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2011-03-15T15:42:00.000-07:00

“She draws the whole family together,” said Pamela Fields, 52, a government specialist in United States-Japan relations. “Even when we hate each other, we all agree that we love the dog.” Her husband, Michael Richards, also 52 and a media lawyer, explained that the name Bashert comes from the Yiddish word for soul mate or destiny. “We didn’t choose her,” he said. “She chose us.” Their 12-year-old daughter, Alana, said, “When I go to camp, I miss the dog a lot more than I miss my parents,” and their 14-year-old son, Aaron, said, “Life was so boring before we got Bashert.” Trademarks Registration in Antigua and Barbuda

Yet Bashert wasn’t always adored. The Washington Animal Rescue League had retrieved her from a notoriously abusive puppy mill — the pet industry’s equivalent of a factory farm — where she had spent years encaged as a breeder, a nonstop poodle-making machine. By the time of her adoption, the dog was weak, malnourished, diseased, and caninically illiterate. “She didn’t know how to be a dog,” said Ms. Fields. “We had to teach her how to run, to play, even to bark.”

Stories like Bashert’s encapsulate the complexity and capriciousness of our longstanding love affair with animals, now our best friends and soul mates, now our laboratory Play-Doh and featured on our dinner plates. We love animals, yet we euthanize five million abandoned cats and dogs each year. We lavish some $48 billion annually on our pets and another $2 billion on animal protection and conservation causes; but that index of affection pales like so much well-cooked pork against the $300 billion we spend on meat and hunting, and the tens of billions devoted to removing or eradicating animals we consider pests.

“We’re very particular about which animals we love, and even those we dote on are at our disposal and subject to all sorts of cruelty,” said Alexandra Horowitz, an assistant professor of psychology at Barnard College. “I’m not sure this is a love to brag about.”

Dr. Horowitz, the author of a best-selling book about dog cognition, “Inside of a Dog,” belongs to a community of researchers paying ever closer attention to the nature of the human-animal bond in all its fetching dissonance, a pursuit recently accorded the chimeric title of anthrozoology. Scientists see in our love for other animals, and our unslakable curiosity about animal lives, sensations, feelings and drives, keys to the most essential aspects of our humanity. They also view animal love as a textbook case of biology and culture operating in helical collusion. Animals abound in our earliest art, suggesting that a basic fascination with the bestial community may well be innate; the cave paintings at Lascaux, for example, are an ochred zooanalia of horses, stags, bison, felines, a woolly rhinoceros, a bird, a leaping cow — and only one puny man.

Yet how our animal urges express themselves is a strongly cultural and contingent affair. Many human groups have incorporated animals into their religious ceremonies, through practices like animal sacrifice or the donning of animal masks. Others have made extensive folkloric and metaphoric use of animals, with the cast of characters tuned to suit local reality and pedagogical need.

David Aftandilian, an anthropologist at Texas Christian University, writes in “What Are the Animals to Us?” that the bear is a fixture in the stories of circumpolar cultures “because it walks on two legs and eats many of the same foods that people do,” and through hibernation and re-emergence appears to die and be reborn. “Animals with transformative life cycles,” Dr. Aftandilian writes, “often earn starring roles in the human imagination.” So, too, do crossover creatures like bats — the furred in flight — and cats, animals that are largely nocturnal yet still a part of our daylight lives, and that are marathon sleepers able to keep at least one ear ever vigilantly cocked.

Madoff Fund Operator De La Villehuchet Found Dead

2008-12-23T13:02:00.000-08:00

Thierry Magon de La Villehuchet, who ran a fund that invested with Bernard Madoff, was found dead today in his New York office in an apparent suicide, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. “Our investigative premise is that it was a suicide,” Kelly said in an interview. De La Villehuchet, 65, was found “with his feet propped up on his desk, a trash pail nearby to collect blood,” and no sign of a second person, Kelly said. The money manager had “multiple stab wounds” to his arms and wrists, a box-cutter and pills were found nearby, and no suicide note was found, Kelly said. De La Villehuchet was co- founder and chief executive officer of Access International Advisors, a New York firm that invested $1.4 billion with Madoff, who was arrested on Dec. 11 for allegedly running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

The death of de la Villehuchet, who founded Access in 1994 with Patrick Littaye, came as lawsuits mounted in connection with investors victimized by Madoff. Fairfield Greenwich Group, a hedge-fund firm that had $7.5 billion invested with Madoff, has been sued by investors for allegedly failing to protect their assets. A New York woman who says she lost most of her savings is seeking $1.7 million in damages from the Securities and Exchange Commission for Madoff losses. The tally of investors hurt by Madoff continues to grow. Pedro Almodovar, the Spanish film director known for movies such as “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” has about $280,000 at risk, El Economista reported. Credit Lyonnais

De La Villehuchet was chairman and CEO of Credit Lyonnais Securities USA, the U.S. investment banking arm of the French bank, according to Access marketing documents. Prior to joining Credit Lyonnais in 1987, he ran Interfinance, an international broker firm specializing in French, Belgian and Italian stock markets that he founded in 1983. Access managed $3 billion and had 26 employees according to marketing documents dated September, and its LUXALPHA SICAV- American Selection fund invested solely with Madoff. Access said last week that it was working with lawyers to assess the situation. UBS AG was LUXALPHA’s administrator until this year, and is no longer involved with it, said Karina Byrne, a UBS spokeswoman. Clients of Madoff had at least $36 billion with his firm, according to a Bloomberg tally that may include some double counting. Before his arrest, Madoff, 70, confessed to employees that his “giant Ponzi scheme” may have cost as much as $50 billion, according to an FBI complaint.

His misconduct may have stretched back to at least the 1970s, two people familiar with the government’s inquiry of Madoff said last week. Madoff is now under house arrest at his New York apartment.

Obama to Release Report on Blagojevich Contacts

2008-12-23T12:57:00.000-08:00

HONOLULU — President-elect Barack Obama plans Tuesday to release an internal review of the communications that his advisers had with the office of Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois, who is accused by federal prosecutors of seeking favors in exchange for filling Mr. Obama’s vacant Senate seat.Mr. Obama, who is on vacation with his family here in Hawaii, is not planning to answer questions or speak publicly about the report. The review, prepared by lawyers for the Obama transition team, will highlight the telephone calls and contacts that a small circle of Mr. Obama’s advisers had with aides to Mr. Blagojevich last month. It is scheduled to be released Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time, aides said. The report, according to three people familiar with its findings, is a memorandum that will lay out a narrative in about a dozen paragraphs the limited contact Mr. Obama’s advisers had with the governor’s office. Mr. Obama said last week that it was “frustrating” not to be able to answer questions, but said his review had found that his advisers were not involved in any inappropriate talks about the Senate seat.

Rahm Emanuel, the Illinois congressman selected by Mr. Obama as his White House chief of staff, had a handful of contacts with the governor’s office. At least two other names also are expected to be mentioned in the review, including David Axelrod, a senior adviser to Mr. Obama, who was the chief strategist of the presidential campaign.

Valerie Jarrett, a close friend to the Obama family who is a co-chairwoman of the transition effort, is also expected to be referred to in the report. Her name was raised as a possible candidate for the Senate seat, but she withdrew from consideration last month and took a position in the White House. The report, and the timing of its release, was a product of cooperation from the office of Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, who is leading the federal investigation into Mr. Blagojevich. But according to people familiar with the report, lawyers who compiled the Obama review did not have access to wiretapped telephone conversations between Obama aides and the governor’s office. Last week, Mr. Fitzgerald asked the Obama transition team to delay the release of its report so prosecutors could interview witnesses in the Blagojevich investigation. The office had yet to complete its interviews late last week, people familiar with the case said, and asked the Obama team not to release its report on Monday. It is unknown whether one of the leading unanswered questions will be resolved: Did Mr. Obama, through his aides, give Mr. Blagojevich a list of preferred candidates for the Senate seat? At a news conference three days after the election, Mr. Obama said he was staying out of the matter. “There are going to be a lot of good choices out there,” he said, “but it is the governor’s decision to make, not mine.”
Gregory B. Craig, the incoming White House counsel, helped prepare the report that is set for release on Tuesday. He has worked with the United States Attorney’s Office, which has repeatedly suggested that Mr. Obama’s staff is not suspected of any wrongdoing. The Obama report may not be the final word on the case. The review was compiled from memory by Mr. Obama’s aides, rather than from recordings of any phone calls. The taped conversations, which were picked up through the court-approved wiretapping of Mr. Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, will not become public until the case moves through the courts or goes to trial. Mr. Emanuel believes he was taped on a court-approved wiretap as he discussed the Senate seat, but has told associates he did not engage in any deal-making with Mr. Blagojevich.

SKorean lawmakers brawl over US free trade pact

2008-12-19T03:38:00.000-08:00

SEOUL, South Korea – Brawling South Korean lawmakers tried to sledgehammer their way into a parliamentary meeting room barricaded by the ruling party as the National Assembly descended into chaos Thursday over a free trade agreement with the United States.

Opposition parties were incensed by the ruling Grand National Party's move to submit the agreement to a committee on trade, setting in motion the process for the accord to win approval in the legislature.

Security staff and aides from the ruling party stood guard outside the room to keep opposition lawmakers away after the committee's GNP-affiliated chairman invoked his right to use force to "keep order" in parliamentary proceedings.

Scuffles broke out as dozens of opposition members and their aides attempted to push their way into the office. TV footage showed people from both sides shoving, pushing and shouting in a crowded hall at theNational Assembly building amid a barrage of flashing cameras.

Opponents later used a sledgehammer and other construction tools to tear open the room's wooden doors, only to find barricades of furniture set up inside as a second line of defense.

Cable news channel YTN reported that an electric saw was used to open the door. YTN footage showed security guards spraying fire extinguishers at those trying to force their way inside and one man

Obama chooses 3 more to take on financial reforms

2008-12-18T09:26:00.000-08:00

CHICAGO – President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday named three veteran regulators to help clean up financial debacles that he said occurred because government overseers "dropped the ball."

Obama wouldn't weigh in on whether he would support a decision byTreasury Secretary Henry Paulson to tap the second $350 billion installment of the $700 billion financial bailout program. Major auto companies are pleading for emergency aid, which could come from that pot.

"I think it's important that the Treasury, the Fed and all of us do whatever's required to make sure that our financial system is stable and secure," Obama said. But he added: "We cannot afford a collapse of our financial system. Main Street can't afford it." He said he would evaluate any Paulson signals about what is necessary.

As Obama spoke at a Chicago news conference rounding out his economic team, the White House said it is considering "orderly" bankruptcy as a way of dealing with the desperately ailing U.S. auto industry. President George W. Bush, asked about an auto rescue plan during an appearance before a private group, said he hadn't decided what he would do but also spoke of the idea of bankruptcies organized by the federal government as a possible way to go.

Oprah, HBO to team on movie projects

2008-12-17T02:19:00.000-08:00

Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Films has entered an exclusive three-year deal with HBO, the network announced Tuesday. Winfrey's company, which had worked with ABC for the last 15 years, will create scripted series, mini-series, films and documentaries for HBO. It isn't known yet when Winfrey's first HBO show will air, but Harpo executives will begin "brainstorming" with HBO's creative staff in early 2009.

"I think the question will be, how are we going to do everything [we want to do], and that will be a Class A problem," HBO co-president Richard Plepler said in a phone press conference with reporters. Kate Forte, president of Harpo Films, told reporters in the Tuesday phone conference that the "creative freedom" represented by HBO would allow Harpo to expand the kind of fare it comes up with. "There are natural limitations to being on network television," which is dependent on ratings and commercial sponsorship, Forte said. "HBO is not concerned with that. ... The measure of success for them is quality.

"For the last year and a half, every time I would bring a project to Oprah, she would say, 'This is perfect for HBO,' " Forte added.

OPEC Will Make Record Output Cut to Revive Oil Prices

2008-12-17T02:14:00.000-08:00

OPEC, supplier of more than 40 percent of the world’s oil, will reduce production by a record 2 million barrels a day to shore up prices as a global recession cuts demand, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is set to slash production quotas from 27.3 million barrels a day starting on Jan. 1, Ali al-Naimi, who sets policy in the world’s largest oil exporter, said before today’s meeting in Oran, Algeria. A formal announcement is expected once the meeting is over. quick divorce Oil’s $100-a-barrel collapse from July’s record prices has curbed revenue for producers, threatening government budget shortfalls. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah said last month that his country needs crude at $75 to spur development. Russia, the largest non-OPEC producer, may join the group in cutting output as global oil demand falls for the first time since 1983.

“Now, the question mark is non-OPEC cooperation,” said Mike Wittner, head of oil market research at Societe Generale in London. “More importantly, will the market believe that Russia or other non-OPEC” producers will agree to further reductions on top of declines that are going to happen anyway.

Russia may announce a 400,000-barrel-a-day cut in output to support the group’s action, Kuwaiti Oil Minster Mohammed al-Olaim said yesterday. Azerbaijan’s oil minister said today his country may lower production as much as 300,000 barrels a day.

Al-Naimi said the group’s rate of compliance with a previous output cut was 85 percent. Asked if the latest reduction would start from Jan. 1, the minister replied: “Yes.”

Manifa Start

Saudi Arabia’s Manifa oil field will start in 2011 only if consumers require the extra crude, al-Naimi said later in an interview. “When we need it, it will be there,” he said, adding that the start of the field depends on the “market situation.”

Crude oil for January delivery climbed as much as $1.90 to $45.50 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and traded at $45.46 as of 9:37 a.m. London time.

The price slump since July spurred OPEC to reduce output for the first time in two years when it met in October. The group deferred a decision on further cuts at its Nov. 29 consultative meeting in Cairo.

Today’s decision will exceed the 1.9 million-barrel cut agreed on in March 2000. That was a bigger reduction in percentage terms than today’s likely 7.3 percent cut because Iranian production was excluded from the quota at that time.

The meeting started today with an opening session at 9:30 a.m. local time in the Sheraton Hotel in Oran, followed by a closed-door session at 11 a.m., a lunch with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika at 1 p.m., and a further closed-door session later in the afternoon. A press conference is tentatively scheduled for 4 p.m.

Obama picks Vilsack as Agriculture secretary

2008-12-17T02:10:00.000-08:00

Reporting from Washington and Chicago -- Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who aggressively campaigned for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton before his state's caucuses in January, will be named Agriculture secretary by President-elect Barack Obama, three Democratic officials confirmed Tuesday. The formal announcement was expected this morning at a news conference in Chicago.

Vilsack declined to comment on the report. "Those questions should be answered by the transition office and the president-elect," he said. The former two-term Democratic governor has been a supporter of renewable energy and pushed for development of Iowa's ethanol industry. The state is one of the nation's top producers of corn and has a large meat-packing industry. During the campaign for the Iowa caucuses, Vilsack was the top Clinton official in the state and often appeared with the New York senator. He also frequently questioned Obama's preparedness for the presidency.

Obama's team takes shape

» A mixture of old a new faces make up the beginnings of the 44th president's administration. The nominations must be confirmed by the Senate.

But after Obama won the Democratic nomination, Vilsack campaigned for his general election effort in Iowa and other states.

Vilsack would be the fourth high-level appointment of a former presidential campaign rival to Obama's team, following Clinton for secretary of State, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden for vice president and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for Commerce secretary.

"He knows production agriculture, and he knows the changes we need to ensure its profitability and future, including for young and beginning farmers and ranchers," Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, said in a statement.

Iowa's Republican senator also endorsed the selection.

"He has a firsthand look at the role of agriculture in our global economy," Sen. Charles E. Grassley said in a statement. "I'm happy for him, happy for Iowa, and this is welcome news for agriculture."

A former mayor and state legislator from Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Vilsack campaigned for president himself, but dropped out of the race in February 2007 after just 86 days of campaigning.

While running for president, he took an unusual position for a farm-state official, arguing to cut subsidies for agricultural commodity crops and channel the money toward improving environmental practices. He has argued that agricultural policy should focus on production of renewable energy. He also wrote newspaper articles before the election in support of Obama's energy policies.

In an essay published in October, he urged greater investment in cellulosic ethanol, bio-fuel production plants and wind farms, and advocated "carbon credits" for farmers whose production reduces greenhouse gases associated with global warming.

Some advocates of organic food, meanwhile, have criticized Vilsack as being too supportive of biotechnology company efforts to market genetically modified foods.

In 1998, Vilsack was elected Iowa's first Democratic governor in 32 years. He won reelection in 2002 but did not run a third time, keeping a term-limit promise he had made.

A native of Pittsburgh, he was one of three finalists to be Sen. John F. Kerry's running mate in 2004.

Adam Walsh case is closed after 27 years

2008-12-17T02:03:00.000-08:00

Reporting from Hollywood, Fla. -- A dead man was officially named Adam Walsh's killer Tuesday, but not because of any new evidence or a deathbed confession.Police simply took another look at 27 years of tips, psychic revelations, often-botched police work and a serial killer's chilling admissions and decided it was time. Time to ease the suffering of the Walsh family and time to point the finger at the man Hollywood Police Chief Chad Wagner said had been the prime suspect all along: Ottis Toole.

"This is a process that is long overdue," Wagner told an audience that included Adam's parents, John and Reve Walsh. Wagner acknowledged that not much had changed since 1996, when Toole died in prison while serving a sentence for an unrelated murder. He had twice confessed to killing Adam and twice recanted.

"We could have charged him back then," Wagner said. "I've taken cases much weaker than this to the state attorney's office."

The announcement was long on drama and compassion for the Walshes, but it offered no new evidence against the drifter from Jacksonville, Fla., who passed through Hollywood on July 27, 1981. That was the day 6-year-old Adam disappeared from a Sears at the Hollywood Mall -- across from the police station -- while his mother shopped for lamps.

Adam's severed head was found two weeks later in Vero Beach, Fla., beginning a search that has haunted the Walsh family, Reve Walsh said Tuesday.

She thanked the family's three children, Meghan, Callahan and Hayden, who were born after Adam's death.

The abduction of a young boy from a busy shopping mall sparked fear among parents nationwide and changed the way police and the media responded to reports of missing children.

Wagner acknowledged that evidence was destroyed or overlooked and apologized to the Walshes for investigative mistakes.

Among the problems: Police lost a bloody carpet from Toole's 1971 Cadillac, then lost the car. They also missed leads, took poor investigative notes and didn't properly document evidence.

But the case led to improvements that law enforcement officials and children's advocates say have saved lives.

On Aug. 19, four days after Adam's funeral, the family established the Adam Walsh Outreach Center for Missing Children. It has since become a national clearinghouse for families and law enforcement officers dealing with reports of missing children.

The Walshes also lobbied for stronger laws before Congress and at the White House. John Walsh's television show, "America's Most Wanted," is credited with helping to solve hundreds of crimes.

"We can now move forward knowing positively who killed our little boy," John Walsh said. "I believe wherever Toole is, he's paying and being held accountable for his actions."

The lack of new evidence and the inability of Toole to defend himself won't quiet critics who said police got it wrong, Wagner said.

"If you're looking for that magic wand, that one piece of evidence, it's not there," Wagner said.

Consumer prices fall by record 1.7% Inflation for consumer products falls by a record in November for second-straight month, dragged down by falling e

2008-12-16T07:24:00.000-08:00

-- Consumer prices dragged down by plunging energy costs fell by a staggering amount in November, the government reported Tuesday.

The decline marked the second straight month that prices fell by a record amount.

The Consumer Price Index, a key inflation reading, fell 1.7% last month, according to the Labor Department. That was much weaker than October's 1% drop and exceeded the 1.3% decline forecast by a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

Prices fell by the greatest amount since the Department of Labor began publishing seasonally adjusted changes in February 1947.

Consumer prices have performed a virtual about-face in recent months. For most of the year, high energy prices have caused consumer prices to soar, reaching a 17-year high in July. But energy prices have fallen about 70% since then, as the credit crunch deepened.

