Wife of Miami Dolphins player charged with stabbing him
By Michael Martinez, CNN
April 23, 2011 4:25 p.m. EDT
Brandon Marshall and his wife, Michi Nogami-Marshall, have been married for a year, police say.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Brandon Marshall, 27, Miami Dolphins star receiver, has a nonlife-threatening injury
- His wife, 27, is charged with stabbing him in the abdomen in a domestic violence incident
- The couple have been married for a year
(CNN) -- The wife of Miami Dolphins star receiver Brandon Marshall has been charged with stabbing him in the abdomen with a kitchen knife during a domestic violence incident, according to a report from the Broward County, Florida, sheriff's office.
Michi Nogami-Marshall, 26, was charged Friday evening with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, which allegedly occurred in their Southwest Ranches, Florida, home, according to the sheriff's report.
Brandon Marshall's injuries are nonlife-threatening, said spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright of the sheriff's office.
His wife was released Saturday from the county's main jail in Fort Lauderdale after posting a $7,500 bond, according to Coleman-Wright and other authorities.
The case remains under investigation, Coleman-Wright said in a statement.
Miami Dolphins spokesman Harvey Greene said Saturday that the team is aware of the matter, but his comments were limited because of the ongoing lockout between NFL owners and players over an unresolved collective-bargaining agreement.
"Our thoughts are with Brandon at this time," Greene said in a written statement to CNN affiliate WSVN. "We will look into the matter, but because we are not allowed to have any contact with any of our players, we will refrain from making any further comment."
The couple, who have no children, have been married one year and have been involved for 2 1/2 years, the sheriff's report said.
Brandon Marshall, 27, told police that he "slipped and fell onto a broken glass vase," the report said.
"However, the area of where the vase was broken indicated no blood within the immediate area to substantiate his claim," the report said.
His wife then told police that she stabbed her husband "out of self-defense," the report said.
"Both the victim and the defendant provided scant information regarding the incident itself," the sheriff's report said.
The report listed the wife at 5-foot-9 and 155 pounds. Brandon Marshall is 6-foot-4 and weighs 230 pounds, according to the Dolphins roster.
Last season, the wide receiver finished first on the Dolphins in receptions and yardage with 86 catches for 1,014 yards and three touchdowns -- enough to put him in a tie for second in the AFC and another tie for sixth in the NFL in receptions.
A wide receiver at the University of Central Florida, Brandon Marshall was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 2006 and went to the Pro Bowl in 2009. He was traded to Miami for undisclosed draft choices in April 2010.
"This is a very difficult time for Brandon and his family," his agents, Kennard McGuire and Harvey Steinberg, said in a statement. "Thankfully he will make a full recovery."
A shameless woman shall be counted as a dog but she that is shamefaced will fear the Lord
Ecclesiasticus 42:13
For from garments cometh a moth and from women wickedness
Ecclesiasticus 9:2
Give not thy soul unto a woman to set her foot upon thy substance
Ecclesiasticus 25:13 [Give me] any plague, but the plague of the heart: and any wickedness, but the wickedness of a woman
Ecclesiasticus 25:16
I had rather dwell with a lion and a dragon than to keep house with a wicked woman
Ecclesiasticus 25:17
The wickedness of a woman changeth her face and darkeneth her countenance like sackcloth
Ecclesiasticus 26:23
A wicked woman is given as a portion to a wicked man but a godly woman is given to him that feareth the Lord
______________________________
Terror on Long Island
Amber Lynn Costello had been in the sex trade since she was 17. Last September she booked a date for $1,500 and headed out into the night. She never came back. The inside story of a serial-killer victim’s final hours.
(Page 1 of 3)
NEWSWEEK A call from a stranger, a negotiation over sex, and an agreed-upon price—$1,500—that made it even easier than usual for a heroin user supporting herself through prostitution to cast aside caution and head out into the night alone. For 27-year-old Amber Lynn Costello, who had been selling herself since the age of 17, the offer was much higher than usual, yet in other respects not out of the ordinary. But on the evening of Sept. 2, 2010, Costello made that date and never came back.
For safety reasons, she used the cell phone belonging to her roommate, Dave Schaller, to set up dates. On this particular evening, Schaller recalls, the man called three or four times. “She felt comfortable with him,” he says. The last call came at 10:30, and moments later she headed out of the modest gray-shingled house she shared with Schaller in West Babylon, N.Y., wearing a pink hoodie and jeans.
Schaller was well aware that Costello took risks, but within the parameters the two had set, he had learned to accept them. An “incall” was often preferable to an “outcall,” and both were typically secured by means of paid ads Costello placed on backpage.com. She described herself as a Southern belle, and her picture showed a petite young woman with green eyes and brown hair. She would buy a new ad every few days, in order to keep herself at the top of the adult-services offerings. If it was an outcall to a hotel or a house, Schaller would often drive her and wait outside in his car. More often, clients would come to their house, and he would wait in the next room in case she needed him.
Schaller recalls episodes where men threatened violence and he had to intervene, going as far as to chase several out of the house with a baseball bat. Amber was tiny—4 feet 11 inches tall and weighing barely 100 pounds. “But she never thought anything would happen to her,” he says. “She thought she was indestructible.”
On the morning of Sept. 3, Schaller called Costello’s sister, Kimberly Overstreet—Amber hadn’t yet returned. He says she told him not to worry. And so he waited.
