Daryl Wayne Joseph Lorette

Corrie star Bill Roache talks to his dogs through a psychic

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:07:00 +0000

daryllorette's webcam video September 5, 2011 12:57 AM

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 08:43:00 +0000

"Black Swan" bow breaks studio record

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 12:03:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – The weekend went swimmingly for Fox Searchlight's Natalie Portman stars in "Black Swan" and other adult-targeting art films and prestige pictures.

An atmospheric suspense thriller about ballet dancers directed by Darren Aronofsky ("The Wrestler"), "Swan" dove into 18 theaters in eight markets and came up roses with $1.4 million for a Searchlight-record $77,459 per venue.

One of the holiday season's key platform pictures, "Swan" is set for an incremental expansion during the next few weeks and will reach at least 60 locations next weekend.

"We may increase that further, based on the weekend," Searchlight senior vice-president Sheila DeLoach said. "But this isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. So we don't want to just blow it out, but we may do a few more theaters than we had planned next weekend."

Another well-reviewed prestige movie -- Roadside Attraction's "I Love You Phillip Morris," starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor -- wooed $113,200 from audiences in six opening venues. That represented $18,886 per engagement for an encouraging launch to the dramedy's platform campaign.

Roadside spokesman Howard Cohen said executives were particularly pleased with the big bow, as "Morris" boasted a relatively modest marketing budget.

Calling Morris an "underdog" in opening opposite the higher-profile "Swan," Cohen added, "We think we came through with shining colors."

In a curious coincidence, "Swan" and "Morris" both drew pre-release buzz for their same-sex stars' locking lips in the pics. Portman and co-star Mila Kunis do the honors in the former.

In a simultaneous debut in two theaters and video-on-demand, director Andrew Jarecki's mystery thriller "All Good Things," starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst, collected $40,000, or a better-than-good $20,000 per venue.

Elsewhere in the specialty market, the Weinstein Co. expanded period drama "The King's Speech" by just two theaters for a total six and grossed $325,874, or an enviable $54,312 per venue. "Speech" -- whose Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush have drawn broad kudos-season notices for their marquee performances -- totes $808.874 million in cumulative box office through two weekends.

Searchlight's mountain-climbing survival drama "127 Hours" added 154 locations for a total 433 and rang up $1.6 million. That represented an acceptable $3,695 per site as its total reached $6.6 million.

Madonna's new Mexico City gym has no permits

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 17:56:00 +0000

MEXICO CITY – Madonna may be touched by bureaucracy the very first time she opens a fitness club.

The club she launched this week in Mexico City is in danger of being shut down because it lacks a security plan and a land use permit, local authorities said Wednesday.

Officials from the singer's Hard Candy Fitness have until Friday to get a land use permit, though they will be allowed to turn in other necessary documents later, said Demetrio Sodi, the chief of the Miguel Hidalgo municipality where the gym is located.

"If they don't have a land use permit, they will not be able to operate," Sodi told the Spanish-language station Televisa.

Sodi said the gym also needs to present a certificate showing it has parking.

He said that when he was told last week that the gym would open Monday, they "didn't have any permits" but he granted a special permit for the inauguration.

Madonna was in Mexico City Monday night for the ribbon cutting and taught a dance class for 20 hand-picked members with music by Paul Oakenfold, the DJ who opened her last tour.

Madonna said in a statement last week that she wanted to use Mexico "as a place to fine-tune our brand and then expand it to other countries and, in the long term, develop a global brand that includes the United States."

Membership at the gym costs about $159 a month. It costs $827 to join and that includes the first two months.

Sodi, a longtime political figure in Mexico, is the uncle of Latin Grammy winner Thalia.

Obama gets 12 stitches after 'elbow in the lip'

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 13:47:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama had to get 12 stitches on his upper lip Friday after being struck in the face by an elbow during a basketball game, the White House said.

"After being inadvertently hit with an opposing player's elbow in the lip while playing basketball with friends and family, the president received 12 stitches today administered by the White House Medical Unit," spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement.

Obama was given local anesthetic during the treatment, Gibbs said, adding that he was given a smaller filament that increases the number of stitches to ensure a smaller scar.

The White House later identified the man who struck the president as Rey Decerega, the program director at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, who said the game was all in good fun and did not apologize.

"I learned today the president is both a tough competitor and a good sport. I enjoyed playing basketball with him this morning. I'm sure he'll be back out on the court again soon," Decerega said in a statement.

The White House said Obama was playing defense in the fifth of five games at a gym in Fort McNair military base in Washington when Decerega went to take a shot and accidentally hit the president in the mouth.

An avid basketball fan and player, Obama often plays with friends, including his towering personal aide Reggie Love, who played Friday.

Obama has a famous love for the game, and often displays skills on the court that are the envy of many of his compatriots.

A game among friends became a ritual for him throughout the long campaign for the White House in 2008.

For his birthday this year he traded passes and scuffles at the White House with a number of the game's current greats, including Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James of the Miami Heat, and former NBA star Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

Rapper DMX back in Arizona jail after arrest

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 16:32:00 +0000

PHOENIX – Rapper DMX was arrested in Phoenix for investigation of violating probation by using drugs, authorities said.

Court documents released Friday allege the 39-year-old performer used cocaine and OxyContin, failed to submit to drug testing, and drove on a suspended license.

DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was arrested Thursday by Maricopa County probation officers and was being held without bond in the county jail.

