Friday, 25 November 2016
Tuesday, 22 November 2016
Monday, 23 February 2015
Google Việt Nam vừa bị hack vào 12h trưa nay
Vào 12h trưa nay (23/2/2015), trang chủ của Google Việt Nam tại google.com.vn vừa bị hack và thủ phạm được cho là nhóm hacker Hồi giáo Lizard Squad.
Vào khoảng 12h trưa nay (23/2/2015, tức mùng 5 Tết), một số người dùng internet tại Việt Nam đã chia sẻ trên Facebook cũng như các diễn đàn công nghệ về tình trạng không truy cập được trang chủ của Google Việt Nam (tại địa chỉ google.com.vn). Khi truy cập vào trang Google.com.vn thì không phải là trang chủ tìm kiếm bình thường của Google mà là một trang index với 3 dòng chữ (trong đó dòng chữ gây chú ý nhất đó là "Hacked by Lizard Squad" - tức là "đã hack bởi Lizard Squad", kèm theo đó là tên gọi của các thành viên cũng như nơi thực hiện vụ hack là tại Texas). Ngoài ra thì dưới 3 dòng chữ là một hình ảnh tự sướng chụp bởi 1 chiếc iPhone 5s (nhân vật trong ảnh được cho là người đã thực hiện vụ hack trên), phía dưới hình ảnh là một video YouTube chứa nội dụng là một bản nhạc rap với liên tiếp là những từ tiếng Anh có nghĩa tục tĩu "Fuck".
Chưa ai biết chính xác mục đích cũng như nguyên nhân hack là gì và Google cũng chưa có bất kỳ thông tin chính thức nào. Một số người dùng tin rằng Google đã bị hack DNS (tức là chỉ những ai sử dụng DNS của Google - 8.8.8.8 và 8.8.4.4) thì mới bị mà thôi còn những người nào để chế độ auto thì vẫn truy cập bình thường.
Tại thời điểm viết bài này (13h20), chúng tôi đã thử nghiệm đổi DNS của Google (8.8.8.8 và 8.8.4.4) rồi truy cập lại vào trang web của Google Việt Nam bằng trình duyệt Chrome thì không có vấn đề gì, còn với các trình duyệt Firefox và Internet Explorer thì tình trạng trên vẫn còn xảy ra, còn nếu truy cập bằng Cốc Cốc thì sẽ nhận được một thông báo lỗi bảo mật (do dùng giao thức https) và trình duyệt tự động chặn không cho người dùng truy cập vào (truy cập bằng giao thức SSL tức là https).
Tiếp tục thử nghiệm truy cập bằng DNS của Google trên trình duyệt Safari của iOS thì tình trạng trên vẫn xảy ra đối với giao thức http còn với https thì bị lỗi "Chứng chỉ không tin cậy" và không truy cập được. Sau đó thì chúng tôi đã thử tắt không sử dụng DNS của Google thì tình trạng trên không còn xảy ra nữa. Như vậy thì có thể rõ ràng Google đã bị tấn công DNS, tất nhiên không ít người dùng vẫn hoang mang lo ngai liệu rằng dữ liệu của họ có bị ảnh hưởng gì hay chưa.
Oscars 2015: Full List Of Winners
A light drizzle in Hollywood couldn’t dim the stars shining at the Oscars tonight. Neil Patrick Harris hosted an unabashed love letter to the movies and proved that he’s the best host around — even stripping down to his underwear for a Birdman joke. John Legend and Common took the night with their Oscar-winning song “Glory” from Selma and and John Travolta continued to make everyone feel uncomfortable. The Grand Budapest Hotel ruled in the more artsy categories while Birdman took home the biggest awards. Here are all of tonight’s winners.
Sunday, 22 February 2015
Homeland Security chief: Be 'vigilant' at malls
The secretary of Homeland Security on Sunday warned shoppers at Minnesota's Mall of America and similar venues to be vigilant in the wake of new terrorist threats.
"I'm not telling people to not go to the mall," Secretary Jeh Johnson said on NBC's Meet The Press. "I think that there needs to be an awareness."
He also said, "I'm saying that the public needs to be particularly vigilant."
Mall of America says it has heightened security after a video threatening a terror attack was apparently released by a Somali militant group with ties to al-Qaeda. The group, al-Shabaab, previously took responsibility for the 2013 attack at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, that left more than 60 people dead.
