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US Lawmakers Defy White House On 2010 Defense Cuts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) –
Both houses of the Democratic-controlled Congress on Thursday took action on 2010 defense spending legislation that would continue funding weapons programs targeted by President Barack Obama for cuts.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 389 to 22 to approve a $550.4 billion defense authorization bill for fiscal 2010 that the White House says it will veto unless it drops a measure adding money for Lockheed Martin Corp F-22 fighter jets and a second engine for Lockheed's F-35 fighter.
The bill also authorizes $130 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the fiscal year that begins October 1.
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said it supported the overall bill but senior advisers would urge a presidential veto unless the two provisions were dropped.
One congressional aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the White House veto threat as “a bargaining tool.”
Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee also approved on Thursday their version of the 2010 defense authorization bill, including $1.7 billion in funding for seven more F-22 fighters and $438.9 million to continue development of a second engine for the F-35 fighter.
Both committee chairman Sen. Carl Levin, and John McCain, the panel's top Republican, said they had opposed the continued F-22 funding, which passed on a 13 to 11 vote. They said the issue would spark considerable debate when the bill comes up for a vote in the full Senate, probably next month.
Once the Senate passes its version, House and Senate negotiators will hammer out a compromise version, but that may not happen until September, said a House committee spokesman.
The OMB said it strongly objected to the House decision to include $369 million in advanced procurement funds as a downpayment on 12 more F-22 fighter jets in fiscal 2011.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced plans in April to halt production of the fighter jet at 187 planes, but many lawmakers are fighting for continued production, citing the jobs involved and growing military threats overseas.
Some lawmakers are also pushing to lift a current ban on exports of the F-22 to allow Japan to buy a modified version of the premier U.S. fighter jet.
The Senate bill includes language asking the Pentagon to explore the possibility of an export version, Levin said. Both he and McCain said they were inclined to support such a move, as long as it was done in accordance with U.S. export controls.
The White House also said it objected to House lawmakers adding $603 million to the bill to continue work on an alternate F-35 fighter engine being built by General Electric Co and Rolls-Royce Group.
The OMB said the changes would delay the fielding of the F-35 and have an adverse effect on the Pentagon's overall strike fighter inventory. It said the risks of a fleet-wide grounding with a single engine, an issue raised by the Marine Corps general who runs the program, were “exaggerated.”
The House version urges the Pentagon to consider continued procurement of the canceled VH-71 presidential helicopter being developed by Lockheed and AgustaWestland, a unit of Italy's Finmeccanica SpA. The Senate version supports the Pentagon's decision to cancel the program, whose costs had threatened to more than double to $13 billion.
The House bill includes $108 million for advanced procurement of additional F/A-18 fighter jets made by Boeing Co beyond fiscal 2010 and urges the Navy to enter into a multiyear procurement agreement with Boeing.
The Senate version added funding for nine more F/A-18s in fiscal 2010 than the Pentagon requested, but Levin said the committee did not require a multiyear agreement since the required savings of 10 percent had not been met.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa, editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Matthew Lewis)

AP Source Michael Jackson Dies In LA Hospital

LOS ANGELES – Michael Jackson, the sensationally gifted “King of Pop” who emerged from childhood superstardom to become the entertainment world’s most influential singer and dancer before his life and career deteriorated in a freakish series of scandals, died Thursday, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. He was 50.
The person said Jackson died in a Los Angeles hospital. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity.
The circumstances of his death were not immediately clear. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m., Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the newspaper.
Jackson’s death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music’s premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.
His 1982 album “Thriller” — which included the blockbuster hits “Beat It,” “Billie Jean” and “Thriller” — remains the biggest-selling album of all time, with more than 26 million copies.
He was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation, known for his feverish, crotch-grabbing dance moves and his high-pitched voice punctuated with squeals and titters.
His single sequined glove, tight, military-style jacket and aviator sunglasses were trademarks second only to his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance.
As years went by, he became an increasingly freakish figure — a middle-aged man-child weirdly out of touch with grownup life. His skin became lighter and his nose narrower. He surrounded himself with children at his Neverland ranch, often wore a germ mask while traveling and kept a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles as one of his closest companions.
In 2005, he was cleared of charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. He had been accused of plying the boy with alcohol and groping him. The case took a fearsome toll on his career and image, and he fell into serious financial trouble.
Jackson was preparing for what was to be his greatest comeback: He was scheduled for an unprecedented 50 shows at a London arena, with the first set for July 13. He was in rehearsals in Los Angeles for the concert, an extravaganza that was to capture the classic Jackson magic: showstopping dance moves, elaborate staging and throbbing dance beats.
Hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital as word of his death spread. The emergency entrance at the UCLA Medical Center, which is near Jackson’s rented home, was roped off with police tape.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Michael Jackson has just died,” a woman boarding a Manhattan bus called out, shortly after the news was annunced. Immediately many riders reached for their cell phones.
In New York’s Times Square, a low groan went up in the crowd when a screen flashed that Jackson had died, and people began relaying the news to friends by cell phone.
“No joke. King of Pop is no more. Wow,” Michael Harris, 36, of New York City, read from a text message a friend sent to his telephone. “It’s like when Kennedy was assassinated. I will always remember being in Times Square when Michael Jackson died.”

Germany must Rely Less On Trade

Germany ‘must rely less on trade’
Lesley Curwen
Presenter, Business Daily, BBC World Service
The German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück has told the BBC that Germany must begin to reduce its dependence on foreign trade. Germany was ranked by the World Factbook as the biggest exporter in the world last year. But the downturn in global trade caused by the credit crisis has hit it hard. The German government expects the country’s economy to contract by 6% this year, largely because of very steep falls in exports. Some economists have argued that Germany had relied far too heavily on foreign trade, which made it rich in the boom times but left it vulnerable to a global crisis. Its finance minister Peer Steinbrück has now admitted in an interview with the BBC that the current balance between foreign and domestic markets must start to change. Promoting services”We have to strengthen our internal, our domestic demand in Germany… to reduce this dependency on foreign trade,” he said. He suggested that the service sector would have to be promoted and that education and training should be given to young people to meet the needs of Germany’s ageing population. But Mr Steinbrück remained very cautious about the size of the change. At present, 45% of the country’s earnings comes from international trade. He would not be drawn on how much that might be reduced. “I can’t figure out a concrete number,” he said. “That would be crazy.” And he emphasised that he still wanted Germany to remain in the “Champions’ League” of exporters. Asked whether the bottom of the economic cycle had now been reached, Mr Steinbrück shrugged his shoulders and said nobody knew. “If you can find someone who knows,” he said dryly, “give me his number.” He suggested that some indicators pointed to things getting a little bit better, but warned that the world still faced very unsafe times.