Demand for consumer products has fallen precipitously in recent months, after the credit crunch exploded into a crisis in mid-September. Loans have been expensive and hard to come by for those who want to make purchases for big-ticket items, and consumer confidence remained near an all-time low in November, according to a recent Conference Board study.

Tuesday's report is just further indication that consumers have dramatically shifted their spending habits in the past few months, opting to save money or pay down debt rather than spend it. A separate report released by the Federal Reserve last week showed American household debt fell for the first time ever in the third quarter, as net worth dropped by the largest amount on record based on data going back to 1951.
Core inflation falls ahead of Fed decision

The closely watched core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, was unchanged last month. Economists had expected a 0.1% rise after a 0.1% drop in November. Core CPI posted a 12-month change of 2%, down from a 2.2% rise on that basis from the month before.

Core inflation is now at its lowest point since September 2005 and at a level that central bankers are typically comfortable with. It's believed that the Federal Reserve wants the 12-month change in core inflation to remain between 1% and 2%.

Food prices actually continued to rise very slightly - increasing 0.2% in November - but energy prices fell by a record 17% in the month. Gasoline prices fell by 29.5% in the month, according to the report.

Economists say falling prices have given the Federal Reserve more wiggle room for lowering interest rates, since those cuts tend to be inflationary. The Fed is expected to cut its benchmark rate to an all-time low of 0.5% Tuesday afternoon in response to deterioration in global financial system.

On Friday, a separate Labor Department report showed wholesale prices also fell in November as energy costs continued to decline

In Blagojevich Case, Is it a Crime, or Just Talk?

2008-12-16T07:23:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON — When Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the United States attorney in Chicago, announced the arrest of the Illinois governor, Rod R. Blagojevich, Mr. Fitzgerald said he had acted to halt a political crime spree that included what he called an “appalling” effort to sell off the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. But now some lawyers are beginning to suggest that the juiciest part of the case against Mr. Blagojevich, the part involving the Senate seat, may be less than airtight. There is no evidence, at least none that has been disclosed, that the governor actually received anything of value — and the Senate appointment has yet to be made. Ever since the country’s founding, prosecutors, defense lawyers and juries have been trying to define the difference between criminality and political deal-making. They have never established a clear-cut line between the offensive and the illegal, and the hours of wiretapped conversations involving Mr. Blagojevich, filled with crass, profane talk about benefiting from the Senate vacancy, may fall into a legal gray area.

Robert S. Bennett, one of Washington’s best-known white-collar criminal defense lawyers, said Mr. Blagojevich faced nearly insurmountable legal problems in a case that includes a raft of corruption accusations unrelated to Mr. Obama’s Senate seat. But Mr. Bennett said the case raised some potentially thorny issues about political corruption.

“This town is full of people who call themselves ambassadors, and all they did was pay $200,000 or $300,000 to the Republican or Democratic Party,” said Mr. Bennett, referring to a passage in the criminal complaint filed against the governor suggesting that Mr. Blagojevich was interested in an ambassadorial appointment in return for the Senate seat. “You have to wonder, How much of this guy’s problem was his language, rather than what he really did?”

In presenting his case, Mr. Fitzgerald said Mr. Blagojevich had crossed the line from deal-making to criminality, citing an example in the complaint in which the governor discussed with an aide obtaining a $300,000-a-year job from the Service Employees International Union in return for naming a candidate to the seat.

“We’re not trying to criminalize people making political horse trades on policies or that sort of thing,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. “But it is criminal when people are doing it for their personal enrichment. And they’re doing it in a way that is, in this case, clearly criminal.”

But politicians routinely receive political contributions in return for their decisions, whether they involve making appointments or taking a stand on legislation. Lawmakers vote in favor of bills and steer appropriations backed by their donors without fear that prosecutors will bug their offices and homes.

And while prosecutors have brought increasing numbers of political corruption cases in recent years, they have done so using laws that make it a crime for an official to deprive the public of “honest services.” The cases are based on statutes that never define exactly what conduct might be illegal and do not require proof of a bribe or a quid pro quo to establish criminal wrongdoing.

What those statutes do require is evidence that an official at least tried to seek something of value in return for an official action.

In the case of Mr. Blagojevich, it would be legal for the governor to accept a campaign contribution from someone he appointed to the Senate seat. What would create legal problems for him is if he was tape-recorded specifically offering a seat in exchange for the contribution. What would make the case even easier to prosecute is if he was recorded offering the seat in exchange for a personal favor, like cash, a job or a job for a family member.

Indeed the government has claimed the wiretaps show that Mr. Blagojevich told his aides that he wanted to offer the seat in exchange for contributions and for personal favors, including jobs for himself and his wife.

But talk is not enough. Any case will ultimately turn on the strength of the tapes, and whether the governor made it clear to any of the candidates for the Senate seat that he would give it only in exchange for something of value.

Several lawyers cautioned that the complaint presented last week was a snapshot of the evidence that Mr. Fitzgerald had amassed so far, in an investigation that is continuing.

In moving to arrest Mr. Blagojevich on Dec. 9, Mr. Fitzgerald acted without having presented his case before a grand jury. He is now likely to use such a panel to obtain additional witness testimony exploring whether anyone, including anyone in the Obama camp, had specific discussions with the governor’s office about filling the vacancy.

Mr. Fitzgerald’s decision to bypass a grand jury initially could signal a belief on his part that he did not yet have a fully prosecutable case on his hand, though it appears to have been prompted at least in part by the publication in The Chicago Tribune on Dec. 5 of an article that tipped off Mr. Blagojevich that investigators were listening in on his conversations.

Mr. Fitzgerald has also said he had been worried that if he did not intervene, Mr. Blagojevich might go ahead with some of his schemes, including appointing a successor to Mr. Obama.

In the wiretaps cited in the complaint, Mr. Blagojevich talked about what he said was an urgent need for political contributions and favors, but it was not clear whether he took concerted action to actually obtain anything in return for the seat. Several lawyers said Mr. Fitzgerald might need more evidence to prosecute Mr. Blagojevich over the issue.

“It’s a very difficult case for a number of reasons; not the least is the nebulous nature of the charges and the inherently difficult issues when you’re talking about a person executing his First Amendment right to promote a particular politician,” said Michael D. Monico, a former federal prosecutor who is now a criminal defense lawyer in Chicago.

“Merely thinking about something is not a crime,” said Mr. Monico, a lawyer for Christopher Kelly, a former Blagojevich fund-raiser who was indicted last year on tax charges “Just talking about something is not a crime. You need another action for someone to commit a crime.”

Water managers review Florida-U.S. Sugar deal

2008-12-16T07:21:00.000-08:00

Water managers review Florida-U.S. Sugar deal

Water managers began their final review Tuesday morning before a crucial vote on the state's $1.34 billion bid to buy U.S. Sugar's sprawling farm fields.

On the eve of a crucial and still-uncertain vote, Gov. Charlie Crist sent a letter to the South Florida Water Management District's governing board, urging them to back what he called an ''unprecedented'' opportunity that would pay dividends from the Everglades to Florida Bay for centuries. ''The historic nature of this moment cannot be lost,'' he wrote.

But a grim economic forecast, along with growing opposition from state lawmakers and Glades-area communities, post significant hurdles to approval.

Because of a decline in property values and tax revenues, the board will face unanticipated budget cutting in coming years -- up to 22 percent and $100 million a year. That could undermine what appeared to be shaky board support for the state's bid to convert a swath of Big Sugar land into Everglades restoration projects.

The deal's numbers looked starkly more daunting than in June when Crist proposed a blockbuster buyout of the state's largest sugar grower. Then, based on predictions of growing revenue, district money managers calculated that an even-more expensive $1.75 billion deal to acquire the entire company could be done without raising property taxes or cutting operations.

''Six months ago, people worked for Lehman Brothers. Six month ago, AIG was the largest insurance company in the world. Six months ago, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were on solid ground,'' said Charles Dauray, one of seven board members. ``We've had incredible change, including this country going into hock for $2 trillion.''

Other key numbers also have changed.

Factoring in a lease that will let the company continue to farm the land at $50 an acre for seven years, or about a quarter of market rates, two new appraisals put the value of U.S. Sugar's 180,000 acres at about $1 billion -- roughly $300 million less than before. Rising interest rates could add hundreds of millions in bond costs and push the price over 30 years to as much as $3.4 billion.

Board member Shannon Estenoz, an environmental activist from Plantation, cautioned that appraisals didn't fully reflect the value of a deal that could go a long way toward resolving water-storage and pollution problems that have damaged the Glades, rivers, estuaries and bays across South Florida.

''This isn't just a purely business decision,'' she said.

Still, the sobering economic climate is likely to play a big role in the decision.

In three scenarios, the water management report forecast spending cuts of 2 to 22 percent over the next two years. The most likely one showed revenues falling by nearly 9 percent and the agency's spending power plunging by nearly 20 percent, or $88 million, by 2010.

If that happened, district financial experts said, the land buy would trigger subsequent cutbacks in ''core operations,'' which include an array of work from Everglades research to the purchase of flood-control equipment.

The dire forecast underlined warnings from critics, who argue the state is rushing into a bad deal that they say will cost the state too much and cost rural communities jobs. U.S. Sugar has set a Tuesday deadline for the board to approve the deal.

Business leaders from Clewiston, supported by high schoolers bused in for the Monday hearing in the district's West Palm Beach headquarters, urged the board to reject the deal or postpone the vote and try to coax U.S. Sugar back to the bargaining table.

Gaylon Lawrence Jr., one of the owners of a Tennessee-based agricultural concern that is trying to buy U.S. Sugar, told the board the state could cut a better, cheaper deal with his company.

''You've got an all-or-nothing deal here,'' he said. ``It's not fair to the community. It's not fair to the Everglades.''

On Tuesday, Rep. Denise Grimsley, R-Lake Placid, plans to take the extraordinary step of speaking against the deal via a recorded video message.

Crist, in his letter, pledged to support a so-called ''inland port,'' a trucking storage and shipping hub sought by Glades-area communities and businesses, including U.S. Sugar rival Florida Crystals, which is fighting the land deal.

Mark Kraus, senior vice president of the Everglades Foundation, urged the board to consider the broader benefits the land buy will eventually provide.

''I've heard repeatedly, this costs too much,'' he said. ``I'd ask you to consider this: What is the water supply worth? What is a restored Everglades worth?''

Miami Herald staff writers Mary Ellen Klas and Marc Caputo contributed to this story.

Nearly 600,000 Canadian jobs would be lost with collapse of Big Three: report

2008-12-16T07:19:00.000-08:00

TORONTO - Canada would lose nearly 600,000 jobs within five years if the Big Three automakers completely shut down, according to a report prepared by the Ontario government.

The 11-page report projects a bleak economic picture for the province and the rest of the country if the automakers went out of business.

Effects on employment would be felt right away, the report states, with Canada losing 323,000 jobs if production ceased immediately, 281,800 in Ontario alone, the report forecasts. Those figures would climb in five years to 582,000 jobs nationally in 2014, 517,000 of those in Ontario.

A cut in production by 50 per cent would eliminate 157,400 jobs nationally immediately, 141,000 in Ontario. By 2014, 296,000 jobs would be lost, 269,000 in Ontario.

The depreciation of the dollar, lower interest rates and lower production costs eventually help the economy to partially recover but the loss of the Detroit Three leaves a permanent dent in Canada's economy in terms of jobs and output, the document says.

The collapse of the Big Three would have far reaching effects, including a reduction in production by the Canadian automotive parts industry of 80 per cent, the report predicts.

The Canadian subsidiaries of the Detroit Big Three automakers had asked Ottawa and Ontario for financial aid that could total as much as $6 billion.

Last Friday, the federal government and Ontario reached a deal to offer $3.3 Billion Cdn to Canada's auto industry, contingent on the approval of a proposed $14-billion US aid package in Washington.

The U.S. bailout package collapsed in the Senate on Thursday night. But the White House has said it is considering using money from the $700-billion US Wall Street rescue fund to support the domestic automakers.

Best Middle-Class Housing Markets

2008-12-16T07:14:00.000-08:00

Four years of tuition plus room and board at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., costs $190,000. It's expensive, but an Ivy League education is usually a good investment. So, apparently, is a median-level home there. It's $179,000, up 5.9% over the last year. While luxury beachfront condos and Rust Belt homes fall into foreclosure around the country, an often overlooked corner of the market is the middle class sector. In Ithaca, it's the strongest nationwide, according to Zillow.com, a research firm that draws data from multiple listing services. It's the same story in Winston-Salem, N.C., Utica, N.Y., and Spartanburg, S.C. Home prices in the middle of these markets are up 3.4%, 3.3% and 3%, respectively. Over the same period of time the national market dropped 16%, according to the S&P Case-Shiller Index.

In Depth: Best Middle-Class Housing Marketshousing.jpg

Credit affordable prices that resisted the boom: None of the cities on our list have median home prices over $180,000, which means prices didn't grow beyond what the core of the market could afford. Often, housing-price growth is the result of rising wages and jobs. In Dallas, for example, jobs have grown every month since February 2004, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

In Little Rock, Ark., jobs and wages have grown every month since January 2003, according to the BLS. That solid economic foundation, especially in an affordable market with pro-growth zoning policies that keep the price of land low, means more homeowners who can afford mortgage payments.
Behind the Numbers

Using data from Zillow.com, we looked at the country's 165 largest Census-defined metro areas for housing markets where the middle 50% was outperforming the local market as a whole. In Dallas, for example, the middle of the market--which won't get you into Highland Park, but includes neighborhoods like Oak Lawn--has grown 1.2% over the last year, while metro-area prices have risen only 0.1%.

Ditto Little Rock, where the middle-class housing stock grew in value by 2.5%year over year, while the broader market increased by a paltry 0.8%.

One reason middle class markets have kept their values has to do with a lack of foreclosures. According to Stan Humphries, vice president of data and analytics at Zillow.com, these markets "are adding a whole lot of inventory--and low-priced inventory," which drags prices down. But since the spots on our list resisted the boom, they are not as foreclosure-rich as places where prices--and mortgages--rose.

In Sacramento, Calif., for example, one the nation's foreclosure epicenters, middle-tier prices are down 18%, which hurts, but not as much as the 30% drop in the bottom quarter of the market.

Investment in condos has also hurt metro areas as speculators pumped money into new construction only to see prices drop and buyers flee. Middle class markets have remained relatively immune to this trend since condo speculation in revitalized downtown areas and luxury developments has been concentrated among those buying in the higher end of the housing market.

"The two markets are not really linked," says Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, a Manhattan residential real estate appraisal firm. "What drove the condo market was different than what drives single-family homes."

But the stable home values of some of the country's middle class markets could soon change. Now that the U.S. is in a recession, national unemployment rests at 6.5%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while cities like Detroit and Los Angeles have unemployment rates of 10% and 8%, respectively. When people lose their jobs and can't find work, they tend not to move up from a starter home to a middle-tier home, which could lead to price declines in the very areas that have resisted fast growth. Once people stop moving up within a market, the volume of transactions slows down, leading to price declines. quick divorce

"What's happening in the larger economy is going to seriously constrain the ability of those markets to rebound," says Humphries. "And additional stress is something that some markets won't be able to deal with."

Animated 'Delgo' Has Worst Wide Release Opening Ever

2008-12-16T07:12:00.000-08:00

Delgo Don't feel too left out if you missed seeing the animated adventure movie "Delgo" this past weekend. No one did. In fact, the movie broke a record for having the worst opening ever for a film in wide release. "Delgo" earned a measly $511,920 this weekend on 2,160 screens, not even breaking the top ten. That's an average of $237 per screen for the three days. If you figure there were five screenings a day, and assume ticket prices are about $8, that comes out to two people in the theater per showing. By comparison, the Golden Globe-nominated drama "Doubt" earned roughly the same amount of money, but it was only in 15 theaters.

This is all too bad because the story of the making of "Delgo" has the makings of a great Hollywood underdog story. 36-year-old entrepreneur Marc Adler decided he wanted to direct and produce a $40 million computer animated kids' flick completely independent of Tinseltown behemoths like Disney and Dreamworks.

Starting in 2001, Adler and his small Atlanta-based animation company Fathom Studios toiled for years on a tight budget. They lined up an impressive, if eclectic, cast of voice actors including Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Val Kilmer, Malcolm McDowell, Kelly Ripa, and Anne Bancroft in her final role (she died in 2005). And when Adler couldn't get a Hollywood studio interested in his movie, he raised eyebrows by releasing it himself through distributor-for-hire Freestyle Releasing. It was a huge risk; one that ultimately didn't pay off. There wasn't the sort of marketing budget needed to make a film stand out in the already crowded holiday movie season.

Another problem was the quality of the movie. Or lack thereof. The story -- star-crossed lovers squaring off against an evil queen on a fanciful world divided between a reptilian people who can move rocks with their minds and a sprite-like folk who like dragons -- borrows liberally from "Star Wars," "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Dark Crystal," just without the charm and intelligence. The script required the efforts of six, count 'em, six screenwriters, including Adler. The critics trashed it, giving it a dreadful D average on Yahoo!, which proved to be lethal.

"Delgo" is not the only major wide release bomb of the year. Three of the ten worst openings for films in over 2000 locations came out this year. The raunchy teen sex comedy "College" and the thriller "Deception," starring Hugh Jackson and Ewan MacGregor, both tanked, garnering the sixth and ninth worst openings ever respectively. In both of those cases, the studios dumped the movies with little fanfare rather than spend millions on marketing a stinker. Here is Box Office Mojo's list of the ten biggest wide release bombs:

Obama clears himself and staff in Blagojevich case

2008-12-16T02:23:00.000-08:00

Reporting from Washington and Chicago -- Barack Obama said Monday that an internal investigation had found his staff had no inappropriate conversations with Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich over who would succeed the president-elect in the Senate. But Obama said the review of his staff's contacts would not be made public until next week at the request of federal prosecutors, who are investigating whether Blagojevich put Obama's Senate seat up for sale. Obama's comments came as Illinois state lawmakers moved to impeach Blagojevich. The Illinois House voted 113 to 0 to create an investigations committee to consider allegations that the governor, a Democrat, had abused his office. "We plan to proceed without delay," said House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, who is also head of the state's Democratic Party.

In addition to allegedly trying to enrich himself through his power to name Obama's Senate successor, Blagojevich is accused in a criminal complaint of scheming to exchange state favors for campaign funds and of plotting to get Chicago Tribune editorial writers fired for writing pieces critical of him.

Ignoring a chorus of calls for his resignation, Blagojevich reported to work Monday and signed a bill giving tax credits to filmmakers who do work in Illinois.

The scandal has become a distraction for Obama during what had been a smooth transition.

The Chicago Tribune has reported that at least one senior member of Obama's staff, Rahm Emanuel, who will be White House chief of staff, had conversations with Blagojevich's administration about who would replace Obama in the Senate. Sources did not suggest that Emanuel was involved in any discussions about making a deal.

Obama's transition office said in a statement Monday that the internal review had "affirmed" the president-elect's comments that he had not talked directly with Blagojevich or his office and that Obama's staff "was not involved in inappropriate discussions with the governor or his staff."

Obama has promised to release the review. But he said it would not be made public until next week at the request of U.S. Atty. Patrick J. Fitzgerald, who is leading the Blagojevich investigation.

"Those facts will be forthcoming to all of you in due course," Obama said at the news conference. "We just want to make sure we're not interfering with an ongoing and active investigation."

Fitzgerald released a statement backing up Obama's account that a delay had been requested.

"After the president-elect announced an internal transition team investigation, the United States attorney's office requested a brief delay of the release of a report of that investigation to conduct certain interviews," Fitzgerald said in the statement.

