The Obamas 17th Anniversary

The Obamas going into restaurant to celebrate their anniversary

U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary this past weekend, by going for a romantic dinner at a Washington, DC restaurant.

No word if the President's successful date extended into he night at the White House, to round off the celebratory event.

Side Bar: it was just an observation and don't pretend I'm the only one that noticed him smirking at her just as they were headed home from the restaurant:

The Obamas leaving restaurant to go home and celebrate their anniversary some more

The Obamas’ Anniversary Dinner

October 3, 2009, 10:22 pm - President and Michelle Obama arrived at Blue Duck Tavern in Washington to celebrate their anniversary Saturday night The president and first lady arrived at Blue Duck Tavern in Washington to celebrate their anniversary Saturday night.

The first couple celebrated 17 years together with a subdued dinner in Washington’s West End neighborhood on Saturday night...

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com

Bush's Bailout Full Of Lies

The inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program stated, via his investigation, which revealed, the Treasury officers of former President George W. Bush, lied to the nation and the world, regarding the condition of the U.S. banking system, painting a "rosy picture" that was a complete lie. From 2007 to the present, the Judiciary Report insisted in numerous articles that the U.S. economy, including the banking sector was in very bad condition, despite the government's proclamations declaring the opposite in 2008. In 2006, the Judiciary Report's sister site, The Sound Off Column, began declaring there is a problem with the economy. Therefore, if this site knew from then, so did they, but they were lying to you, as Bush hoped to leave office and let the house of cards collapse on the next President. However, it began collapsing on the non-math wiz, during his last year in office, where the dire monetary mess became so visibly apparent, he was rightfully slapped with the blame for the financial fiasco that was of his own making. U.S. Lost Credibility by Saying Banks Were Healthy, Audit Says Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- The Treasury Department “lost credibility” when it said its first capital injections from the $700 billion financial rescue were for healthy banks, the inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program said... Barofsky said that the Treasury should have been more open about potential financial problems with the biggest banks when it began the TARP a year ago. “Treasury may have created unrealistic expectations about the institutions’ condition and their ability to increase lending,” he wrote. “Treasury and the TARP program lost credibility when lending at those institutions did not in fact increase and when subsequent events -- the further assistance needed by Citigroup and Bank of America being the most significant examples -- demonstrated that at least some of those institutions were not in fact healthy.” http://www.bloomberg.com Bailout cop: Treasury fibbed to save economy Last Updated: October 5, 2009: 4:31 AM ET - WASHINGTON - A government watchdog says federal officials weren't entirely honest with the public about the health of the first 9 financial firms that got federal bailouts, according to a report released Monday. Bailout special inspector general Neil Barofsky says in an audit that Treasury Department officials painted an overly rosy picture, creating "unrealistic expectations," when they called the first bailout banks "healthy" institutions that would be able to lend more with government help. "It is not our intent to suggest that government officials should make public their concerns over the financial health of individual institutions, but rather that government officials should be particularly careful, even in a time of crisis, of describing their actions (and the rationales for such actions) in an accurate manner," the report stated... http://money.cnn.com

Unanswered Questions In Erin Andrews Case

Erin Andrews

On Saturday, October 3, 2009, The FBI arrested insurance salesman, Michael David Barrett, in Chicago, Illinois and charged him with stalking and spying on ESPN sportscaster, Erin Andrews.

Yesterday, according to the Associated Press, the FBI has been unable to match up one of the videos to the correct hotel it was illegally and secretly filmed in, violating Andrews privacy, through a modified peephole. They claim all the other videos were filmed in Nashville, Tennessee.

As stated on the Judiciary report on October 3, 2009, the FBI failed to explain how Michael David Barrett, knew Andrews' schedule well enough, to follow her around, state to state, at different hotels and obtain rooms next to her, to engage in illicit, voyeuristic filming, without permission.

