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Watching you....
Watching you....Saturday, March 28, 2009
Earth Hour: Save a watt, and maybe the Earth
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Earth Hour is a sort of open-source movement against global warming. On Saturday, March 28, at 8:30 p.m. in each time zone, millions of people in thousands of cities are expected to turn off the lights for one hour to raise people's consciousness about the link between global warming and energy use.
Started in Australia two years ago, the event is mushrooming thanks in part to the Internet and social media.
One day before the start of the event in Asia, "Earth Hour" is the top search item on Twitter. A 30-second clip about Earth Hour on You Tube has gotten almost 59,000 views. Facebook groups count hundreds of thousands of members.
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The goal for this year is to get 1 billion people to turn their lights off for an hour. In 2007, 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for an hour and in 2008, it went to 50 million.
But it's not just individuals: dozens of cities and 829 world landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower and the Great Pyramids of Giza, will be dark for one hour as well.
The whole point of Earth Hour is to cast a vote and make a visible statement by turning off the lights for an hour. But it's worth pointing out that that a few watts will be saved along the way and that people waste a lot of energy in their daily lives.
This week, a published study calculated that $2.8 billion is wasted from office PCs that aren't shut off properly. Perhaps people who participate in Earth Hour could unplug their home electronics as well.
Aaoouuuch!Kim Kardashian: 'So What! I Have Cellulite!'
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Kim Kardashian's got nothing to hide – even if magazine editors and the public disagree, she says on her blog.
Kim Kardashian's got nothing to hide – even if magazine editors and the public disagree, she says on her blog. "So what: I have a little cellulite. What curvy girl doesn't!?" the reality star, 28, writes on her blog in response to a brouhaha in which a photo of her for Complex magazine was accidentally released on the Internet before editors realized their mistake and quickly replaced it with the official photo of her.
The official picture had been retouched to slim down her famously zaftig figure.
But they didn't make the switch quickly enough. The original photo was snatched up and almost immediately turned into Internet fodder, with some Web sites even showing animation comparing the original photo with the touched-up version.
Kardashian – seldom shy about showing off her body – isn't fazed, saying that retouched photos are standard in the industry.
"How many people do you think are photoshopped? It happens all the time!" she writes, later adding, "I'm proud of my body and my curves and this picture coming out is probably helpful for everyone to see that just because I am on the cover of a magazine doesn't mean I'm perfect."
And Kardashian even finds a silver lining in what would be a black cloud for most Hollywood types. "This all motivates me to stay in the gym because my goal this year has been to get in better shape and tone up!" she writes. "Hard work pays off!"
INSIDE STORY: Can Michael Jackson Pull Off High-Stakes Comeback?
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Michael Jackson didn't stay long or say much – and apparently he didn’t have to.
Michael Jackson didn't stay long or say much – and apparently he didn’t have to.On March 5, the troubled singer made a five-minute appearance in the drafty, mall-like atrium of London's giant O2 Arena to announce an upcoming series of concerts.
The results were astonishing: For each second he was on the small stage, Jackson sold 25,000 concert tickets, eventually expanding his roster of London shows from 10 to 50 dates. Beginning on July 8, and running through February 2010, more than an astonishing 750,000 seats were sold to fans hoping to see Jackson in action for what he calls his career "curtain call" in London.
But can the 50-year-old King of Pop – whose last U.K. live performance, at the World Music Awards in 2006, was roundly deemed a flop – pull it off?
Physical Exhaustion?It won't be easy, says Ben Cardew, editor of Britain's Music Week magazine. "He has been away for a while and had some much-publicized problems" – Jackson's trial, and subsequent acquittal on child abuse charges in 2005, for instance, and his recent financial collapse – "and this is an incredible schedule, 50 dates over six months," says Cardew. "So, yes, people are wondering if he's going to do it."
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Adds BBC Radio 2 deejay Paul Gambaccini, "The risk of physical exhaustion is the main obstacle at this point." One U.K. bookie has placed the odds that Jackson will perform only one show at 12 to 1.
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But concert promoters are promising a new Michael with new dance steps. "He's working on a new move. Something like the moonwalk but different," AEG Live's chief executive Randy Phillips told the U.K.'s Daily Telegraph.
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Music industry sources also expect pyrotechnics and other frills – lots of them. "It takes pressure off the [the performer] when he can get five minutes when there are fireworks or someone else comes on," says Music Week's Cardew. "And that is the way things are going, just look at Britney Spears."
