ITFS Flash movie festival festival FOREIGN
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stretchable site
stretchable site
It is a decentralized, web-based personal publishing system designed to ease maintenance of regularly updated news or journal sites, like weblogs.
blackcat schedule
Punk prima donna Kelly Osbourne is taking her show on the road, and there's nothing you can say to her about it.
Spreading her trademark 'blahs' from Denver to D.C. for three weeks in March, Osbourne will be taking her first official road trip since releasing her debut album, Shut Up, in November. Her first single, a cover of Madonna's 1986 hit "Papa Don't Preach," was a hit at top 40 radio, and was followed by the second single, "Shut Up."
The tour will begin on the West Coast after an initial stop in Tempe, Arizona, on March 10, and will end in Boston on March 29. Opening up for the potty-mouthed rocker will be spoofster Har Mar Superstar — her balding, corpulent date for last year's MTV Video Music Awards.
Tickets for several shows will be on sale beginning Monday. More dates are likely to be added.
Kelly Osbourne tour dates, according to Epic Records:
3/12 - Denver, CO @ The Gothic Theatre
3/14 - Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theatre
3/15 - Sauget, IL @ Pop's
3/16 - Indianapolis, IN @ Emerson Theater
3/18 - Minneapolis, MN @ Quest Club
3/21 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
3/22 - Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
3/27 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of the Living Arts
3/28 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
3/29 - Boston, MA @ Axis
3/31 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat
Punk prima donna Kelly Osbourne is taking her show on the road, and there's nothing you can say to her about it.
Spreading her trademark 'blahs' from Denver to D.C. for three weeks in March, Osbourne will be taking her first official road trip since releasing her debut album, Shut Up, in November. Her first single, a cover of Madonna's 1986 hit "Papa Don't Preach," was a hit at top 40 radio, and was followed by the second single, "Shut Up."
The tour will begin on the West Coast after an initial stop in Tempe, Arizona, on March 10, and will end in Boston on March 29. Opening up for the potty-mouthed rocker will be spoofster Har Mar Superstar — her balding, corpulent date for last year's MTV Video Music Awards.
Tickets for several shows will be on sale beginning Monday. More dates are likely to be added.
Kelly Osbourne tour dates, according to Epic Records:
3/12 - Denver, CO @ The Gothic Theatre
3/14 - Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theatre
3/15 - Sauget, IL @ Pop's
3/16 - Indianapolis, IN @ Emerson Theater
3/18 - Minneapolis, MN @ Quest Club
3/21 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
3/22 - Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
3/27 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of the Living Arts
3/28 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
3/29 - Boston, MA @ Axis
3/31 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat
A "Real World" Arrest
Sin City veteran Alton Williams may have spent too much time in Las Vegas.
The Real World cast member was hauled off to the slammer early Saturday morning for taking a swing at a bar manager during a charity event in North Carolina, according to court documents published on The Smoking Gun Website.
The San Diego native, who's currently starring in the 12th season of MTV's reality series, was at Bar Charlotte, in Mecklenburg County, as part of a Make-A-Wish Foundation fundraiser when he was busted for assault and resisting arrest.
According to the police report Williams, 23, turned "physically aggressive" after engaging in a shouting match with local barflys. Bouncers who tried pacify the semi-celebrity were subjected to "scratching, biting and using abusive language." (Attention, Alton: Real World behavior doesn't fly in the real world)
Bar manager Jason Cain has since clammed up, but earlier today told a Smoking Gun reporter that he called cops after Williams threw a punch at him (and missed, in case you were interested). Police escorted the camera-ready cast member from the nightclub in handcuffs at 12:50 a.m. as 800 patrons snapped shots of the perp walk. Accompanying Williams to the squad car was Real World Las Vegas roomie and recent conquest Irulan, who ditched her longtime steady, Gabe, to hook up with Williams.
Joining the face-sucking couple in their charitable endeavor were Steven, Trishelle and Brynn. MTV's 15-minute faces served as celebrity bartenders, signed autographs and posed for pics in an effort raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. (Setting off a bar brawl was probably not on the list of endorsed activities.)
Williams, who donned angel wings to promote a nightclub while in Vegas, was apparently fed up of being paraded around the bar like a "sideshow freak" and freaked out.
After stewing behind bars for three hours, Williams was released on $3,000 bail and is due back in Mecklenburg County Superior Court on March 13 for a hearing on the misdemeanor charges.
It comes as no small surprise to learn that Williams isn't the first Real World housemate to swap the show's signature luxury digs for a spartan cell.
Puck practically had "inmate" tattooed on his forehead when he starred in the San Francisco version of the MTV series. Surprise, surprise, two years after his 1994 antics got him booted from the house David Edward Rainey (it's got a name) was apparently no easier to live with. He bashed his live-in girlfriend's head into a wall. Puck pleaded guilty to a count of corporal injury and spent eight months cooling his heels in jail in 1999, where bad behavior was unlikely to get him evicted.
