Vi kender hende fra en lang perlerække af danske filmklassikere, ligesom hun også har betrådt de skrå brædder på blandt andet Det Kongelige Teater og Skuespilhuset. Og Helle Hertz har ud over selv at berige den danske film- og teaterscene også sat tre børn i verden der alle er blevet til noget ved filmen. Nicolas Bro, Laura Bro og Anders Peter Bro har hun fået sammen med skuespilleren Christoffer Bro. Ham forlod hun til fordel for Betty Nansen Teatrets direktør Henrik Hartmann.
Men efter 16 år sammen var det Lone Hertz’ tur til at blive forladt – to måneder efter sin 50-års fødselsdag kom hun hjem fra en turne med Det Kongelige Teater. Lejligheden var tømt for de ting, der var hans, og det, han havde foreslået skulle være en lille pause, da hun tog af sted på turneen, var nu en lammende og ganske anderledes kendsgerning: At her sad hun som 50-årig og var blevet forladt af den mand, hun elskede, og som hun selv 15 år tidligere havde forladt mand og børn for.
Tror stadig på kærligheden
Er der en ny mand i hendes liv?
– Nej, siger hun i et stort interview i SØNDAG.
Men gider hun, at der skulle komme én?
2012年12月26日星期三
2012年12月10日星期一
Håndværker dræbt af knivstik
En 45-årig polsk håndværker blev søndag eftermiddag fundet dræbt i et hus på
Bolbrovej ved Rungsted Kyst nord for København.
- Der bliver klokken 16.23 tilkaldt en ambulance til et hus på Bolbrovej. Her ligger en mand død i køkkenet, formentlig dræbt af knivstik, fortæller vicepolitiinspektør ved Nordsjællands Politi, Flemming Poulsen, til Ritzau.
- Der er tale om en 45-årig polsk håndværker, der bor på stedet sammen med nogle andre polske arbejdere, fortsætter han.
Politiet ved søndag aften ikke, hvad der er foregået i huset, men fire andre polakker, der også bor i huset, er blevet anholdt og sigtet for drab.
- Vi er i gang med at afhøre dem, men det går meget langsomt, for de taler kun polsk, og det skal derfor foregå med tolk, siger Flemming Poulsen.
Mandag vil de anholdte blive fremstillet i grundlovsforhør, sigtet for drab.
- Som det ser ud nu, bliver de alle fire fremstillet, siger vicepolitiinspektøren sent søndag aften.
Han vil ikke sige, om offeret er dræbt med et enkelt eller med flere knivstik, og han vil ikke komme ind på, om man har fundet drabsvåbnet.
Viceinspektøren vil heller ikke fortælle, om huset bærer præg af, at der har være kamp mellem offeret og hans gerningsmand eller -mænd.
- Vi regner med at kræve dørene lukket i grundlovsforhøret, så det er begrænset, hvor meget jeg kan fortælle, forklarer Flemming Poulsen.
- Der bliver klokken 16.23 tilkaldt en ambulance til et hus på Bolbrovej. Her ligger en mand død i køkkenet, formentlig dræbt af knivstik, fortæller vicepolitiinspektør ved Nordsjællands Politi, Flemming Poulsen, til Ritzau.
- Der er tale om en 45-årig polsk håndværker, der bor på stedet sammen med nogle andre polske arbejdere, fortsætter han.
Politiet ved søndag aften ikke, hvad der er foregået i huset, men fire andre polakker, der også bor i huset, er blevet anholdt og sigtet for drab.
- Vi er i gang med at afhøre dem, men det går meget langsomt, for de taler kun polsk, og det skal derfor foregå med tolk, siger Flemming Poulsen.
Mandag vil de anholdte blive fremstillet i grundlovsforhør, sigtet for drab.
- Som det ser ud nu, bliver de alle fire fremstillet, siger vicepolitiinspektøren sent søndag aften.
Han vil ikke sige, om offeret er dræbt med et enkelt eller med flere knivstik, og han vil ikke komme ind på, om man har fundet drabsvåbnet.
Viceinspektøren vil heller ikke fortælle, om huset bærer præg af, at der har være kamp mellem offeret og hans gerningsmand eller -mænd.
- Vi regner med at kræve dørene lukket i grundlovsforhøret, så det er begrænset, hvor meget jeg kan fortælle, forklarer Flemming Poulsen.
2012年10月24日星期三
Se videoen til Jacob Bellens' første solosingle
Så er førstesinglen "Champion Sounds" fra Jacob Bellens' debut som soloartist på gaden, og i den forbindelse er der også smidt en musikvideo på nettet, som du kan se nedenfor.
Jacob Bellens, som har gjort sig bemærket i både Murder og I Got You On Tape, sender sit første soloalbum "The Daisy Age" på gaden den 26. november. Videoen til albummets første single, "Heart of Africa", er lavet af Malthe Fischer fra Oh No Ono og kan ses på YouTube.
I Got You On Tape blev dannet i 2004, og har udgivet i alt fire album: "I Got You On Tape" i 2006, "2" i 2007, "Spinning for the Cause" i 2009 og "Church of the Real" i 2011. Sidstnævnte fik fem stjerner i GAFFA fra Michael José Gonzalez, som skrev: "Det er et dragende univers, der åbenbarer sig på "Church Of The Real", som formår at bevæge sig ubesværet ind og ud af en række forskellige genrer og virkemidler, uden at give afkast på den særlige lyd og dermed den stemning, I Got You On Tape pakker deres numre ind i."
Murder er en folk-singer-songwriter-duo, der debuterede i 2005 med "One Day From Now It's My Birthday", og udsendte opfølgeren "Stockholm Syndrome" i 2006. I 2010 udgav duoen deres tredje album "Gospel of Man", der fik fem stjerner i GAFFA, hvor Ole Rosenstand Svidt blandt andet skrev: "Den afdæmpede duo lever op til de høje forventninger og leverer ren englelyd."
Jacob Bellens har desuden sunget på udgivelser med blandt andre Chimes & Bells, Kasper Bjørke og Peder.
2012年10月19日星期五
Clutch til Amager Bio
Det amerikanske band Clutch har været sammen siden begyndelsen af 1990'erne, og i 2013 kan de fejre 20 års jubilæum for deres første udgivelse. Det gør de med deres 10. album "Earth Rocker" samt en turné, som blandt andet rammer Amager Bio den 3. februar.
Først i karrieren blev Clutch sammenlignet med tidens populære, amerikanske metalbands som for eksempel Korn, mens bandet selv mener, at de altid har ligget tættere op ad den klassiske bluesrock i retningen af Led Zeppelin og hardrock i stil med Black Sabbath og AC/DC.
Clutchs album fra 2007 "From Beale Street To Oblivion" modtog fem stjerner fra GAFFAs anmelder Keld Rud, som skrev:
"From Beale Street To Oblivion er på sin vis noget af det mest forfriskende, der er overgået bluesmusikken i flere år. Clutch har nærmest formet bluesen som en anden klump ler med et ganske unikt og excentrisk resultat. Forsanger Neil Fallon har samtidig udviklet sig til en af tidens mest opfindsomme og originale tekstforfattere, og hans kulørte ordkonstellationer er et kapitel for sig."
Clutch spillede koncert i Danmark og Pumpehuset tilbage i 2009, hvor koncerten fik fire stjerner i GAFFA, og anmelder Rasmus Heide blandt andet skrev:
"I Clutchs øjne må Pumpehuset virke lidt halvtamt sammenlignet med de amerikanske MC-klubber og bikerbarer, hvor bandets musik virkelig hører hjemme. Vi andre kan blot begejstres over rigtig rock spillet på rigtige instrumenter af rigtige musikere i svedige T-shirts. Kom snart igen."
2012年10月18日星期四
Baby Spice og Sporty Spice udgiver ny single
Så er det godt nyt til Spice-Girls fans. Den 11. november udkommer singlen "I Know Him So Well", der er blevet til i et samarbejde mellem de to tidligere medlemmer af pigegruppen, Emma Bunton og Melanie C.
"I Know Him So Well" er en cover-version af sangen fra Tim Rices musical "Chess" og er en del af Melanie C's nye album "Stages", der udkom tidligere i år, og som udelukkende består af cover-versioner af sange fra musicals. "I Know Him So Well" er den første officielle single fra albummet, der også indeholder sange fra "Hair", "Cabaret" og "Jesus Christ Superstar".
"Det var så følelsesladet, da vi første gang hørte vores stemmer sammen igen. Det var Spice Girls om igen. Jeg glæder mig så meget til, at folk skal høre det", udtalte Melanie C begejstret til The Sun i forbindelse med indspilningen. Du kan se Emma Bunton og Melanie C genforenet i en lille video-teaser til singlen på YouTube.
"Stages" er Melanie C's sjette studiealbum, der lægger sig i kølvandet på sidste års udgivelse fra sporty spicen, "The Sea". Dette album fik moderate tre stjerner af GAFFAs Signe Bønsvig Wehding, der blandt andet skrev "Den homofone spidsfindighed mellem navnet C og titlen Sea er omtrent det mest spidsfindige ved albummet, som ikke gør mere, end det skal."
2012年9月20日星期四
Valg i Hviderusland: Et mærkeligt valg i et mærkeligt land
Bedst som efterårssolen rammer fortovscafeen i den hviderussiske hovedstad Minsk, får min hviderussiske kollega en mystisk telefonopringning.
Han lægger hånden over mobiltelefonen.
- Det er min ven, der er på opgave med en australsk journalist. De er ved at blive anholdt, så han har ladet telefonen stå tændt, siger han.
Læs også Hviderusland smider Sveriges ambassadør ud
Min kollega kan så høre, hvordan politiet i en nærliggende by spørger, om den australske journalist nu skal til at skrive noget negativt om byen.
Bagefter, da de to er sluppet fri, ringer min hviderussiske kollegas ven igen og forklarer, at det var KGB, der ville have dem ind til en venskabelig samtale, som KGB-mændene udtrykte det.
KGB har Hviderusland bevaret fra Sovjettiden som forkortelse for sikkerhedspolitiet.
Mange minder fra Sovjetunionen
Det er ikke det eneste, som Hviderusland har bevaret fra Sovjettiden.
I flere byer kan man se statuer af Lenin og Karl Marx.
Og midt i hovedstaden ligger gader, der stadig har navn efter de to.
Læs også Hviderusland henretter bombemand fra Minsk
Præsident Lukasjenko er også en sovjetnostalgiker, der siden 1994 har holdt landet i et autoritært greb.
Men det er ikke det eneste, der minder om Sovjettiden.
