Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Joe Francis - "Girls On Wild" Founder Arrested In Florida - Not With Paris Hilton
Well, it seems like the parties been crashed for now. I'm talking about the one held by Girl's Gone Wild founder Joe Francis. He's been arrested by the Florida authorities. He reportedly has 2,257 violations of federal record-keeping laws.
Ah, that's Paris Hilton with him, but she wasn't arrested.
Sam Zell's Nuts - Google's Not Using His Content
Here's an example of how some people just don't get the Internet -- Sam Zell . According to CNBC and The Washington Post, Sam comes to Stanford University and makes this comment:
"If all of the newspapers in America did not allow Google to steal their content, how profitable would Google be?" Zell said during the question period after his speech. "Not very."
This proves he doens't understand what the heck's going on. Google DRIVES traffic to the newspapers -- all Google has to do is drop Sam's newspapers, advance other news sources -- which are plentiful -- and leave him in the dust!
Google has links to the newspapers -- Sam Zell can buy more links to them. But Google's not the only search engine -- there are hundreds of them! There's Yahoo! Mamma. Lycos. This list goes on. In fact, here it is, and this one doesn't include blog search engines!
Complete SE list
7Search -Pay for position SE.
Acclaim Search -by ValueCom.
AOL -Lousy web search.
AllCrawl -"Why Choose, When You Can Have It All?"
All The Web -Claims alot of pages, but disappointing.
AltaVista -Also offers translation.
Amnesi -Search internet server names (DNS names).
Ampleo -Human interactive search engine. Free.
Ask Jeeves -Uses natual language input. Mediocre.
Deja.Com -Search UseNet newsgroups.
Deoji -Includes tools for WebTV.
Dewa -
DevSearch -The web developer's SE.
DirectHit -One of the biggies. Pretty good.
DMOZ -Open directory project
Excite -Rated as one of the best SEs.
Findit2000 -
FindWhat -Pay for position.
Frequent Finders -Search for words in the actual URLs.
Funkycat -International search engine with a broad index.
GenieKnows -
Google -Huge *and* accurate, a favorite. Weighs popularity.
Go -Mis-managed by Mickey Mouse & Co.
Go2Net -
GoshDarn! -Hot new search engine
HotBot -Scalable. Search a domain, eg. [.edu].
iBound -
Info Hiway -
Infomak -
InfoSeek -Owned by Disney. Average.
Intelliseek -Their Profusion site allows searching 1000 sites, including many on the 'invisible web'
IXQuick -Highly rated.
Jump City -
Kanoodle -Pay for position SE.
Link Centre -
Link Master -
Links2Go -Most-referenced pages by topics; it's also personalizable.
Look Up -
Lost Link/ Web Links -Great site, adds links instantly... with banners!
Lycos -"Wolf spider" (Latin). Another SE biggie.
MSN -
NBCi -New respect for this search engine
TheNet1 -
Nexor Aliweb -
NorthernLight -Recommended, plus a special pay collection.
Overture -Top pay for position SE, high commercial relevance.
Pathfinder/ Time-Warner -Time, People, Money, Fortune, etc...
Reference.Com -UseNet resources
Rocket Links -Pay for position SE.
Scrub The Web -Robot SE claims to have indexed 80 MM pages. Search.Com -CNET. Infoseek SE, own db for subjects.
Search4Info -
Search Hound -Pay for position. Slow?
Search King -Indexes instantly. Surfers votes determine ranking.
Snap -Advanced setting allows excluding words, eg. xxx, porn, etc..
Splat Search -
Subjex -
Super Cyber Search -Pay for position.
ToggleBot -10MM URLs. MetaSearch, Directory, Auction Search, etc..
TopClick -The Private SE. Claims to protect privacy. No cookies.
WebCrawler -Very user friendly interface. Owned by Excite.
Web Direct -
WebSearch2K -New SE, pay for position, no adult.
WebVentureHotlist -
What-U-Seek-
Where2Go -TOP 20 search engine, directory of URLs.
WWWHunter -
Yahoo! -Leading net directory.
Zen Search -
Z Search -"The last name in searching"
Anna Nicole Smith's Former Boyfriend Larry Birkhead Is The Father
Wow. What an interesting turn of events. I wonder what's going through Howard Stern's mind now?