It was initially stated on TMZ, the website Michael David Barrett first offered the criminally filmed nude clips of Andrews, that it was an inside job, pointing the finger at an anonymous person, working at ESPN.

It made sense, as celebrities do not disclose to the general public, which hotels they will be staying in at any time.

If it was not an inside job as TMZ claimed, how was this man able to know such private information, such as the exact location she was staying in different states?

There are so many hotels out there. How did he know which one she would be staying at each time, her room numbers and when she would be there, enabling him to book a suite right next to her on more than one occasion?

Did he commit additional acts of invasion of privacy to obtain her schedule, as this creates quite a hole in this sick story?

Furthermore, did no one notice him standing in front of hotel room doors for an extended period of time, holding a cell phone up to the modified keyhole (to permit illegal filming)?

And speaking of that, did no one notice this man modifying keyholes at different hotels? That does not seem like something one can do in a minute or two.

Why didn't hotel hallway surveillance cameras catch this misconduct?

Why did he not check into a booked hotel room in Milwaukee next to Andrews that also had a modified peephole?

The FBI needs to answer the aforementioned questions.

Insurance man accused of stalking ESPN's Andrews

Asked how Barrett had gotten interested in Andrews, if the allegations are true, or how he managed to get the adjacent hotel rooms, Beuke said he assumed it was not true. Chicago FBI spokesman Ross Rice said he did not know how Barrett allegedly became interested in Andrews.

An FBI affidavit said agents had reviewed eight videos and all but one had appeared to be taken in a single hotel. It said Andrews had reviewed several and said they appeared to be of her in a room at the Marriott Nashville at Vanderbilt University.

Authorities said Barrett had occupied an adjacent room, and that the peephole in the door of Andrews' room appeared to have been modified with a hacksaw to permit videos to be made with a cellphone camera.

Bethesda, Md.-based Marriott International Inc. issued a statement saying the company takes its guests' security and privacy seriously and it has been cooperating with investigators.

Agents also went to the Ramada Conference Center in Milwaukee, formerly the Radisson Airport. The affidavit said Barrett had made a reservation in the hotel for a night when Andrews was staying there and that the peephole in the room that she occupied had been similarly modified.

But they said Barrett had never checked in, and the interior of the room did not fully match what was seen on the eighth video...

Reservation records in the hotel's computer showed the notation: "INFO-GST RQST TO RM NXT TO (individual A)," the affidavit said...

http://www.google.com

TMZ's Bamboozling Erin Andrews Coverage

By DAULERIO, 7:30 PM on Sat Oct 3 2009, 10,564 views (Edit, to draft, Slurp)

TMZ has curiously been anointed the white-hatted hero for turning over the email address of the individual accused of tearing apart a peephole and filming Erin Andrews undressed multiple times. So why did they screw up the story so badly?

According to the affidavit, Michael David Barrett contacted Dennis Broad of TMZ on January 28th and tried to broker a deal for his grainy EA peephole footage. TMZ turned him down because they wanted no parts of it, according to Harvey Levin. I spoke to Levin on July 16th, after the links to the footage started to show up in our inbox to see if he'd heard anything about it. At the time, Levin said he "knew nothing about it" and "wouldn't run it anyway because it's illegal." Fair enough. But once the story broke and it couldn't be ignored any longer, TMZ went full-throttle on Erin Andrews after "reviewing" the tape that had been sent to them in January, apparently.

So they have a possible lead on the man's identity, Levin's talking to EA's lawyer, Marshall Grossman, yet TMZ continued to float theories that this was possibly an ESPN employee even though they have a key bit of evidence and access to the FBI and EA's legal team that would give them full control of the story. But instead of following up on all of these latest revelations as they happen, they opted to go with her old yearbook photo.

