- Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson has had enough.
She may be the lead singer for a successful, established rock band, but she is
also part of an oppressed minority: women. Manson, whose band releases their
new album “Not Your Kind of People,” on Tuesday, said that despite the efforts
of a generation of women in the '90s to "bust through" the glass
ceiling in the music world, today’s female artists have given that progress
back. "I'm delighted to see women in any genre doing well, the biggest
stars de
jour are female pop stars. I love that, but for me personally I've
always loved the girls who are in disagreement with mainstream", she said.
“There's a lot of girls now who are disempowered, they're not being giving a
lot of chances. They are worked really hard, they are wrung dry on tour, then
given new songs, which are written by man to start the process all over again.
But in economic terms it doesn’t work out like that. They’re street walking for
the pimp daddy at home. This is what I have a problem with, the lack of female
opinion out there.” Wow…a pimp daddy blast? Very interesting. Manson spoke at
length about how her generation felt they had broken through the glass ceiling
and achieved success by shaking off the submissive role of a woman. In her
view, women’s role in music today is in a worst place that it was prior to that
liberation. Maybe releasing a new album on her band’s own label will help seize
some of that power back, at least until the next bad Britney Spears rip-off
gives it right back……….
- Hello shoe, meet other foot. For years, Maricopa County,
Ariz. sheriff Joe Arpaio has grandstanded, self-promoted and blow-harded his
way into the spotlight as much as possible. Suddenly, the spotlight is shining
on him and he doesn’t like it so much. In fact, the U.S. Justice Department has
hit Arpaio with a civil lawsuit alleging civil rights violations against him
and his county and Arpaio is fightin’ mad. He lashed out Thursday at Justice
Department officials, calling their lawsuit politically motivated.
"They're using me for the Latino vote, showing that they're doing
something, taking on the sheriff over an alleged racial profiling," he
fumed. "I'm not going to surrender my office to the federal government. I
will fight this to the bitter end." He views himself as a freedom fighter
on behalf of thousands of other sheriffs in the country whom he does not want
to see in similar situations. Arpaio also rejected the Department of Justice's
call for monitors to oversee the workings of his department. "That shows
you they want to take over this office," he said. "Under this
agreement with the so-called monitor, I’d probably have to clear every press
release before I go public.” And what sheriff issues more statements and press
releases than the publicity-loving Arpaio, who has dabbled in reality TV and
embraced unique disciplinary measures like tent cities and other means to keep
inmates in line? It took him all of five seconds to fire back after the Justice
Department filed the civil lawsuit. Assistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas
Perez told a very different story about the case. "At its core, this is an
abuse-of-power case involving a sheriff and sheriff's office that disregarded the
Constitution, ignored sound police practices, comprised public safety, and did
not hesitate to retaliate against perceived critics," Perez said. The two
sides have been bickering (they may call it negotiating) back and forth since
December, when the Justice Department delivered a report with findings of civil
rights violations. Talks broke down in February over Maricopa's refusal to
consider any agreement that involved an independent monitor, Perez said. In the
civil complaint, the sheriff's office is accused of a pattern of discrimination
against Latinos, which includes racial profiling, unlawful detention and
searches and unlawful targeting of Latinos during raids. It also alleges
discrimination by detention officers against Latino prisoners who did not speak
English well. Arpaio might argue that giving orders in English only is
acceptable in an American detention facility, but the government clearly
disagreed. He was also cited in the lawsuit for retaliation against judges,
lawyers and community leaders he perceived as enemies. "Nobody is above
the law, and nobody can misuse the legal process to silence those with
different opinions," Perez said. "Leadership starts at the top. Oddly
enough, Arpaio would agree and assert that he has been leading. Through one of
his attorneys, he called the Justice Department investigation a "witch
hunt." Maybe he should take off his pointy hat and hop off his broom,
then…………
- Every country in the world needs its own Alain Robert. Robert
is a badass daredevil who scales some of the world’s tallest buildings, often
without permission and knowing the police will be waiting for him when he
finishes his climb. Dubbed Spiderman by some of his fans, he has ascended more than 100 skyscrapers and
monuments over his 15-year career of daredevil climbs using no support
equipment. He was at it again Thursday in his native France, scaling the
recently heightened First tower in La Defense business district west of Paris.
