Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Charlie Sheen's ex-wife arrested in Aspen

This undated photo provided by the Aspen Police Department shows Brooke Mueller. Police in Aspen, Colo., say Mueller, Charlie Sheen's ex-wife, has been arrested on suspicion of third-degree assault and cocaine possession with intent to distribute. Authorities say officers arrested Mueller early Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, at a nightclub after a woman reported being assaulted by her. Mueller posted $11,000 bond and was released from custody. She's scheduled in court Dec. 19. Aspen police spokeswoman Blair Weyer says additional details are not immediately available. (AP Photo/Aspen Police Department)

This undated photo provided by the Aspen Police Department shows Brooke Mueller. Police in Aspen, Colo., say Mueller, Charlie Sheen's ex-wife, has been arrested on suspicion of third-degree assault and cocaine possession with intent to distribute. Authorities say officers arrested Mueller early Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, at a nightclub after a woman reported being assaulted by her. Mueller posted $11,000 bond and was released from custody. She's scheduled in court Dec. 19. Aspen police spokeswoman Blair Weyer says additional details are not immediately available. (AP Photo/Aspen Police Department)

ASPEN, Colorado (AP) ? Police in Aspen say Charlie Sheen's ex-wife, Brooke Mueller, has been arrested on suspicion of third-degree assault and cocaine possession with intent to distribute.

Authorities say officers arrested Mueller early Saturday at a nightclub after a woman reported being assaulted by her.

Mueller posted $11,000 bond and was released from custody. She's scheduled in court Dec. 19. Aspen police spokeswoman Blair Weyer says additional details are not immediately available.

Her attorney, Yale Galanter, had no comment.

Sheen and Mueller divorced earlier this year, citing Christmas Day 2009 as the day of their breakup. Charlie Sheen was arrested in Aspen on that day on suspicion of assaulting Mueller. He completed his probation in that case last November.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-12-03-Sheen's%20Ex-Wife-Arrest/id-4ffa4ab850a1419ab3c826f59e3391c9

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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Obama calls Pakistan leader about NATO airstrikes (AP)

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama has told Pakistan's president that the NATO airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers were not deliberate attacks and that the U.S. is committed to a full investigation.

The strikes along the border with Afghanistan last weekend have further strained ties between the U.S. and Pakistan as the Obama administration tries to wind down the war in Afghanistan.

The White House says Obama and Pakistan's president, Asif Ali Zardari (AH'-seef ah-LEE' zar-DAH'-ree), reaffirmed their countries' relationship and agreed to keep in close touch.

Obama called Zardari on Sunday.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111204/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_pakistan

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Johnny Bedford rolls at TUF 14 Finale, Louis Gaudinot simply too small

Johnny Bedford rolls at TUF 14 Finale, Louis Gaudinot simply too small

LAS VEGAS - Louis Gaudinot may turn out to be an elite fighter at 125 pounds, but he couldn't even compete tonight at 135 at the Season 14 "Ultimate Fighter Finale."

A big bantamweight in Johnny Bedford threw Gaudinot around like a doll on his way to a third round finish (submission via strikes) with 3:02 left in the fight.

"Right now I feel fantastic. ?I've got my 1st official UFC win. ?It's been a long long road getting here. ?It's all paying off now, I'm just ecstatic. ?I finally get to make this a real career for myself and my family and make some real money for once. ?I'm just on Cloud 9 right now," said Bedford.

Bedford (18-9-1, 1-0 UFC) made it to the semifinals of TUF 14 before losing to John Dodson. Dodson is a tiny guy as well, but Bedford made sure tonight to impose his size on the 5-foot-3 Gaudinot.

He took him down in the first and second rounds. Bedford eventually scored the mount both times and really beat upon Gaudinot. Gaudinot came out of the corner for the third with a cut in the eyebrow over his left eye and lots of swelling.

Gaudinot (5-2) tried to pour it on over the first 45 seconds of the final round, but that was all he had. Bedford closed space and started to unload on the feet. He dropped Gaudinot with what looked like a body shot. On the ground, Gaudinot covered up and Bedford brutalized his body. After 15-plus kicks, punches and knees to the ribs, referee Steve Mazzagatti had seen enough. He stopped it and Gaudinot showed no signs of objecting.