Source:BBC

AP Exclusive Airport Video Shows SC Gov Leaving

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Security videos obtained by The Associated Press show Gov. Mark Sanford wheeling a small suitcase though a South Carolina airport the day he dropped off the map to see his mistress in Argentina.
Videos from the Columbia Metropolitan Airport show him walking inside the airport, standing on a moving sidewalk and then approaching a boarding counter there last Thursday. He is alone.
Time stamps on the video indicate Sanford could have boarded a commercial flight to Atlanta in time for a departure on an 8:35 p.m. flight to Buenos Aires, though it’s not clear if that’s the flight he took.
He returned this past Wednesday, then hours later publicly revealed that he’s been having an affair. His staff had told reporters that he was hiking the Appalachian Trail.

WHO Says H1N1 Virus Is Stable Not Yet Mutating

MOSCOW (Reuters) –
The World Health Organization said Thursday that the H1N1 virus was stable and there was no sign yet of it mixing with other influenza viruses.
Some health officials have raised concerns that if H1N1, known by many as swine flu, combined with the much deadlier H5N1 bird flu virus then the pandemic could claim many more lives.
“The virus is still very stable,” WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan told reporters at a news briefing in Moscow when asked if there were any signs of the virus mixing with other strains such as avian flu.
“But as we all know the influenza virus is highly unpredictable and has great potential for mutation,” Chan said after meeting Russian Health Minister Tatyana Golikova.
Chan's remarks are some of the first comments by the WHO leadership since the United Nations agency declared an influenza pandemic on June 11.
Chan said the viruses needed to be closely monitored to make sure there was no mutation.
“We would need to look at how they are behaving in southern hemisphere countries to see whether the H1N1 and the usual seasonal influenza virus would reassort. So far we have not detected any signal,” she said.
“Another important thing we need to monitor is H1N1 and H5N1, which is endemic in some countries in Asia and the Middle East. We would like to see whether there will be any change,” she said. “Again, we did not detect any signal that there is any reassortment.”
Chan, a straight-talking native of Hong Kong, said that while much effort was being expended on seeking vaccines, common sense measures could still reduce risks of being infected.
“In prevention and reducing the risk of this infection there is of course a lot of attention given to antivirals and vaccines. But we must not forget there are what we call non pharmaceutical measures which are very effective,” she said.
“These are simple measures that each individual can take to protect themselves: don't smoke, get enough rest, eat a balanced diet to support a high level of immunity and frequent washing hands with water and soap.”
“If you do unfortunately get infected, please do go to see a doctor.”
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, editing by Michael Roddy)

Health Tip Whats Ketoacidosis

(HealthDay News) — Hyperglycemia, the medical name for high
blood sugar, affects just about every person with diabetes at one time or
another, the American Diabetes Association says.
Left untreated, hyperglycemia can trigger a condition called
ketoacidosis, sometimes called diabetic coma. This occurs when there isn't
enough insulin for the body to process blood sugar, so it begins to
process fats for fuel instead.
That's when toxic waste products called ketones are produced. When the
body can't expel ketones fast enough through the urine, they start to
build up, possibly leading to ketoacidosis.
This condition needs immediate treatment. Symptoms include difficulty
catching your breath, fruity scent to the breath, vomiting, nausea and dry
mouth.
Exercise can help reduce blood sugar and prevent ketoacidosis. But if
your blood sugar rises above 240 mg/dl, you should check your urine for
ketones. If you detect ketones, do not exercise and seek immediate
medical attention, the ADA warns.

Mystery Of Sanfords Mistress Deepens In Argentina

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – It’s a wild scene outside the luxury apartment building where Gov. Mark Sanford’s mistress reportedly lives, where dozens of journalists have camped out, interviewing every passerby in hopes of finding Sanford’s elusive “Maria.”
But with at least five Marias living in the building, the mystery persists.
Reporters and cameramen descended on Republica de la India street after a South Carolina newspaper found the address in the couple’s steamy e-mails. But the paper, called The State, did not publish her last name, leaving the rest of the pack scrambling for clues and complaining about their stakeout duty on one of the coldest days of the Argentine winter.
Is it Maria the soy and fruit exporter or Maria the former television journalist? Maria the architect or Maria the artist? Or maybe the Maria who poses next to an Argentine flag on her Facebook page?
Hopes briefly rise as one woman walks out saying “Yes, I’m Maria!”
“But I’m not the one you’re looking for!” she quickly adds, giggling her way down the sidewalk.
The building’s doormen tantalize reporters with vague statements, giving nothing away. Luxury cars with tinted windows enter and leave the garage. Cameras record everyone coming and going, in the hope of snaring the image U.S. media are desperate to obtain — the first pictures of the woman who may have helped ruin the governor’s political career.
Even the shop girl in a designer boutique on the ground floor pushes the door shut in a reporter’s face, saying “No, No, No” when asked if Maria is a client.
An Argentine Web site shows footage of a freelance television journalist in New York it says is her. A gossip column reports a nearby bar owner’s claim that the amorous couple shared wine-filled evenings there last week. But the journalist is a brunette, and the bar owner describes a green-eyed blonde.
And the bartender on duty Thursday says Maria has not been with the governor recently.
Finally, another doorman comes on duty — Everard Alvarez — who denies that the woman on Facebook has anything to do with this tale.
Alvarez then confirms that the Maria named in Argentina’s leading newspapers lives in the building — but he won’t say whether the governor visited her during his trip to Argentina last week.
“It’s a very large building, many people come and go all the time,” he says.
Asked about her appearance, he says: “I look at my wife, I don’t look at other women.” The governor’s Maria, he adds, is “a very elegant woman, very well-mannered, has a routine that includes jogging frequently.”
___
Associated Press writers Federico Escher in Buenos Aires and Michael Warren in Mexico contributed to this report.

