After years and years of neglect and complete absence of legal control, Rio finally decided to take back the mean streets of Rio’s Favelas (aka Slums).

The background here is that a huge percentage of Rio is covered in slums that were once run my brutal drugloards and young men looking for a way to make a living.

Well in the course of a very short period of time and after several very high-prifile military operations, they took the streets back.  The sad part is that it took the world cup and olympics coming to Rio to get them to finally clean up the slums.

Forget reading my terrible writing.  Instead, check the photos, they tell the whole story.

PENSACOLA, Fla. – An 87-year-old woman was arrested Thursday after she was caught on tape selling crack cocaine to an undercover deputy.

And it’s not the first time the Pensacola woman has been busted for drugs.

Ola Mae Agee of Pensacola was arrested after the undercover officer bought a $20 piece of crack from her,

Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Ted Roy said. The incident occurred on April 30 at Agee’s home, the Sheriff’s Office said.

A surveillance video of the sale shows the undercover officer knock on the back door of Agee’s home. Agee then answers the door and walks the officer to another room where she retrieves the crack after rummaging through the couch.

The undercover officer counts out $20, including pocket change, which he gives to Agee in exchange for the crack.

In addition to what was sold to the deputy, Agee can be seen in the video holding a small bag of crack cocaine. Roy did not know how much crack was in the bag, and he did not know if addi

tional narcotics were recovered from Agee’s home.

But Thursday’s arrest wasn’t the first time Agee has been picked up in connection with drug-related charges.

Agee pleaded no contest in December 1996 to possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver. She served a two-year probation, which ended in July of 1998 when she was 75 years old.

Agee was again arrested in February of 1999 for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, but the charges against her were later dropped.

On Thursday afternoon, three people – who refused to identify themselves – sat in the front yard of Agee’s downtown home. They said they did not know where Agee was or when she would return.

Sheriff’s investigators anticipate additional drug-related arrests in connection with the sale drugs from Agee’s residence, Roy said. It is believed those additional suspects also sold crack at other houses in Escambia County, Roy said.

Family members took Agee to Escambia County Jail following her arrest. After Agee was processed, she was released on her own recognizance because of her age, Roy said.

Current TV began with a promise to be the great democratizer of media. Some four years into the experiment, it has a new chief executive who is shifting it away from short videos to more traditional cable programming.

In that transition, Current has cut shows and staff, with the most recent layoffs happening last week. The announcement has prompted questions about citizen journalism’s future, though Mark Rosenthal, Current’s CEO and a former president and operating chief at MTV Networks, said that it isn’t in doubt.

“Current’s mission has not changed one iota,” he said in an interview. “Citizen journalism is far from dead.”

The moves are among Current’s first big changes from Mr. Rosenthal, who helped take MTV from videos to reality and entertainment programming in the ’90s. And while he said the network is still committed to viewer-created content, the format still faces plenty of skepticism as a business model.

“It’s been proved time and time again that user-generated-content is impossible to monetize,” said Andrew Keen, a frequent Web 2.0 critic and author of “Cult of the Amateur.” “Even YouTube is now working professional content deals with traditional providers like Channel 4 and Netflix.”

“Maybe the lesson is that there is value to professionally produced content,” Forrester analyst Bobby Tulsiani told the Los Angeles Times. “It might have been a stretch to think that amateurs could do the same thing that story writers and trained journalists could do. There is a skill involved.”

Jeff Jarvis, a well-known blogger and journalism professor at City University of New York, disagreed, saying that citizen journalism is alive and well. It’s a shame that Current isn’t sticking with its original format, he said. “Now it’s just another cable channel.”

He added: “What Current wanted to build, YouTube has since built.”

Mr. Rosenthal denied that comparison. “It’s a network that encourages participation and discourse through entertaining and information on multiple platforms,” he said, “which I consider extremely different from YouTube or any other platform that lives solely on the Web.”

via What Current TV’s Moves Signal for Citizen Journalism – Digits – WSJ.

Nowadays, ‘alt porn’ (i.e. naked chicks with tattoos and/or neon-colored hair) is commonplace, a much needed change from the omnipresent blond hair and fake t*ts that have made up the American porn scene for far too long. And it’s all thanks to the punky pornographers at SuicideGirls.com. Of course, there are now tons of copycat Sites, but the lovely ladies of SG will always hold a special place in our pants hearts. So to honor their naughty innovation, we give you 77 Sexy Suicide Girls to feast your eyes upon.

via The 77 Sexiest Suicide Girls : COED Magazine.

I’m going to claim shock and awe at this one.  Many a celebrity has done the whole “I’d rather go naked than wear fur” thing, but this chick has gone one step further and shared all her sticky bits with everyone.  Do I appreciate the effort?  Ummm…yeah!

