US economic, military and political dominance is likely to decline over the next two decades, according to a new US intelligence report on global trends.
The National Intelligence Council (NIC) predicts China, India and Russia will increasingly challenge US influence.
It also says the dollar may no longer be the world's major currency, and food and water shortages will fuel conflict.
However, the report concedes that these outcomes are not inevitable and will depend on the actions of world leaders.
It will make sombre reading for President-elect Barack Obama, the BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington says, as it paints a bleak picture of the future of US influence and power.
The US will remain the single most important actor but will be less dominant
Global Trends 2025
"The next 20 years of transition to a new system are fraught with risks," says Global Trends 2025, the latest of the reports that the NIC prepares every four years in time for the next presidential term.
Washington will retain its considerable military advantages, but scientific and technological advances; the use of "irregular warfare tactics"; the proliferation of long-range precision weapons; and the growing use of cyber warfare "increasingly will constrict US freedom of action", it adds.
Nevertheless, the report concludes: "The US will remain the single most important actor but will be less dominant."
Nuclear weapons use
The NIC's 2004 study painted a rosier picture of America's global position, with US dominance expected to continue.
But the latest Global Trends report says that rising economies such as China, India, Russia and Brazil will offer the US more competition at the top of a multi-polar international system.
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The EU is meanwhile predicted to become a "hobbled giant", unable to turn its economic power into diplomatic or military muscle.
A world with more power centres will be less stable than one with one or two superpowers, it says, offering more potential for conflict.
Global warming, along with rising populations and economic growth will put additional strains on natural resources, it warns, fuelling conflict around the globe as countries compete for them.
"Strategic rivalries are most likely to revolve around trade, investments and technological innovation and acquisition, but we cannot rule out a 19th Century-like scenario of arms races, territorial expansion and military rivalries," the report says.
"Types of conflict we have not seen for a while - such as over resources - could re-emerge."
There will be greater potential for conflict in the future, the NIC says
Such conflicts and resource shortages could lead to the collapse of governments in Africa and South Asia, and the rise of organised crime in Eastern and Central Europe, it adds.
And the use of nuclear weapons will grow increasingly likely, the report says, as "rogue states" and militant groups gain greater access to them.
But al-Qaeda could decay "sooner than people think", it adds, citing the group's growing unpopularity in the Muslim world.
"The prospect that al-Qaeda will be among the small number of groups able to transcend the generational timeline is not high, given its harsh ideology, unachievable strategic objectives and inability to become a mass movement," it says.
The NIC does, however, give some scope for leaders to take action to prevent the emergence of new conflicts.
"It is not beyond the mind of human beings, or political systems, [or] in some cases [the] working of market mechanisms to address and alleviate if not solve these problems," said Thomas Fingar, chairman of the NIC.
And, our correspondent adds, it is worth noting that US intelligence has been wrong before.
Source
Friday, November 21, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
German Doctors Say: Bone Marrow Treatment May Have "Cured" AIDS
An American who suffered from AIDS is said to have been cured of the disease 20 months after receiving a targeted bone marrow transplant normally used to fight leukemia.
While researchers — and the doctors themselves — caution that the case might be no more than a fluke, others say it may inspire a greater interest in gene therapy to fight the disease that claims 2 million lives each year. The virus has infected 33 million people worldwide.
Dr. Gero Huetter said his 42-year-old patient, an American living in Berlin who was not identified, had been infected with the AIDS virus for more than a decade. But 20 months after undergoing a transplant of genetically selected bone marrow, he no longer shows signs of carrying the virus.
"We waited every day for a bad reading," Huetter said.
It has not come. Researchers at Berlin's Charite hospital and medical school say tests on his bone marrow, blood and other organ tissues have all been clean.
However, Dr. Andrew Badley, director of the HIV and immunology research lab at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said those tests have probably not been extensive enough.
"A lot more scrutiny from a lot of different biological samples would be required to say it's not present," Badley said.
This isn't the first time marrow transplants have been attempted for treating AIDS or HIV infection. In 1999, an article in the journal Medical Hypotheses reviewed the results of 32 attempts reported between 1982 and 1996. In two cases, HIV was apparently eradicated, the review reported.
Huetter's patient was under treatment at Charite for both AIDS and leukemia, which developed unrelated to HIV.
As Huetter — who is a hematologist, not an HIV specialist — prepared to treat the patient's leukemia with a bone marrow transplant, he recalled that some people carry a genetic mutation that seems to make them resistant to HIV infection. If the mutation, called Delta 32, is inherited from both parents, it prevents HIV from attaching itself to cells by blocking CCR5, a receptor that acts as a kind of gateway.
"I read it in 1996, coincidentally," Huetter told reporters at the medical school. "I remembered it and thought it might work."
Roughly one in 1,000 Europeans and Americans have inherited the mutation from both parents, and Huetter set out to find one such person among donors that matched the patient's marrow type. Out of a pool of 80 suitable donors, the 61st person tested carried the proper mutation.
Before the transplant, the patient endured powerful drugs and radiation to kill off his own infected bone marrow cells and disable his immune system — a treatment fatal to between 20 and 30 percent of recipients.
He was also taken off the potent drugs used to treat his AIDS. Huetter's team feared that the drugs might interfere with the new marrow cells' survival. They risked lowering his defenses in the hopes that the new, mutated cells would reject the virus on their own.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases in the U.S., said the procedure was too costly and too dangerous to employ as a firstline cure. But he said it could inspire researchers to pursue gene therapy as a means to block or suppress HIV.
"It helps prove the concept that if somehow you can block the expression of CCR5, maybe by gene therapy, you might be able to inhibit the ability of the virus to replicate," Fauci said.
David Roth, a professor of epidemiology and international public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said gene therapy as cheap and effective as current drug treatments is in very early stages of development.
"That's a long way down the line because there may be other negative things that go with that mutation that we don't know about."
Even for the patient in Berlin, the lack of a clear understanding of exactly why his AIDS has disappeared means his future is far from certain.
"The virus is wily," Huetter said. "There could always be a resurgence."
Source
While researchers — and the doctors themselves — caution that the case might be no more than a fluke, others say it may inspire a greater interest in gene therapy to fight the disease that claims 2 million lives each year. The virus has infected 33 million people worldwide.
Dr. Gero Huetter said his 42-year-old patient, an American living in Berlin who was not identified, had been infected with the AIDS virus for more than a decade. But 20 months after undergoing a transplant of genetically selected bone marrow, he no longer shows signs of carrying the virus.
"We waited every day for a bad reading," Huetter said.
It has not come. Researchers at Berlin's Charite hospital and medical school say tests on his bone marrow, blood and other organ tissues have all been clean.
However, Dr. Andrew Badley, director of the HIV and immunology research lab at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said those tests have probably not been extensive enough.
"A lot more scrutiny from a lot of different biological samples would be required to say it's not present," Badley said.
This isn't the first time marrow transplants have been attempted for treating AIDS or HIV infection. In 1999, an article in the journal Medical Hypotheses reviewed the results of 32 attempts reported between 1982 and 1996. In two cases, HIV was apparently eradicated, the review reported.
Huetter's patient was under treatment at Charite for both AIDS and leukemia, which developed unrelated to HIV.
As Huetter — who is a hematologist, not an HIV specialist — prepared to treat the patient's leukemia with a bone marrow transplant, he recalled that some people carry a genetic mutation that seems to make them resistant to HIV infection. If the mutation, called Delta 32, is inherited from both parents, it prevents HIV from attaching itself to cells by blocking CCR5, a receptor that acts as a kind of gateway.
"I read it in 1996, coincidentally," Huetter told reporters at the medical school. "I remembered it and thought it might work."
Roughly one in 1,000 Europeans and Americans have inherited the mutation from both parents, and Huetter set out to find one such person among donors that matched the patient's marrow type. Out of a pool of 80 suitable donors, the 61st person tested carried the proper mutation.
Before the transplant, the patient endured powerful drugs and radiation to kill off his own infected bone marrow cells and disable his immune system — a treatment fatal to between 20 and 30 percent of recipients.
He was also taken off the potent drugs used to treat his AIDS. Huetter's team feared that the drugs might interfere with the new marrow cells' survival. They risked lowering his defenses in the hopes that the new, mutated cells would reject the virus on their own.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases in the U.S., said the procedure was too costly and too dangerous to employ as a firstline cure. But he said it could inspire researchers to pursue gene therapy as a means to block or suppress HIV.
"It helps prove the concept that if somehow you can block the expression of CCR5, maybe by gene therapy, you might be able to inhibit the ability of the virus to replicate," Fauci said.
David Roth, a professor of epidemiology and international public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said gene therapy as cheap and effective as current drug treatments is in very early stages of development.
"That's a long way down the line because there may be other negative things that go with that mutation that we don't know about."
Even for the patient in Berlin, the lack of a clear understanding of exactly why his AIDS has disappeared means his future is far from certain.
"The virus is wily," Huetter said. "There could always be a resurgence."
