Many of the houses surrounding Lake Las Vegas in Nevada have a Tuscan fantasy look to them. This one steps out of the mold a bit with a brightly colored exterior that sets it apart from the beige homes surrounding it. The four-bedroom home doesn't sit on much land but it does have its own private boat dock. The interior has a pleasing modernity although the kitchen is a little smaller than most would like. The wide windows above one of the bathtubs are also disconcerting since it looks like the peeping would be easy (the house on the right is very close).. It does have a great outdoor space for hanging out by the lake. In other bathrooms the vanity and sink seem to have been lavished with attention while the tub and toilet look like the Home Depot special. It is listed at $10 million but Zillow's zestimate has it at $4,151,592. I predict it might eventually sell for closer to Zillow's guess than the list price.
Lindsay Lohan isn't planning on leaving the Cirque Lodge in Utah anytime soon. Lohan has also had a childhood crush on Bon Jovi star Richie Sambora. How fitting that he chose Cirque Lodge as his facility of choice to undergo rehab recently.
No, that's not the Gorton's Fisherman, it's Ashley Olsen! Trust! Decked out on Saturday in a Grizzly coat, studded Halloween pumpkin sack and deep sea fishing boots, the 21-year-old wonder twin battled a fierce L.A. storm, or as it's commonly known around the rest of the country -- a little drizzle! Are schools closed?!
Posted Sept. 21, 2007 – In yet another bizarre sex-kidnapping crime in a rural southern community, three North Carolina men have been charged with holding 10 teenagers at gunpoint and forcing them to smoke dope and perform sex acts on one another.
Unlike the case involving the six straggly-haired White people in West Virginia, the defendants in this strange ordeal are young African-American men.
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Authorities in Sampson County, N.C., say that the men, all in their early-20s, held the school-age females and four males hostage at the home of one of the victims.
Orman Rashan Carroll, 21, Wayne Bernard Fleming, 20, and Terrance O'Brian Parker, 20, pictured above, from left to right, were charged with 10 counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon and 10 counts of second degree kidnapping, according to Sampson County Sheriff Jimmy Thornton.
Parker and Fleming have also been hit with gun charges; Parker also faces charges of first-degree forcible sex and injury to real property. They are being held on a half-million-dollar bond.
The teens were forced to perform sex acts and smoke marijuana, but Thornton declined to elaborate further, according to The Associated Press.
"The kids who were victims are very fortunate to be alive. I can't imagine the horror that was going through their minds. I'm just glad that we got these animals off the street, so that maybe the victims and their families can get some type of closure and feel a little safer… ."It's scary to think that we've got young people out there that would even think of doing something like this to someone else," Thornton said in a statement.
NEW YORK - A judge let The Game go free Thursday on a charge that he impersonated a police officer. Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Marc Whiten gave the West Coast rapper, whose real name is Jayceon Taylor, a conditional discharge, meaning that if he isn't arrested again within six months, the misdemeanor charge will be dismissed and the case file sealed.
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Taylor was arrested Nov. 16, 2006, after he told a cab driver that he was an undercover police officer and directed him to run several red lights, police said after the rapper's arrest.
Taylor, 27, of Glendale, Calif., had hailed the livery cab shortly after appearing on CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman." The cab driver drove about 13 blocks before he was pulled over, police said at the time.
Taylor, who has a large "LA" tattooed on the right side of his face and a teardrop under his left eye, said the cab driver noticed they were being followed and asked who was in the car.
He said he told the driver they were the hip-hop police, and the driver decided on his own to run the red lights.
Jeffrey Lichtman, Taylor's lawyer, said it was unlikely that a cab driver, seeing his client's tattoos, would have thought he was a policeman.
"I've never seen a cop with writing all over his face," Taylor said.
Taylor had rejected offers of a plea deal that would have kept him out of jail in exchange for a guilty plea. He said he was innocent of any crime.
Like the Borba company we have covered previously, Monaco-based Daniele de Winter believes in beauty from the inside out. Her skin care line includes the Shot Beauté beauty drink as well as external skin care which uses natural antioxidants and enzymes such as Hawaiian noni, acerola, Polish cranberry and blueberry. The range includes cleansing, toning, moisturizing, body and special beauty care products, as well as two beauty drinks (one for morning and one for evening). The double-teaming of antioxidants from the inside and the outside has earned the line a devoted following on international beauties including Ornella Muti and Catherine Deneuve.
How's this for a sapphire crystal? The Century Mogul watch is crowned by a faceted sapphire that covers the white gold case back of the watch. The quartz watch features diamonds set on a white mother-of-pearl dial. Two diamond-set white gold claws connect the sapphire crown to the white alligator leather strap. The other piece of the Mogul collection is a matching sapphire medallion shown after the jump.
[via TimeZone] The company also sells the Mogul medallion. A Century sapphire centerpiece with 256 facets surrounded by 90 small diamonds on an 18K white gold chain.
It's harvest time for California wineries. If you'd like to get in on the fun (and just a little of the hard work) you can check it out at the Sonoma County Grape Camp. The camp is scheduled for September 24 to 26 at the Vintners Inn. The weekend costs $1,500 per person, per couple ($200 single supplement) and includes two nights at the hotel, all meals and seminars. The weekend includes the "The Marriage of Food and Wine" seminar by chef and author John Ash, a dinner feast in the vineyards by Chef Mark Stark of Willi's Wine Bar, and a Paella party along the banks of the Russian River. The weekend also includes participating in the harvest, tasting freshly crushed grape juice at Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards and a trip to Ferrari-Carano to blend wine under the guidance of Red Wine Winemaker Aaron Piotter.
Boxing champ, Oscar De La Hoya posed for some scandalous photos dressed as a woman in a Ritz Carlton Hotel room recently. X17online got the exclusive on the photos and I am posting them for you to see.
Posted byLong Tran in All Archive, Living September 17, 2007 10:21 am
Greed For Quiet is a fire pit and furniture all in one. The fire pit sits in a self enclosed unit surrounded by wood planks supporting 5 chairs. The design looks as if you’re floating. Each of the “chair blades” can rotate around the fire pit to customize your conversational grouping.
I think it looks great but I can only imagine what would happen if there was too much weight on one side. Would that flip the entire fire pit over? If weight distribution isn’t an issue, I can see myself having a rousing game of Duck Duck Goose on this thing. Who’s in?
I couldn't settle on a celeb house to feature for my Sunday estate so instead we are looking at one that might be a bit of candy for a celebrity with an architecture jones. The Wolff House was built by John Lautner in 1961 (you may remember the name from the recent sale of Courtney Cox Arquette and David Arquette's sale of a Lautner in Malibu). This home a three-bedroom in the Hollywood Hills, is a a modernist treasure in wood and stone and glass. The house is on a private cul-de-sac and has an amazing view. Other features include a one-bedroom guesthouse and a beautiful pool. An article in Variety from 2005 indicates that the home was sold in 2005 for around $4 million. It is listed now at $5.995 million.
Residents in a small village in complained of headaches and vomiting brought on by a “strange odor,” local health department official Jorge Lopez told Peruvian radio RPP.