When people living in such precarious circumstances suddenly disappear, they are not necessarily the highest, immediate priority for the authorities. Such was the case on Long Island, where, according to Suffolk County police, four online escorts were killed, at varying intervals, between 2007 and last September.
Their bodies weren’t discovered until December, and then only by accident, when a police officer and his dog were out on a training exercise. Within weeks, the remains of six more bodies—reportedly, one of them a baby—had been found. Thus began a sensational run of tabloid news, fueling speculation that the police had been caught off guard by what might be a dumping ground for a still-active serial killer.
Standing on the side of Ocean Parkway, a four-lane road that runs along the southern part of Long Island, about 45 miles from New York City, one can imagine a grisly scenario: a killer parks, shoulders his load, and moves toward the dense, high brush. Forty feet in, he drops a dead woman in a burlap sack.
Ezekiel 35:6- Therefore, [as] I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.
Psalms 10:8- He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.
John 8:44- Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
______________________________
Published April 15, 2011
Proverbs 1:16- For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
Proverbs 1:18- And they lay wait for their [own] blood; they lurk privily for their [own] lives.
Proverbs 1:19- So [are] the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; [which] taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
Jeremiah 5:26- For among my people are found wicked [men]: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.
______________________________
This story was reported in collaboration with Jessica Carreras from Dearborn's Patch.com.
Last month, the pastor of a tiny church in Florida dressed up in a judge's robes and held a mock trial in which he pronounced a death sentence upon the Quran, an order he then carried out using kerosene and a barbecue lighter. News of his deed spread to Afghanistan, where thousands rioted during two days of protests that left 21 people dead, including 7 U.N. workers.
This week, Terry Jones, 59, went back to court -- a real court this time, in Michigan's 19th District. He'd come to Dearborn, a city with a large Muslim population, to demonstrate what he described as "the rise of Sharia law." The plan: Stage a rally outside the Islamic Center of America, the largest mosque in the United States.
On Thursday, Judge Mark Somers summoned Jones and a supporter named Wayne Sapp to the courthouse in response to a Wayne County prosecutor, whose office warned a protest in front of the mosque could "incite a riot." A jury determined the following day that the demonstration would likely "breach the peace," and Judge Somers ordered the men to stay away from the mosque for three years and pay a nominal $1 bond. Jones and Sapp initially refused to pay the bond and were briefly jailed.
Although the protest Jones organized figured to be sparsely attended -- at one point he said he expected only five participants -- the news of his plan triggered a huge reaction from locals opposed to him and sympathetic to the mosque.
Hundreds gathered at the Islamic Center on Thursday night for what was described as an interfaith rally against the Jones protest. An Episcopal bishop led a prayer, and about a dozen religious leaders from nearly as many faiths and sects led the crowd out of the mosque in silence. Participants stood outside for about ten minutes with their hands joined, no one talking. The religious leaders posed for photos with their arms interlocked.
Dearborn Mayor John O'Reilly Jr. attended the event after writing an open letter to Jones that read, "You are coming to protest against an imaginary threat that doesn't exist in our community."
Another demonstration against Jones was held at a library on Friday, this one drawing about 1,000 people. Protestors carried signs reading ""I Am American" and "We Are All Brothers in Humanity."
The idea of demonstrating against Sharia law in front of the Islamic Center of America came not from Jones, originally, but from a Michigan fraternal group called the Order of the Dragon. After Jones announced he planned to join them, the group backed out. "He's a little off his rocker," the organization's president, Frank Fiorello, said of Jones.
In the courtroom, Jones, who defended himself, wore what has become his trademark rebel costume. He sported a Harley-Davidson t-shirt and jeans to match his Hulk Hogan mustache and slung his scuffed leather jacket over a chair. His cohort, Sapp, wore a Harley t-shirt, too.
"You may not agree with what we've done," Jones said, addressing the court for the first time in his baritone preacher's voice Friday morning. Quick to defend his constitutional rights, he added, "This is, to a certain extent, a First Amendment issue ... and the First Amendment does us no good if it confines us to saying what popular opinion is."
Much of the court discussion did center on the First Amendment, and specifically, a Dearborn ordinance requiring demonstrators to obtain permits for protests outside of four specific areas known as "free speech zones." At the trial, Robert Moran, an assistant prosecutor for Wayne County, noted that the police department had invited Jones to hold the demonstration in one of those designated areas.
"They said 'No,'" Moran said. "They said, 'We're going to come demonstrate where we want, when we want, regardless of the law.'"
Jones, for his part, dismissed the concept of free speech zones as "ridiculous."
"All we want to do is exercise our First Amendment rights," Jones said. " Freedom of speech does not have speech zones."
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed a friend of the court brief. "If the First Amendment means anything, it means that the government cannot interfere in a person's free speech simply because it doesn't agree with the message or because someone else may not agree with the message," spokesperson Rana Elmir penned in the statement. "As reprehensible as his beliefs may be," Elmir added, "we believe this is an unconstitutional attempt to limit his unpopular speech."
In response to the final verdict, Elmir said, ""The prosecutor's office and the Dearborn court turned the First Amendment on its head."
At the Detroit Metro Airport on Saturday, Jones told reporters that his constitutional rights had been violated and vowed he and his supporters would return to town next week. According to Wayne Sapp, however, the men now intend to demonstrate not in front of the mosque but at City Hall.