Christian Serratos joins the long list of other celebrities who have decided that they would rather go naked than wear fur.  Some may call it risque, but I say, goo djob.  Whatever it takes to bring the national attention to the problems of abusing animals for our own vanity.  Peta would not like me, but I’m getting better.

Anya “Anna” Chapman, a sexy 28-year-old red-headed beauty, was among a ring of 11 Russian spies arrested and charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Child of the 80′s?  Then you know all about the screen moment that shocked a generation of young dorky Star Wars fans.  Sure, I was one of them.  Well that shock continues as legions of current fans continue to pay homage to the metal bikini that lives well into infamy.

Since 1973 Minsk has been hosting the International Beauty Contest Miss Intercontinental. The goal is to find the purist beauty in all the land. It’s less of a pageant and more of an intense audition. Photographer Anton Motolko goes behind the scenes to catch a glimpse into the moments that could change one girl’s life forever. And, let’s face it, this is Russia so there’s some serious shit on the line here, kids.

A fun new crazy happening in Europe especially in Russia is the fountain foam parties.  These kids brought in a bunch of shampoo, bath gels, etc.

When will she wake up and realize that she is hanging around a bunch of uptight, ignorant, outspoken, and unkind people. She needs to admit that her dad is a great dude and happens to be a Republican, but he is by no stretch of the definition one of those crazy-ass conservatives. Remember Republicans are cool in my book even though I’m a Democrat. What they stand for is fine and dandy, I just don’t share their opinion. Conservatives on the other hand are fucked-up, intolerant, fully ignorant, people who love believing in ghosts, fear everything, and hate everyone.

Just as I feel John McCain is more of a moderate Republican often bordering on becoming a conservative Democrat, Meghan is a raging liberal. Not a damn thing about her is either Republican or Conservative.

Come to the dark side young Meghan. Notice how none of us ever called you fat, slutty, or any of the numerous names and insults you’ve endured. All those insults, slanders, and aggressive attacks all came from those people you consider on your team.

Now after all that nastiness you had to endure, you actually apologized to them? Are you serious? You don’t owe then a damn thing. You are a college educated, attractive, very well spoken, woman with a great father, honorable brother, and bright future.

Abandon that nutty fringe you hang with and come hang with us. You are always welcome and if you ever stopped long enough to even listen to what you say, you will come to the realization that you have been one of us for a very long time.

-Alex “Not a liberal, would never be a conservative” Chaney

An army of 2,000 blonde Barbie look-a-likes staged a festival in Latvia in a bid to show that blondes really do have more fun.

“The Blonde Weekend” included a parade through the streets of the capital Riga, to the accompaniment of music from a blonde orchestra, a fashion show and an evening ball.

There was even a golf tournament only open to blonde women.

Free running is a physical art, in which participants (free runners) use the urban and rural areas to perform movements through its structures focused on freedom and beauty. It incorporates efficient movements from parkour, adds aesthetic vaults and other acrobatics, such as tricking and street stunts, creating an athletic and aesthetically pleasing way of moving. It is commonly practiced at gymnasiums and in urban areas that are cluttered with obstacles.

The term free running was coined during the filming of Jump London, as a way to present parkour to the English-speaking world. However, free running and parkour are separate, distinct concepts — a distinction which is often missed due to the aesthetic similarities. Parkour as a discipline comprises efficiency, whilst free running embodies complete freedom of movement — and includes many acrobatic manoeuvres. Although often the two are physically similar, the mindsets of each are vastly different. The founder Sébastien Foucan defines free running as a discipline to self development, following your own way.

Heavily influenced by Sébastien Foucan and inspired by the similar art of displacement (parkour) which was founded by Foucan and his childhood David Belle, Yann Hnautra, Laurent Piemontesi and Chau Belle Dinh, free running embraces elements of tricking and street stunts, which are considered by the parkour community to be inefficient and not parkour. Initially, the term free running was used interchangeably with parkour. However, as free runners became interested in aesthetics as well as useful movement, the two became different disciplines. The term free running was created by Guillaume Pelletier and embraced by Foucan to describe his “way” of doing parkour. Foucan summarizes the goals of free running as using the environment to develop yourself and to always keep moving and not go backwards.

While free running and parkour share many common techniques, they have a fundamental difference in philosophy and intention. The aims of parkour are reach, the ability to quickly access areas that would otherwise be inaccessible, and escape, the ability to evade pursuers, which means the main intention is to clear their objects as efficiently as they can, while free running emphasizes self development by “following your way”. Foucan frequently mentions “following your way” in interviews, and the Jump documentaries. He explains that everyone has their way of doing parkour and they shouldn’t follow someone else’s way of doing it, instead they should do it their way. Free running is commonly misinterpreted as being solely focused on aesthetics and the beauty of the certain vault, jump, etc. Although a lot of free runners choose to focus on aesthetics, that is just “their way”, the goal however is still self development.

