The Rabbit's On The Run
Oct. 30th, 2005 10:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
waitingmanI love waking up to good news...
Bush presidency on shaky ground as top aide charged
By Alec Russell
October 30, 2005
George Bush's presidency has been rocked to its core by the indictment of senior White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby for perjury and other criminal charges.
The scandal threatens to expose the inner workings of Mr Bush's administration in the lead-up to the war in Iraq.
Even as the US Administration confronts the growing challenge of Iran and the mounting difficulties of the war in Iraq, Mr Bush's team risks seeing out the last three years of his presidency in a mire of legal and judicial uncertainty.
Libby immediately resigned from his role as Vice-President Dick Cheney's chief of staff.
The President's own chief political adviser, Karl Rove, escaped indictment for the time being, but he was warned he would continue to be the subject of the criminal investigation into a White House intelligence leak at the heart of the Administration's case for going to war in Iraq.
Libby was charged by federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald with two counts each of perjury for lying to a grand jury, two counts of making false statements by lying to federal investigators, and one count of obstruction of justice by hindering a grand jury investigation into the leak.
Libby predicted that, "at the end of this process I will be completely and totally exonerated".
Mr Fitzgerald issued the indictment on the last day of a two-year investigation into whether Libby or other White House aides knowingly "outed" a CIA agent, Valerie Plame, in July 2003. Unmasking a spy can be a Federal offence.
If convicted on all five charges Libby could face 30 years in jail and a heavy fine. But far more damaging to the US Government is that the case threatens to expose the workings of the key decision-makers in the countdown to the increasingly unpopular Iraq war.
Mr Cheney himself is mentioned in the indictment and may have to testify in the trial.
Mr Fitzgerald said the indictments showed "the world that this is a country that takes its justice seriously, that all citizens are bound by the law".
The White House was spared its ultimate nightmare, the loss of Karl Rove, Mr Bush's chief adviser, another key suspect in the case, who is known to his critics as "Bush's brain".
But Mr Fitzgerald has made it clear to Mr Rove he remains under investigation and at risk of legal action.
Many Republicans believe Mr Bush's difficulties in recent weeks stem from his aide's preoccupation with the case.
The indictment is the climax to a disastrous week for Mr Bush with the number of US deaths in Iraq passing 2000 and the collapse of the President's attempt to install a friend and aide, Harriet Miers, on the Supreme Court.
Mr Bush's nomination of Ms Miers, who has been the President's lawyer, was rejected by his own party.
Ms Plame was unmasked by a conservative columnist citing senior administration officials, just a week after her husband accused the White House of twisting intelligence to make the case for war. Ms Plame's husband, Joe Wilson, said that she had been "outed" to punish and discredit him.
Libby was not charged with the alleged original crime of leaking Ms Plame's identity.
Instead, the prosecutor has accused him of lying about how and when he learnt of her CIA role.
The prosecutor dismissed the argument of Bush loyalists that Ms Plame was not a covert agent. He said her cover was blown in 2003 and that before then even friends and neighbours did not know she worked for the CIA.
Telegraph, London
But you always have to take the good with the bad...
Rambo Returns
Sylvester Stallone will reprise his role as gun-toting John Rambo in the upcoming Rambo IV, said Ben Nedivi of Millennium Films, which is producing the project with Emmett/Furla Films.
The 59-year-old Stallone also intends to bring boxer Rocky Balboa out of retirement. He will write and direct Rocky Balboa, the sixth film in that franchise, with shooting set to begin next year.
Nedivi said the $US50 million ($65 million) Rambo IV will recapture the rawness of First Blood, which launched the franchise in 1982.
Production is set to begin after Rocky Balboa wraps.
Michelle Bega, a spokeswoman for Stallone, said the actor wasn't available for comment.
A new Rambo script hasn't yet been written, but the story calls for the reclusive Vietnam veteran to return to his vigilante ways when a young girl is kidnapped.
The first three films grossed a combined $US614 million worldwide.
AP
And for those of us who are a little old-fashioned in our music purchasing habits...
Retailers to slash CD prices
By Angela Cuming and Christine Sams
October 30, 2005
The Sun-Herald
Sydney's music retailers will battle the arrival of iTunes in Australia by lowering CD prices.
Duncan Shaw, chief executive of the Australian Retailers Association, said traditional retailers would fight iTunes, launched nationally on Tuesday, by cutting prices and promoting the value of the physical product.
