Prepubescent Photography

Whitney Houston Hooked Up With M.J.: Pal

2012-04-30T15:42:00.003-07:00

Whitney Houston Hooked Up With M.J.: Pal

Michael Jackson had quite the sexual appetite, according to one of his former bodyguards. He apparently had an affair with Whitney Houston and even hooked up with Lisa Marie Presley after they divorced. Guess M.J. had "it" in more ways than one.

Over the years, Michael Jackson gained a reputation as a Peter Pan character that cherished the childish side of life. This caricature was perpetuated — understandably so — by his Neverland Ranch and penchant for hanging out with prepubescent boys. However, some people "close" to the singer are now saying that he was very much a man with a sexual appetite to match.
The latest story? One of his former bodyguards said he had a torrid affair with another dearly departed icon, Whitney Houston.
"One of the many stories that has never been told about Michael is that he had an ultra-secret affair with Whitney Houston that he never got over," Matt Fiddes told the U.K. gossip magazine The Sun (we know, we know). "They met because they were two of the biggest recording artists on the planet and mixing in the same circles. They instantly connected as kindred spirits because they understood each other’s massive fame."
The pair reportedly met in 1991 when Houston was 28. She was besotted with him — and M.J. reportedly wanted to marry her, but it ended when he found out that she had an affair with his older brother, Jermaine Jackson.
That's not the only recent revelation about the King of Pop. Jackson's ex-wife, Lisa Marie Presley, revealed to Elle in a new interview that she continued to hookup with Jackson for years after their divorce — it only stopped when she remarried in 1996.

So, it seems Michael Jackson was actually quite talented in the bedroom, apparently. We're not sure we're buying all of this (and sadly, we'll never know the absolute truth), but some of his other bodyguards wrote in a 2010 book that he had plenty of ladies circling in and out of his life.

"Being a man… men know men, and we [were] around him long enough to know he was a man," bodyguard Bill Whitfield said while promoting his book with other M.J. bodyguards, In Defense of the King.
"[He had] desires of women like we do. He had lovers," Mike Garcia added. "In the cars that we had, we had a curtain that covered the back seat. You couldn't see in the back seat. They talked back there, they didn't do nothing out of bounds… you can hear the kissing."
Interesting.

Image courtesy FayesVision/WENN.com

A photographer is out on bond after being arrested on child pornography charges.

2012-04-30T15:41:00.002-07:00

Dublin Photographer Faces Child Pornography Charges

Wednesday April 25, 2012 5:49 PM
UPDATED: Wednesday April 25, 2012 6:33 PM

GRANDVIEW HEIGHTS, Ohio - A photographer who contracts with a number of area schools is out on bond after being arrested in connection with child pornography, 10TV’s Kevin Landers reported Wednesday.

A photographer is out on bond after being arrested on child pornography charges.

Grandview Heights Police charged Royce Nicely with pandering obscenity involving a minor. He was arrested in March.

According to a search warrant, Nicely allegedly used a cell phone to take pictures of a teen.

The investigation was initiated by Nicely’s wife, who called Grandview Heights police in March.

The search warrant obtained by 10TV News said that Nicely’s wife found videos on a business computer at the couple’s Dublin home that appeared to show a girl in various stages of nudity. Police also searched Nicely's computer at Petty Studio.

Police said that one of the files showed a female from the waist down, and a forensic examination showed that the girl was recorded unknowingly, Landers reported.

The warrant stated that the forensic examiner also found a movie file that showed prepubescent females ages 9 to 11 posing on a Webcam.

For the past five years, Petty Studio, located on West Fifth Avenue in Marble Cliff, was in charge of taking Grandview Heights City Schools’ athletic photos.

The company also took team photos for sports teams from Upper Arlington, Dublin Coffman and Dublin Scioto. School officials said that the photos were arranged by the booster groups.

Grandview Superintendent Ed O’Reilly said that the studio did take the district’s spring sports photos, but Nicely was not allowed to participate, Landers reported.

“Everything we do is about child safety, and as soon as we found out, we ensured that this man was not involved in our students in any way,” O’Reilly said.

Police said that they did not think any of the school photos taken by Nicely or Petty Studio were tied to the investigation, Landers reported.

Watch 10TV News and refresh 10TV.com for more information.

