European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 14, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Paguio stars and stripes saturday april 14 2007 in the states lbs fires Imus chief decries Grassness ceo says firm taking stand on cultural decline by David Porter the associated press the chief of lbs corp said the juror Over Don Imus racist re Marks had escalated beyond Mere disgust with the talk show Host but it was Imus who ultimately paid the Price lbs abruptly fired Imus on thursday from the radio show that he has hosted for nearly 30 years the decision came a Day after Man by said it would no longer televise the show Imus description of the Rutgers women basketball team As Nappy head de hos set off a National debate about taste and tolerance he has flourished in a culture that permits a certain level of objectionable expression that hurts and demeans a wide Range of peo ple said lbs corp chief executive Leslie Moonves in a memo to Bis staff in taking him off the air i believe we take an important and necessary step not just in solving a unique problem but in changing that culture which extends far beyond the Walls of our company Imus made the remark on april 11 the Day after the Rutgers team lost in the National championship game he met with team Mem Bers for about three hours thurs Day night at the governors Man Sion in Princeton n j Rutgers women basketball coach c Vivian Stringer said Fri Day the team had accepted Imus apology she said he deserves a Chance to move on but Hopes the juror his insult caused will be a catalyst for change we the Rutgers University Scarlet Knight basketball team accept accept or Imus apology and we Are in the pro Cess of forgiving Stringer read from a team statement a Day after the women met personally with Imus and his wife we still find his statements to be unacceptable and this is an experience that we will never for get she said these comments Are Indica radio Host Don Imus arrives at his Manhattan residence Friday in new York Rutgers women basketball coach c Vivian Stringer said Friday the team had accepted Imus apology but Hopes the juror his insult caused will be a catalyst for change the other word Nappy has deep roots As hair slur new York when Don Imus referred to the women of the Rutgers basketball team As Nappy headed hos he used what Many consider the other word a slur that cuts deeper than Many of the people Una a Miliar with the word might real ize Nappy has historically been a derogatory Way of describing the natural hair texture of Many people of african descent hair that is tightly curled and coarser than that of people of Europe an descent Whites saw the natural hair of Blacks As a negative attribute a contrast to the european Stan Dard of Beauty they held up As Ideal that negativity spread and was internalized among Many Blacks dating Back to slave times if your hair want straight it was called Nappy Nappy hair meant you we rent Beautiful or desirable said Insenga Burton professor of communications and Media studies at Goucher College even within the Community Nappy hair for a Long time was seen As a bad thing Carla Lynne Hall knows the situation All too Well when she decided to Stop chemically straightening her hair and let it grow out naturally she was met with resistance from her own family her aunt a Hairdresser who had spent her whole business life helping other Black women straighten their hair was appalled and she never really got Over it even a month before the aunt died she told Hall who has worn her hair in Long dread locks for Over a decade now with a hairstyle like this i would never get a Man when i went natural she hated it Hall said Tor women from my aunt s generation that s the worst thing you could do associated press Tive of greater ills in our culture Stringer said it is not just or Imus and we Hope that this will be and serve As a catalyst for change Imus was in the Middle of a today radio fundraiser for Chil Drens charities when he was dropped by lbs on Friday his wife took Over the show and also talked about the meeting with the Rutgers players they gave us the Opportunity to listen to what they had to say and Why there hurting and How awful this is author Deirdre Imus said he feels awful she said he asked them i want to know the pain i caused and i want to know How to fix this and change this Deirdre Imus also said the rut Gers players have been receiving hate email and she demanded that it Stop she told listeners if you must Send email Send it to my husband not the team n j governor Hurt in route to meeting new Jersey gov Jon s Corzine the associated press Camden no gov Jon s Corzine was apparently not Wear ing his seat Belt As required by Law when his official Sun crashed into a guard rail leaving the governor hospitalized in critical condition a spokesman said Friday a state trooper was driving Corzine to a meeting Between Don Imus and the Rutgers Wom ens basketball team thursday night when another vehicle swerving to avoid a pickup truck that police say was driving Errati Cally hit the governors Sun and sent it into the guard rail on the Garden state Parkway the crash broke the governors leg six ribs his sternum and a vertebrae authorities were searching for the pickup truck Driver blamed for causing it Corzine 60 did not suffer any brain damage in the crash but he wont be Able to resume his duties As governor for several Days if not weeks and he wont walk nor Mally for months or Robert Ostrum said performing surgery on the governor thursday night at Cooper University Hospital Friday morning the hospitals trauma chief or Steven e Ross said Corzine was stable and improving and that he could be re moved from a ventilator within the next few Days Corzine remained heavily sedated because the pain from Chest injuries made it difficult to breathe Ross said Senate president Richard Codey became acting governor thursday evening study no Benefit in teaching abstinence the associated press students who participated in sexual abstinence programs were just As Likely to have sex within a few years As those who did not Accord ing to a Long awaited study mandated by Congress also those who attended the abstinence classes reported having similar numbers of sexual partners As those who did not attend the classes and they first had sex at about the same age As their control group counterparts 14 years and nine months according to mathematics policy research inc the us spends about million annually on abstinence education hot gambling trend betting on global warming the associated press Norfolk a joining the debate about the effects of global warming an on line gambling service has started accept ing bets on when rising Waters would sub merge Virginias Cape Henry and Cape Hatteras on North Carolinas outer Banks Betus com offers 200tol Odds that Cape Henry will be underwater by 2015 Cape Hatteras fared a Little better 300tol Odds it would be flooded by the same Date but ont bet on it said Phil Roehrs a coastal Engineer for the City of Virginia Beach Roehrs said although sea Levels Are Ris ing along the East coast scientists Are not most gamblers on the site have put Down Money that Manhattan in new York City will be submerged before new years eve 2011 predicting anywhere near the Levels and dates provided by the gambling service no wonder the Odds Are so Good Roe hrs said that Hast stopped bettors from taking a Chance at guessing it correctly about 3000 people placed bets during the first three Days on online booking said Reed Richards a spokesman for Betus com most gamblers on the site have put Down Money that Manhattan in new York City will be submerged before new years eve 2011 dont ask me Why Richards said global warming int the Only eco Rob sit Ion on the site besides betting that Florida will be underwater by new years eve 2011 bettors can Lay Down Money that Polar bears will become extinct by 2010 100tol Odds or that a car will hit the Market by 2008 that runs solely on water Richards said wagering on global Wann ing is an Extension on so called pop culture gambling