Meanwhile, Williams' fellow Vegas roommate Frank Roessler also has a rap sheet. He was convicted of criminal mischief in March 2001 after trashing two frat houses at Bucknell University, where he was a student. (Two week's ago Roessler was featured being admitted to USC business school. Lock your doors.)
According to court documents listed on The Smoking Gun, the 22-year-old and a knucklehead friend broke into the Greek houses, destroyed toilets, smashed a door and cracked a window. Perhaps the broken toilets explain why mild-mannered Roessler and friend left "two fresh piles of feces" at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house?
Roessler, who was on probation while living large in Vegas, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of criminal mischief and was fined $2,000. (Is kissing a drunken Trishelle a punishable offense or just bad judgment?)
Finally, Seattle's Stephen Williams was in for a double dose of trouble when he was arrested for stealing a Toyota Camry last March (there's no accounting for taste). You night remember Williams as the one who slapped ailing housemate Irene. When cops hauled the 24-year-old into the station house they found the slap-happy guy had skipped out on an earlier court date based on a 2001 arrest for turning tricks in Hollywood. Williams pleaded guilty to car theft, according to The Smoking Gun and spent 30 days in the Los Angeles Men's Central Jail.
check these Dreamweaver 4 techniques
Dreamweaver 4 has managed to build on its reputation as an authoring tool for real designers, testimony to the fact that Macromedia has listened to its users.
With each upgrade there have been opportunities to bolt on bells and whistles that we could easily live without. While other packages bundle in Java applets, proprietary server-side code modules and browser-specific frills, Dreamweaver has stayed ahead of the pack by holding back. It has stayed at the cutting edge by selectively supporting the most robust protocols and standards.
In the latest version, this is amply illustrated with the introduction of layout tables. Savvy Web designers stick to what they know will work, and tables work for layouts. While Dreamweaver has supported more sophisticated positioning techniques since day one, it's now the only program to acknowledge that sometimes the tried and tested ways are the best ways.
The program's customisation capabilities and integration features are important too, but the most important aspect of any creative tool is how intuitive it is to use. Once you've followed our use of the newest features in this walkthrough, Dreamweaver 4 will have you building sites on autopilot.
Clever Octopus Caught with Tentacle in Shrimp Jar
MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - A common octopus in a German zoo has learned to open jars of shrimp by watching zoo attendants perform the act underwater.
Frida, a 5-month-old female octopus, opens the jars by pressing her body on the lid and grasping the sides with the suckers on her eight tentacles. With a succession of body twists she unscrews the lid.
"Depending on how tight the lid is, it takes her anything from 10 seconds to an hour to get it off," said Frank Mueller, head of the aquarium at the Hellabrunn Zoo. Frida opens shrimp jars before the public at feeding time twice a week.
Mueller said he taught Frida the trick after he remembered seeing octopuses showing remarkable dexterity off the coast of Morocco, where he went diving when he was younger. Frida was imported from Morocco.
"We just did it in the tank a few times and eventually she cottoned on," he said. "You won't see any other marine creatures do this. She's been at it about a month now."
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/doznalrt.htm
FTC Names Its Dirty Dozen: 12 Scams Most Likely to Arrive Via Bulk Email
FTC Names Its Dirty Dozen: 12 Scams Most Likely to Arrive Via Bulk Email
interesting site...
"This site is dedicated to the protection and advancement of human rights in Canadian prisons and to promote a culture of respect for the Rule of Law behind prison walls. The prison, seen as the most powerful weapon in our armory against those who would hurt us, is the part of the criminal justice system that is the least accessible to our gaze and the least amenable to public accountability. Justice behind the Walls seeks to open up an electronic window on the prison world, to provide both those involved in the criminal justice system and those in whose name it is invoked, with a greater understanding of the realities of the contemporary prison, to ensure that the experience of justice that sustains democracy outside of prison is not abandoned when the keeper and the kept encounter each other inside. "
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User Experience Week
Washington, DC, August 18-21, 2003
a full week of valuable training, fantastic after-hours events, and special guest speakers. And it's all happening at the fabulous and historic Watergate Hotel (yup, that Watergate), just minutes from the monuments and museums.
Four days of incredible events, only $1995 $1695 (Earlybird pricing.)
HBO premieres a half-hour late night comedy series starring British chameleon Sacha Baron Cohen, who travels across America in the guise of one of three totally different characters. Cohen's primary alter-ego is Ali G, who calls himself a "hip-hop journalist," but who's really a suburban would be gangster rapper. When Cohen isn't putting Ali G and his guests in "unusual and often delightfully uncomfortable situations", he's shedding his gansta track-suit attire and slipping into the characters of two other memorable characters: Borat, a incredibly naive TV "reporter" from Kazakhstan, and Bruno, an effeminate Austrian fashion reporter.
Google Buys Web Publishing Tool Blogger
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Internet search company Google (news - external web site) Inc. has agreed to acquire Pyra Labs, the handful of Web developers who helped jump-start the personal publishing phenomenon known as blogging, Pyra's founder said on Sunday.
Word of the deal spread after Pyra Labs Chief Executive Evan Williams confirmed on his personal Weblog that his team of six developers would join Google.