DNA shows Birkhead is the father of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter
By JESSICA ROBERTSON
Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 04/10/2007 03:51:10 PM PDT
NASSAU, Bahamas - DNA tests show Anna Nicole Smith's former boyfriend Larry Birkhead is the father of her baby, and he emerged from a court hearing today to proclaim that his daughter would soon be home.
Birkhead jubilantly announced the DNA results after the closed hearing, and then hugged his rival, Howard K. Stern. The reality TV star's lawyer-turned-companion has been caring for baby Dannielynn since Smith's sudden death in February.
Stern said he would not fight for custody.
"I'm obviously very disappointed but my feelings toward Dannielynn have not changed," Stern said, adding Birkhead can come to his Bahamas home to visit Dannielynn at any time.
A joyous Birkhead said, "My baby's going to be coming home pretty soon."
Even Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, who had also sought custody, seemed appeased by the DNA results. "I'm happy that Dannielynn will know who her real father is," she said outside court.
An expert in genetic evidence said DNA analysis proved Birkhead is Dannielynn's father. Dr. Michael Baird, who analyzed the results of a March 21 DNA test, announced the results outside court. "Essentially, he's the biological father," Baird said.
Birkhead, a Los Angeles photographer, began seeking custody before Smith collapsed and died in a Florida hotel Feb. 8.
The baby, whose full name is Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern, could inherit millions from the estate of Smith's late husband, J. Howard Marshall II. The former model had been fighting the Texas oil tycoon's family over his estimated $500 million fortune since his death in 1995.
DNA shows Birkhead is the father of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter
By JESSICA ROBERTSON
Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 04/10/2007 03:51:10 PM PDT
NASSAU, Bahamas - DNA tests show Anna Nicole Smith's former boyfriend Larry Birkhead is the father of her baby, and he emerged from a court hearing today to proclaim that his daughter would soon be home.
Birkhead jubilantly announced the DNA results after the closed hearing, and then hugged his rival, Howard K. Stern. The reality TV star's lawyer-turned-companion has been caring for baby Dannielynn since Smith's sudden death in February.
Stern said he would not fight for custody.
"I'm obviously very disappointed but my feelings toward Dannielynn have not changed," Stern said, adding Birkhead can come to his Bahamas home to visit Dannielynn at any time.
A joyous Birkhead said, "My baby's going to be coming home pretty soon."
Even Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, who had also sought custody, seemed appeased by the DNA results. "I'm happy that Dannielynn will know who her real father is," she said outside court.
An expert in genetic evidence said DNA analysis proved Birkhead is Dannielynn's father. Dr. Michael Baird, who analyzed the results of a March 21 DNA test, announced the results outside court. "Essentially, he's the biological father," Baird said.
Birkhead, a Los Angeles photographer, began seeking custody before Smith collapsed and died in a Florida hotel Feb. 8.
The baby, whose full name is Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern, could inherit millions from the estate of Smith's late husband, J. Howard Marshall II. The former model had been fighting the Texas oil tycoon's family over his estimated $500 million fortune since his death in 1995.
Don Imus Loses Sponsors - Staples, Proctor & Gamble, Bigelow Tea Pull Adds From Don Imus On MNBC
This is a sure signal of positive social change. According to Bloomberg and CNBC, Staples, Proctor & Gamble, and Bigelow Tea have pulled their ads from radio host Don Imus's morning show to protest his racially charged remarks about the Rutgers University women's basketball team.
Proctor and Gamble's one of the largest advertisers in the World, and they've pulled their ads from all of MSNBC Daytime.
I love it. It's a great change and it is a path toward a better World, and certainly an improved America. It's also a sign to the shock-jocks who think it's OK to insult people based on ethnicity. It's not. It also sends a warning to those who would think it's open season on someone because they're Black.
No way.
Proctor and Gamble's one of the largest advertisers in the World, and they've pulled their ads from all of MSNBC Daytime.
I love it. It's a great change and it is a path toward a better World, and certainly an improved America. It's also a sign to the shock-jocks who think it's OK to insult people based on ethnicity. It's not. It also sends a warning to those who would think it's open season on someone because they're Black.
