Netanyahu says he's open to 'painful compromises' for peace

Netanyahu says Israel willing to make painful compromises for peace, challenges Palestinians

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to make "painful compromises" for peace with the Palestinians, for the first time explicitly saying that some West Bank settlements would find themselves outside Israel's final borders.

He also tacked on a list of often-stated conditions that have been unacceptable to the Palestinians. A senior Palestinian official in the West Bank immediately rejected Netanyahu's peace outline as a "declaration of war."

Speaking before a warmly receptive joint meeting of Congress that showered him with more than two dozen sustained standing ovations, Netanyahu said Israel wants and needs peace but repeated his flat rejection of a return to what he called the "indefensible" borders that Israel had before the 1967 Middle East war.

He also restated Israel's refusal to repatriate millions of Palestinian refugees and their families to homes in Israel that they lost in fighting over the Jewish state's 1948 creation.

Netanyahu also maintained anew that contested Jerusalem could not be shared with the Palestinians, who want the eastern sector of the holy city as capital of their hoped-for state. He insisted that Israel maintain a long-term military presence on what would be the eastern border of a Palestinian state.

"Israel will never give up its quest for peace," Netanyahu said, adding that he is "willing to make painful compromises to achieve this historic peace."

But he said Israel would not negotiate with terrorists and urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to rip up a power-sharing agreement that his moderate Fatah faction has signed with the militant group Hamas, which does not recognize Israel's right to exist.

In the West Bank, Nabil Shaath, a senior Palestinian official, called Netanyahu's speech "a declaration of war against the Palestinians."

"This is an escalation and unfortunately, it received a standing ovation," he said, noting that Netanyahu had rejected all major Palestinian demands on issues like future borders, the competing claims of Jersualem and the fate of refugees.

Israel, which enjoys strong bipartisan backing in Congress, has been rattled by President Barack Obama's support for drawing the future borders of a Palestinian state and a Jewish state on the basis of Israel's pre-1967 war frontiers.

Netanyahu has challenged the president's position repeatedly, ignoring Obama's assertion that the territorial markers could be adjusted through agreed land swaps. The Palestinians accept that principle, which would allow Israel to retain major West Bank settlement blocs and help to assure its security.

In his speech before Congress, Netanyahu backed off from his dispute with Obama, acknowledging that the president has not called for a return to the exact borders Israel held before capturing east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 war.

Obama had, in large part, staked his reputation in the Muslim world on finding a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. He has not been able to draw Israelis and Palestinians back to the bargaining table for sustained talks, however, and the Palestinians are refusing to come back as long as Israeli settlement construction continues on lands they want for a future state.

In lieu of negotiations, the Palestinians are campaigning to obtain U.N. recognition of Palestinian statehood when the General Assembly meets in September. Such recognition would not hand them a state in practice, but it would make things even tougher for Israel internationally.

The United States also opposes a unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood and is holding out for a negotiated compromise.

Netanyahu congratulated the United States for killing al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, wishing him "good riddance" and making the case that America and Israel are paragons of democracy.

Netanyahu dismissed early shouts from an anti-Israel protester as evidence that freedom of speech is alive and well in the United States and is respected in both countries.
Source:yahoo.com

Ash clouds creep toward Scandinavia, Europe

Ash clouds creep toward Scandinavia, Europe

Plumes from Icelandic volcano likely will disrupt some flights, experts say

The main ash cloud released from this weekend's eruption of an Icelandic volcano is creeping toward Scandinavia, while a smaller plume is nearing Scotland, raising concerns that the ash could affect air travel in Europe.

Britain's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it was likely that flights from parts of the country would be disrupted as early as Monday night. "That's the way it's looking certainly at the moment," a CAA spokesperson said.

Britain's Met Office is predicting a plume of ash from the Grimsvotn volcano would cover all of Ireland, Scotland and parts of northern Britain by midnight EDT on Tuesday. The Met office told NBC News it does not want to speculate about concentration levels and what they could mean for air travel.

The April 2010 eruption of another Icelandic volcano prompted aviation officials to close Europe's airspace for five days out of fear that the ash could harm jet engines. Thousands of flights were grounded, airlines lost millions of dollars and travelers were stranded, many sleeping on airport floors across northern Europe.

The impact of Grimsvotn was expected to be far smaller because the larger cloud was moving far north of most flight paths, but travelers and aviation officials were still watching nervously.

Danish air traffic officials said the main ash plume reached eastern Greenland, a semiautonomous Danish territory. Air Greenland said its Monday flight between the island's main airport and Copenhagen was canceled as a result.
Aviation officials in Norway said the cloud might also affect flights to and from the Arctic islands of Svalbard on Monday.
Post-Rapture blues? See a little heaven on Earth

The ash plume was unlikely to affect the travels of President Barack Obama, who arrived in Ireland on Monday. Most trans-Atlantic flight paths run far south of the ash cloud's projected path.

No repeat of 2010
Iceland shut its main airport after Grimsvotn, about 120 miles east of Reykjavik, erupted Saturday. The airport remained closed Monday morning, but officials hope to reopen it later in the day.