Brisbane actress Melanie Zanetti

2012-04-30T15:37:00.000-07:00

Brisbane actress Melanie Zanetti, 27, plays down Romeo and Juliet promotional poster in which she appears prepubescent

FORBIDDEN LOVE: The offending QTC advertisement. Source: The Courier-Mail

BRISBANE actress Melanie Zanetti is known for her chameleon-like ability to transform herself. But even she was surprised to be mistaken for a prepubescent child.

The Matilda Award-winning thespian was inadvertently embroiled in controversy last year when a promotional poster portraying her and Romeo and Juliet co-star Thomas Larkin in a passionate embrace was pulled by the Queensland Theatre Company.

"I just thought it was bizarre": actress Melanie Zanetti. Picture: Adam Armstrong

Source: The Courier-Mail

Although it received only a single complaint, the Advertising Standards Bureau ruled that "Juliet" appeared too young to be portrayed in a sexual pose.
The offended party said the photo was "shocking" and "suggestive of pedophilia", but Zanetti told Confidential she was bemused by the reaction.
"I just thought it was bizarre," she laughed.
"I'm 27 myself and being told that I look prepubescent . . . was hilarious."
However, the chameleon-like actor joked that the confusion over her age could prove something of a boon in her line of work.
"In this industry it's definitely better to look younger rather than older, especially for a female, so I'm not complaining."
Romeo and Juliet plays at QPAC until May 13.

Politics ugly with imperfections

2012-04-30T15:34:00.000-07:00

If formal character tests were part of preselection processes for prospective federal MPs, Federal Parliament would be roomier for it.

The same might be said, of course, for other professions. The law, the media, the priesthood, medicine, accountancy, academia, the arts, building and construction (especially domestic building, come to think of it) and, unfortunately, even the judiciary are full of examples of bad character.
Part of growing up is discovering the world's imperfections. Prepubescent boys of my generation had to come to terms with the fact that I Dream of Jeannie wasn't real. Never mind having to deal with Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.

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(My household looks forward to the day the truth may be told about these last two characters. The six-year-old is fearful of the freaky intruders, a situation not helped by an elder brother who growls in an East End accent: ''Hey, I'm the flippin' Tooth Fairy - give 'em all to me now or I'll suck ya brains out through ya blinkin' ear hole.'')
The point is that, yes, we learn that unfortunately every walk of life is host to some not-very-nice people. But we expect more of our politicians - odd because the community's expectation is disproportionate to its poor perception of them.
Until recently, I could have argued here that politicians are largely underpaid and overworked; spend too many long periods away from their families; are expected to work miracles with the bureaucracy; and abide by the principle that the voter is always right. But right now the heart of Australian politics is empty and cold. I'll spare you a rant about how the process is undermined by ''pollster culture''; pollsters who tell our leaders that the punters hate them because they are so cynical, so they respond with empty lines written by the same pollsters to allay perceptions that the leaders are too cynical.
The most popular federal politicians in Australia at the moment are those who speak plainly and honestly about the principles that guide them, even if - perhaps especially if - it puts them at odds with their parties. There are few, although Malcolm Turnbull is chief among them.
The latest serious allegations about the Speaker, Peter Slipper, may well have fatally undermined the Gillard government. But, just as importantly, they erode what little public faith remains in big-party national politics.
Voters are naturally repulsed by the suggestion Slipper may have misused his already overly generous travel entitlements or effectively abused his public position by allegedly making sexual advances on Commonwealth employees in his office.
Slipper's career had long been characterised by tawdry allegations of impropriety. When the Gillard government bought his vote by making him Speaker, it chose to live (metaphorically) as dangerously as Slipper apparently does (literally). Voters want somebody to take responsibility. Instead, what you are given is a schoolyard lesson in moral relativity.
Tony Abbott reckons Slipper became Julia Gillard's man when Labor chose him as Speaker. Gillard insists it's now all a matter for Slipper who, in any event, she never really knew very well. Abbott counters that he tried to force Slipper out of conservative politics. Gillard says rubbish - the conservatives kept preselecting him.
Truth and responsibility are buried deep under this steaming pile of bull-rhetoric.
While politics is ultimately the casualty, Labor will pay the heaviest short-term price for its dealings with Slipper. It is not hard to conflate the Slipper scandal with the ugly allegations about Labor MP Craig Thomson that won't go away. And the truth there is undeniable: the wide boys of the NSW Labor Right chose to preselect Thomson after the first credible allegations of impropriety surfaced. Only a fool could have failed to spot the potential heinous threat he posed to Labor's integrity and, perhaps, survival on the floor of the House.
On Anzac Day I spoke at a big service in a small town. The street in front of the lectern was crowded with people who stood in the rain to listen as the bugler played the Last Post.
Good politicians, local and federal, spoke - but not of politics. They spoke about loss, tragedy, meaning and hope - things that resonate with the human condition, the past and the present. The people responded with tears, handshakes, solemn nods and smiles.
It's not that hard.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/politics-ugly-with-imperfections-20120428-1xrgx.html#ixzz1tZ8IwVrN

