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Thursday, May 31, 2007

Motorola announces 4,000 more jobs to be cut


BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhuanet) -- Motorola's Razr phone has lost its edge, resulting in an announcement Wednesday the cell phone maker will cut another 4,000 jobs as part of a scheme to improve sagging financial and operational results.

The latest round of cuts means the world's No. 2 handset maker has announced plans to eliminate more than 10 percent of its work force since the start of 2007. The company already is in the process of eliminating 3,500 jobs as part of a two-year cost-cutting plan to save 400 million U.S. dollars. Those layoffs, announced in January, are to be completed by June 30.

Motorola said it will save another 600 million dollars in 2008 by cutting 4,000 more workers, prioritizing investments and putting controls on discretionary spending and general and administrative expenses.

"Long-term, sustainable profitability is — and always has been — Motorola's top priority," Chief Financial Officer Tom Meredith said. "Today's actions are an update to the commitment we made ... to drive out additional costs, and a continuation of the plan we announced in January."

The Schaumburg-based company did not specify where the new cuts would be made. Spokeswoman Jennifer Weyrauch said they will be achieved through a mixture of attrition and layoffs.

Motorola's work force, which stood at 150,000 people worldwide as recently as 2000, had declined to 66,000 at the beginning of the year. Weyrauch said the company, which has acquired several smaller firms in recent months, also is continuing to hire.

(Agencies)


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UK soldier dies in Afghan air crash


Press Association
Thursday May 31, 2007 10:08 AM

A helicopter which crashed in Afghanistan, killing a British soldier, is believed to have been brought down by Taliban fire, Nato officials said.

The British serviceman was among seven people to die when the Chinook aircraft came down in Afghanistan's volatile Helmand province.

"It was a hostile area, where the helicopter went down," said Major John Thomas, a spokesman for Nato's International Security Assistance Force. "Initial indications are that enemy fire may have brought down the helicopter."

Other troops going to the scene were ambushed and had to call in air support to drive off their attackers.

US officials also said initial reports suggested the helicopter was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade on Wednesday evening.

The CH-47 Chinook was carrying a crew of five Americans and two military passengers, one British, the other Canadian, according to the US military.

Major Thomas said that the wreckage remains on the site, which has been secured by Nato troops.

"There will be a full investigation," he said. "We will try to determine everything that happened and to fully investigate the site."

The Ministry of Defence said it was still gathering details of the incident and had yet to confirm the death of the soldier.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, claimed militants shot the helicopter down in southern Helmand, the world's largest opium poppy-growing region, where combat has been heavy in recent months. Ahmadi said the helicopter crashed in the Kajaki district hours before Nato reported that information.

© Copyright Press Association Ltd 2007, All Rights Reserved.



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Monday, May 28, 2007

Lindsay Lohan DUI arrest in Los Angeles


Los Angeles - Lindsay Lohan was arrested for drunk driving early Saturday in Los Angeles after a minor car accident.

"She was cited and released because she has been admitted to a local hospital for minor injuries," a Beverly Hills Sheriff's Department spokesman said.

Police were called to the scene after receiving a 911 call about the accident from a witness.

She'll have to appear in court to answer the citation, he said.

Lohan checked into a rehab center for alcohol treatment in January 2007 and is still attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Lohan's movie, "Georgia Rule," is in theaters now. Lohan has also appeared in "Mean Girls," "Bobby," "A Prairie Home Companion" and "Freaky Friday."

© AlaskaReport News


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Oil falls $1 after Nigeria oil strike ends


Concern that gasoline supplies might run short in the world's largest energy consumer helped drive oil prices to a nine-month high last week.

U.S. gasoline futures bucked the fall in crude futures and were little changed on Monday.

A series of refinery outages have cut U.S. gasoline supplies by 15 percent since the winter, reversing the seasonal trend to stockpile motor fuels ready for summer.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has laid part of the blame for recent oil price spikes on U.S. motor fuel supply problems and has resisted consumer calls to pump more crude.

"Production from OPEC will stay stable," a senior OPEC delegate told Reuters on Monday. "There is no reason for now to change. On the crude side, the market is well balanced."

Refinery capacity constraints were likely to affect markets in consumer countries for some time, he added.

