blackwater

blackwater
WASHINGTON — The Central Intelligence Agency in 2004 hired outside contractors from the private security contractor Blackwater USA as part of a secret program to locate and assassinate top operatives of Al Qaeda, according to current and former government officials.

Executives from Blackwater, which has generated controversy because of its aggressive tactics in Iraq, helped the spy agency with planning, training and surveillance. The C.I.A. spent several million dollars on the program, which did not successfully capture or kill any terrorist suspects.

The fact that the C.I.A. used an outside company for the program was a major reason that Leon E. Panetta, the C.I.A.’s director, became alarmed and called an emergency meeting in June to tell Congress that the agency had withheld details of the program for seven years, the officials said.

It is unclear whether the C.I.A. had planned to use the contractors to actually capture or kill Qaeda operatives, or just to help with training and surveillance in the program. American spy agencies have in recent years outsourced some highly controversial work, including the interrogation of prisoners. But government officials said that bringing outsiders into a program with lethal authority raised deep concerns about accountability in covert operations.

Officials said the C.I.A. did not have a formal contract with Blackwater for this program but instead had individual agreements with top company officials, including the founder, Erik D. Prince, a politically connected former member of the Navy Seals and the heir to a family fortune. Blackwater’s work on the program actually ended years before Mr. Panetta took over the agency, after senior C.I.A. officials themselves questioned the wisdom of using outsiders in a targeted killing program.

Blackwater, which has changed its name, most recently to Xe Services, and is based in North Carolina, in recent years has received millions of dollars in government contracts, growing so large that the Bush administration said it was a necessary part of its war operation in Iraq.

It has also drawn controversy. Blackwater employees hired to guard American diplomats in Iraq were accused of using excessive force on several occasions, including shootings in Baghdad in 2007 in which 17 civilians were killed. Iraqi officials have since refused to give the company an operating license.

Several current and former government officials interviewed for this article spoke only on the condition of anonymity because they were discussing details of a still classified program.

Paul Gimigliano, a C.I.A. spokesman, declined to provide details about the canceled program, but he said that Mr. Panetta’s decision on the assassination program was “clear and straightforward.”

“Director Panetta thought this effort should be briefed to Congress, and he did so,” Mr. Gimigliano said. “He also knew it hadn’t been successful, so he ended it.”

A Xe spokeswoman did not return calls seeking comment.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who leads the Senate Intelligence Committee, also declined to give details of the program. But she praised Mr. Panetta for notifying Congress. “It is too easy to contract out work that you don’t want to accept responsibility for,” she said.

The C.I.A. this summer conducted an internal review of the assassination program that recently was presented to the White House and the Congressional intelligence committees. The officials said that the review stated that Mr. Panetta’s predecessors did not believe that they needed to tell Congress because the program was not far enough developed.

The House Intelligence Committee is investigating why lawmakers were never told about the program. According to current and former government officials, former Vice President Dick Cheney told C.I.A. officers in 2002 that the spy agency did not need to inform Congress because the agency already had legal authority to kill Qaeda leaders.

One official familiar with the matter said that Mr. Panetta did not tell lawmakers that he believed that the C.I.A. had broken the law by withholding details about the program from Congress. Rather, the official said, Mr. Panetta said he believed that the program had moved beyond a planning stage and deserved Congressional scrutiny.

“It’s wrong to think this counterterrorism program was confined to briefing slides or doodles on a cafeteria napkin,” the official said. “It went well beyond that.”

Current and former government officials said that the C.I.A.’s efforts to use paramilitary hit teams to kill Qaeda operatives ran into logistical, legal and diplomatic hurdles almost from the outset. These efforts had been run by the C.I.A.’s counterterrorism center, which runs operations against Al Qaeda and other terrorist networks.

In 2002, Blackwater won a classified contract to provide security for the C.I.A. station in Kabul, Afghanistan, and the company maintains other classified contracts with the C.I.A., current and former officials said.

Over the years, Blackwater has hired several former top C.I.A. officials, including Cofer Black, who ran the C.I.A. counterterrorism center immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks.

C.I.A. operatives also regularly use the company’s training complex in North Carolina. The complex includes a shooting range used for sniper training.

An executive order signed by President Gerald R. Ford in 1976 barred the C.I.A. from carrying out assassinations, a direct response to revelations that the C.I.A. had initiated assassination plots against Fidel Castro of Cuba and other foreign politicians.

The Bush administration took the position that killing members of Al Qaeda, a terrorist group that attacked the United States and has pledged to attack it again, was no different from killing enemy soldiers in battle, and that therefore the agency was not constrained by the assassination ban.

But former intelligence officials said that employing private contractors to help hunt Qaeda operatives would pose significant legal and diplomatic risks, and they might not be protected in the same way government employees are.

Some Congressional Democrats have hinted that the program was just one of many that the Bush administration hid from Congressional scrutiny and have used the episode as a justification to delve deeper into other Bush-era counterterrorism programs.

But Republicans have criticized Mr. Panetta’s decision to cancel the program, saying he created a tempest in a teapot.

“I think there was a little more drama and intrigue than was warranted,” said Representative Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee.

Officials said that the C.I.A. program was devised partly as an alternative to missile strikes using drone aircraft, which have accidentally killed civilians and cannot be used in urban areas where some terrorists hide.

Yet with most top Qaeda operatives believed to be hiding in the remote mountains of Pakistan, the drones have remained the C.I.A.’s weapon of choice. Like the Bush administration, the Obama administration has embraced the drone campaign because it presents a less risky option than sending paramilitary teams into Pakistan.

narwhal whale

narwhal whale

One quiet evening not too long ago, Kristin Laidre was standing on a rocky beach, peering out of a fjord dotted with icebergs. The water looked strangely still under the nighttime sun.

"It's great conditions for seeing narwhals," said Laidre, watching through binoculars as a small group of narwhals moved past a glacier that spilled down from the Greenland ice cap. "They're so sneaky, but they can't really hide when the sea is like a mirror."

Narwhals are an Arctic whale known as the unicorn of the sea. The males have a distinctive long, spiral tusk. For centuries, traders sold these tusks as the legendary unicorn horn, which people thought had magic powers.

And in this particular fjord, called Inglefield Bredning, the narwhals do seem to have an almost magical ability to evade the researchers who are longing to catch them.

"They're swimming away from the nets," Laidre said, watching as the path of the swimming narwhals made a kind of shimmering line in the still water. "Yeah, they seem to be swimming toward the other side right now."

Thousands of narwhals spend their summers in this fjord, and Laidre, an oceanographer at the University of Washington, has been coming here for the past eight years. Again and again, she's tried to catch a narwhal by setting up giant nets. This shouldn't be impossible. She and her colleagues have had success with nets in other places. "We definitely can catch them in nets in Greenland and in Canada — in many places in Canada," she says. "But here, we haven't managed to do it."

If she could briefly snag a narwhal here, she could attach a small, sturdy satellite transmitter to a ridge of cartilage and blubber along its back. For months, the transmitter would send back all kinds of information, like where the narwhal goes and how deep it dives.

And that would be incredibly useful. Because even though the narwhal has long been famous for its unicorn horn — it's thought to be the whale version of a peacock's tail or a lion's mane — most of the narwhal's life is a mystery, hidden by darkness and ice.

"The main reason that narwhals are not studied is that it's not very easy," says Laidre. "They live in this, you know, totally extreme environment, where half the year, it's completely dark and minus 30 and covered in ice, and the whales are 200 kilometers offshore, and nobody in their right mind would make an expedition to study them."

Then in the summer, when there's warmth and endless light, she says, "they're completely skittish and shy from humans, and so you have to wait days before you might even see a narwhal. I mean days, weeks."

And so she waits ... and waits ... and waits. For two weeks in July, she heads up a little camp on this remote, rocky beach. There are a few tents, a couple of colleagues from Denmark, plus five Inuit hunters from a nearby town. Twenty-four hours a day, someone keeps watch on big white floats that will bob and jerk if a narwhal swims into the nets.

If that happens, Laidre will pull on a survival suit and rush toward the water to get her hands on the narwhal so she can tag it. In other places, when she's managed to do this, it's been an intense, wild ride. "It tends to be a little bit out of control," she says. "It's struggling, and it's trying to get free, and it's trying to get untangled, and it wants to come up for air, and it's going up and it's diving, coming down."

She says that when you touch a narwhal, it feels like a cold, hard, slippery inner tube. And the breath from their blowhole isn't that great. "They have whale breath," she says. "Kind of a heavy, little bit blubbery smell."

Here, though, she can see and even hear the narwhals spout, but only from far away. There's nowhere to go, nothing to do. For hours, days, her team sits around and stares at the blue sky, the blue water and icebergs — lots of icebergs — some bigger than houses. They drift by like clouds. As Laidre watches them with a colleague, partly to make sure none of them are headed for the nets, she jokes that maybe they should change fields, since "it's a lot easier to catch icebergs."