"Right now, our direct confrontation is with the city of Dearborn," he said.
______________________________
Posted: 12:31 pm EDT April 24, 2011Updated: 1:51 pm EDT April 24, 2011
LITHONIA, Ga. -- Bishop Eddie Long delivered several sermons to his congregation on Easter Sunday, avoiding any mention of the lawsuit against him or any possible settlement in the sex scandal rocking New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.Throughout his sermons he appeared to have a cryptic message for his accusers. “You ain't messin’ with me. I shall rise again and I ain't going through this,” Long said.His sermon comes just days after Channel 2 Action News learned the embattled megachurch pastor was close to reaching a settlement with four former church members who accused him of using his spiritual powers to engage in sexual activity.Long never directly addressed the lawsuit or any possible settlement. Instead, he imparted apparent cryptic commentary about his accusers.“You have to go down there and let the devil know that what they thought was gonna kill you, didn't kill you. What they thought was gonna bring terror to you, didn't bring terror to you and you made the enemies public spectacle,” Long said during one sermon.On Friday, Dekalb County Magistrate Judge Johnny Panos told our Channel 2’s Tom Jones he jump started mediation between Long and the accusers and that they were close to an agreement.“Why wait to the summer? Why wait to the fall? Get it done now and what better time to do it that,” Panos said.Outside the church New Birth members told Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik they want to put the suit behind them.Petchenik: "Are you relieved the lawsuit will be over with the Bishop."Church Member: "I am."
2 Esdras 16:64 Therefore hath the Lord exactly searched out all your works, and he will put you all to shame.
2 Esdras 16:65 And when your sins are brought forth, ye shall be ashamed before men, and your own sins shall be your accusers in that day.
2 Esdras 16:66 What will ye do? or how will ye hide your sins before God and his angels?
______________________________
Before I even begin, let me admit that I’m not entirely qualified to answer that question myself because although I’ve seen every movie Spike’s ever made including Joe’s Bed Stuy Barbershop, I’m not as familiar with entirety of Tyler Perry’s filmography.
The five Tyler Perry movies that I have seen, I’ve liked. The first Why Did I Get Married, perhaps the best.
The thing about Tyler Perry movies to me though is that while they’ve all been admittedly good, none have been, to this point at least, spectacular.
None have demonstrated any nuance in either style or form, none have presented anything groundbreaking as far as the art of filmmaking is concerned, and perhaps most importantly, none have ever required from any of their actors or actresses the type of performance that pushed him or her to the boundaries of their abilities.
Spike Lee, on the other hand, is a nut. His style is always nuanced, his technique original and Denzel Washington, John Leguizamo, Clive Owen, Angela Bassett, Mira Sorvino and Rosario Dawson have all been at their best while rocking with him.
This work itself however, has mixed results.
When Spike’s been off, he’s produced clunkers like Miracle at St. Anna and Girl 6.
But when Spike’s on, he’s produced absolute gems like Malcolm X, Summer of Sam, Bamboozled, and Inside Man.
This isn’t to say he’s better than Tyler Perry, though.
To say that, I’d have to presume to know what each filmgoer needed.
On the issue of the current beef between the two men, I take Tyler’s side all the way.
Spike was way out of pocket to compare Tyler to Amos n Andy, not even able to disguise the fact that all he’s doing is hating, mostly because Tyler Perry movies are like dynamite at the box office, while Spike’s films are more like a firecracker.
On the issue of films however, if I had to choose one over the other, I’d choose Spike.
I always want to feel passionate about art one way or another.
I’d rather walk out of a movie feeling that it completely sucked than feeling pleasantly indifferent.
I realize however that not everybody shares this sentiment.
Some people simply want to be entertained.
And at least Tyler’s guaranteed to give them what they paid for.
The long-simmering war of words between Tyler Perry and Spike Lee is heating up again.
Perry, in both a message on his website and a press conference to promote "Madea's Big Happy Family," hit out against Lee, who in 2009 said, among other things, that Perry's films "harken back to 'Amos n' Andy'." While Perry's website message was vague and resilient, defending his work as both spiritually uplifting and fun, his words for Lee were blunt and harsh in the press conference.
"I'm so sick of hearing about damn Spike Lee," Perry said during the press conference (via Box Office Magazine). "Spike can go straight to hell! You can print that. I am sick of him talking about me, I am sick of him saying, 'this is a coon, this is a buffoon.' I am sick of him talking about black people going to see movies. This is what he said: 'you vote by what you see,' as if black people don't know what they want to see."
Perry's films are consistent high performers at the box office; all independently financed, they've taken in over $520 million in ticket receipts over the past six years. He recently extended his deal with distributor Lionsgate, with whom he has worked since 2005. Lee was critical in spite of that success.
"Each artist should be allowed to pursue their artistic endeavors, but I still think there is a lot of stuff out today that is coonery and buffoonery," he said in '09. "I know it's making a lot of money and breaking records, but we can do better. ... I am a huge basketball fan, and when I watch the games on TNT, I see these two ads for these two shows (Tyler Perry's 'Meet the Browns' and 'House of Payne'), and I am scratching my head. We got a black president, and we going back to Mantan Moreland and Sleep 'n' Eat?"
