Female fan's kiss ends music concert in Kuwait
KUWAIT CITY (AP) - A Kuwaiti official says authorities abruptly ended a music concert by an Egyptian singer in this conservative Muslim country when a young female fan jumped on stage, hugged the male singer and gave him a kiss.Qanas al-Adwani, who heads the government department that monitors public entertainment, says the girl's behavior at Friday's concert "defied the conservative traditions" of Kuwait.Al-Adwani also said Sunday that the fan's behavior broke controls on public entertainment, which were imposed by influential Muslim fundamentalists after they failed in 1997 to ban concerts altogether. Concerts have to be licensed by the government, and monitors from the Information Ministry watch the crowd to make sure nobody stands up to dance.
Palin's Obama Claims 'Offensive'
The gloves have well and truly come off in the US presidential race after Sarah Palin accused Barack Obama of associating with terrorists.
The Democrat's campaign team described the comments as "offensive" but said they were not surprising.
Mrs Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, made the remarks during a speech to supporters at a fundraiser in Colorado.
She said Obama "is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country".
The Alaska Governor was referring to William Ayers, a member of the radical 1960s group the Weathermen who placed bombs at the Pentagon and the Capitol.
He reportedly supported Mr Obama's first run for public office in 1995.
The Obama campaign described Mrs Palin's guilt-by-association attack as "desperate and false".
Campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan said the accusation was part of the McCain/Palin ticket's newly aggressive "come-from-behind" strategy with only a month left before the vote.
He said:"Governor Palin's comments, while offensive, are not surprising, given the McCain campaign's statement this morning that they would be launching Swiftboat-like attacks in hopes of deflecting attention from the nation's economic ills."
Republicans have promised to ramp up the rhetoric ahead of the November 4 election in a bid to arrest Senator McCain's recent dip in the polls following his role in delays to the $700bn economic bail-out.
On Friday, his top adviser Greg Strimple promised a "very aggressive last 30 days" of campaigning.
"We are looking forward to turning a page on this financial crisis and getting back to discussing Mr Obama's aggressively liberal record and how he will be too risky for Americans," he told reporters.
There is a month left, and they (the Republicans) are not doing very well in the polls. They pulled their troops out of Michigan - they are having a difficult time in states that Bush won both in 2000 and 2004 like Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Colorado. They're getting a little anxious and a little nervous.US political analyst Jon-Christopher Bua
The Democrat nominee has emerged strengthened from the financial crisis, boosting his polling lead to an average of six points over Senator McCain, according to RealClearPolitics.com.
The latest Gallup tracking poll of registered voters puts Mr Obama on 50% and Mr McCain on 42%.
The Democrat's campaign team described the comments as "offensive" but said they were not surprising.
Mrs Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, made the remarks during a speech to supporters at a fundraiser in Colorado.
She said Obama "is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country".
The Alaska Governor was referring to William Ayers, a member of the radical 1960s group the Weathermen who placed bombs at the Pentagon and the Capitol.
He reportedly supported Mr Obama's first run for public office in 1995.
The Obama campaign described Mrs Palin's guilt-by-association attack as "desperate and false".
Campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan said the accusation was part of the McCain/Palin ticket's newly aggressive "come-from-behind" strategy with only a month left before the vote.
He said:"Governor Palin's comments, while offensive, are not surprising, given the McCain campaign's statement this morning that they would be launching Swiftboat-like attacks in hopes of deflecting attention from the nation's economic ills."
Republicans have promised to ramp up the rhetoric ahead of the November 4 election in a bid to arrest Senator McCain's recent dip in the polls following his role in delays to the $700bn economic bail-out.
On Friday, his top adviser Greg Strimple promised a "very aggressive last 30 days" of campaigning.
"We are looking forward to turning a page on this financial crisis and getting back to discussing Mr Obama's aggressively liberal record and how he will be too risky for Americans," he told reporters.
There is a month left, and they (the Republicans) are not doing very well in the polls. They pulled their troops out of Michigan - they are having a difficult time in states that Bush won both in 2000 and 2004 like Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Colorado. They're getting a little anxious and a little nervous.US political analyst Jon-Christopher Bua
The Democrat nominee has emerged strengthened from the financial crisis, boosting his polling lead to an average of six points over Senator McCain, according to RealClearPolitics.com.
The latest Gallup tracking poll of registered voters puts Mr Obama on 50% and Mr McCain on 42%.
Jay-Z Supports Obama With Free Shows This Weekend
Rapper helps in push to register new voters before Monday's deadline in Michigan and Florida.
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama already confirmed to MTV's Sway that he's a fan of hip-hop, but the love continues to go both ways. One of the senator's longtime vocal supporters, Jay-Z, has scheduled two free shows this weekend in Detroit and Miami in support of the Obama campaign.
The first, which takes place at the Cobo Arena in Detroit on Saturday, will promote voter registration and encourage attendees to get involved in the Obama campaign, according to Detroit's WWJ TV. The push is on in Michigan to register new voters by the October 6 deadline to be eligible to vote in the November 4 election. Anyone who's at least 18 years old can pick up one free ticket at Obama campaign offices throughout southeast Michigan to attend the Detroit show and an accompanying rally.
Next, Jay will promote voter registration and Obama's campaign with a show in Miami on Sunday at Bayfront Park, according to the Miami Herald. As in Michigan, Monday is the last day to register to vote for the upcoming election in Florida, which, as it has been in the past two elections, is likely to be a crucial state for both Obama and Republican rival Senator John McCain. The Herald reported that the Obama campaign has been holding a number of events around the state aimed at registering new voters. The campaign estimated that it has registered 135,000 voters in the state to date.
McCain and Obama will face off in their second debate on October 7 in Tennessee.
Get informed! Head to Choose or Lose for nonstop coverage of the 2008 presidential election, including everything from the latest news on the candidates to on-the-ground multimedia reports from our 51 citizen journalists, MTV and MySpace's Presidential Dialogues, and much more.
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama already confirmed to MTV's Sway that he's a fan of hip-hop, but the love continues to go both ways. One of the senator's longtime vocal supporters, Jay-Z, has scheduled two free shows this weekend in Detroit and Miami in support of the Obama campaign.
The first, which takes place at the Cobo Arena in Detroit on Saturday, will promote voter registration and encourage attendees to get involved in the Obama campaign, according to Detroit's WWJ TV. The push is on in Michigan to register new voters by the October 6 deadline to be eligible to vote in the November 4 election. Anyone who's at least 18 years old can pick up one free ticket at Obama campaign offices throughout southeast Michigan to attend the Detroit show and an accompanying rally.
Next, Jay will promote voter registration and Obama's campaign with a show in Miami on Sunday at Bayfront Park, according to the Miami Herald. As in Michigan, Monday is the last day to register to vote for the upcoming election in Florida, which, as it has been in the past two elections, is likely to be a crucial state for both Obama and Republican rival Senator John McCain. The Herald reported that the Obama campaign has been holding a number of events around the state aimed at registering new voters. The campaign estimated that it has registered 135,000 voters in the state to date.
McCain and Obama will face off in their second debate on October 7 in Tennessee.
Get informed! Head to Choose or Lose for nonstop coverage of the 2008 presidential election, including everything from the latest news on the candidates to on-the-ground multimedia reports from our 51 citizen journalists, MTV and MySpace's Presidential Dialogues, and much more.
HIV dates back to around 1900, study shows
Genetic analysis of tissue specimen recently discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo leads researchers to believe the virus that causes AIDS has been present for more than a century.
A genetic analysis of a biopsy sample recently discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has led researchers to conclude that the virus that causes AIDS has existed in human populations for more than a century, according to a study released Wednesday.The study, led by evolutionary biologist Michael Worobey of the University of Arizona in Tucson, puts the date of origin at around 1900, which is 30 years earlier than previous analyses.
HIV-1, the most common form of the virus, is known to have originated in chimpanzees because of close genetic similarities to a simian virus. It now infects an estimated 33 million people worldwide.But figuring out when the virus jumped species and became established in humans has been difficult. The first cases in the U.S. were recognized in 1981, and the oldest evidence of the virus is a 1959 blood sample taken from a man who lived in what was then the Belgian Congo. To find the point of origin, the scientists relied on a well-recognized genetic technique to determine the mutation rates of different sub-types of the virus. With a known rate of mutation, researchers could then, in essence, run the clock backward to find the point where the different sub-types were the same. That common ancestor would represent the first appearance of the virus in humans before it mutated.
"The HIV virus evolves incredibly quickly," said geneticist Bette Korber of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, who did an analysis in 2000. "Those mutations get passed on to the next individual. So we have that evolutionary pace to enable a look backward."Korber's analysis compared the 1959 blood sample and modern samples. She traced their common ancestor to roughly 1931.The new analysis, published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, added lymph node tissue from a woman who died in 1960 in the Belgian Congo. The tissue specimen was one of more than 800 preserved in ice-cube-size blocks of paraffin at the University of Kinshasa.The researchers compared that sample with modern strains to determine its mutation rate. Then they matched that rate with the 1959 sample, tracing their common ancestor to between 1884 and 1924."I've been trying to track down old samples like this for quite a few years now," Worobey said. "As soon as you have that one other sequence from that same time period, it really snaps the whole evolutionary picture into sharp focus."The researchers surmised that the creation of colonial cities around the turn of the century was the catalyst that allowed the virus to take hold.Dr. Steven M. Wolinsky, a co-author of the study, said that colonial cities meant not just more potential hosts for viruses living in closer quarters, but also prostitution and other high-risk behaviors for transmitting the virus."Urbanization was probably the main trigger," said Wolinsky, an infectious diseases specialist at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago. Jim Moore, an anthropologist at UC San Diego who was not associated with the study, said the fact that the virus could have spread unnoticed for decades is no surprise, given the mortality rates in Africa during the colonial period."The conditions then were horrendous in terms of how Africans were treated," he said. "People dying of AIDS would have been part of the background."
A genetic analysis of a biopsy sample recently discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has led researchers to conclude that the virus that causes AIDS has existed in human populations for more than a century, according to a study released Wednesday.The study, led by evolutionary biologist Michael Worobey of the University of Arizona in Tucson, puts the date of origin at around 1900, which is 30 years earlier than previous analyses.
HIV-1, the most common form of the virus, is known to have originated in chimpanzees because of close genetic similarities to a simian virus. It now infects an estimated 33 million people worldwide.But figuring out when the virus jumped species and became established in humans has been difficult. The first cases in the U.S. were recognized in 1981, and the oldest evidence of the virus is a 1959 blood sample taken from a man who lived in what was then the Belgian Congo. To find the point of origin, the scientists relied on a well-recognized genetic technique to determine the mutation rates of different sub-types of the virus. With a known rate of mutation, researchers could then, in essence, run the clock backward to find the point where the different sub-types were the same. That common ancestor would represent the first appearance of the virus in humans before it mutated.