As a kid, Laidre remembers she had a set of stickers that had a narwhal, but she had no idea that she'd someday study the creatures. Her dream was ballet. "I trained intensively through high school, and then I went and I danced with a ballet company in Seattle," she says, explaining that an injury ended that career. So she went to college and now has a research job at the University of Washington.

Still, she thinks the physical and mental challenge of ballet was actually good training for studying narwhals. "You learn how to be miserable and suffer, and like, you just have to keep going for the sake of what you're doing," she says.

One night, a white mist suddenly covers everything. The hunters have to take in the nets since no one can see their buoys. As the fog lifts, but before the nets are back out, the narwhals appear, frolicking in front of the glacier, totally out of reach.

Another day, icebergs come dangerously close to the nets. The hunters have to move them to let the icebergs pass.

To pass the time, one day Laidre decides to decorate a plywood sign that's lying around. Under the name of the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, which supports this project, there's the black outline of a narwhal. She picks up a paintbrush and starts filling it in with white paint. It looks like she's creating a tiny narwhal version of Moby Dick. She's read the book, of course, and jokes that sometimes she feels worse than Captain Ahab.

But even though catching a narwhal here might feel like pursuing something impossible and elusive, "I approach it with a very fatalistic attitude, a very realistic attitude with a good sense of humor," says Laidre. "Not expecting too much."

Then, two days before she has to leave, the narwhals come. She joins two hunters at the top of a hill and peers through binoculars. The backs of the narwhals move up and down through the water. A large group is near shore, sort of milling around. They don't seem to be in any hurry. Laidre runs down to the beach, pulls out her box of satellite transmitters, and struggles into a red survival suit. "I think it's really close," she says. "It's like the closest we've come in a really long time. After all these years, I don't usually put my suit on unless I really believe that there might be a chance."

She's quiet and tense, watching the narwhals. They move toward the nets. Then they veer slightly and slip away.

That night in her tent, Laidre hardly sleeps, waking every hour to check the nets. When she does drift off, narwhals swim into her dreams. One dream narwhal beaches itself by her tent. In another dream, she finds a strangely tiny narwhal, like a salamander, lying at her feet. "Now I had too many narwhals," she laughs, "but for various reasons I still couldn't tag them! So they were really weird dreams, and then I woke up and I thought, I think it might be time to go home."

The nets are pulled out onto the rocky shore. Everything gets packed into a permanent tent for storage. The plywood sign with the painted narwhal is screwed over the front door to keep polar bears from busting in. And Laidre says she hopes to come back next year, to try again.

nj unemployment

nj unemployment

If you are one of New Jersey's unemployment victims, you may be already aware that you will be able to apply for your unemployment insurance benefits. You will not automatically be able to enjoy your NJ unemployment insurance benefits; you have to claim your benefits through proper channels. You can apply for your unemployment benefits either through the Internet or the telephone.

Applying online for New Jersey unemployment benefits

Take note of the following when applying online for Unemployment Insurance

You need to be a resident of New Jersey.
Employed in NJ for the past 18 months and must not have worked for the Federal Government or in military service in that time.
You need to give an Alien Registration number if not a citizen of USA.
To be eligible for a New Jersey unemployment benefits

You must have worked a minimum of 20 base weeks in covered employment or must have earned $7,200.

'For weeks worked in 2005, the amount needed to establish a base week was $103; for weeks worked in 2006, the amount is $123; and for weeks worked in 2007, the amount is $143. These wages must have been earned during a 52 week period that is called a base year.' Any unemployed worker who had worked in New Jersey at any time during the past 18 months can file an unemployment claim and learn whether they are eligible for a claim.

How to apply online for NJ unemployment benefits

If you meet all the above requirements, you will be able to apply online for your NJ unemployment insurance benefits by visiting wnjpin.state.nj.us/uiclaim/. Through this site you will be able to make a new claim or reopen an existing claim. You will also be able to claim your weekly benefits through this site.

To make your online unemployment benefits claim you will need the following information:

Your social security number.
Alien registration number if you are not a citizen of the USA.
Your job recall rate if any.
Complete reference details of your last four employers including their full name, address and contact number.
Employment period and the reason for separation from your past four employers.

NJ unemployment benefits claim through telephone

The other option to claim your unemployment insurance benefit is to contact your Reemployment center through telephone. You will be able to reach your Reemployment centers through the following numbers:

Northeast New Jersey - (201) 601-4100
Northwest and Central New Jersey - (732) 761-2020
South Jersey - (856) 507-2340

If you should have any queries you will find all the contact information including telephone number, FAX, Mailing address and Email address in the following page: www.state.nj.us/labor/ui/contact.html. Furthermore, something worthwhile to note regarding the New Jersey unemployment benefits policy is that you have the choice of getting your benefits transferred to your checking bank account electronically deposited as opposed to paper check.

You might like to know what profession is in demand in which area. You can find the labor demand occupations report in the following page: www.wnjpin.net/coei/labor_demand/labor_demand.htm. If you should feel apprehensive about your unemployment and interested in getting some quality suggestions and career advice do feel free to visit our career advice forum.

aishwarya rai swine flu

aishwarya rai swine flu

Former Miss World and famous Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai is reportedly suffering with a “chest infection” and “flu like symptoms”. Some reports also suggest that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is down with swine flu, but these reports are not confirmed yet. So it is not sure whether the 35-year-old lady is having swine flu or not. On her health issues, her father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan is very anxious.

About Aishwarya’s illness, Amitabh Bachchan wrote in his blog:

nadia marcinkova

nadia marcinkova

Guess who's been released from prison? That would be Jeffrey Epstein, the secretive money manager who pleaded guilty in 2007 to soliciting underage teen girls for sex. Epstein has spent the last year or so in a Palm Beach prison, although he hasn't had to spend every minute of the day confined to a cell. As part of a work-release program, Epstein was allowed to leave his cell during the day and work from an "office" in West Palm Beach, work that reportedly involved helping the government build a case against the Bear Stearns hedge fund that imploded last year and cost Epstein the $67 million he'd invested in the fund. His cooperation helped shave six months off his sentence and early this morning Epstein skipped out of jail, using a side entrance to avoid the reporters that had gathered outside to greet him. But while his lawyer told a reporter that Epstein is thrilled that "this part of his life is over," and he's "ready to move on to other things," it doesn't look like he's totally put his past behind him.

Page2Live's Jose Lambiet reports this morning that jail records indicate that Epstein was visited on more than 70 occasions by Nadia Marcinkova, a woman who was at the center of Epstein's prostitution case in 2007. Marcinkova, who has described herself as a real estate broker in the past, served as Epstein's "assistant," helped wrangle underage girls for the billionaire, and even took part in the sex play herself, according to testimony given the Palm Beach police. And she may have also been a victim herself, since Epstein reportedly bragged to friends and associates that he'd "purchased her from her family in Yugoslavia" and "brought her into the United States to be his Yugoslavian sex slave."

Marcinkova wasn't the only person connected to Epstein's prostitution case to visit him behind bars. Sarah Kellen, who also allegedly helped procure girls for the money manager, stopped by on a few occasions. As did a handful of shady characters, including one Igor Zinoviev, "a Russian extreme fighter," and Jean-Luc Brunel, who co-owns a modeling agency in Miami and has been accused of abusing underage models in the past, according to Lambiet.

This morning, Epstein's lawyer said his client was experiencing "relief and excitement" now that he's a free man. We'll assume that even more "relief and excitement" will be experienced when he finally gets to reunite with Marcinkova in the privacy of his bedroom.

vibram fivefingers

vibram fivefingers

Recently I came across a shoe, even though I have to yet try it but the technology and the reasons seems to be compelling enough to give this shoe a try.

Technology (from the Website):

The typical human foot is really a miracle of evolution with 26 bones, 33 joints, and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments. Like the rest of the body, to keep our feet healthy, they need to be stimulated and exercised.

Many experts believe the shoes we wear not only cast the foot in a protective form, but also weaken our foot and leg muscles, leaving them underdeveloped and more prone to injury. And while there are many occasions where traditional footwear is essential for protection, safety, and security, it is equally important to stimulate and exercise the foot in a more natural state on a regular basis.

That’s why we recommend wearing FiveFingers for exercise, for play, and for fun. Stimulating muscles in your feet and lower legs will not only make you stronger and healthier, it improves your balance, agility and proprioception.

6 Reasons to Wear Vibram FiveFingers:

1. Strengthens Muscles in the Feet and Lower Legs - wearing FiveFingers will stimulate and strengthen muscles in the feet and lower legs, improving general foot health and reducing the risk of injury.

2. Improves Range of Motion in Ankles, Feet and Toes – no longer ‘cast’ in a shoe, the foot and toes move more naturally.

3. Stimulates Neural Function Important to Balance and Agility - when wearing Vibram FiveFingers, thousands of neurological receptors in the feet send valuable information to the brain, improving balance and agility.