Bruce Willis Makes His Marriage Legal
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It's official: Bruce Willis and Emma Heming are husband and wife.
After their wedding celebration in the Caribbean last weekend, the actor and the model/actress were wed in a civil ceremony Friday at a friend's house in Beverly Hills, his rep, Paul Bloch, tells PEOPLE. "They could not be happier," Bloch says.
The couple, who met through mutual friends, have been together for more than a year. They said their first "I do's" on March 21 in a small ceremony at Willis's home in Parrot Cay, Turks & Caicos, with his ex-wife Demi Moore and her husband Ashton Kutcher among the guests. – Mike Fleeman and Elizabeth Leonard
It's official: Bruce Willis and Emma Heming are husband and wife.After their wedding celebration in the Caribbean last weekend, the actor and the model/actress were wed in a civil ceremony Friday at a friend's house in Beverly Hills, his rep, Paul Bloch, tells PEOPLE. "They could not be happier," Bloch says.
The couple, who met through mutual friends, have been together for more than a year. They said their first "I do's" on March 21 in a small ceremony at Willis's home in Parrot Cay, Turks & Caicos, with his ex-wife Demi Moore and her husband Ashton Kutcher among the guests. – Mike Fleeman and Elizabeth Leonard
Depp takes a vintage spin
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CRUISE CONTROL
He calls shotgun! A retro-cool Johnny Depp goes for a spin with costar Aaron Eckhart in a vintage red convertible Friday while shooting the 1950s-set film The Rum Diary, based on late pal Hunter S. Thompson's novel, in Puerto Rico's El Yunque National Forest.
Justin Timberlake Recalls His Grammy Surprise: No Rihanna!
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Six-time Grammy winner Justin Timberlake walked into his dressing room at this year's music industry awards to find a surprise gathering waiting for him: the president of CBS, the Grammy show producer and the president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
"Immediately, I'm like, 'What did I do?'" the singer joked during an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show Friday. It wasn't a laughing matter, though. Chris Brown, accused of beating up his girlfriend Rihanna the night before, had dropped out of a scheduled performance on the live broadcast last month, and so had Rihanna.
Big problem: Rihanna was scheduled to sing opposite Timberlake. Left with a hole in the program, the show's producers appealed to Timberlake to help find a solution. So after looking at the list of performers and presenters, he came up with an idea: to sing with gospel and soul legend Al Green.
"I got a chance to watch it back," Timberlake said of the hastily organized number, which set the audience on fire. "What was so amazing about that performance is you can tell that we're sort of shooting from the hip."
Singing is not the only thing on his plate. Timberlake's clothing line, William Rast, is taking off, he says, and girlfriend Jessica Biel is a fan. "I can't get it off her," he said.
And while he pretty much steered clear of his personal life during the interview, he did correct one persistent misconception about the couple. "I'm not engaged," he said, "but if she is, we have a problem."
Six-time Grammy winner Justin Timberlake walked into his dressing room at this year's music industry awards to find a surprise gathering waiting for him: the president of CBS, the Grammy show producer and the president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences."Immediately, I'm like, 'What did I do?'" the singer joked during an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show Friday. It wasn't a laughing matter, though. Chris Brown, accused of beating up his girlfriend Rihanna the night before, had dropped out of a scheduled performance on the live broadcast last month, and so had Rihanna.
Big problem: Rihanna was scheduled to sing opposite Timberlake. Left with a hole in the program, the show's producers appealed to Timberlake to help find a solution. So after looking at the list of performers and presenters, he came up with an idea: to sing with gospel and soul legend Al Green.
"I got a chance to watch it back," Timberlake said of the hastily organized number, which set the audience on fire. "What was so amazing about that performance is you can tell that we're sort of shooting from the hip."
Singing is not the only thing on his plate. Timberlake's clothing line, William Rast, is taking off, he says, and girlfriend Jessica Biel is a fan. "I can't get it off her," he said.
And while he pretty much steered clear of his personal life during the interview, he did correct one persistent misconception about the couple. "I'm not engaged," he said, "but if she is, we have a problem."
Cell phones help filmmakers reveal unseen Africa
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Resourceful African filmmakers are using cell phones tell their stories in spite of political censorship.