Crude oil speculators boosted their net long positions by more than a fifth on the New York Mercantile Exchange in the week to May 22, betting that prices would rise further. Gasoline speculators in contrast trimmed net length.


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Tuesday, May 22, 2007

World voices alarm at Lebanon fighting



PARIS: The international community yesterday strongly condemned renewed fighting in Lebanon, with warnings of a humanitarian crisis and calls by some for Islamic militiamen to be disarmed.

The UN voiced concern about an unfolding human crisis in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon where the army was locked in battle with Islamist extremists.
The German presidency of the European Union condemned the bloodshed and called for the disarmament of Islamic militia fighters.
The calls followed serious concern expressed by Russia on Sunday. “Such an upsurge of violence in an already tense situation in Lebanon gives rise to deep anxiety,” the Russian foreign ministry said.
Lebanese troops pounded Islamist militiamen in a Palestinian refugee camp yesterday, the second day of the bloodiest internal fighting since the 1975-90 civil war that has now killed at least 55 people and raised deep concerns about Lebanon’s fragile security.
Richard Cook, director of the UN Relief Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), said the fighting in and around Nahr al-Bared camp was distressing.
“We are deeply concerned about the developing humanitarian crisis, particularly the danger to civilian lives,” he said in a statement.
“Once a ceasefire is called, UNRWA will ensure essential care, food and water will be provided to the inhabitants of the camp as well as evacuating the injured and killed,” he said.
In Berlin, a foreign ministry spokesman said Germany viewed the fighting with very great concern, and “condemns the attack on the Lebanese security forces in the strongest terms.”
The renewed violence “reminded us how urgent it is that militia in Lebanon are disarmed.”
Britain backed the Lebanese military offensive in northern Lebanon in a statement by Foreign Office minister Kim Howells.
“I am disturbed by the fighting at the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon,” Howells said.
“The existence of extremists sympathetic to Al Qaeda in the camp is a threat to Lebanon and the broader region and the vast majority of Palestinians in that camp and others oppose them,” he added.
“We support the Lebanese authorities in bringing the situation under control,” Howells said.
He welcomed the efforts of the International Red Cross to deliver aid to the camp. The violence underscored the need for implementing UN Security Council resolutions calling for disbanding and disarming all militias in Lebanon, he said.
Britain also condemned Sunday’s bombing in east Beirut that killed one person and injured many others, he said, adding, “There can be no justification for such attacks, which only exacerbate an already tense political climate.”
In Paris, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner spoke with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora on Sunday to assure him of France’s solidarity, his office said. – AFP


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MySpace agrees to expose sex offenders

MySpace is yielding to demands by US state justice officials that it expose sexual predators who may be prowling the youth-oriented networking Web site.

The move ends a standoff between MySpace and top prosecutors from eight US states that had demanded the identities of convicted sex criminals who have posted their profiles on the News Corp-owned Web site.

State attorneys general subpoenaed MySpace after the Web site refused to hand over the data on the grounds that disclosure of the private information was barred by US law.

"Our subpoena compels this information right away - within hours not weeks, without delay - because it is vital to protecting children," said Connecticut state attorney general Richard Blumenthal.

"MySpace has decided to do the right thing, but additional steps are necessary, such as age verification, to protect children from predators on social networking sites."

MySpace executives said that since "Sentinel Safe" software began running on the Web site May 2 it has ferreted out about 7,000 profiles posted by convicted sex criminals.

MySpace deleted the profiles but saved information about them for law enforcement officials, MySpace chief security officer Hemanshu Nigam said.

"We've always intended to provide law enforcement with the information," said Nigam, a former US prosecutor who handled sex crimes.

"The last week has been about the mechanism to provide the information in a way so that someone charged by law enforcement doesn't get off because of a technicality."

US law bans illegally obtained evidence from being used in court.

North Carolina state attorney general Roy Cooper laments that the data from MySpace does not include sexual predators without convictions, using fake names, or not registered with police. "We still must do more to protect our children from predators," he said.

MySpace is lobbying for a federal law requiring convicted sex offenders to register their e-mail addresses to make it easier to screen them from membership Web sites used by young people. There are approximately 600,000 registered sex offenders in the United States.