4. Improves Proprioception and Body Awareness – those same neurological receptors heighten body awareness, sending messages about body mechanics, form, and movement.

5. Eliminates Heel Lift to Align the Spine and Improve Posture – By lowering the heel, our bodyweight becomes evenly distributed across the footbed, promoting proper posture and spine alignment.

6. Allows the Foot and Body to Move Naturally, Which Just FEELS GOOD.

erin andrews video peep pictures

erin andrews video peep pictures

do u want to see ?

One sports writer called it the perfect storm.

The Internet + ESPN + blogs + folks like me feeding the fire all adds up to everyone wanting to see the Erin Andrews video peep or Playboy pictures of the young lady.

I confess. I don't even know who she is. I haven't watched ESPN ever unless it flashed by the tube while I was at the gym.

Yet, millions of folk, (billions?) are wanting just a peep at the ESPN star.

But, do you really?

If you don't care about sin and all that, you can stop reading. After all, this is a Christian Worldview site.

Christians will ask, what's the big deal? Why do you want to have a look? Is it really worth it.

Jesus has something to say in Matthew 5:28
"But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

I had a chance to see Farrah Fawcett's Playboy pictures way back when and passed. I am not about to start now. Do you really want to see?

Yes, I am a guy and I did want to look....

if any body her playboy pics send to zeeshan.javed88@gmail.com

chuck yeager

chuck yeager
on the 40th anniversary of moonwalkers we give some nasa program top movies details for you to celebrate check this out .
chuck yeager

With the 40th anniversary of the July 20th, 1969 moonwalk in sight, it seemed fitting to give you my top movies on the NASA program. What better way to celebrate that achievement than reliving it on your favorite television. Put these in your Netflix queue if you don't already own them.

1. "The Right Stuff"

Picture from imdb.com

www.imdb.com/title/tt0086197/ This 1983 movie is based on the book by the same name by Tom Wolfe. It takes you from the test pilots like Chuck Yeager trying to break the sound barrier to the launch of the space program. It details the rigorous training programs and the personalities of the men who risked their lives to put the USA at the front of the space race. They are modern day heroes and this movie inspires and informs.

2. "Apollo 13"

Picture from imdb.com

This film www.imdb.com/title/tt0112384/ chronicles the one failed moon mission. It demonstrates the team work, ingenuity, and nail-biting tension that enabled NASA to bring back the astronauts alive after their space module is disabled. Real heroism and the reality of the whole world watching and waiting is powerful. This is a movie to be cherished, and makes science fiction seem small by comparison to real life drama.

3. "In The Shadow of The Moon"

Picture from imdb.com

This documentary www.imdb.com/title/tt0925248/ uses actual NASA footage of space launches that will amaze you and it does something even better, it has the last living men who went to the moon talk about their experience. This is truly a treasure and will rock your world. The ending comments from the astronauts about what their moon flights meant to them is not to be missed. We should all thank Director Ron Howard for having the foresight to record the voices of these pioneers of space travel.

4. "October Sky"

Picture from imdb.com

"October Sky"www.imdb.com/title/tt0132477/ is the story of Homer Hickam, the son of a coal miner, who is inspired by the Russian launch of Sputnik to go into rocket science. The odds and his father are against him. This is based on the true story of a boy who went on to work for NASA despite everything that seemed to be against him. Sure, it's predictable, but it's also inspiring. It will make you believe in the power of your dreams. Good performances by Chris Cooper and Jake Gyllenhaal.

give us your comments how these movies are

things

things

The long-sought deal is reportedly near for Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. to collaborate on Internet search technology and advertising.

Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal's All Things D blog quoted unnamed sources who said an agreement could be announced as early as next week.

A large group of Microsoft executives, including search head Satya Nadella and top digital exec Qi Lu, a former Yahoo exec, are in Silicon Valley to complete the deal, All Things D reported.

It's not clear if they have brought the "boatloads of money" that Yahoo chief executive officer Carol Bartz said in May that she would seek in any deal with her company's long-time suitor.

All Things D reported that a deal is likely to involve Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) paying several billion dollars upfront to take over its search and advertising business, as well as guaranteeing future payments to Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO).

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has frequently said his company is interested in doing a search deal with Yahoo, and Bartz confirmed in May that talks were underway.

The latest news is viewed with caution, however, since the companies have come close to a deal before, only to be derailed by snags late in the process. Microsoft tried unsuccessfully to take over Yahoo with a $47.5 billion offer last year.

Microsoft ranks third in the U.S. search market behind No. 1 Google Inc.'s (Nasdaq: GOOG) 65 percent share, according to ComScore rankings for May. The software giant's share rose to 8.4 percent from 8 percent after coming out with its new Bing search engine while Yahoo, the second-ranked search engine, dropped to 19.6 percent from 20 percent.

heather zeo

Heather zeo




A teacher which show having sex with some one on educational CDs.

A former math teacher at North Penn High School in Montgomery County accused of having sex with one of her students and sending sexually explicit messages to another student has been ordered held for trial.

Both 17-year-old boys testified at Heather Zeo’s preliminary hearing. Under intense cross-examination from the defense, they told the judge how Zeo used social networking sites and the Internet to communicate with them.

Prosecutor Kate McGill says the 36-year-old Warrington, Pa. woman will stand trial on child endangerment charges:

“This was really a calculated seduction. I think in this situation where she reached out to these students on Facebook, she contacted them, she developed a relationship with them. they trusted her.”

Prosecutors say she had sex several times with one of the teens, inside classrooms at the school and in her family minivan in a Montgomeryville parking lot . The married mother of three has performed inspirational music at churches and festivals and records educational CDs.

pink floyd s second best selling album in the us

.


pink floyd s second best selling album in the us



What’s stronger and more impregnable than the news judgment of network television, the fiscal wisdom of Los Angeles City Hall, or a celebrity’s last will and testament?

Answer: Billboard’s chart rules.

Even as the early summer of 2009 has seen TV newscasters ignore global unrest in favor of Michael Jackson death coverage; L.A. spend millions amid a state budget crisis to police a Jackson memorial; and Jackson’s heirs treat his final documented wishes as mere suggestions, Billboard has not budged.

Since the early ’90s, the magazine has ruled that songs and albums more than a couple of years old will not appear on its flagship lists, the Hot 100 or the Billboard 200, respectively. That goes even if an old disc is outselling every current title, or if an old song is booming out of car radios from coast to coast.

I don’t blame Billboard for standing firm on its rules amid all the Jackson hoopla, but it has made the last couple of weeks surreal for chart-watchers like me. The two big lists have looked placid on the surface, but everybody knows the real action is elsewhere: Jackson has had the top-selling album(s) for two weeks now (and possibly a third soon), and his songs have earned Top 10-level sales and airplay — none of which is reflected on these flagship charts.

But nothing’s stopping us from imagining what these lists would look like if Jackson were allowed to appear on them. If he’d been allowed on last week’s Hot 100, for example, Jackson would have beaten a 45-year-old record by the Fab Four. Let’s explore what both of the big charts would have looked like in this parallel universe.

For albums, Billboard does it for you: their Comprehensive Album Chart ranks all albums side-by-side regardless of age, accurately reflecting Jackson’s postmortem prowess. For the past two weeks, his compilation Number Ones has been the country’s top-selling album — this week, with the staggering sum of 339,000 discs, up 215% from the prior week’s already-fat sales. Thriller is No. 2 with 187,000, up 86%.

(These latest numbers reflect the first full seven-day chart week after Jackson’s death; the previous week’s charts included just three and a half days of sales after his Thursday passing. Even in that limited time, Jackson managed to outsell any other act for the week both in albums and online.)

Now, let’s give Billboard their due. They’ve been really good about disclosing all these sales figures, and they’re not hiding anything. They’re kind of making this up as they go, because normally the sales of catalog discs aren’t this interesting; never in SoundScan’s 18-year history has a catalog album outsold the best-selling current album in the country. (If SoundScan had existed in August 1977, doubtless a couple of old Elvis Presley discs would have outsold Fleetwood Mac’s dominant Rumours for a week or two.) Last week’s top album on the flagship Billboard 200: the Black Eyed Peas’ The E.N.D., with 88,000 sold. This week, it’s the compilation NOW! 31, with 169,000. In both cases Jackson’s Number Ones handily outsold the top current disc, this week, by a margin of about two-to-one.

Billboard’s Comprehensive Albums list is normally a feature offered only to premium subscribers, but for the last two weeks the magazine has been posting the chart on its public Web site, allowing the general public to witness Jackson’s sales feats. As well, all of Billboard’s news coverage has prominently explained how the albums are selling and what charts they appear on.