While the country's name implies freedom of speech, filmmakers in the country's capital are restricted by government censorship.
To get around these problems, Siku came up with a novel plan.
He attached his mobile phone to a toy car, set it to film, and gave it to a young girl to pull behind her on a piece of string as she walked through the streets of Kinshasa.
The film runs for seven minutes, during which time the toy car stops and starts (it also upends a number of times and has to be righted by Siku's young camerawoman) giving viewers a clandestine look at life in the capital -- the dancing feet of children, some teenagers gambling, and at one point a United Nations jeep passing by.
Siku is one of a number of filmmakers in DR Congo who say using a mobile phone allows them to film in ways that were previously impossible.
"Camera phones are affordable, small and easy to maneuver," Siku told CNN. "They allowed me to work more discreetly and get closer to my subjects."
Government officials try to keep reports of poverty and corruption quiet, which means filming permits have become virtually impossible for Congolese working in Kinshasa to obtain, according to filmmakers working there.
Salim Amin, Chairman of Kenya-based African news organization, Africa 24 Media, which has operated in DRC, agrees that it can be very difficult for filmmakers to work in the country.
"[They] try and stop stories of corruption from coming out by refusing accreditation to locals from the Ministry of Information. That's the way they weed out people who will be critical to government," Amin told CNN.
Those brave enough to defy the authorities and shoot without permission, whether or not they have an anti-government agenda, risk hefty fines, arrest, or worse.
Resourceful African filmmakers are using cell phones tell their stories in spite of political censorship. Kiripi Katembo Siku, an art school student from the Democratic Republic of Congo is one such director who shot his first film using only a mobile phone.
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The ingeniously devised "Voiture en Carton" ("Cardboard Car") provides a rare glimpse of street-life in Kinshasa, the country's capital, while highlighting the lengths filmmakers must go to in circumventing the eye of the law.
While the country's name implies freedom of speech, filmmakers in the country's capital are restricted by government censorship.
To get around these problems, Siku came up with a novel plan.
He attached his mobile phone to a toy car, set it to film, and gave it to a young girl to pull behind her on a piece of string as she walked through the streets of Kinshasa.
The film runs for seven minutes, during which time the toy car stops and starts (it also upends a number of times and has to be righted by Siku's young camerawoman) giving viewers a clandestine look at life in the capital -- the dancing feet of children, some teenagers gambling, and at one point a United Nations jeep passing by.
Siku is one of a number of filmmakers in DR Congo who say using a mobile phone allows them to film in ways that were previously impossible.
"Camera phones are affordable, small and easy to maneuver," Siku told CNN. "They allowed me to work more discreetly and get closer to my subjects."
Government officials try to keep reports of poverty and corruption quiet, which means filming permits have become virtually impossible for Congolese working in Kinshasa to obtain, according to filmmakers working there.
Salim Amin, Chairman of Kenya-based African news organization, Africa 24 Media, which has operated in DRC, agrees that it can be very difficult for filmmakers to work in the country.
"[They] try and stop stories of corruption from coming out by refusing accreditation to locals from the Ministry of Information. That's the way they weed out people who will be critical to government," Amin told CNN.
Those brave enough to defy the authorities and shoot without permission, whether or not they have an anti-government agenda, risk hefty fines, arrest, or worse.
A spokesperson from the DRC government was not available for comment.
'Monsters vs. Aliens' buzz gives boost to 3D revolution
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It is a welcome boost to the 3D schedule: The introduction of special screens and digital projectors into cinemas across the world has slowed in the last six months along with the economy.
Instead of the 5,000 3D screens expected to roll out, the figure is closer to 2,000, as the cost of installing new technology during the downturn causes pause for thought.
The release of "Monsters vs. Aliens," along with the recent announcement that Pixar 3D animation, "Up" will open the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in May, should give Hollywood's new medium of choice a lift.
"Monsters vs. Aliens," which U.S. movie industry bible, Variety describes as "'Monsters, Inc.'
Meets 'War of the Worlds'" features a fight between a collection of well-loved movie monsters ( think 1950s B-movie characters like a 50 ft woman, a friendly amorphous blob, and a genius cockroach scientist) and alien invaders who want to take over Earth.
The brains behind the feature -- which has an all-star cast including Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland -- are Rob Letterman, the writer-director of Will Smith animated pic, "Shark Tale" and Conrad Vernon, the director of "Shrek 2."
