Ashton Kutcher may have been hanging out with supermodels in Brazil when Demi Moore was rushed to the hospital, but a friend says that Demi is still very much on Ashton's mind.
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Fame can touch just about anything, including food. To see a leftover crumb from Pete Doherty, head to the Old Boatstore.
By Jodi Thompson, IndependentTraveler.com
It doesn't exactly have the "ooh" factor of a Lucille Ball caricature hanging on Sardi's wall. It does, however, inch toward the "eww" factor of, say, a faded 34C underwire tacked up on the ceiling of a dive bar. What is it? Just a wee crumb of a toastie eaten by the Libertines co-frontman Pete Doherty.
That's right. There's a museum where you can view the dried-out crust of a British pop star's cheese, tomato and pesto panini that he ate at a cafe in a Cornish seaside village. Owners Michael and Francesca Bennett wanted to commemorate the visit of celebrities to their seafront cafe, the Old Boatstore. When photographer David Bailey visited, the couple told the BBC, they were so excited they decided to keep a bit of the sandwich he'd consumed. The Museum of Celebrity Leftovers grew from there.
Now, when you visit Kingsand in the U.K., you can view about 20 "artifacts" sealed under tiny glass domes and kept on a bright blue shelf hanging on the cafe wall -- the museum's entire collection. Ogle actress Mia Wasikowska's wedge of zucchini. Examine the end of comedian Hugh Dennis' ice cream cone. Ruminate over retired BBC weatherman Craig Rich's pasty crust.
No preservatives have been added to the remains, and Michael Bennett assured the BBC that none of the exhibits seem to be getting moldy, just dried and shriveled.
The Bennetts have owned the cafe for nine years and serve mainly vegetarian fare with locally sourced seafood when available. So don't expect to see a bite of Prince Harry's burger anytime soon. However, Charles and Camilla have paid a visit. The Museum of Celebrity Leftovers has a tiny silver crown adorning the glass dome protecting Charles' relic: a teensy crust of bread pudding.
It's unlikely that the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall came just to see the odd exhibit, as the display of food waste is more kitschy than captivating. It may, however, have some competition for the world's most underwhelming excuse for a museum. Consider the Asphalt Museum with its chunks of tar at Sacramento State College in California. Or the Barbed Wire Museum in LaCrosse, Kan. And you might just get "sucked in" -- their pun -- at the Vacuum Museum along Route 66 in Missouri. (For more, see our list of the world's weirdest museums.)
No reason to cross the Hermitage or Smithsonian off your must-see list just yet. En route between the two, you might want to stop in the Old Boatstore for a bite to eat. Who knows who may be seated next to you.
More from IndependentTraveler.com:
16 ways you know you're addicted to travel
Weird but true: Bizarre travel stories
Our favorite London hotels
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Tokyo ? Advisers to Japan's nuclear safety agency have condemned stress tests being conducted at nuclear power plants around the country as the government seeks international support for the early resumption of dozens of idle reactors.
The government ordered tests on all of Japan's reactors after the March 11, 2011, accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant cast doubt on the safety of nuclear power in a country prone to earthquakes and tsunami.
A team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) began a review of the safety tests this week. Although the inspectors say their role is not to offer advice, moves to get reactors back online will be boosted by a positive appraisal of the tests in the IAEA report, due at the end of the month.
But two nuclear experts said the stress tests being conducted at Ohi and elsewhere were deeply flawed and raised concern that the Japanese government was pushing for a return to nuclear power too soon.
"It is a misunderstanding to believe these tests prove that a nuclear plant is safe," says Masashi Goto, a former nuclear power plant designer.
RELATED: Japan's nuclear crisis: 6 reasons why we should ? and shouldn't ? worry
Currently only three of Japan's 54 reactors are in operation, 10 months after the Fukushima accident forced the closure of active reactors for safety checks. The latest closure came on Friday, when a reactor at a plant near the Japan Sea was shut down to undergo regular inspections.
The government is pushing for the early restart of idled reactors to ward off a possible power shortage during the long, humid summer.
The trade and industry minister, Yukio Edano, said on Friday he believed Japan would be able to cope without imposing power cuts even if all 54 reactors were offline by the summer, a popular move for the public.
Mr. Edano said in an interview with the newspaper Asahi Shimbun that any energy-saving measures would not affect industry. "Last year, the automobile industry changed its days off and workers were asked to put up with the inconvenience," he said. "We cannot allow the same thing to happen this year. There is still room for society as a whole to conserve electricity."
After the Fukushima disaster Japan abandoned plans to generate more than half of its electricity supply through nuclear power by 2030, but the prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, has said the country needs to retain some nuclear plants until alternative sources of energy are developed.
Attention is now focused on a plant in the town of Ohi in western Japan, which could be the first to resume operations since the Fukushima disaster.
Its operator, Kansai Electric Power, has said that two of the facility's reactors are able to withstand quakes and tsunami much stronger than predicted for the area, a view reportedly endorsed by the country's nuclear and industrial safety agency.
But Mr. Goto, and others have found fault with the pace and the method of the inspections
"The reality is that the inspectors only look at the reactors' design and then factor in possible problems such as earthquakes and tsunami of a certain size,??
Hiromitsu Ino, an emeritus professor at Tokyo University and fellow member of the nuclear safety agency advisory panel, said the tests should not have been introduced until all the facts of the Fukushima disaster were known.