Eurocontrol's models of ash concentration showed the main plume of ash at heights between 20,000 and 35,000 feet — the normal altitudes for passenger airliners — gradually extending northward from Iceland over the next two days. The cloud is predicted to arch its way north of Scandinavia and possibly touch the islands off the northern Russian coastline within the next two days.

Neither plume is projected to reach the European mainland.

"We are not in a position to say as yet as to whether there would be any disruption of European aviation," said Brian Flynn, deputy head of operations. "In any event, we are very confident that if there were to be some disruption it would be at a much smaller scale than that we witnessed last year."
Image: Ash plumes
Jon Gustafsson / AP
This photo, taken Saturday, shows smoke plumes from the Grimsvotn volcano, which began erupting for the first time since 2004.

Flynn said that about 50 to 60 of the approximately 500 daily flights between Europe and North America fly over the Arctic. But they too were not likely to be affected because the height of the ash cloud was several thousand feet below their normal cruising altitudes.

EU spokeswoman Helen Kearns noted that differences in the nature and size of the ash cloud means that "we are far from where we were a year ago."

Some airline chiefs complained that regulators had overreacted last year. But a study last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concluded the shutdown had been justified. It said the hard, sharp particles of volcanic ash blasted high into the air could have caused jet engines to fail and sandblasted airplane windows.
Related Video

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

 Source:www.msnbc.msn.com

Obama: We'd raid Pakistan again if militant found

Obama: We'd raid Pakistan again if militant found

President tells BBC US is 'very respectful of the sovereignty of Pakistan,' but can't allow 'active plans to come to fruition without us taking some action'

President Barack Obama said he would approve a new incursion into Pakistan if the United States found another leading militant there, he said in a BBC interview broadcast on Sunday.

U.S. Navy SEALs killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, in a raid on his fortified compound in Pakistan on May 2, ending a manhunt for the world's most-wanted militant.

Asked if Obama would do the same again if the United States discovered another "high-value target" in Pakistan or another country, such as a senior al-Qaida member or Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar, he said he would "take the shot."

"We are very respectful of the sovereignty of Pakistan. But we cannot allow someone who is actively planning to kill our people or our allies' people, we can't allow those kind of active plans to come to fruition without us taking some action," Obama told the BBC.

"I had made no secret. I had said this when I was running for the presidency, that if I had a clear shot at bin Laden, that we'd take it."

Omar fled to Pakistan after the Taliban government was overthrown in late 2001 by U.S.-backed Afghan forces and is still in hiding there, U.S. officials have long maintained. Islamabad has denied reports he is in Pakistan.


The president told the BBC's "Andrew Marr Show" that he hoped the raid would be "a wake-up call where we start seeing a more effective cooperative relationship" with Pakistan, an important but awkward ally in Washington's fight against al-Qaida-inspired terrorism.

The country is furious that that United States sent the Navy SEALs to raid bin Laden's Abbottabad hideaway without first informing Pakistani authorities.

Mole inside Abbottabad compound?
Many in the U.S. suspect bin Laden must have had official help during his years hiding in Pakistan. Obama said it was unclear who knew of his whereabouts.

"What we know is that for him to have been there for five or six years probably required some sort of support external to the compound," Obama said. "Whether that was non-governmental, governmental, a broad network, or a handful of individuals, those are all things that we are investigating, but we're also asking the Pakistanis to investigate."

A report from The Sunday Times suggested that the CIA might have had a mole inside the compound, citing a document it says was left behind in the residence after the raid and later obtained by the British newspaper.

The pocket guide provided clear detail on the occupants, listing the names and ages of those present and even describing bin Laden's clothing, the Times report said.

"Always wears light-colored shawal [sic] kameez with a dark vest," the newspaper quoted the document as saying about bin Laden's apparel. "Occasionally wears light-colored prayer cap."

The report also said the guide suggested that bin Laden's youngest wife, Amal, gave birth to twins in Pakistan, as it referred to "two unidentified children" born to her this year.

A retired CIA officer tempered claims that there could have been a mole in the compound, telling the Times that it was possible there was a source on the inside, "But it's also possible this was built up from a mosaic of painstakingly put together information."

The Times said the retired officer, Glenn Carle, interrogated a senior al-Qaida official before he left the agency four years ago.

Obama said he had taken a "calculated risk" in launching the bin Laden raid, a triumph that could easily have ended in disaster. He said the SEAL team was exceptionally well prepared, "but there's no doubt that that was as long a 40 minutes as I care to experience during my presidency."

Obama begins a six-day trip to Europe on Monday, visiting Ireland, Britain, France and Poland.

In Britain, he will hold talks with Prime Minister David Cameron and address the parliament to hail the two countries' special relationship and stress the importance of transatlantic ties.
Source:msn.com

NATO widens campaign to weaken Libya's Gadhafi

Nato widens Libya pressure amid questions on goal

Early Sunday, Nato raids again targeted the sprawling, heavily fortified Qadhafi compound in the capital Tripoli, said government spokesman Ibrahim Uthman. The spokesman earlier said a Nato strike hit the port but later said that information was incorrect.

