Merde! French Rapper Sparks Feminist Fury

Now it's 'madame,' whether married or not

(NEWSER) - There's no equivalent of "Ms." in French—and in one French town, there's no "Miss" anymore, either. The village of 16,500 is banning the use of the title "mademoiselle," long subject to controversy , on official forms; now, all women in Cesson-Sevigne will be called "madame" regardless of their marital status or age, the Los Angeles Times reports. "It's about eliminating all terms that could be discriminatory or indiscreet," said a town hall statement. More»

He says US foreign policy helps foster terror

(NEWSER) - Conservatives slammed President Obama for hosting Chicago rapper Common at the White House. Now Obama is taking criticism from a different Chicago rapper. "To me, the biggest terrorist is Obama, and the United States of America,” Lupe Fiasco told CBS in an interview noted by the Huffington Post . “I'm trying to fight the terrorism that's actually causing the other forms of terrorism.” He said “the root cause of terrorism” includes “the foreign policies that we have in place in different countries that inspire people to become terrorists.” More»

Women sick of catcalls, pressure for sex

(NEWSER) - French women are damn mad and they're not going to take it any more. So they're suddenly complaining, loudly and lots, about sexism. Complaints against the "casual" sexism many woman have come to accept have rocketed 600% since disgraced former IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn was charged with sexually assaulting a Manhattan hotel maid. Female politicians and businesswomen are beginning to speak out against the daily onslaught of sexist remarks they face from colleagues, reports the Independent . "The telephone never stops ringing," said one feminist group being contacted with complaints. "It's as if an invisible barrier has broken." More»

Rapper slams claims he was trying to look good ahead of court date

(NEWSER) - After T.I. talked a man threatening suicide out of jumping from a downtown Atlanta building, some are calling the move a publicity stunt—but that couldn’t be further from the truth, the rapper tells CNN . The video he made, which police played to the man and is credited with helping to save the man’s life, was not an effort to improve his image ahead of a hearing today that could send the musician back to jail, he says, calling such claims “preposterous.” More»

Looking to break into the biz? Use one of these pseudonyms.

(NEWSER) - With Diddy constantly changing his rap name, you might think all the good ones have already been used. But no: There are an awful lot of awesome pseudonyms still left, and Jesse Gissen lists his favorites on XXL :

• Sirius Black: “This bad ass dude from the Harry Potter series is known for practicing black magic, breaking out of prison and being able to turn into a werewolf. Seriously, it doesn’t get any better than this.”