However, as forthright as Billboard has been about Jackson’s album sales, they haven’t done much to clarify how his singles are faring against current hits. On the positive side, the sales-based Digital Songs chart has no recurrent rule, meaning old songs are allowed to compete there (see below — this week, Jackson owns half of the Top 10 downloads). But none of these chestnuts are allowed to appear on the Hot 100. And it’s no mean feat to try and guesstimate it yourself, because the Hot 100 uses a more intricate formula — including sales, airplay, and online streaming impressions — than the all-sales Billboard 200. In other words, Billboard might as well tell you how the old albums are doing; any SoundScan subscriber could figure it out, anyway. But creating a parallel Hot 100 is real work and not worth it to them.

So allow me. With data help from a nameless industry mole to whom I owe a drink, here’s what the Top 30 of last week’s Hot 100 would have looked like if Jackson had been allowed to chart. This is a back-of-the-envelope calculation that Billboard might quibble with, but I’m confident that it’s more than 90% accurate. Jackson’s “hits” are highlighted in bold.

PARALLEL-UNIVERSE HOT 100
(Billboard issue date July 11, 2009, based on data collected June 22-28)

1. Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling”
2. Black Eyed Peas, “Boom Boom Pow”
3. Drake, “Best I Ever Had”
4. Keri Hilson feat. Kanye West & Ne-Yo, “Knock You Down”
5. Michael Jackson, “Man in the Mirror”
6. Lady GaGa, “LoveGame”
7. Pitbull, “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)”
8. Sean Kingston, “Fire Burning”
9. Michael Jackson, “Thriller”
10. Jeremih, “Birthday Sex”
11. Michael Jackson, “Billie Jean”
12. Michael Jackson, “The Way You Make Me Feel”
13. Linkin Park, “New Divide”
14. Katy Perry, “Waking Up in Vegas”
15. Taylor Swift, “You Belong with Me”
16. Michael Jackson, “Beat It”
17. 3OH!3, “Don’t Trust Me”
18. Shinedown, “Second Chance”
19. Beyonce, “Halo”
20. Lady GaGa, “Poker Face”
21. Michael Jackson, “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”
22. Young Money, “Every Girl”
23. Michael Jackson, “Rock With You”
24. Michael Jackson, “Smooth Criminal”
25. Michael Jackson, “Black or White”
26. Michael Jackson, “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)”
27. Pink, “Please Don’t Leave Me”
28. Nickelback, “If Today Was Your Last Day”
29. Kings of Leon, “Use Somebody”
30. Kid Cudi, “Day ‘N’ Nite”

Shocking? Toward the top, not really—Jackson’s biggest “hit,” “Man in the Mirror,” would have been no threat to the Black Eyed Peas for the No. 1 slot. Also, none of these songs would have improved its chart history: each peaked higher in its original 1980s-era chart run than it does here (all were Top 10 hits, most of them No. 1’s).

On the other hand, look at the sheer number of “hits”: 10 in the Top 30, all but one of them in the Top 25! That would have set a record to put to shame everyone from the Beatles to Lil Wayne to Taylor Swift. Also, I don’t have full data for the entire parallel-universe Hot 100, but doubtless Jackson would have scored enough hits in the chart’s lower rungs to beat the Beatles’ all-time one-week Hot 100 record of 14 songs, set in April 1964. So that’s an opportunity lost for Jackson. (Not that he needs to set any more records.)

In case you’re curious, the X-factor that prevents Jackson from being as all-out dominant on this imaginary Hot 100 as he is on the Digital Songs list is radio airplay. Using the top-selling “Man in the Mirror” as an example, in the days following Jackson’s death, the song received 2,827 spins on radio stations across the country; but in that same week, Keri Hilson’s “Knock You Down,” the country’s biggest radio hit, received about two to three times that number of spins. Still, the nearly 3,000 spins for “Mirror” would have ranked it among the top 20 most-played songs nationwide in late June. Radio’s favorite Jackson track, “Billie Jean,” received an even more impressive 4,540 spins.

All of the above data reflects the days immediately after Jackson’s death, when his digital downloads were most torrid and radio attention most intense. In the most recent chart week, covering the full Monday-to-Sunday after his passing, sales and airplay for Jackson’s songs cooled a bit. In a parallel-universe version of the new Hot 100 (real data shown at the bottom of this column), Jackson’s biggest hits would have ranked no higher than “Mirror” at No. 9, with “Billie Jean” holding at No. 11, “Black or White” edging up a couple of slots, and all the other tracks falling a few places. Impressively, however, all 10 of the above Jackson hits would have remained in the Top 40.

With Jackson’s memorial service dominating news coverage this week, next week’s chart (covering this week’s radio and sales activity) might actually show Jackson’s hits moving back up. I’ll be keeping an eye on the Comprehensive Albums chart and my Bizarro-World Hot 100 to see whether the Summer of Jackson persists into mid-July.

(Postscript: Why do recurrent rules—i.e., the exclusion of old stuff—exist, anyway? Because the industry Billboard serves wants it that way. It’s not useful to the labels to know where Journey’s Greatest Hits or “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” rank among current hits week after week. If Billboard included these old albums and singles on the flagship charts, that would leave fewer spaces for emerging hits to make the lists’ lower rungs; imagine being on the label promotional team breaking a new pop act that would have made No. 90 on the Hot 100 if it hadn’t been for an old hit higher up that wouldn’t get out of the way. It became even more important for Billboard to have recurrent rules in place when SoundScan came online in 1991, because the more accurate data revealed that, even as new hits come and go, folks buy certain perennial discs forever. The downside, of course, is that we old-school chart freaks will never again see records riding the big album chart for 15 consecutive years, as Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon did from 1973 to 1988.)

Here’s a rundown of the rest of this week’s charts:

• Last week, surprising no one, the Black Eyed Peas succeeded themselves at No. 1, as “I Gotta Feeling” knocked “Boom Boom Pow” from the penthouse (final tally: 12 weeks at No. 1).

That puts the Peas in another elite club. Only 10 acts have ever succeeded themselves at No. 1; and if you go by my stricter rules, which exclude an Elvis Presley twofer in 1956 that predates the Hot 100 and two other pairs with featuring-artist credits (Puff Daddy in 1997, Ja Rule in 2002), the number of self-succeeding acts is just seven: the Beatles, Boyz II Men, Nelly, OutKast, Usher, T.I. and the Peas.

Only nine months separate the Peas’ moment of succession and the previous one, by T.I. But that’s an eternity compared with the pileup of singles by OutKast and Usher in 2004; that year, the succession of OutKast’s “Hey Ya!” by “The Way You Move” came a mere 14 weeks before Usher’s “Yeah!” was succeeded by his “Burn.”

• The highest Hot 100 debut of the week falls just outside the Top 10, as mellow-girlypop avatar Colbie Caillat scores her second-biggest hit ever with the Archie-endorsed “Fallin’ for You.” Its ninth-place berth on the Digital Songs chart (118,000 downloads) results in a No. 12 debut, remarkable for a gal whose biggest hit, the fall 2007 smash “Bubbly,” took months to climb to its Top Five peak and whose followup single “Realize” made a tepid No. 20.

• Speaking of Caillat, and also in the never-underestimate-the-power-of-mellow-pop dept.: Late last summer, I compared Caillat’s too-tasteful strummy sound to a then-rising song by Jason Mraz. Well, here we are more than 10 months later, and that Mraz hit is looking to set a chart record — “I’m Yours” is in its 64th week on the Hot 100. That ties Mraz for third place with Carrie Underwood’s slow-rising and slow-falling “Before He Cheats” on the all-time longevity list. One more week, and he ties the second-place hit, a double-sided 1996 Jewel single (“You Were Meant for Me”/“Foolish Games”) that milked a mid-’90s chart aberration into a 65-week Hot 100 run. Then “Yours” has to stick around a full month after that to knock off the all-time champ, LeAnn Rimes’ “How Do I Live,” which charted for 69 weeks in 1997-98.

As we explained here two years ago when Underwood was going for the record, the trick to pulling off a longevity feat is staying above No. 50; that’s the dividing line where Billboard’s recurrent rules kick in and songs older than 20 weeks are removed from the Hot 100 permanently. On this score, Mraz’s hit is doing well: it currently sits at No. 29 and is actually up two notches from the prior week. When Underwood’s hit was gunning for the record, it spent its last month knocking around the 40s, and here’s Mraz still touching the 20s. So it looks like Jewel is toast, and Rimes’ all-time record looks more vulnerable than it’s ever been.

• Boy, the recurrent rules just keep coming up this week, don’t they? The second-highest debut on this week’s Hot 100, at No. 45, is actually a reentry, a never-say-die track from the Ting Tings. And it wouldn’t be there if Billboard didn’t make an exception to its rules, because the song already had a 20-week chart run and was removed a couple of months ago.

