Instagram fans moan over slap in the Facebook

NEW YORK — Facebook's $1 billion gobbling up of Instagram has sent disgruntled fans of the quirky photo-sharing app to the delete button.
Twitter and other online platforms buzzed Wednesday with depictions of Facebook as a corporate monster trampling over a defenseless community of creative, free-spirited types.
"Guess it's time to delete my instagram app before Facebook ruins it," Twitter user Charlie Robinson griped.
In another tweet, Jay El Nino Garcia moaned: "Nice facebook just bought instagram. Another thing to delete."
According to analysts at Crimson Hexagon, which studies social media content, just 12 percent of 201,000 relevant Twitter mentions of the takeover were positive. Ten percent registered "disgust" with Facebook and another 10 percent promised to quit Instagram.
Why the outcry?

Facebook is wildly popular and has the same basic mission as Instagram -- encouraging people to build virtual networks on which to share their lives.
But for Instagram's 30 million users, the cult-status app has a very different identity to the mass market Facebook.
Unlike Facebook, there is no advertising, and certainly no selling of users' personal details to advertisers. It's single-minded, pure.
Sure, the main point is to share snaps, which can be made to look cool with filters, but Instagram's mobile-to-mobile traffic is seen as safe from the privacy problems said to plague Facebook's advertiser-friendly pages.
"Its ability to let its users delicately toe the line between public and private gave us a little breathing room from the all-pervasiveness of Facebook, and to see it whisked away feels like a tangible loss," wrote Jenna Wortham on The New York Times tech blog.
"The sale of Instagram brings a harsh reality into focus, the realization that the secret rooms or private spaces online where we can share, chit-chat and hang out with our friends are fading. The few safe havens that do exist are quickly being encroached upon or are next on the shopping list for a company like Google, Apple or Facebook."
New York magazine compared Facebook to an alien spaceship and said that for "some users, this looks like a sellout. And that's because it is."
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg went out of his way to reassure Instagram purists that they needn't get their hands dirty.
On his own Facebook page, Zuckerberg noted that users can maintain their Instagram photos off Facebook and also keep their Instagram followers separate.
"We need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram's strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook," Zuckerberg said.
Zuckerberg may not be popular in all quarters of the global online world, but his announcement notched up over 140,600 "likes."
Among the many positive comments were "great decision" and "congrats!"
But even on Zuckerberg's virtual doorstep there were dissenters mourning the arrival of mega money into a cozy hipster world.
"A picture's worth a thousand words," wrote Peter RonPaul Kallman, crossing out "thousand

Zimmerman police video in Trayvon case raises questions

Forensic experts say newly released video by police of the man who shot Trayvon Martin raises more questions than it answers — but that's not stopping droves of amateur sleuths on TV, Twitter and Facebook from scrutinizing it anyway.
"I think the public should not draw any conclusions from this at all," said Grant Fredericks, a former police officer who headed the forensic video unit for the Vancouver Police Department.

The video should be just a fraction of the evidence available to police as they investigate George Zimmerman's claim that he shot and killed Trayvon, 17, after the teenager allegedly punched the neighborhood watch volunteer in the nose and slammed his head against the ground, Fredericks said.
The Feb. 26 shooting in Sanford, Fla., has brought national attention because Trayvon's family claims Zimmerman killed the unarmed youth after racially stereotyping him. Trayvon was black. Police say Zimmerman is white; his family says he is Hispanic.
Zimmerman's brother, Robert Zimmerman Jr., told CNN Thursday that reports his brother was chasing the teen are "absolutely false" and that he "was not patrolling the neighborhood. He was going to a store, Target."

Robert Zimmerman said the voice heard screaming on 911 tapes is that of his brother, who acted to save his own life. He said George Zimmerman "was very disappointed that none of the neighbors had come out" to help him. He said his brother would have been dead "if he had not acted decisively and instantaneously.''
The police security camera video shows Zimmerman exiting a patrol car and entering the Sanford Police Department about 35 minutes after the shooting. Images of Zimmerman's head and face reveal no obvious cuts or gashes, but at one point, a police officer inspects the back of his head. Zimmerman's lawyer, Craig Sonner, told NBC's Today the video supports his client's story because the officer may have been looking at an injury.