It is said to be a mystery illness that was exposed when a meteorite crashed to Earth in their area, regional authorities said Monday. Midday on Saturday villagers were startled by an explosion, people thought that it was a plane crash or other type of man – made accident. However this was actually a meteorite. Rescue teams and experts were rushed to the scene, where the meteorite left a 100-foot-wide (30-meter-wide) and 20-foot-deep (six-meter-deep) crater, said local official Marco Limache.
People since then have been getting sick very ill. No one knows exactly what the illness is or how to treat it. It was said that when the crater hit, boiling water started coming out of the crater and particles of rock and cinders were found nearby.
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Hollywood heavyweights such as Sally Field and Ray Romano kept Fox censors on their toes during the Primetime Emmy Awards Sunday.
Three instances of frank language during the telecast caused the network to cover itself, including a four-second delay triggered by Field's usage of the epithet "goddamn" as she accepted the trophy for lead actress in a drama series for ABC's "Brothers & Sisters."
Referring to the Iraq War, she said, "Let's face it, if the mothers ruled the world, there would be no goddamned wars in the first place."
Two other instances called for some creative camera selection on the fly. "Grey's Anatomy's" Katherine Heigl mouthed the word "s---" upon learning that she had won for supporting actress in a drama series, which prompted Fox to use a previously taped snippet of the audience in its stead.
Early in the broadcast, Fox was forced to drop picture and sound during a stand-up monologue from Romano. Referring to the upcoming Fox series "Back to You" featuring "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer and his own former co-star on "Everybody Loves Raymond," Patricia Heaton, Romano said, "Frasier is screwing my wife." Fox opted to eliminate the verb from the aforementioned sentence.
The Emmys are no stranger to profanity. In 2004, Elaine Stritch was bleeped for joking comments she made from the stage. In previous years, comedians ranging from Martin Lawrence to Gilbert Gottfried have had their original statements altered for broadcast.
Perhaps all the salty language should have been expected given an utterance made last week by Bravo reality star Kathy Griffin, who exclaimed "Suck it, Jesus!" upon winning a Creative Emmy award. E!, which aired that telecast, edited out the comment.
You may have heard about the all-electric "KillaCycle" -- a 158MPH drag racing bike powered by a bank of 990 lithium-ion batteries that does 0-60 in .97 seconds. Well, the bike isn't shy about living up to its name -- in a demo for reporters at Wired's NextFest, creator Bill Dube was doing some innocent burnouts when the rear tire hooked and fired him off like a shot...into a parked minivan. Dube appears to be okay -- he was conscious and had feeling in all his fingers and toes -- but paramedics took him in for X-rays just to be sure. Here's hoping he recovers quickly -- and lets us take that thing for a spin.
A 41 year old man from Michigan built a guillotine to commit suicide His body was found in the woods near a shopping center in Detroit.
Police found receipts for materials used by the man in the construction of the machine. The 6-foot-high guillotine, complete with a swing arm, was bolted to a tree in a wooded area.
Luke Harding in Moscow Wednesday September 12, 2007 The Guardian
Russia's military yesterday announced that it had successfully tested a lethal new air-delivered bomb, which it described as the world's most powerful non-nuclear weapon.
In what appears to be the Kremlin's latest display of military might, officials said Moscow had developed a new thermobaric bomb to add to its already potent nuclear arsenal.
Russia's state-run Channel One television said the new ordnance - dubbed the Father of all Bombs - is four times more powerful than the US's Mother of all Bombs.
"The results of tests of the aviation explosive device that has been created have shown that it is comparable with nuclear weapons in its efficiency and potential," Alexander Rukshin, a deputy chief of the Russian armed forces staff, told the channel.
"You will now see it in action - the bomb which has no match in the world is being tested at a military site," the report said. It showed a Tupolev 160 strategic bomber dropping the bomb over a testing ground. A large explosion followed.
The aviation vacuum bomb, which is also known as a fuel-air bomb, was the mightiest ever created, it added.
Last night's announcement comes at a time of growing tension between Russia and the west, and follows a tumultuous eight months in which Vladimir Putin has denounced US power, torn up a conventional arms agreement with Nato, and grabbed a large, if symbolic, chunk of the Arctic.
Last month Russia carried out a series of war games with China and four other central Asian states, designed to show the country's resurgent military power and the emergence of new regional alliances outside Nato. Russia's strategic nuclear bombers also resumed patrols of the Arctic, Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
The development of this latest device appears to be another response to the Bush administration's plans to site elements of its missile defence system in central Europe. Mr Putin has denounced the plan, arguing that it upsets Europe's strategic balance, and has vowed to respond.
The US Massive Ordnance Air Blast, nicknamed the Mother of all Bombs, is a large-yield satellite-guided, air-delivered device, which previously enjoyed the dubious accolade of the most powerful non-nuclear weapon in history.
Thermobaric weapons differ from conventional explosive weapons by using oxygen from the atmosphere, rather than carrying an oxidising agent in their explosives. They produce more energy than normal weapons but are hard to control.
The US used similar fuel-air munitions to clear jungle for helicopter landings during the Vietnam War. The Soviet Union also developed its own fuel-air weapons, deploying them against China and in Afghanistan, and the Russian army used them in its second war in Chechnya.
The new bomb comes at a time when both Russia and the US appear to be reneging on nuclear arms limitation treaties signed during the cold war and after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Yesterday the head of a Russian foreign policy thinktank warned that Russia and the US were on the brink of a new cold war involving "an unrestricted nuclear and conventional arms race".
Relations could sink into a serious crisis in a few years, and "domestic and political factors will aggravate the situation rather than help overcome the differences", Sergei Rogov, director of the Russian Academy of Science's US and Canada Institute, told the academy's presidium.
Read Jeff Z. Klein’s play-by-play commentary of the Women’s World Cup opening-round match between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea at Chengdu Sports Center Stadium in Chengdu, China.
Final postgame thoughts We will have more analysis on this game in posts coming up over the next couple of hours or so. Stay tuned. Thanks for looking in this morning. Stay with us at the Time soccer blog as we continue to cover the Women’s World Cup. Good morning!
Still more post game The North Koreans’ core is their young players, who won the U-20 Asian championship recently. For that feat, according to the North Korean news agency KCNA, “Kim Jong-il bestowed high honor upon the young women footballers and presented them with such gifts which they would hand down through generations as deluxe cars and buses and flats.” This is true, I’m not making it up — you can read about it here.
More post game They’re showing the game highlights on ESPN, and we see that Wambach hit the bar in the 41st minute, then scored in the 50th when left open in front and she ripped her shot through the helpless goalie Jon. Then Wambach got a bad cut on her forehead going for a ball in the air near the US goal and collided with the diving Hope Solo. Her absence coincided with the two Korean goals.
Post Game thoughts I can’t believe how well the Koreans played. Mind you, I missed the first half (apologies for that — I’m going to have my alarm clock executed), but in the second half certainly, the Koreans made more plays and had more chances. The Americans, fortunately for them, converted two of the only three or four chances they had in the second half. But it’s also true that the two Korean goals came while Abby Wambach was off for nine minutes or so getting treatment for a cut and the Amerks were down to 10 women.
Another issue, Greg Ryan’s seeming paralysis of decision. He didn’t make a sub till well into injury time, even though it was evident the US weren’t mounting much of a threat with their tired forwards and midfielders. Finally he put Kai in, and she made a nice play, but it was too late for her ot make a big impact.