In typical blog fashion, the news spread first on Saturday from San Jose Mercury technology columnist Dan Gillmor's eJournal diary to other blog sites. Then in a statement on Monday, Google spokesman David Krane said his company had recently acquired Pyra Labs.
Weblogs, or "blogs" for short, are a form of grass-roots online diary publishing that give ordinary people with limited technical knowledge the ability to update personal Web sites. A blog consists of short, frequently updated postings that are arranged chronologically, highlighting the latest material.
For Google, which has become a household name for searching the Web, the move marks the privately held company's latest push beyond search and into publishing. Last fall, it launched Google News. Two years ago Google acquired Deja.com's Usenet, a massive archive of Web-based discussion groups.
"Blogs are a global self-publishing phenomenon that connect Internet users with dynamic, diverse points of view while also enabling comment and participation," the Google spokesman said. "Blogger users can expect to see no immediate changes to the service," said Krane, who added that Google will disclose additional details of its Blogger plans in upcoming weeks.
No financial terms of the deal were disclosed.
On a humorous note, Williams said one attraction of working for Google at its Mountain View, California headquarters was its gourmet lunch menu (http://www.google.com/jobs/food.html).
Williams called joining Google a "dream scenario," giving him access to what he wrote in his blog was "not just money, but (computer) servers, and bandwidth and traffic and the index, but (also) incredible brains."
Blogger.com (http://www.blogger.com/), the flagship site of Pyra Labs, boasted in January that one million users had registered to use its Blogger software. Blogger offers a free, ad-supported version of its software and a $35 version for commercial publishers.
Chicago Night Club Stampede Kills 21
By Andrew Stern
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Twenty-one people were killed in a stampede at a Chicago night club on Monday when they tried to escape fumes from a crowd control spray used to break up a fight and were crushed behind blocked doors, officials said.
"People just died in my arms," Tonita Matthews, a young woman who was at the club and tried to help those injured, told the Chicago NBC television affiliate.
Another young woman who lived told of a man in the tangle of bodies who asked her to tell his mother he loved her.
Relatives and friends of the victims combed area hospitals, and some were directed to the city's morgue to identify the dead, emerging stricken. A makeshift memorial of flowers and written prayers was left outside the club.
Witnesses said a fight broke out between two women, and a security guard used a crowd control agent, perhaps pepper spray or Mace, to break it up. Patrons began to flee the fumes and were told they had to exit down a steep front stairway.
Some of those trying to flee apparently tripped or fell in that stairwell, causing a human avalanche. Bodies, living and dead, piled up behind a double glass exit door that was apparently jammed shut by the crush. Patrons said only one door was open to prevent people from sneaking in without paying.
The dead were "pinned down by a stampeding crowd," said Police Supt. Terry Hillard.
Fire Commissioner James Joyce told a news conference there were 21 killed and at least 30 injured. Hospitals reported more than 50 injured.
Joyce said there were a "number of fire code violations ... related to locked and blocked doors" at the rear of the building, including one where rescue workers found four people in cardiac arrest after they pried the door open.
Most of those who died, however, were killed at the bottom of the main front door stairwell.
Witnesses said about 1,500 party goers were packed in a second-floor dance hall above the Epitome restaurant on Chicago's near South Side when the stampede occurred. Firemen received the first call for help at 2:23 a.m. CST.
Matthews said she was at the front of a group which ran down the stairs. She managed to get out the front door where she started giving first aid. While some responded she said she knows at least one man died in her arms and fears she lost others as well. "I seen so many people on top of each other dead," she said.
TRAPPED IN A PILE OF BODIES
Lamont James Jr., who works for the Chicago park district, said he was trapped for a while in a pile of bodies on the front stairs but managed to escape.
"The bodies were literally piled up from the top to the bottom of the stairs," he told WGN television in Chicago. He also said a rear exit to the building was not open.
One man said he helped pull a pregnant woman from the stack of bodies, and saw two victims whose faces were crushed and bloodied.
The club, in a black entertainment district south of downtown Chicago, was crowded as party goers stayed out before dawn on Monday's Presidents Day holiday. The Epitome is an upscale restaurant on the first floor, while the large dance floor above called "E-2" features music by disc jockeys.
Derrick Mosley, a community activist who lives in the area, said some in the area had been concerned about some violent incidents that had occurred in or near the club and that the venue was often heavily crowded.
The police superintendent said investigators were reviewing videotape from cameras at the club in an effort to uncover what happened but had no firm word on exactly what caused the stampede. He said the records showed 80 police reports involving the establishment since 2000, mostly battery and similar crimes.
Joyce, the fire commissioner, said the establishment was inspected in the autumn and no violations were found. He also said investigators had not determined how many were inside at the time of the tragedy.
EMINEM LOOK-ALIKE'S ROBBING SPREE
If he's caught, he can claim it's all a bad rap.
A prolific bank robber whom authorities call "Eminem" has knocked off 10 New Jersey banks since October, topping the charts for the Newark FBI office.
Like the famous hip-hop artist, the suspect wears oversized ski caps and jackets to work.
