God Works in Mysterious Ways
(Dec. 24) -- In 2009, we've endured an economy in shambles, staggering unemployment rates and an ongoing mess in Afghanistan and Iraq. But don't be fooled. It's been a busy year for God. He just happens to work in very mysterious ways and appear in strange places.
Let's look back at the Lord's unexpected travels:
Let's look back at the Lord's unexpected travels:
Jan. 26: Jesus heads to a tree in Millington, Mich., just outside of Flint, in Ron and Marilyn Bielak's backyard.
The retired pair are facing foreclosure and believed the sighting would mean help was on the way. A call to their home several months later would indicate the line had been disconnected.
The retired pair are facing foreclosure and believed the sighting would mean help was on the way. A call to their home several months later would indicate the line had been disconnected.
Europics / CEN
The face of Jesus as seen in a Kit Kat, at least according to one witness.
After one bite into a Kit Kat, the man recognizes the crispy face of Christ within the chocolate-covered candy bar. The astonishing vision emerged on Good Friday.
"I was amazed," the man says.
"I just took a bite and then I saw the face of Christ in it." One person remarks that the image looked more like Darth Vader.
MetroWest Daily News
This divine leave turned up in Sudbury, Mass.
April 11: In Boston, Mimi DiMauro finds Jesus in a maple leaf while raking the lawn with her daughter. After her story becomes public, she gets requests from several people down on their luck to get a copy of the photo, hoping to uplift their spirits.
DiMauro ends up keeping the leaf in her closet and takes it out on special occasions.
"All the experts told me to put it in a box with a glass viewing area and it should do fine," she says.
"I haven't put it on eBay; I don't want to look like a whack job."
The leaf has been described as "beyond be-leaf." DiMauro says that three-quarters of the people who see it say it looks like Jesus; the rest tend to think it's John Lennon.
Spartanburg Herald Journal
Jesus popped out on a slice of toast.
April 23: Linda Lowe of Spartanburg, S.C., has a hankering for toast with some cheese, but instead of a hot, tasty treat, she discovers the Lord Jesus Christ bubbling up.
The toast had been cooked up by Lowe's boyfriend. She puts the blessed bread aside, along with her hunger, and gives the Good Lord shelter in a plastic container, sitting on a paper plate.
That image of the King of Kings would grow a little stale in the months to come, but Lowe guards Cheese-us Christ like a family treasure.
The toast remains a popular topic of conversation among friends at her church, First Baptist North Spartanburg.
Todd Krainin, Imperial Valley Press / AP
An outline of the Virgin Mary found in a restaurant griddle caused commotion in Calexico, Calif.
April 30: A Calexico, Calif., restaurant called Las Palmas becomes the hot spot in town after the Virgin Mary reveals herself on a cook's griddle.
Soon, more than 100 people gather to gaze at the image, which would function much like a five-star review in the Michelin Guide.
Out of respect for Mary, the holy cookware would soon be relocated from the kitchen to a shrine in a storage room. And even though the divine sign is not connected to the gas, it's still the talk of the town.
Visitors not impressed with the burnt image of Mary are still encouraged to try the crispy chicken tacos or the huevos rancheros.
Wales News Service
Sweet Jesus! That must be the lord in Marmite.
May 28: Welsh couple Claire and Gareth Allen are spreading Marmite on their son's toast when they suddenly witness the Son of God staring at them from the underside of the jar's lid.
The family continue to enjoy their yeast spread except, of course, for the divine portion clinging to the cap.
The Marmite messiah is soon hailed to be more than just pot lock, or even a gooey residue.
Even though the family still doesn't consider itself religious, they've decided to embrace this special event.
University of Arizona
Is there more than just sand in this photo of Mars?
Aug. 3: Perhaps Jesus could be promoting world peace more effectively if he weren't hanging out on Mars, where he is spotted in a photograph taken by NASA.
The image was by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the etching can otherwise be described as the sand and gullies near the Hale crater on the southern part of the planet.
It may not be heaven, but to some, it's a sign of something.
AP
This image appeared on Jim Stevens' truck window for two weeks in the fall.
Oct. 27: Jesus visits Jim Stevens of Jonesborough, Tenn., in the form of condensation on his Isuzu pickup's driver-side window.
Neither evaporation nor rolling down the window proves powerful enough to erase the Lord's presence. The image keeps reappearing for two weeks.
"Nothing takes it away," Stevens says. He claims the face of Jesus is so detailed, that "you can even count the hairs on his head."
Despite having God as his co-pilot, Stevens remains unchanged. "I'm just a good ol' country boy."
AP
Mary Jo Coady says this image reassures her that "life is good."
Nov. 27: Mary Jo Coady of Methuen, Mass., finds Jesus ready to perform miracles on wrinkles. She claimed residue on the bottom of her iron has formed the face of the Lord.
With troubles in both her personal and professional lives, she believes the image was a sign from God that everything would be all right. Coady has planned to retire the iron to a closet and purchase a deity-free replacement.
Obama hails Senate health reform
US President Barack Obama has welcomed the passage of his healthcare bill through the Senate, saying it paves the way for "real" reform.
The bill, which passed with 60 to 39 votes, aims to cover 31 million uninsured Americans. "This will be the most important piece of social legislation since Social Security passed in the 1930s," he said.
It must still be reconciled with similar legislation passed by the House of Representatives.
Mr Obama said: "We are now finally poised to deliver on the promise of real, meaningful health insurance reform that will bring additional security and stability to the American people."
He described the measures as "the toughest measures ever taken to hold the insurance industry accountable".
Among various reforms, Mr Obama said the insurance companies will no longer be able to deny coverage with a pre-existing condition nor end coverage when a person becomes ill.
"With today's vote, we are now incredibly close to making health insurance reform a reality in this country," the president said.
But he said it would be a challenge to "finish the job" of reform.
"For the sake of our citizens, our economy and our future, let's make 2010 the year we finally reform healthcare in the United States of America."
The process of reconciling the two bills is expected to begin in January and will require further tough negotiations.
Once that has been done - and the process could still be derailed by last-minute changes of heart among senators - Mr Obama will be able to sign the measure into law.
The bill's passage in an early morning vote on Christmas Eve follows months of political wrangling and 24 days of debate in the Senate chamber.
Opposition Republicans say the legislation is expensive, authoritarian and a threat to civil liberties, and accuse the Democrats of rushing it through.
 | MARDELL'S AMERICA   I suspect it is all over bar the shouting, but there will be an awful lot of shouting before we're done  Mark Mardell, BBC North America editor  |
"The most obvious problem with the bill before us is that it doesn't do what it was supposed to do. The one test for any bill was whether it would lower costs. This bill fails that test.
"It's also clear that even many of the people on this side who are going to support this bill don't like it - otherwise Democratic leaders wouldn't have had such a tough time rounding up the votes."
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that efficiency savings made as a result of the Senate healthcare reform bill will cut the federal deficit by $132bn (£83bn) over 10 years, but critics say the predicted savings may never materialise.
As a nation, the US spent some $2.2tn (£1.36tn) on healthcare in 2007. That amounts to 16.2% of GDP, nearly twice the average of other rich, industrialised countries.
As costs have spiralled, millions of Americans have found themselves unable to afford health insurance and the cost to the government of providing care for the poor and elderly has risen hugely.
2009: Michael Jackson's year
What a year it's been in celebrity news.
While the world mourned the loss of the King of Pop, Charlie's Angel and a Dirty Dancer, Susan Boyle 'Dreamed A Dream', Ashton Kutcher challenged CNN to a popularity contest and rock stars bought relief to to victims of the Black Saturday bushfires.Here's my picks for the top five entertainment stories of the year:
5. Oprah quits
It's the talk show that's talked about around the world. The biggest names in showbusiness have laughed, cried, even jumped over her couch. But come September 9, 2011, The Oprah Winfrey Show will be no more.In November, Harpo Productions released a statement confirming the queen of daytime television would end her show after its 25th season.