- Valget er efterhånden begyndt ligne dem, jeg kan huske fra Sovjettiden, siger menneskeretsforkæmperen Valiantsin Stefanovitj, der arbejder for den ansete hviderussiske menneskeretsorganisation Viasna.
Han har været med til at overvåge valget indtil nu, og han er meget kritisk over for det.
- Oppositionen har ikke fået lov til at registrere særlig mange af sine kandidater, og den har kun få repræsentanter i de vigtige lokale valgbestyrelser, som tæller stemmer op, siger han.
Oppositionen og menneskeretsgrupper siger også, at det kommende valg på søndag ikke er frit, fordi der findes politiske fanger, og fordi de dominerende medier er kontrolleret af præsident Lukasjenko.
Dertil kommer, at parlamentet er et Mickey Mouse-parlament, der ingen reel magt har. Den ligger hos præsident Lukasjenko, der har en stor administration, som regerer ved hjælp af dekreter.
2012年9月16日星期日
Led Zeppelin er klar med koncertfilm - Sport Boxing
Den sidste uge har der været en nedtælling på Led Zeppelins hjemmeside, og i dag har bandet afsløret, hvad der er blevet talt ned til. I dag er det nemlig blevet offentliggjort, at Led Zeppelin udsender koncertfilmen "Celebration Day", der viser bandets koncert fra den 10. december 2007. Koncerten var bandets første i 27 år, der blev trukket lod om, hvem der kunne købe billetter, og kun 18.000 mennesker fik mulighed for at se genforeningskoncerten.
Koncerten fandt sted på Londons O2 Arena, hvor Led Zeppelin spillede en mere end to timer lang hyldestkoncert for deres dengang relativt nyligt afdøde ven og mentor, Ahmet Ertegun (1923-2006), som opstartede pladeselskabet Atlantic Records og blandt meget andet udgav Led Zeppelin. John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page og Robert Plant gik på scenen sammen med Jason Bonham, som er søn af deres afdøde trommeslager John Bonham, og her spillede rockbandet 16 sange fra deres bagkatalog, blandt andet "Whole Lotta Love", "Rock And Roll", "Kashmir" og "Stairway To Heaven".
Koncertfilmen "Celebration Day" bliver vist på 1.500 filmlærreder den 17. oktober. Der vil være filmpremierer i mange store byer verden over, blandt andet Los Angeles, London og New York. Billetterne bliver solgt fra i dag af via ledzeppelin.com. "Celebration Day" vil kunne fås i flere video- og lydformater fra den 19. november.
Trackliste til "Celebration Day":
1. Good Times Bad Times
2. Ramble On
3. Black Dog
4. In My Time Of Dying
5. For Your Life
6. Trampled Under Foot
7. Nobody's Fault But Mine
8. No Quarter
9. Since I've Been Loving You
10. Dazed And Confused
11. Stairway To Heaven
12. The Song Remains The Same
13. Misty Mountain Hop
14. Kashmir
15. Whole Lotta Love
16. Rock And Roll
Koncerten fandt sted på Londons O2 Arena, hvor Led Zeppelin spillede en mere end to timer lang hyldestkoncert for deres dengang relativt nyligt afdøde ven og mentor, Ahmet Ertegun (1923-2006), som opstartede pladeselskabet Atlantic Records og blandt meget andet udgav Led Zeppelin. John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page og Robert Plant gik på scenen sammen med Jason Bonham, som er søn af deres afdøde trommeslager John Bonham, og her spillede rockbandet 16 sange fra deres bagkatalog, blandt andet "Whole Lotta Love", "Rock And Roll", "Kashmir" og "Stairway To Heaven".
Koncertfilmen "Celebration Day" bliver vist på 1.500 filmlærreder den 17. oktober. Der vil være filmpremierer i mange store byer verden over, blandt andet Los Angeles, London og New York. Billetterne bliver solgt fra i dag af via ledzeppelin.com. "Celebration Day" vil kunne fås i flere video- og lydformater fra den 19. november.
Trackliste til "Celebration Day":
1. Good Times Bad Times
2. Ramble On
3. Black Dog
4. In My Time Of Dying
5. For Your Life
6. Trampled Under Foot
7. Nobody's Fault But Mine
8. No Quarter
9. Since I've Been Loving You
10. Dazed And Confused
11. Stairway To Heaven
12. The Song Remains The Same
13. Misty Mountain Hop
14. Kashmir
15. Whole Lotta Love
16. Rock And Roll
2012年8月30日星期四
Op til 80 Amazon-indianere dræbt i Venezuela
Op mod 80 medlemmer af en indianerstamme i Amazon-junglen i Venezuela er blevet dræbt af illegale guldminearbejdere. Det oplyser flere menneskerettighedsgrupper ifølge BBC.
Angrebet fandt sted i juli tæt på grænsen til Brasilien, og minearbejdere skulle angiveligt have sat ild til et hus fyldt med indfødte fra stammen Yanomami.
På grund af indianernes fjerntliggende placering i Amazon-regnskoven tog det adskillige dage for de personer, der opdagede de brændte lig, at finde tilbage til civilisationen og rapportere om dødsfaldene.
Det fortæller den verdensomspændende menneskerettighedsgruppe Survival International, som blandt andet kæmper for indfødtes rettigheder.
Yanomami-folket har tidligere klaget over, at minearbejdere trænger ind på deres område i Amazon-regnskoven.
Ifølge organisationer, der arbejder for den lokale indianerstamme, har tre indfødte overlevet angrebet.
Den stigende pris på guld på verdensmarkederne de seneste år har for alvor fået illegale minearbejdere til at grave efter det lukrative ædelmetal i flere dele af Amazon-regionen.
Yanomami-organisationerne har opfordret myndighederne i Venezuela til at efterforske sagen og samarbejde med Brasilien for at "kontrollere og overvåge minearbejdernes arbejde i området".
- Alle myndigheder i Amazon-regionen må stoppe de voldelige minearbejdere, som ulovligt slår sig ned på de indfødtes territorier, siger Stephen Corry, direktør i Survival International, ifølge BBC.
Ifølge menneskerettighedsgruppen bor der omkring en million indianere i den kæmpemæssige regnskov, som strækker sig over en stor del af Sydamerika.
Angrebet fandt sted i juli tæt på grænsen til Brasilien, og minearbejdere skulle angiveligt have sat ild til et hus fyldt med indfødte fra stammen Yanomami.
På grund af indianernes fjerntliggende placering i Amazon-regnskoven tog det adskillige dage for de personer, der opdagede de brændte lig, at finde tilbage til civilisationen og rapportere om dødsfaldene.
Det fortæller den verdensomspændende menneskerettighedsgruppe Survival International, som blandt andet kæmper for indfødtes rettigheder.
Yanomami-folket har tidligere klaget over, at minearbejdere trænger ind på deres område i Amazon-regnskoven.
Ifølge organisationer, der arbejder for den lokale indianerstamme, har tre indfødte overlevet angrebet.
Den stigende pris på guld på verdensmarkederne de seneste år har for alvor fået illegale minearbejdere til at grave efter det lukrative ædelmetal i flere dele af Amazon-regionen.
Yanomami-organisationerne har opfordret myndighederne i Venezuela til at efterforske sagen og samarbejde med Brasilien for at "kontrollere og overvåge minearbejdernes arbejde i området".
- Alle myndigheder i Amazon-regionen må stoppe de voldelige minearbejdere, som ulovligt slår sig ned på de indfødtes territorier, siger Stephen Corry, direktør i Survival International, ifølge BBC.
Ifølge menneskerettighedsgruppen bor der omkring en million indianere i den kæmpemæssige regnskov, som strækker sig over en stor del af Sydamerika.
2012年8月29日星期三
Tyrkiet vil have sikre zoner til flygtninge inde i Syrien
Tyrkiet foreslår en sikker zone for flygtninge inde i Syrien.
Her har kampene mellem regeringshæren og modstandere af landets leder Bashar Assad sendt tusinder på flugt til nabolandene.
Alene i sidste uge ankom over titusinde syrere til flygtningelejre i Jordan. FN advarer om, at op mod 200.000 kan sætte kursen mod Tyrkiet, hvis konflikten i landet fortsætter. I øjeblikket krydser op til 5.000 mennesker grænsen mod Syriens nordlige nabo hver dag.
LÆS MEREJordan og Tyrkiet får ny bølge af flygtninge fra Syrien
Regeringen i Ankara forbereder oprettelsen af fem-seks lejre, der vil kunne tage imod cirka 150.000 syrere.
Ifølge FN's flygtningehøjkommisariat er syriske familier nu begyndt at sende børn alene ud af landet for at bringe dem i sikkerhed, mens forældrene bliver tilbage for at tage sig af andre pårørende.
En million interne flygtninge
Inde i Syrien har konflikten ifølge oplysninger fra landets myndigheder ført til, at over en million mennesker nu har søgt ly i herberger, der er indrettet i 350 skoler og andre offentlige bygninger.
»Vi forventer, at FN vil tage stilling til spørgsmålet om at beskytte flygtninge inde i Syrien og om muligt beskytte dem i lejre dér«, siger den tyrkiske udenrigsminister Ahmet Davutoglu ifølge nyhedsbureauerne.
Her har kampene mellem regeringshæren og modstandere af landets leder Bashar Assad sendt tusinder på flugt til nabolandene.
Alene i sidste uge ankom over titusinde syrere til flygtningelejre i Jordan. FN advarer om, at op mod 200.000 kan sætte kursen mod Tyrkiet, hvis konflikten i landet fortsætter. I øjeblikket krydser op til 5.000 mennesker grænsen mod Syriens nordlige nabo hver dag.
LÆS MEREJordan og Tyrkiet får ny bølge af flygtninge fra Syrien
Regeringen i Ankara forbereder oprettelsen af fem-seks lejre, der vil kunne tage imod cirka 150.000 syrere.
Ifølge FN's flygtningehøjkommisariat er syriske familier nu begyndt at sende børn alene ud af landet for at bringe dem i sikkerhed, mens forældrene bliver tilbage for at tage sig af andre pårørende.
En million interne flygtninge
Inde i Syrien har konflikten ifølge oplysninger fra landets myndigheder ført til, at over en million mennesker nu har søgt ly i herberger, der er indrettet i 350 skoler og andre offentlige bygninger.
»Vi forventer, at FN vil tage stilling til spørgsmålet om at beskytte flygtninge inde i Syrien og om muligt beskytte dem i lejre dér«, siger den tyrkiske udenrigsminister Ahmet Davutoglu ifølge nyhedsbureauerne.