The justice chiefs of Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Mississippi and New Hampshire have contacted MySpace since finding thousands of convicted sex offenders with profiles on the site. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE



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Pew Study Sees Muslim Americans Assimilating.


Muslim Americans have integrated into society far better than European Muslims, but there appear to be significant pockets of disaffection — especially among the young and religious. That is the conclusion of an exhaustive survey of Muslim Americans released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center.

More than 1,000 Muslims spoke at length about their American experience, and the results were mostly "good news," says Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center.

"The Muslim American population is largely middle class, mostly mainstream, assimilated, happy with their lives and moderate on many of the issues that have divided Muslims and Westerners around the world," Kohut says.

But the study found some surprising signs of discontent. More than half of Muslim Americans believe that the U.S. government singles Muslims out for extra surveillance. More than half of Muslims overall hold a very unfavorable view of al-Qaida — but only 36 percent of African-American Muslims do. Only one in four Muslims believes that Arab men conducted the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. And most disturbing was what Kohut called "pockets of sympathy for extremism."

"Younger Muslims are both more religiously observant, more self-identifying as Muslims than older Muslims, and they're more likely to say that suicide bombing in defense of Islam can be, at least some times, justified," Kohut says.

One-quarter of Muslims under age 30 said suicide bombing is legitimate on some occasions. That compares with 6 percent of older Muslims.

Laila Al-Qatami, communications director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, was shocked by that statistic. She said it did not reflect what she knew of the community. Qatami was less surprised to learn that Muslims find it harder to live in America since the Sept. 11 attacks. And they are justifiably suspicious of the U.S. government, she says — as evidenced by the number of complaints of discrimination and racial profiling her group has received.

"For example, we had a case where a gentleman was trying to board a plane to fly on an airline, and he happened to have a shirt that had Arabic writing on it. And he was not allowed to board his flights or subsequent flights until he changed his shirt," Qatami says.

Qatami says that untold numbers of innocent Muslims named Mohammed can't get off government watch lists. But she says these are blips for an otherwise satisfied Muslim American community — 65 percent of whom recently came to the United States.

"The American dream is still very much alive here," she says. "If you work hard and you put your mind to something, you can still succeed here. That's what American Muslims see and feel. They still see it as a land of opportunity — that's why so many people want to immigrate here."

Compared with Europe — where many Muslims live in ghettos, earn the lowest incomes and suffer high unemployment — America represents the good life, she says.



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Monday, May 14, 2007

Top 10 most stolen vehicles in Canada


TORONTO (CP) - The 1999 and 2000 Honda Civics SiR 2-door hold the distinction of topping the most frequently stolen vehicles list in Canada for a second year in a row.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada list also suggests the two models had the third and fourth highest theft claims cost per vehicle.

The highest theft claim cost per vehicle was the third most frequently stolen vehicle - the 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX/WRX STi four-door all-wheel-drive.

Number four on the most stolen list was the 1999 Acura Integra two-door, followed by the 1994 Honda Civic Si two-door Hatchback.

The bureau says in 2005, 160,000 vehicles were stolen in Canada.

The list of least stolen vehicles includes the 2000 Saab 9-5 four-door, 2002 Volvo S60 four-door all-wheel-drive, 2002 Pontiac Bonneville four-door and the 1998 Lincoln Continental.


Top 10 Least Stolen Vehicles

1. (tie) 2000 Saab 9-5 4-door

1. (tie) 2002 Volvo S60 4-door AWD

1. (tie) 2002 Pontiac Bonneville 4-door

1. (tie) 1998 Lincoln Continental 4-door

1. (tie) 2001 Ford/Mercury Taurus/Sable Wagon

1. (tie) 2001 Pontiac Bonneville 4-door

1. (tie) 2002 Oldsmobile Silhouette

1. (tie) 1997 Saturn SW1 Wagon

9. 1998 Toyota Avalon XLS 4-door

10. (tie) 2000 Lincoln Continental 4-door

10. (tie) 2005 Saturn Ion 4-door Sedan

10. (tie) 1996 Buick Le Sabre 4-door

Source : http://autos.canada.com
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Pre-dawn attack on U.S. patrol in Iraq kills five; three still missing


BAGHDAD - U.S. and Iraqi troops searched house-to-house and combed fields with their bare hands Saturday after American troops and their Iraqi interpreter came under attack in the notorious "triangle of death" south of Baghdad, leaving five dead and three missing.

