent belief. Remember, true Muslims believe that only god can give a life and take a life. Our duty is to simply  live according to the way God wishes us to live. Now isn’t that what all religions are about?

“That makes sense. I always wondering why most Muslim leaders do not address the Radical Jihadists,” Peroni said in his response to me on Twitter. “That is what they are supposed to be about – however, man can make a mess out of just about anything!”

Of course man can make a mess out of anything, but real Muslims don’t. They do everything by the book & do not try to make any changes. The radical Jihadists are fooling themselves by thinking they are Muslim and that they have a one way ticket to heaven. In fact, they are sending themselves straight into God’s Wrath. God is waiting for them and he will judge and punish them when the time is right.

So then what’s our porpoise in life if we cannot stop, judge, or dispel evil and those who commit evil acts? The answer is simple, what happens on earth is only a test. It’s merely an entry exam. Do we deserve heaven or do we deserve hell? People try to make it more than it really is. That’s the meaning of life, in the Muslim’s eye, at least. It’s an entry exam. For some, their entry exams will be short, for others it will be longer. Either Way even if someone is murdered we believe that it was their time. Muslims’ believe that nothing on this earth happens without God’s consent. Our duty as man kind is simply to continue to take the test until our name is called and we are graded. (FW)

For about over a year and a half now (ever since I started watching Law and Order SVU) I’ve been hooked on police dramas’. Not all police dramas’ but only the ones who were not ‘trying’ too hard. Obviously police dramas’ are cropping up quicker than energy drinks on a c-store shelves, but only six (in my opinion) stand out and are worth watching.

The following list showcases the shows that I recommend police drama lovers to watch. Of course, if anyone has a suggestion worth taking a look at you can email me that suggestion by using the ‘Ask Me’ button on the navigator. So without further ado, here’s the list…

Top 6 Police Drama Shows on Prime Time TV:

1. Law and Order SVU — Entertaining, witty, clever, full of spunk, and is for everyone (except children or young teens of course). This show, in my opinion, beats the original primarily because the main characters that started with the show are still here and the show focuses on the effects of each case on the lives of the detectives.
2. The Closer — Very entertaining, extremely witty, down right clever, but most of all absolutely hilarious (which is awesome given the fact that its’ supposed to be a police drama). You ever met a team of detectives that besides wanting to do their jobs, they want to have fun?
3. Without A Trace — This one is compelling, informative, and intense. Jack Malone and his team delve into the lives of people who on the outside seemed ‘perfect’ but on the inside a deep dark secret lead them to their disappearance. Just like in L&O SVU, I love how it focuses on the Agent’s personal lives.
4. In Plain Sight — By far USA Networks’ greatest show they ever put out as an original series (some people would like to think that Burn Notice takes that title, but in fact, Burn Notice is one of those shows who try to hard to not only play the part but look ‘cool’). You’ve seen a tough detective before (Olivia Benson, L&O SVU), an extremely smart, interrogating Deputy Chief (Brenda Lee Johnson, The Closer) and a very attractive yet tough Special Agent (Samantha Spade, Without A Trace) but now you witness a kick ass, no holds barred, ruthlessly witty US Marshall who is Marry Shannon. I mean come on, if I ever needed protection, I’d want her to lead the team.
5. Law and Order (The Original) — Only three reasons why I still watch the original…A) lieutenant Van Buren, DA Jack McCoy, and Captain Craigen (Former Captain of the 27th Precinct in the franchise, and current Captain of the Special Victims Squad also in the franchise)
6. Law and Order CI — It’s the weakest by far, but yet, from time to time it is entertaining to watch how Goren uses his high intellect to crack cases.

So there it is, comments and questions are welcome of course. Please keep in mind this is not an official list, it is in my opinion the appropriate list. Have fun watching those awesome shows!

We all know that the majority of experience we have with law enforcement is not usually a good one. Krooked Copz was founded in 2009, as a forum for people of all ages to express and share their run-ins with the law. In this great land we call America people should really be “Innocent Until Proven Guilty” but sometimes it doesn’t work that way. Though it is true we all make mistakes, we shouldn’t be judged by those mistakes nor should we be stereotyped before due process of the law is served. If citizens of our country are expected to obey the laws that govern our land, those same laws or any procedural laws should apply to those who create the laws (politicians), those who interpret the laws (judges and lawyers), and those who enforce the laws (law enforcement). The site is free to join and users will be able to post any and all information related to their case. Our users privacy is valued and everyone can remain anonymous.

Much like the Consumerist and Rip-Off Report, Krooked Copz allows you to vent out your frustration not on Corporate America but on your local law enforcement agency as well as the DA and corresponding judges. You’re able to share you entire case details and how you believe either the police made a mistake or they were being out right “Krooked”. The best thing about this website is that you are able to have full control of your data that you post online. Which means that you can remove your data at any time. It’s a an outlet for those that were either wrongfully accused or those who did make a mistake but were severely over punished. According to the website they will also begin working closely with what they call “Affiliate Lawyers” in order to try to get members of the site a discount on legal services. With all the social networks that are popping up these days it’s refreshing to see a site of such that you can just vent your frustration on something that can cause a little more damage than Corporate America. (FW)

Pants down, under ware off, say cheese. According to teenagers, everyone is doing it. “Sexting” is the transmission of sexually explicit photos and videos via text message, a trend that is a growing nationwide, especially among teenagers. Based on federal and state obscenity and child pornography laws, anyone who electronically sends or receives sexually explicit material of minors could face felony charges. If convicted, the consequences could be as severe as imprisonment or sex offender probation. These laws were initially created to protect minors from harmful adults. However, the obscenity and child pornography laws do not exempt those under 18 who send and receive sexually explicit material of minors — even if the transmission is consensual.

I know I am not getting too old, yet, but what is so cool about sending ‘naked’ pictures of yourself to people who you are not 100% sure you can trust? Kids are literally giving people the means to blackmail and other tools that can make their life miserable, but according to Citrus County Florida students, they’re just joining in on the fun.

Here is what some officials are saying about the issue. “The problem right now is the kids know more than the parents do,” Dodi Pruitt, Citrus Springs Middle School resource officer, said in regard to cellular phone technology. “The freedoms that you give them have to be with very strict limitations,” Pat Deutschman, Citrus County Florida School District board member

Sexting has recently been a hot topic all across the country due to varying school conduct codes, as well as teachers are starting to catch the teens in action. Federal, State, and County, and City authorities issued the following warning:

WARNING: The taking, disseminating, transferring, or sharing or obscene, pornographic, lewd, or otherwise illegal images or photographs, whether by electronic data transfer or otherwise (commonly called texting, sexting, e-mailing, etc.), may constitute a crime under state and/or federal law. Any person taking, disseminating, transferring, or sharing…illegal images or photographs will be reported to law enforcement and/or other appropriate state or federal agencies, which may result in arrest and prosecution.

“Kids seem to think it’s the cool thing to do,” Deutschman said, noting sometimes nude pictures could end up in the hands of students who think they are humorous or students who have cruel intentions.

“Nude cell phone pictures uploaded to computers and posted on the Internet or embedded in e-mails could also get in the hands of pedophiles and predators,” Pruitt said. “It’s called the World Wide Web for a reason, Pruitt said; once out there, these images and videos could be accessed by anyone at anytime.”