"The HIV virus evolves incredibly quickly," said geneticist Bette Korber of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, who did an analysis in 2000. "Those mutations get passed on to the next individual. So we have that evolutionary pace to enable a look backward."Korber's analysis compared the 1959 blood sample and modern samples. She traced their common ancestor to roughly 1931.The new analysis, published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, added lymph node tissue from a woman who died in 1960 in the Belgian Congo. The tissue specimen was one of more than 800 preserved in ice-cube-size blocks of paraffin at the University of Kinshasa.The researchers compared that sample with modern strains to determine its mutation rate. Then they matched that rate with the 1959 sample, tracing their common ancestor to between 1884 and 1924."I've been trying to track down old samples like this for quite a few years now," Worobey said. "As soon as you have that one other sequence from that same time period, it really snaps the whole evolutionary picture into sharp focus."The researchers surmised that the creation of colonial cities around the turn of the century was the catalyst that allowed the virus to take hold.Dr. Steven M. Wolinsky, a co-author of the study, said that colonial cities meant not just more potential hosts for viruses living in closer quarters, but also prostitution and other high-risk behaviors for transmitting the virus."Urbanization was probably the main trigger," said Wolinsky, an infectious diseases specialist at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago. Jim Moore, an anthropologist at UC San Diego who was not associated with the study, said the fact that the virus could have spread unnoticed for decades is no surprise, given the mortality rates in Africa during the colonial period."The conditions then were horrendous in terms of how Africans were treated," he said. "People dying of AIDS would have been part of the background."
Lewis Hamilton extended his lead in the world championship despite finishing the Singapore Grand Prix third behind winner Fernando Alonso of Renault.
The McLaren driver has a seven-point lead over Ferrari's Felipe Massa with three races remaining.
Massa led early on but finished 13th after a delay when he left the pits with his fuel hose still attached.
Alonso ended a season's frustration when a safety car period tallied perfectly with his team's strategy.
The double world champion had been quick all weekend but qualified only 15th when a fuel pump problem stopped him taking part in the second session.
Renault put him on a short first stint and he climbed up to 11th before an early stop on lap 12.
That meant that when the safety car came out after Alonso's Renault team-mate Nelson Piquet Jr crashed on lap 15, the Spaniard was alone in not having to stop for fuel and tyres.
I need a couple of days to realise that we could win a race this year, we have been so far from the top guys
Fernando Alonso
Once everyone had stopped, Alonso was fifth behind Williams's Nico Rosberg, Toyota's Jarno Trulli, Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica.
But Rosberg and Kubica had to serve stop-go penalties for pitting while the pit lane was closed during the safety car period.
Trulli and Fisichella were on single-stop strategies but Alonso had more than enough pace to ensure he made enough of a gap to ensure he could make a second stop and stay ahead of them.
It was his first win since last year's Italian Grand Prix, when he was driving for McLaren, a team he left after one season following a tumultuous season as Hamilton's team-mate.
A second intervention by the safety car closed the field up for the last 10 laps but Alonso was always in control and he finished ahead of Rosberg and Hamilton.
Alonso said: "Fantastic. The first podium of the season and the first victory.
"I can't believe it right now, I need a couple of days to realise that we could win a race this year, we have been so far from the top guys.
Massa's race - and possibly his title hopes - were wrecked by an error
"We were unlucky in qualifying yesterday but lucky in the race. The safety car really helped me today.
"We chose to do a very aggressive first stint because we knew starting 15th you couldn't overtake.
"We thought about doing a one-stop strategy but we had some concern over the brakes and we knew a one-stop was not possible. But the pace was there. All through the race were able to pull a gap on the guys behind us. The pace was super today."
Toyota's Timo Glock was fourth ahead of Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel, BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld, Red Bull's David Coulthard and Williams's Kazuki Nakajima.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen crashed out coming out at the notorious Turn 10 chicane on lap 57 while running fifth.
The first safety car intervention defined the race in more ways than Alonso's victory.
606: DEBATE
I have to say please can Ferrari do that every weekend it was hilarious
SportsAddict2000
Massa had looked set to dominate, leading away from pole position and pulling away from Hamilton in the early stages of the race.
But when Massa stopped for fuel and tyres under the safety car, he was given a green light to leave the pits from Ferrari's pit equipment before the refuelling hose had been detached.
The Brazilian pulled away, knocked over a mechanic, and tore the refuelling hose away from the equipment.
He had to stop at the end of the pit lane and wait for his mechanics to sprint down and remove it before he could rejoin the race at the back.
Massa's afternoon was then made even worse when he was given a drive-through penalty for leaving his pit dangerously.
Hamilton dropped back behind the Red Bulls of Mark Webber and David Coulthard when most of the field stopped during the safety car period.
But the gearbox on Webber's car failed and Hamilton passed Coulthard just before his final stop on lap 42.
That left the Englishman third behind Alonso and Rosberg when a second safety car period following an accident to Force India's Adrian Sutil on lap 51 closed the field right up.
Alonso's 20-second lead was reduced to nothing, but he got a jump on Rosberg as the race re-started and pulled away again to secure the win.
Hamilton tracked Rosberg to the finish but, with the championship at stake and Massa not scoring, preferred not to take any risks in pursuit of an extra couple of points and secure the six for third place.
Hamilton had plenty to celebrate after finishing third
"I enjoyed driving here and I'm pretty happy," Hamilton said. "It was a tough weekend but we got some good points."
The first safety car period was as unlucky for Rosberg as it was lucky for Alonso - he was forced to come in when the pit lane was closed because it was the lap for his scheduled first stop and he would have run out of fuel had he stayed out.
But he was able to run long enough after the re-start to establish enough of a lead before serving his penalty to lose a place only to Alonso.
"When I saw the safety car coming out on the lap I was due to pit, I was like: 'This is not possible - it's every single time'," Rosberg said.
"I was really annoyed until I was able to pull a big enough gap afterwards."
Result of Singapore Grand Prix:
1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault one hour 57 minutes 16.304 seconds2 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 2.9 seconds behind3 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes +5.9secs
Massa led early on but finished 13th after a delay when he left the pits with his fuel hose still attached.
Alonso ended a season's frustration when a safety car period tallied perfectly with his team's strategy.
The double world champion had been quick all weekend but qualified only 15th when a fuel pump problem stopped him taking part in the second session.
Renault put him on a short first stint and he climbed up to 11th before an early stop on lap 12.
That meant that when the safety car came out after Alonso's Renault team-mate Nelson Piquet Jr crashed on lap 15, the Spaniard was alone in not having to stop for fuel and tyres.
I need a couple of days to realise that we could win a race this year, we have been so far from the top guys
Fernando Alonso
Once everyone had stopped, Alonso was fifth behind Williams's Nico Rosberg, Toyota's Jarno Trulli, Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica.
But Rosberg and Kubica had to serve stop-go penalties for pitting while the pit lane was closed during the safety car period.
Trulli and Fisichella were on single-stop strategies but Alonso had more than enough pace to ensure he made enough of a gap to ensure he could make a second stop and stay ahead of them.
It was his first win since last year's Italian Grand Prix, when he was driving for McLaren, a team he left after one season following a tumultuous season as Hamilton's team-mate.
A second intervention by the safety car closed the field up for the last 10 laps but Alonso was always in control and he finished ahead of Rosberg and Hamilton.
Alonso said: "Fantastic. The first podium of the season and the first victory.
"I can't believe it right now, I need a couple of days to realise that we could win a race this year, we have been so far from the top guys.
Massa's race - and possibly his title hopes - were wrecked by an error
"We were unlucky in qualifying yesterday but lucky in the race. The safety car really helped me today.
"We chose to do a very aggressive first stint because we knew starting 15th you couldn't overtake.
"We thought about doing a one-stop strategy but we had some concern over the brakes and we knew a one-stop was not possible. But the pace was there. All through the race were able to pull a gap on the guys behind us. The pace was super today."
Toyota's Timo Glock was fourth ahead of Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel, BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld, Red Bull's David Coulthard and Williams's Kazuki Nakajima.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen crashed out coming out at the notorious Turn 10 chicane on lap 57 while running fifth.
The first safety car intervention defined the race in more ways than Alonso's victory.
606: DEBATE
I have to say please can Ferrari do that every weekend it was hilarious
SportsAddict2000
Massa had looked set to dominate, leading away from pole position and pulling away from Hamilton in the early stages of the race.
But when Massa stopped for fuel and tyres under the safety car, he was given a green light to leave the pits from Ferrari's pit equipment before the refuelling hose had been detached.
The Brazilian pulled away, knocked over a mechanic, and tore the refuelling hose away from the equipment.
He had to stop at the end of the pit lane and wait for his mechanics to sprint down and remove it before he could rejoin the race at the back.
Massa's afternoon was then made even worse when he was given a drive-through penalty for leaving his pit dangerously.
Hamilton dropped back behind the Red Bulls of Mark Webber and David Coulthard when most of the field stopped during the safety car period.
But the gearbox on Webber's car failed and Hamilton passed Coulthard just before his final stop on lap 42.
That left the Englishman third behind Alonso and Rosberg when a second safety car period following an accident to Force India's Adrian Sutil on lap 51 closed the field right up.
Alonso's 20-second lead was reduced to nothing, but he got a jump on Rosberg as the race re-started and pulled away again to secure the win.
Hamilton tracked Rosberg to the finish but, with the championship at stake and Massa not scoring, preferred not to take any risks in pursuit of an extra couple of points and secure the six for third place.
Hamilton had plenty to celebrate after finishing third
"I enjoyed driving here and I'm pretty happy," Hamilton said. "It was a tough weekend but we got some good points."
The first safety car period was as unlucky for Rosberg as it was lucky for Alonso - he was forced to come in when the pit lane was closed because it was the lap for his scheduled first stop and he would have run out of fuel had he stayed out.
But he was able to run long enough after the re-start to establish enough of a lead before serving his penalty to lose a place only to Alonso.
"When I saw the safety car coming out on the lap I was due to pit, I was like: 'This is not possible - it's every single time'," Rosberg said.
"I was really annoyed until I was able to pull a big enough gap afterwards."
Result of Singapore Grand Prix:
1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault one hour 57 minutes 16.304 seconds2 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 2.9 seconds behind3 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes +5.9secs
Barack Obama Gives A Shout-Out To Hip-Hop
Senator says artists are 'thinking about social responsibility and how they can impact the culture in a positive way.'
Yes, hip-hop loves Barack Obama. From Weezy to Jeezy, Jay to 'Ye, some of rap's biggest names have saluted him in their lyrics, and he's inspired mixtapes, bootleg T-shirts and onstage shout-outs.
But what does the senator think of hip-hop? Sure, he went all Jay and brushed dirt off his shoulder at an April campaign stop and referenced Lil Wayne during a speech in July. But he was also quick to admonish Ludacris for a particularly fiery freestyle aimed at George W. Bush and then-rival Hillary Clinton. And while stars like Oprah Winfrey, Usher and John Legend have turned up next to Obama at campaign stops, the hip-hop nation has been virtually absent from the senator's stage.
So how does Obama feel about the genre that has rallied around him?
"I enjoy it, but these days I don't have the time to listen to it all the time," he told MTV News. He said that he still finds time to shuffle through MCs like Jay-Z and Kanye on his iPod, but he thinks the genre's impact extends far beyond a few hot tracks.
"I'm a little older than hip-hop culture," he said. "I was there at the beginning, but I was already getting older. ... What I've appreciated, watching this hip-hop generation, is to see how entrepreneurial they've been. In the past, musicians oftentimes were commodities. They were just shuffled around. Obviously, they did well, but they didn't have the vision to say, 'I'm going to build a business. I'm going to build my own studio. I'm going to create my own production operations.' I think they're a lot more sophisticated than in the past, and that is a wonderful thing."
He went on to tell MTV News that he's still seeing growth in the genre and that he's optimistic about what's ahead for hip-hop.
"What I'm starting to see is them stretching out more and thinking about social responsibility and how they can impact the culture in a positive way," he said. "And I hope that continues."
And where does he weigh in on hip-hop's hottest issue -- the greatest of all time?
"Oh no, I'm not going to get caught up in all that," he laughed.