Just when it looks like “That’s Not My Name” is about to peter out in America, it catches on with a few more radio stations. A boost in current airplay (according to news reports, even Radio Disney is catching on, with more than 300 spins on its syndicated kiddie network) prompts Billboard to allow the reentry by the track, which first appeared on the list last December. This isn’t even “Name”’s first comeback — it made a Hot 100 reentry last February, which I reported here. This third entry, just five slots below the Top 40, is its highest yet, and the fact that it’s fueled by radio is a good sign that it might drift higher and finally give the hit British act its first bona fide U.S. hit.

• How hot at country radio is Brad Paisley? So hot that his chart-toppers don’t behave themselves and fall away after they’ve peaked.

The Hot Country chart is all-airplay and, as we’ve discussed here before, carefully managed by the Nashville promotional establishment; songs adhere to regimented patterns. For the average country No. 1 hit, a typical chart run consists of a long, slow, steady climb, a week or three on top, and then a fast drop. (Billboard contributes to this by setting its recurrent rule such that songs disappear off the Country chart after they fall out of the Top 10 — one of the most rapid removal rules on any list except Adult Contemporary.) Just look at “Out Last Night” by Kenny Chesney, which was No. 1 a scant two weeks ago: it’s already down to No. 8, and it’ll be removed from the entire 50-position list when it (most likely) slips from the Top 10 next week.

But, by contrast, look at Paisley’s “Then”: his 10th No. 1 single in a row, it spent three weeks on top, the last of which was four weeks ago. But it won’t leave the Top Five. After slipping from the penthouse to No. 2, it actually held at No. 4 for two weeks, and this week it slips just one measly notch to No. 5. These are the kinds of poky patterns we expect from declining hits on the Hot 100 or R&B/Hip-Hop charts (see the former No. 1’s by Black Eyed Peas on the former and Keri Hilson on the latter, each still in the Top Five), but not Country. Which, again, says that Paisley is sneaking past the likes of Chesney, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw and Toby Keith as the format’s biggest radio star.

• Let’s make a year-end prediction right now: If Anberlin’s “Feel Good Drag” isn’t the No. 1 Alternative song of 2009, I’ll eat my hat. Now in its 40th chart week, the former Modern Rock No. 1 song actually moved up one notch last week and is back down that same one notch to No. 6 this week. Other songs by the likes of Green Day and Kings of Leon have had flashier chart runs, but “Drag” has outlasted virtually every chart-topper that’s come before or after it this year.

Further down the Alternative list, emo stalwarts Taking Back Sunday score only their second Top 10 hit in a decade-long career, as “Sink into Me” sneaks up one notch to No. 10. They previously reached No. 8 at Modern Rock with 2006’s “MakeDamnSure.”

Top 10s
(Billboard issue date July 18, 2009; based on data collected June 29-July 5)
Last week’s position and total weeks charted in parentheses (Digital Songs chart includes total downloads/percentage change in parentheses):

Hot 100
1. The Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling” (LW No. 1, 4 weeks)
2. The Black Eyed Peas, “Boom Boom Pow” (LW No. 2, 17 weeks)
3. Drake, “Best I Ever Had” (LW No. 3, 9 weeks)
4. Keri Hilson feat. Kanye West and Ne-Yo, “Knock You Down” (LW No. 4, 15 weeks)
5. Lady GaGa, “LoveGame” (LW No. 5, 12 weeks)
6. Sean Kingston, “Fire Burning” (LW No. 7, 9 weeks)
7. Jeremih, “Birthday Sex” (LW No. 8, 13 weeks)
8. Pitbull, “I Know You Want Me” (LW No. 6, 19 weeks)
9. Taylor Swift, “You Belong with Me” (LW No. 11, 11 weeks)
10. Linkin Park, “New Divide” (LW No. 9, 7 weeks)

Hot Digital Songs
1. The Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling” (LW No. 1, 215,000 downloads)
2. Michael Jackson, “Man in the Mirror” (LW No. 3, 159,000 downloads)
3. The Black Eyed Peas, “Boom Boom Pow” (LW No. 5, 144,000 downloads)
4. Michael Jackson, “Billie Jean” (LW No. 4, 129,000 downloads)
5. Michael Jackson, “Thriller” (LW No. 2, 128,000 downloads)
6. Sean Kingston, “Fire Burning” (LW No. 10, 125,000 downloads)
7. Michael Jackson, “The Way You Make Me Feel” (LW No. 6, 123,000 downloads)
8. Linkin Park, “New Divide” (LW No. 11, 119,000 downloads)
9. Colbie Caillat, “Fallin’ for You” (CHART DEBUT, 118,000 downloads)
10. Michael Jackson, “Beat It” (LW No. 7, 107,000 downloads)

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
1. Drake, “Best I Ever Had” (LW No. 1, 12 weeks)
2. Young Money, “Every Girl” (LW No. 2, 13 weeks)
3. Keri Hilson feat. Kanye West and Ne-Yo, “Knock You Down” (LW No. 3, 16 weeks)
4. Beyoncé, “Ego” (LW No. 4, 8 weeks)
5. Maxwell, “Pretty Wings” (LW No. 6, 10 weeks)
6. Jeremih, “Birthday Sex” (LW No. 5, 18 weeks)
7. Mario feat. Gucci Mane & Sean Garrett, “Break Up” (LW No. 11, 7 weeks)
8. Trey Songz, “I Need a Girl” (LW No. 8, 17 weeks)
9. Ginuwine, “Last Chance” (LW No. 9, 19 weeks)
10. Twista, “Wetter (Calling You Daddy)” (LW No. 7, 14 weeks)

Hot Country Songs
1. Dierks Bentley, “Sideways” (LW No. 1, 19 weeks)
2. Zac Brown Band, “Whatever It Is” (LW No. 2, 26 weeks)
3. Lady Antebellum, “I Run to You” (LW No. 5, 25 weeks)
4. Billy Currington, “People Are Crazy” (LW No. 6, 18 weeks)
5. Brad Paisley, “Then” (LW No. 4, 16 weeks)
6. Darius Rucker, “Alright” (LW No. 9, 13 weeks)
7. Taylor Swift, “You Belong with Me” (LW No. 8, 12 weeks)
8. Kenny Chesney, “Out Last Night” (LW No. 3, 15 weeks)
9. Keith Urban, “Kiss a Girl” (LW No. 7, 17 weeks)
10. Rascal Flatts, “Summer Nights” (LW No. 11, 12 weeks)

Hot Alternative Tracks
1. Linkin Park, “New Divide” (LW No. 1, 7 weeks)
2. Silversun Pickups, “Panic Switch” (LW No. 2, 17 weeks)
3. Cage the Elephant, “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” (LW No. 3, 16 weeks)
4. Green Day, “21 Guns” (LW No. 6, 7 weeks)
5. Kings of Leon, “Use Somebody” (LW No. 4, 25 weeks)
6. Anberlin, “Feel Good Drag” (LW No. 5, 40 weeks)
7. Franz Ferdinand, “No You Girls” (LW No. 7, 18 weeks)
8. Shinedown, “Sound of Madness” (LW No. 9, 13 weeks)
9. Manchester Orchestra, “I’ve Got Friends” (LW No. 10, 15 weeks)
10. Taking Back Sunday, “Sink into Me” (LW No. 11, 10 weeks)

british open leaderboard 2009

British Open Leaderboard 2009, This is one of my favorite Gold event aside from the Masters, the British Open 2009. With Tiger Woods healthy and in the hunt for another title, the British Open Standings or Leaderboard is highly sought. First, how will Tiger brings out his best and how the field will beat him. Thought still millions out there are picking Tiger Woods against the field.

Here at Bubble20Snarkgroup.com, we will post to you the British Open 2009 Standings Leaderboard. In the first round, the name of Tom Watson is clinging into our ears as he shot 65. It shocked the Golfing world.

Here is the British Open 2009 Standings Leaderboard Round 1
British Open Leaderboard 2009
pos Player Hole Par
T1 T WATSON 18 -5
T1 B CURTIS 18 -5
T3 J SENDEN 18 -4
T3 S STRICKER 18 -4
T3 C VILLEGAS 18 -4
T3 S CINK 18 -4
T3 M GOGGIN 18 -4
T3 M JIMENEZ 16 -4

Make sure to come back here. I will update the British Open 2009 Standings everytime.