The military said the patrol was struck in a pre-dawn explosion near Mahmoudiya, about 30 kilometres south of Baghdad - an al-Qaida area where two U.S. soldiers were found massacred after disappearing at a checkpoint nearly a year ago.

A nearby unit heard the blast and the search was launched after communication could not be established with the patrol, the military said. Shortly after the blast, a drone observed two burning vehicles.

An emergency response unit arrived at the scene and found five members of the team dead and three others missing.

Checkpoints were established throughout the area, while helicopters and jets buzzed overhead. AP Television News footage showed Iraqi soldiers picking through cattails and other weeds as they searched fields and canals for clues.

Lt.-Col. Christopher Garver, a U.S. military spokesman, said the search would continue throughout the night.

The military refused to specify whether the Iraqi interpreter was among those killed or missing and would not give more details about where the bodies were found.

An Iraqi army officer who was familiar with the search said he saw five badly burned bodies inside a Humvee at the site, suggesting the remains may not have been recognizable. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information.

He also said joint U.S.-Iraqi forces had sealed off the area and were conducting house-to-house searches, rounding up dozens of suspects. The military declined to comment on detentions but said troops were looking for suspects.

The Iraqi officer said U.S. troops singled out seven suspects out of as many as 50, including a wounded man who was hiding in a house and confessed to participating in the attack. He said most of the houses searched near the attack contained only women and children because the men had fled, fearing arrest.

"I was in my cucumber field when I heard a big explosion followed by shootings. I ran toward my house because I was afraid that I would be arrested if spotted in the field," Mizaal Abdullah, a 37-year-old farmer who was in the custody of the Iraqi army, said by telephone. "This is the third time that I have been arrested. Each time, the real attackers flee the area and innocent people like me get arrested."

The attack occurred at 4:44 a.m. about 20 kilometres west of Mahmoudiya, a town of about 65,000 in a Sunni area dubbed the "triangle of death" for the frequent attacks against Shiite civilians and U.S. and Iraqi forces.

Also Saturday, the military announced the death of an American soldier from a bomb attack Friday near Iskandariyah, 48 kilometres south of Baghdad.

At least 30 Iraqis were reported killed or found dead elsewhere in Iraq, including a Sunni physician shot to death on his way home from work in the northern city of Mosul.

Seventeen bullet-riddled bodies showing signs of torture - apparent victims of so-called sectarian death squads usually led by Shiite militias - also turned up on the streets in Baghdad.

All but two were found on the predominantly Sunni western side of the Tigris River that divides the capital where sectarian violence appears to be on the rise.

More than 3,380 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. But few have been kidnapped, due largely to strict military procedures for those on patrol or at checkpoints.

U.S. troops in Iraq travel in groups of armoured vehicles, usually Humvees, and procedures are in place to keep track so no one is left behind.

The last U.S. soldier known to have been captured was Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie, an Iraqi-born reserve soldier from Ann Arbor, Mich., who was abducted while visiting his Iraqi wife on Oct. 23 in Baghdad.

Sgt. Keith Maupin of Batavia, Ohio, was taken on April 9, 2004, after insurgents ambushed a fuel convoy. Two months later, a tape on Al-Jazeera purported to show a captive U.S. soldier being shot, but the army ruled it was inconclusive proof of Maupin's death.

Both are still listed as missing.

Capt. Michael Speicher, a navy pilot, also has been missing since the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

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Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Paris Hilton gets 45 days in the slammer


Los Angeles, CA - Heiress Paris Hilton has been jailed for 45 days after being found guilty of violating her probation for a drunk driving conviction.

A Los Angeles judge ruled she must start her sentence on June 5th and has no prospect of an early release.

Hilton told the judge she was very sorry and that she would "pay complete attention to everything" from now on.

The socialite said she did not know her license had been suspended when caught driving without headlights in February.