Uthman said he believed four people were hit in the strike but the extent of their injuries was not immediately clear.

In the coastal town of Zawiya, crowds apparently outraged by dwindling fuel supplies tried to stab reporters in a minibus on a state-supervised trip to the Tunisian border.

The journalists _ a Chinese news correspondent and two Britons: a BBC technician and a Reuters video producer _ were not harmed in the attack, the first of its kind targeting foreign reporters covering the Libyan conflict.

The assailants also attacked the government official accompanying the reporters _ once unimaginable in Libya and a sign of the growing frustrations of residents struggling to cope with rising food prices and gasoline shortages.

Qadhafi has remained defiant against the widening Nato attacks and international pressure to step down.

At the same time, however, Nato has come under increasing criticism that it is overstepping the UN Security Council’s mandate, which provides for the protection of civilians but not for wider attacks. The Pan African Parliament, the legislative body of the African Union, plans an emergency session next week to discuss what it calls Nato’s ”military aggression.”

On Friday, NATO also struck a facility near the capital and a command and control hub near Sebha, a Qadhafi stronghold deep in Libya’s southwestern desert, a NATO statement said in Brussels. Three surface-to-air missile launchers were hit near the government-held town of Sirte, and three rocket launchers near the rebel-held town of Zintan in the mountains south of Tripoli.

On Friday, NATO warplanes also bombed eight Libyan naval vessels in three ports, leaving ships partially sunken and charred and showering docks with debris in the military alliance’s broadest attack on Qadhafi’s navy.

NATO spokesman Wing Cmdr. Mike Bracken said the vessels were ”legitimate and legal targets” because the Libyan navy had tried to mine the harbor at the rebel-held port of Misrata and had attempted to carry out attacks on shipping there.

Commandant Omran al-Forjani, head of Libya’s coast guard, claimed the targeted ships were used to patrol Libyan waters for boats carrying African migrants trying to make the dangerous sea crossing to Europe and for search-and-rescue operations.

A NATO task force has also boarded 47 vessels _ including one on Friday _ and seven ships suspected of carrying arms have been diverted since the naval operation started in mid-March.

The latest vessel to be boarded was identified as the MV Jupiter, NATO said Saturday. The tanker, whose registration remained unclear, was carrying gasoline and was instructed not to continue to Libya ”because we had reason to believe it was intended for military purposes”, a NATO official said.

”It’s clear to NATO that Qadhafi’s regime is diverting fuel to its war machine,” said the official who could not be identified under standing rules.

The attack on the foreign journalists took place as their vehicle was caught in a traffic jam caused by miles-long lines of cars waiting for days for fuel, the journalists said.

Men from the fuel line smashed the bus door and approached the three reporters with a kitchen knife and two others brandished pistols.

They demanded to know where the reporters were from and accused them of filming the gas line. Attackers slashed the bus tires in an attempt to prevent the reporters from fleeing.

Several plainclothes security agents fired into the air around the bus to drive back the crowd. Another security man boarded the bus and pushed out the attackers. Police led the bus to a nearby station for the reporters’ safety.

Also Saturday, rights group Amnesty International said hundreds of men have disappeared from Misrata, the rebels’ main toehold in western Libya. The London-based group said Libyan forces seized the men in house raids, from mosques and from the front line where some of them were fighting.

The Amnesty staff, which is currently based in Misrata, cited the case of the el-Toumi family. They said during a house raid on March 18, government forces seized seven brothers, two cousins and an uncle, who are still missing.

The rights group said they interviewed one woman who said a soldier forced her to pull up her dress. She said he fondled her, but was then hushed by her family who did not want to bring attention to the case.
Source:www.dawn.com

bin laden oil tankers

bin laden oil tankers

bin laden oil tankers. When Osama bin Laden wasn't maybe watching TV, he was apparently plotting his next devastating attack. Documents pulled from bin Laden's Abbottabad compound indicate that the terror leader next was planning to hijack oil tankers and blow them up at sea, reports the AP—an attempt he hoped would spike oil prices and shutter shipping lanes. US officials called the idea pie in the sky, but nevertheless quietly issued a warning Thursday to police and the energy industry.

The idea of hitting the oil industry is nothing new, and experts are split on the impact of blowing up a tanker: A single ship holds enough oil to fuel the global supply for about a half-hour. But attacks on certain shipping chokepoints would "start closing down shipping lanes," says a former FBI agent. The low-tech plan appears to borrow a page from Somali pirates' success, and the cargo is so explosive that an errant cigarette can turn a ship into a fireball. Says a Middle East security expert: "The good thing is that boats don't move that fast. It gives you plenty of time to interdict."

Mississippi river floods

Mississippi River flooding victims turn to refuge set up for Hurricane Katrina evacuees

Storms were forecast Saturday for areas already suffering from the swollen Mississippi River, as Mississippi's governor urged caution.

The rain comes as the Mississippi River was cresting in Natchez, Mississippi. The water was cresting at 61.8 feet, or 13.8 feet above flood stage there, according to the National Weather Service.