Source
Fake NY Times Declares "IRAQ WAR ENDS"
A group of liberal pranksters created a fake issue of the New York Times with a wide headline that declares "Iraq War Ends". For those who missed the joke, the realistic-looking paper was dated July 4, 2009, and came with a weather forecast calling for "recent gloom passing ... strong leftward winds."The Times's City Room blog writes:
In an elaborate hoax, pranksters distributed thousands of free copies of a spoof edition of The New York Times on Wednesday morning at busy subway stations around the city, including Grand Central Terminal, Washington and Union Squares, the 14th and 23rd Street stations along Eighth Avenue, and Pacific Street in Brooklyn, among others.
The spurious 14-page papers — with a headline "IRAQ WAR ENDS" — surprised commuters, many of whom took the free copies thinking they were legitimate.
The paper is dated July 4, 2009, and imagines a liberal utopia of national health care, a rebuilt economy, progressive taxation, a national oil fund to study climate change, and other goals of progressive politics.
The hoax was accompanied by a Web site that mimics the look of The Times’s real Web site. A page of the spoof site contained links to dozens of progressive organizations, which were also listed in the print edition.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
US Secret Service tags Obama "Renegade"
The US secret service is reported to have assigned president-elect Barack Obama the code name "Renegade".
This is in keeping with a tradition since the second world war of ascribing code names to presidents.
While the White House nor the Obama camp is unlikely to confirm them, such code names are seldom regarded as closely guarded secrets and quickly leak out.
The Chicago Tribune, Obama's hometown paper, reported on its website on Monday night that wife Michelle has been named "Renaissance", and their two daughters, Malia and Sasha, have been given the designations "Radiance" and "Rosebud". It is no coincidence that they all begin with R.
The vice-president-elect, Joe Biden, has his Irish background recognised with the code name "Celtic".
The secret service has said in the past that such names are chosen on a whim. Among previous presidents, John Kennedy, in keeping with the labelling of his White House "Camelot", was named "Lancer", and Reagan "Rawhide".
Source
This is in keeping with a tradition since the second world war of ascribing code names to presidents.
While the White House nor the Obama camp is unlikely to confirm them, such code names are seldom regarded as closely guarded secrets and quickly leak out.
The Chicago Tribune, Obama's hometown paper, reported on its website on Monday night that wife Michelle has been named "Renaissance", and their two daughters, Malia and Sasha, have been given the designations "Radiance" and "Rosebud". It is no coincidence that they all begin with R.
The vice-president-elect, Joe Biden, has his Irish background recognised with the code name "Celtic".
The secret service has said in the past that such names are chosen on a whim. Among previous presidents, John Kennedy, in keeping with the labelling of his White House "Camelot", was named "Lancer", and Reagan "Rawhide".
Source
Monday, November 10, 2008
TIME's Best Inventions of 2008
TIME published its version of Best 50 Inventions of 2008: from a genetic testing service to an invisibility cloak to an ingenious public bike system to the world's first moving skyscraper — here are TIME's picks for the top innovations of 2008
1. The Retail DNA Test
Before meeting with Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of a consumer gene-testing service called 23andMe, I know just three things about her: she's pregnant, she's married to Google's Sergey Brin, and she went to Yale. But after an hour chatting with her in the small office she shares with co-founder Linda Avey at 23andMe's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., I know some things no Internet search could reveal: coffee makes her giddy, she has a fondness for sequined shoes and fresh-baked bread, and her unborn son has a 50% chance of inheriting a high risk for Parkinson's disease.
Learning and sharing your genetic secrets are at the heart of 23andMe's controversial new service — a $399 saliva test that estimates your predisposition for more than 90 traits and conditions ranging from baldness to blindness. Although 23andMe isn't the only company selling DNA tests to the public, it does the best job of making them accessible and affordable. The 600,000 genetic markers that 23andMe identifies and interprets for each customer are "the digital manifestation of you," says Wojcicki (pronounced Wo-jis-key), 35, who majored in biology and was previously a health-care investor. "It's all this information beyond what you can see in the mirror."
We are at the beginning of a personal-genomics revolution that will transform not only how we take care of ourselves but also what we mean by personal information. In the past, only élite researchers had access to their genetic fingerprints, but now personal genotyping is available to anyone who orders the service online and mails in a spit sample. Not everything about how this information will be used is clear yet — 23andMe has stirred up debate about issues ranging from how meaningful the results are to how to prevent genetic discrimination — but the curtain has been pulled back, and it can never be closed again. And so for pioneering retail genomics, 23andMe's DNA-testing service is Time's 2008 Invention of the Year.
The 1997 film Gattaca depicted it as a futuristic nightmare, but human-genotyping has emerged instead as both a real business and a status symbol. Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein says he is backing 23andMe not for its cinematic possibilities but because "I think it is a good investment. This is strictly medical and business-like." Google has chipped in almost half the $8.9 million in funding raised by the firm, which counts Warren Buffett, Rupert Murdoch and Ivanka Trump among its clients.
Weinstein isn't saying what his test told him, but Wojcicki and her famous husband are perfectly willing to discuss their own genetic flaws. Most worrisome is a rare mutation that gives Brin an estimated 20% to 80% chance of getting Parkinson's disease. There's a 50% chance that the couple's child, due later this year, will inherit that same gene. "I don't find this embarrassing in any way," says Brin, who blogged about it in September. "I felt it was a lot of work and impractical to keep it secret, and I think in 10 years it will be commonplace to learn about your genome."
And yet while Wojcicki and Brin aren't worried about genetic privacy, others are. In May, President George W. Bush signed a bill that makes it illegal for employers and insurers to discriminate on the basis of genetic information. California and New York tried to block the tests on the grounds that they were not properly licensed, but have so far been unsuccessful. Others worry about how sharing one's genetic data might affect close relatives who would prefer not to let a family history of schizophrenia or Lou Gehrig's disease become public. And what if a potential mate demands to see your genome before getting serious? Such hypotheticals are endless. And some researchers argue that the tests are flawed. "The uncertainty is too great," says Dr. Muin Khoury, director of the National Office of Public Health Genomics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who argues that it is wrong to charge people for access to such preliminary and incomplete data. Many diseases stem from several different genes and are triggered by environmental factors. Since less than a tenth of our 20,000 genes have been correlated with any condition, it's impossible to nail down exactly what component is genetic. "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," says Dr. Alan Guttmacher of the National Institutes of Health.
23andMe is unfazed by its detractors. "It's somewhat paternalistic to say people shouldn't get these tests because 'we don't want people to misunderstand or get upset,'" says board member Esther Dyson. There can be a psychological upside too: some people decide to lead healthier lifestyles. Brin is currently funding Parkinson's research. And not all customers' results are as troubling as his. Nate Guy, 19, of Warrenton, Va., was relieved that though his uncle had died of prostate cancer, his own risk for the disease was about average. He even posted a video about it on YouTube. And unflattering findings can have a silver lining. "Now I have an excuse for not remembering things, because my memory is probably genetically flawed," Guy says.
Wojcicki and Avey see themselves not just as businesswomen but also as social entrepreneurs. With their customers' consent, they plan to amass everyone's genetic footprint in a giant database that can be mined for clues to which mutations make us susceptible to specific diseases and which drugs people are more likely to respond to. "You're donating your genetic information," says Wojcicki. "We could make great discoveries if we just had more information. We all carry this information, and if we bring it together and democratize it, we could really change health care."
2. The Tesla Roadster
Electric cars were always environmentally friendly, quiet, clean — but definitely not sexy. The Tesla Roadster has changed all that. A battery-powered sports car that sells for $100,000 and has a top speed of 125 m.p.h. (200 km/h), the Roadster has excited the clean-tech crowd since it was announced in 2003. Celebrities like George Clooney joined a long waiting list for the Roadster; magazines like Wired drooled over it. After years of setbacks and shake-ups, the first Tesla Roadsters were delivered to customers this year. Reviews have been ecstatic, but Tesla Motors has been hit hard by the financial crisis. Plans to develop an affordable electric sedan have been put on hold, and Tesla is laying off employees. But even if the Roadster turns out to be a one-hit wonder, it's been a hell of an (electric) ride.
3. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
It may have been a long time since the U.S. built the world's best cars, but nobody can touch us when it comes to spacecraft. NASA is about to prove that again with the planned launch in February 2009 of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (lro). Our first unmanned moonship in 11 years, the lro will study the things lunar orbiters always study — gravity, temperature — but it will also look for signs of water ice, a vital resource for any future lunar base, and compile detailed 3-D lunar maps, including all six Apollo landing sites. Wingnuts, be warned: yes, we really went there.
Read the rest of the story here
1. The Retail DNA Test
Before meeting with Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of a consumer gene-testing service called 23andMe, I know just three things about her: she's pregnant, she's married to Google's Sergey Brin, and she went to Yale. But after an hour chatting with her in the small office she shares with co-founder Linda Avey at 23andMe's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., I know some things no Internet search could reveal: coffee makes her giddy, she has a fondness for sequined shoes and fresh-baked bread, and her unborn son has a 50% chance of inheriting a high risk for Parkinson's disease.
