Obama Slams Release Of Lockerbie Bomber

The Obamas looking very sharp

U.S. President, Barack Obama, has slammed the release of Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, from Scotland to his home country of Libya.

He is suffering from cancer and reportedly has three months to live. Britain is known for its compassion in such issues and as such, Scotland released him after serving 8 years in prison, to go home to die.

In 1998, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, blew up an airliner, killing 270 people, among them American college students. He was the only man apprehended and convicted for what is thought to be a conspiratorial terrorist act.

A large group of Libyans greeted, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, cheering his arrival in Tripoli, Libya. The Scottish government is being criticized for releasing him, even by the Conservative party in England, who denounced the move.

Compassion is a great trait. However, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, is a convicted mass murderer, who could have received medical care in prison, while paying his debt to society.

Releasing him has rubbed salt in the wounds of his victims' families and friends, who didn't get to tell their loved ones goodbye, a courtesy he has been afforded.

Barack Obama leads condemnation of Scotland for freeing Lockerbie bomber

10:00PM BST 20 Aug 2009 - The US President’s criticism of the “mistake” added to a growing backlash against the Scottish decision to free the biggest mass murderer in British legal history on compassionate grounds.

Hours after the Scottish National Party administration in Edinburgh announced its decision to free him, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the only man convicted of the 1988 atrocity, flew home to a hero’s welcome in Tripoli.

Megrahi, a former Libyan intelligence agent, has terminal prostate cancer and has less than three months to live. Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice minister, said freeing him showed Scotland’s “humanity.”

Despite his illness, Megrahi, 57, managed to walk unaided up the steps of the plane at Glasgow airport, his face hidden by a white baseball cap.

After he left Scottish soil, Megrahi, who has served just eight years of a 27-year sentence, released a statement protesting his innocence and expressing his “sympathy” for the families of the 270 people he was convicted of killing.

The US government condemned the decision to release him, as did US relatives of some of the victims of the 1988 atrocity...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Usain Bolt Sets Another World Record

Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt, fresh off his record setting 100 meter run, set another record at the the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany.

Bolt set a new record in the 200 meter final, winning the race in 9.19 seconds. The IAAF has been sure to emphasize, due to his incredible speed, Bolt has been rigorously tested for steroids, with all his tests coming back negative. His fellow sprinters also faced scrutiny and all their tests came back negative as well.

Well done to all who participated.

Bolt Crushes His Own 200-Meter Record

Published: August 20, 2009 - Usain Bolt clearly does not require the intensity of a close race to obliterate his own world records.

After being pushed close to the finish line in the 100 on Sunday by Tyson Gay as Bolt won in a record-setting 9.58 seconds, Bolt had to do the pushing himself in the final straightaway of the 200 on Thursday. Running alone — strikingly alone — in lane 5 in the final straightaway, he showed no interest in cruising to the finish. Instead, he sprinted through, and the result was a time of 19.19 seconds: 11-hundredths of a second faster than the world record he established a year ago at the Beijing Olympics.

It has been a remarkably productive, efficient performance for Usain Bolt at these world championships. He has raced two finals and broken two of his own world records, with the 4x100 relay still to come. And he has now matched his sprint double at last year’s Olympics with another, even faster double on the blue track here.

Bolt, who will turn 23 on Friday, arrived at the Olympic Stadium wearing a T-shirt that read “Ich Bin Ein Berlino,” a lighthearted take on the famous line from President John F. Kennedy’s speech here in 1963. Kennedy’s “Ich Bin Ein Berliner” (“I am a Berliner”) was a show of rhetorical support for West Berlin...

http://www.nytimes.com

Caster Semenya's Gender Questioned

Caster Semenya

South African sprinter, Caster Semenya, is facing massive scrutiny after winning the 800 meter run, at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany.

Caster has been forced to take a gender test, administered by a team of doctors, due to her very muscular appearance, pectorals, 6-pack/8-pack stomach, a visible Adams apple and slight bulge at the genital area. In an ironic twist, the first five letters of her name spell the word "semen."