One former Justice Department official said prosecutors often wanted to control what was publicly known about the statements of witnesses.

"Information may be released about what one witness says that could compromise the effectiveness of interview or grand jury testimony of other parties to that conversation," said George Terwilliger, a former deputy attorney general.

"Prosecutors never want somebody else mucking around in what they're doing and releasing the results of their own inquiries, whether it's a private company, the Congress or, in this case, a political operation," he said.

Political strategists said the delay would be helpful to Obama, moving the release of new information into a week when people will be more focused on Christmas.

"From a public relations standpoint, it mitigates the exposure somewhat," said Thom Serafin, a Chicago-based political and media advisor. "The unfortunate thing for the president-elect right now is that he's operating out of Chicago, which is ground zero right now."

Parsons is a writer in our Washington bureau. McCormick writes for the Chicago Tribune.

Tara Reid's strapping new style

2008-12-15T18:29:00.000-08:00

Tara Reid was taking no chances of having another wardrobe malfunction - like that errant strap that exposed a recently operated-on breast a few years ago - at the 16th Annual Music Video Production Awards. No cleavage shows from the front of her demure navy blue dress. And from the back, it looked more like a straitjacket. Talk about buckling up for safety.

Photo Credits: Tara's playful puppies are not going anywhere. They're strapped in real good.
Todd Williamson/WireImage

Family: Shoe thrower hates both US, Iran role

2008-12-15T18:23:00.000-08:00

BAGHDAD – The Iraqi TV reporter who hurled his shoes at George W. Bush was kidnapped once by militants and, separately, detained briefly by the U.S. military. Over time, Muntadhar al-Zeidi, a 28-year-old unmarried Shiite, came to hate both the U.S. military occupation and Iran's interference in Iraq, his family told The Associated Press on Monday.

Al-Zeidi's act of defiance Sunday transformed an obscure reporter from a minor TV station into a national hero to many Iraqis fed up with the nearly six-year U.S. presence here, but also fearful that their country will fall under Iran's influence once the Americans leave.

Several thousand people demonstrated in Baghdad and other cities to demand al-Zeidi's release. The attack was the talk of the town in coffee shops, business offices and even schools — and a subject across much of the Arab world. A charity run by the daughter of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi bestowed a medal of courage on al-Zeidi, calling on the Iraqi government to free him.

Al-Zeidi was held Monday in Iraqi custody for investigation and could face charges of insulting a foreign leader and the Iraqi prime minister, who was standing next to Bush. Conviction carries a sentence of up to two years in prison or a small fine — although it's unlikely he would face the maximum penalty given his newfound cult status in the Arab world.

Bush was not hit or injured in the attack, and Iraqi security guards wrestled al-Zeidi to the ground immediately after he tossed his shoes. White House press secretary Dana Perino suffered an eye injury when she was hit in the face with a microphone during the melee.

Arab satellite TV networks repeatedly broadcast images of Bush ducking the shoes at the Baghdad press conference. The sight of an average Arab standing up and making a public show of resentment was striking — especially against a leader widely blamed for a litany of crimes including the turmoil in Iraq, where tens of thousands of civilians have died in the war.

A geography teacher at a Baghdad elementary school asked her students if they had seen the footage of the shoe-throwing. "All Iraqis should be proud of this Iraqi brave man, Muntadhar. History will remember him forever," she said.

A day after the incident, al-Zeidi's three brothers and one sister gathered in al-Zeidi's simple, one-bedroom apartment in west Baghdad. The home was decorated with a poster of Latin American revolutionary leader Che Guevara, who is widely lionized in the Middle East.

Family members expressed bewilderment over al-Zeidi's action and concern about his treatment in Iraqi custody. But they also expressed pride over his defiance of an American president who many Iraqis believe has destroyed their country.

"I swear to Allah, he is a hero," said his sister, who goes by the nickname Umm Firas (mother of Firas, her oldest son), as she watched a replay of her brother's attack on an Arabic satellite station. "May Allah protect him."

The family insisted that al-Zeidi's action was spontaneous — perhaps motivated by the political turmoil that their brother had reported on, plus his personal brushes with violence and the threat of death that millions of Iraqis face daily.

Al-Zeidi joined Al-Baghdadia television in September 2005 after graduating from Baghdad University with a degree in communications. Two years later, he was seized by gunmen while on an assignment in a Sunni district of north Baghdad.

He was freed unharmed three days later after Iraqi television stations broadcast appeals for his release. At the time, al-Zeidi told reporters he did not know who kidnapped him or why, but his family blamed al-Qaida and said no ransom was paid.

In January he was taken again, this time arrested by American soldiers who searched his apartment building, his brother, Dhirgham, said. He was released the next day with an apology, the brother said.

Those experiences helped mold a deep resentment of both the U.S. military's presence here and Iran's pervasive influence over Iraq's cleric-dominated Shiite community, according to his family.

"He hates the American physical occupation as much as he hates the Iranian moral occupation," Dhirgham said, alluding to the influence of pro-Iranian Shiite clerics in political and social life. "As for Iran, he considers the regime to be the other side of the American coin."

That's a view widely held among Iraqis — including many Shiites — who believe the Americans and the Iranians have been fighting a proxy war in their country through Tehran's alleged links to Shiite extremists.

Al-Zeidi may have also been motivated by what a colleague described as a boastful, showoff personality.

"He tried to raise topics to show that nobody is as smart as he is," said Zanko Ahmed, a Kurdish journalist who attended a journalism training course with al-Zeidi in Lebanon.

Ahmed recalled that al-Zeidi spoke glowingly of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose followers organized protests Monday to demand his release.

"Regrettably, he didn't learn anything from the course in Lebanon, where we were taught ethics of journalism and how to be detached and neutral," Ahmed said.

Obama: Review shows no inappropriate contact

2008-12-15T18:18:00.000-08:00

CHICAGO – President-elect Barack Obama said Monday a review by his own lawyer shows he had no direct contact with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich about the appointment of a Senate replacement, and transition aides did nothing inappropriate.

Obama pledged to make the review public, but said he decided to hold off because prosecutors asked for a delay and "I don't want to interfere with an ongoing investigation." U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald released a statement confirming the request. Controversy has swirled around the president-elect and his incoming White House chief of staff, Rep. Rahm Emanuel, following Blagojevich's arrest last week on charges he schemed to trade Obama's Senate seat for personal gain. quick divorce Obama, fielding questions at a news conference, sidestepped when asked whether Emanuel had spoken with aides to the governor about potential Senate appointees.

Emanuel was one of several aides who watched the news conference from the wings.

The president-elect pledged the results of the investigation by his incoming White House counsel, Gregory Craig, would be released "in due course."

He said the probe was complete and thorough, but did not say which of his aides Craig interviewed, whether any of them was under oath at the time, or any other details.

In personally disclosing the results of the investigation he ordered, Obama said, "As I said in a press conference last week, I had no contact with the governor's office and I had no contact with anybody in the governor's office. What I indicated last week was there was nothing that my office did that was in any way inappropriate or related to the charges that have been brought."

Blagojevich has authority under Illinois state law to name a Senate replacement for Obama, who resigned his seat as he prepares to become president. Senate Democrats have warned the governor not to use his power, hinting they may refuse to allow his selection to take the oath of office.

There also has been talk of the legislature passing a law that would strip the governor of the power to name a replacement, and call for a special election instead.

Separately, Blagojevich has come under heavy pressure to resign, from Obama as well as Democrats nationally and in Illinois. Earlier in the day, the Legislature took the first step toward possible impeachment.

Obama held his news conference shortly after his transition office released a statement by spokesman Dan Pfeiffer saying the internal review had found no wrongdoing.

Like the president-elect, the statement left several issues uncovered.

It did not say whether Emanuel was heard on a wiretap providing the governor's top aide with a list of names that the president-elect favored. Nor did it say who, if anyone, on Obama transition's team had made contact with the governor or his aides concerning a replacement for Obama or whether Craig interviewed people under oath, or to whom he talked.

Pfeiffer said the review "affirmed the public statements of the president-elect that he had no contact with the governor or his staff, and that the president-elect's staff was not involved in inappropriate discussions with the governor or his staff over the selection of his successor as U.S. Senator."

Obama appeared before reporters to announce his environmental and natural resources team.

It was disclosed last week that he selected Steven Chu for energy secretary, Lisa Jackson for Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Carol Browner as his energy and climate "czar," and Nancy Sutley to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Separately, officials familiar with the selection of Obama's Cabinet said the president-elect has selected Chicago schools chief Arne Duncan as education secretary. These officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to disclose any personnel decisions not yet announced.

Earlier in the day, Obama met privately with his national security team, including Vice President-elect Joe Biden, incoming Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

The president-elect's transition office said the meeting was held to discuss opportunities and challenges around the globe and was designed to help the new administration hit the ground running as of Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.

In recent days, Obama's staff has declined to respond even to basic questions about the Blagojevich review, like how long it would take, who was leading it and what issues were explored.

Two people who have been briefed on the investigation had told The Associated Press that Emanuel is not a target of the probe. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the criminal investigation is ongoing. One is a person close to Emanuel, who said he has been told by investigators that he's not a subject of their probe. There are no suggestions that Obama or his aides were involved in the alleged sale of his seat. Fitzgerald has said prosecutors were making no allegations that Obama was aware of any scheming. And Blagojevich himself, in taped conversations cited by prosecutors, suggested Obama wouldn't be helpful to him and called him a vulgar term. Even if the governor were to appoint a candidate favored by the Obama team, Blagojevich said, "they're not willing to give me anything except appreciation."

Jennifer Connelly doesn't stand still

2008-12-15T02:10:00.000-08:00

The truth is, Jennifer Connelly had never seen "The Day the Earth Stood Still."

She'd heard of the 1951 sci-fi classic, but when the actress saw the script of a planned remake, it was fresh to her and seemed incredibly timely.

"It's kind of eerie," she says. "It's a really truthful view of our time."

The Cold War threat that casts a shadow over the original film, in which an alien arrives on Earth to warn people they must live in peace or be destroyed, has been replaced by environmental dangers and a message of conservation.

"It's a really self-reflective film," says the actress, who turned 38 Friday. "For a big Hollywood studio film to be that straightforward about our own shortcomings and weaknesses is pretty cool."

And she likes that this really is a big Hollywood studio film, co-starring neo-futurist veteran Keanu Reeves. "It was kind of a big spectacle of a movie that I thought was exciting and would probably be, in the true sense, awesome to behold, given what can be done in cinema these days," she says.

If that seems strange to fans of Connelly's work in quieter movies such as "A Beautiful Mind," for which she won an Academy Award, it might help to take a longer view of her career. She has been making movies for 26 years. At 11, she was cast in the gangster tale "Once Upon a Time in America." Two years later she became a teen star in David Bowie's cult classic "Labyrinth."

The daughter of a clothing manufacturer and an antiques dealer, Connelly got into the business as a kid, when a family friend suggested she try modeling. It snowballed, as things sometimes do for the talented and beautiful.

By her early 20s she had a resume any veteran actor would envy and real questions about whether acting was how she wanted to spend her life.

"I hadn't chosen it, as an adult, for myself," she says on the phone from a Los Angeles hotel room. "It was something that sort of happened. And it happened as a result of other people's suggestions or influence."

She made a decision to remain in the field. Still, she adds, "there was a shift: a period where I said, 'Okay, but I'm doing it on my own terms and I'm taking responsibility for it. And I'm consciously making a choice: This is my career.' "

Connelly's stewardship of her career has led her to cross a large swath of genres.

Throughout her 20s she was regarded almost exclusively as a bright-eyed ingenue. But in 2000 she appeared as a heroin addict in "Requiem for a Dream." The critics took notice. The following year she nabbed the Oscar for her role as the wife of a tortured math genius. She has since appeared as a superhero's love interest ("Hulk," 2003), a suicidal ex-addict ("House of Sand and Fog," 2003) and a heroic journalist ("Blood Diamond," 2006).

In just the past 18 months, her resume has swung from the indie drama "Reservation Road" to the big-budget action flick "The Day the Earth Stood Still" to a girls'-night-out rom-com, "He's Just Not That Into You," slated for a February release.

"The Day the Earth Stood Still" gave Connelly the opportunity not only to appear in a special-effects-laden action film but to do it playing "this amazing part for a woman." She plays Helen Benson, an astrobiologist brought in to study the alien. She becomes the character on whom the fate of the Earth depends.

Despite her credentials and long tenure in the business, compelling opportunities don't pile up on the doorstep of the New York home she shares with her husband, actor Paul Bettany, and two sons.

Thus, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" looked even more enticing, despite the risk inherent in any attempt to improve a classic (a classic she did eventually watch, by the way).

"It's such a good story, I thought there was room to tell it now," she explains

Bush talks with Karzai on surprise Afghan visit

2008-12-15T01:59:00.001-08:00

KABUL (Reuters) – President George W. Bush told Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday the United States would stand by the war-torn country despite a transition of power at the White House.

Moving from one war zone to another, Bush flew secretly from Baghdad to Kabul, landing under cover of darkness for talks with Karzai and meetings with U.S. troops spearheading the fight against a resurgent Taliban. "I told the president you can count on the United States. Just like you've been able to count on this administration, you will be able to count on the next administration as well," Bush told a news conference in the Afghan capital alongside Karzai.

On a farewell visit to Baghdad on Sunday, meant to mark greater security in Iraq after years of bloodshed, an Iraqi reporter called Bush a "dog" and threw his shoes at him.

After Air Force One touched down at Bagram air base outside Kabul under heavy security, Bush strode across the tarmac and into a giant tent where hundreds of troops greeted him with raucous cheers as he thanked them for their service.

President Bush Attacked By Shoes

2008-12-14T15:20:00.001-08:00

Dec. 8-15 The Gloves Come Off!

2008-12-13T16:27:00.000-08:00

Various '80s icons made news this week, for their typical respective reasons: Madonna for offending conservatives, Michael Jackson for being broke, and Paula Abdul for being the center of an American Idol scandal. Let's get started...

First, there was Madonna, still causing controversy and irritating Catholic leaders after all these years. This week she made her first-ever concert tour stop in Chile, which led the country's retired Roman Catholic Cardinal Jorge Medina to denounce her during a speech honoring late dictator Augusto Pinochet. "This woman comes here and in an incredibly shameless manner, she provokes a crazy enthusiasm, an enthusiasm of lust, lustful thoughts, impure thoughts," he disapprovingly declared. (Um, is this guy just figuring this out? Apparently Jorge has never watched the director's cut of the "Justify My Love" video, heard "Like A Virgin," or flipped through Madge's Sex book.)

So according to her recent hit single, Madonna's only got four minutes to save the world...but it took her even less time for her to tick off an entire South American country. And she didn't even need Justin Timberlake's help this time!

Meanwhile, Madge's former Oscar date and Justin's hero Michael Jackson is running out of time to save his empire. This week Jacko, possibly hurting for cash after his recent out-of-court settlement of a lawsuit filed by a Bahraini sheik, announced he's auctioning off the famous sequined glove from his "Billie Jean" video to the highest bidder--along with 2,000 other MJ memorabilia items, like the Neverland Ranch gates and statues from his personal art collection. And while portions of the proceeds from the auction will go to the worthy charity MusiCares, the rest of the money will go to the charity unofficially known as the Michael Jackson Is Broke Foundation.

Pop star-turned-AmIdol judge Paula Abdul made news this week too, when she straight-up accused Idol producers of putting her in harm's way. During an interview on The View--and later in more depth on Sirius XM Radio--Paula told Barbara Walters that the Idol powers-that-be allegedly allowed season 5 reject Paula Goodspeed (who was recently found dead of a possible drug overdose/suicide near Abdul's home) to audition for the show, even though they knew the troubled woman had stalked Abdul for amost two decades. Abdul told Walters that Goodspeed had written her "disturbing letters" for 18 years, but Goodspeed was nevertheless brought on the show "for entertainment value." According to Abdul: "This was something that would make good television....I said, 'This girl is a stalker of mine and please do not let her in....[But] it's fun for [the producers] to cause me stress."

Yikes. If Paula's claims are true, it any wonder she does wacky stuff (like critique Jason Castro songs that were never even performed, or appear to be intoxicated during live TV interviews, or clap like a seal) when she has to work under such stressful conditions?

In happier news, several other acts made comebacks this week. Britpop legends Blur announced they're reuniting for their first original-lineup concert since 2002, playing a big gig at London's Hyde Park July 3; Kiss, possibly taking a cue from their huge-selling hard rock peers AC/DC, announced they're working on their first new album in 10 years; and veteran R&B/hip-hop cult faves the Roots were hired to be Jimmy Fallon's small-screen house band when Jimmy takes over Conan O'Brien's late-night NBC slot in March 2009.

And finally, speaking of veteran R&B/hip-hop artists, our congratulations go out to Usher, who welcomed his second son into the world this week, and our well-wishes go out to Toni Braxton, who just revealed that she recently underwent surgery to remove a (thankfully benign) breast tumor. We wish them both the best.

And so, thus concludes another week of headspinning headlines. Come back next Friday for mo

Holly Valance Keith Lemon’s Very Brilliant World Tour DVD review

2008-12-13T16:17:00.000-08:00

Globe-trotting silliness with the Business Man of the Year, 1993 . It's Mr Keith Lemon...

“Welcome to the DVD menu of The Royal Tenenbaums. I am Owen Wilson from Hollywood”, declares Keith Lemon, kitted out in a white suit, looking nothing like Owen Wilson. Following a shark-shaped flight path, the Business Man of the Year 1993 embarks on a journey putting his own ludicrous spin on the travel documentary format. Neighbour Roy accompanies Lemon as cameraman, while back at home the business is left in the hands of cousin Gary (Patrick McGuinness). And that, in a nutshell, is the premise for the six episodes of the Very Brilliant World Tour.

quick divorce Each episode of the World Tour adheres to a formula. Lemon visits a few obvious tourist hotspots in each of the six countries – the casinos of Las Vegas, Egyptian Pyramids, Aires Rock and Icelandic geezers. Then he explores a selection of curios and oddities in each nation, such as Mexican midget wrestling, the Testicle Festival in America (where else?) and peculiar Japanese street theatre. For part of each episode, Lemon is joined by a celebrity guest, some more game than others. Mel B (“Black Spice”), Mel C and Holly Valance enter into the spirit of things, while others like Stefan Dennis laugh along with a look of bewilderment, never quite certain if they are the butt of the joke.

Keith Lemon is more palatable and engaging than Leigh Francis’ earlier incarnations as rubber-faced celebrities and Avid Merrion in Bo’ Selecta and the creepy bear in spin-off series A Bear’s Tail. Looking at the world through Lemon’s eyes is certainly unique and frequently very funny; he is simultaneously irritating and endearing. Keith shares many insightful pearls of wisdom with the viewer - Sydney Opera House is “a collection of eggshells”, Aires Rock is “a big rock surrounded by air” and Iceland is “the country named after the shop”. Mexico is “highly populated by old men with wrinkly old tomato faces, old women with wrinkly old tomato faces and old children with wrinkly old tomato faces.” While in Egypt he comments, “Although 64% of Egyptians have got teeth like Sugarpuffs, they’re still very nice people.” He skirts around the edge of good taste occasionally, but just about gets away with it through utter buffoonery. There’s no malice in Keith Lemon and it is always him, rather than the people he encounters, that we laugh at. It does not make for uncomfortable viewing as Borat’s overseas expedition did; the people in the series are complicit and not duped into thinking it is “real”.

Is Keith Lemon’s Very Brilliant World Tour very brilliant? There are some very brilliant moments, but they total around 9 minutes out of approximately 180. One such moment occurs in Australia when Keith worries he’ll sweat so much he’ll be “reduced to the size of Prince.” On the whole, it’s a case of extreme and prolonged daftness, so how much you enjoy Keith Lemon very much depends on your daftness tolerance level. The sheer idiocy of Keith Lemon becomes fairly exhausting after a while. Watching more than two episodes at a time may result in severe adverse side effects like adopting a shrill Leeds accent and donning a Jimmy Savile wig. You have been warned.

