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News of the World Tabloid Journalist Found Dead

News of the World

Sean Hoare, a former News of the World tabloid journalist was found dead in his home.  Hoare was involved as a whistleblower in a phone-hacking scandal with News Corporation.

Mike Hoyt, executive editor of the Columbia Journalism Review, speaks about the News Corporation’s phone-hacking incident and the how newspapers influence society. He speaks to Deirdre Bolton of Bloomberg Television’s “InsideTrack.”

A former reporter at News Corporation (NWSA)’s now-dead News of the World tabloid, he was the first to allege its editor encouraged phone hacking by the staff.  He was found dead, as reported by the Guardian newspaper, without saying where they got the information.

Sean Hoare’s body was found this morning at his home in Watford, England, when police were called to his house, the Guardian mentions. The death is not considered to be suspicious, the newspaper added, citing a police report which did not name Hoare.

Hoare worked as an entertainment reporter at the News of the World with Coulson, who resigned as David Cameron who was the U.K. Prime Minister’s press secretary earlier this year due to the scandal.

Hoare first suspected that Coulson encouraged reporters to hack into mobile phones during an interview last year with the New York Times. He had also worked with Coulson at News Corporation’s Sun tabloid before he was dismissed because of drug and alcohol problems, the Guardian reported.

Officials for police in Hertfordshire could not be reached for their comments and the Metropolitan Police Service in London said it was not aware of the case.

David Sonn, an attorney for Hoare, said he didn’t know about it, and if the report is true, it is “a terrible tragedy.”

Nelson Mandela Is To Celerbrate His 93rd Birthday Keeping The Legacy Alive

Nelson Mandela's Legacy

Nelson Mandela is a symbol of the human struggle for equality and justice. In celebration of his 93rd birthday coming on Monday, you may want to ask yourself how best to honor him.

His own foundation is committed to the subject of social justice. Mandela once said, “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.”

The main charge of Mandela’s 46664.com organization is global awareness as well as the prevention of HIV/AIDS. The plight of those who have HIV/AIDS in Africa and throughout the world has always a great concern to Mandela. UNAIDS estimated the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in 2009 was more than 33 million. More than 22 million of those people live in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund is dedicated to helping improve the conditions and lives of children and youths. Mandela always loves children, and he wants the world’s young people to have chances.

In a 2000 interview with CNN’s Jim Clancy, Mandela told us, “We want every child to have a first-class primary education. We want the elimination of all preventable diseases in society so that we can say in theory and in practice that we regard our children as the jewels in our society.”

The Mandela Rhodes Foundation is aimed to help African youths who show academic ability and leadership potential through offering scholarships to them to further their education and build upon their leadership skills. Mandela knows that young people are the key to the future. He wants these young people to have the chance to develop to their fullest potential.

Mandela often calls on all people to do something — even if it’s something small — to make the world a better place. It seems that each of us whose lives have been touched by the causes he is so stoically fighting for for can honor him by carrying on his work in our own way.

Secret Palin Tape Will Be Released In Iowa As Sign of Possible Presidential Candidacy

Secret Palin Tape

Reports have leaked of a surprising new development for the 2012 Republican presidential election. According to an item by Scott Conroy of RealClearPolitics, Sarah Palin and her political machine have hired the conservative filmmaker, Stephen Bannon, to produce a two-hour epic film documentary presenting a heroic image of the former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential nominee. According to reports, the film will first be viewed in Iowa, a pivotal state with a presidential caucus that is the first step in the presidential nominating process. It is said that the film will present Sarah Palin as a political maverick, a low-tax and balanced budget conservative that is not afraid to take on the politics in both major parties.

The news of the Sarah Palin movie epic comes in the wake of continuous ignoring of Palin as a potential 2012 presidential candidate, or otherwise demeaning her credibility as a candidate, within mainstream liberal and conservative media. The undiminished contingent of Palin partisans are convinced, however, that the news of the Palin film is a sure sign that Sarah Palin will enter the 2012 presidential campaign. According to reports on the Palin movie, it is said to be ideally suited for Tea Party supporters, as well as non-partisan voters seeking a low-tax, anti-Obama conservative in the White House.

Sarah Palin in the past has hinted that if she ran for president, her campaign would be eccentric and rely largely on social media, avoiding what Palin views as the biased, pro-liberal “lamestream media” (which is how she refers to mainstream electronic and print media). A customized film epic that shows Sarah Palin in the best possible light while simultaneously marginalizing criticism of her on issues such as resigning before her Alaska gubernatorial term had been completed, may very well be the sort of unconventional campaign technique she was referring to.

