Tag Archives: Street

Lil Wayne Gives Fan’s Mother A Wheelchair

‘I really thank him to be so great and give me a chair,’ says Evelyn Austin, who received the present from Wayne after her daughter, Ronda, wrote him encouraging letters in jail. By Mawuse Ziegbe Lil Wayne Photo: Alexander Tamargo/ Getty Images Lil Wayne is making new fans, but this time, it’s not for his Carter hits, it’s for his compassion. When Wayne was riding out his eight-month prison bid this year, he received tons of kind messages from fans. However, the missives — and the plight — of one Weezy acolyte in particular, Ronda Austin, touched him so much that he lavished her family with a much-needed gift: a wheelchair for her mother. In a short film posted on the MC’s WeezyThanxYou blog , Austin describes how her words of encouragement led to the generous present. “One day I was driving down the expressway and my phone rang … Something said just pick up it up. I’m like, ‘Hello?’ and he’s like, ‘Hi, may I please speak to Ronda Austin,’ I said ‘Speaking. May I ask who’s calling?’ and he like, ‘Yes, this is Lil Wayne.’ I said ‘Oh, ok. Who?’ “she laughs. It may have taken Ronda a minute to realize who was on the line, but Wayne certainly knew who she was. She also describes how exactly how her relationship with her famous pen pal blossomed. “The first time I wrote Lil Wayne I just let him know that I support him, and I’m gonna keep writing him until he comes out. Just giving him a lot of encouragement [and] let him know that God is with him and tell him to keep his head up and stay encouraged. I would send him bible verses all the time, just a lot of words of encouragement. I talked a lot about my family, about myself, especially about my mom and my dad, which I love very much ’cause I always talk about my parents. I guess one of my letters must have touched him and he just gave me a call,” she explains. “In the midst of our conversation he said, ‘Did you and your dad get your mom a wheelchair yet?’ and I said, ‘No, we’re still working on getting her a chair. He said … ‘Alright, don’t worry about it.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘No, no, no, don’t worry about … I’m gonna take care of it.’ ” Wayne stuck by his word, and later the film shows representatives from Core Care Technologies, arriving at the Austins’ front door in New Jersey with her spiffy new ride, The Quantum 6000. Evelyn, who had been confined to her home for nearly two years due to weak knees and a sub-par wheelchair, happily tests out the new gift in the streets, as her family looks on. “I don’t know much about Lil Wayne but I’ll tell you that what he’s done, I think it’s a gift,” Ron Manno of Core Care Technologies says. “It’s very rare that you can find an opportunity to do what he’s done.” Evelyn didn’t know who Wayne was before the gesture either, but maintains she wouldn’t forget Weezy’s good deed. “I felt good, I felt really great. I didn’t know Wayne before now, but I do know him now and I thank him. I really thank him to be so great and give me a chair. He didn’t even know me and he got me a chair. I pray and ask God to bless him,” she says. “My mom hasn’t been out the house in the street in years. I just see such a difference in her. She has like, this get-up-and-go about her now. She can get in her chair, she’s more mobile and that means so much to us ’cause me and my dad, we’re doing a lot of things around the house and making my mom comfortable,” Ronda says, getting emotional. “But when she’s up and about, it’s just a good thing to see.” Wayne introduced the post with a short note that also ended with a heartfelt sentiment. “God Bless Austin Family,” Weezy wrote. What do you think of Wayne giving the Austins a new chair? Let us know in the comments! Related Photos The Men & Women Of 2010 Related Artists Lil Wayne

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Lil Wayne Gives Fan’s Mother A Wheelchair

Dutch Anti-Piracy Group, With MPAA’s Help, Able To Grab 29 US-Hosted Domains… With No Trial Or Notice

Now that the US government appears to be endorsing the idea of simply seizing domain names without notice( http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101128/15302012021/who-needs-coica-when-homel… ) to the proprietors of those domains, it appears that others are doing the same as well. TorrentFreak reports that the Dutch anti-piracy group, BREIN, with help from the MPAA, has been able to get 29 different domain names — all hosted in the US — to point to BREIN's homepage instead( http://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-shuts-down-29-bittorrent-and-nzb-sites-101215/ ). The owners of those domains were apparently given no notice and no recourse. It sounds like most of the sites did not host any content but linked to potentially infringing content. Whether or not you believe that simply linking to potentially infringing content should be against the law, we're seeing yet another example of the simple lack of due process and how this may impact other areas. If BREIN can get US domains shut down, what's to stop other countries from doing the same thing? China doesn't like reporting by an American site about China? What's to stop it from trying to “seize” that domain? Even if we grant the idea that many of these domains were engaged in or encouraging unauthorized copying of works covered by copyright, why should BREIN and the MPAA simply get to shut them down without any sort of trial? http://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-shuts-down-29-bittorrent-and-nzb-sites-101215/ Update: TorrentFreak requested a list of the affected domains from BREIN and received this response from Tim Kuik. “No that would amount to free PR for the sites that intend to continue their unlawful activities at another hosting provider. These are not large sites and we want to keep it that way.” In response to a question about how the sites were taken offline: “The sites were taken down by the hosting provider,” said Kuik. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101215/11300412292/dutch-anti-piracy-group-wi… added by: toyotabedzrock