Yes, hip-hop loves Barack Obama. From Weezy to Jeezy, Jay to 'Ye, some of rap's biggest names have saluted him in their lyrics, and he's inspired mixtapes, bootleg T-shirts and onstage shout-outs.
But what does the senator think of hip-hop? Sure, he went all Jay and brushed dirt off his shoulder at an April campaign stop and referenced Lil Wayne during a speech in July. But he was also quick to admonish Ludacris for a particularly fiery freestyle aimed at George W. Bush and then-rival Hillary Clinton. And while stars like Oprah Winfrey, Usher and John Legend have turned up next to Obama at campaign stops, the hip-hop nation has been virtually absent from the senator's stage.
So how does Obama feel about the genre that has rallied around him?
"I enjoy it, but these days I don't have the time to listen to it all the time," he told MTV News. He said that he still finds time to shuffle through MCs like Jay-Z and Kanye on his iPod, but he thinks the genre's impact extends far beyond a few hot tracks.
"I'm a little older than hip-hop culture," he said. "I was there at the beginning, but I was already getting older. ... What I've appreciated, watching this hip-hop generation, is to see how entrepreneurial they've been. In the past, musicians oftentimes were commodities. They were just shuffled around. Obviously, they did well, but they didn't have the vision to say, 'I'm going to build a business. I'm going to build my own studio. I'm going to create my own production operations.' I think they're a lot more sophisticated than in the past, and that is a wonderful thing."
He went on to tell MTV News that he's still seeing growth in the genre and that he's optimistic about what's ahead for hip-hop.
"What I'm starting to see is them stretching out more and thinking about social responsibility and how they can impact the culture in a positive way," he said. "And I hope that continues."
And where does he weigh in on hip-hop's hottest issue -- the greatest of all time?
"Oh no, I'm not going to get caught up in all that," he laughed.
New software turns PC into TiVo TV recorder
NEW YORK - TiVo Inc. and Nero AG of Germany were set to announce Monday that they will be launching a package that turns a Windows PC into a TV recorder, just like a TiVo set-top box.
It's not the first software that allows TV recording on the PC. That's been possible for years on computers equipped with TV tuners, and some versions of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Vista operating system include the necessary software. But it will be the first time that both the TiVo interface and functions have been replicated on a PC.
The Nero LiquidTV/TiVo PC will go on sale initially in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, but it could open up some markets where TiVo does not yet sell its set-top boxes. Joshua Danovitz, vice president and general manager of international business at TiVo, said the plan is to launch it in Europe next year, including in Nero's home country, Germany. Britain is the only European country where TiVo currently has subscribers.
"It's really part of a global TiVo strategy," Danovitz said.
For people who already have a tuner-equipped PC, Nero — a private company mainly known for CD- and DVD-burning software — will sell the TV recording software separately, for $99. Either way, buyers will get a one-year subscription to TiVo's program guide updates. Renewal will cost $99 per year.
The renewal cost sets the product apart from the digital video recording features of Windows Vista, which has a free program guide. However, Nero and TiVo are counting on the popularity of the TiVo interface and brand to overcome that hurdle.
Like TiVo's existing TiVo Desktop software, LiquidTV will allow users to transfer shows recorded on other TiVo devices in the home to the PC's hard drive, and bring shows out of the home, either on a laptop's drive or on an iPod or PlayStation Portable. LiquidTV also allows users to burn shows onto DVDs if the computer has a DVD burner.
It's not the first software that allows TV recording on the PC. That's been possible for years on computers equipped with TV tuners, and some versions of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Vista operating system include the necessary software. But it will be the first time that both the TiVo interface and functions have been replicated on a PC.
The Nero LiquidTV/TiVo PC will go on sale initially in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, but it could open up some markets where TiVo does not yet sell its set-top boxes. Joshua Danovitz, vice president and general manager of international business at TiVo, said the plan is to launch it in Europe next year, including in Nero's home country, Germany. Britain is the only European country where TiVo currently has subscribers.
"It's really part of a global TiVo strategy," Danovitz said.
For people who already have a tuner-equipped PC, Nero — a private company mainly known for CD- and DVD-burning software — will sell the TV recording software separately, for $99. Either way, buyers will get a one-year subscription to TiVo's program guide updates. Renewal will cost $99 per year.
The renewal cost sets the product apart from the digital video recording features of Windows Vista, which has a free program guide. However, Nero and TiVo are counting on the popularity of the TiVo interface and brand to overcome that hurdle.
Like TiVo's existing TiVo Desktop software, LiquidTV will allow users to transfer shows recorded on other TiVo devices in the home to the PC's hard drive, and bring shows out of the home, either on a laptop's drive or on an iPod or PlayStation Portable. LiquidTV also allows users to burn shows onto DVDs if the computer has a DVD burner.
Google phone to cost $179, debut Oct. 22
The first phone that harnesses Google Inc.'s ambition to make the Internet easy to use on the go was revealed Tuesday, and it looks a lot like an iPhone.
T-Mobile USA showed off the G1, a phone that, like Apple Inc.'s iPhone, has a large touch screen. But it also packs a trackball, a slide-out keyboard and easy access to Google's e-mail and mapping programs.
T-Mobile said it will begin selling the G1 for $179 with a two-year contract. The device hits U.S. stores Oct. 22 and heads to Britain in November and other European countries early next year.
The phone will be sold in T-Mobile stores only in the U.S. cities where the company has rolled out its faster, third-generation wireless data network. By launch, that will be 21 cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Houston and Miami.
In other areas, people will be able to buy the phone from T-Mobile's Web site. The phone does work on T-Mobile's slower data network, but it's optimized for the faster networks. It can also connect at Wi-Fi hotspots.
The data plan for the phone will cost $25 per month on top of the calling service, at the low end of the range for data plans at U.S. wireless carriers. And at $179, the G1 is $20 less than the least expensive iPhone in the U.S.
Android, the free software powering the G1, is a crucial building block in Google's efforts to make its search engine and other services as accessible on cell phones as they already are on personal computers. The company believes it eventually might make more money selling ads that get shown on mobile devices than on PCs, a channel that will generate about $20 billion in revenue this year.
Both Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. also are investing heavily in the mobile market in hopes of preventing Google from extending the dominance it enjoys in searches initiated on PCs.
In an interview, Google co-founder Sergey Brin said Google's aims are broader than mobile advertising.
"Generally, we think if there are great (operating systems) out there that let people have great devices and great applications, people use the Internet on their phones much more," Brin said at the launch event in New York. "And whenever people use the Internet more, they end up using our services, and ultimately, that's good for our business. There's no secret plan to have ads pop up or anything."
Like the iPhone, the G1 has a high-resolution screen, making it easier to browse Web sites that haven't been specifically adapted for a cell phone. Unlike the iPhone, Research in Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerrys and most other high-end smart phones sold in the U.S., the G1 has a very limited ability to connect to corporate e-mail servers. That means the device's initial market is likely to be consumers.
On the face of it, the G1 doesn't do much that other high-end phones don't already do. But Google is counting the device unleashing the creativity of software developers, who are free to write applications for it.
"There aren't a lot of `wow' features on it. I think what we can expect from it is that it's going to be a good Internet phone," said Lance Ulanoff, editor-in-chief of PC Magazine.
Developers will be able to submit applications to an online store run by Google, which will apply minimal vetting.
"The key is going to be what app developers are going to do for it," said Ross Rubin, an analyst with NPD Group. "They didn't have a lot to show today."
Apple launched a similar store for the iPhone this year, but keeps much tighter control over what applications are available. It has blocked programs that compete with its own.
The G1 won't connect to Apple's iTunes store, but one of the initial applications will be a music store from Amazon.com Inc., which will let users download songs directly to the phone. In an unusual move for a mobile-phone music store, the songs will have no copy protection.
Brin himself has written an application for the phone.
"It's just very exciting for me as a computer geek to be able to have a phone that I can play with and modify and innovate upon just like I have with computers in the past," he said.
Brin's program uses the phone's built-in motion sensor to measure how long it takes for the phone to land when tossed into the air. He acknowledged that the wisdom of including such a program with an expensive phone is dubious.
"We did not include that one by default," he said.
T-Mobile USA showed off the G1, a phone that, like Apple Inc.'s iPhone, has a large touch screen. But it also packs a trackball, a slide-out keyboard and easy access to Google's e-mail and mapping programs.
T-Mobile said it will begin selling the G1 for $179 with a two-year contract. The device hits U.S. stores Oct. 22 and heads to Britain in November and other European countries early next year.
The phone will be sold in T-Mobile stores only in the U.S. cities where the company has rolled out its faster, third-generation wireless data network. By launch, that will be 21 cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Houston and Miami.
In other areas, people will be able to buy the phone from T-Mobile's Web site. The phone does work on T-Mobile's slower data network, but it's optimized for the faster networks. It can also connect at Wi-Fi hotspots.
The data plan for the phone will cost $25 per month on top of the calling service, at the low end of the range for data plans at U.S. wireless carriers. And at $179, the G1 is $20 less than the least expensive iPhone in the U.S.
Android, the free software powering the G1, is a crucial building block in Google's efforts to make its search engine and other services as accessible on cell phones as they already are on personal computers. The company believes it eventually might make more money selling ads that get shown on mobile devices than on PCs, a channel that will generate about $20 billion in revenue this year.
Both Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. also are investing heavily in the mobile market in hopes of preventing Google from extending the dominance it enjoys in searches initiated on PCs.
In an interview, Google co-founder Sergey Brin said Google's aims are broader than mobile advertising.
"Generally, we think if there are great (operating systems) out there that let people have great devices and great applications, people use the Internet on their phones much more," Brin said at the launch event in New York. "And whenever people use the Internet more, they end up using our services, and ultimately, that's good for our business. There's no secret plan to have ads pop up or anything."
Like the iPhone, the G1 has a high-resolution screen, making it easier to browse Web sites that haven't been specifically adapted for a cell phone. Unlike the iPhone, Research in Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerrys and most other high-end smart phones sold in the U.S., the G1 has a very limited ability to connect to corporate e-mail servers. That means the device's initial market is likely to be consumers.
On the face of it, the G1 doesn't do much that other high-end phones don't already do. But Google is counting the device unleashing the creativity of software developers, who are free to write applications for it.
"There aren't a lot of `wow' features on it. I think what we can expect from it is that it's going to be a good Internet phone," said Lance Ulanoff, editor-in-chief of PC Magazine.
Developers will be able to submit applications to an online store run by Google, which will apply minimal vetting.
"The key is going to be what app developers are going to do for it," said Ross Rubin, an analyst with NPD Group. "They didn't have a lot to show today."
Apple launched a similar store for the iPhone this year, but keeps much tighter control over what applications are available. It has blocked programs that compete with its own.
The G1 won't connect to Apple's iTunes store, but one of the initial applications will be a music store from Amazon.com Inc., which will let users download songs directly to the phone. In an unusual move for a mobile-phone music store, the songs will have no copy protection.
Brin himself has written an application for the phone.
"It's just very exciting for me as a computer geek to be able to have a phone that I can play with and modify and innovate upon just like I have with computers in the past," he said.
Brin's program uses the phone's built-in motion sensor to measure how long it takes for the phone to land when tossed into the air. He acknowledged that the wisdom of including such a program with an expensive phone is dubious.
"We did not include that one by default," he said.
Clay is gay: Aiken comes out of the closet
The cover of the latest People magazine shows Aiken holding his infant son, Parker Foster Aiken, with the headline: "Yes, I'm Gay." The cover also has the quote: "I cannot raise a child to lie or hide things."