There were some early signs of recovery farther north in Vicksburg, where the river had already crested, though the floodwaters are expected to remain for weeks. The Yazoo backwater levee near Vicksburg had hit its peak, CNN affiliate WLBT reported.

"These levees are going to be more and more saturated every day. There will be continuing wave action up against them and so people shouldn't drop their guard," Gov. Haley Barbour told reporters in Yazoo City Friday.

Although many displaced residents in Vicksburg are eager to return to their homes, until the water level recedes, only emergency officials will be allowed, WLBT reported.

"It is illegal to drive a boat in flooded areas and it will remain so until that executive order is lifted, which won't be soon," Barbour said.
Heavy rain in flooded areas
Floodwater sampling in Louisiana
Flooding overtaking Mississippi town

The governor also warned of health risks to both the emergency responders and residents.

"We've had reports of water samples where the E. coli level was 200 times normal. This stuff is nasty," Barbour said. The governor himself owns a lake home that has been flooded.

The Mississippi River is not expected to return to its 43-foot flood stage in Vicksburg until after June 14, which is 46 days after it climbed out of its banks, said Amanda Roberts, a National Weather Service hydrologist. It crested at 57.1 feet Thursday. The river is more than a foot over the record set in the city in 1927.

"We're in need of, first off, a place to live. And then second off, pretty much everything you would need in a home," evacuee Pat Wilsoe told CNN affiliate WAPT.

Vicksburg resident Hoover Youenger told the station his home had several feet of water in it.

"In a way, it feels like a big loss, but with Mother Nature you can't do anything about it," he said, WAPT reported.

Severe storms are likely Saturday and Sunday in the Mississippi River, Ohio River and Tennessee River valleys.

Up to 3 inches of rain per hour are possible, with heavier storms on Sunday. The rain could lead to secondary crests and higher crests along the Mississippi from Memphis, Tennessee, southward, CNN meteorologist Sean Morris said.

Some greeted the cresting floodwaters -- which have damaged hundreds of homes and displaced 2,000 Vicksburg residents -- with relief. Others just went to work.

Rusty Larsen, owner of Rusty's River Front Grill in Vicksburg, told CNN affiliate WJTV that his business has picked up some with the floods.


"We stay busy most days anyway, but there's been a lot of people downtown," he said. "I see a lot of local people. Some of them are tourists. Everybody wants to come see the water."

Local officials caution that some area residents may have to wait to return to their homes.

Flooded houses pose a variety of dangers, they said. Rising floodwaters bring debris, hazardous waste and gas leaks, and force snakes or other potentially dangerous animals from their habitats and into residential areas.

"Right now we're moving to the recovery stage," Vicksburg Mayor Paul Winfield told CNN.

"Our first priority, I believe, should be public safety, to continue to encourage our residents and onlookers to stay free of the water."

Law enforcement officials are patrolling evacuated areas to help ensure that abandoned homes and businesses aren't burglarized, Winfield said. And each flooded property must be assessed before an owner can return to it, he said.

Warren County, which includes Vicksburg, has "several hundred homes that have water" and about 2,000 residents have been displaced, Sheriff Martin Pace said.

County residents are accustomed to flooding and know what to do, but none have experienced it at this magnitude, according to Pace.

A slide was detected on the mainline Mississippi levee at Lake Albemarle, the Corps of Engineers said Thursday. That occurs when the integrity of a levee is undermined because dirt and sand are being eroded, spokeswoman Eileen Williamson said.

Crews are working around the clock to help fill the gaps.

If the levee fails, thousands of homes and more than one million acres would be flooded, according to Peter Nimrod, the Mississippi Levee Board's chief engineer.

"So it's very important we hold this levee together," he said.

Farther south, where the Mississippi River has not yet crested, residents were working to clear out their homes and find ways to get by.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has asked for federal assistance in grappling with flooding stemming from the Morganza Spillway, where 17 bays have been opened in hopes of sparing New Orleans farther downstream.

So far, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development has delivered nearly 150,000 sandbags, 30,000 cubic yards of sand and 33,000 linear feet of fabric-lined baskets, the governor's office said. Approximately 1,150 Louisiana National Guard members have been mobilized.

Mandatory evacuations were in effect Saturday in Happy Town and the Sherburne Wildlife Management Area, the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office said. Officials will decide whether evacuations are needed in Butte La Rose on Monday.

Spillway gates are likely to be open for weeks, meaning it will be some time before the river falls below flood stage, allowing evacuees to return.

The flood is the most significant to hit the lower Mississippi River valley since at least 1937. It has affected nine states so far: Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Source:cnn

Alligator NY Yard

Alligator NY Yard

Police officers are shocked as to how an alligator made it to a side yard in New York. Officers were called in by a resident on Tuesday. The animal control officers and the police were able to capture the reptile.


The officers are stunned as to how the 3-foot animal got to the place. It is also not yet known for how long the animal has been hiding at the location. The animal was found at Jamestown and the call was made to the police at about 7:45 am.