13 days in hell

13 days in hell

"Angels & Demons": The sequel to "The Da Vinci Code" returns Tom Hanks as Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, this time in Rome trying to solve a mystery involving the kidnapping of four cardinals, a secret sect and a stolen antimatter bomb. It's breezier than "Da Vinci," but dumb as a post. — C. Lemire. (PG-13) 2 hrs., 18 mins. C+

"AWAY WE GO": An honest, humorous and ultimately moving look at the idea of a family growing from two members to three. John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph play an expectant couple traveling the U.S. in search of the perfect place to raise a family. Sam Mendes directs. — C. Lemire. (R) 1 hr., 30 mins. B+

"BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE": Half-human, half-vampire 400-year-old samurai who looks like she's 16 slays vamps on a U.S. military base in Tokyo when she's sent there by the secret organization that employs her. Live action based on a Japanese anime. After an intriguing start, the peculiar, comic-book-like computer graphics overtake "Blood" and make it look like a video game — D. Zak. (R) 1 hr., 24 mins. C-

n "THE BROTHERS BLOOM": An awfully good time: Con artists supreme, the Bloom brothers (Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo) plan a last big job involving a wealthy heiress (Rachel Weisz) in this comedy from writer/director Rian Johnson ("Brick"). — J. Reaves. (PG-13) 1 hr., 53 mins. B+

"Cheri": Stephen Frears ("The Queen") directs this saga of romance and intrigue in Paris in the early 20th century, with Michelle Pfeiffer as an aging courtesan and Rupert Friend as a vain, hedonistic pretty boy with whom she becomes involved. A sumptuous but rarely romantic romance. — R. Moore. (R) 1 hr., 33 mins. C

"DANCE FLICK": Few funny bits or characters work. Clunky Wayans Brothers spoof of dance films such as "Step Up." Damon Wayans Jr. plays a street-smart dancer who helps a young woman from the suburbs (Shoshana Bush) achieve her musical dreams. — D. Munro. (PG-13) 1 hr., 23 mins. D

"DEPARTURES": Oscar nominee for best foreign language film. An unemployed cellist and his wife travel to the heartland of Japan, where he takes a job preparing bodies to send the dead on their way. Poetic, funny, life-affirming film. In Japanese. — R. Moore. (R) 2 hrs., 6 mins. A

"DOWNLOADING NANCY": Maria Bello, Rufus Sewell and Jason Patric star in a dark, unsettling drama: A man searches for the reasons why his wife left him. Meanwhile, she tries to drive off her inner demons via a perverse relationship with a tormented man. (NR) Not reviewed.

"DRAG ME TO HELL": Director Sam Raimi returns to his beloved tongue-in-cheek horror genre ("Evil Dead" series) with an original tale of a young loan officer's (Alison Lohman) desperate quest to break an evil curse. Freewheeling, ragged and fresh, its energy and enthusiasm become infectious. — C. Kelly. (PG-13) 1 hr., 39 mins. B+

"EASY VIRTUE": Spirited adaptation of Noel Coward's play is a winning, witty romp through the Roaring '20s where men were men and women were liberating themselves. Jessica Biel, Kristin Scott Thomas and Colin Firth star. — R. Moore. (PG-13) 1 hr., 40 mins. B

"Eldorado": Atmospheric serio-comic road movie about a lonely, quirky imported-car salesman who agrees to drive the lonely, quirky junkie-crook he finds breaking into his house across Belgium to the home of the young thief's parents. In French with subtitles. (NR) Not reviewed.

"FOOD INC.": How much do we really know about the food we buy at our local supermarkets and serve to our families? Filmmaker Robert Kenner explores our nation's food industry and the government's regulatory agencies. (NR) Not reviewed.

"The Girl From Monaco": In this dark French comedy, a rich lawyer gets more than he bargained for when he travels to Monaco to defend a client in a murder trial. A cloying bit of business, rarely very funny and never smart enough to make a solid point, at least about anything we don't already know. In French with English subtitles. — J. Anderson. (NR) 1 hr., 35 mins. C-

"THE HANGOVER": "Old School" director Todd Phillips' oft-hilarious, oft-tasteless comedy lacks momentum to carry it through the dead spots. Before marrying, a man (Justin Bartha) goes to Las Vegas with his three groomsmen (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis) for a last blowout, after which the groomsmen awake with no memories, a trashed room and no idea where the groom is. — R. Moore. (R) 1 hr., 40 mins. C+

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (PG): The best Potter movie since "Prisoner of Azkaban," and the most compelling in terms of exploring honest emotions. Effects dazzle. Film captures the raging teen hormones portrayed in the sixth book, although some scenes are altered or omitted. Still, pared-down telling works beautifully. Genuine sense of dread permeates story of evil Voldemort's growing power and Harry's attempt to thwart him. — C. McCollum. (PG) 2 hrs., 33 mins. A-

"THE HURT LOCKER": Winner of the Venice Film Festival Grand Prize, director Kathryn Bigelow's suspense film/character study tracks a bomb-disposal unit at work in Iraq. Jeremy Renner heads an ensemble that includes cameos by Ralph Fiennes and Guy Pearce. Excellent war movie, strongest Iraq war film yet. — C. Lemire. (R) 2 hrs., 10 mins. A-

"Ice Age: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS": Scrat, the nonspeaking, saber-toothed squirrel, drives the third film in the animated series about life in the ice age. It's nothing to go nuts over: Manny and Ellie expect their first baby and Sid the sloth tries an unconventional way to start a family. Excellent 3-D. Voice cast includes Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah. — R. Moore. (PG) 1 hr., 32 mins. D

"I LOVE YOU, BETH COOPER": The coming-of-age comedy takes off after a nerdy high school valedictorian declares his love for a popular cheerleader during his graduation speech. Chris Columbus directs Hayden Panettiere and Paul Rust. Miscast, unfunny, filled with bad messages, such as using sex to score beer. — R. Moore. (PG-13) 1 hr., 41 mins. F

"IMAGINE THAT": OK family comedy with clever premise and good use of Eddie Murphy's comic strengths. He plays a successful financial executive with little time for his young daughter (Yara Shahidi). When his career starts to plummet, his daughter's imaginary world delivers the solution. Only sappy at the end. — C. Lemire. (PG) 1 hr., 45 mins. C+

"JULIA": Tilda Swinton plays an alcoholic talked into kidnapping a boy and holding him for ransom. Swinton's good but it's almost impossible to care about her irredeemable character. — B. Sharkey. (R) 2 hrs., 18 mins. D+

"LAND OF THE LOST": Will Ferrell stars in this remake of the campy Saturday-morning TV show. Three explorer gets sucked into a land of dinosaurs. Awkward combo of kitschy comedy that's not funny and action that lacks thrills. — C. Lemire. (PG-13) 1 hr., 36 mins. D-

"Moon": Sam Rockwell plays an astronaut about to end his three-year stint living in a station on the far side of the moon when a younger, fitter, more businesslike version of himself arrives. Directorial debut of Duncan Jones, David Bowie's son. Upends your expectations about sci-fi, surprises you over and over, keeps you guessing until the end. — C. Lemire. (R) 1 hr., 47 mins. A

"My Sister's Keeper": Great acting, brisk storytelling in adaptation of Jodi Picoult's novel about an 11-year-old (Abigail Breslin), "engineered" to provide fetal cells and bone marrow for her leukemia-stricken sister (Sofia Vasilieva), who sues her parents (Cameron Diaz, Jason Patric) so she doesn't have to. Brisk-moving, touching, thought-provoking. With Alec Baldwin. — R. Moore. (PG-13) 1 hr., 39 mins. B+

n "NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN": A clunky, stumbling film that should be a lot of fun for kids. Many laughs from Ben Stiller's former security guard sparring with characters such as Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams as Stiller's love interest). In the Smithsonian, holding facility for characters (Robin Williams' Teddy Roosevelt, etc.) from the first film, a pharaoh wreaks havoc after the exhibits come to life. — R. Moore. (PG) 1 hr., 45 mins. C+

"$9.99": Charming, little stop-motion animated film about an unemployed 28-year-old who crosses paths with many eccentrics after discovering a $10 booklet explaining the meaning of life. Voice cast includes Anthony LaPaglia, Geoffrey Rush. Based on short stories by Etgar Keret. — M. O'Sullivan. (R) 1 hr., 18 mins. B-

"The Proposal": To avoid being deported to Canada, a controlling, successful book editor (Sandra Bullock) pretends to be engaged to the assistant (Ryan Reynolds) she's hassled for years. When they go to Alaska to meet his parents, romantic comedy ensues. No surprises but Bullock's back at the top of her game. — R. Moore. (PG-13) 1 hr., 48 mins. C+

"Public Enemies": Johnny Depp as charismatic bank robber John Dillinger and Christian Bale as top G-man Melvin Purvis turn director Michael Mann's period piece into riveting, rousing entertainment. — R. Moore. (R) 2 hrs., 20 mins. B

"THE SONG OF THE SPARROWS": A worker on an ostrich farm outside Tehran is fired and has to move to the city to find work. But urban life transforms his generous and trusting nature — much to the dismay of his family members, who hatch a plan to restore his values. Charming, delicate, sturdy. In Farsi with English subtitles. — L. Kennedy. (PG) 1 hr., 36 mins. B+

"Star Trek": Director J.J. Abrams reboots the film franchise with the crew of the Enterprise in their younger days. Leonard Nimoy appears as an older, time-traveling Spock. Excellent cast (Chris Pine as Kirk; Zachary Quinto as Spock), story, effects. — B. Newman. (PG-13) 2 hrs., 6 mins. A