The woman herself says she wants to focus on the launch of her own cable network - and there is a possibility that she may re-establish herself as everybody's favourite small-screen couch companion there.
But conspiracy theories abound. Will this billionaire businesswoman be involved in Barack Obama 2012 re-elected bid? Only time will tell.
Either way, her fans are still in mourning - probably because they'll never get the chance to sit in her audience when she gives out cars and other cool stuff.
4. Kanye caned
Perpetually arrogant rapper Kanye West has a history of throwing fits when he fails to win awards. In September, however, his onstage tantrum had nothing to do with his own music.Overjoyed country star Taylor Swift was graciously accepting her MTV VMA for best female video when West swiped the microphone from her and proceeded to say:
"Yo Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'm gonna let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time."
Backlash immediately ensued. The Twitterverse - fans and celebrities alike - jumped to a mortified Swift's defence. The row even spread to the White House, with US President Barack Obama labelling the rapper a "jackass".
Luckily for Swift, the public mocking has only added to her star status - she's gone on to win five American Music Awards, four Country Music Awards and is up for eight Grammys.
West, meanwhile, has been keeping a low profile since the incident.
3. The MasterChef juggernaut
Critics questioned Channel 10's decision to replace cheap and tacky reality TV staple Big Brother with MasterChef Australia - a family-friendly cooking show. But their gamble paid off.There were no vapid wannabes, no alliances, very little bitching - just a dozen ordinary Aussies and three charismatic judges who shared a passion for food.
MasterChef tapped into Australia's hunger for uplifting television and became the surprise success story of 2009.
More than 3.7 million of us tuned in to see Julie Goodwin take the inaugural title from Poh Ling Yeow - shattering ratings records.
Since July's finale, Ten has cooked up a celebrity version of the show. There's also a junior spin-off in the works. Matt Preston has an album out, there's Julie's Women's Weekly column and Poh is currently shooting a new show for the ABC.
This cash-cow will be milked for every last drop in 2010.
2. New Moon rises
Twilight. You either love it or you hate it.Lovers' levels of hysteria hit fever pitch on November 19 when the second instalment in the film franchise, New Moon, was released worldwide. Haters, meanwhile, took pleasure in the critical panning the movie received.
This cultural phenomenon is the heir to Harry Potter's throne.
Stephenie Meyer's quartet of bestselling books, like JK Rowling's, revolve around life at high school - but the child-like wizards have been replaced by love-struck Bella Swan and her vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen.
Meyer's modern-day Romeo and Juliet (immortalised on the silver screen by Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart) have given millions of tweens, teens and adults - commonly refereed to as Twi-hards - a new fantasy to daydream about.
The numbers for the overall Twilight franchise indicate there's a Beatlemania aspect to it: 85 million copies of the books sold worldwide; the first movie (released in 2008) made more than $385 million at the box office while New Moon scored the third biggest opening of all time - only The Dark Knight and Spider-Man 3 have done better.
With Eclipse due out next year, this bloody billion-dollar business shows no signs of slowing.
1. RIP Michael Jackson
June 25, 2009 will be remembered by many as the day the music died.Michael Jackson's premature passing at age 50 was, without a doubt, the biggest entertainment story of the year - if not the decade. And not just because of his reigning King of Pop status.
Tragically, MJ's death came some 18 days before he was to embark on a series of comeback concerts in London.
His final rehearsals were subsequently crafted into a documentary - This Is It - which showcased the singer's musical versatility and thrilling dance moves. After years of being tabloid fodder with tales of scandal and strangeness, Jacko's star was reborn.
And although Jackson's death was ruled a homicide, that indignity didn't define his final curtain call.
Instead, a star-studded but sombre memorial reminded us all that he had been a son, a brother and "the best father you could ever imagine".
Will the real Pakistan please stand up?
The Pakistani cricket team has often reminded me of the Croatian tennis player, Goran Ivanisevic.
The lefty with the lightning serve who won Wimbledon in 2001 once said of himself, "in every game I play there are three players in me that could surface at anytime - good Goran, bad Goran and crazy Goran!"Sometimes you could witness all three in a single afternoon.
The Pakistan cricket team has traditionally been cut from similar cloth.
It has unquestionably produced some of the greatest players of all-time with the likes of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Javed Miandad all from the top drawer.
But often it has been a cricketing nation that has relied on individual brilliance rather than the collective.
And at times, some of the individuals within the team have carried substantial animosities and divisive behaviour onto the field.
There have been times in the last few decades when Pakistan has had as many as four former captains answering to the skipper of the day out on the ground.
At times there have been more hand signals on display than a traffic cop at a Karachi intersection.
Stories even circulated of a period in Wasim's captaincy when he refused to speak to Waqar on the field, with an intermediary used to pass instructions along.
But there is no doubting that when Pakistan teams of any era united behind the one cause, they were a formidable opponent.
For the sake of the second half of this international summer it's hoped that it's the "good" Pakistan team that fronts up Down Under.
On paper, there is a lot to like about this current Pakistan squad.
The undoubted shining light is skipper Mohammad Yousuf.
A veteran of 85 Tests, he is a man who places an extremely high price on his wicket, so much so that he has amassed 7,253 runs at 54 with 24 centuries during his stellar career.
In the absence of former captain, Younis Khan he will be the focal point of the tourist's batting line-up.
But he will have some able allies.
While not in their captain's class, the likes of Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Imran Farhat, Salman Butt and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal are all seasoned Test batsmen but in essence each will need to produce scores well above their career averages if their team is to post some sizeable totals.
There is a younger Akmal in the party as well, with the teenage Umar marking his Test debut in Dunedin last month with a century and following up with a further three half-centuries during the drawn series.
On the bowling front, there appears to be a nice balance in the ranks.
Like Umar Akmal, Pakistan has unearthed a young fast bowler of late as well.
Teenage left-arm paceman Mohammad Aamer also made his debut earlier this year against Sri Lanka.
Still raw in international terms, he is capable of nudging 150km/h and along with the recalled Mohammad Sami, the team won't lack pace.
That pair will be backed up by the likes of Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul.
The spin duties will be largely shouldered by leggie Danish Kaneria, a 56-Test veteran who has captured 245 wickets.
He is coming off 13 wickets at 21 from his two Tests against the Black Caps last month.
It all gets underway at the MCG on Boxing Day. Here's hoping that the right Pakistan team turns up.
Political foes united in Christmas wishes
The nation's political leaders have urged Australians to reach out to those who are struggling this Christmas.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has wished Australians a restful and happy holiday. But in his Christmas address he has acknowledged it will be a tough time for some - particularly those affected by the Black Saturday Victorian bushfires and people who have lost their jobs.
"For many people, this Christmas will be a real battle just to make ends meet," he said.
"Christmas too is a sad time for those who have lost a loved one, suffered a family breakdown, or simply lost contact over the last year.
"It's a time, therefore, to reach out to our friends, our neighbours, and people perhaps we may barely know, to extend the hand of friendship."
Mr Rudd says people should also a time to think of people who cannot be with loved ones.
He thanked emergency service workers on duty today and Australian soldiers in the field.
"We thank them for the sacrifices they make in Australia's name and we think of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and those they have left behind," he said.
"2010 will also be a hard and bloody year in Afghanistan. Let us make sure our soldiers in the field know that they always have our support back at home."
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott echoed the Prime Minister's call for Australians to extend a helping hand to friends and strangers in need.
"I also hope that as well as counting our blessings that we'll reach out to those people who are less fortunate," he said.
Mr Abbott says he hopes every Australian has a safe Christmas.
