19th November, 2008
UK Cops Learn Gangsta Rap To Combat Crime
LOL boy do I love it! Is that really what's standing in between law enforcement and youth throughout the world---ebonics?!
UK police have been studying gangsta rap slang in hopes to quell a growing narcotics problem, specifically in the kingdom’s prisons. The decree was issued by concerned officials in the Ministry of Justice, as reports indicate that more than half of England and Wales’ prisoners are jailed on narcotic charges.
Previously, officers were not versed in Hip-Hop slang, and dealers were able to conduct transactions freely in front of the police simply by using the coded language. Unfortunately with many officials now first being exposed to Hip-Hop as strictly a criminal element, visiting Hip-Hop stars are now experiencing high scrutiny and suspicion.
Earlier this year Snoop Dogg successfully overturned a visa ban that prevented him from entering the country. The UK instituted the ban on the Long Beach, CA native on suspicion of his involvement in a brawl at London’s Heathrow Airport.
In September, Busta Rhymes was denied entry into the UK for a scheduled charity concert to honor community volunteers. Officials detained Busta for 11 hours on the grounds that his previous criminal convictions in the United States made him a security threat. The issue was eventually taken before a high court judge who ruled the detention was unlawful and had the rapper immediately released.
Just last week, R&B singer TQ was also denied entry into the UK.
Even with these high profile problems, the Ministry of Justice plans to continue their experiment and will look to local authorities to use the information and modify it as they see fit.
Reprinted below are the top gangsta rap “phrases” officers have been supplied with by the Ministry of Justice:
Strap - gun
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19th November, 2008
Black Americans Lead Nation and Obesity
It's soo hard to undo generations of bad eating habits and do away with things that have become more or less cultural institutions...but it's so necessary
Obesity has been declared a national epidemic in America. What was once considered an issue among adults has sadly transcended to our youth. African-Americans have the highest obesity rates (plump determined by a high Body Mass Index) in the nation and the same is true for our children.
According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, one out of every six children is obese in America and blacks and Hispanics are at the greatest risk. Among Hispanics, boys are more likely to be obese than girls, while black girls are more likely to be obese than black boys. The U.S. Department of Health contends that an obese child has a 70% chance in becoming an obese adult. Recently the National Institute of Health and the National Council of Negro Women teamed up in Maryland for a day-long training for children ages 11-13 along with their parents called We Can! The program's mission was to educate children and their parents about fast food media messages and improve their daily nutrition.
Black Voices spoke with the President of the National Council of Negro Women, Dr. Dorothy Height, about the importance of nutritional awareness in the black community.
Why is obesity a problem in the US?
What are some things you feel contribute to obesity among African-Americans?Well we have soul food and many people eat that with a lot of grease and we're trying to help them understand that you can get good tasting food without those things that contribute to obesity. As children are growing up we have to learn that we set their taste when we give them things that have too much sugar and added ingredients and we have to learn how to deal with things that have low plumps and low salt and so on. That's what I think this program will do.
Do you feel that obese children reflect their family?
Is it a regional problem?
How did the National Council of Negro Women team up with the National Institute of Health?
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19th November, 2008
Britney Spears on the road to recovery her new album ‘Circus’ will be out Dec 1st.
BRITNEY SPEARS looks well on the road to recovery in her latest promo pic.
The singer, who's new album Circus is released on Dec 1, dons a shimmering blue corset with an odd looking skirt and a sequin-covered hat in the new photo.
And she looks amazing - although maybe a little airbrushed perhaps?
With just a few weeks until the release of her new LP, it seems the once troubled star is on the way to a remarkable comeback.
Her single Womanizer hits the shelves on November 24, with Circus in shops the following week.
Photo and Source
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19th November, 2008
Sacha Baron Cohen sneaks onto International Space Station
Sacha Baron Cohen went undercover as his alter ego Bruno on Sunday by sneaking onto the International Space Station. The British comedian is working on a film based on the fictional character Bruno, a gay Austrian style reporter who conducted gag interviews on HBO's "Da Ali G Show." Cohen has been crashing parties, style shows and gay rights rallies in the last few months. He appeared inside the space station disguised in a blond wig. The space shuttle Endeavour successfully docked with the International Space Station more than 200 miles above the Earth over the weekend.
"It appears Mr. Cohen somehow got himself inside the shuttle and hitched a ride to the space station," said NASA spokesperson Arthur Mulencrueger. "Under normal circumstances, this would have been considered a massive security failure. But once we found out that it was Borat (Cohen), we all had a good laugh here at NASA. It's Borat. That guy is hilarious. Remember when he got naked with the plump guy in his first movie? Again, since this was all done in good fun, we're not going to take any action."
Congressional leaders are calling for an immediate investigation into how Cohen was able to get on board the space shuttle. But NASA officials are dismissing the calls.
"Come on people, it's Borat," said Mulencrueger.
Tags: fiction, gay, hollywood, stylePosted at 12:15 am | Comment (0)
19th November, 2008
Angelina nervous as Brad agrees to star in Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2 with Jessica Alba
Sources close to Angelina Jolie tell Dateline Hollywood that she has started to feel a vague sense of anxiety since husband Brad Pitt agreed to star in "Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2" opposite Jessica Alba.
"I can't quite put my finger on it but something about this situation makes me nervous," Angelina recently told a source in the Jolie-Pitt camp. "It's probably nothing, though. It makes sense for Brad to do 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2' with a different actress so I can stay with the kids. In a few months he'll return home and nothing will have changed."
In "Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2," Pitt's character is alone after his his now ex-wife, who was played by Jolie in the first film and is a professional assassin just like he is, defects to Iran. He's shocked to discover, however, that a new lady friend he meets on eHarmony played by Alba is also a professional assassin and is trying to take him out at the same time they're falling in love.
Pitt and Alba were both unavailable for comment. A source on the set said both actors "seem to totally disappear" whenever they're not shooting.
Asked if she could provide any perspective during a just released interview in Vogue magazine, Pitt's ex-wife Jennifer Aniston said, "Huh. How interesting."
Tags: angelina jolie, brad pitt, hollywood, husband, jennifer aniston, jessica alba, love, style, wifePosted at 12:15 am | Comment (0)
19th November, 2008
Joe Jonas signs iPhone deal after phone call breakup with Taylor Swift
Joe Jonas has been criticized since country star Taylor Swift said the Jonas Brothers singer dumped her with a cell phone call. The 18-year-old Swift has been talking about the recent breakup as she promotes her new CD, "Fearless." But the breakup is good news for Joe. He has just signed a deal with Apple to appear in several iPhone commercials.
"They're doing something with me where I talk about the features with the fast 3G wireless technology, GPS mapping, and the App Store," writes Joe Jonas on his website. "Then I say that it also has another useful tool. I call Taylor, she answers, and I say, 'It's over, bitch.' I hang up on her and say to the camera, 'The iPhone. It redefines what a mobile phone can do.'"
Tags: commercial, hollywood, jonas brothers, style
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