Continuing to rep for the DMV individually and as a unit, yU and Oddissee embody the relentless dedication and grind they reference so often.

The clothing giant is under fire for its August scheduled release of the JS Roundhouse Mids, which many have compared to the devices worn by black slaves in 19th Century America.

The seemingly innocent promotional material, uploaded to Facebook earlier this month, asks: 'Got a sneaker game so hot you lock your kicks to your ankles?'

Controversial: Many have said the shoes have connotations of the slave trade (left) and prisoners (right)

But the shoes have sparked angry debate online, with many saying there is a more cynical tone to the advertisement.

More than 2,000 people have labelled the design 'offensive' and 'ignorant' and say the firm has 'sunk to new lows' in its 'slavewear' product.

Dr Boyce Watkins, writing for Your Black World,  said: 'Shackles. The stuff that our ancestors wore for 400 years while experiencing the most horrific atrocities imaginable.

'Most of which were never documented in the history books and kept away from you in the educational system, all so you'd be willing to put shackles on your ankles today and not be so sensitive about it.'

The Professor at Syracuse University said he accepted some people would accuse him of overreacting.

But he added: 'There is always a group of negroes who are more than happy to resubmit themselves to slavery.

Anger: More than 2,000 people have labelled the design 'offensive' and 'ignorant' and say the firm has 'sunk to new lows' in its 'slavewear' product

'I'm offended by these shoes as there is nothing funny about the prison industrial complex, which is the most genocidal thing to happen to the black family since slavery itself.'

Others have likened the shoes' orange 'bracelets' to the shackles worn by prisoners across the America, or said the firm is 'promoting slavery'.

Facebook user Kay Tee agreed, and said: 'It's offensive and inappropriate in many ways. Not to mention ugly.

'Regardless if the company was saying the shoes are so hot you have to chain them to you, or they were capitalising on the whole prison style popularity.

'But corporate business has a social responsibility above all to consider these perceptions before releasing a product like this.

'How would a Jewish person feel if they decided to have a shoe with a swastika on it and tried to claim it was OK in the name of fashion?'

Adidas has been contacted by Mail Online, but has so far not commented on the claims.

It seems Adidas did not want to be outdone by fierce competitor Nike in the controversial shoe design stakes.

Controversial: Nike has provoked outrage by launching a new Black and Tan line of trainers for St Patrick's Day

In March, Nike was accused of 'huge insensitivity' for launching a £70 'beer-themed' trainer called 'The Black and Tan' in time for St Patrick's Day.

The firm apologised, saying it was an innocent name designed to chime with the often boozy celebrations for Ireland's patron saint.

To others, however, it was a historical affront reviving bitter memories of a British unit sent to Ireland to suppress revolt in the 1920s.

That is because the Black and Tans was the nickname given to the Royal Irish Constabulary Reserve Force, which became notorious for a brutal crackdown during the independence war.

One outraged Irish American claimed it was the equivalent of calling a shoe ‘the Al Qaeda’.

The trainer is officially called the Nike SB Dunk Low, but has been nicknamed The Black and Tan for its colourings. An advertisement for the shoe says: ‘Tis the season for Irish beer and why not celebrate with Nike.

Crackdown: British police, known as Black and Tans for their mix-and-match military outfits of dark wool and khaki, hold a suspected Sinn Fein member at gunpoint and search him for weapons

‘The Black and Tan sneaker takes inspiration for the fine balancing act of a stout on top a pale ale in a pint glass.’

Others Irish Americans criticised Nike for being ‘oblivious’ to the historical connotation.

Six years ago ice cream firm Ben & Jerry’s caused a furore when it launched a Black and Tan flavour. The product was quickly withdrawn.

Athough only deployed from 1920 to 1922, nationalist Ireland still associates the Black and Tans with murder, brutality, massacre and indiscipline in the years leading to southern Ireland's independence

Historians say there is no dispute that 'the Tans' killed and destroyed on a large scale, and recorded that when a Tan was killed in Cork, they burnt down more than 300 buildings.

The Catholic cardinal of the day called them 'a horde of savages, some of them simply brigands, burglars and thieves'.

(Reuters) - Google has received more than 1,000 requests from authorities to take down content from its search results or YouTube video in the last six months of 2011, the company said on Monday, denouncing what it said was an alarming trend.