"The tests are being presented as a comprehensive survey of the safety of Japan's nuclear power plants, but the reality is very different," Mr. Ino says. "They only look at potential problems in isolation, and the process of testing is exactly the same as it was before the March earthquake."
Ino and Goto say they are the only two dissenters on the advisory panel, which includes experts who conduct research funded in part by the nuclear power industry.
"Japan's 'nuclear village' is so strong that collusion is allowed to flourish," Ino said. "Professors who conduct research and promote the nuclear industry are also acting as advisers to the nuclear safety agency. There is no independence."
Goto and Ino said it would be impossible to appraise the causes and consequences of the Fukushima disaster unless the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), releases all of the relevant data that would then be used to perform a simulation, which it has been notably reticent to do.
Ino says he had little confidence in the IAEA team, which is slated to present its latest report at the end of the month.
"The last time the IAEA inspectors came to Japan they simply inspected sites and documents and left saying everything was fine. They submitted a flimsy report and I fear the same will be the case this time."
Japan's nuclear crisis: 6 reasons why we should ? and shouldn't ? worry
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This citizen journalism image provide by the Local Coordination Committees in Syria and released early Friday Jan. 27, 2012, purports to show a Syrian man, right, mourning over the dead body of his son, who was shot by the Syrian forces, in Idlib province, Syria, on Thursday Jan. 26, 2012. A "terrifying massacre" in the restive Syrian city of Homs has killed more than 30 people, including small children, in a barrage of mortar fire and attacks by armed forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, activists said Friday. (AP Photo/Local Coordination Committees in Syria) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS HANDOUT PHOTO
This citizen journalism image provide by the Local Coordination Committees in Syria and released early Friday Jan. 27, 2012, purports to show a Syrian man, right, mourning over the dead body of his son, who was shot by the Syrian forces, in Idlib province, Syria, on Thursday Jan. 26, 2012. A "terrifying massacre" in the restive Syrian city of Homs has killed more than 30 people, including small children, in a barrage of mortar fire and attacks by armed forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, activists said Friday. (AP Photo/Local Coordination Committees in Syria) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS HANDOUT PHOTO
This citizen journalism image provided by the Local Coordination Committees in Syria and released on Friday Jan. 27, 2012, purports to show the bodies of five Syrian children wrapped in plastic bags, with signs in Arabic identifying them by name. Activists say the children were killed in a shelling attack by Syrian forces, in the Karm el-Zaytoun neighborhood of Homs, Syria, on Thursday Jan. 26, 2012 A "terrifying massacre" in the restive Syrian city of Homs has killed more than 30 people, including small children, in a barrage of mortar fire and attacks by armed forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, activists said Friday. (AP Photo/Local Coordination Committees in Syria) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS HANDOUT PHOTO EDITORIAL USE ONLY
An anti-Syrian regime protester, gestures during a demonstration against Syrian President Bashar Assad, at Khalidya area in Homs province, central Syria, on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. Syrian troops stormed a flashpoint suburb of Damascus on Thursday, rounding people up in house-to-house raids and clashing with army defectors, activists said, as the 10-month-old uprising inches ever closer to the capital. (AP Photo)
Syrian army defectors stand guard on a rooftop to secure an anti-Syrian regime protest in the Deir Baghlaba area in Homs province, central Syria, on Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Armed forces loyal to President Bashar Assad barraged residential buildings with mortars and machine-gun fire, killing at least 30 people, including a family of women and children during a day of sectarian killings and kidnappings in the besieged Syrian city of Homs, activists said Friday. (AP Photo)
Syrian army defectors secure a street near an anti-Syrian regime protest in the Deir Baghlaba area of Homs province, central Syria, on Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Armed forces loyal to President Bashar Assad barraged residential buildings with mortars and machine-gun fire, killing at least 30 people, including a family of women and children during a day of sectarian killings and kidnappings in the besieged Syrian city of Homs, activists said Friday. (AP Photo)
BEIRUT (AP) ? Two days of bloody turmoil in Syria killed at least 74 people, including small children, as forces loyal to President Bashar Assad shelled residential buildings and fired on crowds in a dramatic escalation of violence, activists said Friday.
Video posted online showed the bodies of five small children, five women and a man, all bloodied and piled on beds in what appeared to be an apartment after a building was hit in the city of Homs. A narrator said an entire family had been "slaughtered."
Much of the violence was focused in Homs, where heavy gunfire hammered the city Friday in a second day of chaos. A day earlier, the city saw a flare-up of sectarian kidnappings and killings between its Sunni and Alawite communities, and pro-regime forces blasted residential buildings with mortars and gunfire, according to activists.
At least 384 children have been killed, as of Jan. 7, in the crackdown on Syria's uprising since it began nearly 11 months ago, the U.N. children's agency UNICEF said Friday. The count, based on reports from human rights groups, included children under age 18.
Most of the deaths took place in Homs and most of the victims were boys, UNICEF said. It said 380 children have been detained, including some under age 14. The United Nations estimates that more than 5,400 people have died in the turmoil.
The U.N. Security Council met in a closed-door session to discuss the crisis, which diplomats said was a step toward a possible U.N. resolution against the Damascus regime.