The magazine has an interview with Aiken and confirmed that he was on the cover but refused to release the article to The Associated Press until Wednesday.
The baby's mother is Aiken's friend and record producer Jaymes Foster.
Aiken, who gained fame as the runner-up on American Idol in 2003, rarely addressed the frequent rumors about his sexuality. In an interview with The Associated Press two years ago, he said: "I don't really feel like I have anybody to answer to but myself and God and the people I love."
The magazine has an interview with Aiken and confirmed that he was on the cover but refused to release the article to The Associated Press until Wednesday.
The baby's mother is Aiken's friend and record producer Jaymes Foster.
Aiken, who gained fame as the runner-up on American Idol in 2003, rarely addressed the frequent rumors about his sexuality. In an interview with The Associated Press two years ago, he said: "I don't really feel like I have anybody to answer to but myself and God and the people I love."
Ciara Insists: 'I Wasn't Nude' In Vibe Photo Shoot
'Go Girl' singer calls magazine cover 'very, very upsetting and somewhat misleading.'
R&B chanteuse Ciara would like to set the record straight about the photo spread she shot for the October issue of Vibe magazine: She was not nude, and yes, she's very upset by the magazine's depiction of her as such — but she is not planning any legal action against the urban glossy.
"I think, at this point, I'd rather just be quiet about things such as that but I definitely want to make it clear that I was going in to do something artistic, and I was upset that when I saw the photos, everything was gone," the singer told MTV News last weekend, from the set of her forthcoming music video for "Go Girl," which features a cameo from T-Pain. "It's very, very upsetting and somewhat misleading."
Online rumors have suggested that the singer was not nude during the photo shoot but instead wearing underwear, which the magazine allegedly airbrushed out. Vibe Editor in Chief Danyel Smith recently commented to New York's KISS-FM radio station that not only was Ciara shot au natural, the entire idea behind the spread was the singer's.
"I'm actually really sad," Smith said. "Almost any photo you see on the cover of Vibe or any magazine is airbrushed [to some degree]. What I was thinking of doing, actually, was releasing the untouched photos [on Vibe's] Web site, so people can see what the hullabaloo is all about. I have so much respect for Ciara, and Ciara was so happy when she pitched this idea to us, and the photos are actually striking and beautiful. It was pitched to me in a way that it was time [for her] to grow up and be beautiful and be free and be all the things she wanted to be."
Ciara said she's still hurt by the photos and was quite shocked when she finally got her hands on the October issue.
"I walked into the Vibe photo shoot very excited about making an artistic expression," she said. "And when I saw the photos, I was a little bothered because the photos appear as if I was nude, and I wasn't nude. I reached out to [Smith] — I sent her a letter — and I was a little upset, too, in the fact that she didn't respond to me, and that happened prior to me reading her quote on the Internet. That definitely bothered me, just because of the fact that I wasn't nude. I walked into the photo shoot to do an artistic photo shoot, so I was excited about that. I just didn't like the fact that I saw the picture and now, stuff is gone."
Ciara said the idea behind the entire shoot — at least on her end — was a celebration of the human form and that she'd walked away from the shoot thinking that everything had gone great. "When I saw the pictures, that wasn't what was discussed or what we were going in to do, so that definitely bothered me," she said. "I think the body is something beautiful, and I wanted to celebrate that. And unfortunately, it wasn't exactly what it was in the photo shoot, and I'm looking forward to moving forward."
No matter what Smith or anyone from Vibe says about the shoot, Ciara said she knows exactly what went down that day.
"I know what was there, I know what was taken, and I know what was done. And then to look at the book and go, 'It's gone' — it was just very upsetting to me," she said.
R&B chanteuse Ciara would like to set the record straight about the photo spread she shot for the October issue of Vibe magazine: She was not nude, and yes, she's very upset by the magazine's depiction of her as such — but she is not planning any legal action against the urban glossy.
"I think, at this point, I'd rather just be quiet about things such as that but I definitely want to make it clear that I was going in to do something artistic, and I was upset that when I saw the photos, everything was gone," the singer told MTV News last weekend, from the set of her forthcoming music video for "Go Girl," which features a cameo from T-Pain. "It's very, very upsetting and somewhat misleading."
Online rumors have suggested that the singer was not nude during the photo shoot but instead wearing underwear, which the magazine allegedly airbrushed out. Vibe Editor in Chief Danyel Smith recently commented to New York's KISS-FM radio station that not only was Ciara shot au natural, the entire idea behind the spread was the singer's.
"I'm actually really sad," Smith said. "Almost any photo you see on the cover of Vibe or any magazine is airbrushed [to some degree]. What I was thinking of doing, actually, was releasing the untouched photos [on Vibe's] Web site, so people can see what the hullabaloo is all about. I have so much respect for Ciara, and Ciara was so happy when she pitched this idea to us, and the photos are actually striking and beautiful. It was pitched to me in a way that it was time [for her] to grow up and be beautiful and be free and be all the things she wanted to be."
Ciara said she's still hurt by the photos and was quite shocked when she finally got her hands on the October issue.
"I walked into the Vibe photo shoot very excited about making an artistic expression," she said. "And when I saw the photos, I was a little bothered because the photos appear as if I was nude, and I wasn't nude. I reached out to [Smith] — I sent her a letter — and I was a little upset, too, in the fact that she didn't respond to me, and that happened prior to me reading her quote on the Internet. That definitely bothered me, just because of the fact that I wasn't nude. I walked into the photo shoot to do an artistic photo shoot, so I was excited about that. I just didn't like the fact that I saw the picture and now, stuff is gone."
Ciara said the idea behind the entire shoot — at least on her end — was a celebration of the human form and that she'd walked away from the shoot thinking that everything had gone great. "When I saw the pictures, that wasn't what was discussed or what we were going in to do, so that definitely bothered me," she said. "I think the body is something beautiful, and I wanted to celebrate that. And unfortunately, it wasn't exactly what it was in the photo shoot, and I'm looking forward to moving forward."
No matter what Smith or anyone from Vibe says about the shoot, Ciara said she knows exactly what went down that day.
"I know what was there, I know what was taken, and I know what was done. And then to look at the book and go, 'It's gone' — it was just very upsetting to me," she said.
Chelsea 1 Manchester United 1: Kalou crowns Chelsea fightback in compelling battle of heavyweights
It is too early in the season for this to be a seminal match, but for an hour yesterday it felt like it could be.
Manchester United, showing the form they have been searching for during the campaign's opening weeks, appeared poised to inflict Chelsea's first home League defeat for four-and-a-half years. That would have been a resounding psychological blow worth even more than the three precious points at stake.
Then Chelsea's resilience, which seems part of their DNA regardless of who is in the dugout, surfaced again. Trailing to Ji-Sung Park's 18th-minute goal, they had lacked the fluency previously displayed under Luiz Felipe Scolari. But the best teams graft when the craft is missing and Chelsea pushed the champions back by force of will.
Salomon Kalou levelled and United were hanging on at the final whistle which came just as Rio Ferdinand flattened Didier Drogba on the edge of the box. With Ferdinand's second yellow card seemingly imminent, and Chelsea anticipating a dangerously placed free-kick, Mike Riley signalled that time was up.
The result leaves United 15th, between Wigan and Bolton, with five points from four games. More pertinently they remain six points adrift of Chelsea, but with a game in hand, having already played two of their most demanding fixtures, here and at Liverpool last weekend. Chelsea are second, level with Liverpool and a point behind Arsenal. Those two teams will be happiest with this result, and the fact that Deco, Ricardo Carvalho and Edwin van der Sar all suffered injury. Van der Sar's may be the most significant as United last week lost reserve goalkeeper Ben Foster to an ankle injury for six weeks.
Sir Alex Ferguson picked a team designed to stifle Chelsea, but with orders to attack them. Owen Hargreaves and Park were stationed on the flanks of a midfield four with a view to pinning back Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa, who have been such an outlet for Chelsea this season. The intent, though, was offensive, United perhaps surprising Chelsea with their attacking approach, Paul Scholes and Darren Fletcher having chances in the early minutes.
This was backed up by tackling fierce enough to suggest Ferguson's pre-match address had reminded his men how they had been second to the ball too often at Anfield. Scholes committed three fouls in the first 10 minutes and was the first of seven United names taken by Riley – to one of Chelsea. United will be fined by the Football Association for exceeding five cautions.
United's initial ascendancy was helped by Chelsea having to reshape their midfield after Deco became the weekend's third player – after Middlesbrough's Mido and Abdoulaye Méité of West Bromwich Albion – to be injured in the warm-up. Michael Ballack replaced him, his first start since missing four weeks with a foot injury. Deco has been Chelsea's midfield fulcrum and with Ballack taking time to settle their passing lacked cohesion. Then Carvalho had to limp off after 12 minutes to be replaced by Alex.
Outplayed though they were in the opening half, Chelsea should have scored first. Joe Cole, running on to Nicolas Anelka's flick-on, turned Patrice Evra, advanced on Van der Sar and to general astonishment steered his shot into the side netting. It proved an expensive miss as, 10 minutes later, United went ahead. Evra fed Dimitar Berbatov who laid the ball back to Rooney. He picked out Evra, who had continued his run into the box. The France international shrugged off Bosingwa and cut the ball back to Berbatov. Cech parried his side-footed shot and Park rolled in the rebound.
United had already gone close from an even unlikelier source. Ferdinand, having dispossessed Anelka and fed Berbatov, kept running and was played in by Rooney. Cech turned his shot onto the crossbar and over.
It was 10 minutes before Chelsea threatened to level, but through a defensive slip, Neville leaving a headed back-pass short. Florent Malouda just won a 50-50 race with Van der Sar but the Dutchman blocked his toe-poke with his chest before crashing into Malouda. On balance, Riley was right not to give a penalty and show a red card but the goalkeeper soon departed anyway, bruised in the collision.
Drogba came on at the restart, soon followed by Cristiano Ronaldo. The former had the greater impact with his physical presence and ability to hold the ball up. Gradually, Chelsea began to create chances. Ballack released Joe Cole over the top. This time he went for power, and blasted the ball at Tomasz Kuszczak's chest. Anelka managed to miskick when presented with gilt-edged chances by Bosingwa and Joe Cole, then Ballack shot wide.
Chelsea's profligacy should have been punished when Ronaldo released Rooney with 13 minutes left. He hit the side netting. Two minutes later, after Rooney had fouled Ashley Cole, Kalou exploited slack marking to head in John Obi Mikel's free-kick.
That there were no further goals was due to a last-ditch saving tackle by Neville on Kalou, and an extraordinary block by Alex from Fletcher's shot. Those two moments, as much as the artistry shown at times by red and blue, underlined why the title is likely to go to one of these teams for the fifth successive year.
Goals: Park (18) 0-1; Kalou (80) 1-1.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Bosingwa, Carvalho (Alex, 12), Terry, A Cole; Ballack (Kalou, 74), Mikel, Lampard; J Cole, Anelka, Malouda (Drogba, h-t). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Bridge, Ferriera, Belletti.
Manchester United (4-4-2): Van der Sar (Kuszczak, 32); Neville, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra; Hargreaves, Fletcher, Scholes (Ronaldo, 55), Park (O'Shea, 75); Rooney, Berbatov. Substitutes not used: Brown, Giggs, Nani, Tevez.
Referee: M Riley (West Yorkshire)
Booked: Chelsea Mikel; Manchester United Scholes, Ferdinand, Neville, Berbatov, Rooney, Evra, Ronaldo.
Man of the match: Rooney.