Learning and sharing your genetic secrets are at the heart of 23andMe's controversial new service — a $399 saliva test that estimates your predisposition for more than 90 traits and conditions ranging from baldness to blindness. Although 23andMe isn't the only company selling DNA tests to the public, it does the best job of making them accessible and affordable. The 600,000 genetic markers that 23andMe identifies and interprets for each customer are "the digital manifestation of you," says Wojcicki (pronounced Wo-jis-key), 35, who majored in biology and was previously a health-care investor. "It's all this information beyond what you can see in the mirror."
We are at the beginning of a personal-genomics revolution that will transform not only how we take care of ourselves but also what we mean by personal information. In the past, only élite researchers had access to their genetic fingerprints, but now personal genotyping is available to anyone who orders the service online and mails in a spit sample. Not everything about how this information will be used is clear yet — 23andMe has stirred up debate about issues ranging from how meaningful the results are to how to prevent genetic discrimination — but the curtain has been pulled back, and it can never be closed again. And so for pioneering retail genomics, 23andMe's DNA-testing service is Time's 2008 Invention of the Year.
The 1997 film Gattaca depicted it as a futuristic nightmare, but human-genotyping has emerged instead as both a real business and a status symbol. Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein says he is backing 23andMe not for its cinematic possibilities but because "I think it is a good investment. This is strictly medical and business-like." Google has chipped in almost half the $8.9 million in funding raised by the firm, which counts Warren Buffett, Rupert Murdoch and Ivanka Trump among its clients.
Weinstein isn't saying what his test told him, but Wojcicki and her famous husband are perfectly willing to discuss their own genetic flaws. Most worrisome is a rare mutation that gives Brin an estimated 20% to 80% chance of getting Parkinson's disease. There's a 50% chance that the couple's child, due later this year, will inherit that same gene. "I don't find this embarrassing in any way," says Brin, who blogged about it in September. "I felt it was a lot of work and impractical to keep it secret, and I think in 10 years it will be commonplace to learn about your genome."
And yet while Wojcicki and Brin aren't worried about genetic privacy, others are. In May, President George W. Bush signed a bill that makes it illegal for employers and insurers to discriminate on the basis of genetic information. California and New York tried to block the tests on the grounds that they were not properly licensed, but have so far been unsuccessful. Others worry about how sharing one's genetic data might affect close relatives who would prefer not to let a family history of schizophrenia or Lou Gehrig's disease become public. And what if a potential mate demands to see your genome before getting serious? Such hypotheticals are endless. And some researchers argue that the tests are flawed. "The uncertainty is too great," says Dr. Muin Khoury, director of the National Office of Public Health Genomics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who argues that it is wrong to charge people for access to such preliminary and incomplete data. Many diseases stem from several different genes and are triggered by environmental factors. Since less than a tenth of our 20,000 genes have been correlated with any condition, it's impossible to nail down exactly what component is genetic. "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," says Dr. Alan Guttmacher of the National Institutes of Health.
23andMe is unfazed by its detractors. "It's somewhat paternalistic to say people shouldn't get these tests because 'we don't want people to misunderstand or get upset,'" says board member Esther Dyson. There can be a psychological upside too: some people decide to lead healthier lifestyles. Brin is currently funding Parkinson's research. And not all customers' results are as troubling as his. Nate Guy, 19, of Warrenton, Va., was relieved that though his uncle had died of prostate cancer, his own risk for the disease was about average. He even posted a video about it on YouTube. And unflattering findings can have a silver lining. "Now I have an excuse for not remembering things, because my memory is probably genetically flawed," Guy says.
Wojcicki and Avey see themselves not just as businesswomen but also as social entrepreneurs. With their customers' consent, they plan to amass everyone's genetic footprint in a giant database that can be mined for clues to which mutations make us susceptible to specific diseases and which drugs people are more likely to respond to. "You're donating your genetic information," says Wojcicki. "We could make great discoveries if we just had more information. We all carry this information, and if we bring it together and democratize it, we could really change health care."
2. The Tesla Roadster
Electric cars were always environmentally friendly, quiet, clean — but definitely not sexy. The Tesla Roadster has changed all that. A battery-powered sports car that sells for $100,000 and has a top speed of 125 m.p.h. (200 km/h), the Roadster has excited the clean-tech crowd since it was announced in 2003. Celebrities like George Clooney joined a long waiting list for the Roadster; magazines like Wired drooled over it. After years of setbacks and shake-ups, the first Tesla Roadsters were delivered to customers this year. Reviews have been ecstatic, but Tesla Motors has been hit hard by the financial crisis. Plans to develop an affordable electric sedan have been put on hold, and Tesla is laying off employees. But even if the Roadster turns out to be a one-hit wonder, it's been a hell of an (electric) ride.
3. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
It may have been a long time since the U.S. built the world's best cars, but nobody can touch us when it comes to spacecraft. NASA is about to prove that again with the planned launch in February 2009 of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (lro). Our first unmanned moonship in 11 years, the lro will study the things lunar orbiters always study — gravity, temperature — but it will also look for signs of water ice, a vital resource for any future lunar base, and compile detailed 3-D lunar maps, including all six Apollo landing sites. Wingnuts, be warned: yes, we really went there.
Read the rest of the story here
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Barack Obama and John McCain Switch Color of Their Skin
Grey New York, the global ad agency, released an image today reminding voters to "Let the Issues Be the Issue" as they go to the polls on Election Day.The image features the two senators, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, whose hard-fought battle for the White House is drawing to a close, with their skin colors switched.
Tor Myhren, Grey New York's Chief Creative Officer, said, "This is a non-partisan image. We wanted to address the race issue straight on. And it cuts both ways. If you're hopping on either candidate's bandwagon solely due to the color of their skin, you're voting for the wrong reasons."
The image is being run in newspapers, outdoor posters and online.
The image has been picked up by several public high schools in New York, Denver and other cities around the US. A lesson plan has been built around it, and it will be used as a discussion piece with students.
Source
Thursday, October 23, 2008
"Quantum of Solace" World Premiere in London
By Mike Collett-White -- LONDON (Reuters)
A grim-faced 007 is on the warpath in the latest James Bond movie "Quantum of Solace," the sequel to box office hit "Casino Royale" starring Daniel Craig as the world's most famous fictional spy.
Bond shows no mercy as he crosses Europe and South America to discover why the woman he loved betrayed him before she died.
He also battles evil eco-terrorist Dominic Greene who wants to install an exiled general in what is supposed to be Bolivia in exchange for land containing huge natural resources.
In a complex web of diplomacy and deceit, the secret agent falls foul both of his enemy and British and U.S. intelligence.
While early reviews generally preferred the previous movie, most agreed that 40-year-old Craig, in his second outing as Bond, has cemented his place in the coveted role which brings instant fame and fortune to the actor who plays it.
German-Swiss director Marc Forster admitted to feeling the pressure with his biggest movie to date.
"The challenge (is) there's a huge amount of expectations, and to rise up to that and have this pressure on hand and being watched by the media and the fans constantly," he told Reuters in Los Angeles.
"I thought it was interesting that Orson Welles responded to what his biggest regret in life was: never making a mainstream movie," Forster added.
"It made me think, it's fascinating that I actually would make a movie that more people would see than all the six movies I've done until now."
Forster is best known for directing Afghan-themed "The Kite Runner" and "Finding Neverland," about Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie starring Johnny Depp.
HIGH HOPES
Quantum of Solace, the action-packed 22nd instalment in the Bond franchise, has some way to go to beat its predecessor.
Casino Royale was one of the most successful Bond films, earning $594 million in global ticket sales, according to tracking site www.boxofficemojo.com.
It was also lauded for revitalising a series that had become stale, with credit going to Craig, dubbed the first blond Bond, for making 007 grittier than earlier incarnations.
Jack Warner, who covers the box office for Screen International, said Sony Corp's Columbia Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios will aim to exceed the Casino Royale tally this time around.
"They have a very strong brand to build on," he said.
"No one expects a sequel to do less well than the one before it. Casino Royale was popular critically and with audiences, and they will be looking to break that."
Critics agreed that Quantum of Solace was no match for Casino Royale, although first reviews were mostly positive.
James Christopher of the Times gave it four stars out of five, but The Sunday Times weekly was less generous, with Richard Brooks calling the film a "licence to bore."
Craig disagreed with the description of the film as a revenge story.
"The idea of vengeance is the furthest thing from his mind," he told Reuters. "He just wants to get a closure."
"Quantum of Solace" has its royal world premiere in London on October 29, opens in British theatres on October 31 and in the United States on November 14.
(Additional reporting by Bob Tourtellotte in Los Angeles)
(Editing by Paul Casciato)
A grim-faced 007 is on the warpath in the latest James Bond movie "Quantum of Solace," the sequel to box office hit "Casino Royale" starring Daniel Craig as the world's most famous fictional spy.
Bond shows no mercy as he crosses Europe and South America to discover why the woman he loved betrayed him before she died.
He also battles evil eco-terrorist Dominic Greene who wants to install an exiled general in what is supposed to be Bolivia in exchange for land containing huge natural resources.
In a complex web of diplomacy and deceit, the secret agent falls foul both of his enemy and British and U.S. intelligence.
While early reviews generally preferred the previous movie, most agreed that 40-year-old Craig, in his second outing as Bond, has cemented his place in the coveted role which brings instant fame and fortune to the actor who plays it.