No way.
Goodell Strengthens NFL Conduct Policy
Goodell Strengthens NFL Conduct Policy
By BARRY WILNER
AP Football Writer
NEW YORK -- NFL teams will be disciplined when their employees, including players, violate the league's personal conduct policy.
Moments after announcing the one-year suspension of Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones, and an eight-game ban for Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell released his strengthened conduct policy Tuesday. Along with longer suspensions and larger fines for individuals who violate the policy, Goodell will hold teams responsible, as well.
He did not say how he would punish those teams, although stripping them of draft choices is considered one of the most effective ways to do so.
"It is important that the NFL be represented consistently by outstanding people as well as great football players, coaches, and staff," Goodell said. "We hold ourselves to higher standards of responsible conduct because of what it means to be part of the National Football League. We have long had policies and programs designed to encourage responsible behavior, and this policy is a further step in ensuring that everyone who is part of the NFL meets that standard. We will continue to review the policy and modify it as warranted."
The strengthened standards apply to all NFL employees: players, coaches, officials, owners, front-office and league personnel. And Goodell emphasized in the new policy that those standards will be considerably tighter than outside the league.
"It is not enough to simply avoid being found guilty of a crime," the new policy says. "Instead, as an employee of the NFL or a member club, you are held to a higher standard and expected to conduct yourself in a way that is responsible, promotes the values upon which the league is based, and is lawful.
"Persons who fail to live up to this standard of conduct are guilty of conduct detrimental and subject to discipline, even where the conduct itself does not result in conviction of a crime."
The new policy comes in the wake of a series of off-field issues involving several players, notably Jones, Henry and Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson.
There were 10 occasions in which Jones was interviewed by police, the most recent during the NBA All-Star weekend in Las Vegas. Police there recommended felony and misdemeanor charges against Jones after a fight and shooting at a strip club left one man paralyzed.
Henry was arrested four times in a 14-month span, and received a two-game league suspension last year. He was one of nine Bengals arrested in nine months. Johnson currently is in jail, serving four months for violating probation in a 2005 gun case.
Two of Henry's teammates, along with NFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw, recognized the need for stronger league guidelines for player conduct.
"You would think it's necessary just because of the negative publicity the NFL is beginning to receive because of what's happening," said Bengals receiver T. J. Houshmandzadeh. "It was going on for an extended period of time. Each day, each week, something was happening."
Added Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer: "I think it will (help). With all of the things that have been happening recently, I think it will be good and hopefully give the league a little better image. I hope that it works and that guys abide by the rules and do what's right."
So does Upshaw, of course. He consulted with Goodell before the commissioner, now in his seventh month on the job, revised the conduct policy. Goodell also established a panel of players to offer advice on such matters.
"The NFL Players Association and the Player Advisory Council have been discussing this issue for several months," Upshaw said. "We believe that these are steps that the commissioner needs to take and we support the policy. It is important that players in violation of the policy will have the opportunity and the support to change their conduct and earn their way back."
Tony Dungy said placing responsibility on the teams for their players and employees makes sense, even if it results in penalties that affect more than the wallet.
"That seems to be the thing that gets everyone's attention," the coach of the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts said of potentially lost draft picks and player availability. "We talked about fines at the league meetings, and that may not do the trick. But when you start talking about playing time and draft picks, that seems to get your attention."
___
AP Sports Writers Joe Kay in Cincinnati and Michael Marot in Indianapolis contributed to this story.
By BARRY WILNER
AP Football Writer
NEW YORK -- NFL teams will be disciplined when their employees, including players, violate the league's personal conduct policy.
Moments after announcing the one-year suspension of Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones, and an eight-game ban for Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell released his strengthened conduct policy Tuesday. Along with longer suspensions and larger fines for individuals who violate the policy, Goodell will hold teams responsible, as well.
He did not say how he would punish those teams, although stripping them of draft choices is considered one of the most effective ways to do so.
"It is important that the NFL be represented consistently by outstanding people as well as great football players, coaches, and staff," Goodell said. "We hold ourselves to higher standards of responsible conduct because of what it means to be part of the National Football League. We have long had policies and programs designed to encourage responsible behavior, and this policy is a further step in ensuring that everyone who is part of the NFL meets that standard. We will continue to review the policy and modify it as warranted."