His attorney, Glenn Allen, said he had been working with his client and probation officials and expected the arrest.

"It is very frustrating that the probation department would time it in such a way to violate Mr. Simmons right before the holiday and just a few weeks shy of the termination date of the probation," Allen said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "Mr. Simmons has been working very hard and will overcome this setback."

Simmons was placed on probation last year after convictions for attempted aggravated assault for throwing a food tray at a jail guard, and theft for trying to using a fake name to avoid paying a $7,500 hospital bill.

He has completed probation for 2009 felony convictions for cruelty to animals and two drug counts.

Maricopa County adult probation officers went to Simmons' north Phoenix home Thursday to take him into custody. He also is accused of failing to participate in counseling programs and make required payments.

"He has been directed to treatment as well as chose his own treatment program and continues to use drugs following these opportunities," a probation officer wrote in a court document requesting that DMX be held without bond. "His ongoing drug use places him in great danger."

Simmons could face prison time because of his repeated probation violations, and officials will likely ask that his probation be revoked, said Zach Dal Pra, chief deputy of the county adult probation department.

Simmons' other legal troubles include pleading guilty in 2008 to attempted cocaine and marijuana possession in Miami, and pleading guilty in a 2004 incident in which he posed as an undercover federal agent and crashed his sport-utility vehicle through a security gate at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

DMX recorded such hits as "Get At Me Dog" and "Party Up" in the 1990s. He also appeared in films including 2000's "Romeo Must Die" and 2003's "Cradle 2 the Grave."

Home Depot beats estimates, raises profit outlook

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 13:36:00 +0000

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Home Depot Inc (HD.N) reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings on tighter cost controls, prompting the world's largest home improvement chain to raise its profit outlook for the year.

However, the company softened its full-year sales forecast as U.S. consumers continue to put off expensive renovations and open their wallets only for repairs and small remodeling projects.

Home Depot, which has benefited from a slower expansion strategy, supply chain improvements and cost cuts that included job reductions in January, said it would continue to invest in its efforts to improve its merchandise and distribution.

The sentiment echoed that of smaller rival Lowe's Cos (LOW.N), which said on Monday it would rather focus on boosting margins and market share in the coming year than bet on a U.S. economy plagued by high unemployment.

Home Depot's net income rose to $834 million, or 51 cents a share, in the third quarter ended October 31, from $689 million, or 41 cents a share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average were expecting 48 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Sales rose 1.4 percent to $16.60 billion, slightly above the analysts' average estimate of $16.59 billion. Sales at U.S. stores open at least a year rose 1.5 percent.

Home Depot forecast earnings of $1.94 a share from continuing operations for the current fiscal year, up 4 cents from its prior outlook. The company expects sales growth of about 2.2 percent, down from a prior view of 2.6 percent.

Glam in the Gulf: Get a glitzy tattoo in real gold

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 19:08:00 +0000

DUBAI (Reuters) – Forget the henna and flashy jewelry, the latest accessory trend for the fashion-conscious party-goer in Dubai is a temporary tattoo made of real gold.

A new business in Dubai is offering temporary 24-carat gold tattoos as the ideal body adornment for weddings and other special occasions at a modest starting price of $50, an affordable option given rising gold prices.

Precious Skin has two outlets in Dubai -- one at the luxury, sail-shaped Burj Al Arab hotel -- which will design and apply body tattoos made of 99.9 percent gold or platinum to add a bit of glitz to your personal style.

"It's a revolution in the body art business, it's the first time we can use 24 carat gold and platinum on skin," said Arnaud Flambeau, managing director of Flambeau Luxury Trading and Precious Skin.

Originally a Japanese concept, Flambeau thought the idea would catch on in the Gulf, where many women have temporary henna tattoos applied for weddings and special occasions.

"We have had a lot of interest so far because it's a new idea and a new product that's between jewelry, makeup and accessories and it's a lot easier to make the decision to get a gold tattoo than buy new jewelry," said Flambeau.

A thin film of gold or platinum is used to make the tattoo which is then applied to the skin and can last for up to a week, he said.

"More elaborate and larger designs can cost up to $5,500, and the idea really is just to have something that is very unique and new," Flambeau said.

"We plan to have a total of 25 branches in Dubai over the coming year and by January we will be in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain."

Branded as the city of gold, Dubai's gold retail sector has faced huge drops in sales as cash strapped consumers struggled to keep demand up with rising prices for the yellow metal.

Spot gold gained 0.3 percent to $1,407.34 an ounce on Thursday, just off an all-time high of $1,424.10 hit on Tuesday.

Another celeb thrown off 'Dancing With the Stars'

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:45:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES – Kurt Warner's "Dancing With the Stars" stint is over, but the Super Bowl champ is still a crowd pleaser.

The studio audience and Warner's fellow contestants cheered "M-V-P! M-V-P!" as he was eliminated from the hit ABC show Tuesday.

Even judge Bruno Tonioli, who insulted Warner on Monday's episode by saying, "Obviously there are people that are better than you," praised the quarterback's gentlemanly nature.

"He has proven a true sportsman," Tonioli said before Warner was dismissed. "His attitude has been immaculate, incredible manners, and regardless of what happens, you have achieved a lot. You really are an American idol."

Warner embodied that attitude after learning his fate, thanking his partner, the show, the fans, his wife and their seven children.