2012年8月21日星期二
Afghanske angreb på udenlandske soldater bekymrer Obama
Afghanske politifolk eller soldater åbner i stigende grad pludselig ild mod udenlandske soldater.
Det bekymrer USA's præsident, Barack Obama.
- Det er klart, at vi må gøre mere ved det, for over de seneste omkring 12 måneder er der sket en stigning, siger Obama i Det Hvide Hus i Washington.
Styrker skal uddannes
Men præsidenten, der tidligere i dag havde besøg af journalister, understreger, at de afghanske sikkerhedsstyrker skal uddannes, så de kan overtage sikkerheden, når de amerikanske soldater og de øvrige soldater fra Nato, herunder de danske, trækker sig ud.
- På lang sigt vil vi se færre amerikanske ofre og ofre i koalitionens styrke, hvis vi holder os til vores overgangsplan og sikrer os, at den afghanske sikkerhedsstyrke bliver så effektiv som mulig, siger Obama.
- Men vi må gøre det på en måde, der ikke gør vore drenge sårbare, tilføjer han.
Afghanere vil gøre noget ved problemet
General Martin Dempsey, der er chef for den amerikanske generalstab, er på besøg i Kabul i Afghanistan, og han sagde tidligere mandag, at de afghanske ledere - efter generalens opfattelse - er klar til at sætte ind over for det alvorlige problem.
- For første gang har jeg set, at min afghanske modpart er lige så bekymret for insider-angreb, som vi er, siger han til tv-stationen Fox.
- Tidligere har det været os, der har skubbet på for at få dem til at gøre mere, tilføjer han.
2012年8月19日星期日
Real Madrid skuffede i sæsonåbning
På trods af et hurtigt føringsmål af Gonzalo Higuain formåede Real Madrid kun at spille 1-1 i hjemmekampen mod Valencia.
Det var ellers et sprudlende mesterhold, der lagde stærkt fra land hjemme på Santiago Bernabeu.
Efter ni minutters spil snød Gonzalo Higuain Valencias offside-fælden. Og i tredje omgang fik den argentinske målmager passeret Diego Alves i Valencia-målet.
Men i det 41. minut fik Valencia frispark til højre for Real Madrids straffesparksfelt. Og Tino Costa kunne servere et perfekt indlæg til Jonas Goncalves,
der stangede bolden i mål bag Madrid-keeper Iker Casillas, der var kommet lidt på mellemhånd.
Situationen omkring målet efterlod i øvrigt både Pepe og Iker Casillas groggy på græsset, efter at de to Real Madrid-spillere stødte sammen. Portugisiske
Pepe måtte opgive at stille op til anden halvleg.
Valencia forsvarede efterfølgende bravt det ene point, og Real Madrid-stjernerne havde meget svært ved at spille sig til åbne chancer på trods af stor
boldbesiddelse.
Indtil det 65. minut, hvor Angel Di Maria sendte en bold ind i panden på Higuain, der headede bolden på tværliggeren.
Valencia havde held med at holde Cristiano Ronaldo helt ude af kampen. Den portugisiske Real Madrid-stjerne kom ikke til en eneste afslutning i kampen.
Real Madrids indskiftede José Callejón havde otte minutter før tid chancen, men Diego Alves hev en pragtredning frem.
2012年8月17日星期五
HBO følger Netflix og kommer til Danmark
Knap har nyheden om Netflix' indtog på det danske marked lagt sig, før endnu en udenlandsk tv-gigant melder sig på banen.
Den amerikanske betalingskanal HBO, der står bag prisvindende serier som "Sopranos", "Game of Thrones" og "The Wire", bliver snart lanceret i Danmark, skriver TimeWarner, der ejer HBO, i en pressemeddelelse.
Lanceringen i Danmark bliver en del af en større HBO-satning i Norden, da selskabet også rykker ind på markederne i Norge, Finland og Sverige.
Stort potentiale i Norden
HBO har indgået et samarbejde med tv-distributøren Parsifal International, der driver af svenskeren Peter Eskelund, som har over 20 års erfaring fra tv-distributionsbranchen.
- Det nordiske marked for betalings-tv har et stort udviklingspotentiale. Specielt for nye inovative tjenester til flere platforme, siger Peter Eskelund i pressemeddelelsen
Pris og lanceringsdato er uklar
HBO er sammen med det andet TimeWarner-ejede selskab, Cinemax, en af verdens største betalings-tvkanaler med 93 millioner abonnenter i 60 lande.
Hvornår HBO præcis gør sin entré på det danske marked, og hvad prisen bliver for et abonnement ,er endnu uklart, men ifølge SVT1 vil HBO komme med flere detaljer om lanceringen i slutningen af august.
2012年8月16日星期四
Socialrådgivernes formand stopper
Efter fire år i spidsen for Dansk Socialrådgiverforening har Bettina Post meddelt, at hun ikke vil genopstille ved det kommende formandsvalg.
Det oplyser fagforbundet på sin hjemmeside.
Her begrunder hun sin afgang med, at hun synes, foreningen har taget en uheldig drejning.
- Desværre oplever jeg, at der er et skift på vej i retning af en mere ideologisk tilgang til socialpolitikken, som i mine øjne blokerer både for udvikling
af socialpolitikken og for fastholdelsen af det socialfaglige argument.
Blev modsagt i hovedbestyrelsen
- Det er hverken godt for foreningen eller for socialrådgiverne, siger Bettina Post.
Hun oplevede i foråret at blive modsagt af medlemmer af forbundets hovedbestyrelse i debatten om kontanthjælpsreformen.
Bettina Post understreger, at det ikke er denne oplevelse, der har ført til hendes afgang, men hun lægger ikke skjul på, at hun oplever kræfter i forbundet,
som, hun mener, er drevet af politisk ideologi frem for faglig viden.
Formand gennem fire år
- Mine udmeldinger i pressen, til samarbejdspartnere, ministre og ordførere både i den forrige og den nuværende regering har altid baseret sig på
socialfaglig viden, erfaring og indsigt og ikke på partipolitisk tilhør.
- Det er i høj grad det, der har skabt og cementeret foreningens troværdighed som socialpolitisk ekspert og medspiller på mange baner, siger Bettina Post.
Hun blev i 2004 valgt til næstformand i forbundet og trådte i 2008 det sidste skridt op ad rangstigen til formandsposten.
Synlighed, troværdighed og politisk slagkraft
Gennem denne periode har hun arbejdet målrettet for at øge foreningens synlighed og har blandt andet deltaget i debatten omkring kontanthjælpsreformen,
socialrådgivernes rolle i sager om misbrug af børn samt vold og trusler mod offentligt ansatte.
- Min indsats igennem årene har medført, at foreningens synlighed, troværdighed og politiske slagkraft aldrig har været større. Jeg har med andre ord nået
mine mål, konkluderer Bettina Post.
Også Dansk Socialrådgiverforenings næstformand, Ulrik Frederiksen, har meddelt, at han stopper ved efterårets valg.
2012年8月15日星期三
Venstre vil gøre visumregler smidigere
FN's turismeorganisation, UNWTO, Dansk Industri (DI) og Venstre er enige: visumreglerne bør moderniseres.
Der er nemlig milliarder af kroner at tjene og millioner af nye arbejdspladser i udsigt i den vestlige verden, viser FN's analyse.
Det har fået Venstres erhvervsskatteordfører, Mads Rørvig, til at stille justitsminister Morten Bødskov (S) en stribe spørgsmål om mulighederne.
Ifølge chefkonsulent i DI Sune K. Jensen er der ikke én model, der virker, men giver flere bud på, hvordan Danmark kan tjene på at modernisere visumreglerne:
- Ved at udstede længerevarende visa, så forretningsfolk ikke løbende skal søge igen og igen. Ved at nedsætte visumgebyrerne og reducere krav om fremmøde for
at opnå visum, siger han til dr.dk.
Indiske turister fravælger Europa
Da Spanien gjorde det lettere for russere at søge visum, voksede andelen af russiske turister i Spanien med 50 procent i 2011, fortæller Sune K. Jensen.
En undersøgelse af indiske turisters vaner viste fra efteråret 2011 viste, at 21 procent fravalgte rejsemål i Schengen-området alene på grund af den lange
sagsbehandling.
Sune K. Jensen peger desuden på forretningsfolks problemer med at få visum til medfølgende ægtefæller.
- Det er ikke noget problem i Holland, siger han.
Hos Venstre understreger man, at det er balancegang - ingen skal kunne udnytte systemet. Men siger Mads Rørvig til dr.dk om de kvalificerede udlændinge:
- Dem der skal ind, skal ind så hurtigt som muligt.
2012年8月14日星期二
Betalte kassen for plads på næstsidste række
Søren Kofoed er stor fan af den amerikanske guitarist og sanger, James Taylor. Så da idolet i april skulle spille i Musikhuset Aarhus, var der ingen tvivl
om, at Søren Kofoed skulle se sit idol.
Og lykken var stor, da han opdagede, at der på Viagogos hjemmeside stadig var billetter allerforrest.
- De havde ledige pladser nede på orkesterpladserne, så jeg tænkte, hvor heldig kan man være, fortæller Søren Kofoed
Prisen for billetten på Viagogo var 970 kroner, men da Søren Kofoed får billetten tilsendt, kan han se, at den oprindeligt er købt for 450 kroner. Altså
under det halve af, hvad han har givet.
Ubehagelig overraskelse
Og de ubehagelige overraskelser stopper ikke her.
- Da vi kommer ind i salen, går vi selvfølgelig ned foran og ser så, at der står række 24 på billetten.
Den billet, som Søren Kofoed har fået, gælder alligevel ikke til orkestergraven, som det fremgik af købet på Viagogos hjemmeside. I stedet skal han sidde på
række 24 - salens næstbagerste række.
- Jeg tænkte, at der er vist nogen, der har taget mig ved næsen her.
Snydt i fællesskab
Og Søren Kofoed er langt fra den eneste, der er blevet taget ved næsen. For det viser sig, at alle, der sidder på række 24 sammen med Søren Kofoed, også har
købt billetter til orkestergraven på Viagogos hjemmeside - men alle har fået billet til række 24. Samtidig står sælgeren af alle billetterne til at være en
person ved navn Charles Horn.
- Det virker organiseret på en eller anden led. Det kan ikke være en fan, der har købt så mange billetter og skal af med dem alle sammen på én gang.