German-Swiss director Marc Forster admitted to feeling the pressure with his biggest movie to date.
"The challenge (is) there's a huge amount of expectations, and to rise up to that and have this pressure on hand and being watched by the media and the fans constantly," he told Reuters in Los Angeles.
"I thought it was interesting that Orson Welles responded to what his biggest regret in life was: never making a mainstream movie," Forster added.
"It made me think, it's fascinating that I actually would make a movie that more people would see than all the six movies I've done until now."
Forster is best known for directing Afghan-themed "The Kite Runner" and "Finding Neverland," about Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie starring Johnny Depp.
HIGH HOPES
Quantum of Solace, the action-packed 22nd instalment in the Bond franchise, has some way to go to beat its predecessor.
Casino Royale was one of the most successful Bond films, earning $594 million in global ticket sales, according to tracking site www.boxofficemojo.com.
It was also lauded for revitalising a series that had become stale, with credit going to Craig, dubbed the first blond Bond, for making 007 grittier than earlier incarnations.
Jack Warner, who covers the box office for Screen International, said Sony Corp's Columbia Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios will aim to exceed the Casino Royale tally this time around.
"They have a very strong brand to build on," he said.
"No one expects a sequel to do less well than the one before it. Casino Royale was popular critically and with audiences, and they will be looking to break that."
Critics agreed that Quantum of Solace was no match for Casino Royale, although first reviews were mostly positive.
James Christopher of the Times gave it four stars out of five, but The Sunday Times weekly was less generous, with Richard Brooks calling the film a "licence to bore."
Craig disagreed with the description of the film as a revenge story.
"The idea of vengeance is the furthest thing from his mind," he told Reuters. "He just wants to get a closure."
"Quantum of Solace" has its royal world premiere in London on October 29, opens in British theatres on October 31 and in the United States on November 14.
(Additional reporting by Bob Tourtellotte in Los Angeles)
(Editing by Paul Casciato)
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Transcript of Sarah Palin Interview with CNN
Republican nominee for vice-president Gov. Sarah Palin spoke Tuesday to CNN's Drew Griffin in her first interview with the network. Here is the transcript of this interview:
(CNN) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks with CNN's Drew Griffin Tuesday.
CNN: You seemed to be very much on your game. You get huge crowds. Even bigger crowds than [Republican presidential candidate Sen.] John McCain. Why is that?
Sarah Palin: I think it's what I'm representing and what the message is and that is true reform of government that is so needed, and having a representative of someone who has a track record of showing that, yeah, you can, you can do this, you can reform, you can put government back on the side of the people, you can fight corruption. You can actually take steps towards helping our nation become energy-independent and all those things that we're talking about. I think that more and more Americans are realizing that, well, good, we have a candidate who has actually done some of those things and it's not just, talkin' the talk, she's gonna tell us how she's done this.
CNN: Let's talk about some of that, because, I mean, two months ago, it was all about who you were, where you were from and Wasilla, Alaska. I think, now it's just the economy. And you are the only person in this race with executive experience, who's taken over governments as mayor and governor. What will you do, day one, to tell the American people, things are changing for the better? Watch the entire interview »
Palin: You know, that's a good point about that experience and we don't like to toot our own horn so we don't, I don't talk about my experience that much in terms of years in office or in positions that have been executive experience but, I have, I do have more experience than [Democratic presidential candidate Sen.] Barack Obama does. You know, he had served for his 300 days before he became a presidential candidate and that wasn't in executive office, of course, but, as an executive, working with John McCain, we will take on the special interests and we will clean up Wall Street and some of the abuse of the power in Washington, D.C., also to first and foremost get government back on the side of the people, and, we do this economically speaking here, by cutting taxes, not increasing them, allowing our small businesses and our families to keep more of what they earn, and produce so that they can reinvest according to their priorities. Not politicians' priorities and special interests' priorities. Our small businesses, keeping more of what they earn, that allows them to create more jobs, they're gonna be hiring more people, that gets our economy going. That's what has happened in the opportunities that I've had in executive positions as mayor, manager, and as governor. It works. Reining in government growth, recognizing government certainly plays appropriate roles in building infrastructure, providing tools for our families, for our businesses, but then government kinda getting outta the way as you have great oversight making sure that there isn't the corruption and the abuse, but government, I think get outta the way and let the private sector do what it does best.
CNN: Yeah, but, I mean we're in a crisis right now.
Palin: We are.
CNN: And the plans that you mention take time, you have to go through Congress. If you guys win, you'll both most likely be working with a Democratic Congress. It's gonna be a slow process. What I'm trying to find out from you -- from John McCain as well, day one, people want a difference, to make a difference in the economy, as we're seeing daily, swings in the stock market, houses going foreclosed on --
Palin: Mm-hmm. Well, day one, you bring in everyone around that table, too, you bring in the congressional leadership, and, assuming that there will be, certainly, Democrats, at that table, that's good, too, these are gonna be bipartisan approaches that must be taken, I have that executive experience also having formed a cabinet up there in Alaska that, you know, we've got independents and Democrats and Republicans whom I have appointed to our administrative positions to that, we have the best of ideas coming together in order to best serve the people. John McCain, too, he's been known as the maverick to take on his own party when need be, to reach over the aisle and work with the other party also. Now, Barack Obama has not been able to do that, he's gone with, what is it, 96 percent of the time with Democrat leadership. Not having that, I think, ability or willingness to work with the other side. So as an executive, we need to create that team that is full of good ideas and not let obsessive partisanship get in the way, as we start taking the measures to shore up our economy, which already Congress is working on with the rescue package, with some of the bailout packages, the provisions in there that can work, too, but it's gonna take everybody working together.
CNN: Will you and John McCain appoint Democrats to cabinet positions?
Palin: I don't know why you wouldn't, if they, if these Democrats are best suited to serve, and if they will not let obsessive partisanship get in the way of just doing what's right with a team effort, and support of the president to get this economy moving, and to win these wars, to meet these great challenges, I wouldn't have as my litmus test a party affiliation.
CNN: Yeah. Uh, Joe the plumber?
Palin: Yeah.
CNN: Socialism, it's come up on the campaign trail now.
Palin: Sure.
CNN: Governor, is Barack Obama a socialist?
Palin: I'm not gonna call him a socialist, but, as Joe the plumber had suggested, in fact he came right out and said it sounds like socialism to him and he speaks for so many Americans who are quite concerned now, after hearing finally what Barack Obama's true intentions are with his tax and economic plan, and that is, to take more from small businesses, more from our families, and then redistribute that according to his priorities. That is, that is not good for the entrepreneurial spirit that has built this great country. That is not good for our economy, certainly it's not good for the opportunities that our small businesses should have, to keep more of what they produce, in order to hire more people, create more jobs. That's what gets the economy going. So, finally Joe the plumber and as we talked about today in the speech, too, he's representing, you know, Jane the engineer and Molly the dental hygienist and Chuck the teacher and, and all these good, hard-working Americans who are, finally, were able to hear in very plain talk the other night, what Barack Obama's intentions were to redistribute wealth.
CNN: Do you think his intention though, if not a socialist, is to move away from capitalism, true capitalism?
Palin: Well, anyone who would want to increase taxes at a time like this, especially with economic woes that are adversely affecting all of us, anybody who would want to do that to take more from businesses and our families, and then dole those dollars out according to their priorities, that, that is not a principal of capitalism.
CNN: Some are saying we're already moving towards socialism with the bailout, the banking industry investment that this government has made, that John McCain and Barack Obama have signed on for. What is your views on that and yet another possible supplement to the income of Americans.
Palin: We cannot start moving closer and closer to socialism. That will destroy the entrepreneurial spirit in America. That will punish hard work and productivity, and that work ethic that we try to instill in our children so that they will know that they can be rewarded for their productivity, for their hard work. We cannot move in that direction, that it should be so concerning for any American voter to consider that perhaps there are some who would like us to go there. Now, as for the economic bailout provisions and the measures that have already been taken, it is a time of crisis and government did have to step in playing an appropriate role to shore up the housing market to make sure that we're thawing out some of the potentially frozen credit lines and credit markets, government did have to step in there. But now that we're hearing that the Democrats want an additional stimulus package or bailout package for what, hundreds of billions of dollars more, this is not a time to use the economic crisis as an excuse for reckless spending and for greater, bigger government and to move the private sector to the back burner and let government be assumed to be the be-all, end-all solution to the economic challenges that we have. That's what's scaring me now about hearing that the Democrats have an even greater economic bailout package, but we don't know all the details of it yet and we'll certainly pay close attention to it.
CNN: On its face are you against that?
Palin: On its face, I want to make sure that this is not being used by the Democrats as a time for bigger government, more dollars being taken from taxpayers to bail out anybody, any entity that's been engaged in corruption, in self-dealing, in greed, there on Wall Street or in D.C. that has adversely affected Main Street, so, on its face, I, what we're gonna need to know more about what the Democrats have in mind for this additional bailout.
CNN: You know, as, you're a fiscal conservative.
Palin: Yes.