However, any resolution faces strong opposition from China and Russia, and both nations have veto power. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said Friday that Moscow will oppose any resolution because it does not exclude the possibility of outside military interference.
The Syrian uprising, which began last March with mostly peaceful protests, has become increasingly violent in recent months as army defectors clash with government forces and some protesters take up arms to protect themselves. The violence has inflamed the sectarian divide in the country, where members of Assad's Alawite sect dominate the regime despite a Sunni Muslim majority.
Activists said at least 35 people were killed in Homs on Thursday and another 39 people were killed across the country Friday.
The video posted Friday by activists showed the bodies of five young children, their faces bloodied, wrapped in orange plastic bags. It said the children were believed to be from two families, the Akras and the Bahadours. Brown cardboard placards with the children's names written in Arabic were placed on their chests, identifying them: Thanaa, Ali, Najm, Abdul-Ghani and Sidra.
The video could not be independently verified.
Hilal Khashan, a political science professor at the American University of Beirut, said the spike in violence was linked to increasing pressure from the international community, the Arab League and the United Nations.
"The regime is trying to finish the matter through military means as soon as possible," and for that reason the level of violence increased," he said.
On Tuesday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem insisted that Damascus will continue its crackdown and said Syria would not accept any international interference in its affairs.
Assad's regime claims terrorists acting out a foreign conspiracy by the U.S., Israel and Gulf Arab countries are behind the uprising, not protesters seeking change.
The head of Arab League observers in Syria said in a statement that violence in the country has spiked over the past few days. Sudanese Gen. Mohammed Ahmed al-Dabi said the cities of Homs, Hama and Idlib have all witnessed a "very high escalation" in violence since Tuesday.
A "fierce military campaign" was also under way in the Hamadiyeh district of Hama since the early hours of Friday, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and other activists. They said the sound of heavy machine-gun fire and loud explosions reverberated across the area.
Some activists reported seeing uncollected bodies in the streets of Hama.
Elsewhere, a car bomb exploded Friday at a checkpoint outside the northern city of Idlib, the Observatory said, citing witnesses. The number of casualties was not immediately clear.
Details of the wave of killings in Homs emerged Friday from an array of residents and activists
"There has been a terrifying massacre," Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told the AP on Friday. He called for an independent investigation.
Thursday started with a spate of sectarian kidnappings and killings between the city's population of Sunnis and Alawites, a Shiite sect to which Assad belongs as well as most of his security and military leadership, said Mohammad Saleh, a centrist opposition figure and resident of Homs.
There was also a string of attacks by gunmen on army checkpoints, Saleh said. Checkpoints are a frequent target of dissident troops who have joined the opposition.
The Observatory said at least 11 people, including eight children, died when a building came under heavy mortar and machine-gun fire in the city's Karm el-Zaytoun neighborhood. Some residents spoke of another massacre that took place when shabiha ? armed regime loyalists ? stormed the district, slaughtering residents in an apartment, including children.
"They are killing people because of their sect," said one Sunni resident of Karm el-Zaytoun, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
Thursday's death toll in Homs was at least 35, said the Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees, an umbrella group of activists. Both groups cite a network of activists on the ground in Syria for their death tolls.
The reports could not be independently confirmed. Syria tightly controls access to trouble spots and generally allows journalists to report only on escorted trips, which slows the flow of information.
Also Friday, Iran's official IRNA news agency said gunmen in Syria kidnapped 11 Iranian pilgrims traveling by road from Turkey to Damascus.
Iranian pilgrims routinely visit Syria ? Iran's closest ally in the Arab world ? to pay homage to Shiite holy shrines. Last month, seven Iranian engineers building a power plant in central Syria were kidnapped. They have not yet been released.
The Free Syrian Army, a group of army defectors fighting the regime, released a video on its Facebook page claiming responsibility for the kidnapping and saying the Iranians were taking part in the suppression of the Syrian people.
___
AP writer Elizabeth A. Kennedy contributed to this report from Beirut.
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MINNEAPOLIS ? Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann swept aside doubts about her political future Wednesday, declaring less than a month after ending her presidential bid that she will seek a fourth term in Congress.
Bachmann's decision ended speculation she might be ready to move on from the House, perhaps leveraging her popularity among some conservatives into a career in talk media. Despite her high profile, Bachmann has been only a marginal player in Congress.
"I'm looking forward to coming back and bringing a strong, powerful voice to Washington, D.C.," Bachmann said in an interview with The Associated Press. She said a formal announcement would come later.
Unless redistricting radically changes Minnesota's Republican-leaning 6th District, Bachmann figures to be a heavy favorite. Other Republican hopefuls had stood aside awaiting her decision. No Democrats have yet declared for the race.
Bachmann is a potent fundraiser who brought in $13.5 million in her last House race, but she likely would start from scratch after the presidential campaign. A campaign finance report that would show how much money she can bring to the race isn't due until the end of the month.
Ken Martin, chairman of Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer Labor Party, said Bachmann's announcement wasn't a surprise. He said Democrats would attack Bachmann for being absent from the district and for missing votes in Washington during months chasing the presidential nomination.
"Anyone who thinks that they're unbeatable is fooling themselves, and particularly once you hand us these issues on a silver platter," Martin said.
Martin said he's talked with several potential candidates who were waiting for a special redistricting panel to issue new maps late next month. He said some also were waiting for Bachmann's decision.