"I learned a long time ago that life isn't always about winning and losing competitions, but it's about relationships, it's about impacting people," he said. "And so I thank everybody at 'Dancing With the Stars' because it gave me an opportunity to impact people and build relationships, and that's really what it's all about."

Warner and his professional partner, Anna Trebunskaya, came into Tuesday's episode a point away from last place. Judges had praised the pair's waltz and chacha — "I've never seen you dance with so much charisma," judge Carrie Ann Inaba said — but the couple only collected 24 points out of 30 for each dance.

Judges' scores are combined with viewer votes to determine which celebrity is ousted each week.

Tuesday's episode also included performances by John Legend and The Roots, Taio Cruz, and two pint-sized couples (ages 9 and 10) dancing a jive accompanied by celebrated 9-year-old pianist Emily Bear.

Football star Jerry Rice and sportscaster Kenny Mayne, both previous "Dancing" contestants, discussed the remaining competitors during their mock sports segment, "Dance Center." Rice wore false eyelashes and a low-cut sequined top. Mayne also wore sequins.

Warner joins previously eliminated contestants Rick Fox, David Hasselhoff, Michael Bolton, Margaret Cho, Florence Henderson and reality stars Audrina Patridge and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino.

Competing in Monday's semifinal round will be actors Jennifer Grey and Kyle Massey, singer-actress Brandy and Bristol Palin.

___

Online:

http://abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars/index

AT&T, Scripps Networks in deal on programs

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 10:25:00 +0000

NEW YORK (Reuters) – AT&T Inc reached a deal with Scripps Networks on Sunday, resuming access to popular channels like the Food Network and Cooking Channel for its U-verse customers.

AT&T's 2.7 million U-verse television customers had lost access on Friday to the Scripps Networks' channels after negotiations over programing fees hit an impasse.

"We're very satisfied that this is a fair deal that benefits our U-verse customers," AT&T said in a statement.

"The terms and costs of the deal recognize our growing subscriber base and give us the tools and content rights to compete with all other providers."

AT&T U-verse had said on Friday that Scripps, which also owns HGTV and GAC, was asking AT&T to pay "double what other competitors pay." AT&T also said at the time that Scripps Networks wanted a "premium price for inferior access to their content for our customers on other platforms."

AT&T U-verse and Scripps Networks were the latest companies battling over programing fees in a year packed with disputes.

News Corp's Fox was recently involved in two disputes with Cablevision Systems Corp and Dish Network Corp subscribers that involved a blackout of some Fox programing.

Last March Cablevision customers lost Walt Disney Co's ABC for several hours until 15 minutes into the live telecast of the Academy Awards.

Will Ferrell, Eddie Murphy most overpaid actors

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 16:43:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Memo to filmmakers: Beware the high-priced funnyman.

For the second consecutive year, Will Ferrell is the most overpaid actor in the world, and not far behind are a slew of other male comedic actors.

According to Forbes magazine, Ferrell's movies earned only $3.35 for each $1 the star was paid. "Transformers" star Shia LaBeouf, on the other hand, is paid $1 for every $81 his movies earned, so he's the actor determined by Forbes to give the most box office bang for his salary buck.

In making its determination, Forbes looked at the three most recent movies of each actor on its Celebrity 100 list. It added up box office, DVD and television revenue for the three films, factored in production budgets and came up with an operating income for each of them that it then compared to each star's compensation.

In Ferrell's case, "Land of the Lost," "Step Brothers" and "Semi-Pro" were used, while "The Other Guys," which performed better than the other three, was released after the June 1 cutoff date for this year's list. Ferrell returns to theaters on Friday as the voice of the title character in DreamWorks Animation's "Megamind." But unfortunately for Ferrell, cartoons don't count.

The second-most overpaid actor is Eddie Murphy, who was paid $1 for every $4.45 his movies earned. But Forbes' rule against cartoons meant that instead of a couple of hit "Shrek" movies, it looked at "Imagine That," "Meet Dave" and "Norbit."

Other funnymen on the Top 10 list of overpaid actors are Seth Rogen, Vince Vaughn, Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey. If one considers Drew Barrymore a comic actor -- and her past three films were, in fact, comedies -- then seven of the Top 10 overpaid actors are paid specifically to make audiences laugh.

Dramatic and action types cracking the Top 10 were Denzel Washington, Tom Cruise and Matt Damon.

Howard Stern exit wouldn't impact Sirius, analyst

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 10:41:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – With apologies to the Clash -- a band heard frequently on Sirius XM's '80s channels -- should he stay or should he go?

We're talking about Howard Stern, and Sirius XM may or may not update Wall Street during its earnings call Thursday as to whether he'll stick around and, if so, how much it will cost. Stern's five-year contract expires at the end of the year.

An analyst who upped his price target on Sirius on Wednesday said that, in a nutshell, it might not matter too much whether Stern stays or goes.

Matthew Harrigan at Wunderlich Securities' figures that if Stern stays on at his current salary of $100 million annually, or if he leaves and takes 1 million subscribers with him, it's a wash, financially speaking.

Sirius XM won't disclose how many of its 19.9 million subscribers listen Stern, but Harrigan estimates it's about 3 million. And he said that if Stern and Sirius XM drag out negotiations, it's a good thing.

"We actually regard an extended face-off as a form of free marketing for both Stern and Sirius," Harrigan wrote in his research note, which he called, "Sternonomics, with apologies to Freakonomics."