"The music industry is going to have to find innovative ways [to sell CDs] to keep their share of the market," he said. "It is the only way they are going to be able to fight back.
"We are resilient in keeping our market share and this will be a test to see just how far we can go in retaining our audience."
One of the first steps in the battle was slashing prices of CDs, particularly new releases and top 40 titles.
A chart CD can now be bought from major music retailers for as little as $22, while a year ago a top 40 album would sell for $30 or more. "We see that as a marketing reaction to an obvious threat to a share of the market," Mr Shaw said.
"Apple is a formidable opponent. It is a threat but we just have to get smarter and better at what we do."
But Alexandra Smyth-Kirk, 18, is part of the new breed of music consumers who would prefer to download tracks straight onto her iPod rather than fork out for a CD.
"A lot of time I can't be bothered to buy the whole album," she said.
"It's like when I watched the ARIAs ceremony [on television] and heard a couple of songs I really liked. Why would I go out and spend $30 on the album just for one song? It is a lot cheaper to download. Now I can hear a song on the radio and think 'Gee I really want that' and I can download it straight away."
Some retailers believe there are two distinct types of music consumers emerging: those who still want to buy CDs in traditional stores, perhaps because they are less technologically savvy, while others are flocking to online stores for convenience.
"We are dealing with a generation of kids who have grown up downloading music for nothing and they will continue to do that, either legally or illegally," Fish Records CEO Paul Nemeth said.
But many customers would always be wary of technology such as music downloads and MP3 players. "After all, computers break," he said.
Stephen Peach, CEO of the Australian Record Industry Association, said that, while there were many people who liked to say digital downloads spelt the end of the CD, he believed the two would coexist.
"The simplicity of a CD is attractive to consumers," he said
Easy choice for me - I don't own an i-pod & don't want one... mainly because I don't like wearing headphones, but also - the quality of Mp3s is noticeably inferior to CDs. Call me an audiophile, but I like my music to sound as good as possible, otherwise I wouldn't have spent as much on my sound system over the years.
Looks like a nice lazy day ahead... it's raining & I've only had about 90 minutes sleep - Insomnia strikes again, for the second time this month...
Bush presidency on shaky ground as top aide charged
By Alec Russell
October 30, 2005
George Bush's presidency has been rocked to its core by the indictment of senior White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby for perjury and other criminal charges.
The scandal threatens to expose the inner workings of Mr Bush's administration in the lead-up to the war in Iraq.
Even as the US Administration confronts the growing challenge of Iran and the mounting difficulties of the war in Iraq, Mr Bush's team risks seeing out the last three years of his presidency in a mire of legal and judicial uncertainty.
Libby immediately resigned from his role as Vice-President Dick Cheney's chief of staff.
The President's own chief political adviser, Karl Rove, escaped indictment for the time being, but he was warned he would continue to be the subject of the criminal investigation into a White House intelligence leak at the heart of the Administration's case for going to war in Iraq.
Libby was charged by federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald with two counts each of perjury for lying to a grand jury, two counts of making false statements by lying to federal investigators, and one count of obstruction of justice by hindering a grand jury investigation into the leak.
Libby predicted that, "at the end of this process I will be completely and totally exonerated".
Mr Fitzgerald issued the indictment on the last day of a two-year investigation into whether Libby or other White House aides knowingly "outed" a CIA agent, Valerie Plame, in July 2003. Unmasking a spy can be a Federal offence.
If convicted on all five charges Libby could face 30 years in jail and a heavy fine. But far more damaging to the US Government is that the case threatens to expose the workings of the key decision-makers in the countdown to the increasingly unpopular Iraq war.
Mr Cheney himself is mentioned in the indictment and may have to testify in the trial.
Mr Fitzgerald said the indictments showed "the world that this is a country that takes its justice seriously, that all citizens are bound by the law".
The White House was spared its ultimate nightmare, the loss of Karl Rove, Mr Bush's chief adviser, another key suspect in the case, who is known to his critics as "Bush's brain".
But Mr Fitzgerald has made it clear to Mr Rove he remains under investigation and at risk of legal action.
Many Republicans believe Mr Bush's difficulties in recent weeks stem from his aide's preoccupation with the case.