Popular Text Message Lingo:

* LOL — Laughing out loud

* J/K — Just kidding

* OMG — Oh my God

* IDK — I don’t know

* NP — No problem

* TTYL — Talk to you later

* BTW — By the way

* Pls — Please

* BF/GF — Boyfriend/Girlfriend

* BFF — Best friend forever

* For an A to Z guide to text messaging and instant messaging lingo, including a translator, log onto www.lingo2word.com.

Attention Parents

* Cell phones and other wireless communication devices must be turned off and are not to be displayed or utilized during the school day or while on school buses, according to the Citrus County School District Student Code of Conduct.

The brother of Dominic Giacobbe, 26, the man who was shot and killed by Citrus County deputies in Florida for stabbing a K-9 Police Dog and allegedly lunging towards officers with the same knife, finally spoke out. According to Giacobbe’s twin brother Joe, The days leading up to Dominic Giacobbe’s death included a three-day stay at a local hospital, a nine hour evaluation at Northside Mental Hospital and even a 911 call placed by Joe, because he had been wandering off. Now, Giacobbe’s family is saying the 26-year-old man’s death could have been prevented.

Dominic Giacobbe, 26, was shot and killed after stabbing a police dog and allegedly lunging towards officers.

Joe had brought his brother a bus ticket to New Mexico, where their parents live. However, Dominic  missed the bus, and ended up wandering the streets of Crystal River instead. On Monday night, deputies responded to a call about Giacobbe stepping in and out of traffic on Kings Bay Drive in Crystal River. When they arrived, they sent a K-9 deputy to confront him. According to reports, Giacobbe pulled out a knife and stabbed the dog, and then deputies shot and killed him. According to authorities, the shooting was the third encounter Giacobbe had had with police that night. None of the previous encounters resulted in an arrest. Officials said the shooting was justified.  “He didn’t rob anyone, he didn’t shoot anyone,” he said. “He was just walking through traffic.” Giacobbe’s brother said in  disagreement.

I‘m outraged on how the media swarmed Nadia Suleman’s home when she finally brought the first two babies home. One of the onlookers that came to the ‘freak show’ said “It was either going to Disney or coming to see Nadia. So we decided to come see Nadia.” Are you kidding me? This lady and her poor kids are not an amusement park attraction. Besides the fact we usually pay to go to Disney, you’re interfering with the lives of fifteen kids for no reason at all. Everyone is outraged by Nadia’s decision, fine, but people are giving her more attention than they  are giving her kids. There is nothing you can do to change what she has done and this nonsense must stop.

People want transparency, I get it, but I don’t think we have the right to ask for it.  I wouldn’t want people in my family’s business. Why would it be any difference for Nadia? I do believe that she and her ‘people’ need to be transparent with the government, with the state agencies and so on. Those peopel need to know what is going on until all the kids in the house can take care of themselves. That’s understandable.

Furthermore, I agree with Nadia for firing Angels In Waiting USA. Gloria Allred is a maniacal, vindictive, mean old lady, and she has no heart and she has taken AIW USA and used them as a ‘tool’ to cultivate and control Nadia and how she handles her situation. I agree with Nadia’s attorney Jeff Czech in regards to his statement about Allred being at fault in why the arrangement with AIW USA folded. It folded because Allred wanted it to fold in the first place. Allred wanted the situation to fail so she can twist it against Nadia and say ‘See, she’s a bad mother, she shouldn’t have custody of the kids’. Don’t forget it was Allred who tried to get CPS to prevent Nadia from gaining custody, she didn’t want those kids with Nadia from the start.

I personally don’t agree with how Nadia got herself in this mess to begin with, the fact is though that’s said and done. It’s over, and now the kids are here, and she needs to focus on taking care of them. The fact still lies ‘No one can better take care of your kids than you’ and therefore placing them in foster care when the mother is fully capable (with help of course, that’s the sour part of the issue, but remember, we’re feeding the kids, not her.) of taking care of these kids.

Now if my memory serves me right, isn’t it slander to state ‘hearsay’ before it is proven to be fact? How can AIW USA claim that most of the nannies hired by Nadia were infected with TB if the Kaiser never released reports stating that they were. Wouldn’t Kaiser have a legal obligation to get rid of those nannies, report Nadia if she failed to get rid of those nannies, and stop discharging more kids into her care if AIW USA claims were true? It’s all political hype, propaganda, whatever you want to call it, in an effort for Allred to gain control and have her way. This woman needs to be imminently disbarred!

In closing, I am going to answer the question in the title of this article. Is it time to move on? Yes it is. You either help those kids or you step aside. The circus is over. This subject is no longer welcome. The media is no longer welcome, and the children need their privacy. Stop trampling over their rights, just because their mother is a crazy woman. Final thouht, Dr. Phil needs to quit doing any more shows about Nadia. He needs to step up and lead by example. Leave this woman alone, its done, it’s over, forget about it, leave it alone. The End. (FW)

At about 1:20 a.m. Monday, March 23, 2009, Deputy Todd Cridland of the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office, shot a knife-wielding man six times during a confrontation in the center lane of U.S. 19. Cridland shot the now identified man, known as Dominic Giacobbe, 26, after Giacobbe stabbed a K-9 dog and was moving with the knife in hand towards the dog’s handler, Deputy Jim Davis, Dawsy said. A seventh shot missed the suspect and according to Sheriff Jeff Dawsy, it could not be found.

Dominic Giacobbe, 26, was shot and killed after stabbing a police dog and allegedly lunging towards officers.

“Sheriff’s deputies were called to the area after receiving reports of a man jumping in and out of traffic” Citrus County sheriff’s spokeswoman Heather Yates said. “Deputies confronted the man and noted he was carrying a large knife. A K-9 handler released the dog, named Mito, to help apprehend Giacobbe, but Giacobbe stabbed the dog. After that Giacobbe charged toward deputies, which is when shots were fired and he was killed. Deputy Todd Cridland fired the shot that killed Giacobbe.” As part of agency procedures, Cridland has been placed on administrative leave with pay until the conclusion of a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation. FDLE will pass along information to the State Attorney’s Office, which will determine whether Cridland used excess force in the case. “Officials do not have an expected date the investigation will be completed,” FDLE spokeswoman Heather Smith said.

Cridland, a Lecanto High School graduate, began working for the sheriff’s office in 1999 as a 911 dispatcher. In April 2004 he became a deputy. Cridland’s personnel file includes information that describes his work as exemplary and above standard. The Florida Highway Patrol recognized him in 2006 for his work in a fatal hit-and-run crash. He was also commended for having perfect attendance in 2004 and 2006. “Todd continues to be a deputy that can be counted on during the toughest times.” Capt. Charlie Simmons said in December 2008.

By Wednesday, March 25, 2009, The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has concluded that the Monday morning shooting death of a man in Crystal River by a Citrus County Sheriff’s deputy was justified. Dawsy revealed several details of the shooting and its circumstances, including:

–Investigators believe Giacobbe had been on a bus headed for California. He either got off the bus in Crystal River and it left without him, or he was kicked off the bus. Dawsy said investigators are trying to find the bus driver to interview him.

–The sheriff’s office was called to a disturbance earlier at the RaceTrac gas station by a clerk who said the man later identified as Giacobbe was acting strangely. Deputy Kevin Morton spoke with Giacobbe and asked him to move along.