Extras

All the usual extras are included on Disc 2 – Audio Commentary, Bloopers, Video Diaries, Deleted Scenes etc. The Deleted Scenes are certainly worth a look, particularly the trip to the Spam Museum. There’s also a great scene in which Juliette Lewis runs rings around Lemon; he is almost, almost, lost for words, having grown accustomed to more docile guests on the show.

If you were hoping the extras might provide a glimpse of the man behind Keith Lemon, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Leigh Francis doesn’t break character, not even for a second. The audio commentary is all Lemon, even in the bloopers when lines are fluffed and the scene has disintegrated into giggles, there’s still no sign of Francis. At the end of each show, Lemon is credited as director, executive producer and a host of other roles; no Leigh Francis in sight. It’s quite possible that Francis has been consumed by his carnivorous alter-ego.

Ashley Jensen suing US reality star

2008-12-13T16:13:00.000-08:00

Ashley Jensen has filed a lawsuit against a US reality TV star after he allegedly threatened her.

The Extras actress and husband Terence Beesley are suing Jeff Lewis, who appears in Bravo's property development show Flipping Out.

Lewis is currently attempting to improve the house next door to the couple in order to sell it on. However, he denies abusing the actors over a deck which encroaches on their property. "I have never even met Ms. Jensen," he said.

"Having apparently watched my reality show, they now feel they can exploit my personality to increase their media exposure and their alleged damages. I never threatened either of them with physical harm, nor was I abusive or verbally threatening to either of them."

The suit, which accuses Lewis of "rude, outrageous, boorish, offensive, mean-spirited" behaviour, requests that the decking be removed and a restraining order be placed on Lewis to keep him away from them.

Influential Women

2008-12-13T16:02:00.000-08:00

First Ladies

Fate seemed ready to drop-lift Hillary Clinton (who would ditch the Rodham and then even the Clinton in her Democratic campaigning) onto the path to the White House. The former first lady didn't win her party's nomination, but she cracked that political ceiling as the first viable female candidate for the Oval Office. The hard-fought contest between Clinton and Barack Obama swelled the searches and the Democratic voter rolls that ultimately helped the party in November. The race cemented the New York senator as her own independent woman.

A place in the history texts was also guaranteed to Sarah Palin (already distinguished as Alaska's first female and youngest governor) with her appointment as the Republican vice presidential pick. Beauty pageant looks and frontier skills established her as a wildly polarizing character, at once hailed as a conservative savior and disparaged as a drag on the ticket. However, it would be Michelle Obama who would pack her bags to move into the White House. Searchers intently scrutinized her background for her intellectual and social leanings, but both fans and skeptics compared her accomplished elegance to the aristocratic Jackie Kennedy.

Media Mavens

Tina Fey returned again to the big screen, but her biggest impact appeared on her old stomping grounds, "Saturday Night Live." The late-night show's first female head writer, Fey heralded Clinton's strengths on a Weekend Update, and her eerie similarity to Palin made multiple return visits inevitable. Among the analysts, Fey has been partly credited with, if not diminishing Palin's glow, then defining her "political narrative." She even stood next to John McCain himself the weekend before Election Day, in that strange-bedfellow scenario that political satire makes.

Comments

Politics tested the power of Oprah Winfrey, who risked her star-building track record by supporting Barack Obama before the Democratic primaries. Alienated female viewers called her a traitor, while others felt she escorted the Illinois senator into another level of the mainstream. Winfrey witnessed the fruits of her first political sponsorship at Grant Park, weeping on the shoulders of a stranger. The titan even stopped the downward slide of the newspaper industry for one moment by buoying sales of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Katie Couric, disdained for bringing her populist morning approach to the evening news and blamed for CBS' sinking ratings, came back leading a crusade of female political reporters on the left, right, and center. Couric was recognized for asking Clinton one of the smartest questions of the campaign—why Palin had an action figure and Clinton a nutcracker—and was lauded for her alternative YouTube outlet. Then in Palin's interview, Couric reminded people once more of her velvet-gloved journalism—always civil, always insistent—and why she deserved the anchor desk's solo seat. Barbara Walters recapped her history of firsts (including being first female evening news co-anchor) in a biography this year. "The View" co-creator and co-host especially reaped Search activity with the admission of a youthful affair with a married senator.
Fight Girls

Heavily pregnant with twins, Angelina Jolie proved to be a fertility goddess (in vitro aside) who could be an avenging fighter onscreen. Perhaps the first crossover action heroine A-lister, she voiced the female tigress in "Kung Fu Panda," proved the main attraction as the tattooed assassin in "Wanted" (which pulled a higher-per-screen average than the G-rated box-office hit "Wall*E"), and embodied fierce motherhood in Clint Eastwood's "Changeling." As for her own motherhood, celebrity tabloids' false labor accounts convulsed Searchers to seek a peek of Jolie's offspring. With the latest trend to sell baby photos rather than have paparazzi profit, Jolie and Brad Pitt donated the record $14 million payout to their charitable Jolie/Pitt Foundation. Magazine covers tracked multiple stages of Jolie's pregnancy, and a W magazine showcase of Pitt's intimate photos made breastfeeding glamorous.

The Olympics provided ample opportunities for a generation of athletic stars such as the new gymnastic crop and the beach volleyball duo, but it was hard to resist the story of Dara Torres, who already made a record as the oldest female swimmer in the 2000 Olympics (and also kicked off the trend to be the first athlete modeling for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue). Searchers poured over her attempts to be the first and oldest swimmer to make five Olympics. Undefeated kickboxing champ Gina Carano upped her profile in her turn as Crush on "American Gladiators," then later made television history in the first primetime female fight. The TV venue died within a few months, but Carano's appeal proved she was unstoppable...like so many other women in 2008.

Illinois AG asks high court to declare gov. unfit

2008-12-12T09:44:00.000-08:00

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Illinois attorney general filed a motion with the state's highest court Friday asking justices to strip scandal-plagued Gov. Rod Blagojevich of his powers.

Lisa Madigan took the action as pressure on the governor intensified to step down. Madigan scheduled a news conference in Chicago Friday morning to discuss the motion.

The move came as the governor prayed with several ministers in his home before heading to his office, telling them he is innocent and will be vindicated "when you hear each chapter completely written," according to one of the pastors.

The attorney general asked the court for a temporary restraining order or an injunction that prevents Blagojevich from serving as governor. The filing says he is "unable to serve as governor due to disability and should not rightfully continue to hold that office." quick divorce

"The pervasive nature and severity of these pending charges disable Mr. Blagojevich from making effective decisions on critical, time-sensitive issues," the filing said.

The filing asks that the lieutenant governor assume Blagojevich's powers.

It is the first time in Illinois history that such an action was taken. The attorney general is applying a rule that was intended to cover cases where a governor is incapacitated for health reasons. Her motion indicates that his inability to serve because of the scandal is akin to a debilitating health issue.

The motion essentially declares that Blagojevich's legal problems amount to a disability that would not be resolved until he is either cleared of the charges or leaves office.

"Mr. Blagojevich is unable to distinguish between his financial interests and his official duties and between illegal acts and legal conduct, rendering him incapable of legitimately exercising his ability as governor," Madigan says in the motion.

"His ability to provide effective leadership has been eliminated and the state government is paralyzed."

The motion came three days after Blagojevich was accused of putting Barack Obama's Senate seat up for sale and shaking down the owners of the Chicago Tribune.

The governor has been alternately holed up in his home or his downtown office since his arrest on federal corruption charges. He met with clergymen Friday morning.

The Rev. Ira Acree of the Greater St. John Bible Church said Blagojevich would not discuss details of the allegations against him.

He said the governor discussed trying to get a legal and political consultation team in place, but feels as if everything is closing in on him and that he's not getting "any space or chance to sort anything out."

Acree and two other pastors — The Rev. Steve Jones, president of the Baptist Pastor's Conference, and the Rev. Marshall Hatch of the New Mt. Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church — arrived at the governor's home shortly after 8 a.m. and met with him for about 20 minutes.

Jones said they prayed with Blagojevich and his family.

"I look at it like this: Everybody that's hurting needs hope and the family needs hope and that's what our jobs are as pastors," Jones said. "Nobody should be left hopeless. Nobody, no matter what the circumstances."

Shortly after they left, a fourth minister, the Rev. Leonard Barr of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, arrived at the governor's house with his wife, Rita.

He said they were invited by the governor and that the two "prayed that he would continue to be a great governor for the state of Illinois." Meanwhile, calls for the governor to step down are intensifying. The lieutenant governor has joined a bevy of lawmakers in demanding that Blagojevich be impeached, saying he has become an embarrassment to the state and can no longer lead. His approval rating plummeted to a shockingly low 8 percent. "When you have no confidence from the people, in a democracy there's nowhere else to go but to resign," Lt. Pat Quinn said Thursday.

White House Open to Using Bailout Money to Aid Detroit

2008-12-12T09:41:00.000-08:00

White House Open to Using Bailout Money to Aid Detroit

WASHINGTON — President Bush and the Treasury Department signaled on Friday that they would consider dipping into the $700 billion bailout program for financial institutions to aid the Big Three car companies, after Republican senators refused to support a compromise proposal to rescue the automakers.After Senate Republicans balked at supporting a $14 billion auto rescue plan approved by the House on Wednesday, negotiators worked late into Thursday evening to broker a deal, but deadlocked over Republican demands for steep cuts in pay and benefits by the United Automobile Workers union in 2009. On Friday, Ron Gettelfinger, the president of the autoworkers union, said he was heartened by the response from the White House and Treasury Department, telling reporters at a news conference, “We need action sooner rather than later.” “It’s important for the White House to exert their influence to release this money as quickly as possible,” Mr. Gettelfinger said. “We cannot afford a run on the banks.”

The failure in Congress to provide a financial lifeline for G.M. and Chrysler was a bruising defeat for President Bush in the waning weeks of his term, and also for Mr. Obama, who had urged Congress to act to avoid a further loss of jobs in an already deeply debilitated economy.

The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, voiced weary resignation after the package stalled. “This is going to be a very, very bad Christmas for a lot of people as a result of what takes place here tonight,” he said.

The Republican leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said: “We have had before us this whole question of the viability of the American automobile manufacturers. None of us want to see them go down, but very few of us had anything to do with the dilemma that they have created for themselves.”

Jennifer Aniston's 'GQ' cover: How do you not love this woman?

2008-12-11T17:37:00.000-08:00

kay, at the risk of exposing myself as a pervy old man, I have to say that the cover of the January issue of GQ (hits stands Dec. 23) has tipped it in for me: I love Jennifer Aniston. There. I said it. Feels good to get it out. You see, I was one of those snobby jerk-offs in the '90s who (rather vocally) HATED Friends and endlessly griped about how corny it is and how annoying the characters are (arguments I would still make today, but I recognize that it's a too-cool-for-school reaction to its formulaic sitcomery). But while Aniston will never be fully extricated from her association with Ross, Chandler, "Pheebs," and the gang, over the past decade or so she's certainly built enough of a post-Friends persona for me to step forth and pledge my love. Here are the Top 5 reasons I love Jennifer Aniston, despite hating Friends, that do NOT have to do with the fact that I enjoy seeing her naked:

1. Office Space (natch)
2. Her reasoned response to the career-over-baby accusations that had people running around with "I'll have your baby, Brad!" t-shirts during her divorce to Brad Pitt. "A man divorcing would never be accused of choosing career over children....That really pissed me off. I've never in my life said I didn't want to have children," she told Vanity Fair in 2005.

3. Her dig this year at Angelina Jolie, who had publicly talked about falling for Pitt while he was still married to Aniston. "That stuff about how she couldn't wait to get to work every day [while filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith]? That was really uncool," she told Vogue.
4. She's got a thing for rock-n-roll dudes -- first Adam Duritz, and now John Mayer (who's eight years her junior, I might add, which I think is kinda hot...for some reason. I know, I know, pervy old man).
5. The Good Girl, when I first realized there was more to Aniston than "Rach."

Honorable mention: Her hilarious appearance on 30 Rock earlier this year (the episode after the jump).

Anyone else out there overcome their dislike for Friends and fall for Aniston anyway? And how about that GW cover, eh? Anyone out there realizing they dislike me because I hated on Friends just now?

A (Semi)-Official Guide to Winter Boots

2008-12-11T13:20:00.000-08:00

As I am writing this in Libe café — shoutout to all my fellow Libe-addicts — it is becoming increasingly snowy and cold outside. I am fortunately not out there, but I will be soon. And, because I was silly enough to believe the weather report, I am not wearing those singularly excellent and necessary winter items this column is about: boots. I have boots, and boots that I like, but I was trying to get an extra day of not-boots in before winter set in completely. My goal in this column is to help you find one (or more!) pair of boots that can bring you through the winter without feeling bored or uncomfortable.

The first thing we need to examine, as always, is utility. Why do we wear boots?

(1) They keep you warm.

(2) They keep you dry.

(3)They keep pants dry/clean.

(4) They provide traction in the ice andsnow.

Now, not all boots do these things. If yours don’t, they are silly and you are silly. But seriously, I understand the appeal of a lot of fashion boots, many of which have very few of the above characteristics, but they are just that — fashion boots — and they are not to be confused with proper footwear.

In the category of functional winter footwear, there is another distinction, which is that between “winter boots” and “snow boots.” The main difference is that “snow boots” provide waterproofness that enables premium level romping about in the snow. Basically I think everyone should have at least two pairs of boots: serious snow boots and dress boots. Considering you will be spending the next four months in them, I recommend investing in pairs you’ll really wear and that really work.

Although there are a lot of options, finding boots that you really want can be difficult. Even more so than with other shoes, I caution against buying boots online; there is a lot more material in a boot, which means a lot more places for it to fit oddly. If you do venture online, I’d start with L.L. Bean, Land’s End, Eddie Bauer, REI and other outfitters that specialize in outdoor-wear — they’ll have the more outdoors-y stuff you’d expect, but many brands are also venturing into “lifestyle” wear (i.e., more fashionable designs). Good brands to look at are Børn, Merrell, Teva and Sorel, all of which specialize in high-quality good-for-you shoes, and have great design as well.

There are specific features to look for that will optimize your boots’ usefulness.

For good traction: If you’re checking online, try to see a view of the boot’s sole. You’re looking for deep grooves, patterns that stand out from the base of the sole, ridges, etc. And I don’t mean little lines that look like they were made with a pin. Key words are “non-skid,” “tread,” “all-terrain” and the like.

For waterproofness: In general, you want rubber outsoles and PVC or leather uppers, but also look for the descriptors: “waterproof” and “seam-sealed.” Many boots can be made to be waterproof; the treatment needed to do this varies depending on the material of your boots, but leather especially needs to be treated. The procedure might darken your boots, so follow directions. (That’s a hard one, I know!) Also, boots you already have might need to be re-treated; most need to be re-applied every season.

There are many different heights of boots — you want any boot to hit at least above the ankle to help keep out the snow, because getting snow in your sock is really uncomfortable, as anyone who has experienced it knows. The higher your boot, the more leg it helps keep warm, so higher boots are definitely good for skirt-wearing. Whatever you decide works for you, be very careful about calf-sizing. Some websites will give diameter measurements, so whip out a tape measure and find out what you need. (If you don’t have one, find a ribbon or piece of string, wrap it around, and measure on a ruler.) In general, just follow the fit guidelines the companies provide — boots are sometimes sized differently than other shoe styles.

So what’s good? Well, many of you have already turned to Uggs and other shearling-lined varieties. In the winter, these do not leave a terrible burning of irrelevance and ugliness in my eye sockets like they do during warm weather months. In fact, Uggs are a good bet for the non-snow-boot category; one source said they’re good for up to negative-30 degrees Fahrenheit — but they will not keep you dry. Spraying them as discussed above gives them a better chance, but they’re not made for walking in serious snow. One problem, at least for a few styles of Uggs, is that they have very little structure, and lead to feet-dragging and sore arches — try arch support inserts if you need them.

Some good stuff I found online: At Target there were fleece-lined rainboots for $30 and fleece rainboot liners for $9.99 that would enable you to convert the rainboots you already have. At L.L. Bean you can find many variations of the L.L. Bean Boots for around $79 — you’d probably recognize them. They are about 6-inches high and have a tan leather upper and a rubber lower part. The best thing about these is they come in navy! (I have a not-so-secret-but-repressed love of navy). They are hand-made and look pretty awesome for icy Cornell paths. According to a customer review on their website, they’re also good for mucking out the chicken barn.

I realize I haven’t given you all much specific style guidance — that’s partly because I’ve run out of space and partly because, when it comes to winter accessories, you kind of just have to rock them with your own flair. As in, you HAVE to wear boots, so stop complaining, stop wearing your little flimsy ballet flats ,wear the boots and get over yourself. Love, Alex.

I’m only partly kidding — the key to wearing boots, especially “snow boots,” which can be bulky and more sporty than sleek, is to embrace them. If they have an accent color, play with that. If they have fur trim, bring that out with a slimmer and more basic rest of the outfit. Alternatively, just put on a t-shirt, sweater and jeans, pull on your boots and forget they’re there.

So, enjoy your boots and this beautiful weather (that was only partly facetious). Oh, and please pick up your feet when trudging through the campus — the person behind you doesn’t want that snow/salt/mud mix you’re flinging at them on their nice new boots.

Katy Perry apologises to Lily Allen for 'fat' comment

2008-12-11T13:14:00.000-08:00

Katy Perry has said she is sorry for a comment she made about Lily Allen, in which she called herself a "skinnier version" of the Brit star.

Perry was asked about the remark while filming a Fuse TV show today (December 9), a day after an outburst by Allen on Capital FM in the UK.

In the radio interview, Allen said that Perry was signed by her record label as an "American version" of her, and said when the pair met, Allen was "frosty" with Perry due to the remarks she'd made.

"When I met her I was bit frosty with her because someone asked her to describe herself. She's like, 'Aha, I'm like a fatter version of Amy Winehouse and a skinner version of Lily Allen!' It's like, you're not English and you don't write your own songs, shut up!"

Perry today told usmagazine.com that the remarks were meant in jest:

"Yeah, I made a joke about [that] earlier this year," the 'I Kissed A Girl' singer said. "I was just kind of joking and trying to be funny. I didn't mean anything by it. Comedians are not necessarily to be taken super seriously."

Alex Rodriguez, Kate Hudson get to know each other

2008-12-11T11:24:00.000-08:00

Madonna may have had her lady police in full force in Miami on Friday, but that didn't stop Alex Rodriguez from doing some serious flirting at the Miami opening of the Fontainebleau Hotel with none other than the much younger, even blonder Kate Hudson. quick divorce

Rodriguez paid his dues with Madonna's best girlfriend, Gwyneth Paltrow, on Friday afternoon, having a quiet lunch with her at the hotel's Italian eatery Scarpetta. Pal Ingrid Casares was dispatched for duty after sundown to keep the Yankee slugger shielded from the constant flow of Miami floozies. But Madonna's girl could do little to ward off tablemate Hudson's charms.

"Hudson had her arms completely wrapped around A-Rod's waist and every time he leaned over to talk to anyone she would pull him back toward her," a person on the scene told the New York Daily News.Rodriguez: Michigan fans should 'get a life'

Heading into his first game against Ohio State, Michigan's Rich Rodriguez tried to deliver a message to fans who have lost touch.

"It's amazing some of the things that people would say (on a message board) or yell at you of a personal nature," the coach told the AP on Monday. "You almost want to tell them, 'Get a life.' There's a whole lot bigger problems. Look at the economy."