Perry cited Lee's previous lashings of other black media figures, including Oprah; Perry and the talk show queen worked together in 2009 when they executive produced the drama "Precious." Perry will also star in the upcoming drama, "I, Alex Cross," which he won't be writing/producing.
He was also angry about the perception that his film's characters were stereotypes that don't fit what African Americans are actually like in modern times.
"Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois went through the exact same thing; Langston Hughes said that Zora Neale Hurston, the woman who wrote 'Their Eyes Were Watching God,' was a new version of the 'darkie' because she spoke in a southern dialect and a Southern tone," Perry offered. "And I'm sick of it from us; we don't have to worry about anybody else trying to destroy us and take shots because we do it to ourselves."
In a 2009 interview with CBS, he revealed the origin of Madea, the grandmother who he plays and often headlines his films.
"Madea is a cross between my mother and my aunt. She's the type of grandmother that was on every corner when I was growing up," Perry said. "She smoked. She walked out of the house with her curlers and her muumuu and she watched everybody's kids. She didn't take no crap. She's a strong figure where I come from. In my part of the African-American community. And I say that because I'm sure that there are some other parts of the African-American community that may be looking at me now going, 'Who does he think he's speaking of?' But, for me, this woman was very, very visible."
______________________________
From fighting over grilled chicken at KFC to fighting at McDonalds, when will black folks learn that fast food just isn't good for you.
Yesterday during McDonald's "National Hiring Day" a melee broke out at a Cleveland franchise that resulted in three people getting hurt and two more arrested. Unfortunately, the fight wasn't over a job or applications running out, it was over a man (Calvin?). Two women started yelling at each other and then things got physical.
The fight continued when the two women got inside of a car. During the fight, the car was accidentally put in reverse and it ran over three people. Hiring day was cancelled immediately and the driver of the car is still at large. Surely this is not what they mean when they say "drive up to the next window, please."
Hosea 4:6- My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Ecclesiasticus 26:6
But a grief of heart and sorrow is a woman that is jealous over another woman and a scourge of the tongue which communicateth with all
Jeremiah 4:22- For my people [is] foolish, they have not known me; they [are] sottish children, and they have none understanding: they [are] wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
______________________________
Europe's debt crisis returned to haunt markets Monday as investors fretted over a possible Greek default and the impact of huge gains for a nationalist party in Finland.
Portugal also began discussions on a financial bailout and Spain had to pay a much higher interest rates to tap bond investors.
Although borrowing costs for countries like Greece, Ireland and Portugal have risen sharply higher in recent weeks, the euro managed to brush off debt crisis concerns, hitting a 15-month high last week above $1.45. The currency has been buoyed by predictions that the European Central Bank will follow April's first interest rate hike in nearly three years with more policy tightening.
That benefits the euro if investors don't expect others, such as the Federal Reserve, to do the same.
However, there was little respite for the currency Monday in a stream of negative developments, which sent the euro down 1.3 percent to $1.4222. Earlier it had dropped to $1.4157, its lowest level since April 5.
Further debt jitters emerged with the news that Spain had to pay sharply higher interest rates to raise euro4.7 billion ($6.7 billion) in short-term debt, while the yield on Greece's 10-year bonds spiked nearly a whole percentage point at one stage to 14.59 percent. That's the first time it's gone above 14 percent since the country took up the euro in 2001.
By the close, the yield had eased slightly to 14.55 percent, but the difference with benchmark German bunds was over 11 percent _ a staggering differential given that the two countries use the same currency.
The renewed focus on Greece's debts has come after some suggestions that the country would be better off looking for a way to renegotiate its debts.
Costas Simitis, Greece's Socialist premier from 1996-2004, has backed calls for the country to deal with its debt mountain, arguing that a protracted austerity program may not work. A negotiated restructuring would be better, allowing Greece to rebuild its economy over the next 15 to 20 years, he argued.
He's not the only one arguing for a restructuring but the Greek government insists that is not on the agenda, as it would make it more difficult to tap bond markets in the future.
The governor of Greece's central bank weighed in Monday, arguing that a restructuring is "unnecessary and undesirable." However, central banker George Provopoulos admitted that cost-cutting reforms by Greece's Socialist government were showing signs of "fatigue" and required a "powerful restart" to keep the program on track.
Whether Greece can actually withstand the pressure is another matter _ after all, it spent the early part of 2010 insisting it didn't need a bailout. By May, it had to accept a euro110 billion ($159 billion) package of rescue loans from its partners in the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
"Despite public protestations to the contrary, the background chatter has reached such an intensity in recent days that the real questions now seem to be rather more when a Greek 'restructuring' will finally be announced and quite what the details will be rather than if there will be one," said Simon Derrick, a senior analyst at The Bank of New York Mellon.
Although a restructuring would reduce the debt pile and possibly bring a quicker end to the painful austerity measures, restructuring would not be easy and would entail huge costs to Greece's future ability to borrow money as well as risking a massive blow to the country's banks, which are big holders of Greek bonds.
Many German and French banks are also big holders of Greek debt.
A Greek default could also trigger fears that Ireland or Portugal may seek a similar way out from their debt stranglehold. There had been hopes that Europe had finally done enough to ringfence its three weakest members, but those nations' immediate economic prospects look bleak as they try to meet their obligations for the international financial support.
Portugal began its quest for financial assistance Monday with the finance minister of the country's caretaker government meeting delegations from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. A key topic is expected to center on the interest rate charged for Portugal's expected euro80 billion ($116 billion) bailout.
