Photo by James Rodriguez, from this multimedia image gallery documenting the inauguration of a memorial monument by the National Coordination of Guatemalan Widows (CONAVIGUA) in the former military garrison of San Juan Comalapa in Guatemala. This photo essay includes a multimedia presentation with images and sound recorded during the event. Between 2003 and 2004, the remains of 179 wartime victims were exhumed near this site....

China is in the midst of “the greatest bubble in history,” said James Rickards, former general counsel of hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management LP.

Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz recently reported that some "Fox journalists" believe that colleague Glenn Beck "uses distorted or inflammatory rhetoric that undermines their credibility." Nevertheless, Fox News' reporters and "news" programs have routinely promoted and echoed Beck on stories such as the 9-12 Project, tea party protests, ACORN and former White House officials Van Jones and Anita Dunn.

Kurtz: Some "Fox journalists" worried Beck "undermines their credibility"

From Kurtz's March 15 Washington Post column:

In just over a year, Glenn Beck's blinding burst of stardom has often seemed to overshadow the rest of Fox News.

And that may not be a good thing for the top-rated cable news channel, as many of its staffers are acutely aware.

With his celebrity fueled by a Time cover story, best-selling books, cheerleading role at protest rallies and steady stream of divisive remarks, Beck is drawing big ratings. But there is a deep split within Fox between those -- led by Chairman Roger Ailes -- who are supportive, and many journalists who are worried about the prospect that Beck is becoming the face of the network.

By calling President Obama a racist and branding progressivism a "cancer," Beck has achieved a lightning-rod status that is unusual even for the network owned by Rupert Murdoch. And that, in turn, has complicated the channel's efforts to neutralize White House criticism that Fox is not really a news organization. Beck has become a constant topic of conversation among Fox journalists, some of whom say they believe he uses distorted or inflammatory rhetoric that undermines their credibility.

[...]

Friction between opinionated cable personalities and journalists has also flared occasionally at MSNBC. But Beck has caused such anguish at Fox that some of its journalists celebrated the failure of last week's interview with embattled ex-congressman Eric Massa, which Beck pronounced a waste of time.

[...]

One thing is beyond debate: Beck provides a strong lead-in for the network's evening lineup. "The significance of Beck to Fox's bottom line cannot be underestimated," says Tyndall, the industry analyst. "Getting an audience that size at 5 p.m. is absolutely unheard of."

But that growth has come at a price, at least for those at Fox who believe that Beck is beginning to define their brand. Glenn Beck is a media phenomenon married to a phenomenally successful network, but away from the cameras, theirs is a troubled relationship.

The New York Times reported on October 11, 2009, that Fox News claims its news hours are objective and defined as "9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. on weekdays." Those weekday hours include America's Newsroom, Happening Now, America Live, Studio B, Special Report, and The Fox Report. America Live replaced Live Desk in early 2010.

"News" division takes cues from Beck on ACORN tapes

Beck brings ACORN videos to Fox. On the September 9, 2009, edition of his Fox News program, Beck previewed an "exclusive" that would air on his program the next day, which he claimed would make "things change a lot for those in power." Beck later aired snippets of a video from James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles in which they entered the Baltimore office of ACORN. Beck suggested the video was the "exclusive stuff" that he predicted the media would be "talking about" instead of health care. On September 10, Beck interviewed Giles and credited Andrew Breitbart with starting the story. On September 15, Beck again hosted O'Keefe for a "one-hour special." Beck continued pushing subsequent ACORN videos from O'Keefe and Giles in the following months. Investigations later found significant problems with the ACORN tapes and cleared ACORN of criminal wrongdoing.

Fox "news" programs follow Beck's lead, seize on ACORN videos. Following Beck's "exclusive" preview, on September 10, 2009, through 7 p.m., Fox News dedicated at least 17 segments to the ACORN video. Fox "news" programs covering the video included: America's Newsroom; Happening Now; Live Desk; and Special Report.

Fox "news" programs hype Beck-promoted San Bernardino ACORN tapes. On September 15 and 16, 2009, Fox "news" programs devoted significant programming to O'Keefe and Giles' video of their interactions with an ACORN worker in San Bernardino, CA, who claimed that she murdered her husband and gave advice on how to run a brothel. The worker stated after the video was released that she hadn't murdered her husband -- which was confirmed by police -- and was attempting to "shock them as much as they were shocking me." Live Desk teased the video, with co-host Martha MacCallum stating: "We can now tell you that you are going to see yet another big development in the ACORN story. Another tape is expected to come out tonight after 5 p.m." -- a reference to Glenn Beck's program. At 5 p.m., Beck devoted a "special program" to the San Bernardino video. Following Beck, Special Report and America's Newsroom ran reports on the video.

Fox News Sunday devoted 18 minutes, over two consecutive broadcasts, to ACORN controversy. In September, Fox News Sunday devoted a total of 18 minutes of programming time on two consecutive broadcasts to covering the ACORN tapes. During his September 20 broadcast, host Chris Wallace conducted an interview with ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) to discuss the story. During the September 27 broadcast of the program, Wallace aired a segment on O'Keefe, in which he advanced several of O'Keefe's claims without noting that they are contradicted by readily available evidence and labeled O'Keefe the "Power Player of the Week."

"News" division follows Beck's lead on bogus Dunn controversy

Beck pushed concocted story that Dunn "worships" and "revere[s]" Mao Zedong. Throughout his October 15, 2009, program, Beck claimed that then-White House communications director Anita Dunn "worships" and "idolizes" "her hero" Mao Zedong. As evidence, Beck aired a video in which Dunn cited two of her "favorite political philosophers," Mao Zedong and Mother Teresa during a speech to high school graduates. However, Dunn offered no endorsement of Mao's ideology or actions -- rather, she spoke of Mao and Mother Teresa as two of her favorite "political philosophers," and based on short quotes from them, she offered the advice that "you don't have to follow other people's choices and paths" or "let external definition define how good you are internally." Indeed, admiration" for Mao and that President Obama has "surrounded himself with Mao supporters."

Special Report followed Beck's lead in highlighting Dunn's "Mao" comments. On October 19, 2009, Fox News' Special Report aired a truncated clip of Dunn's Mao quote, and Fox News contributor Brit Hume responded: "Well, she also said that this is the two people she turns to most. This doesn't sound like it was a one-off attempt to make a joke and imitate the Republican strategist Lee Atwater."

"News" division follows Beck's campaign against Van Jones

Beck led the charge against Van Jones. Beck repeatedly attacked then-White House green jobs adviser Van Jones. Beck has falsely accused Van Jones of being a "convicted felon," misleadingly stated that Jones' place in the Obama administration "says that the president has an agenda that is radical, revolutionary, and in some cases, Marxist." A September 6, 2009, New York Times article stated that "[c]hief among those keeping the story alive was Glenn Beck, the conservative host of a Fox News Channel program. Mr. Beck began criticizing Mr. Jones in July, first in segments on his syndicated talk radio show and then, on July 23, on his Fox News program, said Christopher Balfe, the president of Mr. Beck's production company."

"News" division picks up Jones "controversy." On September 3, 2009, America's Newsroom, Live Desk, and Special Report ran segments on the "controversy" over Jones. Fox News dispatched at least two reporters, Molly Henneberg and James Rosen, to the Van Jones story. For instance, America's Newsroom's Megyn Kelly said Jones has a "somewhat radical and sometimes racially-charged past," and asked Henneberg if Jones "described himself as a communist." Kelly further wondered how Jones became a "czar." From America's Newsroom:

Live Desk covered Jones' past remarks with Rosen and promoted the results of a non-scientific poll finding that 97 percent of Fox News viewers aren't "satisfied with Van Jones' apology" for past remarks:

On Special Report, host Bret Baier introduced a report by Rosen by stating that there's a "troubling pattern of behavior by one of the president's top advisers [Jones]" and later concluded, "We'll see if the national hoo-rah develops" over Jones.