The strengthened standards apply to all NFL employees: players, coaches, officials, owners, front-office and league personnel. And Goodell emphasized in the new policy that those standards will be considerably tighter than outside the league.
"It is not enough to simply avoid being found guilty of a crime," the new policy says. "Instead, as an employee of the NFL or a member club, you are held to a higher standard and expected to conduct yourself in a way that is responsible, promotes the values upon which the league is based, and is lawful.
"Persons who fail to live up to this standard of conduct are guilty of conduct detrimental and subject to discipline, even where the conduct itself does not result in conviction of a crime."
The new policy comes in the wake of a series of off-field issues involving several players, notably Jones, Henry and Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson.
There were 10 occasions in which Jones was interviewed by police, the most recent during the NBA All-Star weekend in Las Vegas. Police there recommended felony and misdemeanor charges against Jones after a fight and shooting at a strip club left one man paralyzed.
Henry was arrested four times in a 14-month span, and received a two-game league suspension last year. He was one of nine Bengals arrested in nine months. Johnson currently is in jail, serving four months for violating probation in a 2005 gun case.
Two of Henry's teammates, along with NFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw, recognized the need for stronger league guidelines for player conduct.
"You would think it's necessary just because of the negative publicity the NFL is beginning to receive because of what's happening," said Bengals receiver T. J. Houshmandzadeh. "It was going on for an extended period of time. Each day, each week, something was happening."
Added Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer: "I think it will (help). With all of the things that have been happening recently, I think it will be good and hopefully give the league a little better image. I hope that it works and that guys abide by the rules and do what's right."
So does Upshaw, of course. He consulted with Goodell before the commissioner, now in his seventh month on the job, revised the conduct policy. Goodell also established a panel of players to offer advice on such matters.
"The NFL Players Association and the Player Advisory Council have been discussing this issue for several months," Upshaw said. "We believe that these are steps that the commissioner needs to take and we support the policy. It is important that players in violation of the policy will have the opportunity and the support to change their conduct and earn their way back."
Tony Dungy said placing responsibility on the teams for their players and employees makes sense, even if it results in penalties that affect more than the wallet.
"That seems to be the thing that gets everyone's attention," the coach of the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts said of potentially lost draft picks and player availability. "We talked about fines at the league meetings, and that may not do the trick. But when you start talking about playing time and draft picks, that seems to get your attention."
___
AP Sports Writers Joe Kay in Cincinnati and Michael Marot in Indianapolis contributed to this story.
Don Imus Racism Does Not Compare To Rappers - Integrationists v. Segregationists
What's interesting about this time in the maturation of our society is the conflict between what I will call integrationists and segregationists. Integrationists have friends of different skin colors and backgrounds and prize diversity. Segregationists don't have friends of different colors and are at best luke warm about diversity. (And when I mean friends, I'm referring to people you invite over to your house, not people who you run into who are acquaintences.)
The Integrationists to a person denounce what Don Imus said and call for his outright ouster. The Segregationists -- here's another example -- don't think this is a big deal what he said and that he's using free speech. It's also distubing that the vast majority of Segregationists bloggers -- at least according to their Imus reactions -- are white and male according to my Technorati tour. Not surprisingly, the Integrationists are White, Black, Latino, Asian, male, female, etc...
I'm an Integrationist.
What Don Imus said are the words of a Segregationist. A person who sees people as apart due to skin color and doens't want to get to know anyone who looks different from them. What Don Imus said in referring to Black Women as "Nappy Headed Ho's" are the comments of someone who is not in the company of Black Women, and doens't want to be. That's the sickness of it all. He's -- in one fell swoop -- denounced an entire group of people. What's more, anyone tunes in to CNBC is forced to here Imus' crap when he's on. His show's supported by corporations who purchase ads, which is a way of saying "We love your content."
Wow.
Now how that compares with -- as one Blogger put it "Black Rappers" -- is a question only a Segregationist would come up with because only they would stereotype rappers as being first Black and then racist. Of course Integrationists know that there are rappers like LL Cool J who don't use hate speech.