Opfordrer til politianmeldelse:
Hos Musikhuset Aarhus er man træt af Viagogo og deres salgsmetoder. De oplever ofte henvendelser fra gæster, der er endt op med en ugyldige billetter,
billetter til forkerte pladser og billetter, der er solgt langt dyrere end originalprisen. Men Musikhuset selv kan ikke hjælpe de nødstedte gæster
- Vi er nødt til bare at være konsekvente. Møder man op her og har en billet, som er købt på Viagogo og som er solgt til flere, så kommer man simpelthen ikke
ind. Det er jo selvfølgelig ærgerligt, fordi kunden har været i god tro, men vi kan ikke bare give efter, for så får vi ikke sat en stopper for det, siger
Mette Kier
I stedet opfordrer hun gæsterne til at politianmelde Viagogo, hvis de føler, at de er blevet snydt.
2012年8月13日星期一
FC Hjørring lejer Agger
Mikkel Agger skal fra nu af spille for FC Hjørring og det skal han resten af efterårssæsonen. Han er dog kun lejet til klubben.
- Vi har længe søgt efter en supplering til vores andre angrebsspillere, og fundet ham i Mikkel Agger fra Esbjerg. Vi tror, at Mikkel med hans målnæse og
hurtighed vil supplere vores andre angrebsspillere, skriver klubben i en pressemeddelse.
Mikkel Agger starter træningen i Hjørring i dag og vil, hvis papirerne er i orden debutere i morgen i pokalturneringen mod Hadsund.
2012年8月12日星期日
Brøndby-fans jubler over aktiekøb
Brøndby IF's fans jubler - ikke over de sportslige resultater, men over at de nu for første gang kommer til at sidde med ved bordet i klubbens bestyrelse.
Fansene har nemlig fået lov til at købe de såkaldte A-aktier, der giver indflydelse ved bestyrelsesbordet i vestegnsklubben.
Det er den nystartede forening Brøndby Supporters Trust (BST), der skal stå for at samle de 21,5 millioner kroner ind, som fansene må købe aktier for.
Formand for foreningen, Sune Blom, glæder sig.
- For hver eneste ekstra krone, vi samler ind, får vi mere indflydelse. Det afgørende er, at vi kommer til at sidde med ved bordet med A-aktionærerne. Så når der skal træffes vigtige beslutninger i fremtiden, er vi med, siger han til Ritzau.
2012年8月11日星期六
Få Overblikket: Her er alle OL's største skandaler
"Spillet uden for banen" skabte ganske store overskrifter under OL i London. De har handlet om alt fra unfair optræden og racisme til doping og bommerter.
Før åbningsceremonien ramte den første uheldige sag, da de nordkoreanske kvinder nægtede at gå på banen før kampen mod Colombia i den olympiske
fodboldturnering.
Årsagen var, at arrangørerne viste de nordkoreanske spillere på storskærm flankeret af det sydkoreanske flag, hvilket spillerne - grundet de to landes meget
anstrengte forhold - blev fornærmede over.
Sydkoreansk flag skyld i OL-forsinkelse
De sociale medier har også været årsag til ikke mindre end to hjemsendelser af sportsudøvere, fordi de begge på Twitter havde skrevet noget der kunne
opfattes racistisk.
Græsk OL-atlet smidt hjem for racisme
Twitter-racisme sender schweizer hjem
De danske svømmere var ligeledes indblandet i en prekær sag, der nærmede sig chikane, da de blev tvunget til at skifte badehætte, kort inden de skulle i
vandet for at kvalificere sig til finalen i 4x100 meter fri.
Se klippet: Danske svømmere i badehætte-drama
Danmark klagede over episoden, men klagen blev afvist, og derfor har Danmark taget sagen videre.
Badehættesagen svømmer videre
En sag om hovedbeklædning har også fyldt i medierne, fordi en kvindelig Saudisk judukæmper først fik lov til at gå på banen iført hijab, sidenhen blev det
forbudt for så til sidst at blive tilladt igen.
Saudisk judokvinde kæmper alligevel med hijab
Dopingspøgelset har også vist sig under dette OL i form positive dopingprøver fra en albansk vægtløfter, en usbekisk gymnast og en sprinter fra St. Kitt og
Nevis. Alle tre blev smidt hjem af deres nationale olympiske komiteer.
Østat smider dopet sprinter ud af OL
Absolut størst af alle skandaler under OL ramte onsdag damedoublen i badminton. Den Internationale Badminton Union slog nem lig hårdt ned over for fire par
efter usportslige kampe tirsdag, hvor frie sydkoreanske, to kinesiske og to indonesiske spillere med vilje spillede dårligt og lavede talrige uprovokerede
fejl med det ene formål at få en bedre lodtrækning i kvartfinalen.
Se damedouble tabe med vilje
Resultatet var en diskvalifikation af alle otte spillere. Fire af dem klagede over beslutningen.
Badmintonskandale: Otte spillere diskvalificeret
Trods åbenlys erkendelse fik det ikke noget efterspil, at en cykelrytter indrømmede snyd. Den britiske banecykelrytter Philip Hindes erkendte over for BBC at
være styrtet med vilje i holdsprint-finalen mod Frankrig for at opnå en omstart. Efterfølgende fik det britiske hold, der vandt guld, med held dysset
episoden ned med henvisning til, at den tyskfødte kører ikke talte så godt engelsk.
OL-guldvinder: Jeg styrtede med vilje
I roernes finale i letvægtsdobbeltsculler markerede den forsvarende OL-guldvinder, briten Zac Purchase, kort efter starten, at hans sæde var gået i stykker,
og der blev omstart. Ifølge Thomas Poulsen, træner for den danske guldbåd, faldt Zac Purchase af sit sæde, uden at der var noget galt med det. Frankrig
nedlagde protest, men den blev afvist, og briterne beholdt deres sølvmedalje.
Før åbningsceremonien ramte den første uheldige sag, da de nordkoreanske kvinder nægtede at gå på banen før kampen mod Colombia i den olympiske
fodboldturnering.
Årsagen var, at arrangørerne viste de nordkoreanske spillere på storskærm flankeret af det sydkoreanske flag, hvilket spillerne - grundet de to landes meget
anstrengte forhold - blev fornærmede over.
Sydkoreansk flag skyld i OL-forsinkelse
De sociale medier har også været årsag til ikke mindre end to hjemsendelser af sportsudøvere, fordi de begge på Twitter havde skrevet noget der kunne
opfattes racistisk.
Græsk OL-atlet smidt hjem for racisme
Twitter-racisme sender schweizer hjem
De danske svømmere var ligeledes indblandet i en prekær sag, der nærmede sig chikane, da de blev tvunget til at skifte badehætte, kort inden de skulle i
vandet for at kvalificere sig til finalen i 4x100 meter fri.
Se klippet: Danske svømmere i badehætte-drama
Danmark klagede over episoden, men klagen blev afvist, og derfor har Danmark taget sagen videre.
Badehættesagen svømmer videre
En sag om hovedbeklædning har også fyldt i medierne, fordi en kvindelig Saudisk judukæmper først fik lov til at gå på banen iført hijab, sidenhen blev det
forbudt for så til sidst at blive tilladt igen.
Saudisk judokvinde kæmper alligevel med hijab
Dopingspøgelset har også vist sig under dette OL i form positive dopingprøver fra en albansk vægtløfter, en usbekisk gymnast og en sprinter fra St. Kitt og
Nevis. Alle tre blev smidt hjem af deres nationale olympiske komiteer.
Østat smider dopet sprinter ud af OL
Absolut størst af alle skandaler under OL ramte onsdag damedoublen i badminton. Den Internationale Badminton Union slog nem lig hårdt ned over for fire par
efter usportslige kampe tirsdag, hvor frie sydkoreanske, to kinesiske og to indonesiske spillere med vilje spillede dårligt og lavede talrige uprovokerede
fejl med det ene formål at få en bedre lodtrækning i kvartfinalen.
Se damedouble tabe med vilje
Resultatet var en diskvalifikation af alle otte spillere. Fire af dem klagede over beslutningen.
Badmintonskandale: Otte spillere diskvalificeret
Trods åbenlys erkendelse fik det ikke noget efterspil, at en cykelrytter indrømmede snyd. Den britiske banecykelrytter Philip Hindes erkendte over for BBC at
være styrtet med vilje i holdsprint-finalen mod Frankrig for at opnå en omstart. Efterfølgende fik det britiske hold, der vandt guld, med held dysset
episoden ned med henvisning til, at den tyskfødte kører ikke talte så godt engelsk.
OL-guldvinder: Jeg styrtede med vilje
I roernes finale i letvægtsdobbeltsculler markerede den forsvarende OL-guldvinder, briten Zac Purchase, kort efter starten, at hans sæde var gået i stykker,
og der blev omstart. Ifølge Thomas Poulsen, træner for den danske guldbåd, faldt Zac Purchase af sit sæde, uden at der var noget galt med det. Frankrig
nedlagde protest, men den blev afvist, og briterne beholdt deres sølvmedalje.
2012年8月9日星期四
Robert Pattinson, reeling from Kristen Stewart cheating scandal, to be on ‘The Daily Show’ August 13 to promote ‘Cosmopolis’
Robert Pattinson may be breaking his silence even sooner than expected.
The 26-year-old actor is set to appear on "The Daily Show" on Aug. 13 - despite earlier reports that he'd make his first televised interview since his
girlfriend Kristen Stewart was caught having an affair with married director Rupert Sanders on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Aug. 15.
Pattinson will sit down with Jon Stewart to promote his new movie "Cosmopolis," Reneta Luczak, a rep for the show, confirmed to the Daily News.
His "Daily Show" interview - his second appearance on the show since March 2, 2010 - will happen the same day he hits the red carpet for the drama flick's
New York City premiere.
ROBERT PATTINSON SPOTTED 'GETTING WASTED' AT BAR FOLLOWING AFFAIR
Both Pattinson and Stewart, 22, have been famously mum since steamy photos of the starlet canoodling with her "Snow White and the Huntsman" director surfaced
last month.
Stewart and Sanders, 41, both issued public apologies shortly after the tryst was revealed.
Pattinson is not the only scorned lover to return to the public eye.
EXCLUSIVE: LIBERTY ROSS APPEARS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE KSTEW AFFAIR WITHOUT HER RING
Sanders' wife, Liberty Ross, signaled on Sunday and Monday that her relationship with her cheating hubby is on the rocks, when she was spotted in California
without her wedding ring.
The 26-year-old actor is set to appear on "The Daily Show" on Aug. 13 - despite earlier reports that he'd make his first televised interview since his
girlfriend Kristen Stewart was caught having an affair with married director Rupert Sanders on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Aug. 15.
Pattinson will sit down with Jon Stewart to promote his new movie "Cosmopolis," Reneta Luczak, a rep for the show, confirmed to the Daily News.