Van Jones resigns; Beck and Fox "stories" receive credit. On September 6, 2009, Jones resigned, citing that he "cannot in good conscience ask my colleagues to expend precious time and energy defending or explaining my past." The Huffington Post's Ryan Grim noted that "[b]efore Beck mentioned Jones in the last few weeks on his Fox News television show, Jones remained an obscure figure in the administration. After Beck mentioned him, protesters at town hall meetings made Jones a staple of their complaints." In an October 28, 2009, speech (retrieved from the Congressional Record) on the House floor, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) said: "Fox reports the stories that the national media ignore. For example, without Fox News, you might not have heard about the recent ACORN scandal. You might not have heard about the troubling political associations of the President's former green jobs czar, which eventually led to his resignation."

Wallace: It is "certainly the case that Van Jones had a history as a radical, as a self-professed communist." In a panel discussion about Jones' resignation on the September 6, 2009, edition of Fox News Sunday, Wallace stated that "it certainly is the case that Van Jones had a history as a radical, as a self-professed communist, and also, the fact that is -- that he signed a 2004 petition suggesting that there be an investigation of whether or not the government had a role in 9/11."

News division continues to track Jones post-resignation. Fox News' Special Report has continued to discuss Van Jones despite his White House resignation. Since Jones' resignation, according to Nexis, Special Report has mentioned Van Jones on February 25, February 24, October 19, October 6, September 28, September 16, and September 10.

"News" division promotes Beck's 9-12 special and rally

Beck started conservative 9-12 Project, whose members helped organize 9-12 protests. On March 13, 2009, during his "You Are Not Alone" special, Beck announced the launch of his 9-12 Project, whose members helped organize and turn out participants to a protest on September 12, 2009. Beck routinely implored his audience to attend the Washington, D.C. rally on his Fox News show. Beck then aired a special edition of his television show live from 1 to 3 p.m. ET on Fox News on September 12.

Happening Now promotes Beck's original 9-12 Project special. On March 13, 2009, Happening Now hosted Beck to promote his special. From Happening Now:

Live Desk promotes Beck's original special as "the place to be." On the March 13, 2009, edition of Live Desk, co-host Trace Gallagher started a countdown to Beck's special and said Beck's show is "gathering steam across the country." Co-host Martha MacCallum added that Beck's special is "the place to be this Friday night." Gallagher said that Beck's first principle is "America is good and we seemed to have forgotten that." Gallagher interviewed Beck live outside Fox News' offices while he and Fox News graphics repeatedly promoted the special:

Wallace: "I'm a big Glenn Beck fan." On the March 13, 2009, edition of Fox News' Studio B, while discussing Beck's special, Wallace said he sensed that Fox News host Shepard Smith was "begrudging" Glenn Beck and that he himself is a "big Glenn Beck fan" and is "on the Glenn Beck bandwagon."

Fox News heavily promoted the Beck-fueled 9-12 rally. Fox News heavily promoted the 9-12 Tea Party rally and the Tea Party Express tour, whose last stop was on September 12 in Washington. For instance, during the August 23, 2009, edition of America's News HQ, host and reporter Shannon Bream said, "We want to let folks know" the Tea Party Express' schedule so "they can be a part" of the events. And on August 28, 2009, Fox News dispatched reporters Griff Jenkins and William La Jeunesse to the Tea Party Express kickoff in Sacramento, California. Jenkins also reported from the 9-12 rally for Beck's special; a Fox News producer was caught encouraging the crowd to cheer during Jenkins' report.

"News" division heavily promotes April 15 Tea Parties -- featuring Glenn Beck

Beck promotes, hosts a "FNC Tax Day" Tea Party. While discussing the April 15, 2009, Tea Party protests on his April 6, 2009, program, Glenn Beck suggested that viewers could "[c]elebrate with Fox News" by either attending a protest or watching it on Fox News. Beck stated that in addition to himself, hosts Neil Cavuto, Greta Van Susteren, and Sean Hannity would be "live" at different protests. While Beck spoke, on-screen text labeled those protests as "FNC Tax Day Tea Parties." In the lead-up to April 15, Beck repeatedly promoted the tea parties and urged viewers to attend them.

Like Beck, Fox "news" programs repeatedly urged attendance at tea parties. In the lead-up to the April 15, 2009, tea parties, Fox's "news" programs and anchors frequently aired segments publicizing and encouraging viewers to get involved with the protests. For instance, Special Report host Baier noted the URL of TaxDayTeaParty.com and stated that the protests have been "largely ignored by the mainstream media," while America's Newsroom frequently hosted tea party organizers and posted on-screen organizing information, such as protest dates and locations. Host Bill Hemmer also repeatedly directed viewers to the show's section on the Fox News website, which posted a list of tea party protests. The following are some of the graphics America's Newsroom aired to promote the April 15 tea parties:

Hemmer promotes Beck's appearance at the Alamo. While guest-hosting the April 12, 2009, edition of Fox News Watch, news anchor Hemmer promoted Beck's appearance at the Alamo tea party, stating:

HEMMER: While the mainstream is ignoring the tea party movement, here at the Fox News Channel, we're gearing up to bring you special coverage of the events all across the country. Sean Hannity is in Atlanta. Glenn Beck is at the Alamo. Where else would he be? San Antonio. Neil Cavuto is live in Sacramento and Greta is in Washington, D.C.

Can't get to a tea party? Fox Nation hosts a virtual tea party. You can check it out on the site for the location of a tea party in your area. Again, that is Wednesday, the 15th of April.

The right-wing witch hunt against President Obama's advisers has turned to Rev. Jim Wallis, a member of the president's faith council who has worked with numerous conservative and mainstream religious leaders. A WorldNetDaily article uses a series of falsehoods and distortions to portray Wallis as "Obama's new controversial pastor" and a "champion of communism" whose magazine "has published a slew of radicals."

WND and Fox attack Wallis

WND headline: "Not again! Meet Obama's new controversial pastor." The headline and subhead of WorldNetDaily's March 15 article attacking Wallis reads:

Not again! Meet Obama's new controversial pastor

Champion of communism, socialism called U.S. 'destroyer of human life'

 

WND paints Wallis as a "controversial" figure who is connected to "radicals." The March 15 WorldNetDaily article by Aaron Klein stated:

Rev. Jim Wallis, a member of President Obama's "faith council" who is described as a spiritual adviser to the president, is a socialist activist who has championed communist causes and previously labeled the U.S. "the great captor and destroyer of human life."

[...]

Sojourners has published a slew of radicals, including socialist activist Cornel West and James Cone, considered the founder of Black Liberation Theology, which spawned the likes of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's pastor of nearly 20 years.

[...]

Wallis continues to openly support socialism. Along with socialist activist West, Wallis in 1995 founded Call to Renewal, a coalition of religious groups demanding the spread of U.S. wealth to promote "social justice."

Fox Nation links to WorldNetDaily article attacking Wallis. The Fox News website Fox Nation linked to the WorldNetDaily article, repeating its headline: "Not again! Meet Obama's new controversial pastor." From Fox Nation, accessed March 16:

Mainstream and conservative leaders have worked with Wallis and praised his efforts

Despite the WorldNetDaily article's portrayal of Wallis as a "controversial" figure who is connected to "radicals," mainstream and conservative religious groups have participated in numerous programs with Wallis and have praised his efforts.

Evangelicals for Darfur. Wallis joined a number of religious leaders as "initiating endorsers" of the group Evangelicals for Darfur. Other endorsers included Rich Cizik, vice-president for government affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals; Baptist evangelist Tony Campolo; and Joel Hunter, former president of the Christian Coalition of America.

Wallis' group's anti-poverty effort included 100,000 congregations from "wide spectrum" of faiths. Call to Renewal's Covenant to Overcome Poverty included participation of the National Council of Churches, an organization of "faith groups ... from a wide spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Evangelical, historic African American and Living Peace churches" that "includes 45 million persons in more than 100,000 local congregations in communities across the nation."

Colson lauded Wallis for "battling for traditional values." Chuck Colson, founder and chairman of Prison Fellowship Ministries, listed Wallis among evangelical leaders who are "battling for traditional values." Colson further wrote:

We're defending life, pursuing justice, and caring for the poor. Yes, we're beginning to be more involved in environmental issues, thanks to younger evangelicals reminding us that God commanded us to care for his creation. But we do all of this in God's name--which is what sets the secular media's teeth on edge.

