WorldStarHipHop Shut Down Owner Denies

50 Cent Says Then Denies He Shut Down WorldStarHipHop, Owner Denies

hortly after well-known hip-hop website Worldstarhiphop.com shut down for unknown reasons, 50 Cent took to his Twitter to let it be known he was the force behind its temporary power cut.

Just hours later, the controversial rapper made a call to New York radio station Hot 97 to publicly express the reasons behind his actions towards the site. "I took a lawsuit... we've been through the process for a while," he said. "Two weeks from now we'll be in mediation to find out exactly how much they owe me. They've been advertising me on Worldstar for two years straight. They used the 'I Am Robot' image at the top of the site and my head was on the actual robot.



"Away from that, them encouraging disrespect on every level possible" is another reason for his dislike of the site, 50 added.

But in the same conversation -- and in true 50 form -- 50 sarcastically said he might've not been responsible for the site coming down, confusing listeners as he teased, "I didn't shut them down. If I rob a bank I wouldn't tell you I did... [but] maybe I did. It's up to the public to decide."



To put more of a twist on the story, Worldstarhiphop.com owner and CEO, a man named Q, called the radio station just minutes after and negated all of 50's claims of involvement. "It's a technical difficulty and has nothing to do with 50 or homeland security or hackers," he said. "We're more or less having difficulties with the site itself as far as our server. We're getting so much traffic we constantly have to upgrade."



Tu further discredit 50's claims, Q reminded listeners that the site had been down before. "We were down in '07 because we got hacked. We got hacked last year and we've also had problems with our bandwith before," he said.



According to Q, the site will be up in the next 24 hours. Q also gave 50 Cent a shout out for the "good promo," although he admitted that he and 50 do have personal beef due to miscommunication and a "falling out a while back."



50 Cent said during his chat that in the new year he is "encouraging people to be completely positive" and to "live better," but that he has "old things that have to be dealt with."

Verizon Service DOWN Outage

Verizon DOWN? Service Outage Reported In Virginia, North Carolina

UPDATE: A Verizon Wireless spokesperson, Melanie Ortel, contacted The Huffington Post with the following statement: "Service was restored at 3:50 pm this afternoon. The issue was based in Hampton Roads and the surrounding area."
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Verizon Wireless subscribers in Virginia and North Carolina are reporting service issues, according to Geekosystem and WTKR.

Verizon may be down state-wide in Virginia and Twitter is filled with reports of Verizon's outage. A Verizon spokesperson in Virginia has told WTKR that the company is aware of the problem.

"Verizon Wireless is aware of the issue and our crews are addressing it," the spokesperson said. "We'll share more information as it becomes available."

Verizon Wireless has yet to offer an update on the outage via its official Twitter account (@VerizonWireless), though the timeline has been full of tweets about the Super Bowl. One Twitter user, @CTJDorsey, chided the company for this oversight in a tweet, writing, "Seems like @VerizonWireless should be more concerned with their down service in all of VA than the super bowl http://yfrog.com/h47vkp." Verizon Wireless responded in an @ mention directed at the individual, "We're checking in to see what situation is and will report back here." That tweet was followed by one expressing Verizon's support the Green Bay Packers.

Though any outage is bad for a company, the timing of these network troubles is particularly inconvenient for Verizon as the company will begin offering the iPhone in a few weeks' time. Already, some--including Verizon competitor AT&T--have expressed doubts that "Big Red's" network will be able to handle burden that additional data from iPhone subscribers will bring.

Are you experiencing issues with Verizon's network in North Carolina, Virginia, or elsewhere? Let us know in the comments below.

Veena Malik breaks down on Pak national television

Pakistani actress and model, Veena Malik broke down on national television when the host of a TV show, cleric Maulana Qavi grilled and castigated her for her behaviour on the Indian reality show, Bigg Boss 4.

The 32-year-old actress who earlier had a much publicised break-up with Pakistani cricketer Mohammed Asif, lashed out at her critics and clerics for degrading her, while appearing on a show on 'Express' channel.

