Fired Philly TV anchor admits e-mail hacking

PHILADELPHIA �

A laid-off TV newscaster admitted in court Friday that he illegally hacked into his co-anchor's email accounts and leaked private information around her to gossip columnists.

Larry Mendte admitted that he viewed hundreds of Alycia Lane's e-mails from March 2006 to May 2008, including ones from her agent, her then-husband and lawyers representing her after she was arrested in New York last year and fired from KYW-TV, Philadelphia's CBS affiliate.

"There is no question he wrecked her career," said attorney Paul Rosen, who represents Lane in her wrongful-termination suit against the station.

Mendte, 51, said at a news group discussion that his actions grew out of a feud with Lane, 36, that began after he complete what he said was a coquettish and unconventional relationship with her, including long dinners and late nights out together.

Rosen promptly disputed the account. He called Mendte "sick and narcissistic" and said there was never an inappropriate relationship.

Mendte, world Health Organization is married to local Fox news anchor Dawn Stensland, accused Lane of undermining his standing at the station after the relationship

Radiohead, Jack Johnson Keep It Green At New Jersey's All Points West Festival

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey � The much-anticipated All Points West Music & Arts Festival kicked off in New Jersey's Liberty State Park this weekend with performances by Radiohead, Jack Johnson and the Kings of Leon, among others. But in addition to being the Tri-State area's number one weekend-long multi-band fest in quite some time, APW is besides hoping to make a name as the greenest festival around.

More info

• Sonny Boy Williamson II
• Isaac Hayes passes away aged 65
• No ‘walk of shame’ for booted ‘Canadian Idol’ finalists, say producers
• Sinner
• Sam Brown

Kery James

   
Artist: Kery James

   Genre(s): 
Pop
   

---

Discography:


   
 Savoir vivre et vivre ensemble

   Year: 2004   
Tracks: 21

---

 

Grease - Grease Star Dead At 93

GREASE and GREASE 2 star DODY GOODMAN has died at a New Jersey hospital after a lengthy battle with illness. She was 93.

The beloved funnywoman, who was also a regular on late-night hit The Tonight Show in America in the 1950s and 1960s, played Principal MCGee's assistant Blanche in both Grease films.

Goodman was also a hit on Broadway, where she began her career after training as a dancer at the School of American Ballet and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

See Also

• Sonic Syndicate
• Brain injuries cause half of deaths in seniors’ falls
• 10 top-selling CDs in the nation
• Juan Valdes

Sizzla, Journey: Very Best Of

Six years on from VP records' The Story Unfolds, the idiosyncratic and mercurial Bobo sing-jay Sizzla Kalonji is well overdue another retrospective. And this nicely-presented effort by VP's new acquisition, Greensleeves, including a bonus DVD, gives each chapter of the chronicle a fair hearing, even if the odd key verse has inevitably been missed out.

Sizzla's received a lot of flak for perceived changes to his voice. The reality is he's never stopped changing it. From aggressive shouting to wolf-like howls and high pitched feline wails, he's taken his now ravaged pipes in every possible direction, cutting astonishing tunes over some of Jamaica's most iconic rhythm tracks.

These range from the ruminative (Just One Of Those Days on Bobby Digital's relick of John Holt's Queen Majesty) to the uplifting (Good Ways using Digital's version of Alton Ellis' classic Studio 1 piece, Breaking Up) to the heavily prophetic (Africa Prepare on Frenchie's re-interpretation of Lee Perry's Blackboard Jungle). We also hear evidence of his more recent interest in hip hop and R&B with Give Me A Try and Rise To The Occasion (for Donovan Bennett aka Don Corleon).

Of course, an overview of such an important artist is bound to solicit some grumbles, the most trenchant being that not enough time is devoted to Sizzla's early work, which set the standard for sing-jaying in the 90s. What's more, his mellower side predominates: for a taste of the shouty Sizzla check the raw, camera mic recorded footage on the DVD. However, it's understandable that a best of, aimed at a wide audience, would avoid anything too uncompromising on the ear, although the odd smattering of homophobia is on display.

There are a few glaring omissions, particularly Solid As A Rock – both the cut from his Da Real Thing album, or his equally worthy Damon Dash-produced remake - but all in all, this is a good summary of a career that has constantly flouted convention and expectation. The Journey is a sometimes jarring mix of reflection, belligerence, political incorrectness and religious fervour - just like Sizzla himself.


See Also

• Georgia restaurant owned by TV chef Paula Deen reopens after fire
• Jackson Taylor
• Zen Garden
• Heath Ledger - Smart Ledger Made Sure Daughter Would Be Wealthy Before He Died

Duffy - Fascinating Fact 5468

Soul singer DUFFY competed on the Welsh version of THE X FACTOR, WAWFFACTOR, in 2003.

See Also

• Chanel Replace Keira Knightley With Emma Watson
• Reality TV rejects set for Eurovision?
• Camila
• Avail

A radically different view

Fanon Che Wilkins learned about of the significance of his first names from a very early age. But while being named after revolutionaries Franz Fanon and Che Guevara creates expectations in people, he's never felt pressured by the legacy."I always saw it more metaphorically," says Wilkins on the phone from Japan where he is associate professor of African-American History and Culture at Doshisha University.He says the message he got from his parents - both activists in the 1960s American civil rights/black power movement - was more along the lines of: "Here are two people we think were very important, we hope you are able to recognise and get some sustenance from what they did."Wilkins, who will be delivering a public lecture at Auckland University on June 4 entitled "George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People", says his parents always gave him permission to be himself."I was not a Che Guevara or Franz Fanon, I was Fanon Che, which was something different. That's the hip-hop side of me. Hip-hop is always about how one can have the courage to be oneself."




The title of his lecture comes from American rap artist and hip-hop producer Kanye West, who shocked America with the statement on September 2, 2005, during a Red Cross benefit concert on NBC for Hurricane Katrina relief.Wilkins says at the time the statement resonated with him. "I knew there was going to be a lot of backlash, so I immediately wrote a piece called 'Thank you Kanye!'."The essay became viral, rapidly spreading across internet sites, reiterating West's view that racist media images were depicting black people as "looters" and whites as "finders" of food and basic necessities. Wilkins says West captured what many were thinking - that the response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster was woefully slow."It was clear for many of us that we saw what was to come. And that was neglect, because this was not a new phenomenon."Wilkins sees West's call to action as a pivotal moment that not only dispels ideas of youth apathy and political cynicism, but also shows how hip-hop is a force to be reckoned with. That may be a bridge too far for many, but in Wilkins' view hip-hop artists have reconstructed the history of the black freedom movement.Get him started on the topic and Wilkins becomes a stream of hip-hop propaganda."Alongside some of the romantic notions of bling, excessive materialism and even misogyny - what some of us call the negative and downside dimensions of hip-hop - there has been this consistent and persistent way in which hip-hop has sought to valorise the oppressed."Wilkins sees hip-hop as a lens for understanding the past - "a resource of intelligence and insight given its 30-45 year history".