Steve Irwin family feud mystery

An alleged family feud at Australia Zoo has heightened with the reports that zoo management withheld a statement about a rift that family patriarch Bob Irwin had asked to be made public.

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China considers ending one-child policy

The controversial rules, which restrict most urban families to a single child and rural households to two, were introduced in the 1970s in a bid to bring the country's vast population from soaring out of control and outstripping limited resources.

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Celebrity Leaplings

Self-help guru Tony Robbins was only six years old when he published his first book, "Unlimited Power." And rapper Ja Rule was only five when his debut album, "Venni Vetti Vecci," went platinum. No, they weren't child prodigies -- these celebrities are "leaplings," people who were born on February 29, the extra day added during a leap year. Of course, celebs like Tony Robbins and Ja Rule weren't really kids when they made it big. But since their birthdays appear on calendars only once every four years, you could be excused for considering a 26-year-old to be six or a 23-year-old to be five.

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H1 Visa FAQ

Here in this site a lot of conserning questions regarding H1-visa. IF ever you have some questions on H1-visa or H4 dependent, this site will help answer your querries.

http://www.immihelp.com/visas/h1b/h1-visa-faq.html

5 Injured in Explosion at Illinois Mall

Mannequins, broken glass and debris littered the street Thursday after a midday explosion at a small strip mall that injured several people, collapsed roofs and left mounds of rubble in a Chicago, Illinois, suburb.

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BABY STEPS: From newborn to 12 months

Baby steps
The thruth about milestone.
by mindy berry





Birth to 4 months: getting to know you



You've bought the baby gear and labored over the nursery. And now here you are with a squealing, splotchy little person. For some moms, falling in love comes naturally. But for others, instant passion is the stuff of movies, not real life. If you're feeling as nervous as you would before a blind date, don't worry -- there are simple things many of which you're probably doing already, that will break the ice tact, talking and singing to her, and responding to her basic needs -- feeding, soothing, and diapering --are all ways to nurture a positive attachment between you and your baby.

"I tell parents that a mother is being born as a baby is being born," says Anna Baumgaertel, MD., a developemental pediatrician at Children's Hospital of Philadephia. In other words, be patient with your self. Bonding is a process, and you will feel more and more connected over time. -- Anita Sethi, Ph.D.



5 to 8 months: your little kidder



Although those wonderful first smiles happend as early as 6 weeks, by now you may have a full-fledged gigler on your hands. "Children aren'tborn with humor; they learn it from interacting with their parents," says Merideth Gattis, Ph.D, a psychologist at Cardiff University in the UK. Here's how you can help your bambino bacome a little Sir Laugh-a-lot!:
use your voice. babies will pick up on humor in your accoustic cues.
"Parents tend to speak higher, louder, and slower reading a funny book," says Gattis. "This pattern, like raising your voice at the end of a question, is typical of infant-directed speech. It signals your baby to pay attention to something you want her to learn."
be yourself. "People are funny in different ways, so even if you think you're missing the funny bone, allow your natural instincts to take over," advises Gattis.Silly faces, impromptu dances, and goofy impresonations all count.
practise makes perfect. "Your baby has discovered that her mouth and tongue have the power ot make sounds," says Joanne Cox, M.D., associate chief of general pediatrics at Children's Hospital in Boston. " Encouraging her to laugh and coo now will lay the groundwork for talking later." Babies love to have fun. Playing peekaboo, having a tickling seassion, and blowing raspberries on her tummy are surefire way to elicit lots of giggles.

9 to 12 months: pushing it real good

Walking is a baby's first big, well, step into toddlerhood. While those thrilling moments may still be a few weeks or month saway, your can help him prepare for the big day. " Children love push toys because they allow them to move around in a way they couldn't before," says Tanya Remer Altmann, M.D., a pediatrician in Los Angeles. "Plus, they can help your prewalker find his balance." Check out more reasons why push toys are a perfect match for your little one right now:
1. they develop strength. Once your baby can pull up, he's ready to push a toy forward (with your behind him!). Most babies take to push toys very quickly, and using one will strengthen his arm, leg, and core muscles.
2. they build confidence. "Every step of a child's developement builds toward the next, so once your tot gets a taste of the excitement of moving he may try harder to walk on his own," says Dr. Altmann.
3. they're long-lasting. Babies neve tire of the exhilarating feeling of zooming around the house, which is why you can count on these toys to deliver years of fun!

Fisherman swims 10 hours to shore

A fisherman swam for more than 10 hours to find help for the two companions he left behind after their boat sank off the east coast of Australia.

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SHARK ATTACK GROWS

A diver who suffered a fatal shark bite in the Bahamas this week is part of a trend of increasing attacks around the world despite plummeting populations of the majestic fish.If sharks are so threatened in the world's waters, why are attacks on humans on the rise?Because the global population of humans is growing fast, so more people go to the beach, said George Burgess, curator of the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History. And nowadays, beach-goers don't just go for a dunk. They hang out in shallow water (home for many sharks) for long periods of time to surf, windsurf, boogie-board, kayak and dive.
The number of worldwide shark attacks overall increased from 63 in 2006 to 71 in 2007, continuing a gradual upswing over the past four years, Burgess said.
There have been five unprovoked shark attacks so far this year (most shark attacks are unprovoked), Burgess said. However, the death of Markus Groh, 49, an Austrian lawyer, on Monday is under investigation and might be classified as provoked as he was part of an uncaged tourist dive off the Bahamas where chum is thrown into open water.
"There are more people in the water than there ever have been," Burgess told LiveScience. "We can pretty much predict that next year there will be even more attacks. Even if shark populations are declining, which we know they are, even in a local situation if populations have been depleted, there is still a probability of getting an attack."
Shark stats
Sharks are disappearing from the world's oceans due to overfishing, says Julia Baum, a researcher at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego. Baum and some of her shark-tracking colleagues made comments to reporters earlier this month at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston.
Sharks killed one human in 2007, according to the International Shark Attack File, but humans killed an estimated 38 million sharks for their fins each year, Baum said. That's as many sharks as the entire human populations of the 35 largest cities in the United States. Other estimates are nearly double that.
Some nations have banned shark fishing, but the bans are hard to enforce. And it's a free-for-all in international waters, Baum said.
The classic sharks, aka the "great sharks" such as the great white shark, scalloped hammerhead, mako sharks, thresher sharks, bull sharks and dusky sharks, are in trouble, she said. Deepwater species such as seal sharks, silky sharks, sleeper sharks and spined pygmy sharks are also at risk, said shark biologist Colin Simpfendorfer of James Cook University.
A study Baum conducted at her previous job at Dalhousie University showed all great shark species in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean have declined by more than 50 percent since the early 1970s.
Everyone agrees that the great sharks' numbers are declining, but some experts think Baum's estimates are faulty and the real situation is less dire, Burgess said.
Little is known about deepwater sharks, even after an assessment of them by IUCN-The World Conservation Union, said Colin Simpfendorfer of James Cook University. Almost half of the known species of sharks occur in deep water and they are more vulnerable to fishing than shallow water sharks (the great sharks), he said. Data from two case studies, one in southeastern Australian waters and the other in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, showed reductions in abundance of about 90 percent in many species of sharks in less than 20 years, Simpfendorfer said.
New listings could help
The scale of the problem of disappearing sharks is global due to shark finning, the process of cutting off a shark's fins and throwing the rest of the animal overboard still alive, leaving it to die, Baum said. Finning makes use of only 2 to 5 percent of the animal, but shark fins are now one of the most highly valued marine commodities. A bowl of shark fin soup can sell for $100, so there is high incentive for fishermen to fin.
The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service is proposing to effectively close down much of the coastal large shark fisheries, Baum said. "This would be a very positive step forward for shark management in the U.S.," she said.
The European Union has acted to restrict pressure on deepwater sharks, Simpfendorfer said.And white sharks have been listed as vulnerable by the IUCN Red List, said shark researcher Salvador Jorgensen of Stanford University. In the 2008 IUCN Red List, forthcoming later this year, five additional great shark species will be listed in the threatened categories, including the shortfin mako shark and three species of thresher shark, each of which will be listed as vulnerable. The scalloped hammerhead will be listed as globally endangered, Baum said."Sharks evolved 400 million years ago, and yet we could now lose some species in the next decade, so that would be just the blink of an eye in evolutionary time," Baum said. Sharks are thought to be crucial to the entire marine ecosystem: they are top predators and help to keep smaller sharks and rays from devouring too many scallops, clams and other commercially important species of marine life. You'll live
Meanwhile, if you do suffer a shark bite, your odds of living are greater than 90 percent. The rate of shark-attack fatalities hit an all-time low in 2007 for the past 20 years, Burgess said.
In fact, the trend for shark-bite fatalities in the 20th century is "down, down, down, decade by decade," Burgess said. The reason is better medical care.
As a result of multiple wars in the last century, medicine has learned how to do a much better job of saving people with traumatic injuries, Burgess said. "The whole process from water onto operating table or stitches occurs with greater rapidity and more professionalism," he said.
The real story isn't shark attacks, Burgess said. "The real story is what is happening to skates, sharks and rays on a worldwide basis. We have witnessed, in the last 20 to 30 years, huge declines in these animals worldwide."