"He's the most prolific in the shortest amount of time who we've had in recent memory," said FBI Special Agent Stephen Siegel.
The robbery spree has netted about $30,000 so far. Although the man hands tellers notes threatening to shoot them if they don't cooperate, he hasn't shown a weapon and is usually in and out of banks in minutes.
FBI agents and police detectives this week began briefing bank employees statewide. Wanted posters of the serial robber also have been distributed.
The suspect has struck banks close to major highways, mostly the Garden State Parkway and Routes 3 and 46. He has hit banks in Teaneck, Hasbrouck Heights, Lyndhurst, Rutherford and Clifton. In his most recent holdup, Feb. 8 in Fort Lee, he made off with $2,820.
AP
TIQIT computers
Overview
Tiqit Computers has created what conventional wisdom in the computing industry considered impossible with today's technology - a handheld computer that functions as a desktop PC and can be used while walking: the eightythree. Combining the portability of a handheld device with the compatibility of a Windows PC, the eightythree immediately meets the full needs of enterprise customers. It runs any enterprise standard operating system (OS) - Windows, Linux or UNIX - which lets users employ the same software and applications, including industry-specific packages and custom-designed software, that reside on their desktop PCs. The end result is a more mobile and efficient enterprise with reduced IT costs and simplified administration.
Handhelds in the Enterprise
The creation and advancement of PDAs and wireless solutions began the process of liberating the enterprise. From remote locations workers are able to achieve more, and do so more efficiently. However, unlike PCs and laptops, for which there are industry standard hardware and software options, the handheld market is still tricky for enterprises to navigate. Currently companies can choose from a range of handheld devices using different operating systems, including Palm OS and Pocket PC. The hardware industry has also introduced a variety of alternate mobile products such as web pads, internet appliances and tablet PCs, though these have not met with the same adoption as handhelds.
When used in concert with laptop PCs, the latest PDAs provide enterprise professionals with greater mobility than they previously experienced. E-mail is answerable by RIM/Blackberry and Palm 7; versions of Excel spreadsheets can run on Pocket PC. However, no current handheld can truly replace a laptop and act as a full stand-alone solution for various reasons. E.g.:
Increasingly, e-mail messages are more than plain text, and current devices cannot open all attachments with ease.
Pocket PC can only run slimmed down versions of programs like Excel, which means many application features like macros won’t work.
For the enterprise user, however, the single greatest drawback to current handheld technology is the incompatibility of handheld OS’s with the vast majority of the existing enterprise software applications.This problem is further compounded by companies’ need to depend on custom-designed software, which requires extensive expense and effort to adapt for use on a handheld – so that units which retail for hundreds of dollars can end up costing companies thousands in terms of IT costs. This disconnect limits PDA functionality for enterprise users. The bottom line: even when augmented with wireless modem capabilities, handhelds cannot really meet many of the routine demands an enterprise user places on a PC or a laptop.
The limitations of PDAs for mobile computing and enterprise use have largely been regarded as a software issue. Microsoft launched an ad campaign titled, “software matters.” Oracle has positioned itself as a ‘one-stop shop’ for enterprise needs.1 However, industry analysts predict the future of enterprise solutions lies with the systems that support collaborative inter-enterprise activity.
Ultimately, today’s enterprise users are forced to compromise the functionality they need by working with devices never built for such purposes. Only a minimal subset of features on the device are employed, and enterprise users must divide their tasks between a handheld and laptop. The combination of incompatible software, multiple operating systems, and restricted handheld capability limits the mobile enterprise from the outset.
A Word on Laptops
Laptops are getting ever smaller and ever lighter, a process which helps offset the software/IT issues still unsolved by handhelds. It is easier than ever before for enterprise workers to carry machines around that are loaded with legacy software applications, have high-resolution screens and can open attachments and access e-mail remotely and wirelessly. Still, there is one common enterprise demand as yet unmet by even the smallest laptop: it cannot truly be used while walking – and when frequent movement is called for, it is far less easy to deal with a laptop than with a handheld-sized device. For workers in hospitals, factories, or for those in the field, such as claims processors, the handheld form factor is clearly superior – and yet remains less functional than a laptop. The only existing proposed solution to this problem is the Webpad, or Tablet PC – but the device has remained hampered by handwriting-recognition and other problems, and it too is still significantly larger than a handheld.
Enterprise Demand for Mobile Computing
While growth in the PDA space initially occurred in the individual consumer market, business and enterprise use of handhelds is growing and is expected to increase. In 2000, $2.3 billion was spent on the PDA market, with 8.9 million units shipped. Analysts predict 2005 will bring $6.6 billion in spending with 39 million units shipped.2 The same Aberdeen Group report predicts the “PDA market will grow at 30% CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate), fueled chiefly by enterprise purchases,” presenting an opportunity for “enterprise-focused suppliers to assume a leadership role in the PDA marketplace as more enterprises look to deploy handheld computing solutions.”3
The eightythree Solution
The industry has largely regarded handheld computing capability as a software issue. That is, it has accepted dual-form-factor enterprise mobility: there will be laptops and there will be PDA-based handhelds, and it is modifications in software that will bridge the gap. The major problems with this are that PC applications have such a tremendous head start, and most handheld applications aren’t designed for the enterprise. The bottom line is: PDAs cannot run all the applications the enterprise requires and laptops lack the full mobility of a handheld.