Of course, if Sirius XM can sign Stern for less money, or if he leaves and fewer than 1 million subscribers defect, it can be a plus for shareholders. Harrigan upped his target price by 25 cents to $1.75. The stock closed flat Wednesday at $1.57.

A big admission ahead of bigger mission for Batman

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 17:21:00 +0000

PHILADELPHIA – Batman's alter ego, Bruce Wayne, is going public about his role behind the Dark Knight.

After a lifetime spent wearing the cowl — and a scowl that's made him the scourge of Gotham's madmen — the fictional billionaire is taking full responsibility for keeping the caped crusader financed to fight crime.

The admission is unveiled Wednesday in the final pages of "Batman and Robin" No. 16 that marks the last issue in a run by Scottish writer Grant Morrison.

The acknowledgment in the final pages comes as Wayne holds a news conference where he asks those gathered: "Some of you may have wondered ... how does a man like Batman afford to constantly update his crime-fighting technology? Where does his money come from?

"Well, the answer is me."

The confession, Morrison said, is part of a detailed effort that puts into motion a plan for Batman Incorporated, a global network of Batmen from China to Argentina to fight crime worldwide.

Morrison told The Associated Press that the decision was made to protect Wayne's secret identity by deflecting attention away from speculation it was he who wore the cape.

"We've sidetracked the media that he has actually been financing Batman all these years," Morrison explained of the long arc he's written that has seen the Dark Knight plunge through time and space and have his mantle taken up by former Robin Dick Grayson. "He is the man behind the Batman, but he is not Batman."

In doing so, Wayne is free to take his crime fighting international by building what Morrison calls a "global, international army of Batmen. Batman in China, Batman in Japan, Batman in Russia. Expanding the Batman brand to areas where he really hasn't been before."

Those tales will unfold in full in the first issue of "Batman Incorporated," due out Nov. 17.

___

Online:

http://www.dccomics.com

Another star bounced from the `Dancing' ballroom

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 11:33:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES – On Monday, Rick Fox earned his highest "Dancing With the Stars" scores yet. But on Tuesday, the basketball star was bounced from the ballroom.

The 41-year-old was ousted from the hit ABC show during a special election-night program that commemorated the 200th episode of "Dancing."

Fox said Tuesday he had no idea that his "Dancing" road was nearing its end.

"You stay in a positive frame of mind," he said, though he likened the stress of "Dancing" to being on the free-throw line during game seven of the NBA championship.

"It's been a transformational journey for me," he said after learning his fate. "It's been amazing. My relationship has been transformed with my girlfriend and with my daughter."

Both were in the audience Tuesday.

The star-studded show, interrupted regularly with election returns, included musical performances by Taylor Swift and Rod Stewart, and highlights from the 10 seasons of "Dancing With the Stars."

On Monday's episode, stars performed routines inspired by past celebrity contestants, who served as judges for those routines.

Wearing a bright green suit, Fox and his professional partner, Cheryl Burke, offered their take on a colorful quickstep first performed by race car driver and season five champ Helio Castroneves. Judges praised the routine as Fox's best dance yet, and Castroneves gave the performance a score of 10.

"It was slick, it was quick," said head judge Len Goodman. "Rick, it was good."

Perhaps viewers disagreed: Judges' scores are combined with viewer votes to determine which star is dismissed each week.

Fox joins previously eliminated contestants David Hasselhoff, Michael Bolton, Margaret Cho, Florence Henderson and reality stars Audrina Patridge and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino.

Returning to dance Monday will be actors Kyle Massey and Jennifer Grey, singer-actress Brandy, football star Kurt Warner and Bristol Palin.

___

Online:

http://abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars

Firm denies it misled NC candidate on Freeman ad

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 16:38:00 +0000

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Los Angeles political firm denies it misled a congressional candidate in North Carolina about a radio ad for the candidate using an actor that sounded like actor Morgan Freeman.

MEI Political said in a statement Tuesday it made clear verbally and in writing to Republican B.J. Lawson's campaign that it was using a voice double of Freeman for the ad.

Lawson apologized Monday to Freeman after falsely claiming the actor had done a voiceover for his campaign. The campaign blamed MEI Political for the incorrect claim about the ad.

MEI's statement says it discussed with Lawson's campaign that Freeman was a Democrat and would probably never do an endorsement for a Republican candidate.

Lawson faces U.S. Rep. David Price, a Democrat, in Tuesday's election.

The Shining: Best horror location

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 19:17:00 +0000

The ultimate horror movie would see an alien burst from the chest of head-spinning Exorcist star Linda Blair in a scene set in the hotel from The Shining, a survey of film fans has revealed.

Actress Linda's role as Regan in the 1973 tale of demonic possession won a fifth of the vote (21%) in a poll to find the best horror movie victim.

The survey by DVD rental and streaming service LOVEFiLM asked film fans for their favourite moments in a bid to find the recipe for the ultimate horror movie .

Almost one in five nominated the Overlook Hotel from The Shining as the best horror location.

The 1980 Stanley Kubrick film stars Jack Nicholson as writer Jack Torrance and his manic catchphrase "Here's Johnny" as he tries to chop his way through a door picked up almost a quarter of the votes (23%) in the poll to find the best horror one-liner.