David Fitzsimmons, 6th District chairman for Minnesota's Republican Party, said Democrats "put a lot of resources and a lot of energy" into three previous high-profile candidates against Bachmann without seeming to make much of a dent.
"We're very happy and excited in the 6th to have her running again as congresswoman," Fitzsimmons said.
Bachmann captured some early momentum in the chase for the GOP presidential nomination by winning the Iowa straw poll in midsummer, but she eventually faded. Bachmann said she will not be working for any GOP candidate still in the race ahead of Minnesota's caucuses Feb. 7.
Bachmann also addressed President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech. As she did on the campaign trail, Bachmann criticized Obama for "doubling down on failures that didn't work."
She said she "chose to lay everything on the line this last year" because she saw a better way.
"I know how to create jobs and I am a job creator," Bachmann said. "I do have a formula for success. I have lived that formula. ... We need that voice here in Congress."
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By Reuters
Motorola Mobility, which is seeking regulatory approval to be bought by Google Inc., has filed a new lawsuit against Apple Inc., accusing the iPhone maker of infringing its technology patents.
The case filed in a Florida federal court on Wednesday is the latest turn in a bigger legal battle between Apple and Motorola Mobility, which runs its phones on Google's Android software -- the biggest rival of Apple's iOS mobile phone system.
Motorola said in the lawsuit that it was suing Apple for infringing six of its patents in products including its latest smartphone, the iPhone 4S. A spokesperson for Apple was not immediately available for comment.
The patents in question involve technologies related to wireless antennae, software, data filtering and messaging, according to the lawsuit.
The filing follows a preliminary decision issued earlier this month by the U.S. International Trade Commission that Motorola did not violate Apple patents in another case Apple brought against Motorola.
In December, Motorola won a preliminary injunction against Apple in Germany, which could bar the sale of iPhones and iPad tablets in that country. Google agreed to buy Motorola for $12.5 billion in August in an effort to gain control of the mobile phone maker's deep portfolio of patents.
The case is Motorola Mobility Inc vs Apple Inc, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Case No. 1:12-cv-20271-WJZ
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NEW YORK ? Navy accepted an invitation to play football in the Big East, starting in 2015.
The service academy has been a football independent since the program began in 1879. The Midshipmen have been thriving over the last decade. They played in eight straight bowl games before slipping to 5-7 this season and have won a record 10 straight games against rival Army.
"While our independent status has served Navy football well to date, Big East conference affiliation will help ensure our future scholar-athletes and athletic programs remain competitive at the highest levels for the foreseeable future," said Vice Admiral Michael Miller, superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy.
Big East Commissioner John Marinatto was to hold a conference call Tuesday afternoon with Miller, athletic director Chet Gladchuk and football coach Ken Niumatalolo.
In December, the Big East added Boise State and San Diego State as football-only members and SMU, Houston and Central Florida in all sports. Those schools will join in 2013.
The Big East is trying to build a 12-team football conference with an eastern and western division and a league championship game. The conference is losing Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the Atlantic Coast Conference and West Virginia to the Big 12, but it's unclear when.
West Virginia filed a lawsuit against the Big East so it can join the Big 12 in 2012. The Big East sued West Virginia to make the school abide by the league's 27-month notification period, which would keep the Mountaineers in the Big East through the 2013-14 school year.
A Rhode Island judge has ordered West Virginia and the Big East to enter nonbinding mediation to resolve their competing lawsuits.
Pitt, Syracuse and the ACC have said they will not challenge the Big East bylaws.
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Italian Navy scuba divers work next to the cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Unregistered passengers might have been aboard the stricken cruise liner that capsized off this Tuscan island, a top rescue official said Sunday, raising the possibility that the number of missing might be higher than previously announced. Divers, meanwhile, pulled out a woman's body from the capsized Costa Concordia on Sunday, raising to 13 the number of people dead in the Jan. 13 accident. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
Italian Navy scuba divers work next to the cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Unregistered passengers might have been aboard the stricken cruise liner that capsized off this Tuscan island, a top rescue official said Sunday, raising the possibility that the number of missing might be higher than previously announced. Divers, meanwhile, pulled out a woman's body from the capsized Costa Concordia on Sunday, raising to 13 the number of people dead in the Jan. 13 accident. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
The cruise ship Costa Concordia lies on its side off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Rescuers on Sunday resumed searching the above-water section of the capsized Costa Concordia cruise liner, but choppy seas kept divers from exploring the submerged part, where officials have said there could be bodies. Civil protection officials said that until the waves slack off, divers would not swim into the submerged part of the vessel just off the port of Giglio, a tiny Island off the Tuscan coast. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
The cruise ship Costa Concordia lies on its side off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Rescuers on Sunday resumed searching the above-water section of the capsized Costa Concordia cruise liner, but choppy seas kept divers from exploring the submerged part, where officials have said there could be bodies. Civil protection officials said that until the waves slack off, divers would not swim into the submerged part of the vessel just off the port of Giglio, a tiny Island off the Tuscan coast. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
Workers of the Costa Crociere company place messages outside the company headquarters, during a march in downtown Genoa, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Rescuers on Sunday resumed searching the above-water section of the capsized Costa Concordia cruise liner, but choppy seas kept divers from exploring the submerged part, where officials have said there could be bodies. Civil protection officials said that until the waves slacken off, divers will not swim into the submerged part of the vessel near the port of Giglio, a tiny island off the Tuscan coast. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Two Italian firefighters work on the deck of the cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Unregistered passengers might have been aboard the stricken cruise liner that capsized off this Tuscan island, a top rescue official said Sunday, raising the possibility that the number of missing might be higher than previously announced. Divers, meanwhile, pulled out a woman's body from the capsized Costa Concordia on Sunday, raising to 13 the number of people dead in the Jan. 13 accident. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
GIGLIO, Italy (AP) ? Divers were searching for 19 people known missing aboard the capsized Costa Concordia as officials weighed whether to start pumping some half a million gallons of fuel from the ship to avoid an environmental catastrophe.