One aspect already being speculated on: why premiere the Sarah Palin film in Iowa?  If Palin has no intentions of entering the contest for the Republican presidential nomination? I suppose there will remain those in rejection to Palin’s strong supportive following in America who will maintain that this is just to keep her speaking fees high and improve her status as a GOP “kingmaker.” Others, however, believe that this is a sure sign that their political God, Sarah Palin, will soon be descending from the heavens to the earthly plane as a full-fledged presidential candidate. Given the lack of charisma of the current top-echelon of Republican presidential candidates, the Joan of Arc style portrayal of Palin that is being hinted at in the Stephen Bannon film may be the type of game-changer that Barack Obama’s book, The Audacity of Hope, proved to be in the 2008 presidential campaign.

Fonda Irritated With Canceled QVC Appearance

Jane Fonda Irritated

Jane Fonda took went to her personal blog on Saturday, July 16, to speak out against QVC canceling her appearance on Saturday where she was set to promote her latest book “Prime Time.”

The 73-year-old Academy Award-winning actress and author claims her appearance was canceled over her previous activism against the Vietnam War which happened years ago.

“The network said they got a lot of calls yesterday criticizing me for my opposition to the Vietnam War and threatening to boycott the show if I was allowed to appear,” Fonda wrote. “I am, to say the least, deeply disappointed that QVC caved to this kind of insane pressure by some well funded and organized political extremist groups.”

“I have never shied away from talking about this as I have nothing to hide. I could have pointed out that threats of boycotts are nothing new for me and have never prevented me from having best selling books and exercise DVDs, films, and a Broadway play,” Fonda added. “Most people don’t buy into the far right lies. Many people have reached out to express how excited they were about my going onto QVC and hearing about my book.”

Fonda continued by saying, “I do not understand what the far right stands to gain by continuing with these myths. In this case, they denied a lot of people the chance to hear about a book that can help make life better, easier and more fulfilling. I am deeply grateful for all of the support I have been getting since this happened, including from my Vietnam Veterans friends.”

However, the QVC network tells The Associated Press that Fonda’s appearance was canceled due to a routine programming change not what Fonda is saying was the issue.

QVC spokesman Paul Capelli confirmed Fonda’s cancelled appearance to the wire service and he said, “It’s not unusual to have a schedule change … with little or no notice.”

Fonda regularly spoke out against the Vietnam War in the 70s and was once dubbed “Hanoi Jane” after she visited the North Vietnamese capital and made radio broadcasts in which she criticized U.S. leaders and their policies. She also visited an anti-aircraft gun area site that was used to shoot down American pilots.

“I will go to my grave regretting that. The image of Jane Fonda, Barbarella, Henry Fonda’s daughter, just a woman sitting on an enemy aircraft gun, was a betrayal,” Fonda said about visiting the gun site in a “60 Minutes” interview during 2009.

The actress said later that she does not regret making the radio broadcasts, “Our government was lying to us, and men were dying because of it.” Fonda added, “And I felt that I had to do anything that I could to expose the lies, and help end the war. That was my goal.”

Fonda’s book “Prime Time” is set for release next month. In the book, she tells about plastic surgery she recently underwent, which she has not discussed in detail, as well as tidbits about her health and fitness habits.

The Duchess Of Cambridge’s Old Car For Sale On Ebay

Car For Sale On Ebay

A 2001 Volkswagen Golf might prove to be very profitable to one eBay auctioneer.

The 10-year-old car reportedly once belonged to Kate Middleton and who is now referred to formally as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, before being sold to a car dealership in 2009.

Sonny Brazil, whose father owned the dealership, put the car up for sale on eBay on Friday with a starting bid of $32,242, according to the UK newspaper The Daily Mail.  Official spokespeople for the Royal couple have not commented on the car or the report.

According to the report, Kate purchased the car in November of 2001 for £10,818. She then gave the car to her younger brother James in February 2007. James Middleton then later sold the car to Brazil’s father in 2009.

“I went to an auction house in Dorset a few weeks ago and they said it would be worth £30,000 pounds [$48,363] plus, solely because of the name in the log book,” Brazil told the UK newspaper. He put it up for sale on eBay shortly afterward.  You can find the listing for the car there.

According to Brazil, there was also a pair of cufflinks left in the car when it was sold. “I’m not quite sure who the cufflinks belong to, they might have been William’s or they could have belonged to James,” Brazil said.

Brazil added, “It is hard to say but I’ll be selling them with the car as well as all the receipts for work done on the car and the log book.”

The report says that during the time Kate drove the car it racked up 60,000 miles and was photographed several times for getting ticketed for parking violations.

The Royal couple recently finished a brief tour in North America last week where they began in Canada on June 30 and ended in Los Angeles on July 10.