LIFE SENTENCE NOT DEATH FOR BOBBY CUTTS JR

Last Edited: Wednesday, 27 Feb 2008, 2:48 PM EST
Created: Wednesday, 27 Feb 2008, 7:16 AM EST

CANTON, Ohio (AP) -- A jury has spared a former Canton police officer from a possible death sentence for killing his pregnant lover and their baby and instead has recommended life in prison with parole. Bobby Cutts Jr. would be eligible for parole after 30 years under the jurors' recommendation made Tuesday. Stark County Common Pleas Judge Charles Brown Jr. planned to decide on a sentence later Tuesday after each side has an opportunity to make statements. The 30-year-old Cutts had sobbed on the witness stand when he claimed the death of 26-year-old Jessie Davis from an elbow to the throat last June was an accident during an argument. He said he dumped her body in a park in a panic. He returned to the witness stand after his conviction to ask jurors to spare his life.

Bobby Cutts Jr. was found not guilty of aggravated murder in the death of Jessie Davis, but guilty of aggravated murder for the death of her unborn child.

POUND FOR POUND

By Andrew Walker:

The term pound for pound is something that is starting to really grate with me in the boxing world right now. I understand what it means and how the ranking is arrived at but I think it is a meaningless title or moniker for any boxer to attain to. It can’t be proved in the ring so why do the fans and the media give it so much importance? Floyd Mayweather Jr. is universally ranked as the pound for pound number one right now but if you put him in a boxing ring against Joe Calzaghe who is somewhere in the top ten of this mythical list depending on who wrote it, Mayweather would lose big time to Joe. I know the list is pound for pound and not if the fighters were at their respective weights but that is bunkum. Boxers should be judged against those in their respective weight class or thereabouts not on some mythical sliding scale that cannot be proved surely? The attributes needed to win as a heavyweight are different to those of a welterweight so how can we even begin to compare the two? In my opinion you can’t, certainly not with any degree of accuracy anyway. It is often said that one of the reasons that boxing is less popular nowadays is because there are too many titles that confuse the issue of who is the “champion” to the casual viewer so why do we need to go adding another one to the list? To me it is similar to asking the question who would win if a prime Cassius Clay got in the ring with a prime Mike Tyson? You could discuss that all night but it can never be proved so would the result that proved more popular be valid? At least that discussion would have some validity as you would be matching two men of a similar weight but again it could not be proved either way. I have had a look at a few pound for pound ranking lists whilst writing this piece but as an example I have taken the names from the BBC’s list on their boxing site.

BBC POUND-FOR-POUND TOP 10

1. Floyd Mayweather Jr. – Welterweight United States (39-0-0, 24KOs)2. Manny Pacquiao - Super-featherweight Philippines (45-3-2, 35KOs)3. Juan Manuel Marquez - Super-featherweight Mexico (47-3-1, 35KOs)4. Joe Calzaghe - Super-middleweight Wales (44-0-0, 32KOs)5. Bernard Hopkins - Light-heavyweight United States (48-4-1, 32KOs)6. Miguel Cotto – Welterweight Puerto Rico (30-0-0, 25KOs)7. Israel Vazquez - Super-bantamweight Mexico (42-4, 31KOs)8. Ricky Hatton - Light-welterweight England (43-1, 31KOs) 9. Winky Wright - Light-heavyweight United States (51-4-1, 25KOs)10. Rafael Marquez - Super bantamweight Mexico (37-4, 33KOs)

Using that list as a talking point how can a forty three year old Hopkins with four losses and one draw to his credit be ranked as the fifth best boxer in the world today? Think about it? Do you really think that Bernard Hopkins is the fifth best boxer in the world right now? He may be arguably the best light heavyweight in the world today but maybe that’s a reflection on how weak comparatively that particular division is, no? And how is Winky Wright ranked ninth best in the world? We could go on and argue the points and merits for each fighter and the justifications on why they should or should not be on the list but none of it can be proved? Pound for pound lists should be nothing more then a way to provide a talking point and no real weight should be placed on them. So can we please drop the term pound for pound for a while now and concentrate on matters that can be proved in the ring. Anyway we all know that Joe Calzaghe is the pound for pound king in boxing today. Just ask Enzo he knows. Andrew Walker.

Digging For Hitler's Gold

Treasure hunters believe there are almost 2 tons of Nazi gold and possibly clues to the whereabouts of the legendary Amber Room, a prize taken from a Russian castle during World War II.....

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EU fines Microsoft record $1.3 billion

By AOIFE WHITE, AP Business Writer

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Union fined Microsoft Corp. a record $1.3 billion Wednesday for the amount it charges rivals for software information.
EU regulators said the company charged "unreasonable prices" until last October to software developers who wanted to make products compatible with the Windows desktop operating system.
The fine is the largest ever for a single company and brings to just under $2.5 billion the amount the EU has demanded Microsoft pay in a long-running antitrust dispute.
Microsoft immediately said the issues for which it was fined have been resolved and the company was making its products more open.
The fine comes less that a week after Microsoft said it would share more information about its products and technology in an effort to make it work better with rivals' software and meet the demands of antitrust regulators in Europe.
But EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes remained skeptical and said Microsoft was under investigation in two additional cases.
"Talk is cheap," Kroes said. "Flouting the rules is expensive."
Microsoft's actions have stifled innovation and affected millions of people around the world, Kroes said. She called the record 899 million euro fine "a reasonable response to a series of quite unreasonable actions."
"We could have gone as high as 1.5 billion euros ($2.23 billion)," she said. "The maximum amount is higher than what we did at the end of the day."
Microsoft fought hard against a March 2004 decision that led to a 497 million euro ($613 million) fine and an order that the software maker share interoperability information with rivals within 120 days. The company lost its appeal in that case in September.
Microsoft was fined $357 million in July 2006 for failing to obey that order.
The EU alleged that Microsoft withheld crucial interoperability information for desktop PC software — where it is the world's leading supplier — in an effort squeeze into a new market and damage rivals.
The company delayed compliance for three years, the EU said, only making changes in October to the patent licenses for companies that need data to create software that works with Microsoft.
Microsoft had initially set a royalty rate of 3.87 percent of a licensee's product revenues for patents and demanded that companies looking for communication information — which it said was highly secret — pay 2.98 percent of their products' revenues.
The EU complained last March that the rates were unfair. Under threat of fines, Microsoft two months later reduced the patent rate to 0.7 percent and the information license to 0.5 percent — but only in Europe, leaving the worldwide rates unchanged.
The EU's Court of First Instance ruling that upheld regulators' views changed the company's mind again in October when it offered a new license for interoperability information for a flat fee of 10,000 euros ($14,900) and an optional worldwide patent license for a reduced royalty of 0.4 percent.

5,500-year-old ceremonial plaza in PERU

By ANDREW WHALEN, Associated Press Writer Tue Feb 26, 9:04 PM ET

LIMA, Peru - A team of German and Peruvian archaeologists say they have discovered the oldest known monument in Peru: a 5,500-year-old ceremonial plaza near Peru's north-central coast.
Carbon dating of material from the site revealed it was built between 3500 B.C. and 3000 B.C., Peter Fuchs, a German archaeologist who headed the excavation team, told The Associated Press by telephone Monday.
The discovery is further evidence that civilization thrived in Peru at the same time as it did in what is now the Middle East and South Asia, said Ruth Shady, a prominent Peruvian archaeologist who led the team that discovered the ancient city of Caral in 2001. Shady serves as a senior adviser to Peru's National Culture Institute and was not involved in the project.
The find also raises questions about what prompted "civilizations to form throughout the planet at more or less the same time," Shady said.
The circular, sunken plaza, built of stones and adobe, is part of the Sechin Bajo archaeological complex in Andes foothills, 206 miles northwest of Lima, where Fuchs and fellow German archaeologist Renate Patzschke have been working since 1992.
It predates similar monuments and plazas found in Caral, which nonetheless remains the oldest known city in the Americas dating back to 2627 B.C.
The plaza served as a social and ritual space where ancient peoples celebrated their "thoughts about the world, their place within it, and images of their world and themselves," Fuchs said.
In an adjacent structure, built around 1800 B.C., Fuchs' team uncovered a 3,600-year-old adobe frieze — six feet tall — depicting the iconic image of a human sacrificer "standing with open arms, holding a ritual knife in one hand and a human head in the other," Fuchs said.
The mythic image was also found in the celebrated Moche Lords of Sipan tombs, discovered on Peru's northern coast in the late 1980s.
Walter Alva, the Peruvian archaeologist who uncovered the Lords of Sipan tombs, said the plaza found in Fuchs' dig was probably utilized by an advanced civilization with economic stability, a necessary condition to construct such a ceremonial site.
The excavation was the fourth in a series of digs at the Sechin Bajo complex that Fuchs and Patzschke began on behalf of the University of Berlin in 1992. Deutsche Forschung Gemeinschaft, a German state agency created to sponsor scientific investigations, has financed the most recent three digs.
The find "shows the world that in America too, human beings of the New World had the same capacity to create civilization as those in the Old World," Shady said.
Her discovery, Caral, made headlines in 2001 when researchers carbon-dated material from the city back to 2627 B.C., proving that a complex urban center in the Americas thrived as a contemporary to ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt — 1,500 years earlier than previously believed.

LIVE CAMERA STREAM ACROSS US

http://www.livenewscameras.com/ <--- click here


IF you wish to see what's going on in major US cities check out the link and you'll see live camera feed across the US. I just knew it from Stumble.com where " i happened to stumble upon". So, if you want to know the lastest news especially "the weather" in most major cities, when you are travelling, you can check it out at "livenewscameras.com". The site is only 3 weeks old and they are open to any suggestions to improve it. I believe it is run by Fox company; their camera feeds to another giant tv networks as well. You will see live news room, street cameras, live traffic etc..