The video released online focused mostly on the conflict between Kenya and Somalia and the Westgate shopping mall attack. The video calls for similar attacks at the Mall of America and elsewhere.
"If just a handful of mujahideen fighters could bring Kenya to a complete standstill for nearly a week, imagine what a dedicated mujahedeen in the West could do to the American or Jewish-owned shopping centers across the world," an unidentified man says on the video.
"What if such an attack was to occur in the Mall of America in Minnesota? Or the West Edmonton Mall in Canada? Or in London's Oxford Street?" the man says, encouraging supporters to "hurry up, hasten towards heaven and do not hesitate."
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a statement Sunday saying U.S. officials were aware of the call for "Westgate style" attacks against shopping malls in the U.S. and elsewhere.
The statement said Homeland Security and the FBI has been working closely with state and local authorities in recent months to "prevent and mitigate these types of threats."
The Mall of America, among the largest shopping malls in the world with more than 500 stores and 50 restaurants, employs more than 12,000 people. It generally is considered the world's busiest mall, with more than 40 million visitors annually.
Mall officials issued a statement saying it takes any potential threat seriously.
"Mall of America has implemented extra security precautions. Some may be noticeable to guests, and others won't be," the statement said, adding, "The safety and security of our guests, employees and tenants remains our top priority."
Al-Shabaab, based in southern Somalia, was declared a terror organization under U.S. law in 2008. The group, which pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2012, took responsibility for an attack Friday at a Mogadishu hotel targeting government ministers that killed 25.
Johnson, who made appearances on five Sunday shows, said the video threat reflects the militant effort to encourage supporters to conduct attacks in their homelands
Sunday, 1 February 2015
Major Winter Storm to Slam the Midwest Then Move East
With a major winter storm set to hit parts of the Midwest and Northeast, delivering a significant amount of snow that could affect travel across the country to start the week, airlines are already starting to cancel flights.
As of 11 p.m. ET Saturday, airlines had canceled 1,048 flights scheduled for Sunday. Of those, 445 were flights out of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.
The developing winter storm was moving through the southern and central Plains today, bringing a mixture of snow, sleet, freezing rain, and rain to the region.
Winter storm warnings, watches, and advisories were currently in effect around midday Saturday from the central Plains to New England in anticipation of the winter storm on the way.
The upcoming storm was expected to strengthen Saturday evening with a large area of heavy snow developing across the central Plains, and eventually through the Midwest Saturday night and early Sunday morning.
The heaviest snow is expected to fall generally along and north of Interstate 80, with a wintry mix and rain expected for areas south of there.
On Sunday morning, heavy snow is forecast to be falling from Des Moines, Iowa, to Chicago and as far east as Detroit and Cleveland.
By Sunday evening, the snow will continue to fall from Chicago to Cleveland and begin to move into the Northeast. A wintry mix and areas of heavy rain are expected further south from Indianapolis to the northern Tennessee Valley.
Current snowfall forecasts from the ABC Weather Team call for accumulations of 8-12 inches from central Iowa through the northern Ohio Valley by Monday morning. Isolated amounts over a foot are possible, focusing on areas east of Chicago through northern Ohio.
This storm will continue to track east Sunday night and into Monday morning impacting a large stretch of the I-95 corridor from Washington, D.C to coastal Maine.
From Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia, mixing with rain and sleet will lead to lower snow totals. However from New York City up to Boston, significant amounts of snow with an icy and dangerous Monday morning commute expected.
Monday, 8 December 2014
Jasa DG Fuad Hassan dies of heart attack
KUANTAN: Special Affairs Department (Jasa) director-general Datuk Fuad Hassan died at the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital (HTAA) here at 12.20am today due to a heart attack. He was 62.
Fuad was admitted to the hospital yesterday morning in an unconsious state and never regained consciousness until his death. His family members were by his side when he died.
He suffered the heart attack at 11.15pm on Saturday while attending the closing ceremony of a retreat on the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia's transformation programme at a hotel in Kemaman, Terengganu.
His younger brother Datuk Jalaluddin Hassan said he recieved news on his brother's heart attack at midnight Saturday and rushed to Kuantan together with his other siblings.