I spoke to Thom Mrozek of the US Attorney's office and he told me that there were some questions about how TMZ handled it and some of their inconsistent reporting give they knew so much about it. Mrozek didn't want to speak on behalf of TMZ or speculate as to why it happened. And, surprisingly, Levin has not responded yet to my email request to answer this question either. I'm very popular...

http://deadspin.com

TMZ Hospitalized Maya Angelou

Proving they will go too far for a scoop, even to the point of making one up, TMZ posted on Saturday, October 3, 2009, that award winning poet, Maya Angelou, whose poetry was released in a compilation book along with my aunt's work and that of a couple other female poets, had been rushed to the hospital in Los Angeles, California.

I started praying for the poor woman, asking the Lord to help Maya, when she wasn't even in the hospital or Los Angeles, for that matter.

TMZ, when you bribe sources for information, as you did in the Rihanna case and that of Michael Jackson, make sure they actually have the right person. You're welcome.

Maya Angelou hospitalized? Not so fast, TMZ

Posted October 4, 2009 - 9:27 a.m. - Contrary to a Saturday night TMZ.com report, literary giant Maya Angelou was not hospitalized while in Los Angeles, CNN reported this morning.

CNN news editor Saeed Ahmed shared this on Twitter earlier today: "Contrary to TMZ report, Maya Angelou is fine, at home, & wasn't even in LA Sat nite, said her literary agent Helen Brann."

TMZ has gained a reputation for scooping traditional news outlets with news of celebrity ailments, famously reporting Michael Jackson's death long before other outlets.

TMZ's Saturday night report -- branded as an exclusive -- was brief, saying that the story was developing.

The TMZ article was updated some time after 10 a.m. today -- with a different, smiling photo of Angelou -- to reflect the misinformation.

http://www.freep.com

TMZ Hospitalized Maya Angelou

Proving they will go too far for a scoop, even to the point of making one up, TMZ posted on Saturday, October 3, 2009, that award winning poet, Maya Angelou, whose poetry was released in a compilation book along with my aunt's work and that of a couple other female poets, had been rushed to the hospital in Los Angeles, California.

I started praying for the poor woman, asking the Lord to help Maya, when she wasn't even in the hospital or Los Angeles, for that matter.

TMZ, when you bribe sources for information, as you did in the Rihanna case and that of Michael Jackson, make sure they actually have the right person. You're welcome.

Maya Angelou hospitalized? Not so fast, TMZ

Posted October 4, 2009 - 9:27 a.m. - Contrary to a Saturday night TMZ.com report, literary giant Maya Angelou was not hospitalized while in Los Angeles, CNN reported this morning.

CNN news editor Saeed Ahmed shared this on Twitter earlier today: "Contrary to TMZ report, Maya Angelou is fine, at home, & wasn't even in LA Sat nite, said her literary agent Helen Brann."

TMZ has gained a reputation for scooping traditional news outlets with news of celebrity ailments, famously reporting Michael Jackson's death long before other outlets.

TMZ's Saturday night report -- branded as an exclusive -- was brief, saying that the story was developing.

The TMZ article was updated some time after 10 a.m. today -- with a different, smiling photo of Angelou -- to reflect the misinformation.