His "Daily Show" interview - his second appearance on the show since March 2, 2010 - will happen the same day he hits the red carpet for the drama flick's
New York City premiere.
ROBERT PATTINSON SPOTTED 'GETTING WASTED' AT BAR FOLLOWING AFFAIR
Both Pattinson and Stewart, 22, have been famously mum since steamy photos of the starlet canoodling with her "Snow White and the Huntsman" director surfaced
last month.
Stewart and Sanders, 41, both issued public apologies shortly after the tryst was revealed.
Pattinson is not the only scorned lover to return to the public eye.
EXCLUSIVE: LIBERTY ROSS APPEARS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE KSTEW AFFAIR WITHOUT HER RING
Sanders' wife, Liberty Ross, signaled on Sunday and Monday that her relationship with her cheating hubby is on the rocks, when she was spotted in California
without her wedding ring.
2012年8月7日星期二
Jakarta office to make Malaysian company more global, says Fernandes *new!
AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes says the opening of the AirAsia Asean office as its regional base today is in the right direction to make a
Malaysian company more global.
He said Malaysian companies have been told by Malaysian leaders to globalise and to grow into bigger companies and not be parochial.
“So I am here to make a Malaysian company more global, it’s the mandate of our leaders to ask us to do and we are doing that,” he told Malaysian
journalists and from several other countries after the opening of the AirAsia Asean office here.
Fernandes described the decision to open up the Jakarta office as a brave and an emotional one.
“We’ve set a great base, we’re planning ahead by a brave descision and an emotional decision to pull myself out of Malaysia and to base myself in a
country I’ve never lived in because I think it’s the right move to take a Malaysian company to the next stage,” he said.
Stressing that while AirAsia’s headquarters remained in Malaysia, the company’s regional base in Jakarta would function as a strategic “think house” and
a “centralised think tank” for AirAsia to plan for its future.
Fernandes said AirAsia wanted to grow in every country and not to shrink in any country and would continue to look at ways of growing markets and not
shrinking markets.
At the moment, the focus would be the Asean market, with the 680 million population, and Asia as a bigger region because there was much more growth in this
part of the region than in Europe.
When AirAsia X withdrew from Europe, he said, the company has become more profitable.
Fernandes said the Jakarta office would provide him with more time with his team of 20 staff to plan for the company’s future. “I can sit here with a very
clear mind and strategicly plan as opposed to spending a lot of time fighting with the Malaysia Airports last time or worrying about a delay or dealing with
things that are now dealt much better by my CEO in Malaysia and gives me a bigger opportunity to look at a bigger picture,” he added.
The opening of the Jakarta office on the eve of the Asean Day was a deliberate one to reaffirm its commitment to the Asean region and strengthen its position
as an Asean airline. –Bernama
Malaysian company more global.
He said Malaysian companies have been told by Malaysian leaders to globalise and to grow into bigger companies and not be parochial.
“So I am here to make a Malaysian company more global, it’s the mandate of our leaders to ask us to do and we are doing that,” he told Malaysian
journalists and from several other countries after the opening of the AirAsia Asean office here.
Fernandes described the decision to open up the Jakarta office as a brave and an emotional one.
“We’ve set a great base, we’re planning ahead by a brave descision and an emotional decision to pull myself out of Malaysia and to base myself in a
country I’ve never lived in because I think it’s the right move to take a Malaysian company to the next stage,” he said.
Stressing that while AirAsia’s headquarters remained in Malaysia, the company’s regional base in Jakarta would function as a strategic “think house” and
a “centralised think tank” for AirAsia to plan for its future.
Fernandes said AirAsia wanted to grow in every country and not to shrink in any country and would continue to look at ways of growing markets and not
shrinking markets.
At the moment, the focus would be the Asean market, with the 680 million population, and Asia as a bigger region because there was much more growth in this
part of the region than in Europe.
When AirAsia X withdrew from Europe, he said, the company has become more profitable.
Fernandes said the Jakarta office would provide him with more time with his team of 20 staff to plan for the company’s future. “I can sit here with a very
clear mind and strategicly plan as opposed to spending a lot of time fighting with the Malaysia Airports last time or worrying about a delay or dealing with
things that are now dealt much better by my CEO in Malaysia and gives me a bigger opportunity to look at a bigger picture,” he added.
The opening of the Jakarta office on the eve of the Asean Day was a deliberate one to reaffirm its commitment to the Asean region and strengthen its position
as an Asean airline. –Bernama
2012年8月6日星期一
Dressage Enthusiasts Find Romney-Driven Attention A Mixed Blessing
When Rafalca, the horse co-owned by Ann Romney, was named to the U.S. Olympic team in June, the U.S. dressage community thought the publicity would help the
little-known sport. But that's not quite how things turned out.
During the trials to select the Olympic team, comedian Stephen Colbert named dressage his "sport of the summer," clearly to poke fun at the involvement of
Ann Romney's husband, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
"The image of Romney as a privileged princeling ends today," Colbert said in June. "Because now Mitt is just your average blue-collar fan of dressage. Of
course, that word may sound highfalutin. But don't worry. It also goes by the street name 'horse ballet.' "
The dressage community decided to get in on the joke. For the final weekend of the selection trials, competition officials handed out beer and huge red foam
fingers proclaiming dressage "#1."
Brian O'Connor, a longtime dressage announcer and the brother of equestrian Olympic gold medalist David O'Connor, said it was kind of a no-brainer.
Colbert's original spoof "actually really promoted the sport and what we were doing," said O'Connor, whose announcing resume includes the Olympics, the World
Cup and the equestrian World Championships. "It just jumped the word 'dressage' all around the world instantly, and specifically here within the United
States in a matter of seconds. ... I mean, he hit a home run for us; it was absolutely fantastic."
But while Colbert's ribbing was somewhat gentle, others have tried to use Romney's involvement in what is mostly viewed as an upper-crust sport as a bit more
of a cudgel.
Among them is the liberal group MoveOn.org, which is running a 30-second ad featuring a talking horse pretending to be Rafalca.
"How do I pull off such grace and athleticism while looking so good?" asks the horse. "Maybe it's because the Romneys spent $77,000 a year on my upkeep. And
after Mitt Romney repeals health care and ships your job overseas, I daresay your life will not be nearly as pampered as mine."
The $77,000 is a reference to a deduction on the Romneys' 2010 tax returns. It may help explain why candidate Romney has begun to back himself away from his
wife's passion.
For example, when NBC's Brian Williams asked him to describe how the competition worked in an interview on the eve of the Olympics' opening ceremony, here's
how he responded:
"I have to tell you, this is Ann's sport. I'm not even sure which day the sport goes on. She will get the chance to see it; I will not be watching the event.
I hope her horse does well."
Indeed, even comedian Colbert's edge got a little sharper as the competition drew nearer. Last week he responded to claims by Rafalca's rider, trainer and
co-owner Jan Ebeling that dressage is not solely a sport for the very wealthy.
"It's something you can do with a normal budget. Yeah, it's really all about budgeting," Colbert said. "You cut out a couple of lattes a week. By the end of
the month, you got yourself a $3 million Dutch warmblood."
But comments like those have started to irritate the thousands of Americans — full disclosure, I am one — who actually do participate in the sport of
dressage without being independently wealthy.
While every sport at the Olympic level is backed by wealthy people, "you can be pretty humble and ride dressage," said Betty Thorpe, a dressage judge and
past president of the Potomac Valley Dressage Association.
Indeed, a stroll around the grounds of the PVDA's schooling show this past weekend at Morgan Run Stables in Westminster, Md., turned up mostly people who
were not members of the 1 percent or the royal family.
"Sadly no. I'm working on it," joked Celia Rozanski from astride Jasper, her Quarter Horse Paint gelding.
Rozanski, a college student studying neuroscience, said what's bothered her most about the publicity surrounding the Romneys and their Olympic horse is the
idea that dressage is not all that difficult.
"It's a mistake to say that it's easy," she said. "It's not. It's really hard. It's one of the most challenging things I've ever done, I think, and I've done
a couple different types of riding."
Jeanine Holtsburg was at the show with Miprieto, a retired racehorse. She said she wishes people could understand more of what the sport is really about.
"Dressage is not just for the rich, it should be for everyone," she said. "It is the basis for all of our riding disciplines, including barrel racing,
stadium jumping, polo, and even racing. A lot of jockeys study dressage."
But what seems to have most disappointed dressage enthusiasts is Mitt Romney's sudden apparent lack of knowledge about the sport.
"I think he knows more than he says, and I wish he could be brave enough to own up to it," said PVDA judge Thorpe, who says she has seen both Romneys in
person at major dressage competitions where Rafalca has competed. "Because there's plenty of people that enjoy it. It's not a huge sport, but we're very
devoted."
Meanwhile, Rafalca actually did well in her Olympic debut last week. But this is an Olympics full of superstar dressage horses, and her chances for winning a
medal are considered a long shot at best. Bad publicity or not, however, dressage fans in the U.S. will be cheering her on Tuesday.
little-known sport. But that's not quite how things turned out.
During the trials to select the Olympic team, comedian Stephen Colbert named dressage his "sport of the summer," clearly to poke fun at the involvement of
Ann Romney's husband, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
"The image of Romney as a privileged princeling ends today," Colbert said in June. "Because now Mitt is just your average blue-collar fan of dressage. Of
course, that word may sound highfalutin. But don't worry. It also goes by the street name 'horse ballet.' "
The dressage community decided to get in on the joke. For the final weekend of the selection trials, competition officials handed out beer and huge red foam
fingers proclaiming dressage "#1."
Brian O'Connor, a longtime dressage announcer and the brother of equestrian Olympic gold medalist David O'Connor, said it was kind of a no-brainer.
Colbert's original spoof "actually really promoted the sport and what we were doing," said O'Connor, whose announcing resume includes the Olympics, the World
Cup and the equestrian World Championships. "It just jumped the word 'dressage' all around the world instantly, and specifically here within the United
States in a matter of seconds. ... I mean, he hit a home run for us; it was absolutely fantastic."
But while Colbert's ribbing was somewhat gentle, others have tried to use Romney's involvement in what is mostly viewed as an upper-crust sport as a bit more
of a cudgel.
Among them is the liberal group MoveOn.org, which is running a 30-second ad featuring a talking horse pretending to be Rafalca.
"How do I pull off such grace and athleticism while looking so good?" asks the horse. "Maybe it's because the Romneys spent $77,000 a year on my upkeep. And
after Mitt Romney repeals health care and ships your job overseas, I daresay your life will not be nearly as pampered as mine."