"We arrived at the hospital at 9am (Sunday). At the time Abang Ngah (Fuad) was unconscious but his condition was stable.
"However, his condition took a turn for the worse and he suffered low blood pressure and kidney failure before he died," he said.
He said the funeral prayers would be performed at the Kuantan police headquarters before his remains were brought to his home at No. 52, Jalan 4M, Ampang Jaya, Selangor.
He added that the burial was scheduled to be held at the Taman Teratai Muslim Cemetery in Ampang, Selangor after the midday prayers today.
Fuad was a two-term Barisan Nasional assemblyman for Ulu Klang (1990-1999).
He was appointed director-general of Jasa in 2009.
His father Tan Sri Hassan Azhari is a prominent Quran teacher. Another brother of his, Tan Sri Musa Hassan, is a former Inspector-General of Police.
Korina Sanchez declared persona non grata in Japan a fake news
A satirical and fictional news website posted an article today about Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declaring Filipino news reporter Korina Sanchez a persona non grata. The said fake news was spread over social networking sites.
According to the satire news provider, Abe wholeheartedly declared Korina Sanchez as an unwelcome person anywhere in Japan for hoping – during the December 3 episode of ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol – Typhoon Ruby would entirely hit Japan instead of the Philippines.
It added that Abe ‘half-heartedly’ declared former Vice President Noli de Castro persona non grata for wishing that half of typhoon Hagupit would go to Japan.
Many of Filipinos online believed the said satire news, while some knew it was a fake news.
King Carl: Why viewers voted against X factor pin up Jake Quickenden again, by JIM SHELLEY
ITV will be slightly peeved that X Factor hunk Jake Quickenden lost out to veteran motorbike champ Carl Fogarty.
After all, it was no accident that he was dropped in to the jungle after the departure of Craig Charles and Gemma Collins.
With the stars from the channel’s stellar shows Coronation Street and TOWIE gone, ITV needed someone to represent it and Simon Cowell’s ratings’ behemoth on their biggest programme of the year.
The strong favourite since the self-inflicted demise of Jimmy Bullard, Jake ticked all the boxes to go on and be crowned King of The Jungle: handsome, engaging, sweet natured, and safe: pretty and vacant. (Not only had he never heard of Edwina Currie, he beamed proudly ‘I don’t even know what politics is.’)
Carl Fogarty on the other hand was a more wizened, slightly jaundiced, old soul. Witness the early episodes when he had no qualms about resisting the idea of feeding the starving camp mates he had left behind in Jungle Jail, declaring bluntly: ‘wherever I go, the food goes.’ As he said he wasn’t really a team player. He also bore a distracting, disturbing resemblance to Catweazle.
No doubt Jake will still go on to reap all the rewards he would have if he had won: plenty of appearances on daytime television, some celebrity cooking, a Christmas record, and eventually, some adverts for Iceland.
Still, it will (if you’ll pardon the pun) bug him, ITV, and Simon Cowell that he didn’t win.
As to why Carl Fogarty won, it principally came down to final day’s trials.
The ordeal suffered by the strongest female candidate, Mel Sykes (searching for stars in cloudy water with a few eels etc) may have been popular with male viewers – nothing short of a wet t-shirt contest – but wasn’t daring or terrifying enough to carry her home, despite her claims about how much she hated going underwater.
‘I always wanted to be an astronaut !’ he smiled, not entirely joking.
Obviously, having 1500 cockroaches, 1500 crickets, 10 ‘burrowing cockroaches’, and 200 soldier crabs crawling around your head wasn’t fun, but most of them were scrambling up the sides to get and, asides from the odd nibble, Jake survived relatively painlessly.
None of the little critters did what is known on the show as ‘a Fatima Whitbread’ and went up his nose or down his ear.
I’m sure Foggy won a lot of last-minute votes because he was the celebrity undergoing the eating trial – which is the one we all want to see and the real reason we all watch IACGMOOH.
Having already downed a glass of deer’s blood and some other horrors in the Vile Vineyard challenge, Fogarty duly polished off a cup of mealworms (which were still alive), the anus of an ostrich (not alive), some baked tarantulas, three large cockroaches and a camel’s penis.
Yum. I mean, yuck.