King Of Pop Michael Jackson Is Dead Report

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) –
Michael Jackson, the child star turned King of Pop who set the world dancing to exuberant rhythms for decades, died on Thursday, the Los Angeles Times said. He was 50.
“Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead by doctors this afternoon after arriving at a hospital in a deep coma, city and law enforcement sources told The Times,” the newspaper reported on its website.
Jackson had been taken ill at his home and found not breathing by paramedics who rushed him to a hospital, the paper said.
The paper's report followed news of Jackson's death first reported by the TMZ entertainment website, which said that the singer suffered a cardiac arrest. There was no immediate comment from spokespersons for Jackson.
Known as the “King of Pop,” for hit albums that included “Thriller” and “Billie Jean,” Jackson's dramatic stage presence and innovative dance moves were imitated by legions of fans around the world.
His one-gloved eccentric style also earned him plenty of critics and another nickname, “Wacko Jacko.”
Jackson, who had lived as a virtual recluse since his acquittal in 2005 on charges of child molestation, had been scheduled to launch a comeback tour from London next month.
TMZ said on its website that Jackson suffered a cardiac arrest on Thursday afternoon at his Holmby Hills home and paramedics were unable to revive him. “We're told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back,” the site said.
Earlier, the Los Angeles Times said the singer had been rushed to a Los Angeles-area hospital by fire department paramedics. The newspaper said paramedics performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation at the singer's home before taking him to the UCLA Medical Center hospital.
COMEBACK CONCERTS
Jackson had been due to start a series of concerts in London on July 13 running until March 2010. The singer had been rehearsing in the Los Angeles area for the past two months.
The shows for the 50 London concerts sold out within minutes of going on sale in March.
His lifetime record sales tally is believed to be around 750 million, which, added to the 13 Grammy Awards he received, makes him one of the most successful entertainers of all time.
There were concerns about Jackson's health in recent years but the promoters of the London shows, AEG Live, said in March that Jackson had passed a 4-1/2 hour physical examination with independent doctors.
New Yorkers and tourists in the city's Times Square were shocked at the news of Jackson's death.
“I don't know what to say. It's sad, it's really, really sad,” said Nicole Smith, an 18-year-old student from Brooklyn, New York, in Times Square. “My mother was a fan. I listened to his music.”
“I'm shocked. I thought someone was lying to me when I first heard it. I was a fan from when he was a little boy and then he got weird,” said Sue Sheider, 51, a teacher from Long Island.
CHILD STAR TO MEGASTAR
Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, the seventh of nine children. Five Jackson boys — Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael — first performed together at a talent show when Michael was 6. They walked off with first prize and went on to become a best-selling band, The Jackson Five, and then The Jackson 5.
Jackson made his first solo album in 1972, and released “Thriller” in 1982, which became a smash hit that yielded seven top-10 singles. The album sold 21 million copies in the United States and at least 27 million worldwide.
The next year, he unveiled his signature “moonwalk” dance move while performing “Billie Jean” during an NBC special.
In 1994, Jackson married Elvis Presley's only child, Lisa Marie, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1996. Jackson married Debbie Rowe the same year and had two children, before splitting in 1999. The couple never lived together.
Jackson has three children named Prince Michael I, Paris Michael and Prince Michael II, known for his brief public appearance when his father held him over the railing of a hotel balcony, causing widespread criticism.
(Additional Reporting by Jill Serjeant in Los Angeles and Michelle Nichols in New York; Writing by Frances Kerry, Editing by Jackie Frank)

Singer Michael Jackson is Dead

Singer Michael Jackson ‘is dead’

Pop star Michael Jackson has died in Los Angeles, aged 50, reports say.Paramedics were called to the singer’s home around midday local time on Thursday after he stopped breathing and suffered a suspected cardiac arrest. He was rushed by ambulance to a local medical centre, but his death was announced shortly afterwards. The star, who had a history of health problems, had been due to begin a series of comeback concerts in the UK on 13 July. He had a history of health problems and had not completed a concert tour in 12 years. US media reports said paramedics were called to the singer’s house in Bel Air at midday. They performed CPR on Jackson and rushed him to the UCLA medical centre. Crowds have begun to gather outside the facility, whose emergency centre has been roped off by police. Jackson began his career as a child in family group The Jackson 5. He then went on to achieve global fame as a solo artist with smash hits such as “Thriller” and “Bad”. But the singer has been dogged by controversy and money trouble in recent years, becoming a virtual recluse. He had three children, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael Jackson II.

Source:BBC

Michael Jackson Hospitalized With Heart Attack Reports

LOS ANGELES (AFP) –
Pop legend Michael Jackson was rushed to a hospital in Los Angeles Thursday after suffering a heart attack, reports said, but it was not immediately possible to confirm his condition.
The Los Angeles Times citing local fire department officials reported Jackson, 50, was unconscious when paramedics arrived at his home in Holmby Hills before being taken to hospital.
TMZ.com celebrity news website said Jackson suffered a cardiac arrest but the singer's father Joe Jackson was unable to confirm details when contacted by E! Online celebrity news site.
Jackson's manager Tohme E. Tohme was not immediately available for comment at his office after being contacted by AFP.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Devin Gales would not confirm Jackson's identity, but said paramedics responded to a call from an address corresponding to Jackson's at 12:21 p.m and the person was taken to UCLA Medical Center.
UCLA hospital officials were not immediately available for comment.

Pop Icon Michael Jackson Dead TMZcom Website

LOS ANGELES (AFP) –
Pop icon Michael Jackson died Thursday after suffering a cardiac arrest, the entertainment website TMZ.com reported.
The website reported that Jackson, 50, suffered a heart attack just after 12:00 pm (1900 GMT) local time and paramedics were unable to revive him.
Jackson's manager Tohme E. Tohme was not immediately available for comment when contacted by AFP. Officials at UCLA Medical Center where Jackson was treated also could not be reached for comment.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Devin Gales would not confirm Jackson's identity but said paramedics went to an address corresponding to the star's home at 12:21 pm (1921 GMT) and the person was taken to UCLA Medical Center.

