LAPD and LASO to investigate TMZ and others, including LAPD's own office, for leaking Rihanna photo

Remember the disgusting photos of a beaten-down Rihanna?  Well the photo is leaked and that has caused the Los Angeles Police Dept and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office to investigate TMZ and other gossip sites, as well as an internal investigation into its own police force.

"The Los Angeles Police Department takes seriously its duty to maintain the confidentiality of victims of domestic violence," reads an official statement by the LAPD. "The Department launched an immediate internal investigation and subsequently filed a personnel complaint. A violation of this type is considered serious misconduct, with penalties up to and including termination."

Let's hope that the LAPD and LASO slap a charge on those responsible for the photo leak.

Rihanna's privacy violated by TMZ

LOS ANGELES -- Well, looks like TMZ has gone too goddamn far this time.

They have the pics of one Rihanna badly beaten by her 19-year-old boyfriend Chris Brown.  I'm not going to post the pics here, as only disgusting sites like TMZ is only obsessed with doing.

What's next?  Posting pics of every scratch a man has gotten from his abusive wife? Or vice versa?

I'm glad that Jessica Valenti gave a big fuck you to TMZ, Gawker and other tabloid media for posting these pics for the purpose of increasing their own traffic.

Phelps fallout: Lott will charge Gold medalist swimmer if smoking occured on the Richland County side of Columbia
COLUMBIA -- Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott intends to send a message that Olympic heroes are not above the law in charging Michael Phelps if it is determined that he smoked a bong pipe on the Richland County side of Columbia (part of the capital city is also in Lexington County).  Via The State:
Still no word on whether Jimmy Metts, the Sheriff of Lexington County, or T.P. Carter, the Chief of the Columbia Police Department, will pursue charges against Phelps.  Columbia is served by three jursidictions, just like Batesburg-Leesville.

Bridi dies from infection

BRASILIA, Brazil -- I've some very sad news to report.

Mariana Bridi, 20, has died from the infection that caused her hands and feet to be amputated.

 

Officials said in a statement early Saturday that 20-year-old Mariana Bridi's condition deteriorated overnight. She died at 2:30 a.m.

 

The Espirito Santo State Health Secretariat said in the statement she died from complications related to a generalized infection. It was caused by the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is known to be resistant to multiple kinds of antibiotics.

Bridi had been in the hospital in the city of Serra in southeastern Brazil since Jan. 3. She fell ill in December and doctors originally diagnosed her with kidney stones, local media said.

Bridi was twice a finalist in the Brazilian stage of the Miss World pageant.

Ms. Bridi will sorely be missed.  A young life cut way too short.  She would have been 21 later this year.

Her family are in my thoughts and prayers.

Model's hands amputated after disease

BRASILLIA, Brazil -- A 20-year-old model's hands and feet were amputated after she came down with septicemia.

In the last week, she's had both hands and feet amputated. Doctors removed both kidneys and in the most recent surgery last night removed part of her stomach.

"They say her situation is very critical and that her chances (of survival) are not really significant, but she keeps on surprising everyone," Henrique Fontes, executive director of Miss World Brazil told CNN.

"Two weeks ago the doctor gave her 24 hours to live and she's been fighting and resisting -- she's quite amazing."

Mariana Bridi is in intensive care.  My thoughts and prayers go out to Bridi and her family.

Blog for Choice

Today is the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the most important civil rights decision handed down from the Supreme Court in 19 years on this day in 1973.

As I am posting, many of you in Washington already know that earlier today, misogynists from all over the country took part in the "March for Life". I dub that march as the March for Death and Misogyny, because everyone there are rallying in support for anti-choice laws that kill tens of thousands of women.

And speaking of misogynists, Wiliam Getha of Augusta, GA is the latest misogynist to come out of his hole.

Coming up at 5 p.m., the National Organization for Women will hold a vigil at the Supreme Court's steps.

And while we no longer have to worry about anti-choice laws for the next two years in Washington, that is a much different story in Columbia and in Atlanta. Hardline misogynists still hold a majority in both states' legislatures.

In fact, South Carolina is NOT ONLY trying to make it mandatory for women to view ultrasounds before having abortions, BUT ALSO dictate where women can view that ultrasound.

The rightists want to claim that somehow that they are for less government. That, my friends, is a BIG LIE. In the past 29 years, conservatives have only given lip service when it comes to reducing the size of government.

And nowhere is that more evident than the conservatives' support for government control over women's lives.

Since the beginning of this nation's founding, conservatives have treated women as dispensable. In fact, conservatives in Washington have given dogs more rights than women. And then, conservatives all over the nation cheer the deaths of Gerri Santoro (1935-1964) and Becky Bell (1971-1988) as if the anti-choicers had won the World Series.

That my friends, is how little respect conservatives have for women.

I am pro-choice because I know that one day it could be my wife, my girlfriend, my best friend, my godsister, one of my cousins that could die because of anti-choice laws.

I am pro-choice because I oppose government intrusion into women's private lives.

I am pro-choice because I want women to have the same 100% reproductive freedom as I currently enjoy.

I am pro-choice because I oppose coercion of all kinds.

[cross-posted at Aiken Area Progressive]

Grateful Dead has unfinished music
Topic: Music

SAN FRANCISCO -- Pay attention right now, Deadheads.

There may be some unreleased material by the Grateful Dead coming near you.

"We've got some unfinished music," Lesh clarifies. "We're all still evolving in our own ways. You can always improve your playing. Let's see what kind of a goulash we can make out of it. Besides," he adds, "I just got two new electric basses."