Meanwhile, news that a euroskeptic party made big gains in Finland's election Sunday has stoked fears that the EU's "comprehensive plan" to deal with the debt crisis may not run as smoothly as hoped.
True Finns leader Timo Soini suggested Monday that Finland should opt out of future bailout packages, decisions that require unanimity in the 17-member eurozone.
A bailout rescue without Finland would severely undermine the eurozone's pledge to do everything to defend the common currency and could create panic on financial markets.
"The EU currently requires unanimous approval for each use of the eurozone bailout fund, so it is now being forced to examine ways to push through the Portuguese package without Finnish support," said Jane Foley, an analyst at Rabobank International. "There is no time to lose since Portugal is facing a hefty bond redemption in June."
Psalms 10:8- He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.
John 8:44- Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
______________________________
Crime escalates in Puerto Rico despite kingpin arrests
Published April 15, 2011
San Juan – Crime linked to drug trafficking in Puerto Rico has increased over the last few years despite the arrests of the island's three biggest kingpins.
Police have registered 334 murders so far in 2011, 93 more than in the same period last year, which closed with a total of 983 homicides, the second most violent year in the recent history of this U.S. commonwealth in the Caribbean.
Puerto Rico's police chief, Jose Figueroa Sancha, told Efe on Friday that the arrest of organized crime leaders is directly related to the spate of killings.
"At the time those arrests were made, there were immediate consequences," said Figueroa Sancha, adding that when drug lord Angel Ayala Vazquez, alias "Angelo Millones," is sentenced, a surge of violence can be expected to hit the streets.
Ayala Vazquez faces a possible life sentence for being one of Puerto Rico's leading drug kingpins for 15 years.
Figueroa Sancha acknowledged that the Ayala Vazquez organization "could keep operating" from its principal bastion, the Jose Celso Barbosa public housing project in the San Juan suburb of Bayamon.
The police chief also said that even from behind bars, Ayala Vazquez launched a war for control of drug corners in "his territory."
"We have carried out operations in all areas where Ayala was in control," Figueroa Sancha said.
Alexander Capo Carrillo, a.k.a. "Alex Trujillo," was sentenced in June 2006 to 20 years in prison for drug trafficking in the public housing project of Covadonga de Trujillo Alto, also near San Juan.
At the time he was arrested, Capo Carrillo, than 23, was the police's most-wanted man in Puerto Rico because of the murders committed to maintain control over drug distribution in several districts of San Juan.
Last July brought the apprehension of Jose Figueroa Agosto, known as "Junior Capsula," a drug lord and killer who escaped from a Puerto Rican prison in 1999.
His jailbreak occurred after he had served four years of a 209-year sentence imposed when he was found guilty of homicide and other charges.
Figueroa Agosto, dubbed "the Pablo Escobar of the Caribbean," operated a drug-trafficking ring with connections in Colombia and Venezuela that transported drugs to the Dominican Republic, from where it was shipped in speedboats to Puerto Rico.
Police have registered 334 murders so far in 2011, 93 more than in the same period last year, which closed with a total of 983 homicides, the second most violent year in the recent history of this U.S. commonwealth in the Caribbean.
Puerto Rico's police chief, Jose Figueroa Sancha, told Efe on Friday that the arrest of organized crime leaders is directly related to the spate of killings.
"At the time those arrests were made, there were immediate consequences," said Figueroa Sancha, adding that when drug lord Angel Ayala Vazquez, alias "Angelo Millones," is sentenced, a surge of violence can be expected to hit the streets.
Ayala Vazquez faces a possible life sentence for being one of Puerto Rico's leading drug kingpins for 15 years.
Figueroa Sancha acknowledged that the Ayala Vazquez organization "could keep operating" from its principal bastion, the Jose Celso Barbosa public housing project in the San Juan suburb of Bayamon.
The police chief also said that even from behind bars, Ayala Vazquez launched a war for control of drug corners in "his territory."
"We have carried out operations in all areas where Ayala was in control," Figueroa Sancha said.
Alexander Capo Carrillo, a.k.a. "Alex Trujillo," was sentenced in June 2006 to 20 years in prison for drug trafficking in the public housing project of Covadonga de Trujillo Alto, also near San Juan.
At the time he was arrested, Capo Carrillo, than 23, was the police's most-wanted man in Puerto Rico because of the murders committed to maintain control over drug distribution in several districts of San Juan.
Last July brought the apprehension of Jose Figueroa Agosto, known as "Junior Capsula," a drug lord and killer who escaped from a Puerto Rican prison in 1999.
His jailbreak occurred after he had served four years of a 209-year sentence imposed when he was found guilty of homicide and other charges.
Figueroa Agosto, dubbed "the Pablo Escobar of the Caribbean," operated a drug-trafficking ring with connections in Colombia and Venezuela that transported drugs to the Dominican Republic, from where it was shipped in speedboats to Puerto Rico.
Proverbs 1:16- For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
Proverbs 1:18- And they lay wait for their [own] blood; they lurk privily for their [own] lives.
Proverbs 1:19- So [are] the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; [which] taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
Jeremiah 5:26- For among my people are found wicked [men]: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.