CNN: As a fiscal conservative, I'm looking at the McCain proposals. And all of them seem to involve heavy amounts of government money, or government involvement, whether it be home mortgages or propping up the banking industry. I mean, are you square with that?
Palin: I beg to differ with that, because what McCain has talked about with shoring up the home mortgage market also to make sure that we, we're gonna have a level playing field here. He's not asking for an additional hundreds of billions of dollars, he's saying, OK, with the $700 billion that his colleagues and he there in Congress have already approved, let's make sure that the priority is, we're gonna help the homeowners who had been kinda sucked into the wrong mortgage, and that was via predatory lenders taking advantage unfortunately and exploiting too many Americans. He's saying let's take the dollars that are already there and let's best use them. Let's, he's not saying, more, more, more government intervention and more dollars. He's saying, let's best use the dollars that have already been approved.
CNN: What is your role going to be as vice president?
Palin: Well, we've talked a lot about that, John McCain and I have, about the missions that I'll get to embark on if we are so blessed to be hired by the American people to work for them. It's gonna be government reform, because that is what I've been able to do as a mayor and as a governor. You take on the special interests and the self-dealings. Yep, you ruffle feathers and you have the scars to prove it afterwards, but you have to take that on to give the American people that faith back in their own government. This is their government and we gotta put it back on their side. So, government reform and energy independence, can't wait to work on that. That's been my forte as the governor of an energy-producing state and as a former chair of the energy regulator entity up there in Alaska. So, look forward to that and that's a matter of national security and our economic prosperity opportunities. That though, too, the other mission that John and I are anxious for me to lead on is helping our families who have children with special needs, ushering in that spirit to Washington, D.C., where we saw, we're gonna give every child a chance and a good educational opportunity will be provided. That's gonna be a matter, too, of prioritizing the federal dollars that are already there and making sure that every child is given opportunity.
CNN: Yeah. Governor, you've been mocked in the press. The press has been pretty hard on you, the Democrats have been pretty hard on you, but also some conservatives have been pretty hard on you as well. The National Review had a story saying that, you know, I can't tell if Sarah Palin is incompetent, stupid, unqualified, corrupt or all of the above.
Palin: Who wrote that one?
CNN: That was in the National Review, I don't, have the author.
Palin: I'd like to talk to that person.
CNN: But they were talking about the fact that your experience as governor is not getting out. Do you feel trapped in this campaign, that your message is not getting out, and if so who do you blame?
Palin: No, I'm getting my message out right now, through you and with you, Drew, to the American people who are watching CNN, and I appreciate this opportunity. No, you know that, I am obviously an outsider of the Washington elite and of the conventional, I think, media, targets or media characters that have been a part of this for years and, I think that is fine, that is good for the American electorate to understand. They have a choice here in our ticket of having the experience and the reputation that comes with John McCain as being the patriot and the maverick in the Senate, you take that and you combine it with a team member who is new and fresh with new ideas, new vision, new energy that needs to be infused into Washington, D.C., with that commitment to clean it up in D.C. Put government on the side of the people and fight hard for Americans. You have that, that combination and I think that some in the media, maybe in The National Review, they don't know what to make of that, they're like, gee, she's, you know, where'd she come from, surely, you know, it should be our job I think they assume is to, pick and, and be negative and, and find things to mock and, that's just I guess part of the political game, I guess. But we're very committed and focused and moving forward between now and November 4, getting that message out to the American people that our plan to get this economy back on the right track, and to win the wars, put government on the side of the people. It's the right thing to do, and, I think we have the right message, despite the mocking that comes our way.
CNN: Governor, our time is very short and I must ask you just two questions, one is on [Palin's former brother-in-law, Alaska State Trooper Mike] Wooten, if there's one thing that's followed you negatively --
Palin: Tasergate, right, right,
CNN: You call it Tasergate,
Palin: We sure do.
CNN: Troopergate, whatever. The Branchflower Report said you were perfectly in your right, to fire [Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walt] Monegan.
Palin: Right.
CNN: But also found out that you violated the ethics. Was it a mistake to allow your husband to use your office to try to pressure the troopers to fire Mr. Wooten.
Palin: Not at all because A, that, the trooper who had tasered his kid and had, you know, made death threats against my family and said he was gonna bring the governor down and all that. My husband did exactly, I think, what any sensible, reasonable father, husband would do who was concerned about their family's safety.
CNN: But was it a mistake to allow him to use the governor's office to that extent?
Palin: Not when you look at other governors' track records when they had their spouse as for instance [former Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski] had his spouse as his top adviser, and she was in meetings, she was in the office so, you know, kinda, of a double standard here. But what Todd was what any reasonable husband and father would do. He followed the instruction of the Department of Public Safety's own personal security detail that is our personal protection. They asked Todd, you have a problem with this state trooper, he is a threat, you need to take that to the commissioner of the Department of Public Safety. Todd did exactly that and then of course, he got clobbered for it, now in the media because there's a misunderstanding of what he's done. Our Department of Law in Alaska has right there on its Web site -- it said, if you have a problem with an Alaska state trooper, the paragraph says, you go to the Commissioner of Department of Public Safety and you share that concern with him. That's what Todd did. So no, I don't think that it was an abuse of power of my office at all. And I was very thankful that that report cleared me of any illegal dealings or anything else. I replaced the commissioner because he was not doing the job that I expect of my cabinet members. That is, you serve the Alaskan population up there. Of course he's a cabinet member who was assigned to do that, to the best of our team's ability and you have a lotta energy, you fulfill the vision that we have laid out for you, and he wasn't doing that and that's why he was replaced.
CNN: Governor, if in two weeks you're not elected, do you come back at the top of the ticket in 2012?
Palin: I'm concerned about and focused on just the next two weeks, Drew, and again getting that message out there to the American public. Thankfully, too, the American public is seeing clearer and clearer what the choices are in these tickets. I think, some revelation just occurred, not just with Joe the plumber but revelation occurred with [Democratic vice presidential candidate] Joe Biden's comment the other night that, he telling his Democratic financial donors saying that, he said mark my word, there's gonna be economic, and, or international crisis he said, if Barack Obama is elected, because he will be tested and he said there are four or five scenarios that will result in an international crisis with an untested presidential candidate in Barack Obama and -- first I think we need to thank Joe for the warning there. But, Joe's words there I think, can shed some light, too, in terms of the contrast you have in the tickets. John McCain is a tested leader. He has gone through great adversity. He has the scars to prove it. He has shown his true leadership. It hasn't just been all talk, and Joe Biden's comments there about an untested, as he had said in the primary, unprepared candidate to be president, I think was very telling.
CNN: Have you guys been briefed on any scenario like this?
Palin: On the four or five scenarios, that, well, who knows what Joe Biden was talking about, you know? It, all you have to do, though, is look back at Obama's foreign policy agenda and you can assume what some of those scenarios may be. As he considers sitting down and talking to [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad or [former Cuban President] Fidel Castro or [North Korean President] Kim Jong Il, some of these dictators, without preconditions being met, essentially validating some of what those dictators have been engaged in, that could be one of the scenarios that Joe Biden is talking about is, as a result of that, that proclamation that he would meet without preconditions being met first. That could be a scenario that results in a testing of our country, and, the four or five other scenarios that he's talking about, I don't know, I hope that Joe Biden will explain it.
CNN: I guess we have to wrap it up.
Palin: Yes.
CNN: I mean I could go on with you forever.
Palin: So could I, on that one especially.
CNN: [LAUGHS] I mean, did Joe Biden get a pass?
Palin: Drew, you need to ask your colleagues and I guess your bosses or whoever is in charge of all this, why does Joe Biden get a pass on such a thing? Can you imagine if I would've said such a thing? No, I think that, you know, we would be hounded and held accountable for, what in the world did you mean by that, VP presidential candidate? Why would you say that, mark my words, this nation will undergo international crisis if you elect Barack Obama? If I would've said that you guys'd clobbered me.
CNN: You're right. [LAUGHTER] You're right. Can I ask one more question?
Palin: Sure, good.
CNN: You've talked about America. And certain parts of America, that are maybe more American than other parts of American, Are there?
Palin: Ehhh, I don't want that misunderstood. No, I do not want that misunderstood. You know, when I go to these rallies and we see the patriotism just shining through these people's faces and the Vietnam veterans wearing their hats so proudly and they have tears in their eyes as we sing our national anthem and it is so inspiring and I say that this is true America, you get it, you understand how important it is that in the next four years we have a leader who will fight for you. I certainly don't want that interpreted as one area being more patriotic or more American than another. If that's the way it's come across, I apologize.
(CNN) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks with CNN's Drew Griffin Tuesday.
CNN: You seemed to be very much on your game. You get huge crowds. Even bigger crowds than [Republican presidential candidate Sen.] John McCain. Why is that?
Sarah Palin: I think it's what I'm representing and what the message is and that is true reform of government that is so needed, and having a representative of someone who has a track record of showing that, yeah, you can, you can do this, you can reform, you can put government back on the side of the people, you can fight corruption. You can actually take steps towards helping our nation become energy-independent and all those things that we're talking about. I think that more and more Americans are realizing that, well, good, we have a candidate who has actually done some of those things and it's not just, talkin' the talk, she's gonna tell us how she's done this.