All of the surviving members of the Grateful Dead are all in their sixties. Jerry Garcia, the band's leader, died in 1995.

Presale tickets go on sale a week from today. They will perform as The Dead under the banner "A Evening With" beginning on April 12 in Greensboro, NC. It will last for 29 days, wrapping up on May 10 in Mountain View, CA near the band's hometown.

Via.

[cross-posted from Aiken Area Progressive]

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Now playing: Grateful Dead - Touch Of Grey
via FoxyTunes

Divorce, Hollywood style

LOS ANGELES -- There are two high profile divorces that are in the news.  We'll get to the one that just finished up first.

Madonna has now lost $76,000,000.00 of her fortune because of a bitter split with Guy Ritchie.  I feel for Madonna and how the British media tried to tear her down.

Nonetheless, she is the third musician to lose part of her fortune to a divorce in 2008.  Former Genesis member Phil Collins lost $35,000,000.00 and ex-Beatle Paul McCartney lost nearly $50,000,000.00 respectively to their ex-wives in divorce proceedings.

Even more divorce news.  Private Practice star Kate Walsh has been served with divorce papers from her husband.

Let's hope that Ms. Walsh's divorce isn't anywhere close to ugly as the ones Mr. McCartney, Mr. Collins and Madonna experienced.

Genesis 1970-1975 review


Genesis 1970-1975 is in stores now. Here is my take.

The each of the five albums (six discs) from the Peter Gabriel era is on here -- along with corresponding DVDs and multimedia CDs. This is the progressive rock era of the band, so to speak.

Disc 1 consists of the group's second album, Trespass. This has six songs, such as "Dusk" and the two epics -- "Stagnation" and "The Knife". This disc is a decent one and one that would start the rise of Genesis. Disc 2 is a multimedia disc. Trespass was originally released on October 23, 1970.

Disc 3 is Nursery Cryme. This is when Genesis goes into even longer songs, as leadoff track "The Musical Box" shows us. "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" and "The Fountain of Salmacis" are around two minutes shorter than "Musical Box", but are just as important to the album. Disc 4 is a multimedia disc. Nursery Cryme was originally released on November 12, 1971.

Disc 5, which is Foxtrot, is what makes Genesis a worldwide name. Originally released on October 6, 1972, the disc, like Trespass, has just six tracks. The disc's lead track, "Watcher of the Skies", is a hybrid between prog and pop. As a matter of fact, the track has been a staple in the band's concerts long after Peter Gabriel left. It was included on two Genesis' live albums: their first live album, 1973's Genesis Live and 1982's Three Sides Live. Other songs on the album include "Get 'Em Out By Friday", "Horizons" and "Supper's Ready" -- the most important being the 22 minute 58 second final track. "Supper's Ready" really took advantage of the freedom that radio stations had at the time to play such material. Sadly, that freedom no longer exists in our day, whereas the short three and four minute tracks are continuing to destroy both our society and our musical talent. Hopefully, President-elect Barack Obama will allow for radio stations to play epic songs such as "Supper's Ready". By the way, Disc 6 is not a multimedia track, but rather a DVD containing the performances of Foxtrot.

Disc 7 is Selling England by the Pound. This disc, originally released on October 12, 1973, has a litany of great tracks. The lead track, "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight", is eight minutes of progressive power rock. The album's longest number (and Genesis's third longest track at the time), "The Battle of Epping Forest", is one of the most underrated tracks on Genesis's repertoire. The group deleted it from future concerts. Other important tracks include "Firth of Fifth", "The Cinema Show", and "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" -- the latter of which hit #21 on the Top 40 charts, thereby becoming the band's first major hit. Disc 8 is a DVD of Selling England by the Pound.

Discs 9 & 10 are the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, which was released on November 29, 1974. The title track is another well-known track from the Gabriel era. Also, "Carpet Crawlers" and "Counting Out Time" have been included on compilations as well. In 1999, the group re-recorded "Carpet Crawlers" for their compilation, Turn It On Again: The Hits. "In the Cage" is an eight minute epic that would become the centerpiece of many of the band's future concert medleys. "Colony of Slippermen" is also another important track on this album. Disc 11 is a DVD of the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.

Disc 12 contains bonus material. "Happy the Man" was finally included on Turn It On Again: The Hits 2-disc compilation on September 11, 2007 prior to this compilation. "Twilight Alehouse" was a Selling England by the Pound-era track, a b-side of "I Know What I Like". Four other tracks were released on Genesis Archive, Volume 1: 1967-1975: "Going Out to Get You", "Shepherd", "Pacidy", and "Let Us Now Make Love". The 14 minute 42 second medley on the bonus disc, "Genesis Plays Jackson", was previously unreleased. The thirteenth and final disc is a DVD of the never-before released material.

This is clearly the best compilation Genesis ever released. This is definitely worth the money. Time to reload.

FINAL RATING:

Love Your Body Day
This is for all my female readers.

In honor of Love Your Body Day, I am asking you all to masturbate.

Here are some porn shops and other stuff right here for you to get off.

1. Playboy -- the most sex-positive business on Planet Earth.


2. Vivid -- another place with an excellent sex-positive experience.


3. Adult DVD Marketplace -- another place to buy new DVDs and DVDs from the past.


4. Fallen Angel -- great BDSM videos.


5. Adult Pay Per View -- pay-per-view right from your computer.

Other stuff:

You Porn
RedTube
PornoTube

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Now playing: Rush - The Fountain of Lamneth: I. In the Valley / II. Didacts and Narpets / III. No One at the Bridge / IV. Panacea / V. Bacchus Plateau / VI. The Fountain
via FoxyTunes