The WTF Moment of The Day! – Police abuse an 18 yr old mentally challenged man, then post the video of it to YouTube

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – A Mississippi town fired its police chief, two officers and two town officials after a video surfaced purportedly showing them encouraging a mentally disabled man to eat a mouthful of cinnamon as part of a prank. An attorney for the man, Denareus “Ted” Martin, 18, said a video was taken at City Hall by one of the officials in the town of Tutwiler, and posted on YouTube, though it has since been taken down. A separate video, which was also posted and removed, showed a police officer boxing with Martin, attorney Ellis Pittman said.

In the cinnamon video, a woman uses a piece of paper to pour a substance into Martin’s mouth while a group of people can be heard laughing in the background. Martin holds the cinnamon in his mouth for a few seconds before coughing and spitting it out. He runs to a water fountain and then to a restroom, where he appears on the verge of vomiting. Pittman said his client was choking, but the officials “were all laughing, grinning and having a grand time.” Former Tutwiler Police Chief Terry Tyler told The Associated Press on Thursday that he and the others were fired Tuesday during a specially called meeting of the Tutwiler Board of Aldermen. “It’s a bunch of lies and false allegations,” Tyler said. “I don’t have anything to hide. I don’t have anything to be ashamed of.” Tyler said he’s talking with an attorney and had no further comment.

Tallahatchie County Sheriff William Brewer said he heard about the firings Tuesday night and called the district attorney’s office and the FBI. He said a joint investigation is under way. The “Cinnamon Challenge” is a prank in which people try to swallow cinnamon without water, which dries the mouth and usually causes them to cough and spit a plume of the spice.

There are thousands of videos on the internet that show people trying it. WABG-TV first reported the firings, aired the video and showed it on its website. The video was taken while Martin was assigned to Tutwiler City Hall to work off fines from a minor criminal charge, though he didn’t know specifically what the offense was, Pittman said. Former police officers Jimmy Johnson and Bobby Banks Jr., as well as court clerk LaToya Ellis and town clerk Angelia Chandler also were fired, the ex-police chief said.

Chandler was the one who poured the cinnamon into Martin’s mouth, Pittman said. Banks also worked as a sheriff’s deputy for Tallahatchie County. The sheriff said he’s on suspension while the matter is investigated. The AP tried unsuccessfully to reach them for comment. Several other Tutwiler officials, including Mayor Genether Miller-Spurlock, did not respond to numerous messages Thursday. Pittman said the other video that was posted on the internet shows Johnson, the former police captain, boxing with Martin behind a shed near City Hall. He said the other former officer, Banks, made the video and posted it online.

Pittman said he’s not sure how many videos were taken of Martin. He said it may have started because his client told officers “they ain’t about nothing.” “They took him out back behind a shed and put some boxing gloves on him, saying, ‘If we ain’t nothing then come on.’” Pittman said. “They proceeded to beat him up.” Tutwiler is small town of about 1,300 people in Tallahatchie County in the Mississippi Delta. The area is known mostly for farming and several prisons and jails that employ many of its residents.

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Khader Adnan To Be Released From Israeli Prison After 66-Day Hunger Strike

Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered the release of Khader Adnan, a Palestinian prisoner who has been on a hunger strike for 66 days. He is being held in Israel without charge or trial. Under the deal, Adnan will be released on April 17. Doctors previously said Adnan was at immediate risk of death. We speak to three guests about his case: His sister, Maali Mousa; Bill van Esveld, researcher at Human Rights Watch; and Danny Morrison, a friend of the late Irish republican activist Bobby Sands who died on his 66th day of a hunger strike in 1981. “[Adnan] told us that, ‘I am going on this hunger strike until I have a honorable deal or getting out of this jail,’” said Moussa about her recent visit to see her brother. “But at the same time, his spirits were very high.” Van Esveld accused Israel of violating international law by holding a Palestinian from the West Bank inside Israel. “It’s a violation of Israel’s obligations under the Geneva Conventions to detain people from the occupied West Bank in prisons or hospitals, in this case, inside Israel,” van Esveld said.