The scene in Alien when a creature bursts out of John Hurt's stomach was named the ultimate horror scene with 18% of the vote.

Fliss White, head of brand marketing at LOVEFiLM, which commissioned the survey, said: "Looking at the list of titles that make the ultimate horror movie of all time, it's clear that the classics remain the best with The Shining appearing twice in the poll proving the 80s were a great decade for horror.

"Stanley Kubrick is a true master of building suspense and this poll is once again proof that The Shining is still one of the most popular horror movies of all time."

Yahoo hires former News Corp. exec to fill void

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 13:46:00 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO – Yahoo Inc. is turning to a former Internet sharpshooter at News Corp.'s media empire to fill a big hole on its management team.

In a hiring announced late Wednesday, Ross Levinsohn will be Yahoo's executive vice president in charge the company's advertising sales, media division and business partnerships in North America, Central America and South America. He will report to Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, although he will be based in the company's Santa Monica office instead of its Sunnyvale headquarters.

Although he left News Corp. nearly four years ago, Levinsohn is still best known for orchestrating that company's $580 million acquisition of the online hangout MySpace.com in 2005. The deal was seen as an Internet-savvy move by News Corp., a traditional media company that owns the 20th Century Fox movie studio, Fox television network and The Wall Street Journal.

Levinsohn made the acquisition look even better in 2006 when he sold MySpace's search advertising rights to Google Inc. for $900 million in 2006, but the site has been overtaken in recent years by Facebook.

MySpace's inability to keep pace with Facebook triggered a reorganization that brought in one of Levinsohn's business partners, Jon Miller, to shake things up. Miller had been working with Levinsohn at an Internet investment fund, Velocity Interactive Group, now known as Fuse Capital.

Levinsohn is leaving that fund to join Yahoo to replace Hilary Schneider, who announced her resignation last month along with two other top executives.

The defections raised doubts about Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz's efforts to revive the company's revenue growth and lift its long-sagging stock price.

Bringing in Levinsohn should help ease some investor worries about the depth and talent of Yahoo's management team as Bartz approaches the midway point of her four-year contract as CEO.

"Ross has a phenomenal track record of executing digital media strategies that increase user engagement and, most importantly, accelerate (revenue) growth," Bartz said.

Levinsohn could even emerge as a candidate for Bartz's job if Yahoo's struggles continue.

Yahoo's board so far has indicated it has no plans to replace Bartz, 62, before her contract expires in January 2013.

"Having this opportunity to work with a group of immensely talented people to enhance Yahoo's leadership position is a once in a lifetime opportunity," Levinsohn said.

Levinsohn's name came up as a potential Yahoo CEO in media reports published in 2008 after the company balked at an opportunity to sell itself for $47.5 billion, or $33 per share. Then, billionaire investor Carl Icahn, once one of the company's major shareholders, was pushing for the ouster of Yahoo's then-CEO, co-founder Jerry Yang.

Yahoo shares remain far below Microsoft's final offer in May 2008. The stock closed Wednesday at $16.42, down 4 cents.

Sony reports hot demand for PlayStation 3 motion

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 10:42:00 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO — Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) said that it has a hit on its hands with its new Move motion-sensing controllers for PlayStation 3 videogame consoles.

Sony reported that it sold more than a million Move devices in North and Latin America in the 30 days after it hit the market in September.

"Retail demand is incredibly strong and we're working hard to keep the product in stock," said SCEA chief executive Jack Tretton.

"We believe we are on target to meet our end of year goals and expect sales to increase as our publishers and developers continue to update popular titles and introduce new games."

Two dozen videogames tailored to Move play are available, with titles including shooters such as "Killzone" and "Resident Evil" as well as sports games including "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11."

An additional 15 Move games planned for release in the coming year range from sports and shooter titles to puzzle and "family-friendly" fare aimed at capitalizing on the appeal of motion-sensing controllers to casual players.

Move wands are priced at 49.99 dollars. A smaller "sub controller" wand for use navigating characters in shooter games is priced at 29.99 dollars.

Sony combines Move controllers with Eye cameras and a videogame in bundles sold for 99.99 dollars. Adding a PS3 console to that bundle raises the price to 399.99 dollars.

PlayStation Eye cameras, which are needed to track movements of controller wands, sell separately for 39.99 dollars.

Move controllers, which are reminiscent of small black flashlights topped with brightly colored orbs, allow gamers to control PS3 play with swings, jabs and other natural movements instead of the toggle-and-button commands that have been trademarks of play on PS3 and rival Xbox 360 consoles by Microsoft.

Microsoft's rival Kinect devices are due out on November 4.

The firms are taking their battle for gamers' affections into terrain that had been ruled by Nintendo Wii consoles with innovative motion-sensing controls that became marketplace stars after the system was released in late 2006.

Microsoft's Kinect controllers for Xbox 360 consoles use 3-D cameras and gesture recognition software to let people play videogames using natural body movements and spoken commands instead of hand-held controllers.

Microsoft said a "Kinect for Xbox 360" that will sell for 149.99 dollars will include the Kinect Sensor and the videogame "Kinect Adventures," which features a river raft ride through an obstacle course.

The Kinect Sensor will work with the 42 million Xbox 360s already sold worldwide.

A four-gigabyte Xbox 360 console will include the Kinect Sensor and "Kinect Adventures" will sell for 299 dollars.