Part of the reason for this software orientation is the extreme engineering problems involved in building a handheld that has the functionality of a desktop PC: screen resolution, processing power, battery life, heat dissipation, etc. Until now, these have been insurmountable challenges.
Tiqit, however, realized that if these technical challenges could be met, then a massive, still-untapped need in the enterprise for true mobile computing could be addressed. So Tiqit designers opted to re-examine the insurmountable and approached the issue as a hardware problem, setting out to build a PDA with the functionality of a PC that would solve enterprise needs now.
The goal was not a concept device – this unit had to be powerful, practical and producible right away. Tiqit also designed its device specifically for the enterprise, incorporating features and functionality that would add value to companies and their workers: e.g., multiple standard-use ports, multiple OS capability, good battery life, etc. Using cutting-edge but available components, the eightythree was created. The result is the first handheld mobile computing device that has the full power of an x86 PC and can be used while walking.
How eightythree benefits the enterprise is clear. Workers gain increased mobility and function with a single device, and companies can dramatically reduce their total cost of ownership (TCO). Possessing the storage capacity and processing power to drive the extension of many software services to areas formerly unreachable, the eightythree also has the flexibility to take advantage of all the software and hardware extensions available in the mainstream PC market. Moving an existing industry application onto the eightythree is no different from installing that software on a desktop or a laptop.
The eightythree meets the mobile needs of enterprise customers and moves ahead of the competition. Tiqit has created a product that opens up an entirely new growth market, and Tiqit’s patent-pending technology and significant time-to-market advantage make the time right for immediate production.
A woman holds a sign as she takes part in an anti-war demonstration on New York City's East Side near United Nations headquarters in New York City, February 15, 2003. Tens of thousands flocked to the huge rally against a possible war with Iraq, flooding local streets and avenues beyond where the planned rally was taking place.
Opera releases "Bork" edition
The Swedish Chef Goes After Microsoft
Oslo, Norway - Feb 14, 2003
Two weeks ago it was revealed that Microsoft's MSN portal targeted Opera users, by purposely provided them with a broken page. As a reply to MSN's treatment of its users, Opera Software today released a very special Bork edition of its Opera 7 for Windows browser. The Bork edition behaves differently on one Web site: MSN. Users accessing the MSN site will see the page transformed into the language of the famous Swedish Chef from the Muppet Show: Bork, Bork, Bork!
In October 2001, Opera users were blocked from the MSN site. The event caused an uproar among Web users and MSN was forced to change their policy. However, MSN continues a policy of singling out its Opera competitor by specifically instructing Opera to hide content from users.
"Hergee berger snooger bork," says Mary Lambert, product line manager desktop, Opera Software. "This is a joke. However, we are trying to make an important point. The MSN site is sending Opera users what appear to be intentionally distorted pages. The Bork edition illustrates how browsers could also distort content, as the Bork edition does. The real point here is that the success of the Web depends on software and Web site developers behaving well and rising above corporate rivalry."
MSN now allows access to users of Opera 7, but is still targeting and sending users of earlier versions a broken page. This treatment is completely unnecessary, as the page would look the same in Opera as in Microsoft's own Internet Explorer if it had been fed the same information.
"We are working hard to make sure the Opera browser works well on all Web pages, even those that do not follow the Web's standards to the letter," says Hakon Wium Lie, CTO, Opera Software. "But it becomes impossible when we are targeted and fed distorted pages that don't work in any browser. It's like putting a moose in the blender -- a recipe for disaster! Microsoft should clean up their act on MSN and their other Web sites."
yahoo story
Mom Goes to Italy, While Kids Home Alone
GREELEY, Colo. (Reuters) - A mother left her six children, aged 6 to 14 years, home alone with food, a credit card and $7 in cash while she took a vacation to Italy with her boyfriend, police say.
The 14-year-old girl was put in charge of the children and was left a list of people to contact in case of an emergency.
"She is somewhere in Italy. We'd like to know where she is," Greeley Police Department Sgt. John Gates said Thursday.
An anonymous caller left a message with police one day after the mother left on Feb. 3, Gates said. The children were placed with two foster families by Weld County Social Services.
The mother, who has not been identified but is believed to be a college student, told the children, five girls and a boy, she would return in two weeks.
Mom Goes to Italy, While Kids Home Alone
GREELEY, Colo. (Reuters) - A mother left her six children, aged 6 to 14 years, home alone with food, a credit card and $7 in cash while she took a vacation to Italy with her boyfriend, police say.
The 14-year-old girl was put in charge of the children and was left a list of people to contact in case of an emergency.
"She is somewhere in Italy. We'd like to know where she is," Greeley Police Department Sgt. John Gates said Thursday.