Attendance: 41,760
Manchester United, showing the form they have been searching for during the campaign's opening weeks, appeared poised to inflict Chelsea's first home League defeat for four-and-a-half years. That would have been a resounding psychological blow worth even more than the three precious points at stake.
Then Chelsea's resilience, which seems part of their DNA regardless of who is in the dugout, surfaced again. Trailing to Ji-Sung Park's 18th-minute goal, they had lacked the fluency previously displayed under Luiz Felipe Scolari. But the best teams graft when the craft is missing and Chelsea pushed the champions back by force of will.
Salomon Kalou levelled and United were hanging on at the final whistle which came just as Rio Ferdinand flattened Didier Drogba on the edge of the box. With Ferdinand's second yellow card seemingly imminent, and Chelsea anticipating a dangerously placed free-kick, Mike Riley signalled that time was up.
The result leaves United 15th, between Wigan and Bolton, with five points from four games. More pertinently they remain six points adrift of Chelsea, but with a game in hand, having already played two of their most demanding fixtures, here and at Liverpool last weekend. Chelsea are second, level with Liverpool and a point behind Arsenal. Those two teams will be happiest with this result, and the fact that Deco, Ricardo Carvalho and Edwin van der Sar all suffered injury. Van der Sar's may be the most significant as United last week lost reserve goalkeeper Ben Foster to an ankle injury for six weeks.
Sir Alex Ferguson picked a team designed to stifle Chelsea, but with orders to attack them. Owen Hargreaves and Park were stationed on the flanks of a midfield four with a view to pinning back Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa, who have been such an outlet for Chelsea this season. The intent, though, was offensive, United perhaps surprising Chelsea with their attacking approach, Paul Scholes and Darren Fletcher having chances in the early minutes.
This was backed up by tackling fierce enough to suggest Ferguson's pre-match address had reminded his men how they had been second to the ball too often at Anfield. Scholes committed three fouls in the first 10 minutes and was the first of seven United names taken by Riley – to one of Chelsea. United will be fined by the Football Association for exceeding five cautions.
United's initial ascendancy was helped by Chelsea having to reshape their midfield after Deco became the weekend's third player – after Middlesbrough's Mido and Abdoulaye Méité of West Bromwich Albion – to be injured in the warm-up. Michael Ballack replaced him, his first start since missing four weeks with a foot injury. Deco has been Chelsea's midfield fulcrum and with Ballack taking time to settle their passing lacked cohesion. Then Carvalho had to limp off after 12 minutes to be replaced by Alex.
Outplayed though they were in the opening half, Chelsea should have scored first. Joe Cole, running on to Nicolas Anelka's flick-on, turned Patrice Evra, advanced on Van der Sar and to general astonishment steered his shot into the side netting. It proved an expensive miss as, 10 minutes later, United went ahead. Evra fed Dimitar Berbatov who laid the ball back to Rooney. He picked out Evra, who had continued his run into the box. The France international shrugged off Bosingwa and cut the ball back to Berbatov. Cech parried his side-footed shot and Park rolled in the rebound.
United had already gone close from an even unlikelier source. Ferdinand, having dispossessed Anelka and fed Berbatov, kept running and was played in by Rooney. Cech turned his shot onto the crossbar and over.
It was 10 minutes before Chelsea threatened to level, but through a defensive slip, Neville leaving a headed back-pass short. Florent Malouda just won a 50-50 race with Van der Sar but the Dutchman blocked his toe-poke with his chest before crashing into Malouda. On balance, Riley was right not to give a penalty and show a red card but the goalkeeper soon departed anyway, bruised in the collision.
Drogba came on at the restart, soon followed by Cristiano Ronaldo. The former had the greater impact with his physical presence and ability to hold the ball up. Gradually, Chelsea began to create chances. Ballack released Joe Cole over the top. This time he went for power, and blasted the ball at Tomasz Kuszczak's chest. Anelka managed to miskick when presented with gilt-edged chances by Bosingwa and Joe Cole, then Ballack shot wide.
Chelsea's profligacy should have been punished when Ronaldo released Rooney with 13 minutes left. He hit the side netting. Two minutes later, after Rooney had fouled Ashley Cole, Kalou exploited slack marking to head in John Obi Mikel's free-kick.
That there were no further goals was due to a last-ditch saving tackle by Neville on Kalou, and an extraordinary block by Alex from Fletcher's shot. Those two moments, as much as the artistry shown at times by red and blue, underlined why the title is likely to go to one of these teams for the fifth successive year.
Goals: Park (18) 0-1; Kalou (80) 1-1.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Bosingwa, Carvalho (Alex, 12), Terry, A Cole; Ballack (Kalou, 74), Mikel, Lampard; J Cole, Anelka, Malouda (Drogba, h-t). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Bridge, Ferriera, Belletti.
Manchester United (4-4-2): Van der Sar (Kuszczak, 32); Neville, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra; Hargreaves, Fletcher, Scholes (Ronaldo, 55), Park (O'Shea, 75); Rooney, Berbatov. Substitutes not used: Brown, Giggs, Nani, Tevez.
Referee: M Riley (West Yorkshire)
Booked: Chelsea Mikel; Manchester United Scholes, Ferdinand, Neville, Berbatov, Rooney, Evra, Ronaldo.
Man of the match: Rooney.
Attendance: 41,760
Palin Email Hacker Found
mortonda writes to tell us that the person responsible for breaching Sarah Palin's private email account has been found. We discussed the breach last Wednesday, shortly before a message from the hacker, a University of Tennessee-Knoxville student, posted a message detailing his methods. Wired has a story examining the potential legal consequences for the hacker.
Google grows search lead
Google saw its search lead expand in August
Google grows search lead
Company widens gap over Yahoo, MSN
Google has seen its total share of the search market grow to nearly two-thirds of all US search traffic, according to a recent report.
Research firm Comscore said in its monthly report that Google's total search share grew from 61.9 to 63 per cent over the month of August. The company saw an increase of 1.1 per cent over the month, in which Google's sites handled some 7.4 billion of the 11.7 billion searches performed in the US.
Most of Google's gain came at the expense of rivals Yahoo and Microsoft. Yahoo saw its share of the market fall by 0.9 per cent over the month to claim just 19.6 per cent of the total market with 2.3 billion searches.
Microsoft was a distant third, claiming 8.3 per cent of the market. The 977 million searches performed by Microsoft sites reflected a 0.6 per cent decrease over last month.
Ask Network saw its share increase slightly, claiming 4.8 per cent of the total market over 4.5 per cent in July. Fifth-place AOL also saw a slight gain, improving from 4.2 per cent to 4.3 per cent of the US search market.
Google grows search lead
Company widens gap over Yahoo, MSN
Google has seen its total share of the search market grow to nearly two-thirds of all US search traffic, according to a recent report.
Research firm Comscore said in its monthly report that Google's total search share grew from 61.9 to 63 per cent over the month of August. The company saw an increase of 1.1 per cent over the month, in which Google's sites handled some 7.4 billion of the 11.7 billion searches performed in the US.
Most of Google's gain came at the expense of rivals Yahoo and Microsoft. Yahoo saw its share of the market fall by 0.9 per cent over the month to claim just 19.6 per cent of the total market with 2.3 billion searches.
Microsoft was a distant third, claiming 8.3 per cent of the market. The 977 million searches performed by Microsoft sites reflected a 0.6 per cent decrease over last month.
Ask Network saw its share increase slightly, claiming 4.8 per cent of the total market over 4.5 per cent in July. Fifth-place AOL also saw a slight gain, improving from 4.2 per cent to 4.3 per cent of the US search market.
R. Kelly Speaks Out About Child-Pornography Trial For First — And Possibly Last — Time
When asked by interviewer whether he likes teenage girls, Kelly says, 'I don't like anybody illegal.'
In the first — and what he claimed would be his last — interview regarding his recent child-pornography trial, R&B singer R. Kelly sat down with BET News for a special that aired Tuesday, to say he has had been punished enough and that people should respect the not-guilty verdict he received three months ago.
"It's time for me to move on," Kelly told interviewer Touré during "R. Kelly Speaks." "I can't keep answering these questions. If you was charged with something and you was found innocent, then you can't be found guilty for being found innocent."
However, with that statement, Kelly failed to distinguish the difference between not guilty and innocent — no jury has the power to declare anyone innocent, only the power to say that the state did not meet its burden of proof to find someone guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. And in this particular case, the members of Kelly's jury still had some doubts. Kelly expected his fans and public to have some doubts as well, but he hoped to overcome them with the interview, in which he claimed his sex-god image was just that, an image — not his real life.
"I wish people wouldn't connect the R. Kelly image — of champagne, girls ... sex, sex, sex — to Robert," Kelly said. "R. Kelly is an image, a brand. That's my job. There's a whole other side of me that's Robert, who is a father, a friend. But then I put on the game face and go into the studio and do the music. That's just another day at the office."
When asked directly if he likes teenage girls, Kelly asked in response, "How old are we talking?" Touré responded, "Girls who are teenagers." Kelly then asked, "Nineteen? I have some 19-year-old fans. I don't like anybody illegal, if that's what you're talking about." (The subject of his annulled marriage to a 15-year-old Aaliyah did not come up.)
(Head here for more questions R. Kelly could have been asked but wasn't.)
Touré countered that some of the singer's former employees (including an assistant and a publicist) and his brother Carey Kelly had raised "issues of concern" in this area. "Issues of concern?" Kelly asked. "What do you mean? Let me put it to you this way, man. People who don't work for me say that. The people who do work for me don't say that. The people who don't work for me were fired. ... Do not listen to the people who was fired. Don't even listen to the people who was hired. Listen to the facts."
But what about his own brother, who could hardly be considered just another disgruntled employee? "Doesn't matter," Kelly said. "I fired him too." Why? "I can't get into that," Kelly said. "But I fired him 1,000 times and I rehired him."
Kelly also claimed that he had been blackmailed, a claim he had made previously when a sex tape purporting to depict him and an underage girl was first made public, only now he said the blackmail attempts happened before, during and after the trial. (Kelly did not specify who had allegedly blackmailed him, but Kelly's own lawyer had dispelled the notion that ex-manager — and Aaliyah's uncle — Barry Hankerson was involved in any such attempt in his interview with MTV News immediately following the verdict.)
"I've been blackmailed a billion times," Kelly said. "I've been sued for ridiculous things. At one point in my life, I was an ATM machine. But I'm used to that. You don't get used to it, but I'm used to the fact that people will do this, even your own family members, and I don't hate none of them. A lot of people are out to get me, especially when I was vulnerable [because of the trial and public scandal]. When you're R. Kelly, they want a piece of you."
Kelly said the ordeal of the trial and the years leading up to it made him feel like he had already been given a guilty verdict. "I feel like I was in jail for the last seven years," he said. "A lot has been taken away from me. Going through that whole thing was hell, man. I wouldn't wish it on nobody."
Now that it's over, he wants to concentrate on his music (which he said would remain sexually explicit), his children (although he didn't mention his estranged wife) and humanitarian efforts. He's planning a trip to Africa — his first.
"I'm trying to put it all together," Kelly said. "I want to get over there not just to tour, but get into doing some humanity stuff. I don't know what that is yet."
Kelly said the trial and scandal experience has taught him a lot, including to be more humble, to be more spiritual and to separate his professional and private life.
"If it had an impact, I hope it to be a positive impact," he said. "If the 12 people who didn't know me, after hearing the facts and listening to everything, could find me innocent, [I hope that] people around the world could do the same thing."
In the first — and what he claimed would be his last — interview regarding his recent child-pornography trial, R&B singer R. Kelly sat down with BET News for a special that aired Tuesday, to say he has had been punished enough and that people should respect the not-guilty verdict he received three months ago.