______________________________
Terry Jones, The Quran-Burning Pastor, Jailed In Dearborn, Michigan
First Posted: 04/23/11 07:38 PM ET Updated: 04/23/11 08:37 PM ET
This story was reported in collaboration with Jessica Carreras from Dearborn's Patch.com.
Last month, the pastor of a tiny church in Florida dressed up in a judge's robes and held a mock trial in which he pronounced a death sentence upon the Quran, an order he then carried out using kerosene and a barbecue lighter. News of his deed spread to Afghanistan, where thousands rioted during two days of protests that left 21 people dead, including 7 U.N. workers.
This week, Terry Jones, 59, went back to court -- a real court this time, in Michigan's 19th District. He'd come to Dearborn, a city with a large Muslim population, to demonstrate what he described as "the rise of Sharia law." The plan: Stage a rally outside the Islamic Center of America, the largest mosque in the United States.
On Thursday, Judge Mark Somers summoned Jones and a supporter named Wayne Sapp to the courthouse in response to a Wayne County prosecutor, whose office warned a protest in front of the mosque could "incite a riot." A jury determined the following day that the demonstration would likely "breach the peace," and Judge Somers ordered the men to stay away from the mosque for three years and pay a nominal $1 bond. Jones and Sapp initially refused to pay the bond and were briefly jailed.
Although the protest Jones organized figured to be sparsely attended -- at one point he said he expected only five participants -- the news of his plan triggered a huge reaction from locals opposed to him and sympathetic to the mosque.
Hundreds gathered at the Islamic Center on Thursday night for what was described as an interfaith rally against the Jones protest. An Episcopal bishop led a prayer, and about a dozen religious leaders from nearly as many faiths and sects led the crowd out of the mosque in silence. Participants stood outside for about ten minutes with their hands joined, no one talking. The religious leaders posed for photos with their arms interlocked.
Dearborn Mayor John O'Reilly Jr. attended the event after writing an open letter to Jones that read, "You are coming to protest against an imaginary threat that doesn't exist in our community."
Story continues below
The idea of demonstrating against Sharia law in front of the Islamic Center of America came not from Jones, originally, but from a Michigan fraternal group called the Order of the Dragon. After Jones announced he planned to join them, the group backed out. "He's a little off his rocker," the organization's president, Frank Fiorello, said of Jones.
In the courtroom, Jones, who defended himself, wore what has become his trademark rebel costume. He sported a Harley-Davidson t-shirt and jeans to match his Hulk Hogan mustache and slung his scuffed leather jacket over a chair. His cohort, Sapp, wore a Harley t-shirt, too.
"You may not agree with what we've done," Jones said, addressing the court for the first time in his baritone preacher's voice Friday morning. Quick to defend his constitutional rights, he added, "This is, to a certain extent, a First Amendment issue ... and the First Amendment does us no good if it confines us to saying what popular opinion is."
Much of the court discussion did center on the First Amendment, and specifically, a Dearborn ordinance requiring demonstrators to obtain permits for protests outside of four specific areas known as "free speech zones." At the trial, Robert Moran, an assistant prosecutor for Wayne County, noted that the police department had invited Jones to hold the demonstration in one of those designated areas.
"They said 'No,'" Moran said. "They said, 'We're going to come demonstrate where we want, when we want, regardless of the law.'"
Jones, for his part, dismissed the concept of free speech zones as "ridiculous."
"All we want to do is exercise our First Amendment rights," Jones said. " Freedom of speech does not have speech zones."
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed a friend of the court brief. "If the First Amendment means anything, it means that the government cannot interfere in a person's free speech simply because it doesn't agree with the message or because someone else may not agree with the message," spokesperson Rana Elmir penned in the statement. "As reprehensible as his beliefs may be," Elmir added, "we believe this is an unconstitutional attempt to limit his unpopular speech."
In response to the final verdict, Elmir said, ""The prosecutor's office and the Dearborn court turned the First Amendment on its head."
At the Detroit Metro Airport on Saturday, Jones told reporters that his constitutional rights had been violated and vowed he and his supporters would return to town next week. According to Wayne Sapp, however, the men now intend to demonstrate not in front of the mosque but at City Hall.
"Right now, our direct confrontation is with the city of Dearborn," he said.
______________________________
Long Sends Message To Accusers During Easter Sermon
Channel 2's Mike Petchenik Reports
LITHONIA, Ga. -- Bishop Eddie Long delivered several sermons to his congregation on Easter Sunday, avoiding any mention of the lawsuit against him or any possible settlement in the sex scandal rocking New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.Throughout his sermons he appeared to have a cryptic message for his accusers. “You ain't messin’ with me. I shall rise again and I ain't going through this,” Long said.His sermon comes just days after Channel 2 Action News learned the embattled megachurch pastor was close to reaching a settlement with four former church members who accused him of using his spiritual powers to engage in sexual activity.Long never directly addressed the lawsuit or any possible settlement. Instead, he imparted apparent cryptic commentary about his accusers.“You have to go down there and let the devil know that what they thought was gonna kill you, didn't kill you. What they thought was gonna bring terror to you, didn't bring terror to you and you made the enemies public spectacle,” Long said during one sermon.On Friday, Dekalb County Magistrate Judge Johnny Panos told our Channel 2’s Tom Jones he jump started mediation between Long and the accusers and that they were close to an agreement.“Why wait to the summer? Why wait to the fall? Get it done now and what better time to do it that,” Panos said.Outside the church New Birth members told Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik they want to put the suit behind them.Petchenik: "Are you relieved the lawsuit will be over with the Bishop."Church Member: "I am."