Campbell Shined In Debut After Alzheimer’s Announced

Campbell Shined In Debut

On stage Glen Campbell was hunched over his electric blue guitar and he plucked some strings then made a sour face.  “Dadgum it,” Campbell said.

He fiddled for a few more minutes longer behind the stage Friday night while at the IP Casino until he finally found a perfect D chord.

“There it is,” Campbell said, before he turned on his heels and marched right into the spotlight. He began with “Gentle on my Mind” and — without even having to clear his throat — he nailed it.

“That first one is a doozey, ain’t it?” Campbell said to the crowd.

What the crowd heard was classic Glen Campbell.  Alzheimer’s disease has changed many things in this Country Music Hall of Famer’s world, be he still has the capability of resonating in our memories with his blue G&L Comanche on “”By the Time I Get to Phoenix” or the Hamer 12-string on “Southern Nights” is nearly untouched.

In one of the night’s finest moments, Campbell had the crowd on their feet by nailing the fragile runs in the center of his legendary “Wichita Lineman.”

This was Campbell’s first performance after he announced that he has Alzheimer’s.  Alzheimer’s is a degenerative brain disorder which gradually robs Campbell of his abilities and memories and this first concert was triumphant.  Both his road crew and his family worried that Campbell might be rusty since he’s had such a long layoff after his last performance.  With the exception of a few flubbed lyrics, which he quickly was able to correct thanks to helping teleprompters, Campbell along with his band ran through a 22 song set mixed together with self-deprecating jokes.

“I tell you I’m happy to be here,” he said. “At my age I’m happy to be anywhere. It seems like I’ve been doing this since Hitler was a corporal.”

His band includes four of his own children and other close friends.  Campbell played some of the crowd’s favorites like “Galveston and “Rhinestone Cowboy”, finishing the evening with two songs from a new album, “Ghost on the Canvas” which will be out August 30^th through Surfdog Records.

His new album is loaded with guest appearances and song contributors like Jakob Dylan, Pal Westerberg, Keith Urban, Brian Setzer, Rick Nielson, Billy Corgan and Dick Dale and will be Campbell’s last studio album.  Campbell has plans for a goodbye tour too.  Friday’s show was just a one-off or an excuse to gather family around him and have some fun.

“When I get tired of playing golf I do one of these,” Campbell joked in an interview earlier in the day.

appraisals, attorney, and such. Ideally, you want to avoid paying for points (which can also be called loan origination fees) and you certainly do not want to have any prepayment penalties.

4. Before applying, be sure to think about who you will want to put on the mortgage. Most lenders use the lower of the two credit scores instead of an average as is commonly thought. In some cases, just put the husband on the mortgage if your nonexistent credit will hinder you on the application.

James Rainford – Paris Hilton’s ‘Stalker’ Charged With felony

Paris Hilton’s 'Stalker'

James Rainford better known as Paris Hilton’s stalker was charged on Friday, July 15, with felony stalking after violating a restraining order which dictates he must stay away from Paris Hilton.

Rainford is scheduled to be arraigned in court on two counts of felony stalking and three misdemeanors of disobeying a court order, Deputy District Attorney Wendy Segall with Target Crimes Division. He is being held on $150,000 bail and if convicted, he faces up to five years in state prison.

Rainford, who the heiress and reality star has dubbed her “stalker,” did not comment. The 36-year-old man previously appeared in court on July 5, a day after he was arrested outside Paris’ Malibu home.

“My stalker needs to leave me alone. #Creep” Hilton tweeted at the time.

Law enforcement officials had detained Rainford after receiving a call about a man on the beach who was mentioned to have been peeking into one of Hilton’s homes. Paparazzi directed them to Rainford.

The caller said he recognized the man from a television news report. Rainford had previously attacked Hilton’s ex-boyfriend Cy Waits near a Los Angeles courthouse in April. The incident was captured by local news cameramen. Rainford told witnesses that he has “already proposed” to Paris and that “her dad already said ‘Yes.’”

Rainford spent twenty-four days in jail after pleading no contest to battery following the taped incident. His sentence was supposed to last 227 days and was shortened – a common measure in Los Angeles, usually made due to overcrowding.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that Rainford was issued a restraining order to stay away from Hilton and her then-boyfriend in October 2010, after he was arrested on a battery charge involving the two.

Rainford was detained on suspicion of trying to contact Hilton at her main residence in the Hollywood Hills and trying to fight off her security guards. In January 2011, Rainford pleaded no contest to civil assault and was given probation. Put the creep away!