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears w/The Preservation at Mercy Lounge

2012-04-30T15:30:00.007-07:00

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears w/The Preservation at Mercy Lounge

Posted by The Spin on Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 11:09 AM

Photo: Ivor Karabatkovic

When faced with a crucial decision Friday night, The Spin cowered in the face of Bridgestone’s epic Van Halen/Kool and the Gang combo, which would've no doubt had the next 500 words writing themselves with jabs at gratuitous drum and guitar solos, prepubescent bass players and a frontman who’s spent so many years washing up, his skin must be something like a piece of driftwood. Instead, we chose an easier show to watch, but one much more challenging to write up: Friday night's Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears appearance at Mercy Lounge, with openers The Preservation. Fresh talent and fun-loving, hard-working bands in vans aren’t as easy — or deserving — a target for our good-natured ribbing.
Our first impression of The Preservation was impressed via a cover of Donovan’s “Colours” — a stellar jam, the original version of which could scarcely be topped by anyone. But The Preservation's efforts were admittedly noble. From then on, these Austin natives rocked an array of bluesy Texas flavors filtered through vintage Frisco free love and sugared with a tinge of post-Brian Wilson Beach Boys sweetness. Jams favored on the lengthy side — we imagine this quintet must kill it on any given college campus — but for our purposes, we'll say we’ve ordered beers to far more offensive soundtracks.
In the tradition of Austin’s classic guitar-slinging bluesmen, headliners Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears were almost literally sweating out soul from intro to encore, dipping their dirty toes in elements of Motown, Chicago blues and Muscle Shoals soul amongst others along the way — and it was all injected with a heavy dose of fuzzy overdrive and delivered with a spine-shivering screaming howl. Essentially a power trio accompanied by a blasting brass three-piece, Lewis wailed about the woes of women, jail time, more women and all the other requisite working-class shit that makes this stuff worth listening to.
Blessed with not only a set of invigorating pipes, Lewis is also an impressively expressive guitarist, shredding his custom all-red-everything Telecaster like Chuck Berry rings a bell. In fact, for a moment we closed our eyes and imagined Otis Redding and Jimi Hendrix ripping through Muddy Waters covers on a combo of cheap beer and quality speed.
For the sake of stamina, the band saved their faster tunes for a mid-set second wind, but despite their consideration for dynamics, they seemed to lose almost half a crowd by slipping into a slow jam “for the ladies.” Regardless, tempo changes and amplitude dips were mostly negligible. What one gets with a Black Joe Lewis set is a lightly wavering, hour-long onslaught of mud, sweat and beers that, if it could be bottled, would be called something like “Juke Joint Juice” or simply Scandalous — which also happens to be the name of the band’s latest long player.

Photos Turn Paintball Fields Into Mystical Landscapes

2012-04-27T16:28:00.002-07:00

Photos Turn Paintball Fields Into Mystical Landscapes

WANTED

IT’S LIKE THE SET OF "LOST," EXCEPT EVEN MORE AWESOME.

Take a look at these photos, and tell us what you think you see: Khe Sanh after the first shelling? Residual of a mammoth nuclear blast? Maybe an outtake from Lost?

They’re actually paintball fields. Yep. Those outdoor funzones stuffed with prepubescent boys giddily blasting the bejesus out of each other also happen to make for some of the coolest, eeriest landscape photography we’ve seen in a long time.

Katja Mayer and Peter Chadwick visited various paintball facilities in the British countryside to shoot the series, Days Lost, using a 6x7 Mamiya. There are no special effects here, beyond minor color adjustments in Photoshop. The nuclear-orange plumes that hover menacingly over the forest floor are just smoke flares paintballers use as shields against enemy players.

Makes you wonder why no one’s thought to photograph paintball in this way before. I guess the answer is pretty self-evident: Stop to appreciate the beauty, and you’re just begging for a round of paintballs in the face.