"It's time for me to move on," Kelly told interviewer Touré during "R. Kelly Speaks." "I can't keep answering these questions. If you was charged with something and you was found innocent, then you can't be found guilty for being found innocent."
However, with that statement, Kelly failed to distinguish the difference between not guilty and innocent — no jury has the power to declare anyone innocent, only the power to say that the state did not meet its burden of proof to find someone guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. And in this particular case, the members of Kelly's jury still had some doubts. Kelly expected his fans and public to have some doubts as well, but he hoped to overcome them with the interview, in which he claimed his sex-god image was just that, an image — not his real life.
"I wish people wouldn't connect the R. Kelly image — of champagne, girls ... sex, sex, sex — to Robert," Kelly said. "R. Kelly is an image, a brand. That's my job. There's a whole other side of me that's Robert, who is a father, a friend. But then I put on the game face and go into the studio and do the music. That's just another day at the office."
When asked directly if he likes teenage girls, Kelly asked in response, "How old are we talking?" Touré responded, "Girls who are teenagers." Kelly then asked, "Nineteen? I have some 19-year-old fans. I don't like anybody illegal, if that's what you're talking about." (The subject of his annulled marriage to a 15-year-old Aaliyah did not come up.)
(Head here for more questions R. Kelly could have been asked but wasn't.)
Touré countered that some of the singer's former employees (including an assistant and a publicist) and his brother Carey Kelly had raised "issues of concern" in this area. "Issues of concern?" Kelly asked. "What do you mean? Let me put it to you this way, man. People who don't work for me say that. The people who do work for me don't say that. The people who don't work for me were fired. ... Do not listen to the people who was fired. Don't even listen to the people who was hired. Listen to the facts."
But what about his own brother, who could hardly be considered just another disgruntled employee? "Doesn't matter," Kelly said. "I fired him too." Why? "I can't get into that," Kelly said. "But I fired him 1,000 times and I rehired him."
Kelly also claimed that he had been blackmailed, a claim he had made previously when a sex tape purporting to depict him and an underage girl was first made public, only now he said the blackmail attempts happened before, during and after the trial. (Kelly did not specify who had allegedly blackmailed him, but Kelly's own lawyer had dispelled the notion that ex-manager — and Aaliyah's uncle — Barry Hankerson was involved in any such attempt in his interview with MTV News immediately following the verdict.)
"I've been blackmailed a billion times," Kelly said. "I've been sued for ridiculous things. At one point in my life, I was an ATM machine. But I'm used to that. You don't get used to it, but I'm used to the fact that people will do this, even your own family members, and I don't hate none of them. A lot of people are out to get me, especially when I was vulnerable [because of the trial and public scandal]. When you're R. Kelly, they want a piece of you."
Kelly said the ordeal of the trial and the years leading up to it made him feel like he had already been given a guilty verdict. "I feel like I was in jail for the last seven years," he said. "A lot has been taken away from me. Going through that whole thing was hell, man. I wouldn't wish it on nobody."
Now that it's over, he wants to concentrate on his music (which he said would remain sexually explicit), his children (although he didn't mention his estranged wife) and humanitarian efforts. He's planning a trip to Africa — his first.
"I'm trying to put it all together," Kelly said. "I want to get over there not just to tour, but get into doing some humanity stuff. I don't know what that is yet."
Kelly said the trial and scandal experience has taught him a lot, including to be more humble, to be more spiritual and to separate his professional and private life.
"If it had an impact, I hope it to be a positive impact," he said. "If the 12 people who didn't know me, after hearing the facts and listening to everything, could find me innocent, [I hope that] people around the world could do the same thing."
Feds probe hack of Palin's e-mail account
Now we know the real reason why John McCain doesn't use e-mail.
Hackers have broken into the Yahoo e-mail account of Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin. And, as you might expect, some snippets have appeared on Wikileaks.org in a convenient ZIP file.
"This is a shocking invasion of the governor's privacy and a violation of law. The matter has been turned over to the appropriate authorities and we hope that anyone in possession of these e-mails will destroy them," the McCain campaign said in a statement on Wednesday.
It's still unclear exactly what happened, who was responsible, or how they obtained access to Palin's personal e-mail. Wikileaks attributed the break-in to the hacker group Anonymous, which has tangled with Scientology in the past.
In terms of embarrassing personal information, there wasn't much made public, save some silly family photographs. But there was some evidence that Gov. Palin conducted work business via personal e-mail--perhaps as a way to avoid divulging data in response to a subpoena or request made under Alaska's open government laws.
Though that wasn't exactly a revelation. The New York Times published an article on Sunday saying:
Her inner circle discussed the benefit of using private e-mail addresses. An assistant told her it appeared that such e-mail messages sent to a private address on a "personal device" like a BlackBerry "would be confidential and not subject to subpoena." Ms. Palin and aides use their private e-mail addresses for state business. A campaign spokesman said the governor copied e-mail messages to her state account "when there was significant state business."
On Feb. 7, Frank Bailey, a high-level aide, wrote to Ms. Palin's state e-mail address to discuss appointments. Another aide fired back: "Frank, this is not the governor's personal account." Mr. Bailey responded: "Whoops~!"
As of Wednesday morning, the gov.palin@yahoo.com was canceled and e-mail to it bounced (apparently Palin had another account, too, called gov.sarah@yahoo.com).
Probably the more interesting question is the legal fallout. The U.S. Secret Service is investigating the intrusion, which violated federal computer crime law.
Count on subpoenas already being sent to Yahoo for information about what Internet addresses were used to connect to the Palin account in the last few days. It may be a difficult legal task to force Wikileaks to delete the info, assuming the McCain-Palin camp even wanted to, but in legal terms would be a lot easier to try to get the site to divulge its source.
In the absence of a federal shield law, journalists enjoy scant protection when trying to protect the confidentiality of their sources. Ironically, perhaps, both Barack Obama (at least in the past) and John McCain (as of this spring) say they support enacting one.
Hackers have broken into the Yahoo e-mail account of Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin. And, as you might expect, some snippets have appeared on Wikileaks.org in a convenient ZIP file.
"This is a shocking invasion of the governor's privacy and a violation of law. The matter has been turned over to the appropriate authorities and we hope that anyone in possession of these e-mails will destroy them," the McCain campaign said in a statement on Wednesday.
It's still unclear exactly what happened, who was responsible, or how they obtained access to Palin's personal e-mail. Wikileaks attributed the break-in to the hacker group Anonymous, which has tangled with Scientology in the past.
In terms of embarrassing personal information, there wasn't much made public, save some silly family photographs. But there was some evidence that Gov. Palin conducted work business via personal e-mail--perhaps as a way to avoid divulging data in response to a subpoena or request made under Alaska's open government laws.
Though that wasn't exactly a revelation. The New York Times published an article on Sunday saying:
Her inner circle discussed the benefit of using private e-mail addresses. An assistant told her it appeared that such e-mail messages sent to a private address on a "personal device" like a BlackBerry "would be confidential and not subject to subpoena." Ms. Palin and aides use their private e-mail addresses for state business. A campaign spokesman said the governor copied e-mail messages to her state account "when there was significant state business."
On Feb. 7, Frank Bailey, a high-level aide, wrote to Ms. Palin's state e-mail address to discuss appointments. Another aide fired back: "Frank, this is not the governor's personal account." Mr. Bailey responded: "Whoops~!"
As of Wednesday morning, the gov.palin@yahoo.com was canceled and e-mail to it bounced (apparently Palin had another account, too, called gov.sarah@yahoo.com).
Probably the more interesting question is the legal fallout. The U.S. Secret Service is investigating the intrusion, which violated federal computer crime law.
Count on subpoenas already being sent to Yahoo for information about what Internet addresses were used to connect to the Palin account in the last few days. It may be a difficult legal task to force Wikileaks to delete the info, assuming the McCain-Palin camp even wanted to, but in legal terms would be a lot easier to try to get the site to divulge its source.
In the absence of a federal shield law, journalists enjoy scant protection when trying to protect the confidentiality of their sources. Ironically, perhaps, both Barack Obama (at least in the past) and John McCain (as of this spring) say they support enacting one.
Microsoft: Shift away from Seinfeld-Gates planned
The next ad in Microsoft's massive Windows campaign won't feature Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld, but the move is part of a planned shift, Microsoft insisted on Wednesday
"That was always the plan," a Microsoft spokesperson said late Wednesday. That followed a report on Valleywag that Seinfeld and Gates were getting the boot.
Microsoft had indicated even before the second ad debuted last week that a shift was coming.
In any case, Wednesday's coverage is more bad news for Microsoft, which is banking on this $300 million ad push to help restore Microsoft's image after years of bad press for Windows Vista and relentless attacks from rival Apple.
Reaction to the ads has been largely negative since the first one debuted two weeks ago.
Update: Later on Wednesday, A Microsoft spokesman added this official statement: "We will be executing the second phase of our advertising campaign tomorrow, as planned from the start."
"That was always the plan," a Microsoft spokesperson said late Wednesday. That followed a report on Valleywag that Seinfeld and Gates were getting the boot.
Microsoft had indicated even before the second ad debuted last week that a shift was coming.
In any case, Wednesday's coverage is more bad news for Microsoft, which is banking on this $300 million ad push to help restore Microsoft's image after years of bad press for Windows Vista and relentless attacks from rival Apple.
Reaction to the ads has been largely negative since the first one debuted two weeks ago.
Update: Later on Wednesday, A Microsoft spokesman added this official statement: "We will be executing the second phase of our advertising campaign tomorrow, as planned from the start."
Beyonce's New LP, Featuring Justin Timberlake, Due November 18
Two tracks, 'If I Were a Boy' and 'Single Ladies,' will be released in advance of album.
While details have been largely kept under wraps, some information has emerged about Beyoncé's forthcoming, still-untitled third solo LP, which is slated for release on November 18 on Music World Music/ Columbia.
Justin Timberlake will appear on the LP, although further details on his involvement were not available at press time. The two sang together on a cover of the 1968 Marvin Gaye/ Tammi Terrell hit "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" at the Fashion Rocks concert in New York last weekend.
Timberlake told reporters outside the show, "I'll be in the studio this week with Beyoncé. Who knows what will come out of that?" according to MTV News U.K.
Beyoncé co-wrote or co-produced all the material on the album, which the label says comprises "her most personal, reflective and revelatory collection to-date."
Songwriter/ producer Sean Garrett (Mary J. Blige, Usher, Fergie) revealed to MTV News on the VMA red carpet that he's been Beyoncé's album. "I got to get a big secret out: Beyoncé!" he said. "I just finished some incredible records with her. She's probably going to be mad at me for telling you all — sorry, B!"
Producer Jim Jonsin (Lil Wayne's "Lollipop," T.I., Danity Kane) reportedly worked with the singer on the song the track "Beautiful Nightmare," which leaked earlier this year, although it was unclear at press time whether the song will appear on the LP.
Two tracks from the album, "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies," will be released in advance of the LP on October 7, according to the label. Beyoncé filmed a video for an undisclosed song in New York on Thursday.
Beyoncé also has two films in the works: She appears as legendary singer Etta James in "Cadillac Records," which does not yet have a release date, and the wife of a man being stalked in "Obsessed," due early next year.
While details have been largely kept under wraps, some information has emerged about Beyoncé's forthcoming, still-untitled third solo LP, which is slated for release on November 18 on Music World Music/ Columbia.