"I'd like to wish all Australians a happy Christmas," he said.
"This is a great time of the year. It's a great time of the year to enjoy our magnificent Australian environment.
"It's a great time to reach out to the ones we love."
Disney mocks social pariah Tiger
Disney has joined in making jokes at the expense of Tiger Woods, even as a new poll shows the embattled billionaire golf star's popularity sinking to levels usually reserved for politicians.
Woods has remained in seclusion since the sex scandal firestorm around him began four weeks ago and faces a Christmas holiday weekend and 34th birthday next Wednesday as a mocked social pariah.Woods has admitted cheating on his wife Elin and is taking an indefinite break from golf, potentially setting the stage for the 14-time major champion to miss chances to move nearer the record 18 major titles won by Jack Nicklaus.
Disneyland's California Adventure Park in Anaheim has now written a Woods joke into its Aladdin show.
The genie in the tale says that he had to remind Woods 15 times that he was unable to make someone fall in love with him, the Los Angeles Times reported.
At least 14 women have claimed to have had affairs with the world's number one golfer, who has lost one sponsor and seen several others quit using his image, claiming to respect his desire for privacy during his hiatus.
Woods has made statements on his website but has not been seen since the early-morning car crash on November 27 - in which he suffered facial cuts and bruises - which ignited the media storm.
NBC last week estimated that a photograph of Woods could be worth as much as $US300,000, a paparazzi holy grail that has kept photographers looking for a Christmas gift by finding the reclusive sport star.
Adding to the woes for Woods was a new CNN popularity poll taken last week in which he has a 34 per cent favourable rank and 49 per cent unfavourable rating.
A similar poll taken less than a week after Woods's car accident after he had admitted only "transgressions" and "personal sins" gave Woods a 60 per cent favourable rating compared to a 25 per cent unfavourable rating.
The new numbers showed women gave Woods a 40 per cent favourable mark compared to 39 per cent from men. About two-thirds of blacks gave Woods a favourable mark in the poll compared to only 28 per cent of whites, the results found.
- AFP
At least 40 dead in Peru bus crash
A passenger bus has plunged into a ravine in the high Andes of southern Peru, killing at least 40 people and wounding 10 others, police said.
Authorities said more than 50 people were aboard when the bus travelling between Arequipa and the town of Santa Tomas, near Cusco, veered off the road and tumbled 200 metres down a mountainside, police captain Juan Suarez said."There are 40 dead at the moment and I don't have the exact number of wounded, there are about 10," Captain Suarez said.
The crash occurred in Chumbivilca province, about 1,100 kilometres from the capital, Lima.
- AFP
Drunk driver 'five times over limit'
A man has been charged after allegedly being caught driving in Sydney's inner west with a blood-alcohol reading five times the legal limit.
Police pulled the man over after they spotted him swerving all over Marrickville Road at Dulwich Hill yesterday afternoon at about 3pm.The 48-year-old Rozelle man returned a reading of point two-five when he was breath-tested.
He was charged with high-range drink driving and had his licence confiscated on the spot.
The man was granted conditional bail to appear at Newtown local Court in January.
27 dead after Iraq bomb attacks
A series of car bombings in Iraq has killed at least 27 people and injured nearly 100.
The attacks appeared to target Shia pilgrims, as reports.Shi'ite Muslims are celebrating the religious festival Ashoura, which marks the death of the prophet Mohammed's grandson in the Iraqi city of Karbala in a battle in the 680 that hardened the rift between Shia and Sunni Muslims.
Two bombs exploded near a busy bus station at Hillah, a town about 40 kilometres from Karbala.
A second incident in Baghdad targeted a funeral in mostly Shi'ite Sadr City. And across town a fourth bomb killed at least three people.
On Sunday, hundreds of thousands of Shi'ite pilgrims are expected to converge on Karbala for a final day of ritual mourning.
All I Want for Christmas is Lucy Pinder and Rosie Jones Topless
It's Christmas time everybody! And you know what that means? It means I get to take a couple days off! I'm sure there's stuff about family, and good will towards men, and presents, and all that, but I don't actually do Christmas so I don't really care about all that. I do need a wee vacation, though, so I'll be back Monday. Besides, you should probably be spending time with people you care about, rather than surfing the internet for pictures of naked ladies (it's just one day a year). But if you really can't help yourself, here's Lucy Pinder and Rosie Jones topless in Nuts magazine to get you into the holiday spirit.
Emergency crews ready for Christmas floods
Residents across north-western and central New South Wales are bracing for floods this Christmas, in the wake of Cyclone Laurence.
The State Emergency Service says it expects Bourke, in north-western NSW, to be one of the first towns affected by the predicted heavy rain and floods. The Bureau of Meteorology says rain and thunderstorms are likely across most of the state today and heavier rain, causing flash flooding is likely this evening.
The bureau is expecting more than 200 millimetres to fall between Bourke and Bathurst today and on Boxing Day.
A flood watch has been issued for the Castlereagh, Bogan, Lower Namoi, Lower Macquarie, Barwon, Paroo and Warrego rivers.
Residents are being warned to stay clear of creeks, storm drains and causeways.
SES Far West region controller Graeme Craig says based on the weather forecast, Bourke could initially experience minor flash flooding.
"There is a risk with that amount of rain that there could be some minor flooding inside the levee," he said.
"I don't expect the river to actually come into play in the early stages of this operation.
"There's not a great deal that we can do pre-emptively and proactively to mitigate the risk of the water coming into these properties on the basis that that water could actually accumulate in any area within the shire."
There are 100 SES volunteers on standby to help respond to the predicted flooding.
SES commissioner Murray Kear says the volunteers are well prepared.
"A line between Bourke and Bathurst is the area the SES is planning for," he said.
"We have 100 volunteers ready to mobilise on Christmas afternoon to move to those areas predominantly north of Dubbo to assist local volunteers in preparing for and responding to this flood event."
The National Parks and Wildlife Service is urging people to avoid back-country travel until conditions improve.
For emergency help in floods and storms, phone the SES on 132 500.
Russia to work on new nuclear missiles
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has announced his intention to continue developing nuclear weapons despite seeking a new disarmament treaty with the United States.
Mr Medvedev said Russia would develop new systems including delivery platforms or missiles. The Russian President said such steps were entirely routine practice and still commonplace in other parts of the world.
But he said any new missile technology would be developed in full accordance with any new arms agreements with Washington.
The current Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty expired earlier this month, and senior US and Russian officials say they expect to reach a new accord in early January.
Mr Medvedev has praised US President Barack Obama's recent call for a nuclear-weapons-free world.
High school YouTube video gets famous by going backward
There are numerous lip dubs online, and this one is pretty much like any other, beginning with an enthusiastic girl running through the halls of the school, mouthing the words. But there are some odd things going on. Some students around her are doing impossible-looking acrobatics as the camera passes by. Objects fly up from the floor.
That's because the Shorewood lip dub, which has become a big hit on YouTube, was filmed backward. The kids in the video (it's a cast of hundreds, including cheerleaders and the swim team) did everything in reverse, including the lip syncing. That meant they had to painstakingly learn all the words phonetically, backward, like in the old days when we played records backwards to get devil messages.
A local television station did a story about the kids, and they demonstrated the technique.
The lip dub video isn't perfect, but it's wonderfully inventive, ambitious and joyous. It was done in answer to a challenge by a rival high school that did a regular lip dub to the OutKast song, "Hey Ya!" We'll do that other school the favor of not mentioning its name, because the Shorewood effort was overwhelmingly sick (in a good way).
It's manatee vs. military in pending habitat ruling
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service soon will make a decision on whether to expand what's called critical habitat for the manatee in Florida and southern Georgia, in response to a petition from several environmental groups.