He may have been the celebrities ‘Tarzan’ figure, a macho motor-biking icon, and the man who took care of the fire and other manly tasks, but you could see even Fogarty didn’t relish eating them.
Not as much as Freddie Starr had anyway. The fact he had to dance around as he swallowed them down proved that, practically pogoing at one point.
The tarantulas, he said memorably, tasted like ‘dog s**t wrapped in Kentucky,’ which probably rules out that sponsorship deal.
For those of you who are interested, he reported ‘the ostrich anus was ‘quite hard and chewy’ and the camel penis ‘had no taste to it.’
Pixie Lott voted off Strictly Come Dancing in shock elimination... despite being one of the favourites to win
Pop princess Pixie Lott has made a surprise exit from Strictly Come Dancing when she became the 10th celebrity to leave the competition.
Despite being one of the favourites to win after triumphing in Saturday night's 'waltz-a-thon', her partner's propensity to illegally lift her higher and higher was enough to kick her out of the quarter finals.
She nailed second place in Saturday's show, but the audience votes earned her a spot in the dance-off alongside Simon Webbe and Kristina Rihanoff.
The Boys And Girls singer repeated her Cha Cha Cha to the Glee Cast version of Love Shack.
Judge Len Goodman had criticised the performance on Saturday for containing illegal lifts and awkward legs.
The dance put her third at 35 points in Saturday's show, but she was redeemed by her performance in the group 'waltz-a-thon', when all six couples waltzed on the floor at the same time in a bid to win all-important extra marks from the judges.
The pair were pipped to the post in the dance off by Blue singer Simon's American Smooth to Heartache Tonight by Michael Buble.
It was the first and last time Lott and her partner Trent Whiddon faced elimination in this year's competition.
Craig Revel Horwood chose to save Lott and Whiddon, saying: 'It's quite tough at this stage in the competition, but I am going to save Pixie and Trent.'
Down (and out) under! Melanie Sykes is voted off I'm A Celebrity in THIRD place - leaving Foggy and Jake to compete for King of the Jungle title
Melanie Sykes has become the first finalist to be voted off I'm A Celebrity.
The brunette TV presenter, who spent much of the series flaunting her body in a bikini, was evicted from the camp on Sunday evening.
The news means that boy power will rule the outback, this year - with either Foggy or Jake Quickenden being crowned King of the Jungle.
Speaking to Ant and Dec in a post-departure interview, she reflected on her time in the competition.
'If I'm honest I'm a bit gutted I'm not in the final because I was so close to it, but I had an absolute ball.
'It was better than I expected. I thought it would be more hellish and I wasn't sure I'd last, but it exceeded my expectations and I made some great friends.'
Speaking about her myriad Bushtucker Trials, she proved her commitment to conquering her fears.
'As soon as I started the trials I wanted to leave, but I couldn't when Jimmy did first - so i knew I had to start. I was silly cow sometimes.'
'I never once said: I'm chef, but people constantly told me how to cook. I wanted to blow my top so many times. For years I haven't been able to control my temper and count to ten, but I managed to do it in here.'
She also specified how she became very close to the men in the team.
'I really missed Jimmy and I had some tears over the men who left. That said, I really want Foggy to win. Jake's got time to develop his career, but it's Foggy who's been in there with me the longest.
Monday, 24 November 2014
Peyton Manning, C.J. Anderson lead Broncos to comeback victory
DENVER -- The Denver Broncos' much maligned offensive line broke their silence last week. They made an earsplitting statement Sunday.
Behind blockers angry over being scapegoated for the team's myriad problems, the Broncos found the balance, ground game and pocket of protection that had eluded them during their recent slide.
Capitalizing on this newfound nastiness, Peyton Manning threw four TD passes, including three toDemaryius Thomas, and C.J. Anderson ran for 167 yards and the go-ahead score in Denver's 39-36 win over Miami on Sunday.
"We all needed to be accountable to our teammates," guard Orlando Franklin said. "We felt we've been letting our teammates down and not taking care of business."
With perfect balance -- 35 runs and 35 throws -- the Broncos (8-3) overcame an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to stay atop the highly competitive AFC West.
"They took so much (heat) during the week," Anderson said of the O-line, which is building chemistry on the run after wholesale changes three weeks ago. "They're still human and some of them got feelings. They're not going to tell you, but some of them were hurt."