90+6 The final whistle! A great 2-2 draw!
90+5 Kai does a Chilena near the goal line to put the ball dangeroulsy in front, and the Koreans have to clear it into touch.
90+3 FANTASTIC SAVE BY SOLO! She went full-stretch to stop the shot by U.G. Ri and got to it just inside the post! And now she easily handles a long shot. Solo atones for that first flubbed goal she allowed.
90+2 Finally a US sub. It’s Natasha Kai, the tattooed Hawaiian,in for O’Reilly. That’s only the first US sub by Coach Greg Ryan. What has he been thinking?
90+1 A foul and yellow to Jong, who just entered the game.
89 Just a minute to go, and finally a sub, the second for Korea. YA Kim comes off — she’d entered as a sub earlier and then scored the second Korean goal — and is repalced by Jong.
87 Error between Solo and her defender Rampone! The ball was rolling slowly near the American goal and Rampone was leaving it for Solo, but the goalie suddenly retreated! Rampone was lucky that the ball finally rolled over the end line before a Korean could get to it — but Solo’s fault for not loudly and decisively taking charge of the situation. A lot of what’s going on in the US back looks like recreational league play….
85 A corner from KH Kim bounces around dangerously at the top of the American box, but the US players manage to stay in front of the ball and finally clear the danger.
84 Great defensive play by Kate Markgraf — shoe kept pace with the Korean U.S. Ri in the six-yard box and broke up what would’ve been a point-blank shot.
82 Great movement by North Korea — they’ve really stretch the American defence. They’ve had the ball 55 percent of the time to the Amerks’ 45.
80 Another Korea break, and the final pass, a through ball to K.S. Ri, is just a little too far.
79 Korea beak down the field! U.S. Ri gets off a shot, but it’s blocked by an American defender! End to end action!
78 A long free kick goes to Wambach inside the six-yard box, and she heads just wide.
77 The Americans have a 45-game unbeaten streak on the line. And in 12 World Cup opening-round matches in the history of the tournament, the US have won 11 and drawn only 1.
76 Nice corner by Korea to the far post — they headed the ball to the middle and only just couldn’t get off the shot. Finally Solo collected a long shot from beyond the half-moon.
74 The referee today is Nicole Petignant, a 41-year-old Swiss who four years ago became the first woman to ref a UEFA Cup men’s match, a preliminary-round game between Swedish side AIK Solna and Fylkir of Iceland, in case you’re keeping score at home. But she’s most famous as the ref of the US-China Women’s World Cup final in 1999, the game where Brandi Chastain tore off her shirt in celebration after hitting the winning penalty.
It was Petignant who didn’t call anything when US goalie Briana Scurry illegally came four yards off her line to save the previous shot by China, as you can see at the 0:51 mark of this video. So you might argue that the US women owe a good part of their ‘99 world championship to the referee who’s out there today.
72 What a game we’ve wakened to! As predicted, the North Koreans are giving the US a real contest, whereas I for one thought the Americans would win by a lot. Just now some great defence by Lloyd and Wambach stopped another Korean threat in the US area.
69 GOALLLLLLLL USAAAAAAAAAAAA! Heather O’Reilly equalizes from 10 yards after the ball rebounds off a Korean defender! It’s level at 2-2! Lilly took the inital shot, but it hit a defender, U.G. Ri, and she couldn’t control it, and the clearance went right to O’Reilly, whose shot to the high far corner was impossible for Jon to stop.
68 Lopez’s cross bends in to the keeper, Jon, but she catches it with no trouble.
67 This game is being played in the rain — that’s what cost Hope Solo on that first Korean goal. …
Now the US cross into the middle again, but it’s knocked out for a corner, which Lopez will take.
66 Chance for Chalupny of the US, but she puts her shot from 12 yards away way high.
64 Korea come down again, and a shot from defender K.K. Kim goes high over the bar, but not by much. … And finally Wambach returns, eight minutes after she came off for repairs.
62 GOALLL KOREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! A scramble in front, the Americans fail to clear, and Y.A. Kim pounces on the loose ball! The Americans let that ball roll around in the area for a good long time before Kim got it for a shot that Solo had no chance on. AND ALL THIS HAPPENING WITH WAMBACH STILL OFF BECAUSE OF HER INJURY! NORTH KOREA 2, US 1!
60 The goalkeeping at thie tournament, at least in the first two games, has looked disconcertingly like the goalkeeping in a recreational league. On that shot, the ball just went right through her hands. And now Kil tries ANOTHER shot from the same place — but this one Solo handles correctly.
59 GOALLLLLLLLL KOREAAAAAAAAAAA! A shot goes right through the hands of US keeper Hope Solo! She didn’t go high enough for that shot from the edge of the area by Kil! Goal Kil! Goal North Korea! US 1, PRK Korea 1!
57 Wambach is helped off, bleeding. She’s going to have to be attended to, and the Americans will have 10 women until she returns.
54 Great save by Hope Solo, who came out and grabbed a dangerous loose ball in the US area. Wambach is down — she’s got a cut on the face which she suffered during that scramble.
52nd minute Carli Lloyd has just shot wide with a free kick.
MY APOLOGIES! I overslept here in New York, where it’s now 6 in the morning (as opposed to 6 in the evening in China), and awoke in time to see ABBY WAMBACH score for the US in the 50th minute! US 1, Korea PRK 0!
The lineups — for the US:
18 Hope SOLO (GK) 3 Christie RAMPONE 4 Cat WHITEHILL 7 Shannon BOXX 9 Heather O REILLY 11 Carli LLOYD 13 Kristine LILLY (C) 14 Stephanie LOPEZ 15 Kate MARKGRAF 17 Lori CHALUPNY 20 Abby WAMBACH
For North Korea:
(GK) JON Myong Hui 21 KIM Kyong Hwa 2 OM Jong Ran 3 SONG Jong Sun 5 HO Sun Hui 7 KIL Son Hui 8 RI Un Suk 9 (C) RI Kum Suk 10 RI Un Gyong 12 SONU Kyong Sun 15 KONG Hye Ok 16
1,200 Square Feet Under the Sea For a 24-hour view of one of the most vibrant coral reefs on Earth, book a room at the world's first underwater hotel
By Michael Behar | December 2006
For a virtual tour of the hotel, see the video at the bottom of the page.
Bruce Jones has spent much of his career designing underwater toys for the rich and famous. The 50-year-old president of U.S. Submarines is best known for building ultraluxe custom subs, $80-million vessels that feature private staterooms, paneled interiors made from exotic hardwoods, plush carpeting, and enough onboard oxygen to keep you and 10 friends breathing easy for three weeks of cruising at depths of nearly 1,000 feet. Now Jones is redirecting his expertise in undersea opulence toward the hotel industry. His plan: to open the Poseidon Mystery Island, the world’s first major resort at the bottom of the ocean, by September 2008.
“When I was in high school, I was always writing letters to Jacques Cousteau and sketching underwater habitats,” Jones recalls. In 2000, he took the first step toward the real thing, offering a reward to whomever found the best location for his futureundersea playground. “I’ve got a lot of friends in the submersible business who are also scuba divers,” he says. “So I put the word out that if someone came up with the perfect spot, we’d pay them $10,000.” A business associate and avid diver suggested a reef off the Bahamian island of Eleuthera and collected his reward. But Jones eventually ran into trouble negotiating a price for the site with its American owners. After a year of fruitless back-and-forth, he decided to set his sights farther afield, on Fiji.