The public weighed in on social media sites. Many expressed disbelief at Zimmerman's claim that he fired in self-defense, and pointed to the grainy video as proof.
Trayvon's family and supporters say Zimmerman's lack of apparent injury in the video shows he lied about the teen attacking him.
Forensic video expert David Notowitz, founder of the National Center for Audio and Video Forensics, says much work remains before investigators can draw evidence from the video. "Right now, people are jumping to frantic conclusions," he said.

Kim Kardashian strips for lingerie line

Kim Kardashian flaunts her hour glass figure in a navy-blue two-piece from her Kardashian Kollection- the fashion line she started with her sisters Khloe and Kourtney.

Kim took to Twitter to promote the shoot and posted the snap with the caption: "Kourt, Khloe and I put on our favorite  bikinis for our new #KardashianKollection swimwear shoot!"

No doubt the curvy beauty looks ten on ten, however, her waistline seems unusually thin. Is this another case of airbrushing?

While Khloe (on Kim's right) is seen wearing a lace bikini with a sheer kaftan over the top, Kourtney dons a strapless bikini. Kourtney, who is preganant with her second child, shows no sign of a baby bump. Photoshop can certainly work wonders!
The shoot with the three beauties is done with a clouds and sea backdrop.

Kardashian Kollection Intimates line was launched two weeks back. During the launch, Kim had said: "My sisters and I are excited to reveal our new ad for our Kardashian Kollection Intimates! The intimates line is so gorgeous, comfortable and feminine and we are very proud of the line."

Earlier this month, the Kardashian sisters went topless in a racy photoshoot to promote their denim line for Sears.

Justin Bieber Vs. Lady Gaga: Fans Wage Epic War for Twitter Dominance

 Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga have unwittingly found themselves in a Twitter war, instigated by Bieber fans who want to knock "Poker Face" singer Gaga from her perch as Twitter's most-followed celebrity.

And to add insult to injury, the campaign to oust Gaga from her position picked up steam on Wednesday -- which, perhaps not coincidentally, is the chanteuse's 26th birthday.
A message tweeted on Sunday (pictured) explains the reasoning and methodology behind the micro-blogging jihad against Gaga's Twitter dominance.

"To all beliebers this is operation unfollow Lady Gaga," the message reads. "I'm sorry if your a 'little monster' but don't ou want Justin to be #1 followed on Twitter? Well here is the plan we all know that all beliebers with twitter follow Justin and we don't have to ceate a million accounts with this plan. First, it's simple to lok up Lady Gaga on Twitter. Next unfollow her. Simple! I'm not trying to trash Gaga or anything I am a fsan of her music but I think Justin should be #1 followed on Twitter! That's all but believers please spread the word for me okay? Thank you all that helped!"

For those unfamiliar, "beliebers" is the pet name for Bieber fans, and "little monsters" is the pet name for Gaga fans. The typos and grammatical errors in the above paragraph are said in context and preserved for flavor.

Since then the campaign -- which bears the hashtag #OperationUnfollowGaga -- has become a trending topic on Twitter and has sparked outrage throughout the Twitter community.

"Really Beliebers? That's pathetic," one Gaga fan scoffed.

"Beliebers trended #OperationUnfollowGaga so Justin Bieber becomes the most followed woman," another Gaga partisan cracked. "Stupid, since it's giving Gaga MORE followers."

Even Bieber fans have watched aghast as the campaign spread across Twitter like wildfire.

"I'm a Belieber and I won't unfollow Gaga. People who started this TT aren't real Beliebers, they're just sick people," a Bieber fan going by the Twitter handle "flow" lamented.