Charlies Angel Farrah Fawcett Dies At 62

LOS ANGELES – A winsome smile, tousled hair and unfettered sensuality were Farrah Fawcett’s trademarks as a sex symbol and 1970s TV star in “Charlie’s Angels.”
But as her life drew to a close, she captivated the public in a far different way: as a cancer patient who fought for, then surrendered, her treasured privacy to document her struggle with the disease and inspire others.
Fawcett, 62, died Thursday morning at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, nearly three years after being diagnosed with anal cancer. Ryan O’Neal, the longtime companion who returned to her side when she became ill, was with her.
“After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away,” O’Neal said. “Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world.”
In the end, Fawcett sought to offer more than that, re-emerging in the spotlight with a new gravitas.
In “Farrah’s Story,” which aired last month, she made public her painful treatments and dispiriting setbacks — from shaving her golden locks before chemotherapy could claim them to undergoing experimental treatments in Germany.
“Her big message to people is don’t give up. No matter what they say to you, keep fighting,” Alana Stewart, who filmed Fawcett as she underwent treatment, said last month. NBC estimated the May 15, 2009, broadcast drew nearly 9 million viewers.
In the documentary, she also recounted her efforts to unmask the source of leaks from her UCLA Medical Center records, which led a hospital employee to plead guilty to violating a federal privacy law for selling celebrities’ information to the National Enquirer.
“There are no words to express the deep sense of loss that I feel,” Stewart said Thursday. “For 30 years, Farrah was much more than a friend. She was my sister, and although I will miss her terribly, I know in my heart that she will always be there as that angel on the shoulder of everyone who loved her.”
Other “Charlie’s Angels” stars also paid tribute.
“Farrah had courage, she had strength, and she had faith. And now she has peace as she rests with the real angels,” Jaclyn Smith said.
Said Cheryl Ladd: “She was incredibly brave, and God will be welcoming her with open arms.”
Kate Jackson said she would remember Fawcett’s “kindness, her cutting, dry wit and, of course, her beautiful smile. Today when you think of Farrah remember her smiling because that is exactly how she wanted to be remembered, smiling.”
Fawcett became a sensation in 1976 as one-third of the crime-fighting trio in “Charlie’s Angels.” A poster of her in a clingy, red swimsuit sold in the millions and her full, layered hairstyle became all the rage, with girls and women across America mimicking the look.
She left the show after one season but had a flop on the big screen with “Somebody Killed Her Husband.” She turned to more serious roles in the 1980s and 1990s, winning praise playing an abused wife in “The Burning Bed.”
Born Feb. 2, 1947, in Corpus Christi, Texas, she was named Mary Farrah Leni Fawcett by her mother, who said she added the Farrah because it sounded good with Fawcett. As a student at the University of Texas at Austin, she was voted one of the 10 most beautiful people on the campus and her photos were eventually spotted by movie publicist David Mirisch, who suggested she pursue a film career.
She appeared in a string of commercials, including one where she shaved quarterback Joe Namath, and in such TV shows as “That Girl,” “The Flying Nun,” “I Dream of Jeannie” and “The Partridge Family.”
She was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006. According to the American Cancer Society Web site, an estimated 5,290 Americans, most of them adults over 35, will be diagnosed with that type of cancer this year, and there will be 710 deaths.
As she underwent treatment, she enlisted the help of O’Neal, who was the father of her now 24-year-old son, Redmond.
This month, O’Neal said he asked Fawcett to marry him and she agreed. They would wed “as soon as she can say yes,” he said, but it never happened.
Fawcett, Jackson and Smith made up the original “Angels,” the sexy, police-trained trio of martial arts experts who took their assignments from a rich, mysterious boss named Charlie (John Forsythe, who was never seen on camera but whose distinctive voice was heard on speaker phone.)
The program debuted in September 1976, the height of what some critics derisively referred to as television’s “jiggle show” era, and it gave each of the actresses ample opportunity to show off their figures as they disguised themselves as hookers and strippers to solve crimes.
Backed by a clever publicity campaign, Fawcett — then billed as Farrah Fawcett-Majors because of her marriage to “The Six Million Dollar Man” star Lee Majors — quickly became the most popular Angel of all.
Her face helped sell T-shirts, lunch boxes, shampoo, wigs and even a novelty plumbing device called Farrah’s faucet. Her flowing blond hair, pearly white smile and trim, shapely body made her a favorite with male viewers in particular.
The public and the show’s producer, Spelling-Goldberg, were shocked when she announced after the series’ first season that she was leaving television’s No. 5-rated series to star in feature films. (Ladd became the new “Angel” on the series.)
But film turned out to be a platform where Fawcett was never able to duplicate her TV success. Her first star vehicle, the comedy-mystery “Somebody Killed Her Husband,” flopped and Hollywood cynics cracked that it should have been titled “Somebody Killed Her Career.”
The actress had also been in line to star in “Foul Play” for Columbia Pictures. But the studio opted for Goldie Hawn instead. Fawcett told the Associated Press in 1979 that Spelling-Goldberg sabotaged her, warning “all the studios that that they would be sued for damages if they employed me.”
She finally reached an agreement to appear in three episodes of “Charlie’s Angels” a season, an experience she called “painful.”
After a short string of unsuccessful movies, Fawcett found critical success in the 1984 television movie “The Burning Bed,” which earned her an Emmy nomination.
As further proof of her acting credentials, Fawcett appeared off-Broadway in “Extremities,” playing a woman who seeks revenge against her attacker after being raped in her own home. She repeated the role in the 1986 film version.
Not content to continue playing victims, she switched type to take on roles as a murderous mother in the 1989 true-crime story “Small Sacrifices” and a tough lawyer on the trail of a thief in 1992′s “Criminal Behavior.”
She also starred in biographies of Nazi-hunter Beate Klarsfeld and photographer Margaret Bourke-White.
In 1995, at age 50, Fawcett stirred controversy posing partly nude for Playboy magazine. The following year, she starred in a Playboy video, “All of Me,” in which she was equally unclothed while she sculpted and painted.
Fawcett’s most unfortunate career moment may have been a 1997 appearance on David Letterman’s show, when her disjointed, rambling answers led many to speculate that she was on drugs. She denied that, blaming her strange behavior on questionable advice from her mother to be playful and have a good time.
In September 2006, Fawcett, who at 59 still maintained a strict regimen of tennis and paddleball, began to feel strangely exhausted. She underwent two weeks of tests that revealed the cancer.
“I do not want to die of this disease. So I say to God, `It is seriously time for a miracle,’” she said in “Farrah’s Story.”

AP Source Michael Jackson Dies In LA Hospital

LOS ANGELES – A person with knowledge of the situation says Michael Jackson has died in Los Angeles. The person, who was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity, says the King of Pop died at age 50 in a Los Angeles hospital.

Million-selling Artist Intimidated By Idol

NEW YORKFor someone who claims to be incredibly laid back, Jason Mraz is certainly piling up the accomplishments.
Jason Mraz was recently honored with a songwriting award for his work, which includes the hit “I’m Yours.”
The singer-songwriter was the recipient of the Hal David Starlight Award at last week’s Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee ceremony in New York. The honor typically goes to newcomers striking a chord in the music industry. Or, as Mraz puts it, “I hope it has something to do with their savvy freshness.” Mraz, who turned 32 this week and took his parents to the celebratory dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square June 18, says he feels great about the honor. “I never thought my songs would escape my bedroom,” he said. “To have the music shared all around the world, and to be acknowledged by communities like this … it’s inspiring.” Mraz’s 2008 album “We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things” has been a runaway success, with more than 2.5 million copies sold worldwide. It also led to three Grammy nominations, including song of the year and best male pop vocal performance for the reggae-inflected hit “I’m Yours.” Mraz (whose name reflects his family’s Czech heritage) hits the festival circuit overseas before kicking off his stateside “Gratitude Café Tour” July 25. The tour’s quirky title was inspired by a wholesome San Francisco, California, restaurant Mraz loves. A fan of maintaining a diet of predominantly raw foods, Mraz is also a farmer of sorts: He owns an avocado farm in his home city of San Diego, California. He’s also a juggler, a skill Mraz taught himself during the downtime that comes with touring. Watch the multitalented Mraz perform » Mraz shared tales of his avocado farm, as well as what it’s like to get the cold shoulder from Simon Cowell, when he sat down with CNN recently. CNN: So, you live on an avocado farm. What’s that like?
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Jason Mraz: It’s fantastic. Anytime you’re harvesting something in your yardwhether you have a small herb garden or I’ve got avocados, and now we have a solar system so we’re also harvesting sun energy, which is greatfor me that’s when I became an environmentalist. I was like, “Wait a second. This is my environment. This is my piece of the Earth that I’m responsible for.” Yes, the trees give me avocado and fruit that we sell and we eat tons of, but I feel like I have a role to play back to that, too. So it’s cool. CNN: So if you’re at home, daily how many avocados would you eat? Mraz: At least two. Sometimes three or four. CNN: So you must have very nice oily skin. Mraz: I do, thank you. It’s the avocado. I just lather it on. CNN: Do you really? Mraz: I do. Yeah, why not? I’ve got tons of them! CNN: Do you cook? Mraz: I prepare. There’s not much cooking in our household. We do a lot of raw food so it’s more about putting the right ingredients together to create something scrumptious. See Mraz’s chocomole recipe CNN: When eating healthy is so important to you, how difficult is that to maintain when you’re traveling around the world so much? Mraz: Well, I bring tons of backup supplies with me. CNN: How did you like performing on the “American Idol” final? (Mraz performed “I’m Yours” with contestants Anoop Desai and Alexis Grace.) Mraz: I loved it. It was such a great event. And I have compassion for every one of those kids that dares audition. I wasn’t a contestant. I was just there to sing, and when I saw Simon at the end of that panel I freaked out. I was like, “What does he think?” And then I had to stop myself and say “Dude, you’re not a contestant.” He’s aloof. But I watched during the rest of the night and he did it to all the acts. That’s just his way. CNN: Do you think you could hack it as an “American Idol” contestant? Mraz: It is really tough. I watch what those guys do backstage between songs and their weekly schedule is super intenseto learn new songs, to shoot videos, to learn dance moves and all this. They actually go through a pretty amazing transformation during the course of that show. I just don’t know that I could commit myself to something like that. I’m a little more laid back. And some days if I can’t show up to work, I don’t show up to work. And I love that (laughs). CNN: Were you surprised by the success of “I’m Yours”? Mraz: Very surprised. There’s something simple about it … like a nursery rhyme. I thought it was so playful. I never expected the world to really grab it and run with it the way they have. CNN: Can you talk me through how you went about writing that song? Where were you? What were you doing? Mraz: I was at home. It was a sunny afternoon. And just as any afternoon where I play music, I was playing on an electric guitar, just chugging around, feeling a little reggae in me you know, and the melody and the words just started to pop out rather quickly and so I recorded it rather quickly. And the whole process only took about a half an hour. CNN: You’re about to go overseas to play various festivals. Is there anywhere you’ll be going for the first time? Mraz: This year we’re going to explore South America, which I’ve visited as a tourist, but I’ve never taken my music down there. I hear the crowds turn up in masses, so I really want to see what that’s like. I love getting to bounce around and explore so much. I love Scandinavia. I love Spain. It’s so mystical and romantic, yet it’s gritty.
CNN: Do you speak Spanish? Mraz: No, but I have the Rosetta Stone. I have begun my level one training.
Source:CNN