The judges had it one-sided for Bedford as well. Glenn Trowbridge scored it 20-18 through two rounds, Mark Smith 20-17 and Jeff Collins 20-18.

The 5-10 Bedford looks like he has the potential to grow into a pretty good fighter. He certainly has some good ground control to build from. He has eye on John Dodson. Dodson went on to win the 135-pound title tonight, but Bedford still belives he was the best bantamweight on the show.

I've love to get my rematch with Dodson. ?Maybe it is a little personal but he beat me. ?I still think I'm the better fighter and I think I should have been in the finale."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Johnny-Bedford-rolls-at-TUF-14-Finale-Louis-Gau?urn=mma-wp10192

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Monday, December 5, 2011

Beware of the hard sell at vacation resorts

By Jennifer Alsever, msnbc.com contributor

Get ready for the hard sell if you?re vacationing in Mexico. The nation?s biggest hotel chains are aggressively pushing travelers to join their ?hotel membership clubs,? the latest iteration of the vacation timeshare.

Mexican salesmen approach tourists at the airport and in hotel lobbies under the guise of helping them get a taxi or offering concierge services. They offer free car rentals and discounted snorkeling trips to anyone?willing to sit through a 90-minute sales pitch, which is akin to buying a new car.

?It?s high-pressure sales 101,? says Ed Perkins, a contributing editor?for SmarterTravel.com. ?Some of these are borderline scams. All this stuff is really time-shares in drag.?

In the past few years, tourists have been approached with these hotel club programs in Mexico, on Caribbean islands and in Hawaii.

Last year, Gabe Saglie was offered a free whale-watching cruise at the Westin Hotel in Maui if he attended a sales presentation.? As senior editor of Travelzoo.com, which publishes travel and local deals,?Saglie had heard of the programs ? complete with the uncomfortable pitches ? and said he wasn?t interested.

?It wasn?t a smart use of my time on my vacation,? he says. ?I like the freedom of going to different places. But for some people, it works. If you go to these places often it can be a value."

Don?t be surprised to see these pitches become even more prevalent during the difficult economy. Mexico has been particularly affected in the past two years, suffering tourism hits from the swine flu outbreak, drug cartel violence and the economic recession. Occupancy rates have dipped 30 percent?to 60 percent.?

"They basically have rooms sitting empty and real estate sitting empty, so Mexico is pushing them extremely hard," says Jeff Lugosi, who follows Mexico's travel market as senior vice president at Colliers PKF Consulting USA in Los Angeles.

Salespeople for the Mexican hotel chain Park Royal Hotels & Resorts now hit up travelers in Cancun, Cozumel, Mazatlan, Los Cabos, Ixtapa and Puerto Vallarta to join its Royal Holiday club. They tell tourists that for about $16,000, people can buy points good for future trips at the hotel chain?s all-inclusive hotels in Mexico, trips on cruise ships and affiliated hotels across the world.

The program is the opposite of a traditional hotel loyalty program, which give points to members when they stay at the hotel and let them cash them in for rooms, upgrades and frequent flier miles.

Perkins warns that any program that asks you to pay for something in advance should raise a red flag for tourists ? especially if it?s during a high-pressure sales pitch. ?Anytime you?re talking about ?investing?? $5,000, $10,000, $15,000, the chances are at best it?s a bad buy and at worst you?ll find it?s a disaster,? he says.

In these hotel clubs, people do not buy any assets, and they could end up buying something they may not use or they may not like, Perkins says. The club may also limit where the travelers can go or change the rules or fees at any time.

Park Royal Hotels & Resorts officials were unavailable to comment. The company?s Royal Holiday club lets members roll over unused points from one year to the next and exchange them for free hotel rooms. Food and drinks at the all-inclusive resorts can cost an additional $60 to $80 per person per day. As incentives to join, the Park Royal offers potential members financing for the fees and may throw in $1,000 toward airfare.

Perkins advises travelers to avoid the sales presentations altogether and not be lured by the freebie incentives to attend. The presentations may drag on longer than you want if you politely say ?no.?

?You?re on vacation to relax, and it?s not worth the aggravation and pressure,? he says. ?Even if you like the idea of a timeshare, that?s not the way to buy it.?