According to papers filed in Los Angeles' Superior Court, Hilton was stopped by California Highway Patrol officers on January 15th and informed she was driving on a suspended license.

The 26-year-old then signed a document acknowledging she was not allowed to drive.

On February 27th, she was stopped by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for speeding on Sunset Boulevard with her car's headlights off and charged with violating her probation.

Although Hilton maintained she was not aware her license had been suspended, court papers said the document she signed in January was found in her car's glove compartment.

She was also accused of failing to enrol in an alcohol education program by a court-ordered deadline.

Late entrance

Hilton was sentenced to three years' probation, fined $1,150, and lost her license at the end of January after pleading no contest to a drunk driving charge in September.

Despite prosecutors saying the heiress deserved a jail sentence prior to Friday's hearing, Hilton arrived at the court at least 10 minutes late.

One of the world's most photographed women, her arrival attracted a swarm of paparazzi at a courthouse whose most glamorous work usually consists of dealing with parking fines.

Her mother, Kathy, laughed when the demand for a custodial sentence was made during the prosecution's closing argument and asked Judge Michael Sauer for his autograph.

"I'm very sorry and from now on I'm going to pay complete attention to everything," Hilton told the court before she was sentenced.

"I'm sorry and I did not do it on purpose at all," she said. But the judge was unmoved.

The 26-year-old heiress wept when the ruling was announced, and her mother shouted at the prosecutor: "You're pathetic."

One of Hilton's lawyers said the jail sentence was unfair.

"To sentence Paris Hilton to 45 days in jail to me was uncalled for, inappropriate and bordered on the ludicrous. I think she was singled out because she's who she is," Howard Weitzman said.

If Hilton does not report to jail on June 5th she will face 90 days behind bars.

Hilton, heiress to the Hilton Hotel fortune, first gained notoriety for her constant partying as a teenager.

© AlaskaReport News

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Very low risk to humans from food containing melamine


There is very low risk to human health from consuming meat from hogs and chickens known to have been fed animal feed supplemented with pet food scraps that contained melamine and melamine-related compounds, according to an assessment conducted by scientists from five federal agencies.


In the most extreme risk assessment scenario, when scientists assumed that all the solid food a person consumes in an entire day was contaminated with melamine at the levels observed in animals fed contaminated feed, the potential exposure was about 2,500 times lower than the dose considered safe. In other words, it was well below any level of public health concern.

The risk assessment is an important new science-based component of the continuing federal joint investigation into imported wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate from China that contained melamine and melamine-related compounds.

The risk assessment was conducted by scientists from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This team is now compiling a scientific assessment of the risk to animal health associated with ingestion of animal feed containing melamine and its compounds.

FDA and USDA are in the process of identifying a group of experts to convene a scientific advisory board that would be charged with reviewing the risk assessment. This group would also be asked to contribute to future scientific analysis related to the risk of melamine and its compounds to humans and animals.

In the course of the investigation, it was discovered that pet food was contaminated by wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate that contained melamine and its compounds. Subsequently, scraps of contaminated pet food that contained only low levels of melamine were distributed to farms in a limited number of states and added to the feed consumed by swine and poultry. These scraps constituted only a small percentage of the farm animal rations. In addition, melamine is known to be excreted in animal urine. When exposure levels are much higher, as was the case with cats and dogs, the melamine and its compounds appear to cause the formation of crystals in the kidney systems, resulting in kidney da mage. There was no indication of kidney da mage in hogs. Both hogs and chickens known to have been fed contaminated feed appear to be healthy.

This dilution factor was an important piece of data considered in the multi-agency science-based human risk analysis and helps to support the conclusion that there is very low risk to human health from eating meat from animals that were fed the contaminated product. This conclusion supports the decision announced on April 28 not to recall meat from animals that were fed contaminated product.

Currently, swine and poultry on farms suspected of receiving contaminated feed are being held under state quarantine or voluntarily by the owners. In several cases, feed samples have tested negative for melamine and related compounds. These tests were conducted by federal laboratories or state laboratories using approved methods. It is assumed that because only small amounts of the contaminated feed were mixed with other rations, the melamine and related compounds were no longer detectable. USDA has concluded that, based on the human risk assessment and the inability to detect melamine in the feed samples, these animals no longer need to be quarantined or withheld from processing.