2 Esdras 16:64 Therefore hath the Lord exactly searched out all your works, and he will put you all to shame.
2 Esdras 16:65 And when your sins are brought forth, ye shall be ashamed before men, and your own sins shall be your accusers in that day.
2 Esdras 16:66 What will ye do? or how will ye hide your sins before God and his angels?
______________________________
Is Tyler Perry A Better Filmmaker Than Spike Lee?
Before I even begin, let me admit that I’m not entirely qualified to answer that question myself because although I’ve seen every movie Spike’s ever made including Joe’s Bed Stuy Barbershop, I’m not as familiar with entirety of Tyler Perry’s filmography.
The five Tyler Perry movies that I have seen, I’ve liked. The first Why Did I Get Married, perhaps the best.
The thing about Tyler Perry movies to me though is that while they’ve all been admittedly good, none have been, to this point at least, spectacular.
None have demonstrated any nuance in either style or form, none have presented anything groundbreaking as far as the art of filmmaking is concerned, and perhaps most importantly, none have ever required from any of their actors or actresses the type of performance that pushed him or her to the boundaries of their abilities.
Spike Lee, on the other hand, is a nut. His style is always nuanced, his technique original and Denzel Washington, John Leguizamo, Clive Owen, Angela Bassett, Mira Sorvino and Rosario Dawson have all been at their best while rocking with him.
This work itself however, has mixed results.
When Spike’s been off, he’s produced clunkers like Miracle at St. Anna and Girl 6.
But when Spike’s on, he’s produced absolute gems like Malcolm X, Summer of Sam, Bamboozled, and Inside Man.
This isn’t to say he’s better than Tyler Perry, though.
To say that, I’d have to presume to know what each filmgoer needed.
On the issue of the current beef between the two men, I take Tyler’s side all the way.
Spike was way out of pocket to compare Tyler to Amos n Andy, not even able to disguise the fact that all he’s doing is hating, mostly because Tyler Perry movies are like dynamite at the box office, while Spike’s films are more like a firecracker.
On the issue of films however, if I had to choose one over the other, I’d choose Spike.
I always want to feel passionate about art one way or another.
I’d rather walk out of a movie feeling that it completely sucked than feeling pleasantly indifferent.
I realize however that not everybody shares this sentiment.
Some people simply want to be entertained.
And at least Tyler’s guaranteed to give them what they paid for.
(RELATED):
Tyler Perry To Spike Lee: 'Go Straight To Hell'
First Posted: 04/20/11 05:38 AM ET Updated: 04/20/11 09:23 AM ET
The long-simmering war of words between Tyler Perry and Spike Lee is heating up again.
Perry, in both a message on his website and a press conference to promote "Madea's Big Happy Family," hit out against Lee, who in 2009 said, among other things, that Perry's films "harken back to 'Amos n' Andy'." While Perry's website message was vague and resilient, defending his work as both spiritually uplifting and fun, his words for Lee were blunt and harsh in the press conference.
"I'm so sick of hearing about damn Spike Lee," Perry said during the press conference (via Box Office Magazine). "Spike can go straight to hell! You can print that. I am sick of him talking about me, I am sick of him saying, 'this is a coon, this is a buffoon.' I am sick of him talking about black people going to see movies. This is what he said: 'you vote by what you see,' as if black people don't know what they want to see."
Perry's films are consistent high performers at the box office; all independently financed, they've taken in over $520 million in ticket receipts over the past six years. He recently extended his deal with distributor Lionsgate, with whom he has worked since 2005. Lee was critical in spite of that success.
"Each artist should be allowed to pursue their artistic endeavors, but I still think there is a lot of stuff out today that is coonery and buffoonery," he said in '09. "I know it's making a lot of money and breaking records, but we can do better. ... I am a huge basketball fan, and when I watch the games on TNT, I see these two ads for these two shows (Tyler Perry's 'Meet the Browns' and 'House of Payne'), and I am scratching my head. We got a black president, and we going back to Mantan Moreland and Sleep 'n' Eat?"
Perry cited Lee's previous lashings of other black media figures, including Oprah; Perry and the talk show queen worked together in 2009 when they executive produced the drama "Precious." Perry will also star in the upcoming drama, "I, Alex Cross," which he won't be writing/producing.
He was also angry about the perception that his film's characters were stereotypes that don't fit what African Americans are actually like in modern times.
"Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois went through the exact same thing; Langston Hughes said that Zora Neale Hurston, the woman who wrote 'Their Eyes Were Watching God,' was a new version of the 'darkie' because she spoke in a southern dialect and a Southern tone," Perry offered. "And I'm sick of it from us; we don't have to worry about anybody else trying to destroy us and take shots because we do it to ourselves."
In a 2009 interview with CBS, he revealed the origin of Madea, the grandmother who he plays and often headlines his films.
"Madea is a cross between my mother and my aunt. She's the type of grandmother that was on every corner when I was growing up," Perry said. "She smoked. She walked out of the house with her curlers and her muumuu and she watched everybody's kids. She didn't take no crap. She's a strong figure where I come from. In my part of the African-American community. And I say that because I'm sure that there are some other parts of the African-American community that may be looking at me now going, 'Who does he think he's speaking of?' But, for me, this woman was very, very visible."