The animal was taken away from the location into a much safer place. There have been other instances where alligators have found themselves in the yard of residents. In 2008, a video was posted on YouTube showing an alligator on the yard of a property. In both cases, no injuries were reported after the incident.

On Monday, another alligator reaching about two-and-half feet was spotted and captured on Long Island Expressway. The police have offered a reward for any person who will provide information on how the alligator got to the place. The Suffolk SPCA said anyone who provides information leading to the determination of where the animal comes from will be given $1,000.

FBI sued over $750k car

FBI sued over $750k car

FBI sued over $750k car. Gets FBI Sued.The FBI has destroyed a $750,000 Ferrari and they don't want to pay for it.You're probably picturing a heated chase, gunfire and a crash that ends with the Ferrari thief caught and cuffed in the back of an unmarked vehicle.
Eh, no. It's more like an agent and an Assistant U.S. Attorney went for a joyride claiming it was "official business."
Official business or not, the insurance company that owns the totaled vehicle has decided to sue the FBI, and they want all their money back.
The FBI Ferrari saga begins in late 2003, in the great state of Pennsylvania. A Ferrari dealership reported the car stolen and submitted a claim to the insurance company. They paid up and took ownership of the stolen car.
In 2008, the Ferrari was confiscated in Kentucky and moved to a warehouse for holding until the thief was prosecuted, reports The Detroit News. Then came the crash.

The insurance company filed a claim for $750,000 with the department, which the agency repeatedly rejected, notes the paper. It claimed that the crash occurred during official holding, making them immune to suit.
Well, the insurance company being typically pesky, filed a FOIA request asking for documents about the crash. According to the paper, they received one document and one document only:
An e-mail from a U.S. Attorney stating that he took the FBI Ferrari on a "short ride" with a Special Agent who lost control and crashed.
This information is vital to the insurance company now that it has decided to sue the FBI.

Man finds thousands in cash at new home

Man finds thousands in cash at new home

Man finds thousands in cash at new home. A man who found more than $40,000 cash in the Utah home he recently bought has returned the money to its rightful owner, The Salt Lake City Tribune reported Thursday.

Josh Ferrin discovered the money stuffed in eight ammo boxes in the attic while he was exploring a workshop room in the Bountiful home on Tuesday.

"I opened it up, freaked out. Closed it, locked it in my truck and called my wife," Ferrin said of the surprise.

At the time he thought of his car troubles, repairs and renovations for the house and his desire to adopt a child -- but he returned it to the owner.

"I couldn't let myself consider the money mine," he said.

"This little guy [the previous homeowner] didn't put it there for me. He put it there for a rainy day," he said.

Ferrin took the eight boxes to his parents' home, where he counted the money with his wife Tara and two children, Oliver and Lincoln.

The previous owner of the home was Arnold Bangerter, a father of six who died in November. Bangerter, who worked for the state's fisheries, purchased the home in the mid-1960s because of the giant tree in the backyard.

"I knew he was a father and I am a father, too. And I can understand thinking about the future and your children," Ferrin said.

Ferrin tracked down Bangerter's youngest son Dennis and his brother Kay who said they would split the money between the six siblings.

New trouble for Sony

New trouble for Sony

New trouble for Sony. It looks like the problems still aren't over for Sony, which finally began bringing its Playstation Network back online over the weekend following a massive hack that exposed the information of millions of subscribers and left the company's online gaming network offline for almost a full month. News broke this morning that the email and password reset, aimed to help get players back online, has been compromised.

Nyleveia reported this morning that "A new hack is currently doing the rounds in dark corners of the internet that allows the attacker the ability to change your password using only your account's email and date of birth." Sony responded by yanking the new online password recovery system it had put in place to help verify users' identities. With this system offline, many users who've yet to reset their information since the security breach will still be unable to get back online.

The Sony Playstation Network and the Qriocity service are online, and this exploit won't be a problem for console gamers. But it was an issue for Website users, and it's yet another black eye for an already very bruised Sony. The company claimed that it was putting better security features in place when it announced on Saturday that it was bringing the services back online.

The company has also announced a "customer appreciation" package to compensate customers for the lengthy PSN outage, including 60 days of free subscription and a couple of new Playstation games. At this stage, however, Playstation gamers might just want pick up their toys and find a new playground.

Ricky gervais office finale

Ricky Gervais: The Office's Star-Studded Finale Jumped a 'Big' Shark

who is no stranger to saying exactly what’s on his mind — took to his blog Friday to weigh in on The Office‘s guest star-studded finale, drudging up sternly worded  allegations.

“If you’re going to jump a shark, jump a big one,” wrote Gervais, who himself made a cameo as his U.K. Office character, David Brent.

“Still, we’ve a had a good innings,” Gervais added, employing a British idiom meaning “a long and successful period of time in a job.”

The actor/comedian’s stream of consciousness-style entry opined that the long-running NBC series’ season-ender served up cameos for cameos’ sake, rather than advancing the storyline of a Michael Scott-less Dunder Mifflin.

“Don’t get me wrong,” he said, “I’m very proud of the US version. It was not only a very, very good network comedy, but it was also a massive success story. But you know, I did [the original U.K. version of The Office] for different reasons, ambitions and with slightly different emotional attachments to the project.