In its twice-yearly Transparency Report, the world's largest web search engine said the requests were aimed at having some 12,000 items overall removed, about a quarter more than during the first half of last year.

"Unfortunately, what we've seen over the past couple years has been troubling, and today is no different," Dorothy Chou, the search engine's senior policy analyst, said in a blogpost. "We hoped this was an aberration. But now we know it's not."

Many of those requests targeted political speech, keeping up a trend Google said it has noticed since it started releasing its Transparency Report in 2010.

"It's alarming not only because free expression is at risk, but because some of these requests come from countries you might not suspect — Western democracies not typically associated with censorship," said Chou. (here)

In the second half of last year, Google complied with around 65 percent of court orders and 47 percent of informal requests to remove content, it said.

The censorship report offers an overview of which officials have asked Google to delete content and why.

In one case, Spanish regulators asked Google to remove 270 links to blogs and newspaper articles criticizing public figures, including mayors and public prosecutors.

So far Google has not complied. In March, Spain's highest court asked the European Court of Justice to examine whether requests by citizens to have content removed were lawful.

In some countries, Google says it has no choice but to submit to these requests, because certain types of political speech are unlawful.

In Germany, the company removes videos from YouTube with Nazi references because these are banned.

Chou said that in Thailand videos featuring the monarch with a seat over his head have been removed for insulting the monarchy. The country has some of the world's toughest "lese- majeste" laws.

In Canada, Google was asked by officials to get rid of a YouTube video showing a citizen urinating on his passport and flushing it down the toilet. But in that instance the company refused.

Google and many other online providers maintain that they cannot lawfully remove any content for which they are merely the host and not the producer, a principle enshrined in EU law on eCommerce since 2000.

In January 2012 the European Union's executive Commission announced it would introduce clearer guidelines on handling such requests, outlining under which circumstances it would be legal to have content removed from the Web and when it would curb free speech and fundamental rights.

The Commission has launched a public consultation called "a clean and open Internet" and has asked companies how many requests they get to take down content, from whom and for what reason.

Among examples of material that should be taken down EU regulators cite racist content, child abuse or spam. The rules are expected to be announced before the end of the year.

(Editing by Rex Merrifield and Alessandra Rizzo)

"By working with Facebook directly, and joining their team, we'll have more opportunities to build amazing products that will be employed by consumers -- that's all we've ever wanted to do," Face.com cofounder and CEO Gil Hirsch wrote in a blog post on the site.

Facebook emailed a statement Monday that confirmed the acquisition of the technology and the company's workers.

"People who use Facebook enjoy sharing photos and memories with their friends, and Face.com's technology has helped to provide the best photo experience.

This transaction simply brings a world-class team and a longtime technology vendor in house," a Facebook spokeswoman wrote.The acquisition gives Facebook more experience in identifying people in photographs, which it uses to ease "tagging" of photos shared on the social network, though some European countries have expressed unhappiness with the social network's auto-tagging services, citing privacy issues.

There was no word on whether Face.com would be shut down, but Facebook has purchased many domain names similar to its own -- such as Facebok.com -- and route users who type in those domains to Facebook.

Facebook's announcement is the second proposed acquisition of an Israeli startup by a major Silicon Valley company in the past year, after Apple (AAPL) in December agreed to purchase flash-memory maker Anobit, which was reportedly the Cupertino tech giant's most expensive acquisition in its history.

Facebook, the world's most popular social network, has plenty of cash on hand thanks to a record-breaking initial public offering last month that brought in $16 billion and valued the company at $104 billion.

Facebook stock has lost value since debuting on the Nasdaq stock exchange exactly a month before the acquisition was announced Monday, falling as low as $25.52 in public trading after IPO shares were sold for $38 apiece.

Facebook stock had its first positive week last week, gaining 10.7 percent, and gains continued in Monday's morning session.

Facebook stock had risen as high as $32.08 by 10:15 a.m. Pacific time Monday, when shares were trading for $31.73, an increase of $1.72, or 5.7 percent, from Friday's closing price.

 

Messi hit an incredible 50 Liga goals as Barca could only finish second this season, while Ronaldo ‘only’ scored 46 while his side won the title with a massive 100-point haul, nine clear of the Catalans.

The debate is often fierce and partisan as to which is the superior player, but in Ronaldo’s mind there is no contest.