According to Dawsy, Giacobbe told Morton: “If the demon takes me over, will you shoot me in the head?” Dawsy said Morton dismissed the comment because the man did not say he wanted to kill himself or hurt anyone else.

–Giacobbe showed up later at a nearby unrelated traffic accident. Deputies suggested he get something to eat at the Sonic fast-food restaurant.

–A motorist called 911 to say a man was standing in the southbound lanes of U.S. 19 and stopping traffic. Deputies Cridland, Davis and Morton tried to move Giacobbe from the roadway as another deputy stopped northbound traffic

“As all four were standing in the center turn lane, Giacobbe pulled a knife from a pocket and Davis released his K-9, Mito, which charged the man. Giacobbe stabbed the dog and headed for Davis,” Dawsy said. “The man was less than eight yards from the deputies Cridland ordered Giacobbe to drop his knife and when he didn’t, Cridland fired seven times” When asked why seven shots were fired at a man who only had a knife, Dawsy responded “Why did we fire seven shots? Because the guy kept coming. It was a good shooting.”

Chris Hanson, the man who brought you ‘To Catch A Preditor’ brings you an inside look into the financial meltdown in the worst recession the United States has seen since the last great depression. People like Paula Taylor who dreamt of owning their own home, asks  “Why would they tell me as a lender, that I can afford a mortgage, if they know they’re not going to get their money back?” Even consumer financial experts such as Elizabeth Warren of Harvard Law School think there are methods to the madness, which she compares to sales men hawking products they know are defective. “This is about buying toasters that at the moment they were sold the person selling them knew that they were going to exploded.” Warren said.

The Epicenter of our nations financial meltdown, where many homes are now in foreclosure, is Santa Anna Orange County, California. Homes that are now sitting vacant were sold for $500,000.00 or more three years ago. “Why would a lender issue a loan that a borrower would never pay back?” Hansen asked. “Some Blame the problem on a good idea that gone bad.” he continued. Beginning in the 1990’s congress made it easier to get a mortgage. “Seventy percent of Americans who own their own homes today no small measure, do it because of the work that has been done out here.” Democratic Senator Christopher J Dodd of Connecticut said.

The rules for lending were eased so more people would qualify for a mortgage. Since more people are now qualified, the lending business boomed.  The biggest player of all, Countrywide Financial run by CEO Angelo Mozilo.

So what was the incentive for lenders to give mortgages to people who don’t qualify? First sales men where paid commissions for every loan they wrote and the lending companies collected feels. Albeit, they’re was a much bigger incentive to make as many loans as possible. A pot of gold overflowing with riches, empowered by some of the biggest financial institutions on Wall Street, but it was all destined to fail.”It blew up because it was based on a scam.” Warren said.

Few people know more about the financial crisis than Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren. “Down to its heart it was based on selling mortgages to people who simply weren’t going to be able to pay it off.” The entire scam was based on a series of lies beginning with the loan application. “If you have a pulse, we’ll give you a loan. If you fogged the mirror, we’ll give you a loan” C rage Parto  who once ran CountryWide in Alaska, Said. “If borrowers didn’t lie, sometimes loan officers did it for them.”

Federal Authorities caught Parto and he spent a year and a half in prision for processing liar loans for a realestate speculator. When CountryWide found out they fired him and others in the Alaska office. Parto insists the practice of faking loan applications was rampant, and everyone in the business knew it.

To learn more about this story visit Dateline NBC on the web.

“These investments are not a wish list of priorities that I picked out of thin air – they are a central part of a comprehensive strategy to grow this economy by attacking the very problems that have dragged it down for too long:  the high cost of health care and our dependence on oil; our education deficit and our fiscal deficit.” — President Barack Obama.

Watch as the President reflects on lessons from his time spent outside Washington recently, which only reinforced the core principles in his budget.  The budget will be his central focus throughout this week:

In this weeks ‘Weekly Address’ the President showcases his upcoming budget that is going to be presented to the House and Senate next week. In the video the President says “I expect a budget that meets  four basic principles. First, it must reduce our dependence on dangerous foreign oil, and finally put this nation on a path to clean renewable energy future. Second, this budget must renew our nation’s commitment to a complete and competitive education for every American child.  In this global economy, we know the countries that out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow, and we know that our students are already falling behind their counterparts in places like China. Third, we need a budget that makes a serious investment in health care reform – reform that will bring down costs, ensure quality, and guarantee people their choice of doctors and hospitals.  Right now, there are millions of Americans who are just one illness or medical emergency away from bankruptcy. Finally, this budget must reduce that deficit even further.  With the fiscal mess we’ve inherited and the cost of this financial crisis, I’ve proposed a budget that cuts our deficit in half by the end of my first term. “

Well said Mr. President, well said.

Part 1

Well it’s actually an amazing thing to see a U.S. President on TV, featured on a show that doesn’t look like something your grandparents would watch on a Sunday afternoon in an effort to enhance their nap. For the first time in history the “coolest” U.S. President has appeared on Jay Leno.

Part 2

Part 3

Watch as he shines (probably brighter than any other past guest on the show) and enriches night time television. It’s not a far stretch to assume that if Mr. Obama was not elected President, then he would be a TV personality. After all his ability to captivate a large audience single handed by using nothing but his words and sheer wit is what landed him in office to begin with. The “Yes We Can” man that took this country by storm and quickly rose to become the first black President who had Muslim ties resonated with every minority in this country and beyond. In my opinion I am proud, impressed, and honored that he appeared on Leno. It made a statement that said ‘although I am your President, I am still just like you and therefore I will congregate among and along with you’. Hooray for for our country, even though I’m sure they’ll be some (idiots) who may not approve. (FW)

Videos Courtesy of http://www.youtube.com/user/CityLineFilms

“I Just remember walking up to her and just smacking her.” Sir, who abused his wife for over two years said in the opening credits.

“Before we start the show today, I would like to say how deeply saddened I am by the passing away of actress Natasha Richardson.” Oprah said in the opening of the show. “Three woman die every day, that’s eleven woman ever year. That number may not mean anything to you, unless the woman was your mother, your sister, your daughter.” Oprah continued.

In the interview Serb does not feel any remorse for what happened in the story that he’s telling. “So what stopped you from killing her?” Oprah asked. “Um, the grace of god, reality has come back to me as the rage would kind of decrease, calm down.” Sir replied.

“You said you felt awful after the first beating, you took the gun to your chin and the gun wouldn’t fire. If you felt so awful why did  you hit her again? Oprah asked as the interview continued. Sir replied “It Was uh, out of a fit of rage. I look back now I can see that at that time when the rage would come, it was kind of, like right now where it’s tunnel vision, and I was trying to express my anger and disappointment the only way I knew how, through abuse.”

Sir had lost count on the number of time he abused Christi, but it’s been about two years since the last time he had abused her. When he was asked if he had come close to abusing her again in the last two years he replied “Um, no and yes. I would sit and meditate on those emotions that would build up to that point of rage.” Well that’s a good thing for poor Christi, it doesn’t look like she could have taken any more beatings.

Furthermore when Sir was asked if he believed the statement ‘if a man hits you once, he’ll hit you again.’ he replied “I say yes because I hit her more than once. Do I think it’s a cycle that can be stopped, yes.” As to why he thinks men hit woman, Sir stated that even though it’s hard to blame it on his childhood, he had grew up in an abusive house and he didn’t know how to verbally converse with my wife without putting her down and beating her up verbally. I didn’t know how to verbally disagree with her.

