Mediaboss Marketing

The Associated Press March 15, 2012

By Steve Szkotak

CHRISTIANSBURG

The state is giving strong signals that it will appeal a jury's decision that Virginia Tech officials were negligent in their actions leading up to the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

The verdict in the wrongful death lawsuit is the latest of three decisions that have faulted the university for its actions on April 16, 2007, when it hesitated at letting students know of a gunman on campus who ultimately fatally shot 32 people before killing himself.

Jurors sided with the parents of two students slain in the massacre Julia Pryde and Erin Peterson that officials should have known the campus was at risk without a gunman in custody. The parents said the botched response led to the deaths of their daughters.

Virginia Tech spokesman Mark Owczarski said after the verdict that the school would review the case with the attorney general's office before deciding on any further options.

"We are disappointed with today's decision and stand by our long-held position that the administration and law enforcement at Virginia Tech did their absolute best with the information available on April 16, 2007," Owczarski said in a statement.

Likewise, the attorney general's office said it was discussing "our options" with the Virginia Tech administration on an appeal.

Officials stuck with their argument that President Charles Steger and other university officials relied on the best information they had that morning involving the rampage by student gunman Seung-Hui Cho.

Excerpt from:
Va. Tech verdict likely not the last legal word

Rod Blagojevich. (Photo by John Gress/Getty Images)

MICHAEL TARM Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) - Prison-bound former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he has faith in his appeal and that his legal saga "is not over."

Blagojevich spoke to reporters outside his Chicago home Wednesday, less than 24 hours before he's due to report to a Colorado prison to begin serving a 14-year sentence for corruption.

With his wife by his side, Blagojevich said preparing to leave for prison is the hardest thing he's ever done.

The 55-year-old Blagojevich was convicted of 18 criminal counts during two trials, including charges the tried to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat.

Prison authorities haven't confirmed where Blagojevich will be imprisoned. But he asked to go to the Federal Correctional Institution Englewood in suburban Denver.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Associated Press

Go here to read the rest:
On last day free, Blagojevich offers last word

CHICAGO (AP) On his last full day of freedom, Rod Blagojevich will do what he loved doing while Illinois governor and as he unsuccessfully defended himself against corruption charges: He'll step up to a microphone and talk.

Blagojevich, known for colorful speeches and a habit of quoting historical figures, is set to speak outside his Chicago home Wednesday evening. The 55-year-old Democrat is due to report to a Colorado prison on Thursday to begin a 14-year sentence, making him the state's second governor in a row to go to prison for corruption.

More than 50 reporters were swarming his home by mid-afternoon, including two television helicopters hovering overhead and a dozen TV trucks parked along his street. Some neighbors were signing a banner hung over a railing on Blagojevich's house that read, "Thanks Mr. Governor. We Will Pray."

Blagojevich timed his departing statement to begin at precisely 5:02 p.m. so it could appear live on the evening news. His publicist even planned to give a two-minute warning via Twitter so newscasts could be ready.

Since his sentencing in December, the impeached governor hasn't spoken in interviews or addressed the media corps following every step of his legal saga. His attorneys said he wanted to depart in a dignified way, without a media frenzy.

That fueled speculation he'd try to slip out of Chicago undetected, but his spokesman said Blagojevich never entertained that idea.

Blagojevich was convicted of 18 criminal counts over two trials, including charges that accused him of attempting to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat.

Prison authorities haven't confirmed where Blagojevich will be imprisoned. But he asked to go to the Federal Correctional Institution Englewood, in suburban Denver, and that's where he's expected to report by 2 p.m. Thursday. Blagojevich's predecessor, George Ryan, is serving a 6 -year sentence in a Terre Haute, Ind., prison.

Blagojevich apologized for his actions at his sentencing in December, but also has said he would appeal his convictions.

Federal agents arrested the then-governor at his home on Dec. 9, 2008. When an FBI official called to tell Blagojevich agents were at his door to arrest him, he reportedly responded in disbelief, "Is this a joke?"

Read the original post:
On last day free, Blagojevich to offer last word

In "Tower Heist," Eddie Murphy seems energized and pumped and poised for a comeback.

In "A Thousand Words," the actor smashes all those hopes to bits. Forget it. The dream is dead.

The only reason this dumb, insulting movie won't permanently derail Murphy's career is that few people will ever be forced to sit through it outside of trans-Atlantic flights and interrogation rooms at Guantanamo Bay.

Why has this gifted comedian repeatedly squandered his talents on such crummy pictures? Even Adam Sandler hasn't amassed as many bad movies as Murphy has ("Holy Man," "The Adventures of Pluto Nash," "The Haunted Mansion," "Imagine That": The list is endless).

Maybe he just doesn't read his scripts, much like his character of Jack McCall, a fast-talking literary agent who doesn't read manuscripts. Jack just knows how to package books so they sell.

The premise of "A Thousand Words" -- which was written by Steve Koren, who also wrote "Jack and Jill," so you know what you're in for -- is that Jack must learn to be a better person after a Bodhi tree sprouts in his back yard and loses a leaf with every word he says. When the tree's branches are bare, Jack will keel over dead.

"A Thousand Words" was directed by Brian Robbins, who also worked with Murphy on "Norbit" and "Meet Dave." Suddenly, those two movies feel like career highpoints.

This is the kind of crass, soulless cash-grab that has Murphy holding a Starbucks coffee cup in front of the camera while saying the line "This coffee is incredible."

This is the kind of racist, homophobic picture that makes fun of a gardener who speaks in a ridiculous accent ("Dee sprinkler ees dead, but I feex eet!") and a running gag about an overweight gay man trolling a hotel for casual sex.

Nicolas Cage served as a producer on "A Thousand Words," which makes me wonder if he considered starring in the movie himself at some point. And yet Cage eventually passed, and he's the guy who made "Ghost Rider" and "The Wicker Man."

See original here:
Just one word describes 'A Thousand Words': Terrible

Plan B aka Ben Drew has been very busy making his new record recently and it seems hes also decided to address some serious topics while hes at it too!

The singer-songwriter has released a statement, alongside the video to his forthcoming single, Ill Manors and in the statement he talks about his thoughts on the UK riots that took place in August 2011.Its very interesting and while suggesting reasons for why those terribleevents took place, Ben also says its time the press stop using the word chav to describe those who are under-privileged backgrounds. And here's why...

He wrote, They [the kids] don't care about society because society has made it very clear that it doesnt care about them."

"An example of this is the word chav that means council housed and violent, a derogatory phrase that is openly used by certain sectors of middle England to label and define people from poor backgrounds," he continued. "Its a derogatory phrase no different in my opinion to the ones concerning race or sex. The difference is that the papers use it publicly. That in my opinion is hypocrisy.

Mr B will be releasing the Ill Manors single on 26 March and the song will be followed up by an album of the same name and a film that Ben himself has written and directed. Hes clearly a man of many talents and some strong opinions, and we all know that he oftens speaks from his own experiences. So frankly,we cant wait to see what the film is like and what other points he chooses to address through it. But in the meantime, heres the video whichis partly a reaction towhat happened during the riots last summer. We quitelike it. Do you?

See the original post:
Plan B slams the press for using the word ‘chav’