"SUMMER HOURS": Three successful but otherwise very different adult siblings deal with their mother's death in director Olivier Assayas' meditation on changing French traditions. Observant, insightful, feels authentic. With Juliette Binoche. In French with subtitles. — C. Lemire. (NR) 1 hr., 42 mins. B

"Surveillance": In this violent psychological drama, two FBI agents track a serial killer with the help of three of his would-be victims — all of whom have different stories to tell. Jennifer Lynch, filmmaker David Lynch's daughter, directs Bill Pulham and Julia Ormond in the "Rashomon"-type crime story whose dark weirdness turns into a surreal blur. — R. Lowman. (R) 1 hr., 38 mins. C

"THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3": Taut, exciting, anxiety-laden remake of the 1970s classic with Denzel Washington and John Travolta at the top of their games as, respectively, a New York City subway dispatcher forced to deal with a subway-train hijacking and the criminal mastermind who threatens to execute the train's passengers unless a large ransom is paid in an hour. A thriller for our times. — C. Kelly. (R) 1 hr., 46 mins. B+

"The Stoning of Soraya M.": A journalist unravels the story of a rural Iranian woman unjustly accused of infidelity and stoned to death. An old-fashioned melodrama, climaxing with graphic violence, sure to stoke outrage. In Farsi with subtitles and in English. — R. Moore. (R) 1 hr., 56 mins. B

"TERMINATOR SALVATION": Good effects, an unpleasant amount of noise, no humanity. In 2018, now-grown-up John Connor (Christian Bale with his monotone "Batman" guttural growl) leads Earth's last humans against the corporation Skynet and its robots, or Terminators. You really need to have seen the first three "Terminator" films to know what's going on. With Sam Worthington. McG directs. — C. Lemire. (PG-13) 1 hr., 54 mins. C

"Tetro": After an Italian teenager moves in with his long-estranged older brother in Argentina, the two come together to work out their troubled pasts living with their abusive father. Francis Ford Coppola directs. Vincent Gallo, Alden Ehrenreich and Klaus Maria Brandauer star. Gorgeous, but flounders in artistic angst. — C. Lemire. (NR) 2 hrs., 7 mins. C

"Transformers: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN": Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) returns to help the Autobots battle the Decepticons, with help from scantily clad Mikaela (Megan Fox). Michael Bay is back as director. Overly long and stupid with lots of explosions. — R. Moore. (PG-13) 2 hrs., 31 mins. D-

"Unmistaken Child": A haunting documentary about the search for the child who's a reincarnated Tibetan master, told through the eyes of his lifelong disciple. In English and in Tibetan, Hindi and Nepali with subtitles. — K. Turan. (NR) 1 hr., 42 mins. A-

"UP": A grumpy widower and an accidental young stowaway fly, in a house attached to balloons, to an exotic land with strange birds and talking dogs. Pixar's latest animated triumph may be its most affecting and most visually arresting. — C. McCollum. (PG) 1 hr., 30 mins. A

"Whatever Works": A lazy, uninspired Woody Allen comedy with too many long-winded monologues by star Larry David ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") in a contrived performance as a misanthropic, self-proclaimed genius who makes a mess of his life until he meets a naive, big-hearted Southern runaway played by Evan Rachel Wood who falls for him despite his crotchetiness. With some funny one-line zingers. — D. Germain. (PG-13) 1 hr., 32 mins. C

"Year One": Banished from their primitive village, two lazy hunter-gatherers (Jack Black and Michael Cera) embark on an epic journey through the ancient world. Harold Ramis directs the comedy. Part satire, part "Bathroom Practices of the Bible." Not very good. — R. Moore. (PG-13) 1 hr., 40 mins. D+

cheyenne cherry

cheyenne cherry

A heartless kitty killer hissed angrily at animal rights activists Wednesday, grinning widely as she took credit for stuffing the helpless pet into a 500-degree oven.

"It's dead, bitch!" snapped an unrepentant Cheyenne Cherry, sticking her tongue out after a plea bargain that will put her behind bars for a year in the May 6 killing of tiny Tiger Lily.

Cherry, 17, was confronted after her guilty plea in Bronx Supreme Court to charges of animal cruelty and attempted burglary in the May 6 killing at her former roommate's apartment.

Tiger Lily was left to die inside the blistering oven after Cherry and a 14-year-old friend trashed the apartment of Valerie Hernandez, destroying furniture before stealing DVDs and food.

After her arrest, Cherry told police the cat killing was "just a joke."

In court Wednesday, Cherry admitted to Judge Margaret Clancy that the younger girl put the cat in the oven - and "I didn't let the cat out."

The pair fled the apartment because they didn't want to hear the dying cat's cries or desperate scratching at the oven door, authorities said.

The second girl is facing trial in Family Court because of her age. Prosecutor Jennifer Troiano said Cherry was granted a plea deal because her cohort was "more culpable" for the crimes.

Under the agreement, Cherry pleaded guilty to two charges in a six-count indictment. She waived her right to appeal and agreed not to keep a pet for the next three years. Cherry, jailed on a probation violation, faces formal sentencing July 31.

As she exited the courtroom, she passed a row of animal rights activists outraged by her crime.

"Justice for Tiger Lily," read one sign held by the demonstrators.

Sharon Tuerlings, 43, of Levittown, L.I., extended both her middle fingers and kissed them. Cherry grinned widely, stuck out her tongue and responded with her profane retort.

Cherry is not new to animal crimes.

She was busted last year for using a BB gun to dog-nap a teacup Yorkie with her boyfriend. She was also arrested for robbing a man of his iPod at gunpoint.

The dozen animal lovers who attended the hearing said they represented more than 20,000 people who signed an online petition supporting harsh punishment for Cherry.

They were thrilled by the deal that guaranteed Cherry would do time for the cruel killing. "She is dangerous," said Brooklyn cat owner Josie Marrero. "A very dangerous young lady."

Tuerlings said she wanted to get a glimpse of the monster behind the cat execution. "It felt so good to look at her ugly face," she said. "Those evil eyes that she has."

huddle house

huddle house

President Obama will huddle with five top congressional Democrats on Monday afternoon to discuss how to pay for the health care reform bills that are stalled in Congress, largely over the issue of which taxes should be raised to cover the $1 trillion price tag, congressional aides told CNN.

President Obama will meet with top congressional Democrats to discuss how to pay for health care.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs confirmed the meeting during his daily press briefing.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada will join the chairs of the tax-writing committees in the House and Senate -- Rep. Charlie Rangel of New York and Sen. Max Baucus of Montana -- for the White House gathering. A Democratic aide told CNN that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is also attending the meeting.

Obama invited the leaders to the 4:30 p.m. meeting in part to sift through the various proposals lawmakers are considering to raise hundreds of billions of dollars for health reform.

It's Obama's first health care reform meeting with congressional leaders since returning from an overseas trip.

On Capitol Hill, aides were reluctant to publicize the meeting. One said it was meant to be kept "secret."

Republicans and Democrats, meanwhile, sparred Sunday over how to pay for health care reform.

Some Democrats rejected a proposal to start taxing health care benefits provided by employers. At the same time, momentum among Democrats seems to be building for Obama's proposal to limit tax deductions for those earning more than $250,000 a year.

Republicans oppose the high cost of health care reform, as well as key components of Democratic proposals, including higher taxes on the wealthy. However, some Republicans expressed support for taxing employer-provided benefits of the most expensive health insurance plans.

Last week, negotiations on House legislation hit a snag when fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats pressed the Democratic leadership for big changes to the draft bill, which include a government-run health care plan to compete with private insurers.

Democratic leaders worked over the past couple of weeks to finalize details of legislation for a Friday rollout. But the Blue Dog coalition sent a letter late Thursday night saying the bill "lacks a number of elements essential to preserving what works and fixing what is broken."

Meanwhile, a new analysis from Congress indicates that a health care reform bill being worked up by Senate Democrats -- which includes a public insurance plan and requires employers to cover workers -- would cost $611 billion over 10 years, far less than previous estimates.

In coming weeks, Senate Democrats will have to decide whether they will try to force through their plan or continue to negotiate with Republicans for a bill that would likely be less expensive and contain a much smaller role for government in the health care system.

Supporters of a government-run insurance program, including the president, have argued it would keep down costs.

Recent surveys show some support for a public option.

A CNN-Opinion Research Corp. survey released July 1 found 51 percent support Obama's health care plan, but most worry that their costs would go up, and only one in five think their families would be better off.

Other polls showed opposition to taxing health benefits provided by employers.

A recent New York Times/CBS News poll showed only 20 percent of respondents support a possible new tax on employer-provided health care benefits, and a Washington Post/ABC News poll found 70 percent opposed it. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found 54 percent of respondents oppose the new tax.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that Obama opposes taxing health benefits, but stopped short of calling it a deal-breaker for the president.

Instead, she advocated Obama's proposal to cap tax exemptions for the wealthy -- those earning more than $250,000 a year -- to the levels under Republican President Reagan in the 1980s.