The $77,000 is a reference to a deduction on the Romneys' 2010 tax returns. It may help explain why candidate Romney has begun to back himself away from his
wife's passion.
For example, when NBC's Brian Williams asked him to describe how the competition worked in an interview on the eve of the Olympics' opening ceremony, here's
how he responded:
"I have to tell you, this is Ann's sport. I'm not even sure which day the sport goes on. She will get the chance to see it; I will not be watching the event.
I hope her horse does well."
Indeed, even comedian Colbert's edge got a little sharper as the competition drew nearer. Last week he responded to claims by Rafalca's rider, trainer and
co-owner Jan Ebeling that dressage is not solely a sport for the very wealthy.
"It's something you can do with a normal budget. Yeah, it's really all about budgeting," Colbert said. "You cut out a couple of lattes a week. By the end of
the month, you got yourself a $3 million Dutch warmblood."
But comments like those have started to irritate the thousands of Americans — full disclosure, I am one — who actually do participate in the sport of
dressage without being independently wealthy.
While every sport at the Olympic level is backed by wealthy people, "you can be pretty humble and ride dressage," said Betty Thorpe, a dressage judge and
past president of the Potomac Valley Dressage Association.
Indeed, a stroll around the grounds of the PVDA's schooling show this past weekend at Morgan Run Stables in Westminster, Md., turned up mostly people who
were not members of the 1 percent or the royal family.
"Sadly no. I'm working on it," joked Celia Rozanski from astride Jasper, her Quarter Horse Paint gelding.
Rozanski, a college student studying neuroscience, said what's bothered her most about the publicity surrounding the Romneys and their Olympic horse is the
idea that dressage is not all that difficult.
"It's a mistake to say that it's easy," she said. "It's not. It's really hard. It's one of the most challenging things I've ever done, I think, and I've done
a couple different types of riding."
Jeanine Holtsburg was at the show with Miprieto, a retired racehorse. She said she wishes people could understand more of what the sport is really about.
"Dressage is not just for the rich, it should be for everyone," she said. "It is the basis for all of our riding disciplines, including barrel racing,
stadium jumping, polo, and even racing. A lot of jockeys study dressage."
But what seems to have most disappointed dressage enthusiasts is Mitt Romney's sudden apparent lack of knowledge about the sport.
"I think he knows more than he says, and I wish he could be brave enough to own up to it," said PVDA judge Thorpe, who says she has seen both Romneys in
person at major dressage competitions where Rafalca has competed. "Because there's plenty of people that enjoy it. It's not a huge sport, but we're very
devoted."
Meanwhile, Rafalca actually did well in her Olympic debut last week. But this is an Olympics full of superstar dressage horses, and her chances for winning a
medal are considered a long shot at best. Bad publicity or not, however, dressage fans in the U.S. will be cheering her on Tuesday.
2012年8月5日星期日
New York Mets - PlayerWatch
OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis tore the plantar fascia in his right foot while running to first base Friday in a game for Triple-A Buffalo. The Mets plan to evaluate
Nieuwenhuis's condition over the next few days to determine whether surgery is necessary. Recently demoted to clear roster space for OF Mike Baxter,
Nieuwenhuis was likely to be a September call-up for the Mets.
RHP Frank Francisco was to be activated from the 15-day disabled list before Friday's series opener against the San Diego Padres, ESPN New York reported.
Francisco went on the DL with a left oblique strain June 22 against the New York Yankees. Before the game, he created a stir by calling the Yankees
"chickens." He said he is still bothered by tightness with his right lat after making five rehab appearances with Class AA Binghamton. Mets manager Terry
Collins said he may not use Francisco more than consecutive days in save situations.
RHP Frank Francisco returned from a five-week stint on the disabled list Friday but immediately complained of soreness in his right lat muscle. Francisco had
been sidelined since June 23 with a strained left oblique and had also been dealing with a knee injury. Asked before Friday's game if he is fully healthy,
Francisco said, "Let's see tonight."
LHP Johan Santana will begin a minor league rehab assignment Sunday at Class A Brooklyn. Santana, who has been on the DL since July 21 with a sprained right
ankle, is in line to rejoin the Mets after that, likely on Aug. 11.
LHP Tim Byrdak was placed on the disabled list Friday with left shoulder tendinitis, which he said he has been experiencing since July 26. Though Byrdak
indicated that the injury is not serious, he said that he would have needed to take at least the next three or four days to rest anyway, so he figured he
would make the team's roster decision easy by going on the DL.
2B Daniel Murphy sat out Friday's game with soreness in his right wrist, one day after Giants pitcher Barry Zito hit him there with a pitch. Manager Terry
Collins said that the injury was not serious. But the decision to rest Murphy was an easy one, with a left-hander on the mound and backup 2B Ronny Cedeno
coming off a career-high five-RBI day in San Francisco.
Nieuwenhuis's condition over the next few days to determine whether surgery is necessary. Recently demoted to clear roster space for OF Mike Baxter,
Nieuwenhuis was likely to be a September call-up for the Mets.
RHP Frank Francisco was to be activated from the 15-day disabled list before Friday's series opener against the San Diego Padres, ESPN New York reported.
Francisco went on the DL with a left oblique strain June 22 against the New York Yankees. Before the game, he created a stir by calling the Yankees
"chickens." He said he is still bothered by tightness with his right lat after making five rehab appearances with Class AA Binghamton. Mets manager Terry
Collins said he may not use Francisco more than consecutive days in save situations.
RHP Frank Francisco returned from a five-week stint on the disabled list Friday but immediately complained of soreness in his right lat muscle. Francisco had
been sidelined since June 23 with a strained left oblique and had also been dealing with a knee injury. Asked before Friday's game if he is fully healthy,
Francisco said, "Let's see tonight."
LHP Johan Santana will begin a minor league rehab assignment Sunday at Class A Brooklyn. Santana, who has been on the DL since July 21 with a sprained right
ankle, is in line to rejoin the Mets after that, likely on Aug. 11.
LHP Tim Byrdak was placed on the disabled list Friday with left shoulder tendinitis, which he said he has been experiencing since July 26. Though Byrdak
indicated that the injury is not serious, he said that he would have needed to take at least the next three or four days to rest anyway, so he figured he
would make the team's roster decision easy by going on the DL.
2B Daniel Murphy sat out Friday's game with soreness in his right wrist, one day after Giants pitcher Barry Zito hit him there with a pitch. Manager Terry
Collins said that the injury was not serious. But the decision to rest Murphy was an easy one, with a left-hander on the mound and backup 2B Ronny Cedeno
coming off a career-high five-RBI day in San Francisco.
2012年8月2日星期四
Frank Ocean Performs On 'Jimmy Fallon' After Early Album Release
Frank Ocean suddenly released his Channel Orange album last night, one week earlier than its original July 17 release date, and he also took the stage on
"Late Night With Jimmy Fallon," for his first performance after opening up about his sexuality.
Playing your broadcast television debut is a big deal for any artist. But add on the pressure of stepping up to the mic less than a week after making a
potentially career-altering revelation about your relationship history and you can imagine the gravity weighing on new soul virtuoso Frank Ocean when he
performed on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" on Monday.
Just a week ago, Ocean shared an emotional letter with fans in which he discussed the details of his same-sex first love?. The revelation led to an
outpouring of support from Beyoncé, Russell Simmons and fellow Odd Future member Tyler, the Creator?.
And on Monday a confident, strong-voiced Ocean didn't shy away from the elephant in the room, performing his new single "Bad Religion," which features lyrics
about the unrequited love of a man. Wearing a red and white bandana, jeans, a white T-shirt and maroon and black button down, Ocean was backed by a string
section and haunting gothic keyboards as he unveiled the tale of a love confessional to a taxi driver.
"Taxi driver, you're my shrink for the hour," the soft-spoken crooner sang as he moved between looking out at the audience and casting his eyes down. "Leave
the meter running/ It's rush hour, so take the streets if you wanna/ Just outrun the demons, could you?" After begging the driver not to curse him, Ocean
steeled his nerves and added, "If it brings me to my knees/ It's a bad religion," as the strings swelled behind him.
Mixing clear falsetto with his strong tenor voice, Ocean moved confidently into the chorus of the hymn-like song, "This unrequited love/ To me it's nothing
but a one-man cult/ And cyanide in my Styrofoam cup/ I could never make him love me/ Never make him love me." As if revisiting the pain, he repeated the
phrase "love me" several times before dropping his head and unleashing a series of high-pitched "whooo hoo" chants.
By the second verse, the audience began a slow clap along to the song's funereal beat as Roots drummer ?uestlove added in a dirge-like marching drum snare
roll. The song ended with a dramatic classical flair from the string section as Ocean stood center stage with his head down before breaking into a wide grin.
Channel Orange is slated to hit stores next Tuesday, but it dropped a week earlier on iTunes following the performance, where it immediately shot to the #1
spot on the download site's album chart. Orange is also currently streaming on Ocean's website.
"Late Night With Jimmy Fallon," for his first performance after opening up about his sexuality.
Playing your broadcast television debut is a big deal for any artist. But add on the pressure of stepping up to the mic less than a week after making a
potentially career-altering revelation about your relationship history and you can imagine the gravity weighing on new soul virtuoso Frank Ocean when he
performed on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" on Monday.
Just a week ago, Ocean shared an emotional letter with fans in which he discussed the details of his same-sex first love?. The revelation led to an
outpouring of support from Beyoncé, Russell Simmons and fellow Odd Future member Tyler, the Creator?.
And on Monday a confident, strong-voiced Ocean didn't shy away from the elephant in the room, performing his new single "Bad Religion," which features lyrics
about the unrequited love of a man. Wearing a red and white bandana, jeans, a white T-shirt and maroon and black button down, Ocean was backed by a string
section and haunting gothic keyboards as he unveiled the tale of a love confessional to a taxi driver.
"Taxi driver, you're my shrink for the hour," the soft-spoken crooner sang as he moved between looking out at the audience and casting his eyes down. "Leave
the meter running/ It's rush hour, so take the streets if you wanna/ Just outrun the demons, could you?" After begging the driver not to curse him, Ocean
steeled his nerves and added, "If it brings me to my knees/ It's a bad religion," as the strings swelled behind him.
Mixing clear falsetto with his strong tenor voice, Ocean moved confidently into the chorus of the hymn-like song, "This unrequited love/ To me it's nothing
but a one-man cult/ And cyanide in my Styrofoam cup/ I could never make him love me/ Never make him love me." As if revisiting the pain, he repeated the
phrase "love me" several times before dropping his head and unleashing a series of high-pitched "whooo hoo" chants.
