| Film review: Reality trumps fantasy in `Spiderwick Chronicles'
"The Spiderwick Chronicles" may not be in the same fantasy league as the tales of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling. Yet the family flick based on the books of Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black is an all-around class act, even if its world of ogres and goblins is a bit stale in the wake of its more ambitious cousins in the over-the-rainbow genre. The human characters are the main source of wonder here. Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger and Mary-Louise Parker authentically capture the fractured spirit of a family newly cast into single-parent mode, while David Strathairn adds a wistful streak as a naturalist so absent-minded he fails to notice how his devotion to a magical realm has cut him off from the marvels of everyday life. Far more modest than films based on Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings," Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia" and Rowling's "Harry Potter" books, "Spiderwick Chronicles" actually becomes more pedestrian the further it wanders from reality.
On Native Ground
This bill not only immunizes U.S. officials from prosecution for cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment of prisoners, it also allows the President to set the rules for interrogation and determine what constitutes cruel and inhumane treatment and what interrogation tactics it considers permissible. And there is no requirement for the American people to know any this information - it may stay secret indefinitely. If you think all this only applies to foreign terrorists sitting in cells in Guantanamo Bay, you're wrong. The language in this bill gives the President the power to seize anyone, U.S. citizen or foreign national, who has "purposely and materially supported hostilities against the United States." It codifies the Bush Administration's definition of "unlawful enemy combatant," a definition that previously did not exist in any law book.
Clinton Launches Ohio Campaign Marathon
Clinton has lost the last 11 nominating contests to rival Barack Obama and was looking to primaries in Ohio and Texas for a campaign boost. Those states, and Rhode Island and Vermont, vote Tuesday. Polls show tight contests in Texas and Ohio. "The last days leading up until Tuesday are ones where we really need you," Clinton told cheering supporters. In a late-night meeting with reporters on her campaign plane, Clinton conceded she was toughening her rhetoric as the primary nears. "I think we've been sharpening the contrast and I think it's a contrast that needs to be sharpened," Clinton said. "This is a big decision and I want people to have as much information as possible." She rejected suggestions the protracted contest would hurt the party in the fall election.
Microsoft CFO Says Yahoo Would Play Role In Software Strategy
A top Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) executive on Monday said Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) could play an important role in the tech superpower's embrace of the growing trend of selling software as a Web-based service. Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell cited Yahoo's potential role in response to a question on how the major shift in the way software is sold could affect the tech company's business model - even as he maintained that Microsoft is still weighing its options after the board of Yahoo rejected its acquisition offer. Microsoft emerged as tech behemoth by selling software mainly as a shrink- wrapped product from which it derived hefty profits from licensing and other fees. However, a growing number of tech companies have shifted to a new business model in which customers, particularly businesses, pay a fee for access to software programs through the Web.
UPDATE 1-Motorola eyes mobile chief with consumer know-how
Facing a plummeting share and pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn, Motorola said at the end of January it was looking at options such as a potential separation of mobile devices to help create value for shareholders. Brown said he was taking nothing for granted when asked about how Motorola will cope with moves by rivals such as global leader Nokia to make inroads into the North American market where Motorola is the leader. "I expect (competition) to be particularly rugged for the remainder of 2008 and into 2009," he said during the Webcast. Continued... .
These beauty queens are expert muskrat-skinners
Dorchester County's traditional jobs, the ones that inspired the Outdoor Show's muskrat skinning and oyster-shucking contests, have begun to dry up. Phillips' father, for instance, sold his waterman's boat and now works in an office. At the same time, some local young people have absorbed more of popular culture, which places little value on small-town pageants — and zero on muskrat skinning. But, if other people want out, Phillips and Abbott want in. Phillips is headed to Villa Julie College near Baltimore next year, and Abbott, a junior, is also thinking about schools outside the Eastern Shore. Phillips will study nursing; Abbott is thinking about marine biology. There's no guarantee they will be able to find jobs back here. So while they still had time, the two wanted to dive as deep as possible into the traditions of Chesapeake marsh country — a place where beauty queens can get their hands bloody.
TXT-U service doesn't alert all
He said most of the complaints are from T-Mobile users. Wolter said three individuals' cases are still pending, and "some of them possibly will not be resolved." He said he didn't know the specifics of these cases. Keen said he thinks the University should identify students who think they're set up to receive the messages but aren't. "That's the right thing to do, to make sure everyone gets the text messages," he said. "They created them to keep people informed, because they wanted to get people to know what's going on, and obviously it's not doing that for everyone." .
Nuclear Waste: Not a Problem
Six decades ago the birth of nuclear power was praised for lowering the volume of waste products by a factor of 10,000,000. As Petr Beckmann pointed out in his classic The Health Hazards of NOT Going Nuclear, the nuclear wastes for an individual for a year is about the size of an aspirin tablet — a minuscule price to pay for inexpensive, reliable, safe electrical power. Yet when nuclear power is mentioned as a clean alternative today, the problem of wastes invariably arises. .
L & L Financial Holdings, Inc. Business Expansions in China
Kong Ling-Min, Senior Geological Engineer, to strengthen its mining operations in February 2008. Mr. Kong is to supervise the Tian-Ri Coal Mine in Yunnan Province of China. The Tian-Ri Coal Mine has a government exploration permit and with a coal reserve of an estimated 53 million tons of high grade coal and an estimated $7.3 billion value (at the current market price of approx. $134 per ton). KMC moved to a new 3,800 sq ft. office, located at Yunnan University Science & Technology Building, 59 Science-Medicine Road, Kunming, China in February 2008. Power Operations: The Company created its second air compressor company, LSP Tech, in China on January 18, 2008, to meet customers' increasing spending power. The Company operates LSP Tech with 70% equity ownership.
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