"I am better than Messi, and Real are better than Barcelona," he told CNN. "But you can’t compare a Ferrari and a Porsche - they have different engines.

"Because of this you can’t compare us either."

Ronaldo was not being entirely serious but he qualified his statement by pointing to his season, when Real finally overturned Barca’s dominance of Spanish football.

He does fear a Barca revival though, admitting it would be a far tougher division next time out.

"This is the first time for me to win La Liga with Real, and obviously I am very happy.

"I think it will be difficult to equal such a big year like that because the Spanish league is very competitive and Barcelona, as everyone knows, will push us all the way again.

"We finished nine points clear of them, which is an amazing season, but it will be different next time."

Eurosport

 

 

HOW IT WORKS

This season we will use the Hypercube Infostrada Euro Club Index, which scientifically analyses hundreds of thousands of matches from the top divisions in all European nations as well as Europa League and Champions League games.

The Index takes into account all matches played over an eight-year period but with recent results carrying more weight than older ones. The most recent result has 20 times more impact than a result of three years ago.

The performance of a league's teams in the Champions League and Europa League reflects the rise or fall of the sporting level in that league. So, for example, if English teams perform well in Europe, all Premier League teams receive a small bonus in their ECI score. The ranking and its predictive power are thus made even more accurate.

- - -

As we approach the end of a highly memorable season in major leagues all across Europe there have been some major changes in the Euro Club Index.

Manchester City won their first championship in 44 years on Sunday in absurdly thrilling fashion, and they have now moved up one place to fourth in our ranking of European clubs, right behind neighbours and vanquished title rivals Manchester United.

Bayern Munich switched places with City following their dismal 5-2 defeat to Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup final. Dortmund's sealing of the domestic double consolidates their position of eighth. Should they lose the Champions League final to Chelsea on Saturday, then they will begin next season with the sixth-placed Blues breathing down their necks.

At the top, Real Madrid have finally usurped bitter rivals Barcelona after the Catalan club had been fixed at the summit since December 2009. Real rounded off their title-winning campaign in style with a 4-1 over Mallorca that took their points total for the season to a record 100, while Barca could only manage a 2-2 draw at Real Betis.

Atletico Madrid moved up to 11th after their victory in the Europa League final was followed up by a 1-0 win at Villarreal on the final day of the Spanish season.

In Italy, Juventus shifted up another place after they completed their title-winning league campaign unbeaten. If they beat Napoli in the Coppa Italia final this weekend, they will have gone through the entire season without defeat in any competition. Serie A runners-up AC Milan remain Italy's top-ranked team in 10th.

France's only representatives in the top 20, Lille, slip down two places to 19 following their 1-0 defeat at Montpellier, a result which means Ligue 1's surprise package just have to avoid defeat on the final day of the season to beat Paris Saint-Germain to the title.

- - -

Top 20

1 (2) Real Madrid – 4371 points

2 (1) Barcelona – 4352

3 (3) Manchester United - 3703

4 (5) Manchester City – 3512

5 (4) Bayern Munich - 3488

6 (6) Chelsea - 3403

7 (7) Porto - 3382

8 (8) Borussia Dortmund - 3313

9 (9) Arsenal - 3262

10 (10) AC Milan - 3204

11 (13) Atletico Madrid – 3197

12 (12) Benfica - 3130

13 (14) Shakhtar Donetsk - 3125

14 (15) Juventus – 3102

15 (11) Valencia – 3095

16 (16) Ajax – 3083

17 (18) Zenit St Petersburg – 3083

18 (19) Tottenham Hotspur - 3058

19 (17) Lille - 3048

20 (20) PSV - 3031

Other Spanish clubs in top 100

31 (24) Atheltic Bilbao – 3197

32 (33) Sevilla – 2836

52 (56) Osasuna – 2662

54 (54) RCD Mallorca – 2643

56 (57) Malaga – 2637

57 (61) Villarreal – 2619

68 (72) Getafe – 2515

74 (84) Levante – 2456

79 (86) Real Betis – 2438

83 (95) Real Zaragoza – 2430

85 (81) RCD Espanyol – 2424

96 (108) Real Sociedad – 2353

Infostrada Sports / Eurosport

Dont be amused, this is really a whole bunch of indept detail from the scratch.

No hating but I know most of this from the start in London and I can tell why he is so open and angry during this interview.