The search was continuing around the clock, with divers focusing on areas where the missing were last seen, places were they might have gathered for evacuation and individual cabins.
The civil protection official in charge of the rescue effort was meeting with technical experts Monday morning to determine if operations to pump the fuel could begin in tandem with the ongoing search. Franco Gabrielli was to meet later with prosecutors to discuss the implications of halting the search. A decision was expected in the afternoon.
Associated Press
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Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.Places of Interest:
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BEIJING (AP) ? A hugely popular Chinese Lunar New Year variety show has a special guest star playing the ukulele: American billionaire Warren Buffett.
Buffett is shown wearing a dark sweat shirt and singing the folk song "I've Been Working On The Railroad" in the video posted on state broadcaster CCTV's "Spring Festival Gala" website Sunday.
There are no details on the website about where the 45-second clip was shot, but Buffett appears to be sitting in a small room with an elaborate model railroad set up in the background.
The video's simplicity contrasts with other performances posted on the website of the gala, which is usually a flashy extravaganza that draws 800 million viewers.
Associated PressTed Grimes, left, of Anderson, S.C., places an I Voted sticker on the coat of his son Sawyer Grimes, 1, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, in the Anderson County Voter Registration office, after voting absentee in the Republican presidential primary, in Anderson, S.C. (AP Photo/Anderson Independent-Mail, Ken Ruinard) GREENVILLE OUT SENECA OUT
Ted Grimes, left, of Anderson, S.C., places an I Voted sticker on the coat of his son Sawyer Grimes, 1, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, in the Anderson County Voter Registration office, after voting absentee in the Republican presidential primary, in Anderson, S.C. (AP Photo/Anderson Independent-Mail, Ken Ruinard) GREENVILLE OUT SENECA OUT
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, reacts as he arrives to campaign at Harmon Tree Farm in Gilbert, S.C., Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich visits Children's Hospital, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum listens to a question during a radio interview at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Callista Gingrich, wife of Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich reads during a visit to Children's Hospital, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) ? On the eve of a Southern showdown, Mitt Romney conceded Friday he's in a tight race with Newt Gingrich for Saturday's South Carolina primary in a Republican campaign suddenly turned turbulent.
It's "neck and neck," Romney declared, while a third presidential contender, former Sen. Rick Santorum, swiped at both men in hopes of springing yet another campaign surprise.
Several days after forecasting a Romney victory in his state, Sen. Jim DeMint said the campaign's first Southern primary was now a two-man race between the former Massachusetts governor, who has struggled in recent days with questions about his personal wealth and taxes, and Gingrich, the former House speaker who has been surging in polls after a pair of well-received debate performances.
The stakes were high as Republicans sought a challenger to Democratic President Barack Obama. Television advertising by the candidates and their supporters exceeded $10 million here, much of it spent in the past two weeks, and mailboxes were stuffed with campaign flyers.
In a bit of home-state boosterism, DeMint said the primary winner was "likely to be the next president of the United States."
Indeed, the winner of the state's primary has gone on to capture the Republican nomination each year since 1980.
A victory by Romney would place him in a commanding position heading into the Florida primary on Jan. 31. He and an organization supporting him are already airing television ads in that state, which is one of the country's costliest in which to campaign.
If the former Massachusetts governor stumbles in South Carolina, it could portend a long, drawn-out battle for the nomination stretching well into spring and further expose rifts inside the party between those who want a candidate who can defeat Obama more than anything else, and those whose strong preference is for a solid conservative.
Romney sounded anything but confident as he told reporters that in South Carolina, "I realize that I had a lot of ground to make up and Speaker Gingrich is from a neighboring state, well known, popular ... and frankly to be in a neck-and-neck race at this last moment is kind of exciting."
Left unspoken was that he swept into South Carolina 10 days ago on the strength of a strong victory in the New Hampshire primary and maintained a double-digit lead in the South Carolina polls for much of the week.
Campaigning in Gilbert, S.C., on Friday, Romney demanded that Gingrich release hundreds of supporting documents relating to an ethics committee investigation into his activities while he was speaker of the House in the mid-1990s.
"''Of course he should," he told reporters. Referring to the House Democratic leader, he said, "Nancy Pelosi has the full record of that ethics investigation. You know it's going to get out ahead of the general election."
That was an attempt to turn the tables on Gingrich, who has demanded Romney release his income tax returns before the weekend primary so Republicans can know in advance if they contain anything that could compromise the party's chances against Obama this fall.
Gingrich's campaign brushed off Romney's demand, calling it a "panic attack" brought on by sinking poll numbers.