But on top of that, every Integrationist knows that one can simply chose not to buy a certain rap record. Look at the whole matter of "Prussian Blue" - Lamb and Lynx Gaede, those 13-year old white girls who made racist records, yet gain fan mail from nutos as far away as Germany and who are concerned about "The White Race." (No kidding about that.) Did any of the Segregationist bloggers call for their "firing" or for that matter, their parents?
Nope.
But they didn't hit the top ten lists either, and several of their planned concerts were cancelled. Why? Because they advance the same kind of race hate tha Imus' comment would seem to imply. You could take his statement, install it in a Prussian Blue song, and their sick Segregationist fans would love it.
Why not include them and compare them to Don Imus? Why focus on Rappers who are Black? I'll tell ya why. Because Segregationists are looking for every reason not to -- integrate. They don't want diversity and loved it when things were divided and Whites were on top.
Am I saying that Segregationists are all White? No. Some are not, and yet can't see a society where there's true balance and real equal opportunity as well as constant integration. It's a new concept to thos who are -- well, mentally enslaved.
Pacman Jones and Chris Henry suspended
Pacman Jones banned for season
BY BOB GLAUBER-Newsday
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has sent a decisive message to players who misbehave off the field: Don't expect to be playing much football.
The first-year commissioner this afternoon announced that he has suspended Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones for the entire 2007 season. In addition, Goodell announced that Bengals receiver Chris Henry, another player with several off-field problems, will be suspended for the first eight games of the season.
Jones has been questioned 10 times during his NFL career for a variety of transgressions, and was involved in a fight that led to a shooting in a Las Vegas strip club in February.
"We must protect the integrity of the NFL," Goodell said in a statement. "The highest standards of conduct must be met by everyone in the NFL because it is a privilege to represent the NFL, not a right. These players, and all members of our league, have to make the right choices and decisions in their conduct on a consistent basis."
In a letter to each player, Commissioner Goodell wrote: "Your conduct has brought embarrassment and ridicule upon yourself, your club, and the NFL, and has damaged the reputation of players throughout the league. You have put in jeopardy an otherwise promising NFL career, and have risked both your own safety and the safety of others through your off-field actions. In each of these respects, you have engaged in conduct detrimental to the NFL and failed to live up to the standards expected of NFL players. Taken as a whole, this conduct warrants significant sanction."
Goodell added in his letter to both players: "I must emphasize to you that this is your last opportunity to salvage your NFL career. I urge you to take full advantage of the resources available to support you in that effort."
BY BOB GLAUBER-Newsday
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has sent a decisive message to players who misbehave off the field: Don't expect to be playing much football.
The first-year commissioner this afternoon announced that he has suspended Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones for the entire 2007 season. In addition, Goodell announced that Bengals receiver Chris Henry, another player with several off-field problems, will be suspended for the first eight games of the season.
Jones has been questioned 10 times during his NFL career for a variety of transgressions, and was involved in a fight that led to a shooting in a Las Vegas strip club in February.
"We must protect the integrity of the NFL," Goodell said in a statement. "The highest standards of conduct must be met by everyone in the NFL because it is a privilege to represent the NFL, not a right. These players, and all members of our league, have to make the right choices and decisions in their conduct on a consistent basis."
In a letter to each player, Commissioner Goodell wrote: "Your conduct has brought embarrassment and ridicule upon yourself, your club, and the NFL, and has damaged the reputation of players throughout the league. You have put in jeopardy an otherwise promising NFL career, and have risked both your own safety and the safety of others through your off-field actions. In each of these respects, you have engaged in conduct detrimental to the NFL and failed to live up to the standards expected of NFL players. Taken as a whole, this conduct warrants significant sanction."
Goodell added in his letter to both players: "I must emphasize to you that this is your last opportunity to salvage your NFL career. I urge you to take full advantage of the resources available to support you in that effort."
Don Imus Made Racist Remarks Before - Staff Should Be Fired
First, this matter of someone making fun of someone else because their skin and hair are different from that person should be such that we're punishing people for doing it. It's not funny at all.
Now, Don Imus fears for his job after making one of the most terrible on air comments about someone else and based on their skin color in history, in this case, the Rutgers Women's Basketball team.