In other cases, feed samples have tested positive for melamine and related compounds; feed samples were not available; or feed samples have not yet been submitted for testing. These animals continue to be withheld from processing, but are not yet being culled, pending the results of the animal risk assessment. This assessment is expected to be completed within one week. At that time, USDA will determine whether these animals can be released for inspection and further processing.

(Last updated on Tuesday, May 8, 2007, and first posted on Tuesday, May 8, 2007)




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Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Spidey's web too long this time


Forgiveness is on the minds of many characters in "Spider-Man 3." They ponder if they're capable of offering it, worthy of receiving it - and whether, as the saying goes, it will ultimately prove divine.

In that spirit, audiences may also need to forgive director and co-writer Sam Raimi for creating a bloated, uneven behemoth with his third installment in the hugely successful comic-book franchise.

(The film is so feverishly anticipated, however, and the entire series is so revered, that any critic's opinion is irrelevant to the inevitable box office bonanza. Nevertheless, let's press on.)

Spidey the Third feels like an even greater letdown following Spidey Part Deux, which was the rare sequel that surpassed the original. "Spider-Man 2" was driven by a strong story and compelling character development, and didn't just feel the need to dazzle us with elaborate effects (though the effects did indeed dazzle).

Here, Raimi overloads us with more - more villains, more supporting characters and more plot lines - spread out across more time. People and threats come and go, and the narrative feels scattered. (Raimi crafted it with his older brother, Ivan, and veteran writer Alvin Sargent, who also co-wrote part two.)

Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) must battle human foes Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church) and Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) but also their alter egos, the Sandman and Venom. He's still at odds with old best pal Harry (James Franco) as well as Harry's souped-up super self, the New Goblin. And Peter, as Spider-Man, must fight his own dark urges when a pesky black goop from outer space attaches itself onto him of all people - what are the odds? It spreads across his body in place of his trademark red-and-blue suit, bringing out prideful, arrogant tendencies he never knew he had.

It is amusing, however, that even as dark Spidey, Peter's nerdy nature still shines sweetly through. His idea of being bad consists of displaying Denny Terrio-style disco dance moves while swaggering down the sidewalks of New York, and demanding milk and cookies from the adoring girl who lives next door. (As he turns crueler, though, he also revels in humiliating Brock, a cocky, competing photographer at the Daily Bugle. By now, Grace has got that persona down.)

Peter's also juggling two love interests: Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), the longtime girl of his dreams who now knows he's Spider-Man and is cool with it; and Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard, one of many new cast members), a college classmate with a crush on Peter who provides plenty of opportunities for Spidey to swoop to the rescue. Mary Jane is relegated to whining nearly the entire time about her botched Broadway debut; Gwen is an attractive, blonde prop. The way he treats both of them provides one of many opportunities for remorse.

So yes, there is too much going on in this $258 million extravaganza. But when you spend that much money making a film, theoretically you're going to offer some spectacular visuals. "Spider Man 3" does - sometimes.

The opening sequence, with Goblin chasing Spidey through the skyscrapers and alleyways of Manhattan at night, looks too fake and cartoony, like something out of a video game. Other moments are eye-popping - notably, when escaped prisoner Flint Marko falls in the middle of a scientific test site and finds himself molecularly deconstructed and reborn as a mass of sand (the filmmakers actually used ground corncob, which looks vividly tactile).

The rules as to what Sandman can and cannot do are still sort of baffling - Spider-Man can punch a hole through Sandman, but Sandman can turn himself into a wind-whipped storm and carry away large objects. Perhaps some of you fanboys out there, who surely will go out of your way to eviscerate any critic who dares trash your beloved movie, could be kind enough to share some enlightenment.

Church's blue-eyed, chiseled looks made him the ultimate carefree party boy in "Sideways." They make him equally believable here as a troubled but fundamentally decent guy who's done some bad things - and, of course, seeks forgiveness.

Peter, too, must deliver some mea culpas for his egregious behavior, and find a way to accept them from others for past transgressions that return to the fore. By the time "Spider-Man 3" ends, countless tears have been shed, story lines have wrapped up and minutes have dragged by - and the potential for "Spider-Man 4" has been clearly established.

