Did the person who shouted 'Judas' at the Manchester Free Trade Hall in 1966 have a point?
carrie underwood and mike fisher katy perry and russell brand alicia keys and swizz beatz carmelo anthony and lala vasquez megan fox and brian austin green
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Bishop Eddie Long Settles Sexual Misconduct Suit out of Court
Filed under: News
Georgia megachurch preacher Bishop Eddie Long has settled out of court with four young men who accused him of sexual misconduct, Long's spokesman said Thursday.
In a statement posted on the Web site of Long's New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, church officials said, "This decision was made to bring closure to this matter and to allow us to move forward with the plans God has for this ministry."
"This resolution is the most reasonable road for everyone to travel," the statement said.
BJ Bernstein, attorney for the plaintiffs, was similarly tight-lipped. "The matter has been resolved," read a statement. "Neither attorney Bernstein nor the plaintiffs themselves will be available for interview on this matter, now or in the future."
Back in September, the Associated Press reported on allegations that the pastor "abused his spiritual authority to seduce [teenage boys] with cars, money, clothes, jewelry, international trips and access to celebrities." Later details reported in the Christian Post said that the married father of four "admitted to mentoring the men and sharing rooms with them while on trips, but denied any sexual activity took place."
Read more here.
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Was The Hangover taking the mick out of Mike Tyson's tattoo?
His tattooist is suing the producers and it's going to be a headache for Warner Bros
Chancer of the week is Mike Tyson's tattooist, who is suing the producers of The Hangover II, in which a character wakes sporting an inking similar to that encircling the former heavyweight champion's left eye. Not only has this S Victor Whitmill accused Warner Bros of "reckless copyright infringement", he has actually attempted to injunct the movie's release.
That demand has been unsuccessful, but it seems the rest of the suit will be rather more of a headache for the studio, with the Missouri-based tattooist's lawyers fuming: "Mr Whitmill has never been asked for permission for, and has never consented to, the use, reproduction or creation of a derivative work based on his original tattoo."
The case hinges on whether or not the movie references to the tattoo could be regarded as a parody, as opposed to mere reproduction ? and the judge thinks Whitmill has a likelihood of succeeding.
This seems like excellent news for the legal system ? which is, after all, one of things that separates us from the animals. Frankly, Lost in Showbiz had always assumed Whitmill's design for Tyson to be a parody of those sported in cheery 1994 romcom Once Were Warriors, so it looks forward to a whole army of Maoris at a loose end launching a class action against him once he has pocketed his winnings. This could run and run.
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Themed Stations for 2010 and New Year's Eve!
Dear Listeners:
We're excited to share with you some new themed stations we've just created that allow you to easily listen to the most popular songs of 2010. This look back across the country's popular tastes from this last year includes everything from chart-topping Pop Hits to Country, Alternative, Jazz, R&B songs, and many more.
And, in the spirit of literally ending the year on a high note , we also have a special New Year's Eve Party station that you can find among the new Themed stations.
We hope you'll check out the full selection at: http://www.pandora.com/genres and scroll down to 'Themed' for those stations. As always, feedback is most welcome.
Hope you enjoy...and thanks for listening!
-Tim (Founder)
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Nico Muhly: Strings and stabbings
From scoring Oscar-winning films to helping out Bj�rk, Nico Muhly is in demand all over the globe ? and he's still only 29. The US composer tells Tom Service why his first opera is based on a Manchester knife attack
To go for a walk with Nico Muhly is to experience another way of seeing the world. Five minutes into our stroll through central London, the 29-year-old US composer is telling me how some priest friends of his are planning to reintroduce an ancient Anglican rite to church services. Then, spying a Japanese restaurant, he points out the oddness of its sign being written in an Indian script. This is followed by a ticking off when it becomes apparent that I am unfamiliar with the niceties of Udal law, a Norse code of conduct that still functions in Orkney and the Shetlands.