The easiest way to explain the differences between the two activities is that in parkour you try to get from A to B in the most efficient and natural way, which could be exercised in case of a real threat, whereas in free running you may employ movements of your choosing. You might also do certain movements solely for their aesthetic value and the challenge of execution. Free running is essentially complete freedom of movement.

However, it must be noted that not one of the founders and developers of the discipline, apart from Foucan, see two separate disciplines in parkour and freerunning. L’Art du deplacement, the original name, was practised by the founders in the same way as it is practised today by those same individuals. The discipline was not originally about ‘moving from a to b’ but rather was a way of testing oneself physically and mentally, to see if one was ‘strong’ (hence the Lingala term Yamakasi meaning ‘strong man, strong spirit’). Parkour Generations, the largest global collective of first and second generation traceurs, explains in several articles and video interviews that while acrobatics is indeed a separate practice, parkour and freerunning and l’art du deplacement are all different names for one discipline.

Parkour

Parkour is a physical activity that is difficult to categorize. Often miscategorized as a sport or an extreme sport, parkour has no set of rules, team work, formal hierarchy, or competitiveness. On the contrary it is more like an art or discipline that resembles self-defense in the ancient martial arts. According to David Belle, “the physical aspect of parkour is getting over all the obstacles in your path as you would in an emergency. You want to move in such a way, with any movement, as to help you gain the most ground on someone or something, whether escaping from it or chasing toward it.” Thus, when faced with a hostile confrontation with a person, one will be able to speak, fight, or flee. As martial arts are a form of training for the fight, parkour is a form of training for the flight. Because of its unique nature, it is often said that parkour is in its own category.

An important characteristic of parkour is efficiency. Practitioners move not only as fast as they can, but also in the most direct and efficient way possible; a characteristic that distinguishes it from the similar practice of free running, which places more emphasis on freedom of movement, such as acrobatics. Efficiency also involves avoiding injuries, short and long-term, part of why parkour’s unofficial motto is être et durer (to be and to last). Those who are skilled at this activity normally have an extremely keen spatial awareness (a.k.a. air sense).

Traceurs say that parkour also influences one’s thought process by enhancing self-confidence and critical-thinking skills that allow one to overcome everyday physical and mental obstacles. A study by Neuropsychiatrie de l’Enfance et de l’Adolescence in France reflects that traceurs seek for more sensation and leadership than gymnastic practitioners.

A group of daredevil scholars agreed to pose for a saucy naked calendar to raise money for poverty-stricken third world countries.

And their antics have caused something of a stir with their straight-laced tutors, since all the scenes were shot in Oxford’s most famous historic locations.

One provocative image, for July, shows three female students punting nude along the river Cherwell, in plain view of the University halls.

“Dancing with the Stars” Karina Smirnoff is a five-time U.S. National Dance Champion, World Trophy Champion, and Asian Open Champion, as well as the “first woman to ever make the British Professional Final with three different partners.”

Cosplay, is a Japanese subculture centered on dressing as characters from manga, anime, tokusatsu, and video games, and, less commonly, Japanese live action television shows, fantasy movies, Japanese pop music bands, Visual Kei, fantasy music stories (such as stories by the band Sound Horizon), and novels. However, in some circles, “cosplay” has been expanded to mean simply wearing a costume.

In Japan, “cosplay” as a hobby is usually an end unto itself. Like-minded people gather to see others’ costumes, show off their own elaborate handmade creations, take lots of pictures, and possibly participate in best costume contests.

Cosplay venues

Cosplay can be seen at public events such as video game shows, as well as at dedicated cosplay parties at nightclubs or amusement parks. It is not unusual for Japanese teenagers to gather with like-minded friends in places like Tokyo’s Harajuku district to engage in cosplay. Since 1998, Tokyo’s Akihabara district has contained a large number of cosplay cafés, catering to devoted anime and cosplay fans. The waitresses at such cafés dress as game or anime characters; maid (or meido) costumes are particularly popular.

Possibly the single largest and most famous event attended by cosplayers is the semiannual doujinshi market, Comiket. This event, held in summer and winter, attracts hundreds of thousands of manga otaku and many thousands of cosplayers who congregate on the roof of the exhibition center, often in unbearably hot or cold conditions.