“This is what I often wonder. Does a man continue to hit a woman who refuses to be hit. If you would have hit her the very first time you hit her and she walked out on you and gave you that ultimatum, would thinks have been different? ” Oprah had asked. Staring blankly into the distance, Sir replied “I don’t know, I think it’s different for each man, but to me it would have been reversed in the sense of ‘Okay I’m going to have to tame this one’ or the opposite is ‘I shouldn’t of done that’.

“Dear Oprah, I used to be Chris Brown. The way he allegedly made Rihanna look, is the same way I used to make my girlfriend look.  I couldn’t express myself verbally so I would take it out on her physically. The thing that would trigger me is that I was insecure as a person, to see her stare at another man or to see her have a conversation with a man, or if she just confronted me about anything, it enraged me. I felt horrible, but she’d re-enforce it. So I thought ‘Okay, I be okay, she’ll come back.” Tony, another man that was interviewed,  said emotionally.

“I was not being rhetorical when I said ‘if a man hits you once, he’ll hit you again’ it’s a true statement.” Oprah said when Tony agreed with the statement. Tony though was asked to explain more about how his former girlfriend would re-enforce his actions. “When it happened, and I lost my temper, she would accept it and go and shower, come out smiling, and she would re-enforce it with sex. At the moment I didn’t understand it, because I was so upset, I was ready to kill myself, I am just so down that I just did that. She would re-enforce it with sex and it would confuse me.”

Asking the two guys Oprah asked “Are you this way with other people? Would you be confrontational with other people, go up and hit them?” In reply Tony said “I think that’s why the abuse happened. I grew up as an introvert, I grew up very shy, very afraid. I walked away from a lot of things, and it suppressed that rage. ”

Oprah said that so many men distinguish shoving and hitting and slapping ‘I didn’t leave buses’ as if one’s not like the other and both men had agreed that this was their mentality as well. Tony had also said in the interview that in order to force a woman to compromise her self worth and her self respect he would ‘In a sense you gain their trust, and it’s all lust and lies. The relationship is built on deception. So they feel that you love them, and then when you  get close enough to them, you’re able to critique them and criticize them in a way that they feel like ‘oh he loves me and I need to change this’ so that’s how you’d strip them from who they are.’

Oprah asked the two guys if they would agree that ‘men do this because of their insecurities, no man who really feels like a man in the sense that he feels confident, he feels secure, he feels a sense of wholeness within himself, no man that feels good about himself hits a woman.?’ Sir replied “In public I’m a very confident male, at home I’m very insecure.”

“Being in an abusive relationship is like a drug addiction. It becomes like a bond in a sense like that woman becomes like cocaine to you. In order to overcome this, you need to separate, get out of the dope house, go to rehab, and never come back.” Tony said in the interview with Oprah. Tony grew up in an abusive atmosphere, Sir’s mother was abused.

“What would you do if he hit you again?” Oprah asked Sir’s wife. When his wife said that she would leave, Oprah asked “And what would be different about that time, that all the other times you didn’t?” Sir’s wife replied “Um, because he has full knowledge of what needs to be doing as a man, as a father and as a husband, and I have full knowledge of what he needs to be doing as a man, as a father, and as a husband, and if he’s not owning up to that responsibility, than I know I’m better than that and my kids deserve better than that.”

Before going to break Oprah mentioned that ‘Tony said he’s trying to make amends by speaking up against domestic violence whenever he has a chance. Which you are by being here.”

“I didn’t know how to stop it, I didn’t know how to control my anger, until I got the help I needed.”  26 year old Michael said.

“It’s my belief that if a man hits a woman once, he will hit her again unless he gets help. It’s like alcoholism, it’s like drugs, it’s like if you feel a little voice in your head I think I get a little to angry, I think I was inappropriate to woman, you’re walking your way into a misdemeanor or felony domestic violence. The words turn into blows.” 29 year old Justin said.

I was intrigued when Oprah had stated that abusing woman is no different from any addiction, because it’s so true. “I think that’s so important for us a s a society  to start getting, that it needs to be treated like any addiction. It is, you know, cause addiction is the management of feelings, you know anybody that’s had any kind of addictions, myself as a food addiction, everybody else who has their own addiction, it’s just like that. You’re out of control, you commit this act, you don’t wanna do it, you feel terrible afterwards. No different than anybody else with any other kind of addictions.”

Experts say that it is critical for men to receive comprehensive counseling to begin to stop the addiction of abuse. Author and Activist Kevin Powell agrees. At 25 years old he appeared on the first  season of MTV’s Real World where his  temper was caught on camera. Powell said it didn’t stop their, off camera  Kevin admits that he was abusive towards woman, he decided to seek counseling and for the past eighteen years he’s worked to try to end violence towards woman. He skyp’ed into the show from New York.

“The first step (to recovery) is having the courage to to own your mistake. That’s something I had to do. The second piece which is critically important, is not to just go to counseling for a couple of sessions, not to just have uh, a few circles with a few men, it’s got to be a commitment overtime. I can say that I’ve been in counseling for over twenty years. I have had four different counselors that included two woman and two men. It’s a part of my life, because I am very committed to non violence and peace. The other part is even if you stop committing violent acts towards woman, but i continued on with a bad temper which is the anger situation and got into scraps with some males. What I realized is it’s not just about uh, uh, how do you feel with all forms of conflicts. It’s got to be a commitment over time not with anger management but to get to the root cause.” Powell said.

Powell had said to Oprah’s producers that “Real men have to step  up in times like these. If we are going to have to solve this problem not by woman talking about it and not just woman leaving but by literally healing the men and men helping to heal themselves.”

When reminded of this by Oprah on the show Powell responded “It’s going to take, the only thing that’s going to stop sexism, violence against woman and girls in all it’s form, are for men, be their former abusers, or spouses, those of us on your show today, or men who’ve been non violent their entire lives to come together and challenge other men. Even if you are not the kind of man to do any of these kind things to woman and girls but there are men around you in  your fraternity, your religious institution, in your barbershop, in your workplace, in your family, and if you say nothing about it, your silence is agreement and participation. It has to take a community of men to come together, this is so important, it can’t be just woman saying we got this issue.”

According to Powell, for the record, eighty four to eighty six percent of crimes, of instances of violence in a partnership, be it married couple, or boyfriend and girlfriend, are the woman as victims. Only fifteen sixteen percent of males are victims.  Of course Sir said it was not counseling that inspired him to not treat my wife in such a demeaning way, it was Jesus Christ. Tony agreed with Sir stating “Despite the counseling and all of the coaching, the realist thing that changed me was to read about the account of a man who didn’t take account for himself, but others wrote for himself, and I saw  what real love was, a man that you can spit on him, kick him (talking about Christ, in which he calls him ‘father’) it showed me what a real man really was. It was a hands on experience that counseling couldn’t give me. So I a 100% totally agree with Sir.”

“Are you willing for the rest of your life to commit verbally, emotionally, spiritually, to challenging any forms of violence towards woman and girls, not to just your mother, our daughters, or woman that’s related to us, but to any where in our community?” Powell asked in regards to Sir and Tony.