Then, when we see a poster for Sing-Along-A-Wickerman, he tells me he dressed up as the classic horror movie's salmon of knowledge for the same show last year. "And I did pretty well. I even sang the violin part for Willow's Song, which surprised some people." This is the unforgettable moment when Britt Ekland grinds her way along Edward Woodward's bedroom walls.
All this takes place before we even get to the restaurant. Given his boundless, omnivorous tastes ? not only has Muhly written orchestral pieces and choral masses, he is also the favoured collaborator and arranger of Bj�rk, Antony Hegarty, Philip Glass and Grizzly Bear ? it seems appropriate that he has suggested eating at St John Hotel, specialists in "nose to tail" gastronomy. Muhly is living in London for now, in a garret above the Strand, as he prepares for the premiere of his first full-scale opera this month. Called Two Boys, the show, a co-production between English National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, has been three years in the making and was inspired by a real-life event in Manchester in 2003: the stabbing of a 14-year-old boy by a 15-year-old he met through the web.
It's not a simple story. The 14-year-old created a cast of characters in chatrooms, incorporating an international spy-ring and gruesome murders, in a bid to persuade the older boy, with whom he was infatuated, to kill him. Fortunately, he survived the stabbing.
"It was already really operatic," Muhly says. "He invented separate styles for all the characters, like different ways of spelling, even different speeds they typed." Having created the show ? with librettist Craig Lucas and director Bartlett Sher ? Muhly is now not sure where fact ends and fiction begins. "It's like an episode of Law and Order: you start with something real and turn it into something else. To make things fit an operatic model, you have to invent some things and take others away."
He is clear how he wants the opera to feel on stage, though. "There's something really specific I'm going for. It should be a combination of The Turn of the Screw and Prime Suspect. That was one of the ways I thought about how to strike the tone during composing: what would happen if the kids from Britten's Turn of the Screw had the internet?"
Muhly decides on the first tranche of our nose-to-tail odyssey through the St John menu: a smorgasbord of fish soup, pig's cheek and snails. I start to wonder where this culturally voracious character was formed. I begin with his surname, somehow redolent of everywhere and nowhere. "It's Bavarian originally, and morphed into M�ller and then back to Muhly when my ancestors moved to America. I like that it reads as foreign to everyone."
His first name comes courtesy of his French painter mother, his father being a documentary-maker and former Egyptologist. Muhly was an only child, and the family were always on the move. His love for English choral music flourished when he sang as a boy treble in a high Anglican church in Providence, Rhode Island. When he was 13, the family moved to Italy. Did he attend an international school? "No! A Roman public school. Totally. I didn't have any Italian ? and then in two months, I had learnt it. You have to do it that way. Anyway, Italian is a pretty generous language to learn like that. But I probably couldn't do it now. It was just the way my head was wired."
And still is. Muhly is as fecund in conversation as he is in his music. "I think in language and then it turns into music. The relationship between them is like a reversible coat. The language is the structure on which the music hangs. I don't know what the hell is going on with that. I find it much easier to start thinking about something bizarre in language, like the kind of 'r' sounds they make in Beijing. I think about that for six days, then a piece of music comes out. Maybe I was just put together incorrectly and I should go to the shop and get fixed."
Maybe he shouldn't. This innate virtuosity with ideas and sounds means he's as fluent in Icelandic and Faroese as he is in English and Italian, and as comfortable writing a film score for Stephen Daldry's The Reader as he is working on Bj�rk's Medulla. Or composing concertos, cantatas and operas. "I'm so excited about the next four years," he says, "because I've got some really good arrangements, a ballet, some orchestral stuff, and my other opera." This opera, called Dark Sisters, is about a woman trying to escape from the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints sect. "I don't like getting sucked into doing just one thing," he adds, describing arranging as "like going round to someone else's flat to cook. I don't need everyone to applaud me the whole time. I have enough outlets for my total vision in concert pieces."