The coastlines of these states bristle with naval installations, such as the historic Pensacola Naval Air Station, where World War II aviators trained; Kings Bay in southern Georgia, home to nuclear-armed Ohio-class submarines; and the South Florida Ocean Testing Facility in Dania Beach, where the Navy operates an undersea range to determine ships' acoustical signatures.
Although the Navy doesn't object in principal to an increase in protected areas -- and indeed points out the many measures it takes to prevent harm to endangered species -- it says that an overly broad expansion could have "significant impacts" on Navy operations.
"Manatees and their habitats overlap Navy training and operation areas through the Southeast," said a letter from C.R. Destafney, the Navy's regional environmental program director. "Navy's training involves activities necessary to maintain proficiency in mission-essential areas such as mine warfare, strike warfare, electronic combat and maritime security."
Among the military's concerns are security arrangements for Ohio-class submarines entering and exiting Kings Bay. The Navy does not want protections for a marine mammal, no matter how lovable, to compromise security arrangements for submarines approaching shore armed with nuclear weapons.
Spokesman Steve Strickland said that the Navy works hard to leave a minimal environmental footprint. For example, he said, the Navy conducts aerial surveys of endangered right whales off north Florida in order to alert military ships of their whereabouts.
"Certainly the Navy coexists with various endangered species," he said. "We do all kinds of things to help minimize the impact."
The habitat expansion proposal came in a 2008 petition from the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Save the Manatee Club and Wildlife Advocacy Project.
These groups argued that the currently designated critical habitat, drawn up in 1976, was outdated. Since then, they said, a skyrocketing population has brought more boats and waterfront development.
A critical habitat designation would not prohibit construction or other activities. But it would require the wildlife service to review federal activities or decisions that could affect the manatees' habitat, such as permitting development, oil drilling, boating or shipping.
Katie Tripp, science and conservation director of the Save the Manatee Club, said that there may be ways the Navy could alter operations to protect manatees without any impact on operations or training.
"In the past, manatees have not kept the Navy from doing what they need to do," she said. "In this state, endangered species and the military have coexisted."
The petition calls for the protection of dozens of natural springs, seagrass beds, travel corridors and coastlines throughout manatee habitat.
Rules to protect manatees have irritated boaters and the marine construction industry for years, and the proposal could face a fight if it moves forward.
Chuck Underwood, spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service, said that any increase in critical habitat would almost certainly be a fraction of the habitat proposed by the wildlife groups.
He downplayed the significance of expanding the species' critical habitat, saying any changes would simply reinforce protections already in place. Of the Navy's comments, he said, "We understand they have concerns, and they're legitimate concerns."
Boy leaves Brazil with American father
RIO DE JANEIRO - A 9-year-old boy at the center of a five-year custody battle on two continents was finally turned over to his American father Thursday in a scene as tumultuous as the legal fight itself, with the youngster forced to squeeze though a jostling crowd of reporters and photographers.
Soon afterward, a smiling Sean Goldman was back in his father's arms, talking about basketball and how much snow there was back in New Jersey. Then father and son boarded a private jet chartered by NBC and took off for the United States.
"It is now time for our new beginning, the rebirth of our family at such a special time of the year," the boy's father, David Goldman of Tinton Falls, N.J., wrote in a letter read to reporters after his departure.
The reunion ended an epic battle that pitted Sean's father against the boy's Brazilian stepfather, who had cared for Sean since his mother died last year. The dispute reached the highest levels of the U.S. and Brazilian governments and strained relations between the two countries.
"Today, the abduction has ended," said Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican who was with Sean's father in Brazil and supported him.
But the boy's maternal grandmother, Silvana Bianchi, said: "My heart is empty and broken because our love is missing. To take the boy on Christmas Day is a heinous crime."
The last act in the drama played out partly in public view. Wearing a gold Brazil Olympic T-shirt, a tearful Sean was walked a block to the American consulate, surrounded by his stepfather, other members of the family and their lawyer.
Once spotted by the more than 100 reporters and cameramen waiting for their arrival, the group had to drag, shove and push its way about 50 yards to the consulate's front door.
"I was disappointed to see him marched through the streets like that," Smith said.
Orna Blum, the U.S. Embassy spokeswoman, said the Brazilian family was offered the same secure entrance to the consulate garage that Goldman used, which would have shielded the child from view, and that she had no idea why they decided to walk the boy a block through Rio's streets.
Smith, however, said the Brazilian family's lawyer told him it was their way of protesting the handover.
Once inside, the mop-haired boy calmed down after a few minutes, Smith said. Father and son were reunited in private and were soon eating hamburgers and talking, the congressman added.
"Once he was with his dad they were smiling, with their arms around one another," Smith said. "They looked just like best buddies."
Smith would not say where they were headed, only that they wanted to "cocoon" somewhere other than New Jersey for a while.
Goldman fought a long battle against one of Rio's best-known legal families to regain custody of his son.
Sean had lived in Brazil since Goldman's ex-wife, Bruna Bianchi, brought him to her native country for what was supposed to be a two-week vacation in 2004. She stayed, divorced Goldman and remarried, and Goldman began legal efforts to get Sean back.
After Bianchi died last year in childbirth, her husband, Paulo Lins e Silva, a prominent divorce attorney, continued the legal fight and won temporary custody.
On Tuesday, Brazil's chief justice finally cleared the way for Goldman to take his son home.
Goldman had said this week that if he won, he would allow the Brazilian family to visit Sean. But the Brazilian family's lawyer, Sergio Tostes, said no visitation agreement had been reached.
"It is inhumane that he left without a guarantee that his grandmother would be able to see him in the United States," Tostes said.
Now, Goldman said, is the time for Sean's American family to get to know him.
"Please know that my love and the rest of Sean's family's love for him knows no boundaries," he wrote in his letter. "We will go to the ends of the Earth to protect him and shower him with every ounce of love that we have."
When the boy's handover was blocked last week, the U.S. Senate put a hold on a trade deal worth about $2.75 billion a year to Brazil. President Barack Obama also discussed the matter with his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who had also rallied behind Goldman, said she was thrilled that father and son had been reunited.