Merkel says German multi-cultural society 'has failed'

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 09:52:00 +0000

BERLIN — Germany's attempts to create a multi-cultural society in which people from various cultural backgrounds live together peacefully have failed, Chancellor Angela Merkel has said.

"Multikulti", the concept that "we are now living side by side and are happy about it," does not work, Merkel told a meeting of younger members of her conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party at Potsdam near Berlin.

"This approach has failed, totally," she said.

Merkel spoke a week after talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in which they pledged to do more to improve the often poor integration record of Germany's 2.5-million-strong Turkish community.

Horst Seehofer, the leader of the CDU's Bavarian sister party, CSU, told the same party meeting Friday that the two Union parties were "committed to a dominant German culture and opposed to a multicultural one.

"'Multikulti' is dead," he said.

While warning against "immigration that weighs down on our social system", Merkel said that Germany needed specialists from overseas to keep the pace of its economic development.

According to the head of the German chamber of commerce and industry, Hans Heinrich Driftmann, Germany is in urgent need of about 400,000 engineers and qualified workers.

"The lack is causing a loss of growth of about one percent," he said in an interview.

Jewish leaders in Germany meanwhile warned that German society and democracy were under threat from extremists.

A recent expert study should prompt the government to act against antidemocratic ideas, the secretary general of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Stephan Kramer, told the Rheinpfalz am Sonntag weekly.

The study, by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation think tank, showed that more than one third (34.3 percent) of those surveyed believed Germany's 16 million immigrants or people with foreign origins came to the country for the social benefits.

Around the same number (35.6 percent) think Germany is being "over-run by foreigners" and more than one in 10 called for a "Fuehrer" to run the country "with a strong hand".

Thirty-two percent of people said they agreed with the statement: "Foreigners should be sent home when jobs are scarce."

Far-right attitudes are found not only at the extremes of German society, but "to a worrying degree at the centre of society," the report noted.

More than half (58.4 percent) of the 2,411 people polled thought the around four million Muslims in Germany should have their religious practices "significantly curbed."

The integration of Muslims has been a hot button issue since August when a member of Germany's central bank sparked outrage by saying the country was being made "more stupid" by poorly educated and unproductive Muslim migrants with headscarves.

The banker, Thilo Sarrazin, has since resigned but his book on the subject -- "Germany Does Itself In" -- has flown off the shelves, and polls showed considerable sympathy for some of his views.

Kramer also criticised CSU leader Seehofer for ideas which he said were "not only petty but outright irresponsible" and slammed the current immigration debate as "hysterical".

Trees planted for global climate campaign

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 17:50:00 +0000

BERLIN — Environmental campaigners planted trees, collected rubbish and rallied against pollution on Sunday for what organisers aimed to make the world's biggest day of climate-change activism.

The 10/10/10 event known as the "Global Work Party" kicked off in Australia and New Zealand before spinning its way across the globe via more than 7,000 community events in 188 countries.

"The only countries that aren't taking part, we think, are Equatorial Guinea, San Marino, North Korea, so it's clearly the most widespread day of environmental action," co-founder of the 350.org campaign Bill McKibben said.

"And as far as we can tell, the most widespread day of civic engagement on any issue ever in the planet's history."

The event comes as long-running United Nations efforts to broker a global deal to tackle global warming have stalled, and McKibben said while organisers had feared that people would be disillusioned by this, the opposite was true.

"People are discouraged but they are taking out their frustrations in action," he told AFP by telephone from Washington.

"They have decided that we are going to have to show our leaders what leadership looks like."

In Berlin, some 30 people gathered at the Brandenberg Gate, a well-known city monument, and pulled a symbolic giant plug from a mock power station and connected it to a solar panel and a wind turbine.

In Beijing, hundreds of volunteers walked through the city collecting trash as a "symbol of how much waste is in the public sphere", said Christian Teriete of the Global Campaign for Climate Action.

More than 30,000 students from some 200 Chinese universities launched a nationwide programme calling for climate action through practical measures, such as removing rubbish from local areas.

"This was the biggest show of youth environmental action in China's history," media spokeswoman Joanna Wong said.

"It is about China's youth showing the world they want to take responsibility for our country's green future."

In the Philippines, thousands of people in the capital Manila joined a run to raise awareness about the Pasig River -- a major waterway that is heavily polluted.

In the Kenyan capital Nairobi between 150 and 200 people demonstrated at a market in a poor area of the city where they picked up litter and planted trees.

"This event is about creating awareness about climate change," Winnie Asiti Khaemba, 350.org East and West Africa coordinator, told AFP.

"We are trying to get the international guys, the local guys, the politicians, the people who make policy at the national level, at the regional level and the international level to see that this is a serious problem."

In Rome, organisers planned to unfurl a giant banner in gardens of the Villa Borghese proclaiming "No CO2, no traffic smog, no F1 in Rome" and foreign students were to clean the streets in the neighbourhood of their university.

In Lisbon, local environmental group Quercus organised a gathering of cyclists to form the number 350 along the Tagus river and in southern Portugal campaigners were to plant 350 oak trees on the site of a former illegal dump.

The 350.org campaign is named for the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that scientists say is the safe limit for humanity and it aims to spearhead international actions to fight climate change.

In Stockholm, a few dozen participants from different ecological movements gathered at midday in the Swedish capital's main square under a banner that read "There is no planet B."