College football's winningest team has tumbled like the stock market, losing a school- record eight games, including a record five at Michigan Stadium. Could an upset, likely without quarterback Steven Threet (shoulder) or running back Sam McGuffie (death in family), salvage the year?

"The frustrations we've had or any disappointments we've had, a win would at least help a little bit," Rodriguez said. "But it's not going to erase everything."

McCready 'not proud' of being with Clemens

Country singer Mindy McCready claims she broke off her relationship with Roger Clemens when the ex-baseball star wouldn't marry her, according to an interview broadcast Monday by the syndicated show "Inside Edition."

McCready, 32, told "Inside Edition" she met Clemens when she was 16, not 15, as previously reported. She told the news magazine they met in a karaoke bar, that her relationship with the pitcher didn't turn sexual until several years later and the relationship lasted a decade.

"Carrying on a relationship with him is not something I'm proud of," she said, adding she regrets any hurt inflicted on Debbie Clemens, the pitcher's wife. "I have nothing but remorse and nothing but sympathy for what she's had to go through with this situation, and she has my utmost apology."

Ellen DeGeneres to become new face of CoverGirl

2008-12-11T02:06:00.000-08:00

The talk show Queen Ellen DeGeneres has revealed that she will be the new face of CoverGirl on Tuesday's The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She said that they were going to announce it officially in January, but somehow people found out about it. The comedienne, who married to Portia de Rossi in August, has denied the pregnancy rumours.

"You know how I always like to share what's going on in my life with you all, and I was going to give you some news and, unfortunately, rumors started circulating all over the Internet," sources quoted her saying.

"I am here to set the record straight right now. I am not pregnant. It just turned out to be a bump. I went and had it checked out," she wisecracks,” she joked. She added, “ I am the new face of CoverGirl."Esi Eggleston Bracey, general manager, of P&G Beauty said, "Ellen is the quintessential CoverGirl She is smart, confident, natural, and beautiful from the inside out. Her beauty and down-to-earth personality fit perfectly with what CoverGirl represents."

Ellen is very excited and said, "I'm honored and the photo shoot was easy, breezy, beautiful CoverGirl."

DeGeneres will specifically represent a new line called Simply Ageless. She is said to be earning as in excess of $1 million for the gig. Cover Girl faces list includes Christie Brinkley, Faith Hill, Queen Latifah, Rihanna and Drew Barrymore.

Three Start-Ups, a Year Later

2008-12-11T02:00:00.000-08:00

THIS has been a gut-wrenching first year in business for three entrepreneurs whose start-ups were profiled in this column last December.One has failed. Tina Ericson recently shut down her online T-shirt store, Mamaisms Gear, in Wilmington, N.C., overwhelmed by the strains it was putting on her corporate job. “It seems like it was only yesterday that we were discussing our plans to make $100,000 in revenue the first year,” Ms. Ericson said. “We made some very expensive mistakes.” The owner of the second, Caitlin Adler, is still hard at work, even as she notices greater frugality among customers at her Sweet Bites Bakery and Café in West Acton, Mass. She has cut payroll costs, expanded her menu and lengthened her hours. “While I still have big dreams for the company, I am more realistic, and take each day as it comes,” Ms. Adler said.

The only one bursting with confidence was Jeff Takle, whose property management software company in Somerville, Mass., was on the verge of collapse six months ago. As he was trying to figure out how to keep it afloat, he was hospitalized for a viral infection he contracted on a business trip to India, and used the time to rethink his strategy.

“I came out a supercharged new man,” said Mr. Takle, the founder of which aims at small landlords with one to five properties. lawyers in dominican republic

Last December, when this column first turned the spotlight on these three start-ups, even the doomsayers had no idea how fast the economy would spiral down.

Certainly, Ms. Ericson did not. She predicted sales in 2008 of $100,000 at Mamaisms Gear, which intended to offer a broad line of T-shirts and other products with “Mama Says” slogans like “Quit Whining.” She also talked about creating a Web site for women and starting a consulting company for the financial services industry.

Ms. Adler was upbeat, too. She fretted about unexpectedly high payroll costs and other setbacks, but figured weekly sales would climb from $7,000 to $12,000 or more by mid-2008.

Nor did Mr. Takle express worries. He said his Web-based software would help small landlords manage their rental properties more efficiently, and projected revenue of $10 million or more within five years.

But by June, with economic growth slowing, all three business owners were scaling back their ambitions. Ms. Ericson had abandoned her plans to create an Internet community for women and to start a consulting firm to concentrate on marketing her T-shirts to boutiques. Ms. Adler had nudged weekly revenue up to $8,000, from $7,000, far short of her goal. And Mr. Takle lamented that his venture was dangerously low on funds.

Now, though, Mr. Takle is enthusiastic again. Even the recession is working in his favor, he said, by turning homeowners reluctant to sell in a bear market into “accidental” landlords.

After recovering from his illness, Mr. Takle, 34, switched his focus from searching for new customers to improving his Web site’s content. He formed a partnership with a Boston Web design firm, paying in equity, and he hired outside companies to do his computer coding.

He is now offering services — like rent collection by credit card, access to a list of a million maintenance providers and the placement of landlords’ advertisements on the top 23 rental Web sites in the United States — that he says his rivals cannot match.

While his rivals charge $1 to $5 per property per month, he says, he charges $20 to $50. As a result of his site’s upgrade, he says, the conversion rate of visitors into customers has increased to 8 percent, from 1 percent.

RentingYourHome.com now has nearly 1,000 customers, and Mr. Takle says revenue in the second half of this year should approach or exceed $120,000, from $30,000 in the first half. He says he believes he is on track for $500,000 in the first half of 2009.

Mr. Takle’s tale of reinvention failed to sway Janet Portman, a lawyer and an expert in landlord-tenant law at Nolo, a provider of legal information for consumers and small businesses. “He promises too much, and he can’t possibly deliver what he says he will,” she said. The special features he boasts of do not really add much value to his software program, she said. But her main criticism was that his product would never be able to provide what landlords needed most: personal contact with tenants and their previous landlords as well as the people they list as references.

Foreclosure sales on track for holidays?

2008-12-11T01:57:00.000-08:00

Foreclosure sales on track for holidays?

Housing advocates are questioning whether lenders are honoring promises to stop foreclosures for the holidays.

Shawana Daniels fears she may be homeless for the holidays. Despite talk of foreclosure moratoriums, the sale date of her Pompano Beach home is set for Dec. 30. ''I am not in the Christmas spirit this year,'' said Daniels, 41, who lives with her mother, daughter and three grandchildren. ``I can't be because I can't sleep at night and I don't eat for days.'' Promises from the lending industry to cancel foreclosure sales for the holidays don't seem to be making a dent in the number of South Florida homes scheduled for public auction in December. Last week, the Florida Bankers Association and Gov. Charlie Crist announced a 45-day voluntary moratorium on foreclosures in the state. At the time, neither could provide names of lenders that had agreed to participate.

On Monday, Alex Sanchez, chief executive of the Florida Bankers Association, would say only that their members were doing everything possible to keep borrowers in their homes, not only for the holidays, but permanently.

Nonetheless, in Miami-Dade, 933 homes are scheduled for auction in the next nine days. After a two-week holiday hiatus, the conveyor belt resumes the first full week of January.

''I haven't noticed any difference in the amount we are scheduling,'' said Deborah Peterson, court records supervisor for Miami-Dade.

Numbers were not immediate available in Broward County, but the clerk of courts has auctions scheduled up to Dec. 30.

On Tuesday, ACORN, or the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a liberal housing advocacy group, said it was pressing the state's bankers for details about the moratorium so that desperate homeowners can get answers.

''We at ACORN help hundreds of people; they come to us every week. Out of the whole population that comes to us twice a week, we have failed to find one person who will be helped by this 45-day moratorium,'' said William Moore, an Orlando-based member of the organization's anti-foreclosure committee.

Earlier this month, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage-finance giants seized by the U.S. government, announced they would suspend foreclosures through Jan. 9.

Daniels, who is battling both HIV and lung cancer, said she doesn't know where she will go or how to get help.

''I need answers. Does my mortgage company fall within their guidelines?'' Daniels asked of the moratorium. ``I can't go on the street. I don't know what to do. I need help.''

Miami's Diaz offers mayors' wish list to Obama

2008-12-11T01:50:00.000-08:00

The list includes requests from cities across the country. For his home county, the mayor seeks money to complete $10 billion worth of public-works projects for those who travel by air, land and sea, enjoy parks or use the county's court system. Included in the lengthy maze of requests are a $280 million streetcar system, $100 million for a tunnel to the Port of Miami and a $180 million Metromover extension to the site of the Marlins ballpark in Little Havana. The mayor, in Washington this week heading up the meeting of the mayors' conference, asked for hundreds of millions of dollars to complete construction of the North Terminal at Miami International Airport and to build schools. He sought a further $10 million for an aquatic center at Virrick Park, new air conditioners in all the county's transit buildings and more than $1 million for restroom and concession improvements at Hadley Park.

The most expensive request for Broward County is $92.8 million to help Hollywood obey a new state law that seeks to stop the dumping of treated sewage into the ocean.

150,000 NEW JOBS

Obama has said he wants to make job creation nationwide a priority, and city and county officials estimate that the 1,720 projects on the list would create more than 150,000 jobs.

''The quickest way to get people back to work is through infrastructure projects that can be rolled out quickly,'' said Diaz, who thinks the port tunnel project alone will create 2,000 jobs.

The wish list is ambitious, but it might be more than just a pipe dream. Though some requests are probably farfetched, others -- like much-needed transit improvements -- seem to fall in line with Obama's vision.

The rollout of the mayor's ''Main Street Economic Recovery'' plan came on the heels of a promise Saturday from Obama to begin the nation's largest public-works project since the interstate highway system was built more than a half-century ago.

Where the money would come from is not entirely clear. Obama, who indicated it will be borrowed, envisions public works as the quickest way to get the country back on solid economic ground. He asked the U.S. Conference of Mayors for a list of projects that would be ready to go by 2010.

Obama said one of his goals is to replace the almost two million U.S. jobs that have been lost this year alone, putting people to work to fix the nation's deteriorating roads, bridges and buildings.

Critics argue that borrowing more money -- on top of the recent $700 billion bailout plan -- will cause the federal deficit to swell.

As president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors -- and a contender for a job in the Obama administration -- Diaz visited Capitol Hill this week with a list from 427 cities asking for $73 billion for 11,391 projects, with the expectation of creating 847,641 jobs by 2010.

The project lists were gathered so quickly that Chicago and New York could not deliver theirs in time, but Diaz said he expects them shortly.

Most of the requests -- as well as the projections for jobs created by each project -- came directly from requests cities annually make to Congress. That was the case in Miami-Dade and Broward.

EASING THE BURDEN

Miami Chief Financial Officer Larry Spring said the city chose projects from its portfolio that can be started in the next two years.

The key, he said, is to ease the burden on local government.

''Think about the money that will be saved to our local taxpayers, to you, to me,'' he said.

Broward leaders have asked for $977 million in projects from Hollywood to Pembroke Pines. Pines Mayor Frank Ortis wants $182.5 million for about 70 projects. Among them: $14.5 million for a new City Hall.

Ortis believes the projects would employ about 1,060 workers. ''It's a great economic boost,'' he said. ``To me, it's a win-win.''

So just how likely is the South Florida wish list to be fulfilled? No one can say for certain. But members of South Florida's delegation are beginning to offer support.

Republican Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Miami and Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings of Miramar are on the House Subcommittee of Legislative and Budget Process, a crucial stop before a bill goes to the floor for a vote.

Diaz-Balart said he will fight for South Florida to get its fair share of federal tax dollars, including those offered by the Obama administration.

David Goldenberg, chief of staff for Hastings, said there is an outside chance Congress might earmark some of the requests, but added it's doubtful in the current political climate.

But ''if Miami-Dade County, and Miami and Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, and every city in between is working with state and federal agencies, then they're doing the right thing, right now,'' he said.

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Carlos Gimenez, who describes himself as a fiscal conservative, is wary of Obama's stimulus plan and handouts at any government level.

''My view on how to stimulate the economy is to put the people's money back in their pockets,'' he said.

But Gimenez said there are exceptions. Asked what he would do if the federal government offered $1 billion to help finish the new terminal at MIA, Gimenez said, ``we'll take it.''

Though Diaz would not single out what he considers the neediest or most important of the projects, transportation issues like a railway extension, expanding Metromover, building a port tunnel and a parking garage clearly top his list -- and would require the greatest chunk of money.

''We're at an opportunity in history to really make some shifts in the way we fund transportation projects that are going to be with us for decades, or a hundred years,'' Diaz said.

DESPERATE FOR CASH

No project needs a new funding mechanism more than the seemingly always-under-construction North Terminal at MIA.

The terminal is the largest remaining hurdle in what is now the world's largest airport construction job, according to county Aviation Director Jose Abreu.

''What I'm saying is, I have a need that's at capacity, and if someone doesn't help me out, I'm going to end up borrowing the money to finish it,'' Abreu said.

``The airport needs to borrow between now and 2011 close to $2 billion. And there is no community so dependent on its airport as South Florida.''

Diaz also is asking for $300 million to develop a light-rail line along a 70-mile section of Florida East Coast Railroad that would run from Miami's Government Center through downtown Fort Lauderdale and up to Jupiter. The potential commuter line has been proposed and studied for decades, and the mayor said building it would create about 6,000 jobs.

Asked if it is likely he can get enough money from the federal government to check off most of the requests on his list, Diaz said, ``I don't know. But we very much want to be in a position so we can get something passed.''

Diaz, who spoke with Obama on Monday about the recovery plan, pointed to the nation's crumbling infrastructure, then told of the Conference of Mayors getting its start in 1932, when leaders from Buffalo, Pittsburgh and other northern industrial cities gathered with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The result was the New Deal.

Alicia Keys in concert

2008-12-10T10:42:00.000-08:00

Alicia Keys, New York's sultry soul-pop singer, returns to Brisbane for the second time as part of her As I Am world tour and tickets are still available.

Four years on from her last album release, Keys has expanded her CV to include acting and writing.

She was also chosen over Amy Winehouse to record the James Bond theme song for the movie Quantum of Solace.

As I am features collaborations with John Mayer, Timbaland, Linda Perry and Marsha Ambrosius and Keys will be supported by Jordin Sparks (US) and Lowrider on her Down Under tour.

Yahoo Shareholder Urges Sale of Search to Microsoft

2008-12-10T10:21:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ivory Investment Management LP, which owns 1.5 percent of shares of Yahoo Inc, urged the Internet company to sell its search business to Microsoft Corp, saying such a deal could more than double Yahoo's value. Ivory proposed in a letter to Yahoo's board that it salvage a deal with Microsoft, which had failed earlier this year to buy Yahoo after offering as much as $33 a share. The software company had also tried to buy Yahoo's search business, but was turned down. Yahoo shares were trading at $12.67 pre-market on Wednesday, up 4 percent from their Nasdaq close on Tuesday. "We believe a search deal with Microsoft could deliver value to Yahoo shareholders of $24-29 per share, or more than double yesterday's closing price of $12.19," Ivory Managing Partner Curtis Macnguyen wrote in the letter.

"We envision a deal whereby Microsoft would acquire all of Yahoo's search assets and enter into a perpetual agreement for Microsoft to be the search provider for all Yahoo properties," the letter said. A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to comment. Microsoft has repeatedly said it was no longer interested in buying all of Yahoo but has left open the possibility of a search deal. Ivory, which has 21.4 million shares of Yahoo, said Yahoo could get an upfront payment of more than $15 billion from Microsoft for the search business, and retain 80 percent of the advertising revenue generated through searches on its sites. The deal could increase Yahoo's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) by more than $500 million a year, Ivory said.

Yahoo and Microsoft could also save $800 million by combining their search operations and getting rid of duplicate costs, Ivory said. The company urged immediate action in the face of Google's dominance in the Web search market. "This deal would offer Microsoft the unique opportunity to immediately gain critical mass to better level the playing field with Google, while it would simultaneously allow Yahoo to both receive a sizable upfront cash payment and increase its prospective cash flow," Ivory said.

Calls Mount in Illinois for Governor to Step Aside

2008-12-10T10:12:00.000-08:00

Political leaders in Illinois joined growing calls for the resignation of Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich a day after he was arrested and accused of putting President-elect Obama’s former United States Senate seat up for sale. They also sought to neutralize the governor’s power in the meantime by stripping him of appointment authority or even impeaching him.The Illinois legislature, which is currently adjourned, plans to reconvene on Monday to address the political fallout from the arrest of Mr. Blagojevich on Tuesday on charges of conspiracy and soliciting bribes. The state House is expected to draft a bill that would call for a special election to fill Mr. Obama’s Senate seat, which he resigned last month; state law authorizes the governor to appoint the President-elect’s successor. More than 50 lawmakers have already signed a draft resolution to create a committee to investigate whether the governor should be impeached. Cindy Davidsmeyer, a spokeswoman for Emil Jones, the president of the state Senate, said lawmakers could pass a bill on the special election as soon as next Tuesday. It is unclear whether Mr. Blagojevich would sign such legislation; he could veto it or delay it by returning it to the legislature with requests for changes or by taking no action at all for as long as 60 days.

Steve Brown, a spokesman for the state House speaker, Michael Madigan, said the legislature would act quickly “to try and send yet another signal that there is not confidence in the governor’s ability to make this appointment.” Meanwhile, political leaders nationally and across Illinois — including the state’s attorney general, lieutenant governor, treasurer and legislative leaders from the Chicago suburbs to the center of the state — greeted the charges against Mr. Blagojevich with a chorus of shock and dismay, and urged the governor to step down immediately. Mr. Blagojevich (pronounced bluh-GOY-uh-vich), a Democrat, has not made any public comments on his arrest. Sheldon Sorosky, his lawyer, told reporters that the governor was “very surprised and certainly feels that he did not do anything wrong.” A hearing in federal court will be held in January to determine whether there is probable cause to go forward with the charges.

On Wednesday morning, Mr. Blagojevich’s 52nd birthday, he went back to work. Briefcase in hand, he emerged from his home on Chicago’s North Side, and ducked into a waiting black sport-utility vehicle. Just a day earlier, F.B.I. agents with a warrant for Mr. Blagojevich’s arrest had led him from his home while his children slept. The early-morning arrest would become the first in a series of developments on Tuesday that stunned a state that thought it had seen every brand of political corruption, created grave doubt over how or when President-elect Obama’s successor in the Senate might now be selected, and left many wondering who else might yet be implicated in Mr. Blagojevich’s brash negotiations, which were captured in phone calls recorded by federal agents since before Election Day. lawyers in dominican republic “The conduct would make Lincoln roll over in his grave,” Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said in announcing the arrest of Mr. Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris.

Mr. Obama, who Mr. Fitzgerald said was not implicated in the case, sought to put distance between himself and the governor during brief remarks on Tuesday afternoon and later in an interview with The Chicago Tribune, saying he did not discuss his Senate seat with Mr. Blagojevich.

“I had no contact with the governor or his office, and so we were not — I was not aware of what was happening,” Mr. Obama said. “And as I said, it’s a sad day for Illinois. Beyond that, I don’t think it’s appropriate to comment.”

Throughout his career, Mr. Obama has adroitly straddled the state’s bruising politics, forming alliances with some old-style politicians even as he pressed for ethics reform. But Mr. Obama had long been estranged from the governor, even though some in his political circle have had relationships with both of them, including Rahm Emanuel, his chief of staff, and Emil Jones Jr., the retiring State Senate president and a longtime mentor.

The federal accusations against Mr. Blagojevich go beyond the Senate question into what the authorities here described as a “political corruption crime spree.”

The governor is accused of racing to solicit millions of dollars in donations from people with state business before an ethics law bars such behavior in January, and threatening to rescind state money this fall from businesses, including a Chicago hospital for children, whose executives refused to give him money.