Pike and leek pie arrives, a dish Muhly greets like an old friend. I tell him how I felt listening to the CD of his hour-long ballet score, I Drink the Air Before Me. A good place to start if you're new to Muhly's music, the work is a dizzying mix of choral sweetness, minimalist energy, electronic manipulation and lyrical invention, all pulled together by an emotional and dramatic thread. "I've always loved extreme string-playing," he says, "either the early viola da gamba style or the full-on hyper- romantic manner. That obsession with motor [driving rhythms] and creating a veiled emotional content hasn't really changed since before I went to the Juilliard School. The other influences are pretty traceable, like my interest in early choral music, because I just love it."
Muhly has been called a successor to minimalists Steve Reich and Philip Glass, not least because he worked as Glass's assistant. But for him, it's not a question of style, of being a "minimalist", or any other label. "It just so happens that the things I do occasionally land on recognisable stylistic islands. If you write any kind of music because you feel you should, rather than because you like the way it sounds, that's wrong."
A dozen tastes of heaven
Muhly talks of his natural love of "things that are severe and decadent ? like this place". And, as we end our meal, St John's brutal but beautiful culinary aesthetic tips towards the decadent, with half a dozen madeleines for dessert. "Little foretastes of heaven," says Muhly. But in writing Two Boys, he needed severity more than decadence. "You have to be in command of every moment, editorially, when you write an opera. There are so many people involved, so you have to be clear about the structure. There are three big pillars in the opera: the very beginning, a solo piece for Sue Bickley [who sings detective Anne], and a huge sequence of passacaglias that ends the whole thing. Because I can't bear long operas, the first act has to be less than an hour, and the second shorter again."
The piece comes out at 100 minutes, the perfect length for a thriller. Rehearsals are going well, Muhly says, even if it's "pretty scary" watching it come together. "It's great now the children in the cast have arrived, so I'm not the youngest person in the room any more. It was insane: there were 100 people and I was like, 'Hey y'all!'" He does an impression of an excited teenager meeting the operatic thoroughbreds of ENO.
But he's right to be excited. Muhly has more worlds of music at his feet than any other composer today. Back in his garret, he puts the finishing touches to a version of a Tracy Chapman track for a transgender performer friend in New York, plots a six-part cantata, and muses on the future of film scores. And then humdrum everyday life suddenly intervenes, as Muhly wonders why it's impossible to find anywhere in central London that does laundry. "What is it with this place?" he says. "I mean, it's easier in Phnom Penh."
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Injunctions row: Meet the man who helps celebrities remain anonymous
High-profile barrister Hugh Tomlinson QC says privacy law is good, if properly defined and enforced
Hugh Tomlinson QC has become renowned for making clients anonymous. It is his persuasive charm that regularly ensures celebrities' alleged infidelities or other indiscretions are not exposed in the tabloids. He is the leading securer of privacy injunctions.
His prominent ? although sometimes invisible ? customers have included Sir Fred Goodwin, former head of RBS and Chris Hutcheson, father-in-law of the chef Gordon Ramsay, as well as footballers and television personalities whose true identities are concealed behind random series of letters: CTB, DFT, POI, AJH, and MJN.
That celebrities have been unmasked in parliament, on Twitter, or on the web ? becoming more celebrated than intended ? has not dented Tomlinson's belief in strict judicial enforcement of privacy rights. "Rules have been laid down," he says. "The fact the law is difficult to enforce doesn't mean you don't try to enforce it."
Yet no one would suggest such a jovial man ? who clearly relishes the interplay of argument and runs the influential Inforrm legal blog about media law ? of being a prude or adopting a secretive lifestyle.
Tomlinson himself appears bemused that he has gained the status of preserver of reputations for those wealthy and desperate enough to need a privacy order. But the 57-year-old is in no doubt that the 1998 Human Rights Act provides clear authority for protecting those who wish to prevent details of their extra-marital sex lives being paraded through the media.