It’s been twenty years since actress Robin Givens and her then husband former heavy weight champion Mike Tyson sat down with Barbra Walters for the haunting interview.Today Robin is a spokes person for the National Domestic Violence Hot Line and she joined the show from her home in Florida.

“During this whole process of Rihanna and Chris Brown, I know that you’ve been, you know, upset, that they’re haven’t been more men speaking out as Kevin just mentioned, men standing up to this.” Oprah said to Givens. Givens responded “I’m so impressed by what Kevin said. I’m also and I’m almost comfortable to use the words impressed with the men you have on stage. But I am, I am, it takes so much to come forward and to try to sort out with what their feeling. I agree with Kevin whole heartedly it’s going to take men to come on board to help solve this issue that we have int he community. It’s a frightening issue. I’ve watched this show with you interviewing teenagers, to see that one girl ‘if you get in the mans face, you got to be wiling to take what he’s giving you’ it was so deeply upsetting to me.”

Role models such as P. Diddy, and Usher need to come forward and speak out because they are heroes to young children who will grow to be young men. I was impressed and happy that Givens expressed that during the interview. Regardless of what a woman did, hitting a woman is unacceptable. “For legal reasons I have to say this, there have been no charges filed against Mike Tyson.” Oprah said after returning from the break.

Key fact is, domestic violence happens all the time. It doesn’t matter what color you are, your socio economic background, it doesn’t matter what religion you are.  To stop this cycle you have to look at where the anger came from. As a closing statement Powell said “As a man, there is absolutely no reason why you should ever put your hands on a woman or a girl. Simply walk away.”  (FW)

]]> http://fareedwarrad.com/2009/03/19/why-do-some-men-hit-woman-oprah-asks-men-answer/feed/ 0 http://fareedwarrad.com/2009/03/18/oprah-to-confront-men-who-beat-woman/ http://fareedwarrad.com/2009/03/18/oprah-to-confront-men-who-beat-woman/#comments Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:59:20 +0000 Fareed Warrad http://fareedwarrad.com/?p=661 Written By: Fareed Warrad | March 18, 2009 | 07:43 PM EST

This article was written a day before the Oprah Show episode: ‘Why Some Men Beat Woman’ aired on NBC. Click here to read the article regarding the actual show after it aired.

With the scandal surrounding Chris Brown and Rihanna, Oprah Winfrey has decided to confront men (like Brown) who abuse or hit their girlfriends/wives. On the show Oprah will hope to be able to answer why Rihanna’s story is personal to Tyra Banks, and show viewers can can help stop relationship violence.

The show will feature also feature actress Robin Givens who will apparently come forward about her abuse by a man that (assuming) she had dated.The show will air Thursday March 19, 2009 at 4:00 PM EST. Upon the completion of the show I will post a review and a full article explaining what was said and what happened on the show.

A new study shows that being obese can shorten your life. Gary Whitlock, a researcher from the Clinical Trial Service Unit at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom said “Moderate obesity typically shortens life span by about three years. By moderate obesity, I mean weighing about a third more than is ideal, which for most people would mean being about 50 or 60 pounds overweight.” Mr. Whitlock continued “More than one in three middle-aged Americans are now in this category, Whitlock said. “By contrast, weighing twice your ideal weight — say, an extra 150 pounds — shortens life span by about 10 years,” he added.”

Although this obesity level is still not common, albeit it does equals the known 10-year reduction in life span caused by smoking. “So, smoking is about as dangerous as being severely obese, and about three times as dangerous as being moderately obese,” he said.

The Lancet published the report in the March 18 online edition. Whitlock and other members of the Prospective Studies Collaboration collected data on 894,576 men and women who participated in 57 studies for the study. The people in these studies came primarily from western Europe and North America and had an average body-mass index (BMI) was 25. According to the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Body Mass Index, also known as BMI,  is a calculation that expresses a relationship between height and weight. To be considered underweight people must have a  BMI of less than 18.5. People are  considered normal weight when the BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9, overweight when BMI is between 25 and 29.9, and obese when BMI is 30 or more.

Researchers discovered that men and women lived the longest when their BMI was between 22.5 and 25. They also noted for a person 5 feet 7 inches tall, his or her optimum weight would be about 154 pounds.

Researchers reported folks who have a  BMI over 25, every 10 to 12 pound increase translated to about a 30 percent increased risk of dying. In addition to that fact, there was  a 40 percent increase in the risk for heart disease, stroke and other vascular disease, a 60 percent to 120 percent increased risk of diabetes, liver disease or kidney disease, a 10 percent increased risk of cancer, and also 20 percent increased risk for lung disease. “Obesity causes kidney disease, liver disease and several types of cancer, but the most common way it kills is by causing stroke and, most importantly, heart disease. Obesity causes heart disease by pushing up blood pressure, by interfering with blood cholesterol levels, and by bringing on diabetes,” Whitlock said.

Continuing, Whitlock stated “People who are moderately obese with a BMI in the 30 to 35 range reduced their life span by two and four years. For those who are severely obese with BMIs between 40 and 45, their life span was reduced by eight to 10 years. That’s comparable to the effects of smoking. In fact, people whose weight was below normal also died earlier, due mainly to smoking-related diseases. If you are obese and smoke, then, above all else, quit smoking. If you are obese and don’t smoke, then don’t start, and do what you can to avoid further weight gain. By avoiding further weight gain, you may well live a few years longer than you otherwise would do. By quitting smoking, a smoker can expect to gain several extra years of life — about as many as a severely obese person might gain by shedding half of his or her body weight.”

“This study confirms that the obesity epidemic is “the clear and present danger many of us knew it to be.” Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine, said.

Due in part to uncertainty about weight estimates and debate about measurement methods, the association between BMI and mortality has been challenged in the scientific community. “Here we have an emphatic reaffirmation of the fundamental issue: Overweight and obesity take years from life. We know that, in many ways, BMI is a crude measure of the health risks associated with obesity, since not all excess body fat is created equal. Weight gained around the middle tends to be most dangerous, so for those subject to this pattern, risks may indeed be higher than this study suggests. For those with lower body weight gain, risks may be lower,” ” Katz said.

The New England Journal of Medicine published a study in the Nov. 13 issue that also found that where weight is centered is a risk factor. Women with the largest waist circumference increased their risk of death by 78 percent, and men with the largest waist circumference had more than double the risk of death.

Written By: Fareed Warrad | March 16, 2009 | 04:48 PM EST

Dell (Dell) Adamo Laptop Less than an inch thick with a 13-inch screen, the Adamo supports three USB ports and an eSATA jack, which could be used for plugging in an external hard drive.

Everyone these days is taking note when it comes to design ingenious and beauty in regards to Apple’s products. Everyone including Dell, who just released it’s new Adamo Laptop, ts first stylish, high-end, ultraportable laptop that flexes the company’s design muscle against Apple’s MacBook Air. “Dell’s Adamo is aimed at the affluent PC buyer willing to trade style for horsepower and features found in more mainstream laptops. The system is unique for Dell because it’s clearly meant to appeal to people not interested in a low-cost business or consumer system, which is Dell’s typical offering.” Antone Gonsalves of InformationWeek said.

“While Adamo is unlikely to generate volume sales, the machine, like other high-end systems, makes up the difference with a higher profit margin. Ultraportable laptops, which have full-size keyboards, are lightweight systems that are larger than mini-laptops, called netbooks, but smaller than mainstream systems.” Gonsalves continued.