Michael Jackson Pop Music Legend Dies At 50

Michael Jackson, the show-stopping singer whose best-selling albumsincluding “Off the Wall,” “Thriller” and “Bad”and electrifying stage presence made him one of the most popular artists of all time, died Wednesday, according to multiple sources, including the Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press.
Michael Jackson, shown in 2008, was one of the biggest pop stars in history.
CNN has not confirmed this information. He was 50. He collapsed at his residence in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles, California, about noon Pacific time, suffering cardiac arrest, according to brother Randy Jackson. He died at UCLA Medical Center. Jackson’s blazing rise to stardomand later fall from graceis among the most startling of show business tales. The son of a steelworker, he rose to fame as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, a band he formed with his brothers in the late 1960s. By the late ’70s, as a solo artist, he was topping the charts with cuts from “Off the Wall,” including “Rock With You” and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.” In 1982, he released “Thriller,” an album that eventually produced seven hit singles. An appearance the next year on a Motown Records 25th-anniversary special cemented his status as the biggest star in the country. Timeline: The life of Michael Jackson » For the rest of the 1980s, they came no bigger. “Thriller’s” follow-up, 1987′s “Bad,” sold almost as many copies. A new Jackson albuma new Jackson appearancewas a pop culture event. The pop music landscape was changing, however, opening up for rap, hip-hop and what came to be called “alternative”and Jackson was seen as out of step. His next release, 1991′s “Dangerous,” debuted at No. 1 but “only” produced one top-ranking single”Black or White”and that song earned criticism for its inexplicably violent ending, in which Jackson was seen smashing car windows and clutching his crotch.
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And then “Dangerous” was knocked out of its No. 1 spot on the album charts by Nirvana’s “Nevermind,” an occurrence noted for its symbolism by rock critics. After that, more attention was paid to Jackson’s private life than his music career, which faltered. A 1995 two-CD greatest hits, “HIStory,” sold relatively poorly, given the huge expense of Jackson’s recording contract: about 7 million copies, according to Recording Industry of America certifications. A 2001 album of new material, “Invincible,” did even worse. In 2002, Forbes magazine called the singer’s musical career “a franchise in decline,” based on diminishing album sales. In 2005, he went to trial on child-molestation charges. He was acquitted. In July 2008, after three years away from the spotlight, Jackson announced a series of concerts at London’s O2 Arena as his “curtain call.” Some of the shows, initially scheduled to begin in July, were eventually postponed until 2010. Rise to stardom Michael Jackson was born August 29, 1958, to Joe Jackson, a Gary, Indiana, steelworker, and his wife, Katherine. By the time he was 6, he had joined his brothers in a musical group organized by his father, and by the time he was 10, the groupthe Jackson 5had been signed to Motown. He made his first television appearance at age 11. Jackson, a natural performer, soon became the group’s front man. Music critic Langdon Winner, reviewing the group’s first album, “Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5,” for Rolling Stone, praised Michael’s versatile singing and added, “Who is this ‘Diana Ross,’ anyway?” The group’s first four singles”I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There”went to No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart, the first time any group had pulled off that feat. There was even a Jackson 5 cartoon series on ABC. In 1972, he hit No. 1 as a solo artist with the song “Ben.” The group’s popularity waned as the ’70s continued, and Michael eventually went solo full time. He played the Scarecrow in the 1978 movie version of “The Wiz,” and released the album “Off the Wall” in 1979. Its success paved the way for “Thriller,” which eventually became the best-selling album in history, with 50 million copies sold worldwide. At that point, Michael Jackson became ubiquitous. Seven of “Thriller’s” nine cuts were released as singles; all made the Top Ten. The then-new cable channel MTV, criticized for its almost exclusively white playlist, finally started playing Jackson’s videos. They aired incessantly, including a 14-minute minimovie of the title cut. (“Weird Al” Yankovic cemented his own stardom by lampooning Jackson’s song “Beat It” with a letter-perfect parody video.) On the Motown Records’ 25th anniversary speciala May 1983 TV extravaganza with notable turns by the Temptations, the Four Tops and Smokey Robinsonit was Michael Jackson who stopped the show. Already he was the most popular musician in America, riding high with “Thriller.” But something about his electrifying performance of “Billie Jean,” complete with the patented backward dance moves, boosted his stardom to a new level. People copied his Jheri-curled hair and single-gloved, zippered-jacket look. Showbiz veterans such as Fred Astaire praised his chops. He posed for photos with Ronald and Nancy Reagan at the White House. Paul McCartney teamed with him on three duets, two of which”The Girl Is Mine” and “Say Say Say”became top five hits. Jackson became a Pepsi spokesman, and when his hair caught fire while making a commercial, it was worldwide news. It all happened very fastwithin a couple years of the Motown special. But even at the time of the “Motown 25″ moonwalk, fame was old hat to Michael Jackson. He hadn’t even turned 25 himself, but he’d been a star for more than half his life. He was given the nickname the “King of Pop”a spin on Elvis Presley’s status as “the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll”and few questioned the moniker. Relentless attention But, as the showbiz saying has it, when you’re on top of the world, there’s nowhere to go but down. The relentless attention given Jackson started focusing as much on his eccentricitiessome real, some rumoredas his music. As the Web site Allmusic.com notes, he was rumored to sleep in a hyperbaric chamber and to have purchased the bones of John Merrick, the “Elephant Man.” (Neither was true.) He did have a pet chimpanzee, Bubbles; underwent a series of increasingly drastic plastic surgeries; established an estate, Neverland, filled with zoo animals and amusement park rides; and managed to purchase the Beatles catalog from under Paul McCartney’s nose, which displeased the ex-Beatle immensely. In 1990s and 2000s, Jackson found himself pasted across the media for his short-lived marriages, the first to Elvis Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie; his 2002 claim that then Sony Records head Tommy Mottola was racist; his behavior and statements during a 2003 interview with British journalist Martin Bashir done for a documentary called “Living With Michael Jackson;” his changing physical appearance; and, above all, the accusations that he sexually molested young boys at Neverland. The first such accusation, in 1993, resulted in a settlement to the 13-year-old accuser (rumored to be as high as 20 million), though no criminal charges were filed, Allmusic.com notes. He also fell deeply in debt and was forced to sell some of his assets. Neverland was one of many holdings that went on the block. However, an auction of material from Neverland, scheduled for April, was called off and all items returned to Jackson. Interest in Jackson never faded, however, even if some of it was prurient. In 2008, when he announced 10 comeback shows in London, beginning in July 2009, the story made worldwide news. The number of concerts was later increased to 50. Seventy-five thousand tickets sold in four hours when they went on sale in March. However, when the shows were postponed until 2010, rumors swept the Internet that Jackson was not physically prepared and possibly suffering from skin cancer. At the time, the president and CEO of AEG Live, Randy Phillips, said, “He’s as healthy as can beno health problems whatsover.”
Jackson held open auditions for dancers in April in Los Angeles. He is survived by his three children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II.
Source:CNN