“I did my version for the art,” he said. “That’s why I stopped it after a few hours [14 episodes] of telly.”

As for anyone who genuinely thought David Brent was actually a genuine contender to replace Steve Carell’s Office boss, Gervais had this message: “Once and for all… I would never ever in a million years take a permanent role in the show as an actor.

“It really would be f–king mental,” he added. “You don’t start a company to work on reception.”
Source: www.tvline.com

Actor Ross Hagen Dies

'Daktari' star Ross Hagen dies at 72

Hagen, a regular on the 1960s TV adventure show "Daktari," passed away on May 7 in Brentwood, Calif., after a battle with prostate cancer.

Search: Ross Hagen's career

The actor made appearances on TV Westerns such as "The Big Valley" and "The Virginian" in the mid-1960s, and also co-starred with Elvis Presley in "Speedway."

More: Stars we've lost in 2011

He is best known for playing hunter Bart Jason in "Daktari," about an animal-study center in Africa.

Hagen also went on to write and direct, helming "Time Wars" and "The Media Madman."

He is survived by his partner, Lee Srednick, and a son and daughter, according to Variety.com.
Source:msn.com

FBI wants Unabomber's DNA

FBI wants Unabomber's DNA

FBI wants Unabomber's DNA. Authorities plan to take DNA samples from “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski for their investigation of a 1982 incident in which seven people died from taking Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide. FBI spokeswoman Cynthia Yates said the FBI has requested samples from “numerous individuals including Ted Kaczynski” and that Kaczynski
has so far refused to provide the samples voluntarily. Yates would not comment on whether federal authorities have already gotten the DNA sample from Kaczynski. But Kaczynski, in a motion filed May 9, said he would provide the sample voluntarily on the condition that they would stop an online auction of his items. Federal prosecutors responded that “there is no basis for an order interfering with the sale previously approved by the district court.” The auction went ahead as planned on Wednesday. A $100,000 award from Johnson & Johnson for the capture and conviction of the Tylenol killer has never been claimed.

'Botox mom' claims story was a hoax

'Botox mom' claims story was a hoax

'Botox mom' claims story was a hoax. California mother says a British tabloid paid her $200 to lie about injecting her 8-year-old daughter with Botox. Is she too irresponsible to be a parent?The mom who lost custody of her 8-year-old daughter after supposedly injecting the girl with Botox for beauty pageants now says the whole story was a hoax — and that she'd even fabricated a name for herself. Sheena Upton has signed a sworn declaration, obtained by TMZ, saying that British tabloid The Sun asked her to "play the role of Kerry Campbell" and even gave her a script to follow, in exchange for $200. (The Sun "strongly denies" Upton's allegations.) The mother and daughter also did interviews on Inside Edition and ABC's Good Morning America, which, according to TMZ, offered Upton $10,000. Upton's daughter has been returned to her, according to TMZ, "with the provision that a cousin would stay with her and the child for the time being." Is the truth worse than the lies?

This marks a new low for irresponsible parenting: We've "never been so happy to have fallen for a hoax," says Verena von Pfetten at Styleite, but Upton's behavior is "still reprehensible." Injecting an 8-year-old girl with Botox "is terrible," but having her lie, and "parading her out on national television for the sake of a few dollars might just be worse."

Animal Kingdom in Preakness

Animal Kingdom in Preakness

Animal Kingdom in Preakness. Animal Kingdom, the first Kentucky Derby winner who never raced before on dirt, will try to claim the second leg of US horse racing's Triple Crown on Saturday by winning the 136th Preakness.The three-year-old chestnut colt is a 2-1 betting favorite in a field of 14, the first full lineup for the Preakness since 2005, and English-born trainer Graham Motion likes Animal Kingdom's chances in starting from the No. 11 post.

"I couldn't be happier," Motion said. "I would rather be on the outside than stuck down on the inside."

Animal Kingdom will try to become the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to complete the American treble sweep by sweeping the Derby, the 1 3/16-mile Preakness at Pimlico and the Belmont Stakes on June 11.

"I've followed this in years past and rooted just like anyone else for the Triple Crown horse," Motion said. "I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. We will deal with the Preakness first."

Jockey John Velazquez will be back aboard Animal Kingdom after winning his first Derby in 13 tries on the horse.

Not since Exterminator in 1918 has a horse won the Derby after so few career starts and not since Needles in 1956 has a horse won the Derby after a six-week layoff.

Animal Kingdom's rivals include Dialed In, the Derby favorite who finished eighth at Churchill Downs two weeks ago.

Dialed In was made second favorite at 9-2 and would collect a North American record $6.1 million payout if he wins the Preakness, thanks to a $5.5 million sponsor bonus from winning major Triple Crown tuneups the Florida Derby and Holy Bull Stakes.

Michelle Obama Oxford

Michelle Obama Oxford

Michelle Obama Oxford: Oxford University says Michelle Obama will visit its centuries-old colleges as part of a three-day trip to Britain.