This Fair.org's discussion of the Imus matter, thanks to Sharon Cobb:
Racism Is to Be Expected From Don Imus
CBS, NBC, media pundits complicit in talk host's bigotry
4/9/07
In the wake of the latest racial slur broadcast on Don Imus' show, the question is not whether Imus is a racist—the man, after all, admitted to hiring one of his co-hosts to do "nigger jokes" (60 Minutes, 7/19/98)—but why CBS, NBC and top media pundits seem to feel no embarrassment over associating with his racism.
The Imus in the Morning radio show is aired on CBS-owned radio station WFAN, and is syndicated nationally by CBS-owned Westwood One. It is simulcast daily on MSNBC, a cable news channel in which GE subsidiary NBC Universal holds a controlling interest. Top media pundits like Tim Russert, Howard Fineman, Frank Rich and Maureen Dowd are frequent Imus guests. The show has also been a conduit for televised racism and other bigotry for years.
FAIR and others have documented numerous instances of Imus and his on-air colleagues expressing overt racism and other forms of bigotry. Imus himself has referred to African-American journalist Gwen Ifill as "a cleaning lady," to New York Times sports reporter Bill Rhoden as "quota hire" and to tennis player Amelie Mauresmo as "a big old lesbo." Imus called Washington Post reporter Howard Kurtz a "boner-nosed... beanie-wearing Jewboy," referred to a disabled colleague as "the cripple," and to an Indian men's tennis duo as "Gunga Din and Sambo." In Imus' words, the New York Knicks are "chest-thumping pimps."
Imus' on again/off again sidekick Sid Rosenberg was temporarily fired in 2001 for calling tennis player Venus Williams an "animal" and remarking that the Williams sisters—Venus and her tennis player sister Serena—would more likely be featured in National Geographic than in Playboy. Rosenberg insisted to New York's Daily News (6/7/01) that his comments weren't racist, "just zoological." In 2004, MSNBC had to apologize when the rehired Rosenberg referred to Palestinians as "stinking animals."
In May 2005, MSNBC let Contessa Brewer out of her short stint as a news reader on Imus' morning show after Imus had made a daily game of crude personal attacks against her, calling her a pig, a skank, dumber than dirt and other similar felicities, all on air. MSNBC claimed they "expressed their displeasure" to the host (New York Post, 5/1/05), while noting that his "humor" was "often brilliant and provocative."
In his most recent racist outburst, on April 4, Imus called the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos," just moments after sidekick and executive producer Bernard McGuirk (the "nigger jokes" hire) called them "hard-core hos." The Rutgers team, which recently played in the national championship finals, is made up of eight African-American women and two white women.
On April 6, Imus issued an apology for the slur of the Rutgers team. It was the latest in a long line of apologies for bigotry on his show. Past apologies have served to take pressure off Imus, but haven't resulted in a change of behavior by the host or his colleagues.
Neither has Imus' history of bigotry dissuaded prominent journalists and pundits, more after publicity than principle, from appearing on Imus' show. Friday's show, in addition to Imus' apology, featured an interview with NBC's Meet the Press host Tim Russert.
In an exceptional report on April 9, New York Times reporter David Carr noted Imus' history of racism and the parade of media luminaries who have appeared on his show, who have rarely raised questions about the show's bigotry. Carr noted that, even in the aftermath of the latest Imus slurs, Newsweek editor Evan Thomas defended appearing on the show, explaining: "I am going on the show, though. I think if I didn't, it would be posturing. I have been going on the show for quite some time and he occasionally goes over the line."
It's time for CBS and NBC to acknowledge that Imus is unlikely to ever rein in his bigotry, that the crude and hateful insults are a key part of his routine: Like the cowboy hat, they provide an air of "edginess" to what is often otherwise a dull exercise in Beltway insider back-scratching.
A media company that chooses to run such a show has two choices: It can declare, explicitly or implicitly, that calling people "nappy-headed hos" and "beanie-wearing Jewboys" is an acceptable part of the national discussion. Or it can end its affiliation with said program.
The Russerts, Finemans and the like who elect to appear on Imus' show have a similar decision: Are you down with "nigger jokes" or aren't you?
Now, Don Imus fears for his job after making one of the most terrible on air comments about someone else and based on their skin color in history, in this case, the Rutgers Women's Basketball team.