The film is one of a number of 3D films, like James Cameron's sci-fi "Avatar," already in production that are slated for 2009 and 2010 release.
Buzz around the release of DreamWorks' latest animated feature, "Monsters vs. Aliens," will add new momentum to the drive towards a fully-3D movie industry.
It is a welcome boost to the 3D schedule: The introduction of special screens and digital projectors into cinemas across the world has slowed in the last six months along with the economy.
Instead of the 5,000 3D screens expected to roll out, the figure is closer to 2,000, as the cost of installing new technology during the downturn causes pause for thought.
The release of "Monsters vs. Aliens," along with the recent announcement that Pixar 3D animation, "Up" will open the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in May, should give Hollywood's new medium of choice a lift.
"Monsters vs. Aliens," which U.S. movie industry bible, Variety describes as "'Monsters, Inc.'
Meets 'War of the Worlds'" features a fight between a collection of well-loved movie monsters ( think 1950s B-movie characters like a 50 ft woman, a friendly amorphous blob, and a genius cockroach scientist) and alien invaders who want to take over Earth.
The brains behind the feature -- which has an all-star cast including Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland -- are Rob Letterman, the writer-director of Will Smith animated pic, "Shark Tale" and Conrad Vernon, the director of "Shrek 2."
The film is one of a number of 3D films, like James Cameron's sci-fi "Avatar," already in production that are slated for 2009 and 2010 release.
Rock star: That's not me drinking on Google
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Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher on Saturday denied that he is the man shown pointing at the Google Street View camera as it drove past his local pub in London last summer.
"Just saw google earth apparently that's meant to be me, who ... wears legwarmers with reeboks?? Not this kid!! LG," he wrote on Twitter.
Though available for a while in the United States, Google Street View only launched in Britain last week. As in America, the launch in Britain prompted people all over the country to try to find themselves or spot funny images and famous faces on the service.
Gallagher was apparently spotted outside The Queens pub in Camden, in north London, a place he's known to frequent.
The picture shows a man dressed in a dark T-shirt and long shorts sitting at an outdoor table. He points at the camera, obviously having seen the Google car and its Street View camera drive by.
The service blurs people's faces so it is hard to confirm whether it is Gallagher.
Though the man isn't wearing legwarmers, Gallagher is apparently talking about the man's ankle-high shoes and thick black socks.
Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher on Saturday denied that he is the man shown pointing at the Google Street View camera as it drove past his local pub in London last summer."Just saw google earth apparently that's meant to be me, who ... wears legwarmers with reeboks?? Not this kid!! LG," he wrote on Twitter.
Though available for a while in the United States, Google Street View only launched in Britain last week. As in America, the launch in Britain prompted people all over the country to try to find themselves or spot funny images and famous faces on the service.
Gallagher was apparently spotted outside The Queens pub in Camden, in north London, a place he's known to frequent.
The picture shows a man dressed in a dark T-shirt and long shorts sitting at an outdoor table. He points at the camera, obviously having seen the Google car and its Street View camera drive by.
The service blurs people's faces so it is hard to confirm whether it is Gallagher.
Though the man isn't wearing legwarmers, Gallagher is apparently talking about the man's ankle-high shoes and thick black socks.
HSBC says 1,200 workers face axe
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Europe's biggest bank, HSBC, has said up to 1,200 of its staff in the UK could face redundancy.
Europe's biggest bank, HSBC, has said up to 1,200 of its staff in the UK could face redundancy. The bank said the individuals who could be affected by job losses were being briefed on Wednesday.
At least a third of the staff cuts will come from back office operations such as call centres, not from High Street branches, a spokesman said.
Unions are disputing the figure, saying the total number of jobs lost in the UK will be closer to 3,000.
Madonna urged to rethink adoption
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Pop star Madonna has been urged by Save the Children to reconsider her apparent plans to adopt another Malawian child.
Malawian officials have indicated she will arrive in the African country this weekend in an attempt to adopt a four-year-old orphan called Mercy James.
The UK-based charity said ideally orphans should be cared for by their extended family or community and taking them abroad was "not a solution".
Madonna took then 13-month-old David Banda to the UK from Malawi in 2006.
The Reuters news agency reported that it was told Mercy James has "no father and mother, they both died", and an assessment had been completed on Thursday.