DIVING IN FEET-FIRST Jones is not the first to pursue an aquatic hotel. That credit goes to Jules’ Undersea Lodge (named, of course, for seafaring scribe Jules Verne), a little bungalow at the bottom of the Emerald Lagoon in Key Largo, Florida. Opened in 1986, Jules’ is more akin to a sunken RV than a full-fledged resort. Up to six guests can rent the two-bedroom, one-bath undersea retreat for the night, but scuba certification is mandatory; the front door is 21 feet underwater.
In Dubai, where hotels are prized for ostentation, a group of commercial developers is hyping the creation of the $500-million Hydropolis Undersea Resort. A sprawling 1.1-million-square-foot complex—with lavish suites, a ballroom, a shopping mall and a missile-defense system to ward off terrorists—Hydropolis is an ambitious vision of luxury at 60 feet underwater. As of press time, though, the project had stalled in the preconstruction phase. According to Mansoor Ijaz, deputy chairman of the board for Crescent Hydropolis Resorts, LLC, Hydropolis is on hold pending “land acquisition” and probably won’t be finished before the current opening date, set for 2008.
Money, naturally, is the first hurdle facing any large-scale endeavor. In the case of Poseidon, private investors and an American merchant bank have anted up nearly all of the $105 million that Jones needs to complete the resort. Clearly, they are optimistic that Poseidon can lure enough celebrity guests and high rollers to be a financial success. Meanwhile, Jones has inked a deal with the owners of a privately held South Pacific island. If all goes well with construction, the Poseidon Mystery Island will soon be submerged in 40 feet of water in a 5,000-acre coral lagoon near the coast of a narrow, 225-acre isle located in northeastern Fiji.
Woman says she was kicked off plane for breast-feeding baby
November 14, 2006
BURLINGTON, Vt. --A New Mexico woman has complained that she was kicked off an airplane about to leave Burlington International Airport because she was breast-feeding her baby.
A complaint against two airlines was filed with the Vermont Human Rights, although Executive Director Robert Appel said he was barred by state law from confirming the complaint. He did say state law allows a mother to breast-feed in public.
Elizabeth Boepple, a lawyer hired by 27-year-old mother Emily Gillette, confirmed that Gillette filed the complaint late last week against Delta Air Lines and Freedom Airlines. Freedom was operating the Delta commuter flight between Burlington and New York City.
A Freedom spokesman said Gillette was asked to leave the flight after she declined a flight attendant's offer of a blanket.
"A breast-feeding mother is perfectly acceptable on an aircraft, providing she is feeding the child in a discreet way," that doesn't bother others, said Paul Skellon, spokesman for Phoenix-based Freedom. "She was asked to use a blanket just to provide a little more discretion, she was given a blanket, and she refused to use it, and that's all I know."
Gillette, her husband Brad and their daughter River, who live in New Mexico, had been visiting relatives in Vermont. Their flight was three hours late but appeared to be preparing for takeoff Oct. 13 when Gillette decided to breast-feed her 22-month-old, she said.
Gillette said she was being discreet. She was seated by the window in the second-to-last row, her husband was seated between her and the aisle and no part of her breast was showing, she said.
A flight attendant approached, tried to hand her a blanket and told her to cover up, Gillette said. She said she had a legal right to breast-feed her baby.
Moments later, a Delta ticket agent approached and said the flight attendant had asked that the family be removed from the flight, Gillette said. She said she didn't want to make a scene and complied.
"It embarrassed me. That was my first reaction, which is a weird reaction for doing something so good for a child. And then helpless," Gillette said.
The Vermont Human Rights Commission investigates complaints and determines whether discrimination may have occurred. The parties to a complaint are given six months to reach a settlement. If none is reached, the commission then decides whether to go to court. A complainant can file a separate suit in state court at any time.
Woman shows off threads Southwest almost grounded her for wear
By Mike Celizic
TODAYShow.com contributor
Updated: 1 hour, 52 minutes ago
It doesn’t take much to get thrown off an airplane these days, as Kyla Ebbert found out when a Southwest Airlines employee told her she was too bare for the air. Two months later, she’s still trying to figure out what was wrong with her outfit.
In an exclusive appearance Friday on TODAY, Ebbert modeled the outfit she says she wore on the flight in question. It consisted of a snug-fitting white top with a scoop neck that stopped just short of showing cleavage.
Over the shirt was a green sweater that buttoned underneath her bosom. It was finished with high-heeled sandals and a white denim mini-skirt with a fashionably frayed hem.
It was a lot more clothing than the 23-year-old college student wears on her job as a Hooters waitress. Her mother, Michele Ebbert, said she would have told her daughter if the outfit was inappropriate.
“But her outfit is fine, Michele Ebbert told TODAY co-host Matt Lauer. “She looks like every other college girl in San Diego.”
Not according to a Southwest employee identified only as “Keith,” who approached Ebbert after she had taken her seat on the plane and was listening to the flight attendants go through their pre-departure routine.
“He told me, ‘I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to take a later flight. You’re dressed inappropriately. This is a family airline. You’re dressed too provocative to fly on this flight,’ ” she told Lauer.
Today show
Kyla Ebbert models the outfit she wore on the Southwest flight Friday on TODAY.
“I said, ‘What part of it, the shirt, the skirt? Which part?’ “ Ebbert continued, recounting her conversation with Keith about her outfit. “And he said, ‘The whole thing.’“ I said, ‘I didn’t bring any luggage with me. I don’t have anything to change into. What can I do to make sure I can get onto that flight?’ I had a doctor’s appointment. I had to be there.”
“He said ‘You can go to the gift shop and you can buy something to wear there. Until then, you’re not flying on this flight,’ ” Ebbert said.
A compromise was finally reached when Ebbert promised to pull up her top, which wasn’t showing cleavage to begin with, and pull down her tiny skirt.
Ebbert went back to her seat, feeling that every eye on the plane was staring at her.
“I was humiliated. I was embarrassed. They all heard him lecturing me,” she said.
Roger Federer, three-time defending champion, is through to the US Open semi-finals after defeating America's Andy Roddick 7-6, 7-6, 6-2 in a tough three-set match on Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows.
Roddick, who has now lost 14 times in his past 15 matches against Federer, pushed the world number one to play some of his best tennis, but still could not produce an elusive victory
"I'm not walking off with any questions in my head this time," Roddick said.
"I'm not walking with my head down. I played my ass off out there tonight.
"I played the right way. It helps. But that doesn't mean I can't be pissed off."
The quarter-final tie was a rematch of last year's US Open final and the sixth Grand Slam meeting between Federer, who is aiming for his 12th Slam title this week, and Roddick, whose lone Slam crown came at the 2003 US Open.
"I'm not walking with my head down. I played my ass off out there tonight."
Andy Roddick, US tennis star
"I played well. I don't know about better or whatever but I played well," Roddick said.
Federer was forced into playing some great shots, the most impressive being an instinctive blocked backhand return on the line of a 225km service blast from Roddick.
"I didn't make mistakes. If he hits a 140 (mph), hits the back of the line, whatever," said Roddick, who added that such shots are no longer a surprise when they come from Federer.