Justin Timberlake will appear on the LP, although further details on his involvement were not available at press time. The two sang together on a cover of the 1968 Marvin Gaye/ Tammi Terrell hit "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" at the Fashion Rocks concert in New York last weekend.
Timberlake told reporters outside the show, "I'll be in the studio this week with Beyoncé. Who knows what will come out of that?" according to MTV News U.K.
Beyoncé co-wrote or co-produced all the material on the album, which the label says comprises "her most personal, reflective and revelatory collection to-date."
Songwriter/ producer Sean Garrett (Mary J. Blige, Usher, Fergie) revealed to MTV News on the VMA red carpet that he's been Beyoncé's album. "I got to get a big secret out: Beyoncé!" he said. "I just finished some incredible records with her. She's probably going to be mad at me for telling you all — sorry, B!"
Producer Jim Jonsin (Lil Wayne's "Lollipop," T.I., Danity Kane) reportedly worked with the singer on the song the track "Beautiful Nightmare," which leaked earlier this year, although it was unclear at press time whether the song will appear on the LP.
Two tracks from the album, "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies," will be released in advance of the LP on October 7, according to the label. Beyoncé filmed a video for an undisclosed song in New York on Thursday.
Beyoncé also has two films in the works: She appears as legendary singer Etta James in "Cadillac Records," which does not yet have a release date, and the wife of a man being stalked in "Obsessed," due early next year.
Barack Obama, John McCain Agree On Importance Of Community Service At Columbia University Forum
Both candidates criticize Bush's failure to encourage volunteer involvement.
Columbia University students had it tough on Thursday, duking it out over seating arrangements and enduring intense security measures, as Senators John McCain and Barack Obama arrived on campus for their first televised appearances since their parties' national conventions. On the seventh anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the candidates tried to put politics aside to discuss their views on community service at the nonpartisan ServiceNation summit.
(Watch the entire ServiceNation presidential candidate forum here.)
The presidential forum, moderated by PBS' Judy Woodruff and Time managing editor Rick Stengel, drew an estimated 7,500 students and area residents who lined the steps of the library to watch on a JumboTron screen. The actual event took place in Roone Arledge Auditorium, where only 100 students were allowed (via a ticket lottery) to sit in the audience that also included families of September 11 victims, veterans, politicians and celebrities such as Tobey Maguire, Usher and Leonardo DiCaprio.
"We weren't Republicans on September 11. We weren't Democrats. We were Americans," said McCain, who was the first to appear. "This is an opportunity to lead the nation and talk to the American people and reform our government and ask for more service."
The Arizona senator criticized President Bush for not asking Americans to come together as volunteers after the attacks. While praising programs such as the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps, McCain also said the government should be careful not to interfere with volunteer organizations. He also praised Obama's service as a community organizer early in his career, claiming that when Sarah Palin seemed to denigrate the job she was merely defending her own experience.
Michael Hennessy, 29, clapped enthusiastically during McCain's speech. "I appreciate that he's a big proponent of service. His personal history is a testament to government service and to the service of America," he said.
"I felt like he was just saying everything he knew that everyone wants to hear," Sharay Hale, a 19-year-old freshman, offered.
When Obama shook McCain's hand before his turn on the stage, the crowd inside and outside the auditorium erupted in applause. The Illinois senator, an alumnus of Columbia, joked that he had a home-court advantage.
Obama agreed with much of what McCain had said, but but he emphasized the important role the government plays in encouraging change and reiterated his campaign promise to institute an annual $4,000 college-tuition credit for students in exchange for community service.
"We've got to transform Washington, and we've got to do some housecleaning," Obama said. "But what we also want to do is to remind young people that if it weren't for government, then we wouldn't have a Civil Rights Act. If it weren't for government, we would not have the interstate highway system. If it weren't for government, we would not have some of our parks and natural wilderness areas that are so precious to America. And so part of my job, I think, as president, is to make government cool again."
Lisa Michl, a 23-year-old graduate student, said she was excited to see the candidates on campus. "Actually coming to a campus and doing this talk is a great way to get people more involved and inspire people to actually get out there and do something, because it's not a part of your daily conversation."
Not all of the action of the evening went down inside the auditorium. Three students were asked to leave the campus after donning boxing gloves and wearing homemade Obama and McCain cardboard boxes on their heads. Elliot D. (who would only give his last intial), a 21-year-old senior, was "Obama"; Gabe Espinal, a 21-year-old senior, was "McCain," and Jesse Waldman, also a 21-year-old senior, was a character on roller skates labeled "Spectacle." Waldman said that the three of them came to campus early and felt "uncomfortable with the lead-up to the event," so they decided to liven things up.
"We just wanted to get people to think about the political system itself, instead of 'Who are you voting for?' " Elliot D. said.
Thursday's presidential forum kicked off the two-day ServiceNation summit, where hundreds of students, businesses, universities, politicians and foundations will come together to expand national and community service opportunities.
Columbia University students had it tough on Thursday, duking it out over seating arrangements and enduring intense security measures, as Senators John McCain and Barack Obama arrived on campus for their first televised appearances since their parties' national conventions. On the seventh anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the candidates tried to put politics aside to discuss their views on community service at the nonpartisan ServiceNation summit.
(Watch the entire ServiceNation presidential candidate forum here.)
The presidential forum, moderated by PBS' Judy Woodruff and Time managing editor Rick Stengel, drew an estimated 7,500 students and area residents who lined the steps of the library to watch on a JumboTron screen. The actual event took place in Roone Arledge Auditorium, where only 100 students were allowed (via a ticket lottery) to sit in the audience that also included families of September 11 victims, veterans, politicians and celebrities such as Tobey Maguire, Usher and Leonardo DiCaprio.
"We weren't Republicans on September 11. We weren't Democrats. We were Americans," said McCain, who was the first to appear. "This is an opportunity to lead the nation and talk to the American people and reform our government and ask for more service."
The Arizona senator criticized President Bush for not asking Americans to come together as volunteers after the attacks. While praising programs such as the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps, McCain also said the government should be careful not to interfere with volunteer organizations. He also praised Obama's service as a community organizer early in his career, claiming that when Sarah Palin seemed to denigrate the job she was merely defending her own experience.
Michael Hennessy, 29, clapped enthusiastically during McCain's speech. "I appreciate that he's a big proponent of service. His personal history is a testament to government service and to the service of America," he said.
"I felt like he was just saying everything he knew that everyone wants to hear," Sharay Hale, a 19-year-old freshman, offered.
When Obama shook McCain's hand before his turn on the stage, the crowd inside and outside the auditorium erupted in applause. The Illinois senator, an alumnus of Columbia, joked that he had a home-court advantage.
Obama agreed with much of what McCain had said, but but he emphasized the important role the government plays in encouraging change and reiterated his campaign promise to institute an annual $4,000 college-tuition credit for students in exchange for community service.
"We've got to transform Washington, and we've got to do some housecleaning," Obama said. "But what we also want to do is to remind young people that if it weren't for government, then we wouldn't have a Civil Rights Act. If it weren't for government, we would not have the interstate highway system. If it weren't for government, we would not have some of our parks and natural wilderness areas that are so precious to America. And so part of my job, I think, as president, is to make government cool again."
Lisa Michl, a 23-year-old graduate student, said she was excited to see the candidates on campus. "Actually coming to a campus and doing this talk is a great way to get people more involved and inspire people to actually get out there and do something, because it's not a part of your daily conversation."
Not all of the action of the evening went down inside the auditorium. Three students were asked to leave the campus after donning boxing gloves and wearing homemade Obama and McCain cardboard boxes on their heads. Elliot D. (who would only give his last intial), a 21-year-old senior, was "Obama"; Gabe Espinal, a 21-year-old senior, was "McCain," and Jesse Waldman, also a 21-year-old senior, was a character on roller skates labeled "Spectacle." Waldman said that the three of them came to campus early and felt "uncomfortable with the lead-up to the event," so they decided to liven things up.
"We just wanted to get people to think about the political system itself, instead of 'Who are you voting for?' " Elliot D. said.
Thursday's presidential forum kicked off the two-day ServiceNation summit, where hundreds of students, businesses, universities, politicians and foundations will come together to expand national and community service opportunities.
Obama backers break cash records as Palin redraws campaign battleground
Barack Obama pulled in $66 million last month, smashing his previous fundraising record amid clear signs that Sarah Palin has mobilised many grassroots Democrats against her as much as she has energised the Republican Party.
Mr Obama's fundraising total for August beat his monthly record of $55 million (£31 million) and was the highest in US presidential history. It came with the addition of 500,000 donors, many of whom signed on to the campaign after the extraordinary entry of Mrs Palin into the race as the Republican vice-presidential nominee.
Although the news was a muchneeded boost for Mr Obama after a turbulent month in which he has slipped behind John McCain in the polls, Democratic strategists conceded that the race was now too close to call, with two new polls showing the candidates in a statistical tie 50 days before the election.
With a newly energised McCain campaign and Republican Party - the result of the impact of Mrs Palin on the race - and a relentless barrage of attack advertisements against Mr Obama, a growing number of Democratic strategists believed that the dream of the Illinois senator to redraw and expand the electoral map had probably ended.
Related Links
John McCain camp braced for Troopergate
‘Xena’ Palin scythes through Obama support
Former president to campaign with Obama
Instead, they said, the White House contest suddenly resembled the last two presidential elections in 2000 and 2004 - extremely close, deeply partisan and likely to be decided by a handful of big battleground states in the Midwest, particularly Ohio and Michigan, and in Pennsylvania.
Mr McCain is limited to spending, between now and election day, the $84 million supplied by the US Treasury after he opted to stay within the public financing system. Yet he will receive the help of the same outside operatives who started the devastating Swift Boat attacks against John Kerry in 2004.
Funded mainly by Harold Simmons, the Texas billionaire behind the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth organisation - which claimed that Mr Kerry had lied about his military service in Vietnam - the American Issues Project is about to start a television campaign against Mr Obama's record. It is entirely independent from the McCain campaign, but will seek to raise questions about Mr Obama's Chicago ties to William Ayers, a 1970s radical who bombed federal buildings, and his relationship with Jeremiah Wright, his controversial former pastor.
Meanwhile, liberal groups unaffiliated with the Obama campaign are about to unleash their own multimillion-dollar advertising campaign against Mr McCain.
Mr McCain started a series of advertisements against Mr Obama in recent days that his rival has called dishonest, sparking an almost hysterical note from the aides of the Democrat at the weekend.
Bill Burton, a spokesman for Mr Obama, accused Mr McCain of “cynically running the sleaziest and least honourable campaign in modern presidential campaign history” with his “disgusting lies”.
Mr McCain, appearing on a daytime talk show, denied that the advertisements contained lies. He said that the harsh tone of the campaign would be different if Mr Obama had accepted his invitation to appear at joint, freewheeling debates across the country during the summer.
Amid mounting concerns that attempts to undermine Mrs Palin were backfiring, Mr Obama has decided to ignore her and concentrate sharper and more aggressive attacks against Mr McCain. On Saturday, having conceded that there was a new urgency to the campaign, he continued a strategy that played on the age of Mr McCain and his ties to President Bush. A blistering memo to reporters from his campaign manager, David Plouffe, mentioned the Alaska governor in passing only.
Bill Clinton, more than two months after Mr Obama clinched the nomination, will finally make his first campaign appearances at the end of this month.
The two had their first post-primary meal together in New York on Thursday at a time when Mr Obama found himself under attack from Republicans - and a growing number of nervous Democrats - for not picking Mrs Clinton as his running-mate.