They put the hurt on the Dolphins to the tune of 201 yards, but the Broncos' first lead didn't come until Anderson's 10-yard run up the middle with 5:01 left put Denver ahead 32-28.
Then, Ryan Tannehill's pass skipped off Jarvis Landry's left hand to T.J. Ward, whose 37-yard return set up Wes Welker's insurance TD catch.
The Broncos needed it after Tannehill drove the Dolphins (6-5) on another scoring drive, hitting Landry from a yard out with 1:34 left. Lamar Miller's 2-point dive made it a three-point game.
The Dolphins' onside kick was recovered by -- who else? -- Anderson, who sealed the game with a 26-yard run that could have been longer had he not slid so the Broncos could get in victory formation.
"You just have to give it up to the big boys up front. They took so much heat the outside and the media all week," said Anderson, who added 28 yards on four catches.
Manning became the third player in NFL history with touchdown passes in 50 consecutive games, joining Drew Brees (54) and Tom Brady (52). He threw for 257 yards on 28-of-35 passing.
Emmanuel Sanders led the way with nine catches for 125 yards, and Thomas finished with 10 catches for 87 yards, failing to match Calvin "Megatron" Johnson's NFL record of eight straight 100-yard games.
His consolation was three touchdowns.
"Nah," Thomas said he asked if he was disappointed. "... I just wanted to win the game. I had a decent game, helped the team. The main thing is we won the game."
Tannehill (26 of 36 for 227 yards with three TDs) kept the Dolphins a step ahead much of the afternoon.
Miami went ahead 28-17 on Tannehill's 5-yard TD toss to Landry after Isaiah Burse fumbled a punt at his own 12.
Manning drove the Broncos downfield and found Thomas from 5 yards out, then hit Sanders with the 2-point pass to pull Denver to 28-25 with 14:09 remaining.
"I thought the best thing our team did was we stayed pretty calm," Manning said. "We just had a real calm demeanor the entire game. Everybody did. And that definitely proved to be a key factor late in the game."
The only time the Broncos lost their cool came when Brandon McManus clanked a 33-yard field goal try off the right upright after Manning had tripped on third-and-1 from the 7 for his only sack.
His teammates could hardly hide their anguish. On the sideline, guard Manny Ramirez ripped his helmet off and hollered as Thomas slammed his helmet to the ground.
"To come away with no points was really disappointing," Manning said, "and once again it could have been that 'this is not our day' type of mentality. We just said, 'Hey, it's obviously going to be a dogfight.' "
Ultimately, it was the Dolphins who would lament the loss, the Broncos' balance having thrown them off.
"They're known for throwing the ball all over the place," cornerback Brent Grimes said. "They had a plan to run the ball and control the game like that. They did a good job of it."
Franklin was happy for the one-week reprieve from the criticism.
"This is the NFL. One week, you're great and the next week, they're talking about you like they talked about you last week," he said. "It really doesn't matter what everybody else thinks as long as we got the win tonight and as long as our teammates are happy with each and every one of us."
NOTES: Broncos CBs Aqib Talib (hamstring) and Kayvon Webster (shoulder) left the game as did MLB Brandon Marshall (concussion). ... The Dolphins lost CB Jamar Taylor (shoulder) and LTJa'Wuan James (stinger).
American Music Awards: 8 stars who stole the show
Before the 2014 American Music Awards kicked off, the stars shined on the red carpet. Here, Jennifer Lopez attends the ceremony at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on November 23 in Los Angeles. Here's who else arrived:
(CNN) -- At the American Music Awards on Sunday, there was plenty of love for international artists.
British boy band One Direction was a big winner at the 2014 ceremony, taking home both the artist of the year award and the trophy for favorite pop/rock band, duo or group.
Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, who walked into the ceremony as the lead nominee with six nods, also won two awards on Sunday, including the favorite rap/hip-hop album honor.
"This award is the first award I've ever won in my entire life, and it means so much to me that it is for best hip-hop because that's what inspired me to move to America and pursue my dreams, and it's what helped me when I was a teenager to escape and to get through my life and to better times," Azalea told the audience while accepting her trophy.
Meanwhile, soulful British singer Sam Smith, who showcased his pipes during Sunday's ceremony, was awarded the favorite pop/rock male artist trophy.