"Really? That's actually pathetic guys," another Bieber fan noted, fretting about what the trend might do the reputation of Beliebers everywhere. "And you wonder why we get labelled as 12 year olds."

So far, the campaign has been unsuccessful. Lady Gaga still sits atop the Twitter charts with 21,764,871 followers of this writing, compared to Bieber's 19,070,722, according to Twitter Counter. And while Bieber has gained about 164,000 followers in the past three days, Gaga too has amassed followers at an even faster rate, tacking on about 184,000 new Twitter fans in the same period.

Neither Bieber nor Gaga has yet spoken out about this none-too-civil war in the Twittersphere.

PIERS MORGAN VS. MADONNA

She Will Never Be on My Show!

Piers Morgan has banned Madonna from his show but the reason is a mystery.

Piers tweeted Tuesday night, "Welcome to Twitter.  You're still banned from my show.  Love Piers X."

After receiving that tweet, Madonna's manager, Guy Oseary, tweeted back, "Really?"and attached a letter from Piers' producer inviting Madonna to be a guest on his UK chat show.  

Piers then tweeted back, "Madonna has only been banned from my CNN show, not my UK show, which sent that invite.  But I'm now banning her from that too."

As for why the bad blood, sources close to Madonna tell TMZ ... Madonna has no idea why Piers is mad at her, adding, "She doesn't even know who he is."

Piers said in January, 2011 he banned Madonna from his show for life because she's been "an irritant in my life for 20 years."  The invite, therefore, on Piers' UK show, is baffling.

Transsexual rallies after disqualification of Miss Universe

VANCOUVER — A tall, blond and attractive transgendered woman kicked out the Miss Universe Canada pageant is urging her supporters to sign an online petition calling for her reinstatement.

Miss Universe Canada issued a brief statement last week saying Jenna Talackova of Vancouver, B.C., will not compete in the pageant because she didn't meet the requirements to compete, despite having stated otherwise on her entry form.

The six-foot-one-inch, 23-year-old beauty contestant is asking her Twitter followers to sign the petition, which maintains she was disqualified from the contest solely because she was born a male.

The petition, which already had about 22,000 signatures by Monday afternoon, calls the disqualification discriminatory and unjust.

During an interview for the Miss International Queen 2010 contest in Thailand, Talackova said she knew at a very young age that she was female and started hormone therapy when she was 14.

She says she went through gender reassignment surgery at 19.

Austin Carroll, Indiana High School Student, Expelled For Tweeting Profanity

An Indiana high school senior has been expelled for a Tweet he says was posted from home on his personal account.
"One of my tweets was, f--- is one of this f---ing words you can f---ing put anywhere in a f---ing sentence and it still f---ing makes sense," Garrett High School senior Austin Carroll told Indiana's NewsCenter.

The expulsion comes when Carroll is on the home stretch toward graduation. Carroll's mother Pam Smith said she doesn't agree with her son's Tweet, but doesn't agree with an expulsion either. To her, a suspension lasting several days is more appropriate.

Carroll says he doesn't think he should be punished by the school for what he posts on his own time and on his own computer. The student is finishing high school at an alternative school and will be able to graduate.

"I thought it was pretty funny, the school didn't think so, they thought it was inappropriate," Carroll told Indiana's NewsCenter. "I think it's inappropriate, too, but I just did it to be funny…. I just want to be able to go back to regular school, go to prom and go to everything that a regular senior would get to do in their senior year."

Carroll's expulsion follows another incident at an Indiana school in which two students faced similar disciplinary action in January for creating fake Twitter accounts impersonating their principal. Tweets from the accounts, the Indianapolis Star reported, were sexually and racially charged.

School districts across the country have implemented or are considering policies that opens dialogue on what the school's role is in social media and what action should -- or shouldn't -- be taken against what students and teachers post online outside of the classroom.
A bill that would allow schools to punish students for off-campus activities has advanced in the Indiana legislature, permitting schools to suspend or expel students for engaging in activities away from school and after hours that "may reasonably be considered to be an interference with school purposes or an educational function."