“I think he's regretting not picking her now, I do. What, what determination, and grit, and even grace through some tough shots that were fired her way,” Mrs Palin told ABC, as part of a strategy to woo women voters to the Republican ticket.
Mrs Clinton appeared for Mr Obama in Ohio yesterday, although there were lingering tensions between the two camps. There have been suggestions by some within the party that the Clintons were dragging their feet when it came to stumping for
Mr Obama. Aides to the former First Lady countered that she and her husband had simply not been asked to do very much.
Mr Obama's fundraising total for August beat his monthly record of $55 million (£31 million) and was the highest in US presidential history. It came with the addition of 500,000 donors, many of whom signed on to the campaign after the extraordinary entry of Mrs Palin into the race as the Republican vice-presidential nominee.
Although the news was a muchneeded boost for Mr Obama after a turbulent month in which he has slipped behind John McCain in the polls, Democratic strategists conceded that the race was now too close to call, with two new polls showing the candidates in a statistical tie 50 days before the election.
With a newly energised McCain campaign and Republican Party - the result of the impact of Mrs Palin on the race - and a relentless barrage of attack advertisements against Mr Obama, a growing number of Democratic strategists believed that the dream of the Illinois senator to redraw and expand the electoral map had probably ended.
Related Links
John McCain camp braced for Troopergate
‘Xena’ Palin scythes through Obama support
Former president to campaign with Obama
Instead, they said, the White House contest suddenly resembled the last two presidential elections in 2000 and 2004 - extremely close, deeply partisan and likely to be decided by a handful of big battleground states in the Midwest, particularly Ohio and Michigan, and in Pennsylvania.
Mr McCain is limited to spending, between now and election day, the $84 million supplied by the US Treasury after he opted to stay within the public financing system. Yet he will receive the help of the same outside operatives who started the devastating Swift Boat attacks against John Kerry in 2004.
Funded mainly by Harold Simmons, the Texas billionaire behind the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth organisation - which claimed that Mr Kerry had lied about his military service in Vietnam - the American Issues Project is about to start a television campaign against Mr Obama's record. It is entirely independent from the McCain campaign, but will seek to raise questions about Mr Obama's Chicago ties to William Ayers, a 1970s radical who bombed federal buildings, and his relationship with Jeremiah Wright, his controversial former pastor.
Meanwhile, liberal groups unaffiliated with the Obama campaign are about to unleash their own multimillion-dollar advertising campaign against Mr McCain.
Mr McCain started a series of advertisements against Mr Obama in recent days that his rival has called dishonest, sparking an almost hysterical note from the aides of the Democrat at the weekend.
Bill Burton, a spokesman for Mr Obama, accused Mr McCain of “cynically running the sleaziest and least honourable campaign in modern presidential campaign history” with his “disgusting lies”.
Mr McCain, appearing on a daytime talk show, denied that the advertisements contained lies. He said that the harsh tone of the campaign would be different if Mr Obama had accepted his invitation to appear at joint, freewheeling debates across the country during the summer.
Amid mounting concerns that attempts to undermine Mrs Palin were backfiring, Mr Obama has decided to ignore her and concentrate sharper and more aggressive attacks against Mr McCain. On Saturday, having conceded that there was a new urgency to the campaign, he continued a strategy that played on the age of Mr McCain and his ties to President Bush. A blistering memo to reporters from his campaign manager, David Plouffe, mentioned the Alaska governor in passing only.
Bill Clinton, more than two months after Mr Obama clinched the nomination, will finally make his first campaign appearances at the end of this month.
The two had their first post-primary meal together in New York on Thursday at a time when Mr Obama found himself under attack from Republicans - and a growing number of nervous Democrats - for not picking Mrs Clinton as his running-mate.
“I think he's regretting not picking her now, I do. What, what determination, and grit, and even grace through some tough shots that were fired her way,” Mrs Palin told ABC, as part of a strategy to woo women voters to the Republican ticket.
Mrs Clinton appeared for Mr Obama in Ohio yesterday, although there were lingering tensions between the two camps. There have been suggestions by some within the party that the Clintons were dragging their feet when it came to stumping for
Mr Obama. Aides to the former First Lady countered that she and her husband had simply not been asked to do very much.
Lehman set to go into insolvency
Preparations are being made for Lehman Brothers, the fourth-largest investment bank in the US, to file for bankruptcy.
The two strongest potential buyers appear to have pulled out of talks to rescue Lehman - the latest victim of the American credit crisis.
If no new financing comes before Wall Street opens, it will have to seek "Chapter 11" bankruptcy protection.
This could result in a severe shock to the global financial system, as banks unwind their complex deals with Lehman.
Late on Sunday the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, announced new moves to ease access to emergency credit for struggling financial companies.
The Fed said the step - which broadens the types of securities financial institutions can use to obtain emergency loans - was designed to mitigate the potential risks and disruptions to markets.
In a related move, a consortium of 10 investment banks announced a $70bn (£39bn) loan program that troubled financial companies can use to help ease the credit shortage.
BBC business editor Robert Peston on the potential implications
The banks - Bank of America, Barclays, Citibank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS - each agreed to provide $7bn (£4bn) to the pool.
On Monday, Asian stock markets fell amid concerns over the fate of Lehman Brothers.
Singapore stocks dropped 2.26% in morning trading and shares in Taiwan fell 1.83%.
Markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul were closed for public holidays.
Lehman employs about 25,000 worldwide, including 5,000 in the UK.
Accountancy firm PWC has already been lined up to run the British operations of Lehman should the firm go into administration.
BBC business editor Robert Peston says UK bank Barclays' decision to walk away from a Lehman deal was a huge setback for the effort to rescue the Lehman.
Barclays terminated the negotiations because it was unable to obtain guarantees in relation to financial commitments faced by Lehman when markets open on Monday.
Bad bank, good bank
The rescue effort for Lehman was being co-ordinated by the US Treasury and the New York Federal Reserve.
No other large firm should buy Lehman whole - its toxic real estate and securities are too difficult to value
Peter MoriciUniversity of Maryland
Robert Peston's BBC blog
The US government had hoped to arrange a bailout under which other US investment banks would finance a "bad bank" that would hold the most "toxic" investments of Lehman in the property and mortgage market.
The "good bank" or rest of the firm, including its investment and wealth management arms, would then be sold to another financial institution, for example Bank of America or the UK's Barclays.
Although such a deal would have cost the other investment banks millions, it might have restored confidence in the sector and avoided a sharp drop in the share price of all banks.
However, it appears that this plan is falling apart.
"The only thing that can prevent Lehman collapsing would be a huge injection of taxpayers' money," a banker close to the talks told the BBC, but added that US Treasury Secretary "Hank Paulson has made it clear he doesn't want to do that".
Hard choices
Bank of America, meanwhile, is said to be unconvinced that buying Lehman would be in the interest of its shareholders.
Instead, according to a report in the New York Times, Bank of America is in "advanced talks" to buy investment bank Merrill Lynch for more than $38bn.
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It's amazing that companies which charge high interest to cover risk still need to be bailed out by the taxpayer.
Jack, Canada
Send us your comments
Like other US investment banks Merrill has suffered losses of tens of billions of dollars in the subprime crisis, and has seen its share price plummet during recent months.
"No other large firm should buy Lehman whole - its toxic real estate and securities are too difficult to value," said Peter Morici of the business school of the University of Maryland.
Lehman is up for sale after it reported a $3.9bn (£2.2bn) quarterly loss last week amid concerns over its long term financial viability.
The firm's share price has plummeted as fears over its future have mounted.
Former Federal Reserve boss Alan Greenspan said the US government faced "very difficult decisions" over Lehman if it could not secure a rescue deal that did not involve public funds.
Yet Mr Greenspan said it would be "unsustainable" for the government to bail out every US bank that got itself into difficulty.
Predicting that Lehman would not be the last to require rescuing, Mr Greenspan added that this would not necessarily pose a problem.
"The ordinary course of financial change has winners and losers," he said.
The two strongest potential buyers appear to have pulled out of talks to rescue Lehman - the latest victim of the American credit crisis.
If no new financing comes before Wall Street opens, it will have to seek "Chapter 11" bankruptcy protection.
This could result in a severe shock to the global financial system, as banks unwind their complex deals with Lehman.
Late on Sunday the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, announced new moves to ease access to emergency credit for struggling financial companies.
The Fed said the step - which broadens the types of securities financial institutions can use to obtain emergency loans - was designed to mitigate the potential risks and disruptions to markets.
In a related move, a consortium of 10 investment banks announced a $70bn (£39bn) loan program that troubled financial companies can use to help ease the credit shortage.
BBC business editor Robert Peston on the potential implications
The banks - Bank of America, Barclays, Citibank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS - each agreed to provide $7bn (£4bn) to the pool.
On Monday, Asian stock markets fell amid concerns over the fate of Lehman Brothers.
Singapore stocks dropped 2.26% in morning trading and shares in Taiwan fell 1.83%.
Markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul were closed for public holidays.
Lehman employs about 25,000 worldwide, including 5,000 in the UK.
Accountancy firm PWC has already been lined up to run the British operations of Lehman should the firm go into administration.
BBC business editor Robert Peston says UK bank Barclays' decision to walk away from a Lehman deal was a huge setback for the effort to rescue the Lehman.
Barclays terminated the negotiations because it was unable to obtain guarantees in relation to financial commitments faced by Lehman when markets open on Monday.
Bad bank, good bank
The rescue effort for Lehman was being co-ordinated by the US Treasury and the New York Federal Reserve.
No other large firm should buy Lehman whole - its toxic real estate and securities are too difficult to value
Peter MoriciUniversity of Maryland
Robert Peston's BBC blog
The US government had hoped to arrange a bailout under which other US investment banks would finance a "bad bank" that would hold the most "toxic" investments of Lehman in the property and mortgage market.
The "good bank" or rest of the firm, including its investment and wealth management arms, would then be sold to another financial institution, for example Bank of America or the UK's Barclays.
Although such a deal would have cost the other investment banks millions, it might have restored confidence in the sector and avoided a sharp drop in the share price of all banks.
However, it appears that this plan is falling apart.
"The only thing that can prevent Lehman collapsing would be a huge injection of taxpayers' money," a banker close to the talks told the BBC, but added that US Treasury Secretary "Hank Paulson has made it clear he doesn't want to do that".
Hard choices
Bank of America, meanwhile, is said to be unconvinced that buying Lehman would be in the interest of its shareholders.
Instead, according to a report in the New York Times, Bank of America is in "advanced talks" to buy investment bank Merrill Lynch for more than $38bn.
HAVE YOUR SAY
It's amazing that companies which charge high interest to cover risk still need to be bailed out by the taxpayer.
Jack, Canada
Send us your comments
Like other US investment banks Merrill has suffered losses of tens of billions of dollars in the subprime crisis, and has seen its share price plummet during recent months.
"No other large firm should buy Lehman whole - its toxic real estate and securities are too difficult to value," said Peter Morici of the business school of the University of Maryland.
Lehman is up for sale after it reported a $3.9bn (£2.2bn) quarterly loss last week amid concerns over its long term financial viability.
The firm's share price has plummeted as fears over its future have mounted.
Former Federal Reserve boss Alan Greenspan said the US government faced "very difficult decisions" over Lehman if it could not secure a rescue deal that did not involve public funds.
Yet Mr Greenspan said it would be "unsustainable" for the government to bail out every US bank that got itself into difficulty.
Predicting that Lehman would not be the last to require rescuing, Mr Greenspan added that this would not necessarily pose a problem.
"The ordinary course of financial change has winners and losers," he said.
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