Madonna is expected to arrive in Malawi to attend a procedural hearing at the country's High Court on Monday.
Pop star Madonna has been urged by Save the Children to reconsider her apparent plans to adopt another Malawian child.Malawian officials have indicated she will arrive in the African country this weekend in an attempt to adopt a four-year-old orphan called Mercy James.
The UK-based charity said ideally orphans should be cared for by their extended family or community and taking them abroad was "not a solution".
Madonna took then 13-month-old David Banda to the UK from Malawi in 2006.
The Reuters news agency reported that it was told Mercy James has "no father and mother, they both died", and an assessment had been completed on Thursday.
Madonna is expected to arrive in Malawi to attend a procedural hearing at the country's High Court on Monday.
Rap star TI sentenced to prison
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US rapper TI has been sentenced to one year and one day in jail after he pleaded guilty to three charges of possessing illegal weapons.
The star, whose real is name Clifford Harris, will have between 30 and 60 days to report to prison.
He has already completed 1,000 hours of community service, which has included warning young people about the dangers of guns, drugs and violence.
Harris pleaded guilty last March after he was arrested in 2007.
The arrest happened close to where he had been expected to headline the BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta.
He had been attempting to buy unregistered machine guns.
He initially pleaded not guilty - and faced up to 10 years in prison for each of the charges.
Harris is best known in the UK for his guest appearance on Justin Timberlake's My Love single.
He won two Grammys in 2007, and appeared alongside Denzel Washington in the Ridley Scott movie American Gangster.
The star is not allowed to own or buy firearms because of a drug conviction dating back to 1998.
US rapper TI has been sentenced to one year and one day in jail after he pleaded guilty to three charges of possessing illegal weapons. The star, whose real is name Clifford Harris, will have between 30 and 60 days to report to prison.
He has already completed 1,000 hours of community service, which has included warning young people about the dangers of guns, drugs and violence.
Harris pleaded guilty last March after he was arrested in 2007.
The arrest happened close to where he had been expected to headline the BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta.
He had been attempting to buy unregistered machine guns.
He initially pleaded not guilty - and faced up to 10 years in prison for each of the charges.
Harris is best known in the UK for his guest appearance on Justin Timberlake's My Love single.
He won two Grammys in 2007, and appeared alongside Denzel Washington in the Ridley Scott movie American Gangster.
The star is not allowed to own or buy firearms because of a drug conviction dating back to 1998.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Apple unveils new iPhone features
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Apple has unveiled what it calls a "major update" to the operating system that drives the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Some of the 100 new features included in the update replicate those already offered by other smart phones.
The new functions include cut, copy and paste, long demanded by iPhone users, picture messaging and an in-phone search feature, but not Flash video.
"The upgrade is a big big deal and will help persuade consumers to stay with Apple," said Gartner analyst Van Baker.
"While things like copy and paste and multi-media messaging (MMS) are things they have needed to do for a while, other features will in essence stop consumers buying other smartphones and raise the amount of money people spend on the iPhone, " he said.
Analyst Gene Munster from Piper Jaffray agreed that the upgrade was a major step forward.
"We believe Apple addressed key issues that were leading some consumers to competing devices for multimedia messaging and enterprise email."
Some of the other main features Apple highlighted for consumers include a voice memo and stereo Bluetooth.
A new search tool called Spotlight to allow users to search files and applications on the iPhone or iPod Touch.
Apple has unveiled what it calls a "major update" to the operating system that drives the iPhone and iPod Touch. Some of the 100 new features included in the update replicate those already offered by other smart phones.
The new functions include cut, copy and paste, long demanded by iPhone users, picture messaging and an in-phone search feature, but not Flash video.
"The upgrade is a big big deal and will help persuade consumers to stay with Apple," said Gartner analyst Van Baker.
"While things like copy and paste and multi-media messaging (MMS) are things they have needed to do for a while, other features will in essence stop consumers buying other smartphones and raise the amount of money people spend on the iPhone, " he said.
Analyst Gene Munster from Piper Jaffray agreed that the upgrade was a major step forward.
"We believe Apple addressed key issues that were leading some consumers to competing devices for multimedia messaging and enterprise email."
Some of the other main features Apple highlighted for consumers include a voice memo and stereo Bluetooth.
A new search tool called Spotlight to allow users to search files and applications on the iPhone or iPod Touch.