The proposal would raise an estimated $330 billion, Sebelius said, which would cover most of the health care reform costs not met by reduced spending on existing programs.

"The bottom line is, it's got to be paid for, and we all have a shared responsibility that we all need to play a role," Sebelius said.

On the same program, Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee took the opposite stance, rejecting higher income taxes for the wealthy but calling for a new tax on the benefits of the most expensive employer-provided health insurance plans.

He and other Republicans support a plan that would give Americans cash -- initial figures suggest $5,000-$7,000 a year -- to buy their own private health insurance instead of creating a government-funded public option favored by Obama.

"If we've got a Cadillac insurance plan and your employer gives you that, then some of it's going to be taxed," Alexander said, with the new revenue helping to "give everybody a chance to buy their own health care insurance.

pacific tsunami warning center

pacific tsunami warning center

A strong earthquake has shaken New Zealand, generating a small tsunami and briefly putting the country on alert.

The US said a 7.8-magnitude quake hit off the south-west tip of New Zealand, 161km (100 miles) west of Invercargill at a depth of 33km.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii detected a small tsunami and issued a warning for New Zealand.

It later cancelled the warning, but said there could have been some damage in areas near the epicentre.

There has been no word of damage from either the earthquake or any tsunami, although reports said the quake was felt across New Zealand's South Island.

"An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines in the region near the epicentre within minutes to hours," the warning centre said in a statement after the quake was detected.

The quake was detected at 2122 local time (0922 GMT), reports said.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) and Japanese seismologists classified the quake as a 7.8-magnitude event, but authorities in New Zealand suggested it could have been weaker.

"We've had big differences in the measurements of the quake," the country's national civil defence centre said in a statement, saying New Zealand's Institute of Geological and Nuclear Science measured it at magnitude 6.6.

A second earthquake, provisionally measured at magnitude 5.8 by the USGS, was detected shortly after the first event.

'Rolling feel'

In Hawaii, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said ocean buoys had detected an increase wave size in the aftermath of the quake.

The centre said the sea level was amplified by 17cm (6.7in) after the earthquake, with waves passing every 10 minutes.

harry potter and the half blood prince review

harry potter and the half blood prince review

Harry Potter has kept his fans waiting for two years, the longest school break they have had to endure for a new movie adventure about the teen wizard.

It's been worth the wait.

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the sixth movie in the fantasy franchise based on J.K. Rowling's books, is the franchise's best so far, blending rich drama and easy camaraderie among the actors with the visual spectacle that until now has been the real star of the series.

The hocus-pocus of it all nearly takes a back seat to the story and characters this time, and the film is the better for that. It doesn't skimp on the Quidditch action, sorcery duels or occult pyrotechnics,

but those are simply part of the show, not the main attraction.

Previous installments played out in a supernatural bubble bearing little connection to our ordinary little Muggle world. "Half-Blood Prince" brims with authentic people and honest interaction - hormonal teens bonding with great humor, heartache that will resonate with anyone who remembers the pangs of first love.

Drop the magic act, and Hogwarts could be any school of self-absorbed geeks, jocks, popular kids and outcasts trying to maneuver through the day. Even the class bad boy provides insight into the behavior of bullies.

"Half-Blood Prince" escalates the peril for Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his best pals, Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), while giving the threesome that first collaborated as prepubescent kids their best platform yet to show their maturing acting chops.

David Yates, who made 2007's "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," returns to direct, his deepening confidence and comfort with the Potter realm on display throughout.

Three distinctive directors - Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron and Mike Newell - made the first four movies. Along with Yates on No. 5, the filmmakers all brought their own touches and baubles, but there was a sameness about the series that was growing tiresome by Yates' first one.

This time, Yates stays true to the Rowling recipe yet infuses the film with a freshness and energy that makes it seem like a new start, not the stale old chapter six it could have been.

Though the movie drags a bit toward the end, screenwriter Steve Kloves - who adapted the first four books and returns after a one-film hiatus - generally keeps the intricate plot rolling breathlessly.

Harry's big challenge this school year is a clandestine assignment by Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), who enlists his protege to retrieve a critical memory that new Professor Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) possesses about young Tom Riddle, the future dark Lord Voldemort.

Academy Award winner Broadbent gives the best performance yet in a "Harry Potter" flick, mingling a cock-of-the-walk flamboyance with the deep melancholy of a teacher bearing the shame of disappointment in both himself and a star pupil gone bad.

The usual teen high jinks and crises lighten the story with plenty of laughs. Romantic entanglements - which have gradually preoccupied Harry, Hermione, Ron and other classmates as they stumbled into puberty - burst out like a wicked case of acne this year.

Ron is dating bubble-headed bimbo Lavender Brown (Jessie Cave), putting Hermione into a jealous snit. Harry's got his own love triangle, falling for Ron's sister, Ginny (Bonnie Wright), who's dating another student.

Along with a romantic rival, Harry has a more dangerous foe in Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), his bullying tormentor, now a torn and troubled youth himself as an agent of Voldemort.

Radcliffe, Watson and Grint have lived these roles for so long - almost half their lives - that Harry, Hermione and Ron seem like second nature to them. Whether their acting careers flourish after "Harry Potter" or not, they have left an impressive little body of work with these three characters alone, developing them into full-blooded youths that feel real despite their fantastical surroundings.

Most fans know the shocker in store involving Dumbledore and the ominous Professor Snape (Alan Rickman). Like their young co-stars, Gambon and Rickman live and breathe these characters by now, Dumbledore a towering presence of grace and nobility, Snape a delightful cold fish whose actions reveal his tiger-shark stripes.

Others among the returning favorites are Robbie Coltrane as Harry's mountainous ally Hagrid, Maggie Smith as prim Professor McGonagall, Julie Walters as Ron and Ginny's genial mom, Evanna Lynch as ditzy Luna Lovegood, and Helena Bonham Carter, who's a wicked wonder as Bellatrix Lestrange, one of Voldemort's fiercest fanatics.

Visual-effects technology definitely have caught up with Rowling's imagination - and the filmmakers have some rowdy fun with their splendid images.

The Quidditch match on flying broomsticks is like airborne rugby, the way the players hammer into one another. And the broomsticks between the boys' legs take on a bawdy phallic look that wryly complements the sexual themes emerging among the teens.

Director Yates is also making the two-part adaptation of the seventh and final book, the movies due out in November 2010 and July 2011. "Half-Blood Prince" should leave fans as eager for those last movies as a high-school junior is for graduation day.

caspian airlines

caspian airlines

BEIRUT, Lebanon — A passenger plane bound for Armenia from Iran crashed Wednesday morning in northwest Iran, and all 168 people aboard were believed to have perished, Iranian state media reported.

The plane, made by the Russian company Tupolev, crashed near the city of Qazvin at about 11:30 a.m. local time after leaving Tehran on a flight to Yerevan, the Armenian capital, Hussein Behzadpour, the police chief of Qazvin, said in comments quoted by Iran’s English language Press TV.

The crash site was near Jannatabad, a village just outside Qazvin, Mr. Behzadpour said.

The spokesman for Iran’s Aviation Organization, Reza Jafarzadeh, told Press TV that the plane, Caspian Airlines Flight 7908, crashed 16 minutes after taking off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport. Qazvin is about 90 miles northwest of Tehran.

The plane was carrying 153 passengers and 15 crew members, state television reported. The broadcast showed wreckage mingled with human body parts, and a fire brigade official was quoted as saying the debris was strewn over a broad area.

Among the images was a crater gouged into farmland with mangled pieces of metal scattered about, Reuters reported.

News reports said the pilot may have been trying an emergency landing after technical problems occurred.

The Associated Press quoted a spokesman for the airline in Yerevan as saying that most of the passengers were Armenians but that some Georgians also were on board. Caspian Airlines is a Russian-Iranian joint venture founded in 1993, The A.P. said.

Iran has been plagued by plane crashes in recent years, a record that aviation experts have attributed to the country’s aging and outdated planes, many of them secondhand aircraft leased from Russia.

In September 2006, a Russian-made Tupolev plane TU-154 apparently blew a tire while landing in Mashhad, Iran, slipped off the runway and burst into flames, killing 29 of the 148 people on board and injuring 47, state-run television reported at the time.

More than 90 people, including 80 journalists, were killed in December 2005 when a military plane crashed into a building in Tehran. In February 2002, a Tupolev TU-154 operated by Iran Air Tours crashed in Khorramabad, Iran, killing all 118 people on board.

With no domestic aviation industry, the country is dependent on foreign manufacturers for its planes. But trade sanctions in place for the past three decades have hampered access to spare parts as well as purchases of more modern aircraft, particularly from American manufacturers like Boeing. In 2005, the International Civil Aviation Organization, an arm of the United Nations, warned that sanctions flouted international treaties and placed civilian lives in danger.