It all could end right here, though, and it should: as a trilogy, one that isn't necessarily satisfying, but at least provides a sense that the web has been neatly completed.

"Spider-Man 3," a Columbia Pictures release, is rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence. Running time: 140 minutes. Two stars out of four.

---

Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions:

G - General audiences. All ages admitted.

PG - Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

PG-13 - Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.

R - Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

NC-17 - No one under 17 admitted.

By CHRISTY LEMIRE
AP MOVIE CRITIC
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Google responds to Viacom's $1bn 'infringement' lawsuit


Reacting to Viacom Inc.'s copyright infringement lawsuit over Google's hugely popular video-sharing site YouTube, the online search leader has filed a confrontational official response in New York’s federal district court, contending that YouTube’s activities are legal.

In its response to the lawsuit, filed Monday in Federal District Court in Manhattan, Google said that it has not infringed on the rights of the media company and denied virtually all the claims Viacom made in its lawsuit against Google.

In March, the New York-based entertainment giant Viacom Media filed a suit with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging Google's San Bruno-based video-sharing site YouTube knowingly infringed Viacom copyrights "on a huge scale."

In its lawsuit, the American media conglomerate claimed unauthorized display of over 160,000 video clips picked collectively from MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon by YouTube. Besides claiming "massive intentional copyright infringement" of its properties Viacom demanded for an injunction preventing Google and YouTube from further copyright infringement. Viacom also seeks more than US $1 billion in damages and an injunction against further violations against YouTube and its parent company Google Inc.

In an 11-page response to Viacom, Google said that Viacom’s claims were unfounded and asked for a judgment dismissing the complaint. Google also demanded a jury trial in its yesterday’s filing.

The Internet search giant also said that YouTube respects the importance of copyrights and goes above and beyond what is required under the 1998 law, known as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which gives Web hosts protection from copyright lawsuits so long as they comply with requests to remove unauthorized material.

"By seeking to make carriers and hosting providers liable for Internet communications, Viacom's complaint threatens the way hundreds of millions of people legitimately exchange information, news, entertainment, and political and artistic expression," Google said in its official response, further arguing that Viacom's suit "challenges the careful balance established by Congress when it enacted the Digital Millennium Copyright Act."

YouTube, which Mountain View-based online search leader Google acquired for $1.65 billion last year, says it cooperates with holders of copyrights and rapidly complies with requests to have unauthorized material removed from the site. The online video service YouTube in February had agreed to remove 100,000 video clips from its hugely popular video-sharing site after Viacom’s claim that they had been placed on the site without its approval.

In a briefing with reporters at Google's headquarters, Michael Kwun, Google's managing counsel for litigation said, "We think YouTube offers the world's leading platform for entertainment, education and free speech." Kwun said the companies are not engaged in settlement talks and added "We're not going to let this lawsuit distract us."

Meanwhile, Viacom denied yesterday that YouTube qualifies for protection under the DMCA, arguing that the company has prior knowledge of infringing material and is also profiting from pirated works. On Google’s response, Viacom said, “This response ignores the most important fact of the suit,” arguing that the safe harbor provisions of the DMCA do not apply to Google because copyrighted material is associated with YouTube's business platform.

Philip Beck, a top trial lawyer from the Chicago firm Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott who represented George Bush in the fight over the 2000 presidential election, will represent Google in the case. Philip Beck also defended Merck in the Vioxx drug case.

David Kramer, a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and a famed Silicon Valley litigator, is also joining Beck in the case.

Founded in February 2005 by three former employees of PayPal, YouTube is a popular free video sharing website which lets users upload, view, and share video clips. It uses the Adobe Flash technology to display video, and currently is handling a monthly traffic of over 70 million users.

by Shubha Krishnappa - May 1, 2007 - 0 comments

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Democrats Send Troop-Withdrawal Bill to Mr. Bush and Certain Veto


WASHINGTON, DC (AP) -- Democratic congressional leaders sent Iraq legislation setting timetables for U.S. troop withdrawals to President Bush and a certain veto.

On the fourth anniversary of the president's ''Mission Accomplished'' speech, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that Mr. Bush ''has put our troops in the middle of a civil war. A change of course is needed.''