An anonymous caller left a message with police one day after the mother left on Feb. 3, Gates said. The children were placed with two foster families by Weld County Social Services.
The mother, who has not been identified but is believed to be a college student, told the children, five girls and a boy, she would return in two weeks.
Air Defense Missiles on Alert in U.S. Capital
By Charles Aldinger
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Jeep-borne anti-aircraft missiles and fighter jets were on high alert in the nation's capital on Wednesday as the United States mounted increased defenses against a possible new attack by al Qaeda.
Defense officials said Stinger anti-aircraft missiles were deployed around Washington this week after the threat alert was raised to "orange," the second-highest level, due to reported threats from sources with ties to the extremist group of fugitive militant Osama bin Laden (news - web sites).
Al Qaeda is blamed by the United States for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on America and there were signs of increased vigilance in New York, Boston and other cities.
In New York, swarms of police circled Grand Central Station, stopping and searching some vans around the venerable train depot.
Some jittery New Yorkers were taking extreme measures. Proprietors at two midtown Manhattan shops said they had sold several hundred $300 chemical protection suits this week.
The reports came as CIA Director George Tenet warned the U.S. Congress on Wednesday that an attack could come in the United States or on the Arabian Peninsula as early as this week.
Heat-seeking Stingers were spotted around Washington mounted on jeep-borne "Avenger" systems carrying firing and guidance units. Each system has eight launch tubes and is operated by a two-member crew.
Some protected the Pentagon, the sprawling Defense Department headquarters that was struck by a hijacked airliner on Sept. 11. Avenger systems also were deployed around Washington last year on the first anniversary of the attacks, but later were removed.
Defense officials said F-16 fighter jets had been placed on 24-hour alert in Washington and additional detection radars had been deployed in the city. They also cited improved communications between military and civilian agencies.
In testimony to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, Tenet said the government raised its terrorist threat level "because of threat reporting from multiple sources with strong al Qaeda ties." He said the information pointed to plots and targets "in the United States and on the Arabian Peninsula."
"It points to plots timed to occur as early as the end of the Haj (Muslim pilgrimage), which occurs late this week, and it points to plots that could include the use of radiological dispersion devices as well as poisons and chemicals," he said.
New York residents were confronted with an increased police presence on streets and bridges, in subways and near power stations in the wake of the increased threat alert.
COMMUTING DELAYS
In Boston, authorities evacuated four floors of a federal office building for about three hours on Wednesday morning after discovering a "suspicious" package containing a half-dozen vials of an unknown liquid.
Some morning commuters in New York City experienced lengthy delays at tunnel entrances amid security checks. Police, bomb squads and hazardous material personnel set up around the United Nations complex and staged drills.
In Washington, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declined to detail the extent of the protective steps taken around the capital.
"Any time there's threats that are perceived, the prudent thing to do is to take steps that seem to be appropriate," Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon briefing. "To the extent those steps are described in great detail, it advantages nobody other than the terrorists."
On the day the Pentagon was hit in 2001, two other hijacked airliners smashed into the World Trade Center in New York. A fourth hijacked airliner crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. The attacks left more than 3,000 people dead and were blamed on the al Qaeda network of bin Laden.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said last Friday the threat of a major terror attack against the United States in the next three weeks was perhaps the equivalent of eight on a scale of one to 10.
New Plans Offer Concertgoers Bootlegs When The Encore's Done
If the idea of waiting even a week for your "instant" live bootleg from Pearl Jam seems interminable, two new ventures aim to cut your wait time to a few minutes instead of a few days.
Beginning in the Boston area within the next few months, über-promoter Clear Channel Concerts will start burning live CDs at select concerts and offering them for sale within minutes of the final encore, according to Steve Simon, executive vice president of the music division at Clear Channel Entertainment.
"The concept is still in its developmental phase," Simon said, "but we're working collaboratively with artists and songwriters to provide the program at select events over the next year."
He said Clear Channel has already nailed down several artists to participate in the pilot program, but he couldn't name them. The CDs, which will vary in price based on the artist, will be sold outside of the venues after the show.
Aiming for the same audience of superfans, a New York startup called Disclive — led by Rich Isaacson, Loud Records' co-founder and former president — has plans for a similar service. Like Clear Channel, Disclive is positioning its business as a way for the beleaguered music industry to develop a new revenue stream.
"Bootlegging and taping are going on anyway," said Disclive co-founder Jake Walker, 24, who along with partner Dave Blanchard came up with the idea for the company during a college business plan competition. "Our idea is to help artists, labels, venues and our company see revenue from that. In fact, we think the labels and artists are likely to see more profit on this kind of sale than from a regular album, and they don't have to spend a penny on it. There's no risk, because we're buying all the equipment and building the business."
Walker said Disclive plans to officially announce the company's launch in the next few weeks with a presentation that will show how the system works, but he couldn't yet name any artists who've signed on. In Disclive's scheme, fans pay for the live CD before a concert and print out a voucher, which will allow them to pick up their numbered, limited-edition memento less than five minutes after the concert is over at a kiosk in the venue. A limited amount of CDs will also be available for sale without the voucher, Walker said.