Since returning from India, Malik has been constantly under fire for allegedly misrepresenting Pakistani women, Islam and Pakistani culture on the show.

"You tell me is you conscience clear that you didn't bring a bad name to Pakistan and Islam and that you behaved inappropriate to our religious and cultural values," Maulana Qavi asked her on the show.

Veena had raised a furore in the orthodox and religious circles with her displays of affection with Indian actor, Ashmit Patel, her way of dressing and language on the show.

"I am just an entertainer and I was not representing anyone on the show but myself. Why is everyone after me just because I am a woman and a soft target," said a defiant Malik.

"Why doesn't anyone talk about the Pakistani actresses or actors who have gone and accepted B and C grade roles in India. Some have kissed on screen and worn bikinis. Tell me did I wear a bikini on the show, did I kiss, did I undress, whatever I did was part of the tasks on the show," added Malik while defending herself.

Malik later tried to shift the focus to other things happening in Pakistan.

"Maulvis sexually assault children in madrassahs under their care. People are burnt alive in Pakistan. Corruption is rampant. Women are gang-raped and there is extremism everywhere and yet no one talks about these evils but everyone is concerned about me what Veena Malik did," she said.

Malik broke down when the host of the show called her "Begairat" (shameless) and she shot back at him.

"Who are you pass such indecent remarks about me who gave you this right," she questioned.

The criticism on Malik comes at a time when the country is facing a clear divide over the blasphemy law and religious fundamentalism appears to be spreading and where the liberals and moderates are afraid to express their views.

However, during the exchange, Maulana Qavi admitted he had not seen the clips of the show but had heard about it from others.

"What does your Islam say, mufti sir?" Veena asked. "You issue edicts on the basis of hearsay."

The actress has made it clear that she had read the Quran and knew her limits as a Muslim and also as an entertainer in South Asia.

Sources close to Veena said she had received threatening phone calls since returning from India and was trying to keep a low profile these days.


News From: movies.ndtv.com

Olbermann steps down from MSNBC

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Keith Olbermann, the outspokenly progressive host of MSNBC’s “Countdown” and bête noire of right-wing talkers, abruptly stepped down from the cable news network Friday night — almost two years before his contract was set to expire.

While he gave no specific reasons, Olbermann told viewers in a farewell message that “there were many occasions, particularly in the last two and a half years, where all that surrounded the show — but never the show itself — was just too much for me.”
Olbermann had locked horns with NBC Universal management on various occasions, most recently last fall when he was briefly suspended for making contributions to the campaigns of Democratic candidates. He complained at the time that the network’s policy on the issue was inconsistent.

He was also a relentless tormentor of other cable personalities, including Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck of Fox News, with both men frequently earning his “Worst Person In The World” honor. News Corp. /quotes/comstock/15*!nws/quotes/nls/nws (NWS 16.91, +0.56, +3.43%) , the parent of Fox, is also the publisher of this report.

His departure, after eight years on the air, comes just days before cable giant Comcast Corp. /quotes/comstock/15*!cmcsa/quotes/nls/cmcsa (CMCSA 23.53, +0.27, +1.16%) takes over operational control of NBC Universal in the wake of the company’s purchase of a majority stake in it from General Electric Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!ge/quotes/nls/ge (GE 19.74, +1.31, +7.11%) .

An MSNBC spokesman, cited on the network’s website, said the impending takeover had nothing to do with Olbermann’s departure while Comcast said in a written statement that it “pledged from the day the deal was announced that we would not interfere with NBC Universal’s news operations. We have not and we will not.”

Olbermann was MSNBC’s most popular figure and hosted the highest rated show of any cable news network outside of Fox, which dominates the top spots. In 2008, he signed a new four-year contract for a reported $30 million. It is unclear for how long the terms of his departure may keep him off the air.

William Spain is a MarketWatch staff writer in Chicago.

News From: www.marketwatch.com