President Barack Obama and the first lady will make a state visit to Britain next week at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Oxford said on Thursday that Michelle Obama will visit the university on May 25. She will meet about 35 pupils from a London girls school as they spend a brief spell at the college under a diversity initiative, and take part in a question-and-answer session.

It won't be the first time she has met with British students - she made a surprise visit to Oxford's campus in 2009 and last year invited a group of pupils from London to the White House.

The state visit comes ahead of a G-8 summit in France.

Cheney Memoir

Cheney Memoir

As widely expected, Vice President Dick Cheney has signed a deal with an imprint of Simon & Schuster to write a memoir about his life in politics and his service in four presidential administrations.

A spokesman for Simon & Schuster said Mr. Cheney would write a book for Threshold Editions, where Mary Matalin, his close friend and adviser, is editor in chief.

Mr. Cheney, who had been looking for a publisher for about two months, joins a roster of Bush administration figures writing memoirs, including President George W. Bush; his wife, Laura; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; former Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr.; former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld; and Karl Rove, the former presidential political adviser. Mr. Rove’s book will also be published by Threshold.

Mr. Cheney’s memoir, which will focus on the past 40 years of his life, mostly in Washington, will be published in the spring of 2011. The deal was negotiated by Robert Barnett, a Washington lawyer who also represents Mr. Bush, former President Bill Clinton and President Obama.

The former vice president is working with his eldest daughter, Liz Cheney, on the memoir. Ms. Cheney is helping with research and “filling in the gaps.”

Apple Music Service

Apple Music Service

Apple Music Service: According to reports, Apple is almost ready to release a cloud-based music storage service compatible with iTunes.

Sources say the product is finished, and Apple might be ready to launch its service before Google’s competitive product sees the light of day.

Several sources close to the matter and aware of both companies’ plans told Reuters that Apple will soon let iTunes customers keep their music libraries on a remote server. The music would then be accessible from any Internet-connected, iTunes-running device.

But though the technology is in place, one all-important piece is missing from both music offerings: licensing agreements with major record labels. Google is stalling on its own music projects due to rumored tiffs with record labels, and Apple has yet to discuss any new licensing agreements with labels, according to Reuters’ sources.

However, since the latter company has been working with musicians for a long time vis-a-vis iTunes and iTunes’ new social component, Ping, one might imagine that Apple has a laid some groundwork for fruitful discussions around licensing.

Google was rumored to be building an iTunes competitor in the summer of 2010. The service was said to have an Android-friendly component or two, and the Android music store was expected to launch with the release of Gingerbread. The service was also rumored to include music-streaming options in addition to music locker features.

However, more current reports suggest that Google may be further than ever from an actual launch due to licensing snafus with major record labels, particularly Warner Music Group.

Ex-IMF chief Strauss-Kahn gears up for release from jail

Ex-IMF chief Strauss-Kahn gears up for release from jail

Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, accused of a sex attack on a New York City hotel maid, was awaiting release from jail Friday morning after having been granted bail on Thursday.

After Strauss-Kahn spent nearly a week in police custody and then jail, the judge agreed to free him on $1 million cash bail plus an additional $5 million bond — provided he's confined to a New York apartment.

He will be subject to electronic monitoring and under the watch of an armed guard, a prosecutor said.

The onetime potential French presidential contender faces several felony charges related to to the alleged assault. He denies the allegations.

Strauss-Kahn wasn't immediately released from the city's bleak Rikers Island jail, where he had been kept in protective custody and on a suicide watch. But his lawyers expect he'll get out Friday, after he posts the bond and authorities review the security arrangements involved in his house arrest.

The 62-year-old French economist and diplomat briefly wore an expression of relief after state Supreme Court Justice Michael J. Obus announced his decision in a packed courtroom. Later, Strauss-Kahn blew a kiss toward his wife.

Lawyers arguing whether the ex-IMF chief would be released from jail pending a trial have used two famous examples from different sides of the spectrum to make their case — Roman Polanski and Bernard Madoff.

Prosecutors brought up Polanski, the French filmmaker whom U.S. authorities pursued for decades after he jumped bail in a 1977 child-sex case.
Defense lawyers, meanwhile, have mentioned Bernard Madoff, the financier who was freed on high bail and strict house arrest, the same conditions that a judge approved Thursday in a bail package for Strauss-Kahn.

'An honorable man'
Strauss-Kahn didn't speak during the court proceeding. But as he headed back to jail for what he hoped would be a final night, lawyer William W. Taylor called the bail decision "a great relief for the family" and said Strauss-Kahn's mindset was "much better now than before we started."

Taylor had argued in court "that the prospect of Mr. Strauss-Kahn teleporting himself to France and living there as an accused sex offender, fugitive, is ludicrous on its face."

"He is an honorable man," Taylor told the judge. "He will appear in this court and anywhere else the court directs. He has only one interest at this time and that is to clear his name."
Video: French society soul-searching over Strauss-Kahn case (on this page)

The ex-IMF head is accused of attacking a 32-year-old housekeeper Saturday in his $3,000-a-night hotel suite. The West African immigrant told police he chased her down a hallway in the suite, forced her to perform oral sex and tried to remove her stockings.