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A Sad Goodbye… Whitney’s Voice Soars at NJ Hometown Funeral

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Why is Country Singer Miranda Lambert using Social Media to Bash R&B Artist Chris Brown? (Updated)

Miranda Lambert has launched a Twitter war with Chris Brown

We all know R&B Superstar Chris Brown‘s History. He plead guilty to assaulting his then girlfriend  Rhiana, another R&B Sensation.  He paid his dues (legally at least), she forgave him, they patched things up and they tried to put the embarrassing matter behind them.   Domestic Violence is not a laughing matter, and I personally don’t believe there is ANY occasion that a spouse or significant other should assault his or her partner.  My question is this, why should Country Star Miranda Lambert continue to rant about this incident that A.) Has already been litigated and disposed of by the authorities and B.) the 2 party’s involved, namely Chris Brown and Rhianna, have already moved past it, patched things up and are reportedly dating again.  Not to mention, Miranda Lambert doesnt make the situation any better by exclaim from the stage at a recent concert,  ”That’s Why Daddy taught me early in life how to use a shotgun!” referring to the Chris Brown altercation with Rhianna.

Elvis Presley facing assault charges October 19, 1959

Really? More violence to respond to domestic violence? Listen,  I’m a fan of both Country Music and R and B, but lets not be hypocritical here Miranda.  If you truly are against Domestic violence and/or assault, let’s boycott every artist that has been in an altercation with their partner.  Sounds like a plan huh? Until you realize that gone would be Rodney Atkins, Elvis, David Allan Coe, Merle Haggard, and these are just the ones I remember from the top of my head, don’t make me hit up Google.  My point is this, as much as I love Miranda Lambert, her Music, and all Country Music, Her rants in concert and on Social media about Chris Brown are selective and revisionist.  Miranda’s rants may be well intentioned, but if she wants to critique Chris Brown regarding domestic violence, she  must also bring up the artists that she knows and loves as well, that have done similar if not worse things.

Country Music, Love, Betrayal, and Violence

Country Music tells a story, and from my earliest memories of the genre, when my Dad DeeJayed at 2 local country stations KPEP and KTEO in San Angelo Texas way back in the 70′s (which was a feat in itself because he is African American), I remember songs about heartache, violence and betrayal.

Throughout it’s history Country Music has chronicled peoples experiences with love and domestic violence.   Martina McBride‘s Independence Day, Garth Brook Thunder Rolls, even Miranda Lamberts’s own Gunpowder and Lead tell the stories of love, betrayal and violence. The Dixie Chicks even released a song called Goodbye Earl where the abused hatches a plan with her best friend to kill her abuser Earl.

Dixie Chicks Goodbye Earl

But we cannot expect Domestic Violence to end as long as it is continually glamorized in song or other entertainment media. If anything is to be learned from all of this, it is that we must break the cycle of violence.  Tit for tat is not a solution for this tragic malady of violence that people face in some relationships. An abuser must be confronted and he or she must face the consequences of their own actions both legally and socially,but, there must also be a path to redemption.

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Lottery Luck!!! – A Young CNN Producer has won the lottery not once but as of yesterday TWICE!

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We got it wrong…. Joe Paterno DID contact the police about Jerry Sandusky

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I was pretty hard on Joe Paterno, furious in fact about the whole Jerry Sandusky situation.  How could a man stand by and let another man systematically victimize so many children.  But some facts have come to the surface that has forced me to re-think some of what has happened.

Thomas L. Day writes in The Post Game……..

Read these words carefully: Joe Paterno, in March of 2002, after being told by a graduate assistant coach that he had witnessed longtime defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky allegedly raping a young boy in the football team’s facility the night before, notified the police. In fact, Paterno discussed what he learned with the man, Gary Schultz, who had administrative control of the Penn State police.

The point people are missing is that the Penn State police are different than most campus police forces. They are a real police force. They carry guns. They aren’t rent-a-cops. They have jurisdiction over the campus, which includes the Penn State football offices.

In 1953, Penn State President Milton Eisenhower (brother of Dwight D.) changed the name of the campus to “University Park,” and created a separate unincorporated community within the campus. When Paterno notified Schultz of what he had been told, he was notifying an appropriate authority.

If Paterno’s intention was to conceal the allegations against Sandusky from authorities, why on earth would he discuss the matter with Schultz? What motivation would Paterno have for discussing the matter with Schultz — otherwise a completely irrelevant figure in this matter — apart than involving the police?

Read more of This story here

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How Late ‘Soul Train’ Host Don Cornelius Reshaped Independent Black Media

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