Memorable moments in pop
Best collaboration by anthropomorphic studio whizzes embargoed from release by record-label mumbo jumbo: When Danger Mouse (producer/multi-instrumentalist Brian Burton of Gnarls Barkley) reached out to Sparklehorse (the reclusive musical soundscape-ist Mark Linkous) about laying down some new tracks, the result was “Dark Night of the Soul,” an album full of lo-fi ballads of Gothic sweep and apocalyptic churn, chockablock with fuzzed-out hip-hop beats and contributions by a who’s who of invited singers – including Suzanne Vega and Julian Casablancas. Art house auteur David Lynch even stepped in to shoot an accompanying photo book. But when it came time to release the music, Burton’s label, EMI, got litigious about commercially distributing the work in conjunction with the coffee table book. Endgame: “DNOTS” is out there, widely available for free online, but never reached iTunes. (Chris Lee) Photo: Downtown Records
Music genre with the most absolutely impenetrable subgenres: Indie rock. Underground rock music has long been about subdividing and pegging names to ever-more-obscure offshoots. But really, can you describe exactly what constitutes “chillwave” or “glo-fi?” What about the unprintable name of an especially nasty strain of shoegaze? 2009 was the year indie rock officially ate its tail and became one massive in-joke for the two dozen people who for whom Neon Indian represents a watershed in production styles. (AB) Photo: Lefse Records
Best year for mystic lady rock: In a secret ceremony in a northern wood, Kate Bush and Stevie Nicks got together and let out a siren call, audible only to other mystic ladies-in-training. Not only did we have Bat for Lashes’ “Two Suns,” a lunar romance partially birthed at Joshua Tree, but Bat for Lashes bandmate Caroline Weeks came out with the gorgeously fragile “Songs for Edna.” Closer to home, Warpaint is readying their mysterious psychedelia for a debut album in 2010 from Rough Trade Records. (MW) Photo: Bat for Lashes. Credit: Brooke Nipar
Best pop fashion item: Lady Gaga’s Frank Gehry hat. There were Dali-worthy disco balls, bubble-wrap getups and a coat of Kermit the Frog pelts in Gaga’s extensive 2009 wardrobe. But the most audacious of all might have been her Frank Gehry-designed hat for her appearance at the reopening of the Museum of Contemporary Art. It wasn’t her most attractive piece -- it looked like a post-industrial wasp’s nest -- but to walk outside and behold another Gehry creation down the block was to be reminded that pop is fundamentally public spectacle, and nobody did that better than Ms. Germanotta this year. (AB) Photo credit: Ann Johansson / For the Times
Performance that spawned the most hypocritical outrage: Adam Lambert at the American Music Awards. After Britney Spears and Madonna’s scripted onstage liplock and Katy Perry’s for-the-boys bicuriosity, it was only a matter of time before a male pop singer planted one on another fellow on a public stage. But who knew that Glambert’s actually-quite-tame AMAs performance would have caused such a kerfuffle? To unpack the public reaction is to wade into deep rapids of double standards; a place where a joyless lyrical threesome with Spears goes unremarked upon and Lil Wayne can proposition literally every single woman alive in a song, but a bit of light S&M among guyliner’ed rocker boys can turn TV audiences apoplectic. Somewhere, a bewildered David Bowie is wondering what decade we’re living in. (AB) Photo: Getty Images
Best cameo rapper: Gucci Mane. Despite his many legal imbroglios, the Atlanta rapper managed to have one of the most productive years behind the mic in 2009, guest-versing on more than 150 tracks across mix-tapes, albums and singles, all sporting his husky drawl and ubiquitous “Gucci!” catcall. His most popular one, Mario’s magnificently wacky slow jam “Break Up,” had the year’s most reassuring advice for spurned dudes: “Girls are like buses. Miss one, next 15 -- one comin.” (AB) Photo: Getty Images
Music genre with the most absolutely impenetrable subgenres: Indie rock. Underground rock music has long been about subdividing and pegging names to ever-more-obscure offshoots. But really, can you describe exactly what constitutes “chillwave” or “glo-fi?” What about the unprintable name of an especially nasty strain of shoegaze? 2009 was the year indie rock officially ate its tail and became one massive in-joke for the two dozen people who for whom Neon Indian represents a watershed in production styles. (AB) Photo: Lefse Records Best year for mystic lady rock: In a secret ceremony in a northern wood, Kate Bush and Stevie Nicks got together and let out a siren call, audible only to other mystic ladies-in-training. Not only did we have Bat for Lashes’ “Two Suns,” a lunar romance partially birthed at Joshua Tree, but Bat for Lashes bandmate Caroline Weeks came out with the gorgeously fragile “Songs for Edna.” Closer to home, Warpaint is readying their mysterious psychedelia for a debut album in 2010 from Rough Trade Records. (MW) Photo: Bat for Lashes. Credit: Brooke Nipar Best pop fashion item: Lady Gaga’s Frank Gehry hat. There were Dali-worthy disco balls, bubble-wrap getups and a coat of Kermit the Frog pelts in Gaga’s extensive 2009 wardrobe. But the most audacious of all might have been her Frank Gehry-designed hat for her appearance at the reopening of the Museum of Contemporary Art. It wasn’t her most attractive piece -- it looked like a post-industrial wasp’s nest -- but to walk outside and behold another Gehry creation down the block was to be reminded that pop is fundamentally public spectacle, and nobody did that better than Ms. Germanotta this year. (AB) Photo credit: Ann Johansson / For the Times Performance that spawned the most hypocritical outrage: Adam Lambert at the American Music Awards. After Britney Spears and Madonna’s scripted onstage liplock and Katy Perry’s for-the-boys bicuriosity, it was only a matter of time before a male pop singer planted one on another fellow on a public stage. But who knew that Glambert’s actually-quite-tame AMAs performance would have caused such a kerfuffle? To unpack the public reaction is to wade into deep rapids of double standards; a place where a joyless lyrical threesome with Spears goes unremarked upon and Lil Wayne can proposition literally every single woman alive in a song, but a bit of light S&M among guyliner’ed rocker boys can turn TV audiences apoplectic. Somewhere, a bewildered David Bowie is wondering what decade we’re living in. (AB) Photo: Getty Images Best cameo rapper: Gucci Mane. Despite his many legal imbroglios, the Atlanta rapper managed to have one of the most productive years behind the mic in 2009, guest-versing on more than 150 tracks across mix-tapes, albums and singles, all sporting his husky drawl and ubiquitous “Gucci!” catcall. His most popular one, Mario’s magnificently wacky slow jam “Break Up,” had the year’s most reassuring advice for spurned dudes: “Girls are like buses. Miss one, next 15 -- one comin.” (AB) Photo: Getty Images
How Harry Reid shepherded healthcare reform through the Senate
Reporting from Washington - Rahm Emanuel was agitated. With only seven weeks until Christmas, the opportunity to pass healthcare legislation seemed to be fading. The White House chief of staff feared that if the Senate left for the holiday without passing a bill, President Obama's top domestic priority would wither as lawmakers turned to other concerns next year.
Democratic senators and administration officials gathered in a conference room outside Majority Leader Harry Reid's Capitol office. Emanuel wanted to know: Was there a chance the chamber could still act in time?
As one participant placed a calming hand on Emanuel's sleeve, Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) told him there was one chance: The White House would have to put its trust in Reid.
The quirky, taciturn majority leader had no background in health policy and a less-than-commanding public image. Yet today Reid delivered as the Senate moved to take its final vote on the most sweeping healthcare legislation to make its way through the chamber in nearly half a century.
Along the way, Reid's effort sometimes revealed an unseemly, if time-honored, side of congressional business as he struck bargains with senators who traded their votes for aid to their states or help for supportive interest groups.
"This bill is a mess, and so is the process that was used to get it over the finish line," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) charged this week, encapsulating a new GOP line of attack.
But the process -- as described by senators, Capitol Hill aides and White House officials -- also revealed that oft-fractious Democrats could achieve remarkable unity under the guidance of a politician with an unparalleled understanding of the arcane institution he leads -- and a sure grasp of the particular needs of the individual lawmakers who serve there.
"So many people find Harry Reid incomprehensible as a leader in large part because he is so unprepossessing as a public speaker," said Ross K. Baker, a Rutgers University political scientist. "But his virtue and his value to his caucus is his mastery of the mechanics of the Senate."
"There are Senate leaders like that who come along every few decades," he said.
Over the last two months, Reid, a slight, soft-spoken man who makes listeners strain to hear him, gambled. He pulled senators back to the table when deals fell apart. And with the clock ticking down, he prodded his colleagues to make agonizing concessions for a larger goal.
The $871-billion bill, paid for with a mix of tax hikes and Medicare cuts, would expand coverage to an estimated 31 million more people over the next decade.
There were doubters this fall when Reid began trying to meld healthcare legislation developed by two Senate committees. In particular, the conventional wisdom held that the proposal for a new government insurance plan -- which was contained in the House bill -- was a poison pill for the Senate.
The night before a crucial meeting with Obama, Emanuel and other senior administration officials warned Reid that the idea could sink the bill. As usual, the majority leader listened quietly, not saying much.
But he had already made up his mind to go his way. The White House misread the Democratic caucus, Reid believed: He could not even get liberal senators to vote to take the bill to the floor for debate, Reid had concluded, unless he included a new government plan.
