Elevator Knockout Video Ends Career of Ray Rice with Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens announced via their Twitter account that they have cut Ray Rice from the team after video of his physical assault of a woman in an elevator went public.

The #Ravens have terminated RB Ray Rice's contract this afternoon.
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 8, 2014

'Villagers' may recall that Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was suspended for two games in July following an indictment for felony aggravated assault against his then-fiancée Janay Palmer, and now TMZ has published video of the incident.



In the disturbing video, Rice and Palmer — who were married in March — are seen arguing outside of an elevator in an Atlantic City casino. They each take a swing at each other before Rice punches Palmer hard with his left fist, throwing her back into a railing and knocking her out cold. The rest of the video, parts of which surfaced in February, show Rice haphazardly dragging an unconscious Palmer out of the elevator.

Twenty-seven-year-old Rice received a two-game suspension for the incident, which many protested as far too lenient. In August, in response to the backlash, the NFL announced tougher penalties for players who commit abuse or assault: six games for a first offense, and a potential lifetime ban for a second.

As for the charges, Rice entered a pretrial intervention program instead of going to jail, and completion of the program could lead to the charge being wiped from his record completely.

This was a no-brainer once you see the video. It is unlikely that Ray Rice will ever play again in the NFL. What franchise would hire this guy? I suspect we'll see him fighting women in the WWE before long...

Perp Walk: Chad Johnson Arrested for Domestic Violence and Fired by Miami Dolphins

My 12-year old son has a poster of Chad 'Ochocinco' Johnson on the wall of his room. We live in the greater Cincinnati area and Johnson was the star of the Cincinnati Bengals for most of the years of my son's life. As such, it is with sadness that I've watched this man lose his way. Instead of working on his craft ... he tried to become a reality TV star. In fact, he married a reality TV actress, Evelyn Lozada, about a month ago.

His life decisions have been disastrous. He was arrested over the weekend for domestic violence. Johnson has been accused by his wife Evelyn of head butting her during an argument that took place over the weekend. The incident allegedly occurred during a fight over condoms that Evelyn found in Chad’s car. Evelyn was reportedly seen running to a neighbor’s house to get away from Johnson and called police from a neighbor’s phone.

When Johnson was arrested, Lozada was taken to a local hospital and treated for serious cuts to her forehead.

Now Johnson is out of the NFL. The Miami Dolphins cut him from the team and cleaned out his locker less than 24 hours after his arrest. I guess those were some very expensive condoms, huh?

Johnson should become a life lesson for many self-centered folks in sports and other industries. Focus on your craft. Develop your skills. Let your work speak for itself.

I need to buy my son a new poster. The one with Chad Johnson is being tossed in the trash.

Barack Obama Meets His Half-Brother, Mark Ndesandjo, in China

I was glad to see that President Barack Obama took some time while he was in China last week to meet with his half-brother, Mark Ndesandjo. [SOURCE]

Before President Obama headed to a formal dinner with China's President Hu Jintao, he set aside time to see his half brother and Ndesandjo's wife, who had flown up from the southern boomtown of Shenzhen where they live. The two last met in January when Ndesandjo attended Obama's inauguration as a family guest.

"My big brother, you know I think he was on his way to see the president of China. ... He came directly off the plane, changed some clothes and then came down and saw us. And he just gave me a big hug. And it was so intense. I'm still over the moon on it. I am over the moon. And my wife. She is his biggest fan, and I think she is still recovering," he said with a laugh.

The two last met in January when Ndesandjo attended Obama's inauguration in Washington, D.C., as a family guest.

The two brothers and Ndesandjo's wife, a native of Henan, China, had a long chat.

"All I can say is, we talked about family, and it was very powerful because when he came in through that door, and I saw him and I hugged him, and he hugged me and hugged my wife. It was like we were continuing a conversation that had started many years ago," Ndesandjo said.