"Don't you love these guys?" the former speaker said in Orangeburg. "He doesn't release anything. He doesn't answer anything and he's even confused about whether he will ever release anything. And then they decide to pick a fight over releasing stuff?"
In January 1997, Gingrich became the first speaker ever reprimanded and fined for ethics violations, slapped with a $300,000 penalty. He said he'd failed to follow legal advice concerning the use of tax-exempt contributions to advance potentially partisan goals, but he was also cleared of numerous other allegations.
At the same time he fended off a demand on one front Friday, Gingrich was less than eager to face further questions made by his second wife, Marianne, who said in an ABC interview broadcast Thursday night that he had once sought an open marriage so he could keep the mistress who later became his current wife.
He denies the ex-wife's account.
On his final lap through the state, Santorum campaigned as the Goldilocks candidate ? just right for the state's conservative voters.
"One candidate is too radioactive, a little too hot," he said, referring to Gingrich. "And we have another candidate who is just too darn cold, who doesn't have bold plans," he added, speaking of Romney.
His campaign also announced endorsements from conservative leaders in the upcounty portion of the state around Greenville, where the heaviest concentration of evangelical voters lives.
Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, dismissed Texas Rep. Ron Paul, the fourth contender in the race. "There are four, three of whom have a chance to win the nomination," he said, including himself.
Paul, who finished third in the Iowa caucuses and second in the New Hampshire primary, has had a limited presence in South Carolina.
But he flew to six cities on a burst of campaigning on the race's final day, and drew applause for having returned to Washington, D.C., earlier in the week to vote against Obama's requested increase in the debt limit.
"When you hear the word principle, you think of Ron Paul. He's the embodiment of that," said Derek Smith, a 26-year-old engineer for the Navy in Charleston. "If he were to run as a third-party candidate, I would vote for him unconditionally."
Paul has said he has no intention of doing that.
Interviewed on C-SPAN, Santorum said the race "has just transformed itself in the last 24 hours." It was hard for any of the campaigns to argue with that.
In a bewildering series of events on Thursday, Romney was stripped of his victory in the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses by state party officials, who said a recount showed Santorum ahead by 34 votes.
Then came an unexpected withdrawal by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who endorsed Gingrich. But Gingrich was suddenly caught in a controversy caused by his ex-wife's accusations.
At a two-hour debate that capped the day, Gingrich drew applause when he strongly attacked ABC and the "liberal news media" in general for injecting the issue into the final days of the South Carolina campaign.
By contrast, Romney faced a round of boos from the audience when he stuck by earlier statements that he would wait until April to release his tax returns.
Romney has stumbled several times in recent days, including once when he said he paid an effective tax rate of about 15 percent. That's half what many middle-income Americans pay, but it's what the law stipulates because his income derives from investments, which are taxed at a lower rate than wages.
Gingrich posted his own tax returns online during the Thursday debate, reporting he paid 31.5 percent of his income to the IRS.
___
Associated Press writers Charles Babington, Kasie Hunt, Thomas Beaumont, Philip Elliott, Beth Fouhy and Shannon McCaffrey contributed to this report.
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AP
World War II fly guys (from l. David Oyelowo, Elijah Kelley, Leslie Odom Jr., Michael B. Jordan, Nate Parker and Kevin Phillips) face racism in "Red Tails."
By Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter
REVIEW
The experience of black American aviators in World War II gets a whitewash in "Red Tails." The story of the 996 pilots (and some 15,000 ground personnel) who distinguished themselves in the air in the face of institutional racism is a great one and, at least, will come to the attention of more people due to this long-gestating project from Lucasfilm. But every character here is so squeaky clean, and the prejudice as depicted is so toothless and easily overcome, that the film feels like a fantasy version of what, in real life, was an exceptional example of resilient trail-blazing. The tale's considerable built-in inspirational value will move and impress black audiences of all ages and would do the same to a wider public if sufficiently promoted, but the determinedly simplistic approach will curtail interest among any viewers hungry for some real history. The anticipated low interest level for this material overseas is cited as a major reason the project took so long to get off the ground.
A key signal of how much you can trust any contemporary movie about either of the 20th century's world wars is how, and even if, it depicts smoking; if, like this one, it buckles to current fashion and scarcely depicts soldiers smoking at all in a period when cigarettes were part of ration kits, then it's frankly not to be trusted in any other respect either. Here, Cuba Gooding Jr.'s major sucks thoughtfully on a pipe and one hot-shot pilot sports a stogie in one scene but, otherwise the environs are as smoke-free as the Brigham Young University campus.
PHOTOS: The Making of Steven Spielberg's "War Horse"
Showing its action-slanted hand at the outset, two pilots in P-40 fighters, ?Easy? (everyone has a nickname like that) and ?Lightning,? make easy work of a German munitions train in Italy. Right away, the film plays fast and loose with period by enabling their buddies back at the base to watch footage of the explosive strike, as if every plane were equipped with a camera that could provide nightly ESPN-style highlights. Talk about kowtowing to a younger generation that supposedly requires instantaneous and repeated gratification.
?Easy? (Nate Parker) is the flight leader whose secret vice is the bottle, while ?Lightning? (David Oyelowo) is his fearless wingman who also has the brass to court a warm signorina (Daniela Ruah) from the nearby picture postcard village. At this stage of the conflict, in the summer of 1944, the all-Negro 99th Fighter Squadron remains far from the center of action, restricted to ?mopping floors? in the battle against fascism when the men are ready and eager for real missions.