Dutch Anti-Piracy Group, With MPAA’s Help, Able To Grab 29 US-Hosted Domains… With No Trial Or Notice

Now that the US government appears to be endorsing the idea of simply seizing domain names without notice( http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101128/15302012021/who-needs-coica-when-homel… ) to the proprietors of those domains, it appears that others are doing the same as well. TorrentFreak reports that the Dutch anti-piracy group, BREIN, with help from the MPAA, has been able to get 29 different domain names — all hosted in the US — to point to BREIN's homepage instead( http://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-shuts-down-29-bittorrent-and-nzb-sites-101215/ ). The owners of those domains were apparently given no notice and no recourse. It sounds like most of the sites did not host any content but linked to potentially infringing content. Whether or not you believe that simply linking to potentially infringing content should be against the law, we're seeing yet another example of the simple lack of due process and how this may impact other areas. If BREIN can get US domains shut down, what's to stop other countries from doing the same thing? China doesn't like reporting by an American site about China? What's to stop it from trying to “seize” that domain? Even if we grant the idea that many of these domains were engaged in or encouraging unauthorized copying of works covered by copyright, why should BREIN and the MPAA simply get to shut them down without any sort of trial? http://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-shuts-down-29-bittorrent-and-nzb-sites-101215/ Update: TorrentFreak requested a list of the affected domains from BREIN and received this response from Tim Kuik. “No that would amount to free PR for the sites that intend to continue their unlawful activities at another hosting provider. These are not large sites and we want to keep it that way.” In response to a question about how the sites were taken offline: “The sites were taken down by the hosting provider,” said Kuik. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101215/11300412292/dutch-anti-piracy-group-wi… added by: toyotabedzrock

Poll: Obama Beats Any Republican in 2012

His party got hammered in the midterm election, he's taking heat for compromising with Republicans on taxes and his approval levels are hovering around 45 percent, but a new survey concludes President Obama's prospects for re-election in 2012 are fairly strong. The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll out Thursday finds while only 42 percent of respondents say they'd probably vote for the president if he runs again, just 39 percent say they'd vote for a Republican. Ten percent say it depends who the GOP opponent is. But when you put a Republican name into the equation, the numbers change — in favor of Obama. The president leads former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney 47 to 40 percent. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota trails by 20 points, 47 to 27 percent. The president leads former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin 55 to 33 percent. NBC says that 22 percent spread is “an indication that the former Republican vice presidential nominee remains a polarizing figure who actually wins support for Mr. Obama.” The survey finds that nearly three-quarters of Americans personally like the president, even if they don't agree with his stands on the issues. Democratic pollster Peter Hart tells NBC the White House can see this poll as a pretty good review at the half-way point of his first term. “From my point of view, this poll is anything but a lump of coal in the president's Christmas stocking,” said Hart, who conducted the survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff. “But there is a lot of work to be done.” McInturff concludes Obama “retains very strong numbers with a political core constituency.” Another poll out Thursday gauged Obama's re-election chances in eight swing states, most of which he won in 2008: Montana, Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ohio. The Public Policy Polling survey found the president's chances remain good in each state, with Romney the potential candidate who could put up the best fight for Republicans. added by: TimALoftis