Alex Gruzen, senior VP of Dell’s consumer products, said in a statement “While a premium computing experience was assumed for Adamo, the intent was for people to see, touch, and explore Adamo and be rewarded by the select materials and craftsmanship you would expect in a fine watch.”

Adamo’s stylish features include a chassis milled from a single piece of aluminum, like the MacBook Air; a scalloped backlit keyboard; an edge-to-edge glass display; and a choice of onyx or pearl colors. The system is 0.65 inches at its thinnest point and weighs four pounds, which is a pound more than the Air. Adamo is also a bit larger, at 13 inches wide. The baseline Adamo version includes a low-power 1.2-GHz Intel (NSDQ: INTC) Core 2 Duo SU9300 processor. Customers can opt to pay more for a 1.4-GHz Core 2 Duo SU9400 chip. The processor falls short in horsepower compared with the Air’s 1.6-GHz Core 2 Duo in the standard configuration and a 1.86-GHz Core 2 Duo in the more expensive model.

The Air arguably has more powerful graphics with the Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics processor versus Adamo’s Intel GS45 integrated graphics. However, side-by-side testing of the machines has yet to be done, so it’s too early to say whether the Air outperforms Adamo. The Dell system is available with up to 4 GB of DDR3 memory and includes a 128-GB solid-state drive. Like the Air, the system has no optical drive, but Dell sells an optional external Blu-ray or DVD combo drive. Dell also sells external hard drives for Adamo. The Adamo has a 13.4-inch display and built in Bluetooth and 802.11n wireless technology. It also has an Ethernet port, something Apple was criticized for not having in the Air. Adamo runs 64-bit Windows Vista and gets up to five hours of battery life, according to Dell.

According to Gonsalves, Dell started taking pre-orders of the Adamo on Tuesday and expects to start shipping the system March 26. The starting price is $1,999, which is more than the Air, which starts at $1,799. Dell, however, is less expensive than another potential competitor, Hewlett-Packard’s Voodoo Envy, which starts at $3,000. Dell introduced Adamo in January at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The event, however, was meant more as a tease, since no details were disclosed.

Ironically Kevin Mitnick, a social engineering master who went to jail for impersonating others to get information to access computer networks without authorization, couldn’t access his own Facebook account for weeks because administrators at the social networking site didn’t believe he was who he said he was.

“It has frustrated me to no end. I used to be very influential at proving I was someone else. And now I can’t even prove I’m the real Kevin Mitnick. It’s kind of sad,” Mitnick said, chuckling in a telephone interview on Monday. Facebook fixed the problem, shortly after the interview, but only after CNET had called them.

Mitnick, who’s been an avid  Facebook user  for about two years, said he realized there was a problem February 22 when he couldn’t access his account. He sent them an e-mail asking what the problem was and was informed that he had violated the site’s terms of use by registering with a fake name. So Mitnick, being the changed man that he is,  sent them an e-mail from his corporate e-mail account at Mitnick Security Consulting to help prove he was the real Mitnick and not any of the imposters behind the six dozen or so other “Kevin Mitnick” accounts on Facebook.

“We don’t accept e-mail from an account other than the one that was used to register at Facebook” Facebook responded.  Although FaceBook had already rejected the other email address  as authentication when they disabled Mitnick’s account. Since then, they had refused to respond to his pleas until Monday. “I’ve been going around in circles. It’s really pissing me off,” Mitnick said.

“We are very aggressive in fostering and enforcing our real name culture and sometimes we make mistakes. But it’s rare, and it’s been fixed.”  Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt said, when asked for comment. Obviously no one is trusting Kevin Mitnick these days.

Elinor Mills of CNET.com contributed to this story.

OMG It’s happening again! Another celebrity domestic violence scandal! Wow, what’s up with these singers turned boxers these days? Ironically enough the China Daily reported that Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson’s latest fight became so violent police were called. Three Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to calls about a domestic dispute at the couple’s Beachwood Canyon home on Saturday morning (14.03.09).

Just when the police thought everything was cool though, the 22-year-old actress and her 31-year-old DJ lover refused to let officers in, screaming at each other so furiously police reportedly called for backup. Neighbors heard shouting and “things hitting the wall loudly”. One object – believed to be a vase – even smashed a window. A source said: “One of the windows on the side of the house was completely shattered, like someone had thrown something through it. You could see the shards of glass on the cement walk below.”

That is so typical of woman, especially woman celebrities, they won’t throw punches, but they’ll throw vases. I could just hear the Tina Turner Song ‘What’s a vase got to do, got to do with it?’ Of course the fight comes just a day after the Beverly Hills Police Department issued a warrant for Lindsay’s arrest for violating her probation relating to a 2007 drink-driving conviction. Happy-to-help sources claim the actress breached her driving restrictions – which allegedly state she is only allowed to get behind the wheel for work – when she drove herself to Las Vegas to attend one of Samantha’s DJ sets. Not surprisingly the ‘Mean Girls’ star claims the charges are “completely fabricated”.

Her attention grubbing lawyer Shawn Chapman Holley went to Beverly Hills Courthouse earlier today and responded to the arrest warrant, which she had the audacity to claim the warrant was “born out of a misunderstanding”. Where is the misunderstanding? She drove when she was not supposed to. But yet Holley is confident she can “clear it all up”. As for Lohan, bail has been set at $50,000 and if she is found to have violated her probation, she could face up to a year in jail.

Hours after (Dr. Phil’s House Fire cooled down) and the police left Lindsay’s house on Saturday, three women arrived carrying blue Alcoholics Anonymous books, go figure. The trio stayed for an hour and as they were leaving, one said Lindsay was “doing good”. For a celebrity fugitive. Meanwhile, the actress’ in-denial father Michael Lohan has blamed Samantha for Lindsay’s legal woes.  “I love Lindsay. I’ve been telling everyone this relationship with Sam is toxic. Hopefully this is a wake-up call for her because we all really want her to get her life better. I’m here for her 100 per cent. But nothing is going to get better with Sam Ronson in her life.” Well said, but you left out the booze and drugs. (FW)

]]> http://fareedwarrad.com/2009/03/16/lindsay-lohan-chris-browns-samantha-ronson/feed/ 0 http://fareedwarrad.com/2009/03/16/get-ready-cut-and-paste-is-coming-to-iphone-os-30/ http://fareedwarrad.com/2009/03/16/get-ready-cut-and-paste-is-coming-to-iphone-os-30/#comments Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:37:52 +0000 Fareed Warrad http://fareedwarrad.com/?p=530 Written By: Fareed Warrad | March 16, 2009 | 10:25 PM EST

Apparently Kevin Rose announced on a live session of the Diggnation show at South by Southwest that Apple may be including a Copy and Paste feature in the next IPhone OS. He also said that more details will be available Tuesday. During the announcement Rose said “The new update will bring, at last, copy and paste, Kevin says. It works thusly: You double tap a word and it gets magnified, much like the cursor-placing magnification in the current version. You then pinch to choose the highlighted text (which is apparently indicated by a set of quote marks). Last, you choose from a button: cut, copy or paste.”

The crowd, of course estatic about the announcement, went wild when Rose said “No background apps.” Obviously this would be a definite battery saver. Apple, not to ever be behind the compition,  is stopping at nothing to bring parity with the Pre.  Apple will be adding everything that Palm’s yet-to-be released new handset is slated to have.