Days Lost is on view at the Print House Gallery in London until April 19. Prints can be purchased for £250 to £900 (about $400 to $1,440), depending on size. Contact Mayer for more info.

[Images courtesy of Katja Mayer and Peter Chadwick]

Apple fights back against DOJ eBook price-fixing lawsuit

2012-04-13T08:33:00.003-07:00

Apple fights back against DOJ eBook price-fixing lawsuit

is pushing back against government claims that it’s trying to inflate the cost of eBooks by as much as $5, insisting that it’s publishers and not the consumer electronics giant that sets prices.

“Just as we've allowed developers to set prices on the App Store, publishers set prices on the iBookstore,” spokesman Tom Neumayr told FoxNews.com.

“The DOJ's accusation of collusion against Apple is simply not true. The launch of the iBookstore in 2010 fostered innovation and competition, breaking Amazon's monopolistic grip on the publishing industry," he said.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and five publishers Wednesday, alleging e-book prices were artificially hiked by $2 to $3 and as much as $5 -- costing consumers tens of millions.

Publishers Simon & Schuster, Hachette and News Corp.'s HarperCollins agreed to settle the suit, avoiding a costly legal battle. But those companies refused to admit any wrongdoing or collusion.

“Hachette was not involved in a conspiracy to illegally fix the price of eBooks, and we have made no admission of liability,” the company said in a statement released to FoxNews.com immediately after the settlement was announced.

“Hachette has decided that the costs, uncertainties, and distractions of this litigation would be too disruptive to our business.”

Likewise, HarperCollins denied anti-competitive activities, adding that the so called “agency model” of pricing led to an explosion of choices for consumers.

But Apple, Macmillan, and Penguin Group are denying price collusion and are prepared to fight the charges of “conspiring to limit pricing competition.”

“The document contains a number of material misstatements and omissions, which we look forward to having the opportunity to correct in court,” John Makinson, Chairman and CEO of Penguin Group, told FoxNews.com.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/04/13/apple-fights-back-against-price-fixing-lawsuit/#ixzz1rw1ZCWRd

North Platte man sentenced for pornography

2012-04-13T08:30:00.003-07:00

North Platte man sentenced for pornography

by George Lauby (North Platte Bulletin) - 4/10/2012

Courtesy PhotoImage

Timothy Burger

Timothy W. Burger, 41, formerly of North Platte, was sentenced Tuesday in to five years in federal prison for receiving and distributing child pornography.

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On Nov. 22, 2010, investigators served a search warrant at Burger’s home, U.S. Attorney Deb Gilg said.

Computers at Burger's home contained more than 40 videos of child pornography, the majority of which depicted prepubescent females violated by adult men, police said. Burger admitted downloading videos with a file-sharing program, Gilg said.

U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Bataillon issued the sentence.

Gilg said Burger will serve a full five years. There is no parole for federal inmates. After release, Burger will begin a 10-year probation and also be required to register as a sex offender.

The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office’s Rural Cyber Crimes Task Force and the North Platte Police Department investigated the case.

The Rural Cyber Crimes Task Force investigates receipt and distribution of child pornography.

Charges were filed as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation. The project was launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims, Gilg said in a prepared statement.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, see www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The North Platte Bulletin - Published 4/10/2012
Copyright © 2012 northplattebulletin.com - All rights reserved.
Flatrock Publishing, Inc. - 1300 E 4th St., Suite F - North Platte, NE 69101

Moving Past the Middle School Moose

2012-04-13T08:26:00.002-07:00

Moving Past the Middle School Moose

I had my epiphany in theStamfordmall.
I was doing some post holiday shopping, trying to thin my wallet of the multitude gift cards from various relatives, when I came upon one gift card that sent me back in time. A big white moose on a navy blue background.
I was instantly brought back to 2008. As I walked into Abercrombie & Fitch, I was surrounded by a wave of spicy cologne, and lighting so dark I could barely see my hand in front of my face, let alone the clothes. A girl dressed in jeans and the tightest T-shirt I had ever laid eyes on greeted me as she folded shirt after shirt, only to have them all lie crumpled on dressing room floors just minutes later.

I flitted around the store, picking up sweaters and jeans, and virtually everything that sported a giant moose. Because, after all, what’s the point of buying this stuff if the brand isn’t plastered all over it?
Now, in 2012, I face a much different dilemma.