Send an email and the anchor/moderator on that time will surely acknowledge you on air. I've tried it, my second email they replied:

Hello Rudjard!
Thanks for writing to us! So glad you like the website! Yes, please include us in your blog...we would love people to know about our website!

Best!
Athenia

So here, i've posted the site. Enjoy!

80th Oscar awards

LOS ANGELES - The Coen brothers completed their journey from the fringes to Hollywood's mainstream on Sunday, their crime saga "No Country for Old Men" winning four Academy Awards, including best picture, in a ceremony that also featured a strong international flavor.Javier Bardem won for supporting actor in "No Country," which earned Joel and Ethan Coen best director, best adapted screenplay and the best-picture honor as producers.Accepting the directing honor alongside his brother, Joel Coen recalled how they got their start in a career that has seen them advance from oddballs with a devoted cult following to broader audiences. He noted they have been making films since childhood, including one at the Minneapolis airport called "Henry Kissinger: Man on the Go.""What we do now doesn't feel that much different from what we were doing then," Joel Coen said. "We're very thankful to all of you out there for continuing to let us play in our corner of the sandbox."Daniel Day-Lewis won his second best-actor Oscar for the oil-boom epic "There Will Be Blood," while "La Vie En Rose" star Marion Cotillard was a surprise winner for best actress, riding the spirit of Edith Piaf to Oscar triumph over Julie Christie, who had been expected to win for "Away From Her."All four acting prizes went to Europeans: Frenchwoman Cotillard, Spaniard Bardem, and Brits Day-Lewis and Tilda Swinton, the supporting-actress winner for "Michael Clayton."The only other time in the Oscars' 80-year history that all four acting winners were foreign born was 1964, when the recipients were Rex Harrison, Julie Andrews, Peter Ustinov and Lila Kedrova.As a raging, conniving, acquisitive petroleum pioneer caught up in California's oil boom of the early 20th century, Day-Lewis won for a part that could scarcely have been more different than his understated role as a writer with severe cerebral palsy in 1989's "My Left Foot.""My deepest thanks to the academy for whacking me with the handsomest bludgeon in town," Day-Lewis said.The Coens missed out on a chance to make Oscar history -- four wins for a single film -- when they lost the editing prize, for which they were nominated under the pseudonym Roderick Jaynes."The Bourne Ultimatum" won the editing Oscar and swept all three categories in which it was nominated, including sound editing and sound mixing.Past winners for their screenplay to 1996's "Fargo," the Coens joined an elite list of filmmakers to win three Oscars in a single night, including Francis Ford Coppola ("The Godfather Part II"), James Cameron ("Titanic") and Billy Wilder ("The Apartment").With $64 million domestically, "No Country" is the biggest box-office hit for the Coens, whose tales often are an acquired taste appealing to narrow crowds. Their films include the modest hits "Fargo" and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and such lesser-known yarns as "The Hudsucker Proxy" and "The Man Who Wasn't There."Cotillard, the first winner ever for a French-language performance, tearfully thanked her director, Olivier Dahan."Maestro Olivier, you rocked my life. You have truly rocked my life," said Cotillard, a French beauty who is a dynamo as Piaf, playing the warbling chanteuse through three decades, from raw late teens as a singer rising from the gutter through international stardom and her final days in her frail 40s."Thank you, life; thank you, love. And it is true there (are) some angels in this city.".A relatively fresh face in Hollywood, Cotillard has U.S. credits that include "Big Fish," "A Good Year" and the upcoming "Public Enemies," featuring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale.With a heartbreaking turn as a woman succumbing to Alzheimer's in "Away From Her," Christie had been expected to win her second Oscar. She won best actress 42 years ago for "Darling." Heavies ruled the acting prizes. Along with Day-Lewis' greedy oilman, Bardem played an unshakable executioner in "No Country" and Swinton played a malevolent attorney in "Michael Clayton." Bardem, referring to the sinister variation of a page-boy bob his character sported, said: "Thank you to the Coens for being crazy enough to think I could do that and for putting one of the most horrible haircuts in history over my head."Host Jon Stewart joked that Bardem's haircut in the film combined "Hannibal Lecter's murderousness with Dorothy Hamill's wedge-cut." Mickey Mouse gained a rival as Hollywood's favorite rodent as the rat tale "Ratatouille" was named best animated film, the second Oscar win in the category for director Brad Bird. Bird thanked his junior-high guidance counselor, who expressed repeated skepticism over his desire to become a filmmaker. "It went on like this until we were sick of each other," said Bird, who also won the animation Oscar for 2004's "The Incredibles" and shared a nomination for original screenplay for "Ratatouille," a $200 million blockbuster. "I only realized just recently that he gave me the perfect training for the movie business." The ceremony's montage of photos and film clips of stars, filmmakers and others in cinema who died in the past year ended with a scene from "Brokeback Mountain" featuring Heath Ledger, who died of a prescription drug overdose last month. Glen Hansard of the Irish band the Frames and Marketa Irglova, both non-actors who starred in the musical romance "Once," won the best-song Oscar for "Falling Slowly," one of several tunes they wrote for the film. "What are we doing here? This is mad," Hansard said, recounting the low-budget history of "Once." "It took us three weeks to make. We made it for a hundred-grand. We never thought we'd come into a room like this and be in front of all you people." The song won over three nominated tunes from "Enchanted" written by composer Alan Menken, an eight-time Oscar winner, and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, a three-time winner, whose previous academy prizes included their song and score collaborations for "Pocahontas." The sound-mixing win for "The Bourne Ultimatum" extended the years of Oscar futility for Kevin O'Connell, a nominee for "Transformers," who holds an academy record: 20 nominations, no wins. Michael Moore, who assailed President Bush over the Iraq War in his Oscar speech for documentary winner "Bowling for Columbine" five years ago, missed out on a chance to take the podium again. His health-care study "Sicko" lost the documentary prize to "Taxi to the Dark Side," a war-on-terror chronicle that centers on an innocent Afghan cab driver killed while in detention. Box-office dud "The Golden Compass" scored an upset for visual effects over the blockbusters "Transformers" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End." Other winners included "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" for costume design, "La Vie En Rose" for makeup and "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" for art direction. The Oscar broadcast began with a fanfare and an effects-laden opening segment showing key characters and creatures from past films lining Hollywood Boulevard. Stewart started his opening monologue with a wisecrack about the 100-day writers strike that ended just in time for the Oscars to come off as usual. "These past three and a half months have been very tough. The town was torn apart by a bitter writer's strike, but I'm happy to say that the fight is over," Stewart said. "So tonight, welcome to the makeup sex."

POEA: Direct Hiring Policy suspended

The Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Arturo Brion asked the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) for immediate suspension in the implementing the Memorandum Circular No. 04.The POEA Administrator Rosalinda Baldoz said that processing of the documents of directly hired overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will be based again on the procedures they used before January 15, 2008 where they do not require the employers to pay for the repatriation and performance bonds.Brion will talk to the POEA Governing Boards today, Feb, 18 to discuss the directives of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo regarding the adjustments of MC 04.

Delay at Heathrow Airport

LONDON - Thousands of passengers had their flights delayed or canceled at the world's busiest airport Wednesday after a baggage system computer crashed.

The problem at Heathrow Airport began Tuesday at Terminal 4 when the automatic baggage sorting system's computer went down while being upgraded.
BAA PLC, which owns Heathrow and the faulty system, said the crash prevented workers from being able to place luggage into the area where it is sorted for flights.
The biggest victims were British Airways passengers on long-haul flights. Many were left waiting outside the terminal to find out if their flights would be canceled.

British Airways is the main carrier at Terminal 4, which handles domestic and international flights. Other smaller carriers managed to handle luggage by hand and keep their flights going.
The problem occurred one day after a European airline group reported that Heathrow, the world's busiest airport, had suffered more delays than any other major European airport for the second straight year last year.

About 35 percent of flights at Heathrow were delayed last year, the Association of European Airlines said. Heathrow handles more than 480,000 flights a year, and it is Europe's main hub for flights to the rest of the world.