Clearly, she passed the steroids tests, otherwise she would not have been allowed to participate. However, officials seek to determine if she is a man or a woman with genetic male traits that give her an unfair advantage.

Some in South Africa believe statements about her have been xenophobic and racist, because she is not an American.

Respectfully, as a Jamaican black woman, when I first saw her photo, I immediately realized what the controversy was about, as she does exhibit masculine traits and she also has a male swagger.

That statement is not meant to be insulting, but truthful. Not to mention, it has been reported, that even in South Africa, her teacher, bathroom attendants and others, for years have thought she was a man.

It maybe due to a genetic occurrence that caused her to posses both male and female characteristics, which strenuous workouts to build strength and stamina, have accentuated. Pilates would counter that to reduce confusion.

People are also asking questions, because in the past, two European men, who were white (only mentioning that due to the racial claims with Semenya) posed as women and won gold medals that were later revoked.

Women are considered the weaker sex and it really is not very competitive overall, to have men sprinting against women. Therefore, it is a very delicate subject, but it must be addressed in the interest of fairness.

Regardless of the outcome of the gender tests, which are expected in a few weeks, Semenya is an extraordinary athlete, who put on a fine performance. Congrats on your win, as it was very impressive.

Semenya humiliated, says SA athletics chief

Thu Aug 20, 2009 4:56pm GMT - BERLIN (Reuters) - The gender controversy surrounding South Africa's teenage 800 metres world champion Caster Semenya has been humiliating for her, the country's athletics chief said on Thursday.

Semenya's rapid improvement over the past year, in which she has shaved more than eight seconds off her personal best in the two-lap race, prompted the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to order a gender test.

"I will continue to defend the girl, I will continue to do anything, even if I am to be kicked out of Berlin, Germany, but I am not going to let that girl be humiliated in the manner that she was humiliated because she has not committed a crime whatsoever. Her crime was to be born the way she is born," said Athletics South Africa president Leonard Chuene.

"And now people are not happy, and on that basis she is isolated like a leper, like she has got a disease that will affect other people, and I don't think it's proper," he told Reuters Television.

Powerfully built but smooth running, the 18-year-old Semenya clocked one minute, 55.45 seconds for the year's fastest time and a personal best by more than a second to win gold in the 800 on Wednesday, hours after the IAAF said the procedure for gender testing had started...

http://af.reuters.com

Jacksons Push Back Michael's Burial Again

The Jackson family are having a difficult time in burying the late pop star. Initially, it was thought he was already buried. However, his dad, Joe Jackson, stated he would be laid to rest on his birthday of August 29.

Today, news has surfaced the date has been changed again, pushed back to August 31, 2009. Maybe they do not wish to remember his birthday in a sad way, as the day he was buried.

It is clearly a trying time for the family, who is having difficultly parting with their loved one.

Michael Jackson's Burial on His 51st Birthday Postponed

August 19, 2009 by - King of Pop Michael Jackson Still Awaits Burial After Date Postponed

Joe Jackson has now told TMZ that Michael Jackson's burial is to be postponed. It had been announced that Michael Jackson was to be buried on his birthday August 29th at 10.00am at Glendale Forest Lawn but Joe Jackson now says that it will have to be postponed. "There are things the family needs to get in order before Michael is laid to rest." Following the postponement it is expected that Michael will now be buried two days later on August 31st instead...

http://www.associatedcontent.com

Stephanie Meyer Plagiarized Book

Stephanie Meyer

"Twilight" author Stephanie Meyer, has plagiarized the preexisting, copyrighted book "The Nocturne" by indie writer, Jordan Scott, for her later released, best-selling tome, "Breaking Dawn." It is the fourth book in the "Twilight" series.

Megan Fox and "Twilight" Actor Robert Pattinson at the Teen Choice Awards

She has been sued by a law firm representing Scott, who wrote her book as a teenager, copyrighted it, published excerpts of it on her website, then released it for sale.