Making music
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Can a simple idea help make the world a better place? Each week we ask a guest to outline an idea to improve all our lives. Here, neuroscientist Gregory Berns believes everyone should learn to play music.
When I say make music, that means sing, play an instrument, or simply bang out a rhythm by whatever means that are available to you.
I do not mean computer games like Guitar Hero.
It doesn't matter whether you have talent or if you think you're tone deaf - the simple act of producing a rhythmic or harmonious statement, teaches us skills that so often fall by the wayside in modern life.
I think it's a shame that we take music for granted now, perhaps it is because music is so ubiquitous. But I see music as something to celebrate humanity.
I see it as something every man, woman and child should do on a daily basis.
Apart from developing communication skills, making music helps us to listen to each other.
It is impossible to make music with other people without listening to your fellow musicians.
Making music also develops motor skills. It develops parts of the brain that would otherwise not be used - and most importantly - it feels good.
Gregory Berns is the Director of the Centre for Neuropolicy at Emory University in Atlanta, USA.
Can a simple idea help make the world a better place? Each week we ask a guest to outline an idea to improve all our lives. Here, neuroscientist Gregory Berns believes everyone should learn to play music. When I say make music, that means sing, play an instrument, or simply bang out a rhythm by whatever means that are available to you.
I do not mean computer games like Guitar Hero.
It doesn't matter whether you have talent or if you think you're tone deaf - the simple act of producing a rhythmic or harmonious statement, teaches us skills that so often fall by the wayside in modern life.
I think it's a shame that we take music for granted now, perhaps it is because music is so ubiquitous. But I see music as something to celebrate humanity.
I see it as something every man, woman and child should do on a daily basis.
Apart from developing communication skills, making music helps us to listen to each other.
It is impossible to make music with other people without listening to your fellow musicians.
Making music also develops motor skills. It develops parts of the brain that would otherwise not be used - and most importantly - it feels good.
Gregory Berns is the Director of the Centre for Neuropolicy at Emory University in Atlanta, USA.
Secrets of the Wizard of Oz
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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is one of the world's best-loved fairytales. As Judy Garland's famous film nears its 70th birthday, how much do its followers know about the story's use as an economic parable?
It's unlikely its young fans will have been thinking about deflation and monetary policy.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is one of the world's best-loved fairytales. As Judy Garland's famous film nears its 70th birthday, how much do its followers know about the story's use as an economic parable? Dorothy in Kansas conjures up nostalgic thoughts of childhood Christmases hiding behind the sofa from the Wicked Witch of the West. Or those flying monkeys.
It's unlikely its young fans will have been thinking about deflation and monetary policy.
But the story has underlying economic and political references that make it a popular tool for teaching university and high school students - mainly in the United States but also in the UK - about the economic depression of the late 19th Century.
At a time when some economists fear an onset of deflation, and economic certainties melt away like a drenched wicked witch, what can be learnt from Oz?
The 1939 film starring a young Judy Garland was based on Lyman Frank Baum's book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900. It told of an orphaned Kansas girl swept by a tornado into a fantastical world, but who wants to return home to her aunt and uncle.
Thinking the great Wizard of Oz can grant her wish, she sets out to meet him with her beloved dog, Toto, joined by a scarecrow, a tin woodman and a lion.
Baum published the book in 1900, just after the US emerged from a period of deflation and depression. Prices had fallen by about 22% over the previous 16 years, causing huge debt.
Farmers were among those badly affected, and the Populist political party was set up to represent their interests and those of industrial labourers.
The US was then operating on the gold standard - a monetary system which valued the dollar according to the quantity of gold. The Populists wanted silver, along with gold, to be used for money. This would have increased the US money supply, raised price levels and reduced farmers' debt burdens.
First Superman fetches $317,200
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A rare copy of the first Superman comic, dating from 1938, has sold at auction for $317,200 (£227,000).
The online auction started two weeks ago and attracted 89 bidders. Neither the buyer nor the seller were named.
A rare copy of the first Superman comic, dating from 1938, has sold at auction for $317,200 (£227,000). The online auction started two weeks ago and attracted 89 bidders. Neither the buyer nor the seller were named.
The copy was described as unrestored. The cover shows the cape-wearing action hero from the planet Krypton lifting a car above his head.
There are only 100 copies left of the first Superman comic, which sold for 10 cents when it appeared in June 1938.