Multiple Reports Michael Jackson Dies At 50

Entertainer Michael Jackson has died after being taken to a hospital on Thursday after suffering cardiac arrest, according to multiple reports including the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press. CNN has not confirmed his death.
A Los Angeles fire official told CNN that paramedics arrived at Michael Jackson’s home after a 911 call.
Jackson, 50, had been in a coma at the hospital, sources told CNN. Brian Oxman, a Jackson family attorney, said he was told by brother Randy Jackson that Michael Jackson collapsed at his home in west Los Angeles Thursday morning. Family members were told of the situation and were either at the hospital or en route, Oxman said. Fire Capt. Steve Ruda told CNN a 911 call came in from a west Los Angeles residence at 12:21 p.m. Ruda said Jackson was treated and transferred to the UCLA Medical Center. Asked specifics of the patient’s condition, he said he could not discuss them because of federal privacy laws. The music icon from Gary, Indiana, is known as the “King of Pop.” Jackson is the seventh of nine children in a well-known musical family. At the medical center, every entrance to the emergency room was blocked by security guards. Even hospital staffers were not permitted to enter. A few people stood inside the waiting area, some of them crying.
Source:CNN

Transformers 606 Million Debut Topples Record

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) –
Action movie “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” pummeled U.S. box offices on its Wednesday debut, raking in $60.6 million in the second biggest single-day gross ever, box office watchers said on Thursday.
The effects rich, alien versus robot war movie, came close to eclipsing last year's single-day debut of Batman movie “The Dark Knight,” which posthumously starred actor Heath Ledger and took in $67.2 million in domestic markets on its Friday debut.
Opening day ticket sales for “Transformers,” released by Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures and produced with privately held DreamWorks, includes $16 million from midnight screenings and gives the movie the biggest single-day box office on a Wednesday, according to Hollywood.com Box office.
The previous Wednesday record was held by “Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix,” which had $44.2 million on its Wednesday debut in July 2007, including $12 million from midnight screenings.
The new film is a sequel to 2007's “Transformers” that took in a total of more than $700 million worldwide, and Hollywood has been hoping that the sequel would help the industry rebound from recent weeks of relatively lackluster ticket sales.
“Transformers” is based on the popular toys and cartoons about shape-shifting cars which morph into “autobots” that fight alien “decepticons” who want to control Earth.
(Reporting by Laura Isensee, editing by Bob Tourtellotte, Bernard Orr)

Nominees Emerge For US Panel On Wall Street Meltdown

WASHINGTON (Reuters) –
A bipartisan panel armed with subpoena power to investigate causes of the Wall Street meltdown is on the brink of being launched, as Congress embarks on an ambitious effort to reform policing of the financial sector.
A short list of names has emerged for the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission that includes former Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson; former Democratic head of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission Brooksley Born; and Alex Pollock, a fellow at the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Congress last month created the 10-member commission to study how fraud, regulatory lapses, monetary policy, accounting, lending practices and executive pay contributed to the worst U.S. financial crisis since the Great Depression.
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said the panel is modeled after the Pecora Commission, a Depression-era U.S. Senate panel that investigated the causes of the 1929 Wall Street crash.
“I think the announcement should be coming in the near future,” Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami said about the naming of the appointees.
The source, speaking anonymously because discussions were still ongoing, said other possible appointees include Bill Thomas, former Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee; Jake Garn, former Republican senator; and Bob Graham, the former Democratic senator and Florida governor.
Born, Pollock and Thomas declined to comment. Thompson, Garn, and Graham did not immediately respond to messages.
The crisis commission must report its findings to Congress in December 2010. Its work will run parallel to Congressional efforts to draft the most dramatic overhaul of the financial regulatory system since the 1930s.
President Barack Obama has said he hopes reform legislation can be finalized by the end of this year. Obama's proposal, unveiled earlier this month, calls for the Federal Reserve to police systemic risks to the economy and proposes consolidating primary bank supervision into a new regulator.
The plan also calls for creating a new consumer financial product watchdog and for giving the federal government the power to unwind troubled firms whose stability impact the broader financial system.
The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission will study what led to the failure of several large Wall Street firms, which prompted Congress last year to pass a $700 billion financial bailout that has been unpopular among voters.
The U.S. economy has shed six million jobs since December 2007 in the midst of a recession that has seen the jobless rate hit 9.4 percent.
The crisis commission was given the power to hold hearings and to subpoena witnesses' testimony as well as correspondence and documents.
(Reporting by Karey Wutkowski, additional reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky; editing by Carol Bishopric)

Michael Jackson Hospitalized With Heart Attack Reports

LOS ANGELES (AFP) –
Pop legend Michael Jackson was rushed to a hospital in Los Angeles Thursday after suffering a heart attack, reports said, but it was not immediately possible to confirm his condition.
The Los Angeles Times citing local fire department officials reported Jackson, 50, was unconscious when paramedics arrived at his home in Holmby Hills before being taken to hospital.
TMZ.com celebrity news website said Jackson suffered a cardiac arrest but the singer's father Joe Jackson was unable to confirm details when contacted by E! Online celebrity news site.
Jackson's manager Tohme E. Tohme was not immediately available for comment at his office after being contacted by AFP.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Devin Gales would not confirm Jackson's identity, but said paramedics responded to a call from an address corresponding to Jackson's at 12:21 p.m and the person was taken to UCLA Medical Center.
UCLA hospital officials were not immediately available for comment.