He is also accused of putting pressure on The Chicago Tribune to fire members of its editorial board who had criticized him or lose the governor’s help on the possible sale of Wrigley Field, which is owned by the Tribune Company and is home to the Chicago Cubs.

In conversations with advisers that were recorded by the F.B.I., the governor seemed alternately boastful, flippant and spiteful about the Senate appointment, in which he likened his role at one point to that of an agent shopping around a free-agent ballplayer for the steepest price, a federal affidavit showed. At times, he even spoke of appointing himself to the job, the prosecutors said.“I’ve got this thing,” Mr. Blagojevich is heard saying on one recording, according to the affidavit, later calling the seat “golden” and saying “I’m just not giving it up.” He added: “I can always use it. I can parachute me there.”

According to the affidavit, in more than a month of recorded phone calls at his home and campaign office, Mr. Blagojevich considered numerous ways that he might personally and politically gain from the various Senate candidates, none of whom were identified by name in the court filing. One possible choice might be able to help him secure a post with the new administration as secretary of health and human services or energy; a “three way” deal involving a union and a candidate might win him a union leadership post; or perhaps, he could secure the high-paying helm of a nonprofit organization that could be created for him.

Mr. Blagojevich, whose administration has for years been known to be the subject of a federal corruption investigation, also spoke of his family’s financial woes and said he had three criteria for selecting the new senator: “Our legal situation, our personal situation, my political situation — this decision, like every other one, needs to be based on that.”

In several possible situations, the affidavit says, Mr. Blagojevich seemed to refer to plans already under way to make money or win a job (for him or his wife, Patti) in exchange for a particular Senate selection, raising the specter that there might be others, including some of the Senate candidates, who were participating or at least considering participating in such deals.

Even before Mr. Obama was elected president, Mr. Blagojevich was recorded telling an adviser on Oct. 31 that he was giving greater consideration to one candidate (described only as Senate Candidate 5) after an approach by “an associate” of that candidate who offered to raise $500,000 for Mr. Blagojevich, while another emissary of the Senate hopeful offered to raise $1 million. “We were approached ‘pay to play,’ ” Mr. Blagojevich said on a recording.

But prosecutors, who have made it clear that the investigation is continuing and who issued a plea on Tuesday for people to come forward with information, warned against drawing any conclusions about the true roles of candidates or anyone else in Mr. Blagojevich’s plans. And they emphasized repeatedly that the affidavit made “no allegations against the president-elect whatsoever.”

Several people among the half-dozen whose names have been suggested publicly as Senate possibilities did not respond to requests for interviews. Others, including Representative Jesse L. Jackson Jr. and Mr. Jones of the State Senate, who has been one of Mr. Blagojevich’s few allies in Springfield, issued statements expressing shock over the accusations, but they did not answer requests for interviews.

“If these allegations are proved true, I am outraged by the appalling, pay-to-play schemes hatched at the highest levels of our state government,” said Mr. Jackson, who had openly expressed interest in Mr. Obama’s old job and who met with Mr. Blagojevich, whom he is not known to be close to, for 90 minutes on Monday afternoon to discuss the post.

The affidavit says that in November, Mr. Blagojevich asserted to an adviser that he knew whom Mr. Obama wanted named as his successor — described in the affidavit as Senate Candidate 1, a reference apparently to Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to Mr. Obama — but cursed him in apparent frustration that “they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation.”

Ms. Jarrett later took her name out of consideration for the post. But at one point, Mr. Blagojevich spoke to an official at the Service Employees International Union, the affidavit says, with the “understanding that the union official was an emissary” to discuss the possibility of a “three-way deal” that would put Ms. Jarrett in the Senate seat, Mr. Blagojevich at the leadership of Change to Win, a union-affiliated group, and “in exchange, the president-elect could help Change to Win with its legislative agenda.”

Officials at the service union said they had no reason to believe that any union officials were involved in wrongdoing, and a spokesman for Change to Win said the group had had no involvement or discussion with Mr. Blagojevich. “The idea of a position at Change to Win was totally an invention of the governor,” the spokesman said.Ms. Jarrett could not be reached for comment Tuesday.Mr. Obama’s advisers made the decision on Tuesday essentially to remain silent and ignored criticism for doing so from Republicans, a strategy reminiscent of how the Bush administration reacted to the last high-profile case of Mr. Fitzgerald, who was the special prosecutor in the C.I.A. leak case. Still, David Axelrod, a senior adviser to Mr. Obama, issued a statement late Tuesday saying he had misspoken in comments he made in November that now seemed to contradict Mr. Obama’s assertions that he had no contact with Mr. Blagojevich in the conversations over a replacement.

“I know he’s talked to the governor,” Mr. Axelrod said in an interview with “Fox News Sunday” on Nov. 23. “And there are a whole range of names, many of which have surfaced.”

On Tuesday, Mr. Axelrod said he had been wrong. “They did not then or at any time discuss the subject,” according to his statement.

If the governor were to resign or be removed by the legislature, he would be succeeded by Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat who has clashed with Mr. Blagojevich for years and who said on Tuesday that he last spoke to the governor more than a year ago, in the summer of 2007.

Mr. Blagojevich arrived in office in 2002, portraying himself as a fresh break from the investigations that had plagued the state for years — and most recently from the investigation and eventual conviction of Gov. George Ryan, a Republican whom Mr. Blagojevich succeeded.

Last month, Mr. Blagojevich said that despite his regular criticism of Mr. Ryan over the years, he believed that President Bush should commute Mr. Ryan’s 6 ½-year sentence even though he had served less than 13 months. It would be a “fine decision,” Mr. Blagojevich said. On Monday, Mr. Blagojevich, who was visiting a factory sit-in here in Chicago, said he was unconcerned about reports of the corruption investigations that have swirled around his administration since at least 2005 and have swept up 14 other people. “I don’t believe there’s any cloud that hangs over me,” he told reporters at the factory. “I think there’s nothing but sunshine hanging over me.” Mr. Blagojevich seemed not to mind earlier news reports that his conversations had been recorded. “I should say if anybody wants to tape my conversations, go right ahead, feel free to do it,” he said, though he added that those who carried out such recordings sneakily, “I would remind them that it kind of smells like Nixon and Watergate.”

Walmart represents 'mainstreamification' of iPhone

2008-12-10T02:58:00.000-08:00

Walmart represents 'mainstreamification' of iPhone

A lot has been made of Apple's seemingly sure move to Walmart as a point of sale for the iPhone . Whether or not Apple releases an "everyman" $99 4Gb iPhone still remains to be seen, but this isn't the main point. The macro trend, if you haven't recognized it yet, is that the iPhone has gone beyond mainstream.

And the Apple brand? Don't worry, it will be fine. Walmart sells Coke and GE products, which are by some accounts the world's most valuable brands. They aren't suffering any dilution.

Walmart also sells iPods, and has for awhile, without any backlash. Heck, they may even start selling MacBooks. Do they sell Louis Vuitton handbags? Nope. Different demographic. But they do sell Sony.

Apple is trying to push this phone beyond even the middle class. The iPhone will now be in every small town in America. Beyond even the reach of Best Buy and AT&T stores, Walmarts are, for better or for worse, where a huge swath of Americans from all income brackets do their weekly shopping. The iPhone will be in front of every face, day after day. Week after week.

Just like the iPod has been.

If there is a $99 version, this will tempt the lower income demographic a bit more, but the biggest expense – by a landslide – is the AT&T monthly fees. In fact, on a few of AT&T's plans, the $99 will be eclipsed in the first month of wireless charges alone. This, however, will sell many more phones and won't tarnish the brand.

Not everybody is as sure as I am that cheaper iPhones are a good idea.

Beyonce Meets Etta

2008-12-09T19:23:00.000-08:00

The Daily Beast’s Rachel Syme talks with Cadillac Records director Darnell Martin about getting Beyonce, Mos Def, and Jeffrey Wright to channel Chicago’s blues legends.Etta transcended everything,” says Darnell Martin, the 44-year old writer and director of the fantastic Cadillac Records, a film in theaters now that chronicles Etta James and her label mates at Chess Records in the 1950s and ‘60s. “She was blues meets rock’n’roll meets elegance. She was just this whole other type of crossover, bridging race, age, and class.” www.wdalaw.com

Who better to play Etta in the film then, than Beyonce Knowles, a reigning pop diva in her own right? Like Etta, Beyonce possesses enough refinement to radiate glamour at public appearances, but enough musical grit and spunk to capture a wide swath of ears. “I wrote the part for Beyonce,” Martin admits. “I remember meeting her and thinking I would have to convince her, but when we sat down, she and her mother were already talking about how important this story was to tell. It was the music that inspired her to take the plunge. It’s always been about the music.” “I’ve seen men hit their actors, and it’s not considered a problem. But if you are a woman, and you have strong ideas, you can very easily become a bitch and not work again.”

Though Martin was fortunate to score Beyonce for the film (who churns out a surprisingly thorough and captivating performance—when she croons the torch song “I’d Rather Go Blind,” Knowles’ voice almost feels too heated, as if it might suddenly burst into flame), the director had no trouble convincing Jeffrey Wright to embody Muddy Waters or Mos Def to play Chuck Berry. “I’ve known Mos Def since he was named Dante Beze,” laughs Martin. “People don’t realize that he is brilliant, and was an actor who became a rapper.” Cadillac Records just might put Martin on the shortlist of both influential female and African-American filmmakers working today. The movie is a labor of love for Martin—a rare glimpse inside the world of Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Muddy Waters, and a few of the more forgotten musicians of early Chicago rock’n’roll—and unlike many other depictions of that era, the film offers a nuanced look at the race relations between black musicians and their white producers.

Martin shows Leonard Chess (Adrian Brody) as having a surprisingly tender hand while making money off of his stable of talent—a yearning love scene between Brody and Beyonce is the high point of the movie—and shows that just as he is exploiting his musicians, they too co-opted songs and riffs from other influences along the way. Martin’s musical world is a complex one of mixing, re-mixing, and blending; a more subtle treatment of the evolution of rock’n’roll than the big screen has seen in some time.

“Cadillac is not the story of Black music,” she says. “It’s story of popular music—the whole British invasion was actually the Black invasion—the songs went to England first and came back at us through the UK. There is no one origin.”

The movie is also phenomenally acted, in part because Martin did not want her actors to do impersonations, but rather sketch out their own characters inspired by the music. She says, “I loved Lady Sings the Blues because Diana Ross did not imitate Billie, she gave her interpretation, which made the music for me, much more accessible. It brought me to Billie in a way I never would have been brought to it had. My dream is that Beyonce and Mos can bring kids today to Etta, to Chuck Berry, to Little Walter. I want their music to fly off shelves! Can you imagine if children started playing the harmonica again?”

In brief: Eva Mendes is no longer a model - official

2008-12-09T19:14:00.000-08:00

Former Canadian supermodel Eva Mendes has become a little snooty about her time as a mannequin since turning to acting. Although she can be currently seen rolling around naked on an unmade bed in an advertisement for Calvin Klein's scent Obsession (pictured), she told the Daily Telegraph: "That was a homage to an American institution. I certainly don't consider it modelling"……….. David Tennant, the Dr Who actor, will perform tonight at the official London opening of the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet, which is being staged at the Novello Theatre in London, having missed last night's preview performance due to a back injury..............Simon Cowell, the creator of the ITV show The X-Factor, has been snubbed by one of his youthful proteges. Thirteen-year-old Faryl Smith rose to prominence in May, singing Ave Maria in the final of another of Cowell's shows, Britain's Got Talent, but the teenager and her family have turned their back on his offer to manage her career and are said to be poised to sign a deal with Universal Music…………. Former footballer-turned-actor Vinnie Jones has been bailed after being charged with assault for a bar-room brawl last Thursday in the city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. No trial date has been set

Illinois Governor in Corruption Scandal

2008-12-09T19:05:00.000-08:00

CHICAGO — Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois was arrested by federal authorities on Tuesday morning on corruption charges, including an allegation that he conspired to effectively sell President-elect Barack Obama’s seat in the United States Senate to the highest bidder.Mr. Blagojevich, a Democrat, called his sole authority to name Mr. Obama’s successor “golden,” and he sought to parlay it into a job as an ambassador or secretary of health and human services, or a high-paying position at a nonprofit or an organization connected to labor unions, prosecutors said in a 76-page affidavit by the United States Attorney’s office in the Northern District of Illinois. He also suggested, the affidavit said, that in exchange for the Senate appointment, his wife could be placed on corporate boards where she might earn as much as $150,000 a year, and he tried to gain promises of money for his campaign fund. If Mr. Blagojevich could not secure a deal to his liking, prosecutors said, he was willing to appoint himself.

“If I don’t get what I want and I’m not satisfied with it, then I’ll just take the Senate seat myself,” the governor said in recorded conversation, prosecutors said.

Federal authorities recorded Mr. Blagojevich speaking with advisers, fundraisers, a spokesman and a deputy governor, using listening devices placed in his office, home telephone, and a conference room at the offices of a friend, the affidavit said. In its detail, it paints a vivid picture of influence peddling and bare-knuckle politics inside the Blagojevich administration, evoking the heyday of Chicago’s political machine.

At an appearance to address climate change, Mr. Obama said he had not had any contact with Mr. Blagojevich (pronounced bluh-GOY-uh-vich) or his office, and did not know about any machinations involving the Senate seat. He said it was a “sad day” for Illinois, but declined to comment further.

The charges against Mr. Blagojevich are part of a five-year investigation into public corruption and allegations of “pay to play” deals in the clubby world of Illinois politics. In addition to the charges related to Mr. Obama’s Senate seat, they include accusations that the governor worked to gain benefits for himself, his family and his campaign fund in exchange for appointments to state boards and commissions.

For example, according to the affidavit, Mr. Blagojevich discussed whether he could strip a Chicago children’s hospital of $8 million in state money after a hospital executive declined to make a $50,000 contribution. He also discussed withholding state assistance from the financially struggling Tribune Company, which owns The Chicago Tribune, unless the newspaper dismissed unfriendly editorial writers.

Mr. Blagojevich’s chief of staff, John Harris, was also named in the complaint. After a brief appearance in federal court Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Blagojevich, dressed in sport clothes and tennis shoes, was released on a $4,500 cash bond. An official at the governor’s office had no immediate comment on Tuesday.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said that Mr. Blagojevich had gone on a “political corruption crime spree,” and that his actions had “taken us to a truly new low.”

“The conduct would make Lincoln roll over in his grave,” Mr. Fitzgerald said.

He added that the complaint “makes no allegations about the president-elect whatsoever.” In one passage of the complaint, Mr. Blagojevich is quoted cursing Mr. Obama in apparent frustration that “they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation.”

Fisher & FisherThe arrest leaves the fate of Mr. Obama’s vacant Senate seat in limbo. Mr. Blagojevich still has the power to name a successor to Mr. Obama, though experts in Illinois politics suggested that the legislature may move quickly to impeach him.

The Illinois Republican Party said Tuesday that Mr. Blagojevich should resign immediately “for the good of the state.” Senator Richard Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, said that “no appointment by this governor under these circumstances could produce a credible replacement.”

Emil Jones, president of the state Senate, said he would call the body back into session to write a law to schedule a special election for Mr. Obama’s Senate seat.

Mr. Blagojevich, 51, is serving his second term and has portrayed himself as a reformer. His predecessor, George Ryan, a Republican, was convicted of racketeering and fraud in 2006, and is now in prison.

But members of Mr. Blagojevich’s administration have been under investigation for more than a year. And this spring, the governor’s office was upended by the corruption trial of Antoin Rezko, a political fundraiser, when witnesses said Mr. Blagojevich had participated in kickback schemes that led to Mr. Rezko’s conviction. Mr. Blagojevich was not charged in that case.

Until Tuesday, though, few here could have imagined that the decision on replacing Mr. Obama would have resulted in explosive criminal charges against the governor. Under Illinois law, Mr. Blagojevich has sole authority to fill the seat being vacated by Mr. Obama, who was elected to the Senate in 2004. Mr. Obama’s resignation from the Senate took effect Nov. 16.

'Desperate Housewives' Tops Ratings Despite Eva Longoria's Desperate Habit

2008-12-09T12:03:00.000-08:00

In today's world, smoking surely isn't a big deal. But to this celebrity, it grew to be an exposé that could slightly rattle her reputation. The New York Daily News has reported that Longoria Parker has been trying to keep this little thing a secret. Sources haven't revealed why, but we can guess it's for the purpose of having a healthy image.

Dave Navarre, the owner of celebrity news website X-17, said “She hates to be photographed smoking. But we get her once in a while.”

Even though she smokes, Eva Longoria Parker is still a treat to see on Desperate Housewives or any project she's in. The habit isn't exactly something you condemn someone for. She's a grown woman, capable of making her decisions about her lifestyle. Besides, she's already been caught so there's no reason to keep hiding it.

Another item that Desperate Housewives fans might take interest in is the birthday of star Teri Hatcher. The actress, who plays the clumsy Susan Meyer on the show, turned 44 yesterday, marking another year in her renowned career. It's no secret that one of the most-watched weekend shows on television is ABC's Desperate Housewives. For its last episode, “A Vision's Just A Vision,” the show managed to score 16 million viewers for the day. It was the top-rated program of the hour, as studied by Neilsen estimates.

Even though the world knows about the success of the series, there's one thing that the show is keeping secret. It doesn't concern torrid affairs or eloping with lovers. It has something to do with a habit that Eva Longoria Parker can't seem to kick. The actress has finally been caught smoking.

While on vacation in Puerto Rico, the star of Desperate Housewives was photographed smoking cigarettes. At the time, she was attending the wedding of Roselyn Sanchez, star of the series Without a Trace. Many have already stated that Longoria Parker is a “closet smoker,” but apparently the cat's already jumped out of the bag.

BRITNEY A NO-SHOW: Spears' tour skips San Diego

2008-12-09T11:56:00.000-08:00

The circus won't be coming to town after all -- Britney Spears' concert next April at the San Diego Sports Arena has fallen through before tickets could even go on sale.

Last week, the San Diego Union-Tribune and UTStreet.com were informed that Spears had added an April 20 tour stop to her North American tour, which is being launched to promote her new album, circus We promptly informed our readers with an articles that included some of the ticket prices and the Dec. 13 on-sale date. Then things shifted, with Britney's date moving to April 22. That is, until it fell through altogether late yesterday.

"Britney will not be performing in San Diego on this date of the tour," a concert spokesman said. No official reason has been given for the decision for Spears to skip San Diego, but -- in an intriguing coincidence -- she has now added an April 20 date at the Honda Center in Anaheim, where she also performs April 19. Given that her next date isn''t until April 24 in Arizona, Spears' San Diego fans are justified to wonder why she's not coming here in between.

Miley Cyrus, Obama items hot online sellers in 2008

2008-12-09T11:54:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Teen star Miley Cyrus, pop diva Madonna, "The Dark Knight," hi-tech gadgets and OBAMA were among America's top pop culture obsessions that turned into possessions in 2008, according to online market place eBay.

"When someone or something excites the American public, you immediately see a surge of related listings pop up on eBay," said Karen Bard, eBay's pop culture expert.

Cyrus, the 16-year-old star of Disney's "Hannah Montana" TV show, beat teen rivals like the Jonas Brothers and the cast of "High School Musical" hands down in terms of items sold on eBay, the Web site said in a survey of hot items in 2008.

Some 223,139 "Hannah Montana" related-items, ranging from buttons, to clothes and posters, exchanged hands on the Web site during the year.

Britney Spears, emerging from another year of personal woes, proved popular with eBay buyers with 32,966 items sold.

But Spears was overshadowed by "Material Girl" Madonna, who turned 50 this year and also divorced second husband Guy Ritchie after months of rumors. Madonna memorabilia, albums and posters saw sales of 96,511 items.