Stephen Fishler, the owner of the online auction site Comic Connect said the Superman comic had been in the same hands since 12 years after it was published, when a young boy on the US west coast bought it for 35 cents.
He then forgot about it until 1966 when it emerged in his mother's basement. He held on to since then, hoping it would gain in value, Mr Fishler told CNN.
He said before the auction the comic might fetch as much as $400,000.
Superman is generally recognised as the first superhero to appear in comics - predating the likes of Spider-Man and Batman.
The crime fighter's secret alter ego is Clark Kent, a mild-mannered, bespectacled reporter for the The Daily Planet, who dashes into phone booths to change into Superman.
The now-dilapidated house in Cleveland, Ohio where writer Jerry Siegel and illustrator Joe Shuster created Superman sold in an online auction last October for $100,000 (£71,000).
Fritzl's face is caught on camera
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The face of Josef Fritzl, the Austrian charged with crimes against children he kept and abused in a cellar, has been caught on camera at his trial.
The accused, whose lawyer said he had been "ashamed" to show his face, had been covering himself with a folder since the trial began on Monday.
A verdict for Mr Fritzl, who has access to a psychiatrist as an anti-suicide precaution, is due on Thursday.
Jurors have been watching hours of videotaped testimony from his children.
He is said to be watching the recordings "attentively" at the trial, which is closed to the press and public until Wednesday in order to protect the identity of victims.
The court also heard expert testimony on infant care on Tuesday.
One of the charges against Mr Fritzl is that he murdered his own newborn baby boy by failing to provide him with proper medical care
The face of Josef Fritzl, the Austrian charged with crimes against children he kept and abused in a cellar, has been caught on camera at his trial.The accused, whose lawyer said he had been "ashamed" to show his face, had been covering himself with a folder since the trial began on Monday.
A verdict for Mr Fritzl, who has access to a psychiatrist as an anti-suicide precaution, is due on Thursday.
Jurors have been watching hours of videotaped testimony from his children.
Mr Fritzl has pleaded guilty to incest and "partially" guilty to rape but not guilty to enslavement or murder at the trial in the town of St Poelten.
He is said to be watching the recordings "attentively" at the trial, which is closed to the press and public until Wednesday in order to protect the identity of victims.
The court also heard expert testimony on infant care on Tuesday.
One of the charges against Mr Fritzl is that he murdered his own newborn baby boy by failing to provide him with proper medical care
Transformers back again in 2011
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A release date has been announced for the third movie in the Transformers series, three months before the sequel even hits cinema screens.
Paramount says the film will be ready for 1 July 2011.
However, director Michael Bay said on his official website that Paramount have made a "mistake", stating that its release date will be in 2012.
A first sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, is set for a summer release on 24 June.
It is one of the summer's most anticipated blockbusters.
In a comment posted on Tuesday, Bay said: "I said I was taking off a year from Transformers.
"Paramount made a mistake in dating Transformers 3 - they asked me on the phone - I said yes to 4 July - but for 2012 - whoops! Not 2011!!!
"That would mean I would have to start prep in September. No way. My brain needs a break from fighting robots."
The first film was one of the highest earners of 2007, making $708.2m (£503.5m) worldwide.
Shia LeBeouf reprises his role of teenager Sam Witwicky, caught in the middle of a war between two races of transforming robots, the Autobots and the Decepticons.
The films are based on the hugely popular line of toys launched in 1984.
A release date has been announced for the third movie in the Transformers series, three months before the sequel even hits cinema screens.Paramount says the film will be ready for 1 July 2011.
However, director Michael Bay said on his official website that Paramount have made a "mistake", stating that its release date will be in 2012.
A first sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, is set for a summer release on 24 June.
It is one of the summer's most anticipated blockbusters.
In a comment posted on Tuesday, Bay said: "I said I was taking off a year from Transformers.
"Paramount made a mistake in dating Transformers 3 - they asked me on the phone - I said yes to 4 July - but for 2012 - whoops! Not 2011!!!
"That would mean I would have to start prep in September. No way. My brain needs a break from fighting robots."
The first film was one of the highest earners of 2007, making $708.2m (£503.5m) worldwide.
Shia LeBeouf reprises his role of teenager Sam Witwicky, caught in the middle of a war between two races of transforming robots, the Autobots and the Decepticons.
The films are based on the hugely popular line of toys launched in 1984.
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