BAA apologized Wednesday to British Airways passengers whose travel plans were disrupted and said the computer problem would be fixed by Thursday. It also urged all passengers to check with their airlines before traveling to Heathrow for flights

No more HD-DVD disc and player for Toshiba

TOKYO - Toshiba said Tuesday it will no longer develop, make or market HD DVD players and recorders, handing a victory to rival Blu-ray disc technology in the format battle for next-generation video.
"We concluded that a swift decision would be best," Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida told reporters at his company's Tokyo offices.
The move would make Blu-ray — backed by Sony Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which makes Panasonic brand products, and five major Hollywood movie studios — the winner in the battle over high-definition DVD formatting that began several years ago.
Nishida said last month's decision by Warner Bros. Entertainment to release movie discs only in the Blu-ray format made the move inevitable.
"That had tremendous impact," he said. "If we had continued, that would have created problems for consumers, and we simply had no chance to win."
Warner joined Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Co. and News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox in that move.
Nishida said his company had confidence in HD DVD as a technology and tried to assure the estimated 1 million people, including some 600,000 people in North America, who already bought HD DVD machines by promising that Toshiba will continue to provide product support for the technology.
Both HD DVD and Blu-ray deliver crisp, clear high-definition pictures and sound, which are more detailed and vivid than existing video technology. They are incompatible with each other, and neither plays on older DVD players. But both formats play on high-definition TVs.
HD DVD was touted as being cheaper because it was more similar to previous video technology, while Blu-ray boasted bigger recording capacity.
Only one video format has been expected to emerge as the victor, much like VHS trumped Sony's Betamax in the video format battle of the 1980s.
Nishida said it was still uncertain what will happen with the Hollywood studios that signed to produce HD DVD movies, including Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation.
Toshiba's pulling the plug on the technology is expected to reduce the number of new high-definition movies that people will be able to watch on HD DVD machines. Toshiba Corp. said shipments of HD DVD machines to retailers will be reduced and will stop by end of March.
Sales in Blu-ray gadgets are now likely to pick up as consumers had held off in investing in the latest recorders and players because they didn't know which format would emerge dominant.
Despite being a possible blow to Toshiba's pride, the exit will probably lessen the potential damage in losses in HD DVD operations. Goldman Sachs has said pulling out would improve Toshiba's profitability between 40 billion yen and 50 billion yen ($370 million-$460 million) a year.
The reasons behind Blu-ray's triumph over HD DVD are complex, as marketing, management maneuvers and other factors are believed to have played into the shift to Blu-ray's favor that became more decisive during the critical holiday shopping season.
Once the balance starts tilting in favor of one in a format battle, then the domination tends to grow and become final, said Kazuharu Miura, an analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research in Tokyo.
"The trend became decisive I think this year," he said. "When Warner made its decision, it was basically over."
With movie studios increasingly lining up behind Blu-ray, retailers also began to stock more Blu-ray products.
Friday's decision by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the largest U.S. retailer, to sell only Blu-ray DVDs and hardware appeared to deal a final blow to the Toshiba format. Just five days earlier, Netflix Inc. said it will cease carrying rentals in HD DVD.
Several major American retailers had already made similar decisions, including Target Corp. and Blockbuster Inc.
Also adding to Blu-ray's momentum was the gradual increase in sales of Sony's PlayStation 3 home video-game console, which also works as a Blu-ray player. Sony has sold 10.5 million PS3 machines worldwide since the machine went on sale late 2006.
HD DVD supporters included Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp. and Japanese electronics maker NEC Corp.
Microsoft's Xbox 360 game machine can play HD DVD movies, but the drive had to be bought separately, and Nishida said about 300,000 people have those.
Worldwide sales of personal computers with HD DVD drives total about 300,000 worldwide, including 140,000 in North America and 130,000 in Europe, he said.
Recently, the Blu-ray disc format has been gaining market share, especially in Japan. A study on fourth quarter sales last year by market researcher BCN Inc. found that by unit volume, Blu-ray made up 96 percent of Japanese sales.
Sony said it did not have numbers on how many Blu-ray players had been sold globally.
Toshiba's stock slipped 0.6 percent Tuesday to 824 yen after jumping 5.7 percent Monday amid reports that a decision was imminent. Sony shares climbed 2.2 percent to 5,010 yen after rising 1 percent Monday.
Also Tuesday, Toshiba said it plans to spend more than 1.7 trillion yen ($15.7 billion) for two plants in Japan to produce sophisticated chips called NAND flash memory, which are used in portable music players and cell phones. Production there will start in 2010.

H4 VISA Glitch

THE consequences of not properly preparing for an H-4 visa interview may be devastating. An H-4 visa is for the spouses and children of H1B temporary workers. Consular officers at the Embassy in Manila examine the wages paid to H1B workers when H-4 visas are requested.

Failure to pay the prevailing wage is a H-1B violation, which may have serious consequences for the H-1B worker and his family. The story of Emanuel below illustrates an all too common and heartbreaking experience. Emanuel, an accountant from the Philippines, visited the United States.

During his visit, New Products Inc. offered him a position as an accountant with a salary of $17 per hour. The company filed an H-1B petition with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to allow Emanuel to begin working. In its H-1B petition, New Products declared it will pay the prevailing wage of $17 per hour. The USCIS granted Emanuel three years of H-1B status.

Emanuel started working for New Products as an accountant, but New Products only paid him $12 per hour. Emanuel did not file a wage complaint with the Department of Labor as he is thankful to be employed. He sent money home to the Philippines for his wife, two children and younger siblings. Emmanuel was planning to save enough money so he can bring his wife and children to the US with H-4 visas. But since the cost of living in the US is high, it took Emanuel three years to save enough money to bring his family.

New Products was impressed with Emanuel and sponsored him for a green card. At the embassy interview of his wife for H-4 visas the consular officer requested additional documents: a copy of the H-1B petition, Emanuel’s three most recent pay stubs and his W-2 tax forms which reflect his annual salary with New Products.

Emanuel sent the requested documents to his wife who took those to the Embassy, expecting H-4 visas to be issued. At her second interview, she was shocked to hear the consular officer had denied the visas! The officer also informed her that he is sending USCIS information to revoke her husband’s H-1B status.

The extra documents showed Emanuel was not receiving the H-1B wage of $17 per hour as required by law. The employer violated the H-1B provisions leaving Emanuel “out of valid H-1B status.” The H-1B wage is meant to protect US workers, but some government officials are turning the law upside down and punishing the workers. Shortly after his H-1B was revoked,

New Products’ immigrant visa petition for Emanuel was denied because he is out of status and the labor certification wage offer is not credible since the employer did not pay the prevailing wage.

As a result, Emanuel’s green card application was also denied. Emanuel can no longer remain in the US and his chances of ever immigrating are permanently over. H-4 visa applications must be carefully and properly prepared.

Puppet

A new way to entertain a child at bed time. Isn't it cool!

WORLD FASTEST SWIMMER

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's Eamon Sullivan broke Alexander Popov's eight-year-old world record for 50 meters freestyle on Sunday, instantly inheriting the title as the fastest swimmer in history.
The 22-year-old powered his way down Sydney's Olympic pool in 21.56 seconds to shave 0.08 off the mark Popov set at Moscow in June, 2000.
Sullivan has emerged as one of the rising stars of men's freestyle sprinting in the past two years but Sunday's performance will catapult him into favoritism for gold at this year's Beijing Olympics.
"I was just getting used to being the fastest man in Australia and now I am the fastest in the world," he told reporters.
"I will have to have a chat with a lot of people and work out my game plan because instead of me targeting people, other people will be targeting me."
Sullivan's coach Grant Stoelwinder said he knew he could go close to breaking the record but had told him to save himself for next month's Australian Olympic trials.
"He has blown his cover big time!" Stoelwinder said.
"There are really, really good athletes and then there are those ones who have that something just a little bit special."
Sullivan had never broken 22 seconds for the one-lap dash before Sunday's race at the New South Wales Open championship and was initially unaware that he had broken the world record when he glanced at the scoreboard.
"I looked up and saw the point 56 at the end and thought it was 22.56 before I realized it was a one instead of a two at the start," he said.
"Then I saw the line and was in shock."
"We have made some big gains in the gym and I knew if I put bits of my best race together we would be in for a shot at the 22 (seconds). To take that much off my PB (personal best) is amazing."
Australia's head swimming coach Alan Thompson said Sullivan had achieved something special by breaking a record belonging to Popov, the Russian who won the freestyle sprint double at the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
"That was great, to break a world record of one of the legends of the sport and a long-term world record," Thompson said.

Islamic group warns of 'bigger conflict' over Denmark cartoon

ISTANBUL - The Organization of the Islamic Conference denounced Friday the reprinting of a Danish cartoon of the prophet Mohammed, warning it could lead to confrontations between Muslims and Christians.
"By reprinting these cartoons we are heading toward a bigger conflict and that shows that both sides will be hostages of their radicals," OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, a Turk, told AFP in Istanbul.
"It is not a way of improving your rights and exercising your freedoms when you use these rights for insulting the most sacred values and symbols of others and inciting hatred," he said. "This is a very wrong, provocative way -- unacceptable."
Several Danish newspapers on Wednesday republished one of 12 drawings, which had already caused bloody riots in the Muslim world in 2006, after police uncovered an alleged plot in the Scandinavian country to kill the cartoonist.
"The people who are doing this put themselves with the radicals, the fanatics and extremists who are using their beliefs as justification to hurt others," Ihsanoglu said. "This is not the way to improve relations between East and West, between Islam and Christianity."
The drawing, which depicts Mohammed with a turban resembling a bomb with a lit fuse, triggered fresh uproar in Muslim countries.
The Jeddah-based OIC is the world's largest pan-Islamic body, with 57 members.

Agence France-Presse

LONGEST KISSES

The Rules
The kiss must be continuous and the lips must be touching at all times.
If the lips part - the couple are immediately disqualified.
Contestants must be over the age of consent in the country the event is being held.
The couple must be awake at all times.
The contestants must stand during the attempt and cannot be propped together by any aids, such as pillows, cushions or people.
No rest breaks are allowed.
Incontinance pads or adult nappies/diapers are not allowed.
Couples must not leave the venue during their attempt.

The Records:

29:00 hrs Mark and Roberta Griswold (USA)

199830:45 hrs Dror Orpaz and Carmit Tsubara (Israel)

199930:59 hrs Rich Langley and Louisa Almedovar (USA)

200131:18:33 St. Andrea Sarti und Anna Chen (Italy) 2004 (not yet confirmed)

Other marathon kissing were achieved with other rules that do not compare with the official rules. The most extreme kissing marathon competition was one in Brazil lasting 62 days 8 hours 15 minutes with a "kissing time" of 833:45 hours.