Poll: Obama Beats Any Republican in 2012

His party got hammered in the midterm election, he's taking heat for compromising with Republicans on taxes and his approval levels are hovering around 45 percent, but a new survey concludes President Obama's prospects for re-election in 2012 are fairly strong. The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll out Thursday finds while only 42 percent of respondents say they'd probably vote for the president if he runs again, just 39 percent say they'd vote for a Republican. Ten percent say it depends who the GOP opponent is. But when you put a Republican name into the equation, the numbers change — in favor of Obama. The president leads former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney 47 to 40 percent. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota trails by 20 points, 47 to 27 percent. The president leads former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin 55 to 33 percent. NBC says that 22 percent spread is “an indication that the former Republican vice presidential nominee remains a polarizing figure who actually wins support for Mr. Obama.” The survey finds that nearly three-quarters of Americans personally like the president, even if they don't agree with his stands on the issues. Democratic pollster Peter Hart tells NBC the White House can see this poll as a pretty good review at the half-way point of his first term. “From my point of view, this poll is anything but a lump of coal in the president's Christmas stocking,” said Hart, who conducted the survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff. “But there is a lot of work to be done.” McInturff concludes Obama “retains very strong numbers with a political core constituency.” Another poll out Thursday gauged Obama's re-election chances in eight swing states, most of which he won in 2008: Montana, Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ohio. The Public Policy Polling survey found the president's chances remain good in each state, with Romney the potential candidate who could put up the best fight for Republicans. added by: TimALoftis

Poll: Obama Beats Any Republican in 2012

His party got hammered in the midterm election, he's taking heat for compromising with Republicans on taxes and his approval levels are hovering around 45 percent, but a new survey concludes President Obama's prospects for re-election in 2012 are fairly strong. The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll out Thursday finds while only 42 percent of respondents say they'd probably vote for the president if he runs again, just 39 percent say they'd vote for a Republican. Ten percent say it depends who the GOP opponent is. But when you put a Republican name into the equation, the numbers change — in favor of Obama. The president leads former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney 47 to 40 percent. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota trails by 20 points, 47 to 27 percent. The president leads former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin 55 to 33 percent. NBC says that 22 percent spread is “an indication that the former Republican vice presidential nominee remains a polarizing figure who actually wins support for Mr. Obama.” The survey finds that nearly three-quarters of Americans personally like the president, even if they don't agree with his stands on the issues. Democratic pollster Peter Hart tells NBC the White House can see this poll as a pretty good review at the half-way point of his first term. “From my point of view, this poll is anything but a lump of coal in the president's Christmas stocking,” said Hart, who conducted the survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff. “But there is a lot of work to be done.” McInturff concludes Obama “retains very strong numbers with a political core constituency.” Another poll out Thursday gauged Obama's re-election chances in eight swing states, most of which he won in 2008: Montana, Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ohio. The Public Policy Polling survey found the president's chances remain good in each state, with Romney the potential candidate who could put up the best fight for Republicans. added by: TimALoftis

Poll: Obama Beats Any Republican in 2012

His party got hammered in the midterm election, he's taking heat for compromising with Republicans on taxes and his approval levels are hovering around 45 percent, but a new survey concludes President Obama's prospects for re-election in 2012 are fairly strong. The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll out Thursday finds while only 42 percent of respondents say they'd probably vote for the president if he runs again, just 39 percent say they'd vote for a Republican. Ten percent say it depends who the GOP opponent is. But when you put a Republican name into the equation, the numbers change — in favor of Obama. The president leads former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney 47 to 40 percent. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota trails by 20 points, 47 to 27 percent. The president leads former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin 55 to 33 percent. NBC says that 22 percent spread is “an indication that the former Republican vice presidential nominee remains a polarizing figure who actually wins support for Mr. Obama.” The survey finds that nearly three-quarters of Americans personally like the president, even if they don't agree with his stands on the issues. Democratic pollster Peter Hart tells NBC the White House can see this poll as a pretty good review at the half-way point of his first term. “From my point of view, this poll is anything but a lump of coal in the president's Christmas stocking,” said Hart, who conducted the survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff. “But there is a lot of work to be done.” McInturff concludes Obama “retains very strong numbers with a political core constituency.” Another poll out Thursday gauged Obama's re-election chances in eight swing states, most of which he won in 2008: Montana, Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ohio. The Public Policy Polling survey found the president's chances remain good in each state, with Romney the potential candidate who could put up the best fight for Republicans. added by: TimALoftis