By the second verse, the audience began a slow clap along to the song's funereal beat as Roots drummer ?uestlove added in a dirge-like marching drum snare
roll. The song ended with a dramatic classical flair from the string section as Ocean stood center stage with his head down before breaking into a wide grin.
Channel Orange is slated to hit stores next Tuesday, but it dropped a week earlier on iTunes following the performance, where it immediately shot to the #1
spot on the download site's album chart. Orange is also currently streaming on Ocean's website.
2012年7月31日星期二
Snoop at Midlife: More Lion Than Dogg
Just call him Snoop Lion.
Snoop Dogg, the veteran West Coast rapper, says he underwent a spiritual and artistic rebirth while making a new album in Jamaica last February. He abandoned rap as his preferred mode of expression, wrote more than a dozen songs in a traditional reggae style and opened up to a documentary film crew about his long and sometimes violent journey from teenage gang member to a middle-aged hip-hop superstar. Along the way, he says, he shed the name and persona of Snoop Dogg and was rechristened Snoop Lion by Rastafarian priests.
“I have always said I was Bob Marley reincarnated,” Snoop told a crowd of reporters at a news conference at Miss Lily’s, a Caribbean restaurant in New York. He added: “I feel I have always been a Rastafari. I just didn’t have my third eye open, but it’s wide open right now.”
The news conference was to release the first single from the album “Reincarnated,” which was written and recorded over three weeks in Jamaica.
Wearing a Rasta knit cap, sunglasses and a Kobe Bryant jersey, Snoop held forth about positivity, good vibrations and being “called by the spirit” to begin singing reggae. Now that he had reached the midpoint of his life – he turned 40 last year — he said he wanted to renounce violence and write in the reggae genre, which he called “music of love.” The new songs, he said, might give him “a chance to perform for kids and grandkids,” something he felt his work as a rapper would not let him do.
Snoop described his decision to do the album as a spiritual revelation, but others involved in the project said it was, in fact, carefully planned and executed.
He brought along the hit maker Diplo to produce the tracks and hired a team of three songwriters, led by Angela Hunte, who wrote “Empire State of Mind,” the 2009 hit for Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. He also had in tow a group of documentary filmmakers from Vice Media, led by the producer Codine Williams and the director Andy Capper. The album, his 12th, will be released later this year by Vice Records. The film, also titled “Reincarnated,” will make its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
There was more than a whiff of midlife crisis in Snoop’s remarks. He said he was tired of being a hip-hop artist, of the young man’s macho bluster inherent in the form, and he felt the songs he had done so far did not reflect the wisdom he had gained from being a 40-year-old father of three.
“There comes a point where you say I done it all, or there isn’t much more to do,” he said. “This was like a rebirth for me.”
“Rap is not a challenge to me,” he said. “I had enough of that. It’s not appealing to me no more. I don’t have no challenges. I’m ‘Uncle Snoop’ in rap. When you get to be an uncle, you need to find a new profession so you can start over and be fresh again. I want to be a kid again.”
Yet, when asked, Snoop stopped short of saying he would never make another rap album.
Snoop said he experienced a religious epiphany early on in his trip when he visited a Nyabinghi temple in Scotts Pass, in the Clarendon section of the island. A trailer for the documentary showed him smoking marijuana with Rastafarian priests, who renamed him Lion. There were then more scenes of Snoop meeting local people, smoking weed, climbing in the hills. “This is paradise,” he says on the film.
The rapper said he then set out to make a traditional album of what he called “true reggae music,” gritty and unpolished, with roots extending back to rocksteady musicians like Ken Boothe and Alton Ellis. “We wanted it to feel like a record out of a 1970s collection,” he said. “When you look back you give respect and love and that is what this record is all about. It’s about giving homage to those who created reggae music.”
For the first time, Snoop sings most of the songs on the new album and does very little rapping, Diplo said. The album is also a departure for him lyrically, as he takes a more peace-loving approach to life and politics than he has in the past. One song, for instance, “No Guns Allowed,” is a plea for the banning of handguns, a position he says he has finally come around to.
“I have always wanted to make a song that could really stand for something,” he said. “I could never make a song called ‘No Guns Allowed’ because I was supposed to be a gangsta.”
Snoop Dogg, the veteran West Coast rapper, says he underwent a spiritual and artistic rebirth while making a new album in Jamaica last February. He abandoned rap as his preferred mode of expression, wrote more than a dozen songs in a traditional reggae style and opened up to a documentary film crew about his long and sometimes violent journey from teenage gang member to a middle-aged hip-hop superstar. Along the way, he says, he shed the name and persona of Snoop Dogg and was rechristened Snoop Lion by Rastafarian priests.
“I have always said I was Bob Marley reincarnated,” Snoop told a crowd of reporters at a news conference at Miss Lily’s, a Caribbean restaurant in New York. He added: “I feel I have always been a Rastafari. I just didn’t have my third eye open, but it’s wide open right now.”
The news conference was to release the first single from the album “Reincarnated,” which was written and recorded over three weeks in Jamaica.
Wearing a Rasta knit cap, sunglasses and a Kobe Bryant jersey, Snoop held forth about positivity, good vibrations and being “called by the spirit” to begin singing reggae. Now that he had reached the midpoint of his life – he turned 40 last year — he said he wanted to renounce violence and write in the reggae genre, which he called “music of love.” The new songs, he said, might give him “a chance to perform for kids and grandkids,” something he felt his work as a rapper would not let him do.
Snoop described his decision to do the album as a spiritual revelation, but others involved in the project said it was, in fact, carefully planned and executed.
He brought along the hit maker Diplo to produce the tracks and hired a team of three songwriters, led by Angela Hunte, who wrote “Empire State of Mind,” the 2009 hit for Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. He also had in tow a group of documentary filmmakers from Vice Media, led by the producer Codine Williams and the director Andy Capper. The album, his 12th, will be released later this year by Vice Records. The film, also titled “Reincarnated,” will make its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
There was more than a whiff of midlife crisis in Snoop’s remarks. He said he was tired of being a hip-hop artist, of the young man’s macho bluster inherent in the form, and he felt the songs he had done so far did not reflect the wisdom he had gained from being a 40-year-old father of three.
“There comes a point where you say I done it all, or there isn’t much more to do,” he said. “This was like a rebirth for me.”
“Rap is not a challenge to me,” he said. “I had enough of that. It’s not appealing to me no more. I don’t have no challenges. I’m ‘Uncle Snoop’ in rap. When you get to be an uncle, you need to find a new profession so you can start over and be fresh again. I want to be a kid again.”
Yet, when asked, Snoop stopped short of saying he would never make another rap album.
Snoop said he experienced a religious epiphany early on in his trip when he visited a Nyabinghi temple in Scotts Pass, in the Clarendon section of the island. A trailer for the documentary showed him smoking marijuana with Rastafarian priests, who renamed him Lion. There were then more scenes of Snoop meeting local people, smoking weed, climbing in the hills. “This is paradise,” he says on the film.
The rapper said he then set out to make a traditional album of what he called “true reggae music,” gritty and unpolished, with roots extending back to rocksteady musicians like Ken Boothe and Alton Ellis. “We wanted it to feel like a record out of a 1970s collection,” he said. “When you look back you give respect and love and that is what this record is all about. It’s about giving homage to those who created reggae music.”
For the first time, Snoop sings most of the songs on the new album and does very little rapping, Diplo said. The album is also a departure for him lyrically, as he takes a more peace-loving approach to life and politics than he has in the past. One song, for instance, “No Guns Allowed,” is a plea for the banning of handguns, a position he says he has finally come around to.
“I have always wanted to make a song that could really stand for something,” he said. “I could never make a song called ‘No Guns Allowed’ because I was supposed to be a gangsta.”
Curiosity's Mars exploration: Is it worth the money?
Saturn has its famous rings and Jupiter is the granddaddy of the solar system, but no planet has entranced earthlings quite like Mars.
Humans have launched 40 spacecraft to the Red Planet, lured by the prospect that life might once have existed in what is now dry rocks and sand. The latest machine to make the journey is NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory, a hulking, souped-up lab-on-wheels that will plunge toward the Martian surface next week.
But even as excitement builds, some wonder: Is Mars exploration a good investment?
RELATED: Are you scientifically literate? Take our quiz!
It certainly doesn’t come cheap. It’s hard to calculate a total price tag, but over the 48 years that NASA has been launching missions to Mars, Americans have spent a significant sum. The Viking missions alone cost nearly $1 billion — in 1970s dollars. The twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity cost a total of about $1 billion to build and operate as well.
Curiosity, as the Mars Science Laboratory rover is known, is over budget at $2.5 billion.
Some in the federal government have suggested it’s time to roll back the spending. President Barack Obama’s fiscal plan for 2013 would cut NASA’s funds for Mars exploration from $587 million to $360 million.
Proponents insist Mars science is vital for the U.S. More visits to our next-door neighbor could answer lingering questions about Earth’s history, reinforce U.S. prestige and get more children interested in science.
It also could bring humanity closer to answering the ultimate question: Are we alone in the universe?
“It’s the search for the meaning of life,” said Alden Munson, a senior fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, a science and technology think tank based in Arlington, Va.
America’s love affair with Mars can be traced to astronomer Percival Lowell, who turned his telescope to the Red Planet in the 1890s and thought he saw an intricate system of canals that must have been built by intelligent beings. He never found them, of course, but Martians became a science fiction mainstay.
Earthlings got their first up-close view of Mars’ rocky surface in 1965, when Mariner 4 flew by and photographed a surface that appeared as dead as the moon’s — lacking water or active geology, two prerequisites for life.
But later missions, from the Mariner 9 orbiter to Spirit and Opportunity, helped establish Mars as a useful comparative laboratory for studying climate and geophysics on Earth. They demonstrated that the planet was once warmer and wetter than it is now. Long ago, it may have been a hospitable cradle for life.
When planetary scientists assembled recently at the behest of the National Academies to set research priorities for the next decade, the search for conditions that would allow life to emerge on Mars topped the list.
Humans have launched 40 spacecraft to the Red Planet, lured by the prospect that life might once have existed in what is now dry rocks and sand. The latest machine to make the journey is NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory, a hulking, souped-up lab-on-wheels that will plunge toward the Martian surface next week.
But even as excitement builds, some wonder: Is Mars exploration a good investment?
RELATED: Are you scientifically literate? Take our quiz!
It certainly doesn’t come cheap. It’s hard to calculate a total price tag, but over the 48 years that NASA has been launching missions to Mars, Americans have spent a significant sum. The Viking missions alone cost nearly $1 billion — in 1970s dollars. The twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity cost a total of about $1 billion to build and operate as well.