West Virginia recently adopted an anti-bullying policy that would punish students with detention or suspension for "vulgar or offensive speech" online if it disrupts school, and the U.S. Supreme Court last month let stand rulings that said schools could not discipline two Pennsylvania students for MySpace parodies of their principals that the students created at home.

A Kansas high school senior made the news when she tweeted disparaging remarks about Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, posting to her account, "Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot." Emma Sullivan was called into the principal's office, reprimanded and asked to write the governor a formal apology. Sullivan refused, and Brownback later issued an apology for his staff "overreacting" to the Tweet.

Disciplinary action for disagreeable online posts are not unique to students. A Florida high school's "Teacher of the Year" was suspended last August for an anti-gay post he wrote on his Facebook page. On the west coast, a new policy at the Los Angeles Unified School District states that teachers can be disciplined for "posting inappropriate, threatening, harassing, racist, biased, derogatory, disparaging or bullying comments toward or about any student, employee or associated person on any website."

Miley Cyrus - Miley Cyrus Engaged To Liam Hemsworth?

Miley Cyrus is rumoured to be engaged to Liam Hemsworth after being spotted wearing a diamond ring on her wedding ring finger.

The 19-year-old former 'Hannah Montana' star has posted a picture of her manicure on twitter - revealing a big rock parked on her left hand in the process.
The couple - who have been dating on-and-off for three years since meeting on the set of 'The Last Song', and have a puppy called Ziggy together - also attended Muhammad Ali's Celebrity Fight Night XIII in Phoenix, Arizona, on Saturday night (24.03.12), where Miley was once again wearing the jewel.
While one source tells US Weekly the ring is not an engagement ring, a second insider insists a wedding is definitely in the pipeline.

Talking to America's OK! magazine, the source said: ''They're still keeping it a big secret, but they're seriously talking marriage. Liam is crazy about her, though he hasn't proposed formally yet.''
And the news would reportedly be well received by Miley's parents Billy Ray and Tish.
The insider added: ''The whole family loves him. They know Miley's no angel, but she's much calmer with him in her life.''
A rep for Miley was unavailable for comment.

Bear running back Barber said he is retiring

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Chicago Bears running back Marion Barber said he plans to retire.
His decision, posted on the team's website Friday, comes one day after Michael Bush signed a four-year, $14 million contract to be part of a backfield that includes disgruntled Pro Bowl running back Matt Forte.

Marion Barber, who was drafted by the Cowboys in 2005 and played six seasons in Dallas, retired after a season with the Bears. Here's a look back at his career.

The 28-year-old Barber spent his first six NFL seasons with the Dallas Cowboys before signing with the Bears in 2011. He was a backup to Forte last season and then saw extensive duty when Forte sprained his knee in early December.

Barber had six touchdowns and 422 yards rushing last season, but will be remembered for two gaffes in a costly loss at Denver when he ran out of bounds as the Bears were trying to kill the clock, and then fumbled in overtime.

A fourth round pick of the Cowboys in 2005 out of Minnesota, the hard-running Barber gained 4,780 yards rushing on 1,156 carries with 53 touchdowns in his career. He also caught 179 passes for 1,330 yards and six touchdowns.

Barber, who had little to say to reporters during his only year in Chicago, told Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com: "I want to thank everyone who gave me the opportunity to play, and I'm very thankful to have had the chance to suit up for two of the NFL's most storied organizations."

"I want to thank everyone who helped me become a better player," Barber said. "I owe a lot to a lot of coaches, and am also very grateful to the owners and organizations I played for. Last but not least, I want to thank the fans for the support and inspiration they gave me."

Forte, who has not been able to reach a long-term contract deal and was given the franchise tag, was not happy when the Bears signed Bush.

On his Twitter account he said he had been disrespected after doing everything he'd been asked to do by the team. He later tweeted that he was not upset at the Bears signing another running back, adding that "undervaluing a player under his market value is another story!"