WND attacks Wallis with falsehoods and distortions

WND claims Wallis is a "Champion of communism," but he has called communism a "failed" system. Klein's WorldNetDaily article called Wallis a "Champion of communism" and described him as "a socialist activist who has championed communist causes." But in a 1998 interview for PBS' Reaching Out series, Wallis stated that "[o]ur systems have failed the poor and they have failed the earth. ... [B]oth macrosystems, capitalism and communism, have failed."

WND says Sojourners has published a "slew of radicals"; but Sojourners has published a "slew" of conservatives. Klein wrote that "Sojourners has published a slew of radicals, including socialist activist Cornel West and James Cone, considered the founder of Black Liberation Theology, which spawned the likes of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's pastor of nearly 20 years." However, Sojourners has published a number of articles by prominent conservative religious leaders, including Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission; and John DiIulio, President Bush's first director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Sojourners has also published an extensive interview with former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR).

WND claims Sojourners "urges readers to 'refuse to accept [capitalist] structures.' " From the March 15 WorldNetDaily article:

Sojourners' official "statement of faith" urges readers to "refuse to accept [capitalist] structures and assumptions that normalize poverty and segregate the world by class."

But actual text of statement doesn't even mention capitalism. The language that WorldNetDaily quotes is apparently taken from a statement that no longer appears on the Sojourners website. The statement, retrieved from a 2004 version of the site saved in the Internet Archive, contains a preface that reads, in part: "Members of Sojourners Community in Washington, D.C., wrote this 20th anniversary statement of faith in August 1991." The unaltered text of the passage reads: 

We believe in binding up the divisions that the world often creates, especially those based on race, class, gender, or culture. We are called to combat racism in all its forms and to build a more just and pluralistic society where diversity is respected, freedom is secured, and power is shared. We refuse to accept structures and assumptions that normalize poverty and segregate the world by class. We are committed to resisting sexism in all its forms and affirming the integrity and equality of women and men both in the church and in the world.

The word "capitalist" does not appear in the entirety of the statement, nor does the word "capitalism." WorldNetDaily did not explain why it added "capitalist" in brackets.

James Milner underlines his potential as a possible World Cup starter for England with the winner as Aston Villa reignite their top-four push at Wigan.

James Milner underlines his potential as a possible World Cup starter for England with the winner as Aston Villa reignite their top-four push at Wigan.

The Sacramento Bee has good pictures of the Lianga Bua, Indonesia, site where Homo floriesiensis remains have been found. As you will notice, they’re not just scraping the floor of a nice shallow cave with trowels. Hat tip to James Kidder....

James Murdoch says there is no “no difference” between digital and physical piracy, that “there should be the same level of property rights whether it’s a house or a movie,” while at the same event famed Hollywood talent agent Ari Emmanuel says the industry is currently talking to Pres Obama about “three-strikes” legislation.

The recent Abu Dhabi Media Summit was every bit as entertaining as one would expect it to be when entertainment industry heavyweights get together and plan strategies for a new and improved “get tough” approach to piracy.

First up was James Murdoch, son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and chairman and chief executive of News Corporation’s European and Asian operations. He compared online piracy to “stealing (a can of) Pringles or a handbag,” arguing that there is “no difference” between digital and physical piracy.

“There should be the same level of property rights whether it’s a house or a movie,” he added.

Murdoch is apparently unaware that there is a tremendous difference between physical and digital piracy. The latter doesn’t rob people of irreplaceable property only possible profits. Copyright holders are still free to sell digital property as many times as they wish or can. In fact, numerous well-respected studies have found that illegal file-sharing actually increases their ability to do so!

But, for Murdoch this doesn’t seem to matter. He wants law enforcement to target illegal file-sharers as they would ordinary thieves.

“There should be the same level of sanctity as there is around property. Content is no different. They’re not crazy kids,” he continues. “No. Punish them.”

Nevermind the fact that there’s really no way to fight digital piracy short of DPI. A better alternative is to simply offer the sort of on-demand content delivery systems that consumers crave and cause many to turn to P2P in the first place.

People in Australia, for example, don’t want to wait an extra year to watch episodes of “Lost” or “Family Guy.” They want to be able to tune in when people in the US can. P2P has democratized content delivery in the absence of legal alternatives. Ignoring this fact and branding what are ostensibly loyal viewers or fans as thieves instead only makes the problem worse.

Also joining Murdoch at the event was Ari Emanuel, famed Hollywood talent agent and pruported model for the Ari Gold character on the hit HBO-series “Entourage.” He followed by disclosing just what steps the industry planned to take in its fight against online piracy.

“We are in the midst of talking to the president and some attorney generals and [we are] trying to implement a three strikes and you’re out rule,” he said.

He alluded to a possible “fight with ISPs” over the matter, but apparently made no mention of the probable backlash by the American people.

Unlike France or South Korea where the people seemed all too wiling to give the govt power to filter the Internet and disconnect users suspected of illegal file-sharing, the people of the US are going to be particularly leery of giving the govt control of the Internet, especially when it’s disclosed it’s only being done to benefit deep-pocketed entertainment industry heavyweights.

Even though then President-Elect Obama promised to “protect the openness of the Internet,” having a VP who’s been a longtime entertainment industry advocate, and is a co-founder of the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus, may prove too much to resist in the end.

Stay tuned.

jared@zeropaid.com

Some senior MPs suspect that parliament selection process is being manipulated to benefit Unite or Ed Balls

Downing Street has been forced to intervene to stop Unite, the country's largest union, parachuting more of its own candidates into safe Labour seats.

The move comes amid allegations inside the party that a covert operation is under way to ensure that senior figures in the union – one of Labour's biggest donors – win Labour strongholds.

The Conservatives have seized on the links between the union and Labour, which have been in the spotlight because of Unite's dispute with British Airways.

Today the Tories mounted a highly personal attack on Charlie Whelan, the political director of Unite, claiming the prime minister was in hock to Labour's new militant tendency.

The relationship is likely to be scrutinised afresh after No 10 took the unusual step of intervening in the candidate selection process following protests from senior party figures, including Lord Mandelson, the business secretary, that the Stalybridge and Hyde seat was being lined up for a senior Unite official, Peter Wheeler.

The seat has come vacant due to the resignation of James Purnell, the former work and pensions secretary.

Following the complaints – which involved cabinet-level figures – No 10 ordered the Labour national executive special panel responsible for drawing up the short list to reopen and widen the list of candidates. The move reflects not just an argument about one candidate but the future shape of the party.

The original panel of four candidates appeared to have been constructed to help Wheeler, who is a member of Labour's national executive committee and a prominent Unite official. The pressure from Downing Street forced the NEC to reconvene and extend the shortlist to include a popular local councillor, Jonathan Reynolds, seen as a strong challenger for the seat if he were allowed to contest the selection in a secret ballot.

Behind the protests is a wider suspicion among some senior MPs that the parliament selection process is being manipulated to benefit Unite or Ed Balls, the schools secretary.

In the event of Gordon Brown standing down after the election, Balls is certain to be a candidate for the leadership and would want as many sympathetic MPs as possible. It is understood that Purnell was among those questioning the selection process.

There is concern in some circles that Tom Watson, a former Unite official and minister close to Brown, is playing an influential role in selecting shortlists for constituencies where MPs are standing down. Watson is on the panel as a representative of the government, even though he is no longer a minister.

There have been repeated claims that Unite officials, or figures backed by Unite, are being parachuted into safe Labour seats, including Jack Dromey in Birmingham Erdington, and John Cryer in Leyton and Wanstead.

Union figures said it was nonsense to describe Wheeler as a leftwinger, claiming he was a Blairite. They said Watson had been scrupulous in ensuring talented candidates got on to shortlists.

Labour refused to comment officially on the shortlist, saying only: "After initial interviews and deliberations, the shortlisting panel for Stalybridge and Hyde had further discussions and decided on a final shortlist of the following candidates, and then gave the larger list."

The Conservatives attacked Whelan, a former spokesman for Brown, who has become, they believe, a major weakness for the prime minister.

The shadow children's secretary, Michael Gove, claimed that Unite had succeeded in ensuring that 59 of its members have been selected as Labour candidates for the general election. "Charlie Whelan's distinctive fingerprints can be detected all over Labour's recent lurch to the left in key policy areas," Gove said. He cited the government's decision to abandon the part-privatisation of Royal Mail, a climbdown on opening up the supply of NHS care, and the dropping of school reforms.