Katy Perry Is MTV News’ #2 Woman Of The Year

Perry got married and ruled the charts in 2010. By Gil Kaufman Katy Perry Photo: Christopher Polk/AMA2010/Getty/DCP For most women, getting married to the man of their dreams would be enough to make a pretty good year. But when you’re a larger-than-life pop diva like Katy Perry , exchanging rings with comedic beau Russell Brand is just one of the bold headlines in a 365-day whirlwind that also included a successful tour and a trio of inescapable radio smashes that permanently smacked down any fears of a sophomore slump. (They’re more than just pretty faces, but you can still check out photos of our Men and Women of 2010!) After meeting at the 2009 VMAs , Perry and Brand started off 2010 with a bang by announcing their engagement , and frankly, things just got better and better for her from there. 2010 Highlights : An impressive engagement ring in hand, Perry set to work on her follow-up to her 2008 breakthrough, One of the Boys, working again with pop maestros Dr. Luke and Max Martin while turning in one of the most memorable guest-judge spots in the early audition rounds of what would turn out to be a very lackluster season of “American Idol.” There was the inevitable pregnancy rumor to bat away, and then it was off to work on the “Smurfs” movie and complete the album, even as wedding plans continued apace. By March, Perry was calling Brand a “bridezilla” for his fascination with all things marital, and news leaked that pal Rihanna was planning Perry’s bachelorette party. Like any proper pop star, Perry’s songs started leaking early in May, and when her first single, the Snoop Dogg-assisted “California Gurls,” finally dropped on May 7, fans had no idea how much a part of their flip-flop months that insanely catchy song would become. We got the first glimpse of six months of kaleidoscopic wigs and second-skin latex outfits at the MTV Movie Awards in June when she nearly melted the stage up with her “Gurls” performance , and the single made a historic rise to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart a few days later. When the sticky-sweet video debuted a week after that, well, it was clear Katy (and her whipped-cream-spurting bra) would be in a lot of late-night dreams for the rest of the year. July and August brought a false-starting lawsuit from the Beach Boys’ publisher over “Gurls,” another fetish-fantasy performance at the Teen Choice Awards and a triumphant chart debut in early September for Teenage Dream, which successfully bumped Eminem’s Recovery from the top of the charts. She turned heads again at the VMAs in September, played a sweet revenge show at her old high school and jetted to Las Vegas for a bachelorette party hosted by Rihanna by month’s end. And what would a year of ups be without a few bumps and controversies? In Katy’s case, it was her God-given assets that got her bumped from “Sesame Street,” when some parents complained in late September that her cleavage was NSFK (not safe for kindergarten). She got her revenge a short time later by giving an eyeful on a “Saturday Night Live” skit lampooning the flap and then flew to India in early October for her lavish wedding to Brand . The year was rounded out with the empowering message of the “Firework” video , a headline-grabbing appearance at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show , another boob-centric controversy, this time courtesy of the poster for the “VH1 Divas Salute the Troops,” and a place on Amazon.com’s year-end best-seller list. An exotic wedding to the man of your dreams, a red-hot career, mad love from your fans and a jet-setting lifestyle — what more could a girl ask for in one year? We’ll be revealing MTV News’ #1 Man and Woman of the Year on Friday. As always, we want to know what you think, so share your picks in the comments below! Related Videos Men And Women Of The Year 2010 Related Photos The Men & Women Of 2010 Related Artists Katy Perry

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Katy Perry Is MTV News’ #2 Woman Of The Year

Americans and employment: the dehumanizing toll of efficiency

For example, ever heard any of these terms: “outsource,” “downsize,” “lay off,” “let go,” “headcount reduction,” “terminate,” “reduction in force”? These are all cleaner, emotionally sanitized ways of talking about firing a worker or group of workers. And when I say “firing,” that’s a slightly easier way of talking about taking away a worker’s ability to provide food and shelter, education and health care for him or herself and the spouses, parents and children who perhaps rely on that job for the basic necessities of life. When we go through an ROF, that’s considerably easier to think about than potentially putting an innocent child on the street, isn’t it? Even worse, we talk about “the last ROF round,” a linguistic structure that makes turfings not only sound natural, but routine. Like the seasons, or the cycles of the moon, or the start of a new school year or quarterly reports. added by: hoosierdaddy

Video of police pulling protester from wheelchair cause outrage

A video showing a police officer dragging a disabled man across a road after he had been tipped out of his chair during the student protests sparked outrage today when it was posted on YouTube. Jody McIntyre, 21, was pulled across the street to the fury of the watching crowd outside Parliament who can be heard shouting at the police to stop. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police confirmed that an internal investigation was underway into the wheelchair incident. Mr McIntyre has contacted a lawyer and is considering pressing charges. Mr McIntyre said he was twice dragged out of his chair by police officers during the protest about rises in student tuition fees. On the first occasion he was lifted out of his chair and carried 100 yards 'for his own safety'. Half an hour later, in the video posted on YouTube, the political activist was dragged across the road by a policeman towards the opposite kerb. Mr McIntyre, who is not a student, has been disabled since birth with cerebral palsy and can stand but cannot walk more than 100 yards. His 16-year-old brother later reunited him with his wheelchair. added by: sbacker