In 1999 it was reported that Neli van der Hoeven (Netherlands) and Wanderley Coasta e Silva (Spain) kissed for 34:11 hrs, but this record was not verified.

Knight Rider

Tweenty-five years ago when the first episode of this tv show aired, i could still remember how eager i was then not to miss an episode. If my memory serves me right i was around 7 or 8 years old. We don't have our own tv set back those days so the only way that i could access the show is through our neighbor's living below us. Together with some other kids on the block we flocked by their window just to see how good KITT and the young (David Hasselhoff) Michael Knight in each episode. Sometimes when our neighbor doesn't want us around, they will shut their windows off leaving us poor kids in disappointment.
Now, The first time i saw the trailer from NBC i said "this will definitely be on my menu list of tv shows".

Here's an inside look of this show:

This two-hour movie event, based on the iconic 1980's hit television series, stars Justin Bruening ("All My Children"), Deanna Russo ("The Young and the Restless"), Sydney Tamiia Poitier ("Veronica Mars," "Grindhouse") and Bruce Davison ("Breach," "Close To Home"). In addition, David Hasselhoff (NBC's "America's Got Talent") -- who starred in the popular lead role as Michael Knight for four seasons during the original series' run -- returns as the same character during a special guest-star appearance. As the original story resumes, the new KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand) is absolutely the coolest car ever created: its supercomputer capable of hacking almost any system; its weapons systems efficient; and its body -- thanks to its creator's work and nanotechnology -- is capable of actually shifting shape and color. Plus, its artificial intelligence makes it the ideal good cop partner: logical, precise and possessing infinite knowledge. It is the ultimate car -- and someone will be willing to do anything to obtain it. The three cars featured in the series include the KITT Hero -- a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR that is playing the part of the everyday Hero car with 540 horsepower; the KITT Attack -- a super high-speed version of the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR Hero car that transforms into Attack mode with the help of air-ride technology and specialized body parts -- and a KITT Remote, which is a driverless Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR version of the Hero vehicle. Sarah Graiman is a 24-year old Ph.D candidate at Stanford University, following in her genius father Charles' (Davison) footsteps. But when men attempt to abduct her, Sarah receives a mysterious call from KITT warning her that he's a creation of Charles, who also invented the first KITT 25 years ago -- and that her father is in serious danger. Sarah and KITT track down her best friend from childhood, Mike Tracer (Bruening), a 23-year-old ex-Army Ranger, whom Sarah hasn't seen since he left home at 18. Having served in Iraq, Mike is now jaded and lost and initially resistant. Eventually he agrees to help Sarah and the two set out to discover who's behind the attempt to procure KITT and find Charles. Along the way, Carrie Rivai (Poitier) plays the agile yet tough FBI agent who has a long-standing friendship with Charles and Sarah. Due to those ties, she is brought into the mix to help in the search.

LAST SUMMER

During our visit at the Henry Doorly Z00 in Omaha, NE last summer.

Seen from our background is the big dome where home of hundred different desert creatures live.

PACMAN: SIGNATURE FORGED LOSES $180K

MANILA, Philippines -- Manny Pacquiao has received another low blow. And, again, it occurred outside the boxing ring.
The Filipino superstar, widely known to be too trusting and generous to people close to him, was allegedly duped of about $180,000 (about P7.2 million) by a certain Pia Quijada, who is the second wife of his driver Joseph Jose, according to a Team Pacquiao insider.
The full amount was withdrawn from the bank during a two-year period.
Quijada allegedly forged Pacquiao’s signature to systematically siphon off the huge amount from a bank account in Wells Fargo, on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, where Pacquiao initially deposited $200,000 in December 2006.
The fraudulent withdrawals were supposedly confirmed by Pacquiao’s wife Jinkee, who returned from Los Angeles on Feb. 6.
Based on the bank’s records, Quijada issued pay-to-cash checks in amounts ranging from $300 to $12,000.
Quijada was also accused of transferring $40,000 from Pacquiao’s Sunset Boulevard account to a newly opened account in Wells Fargo, Burbank, the same source said.
The heist was uncovered Thursday last week when Michael Koncz, a member of Pacquiao’s inner circle, received a call from Vilma Rodriguez, the assistant vice president of the Wells Fargo branch in Hollywood.
Rodriguez asked Koncz whether Pacquiao still remembered that he had an account with the bank, the source said.
Koncz then informed Pacquiao, who had apparently lost track of the deposit, which he opened in the company of Jose and Quijada using the couple’s Los Angeles address.
Only $19,000 remained
When he went to the bank, Pacquiao discovered that only $19,000 remained of his original $200,000 deposit.
Pacquiao was so upset he reportedly called it a day after shadow boxing for six rounds at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles.
The Pacman is preparing for his March 15 rematch with World Boxing Council super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez.
Pacquiao returned to the bank to finish his questioning by the Anti-Fraud Unit and was given some 500 checks that bore his forged signature. Some of the checks were even endorsed and cashed by Quijada.
When the police started their investigation Friday morning, Quijada was said to have begged for forgiveness from Jinkee and said she was willing to do anything for her.
Jose, the same source said, also sent a text message to Pacquiao asking for forgiveness.
Jose reminded Pacquiao about the case of his former chief-of-staff Joe Ramos, who allegedly also defrauded him of tax refunds amounting to $150,000 a couple of years ago.
Despite being sacked, Ramos was able to return to Pacquiao’s good graces. He was even shown standing behind Pacquiao atop the ring at the end of his rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera last October.
According to the Team Pacquiao source, Pacquiao called Jinkee to seek her advice on what to do with the couple.
Jinkee was said to have told her husband not to forgive the couple, reasoning out that some people have been taking advantage of his soft heart and kindness.
Whether Pacquiao will heed her advice, however, remains uncertain.

SOURCE: Philippine Daily Inquirer

Mail Increase to 42 cents

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mailing a letter will soon cost a penny more.
The cost of a first-class stamp will rise to 42 cents starting May 12, the U.S. Postal Service said Monday.
The price of the Forever stamp will go up at the same time, meaning those stamps can still be purchased for 41 cents but will remain good for first-class postage after the rate increase takes effect.

The post office has sold 5 billion Forever stamps since they were introduced last April and plans to have an additional 5 billion in stock to meet the expected demand before the May price change, the agency said.

The charge for other services, such as advertising mail, periodicals, packages special services will also change. Changes in the price for Priority Mail and Express Mail will be announced later, the agency said.
Postage rates last went up in May, 2007, with a first-class stamp jumping 2 cents to the current 41-cent rate.

In the past raising postage rates was a long, complex process involving hearings before the independent Postal Regulatory Commission, a process that could take nearly a year.
However, under the new law regulating the post office that took effect in late 2006, the agency is allowed to increase rates with 45-days notice as long as changes are within the rate of inflation for the previous 12 months. The Postal Regulatory Commission calculated that rate at 2.9 percent through January, limiting the first-class rate to an increase of just over a penny.
Under the new law, postal prices will be adjusted annually each May, the Postal Service said. Officials said they plan to give 90 days notice of future changes, twice what is required by law.
While the charge for the first ounce of a first-class letter rises to 42 cents, the price of each added ounce will remain 17 cents, so a two-ounce letter will go up a penny to 59 cents.
The cost to mail a post card will also go up a penny, to 27 cents

Other increases set for May 12, 2008:

-- Large envelope, 2 ounces, $1, up 3 cents.
-- Money Orders up to $500, $1.05, unchanged.
-- Certified mail, $2.70, up 5 cents.
-- First-class international letter to Canada or Mexico, 72 cents, up 3 cents.
-- First-class international letter to other countries, 94 cents, up 4 cents.

Nalzaro: Same dog, different collar

By Bobby Nalzaro
Saksi

THEY say that in politics, ‘there is no permanent friends and enemies, only permanent interests’. A veteran and traditional politician at that, erswhile House Speaker Jose De Venecia never had this thought in mind until he was ousted by his colleagues and partymates in the House of Representatives. Veteran political pundits described De Venecia’s fall from parliamentary power as the most humiliating situation in the century-old Philippine Congress. This only shows no one is indespensible even the high and mighty. Well, history would tell us that even Presidents and Prime Ministers who wield vast and awesome powers can be ousted. How much more a Speaker in the House. But that episode in JDV’s political career was particularly painful because he held the position for five terms, making him the longest serving House Speaker in the history of Philippine Legislature. There were changes in the leadership of both chambers—House and Senate—in the past. But JDV’s fate was the most ‘gruesome political assassination’, as political experts described it, because it was masterminded by Malacañang with the participation of the majority of his partymates in the Lakas-Christian-Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD). Of the 174 who voted to declare the position of the Speaker vacant, 56 were from Lakas, 42 from Kampi, President Arroyo’s party, 19 from the Liberal Party, 3 from the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), 7 from the Nacionalista Party and 24 from the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) of businessman Danding Cojuangco. Only 35 defended JDV including 21 from Lakas while 16 abstained. Poor JDV. Because of his removal and for denouncing the Arroyo administration he may also end up losing his Presidency in Lakas CMD, a political party which he co-founded. The problem with JDV was that he was over-confident and too trusting to his peers in the House thinking that nobody could get the position from him because he enjoyed the support and backing up of Pres. Arroyo, whom he had helped a lot. JDV got GMA as his runningmate in 1998 presidential elections. He was instrumental in dismissing the impeachment complaints filed against her in the House, and he stood by her side during those tumultous period when her administration was rocked by a series of military adventurism and withdrawal of support by some members of her cabinet over the Hello Garci controversy. The JDV experience only proved that political gratitude and party affiliations can be set aside anytime over personal interests and political survival. Now, since the other sentiment of some House members especially the neophytes is reform, can Speaker Prospero Nograles institute and effect changes in the House? I doubt it. If they were crying for reforms, how come that he is not reorganizing the committee chairmanships? It’s already one week since he assumed the speakership. Nograles assured his peers and the public that he will not be a puppet of Malacañang and assert the independence of the House. Again, I doubt if that will happen. Saying something and doing it are two different things. In the past, all Speakers were allied with Malacañang. Nicanor Yniguez of the old Batasang Pambansa to Pres. Marcos, Ramon Mitra to Pres. Cory Aquino, JDV to Pres. Pres. Ramos and Manny Villar to Pres. Estrada and again JDV to GMA until the fall out the other week. If Nograles will do what he said, I am afraid he will suffer the same fate as JDV’s. Like JDV, he will also become a lapdog of this administration. The change in the speakership was a classic case of the old saying, ‘the same dog, different collar’.