More on Overhead Bin

Jennifer Alsever is an msnbc.com contributor.

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Source: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/01/9149228-beware-of-the-hard-sell-at-vacation-resorts

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Sunday, December 4, 2011

Theicebreak For iPhone Wants To Make Your Already Great Relationship More Awesome

Screen Shot 2011-12-01 at 7.33.17 PMIn the same space as BeCouply and Tokii, social "network" for couples theicebreak is now available on the iPhone -- for those that want to stay hyper-connected their SOs via mobile. Upon opening theicebreak gives you two options: First is the option to answer an "icebreaker" or a question related to your partner, your relationship or your personality -- like, "What are the best words to hear from your partner?" or "What's your favorite thing to do when the weather gets cold?" You also have the option to "capture today's moment," or share a picture of something you saw during the day that "amazed you."

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/akYPxHnsRqQ/

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Saturday, December 3, 2011

UK media inquiry a lesson in tabloid skullduggery

Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's former spin doctor, arrives at the High Court in London to give evidence to judge Brian Leveson's inquiry, which was established to examine media ethics and practices and recommend changes to Britain's system of media self-regulation, Wednesday Nov. 30, 2011. Campbell told Britain's media ethics inquiry Wednesday that a minority of journalists have turned the country's press "putrid" and tarnished the whole industry. (AP Photo/Stefan Rousseau, PA) UNITED KINGDOM OUT

Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's former spin doctor, arrives at the High Court in London to give evidence to judge Brian Leveson's inquiry, which was established to examine media ethics and practices and recommend changes to Britain's system of media self-regulation, Wednesday Nov. 30, 2011. Campbell told Britain's media ethics inquiry Wednesday that a minority of journalists have turned the country's press "putrid" and tarnished the whole industry. (AP Photo/Stefan Rousseau, PA) UNITED KINGDOM OUT

Former News of the World journalist Paul McMullan arrives to give evidence to the Leveson inquiry, Britain's media ethics inquiry, in central London, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011. McMullan made a rare, robust defense of phone hacking, saying that eavesdropping on voicemails was a "perfectly acceptable tool" to help journalists uncover stories. (AP Photo/PA, John Stillwell) UNITED KINGDOM OUT, NO SALES, NO ARCHIVE

British reporter Nick Davies of the Guardian newspaper arrives at the High Court, to give evidence to the Leveson Inquiry in central London Tuesday Nov. 29, 2011. Top journalists involved with the phone hacking scandal are expected to expose some secrets of the trade at the Leveson inquiry. Three are set to testify, including ex-News of the World reporter Paul McMullan and the Guardian's Nick Davies, who has exposed much of the press wrongdoing. The committee has heard about rampant abuse in its search for a new way to regulate the press. (AP Photo/John Stillwell/PA Wire) UNITED KINGDOM OUT

(AP) ? Hacking into celebrity phones was just the tip of the iceberg.

Britain's media ethics inquiry, set up in response to illegal eavesdropping by a Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid, has turned out to be a masterclass in skullduggery that has exposed the murky practices of the U.K.'s muckraking press.

This week, witnesses described how Murdoch's company had wreaked havoc on their lives and those of their families, with reporters targeting critics for spying and negative coverage and sullying the name of an innocent man.

"We have a press that has just become frankly putrid in many of its elements," Alastair Campbell, former tabloid journalist and longtime communications aide to former Prime Minister Tony Blair, told the tribunal this week.

Few would disagree after listening to the nationally televised testimony describing the excesses of a callous and sometimes criminal press.

The judge-led inquiry was set up after it emerged that Murdoch's News of the World had for years illegally eavesdropped on the voicemail messages of celebrities, public figures and crime victims. The scandal forced Murdoch to shut down the 168-year-old tabloid. A dozen Murdoch employees have been arrested in the case, which also cost the jobs of several of his top executives, two senior police officers and Prime Minister David Cameron's communications chief.

The inquiry has put Murdoch's empire on trial, as witnesses described their treatment at the hands of an organization they viewed as unassailably powerful, ruthless and feared.

Former child singing sensation Charlotte Church described how she was invited to perform at Murdoch's wedding on a yacht in New York when she was 13. She said she was offered a 100,000 pound (roughly $160,000) payment, but was told if she waived the fee that Murdoch's papers would look favorably on her.