"I've seen it done too many times."
Game plan
Roddick, whose only victory over Federer was in a Montreal semi-final in 2003, said he wasn't sure if Federer was getting better and would not call the latest defeat his best effort against Federer.
"If I play like that consistently, who knows," Roddick said.
"I don't think it was a piece of cake for him. I thought I made him play as well as he could play."
"I felt pretty good from the first ball. I had a game plan. I felt like I executed it pretty well most of the time. I just tried to keep going."
Roddick has no intention of feeling down on himself due to the fact he has hit form in an era Federer has dominated, winning 11 of the past 13 non-clay Slams.
"If I feel sorry for myself I'm a real asshole," Roddick said.
"I get to play in atmospheres like that. I get a lot of opportunities. I'm very lucky.
"If I start feeling sorry for myself, I need a serious sense of perspective."
Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras have led tributes to opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti, who has died aged 71.
The singer died at his home in Modena, northern Italy, after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006.
"I always admired the God-given glory of his voice," said Domingo, who performed with Pavarotti in Three Tenors concerts for more than 10 years.
Jose Carreras, the third tenor in the trio, called him "one of the most important tenors of all time".
Spanish star Domingo remembered "that unmistakable special timbre from the bottom up to the very top of the tenor range".
We have to remember him as the great artist that he was, the man with such a wonderful charismatic personality
Jose Carreras
"I also loved his wonderful sense of humour," he said.
"On several occasions of our Three Tenors concerts, we had trouble remembering we were giving a concert before a paying audience, because we had so much fun ourselves."
Fellow Spaniard Carreras told reporters: "We have to remember him as the great artist that he was, the man with such a wonderful charismatic personality - a very good friend and a great poker player."
Dame Joan Sutherland, who performed with Pavarotti as his career took off in the 1960s, said he was a "great joy" to work with.
The world is a smaller place without the big man
Sting
"It was incredible to stand next to him and sing along," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"The quality of the sound was so different. You knew immediately it was Luciano who was singing."
Conductor Zubin Mehta, who directed Pavarotti in Three Tenors concerts in Rome and Los Angeles, said: "The whole world will be listening today to his voice on every radio and television station.
"And that will continue. And that is his legacy. He will never stop."
Pavarotti also performed alongside a range of pop stars at his charity concerts.
I spoke to him last week - the voice that was louder than any rock band was a whisper
Sir Elton John said it was "a sad day for music, and a sad day for the world".
Sting said: "We lost a great friend, a great voice and the world is a smaller place without the big man."
U2 singer Bono described Pavarotti as "a great volcano of a man who sang fire, but spilled over with a love of life in all its complexity".
"I spoke to him last week," he said. "The voice that was louder than any rock band was a whisper. Still he communicated his love. Full of love."
Queen guitarist Brian May said the world was "a sadder place, for the loss of this gentle giant".
He was a man of the people, and he was determined to bring great singing to a wider audience
Lesley Garrett
British tenor Russell Watson said he was "privileged" to have performed with Pavarotti in London in 2001.
"He was very flamboyant, a true artist, but a very generous man," he told BBC One's Breakfast.
"His records always sounded fantastic. But unless you saw him live, there wasn't a full appreciation of how cavernous and incredible his top line was."
Welsh opera star Bryn Terfel described Pavarotti as "a truly inspirational and awe inspiring artist with a voice of pure gold".
HAVE YOUR SAY
I was lucky enough to see this wonderful performer
"His premiership voice put us all into the second division," he said.
Soprano Lesley Garrett said Pavarotti's passing was "an enormous loss, not just for the world of opera, but for the world at large".
"He was a man of the people, and above all of us, he was determined to bring opera and great singing to a wider audience," she said.
Because he sang so elegantly, when he really let go, the hair stood up on the back of your neck
Sir Jeremy Isaacs
Pavarotti last performed at London's Royal Opera House in Tosca in January 2002, despite his mother dying a few days before the first night.
Chief executive Tony Hall recalled: "He went back to take care of the funeral arrangements, then he came back for the first night here.
"When he took his curtain call, the applause went on for seven or eight minutes. I've never seen anyone bow so low or for so long, such was the emotion on that occasion. The audience absolutely loved him."
Former Royal Opera House general director Sir Jeremy Isaacs said: "He sang marvellously. He had this open, clear, natural, brilliant, piercing, ringing, thrilling, voice.
"He acted with his voice. He couldn't act for toffee with his person, but the music did it for him, and in that sense he was one of the most thoughtful of singers.
"Because he sang so elegantly, when he really let go, the hair stood up on the back of your neck."
CHICAGO (Reuters) - At least one person has reportedly developed "popcorn workers lung" from an additive in microwave popcorn, U.S. food regulators said on Wednesday, and they are checking to see if popcorn butter flavoring and the lung disease are related.
The Food and Drug Administration received a doctor's report saying a person who ate large amounts of butter-flavored popcorn had the life-threatening lung disease, similiar to an illness that affects workers in plants where microwave popcorn is made, FDA spokesman Michael Herndon said in an e-mailed statement.
"We are currently evaluating the recent information on the association of inhalation of diacetyl with lung disease, and are carefully considering the safety and regulatory issues it raises," Herndon said.
ConAgra Foods Inc, maker of Orville Redenbacher and Act II microwave popcorn brands, said on Wednesday it would drop the food additive diacetyl from its butter-flavored microwave popcorn in the "near future" to safeguard its employees.
The additive has long been linked with a rare lung disease in plant workers.
ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs said the company has considered removing the ingredient for months to protect employees who are exposed to large amounts of diacetyl, which gives microwave popcorn a buttery taste.
Childs said the company expects to remove the additive "within a year."
"We made that decision in order to provide our employees with the safest work environment possible, but also to eliminate even the perception of concern for consumers," Childs said in a telephone interview.
Shares of ConAgra Foods were down about 2.13 percent at $25.29 late Wednesday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange.
This is only a sample of this artist's work. For more information or to see more work by this artist please contact Steve or Tara at Montana Trails Gallery:
"I started painting landscapes and wildlife scenes at the age of twelve. On weekends, I took lessons. Growing up in Oklahoma gave me a love for nature, fishing, hunting, and campingÕ my art is rooted in these enthusiasms.
After graduating from High School, I worked several jobs and in 1987, I joined the Navy. I was trained as a Navy SEAL and served four years on Team 3 in Coronado, CA. Following my Honorable Discharge, I took a six month road trip photographing and hiking Nation Historic Sites and National Parks. This trip inspired me to begin painting again. I visited the CAA Museum in Kerrville, TX, as well as many art galleries in the West. I decided then I wanted to paint for a living. Visiting the Historic sites and reading tons of American History kindled my passion for historical western themes. Through my experience tin the military and following the roads of those pioneers and trailblazers, I felt a strong connection with their hardships, challenges working the land, and determination to survive. I sought out a good art school where I could develop the drawing and painting skills I needed to communicate my impressions. I found that at Art Center College in Pasadena, CA. This led to workshops with other painters, including Dan McCaw, Dan Pinkham, and Donald Putman.
I do Plein Air work as well which is a passion of mine. I believe it is essential in understanding the light and colors necessary in creating the mood I seek for my larger pieces. I also attend mountain man rendezvous and Civil War re-enactments to observe my subject first hand. I combine what I see there with readings of old journals and books and what I imagine it was like two centuries ago before the land was settled.