Gove said that Unite's involvement in the BA dispute showed how unions were now calling the shots. "How can Charlie Whelan simultaneously be the political director of a union which is paralysing British Airways at the same time as he's directing the political activities of Britain's prime minister? How can we trust what Gordon Brown says about this strike, when we know he is in hock to Unite and in thrall to Charlie Whelan?"

• Labour
• Trade unions
• Ed Balls
• Gordon Brown
• Conservatives

Patrick Wintourguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Here's a couple of genuinely tasty morsels from the FCC's new broadband plan: Rec. 15.7: Congress should considered amending the Copyright Act to provide for copyright exemptions to public broadcasting organizations for online broadcasting organizations for online broadcast and distribution of public media; Rec. 15.9: Congress should consider amending the Copyright Act to enable public and broadcast media to more easily contribute their archival content to a digital national archive and grant reasonable noncommercial downstream usage rights for this content to the American people. (Thanks, James!)...

Last year, Omega released a special edition timepiece to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo astronauts voyage to the moon. In 1969, the men in the space capsule wore Omegas so the firm decided to recreate that bit of history with a contemporary product.

But what if Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong hadn’t worn Omegas at all? What if they had worn copies? And Omega knew that the men weren’t checking their timepieces, but rather an off-brand in space all those years ago. Does the big historical release make sense?

What if Porsche released a recreation of the famous convertible that James Dean perished in, but in reality, he had been killed driving a kit car? What if Paul Newman didn’t really wear a Rolex, but the firm released a tribute to a knockoff on the famous actor’s wrist?

Guitar manufacturer Gibson is navigating similar waters with their decision to issue a recreation of a copy.

The firm has released a number of celebrity signature models over the last couple of years. Some of the instruments have proven to be very successful, while others (like the Buckethead model) have been a bit more questionable.

One of the undeniably successful ventures was collaboration with former Guns n’ Roses axe slinger Slash that produced several interesting models ranging from the couple-a-hundred-buck Epiphone to an aged-replica instrument that was an exact duplicate of the guitarist’s own instrument (all the way down to the scuffs and cigarette burns) that ran about ten grand.

Late last week, Gibson made a big splash by announcing the newest model, The Slash Appetite Les Paul. Branded as the “the axe that launched a thousand riffs,” the instrument is described as an exact recreation of the axe Slash wielded on 1988’s landmark Appetite for Destruction record, all the way down to the capacitors and the pots.

Weird thing is, Slash didn’t play a Gibson Les Paul on that record.

The comment gallery was all over the Gibson website when this news was released. As many others have pointed out, Slash in fact played a copy of a Les Paul on Appetite for Destruction. In Slash’s 2007 best-selling memoir (co-authored by Anthony Bozza), he writes, “It was made by the late Jim Foot, who owned Music Works in Redondo Beach. He made about fifty of those Les Paul replicas entirely by hand with no detail overlooked” (page 172). In other sources, a luthier named Chris Derrig is credited with creating the instrument. Regardless, it wasn’t Gibson.

All of this raises interesting questions about the psychology of collectors and the purchasing influence of a iconic association. True Slash fans know that his LP wasn’t a Gibson, so they’re not going to be fooled. They’ll judge the new Appetite model on it’s own merits. Or, they know it’s kind of a weird duck in the lineage perspective, but it’s got their beloved tone and they don’t care about anything else.

And what of the more general fans? It’s hard to accuse Gibson of trying to dupe consumers because surely if you’re going to plop down the $4,728 MSRP on the Appetite model, aren’t you going to do a little homework first? And if mom and dad are rich enough to spend 5k simply because Junior likes Slash’s top hat, then there’s not much hope for them.

And then when you start thinking about the fact that the Les Paul is, by very definition, a celebrity signature guitar and that now you’ve got signature versions of copied signature version and so forth, then your head might just explode. It all gets very meta.

Big shocker! After talking about it for eons, teasing us with small details, and writing the script with Nicholas Stoller, THR's Heat Vision reports that Jason Segel is going to become the quintessential human element to the next Muppet movie. He'll also, naturally, produce alongside David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films/TV -- the guys behind The Proposal. (Flight of the Conchords co-creator James Bobin signed on to direct last month.)

Unfortunately, this casting news doesn't come with any sort of plot details, or even a vague official summary. However, assuming nothing's changed from the rumors a year ago, the film will follow the usual storyline -- Kermit needs to reunite all the Muppets to save the studio. Unfortunately, while it's said to be titled The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time, the 2009 script review didn't buy into that vibe.

So, until that official plot summary comes our way, I'm sticking to the hope I reference every time Muppet news comes up: It's all being changed into a rock opera with help from The Muppet Studio. THAT would make it the greatest muppet movie of all time. Need reminding? Hit the jump.

Filed under: Comedy, Casting, Family Films

Continue reading What a Surprise - Jason Segel is Starring in His Muppet Movie

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Kate Winslet and director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Jarhead) issued a statement yesterday announcing that they'll be divorcing. Unlike many celebrity couples, the pair have famously guarded their privacy -- in fact, according to their lawyers' statement, they actually split several months ago.

Winslet and Mendes met in 2001 and married two years later, while on vacation in the Caribbean. Their son, Joe, was born in 2003, and Winslet has a daughter, Mia, from her previous marriage. "The split is entirely amicable and is by mutual agreement," read the statement from their attorneys. "Both parties are fully committed to the future joint parenting of their children. They ask that the media respect the privacy of the family."

Mendes won an Oscar for American Beauty, and directed Winslet, opposite Leonard DiCaprio, in 2009's Revolutionary Road. He's also signed on the direct the next film in the James Bond franchise. Winslet is slated to star in Todd Haynes' remake of Mildred Pierce for HBO, as well as the Steven Soderbergh thriller Contagion opposite Matt Damon.

Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy

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James White

Did the DL live from Kansas today, covering a brief update on the Ergun Caner front, reading an e-mail sent to Robert Sungenis and his answer for most of the hour, and the closing with the caller who had called the Pastor's Perspective show and asked about Ezekiel 36 and the heart of stone and the heart of flesh (if you recall, he did not get even a pretended answer to his specific question). Here's the program.

Un communiqué de presse mondial vient à l'instant d'être envoyé par la Fox Etats-Unis : le DVD et la version Blu-ray d'Avatar, le film évènement de James Cameron, sortiront partout...

Raphaël, Galner, Angy et Guillaume, les quatres amis d'enfance de Chateau Marmont, tirent leur nom du fameux hotêl de Los Angeles où l'on a pu voir James Dean grimper aux fenêtres, Jim Morrisson faire des acrobaties, Led Zep' de la moto dans le hall, [...]

Pierre Caillaud suit toujours pour nous le salon de la photo CP+ au Japon. Voici ce qu'il y a déniché, entre autres :   Accrochez-vous : c'est un 40 mégapixels...

David A. Yovanno is the CEO of Gigya, Inc., a leading social optimization platform for online business. He can be found on Twitter at @daveyovanno or e-mail dave(at)gigya(dot)com.

Now that most social networks are supporting functionality on third party sites — via Facebook Connect, Sign in with Twitter, Yahoo! Open Strategy, MySpaceID, and other similar technologies — entertainment companies are experimenting with a variety of approaches.

While movie promotions on Facebook, top sports moments on YouTube, and MySpace music pages remain key fixtures, many entertainment companies are also now actively focused on how to apply social strategies to their own sites to deepen relationships with fans and become more relevant. Here are four ways on-site social features are benefiting both fans and the entertainment industry today.

1. Making TV Participatory

TV has historically been a “lean back” form of entertainment -– just sit back on your couch and let your eyes and ears take it in. Reality TV shows like American Idol broke new ground by making TV participatory -– fans can take action and influence the outcomes — and social technologies are now helping to make TV a “lean forward” experience.

In the most recent season of Dancing with the Stars, ABC made the voting process social. Fans could sign-in to abc.com with a Facebook or Twitter account to cast a vote for their favorite couple, and then donate their status to help support that pair. For example: “Vote to keep Louie Vito and Chelsea Hightower dancing on ABC!”