“There will be no video in this release” Rose said, forgetting that the IPhone already has a video player.  For those who are excited about this announcement, you won’t have to wait long to find out if Rose is on point (like he sometimes is) or extreamily far from the truth.

If you watched Dr. Phil’s show today then there is no way you could have missed his biggest catch phrase of the day that he eagerly belted out in front of a rather emotional audience. “If the house is on fire, I’m not going to spend a lot of time debating with someone whether we should of put that hot water heater in that corner of the garage or not because frankly I don’t give a damn. What I care about is the house is on fire, what are you going to do about it?”

Upon stating that when the time comes that the babies have to leave the hospital there are only two options, spin off into the foster system or go to an Angels in Waiting supported home, Dr. Phil gladly asked “If you have a better option I’m all ears.  You want to talk about eighteen months, talk to me about next week. What are you going to do next week when Kaiser calls and says they gotta go?”

I can understand Dr. Phil’s point, now it’s time to take care of the kids. There really is no clean cut option here. Allowing the kids to stay with they’re ever so disillusioned mother is a lot less painful for them then sending them through a corrupted foster care system.  In response to Dr. Phil’s aforementioned question the emotional studio audience member responded “Don’t do it in the first place.” Dr. Phil immediately followed with “You want to debate the issues the day after the election?”

Never appearing before  a studio audience prior to this Dr. Phil taping, Nadya Suleman stated “When I stepped out on stage I was extremely anxious, nervous, I felt that I diagnosed myself ADHD, very shy. I immediately felt a lot more comfortable with Dr. Phil” Hmm, maybe she is ADHD.  Nadia continued saying “My lightbulb moment was being proactive with the audiance.  My believe is their concern, their worry, their anger is warranted. A single mom, six wanting more, is she insane, is she crazy? I don’t want people to hate me, to hate my family. The most important thing for people to know about me I think, is all I ever wanted was the best for my kids.”

That’s where it gets confusing, why would someone bring more kids into this world, when they are having trouble taking care of the kids he/she does have if he/she wanted the best for them?  In closing Nadya claimed “As much as I adore these babies and attached to all of them, it does make me feel guilty that this happened and there will be a burden on society. I have changed and become aware that maybe I was a burden on tax payers.” Was? What happed? Did you disappear from the face of this planet? You still are and forever will be a burden on tax payers.

At the end of the day this is exclusively the fault of the mother and not the children, and now something must be done to help them. We get that now, so please Dr. Phil, no more Octo Mom shows.

I just read an article from CNET claiming that “Apple, the makers of the IPhone, have filed a set patents for a Wii-style wireless controller that looks to be made for the Apple TV and could be used for a number of applications.” The patent filing, including the image above, clearly shows an icon for Safari, as well as images that appear to be an iPhoto-like app.” CNET corpsonent Mat Hickey said in the article. He continued on stating “The filing, which describes a ‘remote wand for controlling the operations of a media system,’ specifically uses the Apple TV as a reference. Could this mean games on the device?”

Obviously the current version of AppleTV is not exactly a feature rich prodcut but for what it does do Hickey claims that “I love the device. I have one and use it almost every day. It’s the easiest way to get my movie fix on in my living room, and the Flickr and YouTube functionality is amazing, as well as fun at parties.”

Either way if Apple is planning on introducing games onto the AppleTV then it wouldn’t be a streatch to say that pretty soon Apple will become a formidable apponent in the gaming console industry. Think about it, Apple introduced powerful (at least for a mobile device) low cost games on the IPhone and IPod, just think what it could do if it moved that platform onto the big screen? Be afraid Microsoft and Sony, be very afraid!

Video By: Lizzie Palmer | March 15, 2009

Lizzie Palmer is a 15 year old girl who made a video tribute to our troops. It’s currently one of the hottest things on the Internet and Fox News as of today.

I must have either gotten stoned with Michael Phelps, or been dreaming, because I seriously just had a vision of the Octo Mom Nadya Suleiman raping Dr. Phil! Have you seen the recent Dr. Phil episodes featuring him trying to help Nadia? Well Monday (March 16, 2009 @ 5:00 PM EST for those who are dying to watch this) re appears on his show to answer hard hitting questions from his abidance (like his abidance’s hard hitting questions represents the general US Population’s opinions or best interests for that matter). Seriously just like it’s time to forget about Chris Brown, it’s time to forget about Nadya Stableman! Okay I understand that we must do something to help the kids because they’re not at fault. So help them and shut up! Quit trying to turn this ridiculous woman into a celebrity. Do you not realize that that’s exactly what she wants you to do?

Either way if I was in the Dr. Phil audience during this taping I would not have any questions for Nadya. What difference is it going to make what the hell was going on through her head? She’s a crazy  woman and that’s not going to change all of a sudden just because we are asking her questions. What we need to do is change the way the medical system works so this won’t and can’t happen again, other than that, help the kids and kick the mom to the curb.

This article of course is in no way meant to attack Dr. Phil himself, and I do agree that the Octo Kids need all the help they can get. I honestly hope that they will grow to be the most healthy, happy, and fulfilled human beings on this planet. The issue is simple, the way Dr. Phil is handling this, it’s as if he wishes he was the sperm donor. I just feel by watching his shows about Nadia people especially kids, are going to get the wrong message.

In closing I would just like to say that Dr. Phil was not physically raped by Nadya Suleiman but rather his image was publicly raped by her on his own show because he is unknowingly turning this woman into a celebrity. Which is sad to see because I actually like watching his show on a regular basis. Let’s do more shows where we send teens on the brink of becoming a convict to jail to spend 24 hours of quality time with prisoners (oh yeah that has not worked in twenty years since the concept was started). (FW)

As always: Questions, Comments, and or Suggestions should be directed to Fareed Warrad — Email: askme @ fareedwarrad.com

By Emil Protalinski |Originally Posted:  March 14, 2009 3:00 PM CT

Let’s look back at the week that was in Microsoft news:

Running the Windows 7 beta on a MacBook. Windows 7 may still be in beta, but it’s good enough on a Mac. Whether you prefer a separate partition or a virtual machine, Ars helps you install Microsoft’s latest OS on Apple’s latest machines and points out some pitfalls along the way.

Microsoft’s own speed tests show IE beating Chrome, Firefox. Microsoft has released its own tests that show IE8 can load many websites faster than two open source browsers: Firefox and Chrome.

Will Windows Mobile 7 fix updating?. According to a recent job posting, Microsoft might be changing how updates work on Windows Mobile with the release of version 7 next year.

Bill Gates is world’s richest man again. Bill Gates has once again become the world’s richest man. I guess there are people who win in this recession after all, though Gates did lose $18 billion over the last year.

Rollout for Hotmail POP3 worldwide support complete. Microsoft has finished the worldwide roll-out of POP3 support for Windows Live Hotmail.

Windows 7 build 7048 outperforms build 7000, Vista, XP. According to recent tests, Windows 7 performance just keeps looking better, both on low-end systems and high-end systems.

Windows Microsoft finally underlines a useful feature in MSN Toolbar. Microsoft has finally detailed a feature in the MSN Toolbar that many users will find useful: a cashback-offer-detecting mechanism.

Windows 7 beta gets its first security update. Microsoft has released the first security update for the Windows 7 beta (both 32-bit and 64-bit) via both Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center.

