Ari Mandel attempted to auction off his spot in Heaven on eBay the online auction website.  Mandel a 31 year old atheist who was raised an Orthodox Jew created an auction for his after life residence on line could have received $100,000 if his auction was not removed by eBay due to violating the website’s auction regulations.

Read More Here

A former CIA operative who has been sent to jail for disclosing classified information to the press writes a letter from prison explaining his experiences.

His letter goes as follows:

“I’ve also had some luck in this regard. My reputation preceded me, and a rumor got started that I was a CIA hit man. The Aryans whispered that I was a “Muslim hunter,” but the Muslims, on the strength of my Arabic language skills and a well-timed statement of support from Louis Farrakhan have lauded me as a champion of Muslim human rights. Meanwhile the Italians have taken a liking to me because I’m patriotic, as they are, and I have a visceral dislike of the FBI, which they do as well. I have good relations with the blacks because I’ve helped several of them write commutation appeals or letters to judges and I don’t charge anything for it. And the Hispanics respect me because my cellmates, who represent a myriad of Latin drug gangs, have told them to. So far, so good.”

John Kiriako was sent to prison for dislosing the name of a covert CIA operative to the press as well as bringing to light several illegal interrogation techniques used by the agency.

Read full Story on HuffPost

As Reported by Mixxupyad.com

A mother and her son have done the unthinkable – they have fallen in love with one another. And now they want to marry since the mom is six months pregnant and expecting her son’s first child.

Betty Mbereko (40), who was widowed 12 years ago, has been cohabiting with her first child, Farai Mbereko (23). She confirms that she is six months pregnant and that she has decided it is better to “marry” her son because she does not want to marry her late husband’s young brothers, whom she says are coveting her.

Betty stunned a village court last week when she said the affair with her son had begun three years earlier. She said after spending a lot of money sending Farai to school following the death of her husband, she felt she had a right to his money and no other woman was entitled to it.

“Look, I strove alone to send my son to school and no one helped me. Now you see that my son is working and you accuse me of doing something wrong. “Let me enjoy the products of my sweat,” she told the village court.

Farai said he was more than prepared to marry his mother and would pay off the ilobola balance his father had left unpaid to his grandparents. “I know my father died before he finished paying the bride price and I am prepared to pay it off,” he said.

“It is better to publicise what is happening because people should know that I am the one who made my mother pregnant. Otherwise they will accuse her of promiscuity.”

But local headman Nathan Muputirwa says: “We cannot allow this to happen in our village, mashura chaiwo aya, (This is a bad omen indeed).

In the past they would have to be killed but today we cannot do it because we are afraid of the police.” He warned them to break off their marriage or leave his village.

They chose the latter and have left the village for an unknown destination.

Is it shocking that the IRS of all people would target a group that after all wants to put an end to them. It’s on par with with that genius who puts *?!# You Coppers as a bumper stick and wonders why he getting pulled over more often. Now I’m not condoning what the IRS pulled off, it’s a Federal organization that should investigate any group looking for Tax exempt status and make sure they are on the up and up. The abuse of their power leaves us all to wonder what else they might have been getting away with all these decades? Now Tea Party supporters we feel for your bleeding hearts this issue goes to the long arm of government, just make sure your house is all squared up wouldn’t want the tables to turn on you.

Its evident that dropping a famous person from a promotions contract for negative publicity is good PR for any company, so much so that it may  do as much as having that person promote your product in the first place.  In recent news we’ve heard that Pepsi/Mountain Dew has dropped lil Wayne as an endorser for recent song lyrics and most publicized Reebok has dropped Rick Ross from there endorsement contract for UNEO verse (rape lyrics).

If a company is tapping an artist it is because that company wants to reach that artists fan base and the fan base is there because of the artists content.  But if an artist with an endorsement deal must now curtail they art content to continue to appease the company offering the sponsorship deal they may loose their fan base because the quality of their material has changed, then the artist loses the fan base and consequently the artist will lose the endorsement.  Honestly would anyone not purchase a Pepsi or Reebok sneakers because the spokesperson has offensive material in their music?

Chris Kelly, 34, of the 90′s Hip-Hop group, Kriss Kross, was pronounced dead at Atlanta Medical Center around 8 p.m. eastern (5/01/2013), according to FOX4kc.com.