GRAMMY WINNERS 2008

LOS ANGELES - A resoundingly retro Grammy Awards left its biggest winners nearly speechless.
On a night filled with nods to the show's 50-year history, the most trophies went to a 24-year-old singer known for her old-soul voice, and the most sought-after prize went to a veteran jazzman's Joni Mitchell tribute album.
Both Amy Winehouse and Herbie Hancock were dumbstruck by the honors, fumbling for words and thank-you lists, respectively.
"I can't believe I've won five awards," Winehouse said. She coyly sang "Rehab" and "You Know I'm No Good" via satellite link from London, then dedicated her record of the year trophy to her hometown, parents and jailed husband, "my Blake, my Blake incarcerated."
Hancock, whose "River: The Joni Letters" won album of the year, said after the show Sunday night at the Staples Center that it was "immeasurable how surprised I am."
Presenter Quincy Jones seemed even more excited for the 11-time Grammy winner, throwing his hands wide after reading Hancock's name. "Aaaahhh! Unbelievable. That's unbelievable, man," Jones exclaimed.
Industry observers had expected either Winehouse's "Back in Black" or Kanye West's "Graduation" to take the prize. There was speculation the two may have split the vote of younger, more pop-centric National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences voters, leaving the door open for Hancock.
That result left the typically outspoken West in no mood to share his thoughts. West won four trophies, but after losing out once again in the album of the year category he'd made no secret of coveting, he skipped post-show interview rooms to instead pose for photos with his fiance and members of his entourage.
"I'm good," he said quietly, in response to questions about how he felt. It was a subdued echo of the exuberant call on his "Good Life," which won for rap song.
Winehouse, who won five of the six awards for which she was nominated, perhaps best embodied the evening's spirit of joining the old with the new. Her sound, cultivated on "Back to Black" by producer of the year winner Mark Ronson, blends '50s flavors with modern subject matter and hip-hop influences.
Along those lines, show producers began the evening with Alicia Keys singing "Learnin' The Blues" alongside archival footage of Frank Sinatra, a la Natalie Cole's "Unforgettable" duet with her deceased father in 1992.
"Yeah, Frank," Keys interjected during a Sinatra verse. "Tell 'em."
Beyonce was paired with Tina Turner for a showy — and leggy — rendition of "Proud Mary." Kid Rock joined up with Keely Smith, a winner in the very first Grammys in 1958, for "That Old Black Magic." Hancock and Chinese wunderkind Lang Lang did the dueling pianos thing for a compelling take on George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue."
The Beatles were honored by performers from two new interpretations of their music, the Cirque du Soleil show "Love" and Julie Taymor's film "Across the Universe."
Memories dominated West's performance of "Hey Mama," a once-exuberant song from his 2005 album "Late Registration" that he has transformed into a somber tribute since his mother Donda's sudden death last year.
"Last night I saw you in my dreams. Now I can't wait to go to sleep," he sang in the night's most emotional performance.
Accepting the award for rap album, West spoke to his mother: "I appreciate everything and I know you are really proud of me right now and I know you wouldn't want me to stop and you'd want me to be the No. 1 artist in the world."
Veteran rocker Bruce Springsteen took home three Grammys, including best rock song for "Radio Nowhere." Chaka Khan picked up two trophies, including one for best R&B album for "Funk This."
Politics were a subtle backdrop to the evening. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama won an award for spoken word album, for the audio version of his book, "The Audacity of Hope." Presenter George Lopez took note of the historic nature of the Hillary Clinton and Obama candidacies, and will.i.am urged the crowd to vote after a strange free-wheeling freestyle billed as a "mash-up."
And finally, Hancock borrowed Obama's favorite campaign phrase, "Yes we can," when summing up the significance of a jazz artist winning album of the year. (The last was 1964's "Getz/Gilberto," a collaboration between Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto.)
"I'd like to thank the academy for courageously breaking the mold this time," he said. "This is a new day, that proves that the impossible can be made possible. Yes we can, to coin a phrase."

PACQUIAO WATCH: How To Beat Manny

By Edwin G. EspejoPhilBoxing.comMon, 11 Feb 2008

I have always said that the only way to beat Manny Pacquiao is to crowd him from the inside and deny him the leverage to unload his powerful left bombs. You have to bully the Filipino bomber and make him fight defensively if you want to have the chance of getting his scalp. Juan Manuel Marquez almost did that during their first encounter. His controversial draw with the Filipino southpaw became the recipe for Erik Morales to emerge victorious in his first fight with Manny. Only, Morales committed a big mistake in the late rounds when he stood in the middle of the ring trading haymakers with Pacquiao. Another 30 seconds more, Pacquiao trainer and coach Freddie Roach said, and Morales could have been a goner. It was a mistake he paid dearly as it left fear in the heart and mind of Morales in their next two bouts which he lost by knockouts. That was then. When Manny was fast and strong, albeit predictable. Manny, at 29, is now a notch stronger and his speed has not wane a bit. So what is the best strategy to beat Manny? Unfortunately, the strategy is not how you fight Manny inside the ring because there is no antidote to his lighting speed and newfound awesome power. I am sorry, JMM. The guy who you thought is beatable and honestly believed you beat four years ago is no longer the same boxer who relied on his vaunted left straights. Pacquiao has metamorphosed into a fighter with a full arsenal of powerful punches on both hands that even the venerable Marco Antonio Barrera could not solve. That is why he opted to backpedal the whole fight during their rematch last year. For you to beat Manny, you will have to enlist guys from Brooklyn, Chicago or Sicily in Italy and have Freddie Roach kidnapped a week before your March 15 rematch and send the Filipino ring idol a dead fish wrapped in old newspaper. You will also have to wine and dine Buboy Fernandez in the Playboy mansion and make sure the latter would feed Manny pasta, pork and kegs of his favorite San Miguel Pilsen days before the bout. Better still, call on Efren 'Bata' Reyes to give Manny a very good handicap for a 48 hour non-stop pool marathon two days prior to your fight. If you can't have these guys fix the job for you, give Manny a guitar from Eric Clapton and let him jam 72 hours prior to March 15. You have trouble with that? Organize a marathon 10-cock derby in the heart of Las Vegas, if the state of Nevada will allow, and have Manny sponsor it on the night of your rematch. If everything else fails, dare Manny to have your fight decided on a pierde gana and give him a wink. Oh, why should I explain to you what is pierde gana? I already gave you a ton of tips how to beat Manny!

Love is in the air

First Dating Tips


If you are going for a first tip then follow then click on the given below links. A few etiquettes must be followed during the first date.
Significant First Dating Tips
During the first date, you must book in advance movie or restaurant. In case of any kind of change, such as weather or restaurant renovation, you must have certain kind of back up. It would be a great first dating tip. Apply this dating tip and enjoy a successful date. If you are in love with your date then this caring attitude of yours will be an added advantage.
During your first date, you must be on time. Late arrival is always considered rude and disrespect. Moreover, it shows that you do not have any regard for your date. Thus, it would be advisable to be on time and express your feelings to the date.
During first date, it would be advisable to plan a short meeting. A short meeting will be enough for knowing each other. If you are comfortable with each other then you may go for a long-term relationship. Else, part your ways.
It would be advisable to ask about the dress code. Both of you must wear accordingly. Else, your date will be spoiled.
Another great tip for first dating is that try to be good listener as well as speaker. You must balance both of them accordingly.
Lunch or coffee is considered perfect during first date.
While leaving, you must say thanks for the date. This shows your respect for the date.
Avoid any kind of complaining during first date.
You must act in a positive manner during first date.


Dating Tips for Men


Men always complain that they are unable to understand women. Woman is considered an enigma, which every man wants to solve. Dating is considered quite tough. But, when you date a person whom you do not understand then things become tougher. Although, dating is meant for fun, still confusion of what to say and what not make things complicated. So, do not get confused and apply a few significant dating tips.
Significant Dating Tips for Men
One of the most significant things to be considered in the matters of love is your timing. You should be on time while dating a woman.
You must be on time while picking up the date from her place or if you are meeting at a specific place.
Matters of love and heart must be handled with care. Another great dating tip for men is to arrive earlier. This would make your date feel special. If you are looking for long-term relationship then this is the ideal way to start a new relationship.
The best way to woo or propose a woman is flower. While going for a date, get a bouquet of flowers for the woman. This is a great way to express your love. If you are aware of her favorite flower then get it for her. Flowers are considered the best gesture of love and are great dating tip for men.
Be in your best behavior. Make the lady feel special. Treat her with regard and respect. This is the ultimate way to impress a woman. For instance, you must open the car or building doors for her. This is also a great way to express your love and feelings to a person.
Work related talk must be avoided, unless and until your date inquires about. While replying her query, make your answers as short as possible. Women simply hate those men who keep informing them about their work. Thus, if you love the woman with whom you are going for date then simply forget your work and office.
Humor plays key role in the success of dating. Women always love men with great sense of humor. Thus, humor is a great dating tip for men.
On the other hand, if you are getting involved with feelings and looking for a long-term relationship then set your mind accordingly.
Before going on date, try to get rid from all the negative thoughts and go for positive social gatherings. This would lead to the enhancement of confidence and courage.