Church, now 25, told the inquiry that she really wanted to take the money, but was told by her managers it would be worthwhile to give up the fee ? which would have been her highest payment ever then ? to cultivate Murdoch's support.

She said she was told "that he was a very, very powerful man" who could do her career a world of good ? if he wanted to.

But any tabloid goodwill she earned was short-lived. Church said media scrutiny increased to unbearable levels as she entered her teens. As she approached her 16th birthday, she said Murdoch's The Sun tabloid featured on its website a "countdown clock" timed to the day when she would be able to legally have sex ? an allegation the newspaper denies.

Later, a tabloid reported that Church was pregnant before she had even told her parents, news she felt had to come either from surveillance or phone hacking. On another occasion the News of the World reported on her father's extramarital affair under the headline "Church's three in a bed cocaine shock." Church said her mother had attempted suicide partly as a result of this invasion of privacy.

Murdoch's News International has denied Church's version of events surrounding her performance at Murdoch's wedding, and her agent at the time, Jonathan Shalit, said she was not offered a choice between a fee and good press.

He said Church was not offered a fee and performed for free, as she had done for Prince Charles and President Bill Clinton. But he said publicity from these appearances helped launch her career in the United States, which was his plan.

"When you sing for these people you get added benefits for your career," he said.

Church was one of a slew of celebrities, including actor Hugh Grant, "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling and actress Sienna Miller, who have sat in the witness box at London's Royal Courts of Justice and described stakeouts and snatched photos, leaked medical details and midnight pursuits ? all justified, in the tabloids' eyes, because the people they were pursuing were famous.

Ian Hargreaves, professor of digital economy and former director of the journalism school at the University of Cardiff, said the hearings have had a profound impact on the public psyche ? and on Britain's political class ? by revealing so much about how part of the press works.

"It's been a process of revelation, based on firsthand testimony," he said. "A lot of journalists feel it has been one-sided, but processes that have been known about and talked about in private are suddenly being talked about on a big public stage."

Hearings continue into the new year, and justice Brian Leveson and his panel hope to issue a report by late 2012 that could recommend major changes to Britain's system of media self-regulation.

So far, the most strident defense of tabloids ? and the week's most jaw-dropping testimony ? came from unrepentant former News of the World journalist Paul McMullan. He described chasing celebrities' cars as "good fun," called phone hacking "a perfectly acceptable tool" of the trade and dismissed privacy as "the space bad people need to do bad things in."

He also said celebrities should stop complaining and be grateful for the attention of paparazzi.

The inquiry has also shown that it's not just celebrities who find themselves in the tabloids' sights. The parents of 13-year-old Milly Dowler, who was abducted and murdered in 2002, described how the News of the World's hacking of Milly's phone, and the deletion of voicemail messages, had given them false hope that their daughter was still alive.

This week Christopher Jefferies, a retired teacher arrested on suspicion of murder in a high-profile case a year ago, described how his life had been wrecked by "smears, innuendo and complete fiction" in articles that painted him as a voyeuristic eccentric, or worse.

Jefferies was released without charge, and another man has been convicted of the killing. Jefferies successfully sued eight newspapers ? including Murdoch's The Sun tabloid ? for libel, but said he would "never fully recover from the events of the last year."

"There will always be people who don't know me who will retain the impression that I'm some sort of weird character who is probably best avoided," he said.

The inquiry has also heard claims the Murdoch empire used negative articles and even espionage against its critics. Former TV host Anne Diamond recounted how she had asked Murdoch during a 1980s interview "how could he sleep at night" knowing his newspapers ruined people's lives.

She said after that "there were consistent negative stories about me in Mr. Murdoch's newspapers."

One glaring example was a story in The Sun headlined "Anne Diamond killed my father," about a fatal road accident she had been involved in years before. The same newspaper took pictures of Diamond carrying the coffin of her infant son at his funeral, despite her plea for the press to stay away out of respect for the family's grief.

Mark Lewis, a lawyer who has represented high-profile hacking victims, testified that he was put under surveillance by a private investigator working for Murdoch's News International. The surveillance, apparently in search of material to discredit him, included following and filming his 14-year-old daughter.