Though the cause of death has yet to be confirmed it is speculated that he suffered from a drug overdose of a combination of heroin and cocaine.  Kriss Kross was founded by  Music Producer Jermaine Dupri after seeing the 2 kids in an Atlanta shopping mall.  He would later sign them to a record deal and produce the ground breaking hip hop duo known for wearing there clothes backwards, a style that became popular during the groups heyday (early 90’s). Chris was found in his Atlanta home around 4:30pm by his cousin and was unresponsive.  After being rushed to the hospital he was pronounced dead at 5:00pm. Chris will be missed and we appreciate all they did for the sophomore years of hip hop.

“The American Dream” is like art, all the value is in the perceived value.  Profiting from that dream is also an art.  Often one who has not been born in to an opportunity rich environment is more appreciative or can better see the opportunities around them that others may take for granted.  Most will always find success if you remember that there is a market for everything somewhere and capitalizing on it is the dream actualized.  We are a nation of great sales people.  We can sell debt, prison space, celestial star names etc. It is the perceived value of what is around us that makes a salesman, if the seller believes it to be valuable he can make a consumer believe so as well.

The headline may have gotten your head “gassed” and understandably so.  The slightest inkling that a possible terror attack may be imminent is not taken lightly nowadays.  The Brookhaven National Laboratory will in fact be releasing a gas agent into the air in the NY area.  Luckily the gas will be invisible, odorless and oh yeah, harmless. On three separate days this July, the gases will be released into subway stations and the streets in all five boroughs of New York City. The reason their doing this is to understand how gas agents if used as an attack will behave in the NYC atmosphere.  The test will be conducted this summer with sensors setup all around the city to determine things like the direction of the gas, dissipation, concentration and overall impact on the great city.  This information will be used to determine the best course of action or a battle plan should the city ever be hit with a terror attack that utilizes gas as its method of destruction.  City officials will be giving ample warning as not to alarm residents of the 5 boroughs.

If we take a look at the lives of those who have blown the whistle on corporate or political conspiracy needless to say none have retired happily into the life of a moral hero and spent the rest of their lives on book tours and talk show circuits.  Frank Wills (Watergate Security Guard) won a NAACP award but got only (allegedly) a $2 a week raise for alerting the police to a break-in.  History is full of incidences in which those who blew the whistle on misconduct and illegal activities faced retaliation.  In 2007 during his first few days as a rookie New Jersey State Trooper, Justin Hopson witnessed an unlawful arrest and false report made by his training officer. When he refused to testify in support of the illegal arrest, his life veered into a dangerous journey of hazing and harassment. He uncovered evidence of a secret society within the State Police known as the Lords of Discipline, whose mission it was to keep fellow troopers in line.  Doing the right thing will always raise a moral dilemma but nowadays it will also raise concern for your safety. 

For a list of major whistleblowers: http://shar.es/JUkeb

As law enforcement begin bringing those responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing to justice, the evidence becomes clearer that before this incident the suspects were ordinary citizens like you and I just walking around.  First thing that comes to mind as I believe it will come to everyone’s is why would someone commit an act of terror or seek to destroy their homeland.  To cause chaos in your native country in some ways may be interpreted as self-destructive behavior. Whatever the explanation for their actions I dont expect it to make sense to anyone else but themselves, as people who hate are often unreasonable.  What is the reason, why do this, was there no other way???  As a US citizen I have often criticized my homeland as I’m sure everyone has yet being able to do so is proof that this place is a great place to be.  Rather than criticize we must become better citizens to improve our overall well being, and as citizens when angered with the system or the state of things, just do what the rest of us do…Blog

Linked thru history, rivalry, and now terrorism New York and Boston have undoubtedly seen there share of headlines. As the hours turn to days and still unanswered questions we as New Yorkers shed our tears with the Bostonians and as weeks come upon us we stretch our arms out to give support and strength in your time of need.

Jojo Simmons was approached and manhandled at a gas station in Queens, NY buy a “Bloods” gang member. He recently recorded a song in which he insulted Harlem/Dipset rapper Juelz Santana. Juelz has ties to the notorious street gang. While filling up he was approached and held at the location until he was made to call Juelz and apologize after which Jojo was allowed to leave unharmed. Jojo is a rapper from NY who is trying to follow in the footsteps of his famous dad, rap legend Reverend Run of The Rap Duo RUN DMC and his uncle Russle Simmons.

Here at culture variety were attempting to make our site “social” with a website experience without the “website experience”.  Often have crippling writers block…not for the lack of ideas but the total opposite. There is already a huffpost and a mediatakeout and about 100 million variations of the exact same thing, and I can speak for everyone here when I say that we would almost rather do nothing at all then to do the same damn thing.  So the question begs to be asked whats missing? Often the best things to create is something that people did not know they were missing…hence the block.