Yannique Barker Stack$!

Yannique Barker Stack$!Here are pictures of rapper Yannique Barker aka Stack$ (Stacks). Brooke Hogan and Stack$ were photographed this week - but are they dating?

While chatter is asking if the two are dating, one thing is for sure - snaps of the two were taken as Brooke shot her new music video for the label that Stack$ owns - SoBe Entertainment.

MTV says of Stack$:

Yannique Barker, a/k/a STACK$, was about to enter his third year at the prestigious USC School of Film and Cinematography when he decided to pursue his lifetime passion for music full-time. By chance, Stack$ met super-producer Scott Storch (Fat Joe, The Roots Mario, 50 Cent, Dr. Dre.) The two became fast friends and eventually Storch decided to executive produce his newfound protégé’s entire first album, and enlisted the help of a number of celebrity friends. Now STACK$ is set to release his debut, CraZee and ConfuZed. The album features cameos from stars like The Game, Diddy, Busta Rhymes, Trick Daddy, PitBull, Paul Wall, and Twista, as well as tracks produced by the likes of Scott Storch, Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes, Timbaland, Jazze Pha, and Red Spyda.

Hogan’s July 2009 album Redemption is on SoBe Records for which Barker is CEO. Other artists on his label include Jah Cure, LP, The New Rivals, Urban Mystic, and Phyllisia.

Stacks told press about his upbringing back in a 2007 interview:

“When you rap, you’re supposed to come from poverty, in impoverished situations and go through struggles. Okay, well, I wasn’t born poor. I was very fortunate to be blessed. But somehow you don’t realize that when you do have money, there is a struggle that comes with it. It’s a struggle that I’ve been going through for the past five or six years.”

Original Source : http://news.lalate.com/2009/04/21/yannique-barker-stack/

Earth Day 2009

Earth Day 20092009 Earth Day is special, says green jobs czar.

A former Oakland activist now serving as President Barack Obama's "green jobs czar" said this week's Earth Day observance is special because of the new administration.

"As we move forward, one of the big differences is that we recognize now that the debate over whether we can do right by the environment and right by the economy at the same time is over," said Van Jones, appointed in March as special adviser for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

"This Earth Day is for everybody ... for those of us who are concerned about the natural world in the traditional sense, but also for laid-off workers," he said, as well as for home and business owners who could save on energy costs through weatherization and energy-efficiency measures, and for entrepreneurs who can capitalize on economic-recovery funds to provide those services.

Jones' conference call with reporters Tuesday was part of his first big media blitz since he left Oakland for Washington, D.C., last month; he was on CNN's "Larry King Live" on Monday night.

Jones, 40, until last month was CEO of Green For All, an Oakland-based nonprofit organization he founded to promote green-collar jobs and opportunities for the disadvantaged; his recent book, "The Green Collar Economy" made The New York Times nonfiction hardcover best-seller list. Earlier, he cofounded and was the longtime executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, now based in Oakland, which deals with issues such as juvenile justice reform, police reform and youth-violence prevention.

In his current post, he's charged with helping to shape and implement job-generating climate policy; working to ensure equal protection and equal opportunity in the administration's climate and energy proposals; and publicly advocating the Obama administration's environmental and energy agenda.

There's more to celebrate this Earth Day, Jones said, and more reason to recommit to environmental protection and economic growth.

"All across the country now, you're seeing people begin to get the actual benefits of the recovery package," he said, citing a Kansas City, Mo., project in which $200 million of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money has been dedicated to retrofitting and weatherizing 150 blocks of blighted, low-income neighborhoods.

Such an initiative creates jobs, lowers residents' energy costs, improves property values and is good for the environment, he said: "They're calling it a 'Green Impact Zone' ... showing you can fight pollution and poverty at the same time."

"There's a wingspan on these jobs that goes from the GEDs to the Ph.D.s," he added, noting that finding ways to save energy is as important as finding new, cleaner ways to generate it. "Caulking guns are an equally important part of the agenda ... as are solar panels."

Original Source : http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12192511

Bioidentical Hormone

Bioidentical HormoneBioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) is a layman's term for the treatment of the hormone deficiencies caused by menopause and andropause using only molecules that are identical to the endogenous hormones found in the human body. BHRT differs from traditional hormone replacement therapy which includes animal-derived and invented molecules that are similar to, but not identical, to human hormones. The primary bioidentical hormones replaced in human females, estradiol and progesterone, are available in both FDA-approved and individualized pharmacy-compounded products. "BHRT" is sometimes use more generally to describe the practice of using only bioidentical hormones in the treatment of all hormone deficiencies.

BHRT proponents argue that studies show significant differences between bioidentical and non-bioidentical hormones, and that replacing hormones lost due to menopause not only relieves symptoms but can improve health and quality of life. The actress Suzanne Somers has been a prominent advocate of BHRT in the media.

Original Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioidentical_hormone

Andrew Bynum And Rihanna

Andrew Bynum And RihannaAndrew Bynum Is Rihanna Boyfriend.