That's not to say that homegrown artists were left out in the cold: Katy Perry, Beyonce and country stars like Luke Bryan also got their due.
But some stars shone brighter than others during what wound up being a rather tame affair. Once the AMAs were all said and done, here's who left everyone talking:
1. Taylor Swift
Talk about star power. On Sunday, music's reigning pop princess, Taylor Swift, received the Dick Clark Award of Excellence from none other than Diana Ross.
Swift, being the smart young woman she is, recognized the importance of having the trailblazer there, and honored Ross in her acceptance speech.
"I'm just so blown away to have just received an award from Diana Ross, who over the course of her career stood up for herself so many times in a time when it was not popular for a woman to stand up for herself," she said. "I'm so honored."
Swift, who performed her single "Blank Space" on Sunday, also thanked her fans for pushing sales of her new album "1989" well past one million. The album is not available on the streaming service Spotify, and during her speech for her Dick Clark award, Swift appeared to be sticking to her guns.
"What you did by going out and investing in music and albums is you're saying that you believe in the same thing that I believe in, that music is valuable and should be consumed in albums, and albums should be consumed as art and appreciated," Swift said.
2. Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez promised to perform her single "Booty" at the AMAs, and the singer/actress gave a set for the ages.
Iggy Azalea was there, too, but even she admitted that J. Lo (and her flexibility) stole the show.
Between her dance moves, outfit changes and very evident fitness, Lopez's routine was the ultimate mic drop.
3. Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez is known for elaborate dance numbers, too, but on Sunday she dialed it way back with an emotional performance of her single, "The Heart Wants What it Wants."
The slow-tempo track has lyrics that speak of an uncertain future, and the "million reasons" why she should give a certain someone up.
Considering the on-again, off-again relationship Gomez has had with Justin Bieber, it isn't a stretch to imagine that this song could very well be inspired by the Canadian pop star.
"More than anything, I'm just excited that people everywhere that are feeling what I feel and feel that, will get to see that," Gomez saidon Instagram before her set. "I just want people to be able to relate to that."
4. Fergie
It's been a while since we've seen Fergie take the stage, but the new mom returned in style at Sunday's American Music Awards. With an introduction from husband Josh Duhamel, Fergie hit her marks with her single "L.A. Love."
The one snag? Fergie had a minor wardrobe malfunction at the end of her performance. When she tried to suavely remove the jacket she was wearing, the clothing item ended up getting stuck to her rear for a beat before she could snatch it all the way off.
5. Lorde
The best thing about a Lorde performance is that it's always going to be uniquely her own.
The teen singer took the stage to perform "Yellow Flicker Beat" from "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part 1" soundtrack, and she completely rocked out, even beginning her set in a box.
6. Nicki Minaj, Jessie J and Ariana Grande
This trio turned in a golden rendition of their hit "Bang, Bang." Jessie J started the set in the audience, getting the crowd moving for what was a dance-filled performance.
Their routine was all the more impressive given that Grande had already blown the audience away with remixed versions of her singles "Problem" and "Break Free."
As far as who took home actual trophies, here's the list of 2014 winners:
Artist of the year: One Direction
New artist of the year: 5 Seconds of Summer
Single of the year: "Dark Horse," Katy Perry feat. Juicy J
Dick Clark Award of Excellence: Taylor Swift
Favorite male artist -- pop/rock: Sam Smith
Favorite female artist -- pop/rock: Katy Perry
Favorite band, duo or group -- pop/rock: One Direction
Favorite album -- pop/rock: "Midnight Memories," One Direction
Favorite male artist -- country: Luke Bryan
Favorite female artist -- country: Carrie Underwood
Favorite band, duo or group -- country: Florida Georgia Line
Favorite album -- country: "Just As I Am," Brantley Gilbert
Favorite artist -- rap/hip-hop: Iggy Azalea
Favorite album -- rap/hip-hop: "The New Classic," Iggy Azalea
Favorite male artist -- soul/R&B: John Legend
Favorite female artist -- soul/R&B: Beyonce
Favorite album -- soul/R&B: Beyonce
Favorite artist -- adult contemporary: Katy Perry
Favorite artist -- contemporary inspirational: Casting Crowns
Favorite artist -- electronic dance music: Calvin Harris
Favorite artist -- Latin: Enrique Iglesias
Favorite soundtrack: "Frozen"
Marion Barry, Washington’s ‘Mayor for Life,’ Even After Prison, Dies at 78
WASHINGTON — Marion S. Barry Jr., a sharecropper’s son and civil rights pioneer who became a flamboyant and polarizing mayor of Washington, went to prison on a cocaine charge and then recaptured City Hall in one of the most improbable comebacks in the history of American politics, died early Sunday in Washington. He was 78.