2011-Entertainment Zooey Deschanel Feels Lucky To Be Part Of ‘Winnie The Pooh’ Music

Winnie the Pooh

Zooey Deschanel says she feels very “lucky” to contribute music to the new Disney movie, “Winnie the Pooh.”

“Tom MacDougall, who works in music for Disney, asked me to do the first song and I guess they liked it? So then they asked me to write the end credits song and then they asked me to do a song in the middle,” Zooey Deschanel said during the Los Angeles premiere of ‘Winnie The Pooh.’ “It was just lucky, I guess!”

The actress and singer said that she had watched the film and also some rough animations before she wrote the songs for the film’s soundtrack.

“I wanted something that a kid could see now, and then hear in like 15, 20 years and still like the song, and something that their parents would like when they see the movie,” Deschanel tells the Associated Press in an interview.

“Winnie the Pooh” features the usual classic characters voiced by actors John Cleese and Craig Ferguson. Voice actor Jim Cummings did the voices for both Winnie the Pooh and Tigger.

The movie follows Winnie the Pooh as he sets out to find honey and then he misinterprets a note left by Christopher Robin, Pooh brings his friends Tigger, Piglet, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo and Eeyore on an adventure to save their young friend Christopher Robin.

Deschanel branched into music in 2001, appearing in a jazz cabaret act called If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies. She has since performed on soundtracks for “Elf,” “Your Highness,” and “(500) Days of Summer.”  Deschanel is married to Death Cab for Cutie front man Ben Gibbard.  She also collaborates with M.Ward in their band She & Him.

The 31-year-old actress is best known for roles in “Elf”, “Almost Famous,” and “500 Days of Summer.” She has also appeared on Showtime’s series “Weeds” and on an episode of the Fox drama “Bones” alongside her acting sister Emily Deschanel, where she played a distant cousin of her sister’s character.

“I’m working on more music and then I have a TV show coming on FOX in the fall called ‘The New Girl,’” Deshanel tells OnTheRedCarpet.com. “So, I’ve been working on that and I have a new website called HelloGiggles.com.”

Restarting A Government After Shutdown Is More Than Flipping A Switch

Governor Mark Dayton

Minnesota may soon have an end to its shutdown of the government, but re-starting the departments of the state will probably take a few days.

Democratic Governor Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders aiming for a special session as early as Monday to finalize a deal struck late in last week. If rank-and-file lawmakers sign off on the deal, it will end a shutdown that’s been the longest in recent U.S. history.

But for residents whose lives have been disrupted, the relief won’t be immediate at all.

“It’s not like we can just flip a switch,” said Doug Neuville, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety, which has halted renewal of driver’s licenses and vehicle tags during the shutdown. The computer systems used to issue renewals take time to bring back online, and the services won’t be immediately available, he added.

The same is true for closed rest stops and state parks. State budget office spokesman Jonathan Pollard said those must be cleaned and thoroughly checked before people can use them again. Road construction projects idled by the shutdown are likely to require much needed safety inspections before work can resume.

Licensing hang-ups for beer distributors could take several days to unsnarl as well, as returning state workers deal with backlogs which built up during the shutdown.

“It depends on the level to which the services were down,” Pollard added. “If you have an agency that’s mostly been up and functioning, it may be easier than if you have an agency that’s been completely shut down.”

The Dayton administration will likely consider the shutdown officially over once the governor signs new budget bills into law, Pollard added.

2011 Teen Choice Awards Nominees Announced: Is It Harry Potter Versus Twilight?

2011 Teen Choice Awards

In the only award show that could pit Oscar winner “Black Swan” against “The Roommate,” this year’s Teen Choice Awards are both announced and were predictable. While the categories run the gamut from across sixty-six different categories, from movies to television and from sports and fashion, the big face-offs will be between the teen sensations Harry Potter and Twilight. Both film series are coming to their conclusion this year, leaving only one more year for them to compete for the Teen Choice Awards.

“Twilight Saga: Eclipse” received twelve nominations, including actor and actress nominations for Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart, as well as the LipLock nods for Stewart’s kisses with both leading males. They’ll be up against a smooch between “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1″ stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, who are coincidentally both up for lead actor awards as well. The awards are decided by voting online, so the show with the most powerful fan-base will prevail.

On the TV front, “Vampire Diaries” and “Gossip Girl” are each up for various awards, with “Glee” leading the pack with nine nominations, including actor Chris Colfer picking up both a Scene Stealer and Fashion Icon nomination.

The music category features the usual suspects — Lady Gaga, , Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber included. In the less traditional categories, Justin Bieber and Ashton Kutcher are up for “Best Twit” against a fictional character — Springfield’s Homer Simpson could take home the crown.

The awards will air live on Fox Sunday, Aug. 7.