My goal is to pictorially show AmericaÕ³ heritage and manÕ³ relationship to the land before it was spoiled by settlement and technology. The story, though very important, is subordinate to the mood I want to portray. Without communicating mood, the essence of all true art, a painting is just another portrayal of the obvious. I hope to bring the two together to inspire art lovers and historians, alike." —Todd Connor
Well, it's trash day on my block. In most neighbhorhoods, this would not be cause for a diplomatic incident. But most neighborhoods don't have my neighbors.
They have extra garbage cans; those big bins, because they have a construction crew doing something. Besides generating the extra trash, I'm not sure what.
They put those bins in front of my place, because they don't have room in front of their place, because they park on the street in front of their place, because the construction crew parks in their driveway. (That's so they can get closer to all the trash they create.)
To me, the solution's obvious: stop the construction, send home the crew, park in the driveway --or Heaven forbid-- the garage, and put-out their garbage cans, back in front of their house. Yeah, but that's not gonna happen.
So I guess I'm just stuck, being good neighbor; and I'll just keep doing what I've been doing: I put my trash cans in front of my other neighbor's house.
Across the globe, some of the top scientists are attempting to create life from nothing, and so far there has been no success but now experts are saying wet artificial life will be possible in just 3 to 10 years.
ProtoLife is one organisation trying to develop wet artificial life and their COO, Mark Bedau, said:
“It’s going to be a big deal and everybody’s going to know about it. We’re talking about a technology that could change our world in pretty fundamental ways — in fact, in ways that are impossible to predict.”
As all life its based around DNA, it could be possible to create some sort of life. As DNA is a just a chemical, all scientists need to do is create that chemical and then they will have created wet artificial life. However, the chemical is incredibly complex, so its not as easy as it sounds.
Posted: Friday, August 17, 2007 9:14 AM by Chimene Williams Categories: Live from Studio 1A
This morning Studio 1A was paid a visit by justice, “Jimmy Justice.” He’s an average guy from Brooklyn, New York who’s outraged by New York City’s aggressive (his word) ticketing policy. Watch the video here.
“Jimmy Justice” talked to me for a few minutes about why he started trailing traffic enforcement agents with his video camera.
allDay: When did you start making these videos? I started making videos about a year ago. I collected videos of this sort because I saw a traffic enforcement agent write a civilian a ticket for blocking a fire hydrant and then that same traffic officer who wrote the summons to the civilian got back into his official vehicle, made a u-turn and he parked blocking a different fire hydrant across the street. And he went into a restaurant to eat lunch. And I said there has got to be something wrong with that.
allDay: Do you think it will make a difference? I hope it will snowball. Everyday the amount of hits are really growing. It’s my hope that after a larger amount of people see the video, they’ll be outraged and force City Hall to change their policy of predatory ticketing and to install a system of checks and balances monitoring the behavior of the traffic enforcement agent.
allDay: What do your friends think, and why? They love it. For the same reason that the public loves it. Everyone wants to see the bully get what they deserve. And these people are bulling the citizens of New York by being overly aggressive. And now we’re catching them when they’re doing something wrong. And now we’re turning the tables on them.
allDay: How many tickets have you gotten? I’m a careful driver and I read all the signs and I still get tickets. I get approximately three per year. Every couple of months I get one. Even if I’m super careful I still get tickets. A lot of the signs are ambiguous and I think that may be on purpose.
allDay: Are you political? Yes.
allDay: Would you ever run for public office? If I was elected to office I would want to pay attention to what the people have to say because the government is to serve the people and no try to rip the people off through aggressive ticketing.
allDay: How did you come up with the name Jimmy Justice? It sounds like give me justice and we need things to be fair in this city. Parking tickets should be about public safety and not as a way to generate revenue for the city.
After watching and reading what “Jimmy Justice” had to say, what do you think? How would you handle a situation like this?
AP/Christian Abraham (Connecticut Post), August 15, 2007
Bridgeport Bluefish catcher John Nathans, right, prevents Long Island Ducks' Jose Offerman (18) from hitting Bluefish pitcher Matt Beech with a bat.
Jose Offerman has been suspended indefinitely by the Atlantic League after a wild bat-swinging incident Tuesday night in Bridgeport, Conn. The Long Island Ducks infielder was arrested after charging the mound and injuring two players with his bat in the second inning of the Ducks' 13-12 win.
Offerman had homered on the game's first pitch. He came to bat in the second inning and after a first-pitch strike, he was hit on the left calf by lefthander Matt Beech. Bat in hand, he charged the mound, taking three swings at Beech and also hitting catcher John Nathans in the back of the head with a backswing. According to Bridgeport police, Beech broke the middle finger of his right hand and Nathans suffered a concussion. Offerman, Beech and Bluefish manager Tommy John were ejected after order was restored. Nathans remained in the game but upon returning to the dugout at the end of the inning, he passed out.
Police arrested Offerman in the visiting clubhouse, allowing him to dress before taking him from the stadium in handcuffs. He was charged with two counts of assault in the second degree and posted $10,000 bond. He will be arraigned Aug. 23.
"This type of thing happens but you don't go at a man with a bat," said Frank Boulton, the Ducks' principal owner and chief executive of the league. "It was not unprovoked but in no way do the Long Island Ducks condone Jose Offerman's actions."
John said that a pitcher intentionally hitting a batter is part of the game but doubted that was the case here.
"If you're going to hit somebody, you're not going to hit him on the calf," John said on ESPN's "First Take." "If you're incensed and think the pitcher's throwing at you, you drop the bat."
While Boulton wasn't sure why Offerman was arrested for an on-field incident, John said that Beech and Nathans filed charges. Atlantic League executive director Joe Klein is in Bridgeport speaking with the umpires and all parties involved. He suspended Offerman and released a statement saying that the incident is "under review and a decision on his status and that of other participants will be announced by week's end."
According to John, Beech will attempt to make his next start with his finger splinted, pending the league's investigation while Nathans is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
Hopefully, the year 2012 is going to be remembered forever in the history of space tourism industry. It would be the year when EADS Astrium space jet will take off to the space and in the very same year, the “Galactic Suite,” the first hotel planned in space is expected to open for business. Barcelona-based architect Xavier Claramunt is saying that the space hotel will be the most expensive in the galaxy and will cost $4 million for a three-day stay 300 miles in orbit.
How interesting it would be to see the sun rise 15 times a day and crawl around the pod rooms by sticking themselves to the walls like Spiderman by using Velcro suits. The proposed configuration is a three-bedroom boutique hotel with pods and the designer says that the system is designed for modularity and expansion “based on the natural growth of a grapevine.”
But, how will the passengers take a shower in weightlessness? But, there is nothing to worry as they have got the solution. The guests will enter a spa room in which bubbles of water will float around. But again, the biggest problem is the bathrooms in zero gravity and they haven’t commented anything in this context. Moreover, the space tourists will also take part in scientific experiments, according to the Galactic Suite press release.
Reservations for the incredible space hotel can be made at reservations@galacticsuite.com.