Abercrombie and Fitch has transformed from the utopia I once ran to each time I entered the mall into the store that causes me to hold my nose as I walk by. This is not simply the fact that I turn up my nose at their clothing but more a reflection on my growth as both a customer and as a teenager.

First of all, I don’t go shopping with the intentions of listening to blaring techno music. If I wanted to do that, I would purchase my clothes at Terminal 5. While I shop, I prefer being able to hear my own thoughts. This is a clothing store, not a rave.

Second, I have come to realize the sheer impracticality of the posters they hang on the walls to entice their customers. I’m sorry, but lying in the middle of the woods in nothing but jeans is just plain stupid.

Finally, Abercrombie’s most defining characteristic: The smell. Years ago, people actually chose to forgo washing their shirts for a few weeks just to keep that faint scent of Abercrombie wafting about them.

Now, the smell gives me a migraine.

The scent is a mixture of spicy “I’m trying too hard” in addition to “I’m in middle school.” Sure, they may have provocative names like “Fierce”…but to me the scent of Abercrombie just screams “Prepubescent”. Not to mention the fact that someone’s job is literally to walk around and spray the various articles of clothing with perfumes that attract tweens like moths to a flame.

You can easily search out the nearest Abercrombie simply by the smell, which drifts through the mall as a constant reminder that at one point or another, you actually thought this store was cool.

I finally worked up the courage to walk into A&F on my last mall trip. As I plopped down in one of the comfy leather chairs, usually reserved for the parents who get dragged into the store by their moose-loving tweens, I realized my personal metamorphosis.

Around me were the girls who still wear their bat mitzvah sweatshirts and leggings with pride as they search for the biggest moose on any article of clothing in the store. And then there was me, desperately searching for something, ANYTHING that didn’t have “Abercrombie and Fitch” plastered anywhere. I was an outsider in this once familiar world.

Looking at where I was sitting was my first indicator… I had confined myself to the “parent chairs.” I no longer wanted to be a part of the chaos that ensues in this store. I sound like a mom, but really, I’ve just become someone who no longer loves the Disney Channel or who no longer wants to wrestle with a Sugar Lip tank top each morning before school. I look in the strategically placed mirrors of this hell and no longer see the girl who once loved this store. That time has come and gone.

Although walking into Abercrombie literally sends chills down my spine, it took a bottle full of perfume and the constant loop of Cascada to make me realize how much I have grown up from middle school to high school. And for that, I guess I owe the creators of Abercrombie a thank you.

Former Teacher Admits Distributing Images

2012-04-13T08:22:00.002-07:00

Former Teacher Admits Distributing Images of Child Sexual Abuse

NEWARK—A former seventh grade science teacher and swim coach at an independent New Jersey day school admitted today to making available images and videos of prepubescent children being sexually abused—sometimes violently—to others over the Internet, United States Attorney Fishman announced.

Brian Stern, 35, of Montclair, New Jersey, entered his guilty plea to an information charging him with one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography before United States District Judge Susan D Wigenton in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made during Stern’s guilty plea proceeding:

Until May 2011, when he was arrested, Stern downloaded and posted videos and images of child pornography via peer-to-peer file sharing software, through which others had access to the material on a shared drive. Stern admitted that his offerings included images of numerous children younger than 12 and depictions of sadistic and violent conduct. The images downloaded by federal investigators and found on Stern’s computer included pictures of very young children being restrained and sexually abused.

As part of his guilty plea, Stern agreed to forfeit the computer and computer accessories which he used to commit the offense. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.

The receipt and distribution of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.

Sentencing is currently scheduled for July 24, 2012.

United States Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI Newark Division’s Cyber Crime Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B Ward; and detectives of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Carolyn A Murray, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorney Adam N Subervi of the United States Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

Reported by: FBI

Look out tweens, the boys are back in town

2012-04-13T08:20:00.002-07:00

Look out tweens, the boys are back in town

Hundreds of glow sticks lit up the sold-out crowd at Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles on a recent Friday night. Prepubescent girls snapped pictures on their mobile phones and out-screamed each other as younger children were hoisted onto parents' shoulders for better views.

The cheers morphed into hysteria as Big Time Rush emerged.
It has become a familiar scene: five seemingly interchangeable young guys linked by a band name and an ability to dance with military precision, deliver harmonies and exude boy-next-door charm.

Big Time Rush are part of a new boy-band wave building in the US and likely to hit Australia soon. Witness the hysteria over Simon Cowell's creation One Direction, in Sydney this week before heading to Melbourne at the weekend, including a much anticipated Logies performance. Even boy band ''veterans'' are joining the fray, with New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys performing in Sydney next month.