In the realm of real-time engagement, another example comes from MTV, which enabled live chat for previously aired episodes of the popular show 16 and Pregnant on MTV.com, where viewers could discuss the often controversial content with other fans.

Benefit for fans: Viewers are empowered to not only vote, but get out the vote among friends. Voting with a Facebook or Twitter identity makes voting a personal, rather than anonymous, experience. For 16 and Pregnant, teens have a live forum for sharing thoughts and experiences.

Benefit for TV networks: Fans are highly engaged with the show online, and the shows gain significant exposure on social networks from donated status updates. Traffic is generated back to the show online and off. Offering users a choice of networks for participation appears to boost engagement. For example, data from Gigya shows that for a single episode of 16 and Pregnant, tens of thousands of messages were sent by chat users to their social networks with the following distribution: 40% to Yahoo, 29% MySpace, 24% Facebook, and 7% Twitter.

2. Bringing Live Sporting Events to Life Online

In the real world, sports fans experience events together, whether live at the stadium, with buddies at a sports bar, or with family in front of a new 50” LCD TV. Recognizing this, sports media are trying to make online viewership a bit more like the real world.

A slew of sports media added live social chat to their event webcasts this year, enabling fans to participate online alongside the event using their Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or Yahoo identity. TNT used it for the NBA Eastern Conference finals and NASCAR Race Buddy series, CBS for its College Football series, NBA.com for ongoing games, and the PGA for the summer tour events including the PGA Championship. Fan messages about the game were syndicated to the social networks as news items in the feed. Even Roddy White of the Atlanta Falcons has gotten into the act on his own website.

Benefit for fans: Live social media integration provides an opportunity to chat about stats, players, and highlights, and to virtually high-five other fans or friends –- almost as if they were watching together in person.

Benefit for sports media: Fans participating with real identities adds authenticity to the socializing. Interactivity means fans are highly engaged, generating more page views, and messages shared to the social networks drive more traffic back to the online event, creating a virtuous cycle.

3. Giving Music Lovers an Outlet for Self-Expression

MySpace proved years ago the power of grass roots social efforts to take an artist from obscurity to household name, with Sara Bareilles one of the poster children for resisting the traditional label model. Now music companies large and small are putting social channels to work, and taking a number of new approaches in the last year.

MuchMusic, a music channel on Canadian cable TV, incorporated celebrity tweets and live chat into their MuchMusic awards, bringing fans “backstage” to a behind the scenes interview room. Similarly, MTV incorporated live social chat into its webcast of the “Hope for Haiti” telethon with the aim of further engaging viewers for a special cause.

Reverbnation, a music marketing platform that helps individual artists manage promotion, fan relationships, and other aspects of the business, built a feature enabling fans to register on the site using their social network identity, then build and share their favorite playlists into the feed on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Rather than help the artists build a presence on the social networks and send fans away, Reverbnation has integrated their own site directly with those key platforms to make themselves a one stop shop for the social music ecosystem.

Benefit for fans: Social integration creates an outlet for communicating with other fans, and sharing passion for artists and music –- whether in the form of a comment or their own playlist creation.

Benefit for music sites and artists: Integration provides greater exposure for artists and tracks as well as increased page views for the site.

4. Driving Word-of-Mouth for Movies

Word of mouth is everything in the movie industry. Buzz puts fans in seats, and is the benchmark by which the industry gauges traction for marketing efforts. It’s no surprise that studios are experimenting more with social media far beyond basic trailer promotion.

The movie Paranormal Activity broke new ground by using grass roots efforts and word-of-mouth to build buzz and gain a wider distribution for the film. They also took advantage of social media promotion, enabling fans to invite their friends from social networks to join them at the same time that they purchased movie tickets.

Twentieth-Century Fox, together with MTV, got fans directly involved to promote Avatar. They put on a first-ever live interview with James Cameron and the Avatar cast, answering questions from fans, who in turn shared their reactions in a real-time chat via Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Yahoo.

Benefit for fans: Movie goers receive greater access to their favorite films and celebrities.

Benefit for movie studios: The campaigns generate new and widespread buzz before and during the theatrical release.

Conclusion

When fans connect to a company using a social network identity, they are establishing the basis for a longer-term relationship. The data shared by these connections will allow companies to better segment and serve their fans.

For example, in addition to awareness-generating efforts for individual films, a movie studio could gain greater insight into the specific demographics of those that are responding early to a release and adjust efforts accordingly. They could also more easily continue the dialog by remarketing to users around sequels or films in the same genre.

Whichever path entertainment companies choose, integrating social technologies on their own sites to deepen relationships with fans is a blockbuster opportunity.

More social media resources from Mashable:

- How Musicians Are Using Social Media to Connect with Fans
- How The Roxy Became the #1 Venue on Twitter [INTERVIEW]
- The Science of Building Trust With Social Media
- How Companies Are Using Your Social Media Data
- How Twitter in the Classroom is Boosting Student Engagement

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, MarsBars

Tags: business, facebook, facebook connect, MARKETING, myspace, myspaceid, social media marketing, twitter, Yahoo

Right-wing media have recently targeted 11-year-old Marcelas Owens and his family for attacks after he appeared at a health care reform event to speak about his mother, who reportedly died after losing her health insurance. These attacks follow a history of media conservatives attacking or mocking the uninsured, and previous attacks by right-wing media on the family of a 12-year-old who spoke in support of SCHIP.

11-year-old spoke about mother's death at health care reform event

Marcelas' mother reportedly "died of pulmonary hypertension ... after losing her health insurance because she could no longer work." According to a New York Times report, Marcelas Owens appeared at a March 11 press conference with Senate Democrats and spoke about his mother's death. The Times reported that Marcelas' mother, "Tiffany Owens, died of pulmonary hypertension in 2007 at age 27 after losing her health insurance because she could no longer work. Ms. Owens had been an assistant manager at a Jack in the Box restaurant." CNN.com further reported that Marcelas said at the event, "I came out here for health care, I got involved because my mom was a health care activist, she testified and participated in rallies. She wanted people to have health care and not wait till management level to be offered health care."

Right-wing media target Marcelas and family; portray them as "liberal activists"

Beck: "Where was grandma" when Marcelas' mother was sick? On the March 15 edition of his Fox News show, Glenn Beck attacked Marcelas' grandmother -- who appeared with Marcelas at the health care event -- for her work with the organization Washington Community Action Network. Beck said the group was "all about economic, racial, gender, and social justice for all" -- "pesky phrases" Beck then tied to "the Soviet Union" and the "democratic socialist republic in China." Beck said of Marcelas' appearance on Capitol Hill: "The trip was paid for by Health Care for America Now -- that's the George Soros-funded, Barack Obama-approved group fighting for health care. Since all of these groups are so concerned and so involved now, may I ask, where were you when Marcelas' mother was vomiting blood?" Beck continued: "Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to help provide a decent quality of life for all -- at least, for one? You had somebody in your own ranks that knew -- her mother knew. Dare I ask: Where was grandma?"

Limbaugh tells Marcelas: "Your mom would have still died, because Obamacare doesn't kick in until 2014." On the March 12 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh aired a clip of Marcelas' remarks at the health care event and said, "Now, this is unseemly, exploitative, an 11-year-old kid being forced to tell this story all over just to benefit the Democrat Party and Barack Obama." Limbaugh later said, referring to Marcelas, "Your mom would have still died, because Obamacare doesn't kick in until 2014."

Malkin: Marcelas is the "new, dubious poster boy for Demcare"; targets Marcelas' family. In a March 10 post, Michelle Malkin wrote that Marcelas is the "new, dubious poster boy for Demcare." In her syndicated column that day, titled, "Desperate Dems cling to human kiddie shield," Malkin wrote that Marcelas "admits he doesn't understand the complexities of health insurance reform and doesn't 'think it's anyone's fault' that his mom passed away. 'But they could have done more' for her, he says." In a March 12 post, Malkin criticized a New York Times article about Marcelas because it "fail[ed] to mention that Owens' grandmother and family have been longtime activists for the left-wing, single-payer advocates of the Washington Community Action Network or that the boy and his grandmother traveled to Washington with sponsorship from the Astroturf lobbyists of the Health Care for America Now outfit, which characterized Marcelas as an 'insurance abuse survivor.' " Malkin continued: "Never mind that there is not a shred of evidence that any health insurer ever 'abused' Marcelas. Never mind that the family has made no claim that Marcelas himself has survived without insurance."