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7:03 / 7:03

St. Valentine was a holy priest in Rome, who with St. Marius and his family, assisted the martyrs who were suffering persecution under Claudius the II, emporer of Rome. Saint Valentine was apprehended and sent by the emperor to the prefect of Rome, who upon finding all his promises to make him renounce his faith in effectual, commended him to be beaten with clubs, and afterwards, to be beheaded, which was carried out on February 14th, in the year 270. Pope Julius I is said to have built a church near Ponte Mole to his memory, which was known as "Porta Valetini" and is now called "Porta del Popolo". The largest portion of St. Valentine's relics are now kept in the church of St. Praxedes. St. Valentine is celebrated as an honored martyr of the faith in the sacramentary of St. Gregory in Rome Italy.

One legend states that while awaiting his execution, St. Valentine restored the sight of his jailer's blind daughter. Another legend says, on the eve of his death, he penned a farewell note to the jailer's daughter, signing it, "From your Valentine..." Since this note was written on the day St. Valentine died, February 14, 269 A.D. it is believed that his note started the current day custom of exchanging Love notes and messages on Valentine's Day.

St. Valentine is the Patron Saint of affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, romantic greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, travellers and young people. He is usually represented in pictures with birds and roses.

The body of singer Whitney Houston has been flown to her home state of New Jersey, ahead of an expected funeral service later this week.

The 48-year-old pop star was born in the state's largest city Newark and her family have reportedly suggested the service could be held in an 18,000-seat arena there.

A picture of Houston appeared on the electronic board outside the Prudential Center arena, one of the nation's busiest entertainment venues, on Monday night.

Police said the the 48-year-old's body was taken to Van Nuys airport in California for the flight to the east coast.

Los Angeles-based celebrity website TMZ said a jet owned by film star and producer Tyler Perry was used to return the body to New Jersey .

About a dozen fans gathered outside the Whigham Funeral Home in Newark playing Houston's songs, singing and lighting candles as her body arrived.

The singer's relatives are also thought to be debating whether to have a smaller service at the New Hope Baptist Church, where family members have sung over the years.

Mourners have left flowers, balloons and candles outside the building.

Houston was found dead in a bath in her suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in LA on Saturday, hours before she was supposed to appear at a pre- Grammy Awards party.

She was under the water and apparently unconscious when found by members of her entourage, police said in a statement.

"Ms Houston was pulled from the tub by members of her staff and hotel security was promptly notified."

The LA police commented after widespread speculation about how the star, who had a well-documented battle with drug and alcohol addiction, died.

TMZ reported Houston did not die from drowning but a suspected "combination of Xanax and other prescription drugs mixed with alcohol".

It added that officials with the LA coroner's office had told the singer's family there was not enough water in her lungs "to lead to the conclusion that she drowned".

LA deputy coroner Ed Winter confirmed there were bottles of prescription medicines in the singer's room but would not give details.

"There weren't a lot of prescription bottles. You probably have just as many prescription bottles in your medicine cabinet," he said.

TMZ also claimed that some of the medicine bottles in the room appeared to be from the same pharmacy that was raided after Michael Jackson's death.

This has not been confirmed.

The actual cause of death will be determined by the coroner's office after final toxicology results are received.

 The legendary singer's publicist announced that she had passed this afternoon , while sources have told various media outlets that she was found at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

She is survived by her daughter Bobbi Kristina. Mariah Carey and P. Diddy are just some celebrities who have paid their respects to the legend. Read their messages below...

Kerry Washington:  RIP Whitney. Devastatingly sad. My prayers go out to her family Rocsi Diaz : Lord this is heartbreaking Whitney Houston R.I.P Q-Tip: "I had the pleasure of knowing /wking w whitney. Known her 4 long time. My prayers r w/fam, robyn, bob, ect.. RIP whitney "THEVOICE"

Keyshia Cole: "Whitney??? Pls No!! R.I.P my beautiful! This REALLY hurts my heart!!!!" Kyla Pratt: "She just did Sparkle! She was supposed to be coming back! I can't believe this! in shock!!"

Mariah Carey: "Heartbroken and in tears over the shocking death of my friend, the incomparable Ms. Whitney Houston. My heartfelt condolences to Whitney's family and to all her millions of fans throughout the world."