Curiosity, as the Mars Science Laboratory rover is known, is over budget at $2.5 billion.
Some in the federal government have suggested it’s time to roll back the spending. President Barack Obama’s fiscal plan for 2013 would cut NASA’s funds for Mars exploration from $587 million to $360 million.
Proponents insist Mars science is vital for the U.S. More visits to our next-door neighbor could answer lingering questions about Earth’s history, reinforce U.S. prestige and get more children interested in science.
It also could bring humanity closer to answering the ultimate question: Are we alone in the universe?
“It’s the search for the meaning of life,” said Alden Munson, a senior fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, a science and technology think tank based in Arlington, Va.
America’s love affair with Mars can be traced to astronomer Percival Lowell, who turned his telescope to the Red Planet in the 1890s and thought he saw an intricate system of canals that must have been built by intelligent beings. He never found them, of course, but Martians became a science fiction mainstay.
Earthlings got their first up-close view of Mars’ rocky surface in 1965, when Mariner 4 flew by and photographed a surface that appeared as dead as the moon’s — lacking water or active geology, two prerequisites for life.
But later missions, from the Mariner 9 orbiter to Spirit and Opportunity, helped establish Mars as a useful comparative laboratory for studying climate and geophysics on Earth. They demonstrated that the planet was once warmer and wetter than it is now. Long ago, it may have been a hospitable cradle for life.
When planetary scientists assembled recently at the behest of the National Academies to set research priorities for the next decade, the search for conditions that would allow life to emerge on Mars topped the list.
2012年7月12日星期四
Obama reflects on his biggest mistake as president
(CBS News) President Obama's biggest mistake during his first term, he told CBS News in an exclusive interview, has been putting policy over storytelling.
Mr. Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama sat down Thursday with "CBS This Morning" anchor Charlie Rose in the White House Blue Room, where they discussed the failures and successes of his administration as he heads into another election, among other things.
"When I think about what we've done well and what we haven't done well," the president said, "the mistake of my first term - couple of years - was thinking that this job was just about getting the policy right. And that's important. But the nature of this office is also to tell a story to the American people that gives them a sense of unity and purpose and optimism, especially during tough times."
Mr. Obama acknowledged the dissonance between others' perception of his strength as an expert orator, and his own.
"It's funny - when I ran, everybody said, well he can give a good speech but can he actually manage the job?" he said. "And in my first two years, I think the notion was, 'Well, he's been juggling and managing a lot of stuff, but where's the story that tells us where he's going?' And I think that was a legitimate criticism."
Pressed by Rose about what he felt he needed to explain better to the American people, the president corrected that he wanted to do more "explaining, but also inspiring."
"Because hope is still there," Mrs. Obama added.
For more of the interview with President and Mrs. Obama, watch "CBS Sunday Morning" this Sunday, July 15, and "CBS This Morning" on Monday, July 16.
2012年7月11日星期三
Judge Maintains Injunction Against Mississippi Law on Abortion Clinics
JACKSON, Miss. — Lawyers debated before a federal judge on Wednesday whether a new law governing abortion clinics in Mississippi should remain blocked or go into effect and thus set in motion a process that could lead to the closing of the state’s lone abortion clinic.
Before a quiet but full courtroom, Judge Daniel P. Jordan III of United States District Court, a Republican appointee, calmly but pointedly pressed the lawyers, who were urging him either to lift a temporary injunction against the law he set in place on July 1, the day the law was to go into effect, or maintain it.
At the end of the hearing, Judge Jordan allowed the injunction to stand while he considered more evidence. He gave no indication of when he would deliver a broader ruling, but lawyers expected it soon.
The law, which the Legislature passed by broad margins last spring, requires physicians at any abortion clinic in the state to have admitting privileges at local hospitals. Because there is only one clinic and the two physicians who perform abortions there do not have such privileges, the law could end up stopping nearly all abortions in Mississippi.
Legislators backing the law have insisted that it is meant to safeguard the health of women. They say that such a rule, which is in place in several other states, is a necessary precaution in case complications occur during a procedure.
The clinic, the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, has responded that such complications are extremely rare and says that in any case it already has a standing transfer agreement with a local hospital as well as a physician on staff who has admitting privileges, though this doctor does not perform abortions.
The clinic also argues that Gov. Phil Bryant, a Republican, and the law’s chief legislative backers have barely concealed the real motive behind the law: to stop all abortions in the state.
“Whatever urgent interest the state asserts, the issue is: can women have access to abortions, which they are constitutionally allowed to do? And the answer is no,” Michelle Movahed, a lawyer at the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing the clinic, said in court.
The discussion was less about the larger constitutional issues of the law and more about whether the clinic, which for now remains in operation, was under immediate threat.
In the weeks leading up to July 1, State Representative Sam Mims, the law’s sponsor, publicly urged state health officials to force the clinic immediately to stop performing abortions if it was found to be out of compliance. Days later, health officials notified the clinic that it needed to prove that it had met its new obligations on or before July 1.
But in court on Wednesday, lawyers from the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office said the statutory process of enforcing a new law was actually a long one that could take several months, including a “reasonable time” for the clinic to come into compliance as well as time for hearings and appeals.
The prospect of the clinic’s closing, they said, is still uncertain and, in any case, a long way off. And in the ensuing months the physicians at the clinic, who have applied to seven local hospitals and are awaiting responses, may achieve compliance anyway.
“The actual constitutional right — as opposed to mere inconvenience to the plaintiffs — will be unaffected for at least 60 days under the new law, likely much longer, and, indeed, will only be impacted if plaintiffs ultimately fail to obtain hospital admitting privileges,” read one of the state’s briefs.
But lawyers for the clinic argued that if physicians simply waited for the administrative process to play out, they could not continue to perform abortions without being in “knowing violation” of the law. Without a hold on the new law, the lawyers said, the physicians and other employees at the clinic would be committing state crimes by performing abortions during the next few weeks or months, and could face prosecution or revocation of their medical licenses.
At one point in the hearing, a lawyer for the state told the judge that the state board of health had approved new rules in accordance with the law that very morning.
While the new rules essentially just bring health department rules into uniformity with the new law, the judge decided to examine them before making a decision. And with that, both sides were left simply to wait.
2012年7月10日星期二
How RIM's new marketing chief sees its developer prospects
Frank Boulben, the new chief marketing officer at Research In Motion, did his homework before joining the company.
Boulben, who jumped off the sinking ship that was wireless startup LightSquared, tapped his Rolodex of contacts and friends within the carrier and developer communities to see if the RIM position was a job worth taking. To his surprise, he found there was still a lot of support behind RIM and BlackBerry. In particular, his friends were high on BlackBerry 10.
Boulben, who jumped off the sinking ship that was wireless startup LightSquared, tapped his Rolodex of contacts and friends within the carrier and developer communities to see if the RIM position was a job worth taking. To his surprise, he found there was still a lot of support behind RIM and BlackBerry. In particular, his friends were high on BlackBerry 10.
"The feedback was positive," Boulben told me in an interview. "From a technical standpoint, they like the platform and what it can deliver."
Having been with the company for about four weeks, Boulben offers a perspective of a newcomer to RIM, one unburdened with the stresses and struggles of the past few years.
His take on the developer support is that things are surprisingly strong. I've talked about the lengths that RIM is going to in order to attract developers, including using cash incentives and guarantees. Boulben said BlackBerry 10's ease of use and technical capabilities are still luring developers. The company has also lined up carrier-billing agreements to make it easier for developers to charge for apps and in-app purchases.
I expressed my skepticism about the interest. So he offered up as further evidence the various BlackBerry Jam developer events the company holds around the world. Boulben said they continue to sell out.
"There is a lot of enthusiasm," he said. "We will have a critical mass of applications."
He said he's been impressed by the support the company has gotten, both on the developer and carrier sides.
Many of the developers are eyeing the current base of 78 million BlackBerry users, betting that a lot of them will upgrade to BlackBerry 10, Boulben said.
RIM, however, recently made the disappointing decision to delay the release of BlackBerry 10 to next year, pushing it back from its original launch target in the second half. It's just the latest in several delays for the platform, which originally was supposed to debut in the second half of last year.
The delay hasn't dampened the enthusiasm, Boulben said.
More importantly, he said carrier support remains strong despite the delay. He added that some carriers find the first-quarter 2013 launch schedule to be better since there are other phones to support in the latter half of this year.
Boulben said he plans to keep interest up on BlackBerry 10 by eventually talking more about the capabilities of the smartphone. As marketing chief, he'll have his work cut out for him in keeping the brand relevant over the next few months, particularly with a slew of rival phones coming out.
He believes that next year will bring renewed success. All RIM needs is a good product, and Boulben is optimistic.
"The (BlackBerry 10) platform is truly differentiated," he said. "It's not a me-too smartphone. It will really introduce a step change in the smartphone experience."
2012年7月1日星期日
opposhoulian
Scott Harrison has targeted another world title after enjoying a winning return to the ring by stopping Hungarian teenager Gyorgy Mizsei Jr.
The 34-year-old former WBO featherweight champion, now a lightweight, won in the fourth round.
It ended a six-and-a-half year absence after years of personal problems, including a spell in a Spanish prison.
"Hopefully I'll get a chance for a world title in the near future," the Scot said after the fight in Glasgow.
Continue reading the main story
“In the past, I was training to lose weight, but now I'm improving my fitness and strength”
Scott Harrison
"It was a privilege to be out there in front of the fans.
"I want to thank them for coming out to support me.
"Throughout my suspension, I have always kept myself in shape no matter what you read in the papers about me being at death's door.
"In the past, I was training to lose weight, but now I'm improving my fitness and strength.
"As the fight went on, I was punching harder."
Harrison showed at the Kelvin Hall that he still had the punching power that led to numerous world title defences in his heyday.
He put the previously unbeaten opponent down four times before the referee stopped the International Masters lightweight contest amid concern over a blow to the head.
It was Harrison's first appearance since a successful defence of his WBO featherweight title against Nedal Hussein in 2005.
Harrison relinquished his belt in 2006 after failing to make the weight for a defence and checked into the Priory Clinic in Glasgow to treat problems with alcohol and depression.
The Cambuslang boxer lost his licence and continued to struggle with personal problems and served two-and-a-half years in a Spanish prison after being found guilty in 2009 of assault and attempted theft of a car in Malaga three years earlier.
Mizsei Jr, who had been been a late replacement for Frenchman Brahim Bariz, had won his seven professional fights but was put down three times in the second round at the Kelvin Hall.
A succession of right hooks forced the stoppage midway through the fourth.
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