The next afternoon, Reid informed Obama at the White House that he would include a public option with a provision allowing states to opt out.
The move won plaudits from liberals and helped win the votes to take the bill to the Senate floor the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Hurdle No. 1 was cleared, helped by support from the likes of Sens. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), who opposed the public option but wanted the bill to remain alive.
By the time lawmakers returned from Thanksgiving recess, however, the momentum seemed to have evaporated as conservative criticism mounted and second thoughts began to affect some members.
Gathering his leadership team and a delegation of administration officials in his office on Monday, Nov. 30, Reid sought help in reeling in wayward Democrats.
He had already brought several hesitant Democrats on board. Indiana's Evan Bayh became a yes vote after receiving a promise of tax relief for his state's medical device makers. And Louisiana Sen. Mary L. Landrieu signed on after Reid pledged additional aid for her state's Medicaid program.
Unlike the president, who hoped to woo moderate Republican Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, Reid held out little hope that she would vote for the bill this year; her complaints about the rushed timeline were too deeply felt, he believed.
MUSIC FAB: Amerie’s “More Than Love” Video+Beyonce’s “Waiting”+Master P’s Daughter Cymphonique’s “Lil Miss Swagger”
Here’s Amerie’s brand new video for “More Than Love” ft. Fabolous. Cute.
More music under the cut…
Is Bey Bey Really Black Culture??
Your girl Bey has a new jawn called “Black Culture”. Pop it to have a listen…
What are your thoughts???
OFFICIAL VIDEO "EMPIRE STATE OF MIND" JAY-Z & ALICIA KEYS
Empire State of Mind is the third single by hip hop rapper Jay-Z, from his eleventh studio album, The Blueprint 3. The song was produced by Shux and co-produced by Janet “Jnay” Sewell-Ulepic & Angela 
Hunte.
The record features the dynamic vocals of R&B-soul singer Alicia Keys, complimented with some choice words on life perspectives from Jay himself. Some of his best collaborative work to date with vocalists.
It’s the city’s image personified by Jay’s words, which manage to tap the core of those still wearing Timbs because, deep down, everyone wants to reach the level of opulence that Jay has… he just beat us there & seemingly left us behind. Yet, he reminds that he’s still connected to the city that never sleeps by going back & describing the life that lives there day and night.
Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performed the song live at MTV Video Awards 2009.
The music video was was directed by Hype Williams and was filmed on October 1, 2009, in Harlem, Times Square and around Ground Zero of New York City.
You can listen the song here, this is the official video.
Jay-Z - Empire State of Mind featuring Alicia Keys Lyrics
[Jay-Z]
Yeah,
Yeah, Imma up at Brooklyn,
now Im down in Tribeca,
right next to DeNiro,
But i’ll be hood forever,
I’m the new Sinatra,
and since i made it here,
i can make it anywhere,
yeah they love me everywhere,
i used to cop in Harlem,
all of my dominicanos
right there up on Broadway,
brought me back to that McDonalds,
took it to my stash spot,
Five Sixty Stage street,
catch me in the kitchen like a simmons whipping pastry,
cruising down 8th street,
off white lexus,
driving so slow but BK is from Texas,
me I’m up at Bedsty,
home of that boy Biggie,
now i live on billboard,
and i brought my boys with me,
say wat up to Ty Ty, still sipping Malta
sitting courtside Knicks and Nets give me high fives,
N-gga i be spiked out, i can trip a referee,
tell by my attitude that I most definitely from…
[Alicia Keys]
In New York,
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There’s nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re in New York,
these streets will make you feel brand new,
the lights will inspire you,
lets here it for New York, New York, New York
[Jay-Z]
I made you hot n-gga,
Catch me at the X with OG at a Yankee game,
sh-t i made the yankee hat more famous than a yankee can,
you should know I bleed Blue, but I ain’t a crip tho,
but i got a gang of n-ggas walking with my click though,
welcome to the melting pot,
corners where we selling rocks,
Afrika Bambaataa sh-t,
home of the hip hop,
yellow cap, gypsy cap, dollar cab, holla back,
for foreigners it ain’t fitted they forgot how to act,
8 million stories out there and their naked,
cities is a pity half of y’all won’t make it,
me i gotta plug Special Ed “i got it made,”
If Jesus payin LeBron, I’m paying Dwayne Wade,
3 dice Cee-lo
3 card Marley,
labor day parade, rest in peace Bob Marley,
Statue of Liberty, long live the World trade,
long live the king yo,
I’m from the empire state that’s
[Chorus]
In New York,
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There’s nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re in New York,
these streets will make you feel brand new,
the lights will inspire you,
lets here it for New York, New York, New York
Welcome to the bright light..
[Jay-Z]
Lights is blinding,
girls need blinders
so they can step out of bounds quick,
the side lines is blind with casualties,
who sipping life casually, then gradually become worse,
don’t bite the apple Eve,
caught up in the in crowd,
now your in-style,
and in the winter gets cold en vogue with your skin out,
the city of sin is a pity on a whim,
good girls gone bad, the cities filled with them,
Mommy took a bus trip and now she got her bust out,
everybody ride her, just like a bus route,
Hail Mary to the city your a Virgin,
and Jesus can’t save you life starts when the church ends,
came here for school, graduated to the high life,
ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight,
MDMA got you feeling like a champion,
the city never sleeps better slip you a Ambien
[Chorus]
In New York,
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There’s nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re in New York,
these streets will make you feel brand new,
the lights will inspire you,
lets here it for New York, New York, New York
[Alicia Keys]
One hand in the air for the big city,
Street lights, big dreams all looking pretty,
no place in the World that can compare,
Put your lighters in the air, everybody say yeah
come on, come,
yeah,
[Chorus]
In New York,
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There’s nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re in New York,
these streets will make you feel brand new,
the lights will inspire you,
lets here it for New York, New York, New York
[End]
Song Information
Released September 8, 2009 (airplay)
Recorded 2009 (2009)
Genre Hip hop
Length 4:37
Label Roc Nation, Atlantic
Writers S. Carter, A. Shuckburgh, A. Keys, A. Hunte, J. Sewell-Ulepic
Producer Al Shux, Janet “Jnay” Sewell-Ulepic, Angela Hunte
Hunte.The record features the dynamic vocals of R&B-soul singer Alicia Keys, complimented with some choice words on life perspectives from Jay himself. Some of his best collaborative work to date with vocalists.
It’s the city’s image personified by Jay’s words, which manage to tap the core of those still wearing Timbs because, deep down, everyone wants to reach the level of opulence that Jay has… he just beat us there & seemingly left us behind. Yet, he reminds that he’s still connected to the city that never sleeps by going back & describing the life that lives there day and night.
Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performed the song live at MTV Video Awards 2009.
The music video was was directed by Hype Williams and was filmed on October 1, 2009, in Harlem, Times Square and around Ground Zero of New York City.
You can listen the song here, this is the official video.