The problem lies, specifically, at the just-built Pentagon and, of course, with society at large, neither of which is ready to accept blacks on an equal footing with whites. The military, as with so much else, is strictly segregated and a line or two of dialogue makes the point that the common assumption is that blacks simply aren't up to the demanding job of combat aviation.
Throughout the film, however, all opposition to the universally sympathetic protagonists falls like so many bowling pins. The first time one of the fliers ventures into the whites-only officers' club in Italy, he slugs a guy who calls him the n-word and remarkably isn't court-martialed; the next time, a bunch of the squadron members is invited in with drinks all around. Later, when bomber crews notice their new escorts are ?colored,? they express startled dismay but, after one successful run, one young flier exclaims, ?I hope we meet up with those Red Tails next time!? No relentless and unrepentant redneck characters played by James Woods in this film. And when a Nazi fighter pilot disdains his ?African? opponent, you know he'll be biting the dust in short order.
VIDEO: George Lucas' "Red Tails" Trailer Debuts
And so it goes in a a script that doesn't begin to show what these young men were really up against and how patient and stoical they had to be in the face of so much resistance. Screenwriters John Ridley and Aaron McGruder neglect, or perhaps assume too much common knowledge of, the key component of struggle at the heart of all social drama. There are no difficulties at all in the romantic subplot, as Lightning's inamorata is smiley and sweetly compliant at all times; the squadron's Washington-based representative (Terrence Howard) negotiates pretty successfully on its behalf against dubious superiors and the men themselves are all strictly one-dimensional, without the sorts of characterizing details or personal demons that were commonly found among the men who populated even routine WWII films at the time. Beyond that, there's far too little sense of sacrifice, of something profoundly meaningful earned at significant cost.
But perhaps George Lucas, who reportedly developed this project for 23 years, always saw this as an uncomplicated and uncomplex action film and, in this regard, at least, the results are pretty good. Just a few years ago, the technology would not have produced the sort of a vivid and realistic renditions of airborne warfare that visual effects supervisor Craig Hammock has commandeered here. The planes (most impressively the glistening silver B-17 bombers), the firepower, the crashes and all the pyrotechnics look pretty darn real; we're past the time when, as in ?The Battle of Britain? or ?The Memphis Belle,? all the world's air-worthy vintage warplanes had to be collected and sent aloft one more time for the purposes of restaging dogfights and bombing raids. The hits made by the Red Tails, so named for the paint jobs applied to the rear-ends of the hot new P-51s, seem too easily achieved at times, but the aerial footage is pretty cool throughout. The most explosive sequence is a raid on a German airbase that goes down as one of the squadron's most notable successes.
STORY: "Star Wars" Creator George Lucas Fires Back at Fanboys, "Red Tails" Snub
Gooding, who appeared in "The Tuskegee Airmen," the 1995 TV film on the same subject, postures through his role here as a major required to keep his men inspired and focused, while Howard can never relax from his part's uniform-bound official functions. Like his character, Oyelowo has by far the best time here as a flier whose recklessness is surpassed only by his cockiness. The rest make momentary impressions but should have been supplied by the writers and debuting director Anthony Hemingway (whose TV credits include "The Wire" and "Treme") with more personalizing traits, backstories and idiosyncracies.
In the end, it's the flashy action and innate inspirational elements that make a measure of impact here. But you just know there's so much more to this story.
Based on the true story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American pilots to fly in a combat air squadron during WWII. Opens Jan. 20.
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Source: http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/19/10189804-red-tails-flies-but-never-soars
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By DENNIS WASZAK Jr.
updated 6:48 p.m. ET Jan. 20, 2012
NEW YORK - The days of big, brash talk by Rex Ryan could be over.
The New York Jets coach told WFAN Radio on Friday that he'll remain confident but might tone down his comments after his Super Bowl guarantees and bravado might have hurt his team this season. Ryan, who has promised big things for the Jets since taking over as coach in 2009, predicted a Super Bowl victory this season during the NFL combine last February.
"My thing about, 'I'll guarantee that we get it done this year,' I thought the bull's-eye was going on my back, and that's fine," Ryan said. "I was trying to put pressure on myself. So that's something that obviously I have to learn from."
The Jets lost their last three games to finish 8-8 and out of the playoffs. Ryan said he drove by MetLife Stadium during the Giants' playoff-opening win against Atlanta two weeks ago to see it "in all blue" to motivate himself to get the Jets back on track.
"Clearly, when you have a team that went to back-to-back championship games, what else is there to go for?" Ryan said. "It's Super Bowl or bust. Well, we busted."
Recent comments by LaDainian Tomlinson about Ryan's bravado and a conversation with former 49ers quarterback Steve Young, now an ESPN analyst, about his style got the coach thinking about tweaking his approach.
"I've got to look at the entire dynamic of what I say," Ryan said, "and how it doesn't just affect me."
Despite being done playing for nearly three weeks, the Jets have still made news ? with players taking swipes at quarterback Mark Sanchez and revealing a troublesome locker room environment. On Showtime's "Inside The NFL" on Wednesday night, Tomlinson said the Jets' locker room was "as bad as I've ever been around."