http://www.freep.com

Megan Fox Eats Crow

Actress Runs Her Mouth While Attempting To Remove Her Foot From It Megan Fox in Nylon magazine Weak actress, Megan Fox, was shooting her mouth off again, but this time in Nylon magazine, complaining she is overexposed and it is not her fault. Right. Well, wear more clothes and speak less. It's not that complicated. However, it should be noted, the minute her film "Jennifer's Body" flopped like a black man at a KKK rally, she immediately signed on to co-star in Transformers 3, to be released in 2011. She originally stated this year that she was not sure if she would commit to the film. Exploitative, no substance director, Michael Bay, made the "Transformers 3" announcement shortly after. Bay gave Fox her first role at age 15, putting her in a bikini and hosing her down with water for a scene in his movie Bad Boys, starring bisexual actor, Will Smith. However, this time, instead of "eating boys" as Fox proclaimed she did in the movie "Jennifer's Body" while playing an undead, vampire, demon from hell, she is eating crow, realizing which side her bread is buttered on. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Side Bar: I was told by a reliable source that promiscuous, man-eater Megan, is after Brad Pitt, the partner of the woman she mimics and emulates in great detail, Angelina Jolie. She has inquired about the couple and is hoping to run into him...and with Pitt's track record... Megan Fox Sounds Off On Overexposure And That 'Body' In Nylon: Cover Story Posted 9/30/09 10:35 am ET by MTV News in Movies, On The Newsstand, Photos, Videos Megan Fox is at it again. In just the last year, the young actress and cover-girl has admitted to cutting herself in Rolling Stone, shared how to pick up guys in Cosmo and discussed her "provocative nature" with Entertainment Weekly. Now, she's telling Nylon why she feels overexposed after "Transformers" and completely exposed in "Jennifer's Body." Megan, who was recently boycotted (for like one whole day) by some men's sites, claims the media blitz for "Transformers" caused her to over-extend her welcome in the spotlight. "I was part of a movie that [the studio] wanted to make sure would make $700 million, so they oversaturated the media with their stars," says Megan, about the movie, which for better or worse, made her a household name. Unlike many aspiring stars her age (she's only 23), Megan says she doesn't want to be in magazines every week or the Internet every day. "I don’t want to have people get completely sick of me before I’ve ever even done something legitimate." Legitimacy is exactly what she hoped to achieve with her role in the recently released "Jennifer's Body," a dark comedy that doesn't rely on special effects or big explosions. "That’s no hiding from anything. There’s nothing there to distract you from my performance," she said. "So if it’s bad, it’s going to be f*****g bad for me. And if it’s good, then I will have achieved something on some level.” Megan also opened up to Nylon about being portrayed as a vixen. “I think people assume that I’m much more sexual than I am,” she says. Of course, her racy pictures in numerous men's magazines haven't done much to contradict that image. But Megan says that's not really her, it's just her way of poking fun at the situation. Right, whatever you say, Megs. “I tend to have fun doing that, sort of mocking the fact that I’m doing men’s magazines," she says. "Like, yeah, I’m in f*****g underwear. I have ice dripping out of my mouth. I’m gonna give an interview that seems appropriate with that photo shoot."... http://hollywoodcrush.mtv.com/

Lindsay Lohan Booed And Panned

"Linsday Lohan booed at F1 Rocks, Singapore"

Lindsay Lohan is having a rough year life. First, she destroyed her seven-figure acting career with illicit sex, drugs, debauchery, lawbreaking and a mind numbingly sick cult, Kabbalah, rendering her uninsurable in Hollywood.

Then, she decided to become a lesbian, to kiss up to gay Hollywood, but it finished off her career with family audiences. She briefly shacked up with lesbian DJ, Samantha Ronson, who she routinely gets into fist fights with. Next, she moved out into a rented abode in the Hollywood Hills that she could not afford.

You'd never guess the one on the right, Lindsay Lohan, is 23, looking decades older due to self-inflicted abuse. How come Jennifer Lopez at 40 can stroll down the runway and look 23, but when you try it, Lindsay, you look well over 40. "Freaky Friday" indeed. You need to sue your drug dealer for premature aging.

She ended up fleeing the rented home and skipping on the lease, after having to sell her home and condo she once owned, but could no longer afford. That's all while stealing millions in borrowed jewelry from a jeweler in Beverly Hills and separately an Elle magazine photo shoot, to support her drug habit and lavish lifestyle.

Failing at every turn, due to the mind twisting rubbish Kabbalah taught her, massive drug use, excessive alcohol consumption and constant partying, Lohan began a career as a so-called businesswoman.

First, she stole a tanning cream formula from a chemist and criminally sold it to a manufacturer as he own product, when she knows nothing about chemistry.