Copenhagen hosted various small events, such as a "climate kitchen," a clothing exchange, an event to promote cycling and an evening gathering at a cafe.

In Europe, which has often led international pressure for tougher pollution limits, participation in the movement was uneven with events scarce in some big cities such as Paris and London.

Guatemala sex study revives painful memories in US

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 19:10:00 +0000

WASHINGTON — The scandal over Guatemalans infected with sex diseases in the 1940s so that US researchers could test remedies has revived painful memories of a similar episode involving African-Americans in the 20th century.

US President Barack Obama personally apologized on Friday to Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom and "all those affected," by the experiment conducted by US public health researchers on hundreds of people in Guatemala between 1946 and 1948, the White House said.

In 1997, then president Bill Clinton similarly apologized for a study on treating syphilis that involved 400 black men who were recruited by medical authorities but were denied any treatment so researchers could study the progression of the disease.

The study on seasonal farm workers in the southern city of Tuskegee, Alabama, often described as the "Tuskegee experiment," took place between 1932 and 1972.

The two ordeals are linked together by one man. The chief researcher in the Guatemala study, controversial US public health doctor John Cutler, also played a major role in the Tuskegee experiment.

In fact, the Guatemala experiments came to light this year after Wellesley College professor Susan Reverby stumbled upon archived documents outlining the experiment led by Cutler, who died in 2003.

The main difference between the two experiments is that the Tuskegee men came to the study already infected with syphilis, unlike the Guatemalans who were deliberately infected by US researchers.

However, the Tuskegee men in many cases did not know they had the disease, only what was referred to culturally in the area as "bad blood," a syndrome that caused fatigue and other symptoms.

In Guatemala, the researchers infected female commercial sex workers with gonorrhea or syphilis, and then allowed them to have unprotected sex with soldiers or prison inmates. They tested penicillin on them as treatment so see how effective it was.

"What was done cannot be undone but we can end the silence," Clinton said in 1997.

"We can stop turning our heads away. We can look at you in the eyes and finally say, on behalf of the American people, what the United States government did was shameful and I am sorry."

The Tuskegee experiment has become a powerful symbol of racism in the medical domain, according to author James H. Jones who authored a 1991 book on the subject.

"Treatment was deliberately withheld from syphilitic men in an effort to determine the natural course of the disease, regardless of the human cost to the subjects, their wives and children or their communities," he said.

The study "was actually an ugly collaboration involving Public Health Service physicians, local private practitioners (white and black), the prestigious all-black Tuskegee Institute and Hospital, the county and state health departments, even draft boards," he said.

"It was the longest non-therapeutic experiment on human beings in medical history."

When a government review commission completed its analysis of the experiments, it described the effort as an "aberration, well intentioned but misguided."

The US government has paid around 10 million dollars to the families of the Tuskegee victims and the incident led lawmakers to pass legislation banning such experiments and regulating the way medical experiments are carried out on people.

'Robust' UN Security Council steps needed on Gaza: lawyers

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 19:06:00 +0000

GENEVA — The International Commission of Jurists on Thursday urged the UN Security Council to take "robust" steps to ensure that human rights violations during the Israeli military offensive on Gaza are prosecuted.

The ICJ, a campaign group for judges and lawyers, said its call referred to rights violations and breaches of International Humanitarian Law by both Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, in 2008/2009.

"The Security Council must take concrete and robust measures to ensure accountability for the perpetrators and justice for victims, and to this end consider the options at its disposal to break the cycle of impunity prevalent in this conflict, including by referring the situation in Gaza to the International Criminal Court," said ICJ Secretary General Wilder Tayler.

UN experts said Tuesday that Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas failed to carry out credible and adequate probes into claims of war crimes committed during the conflict in Gaza nearly two years ago.

The experts' mission was set up after a UN-mandated report by South African judge Richard Goldstone accused both Israel and Palestinian groups of war crimes during the three-week conflict which erupted in late December 2008.

Goldstone had asked for a follow-up to ensure both sides held "credible" investigations.

The ICJ argued in a statement that Israeli investigations had failed to meet international standards of "effectiveness, independence and impartiality".

The Hamas administration in Gaza has also failed to show that it was investigating violations committed by Palestinian armed groups in December 2008 to January 2009, it added.

Tayler said the 47-member UN Human Rights Council, which set up the probes "must therefore assess these domestic proceedings and report accordingly to the UN General Assembly and Security Council."

The UN experts are due to present their findings to the council on Monday.

Iranian, Algerian presidents meet for talks in Algiers

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 11:28:00 +0000

ALGIERS — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held two hours of talks with his Algerian counterpart Abdelaziz Bouteflika Saturday during a stopover in Algiers on route to New York for the UN General Assembly.

Ahmadinejad received full military honours on his arrival at Algiers airport, where he was received by Bouteflika, an AFP photographer at the scene noted.

The Algerian leader was accompanied by Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia and Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci.

The two leaders held two hours of talks at the airport's VIP section.

According to the Algerian news agency APS, Bouteflika was accompanied by Ouyahia, Medelci and the speaker of parliament Abdelaziz Ziari; with Ahmadinejad was Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.

Following the talks, Ahmadinejad described relations between the two countries as "very good and in full development."

The two leaders have met several times in the past including Ahmadinejad's state visit to Algeria in January 2009.

Algerian press reports suggested that Algeria's ambassador to Tehran has had talks with Iran's Trade Minister Mehdi Qazanfari about developing trade -- and even a free trade accord -- between the two countries.

