I Said Peanuts Not Penis ...

Is Zain Verjee a dirty girl?

Last Tuesday whilst trying to read a story about North West airlines serving peanuts to their customers, riveting news as that was, the CNN anchor stumbled on the word “peanuts” saying “penis” instead. Not once but twice.

Freudian slip?

Can’t totally blame her, peanuts and penis are very similar words and maybe she was just trying to spice up the story, although do we really want to be served a bag of penises?

Poor Zain, the guys in the newsroom will never let her forget this one. Too hilarious.

Green-Eyed Newsreader’s Email Hacking Causes Fall From Grace

Well this is one titillating yet appalling news tidbit.

It appears that seasoned news anchor Larry Mendte, 51, who worked for Philadelphia TV allegedly hacked into his co-anchor, 34 year old Alycia Lane’s email account some 500 times and leaked some of her personal emails to the media to try and disgrace her in any way he could. He played his part in helping to cause her downfall and ultimate sacking from the station.

Mendte, was reportedly so incensed and frustrated by Lane’s rise in her career and her higher salary (Lane was supposedly being paid $103,000 a year more than Mendte) that he felt compelled to shame her by breaking into her email account and somehow exposing her private notes.

Mendte apparently broke into her email at all hours of the day & night looking for something to implicate her and then allegedly sending what he could find to local gossip columns to publish.

Lane made easy fodder for Medte. Not one to shy away from causing her own commotions, Lane supposedly sent a photo via email of herself in a bikini to a former co-worker Rich Eisen which was inadvertently intercepted by his wife, Suzy Shuster. Shuster’s caustic retort to Lane was divulged through various gossip columns.

Another email leaked to the press told of an alleged drunken scuffle that Lane had encountered with the New York police which culminated in her arrest. Charges were eventually dropped but by then Lane had been fired.

Alycia Lane is now suing the station for unjust dismissal as well as suing Larry Mendte for invasion of privacy.

A station employee who came across a computer logged into Lane’s private email, two months after she had been fired, alerted the FBI. They in turn searched Mendte’s home and confiscated his computer resulting in Mendte’s sacking.

Mendte has now been fined $5,000, sentenced to six months house arrest and has been ordered to carry out 150 hours of community service.

A sickening story of jealousy and deceit which also brings to mind this quote by Socrates.

“Envy is the ulcer of the soul”

By all accounts, John Mendte’s ulcer must be colossal.