Dating Tips for Women


First date always hold a special place in your heart. This was one of the major causes of anxiety. In case you are quite confident and modern women, still you would be confused at the time of first date. Women are always conscious about their looks and appearances. In order to reduce your worries, apply these significant dating tips for women
Significant Dating Tips for Women
At the time of first date, it would be advisable to avoid any kind of experiments with your looks or hairstyles. This would lead to wrong impressions on the man whom you are dating. Wear cool and comfortable clothes. Comfortable cloth with light make up is a great dating tip for women.
If you are going for a movie with your date then go for scary movie. Scary movie plays key role in raising the excitement level. This is great way to come a little closer. This would be a great dating tip for women.
Starting a conversation with a man who is new to you is a little tough to you. In order to make things comfortable, it would be advisable to go for sports event, playing darts and horseback riding. They are great dating tips for women.
If you are going on a first date then simply avoid exotic cuisines, as they might lead to severe problems related to stomach.
If you love the man with whom you are going to date then simply get rid of your bargaining habit. Women who indulge in too much bargaining and create scene over little things are simply hated by men.
You must make your date feel special by paying maximum attention to him. This is a great way to express your feelings and love. Moreover, you are making him feel special. This is a great dating tip for women.
Men have the tendency to talk about their nature of work. If you want to impress your men then simply ask him about his work and job. This is a great dating tip for women.

STOLT-NIELSEN HISTORY

Let me just post this history of Stolt-Nielsen company. I used to sail under SNTG-Manila office for 5 years. As a reminder for myself let me honor this company to be in my blog.
But what is this company by the way? Well it is one of the world premier company who transport industrial chemical competeting with other leading company like Exxon. A distingtive yellow and orange on the hull with a huge "Stolt Tankers" signage that you can see cruising the distant horizon. Capt. Eide Bjarn, if you see this blog i thank you for having me on board the company.
More power to the staff and crew of SNTG - Manila.

Stolt-Nielsen has a long and rich history dating back more than half a century when Jacob Stolt-Nielsen, our chairman today, built from the ground up three companies that led the way in dynamic and emerging industries. He invented the modern parcel tanker, built a leading offshore services company and pioneered the aquaculture industry.
Today the Stolt-Nielsen name is synonymous with innovation, quality, leadership and success
Our key company timeline dates are:

2007
Stolt-Nielsen S.A. Wins Amnesty Agreement Case against the DOJ Antitrust DivisionStolt-Nielsen announces voluntary delisting from Nasdaq and termination of its ADR programStolt-Nielsen announces the establishment of Stolt-Nielsen Gas to explore opportunities within the Liquefied Petroleum Gas logistics industry Stolt-Nielsen announces the launch of Stolt Bitumen Services –focused on the delivery of bitumen logistics services

2006
Stolt-Nielsen S.A. sold its 25% ownership in Marine Harvest.Stolt-Nielsen S.A. sold its Southern bluefin tuna business, based in Port Lincoln, Australia to SAMS Holdings (SA) Pty.Stolt-Nielsen S.A. reacquired 75% of the sturgeon and caviar business, Sterling Caviar LLC.Stolt-Nielsen S.A. completed the sale of its 25% shareholding in Marine Harvest N.V. to Geveran Trading Co. Ltd. (which in turn contributed the business to Pan Fish ASA) after the approvals of the transaction from U.K. and French competition authorities.

2005
Stolt-Nielsen S.A. sold its ownership in Stolt Offshore S.A. SSF and Nutreco Holding N.V. merged their fish farming operations into the world largest aquaculture company, Marine Harvest. Stolt-Nielsen S.A. owned 25% of Marine Harvest.

2004
Stolt-Nielsen S.A. reduced its ownership in Stolt Offshore to 41.7%.

2003
Stolt-Nielsen S.A. sold Optimum Logistics Ltd. to Elemica.

2001
Stolt Offshore acquired Paragon Engineering Services Inc. AspenTech acquired interest in Optimum Logistics.PrimeSupplier merged with OneSea.com to form SeaSupplier. SSF acquired Eicosal in Chile. SNTG sold its Perth Amboy, NJ and Chicago terminals.

2000
Stolt Comex Seaway is renamed Stolt Offshore.Stolt-Nielsen S.A. established two independent business-to-business e-commerce enterprises: Optimum Logistics Ltd. - the first Internet-based, open logistics system for bulk materials and Prime Supplier Ltd. - an Internet-based total marine procurement system.SSF expands into tuna with the acquisition of Australian Bluefin Pty. Ltd. Jacob Stolt-Nielsen retires as CEO and Niels G. Stolt-Nielsen takes over.

1999
Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group Ltd. (SNTG) established to consolidate all the transportation businesses, Stolt Parcel Tankers, Stolt Tank Containers and Stolthaven Terminals.SNTG acquired 50% in Jeong-II Tank Terminal, the largest chemical terminal in the South Korean petrochemical port of Ulsan/Onsan.SSF acquired International Aqua Foods Ltd. SCS acquired ETPM S.A. and invested in flexible pipelay manufacturing with NKT. On its 40th anniversary, Company is now approaching $2 billion in revenue and 10,000 employees.

1998
SSF expanded into Scotland with acquisition of Gaelic Seafoods (Scotland) Ltd. Stolthaven Terminals expanded into Asia Pacific with investment in Dovechem Terminals Holdings Ltd. SCS expanded presence in Gulf of Mexico with acquisition of Ceanic.

1996
SSF expanded into Asia Pacific with acquisition of Cocoon Ltd.

1993S
CS initial public offering on Nasdaq raising $43 million.

1992
The Company acquired and merged Stolt-Nielsen Seaway and Comex Services S.A. forming Stolt Comex Seaway S.A. (SCS). The Company achieved over $1 billion in revenues.

1991
The Company acquired Sea Farm and renamed it Stolt Sea Farm (SSF).

1988
Company went public on Nasdaq raising $51 million. Stolt-Nielsen Inter-European Service (SNIES) established to provide small tanker service in Northwest Europe. Sea Farm commenced a program of acquiring growing companies in Norway.

1987
BP and the Company terminated 1977 agreement. NYK Line became a more than 10% shareholder.

1986
Stolt Through Transportation Services (STTS) was set up to handle customers’ door-to-door transportation.

1983
Sea Farm expanded into North America.

1982
Stolt Tank Containers (STC) was set up after the purchase of United Tank Containers with 400 units.Stolt-Nielsen Inter-Asia Service (SNIAS) established to provide small tanker service in Southeast Asia.Stolt Tankers Joint Service (STJS) was set up after an agreement with PanOcean-Anco was signed to market their 11 ships.

1980
Company earned $100 million profit.

1977
Company ran into financial difficulties and BP acquired an option to become a 50% shareholder.
1973Stolt-Nielsen Seaway A/S established to provide services for offshore petroleum and exploration in the North Sea.

1972
Sea Farm A/S established in Norway for production of salmon smolt.

1971
Company acquired first storage terminal.

1970
Seven new double bottom, double skin, partly stainless steel ships ordered, later setting the standards for the parcel tanker market and IMO specifications.

1963
Offices in New York, Japan and Oslo established. Company was operating 18 ships and still expanding its fleet with Trans-Atlantic, Trans-Pacific, Great Lakes and Latin American routes established.

1959
First operating company formed, Parcel Tankers Inc., with one time-chartered ship, Stolt Avance.

source: Stolt-Nielsen S.A

Hollywood writers consider studio offer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood writers got their first look Saturday at details of a tentative agreement with studios that could put the strike-crippled entertainment industry back to work, an offer the union's East Coast president said he was endorsing.

A summary of the proposed deal crafted this week was posted on the Writers Guild of America's Web site hours before members attended meetings in New York and Los Angeles.
Compensation for projects delivered via digital media was the central issue in the 3-month-old walkout, which idled thousands of workers, disrupted the TV season and moviemaking and took the shine off Hollywood's awards season.

"I believe it is a good deal. I am going to be recommending this deal to our membership," Michael Winship, president of the Writers Guild of America, East, told reporters before the New York meeting at a Times Square hotel.
Winship said afterward that he was encouraged by the membership's response.

"We had a very lively discussion. I'm happy with what happened. ... At the moment, I feel strongly it (the proposed deal) has a strong chance of going through," he said.
Writers leaving the two-hour-plus New York meeting characterized the reaction as generally positive and said there was cautious optimism that the end of the strike — the guild's first in 20 years — could be near.

"There's a general feeling of tremendous success. I was delighted," said TV writer John Simmons, who estimated that about 500 writers were on hand. "We agreed that this looks pretty good. ... It bodes well for the future."
He added that there are "always some people who will dissent" and that the complex deal required further scrutiny.
Carmen Culver, a film and TV writer, lauded the guild "for hanging tough."