Mr. Bush, meeting in Florida with military commanders, said such an approach could turn Iraq into a ''cauldron of chaos.''

The White House said the president would veto the bill on his return to the White House and then go before television cameras at 6:10 p.m. EDT, just before the evening news shows, to make a statement.

''Success in Iraq is critical to the security of free people everywhere,'' Mr. Bush said at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., the headquarters of U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, including Iraq.

The Democratic leaders staged a special ceremony to send the legislation - approved by both the House and Senate last week - on its way to the White House.

On Wednesday, Mr. Bush is to meet with congressional leaders from both parties, including Reid, D-Nev., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to begin discussing a substitute bill.

''This legislation honors the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform,'' Pelosi said at the ceremony in the Capitol. She and Reid signed an ''enrollment'' document authorizing the legislation to be sent to the White House.

Formal signing ceremonies for this step in the legislative process are rare.

Pelosi said that provisions of the measure respect ''the wishes of the American people to end the Iraq war.''

Said Reid: ''After more than four years of a failed policy, it's time for Iraq to take responsibility for its own future. Today, right now, we renew our call to President Bush: There is still time to listen. There is still time to sign this bill and change course in Iraq.''

Without enough votes to override Bush's veto, Democrats are considering writing a new bill that would fund the troops but not give the president a blank check. A likely option is demanding the Iraqi government meet certain benchmarks.

Less clear is what consequences the Iraqis would face if they failed to meet the standards. Democrats want to pull out U.S. troops if the Iraqis fall behind, but such a requirement would trigger a second veto.

Some Republicans say they would support tying benchmarks - or goals for Iraqi self-defense and democracy - to the more than $5 billion provided to Iraq in foreign aid, but would do nothing to tie the hands of military commanders.

''House Republicans will oppose any bill that includes provisions that undermine our troops and their mission, whether it's benchmarks for failure, arbitrary readiness standards or a timetable for American surrender,'' said Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.

Republican Whip Roy Blunt said he thinks the rank-and-file GOP will agree. ``Our members will not accept restraint on the military,'' said Blunt, R-Mo.

When he announced a U.S. troop increase in January, Bush said Iraq's government must crack down equally on Shiites and Sunnis, equitably distribute oil wealth, refine its constitution and expand democratic participation. He attached no consequences if these benchmarks were not met.

In his Florida remarks, the president did not explicitly mention the war spending legislation. But he made clear his opposition to its requirement that troops begin to be withdrawn by Oct. 1, and defended his policy of increasing troop levels.
Mr. Bush said that pulling American forces from Baghdad before Iraqis are capable of defending themselves would have disastrous results - giving al-Qaida terrorists a safe haven from which to operate and an inspiration for new recruits and new attacks.

''Withdrawal would have increased the probability that coalition troops would be forced to return to Iraq one day and confront an enemy that is even more dangerous,'' he said in remarks to representatives from countries participating in the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. ''Failure in Iraq should be unacceptable to the civilized world.''

Mr. Bush's comments and expected veto come exactly four years after his speech on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln decorated with a huge ''Mission Accomplished'' banner. In that address, a frequent target of Democrats seeking to ridicule the president, he declared that ''major combat operations in Iraq have ended.''

At the time, Mr. Bush's approval rating was 63 percent, with the public's disapproval at 34 percent.

Four years later, with over 3,300 U.S. troops killed in Iraq and the country gripped by unrelenting violence and political uncertainty, only 35 percent of the public approves of the job the president is doing, while 62 percent disapprove, according to an April 2-4 poll from AP-Ipsos.

The anniversary prompted a protest in Tampa not far from where Bush spoke. ''He's hearing us. He's just not listening to us,'' said Chrystal Hutchison, who demonstrated with about two dozen others under a ''Quagmire Accomplished'' banner.

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker acknowledged that there ''is something of an al-Qaida surge going on'' in Iraq, with the group using suicide car bombs as its principal weapons, but he said that doesn't mean the U.S.-Iraqi campaign isn't working.

''We're just fighting at a number of levels here against a number of different enemies,'' Crocker told reporters during a videoconference from Baghdad.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.


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