As owner Woody Johnson did on Thursday, Ryan disputed that by saying he thought the running back might have overstated the amount of tension. Most notably, Sanchez and wide receiver Santonio Holmes had a rocky relationship throughout the season.
"I think it was an isolated incident," Ryan said. "I don't think it was pervasive throughout the locker room. It's not everybody in the locker room. We certainly had a couple of guys, and it had a huge negative impact on our football team, so there's no question about that."
Ryan acknowledged a few times after the season that he never had his finger fully on the pulse of the team, something he insists will change.
"I want to be a great head coach," he said. "I want to be. Am I there yet? No, I'm absolutely not there yet, but I am willing to work to get there."
In a conference call with season ticket holders earlier Friday, Ryan said the confusing terminology of former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer's system caused him to not be as involved in working with the offense.
"Quite honestly, the verbiage we had last season was probably a little much," Ryan said.
Ryan and general manager Mike Tannenbaum both insisted Sanchez will be the Jets' starting quarterback next season and will benefit from new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano's run-first system.
Ryan isn't totally done making guarantees, though. During his interview with WFAN, the coach predicted the Giants and Baltimore Ravens would make it to the Super Bowl.
"I think the Giants are going to take this game," he said. "Eli (Manning) is hot. I like the fact that both of their running backs are healthy. I think you could be looking at a Ravens-Giants rematch."
He also raved about the Ravens' defense ? a unit he once coached ? and how it could neutralize Tom Brady.
"But the Ravens' offense has to show up," he said. "They've got to protect the football. I think they can move on the ball, no question. Let's face it, I'm cheering for the Ravens."
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Do the drumbeaters calling for ?war with Iran? never learn from history? It is tempting to dismiss their hot air as an attempt to score political points, but its sheer volume is worrying. Two former US hostages in Iran say Obama must ignore the war talk, and keep in mind these five key points.
The Iranians are claiming they recently disabled an American drone aircraft. If they did so, Americans should find out how, and apply their techniques to deal with those closer to home who drone on about the ?Iranian threat,? beat the war drums by suggesting military strikes and regime change, and risk dragging this country into a new military calamity in the Middle East.
Skip to next paragraphDo these droners and drumbeaters never learn from history? Would they have the United States enter a new catastrophe just as we are extricating ourselves ? with great difficulty ? from two bloody, costly, and unproductive misadventures in Iran?s neighborhood?
To all appearances American drumbeaters are no smarter than Iraq?s Saddam Hussein, who, in 1980, thought that a weakened and divided Iran would fall easily to his better-armed and better-organized forces. Instead his attack united Iranians ? even those who detested the prevailing holy fascism ? behind defending the homeland. In that sense, Hussein also helped the authorities in Tehran to suppress all domestic dissent and consolidate power under the most authoritarian and intolerant of ideologies.
Just because a war with Iran is foolish, however, does not mean it will not happen. Several discredited former American officials?such as?former ambassador to the UN John Bolton and former?House Speaker Newt Gingrich are essentially calling for one.?While it is tempting to dismiss the current rhetoric as hot air intended to score political points, its sheer volume and frequency is worrying. Nine years ago, in the case of Iraq, a similar flood of rhetoric, fear mongering, and distortion overwhelmed good judgment, and led America on a course that defied common sense. It could happen again, this time in a way that could make Iraq look easy.
US officials ? particularly the president ? who have the difficult task of dealing with Iran should ignore the recent cacophony of war talk, and keep in mind the following:
? Iran is chiefly a threat to itself. Its diplomacy has been inept, featuring charm offensives alternating with making gratuitous enemies. It has few friends in its region, beyond tiny, Christian Armenia. Unlike most of its neighbors, it is not Arab, Turkish, or Sunni Muslim, and thus lacks a ready entree into regional affairs. Its support of President Bashir al-Assad?s regime in Syria, while under?standable from a strategic point of view, has won it few friends in the region.
? The priority of those in power in Tehran is their own political survival. When that is at stake, they can become remarkably flexible (or brutal). As a former Iranian official once put it, regarding the Iran-Iraq war: They don?t care how many young people die in the Iraqi swamps. But they are not going to commit political suicide.
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A New Jersey couple poses for a photo with their baby boy who was born on the PATH train from New Jersey to New York. The couple declined to give their names.(AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)
By Katy Tur, NBCNewYork.com
NEW YORK -- Maybe they should have called him Hudson.
A? New Jersey husband and wife are the proud parents of a bouncing baby born on the PATH train Monday morning.?
The expectant couple took the train from Harrison, N.J., to the city at about 10:30 a.m. Monday because the soon-to-be mother felt pain. She thought it was a false labor because the pain was not as severe as she was told childbirth would be, the couple said.
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As it happened, the woman, who did not give her name, gave birth to a son on the floor of the PATH train as it crossed New Jersey to Manhattan.?
"I was like, 'What is going on?' Something is happening every two minutes.' And then I felt the baby come out. I could feel something coming out. I wasn't sure if it was the baby," the woman said.
?
After her husband confirmed she was indeed having the child, the woman said "something else took over."
"I lost all sense of consciousness and I was only thinking about the baby," she said.
The new parents said they wanted to withhold their names publicly until they had the chance to tell their friends and family the good news. But they did share their new nickname for their little bundle of joy: Jhatpat.
That means "quick" or "speedy" in? Hindi, the duo said.
Jhatpat indeed.?
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