Wyclef Jean: "This is the saddest thing I've ever had to write in my life, R I P to one of the greatest humans that I have ever known Whitney Houston.She will never be forgotten as one of the greatest voices to ever grace the earth."

Toni Braxton: "My heart is weeping...RIP to the Legendary Diva & Icon Whitney Houston!!!!! Such an incredible influence over music as a whole!"

Cee-Lo Green: "R.I.P. Sister WHITNEY HOUSTON!!!!! We will always love you."

Jill Scott: "I can't. Whitney? No. NO!!!" Justin Bieber: "just heard the news. so crazy. One of the GREATEST VOICES EVER just passed. RIP Whitney Houston. My prayers go out to her friends and family."

Angela Simmons: "Prayers to her family and loved ones. "Godsstrengthen - Rest in peace Whitney Houston." Keri Hilson: "Watching the news now...it's true. R.I.P. Whitney Houston. Ugh I hate that I'm even typing this...I'm shocked. She was my hero growing up."

Nicki Minaj: "Jesus Christ, not Whitney Houston. Greatest of all time." L.A. Reid: "I am completely devastated by the loss of the greatest voice of all time! R.I.P. Whitney Houston. I will always love you!"

Sanaa Lathan: "AND I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU... Whitney Houston. Rest in Peace. Light & Love to Bobbi Kristina and Family." Swizz Beatz: "I hate to say these words about my sister & friend R.I.P To the Great Whitney Houston you will always be loved in this world!!

"Eve: "Wow R.I.P Whitney Houston. So sad. My prayers go out to family,friends,fans..."

Terrence J: "RIP Whitney Houston. So sad to hear this news. My condolences to her family, friends, and loved ones." Tyrese: "I'm in Houston on the night we lose Whitney Houston .. Tonight's show is dedicated to her legacy.

" P. Diddy: "Whitney Houston!!! OMG!! I really can't believe this.. This is one of the saddest days ever..

© PA Images

Facebook announced its intention to float with the US Securities and Exchange Commission after the markets closed today.

This represents the biggest public float by a technology company in US history, and the $5bn raised would dwarf the $1.67bn generated by Google's float in 2004.

The float provided a first look into the finances of the company that has become one of the biggest online businesses in the world in less than a decade.

It was revealed that founder Zuckerberg owns 28.4% of Facebook, and that the website now has 845 million monthly users, up 39% on 2010's figures. Some 443m members use the site every day, up 48% year-on-year.

While Facebook announced that revenue has risen rapidly, the exact figures were slightly less than expected by experts.

The company produced $3.71bn in earnings in 2011, which was an 88% increase on 2010's $1.97bn. Analysts had estimated that Facebook had produced $4.27bn in revenue last year.

Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Facebook, explained in a letter to potential shareholders that Facebook was aiming to continue producing new products and services.

He said: "We don't build services to make money; we make money to build better services. These days I think more and more people want to use services from companies that believe in something beyond simply maximizing profits."

However, the company also noted that it was facing increasing competition in the social network space from Twitter and also Google.

Zuckerberg, who turned down a $1bn offer from Yahoo for Facebook in 2006, apparently paid himself a basic salary of $483,333 last year, almost minimum wage in the technology chief executive world.

Facebook's growth in the past year is slower than other technologies that have recently gone public. Groupon jumped 695% for the nine months prior to September 2011, while Google's revenue climbed 29% in 2011.

However, Facebook's net income rose by 65% year-on-year to $1bn in 2011, while it is thought that the firm operates with a 50% gross margin.

The firm's revenue is mainly drawn from its online advertising, and the number of ads on the site rose by 42% in 2011, while the price per ad grew by 18%.

© PA Images

The company said that ad price grew because it "was affected by factors including improvements to our ability to deliver more relevant ads to users and product changes that contributed to higher user interaction with the ads by increasing their relative prominence".

Facebook also generated $557 million in revenue through partners who deliver virtual products and social gaming on the network.

It was revealed that Zynga, maker of the Farmville and CityVille Facebook games, made up 12% of overall Facebook revenue last year.

Reports of the Facebook floatation plans have previously been given an estimated valuation of up to $100bn (£63bn) for the company, making it more valuable than Disney and online retailer Amazon.

Morgan Stanley has been appointed to advise Facebook in the float, after it assisted business networking site LinkedIn and Zynga when they went public last year. Goldman Sachs is also involved.