The two men did not grow up together. Ndesandjo's mother, Ruth Nidesand, was Barack Obama Sr.'s third wife. President Obama's father had been a Kenyan exchange student who met his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, a Kansas native, when they were in school in Hawaii. The two separated two years after he was born.

The senior Obama later met Ndesandjo's mother as a graduate student at Harvard University, and the two returned to live in Kenya, where Mark and his brother, David, were born and grew up. David later died in a motorcycle accident.

Obama's mother went on to marry an Indonesian man and he spent part of his young life in Jakarta. His sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, is half-Indonesian and her husband is Chinese-Canadian.

Since 2001, Ndesandjo has been living in the booming southern Chinese city of Shenzhen near Hong Kong and earns a living as a marketing consultant. For most of that time, he has maintained a low profile, with few people knowing his connection to the U.S. president.

But two weeks ago, he went public to launch a new novel, a semi-autobiographical book called "Nairobi to Shenzhen" that features a protagonist who is the son of a Jewish mother and an abusive father from Kenya.

President Obama indicated in a recent CNN interview that he hadn't read the book yet. Villagers may recall that the president also wrote about his father, who abandoned him as a child, in his best-selling memoir.

Ndesandjo's book seeks to raise awareness about domestic violence. His father beat him and his mother when they were living in Kenya, Ndesandjo said. Obama Sr. died in an automobile accident in 1982 at age 46.

"For a long time, I had serious, serious reservations about using that name (Obama) because of the hurt I experienced," he said. Though he wanted to maintain his privacy, he decided to write the novel because "there are certain things you can do and you really should do because you know it will help people."

Villagers, we are blessed to have a president with such a 'rainbow coalition' family tree. I think that it is cool that President Obama took time to visit his brother. What say u?

'All He Has To Do' - Faylita Hicks, Spoken Word Artist

The issue of domestic violence has been in the news over the past few weeks. Faylita explores the many emotions and decesions a woman makes while in such a terrible relationship. The outcome of the poem is simply one of many possible real outcomes in our world.





Faylita Hicks is my young twenty-something year old cousin whose voice and poetry have been making waves in the Austin and San Marcos community for years now. She attributes her growth as a writer and performer to the diverse community of open mic venues, her family and friends, and of course, other poets.

What did you think about her spoken word on domestic violence?

Woman Jailed for 'Killing' Her Virtual Husband

My name is 'Villager Barbosa' in the virtual game world. I'm a novice. I haven't learned how to dance well in the virtual clubs. I don't have a place to live in the virtual game world.

However, others are much more experienced. Some folks can use their "avatars" that represent themselves, to engage in relationships, social activities and fighting monsters and other obstacles.

Some folks get buck-wild in virtual worlds. Players often abandon their inhibitions, engaging in activity online that they would never do in the real world. For instance, sex with strangers is a common activity.

Drumbeats from Jamal Ali pointed me to the story of a 43-year-old player in a virtual game world who became so angry about her sudden divorce from her online husband that she logged on with his password and killed his digital persona.

The woman, who has been jailed on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data, used his ID and password to log onto the popular interactive game "Maple Story" to carry out the virtual murder in May, a police official in Japan said.

"I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry," the official quoted her as telling investigators and admitting the allegations.

I've been divorced twice already ... I don't think I'll go that route in the virtual world! But, reach this way if you can teach me some dance moves in Second Life...

Soul Train's Don Cornelius Arrested for Domestic Abuse

Don Cornelius is 72-year old creator of Soul Train. He is also a fool that appears not to have learned any of the lessons from OJ Simpson about beating on his white wife.

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Police were called to his Hollywood Hills home late Friday after someone reported a domestic dispute, Officer Sam Park said.

The 72-year-old producer was taken to jail, where he was booked for investigation of felony domestic violence, Park said. He was released on $50,000 bail and ordered to appear in court next month.

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I imagine that Don Cornelius will become the poster child for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. What say u?