Cosplayers in Japan refer to themselves as reyazu; pronounced layers (by writing the word cosplayers in Katakana, it is possible to shorten it in this way). Those who photograph players are called cameko, short for “Camera Kozo” or “Camera Boy”. The cameko give prints of their photos to the players as gifts. Tensions between players and cameko have increased due to perceived stalker-like behaviour among some obsessive males who push female cosplayers to exchange personal email addresses or do private photo sessions. One result of this has been a tightening of restrictions on photography at events such as Comiket.

Cosplay trends

A recent trend at Japanese cosplay events is an increase in the popularity of non-Japanese fantasy and science fiction movie characters, perhaps due to the international success of such films as The Matrix, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. Characters from the Harry Potter films have a particularly high number of female fans in Japan, with female cosplayers playing either male or female characters, Draco Malfoy being an extremely popular choice.

The act of cosplaying as characters of the opposite sex is called “crossplay”, whereas the act of cosplaying as characters who dress as the opposite sex as the cosplayer is called “cross-dressing”.  Crossplaying and cross-dressing may be the same in some cases; however, they could be different.  For example, a female cosplayer cosplaying as a male character who dresses as a normal male (such as Kira Yamato from Gundam SEED) would be cross-dressing and crossplaying; a male cosplayer cosplaying as a female character who dresses as a normal female (such as Lacus Clyne from Gundam SEED) would also be cross-dressing and crossplaying. However, a female cosplayer cosplaying as someone like Mana (male artist from the Visual Kei band Malice Mizer known for dressing in female clothes) would be crossplaying, but not cross-dressing (since the cosplayer is cosplaying someone of the opposite sex but is wearing clothes of her own sex); a male cosplayer also cosplaying as Mana would be cross-dressing, but not cross-playing (since the cosplayer is cosplaying someone of the same sex but is wearing clothes of the opposite sex).

A small niche group in the crossplaying field are dollers, a subset of kigurumi cosplayers; usually male, they wear bodysuits and masks to fully transform into female characters.

Another recent trend in cosplay is a blurring of the distinction between costumes based on characters from games and anime, and “original” costumes based upon a general theme or existing fashions. In particular, the Tokyo teen-fashion trend of Gothic Lolita has attracted some cosplayers who might not have the inclination (or possibly courage) to wear such distinctive clothes around town, but who would like to dress in such a manner on some occasions. Other popular trends include the so-called “original Visual Kei cosplaying”, “original punk cosplaying”, “original Super Dollfie cosplaying”, etc. These cannot be called genres in the cosplaying area. Since Visual Kei and punk are genres of music and Super Dollfie a kind of ball-joint doll, and not simply trends in fashion like Gothic Lolita, it would be impossible for cosplayers to create “original” characters of them. However, many cosplayers who think that dressing in such a style that would fit Visual Kei, punk, Super Dollfie, etc. claim that they are cosplaying “original” characters, whereas they are simply under a false impression.

Cosplay in North America

Convention activity in the United States and Canada has become a much larger and much more popular trend in the 2000′s. Larger conventions such as Anime Boston, Otakon and Anime North have become renowned internationally. With the added public attention coming from such popular animated series imported from Japan including Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist, Inuyasha and now the popular Bleach, cosplayers and the anime world have peeked their heads into the world of mainstream pop-culture, on at least a relatively underground scale. More and more convention goers cosplay as their favorite characters from their favorite anime, and thus, the cosplay and anime subcultures have been able to have enough influence to further the creation of anime conventions to accommodate for the increasing number of cosplayers.

Conventions in America often include both cosplay and costume contests. The cosplay or “masque” is a skit contest done in cosplay costume. This can range from a single person quoting a character’s famous line (e.g., Monkey D Luffy from One Piece, or Vegeta of Dragon Ball Z: “It’s over nine thousand!”), to a 10-member costumed cast singing and dancing to the theme of Sailor Moon, to actual comedic or dramatic one-act plays. The costume contest is often a test of skill, design, and audience reaction. The contestants are judged either before hand or on stage and then walk across said stage while the audience cheers. The increased popularity of convention costuming has led to the addition of several relatively new cosplay-based events, adding to the traditional masquerade and hall costume contests. Such events include the Anime Dating Game, and Cosplay Human Chess, where participating cosplayers act out their characters’ role in the game accordingly.

Competition has led to the development of many cosplay groups that plan for conventions months in advance.

Non-competitive cosplay can often be seen at opening nights for science-fiction and fantasy movies, especially those with an established following. Even in small towns, some cosplayers wait in line for hours before showings of movies in franchises like Star Wars, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Even cult hits like Serenity have drawn opening night cosplay.

In US and, fans of The Rocky Horror Picture Show attend screenings of the cult film in the costumes of its characters. This tradition began soon after the film’s release in 1975. Over the last year cosplay has been growing now there is an even 3 cosplay group the latest one being the du cosplay that meet up and hang around London in cosplay.