In a historic presidential election year, Barack Obama was the clear front-runner on eBay as well as with U.S. voters, winning the November election and to become the first U.S. black president.

The Web site saw an active trade in Obama posters, coins, action figures and even the odd lunchbox that led to sales of 111,546 Obama-related items.

Months of Obama-fever outstripped sales of Sarah Palin items (20,712) after the Alaska governor was named Republican vice-presidential candidate in September, sparking a rush in buyers for look-alike wigs, Palin's trademark glasses, autographed photos and even thong underwear.

Fans went batty for "The Dark Knight," the latest Batman movie, with 60,484 related items sold -- 18 times more than those of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

Olympic gold medal swimming champion Michael Phelps broke records in the pool and sparked a buying fever online that saw 13,350 Phelps-related items sold on eBay, the world's largest online marketplace.

But the hottest of all the pop culture trends was the Nintendo Wii, which saw a whopping 2.05 million related items including accessories and games sold on eBay, outstripping the Microsoft Xbox 360 (1.29 million items), Apple's new iPod Touch (281,361) and the iPhone 3G (212,837).

Brandy, "Human" (Epic Records)

2008-12-09T11:51:00.001-08:00

Brandy, "Human" (Epic Records)

Brandy has gone through a lot since she released her last CD four years ago. She left her longtime music label, dabbled in TV, and was involved in a car crash that killed a woman (she faced no charges).

Perhaps because of all of those experiences, her new album, "Human," represents her most personal CD to date.

The 15-track set never disappoints, as the 29-year-old explores love in deeper ways (like on the infectious "Piano Man") than most contemporary R&B artists. She reunites with longtime collaborator Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins for the majority of the CD.

Some of the songs are therapeutic — like "Camouflage," a nice tune where Brandy sings, "These flaws I got, there a part of who I am/Take me or not, but I finally understand." The title track, which Brandy co-wrote, feels just as good. The song is a beautiful reflection of her growth as a singer and as a person.

The CD's best tracks include the cool "1st & Love,""Fall," co-written by Natasha Bedingfield and "Shattered Heart," a futuristic heartbreak song that could easily be remixed by Kanye West while he's in his "808s & Heartbreak" phase.

Since Brandy emerged as a teen sensation in 1994, the singer's always released solid R&B albums that have helped maintain her career even when she's not in the spotlight. Add "Human" to that list.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: "1st & Love" is a classic love groove about finding "the one" on a street corner. There might be a line of men waiting for Brandy tomorrow.

Ill. Gov. charged in Obama successor probe

2008-12-09T11:48:00.001-08:00

CHICAGO – Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested on Tuesday on charges he brazenly conspired to sell or trade the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama to the highest bidder in what a federal prosecutor called a "corruption crime spree."

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald told a news conference prosecutors make "no allegations" Obama was aware of any alleged scheming.

Blagojevich also was charged with illegally threatening to withhold state assistance to Tribune Co., the owner of the Chicago Tribune, in the sale of Wrigley Field, according to a federal criminal complaint. In return for state assistance, Blagojevich allegedly wanted members of the paper's editorial board who had been critical of him fired. QUICK DIVORCE

"We were in the middle of a corruption crime spree and we wanted to stop it," Fitzgerald said Tuesday, calling the corruption charges against Blagojevich "a truly new low."

Federal investigators bugged the governor's campaign offices and placed a tap on his home phone and Chicago FBI chief Robert Grant said even seasoned investigators were "stunned" by what they heard on the tapes.

Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero said the governor's office did not have immediate comment on the charges but issued a statement saying the "allegations do nothing to impact the services, duties or function of the State."

Love in a Time Of HIV

2008-12-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

A brand new series exploring how a new generation of young people are dealing with HIV

Living with HIV is a fact of life for millions of people. Living for a long time is also becoming fact for those lucky enough to have access to antiretroviral drugs.

In this new series we meet some of those people and find out how they're coping; from the young Indian woman who joins an HIV positive marriage bureau in Delhi to a British couple using a sperm washing technique to prevent HIV being passed on to their child.

I Love New York

Sixteen year old Christina Rodriguez is just like any other teenager in New York. She hangs out with the friends, she's thinking about dating and she's working out her future at college. But Christina was born HIV positive. She was diagnosed when she was just three years old, the same year both her parents tested positive.

Two years later her father died of AIDS - on the day before her fifth birthday. Her own chances of surviving then were not great. But Christina's got courage and attitude.

Although she has to follow a strict and demanding medical regime - over the years she has had to swallow thousands of pills - she has managed it, battling her way through depression on the way.

In "I Love New York" - the third in BBC World News HIV series - Christina talks openly about how she copes with her treatment and about her love for her mother.

This is a moving, sensitive and personal account of the bond between a mother and daughter and how both are dealing with being HIV positive.

Jessica Simpson Haircuts

2008-10-20T04:37:00.001-07:00

Jessica Simpson, born 10 July 1980, is fashion designer and top ranked celebrity icon. After having commenced her career as a pop star during the 90s, Jessica Simpson has turned into a celebrity fashion designer.

Jessica Simpson sports some cute and sexy haircuts, designs and ideas for which are inspired from her pop music video albums and movies. Jessica Simpson has started her own exclusive line of fashion, hairstyles, hair products and other accessories. With the moral backing and business acumen of her father, Jessica Simpson has exploited her stylish iconic status. Jessica Simpson has converted her own designs and inspirations into a full-fledged business empire.

Check out the top celebrity bloggers community to view great images of Jessica Simpson haircuts. Enjoy and get inspired from her big evening bun, half updo, stunning and classic new bobs, wavy curls, stylishly layered, soft and romantic layered, super-sexy blonde locks, classic barrette and many other feminine and simple haircuts.

Picture of Jessica Simpson with short hair

Pretty picture of Jessica Simpson

Jessica Simpson with blond, long hairstyle

Jessica Simpson with short hair

Jessica Simpson Hairstyle

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7620362.stm

2008-09-17T14:21:00.001-07:00

Blasts rock US embassy in Yemen

Al-Jazeera aired video it said showed the moments after the attack

A double car bomb attack on the US embassy in Yemen has killed at least 16 people, Yemeni officials say.

Washington said bombers targeted the main security gate as staff were arriving for work, but they failed to breach the compound's walls.

The militants, who were reportedly dressed as policemen, also exchanged gunfire with guards during the assault.

The US blamed al-Qaeda for the attack, and President George Bush said it was a reminder that the US is at war.

Security sources said six members of the Yemeni security forces, six attackers, and four bystanders were killed in the attack, which occurred in the capital, Sanaa, at about 0830 (0530 GMT).

We saw... a massive fireball very close to the US embassy

Trev Mason
eyewitness

Yemen faces new Jihad generation

US officials have confirmed that none of the casualties were Americans

Speaking in Washington, Mr Bush said the attack was "a reminder that we are at war against extremists who will murder innocent people to achieve their ideological objectives".

Mr Bush said the US government wanted people to be able to lead normal lives and would "help governments survive the extremists".

Condemning the "vicious" attack, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said it bore "all the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda attack".

Separately, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the US would continue working with Yemen's government to "increase our counter-terrorism activities to prevent more attacks from taking place".

'Massive fireball'

British citizen Trev Mason described hearing explosions while in his residential compound near the embassy.

"We heard the sounds of a heavy gun battle going on," he told CNN television.

"I looked out of my window and we saw the first explosion going off, a massive fireball very close to the US embassy."

The attack is the second on the embassy in the past six months.

Earlier this year, the US ordered the evacuation of non-essential personnel from Yemen after mortar bombs were fired towards the embassy. They missed but hit a nearby school.

A group calling itself the Islamic Jihad in Yemen said it had carried out the attack, and threatened to target other foreign missions in the region unless its jailed members were released.

The authenticity of the claim could not be immediately verified.

'Sophisticated attack'

Sean McCormack said he understood that two vehicle-borne bombs had been involved in Wednesday's attack.

"They didn't succeed in this case, and it's a testament again to the kind of security upgrades that we have put in place," he said.

"We are looking at what further security steps we might take in the coming days to make sure the embassy is protected."

Yemen has long been a haven for Islamist militants.

In 2000, 17 US sailors were killed when suicide bombers with alleged links to al-Qaeda blew themselves up on an inflatable raft next to the USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden.

The government of Yemen, which backs America's "war on terror", has often blamed al-Qaeda for attacks on Western targets in the country.

US special forces have been helping the government fight the Islamist militants, but analysts say there has been only limited success in restraining the militant groups.

Yemen is a desperately poor corner of the Middle East and, like Afghanistan, there is rugged mountainous terrain, with a vast supply of weapons.

Investors edgy as US stocks fall

2008-09-17T14:14:00.001-07:00

US stock markets sank on fears the bailout of insurance giant AIG would not be enough to dispel the gloom engulfing the financial world.

Finance firms fell with Goldman Sachs 15% lower while Morgan Stanley saw shares 25% down in afternoon trade.

Investors were unnerved by recent dramatic events, including Lehman Brothers' demise, leading European indexes to end down.

The Dow Jones industrial average shed 2.1% having fallen more than 4%.

The FTSE 100 closed 2.2% lower while France's Cac 40 shed 2.1% and Germany's Dax shed 1.7%.

The global financial crisis

In pictures

It has been a tumultuous week on financial markets, with significant changes in the financial landscape.

Key events on Wednesday included:

Beleaguered HBOS in merger talks with Lloyds TSB after a steep fall in its share price
US insurance giant AIG being bailed out by the US government
Volatile stock markets as global investors remain nervous
Trading on the Russian stock exchange being suspended
Barclays snapping up key assets from Lehman Brothers after its bankruptcy

Finance shares globally were among the most volatile on Tuesday.

How big are these companies?

Top UK mortgage lender HBOS, which has faced heavy selling this week, had a rollercoaster ride.

HBOS shares fell some 50% before recovering after it emerged that it was in advanced talks to be taken over by Lloyds TSB.

But by close of trade HBOS was 19% lower, while Royal Bank of Scotland shed 10.4%.

I don't think anyone has got any or much confidence in market direction for more than a few days

Darren Winder, Cazenove

Topsy-turvy trade

Trade is likely to remain rocky amid concern that financial system instability will continue after the dramatic events of the past few days.

"I don't think anyone has got any or much confidence in market direction for more than a few days," said Darren Winder, a strategist at Cazenove.

AIG's bail-out follows the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers, which caused share prices to plummet across the world's financial markets.

The White House on Wednesday defended the takeover of AIG, saying: "You have a government that is willing to lead, act where appropriate, and govern to make sure that we limit broader financial harm to the economy," said White House press secretary Dana Perino.

Another investment bank, Merrill Lynch, has been sold off to Bank of America.

Russia's stock exchange suspended trade following steep falls in shares.

Asian shares had a mixed session. Stocks in Tokyo, Taipei, and Seoul all rose, although prices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Australia lost ground.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index ended up 1.2% at 11,749.79, having risen by as much as 2.3% earlier in the day. The index had hit a three-year low on Tuesday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended down 3.6% at 17,637.19 points.

divorce lawyers

2008-09-12T10:26:00.000-07:00

http://www.wdalaw.com/qd/divorce-lawyers.php

Obama Plans Sharper Tone as Party Frets

2008-09-12T10:25:00.001-07:00

Obama Plans Sharper Tone as Party Frets

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By ADAM NAGOURNEY and JEFF ZELENY
Published: September 11, 2008

Senator Barack Obama will intensify his assault against Senator John McCain, with new television advertisements and more forceful attacks by the candidate and surrogates beginning Friday morning, as he confronts an invigorated Republican presidential ticket and increasing nervousness in the Democratic ranks.
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Ray Stubblebine/Reuters

Senator Barack Obama greeted Senator John McCain at a forum on public service Thursday night. Mr. Obama planned to begin intensifying his assault against Mr. McCain on Friday.
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Mr. McCain’s choice of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate and the resulting jolt of energy among Republican voters appear to have caught Mr. Obama and his advisers by surprise and added to concern among some Democrats that the Obama campaign was not pushing back hard enough against Republican attacks in a critical phase of the race.

Some Democrats said Mr. Obama needed to move to seize control of the campaign and to block Mr. McCain from snatching away from him the message that he was the best hope to bring change to Washington.

After back-to-back attack ads by Mr. McCain, including one that misleadingly accused Mr. Obama of endorsing sex education for kindergarten students, the Obama campaign is planning to sharpen attacks on Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin in an effort to counter Mr. McCain’s attempt to present himself as the candidate of change with his choice of Ms. Palin.

Mr. Obama's campaign released two new advertisements this morning that underscored the tougher road it is taking, criticizing Mr. McCain for, among other things, favoring tax cuts for corporations and acknowledging that he doesn't know how to use a computer or send e-mail. "Things have changed in the last 26 years, but John McCain hasn't," an announcer says in one advertisement. "After one president who was out of touch, we just can't afford more of the same."

The new tone is to be presented in a speech by Mr. Obama in New Hampshire and in television interviews with local stations in five swing states, backed up by new advertisements and appearances across the country by supporters.

In addition, advertising themes will be pay equity for women, an issue that has particular resonance as the campaigns battle for female voters, and a more pointed linking of Mr. McCain to President Bush and Republicans in Washington.

But Mr. Obama’s aides said they were confident with the course of the campaign. They said that, other than making some shifts around the edges, particularly in response to Mr. McCain’s effort to seize the change issue from Mr. Obama, they were not planning any major deviation from a strategy that called for a steady escalation of attacks on Mr. McCain as the race heads toward the debates.

That response is characteristic for a campaign that has presented itself as disciplined and unflappable and is reminiscent of the way Mr. Obama’s campaign reacted a year ago when it came under fire from allies who said it was not being tough enough in going after Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

“We’re sensitive to the fluid dynamics of the campaign, but we have a game plan and a strategy,” said Mr. Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe. “We’re familiar with this. And I’m sure between now and Nov. 4 there will be another period of hand-wringing and bed-wetting. It comes with the territory.”

Still, Democrats outside the campaign suggested Mr. Obama should be urgently working to regain control of the message.

“The Obama message has been disrupted in the last week,” said Representative Artur Davis, Democrat of Alabama. “It’s a time for Democrats to focus on what the fundamentals are in this election.”

Phil Singer, who was a press secretary for Mrs. Clinton in her primary campaign against Mr. Obama, said, “The Obama people need to reboot and figure out ways to make the McCain-Bush argument newsworthy again.”

The uneasiness among Democrats is the result of a confluence of factors in the week since Mr. McCain accepted his party’s nomination in St. Paul. The selection of Ms. Palin became the defining event of Mr. McCain’s convention, revving up the conservative base and drawing the spotlight away from Mr. Obama.

Mr. McCain’s increasingly aggressive campaign has sought to put Mr. Obama on the defensive in each news cycle, using any development at hand, like Mr. Obama’s colloquial comment this week about putting “lipstick on a pig,” to keep attention away from Democratic messages about the economy and the similarities between Mr. McCain and Mr. Bush.

And a series of quick polls taken after the Republican convention have suggested that Mr. Obama has lost support among white women and independent voters. Polls taken so close to major political events are notoriously unreliable, but Democrats remember what happened in 2004, when Republicans used the period right after Senator John Kerry’s nomination to undercut him with a series of attacks.

Katie's Play Is Selling A-OK
Filed under: Broadway Babies > Katie Holmes

katie.jpg

Hard to believe!

Katie Holmes could be part of one of the fall season's biggest 'non musical' box office winners on Broadway.

Variety reports that the producers of the Homles-starring play All My Sons have just announced that their advance ticket sales total about $3.5 million.

Guess those box office dud rumors can be put to rest for the time being.

[Image via WENN.]

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Dina Plays Nice
Filed under: Lindsay Lohan > Love Line > Dina Lohan > Michael Lohan > saMAN Ronson

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It's been a while - DAYS! - since we heard from Lindsay Lohan's parents, but our prayers have been answered.

This time around it's momma Dina Lohan who's speaking out.

So what does the Orange Oprah have to say????

She claims she really likes Lezlo's girlfriend, saMAN Ronson.

That's not what daddy, Michael Lohan, had previously said.

Remember, Michael claimed that his concerns over the bad influence that is Ronson grew out of the shit Dina was telling him about LezLo and saMAN!

But Dina says that's not true.

And, Wednesday night, while she was at a benefit in NY with the happy couple, Dina spoke to reporters, naturally.

Momma said, "I love Lindsay and I love Samantha, if they are happy, I am happy. This is my child, I mean, what better place for a child to be than happy in her soul and her spirit."

How sweet and - yet - she seems so fake!

[Photo via Getty Images.]

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Playlist:

9.10.08 PM Sean Avery, MTV VMAs, M...

9.10.08 AM Katie Holmes & Joshua J...

9.9.08 PM Christina Aguilera, Katy...

9.9.08 AM MTV VMAs, Jonas Brothers...
Not Engaged
Filed under: Tara Reid > Love Line

tara.jpg

We bet her alleged fiance, Julien Jarmoune, had a coronary when he heard the wedding rumors and asked her to put an end to the insanity ASAP!

Tara Reid is NOT engaged. Thankfully - or unthankfully, depending how you look at it.

Here's what the former actress wrote on her blog:

Yet again another rumor. No.. I am not engaged and Julien does not own J & Company. I have been hard at work launching MANTRA and Julien launched his own denim line called Black Orchid.
I am about to leave to NY on Saturday to shoot the campaign for MANTRA. I am so excited! Can't wait for all of you guys to see the photos!
Xoxo
Tara

Heavens help the man who actually gets dragged down the aisle with Terror.

[Image via PR Photos.]

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Kanye Speaks!!!!
Filed under: Kanye West > When Celebrities Blog

wenn2008534.jpg

Mr. West is breaking his silence about his arrest at Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday for being a tad too aggressive with a paparazzo and vandalizing his camera.

The rapper turned to his blog on Friday and said the following about the incident:

"We back in the lab!!! I'm cool with the paparazzi. This guy wasn't cool. I gotta work now… I'll rant later!"

And there you have it.

We look forward to that "rant"!

[Image via WENN.]

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Most e-mailed
Most commented

1. Headline Of The Week Weak
2. The Video Jessica Simpson Doesn't Want You All To See!!!!
3. Matt Damon vs Sarah Palin
4. Tina Fey May Return To SNL To Play Palin!
5. CBS Pulls the Plug on 'Misleading' McCain Ad
6. They Are The Champions
7. She's Back, Jack
8. Sarah Palin Speaks!
9. Breaking Tradition
10. Sarah Palin's Son Is A Druggie???

1. Breaking Tradition
2. Sarah Palin Speaks!
3. Pam's Message To Palin
4. How To Lose Fans And Alienate People
5. 9/11
6. Matt Damon vs Sarah Palin
7. Boycott Oprah?
8. Sarah Palin's Son Is A Druggie???
9. CBS Pulls the Plug on 'Misleading' McCain Ad
10. B-Racking SNL!

Ben Affleck Gets A Makeover
Filed under: Ben Affleck > Jason Bateman

aben-affleck-jason-batema.jpg

Blast from the past!

No, he's not making a sequel to Dazed & Confused, sadly.

Sporting a long wig, Ben Affleck was spotted on the set of his new film, Extract, Thursday in Los Angeles.

Yes, that's Jason Bateman next to him.

Yum!

[Image via Daniel Mayer Photo.]

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He's Loaded!
Filed under: TV News > Anglophilia

hugh1.jpg

Wow!

House star Hugh Laurie will be making $400,000 per episode in his new contract with the show.

That salary will make him one of the highest paid actors on TV.

That's a lot of money! We can't believe he's not the top earner!

His network mate, Keifer Sutherland, gets about $500K per episode for playing Jack Bauer on 24.

Laurie was making a 'measly' five figure rate per show when he started in 2004.