______________________________
Three People Ran Over By Car at McDonald's
Wed, 04/20/2011 - 1:31pmFrom fighting over grilled chicken at KFC to fighting at McDonalds, when will black folks learn that fast food just isn't good for you.
Yesterday during McDonald's "National Hiring Day" a melee broke out at a Cleveland franchise that resulted in three people getting hurt and two more arrested. Unfortunately, the fight wasn't over a job or applications running out, it was over a man (Calvin?). Two women started yelling at each other and then things got physical.
The fight continued when the two women got inside of a car. During the fight, the car was accidentally put in reverse and it ran over three people. Hiring day was cancelled immediately and the driver of the car is still at large. Surely this is not what they mean when they say "drive up to the next window, please."
Hosea 4:6- My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Ecclesiasticus 26:6
But a grief of heart and sorrow is a woman that is jealous over another woman and a scourge of the tongue which communicateth with all
Jeremiah 4:22- For my people [is] foolish, they have not known me; they [are] sottish children, and they have none understanding: they [are] wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
______________________________
Greek debt crisis haunts markets again
Europe's debt crisis returned to haunt markets Monday as investors fretted over a possible Greek default and the impact of huge gains for a nationalist party in Finland.
Portugal also began discussions on a financial bailout and Spain had to pay a much higher interest rates to tap bond investors.
Although borrowing costs for countries like Greece, Ireland and Portugal have risen sharply higher in recent weeks, the euro managed to brush off debt crisis concerns, hitting a 15-month high last week above $1.45. The currency has been buoyed by predictions that the European Central Bank will follow April's first interest rate hike in nearly three years with more policy tightening.
That benefits the euro if investors don't expect others, such as the Federal Reserve, to do the same.
However, there was little respite for the currency Monday in a stream of negative developments, which sent the euro down 1.3 percent to $1.4222. Earlier it had dropped to $1.4157, its lowest level since April 5.
Further debt jitters emerged with the news that Spain had to pay sharply higher interest rates to raise euro4.7 billion ($6.7 billion) in short-term debt, while the yield on Greece's 10-year bonds spiked nearly a whole percentage point at one stage to 14.59 percent. That's the first time it's gone above 14 percent since the country took up the euro in 2001.
By the close, the yield had eased slightly to 14.55 percent, but the difference with benchmark German bunds was over 11 percent _ a staggering differential given that the two countries use the same currency.
The renewed focus on Greece's debts has come after some suggestions that the country would be better off looking for a way to renegotiate its debts.
Costas Simitis, Greece's Socialist premier from 1996-2004, has backed calls for the country to deal with its debt mountain, arguing that a protracted austerity program may not work. A negotiated restructuring would be better, allowing Greece to rebuild its economy over the next 15 to 20 years, he argued.
He's not the only one arguing for a restructuring but the Greek government insists that is not on the agenda, as it would make it more difficult to tap bond markets in the future.
The governor of Greece's central bank weighed in Monday, arguing that a restructuring is "unnecessary and undesirable." However, central banker George Provopoulos admitted that cost-cutting reforms by Greece's Socialist government were showing signs of "fatigue" and required a "powerful restart" to keep the program on track.
Whether Greece can actually withstand the pressure is another matter _ after all, it spent the early part of 2010 insisting it didn't need a bailout. By May, it had to accept a euro110 billion ($159 billion) package of rescue loans from its partners in the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
"Despite public protestations to the contrary, the background chatter has reached such an intensity in recent days that the real questions now seem to be rather more when a Greek 'restructuring' will finally be announced and quite what the details will be rather than if there will be one," said Simon Derrick, a senior analyst at The Bank of New York Mellon.
Although a restructuring would reduce the debt pile and possibly bring a quicker end to the painful austerity measures, restructuring would not be easy and would entail huge costs to Greece's future ability to borrow money as well as risking a massive blow to the country's banks, which are big holders of Greek bonds.
Many German and French banks are also big holders of Greek debt.
A Greek default could also trigger fears that Ireland or Portugal may seek a similar way out from their debt stranglehold. There had been hopes that Europe had finally done enough to ringfence its three weakest members, but those nations' immediate economic prospects look bleak as they try to meet their obligations for the international financial support.
Portugal began its quest for financial assistance Monday with the finance minister of the country's caretaker government meeting delegations from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. A key topic is expected to center on the interest rate charged for Portugal's expected euro80 billion ($116 billion) bailout.
Meanwhile, news that a euroskeptic party made big gains in Finland's election Sunday has stoked fears that the EU's "comprehensive plan" to deal with the debt crisis may not run as smoothly as hoped.
True Finns leader Timo Soini suggested Monday that Finland should opt out of future bailout packages, decisions that require unanimity in the 17-member eurozone.
A bailout rescue without Finland would severely undermine the eurozone's pledge to do everything to defend the common currency and could create panic on financial markets.
"The EU currently requires unanimous approval for each use of the eurozone bailout fund, so it is now being forced to examine ways to push through the Portuguese package without Finnish support," said Jane Foley, an analyst at Rabobank International. "There is no time to lose since Portugal is facing a hefty bond redemption in June."
| Oba 1:7 | All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee [even] to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, [and] prevailed against thee; [they that eat] thy bread have laid a wound under thee: [there is] none understanding in him. |
No comments:
Post a Comment