Owning a luxury yacht is one of the latest fads for the millionaires. Built in India and designed with the original owner, Indian industrialist Gautam Singhania, the 153-foot luxury tri-deck power yacht, Ashena is now up for sale. It took fiver years to build the yacht and it has been put up for sale a couple of years after it was finished. Boasting a unique Burmese teak hull, the Ashena can accommodate 12 guests in six spacious staterooms, all fitted with bathroom ensuite. The gorgeous yacht is priced at US $16,494,643. Check out the interiors after the jump.
There's nothing quite like this one. A gorgeous custom contemporary built in the Navajo Ridge gated community in the Red Rock canyons. The striking six-bedroom home has a hot tub, sauna, home theater, stone countertops and a temperature-controlled wine cellar and tasting room, climate controlled by 11 separate zone radiant heat and HVAC system. The home is tucked into the rocks in such a way that the rocks are actually a part of the home itself. A stunning beauty in a land of stunning beauty, it is listed at $9.75 million. After the jump, the oasis in the desert.
Auction house Christie's big contemporary art sale in New York isn't until November 13 but the art world is already buzzing about the fact that one of Andy Warhol's iconic Liz Taylor portraits will be on the auction block. The turquoise Liz was created in 1963 and is part of Warhol's celebrity portraits that also include Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy. This work also has a celebrity owner. Actor Hugh Grant bought the painting six years ago for $3.5 million at Sotheby's in New York. He now could realize anywhere from $25 million to $35 million on his investment.
Police: Man Wraps Head In Duct Tape For Robbery Disguise
Employee Says Man Reminded Him Of 'Beavis And Butthead' Character
POSTED: 7:04 am EDT August 14, 2007
UPDATED: 9:14 am EDT August 14, 2007
A man accused of robbing a liquor store in Kentucky double wrapped his head and face in duct tape to disguise his identity during the crime, according to police.
Employees at the Shamrock Liquors in Ashland reportedly laughed when the duct tape-wrapped bandit entered the store and demanded money.
After the robbery, the store manager and employee tackled the man in a nearby parking lot and held him for police, Local 6 reported.The culprit, who police identified as Kasey Kazee, denied robbing the store even though police snapped photos showing him wrapped in duct tape and then snapped photos showing his face without the tape.Reporters interviewed Kazee in jail after the crime."Look at me," Kazee said. "Do I look like the duct-tape bandit, baby? I'm not no duct-tape bandit. Live one-on-one in Ashland, Kentucky, you know this is not me. Now look. Do the math and do the homework."Store employee Craig Miller said Kazee reminded him of the "Cornholio" character from the "Beavis and Butthead" cartoon, WSAZ reported.Police said they have enough to make the charges stick.
Cadet Melanie Kleebaum and instructor Warrant Officer First Class Christopher Caicedo inspect a glider at CFB Mountainview prior to takeoff.
Photo: W. Brice McVicar
Teen cadet overcomes fear of heights
W. Brice McVicar / The Intelligencer Local News - Monday, July 16, 2007 @ 10:00
Melanie Kleebaum, at an altitude of 2,000 feet, faced her fear of heights this past weekend.
The 17-year-old Kincardine native is one of a handful of cadets participating in the introduction to aviation course in the region. Sunday afternoon those cadets were given their only opportunity to soar high above Prince Edward County in a glider.
Kleebaum, however, suffers from acrophobia - the fear of heights - and struggles when crossing a bridge. Sunday's flight, she said, would truly test her phobia.
"This is the first real opportunity as a cadet that I've got to do it," Kleebaum said in regards to her flight. "Everyone's assured me that it's safe."
Her phobia has lessened in the past few years but Kleebaum said when she learned a flight in a glider was mandatory for cadets in the program she was "a little freaked out." Had she known the flight was necessary she may not have signed up for the course, she said.
Sitting on the air strip only minutes away from take-off, Kleebaum said she did not know exactly what to expect once she and her instructor would be in the air but said she had been assured everything would go smoothly.
"I'll probably have a little bit of fear once I get up there but it's probably going to be beautiful," Kleebaum said.
Warrant Officer First Class Christopher Caicedo served as Kleebaum's instructor and said he would handle her flight slightly differently than a cadet who was not fearful of heights. He admitted he too suffers from a slight fear of heights but reassured Kleebaum things would be smooth and she'd enjoy her flight.
Caicedo said he has had other cadets who suffer from the same phobia.
"I like to talk them through it. I have lots of experience in the glider."
Major Doug Irish, Officer Commander for the ITAC program, said it is not unusual to have cadets with a fear of heights enrol in the program. Cadets such as Kleebaum are talked to long before their first flight and their fears are brought forward.
Knowing of their phobia means instructors and pilots try to "make the flight a little easier."
Irish said when a cadet does have acrophobia a flight in the glider can either act as a cure or a catalyst.
"She's not the first one and she won't be the last one. They'll either come down with their fear stronger or saying 'I want to be a pilot,'" he laughed.
For Kleebaum, the flight seemed to be closer to the latter.
Moments after touchdown the quiet teenager told reporters she found the 10 minute flight interesting and she will likely try to get into the glider school program next summer.
"It was a lot of fun. I was a little nervous but it was interesting," she said.
Caicedo complimented Kleebaum and explained he allowed her to take the controls of the glider during the most difficult part of the flight. As the tow plane lifted the small aircraft into the air he handed the controls over to her to watch her perform perfectly.
Practicing what to do should an airplane ever stall, however, was a bit more challenging for Kleebaum. The glider's nose is lifted high enough into the wind that the wings stop providing lift which, in turn, causes the glider to drop towards the ground.
This move is referred to as a roller coaster due to the sensation. Kleebaum said her reaction to the maneuver was mixed.
"It was a little scary on the first one but the second one was fun."
A publisher of nude model photography is suing Microsoft for putting links and images of the company's content in search results taken from other Web sites.
Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service
A publisher of nude model photography is suing Microsoft Corp. for putting links and images of the company's content in search results taken from other Web sites that are illegally reproducing the material.
The company, Perfect 10 Inc., previously lost a similar suit seeking injunctions against Google Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. and its subsidiary search engine, A9.com Inc., over alleged copyright infringement, but Perfect 10 is appealing that decision.
The latest suit, filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court, Central District of California, alleges that Microsoft's MSN image search feature creates unauthorized thumbnails of content owned by Perfect 10 and includes links to see full-size versions of the images for free
The suit also says Microsoft's MSN search engine can find passwords that have been improperly posted on other Web sites and enable access to Perfect 10's Web site. Microsoft also takes advertising money from Web sites that have stolen Perfect 10 images, according to the lawsuit.
Norm Zada, president of Perfect 10, said Microsoft has rejected efforts to reach a settlement. Microsoft could not be immediately reached for comment.
Zada said Microsoft's search engine, as well as those of Google and Amazon.com, have caused his company to lose US$4 million a month. Perfect 10 recently closed its magazine after 10 years in print due to images being available for free online, which were easy to find through searches, he added.
"Our business is being destroyed," Zada said. "This is a life and death battle for us."
Perfect 10 sued between 20 to 25 Web sites that were stealing its content, but "it's absolutely hopeless. A lot of these people are in Russia or China," Zada said. Instead, Zada said he holds the search engines responsible for making it easy to find infringing content.
For a time, it looked as if Perfect 10 might prevail in its claim against Google and Amazon.com. In February, a judge ruled that Google and Amazon.com could be partially liable for infringement for displaying the thumbnails.