"It's a great day for the labor movement. We have suffered a lot of privation in order to achieve what we've achieved," Culver said.

Michael Moore, the Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker ("Bowling for Columbine") and a nominee this year for his health-care film "Sicko," attended the New York meeting.
"It's an historic moment for labor in this country," Moore told The Associated Press.
Hundreds of writers filed into the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles to hear from union leaders about the proposed deal. Some were cautiously optimistic that they could begin work by next week.

"I'm hopeful. We've been jerked around so much by the studios," film writer Brian Suskind said. "I don't think we're feeling vindictive, but we're angry about how we've been treated."
If guild members on both coasts react favorably to the proposed deal, the guild's board could vote Sunday to lift the strike order and the industry could be up and running Monday. This month's Oscars ceremony, which has been under the cloud of a union and actors boycott, also would be a winner.

Sunday's Grammy Awards ceremony has a picket-free pass from the union.
Winship cautioned that it's not a "done deal" until the contract is ratified by members. He also said that several steps must be taken before the West guild's board and East guild's council decide to lift the strike order.

"It conceivably could be Monday, but there are several different alternative ways that the board and council could determine how this should be dealt with," Winship said.
An outline of the three-year deal was reached in recent talks between media executives and the guild, with lawyers then drafting the contract language that was concluded Friday.
According to the guild's summary, the deal provides union jurisdiction over projects created for the Internet based on certain guidelines, sets compensation for streamed, ad-supported programs and increases residuals for downloaded movies and TV programs.

The writers deal is similar to one reached last month by the Directors Guild of America, including a provision that compensation for ad-supported streaming doesn't kick in until after a window of between 17 to 24 days deemed "promotional" by the studios.
Writers would get a maximum $1,200 flat fee for streamed programs in the deal's first two years and then get a percentage of a distributor's gross in year three — the last point an improvement on the directors deal, which remains at the flat payment rate.

"Much has been achieved, and while this agreement is neither perfect nor perhaps all that we deserve for the countless hours of hard work and sacrifice, our strike has been a success," guild leaders Winship and Patric Verrone, head of the Writers Guild of America, West, said in an e-mailed message to members.

Together, the guilds represent 12,000 writers, with about 10,000 of those involved in the strike that began Nov. 5 and has cost the Los Angeles area economy alone an estimated $1 billion or more. Studios are represented by Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
One observer said the guild gained ground in the deal but not as much as it wanted.

"It's a mixed deal but far better than the writers would have been able to get three months ago. The strike was a qualified success," said Jonathan Handel, an entertainment attorney with the TroyGould firm and a former associate counsel for the writers guild.
The walkout "paved the way for the directors to get a better deal than they would otherwise have gotten. That in turn became the foundation for further improvements the writers achieved," Handel said.

source: Yahoo Intertainment

Basic Keyboard Shorcuts

Here are some helpful keyboard shortcuts. Get rid of that mouse and make your work much easier. Just remeber these few of those hundred keyboard shortcuts that is very useful while doing word documents.

CTRL+C (Copy) CTRL+X (Cut) CTRL+V (Paste) CTRL+Z (Undo) DELETE (Delete)

SHIFT+DELETE (Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin)

CTRL while dragging an item (Copy the selected item)

CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item (Create a shortcut to the selected item)

F2 key (Rename the selected item)

CTRL+RIGHT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word)

CTRL+LEFT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word)

CTRL+DOWN ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph)

CTRL+UP ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph)

CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Highlight a block of text)

SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text in a document)

CTRL+A (Select all) F3 key (Search for a file or a folder)

ALT+ENTER (View the properties for the selected item)

ALT+F4 (Close the active item, or quit the active program)

ALT+ENTER (Display the properties of the selected object)

ALT+SPACEBAR (Open the shortcut menu for the active window)

CTRL+F4 (Close the active document in programs that enable you to have multiple documents open simultaneously)

ALT+TAB (Switch between the open items)

ALT+ESC (Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened)

F6 key (Cycle through the screen elements in a window or on the desktop)

CTRL+TAB (Move forward through the tabs) CTRL+SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the tabs)
TAB (Move forward through the options)

SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the options)

ALT+Underlined letter (Perform the corresponding command or select the corresponding option)

ENTER (Perform the command for the active option or button) SPACEBAR (Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box)

Arrow keys (Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons)
Right SHIFT for eight seconds (Switch FilterKeys either on or off)
Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN (Switch High Contrast either on or off)

Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK (Switch the MouseKeys either on or off)
SHIFT five times (Switch the StickyKeys either on or off)
NUM LOCK for five seconds (Switch the ToggleKeys either on or off)

BOOM-BOOM, BAZOOKA TO FIGHT ON PEÑALOSA UNDERCARD ON APRIL 6

ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer, in a phone conversation with Golden Boy Promotions Vice President Eric Gomez yesterday, announced that reigning WBO Intercontinental super bantamweight champion Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista and reigning WBO youth super flyweight king AJ “Bazooka” Banal are set to wage their own wars under the Gerry Peñalosa-Ratanachi Sor Vorapin WBO bantamweight first title defense on April 6 at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. Bautista (23-1-0, KOs 13) will make the first defense of his intercontinental super bantamweight crown against Mexican Genaro “Duro” Camargo. Camargo (16-3-0, KOs 10) is a hardy puncher who sent four of his 10 knockout victims to the mat in the first round, one which dropped in less than a minute. After his only defeat against reigning WBO super bantamweight boss Daniel Ponce de Leon in Aug 2007, Bautista came back strong and a better fighter as he snatched away from Antonio Meza the WBO Intercontinental super bantamweight title in Dec 2007. Banal (16-0-1, KOs 13) will slug it out with another knockout pugilist, the also undefeated and reigning WBC Latino super flyweight ringmaster Caril “El Raton” Herrera of Uruguay. Older by eight years and more experienced than Banal, Herrera (21-0-0, KOs 13) is WBC No. 2, WBA No. 8, and IBF No. 12. He debuted as a pro through a first round stoppage of Alejandro Lima on Aug 23, 2003, almost two years ahead of Banal. The WBA super flyweight bout will pair off both hardy warriors for a chance to be in the league of those who can challenge WBA super flyweight No. 1 challenger Martin Castillo of Mexico for the top post. Banal is currently WBA No. 6, WBO No. 8, and IBF No. 8. The second quarter slugfest is brought to the Philippines by Golden Boy Promotions in association with ALA Promotions and network giant ABS-CBN Broadcasting Company.

source: PhilBoxing.com

Citizenship on hold for many immigrants

WASHINGTON - President Bush is asking Congress to spend money to help businesses root out illegal workers but he did not request additional funds to help legal immigrants become American citizens more quickly.

In his budget proposal issued this week, Bush asked for $100 million to expand E-Verify, the system employers use to check whether they are hiring documented workers. He didn't ask Congress to allocate money to chip away at millions of citizenship and other immigration applications that flooded the government last summer, before an increase in the agency's filing fees.
Instead, Citizenship and Immigration Services will rely on $468 million in fees to pay for reducing the backlog by 2010. Those funds are a portion of the total fees that came in with the applications this summer.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the summer's fee increases will give the agency the money it needs to get back on track.
"People always argue well you ought to fund this, you ought to fund that. That's great, but the pie is only as big as it is and no one ever comes up with this slice they want to give back in return for this," Chertoff said.
A total 7.7 million applications for various immigration benefits poured into Citizenship and Immigration Services in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2007. That's 1.4 million more than the previous fiscal year.
"The backlogs are pretty much back where they were when they started and the agency is back to doing what it used to do, which is robbing Peter to pay Paul. Right now they are taking resources from permanent residence to do citizenship," said Crystal Williams, associate director for programs at the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
The immigration agency increased fees in July largely to raise about $1.5 billion to pay for modernizing computer equipment, hiring and training more workers, improving field offices and other spending.
Becoming a citizen now costs $595, up from $330. The price to get a green card is $1,010, up from $395. Applicants for both pay another $80 each for digital fingerprinting, a $10 increase.
Congress gave the immigration agency $100 million a year over five years through 2006 to reduce the immigration backlogs. Agency Director Emilio Gonzalez announced in September 2006 the backlog had fallen to about 139,0000 cases. About 1 million applications in the backlog that were incomplete, from people still awaiting visas or whose FBI name check was delayed, were not counted.
The administration deserves credit for securing the $500 million from Congress for the backlog, said Doris Meissner, former Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner under President Clinton.
"They broke through the idea that this should just be purely financed by the applicant fees themselves," said Meissner, a senior fellow with Migration Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. "But it was finite."
Since 1988, the work of Citizenship and Immigration Services and its predecessor, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, has been largely paid for by revenue from application fees. Congress has provided money for specific projects over the years, but generally those have been limited to a few years. Sometimes fee money has been diverted for things like detention centers.
The result has been an agency constantly shifting resources to respond to the latest crisis, critics say.
"Every time the system breaks down, they are incentivizing people to say, 'Screw the system, I'll just overstay my visa.'" said James Jay Carifano, a research fellow with the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank.
Immigration officials say they will be able to chip away at the backlogs as 1,500 new workers are hired and trained. Things should be back where they were before the application spike by 2010, the agency's spokeswoman Chris Rhatigan said.
Williams thinks that's an optimistic prediction. The 7.7 million applications the agency received last year amount to about three years of work, she said.

souce: yahoo news