[Jay-Z]
Yeah,
Yeah, Imma up at Brooklyn,
now Im down in Tribeca,
right next to DeNiro,
But i’ll be hood forever,
I’m the new Sinatra,
and since i made it here,
i can make it anywhere,
yeah they love me everywhere,
i used to cop in Harlem,
all of my dominicanos
right there up on Broadway,
brought me back to that McDonalds,
took it to my stash spot,
Five Sixty Stage street,
catch me in the kitchen like a simmons whipping pastry,
cruising down 8th street,
off white lexus,
driving so slow but BK is from Texas,
me I’m up at Bedsty,
home of that boy Biggie,
now i live on billboard,
and i brought my boys with me,
say wat up to Ty Ty, still sipping Malta
sitting courtside Knicks and Nets give me high fives,
N-gga i be spiked out, i can trip a referee,
tell by my attitude that I most definitely from…
[Alicia Keys]
In New York,
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There’s nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re in New York,
these streets will make you feel brand new,
the lights will inspire you,
lets here it for New York, New York, New York
[Jay-Z]
I made you hot n-gga,
Catch me at the X with OG at a Yankee game,
sh-t i made the yankee hat more famous than a yankee can,
you should know I bleed Blue, but I ain’t a crip tho,
but i got a gang of n-ggas walking with my click though,
welcome to the melting pot,
corners where we selling rocks,
Afrika Bambaataa sh-t,
home of the hip hop,
yellow cap, gypsy cap, dollar cab, holla back,
for foreigners it ain’t fitted they forgot how to act,
8 million stories out there and their naked,
cities is a pity half of y’all won’t make it,
me i gotta plug Special Ed “i got it made,”
If Jesus payin LeBron, I’m paying Dwayne Wade,
3 dice Cee-lo
3 card Marley,
labor day parade, rest in peace Bob Marley,
Statue of Liberty, long live the World trade,
long live the king yo,
I’m from the empire state that’s
[Chorus]
In New York,
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There’s nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re in New York,
these streets will make you feel brand new,
the lights will inspire you,
lets here it for New York, New York, New York
Welcome to the bright light..
[Jay-Z]
Lights is blinding,
girls need blinders
so they can step out of bounds quick,
the side lines is blind with casualties,
who sipping life casually, then gradually become worse,
don’t bite the apple Eve,
caught up in the in crowd,
now your in-style,
and in the winter gets cold en vogue with your skin out,
the city of sin is a pity on a whim,
good girls gone bad, the cities filled with them,
Mommy took a bus trip and now she got her bust out,
everybody ride her, just like a bus route,
Hail Mary to the city your a Virgin,
and Jesus can’t save you life starts when the church ends,
came here for school, graduated to the high life,
ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight,
MDMA got you feeling like a champion,
the city never sleeps better slip you a Ambien
[Chorus]
In New York,
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There’s nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re in New York,
these streets will make you feel brand new,
the lights will inspire you,
lets here it for New York, New York, New York
[Alicia Keys]
One hand in the air for the big city,
Street lights, big dreams all looking pretty,
no place in the World that can compare,
Put your lighters in the air, everybody say yeah
come on, come,
yeah,
[Chorus]
In New York,
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There’s nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re in New York,
these streets will make you feel brand new,
the lights will inspire you,
lets here it for New York, New York, New York
[End]
Song Information
Released September 8, 2009 (airplay)
Recorded 2009 (2009)
Genre Hip hop
Length 4:37
Label Roc Nation, Atlantic
Writers S. Carter, A. Shuckburgh, A. Keys, A. Hunte, J. Sewell-Ulepic
Producer Al Shux, Janet “Jnay” Sewell-Ulepic, Angela Hunte
Lil Wayne Feat. Eminem - Drop The World Mp3 Download
Well it happened... Eminem joined Lil Wayne on a the new song "Drop The World" for Lil Wayne's upcoming "Rebirth" album. Although Weezy's "Rebirth" is delayed until February, the new collaboration is now available for everyone to listen to. There is no doubt that Eminem kills this track so make sure you listen to the new song produced by Hit-Boy & Chase N. Cashe. [Lil Wayne ft Eminem - Drop The Bomb - Listen Here]
UPDATE: Is Just Blaze teaming up with Eminem and Lil Wayne for "Relapse 2"? As you can see from Just Blaze's twitter account (below), he says that he's busy "mega Martian Mathers ing"... adding "Megatron meats the Martian"... we all know that Eminem is Mathers and Lil Wayne often refers to himself as the Martian, and since Just Blaze is working with Eminem on "Relapse 2," only time will tell! [Lil Wayne ft Eminem - Drop The Bomb - Listen Here]
UPDATE: Is Just Blaze teaming up with Eminem and Lil Wayne for "Relapse 2"? As you can see from Just Blaze's twitter account (below), he says that he's busy "mega Martian Mathers ing"... adding "Megatron meats the Martian"... we all know that Eminem is Mathers and Lil Wayne often refers to himself as the Martian, and since Just Blaze is working with Eminem on "Relapse 2," only time will tell! [Lil Wayne ft Eminem - Drop The Bomb - Listen Here]
Download Lil Wayne Eminem Drop The World mp3
And 2009's Biggest Bomb Was…Not What You Think
The Twilight sequel was kinda popular. The Transformers sequel was kinda gigantic. Land of the Lost was neither.
But you didn't need us to tell you that. You needed us to digest the box-office year that was, and spit out: the Nine Things About 2009 You Didn't Know, but Are About to Learn:
1. New Moon beat Harry Potter. In bang for buck. New Moon made more than 12 times its $50 million budget ($635 million worldwide); Half-Blood Prince "only" made about four times its $250 million price tag.
2. Harry Potter beat everything. The sixth boy-wizard adventure was the year's overall No. 1 film, with $924 million in the worldwide bank, even if Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was the No. 1 film domestically—and the only one to top $400 milllion stateside.
How NORAD started tracking Santa
(CNET) -- Last Christmas Eve, Jeff Martin found himself forced to explain to a Canadian general why, when Santa Claus passed through Toronto, Ontario, that night, Google Maps had placed the city in the United States.
Martin, then a senior marketing manager in Google's Geo group, was part of a huge team of people involved in the joint U.S.-Canada North American Aerospace Defense Command's annual NORAD Santa tracker program, a long-running effort to provide children the world over a live view of Santa's progress as he and his reindeer deliver Christmas presents.
In 2007, Google signed onto the project as a technology partner, and since then, has been incorporating NORAD's data on Santa's whereabouts into special 2D Google Maps and 3D Google Earth representations.
And that's where the trouble began.
Inexplicably, as Santa made his way through Toronto that night last year, the mapping software began identifying the city as being in the United States. Instantly, NORAD Santa's dedicated Gmail account "just lit up" with messages from irate Canadians, Martin said, and quickly, the Google team fixed the problem.
But not before Martin's run-in with Canadian Lt. Gen. Marcel Duval. "He said, 'I understand that you have a new American city,'" Martin recalled. "It was a slightly tense moment for me, standing in front of a three-star general explaining to him why one of his cities had been designated as a United States city."
Is this Santa Claus?
All joking aside, NORAD has been taking its Santa tracking project seriously for decades. But it actually began in 1955 with a wrong number.
One morning that December, U.S. Air Force Col. Harry Shoup, the director of operations at CONAD, the Continental Air Defense Command--NORAD's predecessor--got a phone call at his Colorado Springs, Colorado, office (see video below). This was no laughing matter. The call had come in on one of the top secret lines inside CONAD that only rang in the case of a crisis.
Grabbing the phone, Shoup must have expected the worst. Instead, a tiny voice asked, "Is this Santa Claus?"
"Dad's pretty annoyed," said Terri Van Keuren, Shoup's daughter, recalling the legend of that day in 1955. "He barks into the phone," demanding to know who's calling.
"The little voice is now crying," Van Keuren continued. "'Is this one of Santa's elves, then?'"
The Santa questions were only beginning. That day, the local newspaper had run a Sears Roebuck ad with a big picture of St. Nick and text that urged, "Hey, Kiddies! Call me direct...Call me on my private phone and I will talk to you personally any time day or night."
But the phone number in the ad was off by a digit. Instead of connecting with Santa, callers were dialing in on the line that would ring if the Russians were attacking.
Before long, the phone was ringing off the hook, and softening up, Shoup grabbed a nearby airman and told him to answer the calls and, Van Keuren said, "'just pretend you're Santa.'"
NORAD uses four high-tech systems to track Santa -- radar, satellites, Santa Cams and fighter jets.