The indictment is the climax to a disastrous week for Mr Bush with the number of US deaths in Iraq passing 2000 and the collapse of the President's attempt to install a friend and aide, Harriet Miers, on the Supreme Court.
Mr Bush's nomination of Ms Miers, who has been the President's lawyer, was rejected by his own party.
Ms Plame was unmasked by a conservative columnist citing senior administration officials, just a week after her husband accused the White House of twisting intelligence to make the case for war. Ms Plame's husband, Joe Wilson, said that she had been "outed" to punish and discredit him.
Libby was not charged with the alleged original crime of leaking Ms Plame's identity.
Instead, the prosecutor has accused him of lying about how and when he learnt of her CIA role.
The prosecutor dismissed the argument of Bush loyalists that Ms Plame was not a covert agent. He said her cover was blown in 2003 and that before then even friends and neighbours did not know she worked for the CIA.
Telegraph, London
But you always have to take the good with the bad...
Rambo Returns
Sylvester Stallone will reprise his role as gun-toting John Rambo in the upcoming Rambo IV, said Ben Nedivi of Millennium Films, which is producing the project with Emmett/Furla Films.
The 59-year-old Stallone also intends to bring boxer Rocky Balboa out of retirement. He will write and direct Rocky Balboa, the sixth film in that franchise, with shooting set to begin next year.
Nedivi said the $US50 million ($65 million) Rambo IV will recapture the rawness of First Blood, which launched the franchise in 1982.
Production is set to begin after Rocky Balboa wraps.
Michelle Bega, a spokeswoman for Stallone, said the actor wasn't available for comment.
A new Rambo script hasn't yet been written, but the story calls for the reclusive Vietnam veteran to return to his vigilante ways when a young girl is kidnapped.
The first three films grossed a combined $US614 million worldwide.
AP
And for those of us who are a little old-fashioned in our music purchasing habits...
Retailers to slash CD prices
By Angela Cuming and Christine Sams
October 30, 2005
The Sun-Herald
Sydney's music retailers will battle the arrival of iTunes in Australia by lowering CD prices.
Duncan Shaw, chief executive of the Australian Retailers Association, said traditional retailers would fight iTunes, launched nationally on Tuesday, by cutting prices and promoting the value of the physical product.
"The music industry is going to have to find innovative ways [to sell CDs] to keep their share of the market," he said. "It is the only way they are going to be able to fight back.
"We are resilient in keeping our market share and this will be a test to see just how far we can go in retaining our audience."
One of the first steps in the battle was slashing prices of CDs, particularly new releases and top 40 titles.
A chart CD can now be bought from major music retailers for as little as $22, while a year ago a top 40 album would sell for $30 or more. "We see that as a marketing reaction to an obvious threat to a share of the market," Mr Shaw said.
"Apple is a formidable opponent. It is a threat but we just have to get smarter and better at what we do."
But Alexandra Smyth-Kirk, 18, is part of the new breed of music consumers who would prefer to download tracks straight onto her iPod rather than fork out for a CD.
"A lot of time I can't be bothered to buy the whole album," she said.
"It's like when I watched the ARIAs ceremony [on television] and heard a couple of songs I really liked. Why would I go out and spend $30 on the album just for one song? It is a lot cheaper to download. Now I can hear a song on the radio and think 'Gee I really want that' and I can download it straight away."
Some retailers believe there are two distinct types of music consumers emerging: those who still want to buy CDs in traditional stores, perhaps because they are less technologically savvy, while others are flocking to online stores for convenience.
"We are dealing with a generation of kids who have grown up downloading music for nothing and they will continue to do that, either legally or illegally," Fish Records CEO Paul Nemeth said.
But many customers would always be wary of technology such as music downloads and MP3 players. "After all, computers break," he said.
Stephen Peach, CEO of the Australian Record Industry Association, said that, while there were many people who liked to say digital downloads spelt the end of the CD, he believed the two would coexist.
"The simplicity of a CD is attractive to consumers," he said
Easy choice for me - I don't own an i-pod & don't want one... mainly because I don't like wearing headphones, but also - the quality of Mp3s is noticeably inferior to CDs. Call me an audiophile, but I like my music to sound as good as possible, otherwise I wouldn't have spent as much on my sound system over the years.
Looks like a nice lazy day ahead... it's raining & I've only had about 90 minutes sleep - Insomnia strikes again, for the second time this month...