"The current legal position has got the balance essentially right," he says. "If things are private they shouldn't become public unless there's public interest in doing so. The main point of contention is that the press say that if someone is having an adulterous affair, that's something that should be exposed. The judges don't agree.
"They draw the line that [publication is only allowed] where there's misconduct the law recognises, for example, criminal and regulatory misconduct or hypocritical misleading of the public."
That such a broad definition has been adopted by British judges has shocked the media, particularly those that rely on "kiss and tell" stories.
"If anyone had misled the public as to whether they had a drug habit or medical condition, they would never obtain a privacy injunction," he adds. "In the end someone has to decide on the public interest. It can't be editors who have an obvious axe to grind. It can't be parliamentarians because they don't have the evidence on the particular facts of [each] case. Judges form the only available institution to make the decisions."
Tomlinson studied philosophy, not law, at university, pursuing research, after Oxford, at Sussex and Paris. He has translated seven books of the post-modernist French thinker Gilles Deleuze, one of whose more enigmatic sayings states: "A concept is a brick. It can be used to build a courthouse of reason. Or it can be thrown through the window."
Having joined the bar in 1983, Tomlinson became a QC in 2002. He has co-authored textbooks on suing the police and the law of human rights, which at 2,000 pages, as he points out, is 50% longer than the Bible. "I began as a barrister who did everything; a bit of crime, commercial and family law. Then I began working with George Carmen, the head of my chambers, on a few big libel cases, such as Virgin v British Airways.
"Having written a book on human rights and knowing media law meant that I was instructed in cases related to privacy." Other clients have included the footballer Rio Ferdinand and the Prince of Wales during his legal battle with the Mail on Sunday over his travel diaries.
Tomlinson is a member ? alongside Cherie Booth, Professor Philippe Sands and the former DPP Lord Macdonald ? of the London-based Matrix chambers.
The courts' recent decision to stage more privacy cases, where possible, in public has reinforced Tomlinson's profile. He has appeared four times in the court of appeal on privacy cases in the past six months. He has regularly been instructed by Schillings, the solicitors which have also pioneered privacy injunctions.
He prefers less puzzling titles for cases than the random, alphabetic sequences that look like they have been devised by an amateur cryptologist. "The royal courts of justice's computer needs at least three letters," he says. "They are made up on the spur of the moment. I have tried to introduce real names. We called one last year 'The author of a Blog v The Times'."
Privacy injunctions can cost a client between �5,000 and �50,000. Tomlinson is complimentary about the recent report by the Master of the Rolls but disagrees with one of its main recommendations: inviting the media into injunction application hearings. It would make the procedure more difficult and increase costs, he believes. "The press can already apply to discharge an order."
He does not always represent the applicant. Last year, he appeared for a soul singer, Adakini Ntuli, challenging a superinjunction which prevented her revealing she had had an affair with the Take That member Howard Donald. "It was the first case where a superinjunction was challenged in the court of appeal," he recounts.
Does he believe Britain is heading towards a French-style, more protective privacy law? "There's a very slow but obvious convergence between European legal systems. Aspects of the approach in France are coming into English law. We are becoming more French."
The recent setbacks to privacy injunctions do not discourage him. "What's important to me is the protection of my clients. A barrister's job is to go to court and argue the best possible case on behalf of his or her client.
"After this outburst of public hysteria over gagging orders, people will get to the bottom of it and realise there's not much in it. That may be helpful to people who want to protect their privacy."
A privacy law was first proposed in parliament in 1961. He would like to see the issue debated in the Commons: "It's perfectly proper and sensible for parliament to give general guidance.
"It's important to have a public consensus about privacy law ? to have wider agreement about where the boundaries should be so that every one knows where they stand."