Mr. Barry died at United Medical Center in Southeast Washington just hours after he was released from Howard University Hospital on Saturday. He had admitted himself on Thursday, saying he did not feel well, although no specific medical problems were mentioned. The District of Columbia’s Medical Examiner’s office ruled that he died of heart disease.
Mr. Barry had various health problems in recent years, including undergoing a kidney transplant in 2009. His death comes just months after the publication of his autobiography, “Mayor for Life: The Incredible Story of Marion Barry Jr.”
Elected mayor four times — in 1978, 1982, 1986 and 1994 — Mr. Barry left the mayor’s office for good early in 1999 and then worked as an investment banker. But politics was never far from his mind. In 2004 he was elected to the District of Columbia Council from a hard-pressed section in Southeast Washington, a district he represented until his death.
Mr. Barry was a charismatic yet confounding politician. Admirers saw him as a Robin Hood who gave hope to poor black residents. His detractors saw a shameless rogue who almost ruined the city by stuffing its payroll with cronies and hacks and letting services decay. Indisputably, he was a political Lazarus with a gift for convincing his followers that their hopes and disappointments were his, too.
On Jan. 18, 1990, Mayor Barry was arrested in a Washington hotel room while smoking crack cocaine and groping a woman who was not his wife. The arrest, videotaped in an undercover operation, caused a sensation, but it was hardly a surprise: The public had known of his womanizing for years, and there had been rumors of drug use. Nor was he a stranger to the bottle.
Convicted of a misdemeanor cocaine possession, Mr. Barry was sentenced to six months in prison. His fall from grace was especially poignant for those old enough to remember the bright promise and idealism of his youth.
He was born on March 6, 1936, in Itta Bena, Miss. His father, also named Marion, died when he was 4, and his mother, Mattie, moved to Memphis, where she remarried. Her new husband, David Cummings, was a butcher, and she worked as a domestic to support eight children.
Young Marion picked cotton, waited on tables and delivered newspapers. He became an Eagle Scout and earned a degree in chemistry from LeMoyne College in Memphis in 1958.
His middle initial, S., originally stood for nothing, but in the late 1950s he adopted the middle name Shepilov, after Dmitri T. Shepilov, a purged member of the Soviet Communist Party. As a sophomore, Mr. Barry joined the LeMoyne chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and became chapter president his senior year.
While studying for his master’s degree at Fisk University in Nashville, he organized a campus N.A.A.C.P. chapter. Early in 1960, he helped organize the first lunch counter sit-ins in Nashville. That April, he and other student leaders met with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to establish the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Mr. Barry became its first national chairman.
After a year as a teaching assistant at the University of Kansas, he began studying for a doctorate in chemistry at the University of Tennessee. He abandoned his studies a few credits short and began working full time for S.N.C.C.
In June 1965 he moved to Washington, where reporters occasionally referred to him as a “dashiki-clad militant.” A powerful speaker and street campaigner, he began pressing for home rule for the District of Columbia. He had found fertile political soil, since residents had only recently won the right to vote in presidential elections and had virtually no say in governing themselves.
In 1967, Mr. Barry started a jobs program for poor blacks, winning federal grants worth several million dollars. He won his first election in February 1970, to a citizens’ board created to smooth relations between police officers and black residents. He was later president of the school board and a member of the City Council.
On March 9, 1977, he was shot during a takeover of a Washington office building by members of the Hanafi Muslim sect. The bullet narrowly missed his heart, but Mr. Barry was back at work by the end of the month.
The next year he ran for mayor and defeated the incumbent, Walter E. Washington, who had become the District of Columbia’s first elected mayor four years earlier, and the City Council president, Sterling Tucker, in the Democratic primary, making his election in November a certainty in that overwhelmingly Democratic city.
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