NewsBusters: Marcelas has "entire family of liberal activists." In a March 10 post, NewsBusters' Scott Whitlock wrote that "Owens' entire family have been members of the liberal Washington Community Action Network." Further, Tim Graham wrote in a March 10 NewsBusters post -- titled, "Sell Us Marcelas: Fifth-Grade Protester Has Entire Family of Liberal Activists" -- that Marcelas "is a spokesman for a liberal lobby, the Washington Community Action Network."

Right-wing media -- including Limbaugh and Malkin -- previously attacked family of 12-year-old who spoke in support of SCHIP

Malkin, conservative bloggers attacked 12-year-old boy and his family after he gave Democratic radio address supporting SCHIP expansion. In September 2007, 12-year-old Graeme Frost -- who, along with his sister, was injured in a 2004 car accident -- gave a Democratic radio address criticizing President Bush's veto of a bill to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Following Graeme's radio address, as Media Matters for America noted, conservative bloggers and Malkin in particular, aimed several attacks at his family, from questioning their financial status to referring to Graeme's parents as "mostly spoiled brats who became parents and never felt compelled to take responsibility for themselves."

Other media outlets echoed or cited bloggers' attacks. For example, on October 10, 2007, Limbaugh argued that the Frosts "can clearly afford [health insurance]. They just choose not to." During a report on the October 11, 2007, edition of CNN's American Morning, as Think Progress noted, co-host John Roberts said of the controversy: "Conservative bloggers like Michelle Malkin pounced, claiming the Frost family is a fraud, too wealthy for government assistance. One accusation: that Graeme attends a $20,000-a-year private school. The family insists scholarships cover most of that bill." Nonetheless, Roberts added: "Some of the accusations may be exaggerated or false, but did the Democrats make a tactical error in holding up Graeme as their poster child?" Noting the controversy in an October 12, 2007, column headlined, "Sliming Graeme Frost," New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote:

You might be tempted to say that bloggers make unfounded accusations all the time. But we're not talking about some obscure fringe. The charge was led by Michelle Malkin, who according to Technorati has the most-trafficked right-wing blog on the Internet, and in addition to blogging has a nationally syndicated column, writes for National Review and is a frequent guest on Fox News.

The attack on Graeme's family was also quickly picked up by Rush Limbaugh, who is so important a player in the right-wing universe that he has had multiple exclusive interviews with Vice President Dick Cheney.

Media conservatives have a history of mocking the uninsured

Limbaugh's health care plan: "If you don't have any teeth, so what? What's applesauce for?" Responding to a story Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) told about a woman who wore dentures that previously belonged to her dead sister because she lacked insurance and could not afford to buy her own, Limbaugh stated on February 25:

LIMBAUGH: You know I'm getting so many people -- this Louise Slaughter comment on the dentures? I'm getting so many people -- this is big, I mean, that gets a one-time mention for a laugh, but there are people out there that think this is huge because it's so stupid. I mean, for example, well, what's wrong with using a dead person's teeth? Aren't the Democrats big into recycling? Save the planet? And so what? So if you don't have any teeth, so what? What's applesauce for? Isn't that why they make applesauce?

Beck mocks Slaughter's story: "I've read the Constitution ... I didn't see that you had a right to teeth." On his February 26 radio show, Beck played an audio clip of Slaughter's account then said, "I am wearing George Washington's dentures right now. I'm wearing his teeth right now." He later added, "I just like wearing dead people's teeth. But in America -- I'm sorry, I didn't know that that was -- I've read the Constitution before. I didn't see that you had a right to teeth." Echoing Limbaugh's remarks the previous day, Beck stated, "The environmentalists should be all over Slaughter. 'How dare you say that?' My gosh, they're just recycling. They're just reusing."

Beck sidekick uses baby voice to mock letters Obama receives. On Beck's February 25 radio show, co-host Steve "Stu" Burguiere stated that Obama "gets 10 letters, Glenn, every night." Co-host Pat Gray asked, "From 2-year-old girls?" Then, one of the co-hosts started speaking in a baby's voice: "I have no health care, Mr. Pwesident, and I have no feet and no tonsils because doctors took 'em out."

Conservative blogger Pamela Geller linked to an audio clip of the segment, which she wrote was "[d]a best! the funniest thang evuh!"

Gateway Pundit attacks Slaughter's "sappy lib sob story of the day, hands down." On his Gateway Pundit blog, Jim Hoft linked to a video clip of Slaughter telling the story about the dentures under the headline, "Horror! Lib Dem Claims Her Constituent Wore Dead Sister's Teeth (Video)." After declaring the account the "sappy lib sob story of the day, hands down," Hoft wrote: "Will Obamacare buy me glasses and contacts? Will Obamacare buy me a gold tooth in the front of my mouth with a little heart on it?"

Ingraham: "Louise Slaughter won the Olympics of sob stories." On Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, radio host Laura Ingraham said she "liked the dueling sob stories, OK? One Democrat was trying to outdo the next on the sob story about how rotten our health care system is. Louise Slaughter won the Olympics of sob stories by saying one of her constituents had to wear her sister's dentures. OK? It got so bad with the health care system." She later added, "You had Harry Reid on the cleft palate with his -- I mean, the whole thing was ridiculous."

Fox Nation labels anecdote "Summit Insanity." From the Fox Nation, accessed February 25:

Limbaugh mocked story of transplant patient on Medicare who will have to pay own bills after three years. On February 26, referring to a story Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) recounted at President Obama's health care summit, Limbaugh stated:

LIMBAUGH: This patient was about to receive a transplanted organ -- Clyburn didn't specify what it was -- and the horror -- he's gonna get a -- he's gonna get a totally paid-for transplant. The horror is that he was going to have to start paying his post-op bills in three years.

If this is the worst we can say about American medicine, are we really in that bad a shape after all?

I have a different observation on this. I mean, look at where we are with this. This guy is -- he about had an emotional breakdown 'cause he was told he's gotta start paying his own medical bills after three years. He gets a free transplant; he gets a free after-care for three years and then he's on his own, and he's mad and thinks he's getting screwed.

Limbaugh told caller who can't afford $6,000 to treat broken wrist: "Well, you shouldn't have broken your wrist." In August 2009, Limbaugh had the following exchange with a caller:

CALLER: If we pay for our health care ourselves, would it bring costs down?

LIMBAUGH: Yeah, it would, if -- with other -- yeah, if you get some other players out of the game, yeah -- of course.

CALLER: What do you mean by "other players"? I'm sorry.

LIMBAUGH: Government -- get the government out of it. Get the government -- their stupid regulations. Get the government out of Medicare. You -- look it, the only way that cost or price ratios make sense is based on the consumer's ability to pay. There has to be a direct relationship between the customer and the business at the surface.

CALLER: OK. I just broke my wrist and it's costing me $6,000. I can't afford that.

LIMBAUGH: Well, you shouldn't have broken your wrist.

CALLER: That's true.

LIMBAUGH: You know why it costs $6,000? Because you, technically, aren't paying for it. An insurance policy's paying for it, backed up by some government insurance policy, or what have you.

Conservative media figures have also endorsed health care reform that "treat[s]" people "like dogs"

Doocy: Idea to "treat [people] like dogs" "makes a lot of sense." On the March 12 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-host Steve Doocy reported on a Newsweek column by "very brilliant" veterinarian Karen Oberthaler entitled, "Treat People Like Dogs," which suggested that the health care system should resemble the veterinary one. Doocy said the idea "makes a lot of sense," because "we're on the hook" for our pet's medical costs. Doocy said: "[T]here's only 3 percent of Americans who have pet insurance and so we're on the hook for the charges. So, if Americans were on the hook for all the tests and stuff, it would be a lot different." Citing Oberthaler's column, Doocy added: "If you've got a golden retriever ... and you know that the dog has got cancer and it's -- you know, there really is no getting any better, would you order a bunch of tests that are going to be costly and right out of your pocket? Because chances are you don't have the insurance ... it also has to do with, you know, putting the dog through pain at the end of the road."