Then, the unethical Lohan decided to become a party host and fashion designer, getting booed and panned at both jobs, all within the space of one week. Critics are horrified at the clothes, rendering negative reviews across the board.

People would have sympathy for her if she wasn't such a mean, cruel, vicious, wasteful person that targets, lives off and abuses others.

Fashion critics rip Lindsay Lohan's Ungaro collection to shreds!

Lindsay Lohan and Spanish designer Estrella Archs showed off their new hot mess of a Spring 2010 Ungaro collection today in Paris.

And the Fashion World's Mean Girls could simply not stop ragging on how bad it was. One Twitter trendoid was appalled at the lack of gowns.

Another from WSJ tweeted that the clothes featured "hearts on butts." Oh, dear. Always a mistake.

And then there were the heart-shaped pasties...

WWD...called the collection "an “embarrassment," among other things.

"As for the clothes, they looked cheesy and dated, as has often been the case chez Ungaro during the post-Emanuel revolving door of designers...

Nor in a million years would one guess that the lineup was designed by one young woman and “creative directed” by another...

Backstage, Lindsay admitted the brightly colored collection was a rush job...

Well, now wait. We could see this stuff at Forever 21. But will there even be a next season for Lindsay and Ungaro?

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com

Obama’s Olympic Bid Concession Speech

President Barack Obama, gave a gracious concession speech, regarding the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, losing the 2016 Olympic Host bid, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Chicago torpedoed by anti-U.S. sentiment?

October 3, 2009 - Some Chicago officials say anti-American resentment likely played a role in Chicago's Olympic bid dying in the first round Friday.

President Obama could not undo in one year the resentment against America that President Bush and others built up for years, they said.

"There must be" resentment against America, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said, near the stage where he had hoped to give a victory speech in Daley Center Plaza. "The way we [refused to sign] the Kyoto Treaty, we misled the world into Iraq. The world had a very bad taste in its mouth about us. But there was such a turnaround after last November. The world now feels better about America and about Americans. That's why I thought the president's going was the deal-maker."

State Rep. Susana Mendoza (D-Chicago) said she saw firsthand the resentment against America five years ago when she was in Rio de Janeiro. "I feel in my gut that this vote today was political and mean-spirited," she said.

"I travel a lot. ... I thought we had really turned a corner with the election of President Obama. People are so much more welcoming of Americans now. But this isn't the people of those countries. This is the leaders still living with outdated impressions of Americans."

U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) said she was approached by a consul general at the plaza as they waited for word Friday. "He said ... he was hearing that there wasn't enough time for Barack Obama to dispel the old image. ... But I don't know if that's it." ...

http://www.suntimes.com

Political scientists report drop in US standing

WASHINGTON — The United States' standing in the world declined in the past decade to below Cold War levels, according to a leading group of political scientists.

Favorable attitudes have risen sharply under President Barack Obama with his commitment to "restore American standing," but confidence in him appears to be in conflict with unfavorable attitudes about U.S. foreign policy, the American Political Science Association said in a report released Thursday.

"Many American leaders and citizens worry that this decline, despite a recent upturn, may be part of a long-term trend, one that will be hard to reverse," the report said...

American standing plunged most sharply in the Middle East and Europe, although authoritarian regimes in the Middle East are more supportive of U.S. policy than they can say publicly, the report said.

In Europe, there is a growing European identity and "a conscious political attempt to delink Europe from American policies," according to the report.

At the United Nations, support for U.S. positions has declined since the 1960s, and the decline was especially pronounced during the George W. Bush administration, the academics said. After some initial success, such as toppling the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the United States grew mired in Iraq and Osama bin Laden remained at large. The success of the troop surge in Iraq may have helped improve attitudes toward the United States, the report said...

"In policy terms, however, most (foreigners) believe that there has been little change in the U.S. disregard for the interests of their country, and that U.S. influence in the world is still mostly bad," the report said.