Pop Icon Michael Jackson Dead TMZcom Website

LOS ANGELES (AFP) –
Pop icon Michael Jackson died Thursday after suffering a cardiac arrest, the entertainment website TMZ.com reported.
The website reported that Jackson, 50, suffered a heart attack just after 12:00 pm (1900 GMT) local time and paramedics were unable to revive him.
Jackson's manager Tohme E. Tohme was not immediately available for comment when contacted by AFP. Officials at UCLA Medical Center where Jackson was treated also could not be reached for comment.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Devin Gales would not confirm Jackson's identity but said paramedics went to an address corresponding to the star's home at 12:21 pm (1921 GMT) and the person was taken to UCLA Medical Center.

Pop Star Michael Jackson Dead Report

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) –
Pop giant Michael Jackson, who took to the stage as a child star and set the world dancing to exuberant rhythms for decades, died on Thursday, TMZ website reported. He was 50.
There was no official confirmation of the reported death and spokespersons for Jackson could not be reached for comment.
“We've just learned Michael Jackson has died,” TMZ said.
“Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon at his Holmby Hills home and paramedics were unable to revive him. We're told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back,” the entertainment site said.
It added, “A source tells us Jackson was dead when paramedics arrived.”
Earlier, the Los Angeles Times said the singer had been rushed to a Los Angeles-area hospital by fire department paramedics who found him not breathing when they arrived at the singer's home.
The newspaper said paramedics performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation at the scene before taking him to the UCLA Medical Center hospital.
Jackson had been due to start a series of comeback concerts in London on July 13 running until March 2010. The singer, whose hits included “Thriller” and “Billie Jean,” had been rehearsing in the Los Angeles area for the past two months.
The shows for the 50 London concerts sold out within minutes of going on sale in March.
His lifetime record sales tally is believed to be around 750 million, which, added to the 13 Grammy Awards he received, makes him one of the most successful entertainers of all time.
He lived as a virtual recluse since his acquittal in 2005 on charges of child molestation.
There were concerns about Jackson's health in recent years but the promoters of the London shows, AEG Live, said in March that Jackson had passed a 4-1/2 hour physical examination with independent doctors.
CHILD STAR TO MEGASTAR
Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, the seventh of nine children. Five Jackson boys — Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael — first performed together at a talent show when Michael was 6. They walked off with first prize and went on to become a best-selling band, The Jackson Five, and then The Jackson 5.
Jackson made his first solo album in 1972, and released “Thriller” in 1982, which became a smash hit that yielded seven top-10 singles. The album sold 21 million copies in the United States and at least 27 million worldwide.
The next year, he unveiled his signature “moonwalk” dance move while performing “Billie Jean” during an NBC special.
In 1994, Jackson married Elvis Presley's only child, Lisa Marie, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1996. Jackson married Debbie Rowe the same year and had two children, before splitting in 1999. The couple never lived together.
Jackson has three children named Prince Michael I, Paris Michael and Prince Michael II, known for his brief public appearance when his father held him over the railing of a hotel balcony, causing widespread criticism.
(Additional Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Writing by Frances Kerry, Editing by Jackie Frank)

LA Times Michael Jackson Hospitalized

LOS ANGELES – Michael Jackson has been rushed to the hospital, a fire department official told the Los Angeles Times. Capt. Steve Ruda said Thursday that Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the newspaper.
L. Londell McMillan, a lawyer for Jackson, did not have any information. Messages left for other Jackson associates were not immediately returned.
The hospitalization was first reported by the Web site TMZ.
The emergency entrance at the UCLA Medical Center, which is near Jackson’s rented home, was roped off Thursday with police tape.
News trucks were gathered, helicopters flew overhead, and orange cones were laid out to redirect traffic.
“We have no statements as far as transporting Michael Jackson,” Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Devin Gales said.
___
Associated Press entertainment reporters Derrik Lang and Anthony McCartney and special correspondent Linda Deutsch in Los Angeles and music writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody in New York contributed to this story.

Spain Reigns In Crusading Judges

Spain reigns in crusading judges
By Steve Kingstone
BBC News, Madrid
For more than a decade, a drab, beige building in central Madrid has been the global destination of choice for anyone wanting to file allegations of genocide, torture and crimes against humanity.The Audiencia Nacional – National Criminal Court – has heard complaints of human-rights abuses as far afield as Guatemala, Rwanda, Chile, Tibet, Gaza and Guantanamo Bay. Currently, 10 cases from five continents are being investigated by Spanish judges, under the principle of “universal jurisdiction,” which holds that some crimes are so grave that they can be tried anywhere, regardless of where the offences were committed. In a recent statement, almost 100 organisations collectively praised Spain’s “pioneering approach,” gushing that the country “should feel proud of itself” for becoming a reference point for other nations. Except, Spain’s left-leaning government sees things rather differently.
In parliament, it is sponsoring a controversial change in the law, which would limit the future scope of universal jurisdiction to cases in which (i) the victims are Spanish, (ii) the alleged perpetrators are in Spain, or (iii) some other clear link to Spain can be demonstrated. On Thursday, the proposal was approved by lawmakers in the lower house by an overwhelming 341-2 vote, with three abstentions. Senate approval is seen as a formality. ‘Enormous backwards step’”Universal jurisdiction doesn’t necessarily work,” argues Angel Lossada, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, explaining the government’s policy.
“Without a connection to Spain, it presents problems of obtaining proof and co-operation from other states. And then the cases do not conclude.” He has a point. All too often, inquiries by the Audiencia Nacional have produced complex legal arguments with the states concerned, filling pages of court documents but rarely the dock. Only Rodolfo Scilingo, an Argentine former naval officer, has been convicted in Spain under universal jurisdiction – although the court’s defenders point out that a second Argentine, Ricardo Cavallo, was extradited from Spain to face trial back home. The government’s approach has appalled campaigners who argue that, with or without convictions, the Audiencia Nacional has commendably shed light on dark acts committed by closed regimes. The campaigners include witnesses from the most famous case of all – the attempt by Judge Baltasar Garzon to extradite Chile’s Augusto Pinochet on murder charges in 1998. “For me, the Pinochet case was a triumph of justice – together with Nuremberg, it was the most important international prosecution of the past 100 years,” explains Laura Gonzalez Vera, whose husband was murdered by the general’s secret police. “In Chile, the killers are still protected by an amnesty law, but the investigation in Spain destroyed Pinochet politically.”
Mr Guzman is deeply critical of the government’s plan to change the law
Another key witness, Oscar Soto Guzman, was the personal physician of Salvador Allende, the elected left-wing president who committed suicide when Pinochet’s troops stormed his official residence in September 1973. The doctor is deeply critical of the government’s plan to change the law. “It’s a move which completely contradicts everything that’s happened up until now,” he says. “We went legitimately through the Spanish courts to take the Pinochet case forward, but this is an enormous backwards step.” ‘Scared’In common with the human rights lobby, Mr Guzman accuses the politicians of acting out of political motives. “For the government of the day, I suppose it’s more comfortable to forget the past and avoid diplomatic problems. There have been very strong international pressures in these cases – above all, from Israel.” Israel’s intervention, in January, followed the opening of an inquiry by the Audiencia Nacional into a bombing raid on Gaza in 2002, which targeted a known Palestinian militant but also killed 14 civilians. Seven Israelis – a mix of politicians, officials and military officers – were accused of crimes against humanity. In a statement, the Israeli government branded the inquiry in Madrid “unacceptable,” while the then Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told her Spanish counterpart the killings were already under investigation in Israel. Soon afterwards, Madrid confirmed that the law on universal jurisdiction would be changed. “The Spanish foreign minister was scared,” alleges Gonzalo Boye, the lawyer who filed the complaint against Israel. “This is the wrong concept of foreign relations. Instead of dealing as equals, they are dealing from a position of submission to countries which are protecting war criminals.” Mr Boye claims that ongoing cases against China (Tibet) and lawyers for the Bush administration (Guantanamo Bay) added to the government’s desire to put a stop to such diplomatically-sensitive probes in future. ‘Filter effect’But the foreign ministry strongly denies caving in to the concerns of heavyweight governments.
“This is not about pressure from one country or another, but rather it’s about deciding the best role for Spain in tackling impunity,” insists Mr Lossada. Pointing out that the current Spanish rules predate the International Criminal Court (ICC) and regional tribunals, Mr Lossada argues that “today, there are a lot of international instruments that are more efficient and more consensual” than pursuing such cases in Madrid. However, the ICC can only prosecute cases dating from after its inception in 2002. Whatever its motives, the government has won quiet praise from some of the countries directly affected. “This change will be helpful to the Spanish government,” says Irit Kohn, a veteran Israeli lawyer. “It will have a filter effect, and provide restraint in cases which are politically motivated.” An official from another influential nation agrees that the move is “understandable”, likening sensitive cases at the Audiencia Nacional “to an 800lb gorilla in the room” of bilateral relations. The new law is not expected to be retroactive – meaning that high-profile existing cases will continue. But nonetheless, human-rights groups were quick to denounce Thursday’s parliamentary vote as a cynical ploy by politicians to reign in Spain’s crusading judiciary. In a statement, Amnesty International wrote: “A clear message has been sent out, that Spain is more concerned with not offending certain powerful governments than with ending the impunity enjoyed by criminals.”