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Remarks by the President in Department of Defense Personnel Announcements
Release Time:
For Immediate Release
Rose Garden
10:06 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: All right. Good morning. In a few moments, I’ll be joining members of our armed forces, their families, and veterans for the Memorial Day observance at Arlington. There, and across our nation, we’ll pause to honor all those who’ve given their last full measure of devotion in defense of our country. Theirs was the ultimate sacrifice, but it is one that every man and woman who wears America’s uniform is prepared to make -- so that we can live free.
The men and women of our armed forces are the best our nation has to offer, and they deserve nothing but the absolute best in return. And that includes leaders who will guide them, and support their families, with wisdom and strength and compassion. And that’s what I expect as Commander-in-Chief as we work to keep our nation secure and our military the finest in the world.
I found those qualities in Leon Panetta, who I announced last month as my choice to succeed our outstanding Secretary of Defense, Bob Gates, who I thank for joining us today. And I found these qualities in the leaders who will complete our team at the Pentagon and whom I’m proud to announce today -- General Martin Dempsey as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral James Winnefeld as the Vice Chairman, and to succeed General Dempsey as Chief of Staff of the Army, General Ray Odierno.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the principal military advisor to me and my national security team, including the Secretary of Defense. Since taking office, I’ve been very grateful for the leadership of the current Chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen, and the Vice Chairman, General Jim “Hoss” Cartwright. These two men have served our nation with distinction for decades, and I look forward to paying tribute to their lives of service in the months ahead.
Today, I’ll simply say that, like President Bush before me, I’ve deeply valued Mike’s professional steadiness and his personal integrity. On his watch, our military forces have excelled across the whole spectrum of missions, from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan to relief efforts after the Haiti earthquake. He’s helped revitalize NATO, reset our relations with Russia, and steer our relationship with Pakistan and China. And I believe that history will also record Mike Mullen as the Chairman who said what he believed was right and declared that no one in uniform should ever have to sacrifice their integrity to serve their country.
I’ve also benefited enormously from the advice and counsel of Hoss Cartwright. Hoss is that rare combination of technical expert -- from cyber to missile defense -- and strategic thinker, whether it was updating our nuclear posture or preparing our military for 21st-century missions. I’ll always be personally grateful to Hoss for his friendship and partnership. And as he concludes four decades of service in the Marine Corps that he loves, he can do so knowing that our nation is more secure, and our military is stronger, because of his remarkable career.
And I know that Michelle joins me in saluting Deborah Mullen and Sandee Cartwright for their decades of extraordinary service, especially as champions of our inspiring military families.
With the advice and consent of the Senate, it is our hope and expectation that Leon Panetta will soon take the reigns as Secretary of Defense. General Cartwright’s term ends this summer; Admiral Mullen’s term ends this fall. I’m announcing my choice for their successors today because it’s essential that this transition be seamless and that we stay focused on the urgent national security challenges before us. And I want to thank Deputy Secretary of Defense Bill Lynn for the continuity that he’ll provide during this transition.
With nearly 40 years in uniform, Martin Dempsey is one of our nation’s most respected -- and combat-tested --generals. In Iraq, he led our soldiers against a brutal insurgency. Having trained Iraqi forces, he knows that nations must ultimately take responsibility for their own security. Having served as acting commander of Central Command, he understands that in Iraq and Afghanistan security gains and political progress must go hand in hand. And just as he challenged the Army to embrace new doctrine and tactics, I expect him to push all our forces to continue adapting and innovating to be ready for the missions of today and tomorrow.
I was proud to nominate Marty as Army Chief of Staff, and I realized he only assumed that position last month. Marty, your tenure as Chief may go down as one of the shortest in Army history. But it’s your lifetime of accomplishment that brings us here today. And I thank you for your willingness to take on this new assignment, along with your wife Deanie and your three children, all of whom have served in the Army.
Today, I want every one of our men and women in uniform to hear the words that you spoke to your soldiers on your first day as Chief, because it’s our shared message to all who serve, especially our troops in harm’s way: “We will provide whatever it takes to achieve our objectives in the current fight.”