Judging from the hype around One Direction, and recent sold-out shows in the US for young groups such as British heart-throbs the Wanted and R&B teen sensations Mindless Behavior, the re-emergence of the boy band has only just begun.

In what seems to be as predictably cyclical as the stock market, bubble-gum bands are back and trying to fill a void left by the maturation of Justin Bieber and other precursors. As always, they're working extra hard in competing with each other to stand out.

Mindless Behavior's Jacob ''Princeton'' Perez says he is aware their popularity could fade as quickly as it arrived. ''In this camp, they really believe in working hard. Our manager always told us to never get comfortable because it can all go away really fast,'' he says. ''A lot of people think it came out of nowhere, but we've been at it for three years.''

Since Big Time Rush were assembled for the Nickelodeon show of the same name in 2009, the band's TV series has become a hit and spawned two albums, blockbuster tours and a slew of made-for-TV films, including the Beatles-themed Big Time Movie, which attracted 13 million viewers when it aired in the US this month, according to Nielsen.

Big Time Rush follow a mould, once perfected by the Monkees, in which a fictional artist-based sitcom extends to profitable tours, music and merchandise. Their current album, Elevate, made its debut at No.12 on the Billboard 200, they have sold more than 3 million digital tracks, and their self-titled TV show, now in its second season, averages a respectable 3.6 million viewers in the US.

The Wanted, managed by the man behind Bieber, Scott Braun, hit No.1 on the iTunes pop chart with their US single Glad You Came. It has now sold more than 1 million copies in the US since its release in October.

BTR member Kendall Schmidt says their latest success proves they're more than a novelty. ''We'd all be lying if we said the first thing we planned to do was sing in a boy band. We all knew we were signing up for an opportunity of a lifetime,'' Schmidt, 21, says. ''We are trying our best to make it our band and not something we signed up for.''

Not all the up-and-coming boy bands are ''Svengalied'', but most are the product of industry masterminds looking to capitalise on the budding hormones of juveniles.

One Direction (ages 18 to 20) were pieced together by Cowell and former Pussycat Dolls frontwoman Nicole Scherzinger after they auditioned as solo singers on the British edition of X Factor in 2010, and then collectively came third.

The group recently wrapped an opening slot for Big Time Rush - often receiving better reviews than the headline act.

They just announced their first US headlining tour and there is buzz that Nickelodeon is in talks to have the group anchor a show similar to Big Time Rush's.

''We all know how hard it is to crack America,'' band member Liam Payne, 18, said before their album Up All Night interrupted Adele's chart-topping US run by knocking her off the No.1 spot (it is only the second disc of 2012 to do so and the first time a British group have made their debut at No.1 in the US). ''When you come over here, you're one of four or five New Kids on the Block out there.''

Mindless Behavior's co-manager, Keisha Gamble of Conjunction Entertainment, and the company's chief executive, Walter Millsap, saw a void in the R&B market after B2K (a disciple of 1980s sensations New Edition) fell out of fashion more than 10 years ago. So along with Vincent Herbert, the head of Streamline Records, they auditioned teens for the new group. ''It had been 10 years since there had been a boy band that catered to the urban community,'' Gamble says. ''Little girls want something to latch on to. There's only been Justin Bieber, so it was perfect timing for something like this to come along.''

Herbert says the goal was to calculate a ''bulletproof'' strategy for the band. Since he has a joint venture with Interscope and clout from signing Lady Gaga, he was able to accelerate them into a deal and secured slots on tours with the Backstreet Boys, Bieber and Janet Jackson. The band's first album, #1 Girl, made its debut at No.2 on Billboard's R&B/hip-hop chart last year.

Last year, the boys quickly amassed more than $US100,000 in merchandise sales on Interscope's online store and were second behind Lady Gaga in terms of sales. ''We took our time thinking about the marketing,'' Herbert says. ''I don't believe in losing. You look at their album and every song is about girls. Girls at 14 and 15 years old are excited about boys.''

Not everyone is buying into the hype. Carson Daly, who was host of MTV's Total Request Live during the boom of boy bands in the late 1990s, is sceptical this new wave of cute groups will rise to the heights of their predecessors. ''We moved further away from the produced pop bands. The Spice Girls, 'N Syncs and Backstreet Boys - that was an era that I think is over.''