"The proof against him is substantial. It is continuing to grow every day as the investigation continues," Manhattan assistant district attorney John "Artie" McConnell told the judge Thursday as prosecutors announced that Strauss-Kahn had been indicted on charges including attempted rape and a criminal sex act. The maid had told a "compelling and unwavering story," McConnell said.

The indictment, a crucial procedural step in a felony case, marked a grand jury's "determination that the evidence supports the commission of non-consensual, forced sexual acts," District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said. Strauss-Kahn, whose lawyers have suggested evidence won't support a forcible encounter, is due back in court June 6.

The bail decision came less than a day after Strauss-Kahn resigned as managing director of the IMF, the powerful organization that makes emergency loans to countries in financial crisis.
Video: Attorney for hotel maid: She is ‘scared’ (on this page)

In his resignation letter, he denied the allegations against him but said he would quit in order to "protect this institution which I have served with honor and devotion" and to "devote all my strength, all my time and all my energy to proving my innocence."

'Just like Roman Polanski'
Prosecutors had argued against his release, citing the violent nature of the alleged offenses and saying his wealth and international connections would make it easy for him to flee.

At his arraignment Monday, a prosecutor suggested that if Strauss-Kahn were released and ran, he could end up "just like Roman Polanski," whom the Swiss government declined to extradite last year in the child sex case in the U.S. in which he had jumped bail decades ago.

On Thursday, defense lawyers offered a notorious example of their own: Madoff, the fraudulent financier who stole billions of dollars from investors. Before Madoff pleaded guilty in the federal case and was sentenced to 150 years in prison in 2009, he was freed on $10 million bail, under house arrest and private guard provided by the same firm Strauss-Kahn's lawyers have proposed to monitor him. Taylor cited Madoff as he noted in court that "there have been other high-profile cases where  have been released."

Taylor called the proposed arrangement "the most restrictive possible conditions," although he suggested few precautions were necessary.

"In our view, no bail is required to confirm Mr. Strauss-Kahn's appearance. He is an honorable man. He will appear in this court and anywhere else the court directs, and he has only one interest at this time, and that is to clear his name," Taylor said.

A different judge had ordered Strauss-Kahn held without bail Monday; his lawyers subsequently added home confinement to their bail proposal. His wife, the French television journalist Anne Sinclair, has rented a Manhattan apartment for the couple, Taylor said.

Supreme Court Justice Michael J. Obus said the conditions played a major role in his decision to allow bail, but he warned Strauss-Kahn he might reconsider "if there is the slightest problem with your compliance."

Strauss-Kahn nodded in response. Dressed in a gray suit and an open-necked blue dress shirt, he had arrived stony-faced, though he turned to give a quick smile to his wife and daughter Camille, seated in the audience along with about 100 reporters. They and other journalists, lining a sidewalk below, formed the biggest media throng at the courthouse at least since Mark David Chapman was arrested in 1980 for killing
Source:www.google.com.pk

bridesmaids sequel

Should there be a 'Bridesmaids' sequel?

If this past weekend’s unexpected box office numbers, the critics, and the EW.com readers posting in the comments sections are any indication, people can’t seem to get enough of Bridesmaids. And while many fans are getting their fill by seeing the top-notch comedy more than once in the theaters (and readying a spot for it in their DVD collections), the idea of a possible sequel ought to make them sing Wilson Phillips’ “Hold On” from the rooftops with excitement.

That’s right, a possible sequel: Bridesmaids‘ director Paul Feig, along with the movie’s scene (and puppy) stealer Melissa McCarthy, spoke to Vulture about the prospect of a follow-up to the Spring smash. Said Feig, “Who knows? I mean, it depends how we do in the next couple weeks, but I know there’s definitely … it’s already been brought up. So, um, you know, when you get a group that’s this deep and this good, it’s a crime to not use them again. You just want to make sure that you do it as well as you did the first one and try to make it better, even. So, we’re up for the challenge.” Better yet, McCarthy seemed game for the idea. The actress said, “I will show up wherever these guys tell me to go.”

While nothing is set in stone, I can’t help but think: Would we want the chance to revisit hilarious BFFs Annie and Lillian  and the rest of the “stone cold pack of weirdos”? Wait, who are we kidding, of course we would! Granted, sequels are always a risky maneuver (the age old debate of, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” certainly comes to mind), but with this powerhouse cast and crew, they would be hard-pressed to deliver anything less than hilarious.

Better yet, think of the possibilities of a second serving of Bridesmaids. This time around it could focus on Annie’s wedding (to Chris Dowd’s adorable police officer Rhodes). She’d have to have Rose Byrne’s Helen in the ceremony, since she got them back together. Or perhaps, in an even more dementedly wonderful scenario, McCarthy’s Megan could wed her real-life husband Ben Falcone  Really, the only RSVP we’d need on that invitation would be “Yes” or “Hell Yes.”

What do you think, PopWatchers? Should Feig make a sequel to Bridesmaids? If so, what should it be about?
Source:popwatch.ew.com