CNN: Let's talk about some of that, because, I mean, two months ago, it was all about who you were, where you were from and Wasilla, Alaska. I think, now it's just the economy. And you are the only person in this race with executive experience, who's taken over governments as mayor and governor. What will you do, day one, to tell the American people, things are changing for the better? Watch the entire interview »
Palin: You know, that's a good point about that experience and we don't like to toot our own horn so we don't, I don't talk about my experience that much in terms of years in office or in positions that have been executive experience but, I have, I do have more experience than [Democratic presidential candidate Sen.] Barack Obama does. You know, he had served for his 300 days before he became a presidential candidate and that wasn't in executive office, of course, but, as an executive, working with John McCain, we will take on the special interests and we will clean up Wall Street and some of the abuse of the power in Washington, D.C., also to first and foremost get government back on the side of the people, and, we do this economically speaking here, by cutting taxes, not increasing them, allowing our small businesses and our families to keep more of what they earn, and produce so that they can reinvest according to their priorities. Not politicians' priorities and special interests' priorities. Our small businesses, keeping more of what they earn, that allows them to create more jobs, they're gonna be hiring more people, that gets our economy going. That's what has happened in the opportunities that I've had in executive positions as mayor, manager, and as governor. It works. Reining in government growth, recognizing government certainly plays appropriate roles in building infrastructure, providing tools for our families, for our businesses, but then government kinda getting outta the way as you have great oversight making sure that there isn't the corruption and the abuse, but government, I think get outta the way and let the private sector do what it does best.
CNN: Yeah, but, I mean we're in a crisis right now.
Palin: We are.
CNN: And the plans that you mention take time, you have to go through Congress. If you guys win, you'll both most likely be working with a Democratic Congress. It's gonna be a slow process. What I'm trying to find out from you -- from John McCain as well, day one, people want a difference, to make a difference in the economy, as we're seeing daily, swings in the stock market, houses going foreclosed on --
Palin: Mm-hmm. Well, day one, you bring in everyone around that table, too, you bring in the congressional leadership, and, assuming that there will be, certainly, Democrats, at that table, that's good, too, these are gonna be bipartisan approaches that must be taken, I have that executive experience also having formed a cabinet up there in Alaska that, you know, we've got independents and Democrats and Republicans whom I have appointed to our administrative positions to that, we have the best of ideas coming together in order to best serve the people. John McCain, too, he's been known as the maverick to take on his own party when need be, to reach over the aisle and work with the other party also. Now, Barack Obama has not been able to do that, he's gone with, what is it, 96 percent of the time with Democrat leadership. Not having that, I think, ability or willingness to work with the other side. So as an executive, we need to create that team that is full of good ideas and not let obsessive partisanship get in the way, as we start taking the measures to shore up our economy, which already Congress is working on with the rescue package, with some of the bailout packages, the provisions in there that can work, too, but it's gonna take everybody working together.
CNN: Will you and John McCain appoint Democrats to cabinet positions?
Palin: I don't know why you wouldn't, if they, if these Democrats are best suited to serve, and if they will not let obsessive partisanship get in the way of just doing what's right with a team effort, and support of the president to get this economy moving, and to win these wars, to meet these great challenges, I wouldn't have as my litmus test a party affiliation.
CNN: Yeah. Uh, Joe the plumber?
Palin: Yeah.
CNN: Socialism, it's come up on the campaign trail now.
Palin: Sure.
CNN: Governor, is Barack Obama a socialist?
Palin: I'm not gonna call him a socialist, but, as Joe the plumber had suggested, in fact he came right out and said it sounds like socialism to him and he speaks for so many Americans who are quite concerned now, after hearing finally what Barack Obama's true intentions are with his tax and economic plan, and that is, to take more from small businesses, more from our families, and then redistribute that according to his priorities. That is, that is not good for the entrepreneurial spirit that has built this great country. That is not good for our economy, certainly it's not good for the opportunities that our small businesses should have, to keep more of what they produce, in order to hire more people, create more jobs. That's what gets the economy going. So, finally Joe the plumber and as we talked about today in the speech, too, he's representing, you know, Jane the engineer and Molly the dental hygienist and Chuck the teacher and, and all these good, hard-working Americans who are, finally, were able to hear in very plain talk the other night, what Barack Obama's intentions were to redistribute wealth.
CNN: Do you think his intention though, if not a socialist, is to move away from capitalism, true capitalism?
Palin: Well, anyone who would want to increase taxes at a time like this, especially with economic woes that are adversely affecting all of us, anybody who would want to do that to take more from businesses and our families, and then dole those dollars out according to their priorities, that, that is not a principal of capitalism.
CNN: Some are saying we're already moving towards socialism with the bailout, the banking industry investment that this government has made, that John McCain and Barack Obama have signed on for. What is your views on that and yet another possible supplement to the income of Americans.
Palin: We cannot start moving closer and closer to socialism. That will destroy the entrepreneurial spirit in America. That will punish hard work and productivity, and that work ethic that we try to instill in our children so that they will know that they can be rewarded for their productivity, for their hard work. We cannot move in that direction, that it should be so concerning for any American voter to consider that perhaps there are some who would like us to go there. Now, as for the economic bailout provisions and the measures that have already been taken, it is a time of crisis and government did have to step in playing an appropriate role to shore up the housing market to make sure that we're thawing out some of the potentially frozen credit lines and credit markets, government did have to step in there. But now that we're hearing that the Democrats want an additional stimulus package or bailout package for what, hundreds of billions of dollars more, this is not a time to use the economic crisis as an excuse for reckless spending and for greater, bigger government and to move the private sector to the back burner and let government be assumed to be the be-all, end-all solution to the economic challenges that we have. That's what's scaring me now about hearing that the Democrats have an even greater economic bailout package, but we don't know all the details of it yet and we'll certainly pay close attention to it.
CNN: On its face are you against that?
Palin: On its face, I want to make sure that this is not being used by the Democrats as a time for bigger government, more dollars being taken from taxpayers to bail out anybody, any entity that's been engaged in corruption, in self-dealing, in greed, there on Wall Street or in D.C. that has adversely affected Main Street, so, on its face, I, what we're gonna need to know more about what the Democrats have in mind for this additional bailout.
CNN: You know, as, you're a fiscal conservative.
Palin: Yes.
CNN: As a fiscal conservative, I'm looking at the McCain proposals. And all of them seem to involve heavy amounts of government money, or government involvement, whether it be home mortgages or propping up the banking industry. I mean, are you square with that?
Palin: I beg to differ with that, because what McCain has talked about with shoring up the home mortgage market also to make sure that we, we're gonna have a level playing field here. He's not asking for an additional hundreds of billions of dollars, he's saying, OK, with the $700 billion that his colleagues and he there in Congress have already approved, let's make sure that the priority is, we're gonna help the homeowners who had been kinda sucked into the wrong mortgage, and that was via predatory lenders taking advantage unfortunately and exploiting too many Americans. He's saying let's take the dollars that are already there and let's best use them. Let's, he's not saying, more, more, more government intervention and more dollars. He's saying, let's best use the dollars that have already been approved.
CNN: What is your role going to be as vice president?
Palin: Well, we've talked a lot about that, John McCain and I have, about the missions that I'll get to embark on if we are so blessed to be hired by the American people to work for them. It's gonna be government reform, because that is what I've been able to do as a mayor and as a governor. You take on the special interests and the self-dealings. Yep, you ruffle feathers and you have the scars to prove it afterwards, but you have to take that on to give the American people that faith back in their own government. This is their government and we gotta put it back on their side. So, government reform and energy independence, can't wait to work on that. That's been my forte as the governor of an energy-producing state and as a former chair of the energy regulator entity up there in Alaska. So, look forward to that and that's a matter of national security and our economic prosperity opportunities. That though, too, the other mission that John and I are anxious for me to lead on is helping our families who have children with special needs, ushering in that spirit to Washington, D.C., where we saw, we're gonna give every child a chance and a good educational opportunity will be provided. That's gonna be a matter, too, of prioritizing the federal dollars that are already there and making sure that every child is given opportunity.
CNN: Yeah. Governor, you've been mocked in the press. The press has been pretty hard on you, the Democrats have been pretty hard on you, but also some conservatives have been pretty hard on you as well. The National Review had a story saying that, you know, I can't tell if Sarah Palin is incompetent, stupid, unqualified, corrupt or all of the above.
Palin: Who wrote that one?
CNN: That was in the National Review, I don't, have the author.
Palin: I'd like to talk to that person.
CNN: But they were talking about the fact that your experience as governor is not getting out. Do you feel trapped in this campaign, that your message is not getting out, and if so who do you blame?