Mindless Behavior's co-manager, Keisha Gamble of Conjunction Entertainment, and the company's chief executive, Walter Millsap, saw a void in the R&B market after B2K (a disciple of 1980s sensations New Edition) fell out of fashion more than 10 years ago. So along with Vincent Herbert, the head of Streamline Records, they auditioned teens for the new group. ''It had been 10 years since there had been a boy band that catered to the urban community,'' Gamble says. ''Little girls want something to latch on to. There's only been Justin Bieber, so it was perfect timing for something like this to come along.''

Herbert says the goal was to calculate a ''bulletproof'' strategy for the band. Since he has a joint venture with Interscope and clout from signing Lady Gaga, he was able to accelerate them into a deal and secured slots on tours with the Backstreet Boys, Bieber and Janet Jackson. The band's first album, #1 Girl, made its debut at No.2 on Billboard's R&B/hip-hop chart last year.

Last year, the boys quickly amassed more than $US100,000 in merchandise sales on Interscope's online store and were second behind Lady Gaga in terms of sales. ''We took our time thinking about the marketing,'' Herbert says. ''I don't believe in losing. You look at their album and every song is about girls. Girls at 14 and 15 years old are excited about boys.''

Not everyone is buying into the hype. Carson Daly, who was host of MTV's Total Request Live during the boom of boy bands in the late 1990s, is sceptical this new wave of cute groups will rise to the heights of their predecessors. ''We moved further away from the produced pop bands. The Spice Girls, 'N Syncs and Backstreet Boys - that was an era that I think is over.''

Los Angeles Times

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple

2012-04-13T03:14:00.001-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple on Thursday denied a charge that it schemed with publishers to hike prices for e-books, portraying itself as a hero for prying Amazon's "monopolistic grip" from the market.

"The DOJ's accusation of collusion against Apple is simple not true," Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr said in an emailed statement a day after a Department of Justice antitrust suit was filed.

"The launch of the iBookstore in 2010 fostered innovation and competition, breaking Amazon's monopolistic grip on the publishing industry."

The Justice Department sued Apple and five publishing firms Wednesday alleging a conspiracy to raise prices and limit competition for e-books. It immediately announced a partial settlement in the case.

Officials said three of the publishers agreed to end the scheme to force retailers such as Amazon to accept a new pricing plan that ended their ability to offer discounts for electronic books.

Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster reached a settlement but the case will proceed against Apple and the other two -- Macmillan and Penguin Group -- "for conspiring to end e-book retailers' freedom to compete on price," the Justice Department said.

Attorney General Eric Holder said that as a result of the conspiracy, "consumers paid millions of dollars more for some of the most popular titles," and competition was eliminated.

Prior to the introduction of Apple's iPad, online retail giant Amazon sold electronic versions of many new best sellers for $9.99.

After Apple's "agency" model was adopted, the prices rose to $12.99 and higher, the suit said, and price competition among retailers was "unlawfully eliminated."

Sharis Pozen, head of the Justice Department's antitrust division, said the scheme was aimed at ending a discounting effort by Amazon.

She said executives in the conspiracy "knew full well what they were doing. That is, taking steps to make sure the prices consumers paid for e-books were higher."

The move almost instantly raised the prices consumers paid for e-books, she said.

"Just as we've allowed developers to set prices on the App Store, publishers set prices on the iBookstore," Neumayr said.

The suit filed in US District Court in New York said a conspiracy dating back to 2009 involved "schemes to limit Amazon's ability to discount e-books."

Named in the suit with Apple were CBS Corp.'s Simon & Schuster; Hachette Book Group, part of France's Lagardere; the British-based Pearson's Penguin Group; Macmillan, a unit of Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck; and News Corp. unit HarperCollins.

Amazon on Wednesday hailed the settlement and said it would mean lower prices for e-books for its Kindle reader.

"This is a big win for Kindle owners, and we look forward to being allowed to lower prices on more Kindle books," said Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener.

But Macmillan chief executive John Sargent said his firm would fight the settlement because "the terms the DOJ demanded were too onerous" and would allow Amazon "to recover the monopoly position it had been building before our switch to the agency model."

The lawsuit comes amid probes on both sides of the Atlantic over the efforts to limit discounting on electronic books, which had been dominated by Amazon until Apple launched its iPad in 2010.

prepubescent photography

2010-01-28T20:55:00.000-08:00

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