As Vice Chairman, Admiral Sandy Winnefeld will draw on more than 30 years of distinguished service. Under his command, fighters from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise pounded Taliban positions in the weeks after 9/11 and his carrier strike group played a critical role in air operations over Iraq. Having served as a NATO commander, Sandy is well known to our allies. Having served on the Joint Staff, he is known and trusted here at the White House.
Most recently, as head of Northern Command, Sandy’s been responsible for the defense of our homeland and support to states and communities in times of crisis, such as the recent tornadoes and the floods along the Mississippi. He’s supported our Mexican partners in their fight against the cartels and our Japanese allies in the response to their nuclear emergency. So Sandy knows that we have to be prepared for the full range of challenges. Sandy, I thank you and your wife Mary and your two sons for your continued service.
I’ve selected General Dempsey and Admiral Winnefeld because of their record -- and potential -- as individuals. But I’ve also selected them because they will make an extraordinary team -- despite their competing loyalties to Army and Navy. Between them, they bring deep experience in virtually every domain -- land, air, space, sea, cyber. Both of them have the respect and the trust of our troops on the frontlines, our friends in Congress, and allies and partners abroad. And both of them have my full confidence.
They both have something else. For the first time, the Chairman and Vice Chairman will have the experience of leading combat operations in the years since 9/11. Two moments in particular speak to this leadership. On the morning of September 11, 2001, the Enterprise was returning home from the Persian Gulf when word came of the attacks. Rather than wait for orders, Sandy took the initiative, reversed course, and put his ship and aircraft within range of Afghanistan by the next morning, setting the stage for the strikes that followed. A few years later, as Marty’s 1st Armored Division was rotating out of Iraq, he suddenly got new orders. He turned his division around, shifted to new parts of Iraq, and defeated an insurgent uprising -- a remarkable maneuver that has entered the annals of Army history.
And while I know that folks across the Army are proud to see one of their own selected as Chairman, I also know this means losing their new Chief in a time of war. And that’s why, for the next Army Chief of Staff, I’m nominating one of the Army’s most accomplished soldiers -- and one of the tallest -- (laughter) -- General Ray Odierno. In three pivotal deployments to Iraq, he commanded the troops that captured Saddam Hussein, partnered with General Petraeus to help bring down the violence, and then transferred responsibility to Iraqi forces, allowing us to remove some 100,000 American troops and end our combat mission.
After years on the frontlines, Ray understands what the Army must do -- to prevail in today’s wars, to prepare for the future, and to preserve the readiness of the soldiers and families who are the strength of America’s families. And we’re fortunate that Ray’s dedication to our soldiers is shared by his wife Linda and their family, including their son Tony, a combat veteran and advocate for his fellow wounded warriors.
I urge our friends in the Senate to confirm these outstanding individuals as swiftly as possible. They’re innovative, flexible, focused on the future, and deeply devoted to our troops and their families. General Dempsey, Admiral Winnefeld, we have much to do -- from bringing our troops home from Iraq to beginning to reduce our forces in Afghanistan this summer and transitioning to Afghan lead; from defeating al Qaeda to protecting the Libyan people. All this, even as we make difficult budget decisions while keeping our military the finest fighting force in the world.
Above all, as Commander-in-Chief, I’ll be looking to you, and the rest of the Joint Chiefs, for what I value most in my advisors -- your honest, unvarnished advice, and the full range of options, especially when it comes to our most solemn obligation: protecting the lives of our brave men and women in uniform. We have no greater responsibility, as we are reminded today when we honor all those who sacrificed so that we can enjoy the blessings of freedom.
So, again, to Marty, Sandy, and Ray, as well as your families, thank you for your patriotic service and your readiness to lead once more. Thank you very much, everybody.
END
10:16 A.M. EDT
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