Palin: No, I'm getting my message out right now, through you and with you, Drew, to the American people who are watching CNN, and I appreciate this opportunity. No, you know that, I am obviously an outsider of the Washington elite and of the conventional, I think, media, targets or media characters that have been a part of this for years and, I think that is fine, that is good for the American electorate to understand. They have a choice here in our ticket of having the experience and the reputation that comes with John McCain as being the patriot and the maverick in the Senate, you take that and you combine it with a team member who is new and fresh with new ideas, new vision, new energy that needs to be infused into Washington, D.C., with that commitment to clean it up in D.C. Put government on the side of the people and fight hard for Americans. You have that, that combination and I think that some in the media, maybe in The National Review, they don't know what to make of that, they're like, gee, she's, you know, where'd she come from, surely, you know, it should be our job I think they assume is to, pick and, and be negative and, and find things to mock and, that's just I guess part of the political game, I guess. But we're very committed and focused and moving forward between now and November 4, getting that message out to the American people that our plan to get this economy back on the right track, and to win the wars, put government on the side of the people. It's the right thing to do, and, I think we have the right message, despite the mocking that comes our way.
CNN: Governor, our time is very short and I must ask you just two questions, one is on [Palin's former brother-in-law, Alaska State Trooper Mike] Wooten, if there's one thing that's followed you negatively --
Palin: Tasergate, right, right,
CNN: You call it Tasergate,
Palin: We sure do.
CNN: Troopergate, whatever. The Branchflower Report said you were perfectly in your right, to fire [Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walt] Monegan.
Palin: Right.
CNN: But also found out that you violated the ethics. Was it a mistake to allow your husband to use your office to try to pressure the troopers to fire Mr. Wooten.
Palin: Not at all because A, that, the trooper who had tasered his kid and had, you know, made death threats against my family and said he was gonna bring the governor down and all that. My husband did exactly, I think, what any sensible, reasonable father, husband would do who was concerned about their family's safety.
CNN: But was it a mistake to allow him to use the governor's office to that extent?
Palin: Not when you look at other governors' track records when they had their spouse as for instance [former Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski] had his spouse as his top adviser, and she was in meetings, she was in the office so, you know, kinda, of a double standard here. But what Todd was what any reasonable husband and father would do. He followed the instruction of the Department of Public Safety's own personal security detail that is our personal protection. They asked Todd, you have a problem with this state trooper, he is a threat, you need to take that to the commissioner of the Department of Public Safety. Todd did exactly that and then of course, he got clobbered for it, now in the media because there's a misunderstanding of what he's done. Our Department of Law in Alaska has right there on its Web site -- it said, if you have a problem with an Alaska state trooper, the paragraph says, you go to the Commissioner of Department of Public Safety and you share that concern with him. That's what Todd did. So no, I don't think that it was an abuse of power of my office at all. And I was very thankful that that report cleared me of any illegal dealings or anything else. I replaced the commissioner because he was not doing the job that I expect of my cabinet members. That is, you serve the Alaskan population up there. Of course he's a cabinet member who was assigned to do that, to the best of our team's ability and you have a lotta energy, you fulfill the vision that we have laid out for you, and he wasn't doing that and that's why he was replaced.
CNN: Governor, if in two weeks you're not elected, do you come back at the top of the ticket in 2012?
Palin: I'm concerned about and focused on just the next two weeks, Drew, and again getting that message out there to the American public. Thankfully, too, the American public is seeing clearer and clearer what the choices are in these tickets. I think, some revelation just occurred, not just with Joe the plumber but revelation occurred with [Democratic vice presidential candidate] Joe Biden's comment the other night that, he telling his Democratic financial donors saying that, he said mark my word, there's gonna be economic, and, or international crisis he said, if Barack Obama is elected, because he will be tested and he said there are four or five scenarios that will result in an international crisis with an untested presidential candidate in Barack Obama and -- first I think we need to thank Joe for the warning there. But, Joe's words there I think, can shed some light, too, in terms of the contrast you have in the tickets. John McCain is a tested leader. He has gone through great adversity. He has the scars to prove it. He has shown his true leadership. It hasn't just been all talk, and Joe Biden's comments there about an untested, as he had said in the primary, unprepared candidate to be president, I think was very telling.
CNN: Have you guys been briefed on any scenario like this?
Palin: On the four or five scenarios, that, well, who knows what Joe Biden was talking about, you know? It, all you have to do, though, is look back at Obama's foreign policy agenda and you can assume what some of those scenarios may be. As he considers sitting down and talking to [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad or [former Cuban President] Fidel Castro or [North Korean President] Kim Jong Il, some of these dictators, without preconditions being met, essentially validating some of what those dictators have been engaged in, that could be one of the scenarios that Joe Biden is talking about is, as a result of that, that proclamation that he would meet without preconditions being met first. That could be a scenario that results in a testing of our country, and, the four or five other scenarios that he's talking about, I don't know, I hope that Joe Biden will explain it.
CNN: I guess we have to wrap it up.
Palin: Yes.
CNN: I mean I could go on with you forever.
Palin: So could I, on that one especially.
CNN: [LAUGHS] I mean, did Joe Biden get a pass?
Palin: Drew, you need to ask your colleagues and I guess your bosses or whoever is in charge of all this, why does Joe Biden get a pass on such a thing? Can you imagine if I would've said such a thing? No, I think that, you know, we would be hounded and held accountable for, what in the world did you mean by that, VP presidential candidate? Why would you say that, mark my words, this nation will undergo international crisis if you elect Barack Obama? If I would've said that you guys'd clobbered me.
CNN: You're right. [LAUGHTER] You're right. Can I ask one more question?
Palin: Sure, good.
CNN: You've talked about America. And certain parts of America, that are maybe more American than other parts of American, Are there?
Palin: Ehhh, I don't want that misunderstood. No, I do not want that misunderstood. You know, when I go to these rallies and we see the patriotism just shining through these people's faces and the Vietnam veterans wearing their hats so proudly and they have tears in their eyes as we sing our national anthem and it is so inspiring and I say that this is true America, you get it, you understand how important it is that in the next four years we have a leader who will fight for you. I certainly don't want that interpreted as one area being more patriotic or more American than another. If that's the way it's come across, I apologize.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Guy Ritchie Describes Sex With Madonna
He says that marital relations were rare as a result of her obsession with exercise, and that making love to Madonna "was like cuddling a piece of gristle".A gaunt-looking Madonna was seen leaving the Kabbalah Centre in New York on Saturday. Wearing shades and a baseball cap it seemed the marriage break-up was taking its toll on the 50-year-old mega-star. But the pop queen's obsession with maintaining a perfect body has been cited as one of the factors behind her split with Guy Ritchie.
Her insistence on sticking to a gruelling four-hour exercise routine has been blamed for destroying the pair's seven-and-a-half year marriage. The strict regime reportedly meant the couple went for 18 months without making love.
When they did find time to make love, it was like 'cuddling up to a piece of gristle', Ritchie is said to have told friends. Madonna's exercise regime reportedly meant her and husband Guy Ritchie went for 18 months without making love
A close friend told the News of the World: 'When the cracks began to show in their marriage, Madonna wouldn't budge.
'Guy was pleading with her to spend more time with him but she wouldn't have it. She'd insist she did her four-hour workout and that would be half the day gone.'
'They've been apart so much in the last two years the times when they could have made love have been pretty limited.
'And they've been in separate bedrooms a lot after rows so there has been no making-up. They might as well be brother and sister.'
'All the soft feminine tones have been replaced by the build of an athlete.' Another fighting point in their marriage was Madonna's devotion to the mystic religion Kabbalah. Ritchie, 40, is said to have walked out of a marriage counselling meeting with rabbis after they suggested he should always be subordinate to his wife's wishes.
The source said: 'Guy thinks it is just mumbo jumbo. He was appalled she wanted the religion to intervene.' He is said to have become disillusioned with the religion which he had originally embraced to please Madonna. Film producer Ritchie is said to be resigned to the fact that Madonna will begin openly dating New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez.
Sources say the pop star is preparing to go public about her friendship with baseball player A-Rod when her world tour ends in December. Kabbalah leaders are said to have given their blessing to the friendship after Rodriguez threw himself into the religion.
Madonna also recently sneaked the multi-millionaire into a front row seat at her gig which had previously been reserved for her husband.An insider told the Sunday Mirror: 'Alex is bewitched by her. She is a very intoxicating woman and it seems she has offered him a pathway to happiness and enlightenment through Kabbalah. 'He thinks she is phenomenal, but his friends aren't sure they have much in common.' Rodriguez's wife Cynthia filed for divorce in July this year, citing Madonna as one of his many infidelities.
She is said to have found a letter to Madonna in which Rodriguez' called her his 'soulmate'.
Madonna, worth around £300million, has agreed Ritchie will have full access to their sons, eight-year-old Rocco and adopted David Banda, three.
The singer also has a daughter Lourdes, 12, by fitness trainer Carlos Leon. Ritchie's £10 million divorce settlement will see him own Ashcombe House, their 1,200 acre £10million estate in Wiltshire, while Madonna will keep the couple's £7million townhouse in Marylebone in central London.