--NORAD Santa Web site
Indeed, rather than having the newspaper pull the Sears ad, Shoup decided to offer the countless kids calling in something useful: information about Santa's progress from the North Pole. To quote the official NORAD Santa site, "a tradition was born."
From that point on, first CONAD and then, in 1958, when NORAD was formed, Shoup's organization offered annual Santa tracking as a service to the global community. A phone number was publicized and anyone was invited to call up, especially on December 24, and find out where Santa was. Manning those phones over the years have been countless numbers of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps personnel and their families, and for many people, turning to NORAD to find out where Santa is became something to look forward to each year.
Phones and e-mail
These days, of course, a single red phone isn't enough to handle the demand for the information. In fact, said Joyce Frankovis, the public affairs specialist who runs the Santa tracking program for NORAD these days, there were fully 1,275 people involved in the project in 2008, and there would have been more had there been more room for them.
Frankovis explained that most of those people are volunteers who come in to NORAD's Colorado Springs headquarters on Christmas Eve to answer phone calls and e-mails. And it's a good thing there's so many, she said, because "Literally, when a volunteer puts the phone down after they get done with a call, it's ringing again."
All told, she said that each volunteer handles about 39 calls per hour and that in 2008, the team used 100 phones and 25 computers to handle 69,845 calls and 6,086 e-mails from more than 200 countries. Most of those contacts happened during the 25 hours from 2 a.m. on December 24 through 3 a.m. on Christmas that the operations center is up and running.
Most people, Frankovis said, just want to know where Santa is. And so the volunteer answering the question will look up at the big screen on the wall at the operations center and see where, on the map that is integrating geographical information from NORAD with Google's mapping service, Santa is at that moment.
"NORAD uses four high-tech systems to track Santa -- radar, satellites, Santa Cams and fighter jets," reads the NORAD Santa Web site. "Tracking Santa starts with the NORAD radar system called the North Warning System. This powerful radar system consists of 47 installations strung across the northern border of North America. On Christmas Eve, NORAD monitors the radar systems continuously for indications that Santa Claus has left the North Pole.
Canadian NORAD fighter pilots flying the CF-18 intercept and welcome Santa to North America.
--NORAD Santa Web site
"The moment that radar indicates Santa has lifted off, we use our second detection system. Satellites positioned in geo-synchronous orbit at 22,300 miles from the Earth's surface are equipped with infrared sensors, which enable them to detect heat. Amazingly, Rudolph's bright red nose gives off an infrared signature, which allow our satellites to detect Rudolph and Santa.
"The third tracking system is the Santa Cam network. We began using it in 1998, which is the year we put our Santa Tracking program on the Internet. Santa Cams are ultra-cool, high-tech, high-speed digital cameras that are pre-positioned at many locations around the world. NORAD only uses these cameras once a year on Christmas Eve. The cameras capture images and videos of Santa and his reindeer as they make their journey around the world.
"The fourth system is made up of fighter jets. Canadian NORAD fighter pilots flying the CF-18 intercept and welcome Santa to North America. In the United States, American NORAD fighter pilots in either the F-15 or the F-16 get the thrill of flying alongside Santa and his famous reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and, of course, Rudolph."
Still, despite all that, "Santa is hard to track," said Frankovis. "We actually never know which route Santa's going to take. So it's just a matter of using that high-tech equipment to track him."
Technology is also playing an increasing role in how NORAD publicizes the program. Frankovis said that after taking over the project earlier this year when her predecessor retired, she decided to begin using a much wider collection of social and online media for promotion. As a result, the NORAD Santa tracker now has presences on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and TroopTube.
Google's Martin said that his company -- which, like all the corporate partners in the program, offers its assistance at no cost to taxpayers -- has dozens of people working on helping to track Santa. Those people provide technical consulting and server provisioning for the NORAD Santa Web site, as well as helping put together YouTube videos, information for Google Maps and Google Earth and, soon, a new service that will allow people to use their mobile phones to track Santa on Christmas Eve.
All told, Martin said, the Web site had 8 million unique users in 2008, who visited the site 15 million times, accumulating tens of millions of page views and more than 10 million map views. Those numbers were up about 45 percent from 2007, he added.
Martin also said Google helps out by providing and monitoring a Gmail account for the program. And it was there that one of the best messages he can remember came in just a few days ago.
"I have been good," a girl named Stephanie wrote to Santa. "But my brother Christopher is mean to me. Take him and leave the presents, please!"
Martin said that, clearly, many of the kids who send e-mails think they're reaching out directly to Santa. "We'll write back and say we've forwarded their message to Santa at the North Pole, who's preparing for Christmas Eve."
Of course, not everyone believes in Santa. Frankovis said that some callers --especially towards the later part of Christmas Eve when maybe a little bit too much egg nog or a Canadian grog called Moose Milk has been drunk -- dial in to have a little bit of fun.
But for those who question whether there really is a Santa at all, Frankovis said the volunteers answering the phone have a simple answer: "'We believe, based on historical data and 51 years of NORAD tracking information, that Santa Claus is alive and well in the hearts of people throughout the world."
Col. Shoup and the e-mails
Last March, Shoup died, said Van Keuren. But in the years before his death, she and her family would take the retired colonel back to Colorado Springs each year for the Santa tracker training. "They would introduce him and he would say a few words," Van Keuren said. "So that was a big thrill for him."
In his later years, Shoup "was not as sharp as he used to be," she said. But his days overseeing the Santa tracker program were still near and dear to his heart. She said the NORAD folks had printed out a sheaf of e-mails kids had written in and gave them to Shoup as a reminder of what he'd started back in 1955.
"For the last weeks of his life, he carried them around in his briefcase like they were top secret papers," Van Keuren said. "Those were just precious to him. I'd read them to him over and over."
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Olivia Munn tells Wonder Woman to 'suck it'
Olivia Munn's issue of MYMAG apparently contains a preview for her upcoming book "Suck It, Wonder Woman!: The Misadventures of a Hollywood Geek" and wait a minute. Hold on. Olivia Munn took precious time away from standing around in a bikini to write a book? -- Excuse me while I light the entire publishing industry on fire. And I'm not talking about my latest manuscript "World War II Veteran Takes 500 Pages to Punch a Horse." (Random House, call me.)
Megan Gale in a bikini and other news
- Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins separated months ago and apparently no one gave a shit. At least they weren't stuck in a well. [PopEater]
- Leonardo DiCaprio might literally be eating a salad courtside at a Lakers game. Who does that? [Lainey Gossip]
- Caroline Kennedy in a bathing suit. [DrunkenStepfather: Site is NSFW]
- Isabella Brewster gets Hayden Panettiere's sloppy midget seconds. [Just Jared]
- Amy Winehouse gets her weekly arrest for assault in before the holidays. [Celebslam]
- Reese Witherspoon tries to avoid Jake Gyllenhaal. [PopSugar]
- Balloon Boy's parents are going to jail. [The Blemish]
- Katy Perry and Russell Brand pretend he doesn't stare at her naked breasts for days on end. [ICYDK]
- Christina Aguilera's car touched another car. GET ME THE PRESIDENT OF NEWS! [Socialite Life]
- Lindsay Lohan has a new boyfriend? [Betty Confidential]
- Paris Hilton is trying to make the world's first BLSTD. [Splash News]
Sienna Miller in a bikini
Here's Sienna Miller in Barbados yesterday and I almost didn't recognize her in some of these shots. Probably because she wasn't fucking a married man and/or Jude Law which I just assumed was her calling card. Sort of like how a magician always enters a room in a cloud of smoke.
15 Sexy Christmas Cheerleaders
Two of the best things in life aren't usually associated. One of those things is Christmas season, the other cheerleaders. This year, in honor of both their glory, we have combined them for you in this eye-popping holiday gallery for you to enjoy. This is one of those days that makes me really love my job.