This Fair.org's discussion of the Imus matter, thanks to Sharon Cobb:
Racism Is to Be Expected From Don Imus
CBS, NBC, media pundits complicit in talk host's bigotry
4/9/07
In the wake of the latest racial slur broadcast on Don Imus' show, the question is not whether Imus is a racist—the man, after all, admitted to hiring one of his co-hosts to do "nigger jokes" (60 Minutes, 7/19/98)—but why CBS, NBC and top media pundits seem to feel no embarrassment over associating with his racism.
The Imus in the Morning radio show is aired on CBS-owned radio station WFAN, and is syndicated nationally by CBS-owned Westwood One. It is simulcast daily on MSNBC, a cable news channel in which GE subsidiary NBC Universal holds a controlling interest. Top media pundits like Tim Russert, Howard Fineman, Frank Rich and Maureen Dowd are frequent Imus guests. The show has also been a conduit for televised racism and other bigotry for years.
FAIR and others have documented numerous instances of Imus and his on-air colleagues expressing overt racism and other forms of bigotry. Imus himself has referred to African-American journalist Gwen Ifill as "a cleaning lady," to New York Times sports reporter Bill Rhoden as "quota hire" and to tennis player Amelie Mauresmo as "a big old lesbo." Imus called Washington Post reporter Howard Kurtz a "boner-nosed... beanie-wearing Jewboy," referred to a disabled colleague as "the cripple," and to an Indian men's tennis duo as "Gunga Din and Sambo." In Imus' words, the New York Knicks are "chest-thumping pimps."
Imus' on again/off again sidekick Sid Rosenberg was temporarily fired in 2001 for calling tennis player Venus Williams an "animal" and remarking that the Williams sisters—Venus and her tennis player sister Serena—would more likely be featured in National Geographic than in Playboy. Rosenberg insisted to New York's Daily News (6/7/01) that his comments weren't racist, "just zoological." In 2004, MSNBC had to apologize when the rehired Rosenberg referred to Palestinians as "stinking animals."
In May 2005, MSNBC let Contessa Brewer out of her short stint as a news reader on Imus' morning show after Imus had made a daily game of crude personal attacks against her, calling her a pig, a skank, dumber than dirt and other similar felicities, all on air. MSNBC claimed they "expressed their displeasure" to the host (New York Post, 5/1/05), while noting that his "humor" was "often brilliant and provocative."
In his most recent racist outburst, on April 4, Imus called the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos," just moments after sidekick and executive producer Bernard McGuirk (the "nigger jokes" hire) called them "hard-core hos." The Rutgers team, which recently played in the national championship finals, is made up of eight African-American women and two white women.
On April 6, Imus issued an apology for the slur of the Rutgers team. It was the latest in a long line of apologies for bigotry on his show. Past apologies have served to take pressure off Imus, but haven't resulted in a change of behavior by the host or his colleagues.
Neither has Imus' history of bigotry dissuaded prominent journalists and pundits, more after publicity than principle, from appearing on Imus' show. Friday's show, in addition to Imus' apology, featured an interview with NBC's Meet the Press host Tim Russert.
In an exceptional report on April 9, New York Times reporter David Carr noted Imus' history of racism and the parade of media luminaries who have appeared on his show, who have rarely raised questions about the show's bigotry. Carr noted that, even in the aftermath of the latest Imus slurs, Newsweek editor Evan Thomas defended appearing on the show, explaining: "I am going on the show, though. I think if I didn't, it would be posturing. I have been going on the show for quite some time and he occasionally goes over the line."
It's time for CBS and NBC to acknowledge that Imus is unlikely to ever rein in his bigotry, that the crude and hateful insults are a key part of his routine: Like the cowboy hat, they provide an air of "edginess" to what is often otherwise a dull exercise in Beltway insider back-scratching.
A media company that chooses to run such a show has two choices: It can declare, explicitly or implicitly, that calling people "nappy-headed hos" and "beanie-wearing Jewboys" is an acceptable part of the national discussion. Or it can end its affiliation with said program.
The Russerts, Finemans and the like who elect to appear on Imus' show have a similar decision: Are you down with "nigger jokes" or aren't you?
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