Unlike Clear Channel's plan, Disclive plans to send its mobile recording and CD-burning unit on the road with artists. Pricing for the unmastered CDs — which will be mixed by Disclive's on-site audio engineer using a combination of the soundboard feed and microphones placed in the audience — will be decided on an artist-by-artist basis, Walker said.
Over the past year, everyone from the Who to Pearl Jam and Phish have offered variations on the quick turnaround live album. While the Who's bootlegs took several weeks to arrive, Pearl Jam recently announced plans to offer secured, unmastered MP3s the night of the show to fans who've preordered that night's live album, followed by the actual product within a week. Simon said it's too early to say how many albums or concerts will be offered annually, but that more information on the program will be announced soon.
"The value in this is a collectible CD with a spot for your ticket stub, that, if you spent $100 for a concert, gives you more than a T-shirt," said Walker. At first, Walker said, Disclive plans to concentrate on artists with large followings of fans obsessed with the nuances of every show, such as jam bands, as well as more well-heeled concertgoers who might not attend as many shows but can afford, say, a souvenir Jimmy Buffett live CD.
Copy Your DVDs
The program DVD X Copy promises to make perfect copies of your DVDs with the click of a button. Find out if it delivers.
By Patrick Norton and Josh Lawrence
Do you have the right to make archival copies of the DVD movies you own? Any parent who's bought three copies of a child's favorite flick probably thinks so. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) believes the Digital Millennium Copyright Act says no. The folks at 321 Studios are on the side of the parents in this case.
Not only are they selling DVD X Copy, a $99.99 program designed to make copying DVD movies to recordable DVD media a "one click" process, they've started a lawsuit in an attempt to secure DVD movie owners the legal right to make backup copies of DVDs.
Most folks who clone their DVD movies do it with free software downloaded online. Does DVD X Copy make the process $100 easier? Watch the show and read our review below.
Our review
DVD X Copy promises to make perfect copies of your DVDs at the click of a button. For the most part, it lives up to its claims, but there are some important caveats.
The first thing we looked at is the software's claim to one-click copying. And while it exists, the interface is not very intuitive at first sight. To find out how one-click copying works, we used the software's tutorial.
The tutorial makes it clear that if you don't want to fiddle with options, you can copy by simply clicking a button that sits at the bottom right of the interface. Even after you click this button, you still aren't copying at a single click. You click once to have X Copy analyze the DVD you want to copy, then click again to have X Copy burn your duplicate DVD.
Despite the helpful tutorial, the GUI design should have dramatically highlighted this all-essential button. Instead, it's lost among the other features of the software.
DVD X Copy Splits Originals
When you pop in a DVD, X Copy analyzes the disc, gives you information on tracks of the DVD, and if all goes well, you can get right to copying and burning.
You do have some options available to you to customize your recording session. For instance, you might want to dictate which chapters go on the first DVD you record and which go on the second. Yes, that's right, you may have to use two writable DVDs to copy your single original disc.
The dual-layer rub
Many DVDs these days are dual-layer discs. Dual layer discs can store more than 9GB of data on one disc; the larger capacity allows DVD studios to use a better quality of MPEG compression on the source movie. The problem is that all commercially available recordable DVD media currently caps out at 4.7GB.
If you're using X Copy, you have to split a dual-layer DVD across two recordable DVDs. This method brings back memories of using laser discs, though the message now is "please insert disc 2" instead of "please turn the disc over."
X Copy automatically splits dual-layer DVDs at the midpoint of your content's running time, but you can choose which chapter starts disc two. In Windows XP, you can even preview the chapter the second disc will start with. You also have the option of burning the second disc only.
You can also choose how the disc will start -- as it normally does, going straight to the menu, or starting with the movie right out. X Copy also copies extras, and you can choose to remove them if you wish. You can even get rid of the menu, but you are advised not to do so.
Burn on
We tested X Copy with a popular DVD we'll leave unnamed. Our test platform was a 2.4-GHz Windows XP computer with 1GB of RAM and a Pioneer A04 DVD-R drive.
Since our original DVD was a nice-looking dual-layer disc, it took two DVD-Rs. For each DVD-R, it took X Copy about 40 minutes to copy the data on the original DVD to the hard drive, and then 40 minutes to burn the DVD-R. The whole job took about 160 minutes.
A problem with X Copy is that the software locks up after you complete a copy and insert a completely new DVD source. The only way we were able to start on a brand new DVD was to shut the program down and restart (we should note that 123 Studio is constantly updating the software, however, and seems pretty diligent about squashing bugs like this).
Conclusion
Our copy was exact, down to the menus, extras, and visual quality. However, there's the annoying "Please insert disc 2" disclaimer that interrupts your viewing. The dual-layer limitation quickly uses up your DVD-R supply; if you're backing up "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings -- Extended Edition," you're going to need eight blank DVDs to copy your original four. Despite this major limitation, the unnecessarily crowded interface, and a few bugs, DVD X Copy does what it promises.