Limbaugh: "There's no federal dog health care plan out there, and it's working just fine." On the June 15, 2009, edition of his radio show, Limbaugh argued against public health care programs, claiming that "there's no federal dog health care plan out there, and it's working just fine," because the "private market is providing dog owners every option they want for their dogs to be cared for" and that "it's based on the owner's ability to pay, there's no insurance involved."

I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit in the past few weeks and Adam Frucci wrote something that caught my attention, concentrating my thoughts the way a seed crystal builds boules of material in the Czochralski process.

Gaming will make or break 3D. I don’t care if James Cameron sends miniature 3D cameras into Leonardo DiCaprio’s urethra during his “king of the world” scene in the new 3D version of Titanic: there will be no compelling reason to upgrade your entire TV set-up to watch 3D movies. Why will you buy a 3D set-up? For gaming and you’ll probably buy a 3D-capable PC before you buy a 3D-capable TV.

Read more…

MPs from the Liberals, Bloc, and NDP today all supported a motion at the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to extend the private copying levy to devices such as iPods.  The motion, proposed by Bloc MP Carole Lavallée, provided:

That the Committee recommends that the government amend Part VIII of the Copyright Act so that the definition of “audio recording medium” extends to devices with internal memory, so that the levy on copying music will apply to digital music recorders as well, thereby entitling music creators to some compensation for the copies made of their work.

Interestingly, the committee was split - 5 in support ( Charlie Angus, Carole Lavallée, Roger Pomerleau, Scott Simms, Justin Trudeau) and 5 against (Rod Bruinooge, Dean Del Mastro, Royal Galipeau, Nina Grewal, Tim Uppal).  That left it to Conservative Chair Gary Schellenberger who voted in favour of the motion.  That is seemingly at odds with comments today from Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore and Industry Minister Tony Clement who were strongly opposed to measure.

L'aventure de Marianne James en Indonésie dans le cadre de l'émission "Rendez-vous en terre inconnue" sera diffusée jeudi 8 avril à 20h35 sur France 2...

En 2012, cela fera cent ans que le Titanic dort au fond de l’océan. James Cameron entend rendre hommage au paquebot.

James White

First, both programs I did with Justin Brierley on the Unbelievable Radio Program in London have now aired and are available for download. The first program was with Adnan Rashid, the second with Sir Anthony Buzzard. I think most of our readers will find both to be quite interesting. I really wish to pursue a full public debate with Anthony Buzzard in the future. Justin's programs can be found here. If you wish to subscribe to the podcast (as I do!), you can do so here. The specific programs are found here: Adnan Rashid and Sir Anthony Buzzard.

Next, on a live Dividing Line today (via Skype from my current location in sunless, grey Leavenworth Kansas) I will be reading and responding to this fascinating example of straw-man argumentation provided by Robert Sungenis et al, then taking your calls. The DL will air today at its normal time, 11am MST (11am PDT, 2pm EDT).

Please remember to pray for this ministry and our upcoming opportunities of ministry, especially the May debate with Robert Price.

NorthScale, a Mountain View, Calif-based start-up co-founded by leaders of memcached open source projects, launched today after spending a year hiding in the shadows. The company which raised $5 million in venture funding from Accel Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners is part of a growing number of start-ups who are hoping to cash in on the data deluge facing everyone from small time publishers to web giants.

According to IDC, in 2012, “the amount of digital information produced in the year should equal nearly 2,500 exabytes (equivalent to 2,500 billion gigabytes), or 5 times that produced in 2008″ driven primarily by the Internet.

Today’s web is a lot different from the web of ten years ago. More users, more connections and more time spent online are some of the hallmarks of today’s popular web-based services such as Digg, Facebook, Twitter and Zynga. As a result, these services generate mountains of data. More the information, the harder it becomes to make sense of this information. And the problem is only excaberated by the use of relational databases, generally viewed by many as yesterday’s technology.

Relational databases came to market in an era when the data was more structured. Today, the web applications are much more dynamic. The ever falling prices of computing hardware have made it easy to throw more hardware at the problems, but even those solutions can go so far, unless married to a new class of software. As Stacey outlined earlier this week, Internet companies have started looking at different technologies such as Cassandra and CouchDB to get a better grip on their data. One such technology is called memcached.

Memcached is used by thousands of websites including Wikipedia, Twitter and Flickr. It is a “high-performance, distributed memory object caching system and it is a way to speed up dynamics web applications by alleviating the database load.” NorthScale is based on that technology, explained James Phillips, NorthScale Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer in a conversation earlier today. NorthScale is launching with two products — NorthScale Memcached Server and the Membase Server. The company has snagged Farmville-maker Zynga as a paying customer. NHN, a South Korean portal is also a customer of various different NorthScale products.

NorthScale Memcached Server is an enhanced distribution of memcached, created and supported by the leading contributors to the memcached open source project. A distributed, in-memory caching technology, memcached is used alongside relational database technology – caching frequently used data, thereby reducing the number of database queries an application must perform. By augmenting versus replacing relational database technology, memcached is easy to adopt and offers immediate cost, performance and scalability benefits. (Press Release) NorthScale Membase Server is a high-performance, distributed key-value database…While memcached reduces the number of reads an application must do from the database, data is still ultimately stored in the relational database. Using NorthScale Membase Server an organization can identify and gradually “drain” data from a relational system to Membase, enjoying the simple, fast and infinite properties of memcached across both reads and writes, while slashing data management costs.

What NorthScale is doing is offering companies a smooth transition away from their installed relational databases to Membase, NorthScale’s own data store and perhaps its core IP. There is no doubt that NorthScale is coming to the market at the right time. There is a lot of interest in data stores and alternative technologies such as Cassandra and Memcached. These technologies are viewed as the wave of the future. It also helps that the company has most major memcached open source experts on its rooster. The problem for NorthScale is that it is in a fiercely contested marketplace. From top of my mind, I can come up with two immediate rivals, Gear6 and Schooner. With deep roots in the open source world the bigger challenge for the company will be convincing people to pay for its products.

That said, it is still great to see new companies try and tackle what is the most pressing problem facing the tech world: too much data.

Business > James Cameron, le réalisateur d'"Avatar", a récemment donné une interview au journal USA Today afin d'évoquer l'avenir de la 3D, aussi bien au cinéma qu'à la télévision...

>> Lire tout l'article | sur AlloCiné - le Mardi 16 Mars 2010

Alpine music festivals are booming - and the season has only just started. Tom Robbins picks the best parties on the piste

In the spring of 2000, a group of 200 people, including a few DJs and their record bags, set off in coaches for a week's ski holiday in the small French resort of Risoul. As they skied by day, and took over the resorts bars and clubs for parties by night, few of them probably realised that they were witnessing the start of a new phenomenon – the alpine music festival. That was the first ever Snowbombing, an event that has grown every year and now attracts 5,000 revellers and big name acts like Dizzee Rascal, Grandmaster Flash and Fatboy Slim. And Snowbombing's success has now spawned so many copycats, that an alpine festival "season" is emerging, starting this week and continuing until mid-April. This week sees two brand new festivals – the Big Snow Festival in Arinsal, Andorra and the Little World Festival in Meribel, France. But while you've left it too late for those, there's still time (and tickets left) for these parties on the piste:

1. Altitude Festival, Méribel, France

20-26 March, altitudefestival.com

Organised by Marcus Brigstocke, Altitude's USP is its mix of music and top stand-up comics. This year's headlining comedians include Andrew Maxwell, Al Murray and Rich Hall; music comes from Newton Faulkner and DJ Yoda.

Tickets: Rather than a package, you just buy tickets to the events you want to attend, which typically costs €20 - €25 each (£18-£22). More than 30 tour operators offer packages to Meribel.

2. The Brits, Laax, Switzerland

21-26 March, britishsnowtour.com/brits

Devotees may argue the Brits has been going a lot longer than Snowbombing (21 years to be exact), but it's only more recently that its grown from a mainly sport-focused event into a full-on festival. It's orginal purpose remains – the Brits are the British Snowboard and Freeski Championships, with daily competitions for the nation's best riders in disciplines such as half-pipe, slopestyle, big air and ski/boardercross - but now there's a huge amount of partying bolted on.