By Daily Mail
Christian Slater's "The Hummingbird" in "My Own Worst Enemy"
Call me pervy, but I found myself highly amused by last night's subplot on My Own Worst Enemy in which Christian Slater's superspy Edward breaks out a (presumably?) fictitious sexual technique called "The Hummingbird" on Angie, the wife of his hapless suburban alter-ego, Henry. Mind you, part of me was just thrilled to see the underrated Mädchen Amick (an actress I've enjoyed on such failed series as Central Park West and that late '90s Fantasy Island remake) doing fine work on a show that's (hopefully) not going to be canceled after four weeks. But it also tickled me to see a network drama push the boundaries of good taste using little more than the name of a tiny, winged creature that's a favorite of backyard birdwatchers. "The Hummingbird," of course, joins L.A. Law's "Venus Butterfly," Seinfeld's "The Move," and Ally McBeal's "The Knee Pit" in the annals of racy television bedroom activities. Are there any others that I'm forgetting? And what did you think of the whole "Hummingbird" storyline: Amusingly racy or just plain tasteless?by Michael Slezak
Monday, October 20, 2008
Secret Files on UFO Sightings Made Public in Britain
Britain's Ministry of Defence on Monday made public its secret files on UFO sightings, with the dossier including a range of reports from a close encounter with a UFO over Kent and a letter from a woman claiming to be an alien warrior.
The 19 different incidents were recorded between 1986 and 1992, and published on the National Archives website.
Among the recorded incidents was a letter dated March 1990 from a woman who claimed she was an alien whose spaceship had landed during World War II and was recovered by the military.
"The crashed vehicle contained two males from Spectra, a planet orbiting the star Zeta Tucanae, and a female from one of the two inhabited planets in the Sirius system, Amazon the planet of warrior women," she wrote in the letter, which also included sketches of herself and of Spectrans.
"That female was me," she wrote.
Though the letter did not spark an investigation, another report from an Alitalia pilot did.
On April 21, 1991, the captain of an Alitalia plane was en route to Heathrow Airport when it had a close call with a UFO over Kent, the newly-revealed documents showed.
"At once I said, 'Look out, look out,' to my co-pilot, who looked out and saw what I had seen," Achille Zaghetti said in a report on the incident.
"As soon as the object crossed us I asked to the ACC (area control centre) operator if he saw something on his screen and he answered 'I see an unknown target 10nm (nautical miles) behind you'."
Meanwhile, a local television station had broadcast a story of a 14-year-old boy who said he had seen a low-flying missile disappear that same evening.
Radar images at that time initially labelled the object "Cruise missile??", but it was later confirmed that it was not a military weapon.
By July 2, however, a defence ministry inquiry found the UFO had not come from any Army firing ranges, and added there had not been any "space-related activity" that night.
The 19 different incidents were recorded between 1986 and 1992, and published on the National Archives website.
Among the recorded incidents was a letter dated March 1990 from a woman who claimed she was an alien whose spaceship had landed during World War II and was recovered by the military.
"The crashed vehicle contained two males from Spectra, a planet orbiting the star Zeta Tucanae, and a female from one of the two inhabited planets in the Sirius system, Amazon the planet of warrior women," she wrote in the letter, which also included sketches of herself and of Spectrans.
"That female was me," she wrote.
Though the letter did not spark an investigation, another report from an Alitalia pilot did.
On April 21, 1991, the captain of an Alitalia plane was en route to Heathrow Airport when it had a close call with a UFO over Kent, the newly-revealed documents showed.
"At once I said, 'Look out, look out,' to my co-pilot, who looked out and saw what I had seen," Achille Zaghetti said in a report on the incident.
"As soon as the object crossed us I asked to the ACC (area control centre) operator if he saw something on his screen and he answered 'I see an unknown target 10nm (nautical miles) behind you'."
Meanwhile, a local television station had broadcast a story of a 14-year-old boy who said he had seen a low-flying missile disappear that same evening.
Radar images at that time initially labelled the object "Cruise missile??", but it was later confirmed that it was not a military weapon.
By July 2, however, a defence ministry inquiry found the UFO had not come from any Army firing ranges, and added there had not been any "space-related activity" that night.
KATV’s Anchorwoman Anne Pressly Stabbed in Home
Anne Pressly, a 26-year-old morning anchor for KATV’s Channel 7 in Little Rock, Arkansas, was found in her home early Monday morning suffering from severe wounds that have been described as life-threatening.Pressly was reportedly found by her mother who arrived at her house around 4:30 a.m. after she failed to answer a phone call. Pressly’s mother found her in bed bleeding severely and suffering from multiple wounds.
She was rushed to St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center where her condition has not been released.
Police have been talking with Pressly’s friends and neighbors but believe the attack may have been part of a robbery, as her mother reported her purse was missing.
In addition to being a morning anchor for KATV Pressly appeared in the recently released Oliver Stone film “W.”
Sunday, October 19, 2008
The worst best man ever
The groom's best friend just has to carry the wedding rings — how hard can that be?
Ex-Secretary of State Colin Powell backs Barack Obama
Colin Powell, a Republican and retired general who was President Bush's first secretary of state, broke with the party Sunday and endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president, calling him a "transformational figure" while criticizing the tone of John McCain's campaign
In an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," Powell backed Obama over fellow Republican John McCain, calling the Democratic nominee a "transformational figure" who could be an "exceptional president."
Powell said he plans to vote for Obama in the November 4 election but does not intend to campaign for the Illinois senator as Obama and McCain enter the final weeks of their battle for the White House.
Powell, who served in the military and government for 40 years, said he is not looking for a job in an Obama administration. However, he said, "I've always said if a president asks you to do something, you have to consider it."
McCain, appearing on "Fox News Sunday," said Powell's support of Obama did not come as a surprise and said four other secretaries of state had endorsed him.
In picking Obama over McCain, Powell said either "man would be a good president."
Powell praised Obama's "depth of knowledge" and "steadiness," while he was critical of what he described as McCain's uncertainty over how to deal with economic crisis.
Powell also voiced concern about McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate.
"She is a very distinguished woman and she is to be admired," Powell said. "But ... I don't believe she is ready to be president of the United States."
In an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," Powell backed Obama over fellow Republican John McCain, calling the Democratic nominee a "transformational figure" who could be an "exceptional president."
Powell said he plans to vote for Obama in the November 4 election but does not intend to campaign for the Illinois senator as Obama and McCain enter the final weeks of their battle for the White House.
Powell, who served in the military and government for 40 years, said he is not looking for a job in an Obama administration. However, he said, "I've always said if a president asks you to do something, you have to consider it."
McCain, appearing on "Fox News Sunday," said Powell's support of Obama did not come as a surprise and said four other secretaries of state had endorsed him.
In picking Obama over McCain, Powell said either "man would be a good president."
Powell praised Obama's "depth of knowledge" and "steadiness," while he was critical of what he described as McCain's uncertainty over how to deal with economic crisis.
Powell also voiced concern about McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate.
"She is a very distinguished woman and she is to be admired," Powell said. "But ... I don't believe she is ready to be president of the United States."
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Identical triplets born in New York
A New York woman gave birth to three identical sons this past week. According to doctors, this is extremely rare, occurring in as few as 1 in 100 million births. So how do the mother and father tell their sons apart? Color-coded diapers, perhaps?Forgive Kerry and Desmond Lyons if they sometimes mix up their sons' names. After all, they're brand new and look alike.
The rare set of identical triplets conceived without fertility treatments left a Manhattan hospital Tuesday for their suburban home.
Tiny newborns Kevin, Declan and Cormac Lyons rolled out of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in style, wearing matching blue hats, asleep in a stroller that looked something like a stretch limo.
"We never thought we'd be leaving with three healthy, beautiful, amazing baby boys," Kerry Lyons said as she beamed and wiped away a tear. "We are just so, so grateful, and so moved and so happy."
Twins, triplets and quadruplets have become much more common over the past few decades because of fertility treatments, but identical triplets are still rare. Some scientists estimate they occur in as few as 1 in 100 million births. Others peg the number higher, at 1 in 500,000 or even 1 in 64,000.
On nearby Long Island, another set of identical triplet boys was born in February at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset; their parents used in vitro fertilization.
Whatever the odds, Lyons and her husband, Desmond, said they were thrilled with the outcome, even if they can't tell the boys apart yet.
"My suggestion was to put tattoos on them," joked their father. For now, they'll wear ID bracelets.
The triplets were born Friday by Caesarean section. Their father is a lawyer. Their mother works for an Internet advertising firm. The couple already has two children, ages 2 and 4.
Kerry Lyons said she gained 50 pounds during her 36-week pregnancy. A lot of that was baby; combined, the youngsters weighed a little more than 16 1/2 pounds at birth.
At home in Irvington, N.Y., the babies will share a crib for the time being, to keep them cozy.
As for the prospect of managing five children during an economic downturn, their mother said she isn't worried.
"I think this is God's way of turning me into an easygoing type," she said.
The most famous case of identical multiple births was that of the Dionne quintuplets, born in 1934 to in the small Canadian town of Callander, Ontario. At the time, they were the only known quintuplets to survive more than a few days, and the infants created a worldwide sensation.
The provincial government separated them from their impoverished parents and put in a specially built hospital — called Quintland — where over the years millions of tourists viewed them through one-way glass.
One sister, Emilie, died in 1954; another, Marie, died in 1970. The three other sisters eventually sued over the way they had been treated as children and received a $2.8 million settlement. Yvonne died in 2001, leaving just Annette and Cecile.
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