Jackson Hits Back with Video of Interviewer
Pop icon Michael Jackson said on Sunday he would authorize the release of video footage to prove a British television documentary about his private life was misleading and unfair.
Jackson's lawyers have already filed complaints with British broadcasting authorities over the film aired last Monday in which the American singer admitted to sharing a bed with children at his Neverland ranch in California.
The rare look at Jackson's private life triggered a storm of controversy including a call for a probe by child welfare services.
In a statement issued in London, Jackson repeated a vehement denial of child abuse allegations made by the British media.
"I am bewildered at the length to which people will go to portray me so negatively," Jackson said.
"I will say again that I have never, and would never, harm a child. It sickens me that people have written things that portray me as a child abuser."
In their complaints Jackson's lawyers called "Living with Michael Jackson" --- the Granada Television documentary fronted by journalist Martin Bashir -- "a gross distortion of the truth" that violated the singer's right to privacy.
In Sunday's statement, issued by a London public relations company, Jackson said he would produce his own video excerpts, filmed by his personal cameraman during the eight-month documentary shoot, to prove Bashir's portrayal was hypocritical.
"The film shows extraordinary scenes of Martin Bashir praising the way Michael treats children and commenting on how good a father he is," the statement said.
"The Jackson footage clearly shows that Bashir was actually continuing to praise Michael's abilities as a father and (shows) Bashir making statements about how he feels it is a pity that the world is so quick to criticize Michael."
"On the face of it, either Martin Bashir was lying to Michael or was misleading his audience on the voiceovers on the film," the statement said, adding that Bashir had been aware he was being filmed during his interviews.
The lawyers had said the filmmakers had used footage of Jackson's children even though he had forbidden them to do so, and had unfairly asked him about a 1993 child abuse allegation without prior warning.
Jackson said the filmmakers had talked to a 12-year-old boy who shared his bed without seeking permission for the interview from the boy's parents.
Nearly one in four Britons watched the documentary in which Jackson vowed to kill himself if there were no kids left in the world.
His two older children, aged five and four, appeared on film with Jackson wearing party masks. The film showed his third child with a veil draped over his head as Jackson fed him with a bottle of milk.
Jackson has been dogged by controversy since 1993 when he reached a multi-million dollar settlement with a 14-year-old California boy who had accused him of sexual molestation.
Details of the accusations resurfaced in Britain's tabloid newspapers on Sunday and a California lawyer has called on child welfare services to probe his life at Neverland.
i want to go so bad!!!!
Eminem
With Special Guests Missy Elliott/50 Cent
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Ford Field Detroit, MI
July 12, 2003 - 7:30PM Eastern
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On sale February 15, 2003 - 10:00AM
Reserved : $ 59.50
buy tickets
Dave Chappelle
Warner Theatre Washington, DC
May 16, 2003 - 8:00PM
On sale February 7, 2003 - 12:00PM
Reserved Seating : $ 32.50
Reserved Seating : $ 36.50
Reserved Seating : $ 39.50
Dave Chappelle
Warner Theatre Washington, DC
May 16, 2003 - 8:00PM
On sale February 7, 2003 - 12:00PM
Reserved Seating : $ 32.50
Reserved Seating : $ 36.50
Reserved Seating : $ 39.50
Skillz (Mad Skills) On Tour
New York, NY--Rawkus Recording artist Skillz will be heading out on tour with The Roots, Cody Chestnutt and new Rawkus soul sensation Novel (on select dates). The tour beginning January 31st will be hitting cities across North America until March 15th. Expect to see Skillz throughout The Roots set performing new music from his forthcoming album, I Ain't Mad No More (due out in July). The tour dates follow below:
February 3rd Pittsburgh, PA Laga
February 6th Knoxville, TN Tenessee Theatre
February 8th Cincinnati, OH Bogarts
February 9th Cleveland, OH Odeon
February 11th Indianapolis, IN The Vogue
February 12th Madison, WI Orpheum
February 13th Minneapolis, MN 1ST Avenue
February 14th St. Louis, MO The Pageant
February 15th Lawrence, KS Abe & Jakes
February 16th Denver, CO Filmore
February 17th Salt Lake, UT Harry O's
February 19th Seattle, WA Showbox
February 20th Vancouver The Commodore
February 21st Portland, OR Roseland
February 22nd Eugene, OR McDonald Theatre
February 23rd San Francisco, CA Filmore
February 24th San Francisco, CA Filmore
February 26th Anaheim, CA House of Blues
February 27th Los Angeles, CA House of Blues
February 28th Los Angeles, CA House of Blues
March 1st Los Angelese, CA House of Blues
March 2nd San Diego, CA Belly Up
March 3rd Phoenix, AZ Club Rio
March 5th El Paso, NM Club Vallere
March 6th Alberquerque, NM Sunshine
March 7th Dallas, TX Gypsy
March 8th Austin, TX Stubbs
March 9th Houston, TX Numbers
March 10th New Orleans, LA House of Blues
March 12th Atlanta, GA
March 13th Baltimore, MD
March 14th New York, NY Roseland
March 15th Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