Kumo homepage screenshot leaks, shows many minor tweaks. A screenshot of the Kumo homepage has leaked, so we dive in to check out the minor changes between it and the Live Search homepage.

Windows Marketplace for Mobile details for developers arrive. Microsoft has given a bunch of details on what developers should expect with the Windows Marketplace for Mobile.

I must have either gotten stoned with Michael Phelps, or been dreaming, because I seriously just had a vision of the Octo Mom Nadya Suleiman raping Dr. Phil! Have you seen the recent Dr. Phil episodes featuring him trying to help Nadia? Well Monday (March 16, 2009 @ 5:00 PM EST for those who are dying to watch this) re appears on his show to answer hard hitting questions from his abidance (like his abidance’s hard hitting questions represents the general US Population’s opinions or best interests for that matter). Seriously just like it’s time to forget about Chris Brown, it’s time to forget about Nadya Suleiman! Okay I understand that we must do something to help the kids because they’re not at fault. So help them and shut up! Quit trying to turn this ridiculous woman into a celebrity. Do you not realize that that’s exactly what she wants you to do?

Either way if I was in the Dr. Phil audience during this taping I would not have any questions for Nadya. What difference is it going to make what the hell was going on through her head? She’s a crazy  woman and that’s not going to change all of a sudden just because we are asking her questions. What we need to do is change the way the medical system works so this won’t and can’t happen again, other than that, help the kids and kick the mom to the curb.

In closing I would just like to say that Dr. Phil was not physically raped by Nadya Suleiman but rather publicly raped by her on his own show because he is unknowingly turning this woman into a celebrity. Which is sad to see because I actually like watching his show on a regular basis. Let’s do more shows where we send teens on the brink of becoming a convict to jail to spend 24 hours of quality time with prisoners (oh yeah that has not worked in twenty years since the concept was started). (FW)

As always: Questions, Comments, and or Suggestions should be directed to Fareed Warrad — Email: askme @ fareedwarrad.com

Facebook has announced Facebook Connect for the iPhone, which enables users to take their Facebook friends, identity and privacy with them wherever they go. Facebook Connect for the iPhone provides the first live social experience for iPhone and iPod Touch applications, as users can now connect with their Facebook friends to play games — whether their friends are at home on a computer, or on their iPhone.

Facebook has announced Facebook Connect for the iPhone, which enables users to take their Facebook friends, identity and privacy with them wherever they go.

Facebook announced the new capability on March 14 at the South by Southwest (SXSW) 2009 conference, and noted that there are nine applications that are currently live in the iTunes app store, with more to launch in the coming days.

Developers can get started taking advantage of Facebook Platform APIs to add social context to all kinds of iPhone applications.

Facebook Connect for the iPhone provides the first live social experience for iPhone and iPod Touch applications, as users can now connect with their Facebook friends to play games — whether their friends are at home on a computer, or on their iPhone — and share restaurant reviews on the go, location-based status updates, and more.

Users can go to the iTunes app store to see the first nine applications:

Who has the Biggest Brain by Playfish

Movies by Flixster

iBowl and Agency Wars by SGN

Urbanspoon

Tap Tap Revenge 2 by Tapulous

Whrrl by Pelago

Live Poker by Zynga

Binary Game by SayEight

In a March 14 blog post, Joe Hewitt,  the engineer who built Facebook for iPhone, said:

“A few months ago, we announced Facebook Connect, an extension of Facebook Platform that makes it easy for you to bring your friends with you all over the Web. We’re now expanding this to Apple’s revolutionary iPhone and iPod touch, making it easy to connect with your Facebook friends in your favorite applications from Apple’s App Store.

“If you’ve used Facebook Connect on the Web, this will seem pretty familiar. You can now use Facebook Connect on your iPhone in the same way you can for a website. Simply download any application featuring Facebook Connect and log in using your Facebook account from your iPhone. Then, you’ll be able to easily find your Facebook friends. They will be able to see the same profile information as they can on the site, controlled by your privacy settings. You can also share what you’re doing with your iPhone applications with all of your Facebook friends by publishing stories back to your profile.”

Facebook officials said several developers are working on Facebook Connect for iPhone applications that will begin to be released shortly.

“In the coming days, many more applications will be available in Apple’s App Store so keep checking back,” Hewitt said. “If you don’t see your favorite iPhone application soon, ask the developer to implement Facebook Connect — together we can make your application experience on the iPhone truly social.”

Meanwhile, according to Gareth Davis, another Facebook engineer who wrote a March 14 blog post, “Facebook Connect easily lets developers make their websites and desktop applications more social. And with the explosion of iPhone apps over the last year, we want iPhone developers to reap all the benefits Facebook provides.”

Added Gareth:

“If you develop apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch, you can now start making those apps more social. With just a few lines of Objective-C code, your users can log in to Facebook from within your app, find their friends, then share what they do in your app back on Facebook, which opens up exciting new opportunities for your users.”

In addition, he said:

Now your iPhone apps can enjoy the benefits that Facebook Connect sites and Facebook Platform apps already enjoy, including:

* Making API calls so your app can access users’ profiles and share information on Facebook.

* Publishing to Facebook via Feed forms.

* Asking users for extended permissions, like offline access, so you can still interact with their data when they’re offline.

Meanwhile, Limbo, one of the largest mobile social networks in the U.S., today announced that Limbo for iPhone and iPod touch now features Facebook Connect for iPhone. iPhone and iPod touch users can link their Limbo and Facebook accounts, enabling automatic status and activity updates that are shared between the two accounts.

With Facebook Connect, Limbo members can see their Facebook friends on Limbo without their friends having to be Limbo members. They can also view the status of their friends on Limbo based on their Facebook status message, or automatically set an “On Facebook” status for members who are logged on and active on Facebook.

“Our members want a new way to share their experiences from their iPhone or iPod touch with friends who may not yet be Limbo members,” said Jonathon Linner, Limbo’s CEO, in a statement. “Now that Limbo features Facebook Connect for iPhone, they can easily share and distribute information and experiences with their friends via Facebook status updates, requests and notifications. The location-aware emphasis of the Limbo application enables users to find and meet up with their friends to increase face time and real world experiences. This makes it even easier to connect with friends in the real world, not just online.”

“We are a nation built on the strength of individual initiative.  But there are certain things that we can’t do on our own.  There are certain things that only a government can do.  And one of those things is ensuring that the foods we eat, and the medicines we take, are safe and don’t cause us harm.”

Watch Your Weekly Address below to learn more about the President’s measures to make the food that lands on America’s dinner tables safer.

An arrest warrant for Lindsay Lohan was issued by the Beverly Hills Superior Court on Friday, related to her 2007 DUI and hit-and-run case, according to People.com. While the exact nature of the charge is unknown, arrest warrants can be issued for any number of infractions, including minor administrative problems like failing to update an address. Lohan’s lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley, called the warrant “a misunderstanding,” and said that she has been complying with the terms of her probation. On Saturday, Beverly Hills Police Lt. Mark Rosen said that the police are not ”actively looking” for her, though if they came in contact with her, “she’s subject to arrest.” She is expected to attend a hearing on her case scheduled for Monday morning. The star, whose film Labor Pains opens in May, is currently serving three years’ probation for the May and July, 2007 incidents, in which she was alleged to have been in possession of cocaine.