Source:BBC

Fears For Jailed US Reporters In N Korea

Fears for jailed US reporters in N Korea
By Michael Dobie
BBC News
The news that two US journalists had been arrested in North Korea and sentenced to 12 years of “reform through labour” was greeted with alarm by their families, human rights groups and US officials.
The isolated nation’s prison system is widely regarded as one of the harshest in the world, with a shadowy network of labour camps estimated to hold hundreds of thousands of political prisoners and criminals. Most analysts believe Laura Ling, 32, and Euna Lee, 36, will be held in relatively good conditions, to be used as bargaining chips by Pyongyang to force concessions out of Washington. But if their worst fears are realised and they are sent to a labour camp to serve their sentences of “reform through labour”, they can expect overwork, starvation rations, arbitrary beatings and inadequate shelter, according to former North Korean prisoners who have fled the country. ‘Animals’Many of the camps are located at mines, quarries or factories where the prisoners are forced to work long hours in dangerous conditions, says CK Park, a South Korean researcher who has interviewed former prisoners. He says the survival rate in some camps is very low, with many prisoners dying in their first three years of imprisonment. A former guard in the North, Choi Dong-chul says prisoners “are treated not as human beings but as animals by the North Korean government”.
Prisoners are beaten by the guards on a regular basis, he says, for minor violations such as resting without the guards’ approval or neglecting to bow before a guard. But foreigners who have been held in the North have mixed descriptions of their experiences. Korean-American Evan C Hunziker was accused of spying after swimming the Yalu River between China and North Korea. He spoke little of his experience, his father said, only to say that he was treated humanely but the food was bad. He reportedly wrote a letter to his mother saying he was moved from a prison to a hotel. He was freed after 90 days when New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, then a congressman, negotiated his release, but he committed suicide one month after being freed. Japanese journalist Takashi Sugishima spent two years in what he described as a warm, comfortable cell in a mountain prison facility after he was arrested in Pyongyang in December 1999 and charged with spying. He said he was kept under constant surveillance, but never tortured and was given three hot meals a day. “The treatment I received was more humane than I expected,” he told Associated Press shortly after his release, but added that he constantly worried the guards might decide to kill him. Cramped cellAt the other end of the spectrum is the experience of Ali Lamada, a member of Venezuela’s Communist Party who said he was invited to North Korea in 1967 to work as a Spanish translator. Lamada was arrested in September 1967 and accused of spying, he wrote in a 1979 account published by Amnesty International. He was kept without trial for a year in a cramped, dirty and damp cell in the interior ministry in Pyongyang and was given dirty bread and watery vegetable soup to eat.
Lamada was released and then arrested two months later and sentenced to 20 years of labour. He was taken to a work prison south of Pyongyang and kept in an unheated cell where his feet became frostbitten. Lamada was finally released in 1974 after Venezuela and Romania intervened on behalf of him and Jacques Sedillot, a French translator who was arrested at the same time as Lamada. Sedillot, however, died of illnesses contracted in prison before he could leave Pyongyang. Their experience does not bode well for Ling, who has a stomach ulcer according to her family, or Lee, who is also reportedly ill. The two were seized by border guards in March while reporting at the Chinese border on the plight of North Korean refugees for California-based Current TV. A week after their June trial, North Korea’s state news agency, KCNA, said Ling and Lee “admitted and accepted” they had been trying to get footage for a “smear campaign” against North Korea over human rights. ‘Isolation and depression’For now they are being held in Pyongyang, where Sweden’s ambassador to North Korea, Mats Foyer, has been able to visit them. The ambassador provided few details of the meeting, but he has been “in constant contact with the North Korean foreign ministry, is constantly pressing them for more information about these two young women,” said US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly.
The journalists were reporting on the plight of refugees fleeing North Korea
The Swedes in Pyongyang told American officials that the two journalists were being held in a “good place” with decent food and medical care, said California Congresswoman Jane Harman. And in a rare telephone call recently, Laura Ling described her confinement as “bearable”, her husband Iain Clayton said. She was nervous about the possibility, he added, of being transferred to a labour camp. Most analysts believe Ling, a Chinese-American, and Lee, a Korean-American, will not receive the same treatment as North Koreans consigned to the camps. “I seriously doubt that the two journalists would be placed in the bowels of the prison system for the simple reason that the North Korean regime is not interested in having the two journalists report in detail the brutalities that exist in that system when they are finally released,” says Tim Peters of Helping Hands Korea, a charity that assists North Korean refugees. “Certainly, though, the isolation and depression that they would experience is a grave consideration.”

Source:BBC