Iran is currently suffering under the international, UN-approved economic sanctions imposed on it because of its nuclear power programme, which critics fear could have a military component.

Ahmadinejad flew into Algiers from Syria's Damascus airport, where he had had a meeting with President Bashar al-Assad.

He is due in New York where from Monday to Wednesday and he is to attend the UN General Assembly, a forum he has used in past years to blast arch-foe Israel.

Castro says misinterpreted on Cuban model not working

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 17:20:00 +0000

HAVANA — Former Cuban president Fidel Castro said Friday he was misinterpreted when a US reporter quoted him as saying the "Cuban model doesn't even work for us any more."

Castro, who left the presidency in 2006, recently gave a rare three-day interview with a reporter from The Atlantic magazine and a Cuba expert from the US Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

According to The Atlantic, which published its account on Wednesday, the 84-year-old Cuban revolutionary icon joked about the state of the Cuban economy.

Castro said he made the statement "without anger or worry. Now I'm amused to see how (the Atlantic reporter) interpreted it literally" in consultation with a CFR expert.

My answer, Castro said, "meant exactly the opposite" of what the reporter wrote, Castro said, speaking at an event presenting the second volume of his autobiography.

Castro said he was clear about Goldberg's intention when he asked if the Cuban model was still worth exporting: "It's obvious that implicit in the question was the theory that Cuba was exporting the revolution."

In Washington, CFR expert Julia Sweig, who was present at the interview, told AFP on Friday that she had a different take on Castro's quote.

Castro "wasn't joking and when I heard him saying that, I took him to mean the economic model doesn't work anymore, not the revolution, not the socialist ethos, not the independence spirit, not you know, the revolution, just the model," said Sweig.

When Castro "said the 'Cuban model doesn't even work for us anymore' he was almost making reference to that kind of 'fetishized' Cuban model. 'Oh, that doesn't even work for us anymore,'" Sweig said.

Cuba's feeble economy is currently propped up by subsidized oil from ally Venezuela. The government has launched minor reforms but no major structural change in an economy overwhelmingly controlled by the state.

Castro Friday did not explain exactly what he meant by his equivocal phrase, but stressed it was the capitalist system that was not working.

"My idea, as the whole world knows, is that the capitalist system no longer works neither for the United States or the rest of the world; it leads to one crisis after another, ever worsening, global in scope... and inescapable.

"How could such a system work for a socialist country like Cuba?"

Atlantic reporter Jeffrey Goldberg invited Sweig to sit in on the rare interview in Havana.

The former Cuban president and head of the ruling Communist Party "was in real good shape," said Sweig. "He's obviously older and has experienced a number of physical illnesses, but you know, he's eating, talking, his conversation is witty, interested and I'd say he was 1,000 percent there."

Fidel Castro ceded the presidency to his brother Raul in 2006 after a serious stomach illness. He met with Goldberg and Sweig about two weeks ago and spoke about Israel, Iran, tension in the Middle East, and -- as happens with Castro -- a myriad of other issues.

"We were talking about a lot of things, but you know, Fidel Castro is not running Cuba foreign policy right now," Sweig said, though he "weighs in as a public figure, a senior statesmen."

Australia PM Gillard woos 'kingmaker' MPs

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:10:00 +0000

SYDNEY — Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard courted one of five minority lawmakers key to resolving the nation's political stalemate Saturday, as polling showed their voters favoured her rival.

Gillard held private talks with independent MP Andrew Wilkie, a former soldier and spy who resigned over Australia's role in the Iraq war, hoping to win his support for her to form government.

The prime minister and conservative rival Tony Abbott both failed to take a majority at last weekend's elections, resulting in the nation's first hung parliament in 70 years.

Both leaders are desperate to curry favour with Wilkie, Greens MP Adam Bandt and three rural independents in order to secure the 76 seats needed to take power, with Abbott holding 73 seats outright to Gillard's 72.

Wilkie said the talks had focused on the need for gambling law reform, an issue he is passionate about, while Gillard had stressed the strength of her ruling Labor party's position.

"She feels confident that she can form a government. She's very very keen to get the support of all the independents so she has a little bit of a buffer. She's very keen to get a resolution very quickly," Wilkie said.

Gillard did not answer questions as she left the meeting, telling reporters only that it had been a "good discussion".

The outspoken Wilkie famously blew the whistle on the lack of evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and his 2003 revelations sparked a political storm.

He is widely regarded as the most unpredictable of the minority candidates, having warned that he may not side with either major party but he confirmed Saturday that he would not hold the country to ransom or force another election.

"The most important issue for me is the public interest and that we get very very quickly a stable, competent, ethical government," he said.

The talks came as polling showed the majority of voters who brought rural independents Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott and Bob Katter to power wanted them to side with Abbott's Liberal/National coalition, not Gillard.

A Newspoll of 1,396 voters in the trio's electorates found more than 50 percent supported Abbott, compared with about 35 percent for Gillard.

Wilkie said the independents had an "important responsibility to the national interest" and should be looking beyond their own electorates.

"It's not about grandstanding, it's not about pork-barrelling, it's about quickly helping to stand up the next government of this country and making sure that it lasts the whole three years (of its term)," he said.

Formal negotiations are slated to start on September 3, after postal and provisional votes have been counted and the definitive result is known.

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