This time, Robert had the building’s owner’s permission to make the climb and
hundreds of interested onlookers peered out of its windows or stared up from
the ground as Roberts headed up the side of the 758-foot building. Asked
whether he was scared climbing France's new tallest building without any
support equipment, Robert cavalierly replied, "I really don't have time to
be afraid, I really have other things to do." He has a fair point and he
also deserves credit for proving that the tired stereotype of all Frenchmen
being surrender-happy cowards who back down in the face of adversity is a load
of horse manure. Big ups A-Rob, keep up the good work…………
- So many players fight so hard for so long to make it to
the NFL, seeing one walk away of his own volition in the prime is his career is
surprising, to say the least. Even if casual fans and some diehards have no
idea who Jacob Bell is, his name
means something now because the 31-year-old offensive lineman is walking away
from the NFL just one month after signing a free-agent contract with the
Cincinnati Bengals. Why is he leaving instead of earning $890,000 to play
football next year? Because he wants to walk away with his health intact. "A
lot have said -- the No. 1 thing people have said to me is, 'Your health is
more important than the game. Your health is more important than the money,'”
Bell said of the reaction from his peers. He described the decision to retire
as “just quality of life" and a "risk vs. reward factor."
Specifically, he cited the troubles of current and former players struggling
with the fallout from head injuries. "I mean, we have so much more to look
forward to after we're done with football that you know to have something like
the brain trauma and the CTE stuff is such a factor," he said. "For
me it was a big consideration." CTE is an acronym for hronic traumatic encephalopathy, a
neurological disorder stemming from repeated head trauma that has been
identified in several deceased NFL players. CTE can lead to dementia, erratic
behavior and even Alzheimer's disease. Bell also pointed to the recent suicide
of Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau as a factor in his decision. "It's
just crazy to see how someone like Junior Seau took his own life over -- God
knows what he was really struggling and dealing with. But you have to believe
it came from the game of football," Bell explained. According to Bell, he had
"three or four" concussions that were documented in his career and
also worries about head trauma that wasn’t caught or documented. He’s quitting
now rather than risk more of that trauma and no one should criticize him for
doing so because he’s making the right call for himself and his family and not
taking food off anyone else’s table…………
- Bing it attempting to step its game up. Microsoft’s search
engine arm announced a massive overhaul to its search system this week as part of
its transition from “finding to doing.” Most of the changed are focused on
utility, including a new sidebar, a snapshot of related information, and
(allegedly) better results. Most users will notice the new Sidebar feature first.
It utilizes the search engine’s partnership with Facebook, allowing Bing to
tout itself as the best way to do social search thanks to the integration with
the world’s largest social network. However, early reaction from users has been
lukewarm and so Bing is supplementing social with the Sidebar, where users will
find a variety of Facebook-oriented elements. When searching, users will find
their Sidebar populated with “Friends who might know,” “People who know,” “Ask
friends,” and “Activity feed” (which is just a collection of all your social
Bing-related activity). All of the categories are filled based on Facebook
connections, mentions, or activity surrounding whatever it is a user is
searching for. If the contacts presented are unsatisfactory, you can use the
“Ask friends” feature to mass-ask friends questions as well. The “People who
know” feature will also work content from Twitter, LinkedIn, Quora, Blogger,
Foursquare and even competitor Google+, which might be a risk for Bing if
anyone actually used Google+ for any reason, ever. Bing also credited Facebook
CEO Mark Zuckerberg for shaping its approach in its changes, saying he urged
Bing to, “Don’t try to do social by building social on the side. Build it into
the experience.” Slapping the “Bing is for doing” motto on the package and
factoring in features like reviews, directions, contact information and other
pertinent data into the mix actually make Bing’s new look more appealing. Being
inclusive and opening the doors to data and content providers is also wise even
if Bing has no hope to unseat reigning king Google from its place atop the
search engine throne. Solid competition is always a good thing, though…………
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