Lawyers for Scott prepared a 15-page document that was released to the internet, outlining the similarities. I read the document and agree, there are distinct and substantial similarities that cannot be classified as anything else other than copyright infringement.

For example, Scott's preexisting book "The Nocturne" has a storyline of a woman getting pregnant for a vampire and the child in her womb making her ill. It also contains a post wedding sex scene on the beach. Two years later, Stephanie Meyer's book contains the exact same things. There are other detailed similarities as well.

Meyer clearly read and plagiarized Scott's preexisting book. There are too many distinct duplications for it to be a coincidence. Sometimes authors get writer's block and use other people's work to solve the problem. Meyer, like so many other Hollywood infringers, didn't need the money, but wanted all the glory, cash and credit.

'Twilight' Author Accused of Biting Vampire Story

Posted Aug 4th 2009 10:00AM by TMZ Staff - ...A woman named Jordan Scott fired off a cease and desist letter to the publisher of "Breaking Dawn" -- the fourth book in the series -- claiming the Twilight tale contains a "striking and substantial similarity" to Scott's book, "The Nocturne."

In her extremely detailed letter, Scott claims her book was published in 2006 -- two years before "Breaking Dawn" -- and it's no coincidence that many of the scenes are almost identical. Such as...

-- Both books contain a post-wedding sex scene
-- Both books contain a scene about a woman who's sick because she's carrying a child with "evil powers"
-- Both books contain a scene with the death of the main character's wife

And according to Scott, the dialogue in all of these scenes -- and more -- is extremely similar...

http://www.tmz.com

Kim Zolciak: I Don't Date Black Men

Too Much Information Real Housewives of Atlanta reality TV stars Kim Zolciak and NeNe Leakes I don't understand what the necessity was for "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star, Kim Zolciak, to state to black magazine of all things, that she does not date black men, as it is not her "preference." What do you mean Preference, nobody asked you about your wig hair color. Kim Zolciak and Lisa Wu Hartwell Zolciak stated to Essence magazine, "I don't date Black men. I never have. It's not a prejudice. It's just a personal preference. People always think that Big Papa is Black. I don't know why. I've never dated a Black man. It's not to say it wouldn't happen in the future, but at this time, I never have. " The comment comes across as racist, because it is discriminatory, disdainful and did not need to be said. It is as though you wanted to hurt someone in saying so. Zolciak also brags about her wealth in the article, which she derives from sleeping with married men, who pay her for said services. There's no polite way of putting it. Zolciak believes the hype accompanying the show, which will not last. 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' Star Kim Zolciak Speaks on Beef With Cast Members, Her New Single POSTED: AUGUST 20, 2009 - It always seems as if Kim Zolciak is in the heart and center of most of the drama on Bravo's hit show "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." Between her infamous fights with NeNe Leakes and Sheree Whitfield and harsh words with Lisa Wu-Hartwell, controversy follows Kim like a moth to a flame... ESSENCE.COM: You two came to blows a few months ago. There was a police report indicating that NeNe assaulted you. What happened? ZOLCIAK: NeNe and I have decided to just move on from that. Yes, there was altercation but we've talked in great length about it and we're just both on to bigger and better things like her book and my wig line. NeNe and I care about each other and because we do, sometimes emotions run a lot higher than if we didn't care at all... ESSENCE.COM: Rumor has it that you and Dallas Austin don't talk anymore. Plus, he's said some really nasty things about you. ZOLCIAK: Dallas is a piece of work. He likes to Twitter, which is so trivial. I don't know what his problem is and quite frankly I don't care. I don't have time for negative energy. I worked with Kandi on my new song and I'm really excited about that. ESSENCE.COM: Is it true that you don't date Black men? ZOLCIAK: Yes, it's true, I don't date Black men. I never have. It's not a prejudice. It's just a personal preference. People always think that Big Papa is Black. I don't know why. I've never dated a Black man. It's not to say it wouldn't happen in the future, but at this time, I never have... http://www.essence.com