Tickets: Packages including seven nights' accommodation, six-day lift pass, wristband giving access to all events and a woolly hat, cost between £230 and £646 depending on your hotel (the Rocks resort has sold out, but Riders Palace and Signina hotel are still available). You book via the Laax tourist office on +41 81 927 7777, but full details are on the website. Fly to Friedrichshafen on Ryanair, from where it's a 90-minute drive to Laax. The tourist board run transfer buses which leave an hour after every incoming flight.

3. Derby de la Meije, La Grave, France

31 March - 2 April - derbydelameije.com

La Grave is known as Europe's most hardcore resort – a mountain that's entirely off-piste and has just three lifts. But at the end of the season it lets its hair down with a huge party. It's nothing like Snowbombing – there are no big name acts here, and most attendees are locals or visitors who've been coming for years, but there's a great atmosphere. The main event is the race on Good Friday - an open-to-all sprint from the very top of the mountain to the very bottom (more than two vertical km descent, entirely off-piste) – but there are parties every night and a carnival atmosphere in the car park at the base of the cable car.

Tickets: Entering the race costs €25, everything else is free. For accommodation try the Skiers Lodge or contact the tourist office. Fly to Grenoble, from where public buses run to La Grave (on the way to Briancon), taking around two hours.

4. Snowbombing, Mayrhofen, Austria

5-10 April, snowbombing.com

The original, biggest and – if full-on raving is what you're after – best. There's some kind of live music or DJ playing from midday till 5am most nights. Snowbombing takes over all the clubs in the resort, converts a few other buildings into impromtu venues, and also puts on parties in more unusual settings, including a wooded clearing on the outskirts of the village, and a giant igloo at the top of the mountain. In recent years organisers have tried to match the DJs with more live bands, so this year as well as Fatboy Slim, 2manydjs and Krafty Kuts, there's Editors, Doves, Friendly Fires and De La Soul. In all there are more than 100 acts.

Tickets: Packages of festival wristband and five nights' accommodation range from £279 per person for a self-catering flat to £399 for a four-star hotel. Snowbombing also arrange transfers from Munich, Salzburg and Innsbruck airports.

5. Yeti, Nassfeld, Austria

5-10 April, yetifestival.com

Brand new for this year, the Yeti is being put together by the people behind the Secret Garden Party and club nights Secretsundaze. It's based around the Cube, a giant steel, concrete and glass hotel sleeping up to 640 on the edge of the village of Nassfeld. Inside it feels like a futuristic youth club and there's a 1,000-people capacity nightclub in the basement. (A word of warning: with no carpets sound echoes around the inside of the Cube, so if you want to sleep at all, bring earplugs). Music comes from Eddy Temple-Morris, James Priestley and Stuart Patterson.

Tickets: Packages including five nights' accommodation half-board, festival pass and lift pass cost from £399. Fly to Klagenfurt with Ryanair, from where it's one hour and 15 minutes to Nassfeld – the festival is laying on transfers.

6. Caprices Festival, Crans Montana, Switzerland

7-10 April, capricesfestival.ch

Crans Montana is a small, upmarket Swiss ski resort, home to the likes of Roger Moore and numerous retired bankers. So it's something of a culture clash that none other than Derrick May will be playing here on 9 April, the Detroit DJ credited with pretty much inventing house music and who created the legendary house tack, Strings of Life. May's presence is a giveaway that even though it's almost unknown in the UK, Caprices is a huge event – the biggest winter music festival in Switzerland. Don't expect the lairy fancy-dress antics of Snowbombing, but there's a vast and eclectic line up, from May and Carl Cox, to the Gotan Project and Amy Macdonald.

Tickets: You can buy tickets by the day, from 69CHF (£43) or a four-day pass for 249CHF (£155). Packages are available, from around 730CHF (£454) for four nights in a hotel, four-day festival pass and lift pass. Fly to Geneva, then take the train to Sierre (two hours) from where there's a funicular railway running to Crans Montana in 20 minutes.

7. Zermatt Unplugged, Zermatt, Switzerland

13-17 April, zermatt-unplugged.ch

The name is misleading – with Billy Idol on the bill, this certainly isn't all about acoustic folk songs. This will be the fourth year the classic mountain resort has ended the season with a festival, and the acts booked to play keep getting bigger. As well as Idol, this year's line up includes Lionel Richie and Newton Faulkner. Gigs take place in a big marquee or various clubs.

Tickets: Are sold to the individual concerts – tickets to Lionel Richie start at 120CHF (£75), Billy Idol 78CHF (£49). Numerous operators have packages to Zermatt, or see the tourist board website for hotels. Fly to Zurich and take the train direct to the resort (three hours, 15 minutes).

8. Telus World Ski Festival, Whistler, Canada

16-25 April, wssf.com

It's already had the Olympics, but Whistler's really big party is still to come. The Telus festival is a full 10 days of events, and has grown into North America's biggest ski and music festival. There are freestyle competitions in the day, afternoon concerts, and club nights. There's not the range of acts that you get at European festivals, but the final afternoon's gig by Arrested Development will close the season in high style.

Tickets: The best thing is that entry to most events, including the afternoon concerts and club nights is free. Numerous operators have packages to Whistler, including specialists such as Ski Independence and Ski Safari.

• Skiing
• Snowboarding
• Festivals
• Winter sports
• Top 10s
• Festivals

Tom Robbinsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

This article has been published at RLSLOG.net - visit our site for full content.

Here we have ”Celebrate” music compilation released by Wre. This release contains 2 cd’s with 40 tracks. Enjoy.

Track list:
CD 1
1. Evacuate The Dancefloor – Cascada
2. Poker Face – Lady Gaga
3. Hollaback Girl – Gwen Stefani (Album Version (Explicit) )
4. Don’t Stop The Music – Rihanna
5. Get The Party Started – Pink
6. Toxic – Britney Spears (2009 Remaster )
7. Burn – Jessica Mauboy
8. Alive – Natalie Bassingthwaighte
9. Heavy Cross – Gossip
10. That’s Not My Name – The Ting Tings
11. Candyman – Christina Aguilera
12. Hey Ya! – OutKast (Radio Mix/Club Mix )
13. Rock Your Body – Justin Timberlake
14. Hot in Herre – Nelly (Album Version (Explicit) )
15. In Da Club – 50 Cent (Album Version (Explicit) )
16. Let’s Get It Started – Black Eyed Peas
17. No Diggity – Blackstreet, Dr. Dre
18. Don’t Cha – The Pussycat Dolls, Busta Rhymes
19. Whenever, Wherever – Shakira (Album Version / Clean Version )
20. I’m Alive – Celine Dion

CD 2
1. Girls Just Want To Have Fun – Cyndi Lauper
2. Tainted Love – Soft Cell (Original 7″ Single Version )
3. The Only Way Is Up – Yazz, The Plastic Population
4. You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) – Dead Or Alive
5. Too Funky – George Michael (Remastered 2006 )
6. I Wanna Dance With Somebody – Whitney Houston (Remastered 2000 )
7. Girl You Know It’s True – Milli Vanilli
8. I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor
9. Dancing Queen – Abba
10. Celebration – Kool & The Gang
11. Conga – Gloria Estefan, Miami Sound Machine
12. Crocodile Rock – Elton John
13. Play That Funky Music – Wild Cherry
14. I Got You I Feel Good – James Brown
15. Dancing In The Street – Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
16. It’s Not Unusual – Tom Jones, Les Reed
17. I’m Coming Out – Diana Ross
18. I Feel Love – Donna Summer
19. Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves – Eurythmics (Remastered Version )
20. It’s Raining Men – The Weather Girls

Release name: VA-Celebrate-2CD-2010-WRE
Size: 227.39 mb
Nfo: Here
Download: Hotfile

more at RLSLOG.net

Aventure (1h 39min) - James Parker and Harry Holt partent dans la jungle africaine pour mettre au jour un cimetière d'éléphants. L'or ainsi récolté leur assurera la richesse. Jane, la fille de Parker, est de l'expédition. Elle ne tarde pas à rencontrer Tarzan...

Un film de W.S. Van Dyke
Avec Johnny Weissmuller, Neil Hamilton, Maureen O'Sullivan

Spectateurs :

>> Fiche complète du film | Séances des 2 cinémas | 1 Bandes-annonces | 6 Photos | sur AlloCiné