However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned most of that decision in May, citing fair-use principles and the benefits that search engines provide to the general public.
The court also found full-size images from Web sites are not stored by Google, and the company's search service merely directs a user's browser to third-party Web sites.
Zada said Perfect 10 is appealing the Ninth Circuit's decision, but no court date has been scheduled yet.
Sarasota, Florida has long been an enclave of modern architecture. Today's home is a new build that carries on that tradition. The six-bedroom home is 8,300 square feet. The home is a little boxy for my taste but it does have an ideal location on the water. The master bedroom has an enviable view with large glass windows facing the sea but the kitchen leaves me cold. It is listed at $9.875 million. After the jump, I think we've seen this chair before.
A man flew from Peru to New York (via Florida) with a tiny monkey hidden under his hat, according to the Associated Press, which says other passengers noticed the marmoset when it climbed out on the man's pony tail in the middle of the flight.
The well-behaved monkey spent the rest of the trip sitting next to the man, according to reports. After the flight landed at LaGuardia Airport, police took the man away for questioning and placed the marmoset in quarantine.
"There was no national security issue," Fari Koshetz, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration in Fort Lauderdale, tells the New York Post. (Headline: A flying monkey)
The National Zoo in Washington says these are the world's smallest monkeys. Here's more about the mammal. The New York Times says it was a spider monkey.
This afternoon, you may see London, you may see France, but only in New York will you see an unapologetic parade of underpants. Transformed into a catwalk, Military Island in Times Square will play host to the suggestive festivities associated with National Underwear Day, a below-the-belt "holiday"/consumer fashion show organized by the folks at online underwear vendor freshpair.com.
Those bold enough to stare without diverting blushed glances will be in store for an eyeful. On the men's side, boxers, briefs, boxer briefs and perhaps a thong or two may be peeped amid the throng of scantily clad models. But those paying close attention to these garments also will notice another revealing trend in the realm of men's skivvies: a couture revolution.
"I think men are becoming more demanding, they're not just settling for black, white or gray anymore," said Michael Kleinmann, founder of National Underwear Day and president of freshpair.com, which peddles more than 100 brands of unmentionables. "These days, men are looking for underwear that's a little more fashionable."
"Boxers or briefs?" that was the question. No more. Gone are the days of tighty whities, as a growing number of men are abandoning black-and-white for color. Cuts are changing, too. Now the questions are: "Pink or patterned?" "Low-rise or sport-cut?" In some cases: "Silk or soy?"
Colors in demand
In a burgeoning market where anything goes, demand for inventive briefs is on the rise. According to market research firm NDP Group, men's underwear sales increased more than 5 percent from 2004 to 2006, a time frame which also saw leaps in sales of patterned and colored briefs and a significant decline in the sale of the white knits, which once ruled the market.
"A lot of colors and patterns are in," said Kleinmann."Every season we see more and more brands offering bright colors and designs. ... Lately we're seeing lower rise underwear to match low-rise jean trends."
As with any trend, with increased demand come higher prices. Andrew Christian, for example, offers sport-inspired briefs with lifeguard crosses and soccer uniform adornments for $29 apiece. Dolce and Gabbana camouflage-waisted boxer briefs will set you back $36. Playful (and colorful) Paul Frank cuts will run you upward of $30.
Multipack offerings
Even simplicity is inexplicably expensive. Plain Calvin Klein boxer briefs, like those made famous by the racy print ads of yesteryear, now retail for upward of $24 each. Hanes and Fruit of the Loom aren't exempt from the price hike either. Solid multipack offerings, which once retailed for under $8, are getting dragged along with the incoming price tide. Now three-pack boxer-brief sets rate around $15.
"With higher-priced pieces, you're getting different fabrications, more personalized cuts or expressive designs," said Kleinmann, who noted his best-selling brands were the pricey C-in2 and 2(x)ist lines. "You can also get alternative fabrics. ... Cotton is still No. 1, but we're seeing things like bamboo and soy compositions."
And that brings us to the ultimate underwear alternative, as it were – one you won't be seeing on National Underwear Day's catwalk. According to a 2004 poll by Kleinmann's freshpair .com, 9 percent of men regularly opt to go commando, or abandon underwear all together, a choice which Kleinmann respects but hopes to combat with his holiday.
July 23, 2007 -- People who drank soda every day -- even diet soda -- in a recent study were more likely to develop risk factors for heart disease.
That is because a soda habit increases the risk of developing a condition called metabolic syndrome, according to the new research, and that in turn boosts the chance of getting both heart disease and diabetes.
"Even one soda per day increases your risk of developing metabolic syndrome by about 50%," says Ramachandran Vasan, MD, professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and the senior author of the study, published in the July 31 issue of the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.
But other experts, including the American Heart Association, say heart disease has many risk factors and there's not enough evidence to directly blame sodas.
To be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, three of five criteria must be met: a large waistline, elevated blood pressure, elevated fasting blood sugar, elevated fasting triglycerides, or reduced HDL or "good" cholesterol.
"This study adds to the wealth of scientific evidence that sugar-sweetened beverages increase the risk of metabolic syndrome," says Vasan. Already, he says, the rise in sugary drink consumption has been linked to the epidemic of obesity and diabetes among children and teens and to the development of high blood pressure in adults.
Soda-Heart Disease Link Questioned
The food and beverage industry takes issue with the finding.
Roger Clemens, DrPH, a spokesperson for the Institute of Food Technologists, calls the study findings "oversimplified."
"There are many attributes associated with the development of metabolic syndrome," Clemens tells WebMD. "Some of which are part of lifestyle choices, such as eating too many calories." Diet soda is a more appropriate choice than regular soda, he says.
"It's way too soon to say stop drinking diet soda," says Clemens, a professor of molecular toxicology at the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy, Los Angeles, who is familiar with the new research. "Diet soda, in moderation, can be part of a healthy lifestyle."
Study Details
Vasan and his colleagues evaluated about 3,500 men and women participating in the Framingham Offspring Study. The offspring study began in 1971, following the original Framingham Heart Study launched in 1948. The offspring study included 5,124 people in all.
The questions about soda and other dietary habits were asked at three different exam periods, from 1987 to 1991, 1991 to 1995, and 1995 to 1998. The average age of those who answered questions about their soft drink intake and other health habits was 53 during the three exam periods, Vasan says.
At the first exam period, those who drank one or more soft drinks daily had a 48% increased prevalence of having metabolic syndrome compared with those who drank less than one a day, the researchers found.
As the study progressed, drinking one or more sodas a day was linked with a 44% higher risk of participants developing metabolic syndrome, Vasan's team found, compared with drinking less than a soda a day.
The researchers looked at soda consumption and the person's risk of developing each of the five criteria of metabolic syndrome. "Other than elevated blood pressure, the risk of developing the other four increased from about 20% to 30% with one soda a day," Vasan tells WebMD. They also found a trend toward an increased risk of developing high blood pressure with soda consumption, but it wasn't enough to be considered significant.
We have to remember him as the great artist that he was, the man with such a wonderful charismatic personality 
This morning Studio 1A was paid a visit by justice, “Jimmy Justice.” He’s an average guy from Brooklyn, New York who’s outraged by New York City’s aggressive (his word) ticketing policy. 
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