Meet Andrew Bynum, an American professional basketball player who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers of NBA. Bynum is the youngest player to play an NBA game. He is reportedly dating singer Rihanna.

Bynum and Rihanna reportedly went on a date last Friday and if sources are to be believed, they are becoming closer to each other every day and Rihanna seems to have moved on after her breakup with Chris Brown.The couple dined at Mastro’s Steakhouse in Beverly Hills. When they left together, a witness reports that they looked “very couple-y, sitting real close to each other in the car.”

The two also showed up together at Byron Davis’ birthday party last week.

As a biography, Andrew Bynum was born on October 27, 1987 in Plainsboro, New Jersey so his age is 21. He attended St. Joseph High School and was named to the 2005 McDonald’s All-American team. He averaged 22.4 points, 16.8 rebounds and 5.3 block in his senior year and decided to go directly to NBA. He was selected 10th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Bynum was trained by none other than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during his initial stay at the club. He became the youngest player to appear in an NBA game in November 2005. He was not exactly consistent during his rookie season but went on to display good dominating skills in the games.

Bynum averaged 13.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks in his 2007-08 season with the Lakers. He suffered from a knee injury in January 2008 and was virtually out of the whole season, only to return in September and resigning a contract with the club worth $58m for four years. He then scored career-high 42 points in a game against the Los Angeles Clippers in January 2009.

Original Source : http://sports.rightpundits.com/?p=2396

Megan McAllister

Megan McAllisterFiancee Megan McAllister on accused Craiglist killer Philip Markoff: 'He wouldn't hurt a fly'.

Accused "Craigslist killer" Philip Markoff is due in court today, where he will be charged with murder, kidnapping and gun possession in the shooting death of masseuse Julissa Brisman in a Boston hotel last Tuesday. But the murder suspect's fiancee says he is innocent.

Megan McAllister told the Boston Herald:

Philip is a beautiful man inside and out. He is intelligent, loyal, and the best fiance a woman could ask for. He would not hurt a fly!"

The couple, both of whom are 22-year-old med students, plan to marry in August. She told the Herald:

I will stand by Philip as I know he is innocent. I love him now and always will.”

She also sent an e-mail to ABC’s "Good Morning America" today, saying basically the same thing.

The 26-year-old victim advertised massage services on Craigslist and had a massage table set up in the room where she was shot.

Original Source : http://www.examiner.com/x-264-Celebrity-News-Examiner~y2009m4d21-Fiancee-Megan-McAllister-on-accused-Craiglist-killer-Philip-Markoff-He-wouldnt-hurt-a-fly

William Parente

William ParentePolice identify 4 dead in Md. hotel as NY family.

Four people found dead in a hotel room near Baltimore were members of a New York family, police said Tuesday, and they continued to investigate the case as a murder-suicide.

Those killed were identified as William Parente, 59; Betty Parente, 58; Stephanie Parente, 19; and Catherine Parente, 11; all of Garden City, N.Y., on Long Island, the Baltimore County Police Department said.

Police said the victims were related, although they did not say how. Next-door neighbor Mary Opulente Krener said in a phone interview that William and Betty Parente were a couple and Stephanie and Catherine were their daughters.

"I can't tell you how heartsick I am," she said. "This is the most wonderful family, the most kind and loving family. I'm astounded."

She said William Parente was a real estate attorney in New York. A call to his office was not immediately returned.

Autopsies were planned for Tuesday.

Staff at the Sheraton Baltimore North Hotel in Towson, a Baltimore suburb, found the bodies Monday afternoon in a locked guest room after the occupants didn't check out as expected.

Several hotel employees declined to comment.

"This is just a terrible tragedy and our team is terribly saddened by this event," said K.C. Kavanagh, spokeswoman for Sheraton Hotels and Resorts. "We're doing all we can to assist the police and it's a matter that's in their hands at this time."

Nick Gelston, 30, an electrician from Bel Air, said he stayed at the hotel Saturday night to attend a friend's wedding. He was back Monday afternoon because his car had broken down and he left it there.

"I hope it was nobody who was with us," Gelston said. He said he wasn't aware that any of the wedding guests had stayed on the 10th floor where the bodies were found.

Melanie Morris of Birmingham, Ala., checked into the hotel Monday afternoon and was "a little scared" to see police cars outside.

"The front desk said there was an incident on the 10th floor and there was no immediate danger to the guests," Morris said.

Original Source : http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jxQQjjyY9vp7_w7Gz1ECphvVYI8QD97MUAR80

Kronur

KronurThe króna (plural krónur) (sign: kr; code: ISK) is the currency of Iceland. The króna is technically subdivided into 100 aurar (singular eyrir), but in practice this subdivision is no longer used.

The word króna, meaning "crown", is related to that of other Nordic currencies (such as the Danish krone, Swedish krona and Norwegian krone) and to the Latin word corona ("crown"). The name "Icelandic crown" is sometimes used, for example in the financial markets.

Original Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kronur