Way to move on up, doc!

[Image via Mavrix Online.]

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There's Only One Way This Can End
Filed under: Personally Perez > Zportz

santinooooo.jpg

In the ring!

Come on, SantinA. Bring it.

Perez is not afraid of you!

P.S. We love Beth. She's so trashy and stoopid!

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Their Latest 'Victim'?
Filed under: Tom Cruise > Juliette Lewis > Pink > Lisa Marie Presley

pink.jpg

The power of Xenu!

We hope this isn't true, but…..

Star magazine is reporting that Pink has turned to Scientology!

The singer supposedly sought comfort in the "religion" following her split from ex-husband Carey Hart.

Her pal, fellow rocker Juliette Lewis, is said to have introduced her to Scientology.

Pink's attendance at Scientologist Lisa Marie Presley's baby shower last month is making sense now! In fact, she hosted the party!!!

A source tells the rag, "Pink is in the beginning stages of checking out the religion, but she has taken to it and she wants to get more involved."

Expect a Pink/Tom Cruise sighting very soon!

[Image via WENN.]

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Quote Of The Day
Filed under: Quote of the Day > Celebrity Feuds > Miley Cyrus > Jonas Brothers

79693577__opt.jpg

"There’s a lot of shit out there where people are calling it ‘rock.’ I went into Barnes & Noble the other day, and there’s a huge display that says ‘rock & roll,’ and it had a big thing of Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers. I went, ‘What the fuck is this?’ People are believing that shit that is not rock & roll, is not the rock lifestyle, is rock.”

- Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx tells Rolling Stone

At Least This Is Doing Well

2008-09-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

compañia de payasos en republica dominicana

At Least This Is Doing Well

Filed under: TV News > Tyra Banks

We mentioned last week that Tyra's America's Next Top Model bombed this season.

According to the ratings, the two-hour Top Model premiere was down 11% from the February cycle and a hefty 32% less than the September 2007 series premiere.

But, luckily for Tyra, the fourth season debut of The Tyra Banks Show, ranked in as number one with female viewers 18-34 - among all other talk shows!

Finally, some good news for Ms. Banks.

And what does she have next in line for her topics?

She just opened up by stripping down to help women "feel better about themselves by helping them recognize their true beauty."

And on tomorrow's show she's going to talk about why some African American women "take drastic measures to change their skin tone by bleaching their skin to make it lighter."

Is she gonna talk to Michael Jackson???

[Image via WENN.]

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Just Like Old Times

Filed under: Anglophilia > Mika > Katy Perry

Awwwww! Wish we could be there!!!

We're there in spirit, though!!!

Miz Katy Perry currently has the #1 song in the U.K. - for the 5th week in a row! - with her worldwide monster hit I Kissed A Girl.

So, straight from her performance at the MTV VMAs, the singer hopped on a flight to Europe, where she'll be working her toosh off for the next month.

On Tuesday night, the singer caught up with old friend Mika in London.

The pair went together to the Serpentine Gallery Summer Party, a big deal on that side of the pond.

We can't wait ’til November, when we're back in London - AND Liverpool for the first time!

[Photo via Getty Images.]

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Playlist:

9.5.08 PM Michael & Lindsay Lohan,...

9.5.08 AM Kanye, U2, Sarah Palin, ...

9.4.08 PM Jamie Lynn Spears & Bris...

9.4.08 AM Mackenzie Phillips, Davi...

Ellen, Supermodel!

Filed under: Beauty Buzz > Ellen DeGeneres

Did her newlywed glow help her seal the deal????

Talk show queen Ellen DeGeneres has signed on to be a new spokeslady for CoverGirl make-up.

She's supposedly shooting a campaign this week.

Rumor has it that she was paid a lot of money — $1 million!

Nice!

[Image via WENN.]

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Naomi + Babies = Bad Idea!

Filed under: Baby Blabber > Naomi Campbell

Naomi Campbell want to be a mother.

God help us all!

Earlier this year, the phone-throwing diva was rushed to a hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to have a cyst removed.

However, she's now admitting that it was actually a surgery to incorrect her infertility.

Campbell says, "They thought it was a cyst. When they opened it up they realized it was more."

Naomi says she's now ready to have a family.

We hope she works out all her anger management problems first!

Naomi says, "I was not able to have children up until March. Now it's in God's hands. I would love to have a family."

So, who should be Campbell's babydaddy?

[Image via WENN.]

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Mushy Too Much To Handle - Splits With Beau

Filed under: Love Line > Mischa Barton

It's back to the single life for Mischa Barton.

Turns out that the former actress grew tired of her boyfriend of seven months, Rooney frontman Taylor Locke.

The two were apparently on some three-week safari and charity trip through Africa recently, which went HOrribly wrong.

It seems all that time spent together wasn't good for the two.

A source tells In Touch Weekly that before they're safari excursion, "They'd only see each other for a few days at a time."

The two hardly spent much time together before that - what type of a relationship did they even have?

The source adds, "Mischa and Taylor's romance worked because they spent so much time apart. He'd be on tour or she'd be working in Europe and they talked over the phone or e-mail."

As for their recent trip to Africa together, "They fought almost every day on the trip. She broke up with him just a few days after they returned to LA."

Poor Mushy Fartone.

She's like the Z-list version of Jennifer Aniston!

[Image via WENN.]

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Holmes & Jackson: Reunited!

Filed under: Broadway Babies > Tom Cruise > Love Line > Katie Holmes

Katie Holmes might have one normal friend left!

Before there was Tom Cruise, there was her first love and co-star in Dawson's Creek, Joshua Jackson.

The two hadn't seen each other recently, until Jackson paid Holmes a surprise visit as she rehearsed for the potential Broadway disaster, All My Sons.

According to an inside source tells the Daily Mail, "Joshua wanted to check everything was OK. They haven't spoken in a while and, naturally, he was worried. So he just decided to drop by."

The source adds, "It was really sweet, he just turned up unexpectedly with a bunch of flowers and said: 'Hello stranger.' Katie was shocked, but so happy to see him. It was a wonderful surprise. She gave him such a big hug."

Katie dated Jackson for a bit over a year back in 1998 during her pre-Scientology days.

In an interview after her breakup with Jackson, she later said, "I fell in love, I had my first love, and it was something so incredible and indescribable that I will treasure it always."

The source added, "Joshua made it clear she wasn't alone. He's not out to cause trouble. Her life is truly bizarre now, but having some friends supporting her who have nothing to do with her LA set-up could make all the difference. Josh would love to see Katie as the carefree and relaxed woman he once knew."

Awwww, how sweet and just…. a little too late!

If he really cared so much, wouldn't he have intervened a while ago?

According to the source, though, the two have barely kept in touch since they last worked together on the show five years ago.

Wonder what would have become of Katie's life if she had stayed with Jackson?

[Images via WENN.]

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Message Good, Method Not Cool

Filed under: Gay Gay Gay > Katy Perry

The Ohio church that 'played' with Katy Perry's I Kissed a Girl lyrics on its signage to dissuade its girls from kissing other girls ("I kissed a girl and I liked it, then I went to hell") was hit by vandals.

We agree that,
God
Adores
You

…but, there's a better way to get the word out, right?

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Must Listen To This!">You Must Listen To This!

Filed under: Madonna > Australiastic > Listen To This

Former Savage Garden singer Darren Hayes has done the most exquisite remake of the Madonna classic Dress You Up.

You can listen to it below and click here to download it for free, courtesy of Mr. Hayes.

Darren explained his reinterpretation on his blog.

He says:

In 1985 the Her Madgesty released a song that made me want to dance, sing and get up and do my thing.

I recently performed a live version of it at my New Years Eve show last year and fulfilled a lifelong indulgent ambition.

In celebration of the Queen's show in London this week Justin Shave and I recorded a studio version based on an original tour demo floating around from the Reinvention Tour era that I believe was scrapped. My vocals pay homage to the way the Boy Toy adlibed them during the Virgin Tour.

It's sooooooo good!

Listen NOW.

The Queen of Pop will be quite pleased.

Must Listen To This!">Permalink / Must Listen To This!">33 comments (RSS) / Forward this post »

MTV's VMA Ratings Rocked

Filed under: TV News > MTV > Britney Spears > Russell Brand

2008's MTV Video Music Awards delivered!

In the key 18-34 demographic, this year's show ratings were 15% higher than the 2007 broadcast and 41% higher than the 2006 edition.

The show was also the highest-rated telecast on all of cable in the 12-34 demo this year.

Dayum!

We guess casting the unknown Brit comic Russell Brand didn't bite the net in the ass!

MTV.com also saw a boost this year.

Its VMA-related pages delivered more than 10 million page views, a 110% increase over last year.

But, y'all know there's a certain someone MTV needs to tip its hat to for the massive ratings.

Britney. Spears.

You know you tuned in just to see her!

[Image via WENN.]

Akon Did It Again!

2008-09-05T05:54:00.000-07:00

Akon Did It Again!

Filed under: Akon

Akon Punches Chick Out At Concert - Watch more free videos

He got physically agressive with a concertgoer - a female! - at a show last weekend.

And it was caught on tape!!!!

Idiot. Idiot.

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U2009

Filed under: Music Minute > Bono

Could this be a bad sign?????

U2's next album was expected to be released this fall, though it's now been pushed to early 2009.

The band will continue to write and record material until then. Currently, they've been recording in the south of France.

They've also confirmed the delay of the new album on their official website.

Bono says, "This is our chance for us to defy gravity once again. We have what it takes, we have the songs, new rhythms and a guitar player who is not ready to re-enter earth's atmosphere until he's taken a slice of the moon!"

He adds, "It's been fun, it's been maddening… there have been injuries and recoveries, no babies born that I know of, but this one is nearly ready for the new year of 2009."

The new album will be a follow up to their 2004 How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.

It's been that long????

Bono continues, "It’s a brand new chapter for us, and everyone we’ve played the tracks to has said that musically it feels like another departure."

"The last two records were very personal, with a kind of three piece at their heart, the primary colours of rock - bass, guitars and drum. But what we’re about now is of the same order as the transition that took us from The Joshua Tree to Achtung Baby," he says.

And according to Bono, there were about 50 or 60 new songs for the band to consider for their new album.

So let's hope this one is the best of them all.

[Image via WENN.]

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Playlist:

9.2.08 PM Amy Winehouse, Holly Mad...

9.2.08 AM 90210, John Mayer, Diddy...

9.1.08 PM Madonna, Linda & Hulk Ho...

9.1.08 AM Suge Knight, Jerry Lewis...

Chatting With…. Russell Brand

Filed under: Exclusives! > Personally Perez > Anglophilia > Russell Brand > Chatting With...

We caught up with British funny man Russell Brand, and of course we taped our lovely video chat for your viewing pleasure.

The Winehouse-coiffed comedian definitely brings the LOLs!

We talked to him about his gig hosting the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, why Brits are the worst tourists in the world (according to a new poll), and - of course - the elephant in the room.

CLICK HERE to check it out!

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The Next Superman Is?

Filed under: Gay Gay Gay > Film Flickers

With the success the Dark Knight had at the box office, it's only natural that they're going to come out with more superhero movies. Many MANY more.

The next talked about big superhero movie to be "reimagined" will be Warner Bros' Superman.

But the real question isn't when or if the movie will come out, it's who will play Clark Kent?

Several online fans have already been campaigning for actor Tom Welling (above left) for some time now.

Welling plays Superman on the TV show Smallville.

However, there's also a lot of support for homolicious British actor Henry Cavill (above right), from The Tudors.

Coincidentally, Cavill also auditioned for the role of Superman when they were casting for Superman Returns back in 2004.

He had also previously auditioned for the lead roles in Batman Begins and Casino Royale.

Maybe the Superman role will be his big break?

Also reportedly in the list of top contenders for the role is Canadian actor Victor Webster, who's been in various TV shows.

So whom do U think should play the new Superman?

[Image via WENN.]

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Hospitalized!

Filed under: Politik > Barack Obama

Let's hope he's ok.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson was hospitalized on Thursday after complaining of severe stomach pains.

Jackson became sick earlier this week and he is currently undergoing tests at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

As for a diagnosis, doctors have told the 66 year-old Jackson that he has viral gastroenteritis, however they are conducting a few more tests.

According to Jackson, he was helping out with voter registrations in Georgia, campaigning for Presidential hopeful Barack Obama, when he began to feel sick and apparently became dehydrated.

As of today, Jackson said he was feeling better, though he's still not certain when he'll be released.

Get well soon!

[Image via WENN.]

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Comeback Accomplished!

Filed under: Music Minute

The New Kids on the Block must be thrilled they decided to do a comeback.

It's working!

NKOTB just got their new Interscope comeback album, The Block, released and their tour is sold out.

And the estimates for their first week sales is said to be…. around 115,000.

That should at least guarantee them a Top 5 spot.

Congrats!

Does this mean N'Sync will be making a comeback as well?

Maybe without Justin!!!

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Metallica's 180

Filed under: Music Minute

Talk about a change of heart!

Metallica's latest album has been leaked by a French fan in advance of its September 12th release, and they're actually happy about it.

For reals!

Drummer Lars Ulrich told San Francisco radio station Live 105, "If this thing leaks all over the world today or tomorrow, happy days. It's 2008 and it's part of how it is these days."

This is the same Metallica who was suing mad about piracy a few years ago!

We get it, Metallica! These days you make loads of money playing live, not by selling albums, right?!

[Image via WENN.]

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Stewart on Palin

Filed under: Jon Stewart > Sarah Palin

The Daily Show ran a great segment on Sarah P. Wednesday night.

Ch-ch-check it out above!

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Listen To This: Feel The Beat

Filed under: Canadialand > Listen To This

Republican or Democrat, everybody loves to dance, right?

We're in the mood for something fun that we can groove to, and this definitely fits the bill.

Check out Until I Stay by Jully Black, one of our favorite Canadians, below.

Rangel Failed to Report $75,000 in Income

2008-09-05T05:53:00.001-07:00

Rangel Failed to Report $75,000 in Income

By DAVID KOCIENIEWSKI

Published: September 5, 2008

Representative Charles B. Rangel has earned more than $75,000 in rental income from a villa he has owned in the Dominican Republic since 1988, but never reported it on his federal or state tax returns, according to a lawyer for the congressman and documents from the resort.

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Representative Charles B. Rangel said through his lawyer that he did not know that he had to report the rent he received on the villa as income.

Times Topics: Charles B. Rangel

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David Kocieniewski/The New York Times

Mr. Rangel’s three-bedroom villa at the Punta Cana Resort and Club in the Dominican Republic.

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Mr. Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which writes the federal tax code, bought the beachfront villa at the Punta Cana Yacht Club and has received twice-yearly payments from the resort, which rents the property for $500 or more per night.

Records from the development, now called the Punta Cana Resort and Club, indicated that Mr. Rangel’s rental profits varied from year to year, from $2,700 in 2004 to $7,600 in 1994.

A lawyer for Mr. Rangel, Lanny Davis, said on Thursday that the congressman would most likely file amendments to his tax returns for the years in question.

Mr. Davis said Mr. Rangel’s accountant believed he would most likely owe back taxes to the state and New York City.

But Mr. Rangel will probably have no federal tax liability, Mr. Davis said, because he considered the villa an investment rather than a vacation home, and was therefore entitled to deduct depreciation on the property, as well as taxes the resort management paid to the Dominican Republic.

Mr. Davis declined to release copies of the congressman’s tax returns and said he was gathering documents showing how often Mr. Rangel stayed at the home during the past two decades, a critical question because the Internal Revenue Service does not allow a property owner to deduct as much depreciation on a second home that the owner uses more than 14 days per year.

Mr. Davis said the congressman did not realize he had to declare the money as income, and was unaware of the semiannual payments from the resort because his wife, Alma, handled the family finances and conferred with their accountant, John Viardi, on tax matters.

The money was never sent to the Rangels directly, according to Mr. Davis and resort records, but was used to defray the mortgage the company gave them when they bought the villa and $23,000 in subsequent construction costs in 2003.

The confusion was magnified, Mr. Davis said, by the fact that the statements from the resort were sent only intermittently. The congressman declined to be interviewed, but issued a brief written statement.

“I have asked my accountant to review all the data recently made available to me by the Punta Cana Hotel in the Dominican Republic concerning my investment 20 or so years ago in purchasing a unit in that hotel for occasional use over the years,” the statement said. “Once my accountant obtains and verifies the facts, I will follow his recommendations.”

Mr. Davis said that Mr. Rangel had paid scant attention to the villa’s finances until Sunday, when The New York Post reported that the congressman had failed to declare the rental income for 2006 and 2007 on his Congressional financial disclosure forms. “This is all news to him,” Mr. Davis said. A review by The New York Times of the records dating back to 1996 showed that the congressman also did not report the income in 1996 through 2000. Mr. Davis said on Thursday that Mr. Rangel would most likely file amendments to the disclosure forms as well.

The disclosure is a sworn statement, and intentionally filing a false report is a felony that carries a possible five-year prison sentence, but in most cases the House ethics committee does not punish members for errors or omissions.

New York State law classifies filing a false city or state tax return a felony punishable by up to four years in prison, but Kathleen M. Pakenham, a tax lawyer at the law firm of White & Case, said criminal prosecutions are rare and in most cases, the taxpayer is simply fined 20 percent of the back taxes owed. Under federal law it is a felony to “willfully” evade payment of taxes or file a false return, and sentences can include prison terms and fines of up to $100,000. But Daniel Goldberg, a tax law professor at the University of Maryland School of Law, said that the I.R.S. rarely pursued criminal prosecution or imposed fines in cases where no back taxes were owed.

Whatever his legal exposure, the tax problems present a political embarrassment for Mr. Rangel, a Harlem Democrat who has sat on the Ways and Means Committee since 1975. As chairman, Mr. Rangel has pushed for higher taxes on the wealthy, unveiling a $1.3 trillion proposal last year that businesses denounced as a threat to the economy.

His finances have been under scrutiny since July, after news reports that a major real estate developer had allowed him to lease four rent-stabilized apartments, including one he had used as a campaign office. Mr. Rangel announced he would give up the campaign office, but keep the other three, and asked the House ethics committee to investigate whether the landlord’s decision to charge him below-market rent should be restricted under the Congressional gift ban.

In his memoir, “And I Haven’t Had a Bad Day Since,” Mr. Rangel described his deep affection for the Dominican retreat.

Dual Citizenship for the Woolly Mammoth

2008-09-05T05:51:00.001-07:00

Dual Citizenship for the Woolly Mammoth

By HENRY FOUNTAIN

Woolly mammoths migrated to North America, then back to Siberia, according to a new scientific analysis.

For the Brain, Remembering Is Like Reliving

By BENEDICT CAREY

For the first time, scientists have recorded individual brain cells fetching a spontaneous memory.

Video Game Review

Playing God, the Home Game

By SETH SCHIESEL

As an intelligent romp through the realms of science, mythology, religion and hope about the universe around us, Spore both provokes and amuses.

Strongest Storms Grow Stronger Yet, Study Says

By KENNETH CHANG

The strongest of hurricanes and typhoons have become even stronger over the last two and a half decades, a new study finds.

$400 Million Gift to Genetic Institute

By STEPHANIE STROM

The gift to the Broad Institute of M.I.T. and Harvard was the biggest so far from Eli and Edythe Broad, who are giving away a multibillion-dollar fortune.

Assessing the Value of Small Wind Turbines

By KATE GALBRAITH

Interest for wind turbines small enough to mount on a roof is spreading from coast to coast, even though their installation is hardly ever recouped in electricity savings.

A Conversation With Heidi B. Hammel

Mind

Spot on Popularity Scale Speaks to the Future; Middle Has Its Rewards

By BENEDICT CAREY

High school students know that popularity is far more than a temporary competition, and in recent years psychologists have confirmed that intuition.