"That was truly horrific, that my daughter was videoed, was followed by a detective with a camera," Lewis said. "That shouldn't happen to anybody's child."

___

Associated Press writers Gregory Katz and Robert Barr contributed to this report.

Online: http://www.levesoninquiry.org.uk

Jill Lawless can be reached at: http://twitter.com/JillLawless

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-12-02-EU-Britain-Phone-Hacking/id-3be62bb177454d87b50a866572c575c2

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Sunday, November 27, 2011

Congo officials: vote to proceed after clashes (AP)

KINSHASA, Congo ? Election officials in Congo said Sunday that a critical national poll would go ahead Monday, after a weekend marred by deadly clashes at political gatherings, reports of delayed ballots and fears that the vote could re-ignite conflict in the large, mineral-rich central African nation.

Daniel Ngoy Mulunda, president of the Independent National Electoral Commission, said Sunday the vote would take place. Commission Vice President Jacques Ndjoli said separately: "We invite our people to go vote calmly."

At least four people were killed in Saturday's clashes when political supporters headed to Kinshasa's main airport to welcome their candidate. Main opposition candidate Etienne Tshisekedi arrived; the president ? who is expected to win the poll ? did not pass through as expected.

Scuffles erupted and security forces at the airport fired tear gas and live ammunition into the burgeoning crowd. Riot police manned the airport for hours afterward to prevent Tshisekedi and his convoy from leaving.

Police inspector general Charles Bisengimana said four bodies were recovered and taken to a morgue on Sunday, and said opposition supporters attacked the president's supporters. He also blamed Tshisekedi for refusing to leave the airport.

Tshisekedi said Sunday that more than 10 people were killed and 68 were wounded. He said three of the dead were members of his office and were killed by police, but he did not give details on the others. Later Sunday, Godefroid Mayobo, an official from a party allied with President Joseph Kabila, said their supporters were attacked by Tshisekedi's supporters, leaving three dead. And two dead bodies were seen on the road leading to the airport when clashes erupted there.

The European Union's election observation mission criticized police in a statement released Sunday.

The EU mission said it "considers the police operation that took place last night at (Kinshasa's) airport against the convoy of a presidential candidate and the arrests that were made as a serious breach of the right to campaign and the principle of equality that should prevail."

Saturday's violence prompted officials to ban political rallies and gatherings before the election. A defiant Tshisekedi said Sunday that he planned to hold an afternoon public meeting at Kinshasa's Martyrs' Stadium, but the meeting did not happen.

The EU mission also said it "regrets that the last days of the electoral campaign were spoiled by many serious incidents and violent clashes which unfortunately cost human lives, especially in Kinshasa. The mission deplores the chaotic and improvised management of the last political meetings by many presidential candidates, by the Kinshasa authorities which restrained freedom of opinion, meetings and demonstrations."

Human rights groups had expressed fears about an atmosphere of spiraling violence and hate speech ahead of the vote.

The violence is just one of the numerous challenges that could derail the vote and re-ignite conflict.

As of Friday, many polling stations had not yet received the necessary voting materials, after least 33 of the 80 planes carrying voting materials to the provinces were unable to take off because of bad weather.

Election experts said it was unlikely the ballots would reach the remote interior in time in a country with so few paved roads, and where there are some 60,000 polling stations spread out over a territory the size of Western Europe.

"We have been trying to sound the alarm but to no avail," said Jerome Bonso, coordinator of the Coalition for Peaceful and Transparent Elections.

It's the country's first election since the landmark 2006 vote which was considered the country's first democratic vote in 40 years, but was marred by weeks of street battles led by supporters of the losing candidate.

Congo's history of back-to-back wars also provides a backdrop. Kabila, a former rebel leader, first took control of the country a decade ago, after the 2001 assassination of his father, Laurent Kabila, who ruled Congo after overthrowing dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997.

He was elected president in 2006, a vote which was overseen and organized by the U.N. The runner-up was former warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba, now on trial at the Hague. He refused to accept defeat, unleashing his private army on the capital, leading to weeks of street battles.

___

Associated Press writer Rukmini Callimachi contributed to this report from Kinshasa, Congo.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111127/ap_on_re_af/af_congo_election

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