The American Political Science Association has more than 15,000 members.

http://www.google.com

Arrest In Erin Andrews Hidden Camera Case

Erin Andrews

The FBI has arrested a suspect in the Erin Andrews hidden camera case. Michael David Barrett was apprehended at O’Hare airport in Chicago, Illinois.

He was tied to the crime via an email address used to offer criminally filmed footage of Andrews naked in her hotel room, which is a sick, perverted, gross invasion of privacy.

Michael David Barrett facing the judge

The FBI has failed to explain how he knew Andrews’ schedule so well, it enabled him to find her at various hotels, at the precise moments to commit these acts of perversion and nastiness, against the unsuspecting sportscaster.

Many believed it to be an inside job, someone who knew her ESPN schedule, as newspapers have stated the footage was secretly shot in several hotel rooms.

Voyeurism is a crime and so is stalking, particularly aggravated stalking. Both constitute felonies.

FBI: Man arrested in ESPN reporter nude video case

LOS ANGELES — A Chicago-area man accused of filming surreptitious nude videos of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews in a hotel room was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare airport Friday night, the FBI said.

Michael David Barrett faces federal charges of interstate stalking for taking the videos, posting the videos online and trying to sell them to celebrity Web site TMZ, the FBI said in a statement. He's scheduled to make an initial court appearance Saturday morning in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

The charges were filed in Los Angeles, where TMZ is based. Andrews is identified in the federal complaint as E.A.

Barrett, 48, was arrested after returning from a trip to Buffalo, N.Y., authorities said.

Seven of the eight videos posted online were taken through a modified door peephole while the 31-year-old Andrews was alone and undressed in hotel rooms in Nashville, Tenn., in September 2008. Investigators believe the eighth video was taken in a hotel in Milwaukee in July 2008.

Several TV networks and newspapers aired brief clips or printed screen grabs from a blurry five-minute video in July...

http://www.google.com

Kandi Burrus Fiancé Killed

Kandi Burrus' Christian mother did not approve of her engagement to Jewell, a reputed drug dealer, causing both mother and daughter tears on the show The Real Housewives of Atlanta

A.J. Jewell, the fiancé of singer and Real Housewives Of Atlanta star, Kandi Burrus, was killed in the parking lot of the Atlanta strip club, Body Tap, of which he was part owner. Talk about dying at a sinful place.

Kandi Burrus and A.J. Jewell

Jewell and another man, Fredrick Richardson, had an argument that escalated into a physical fight, leaving the former with severe head injures. He was rushed to Piedmont Hospital, where he later died.

According to a Zimbio page, in 2008, “A woman named Wanda Jackson accused Pacman Jones of punching her inside the club (Body Tap).”

This has not been a good year for Hollywood, as numerous entertainers have died, from singer, Michael Jackson to actress, Farrah Fawcett.

Arrest in ‘Housewives' ex-fiancé beating death

Atlanta police charged a strip club employee with voluntary manslaughter Saturday in the beating death of the former fiancé of the newest member of the reality television show The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Ashley “A.J.” Jewell, who was engaged to Kandi Burruss until last August, died of massive head injuries at Piedmont Hospital. He was fatally injured in a "one-on-one" fight with Fredrick Richardson Friday night, police said.

Richardson also was injured as the two exchanged blows outside the strip bar, the Body Tap Club, Friday night. Richardson was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital where he will remain until doctors say he can be discharged. Then Richardson will be taken to the Fulton County Jail, according to police spokesman Officer James Polite.

The hospital would not release Richardson's condition, but police said he is conscious and alert.

Polite said detectives were still “trying to figure out [what happened]. We had a pretty good number of witnesses that are being cooperative.”

But the cause of the fight in the parking lot of the club in the 1200 block of Marietta Boulevard was still not known Saturday, Polite said.

Jewell was part-owner of Body Tap, a club popular with celebrities.

http://www.ajc.com