Walkout at Iran leader's speech

Diplomats have walked out of a speech by the Iranian president at a UN anti-racism conference after he described Israel as a "racist government".

Two protesters, wearing coloured wigs, briefly disrupted the beginning of the speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but he continued speaking.

Shortly afterwards a stream of Western delegates walked out when he attacked the creation of the state of Israel.

France, which had warned of a walkout, described it as "hate speech".

Some of those who stayed clapped as Mr Ahmadinejad continued his speech.

The walkout is a public relations disaster for the United Nations, which had hoped the conference would be a shining example of what the UN is supposed to do best - uniting to combat injustice in the world, says the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva.

UN dismay

The walkout by about 40 delegates happened within minutes of the speech starting on Monday.

Imogen Foulkes BBC News, Geneva When it became clear what direction the speech was going, they [the ambassadors] walked out to huge cheers from a large number of pro-Israeli groups in the audience who had already tried to disrupt the proceedings. It is hugely disruptive and very damaging to the United Nations which had really wanted this conference to be an example of what the UN is good at - uniting the international community against injustice and racial discrimination. It is difficult to see how this conference can get back to that agenda after today's scenes.

Moments earlier security guards escorted two protesters from the conference hall after one threw an object at the Iranian president and they yelled "racist, racist" as he stood at the podium.

Mr Ahmadinejad, the only major leader to attend the conference, said Jewish migrants from Europe and the United States had been sent to the Middle East after World War II "in order to establish a racist government in the occupied Palestine".

He continued, through an interpreter: "And in fact, in compensation for the dire consequences of racism in Europe, they helped bring to power the most cruel and repressive racist regime in Palestine."

French Ambassador Jean-Baptiste Mattei said: "As soon as he started to address the question of the Jewish people and Israel, we had no reason to stay in the room," Associated Press reported.

British ambassador Peter Gooderham, also among those who left, said Mr Ahmadinejad's comments were "offensive and inflammatory".

"Such outrageous anti-Semitic remarks should have no place in a UN anti-racism forum," he said.

RACISM CONFERENCE UN conference on racism - draft outcome [90.6 KB] Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader Download the reader here Mardell blog: Italy's anger at split Fault lines split summit

The US, Israel, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and New Zealand had all boycotted the conference being held in Geneva, in protest at Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's appearance, and Israel recalled its ambassador to Switzerland.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner had warned that French delegates would walk out if the forum was used as a platform to attack Israel.

Speaking after the walkout, he said: "The defence of human rights and the fight against all types of racism are too important for the United Nations not to unite against all forms of hate speech, against all perversion of this message.

"Faced with attitudes like that which the Iranian president has just adopted, no compromise is possible."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has expressed dismay at the boycotts.

Susan Boyle interview: 'I'm happy the way I am: short and plump'

Boston Marathon Champ Bill Rodgers Sees U.S. Runners Winning

By Tom Moroney

April 20 (Bloomberg) -- Americans in today’s Boston Marathon are running for their first victory in a generation, and they have a good shot at snatching the men’s title, the women’s or both.

That’s from a man who knows what it takes to be first across the Boston finish line: Bill Rodgers, who won in 1975, 1978, 1979 and 1980.

“I’d love to see the Americans win, and they really have a chance,” Rodgers, 61, said in a telephone interview. “It would be bigger than my winning or Alberto Salazar or Greg Meyer because it would be slaying the dragon.”

No U.S. runner has won since 1985, and Americans haven’t taken both the men’s and women’s divisions since 1983. Kenyan men have won all but three Boston Marathons since Ibrahim Hussein’s one-second victory in 1988.

Today’s challenge comes from two newcomers to the Boston race. Ryan Hall is the top-ranked American male, at odds of 9-2, according to Dublin-based Paddy Power PLC, Ireland’s largest bookmaker. Kara Goucher, at 9-4, leads not just among American women but all women in the race.

It’s the first time any U.S. competitor has been considered a threat to end the Kenyans’ dominance of the 113-year-old event, the longest-running race of its kind in the world, said Fred Treseler, 56, a veteran running coach who is tending the 29 elite entrants in this year’s race.

Olympic Athlete

Hall, 26, a Stanford University graduate from Big Bear Lake, California, posted a record time of 2 hours, 9 minutes and 2 seconds last year in the U.S. Olympic Team trials marathon. He went on to finish 10th in Beijing.

Goucher, 30, is a University of Colorado graduate who finished third among the women last year in her hometown race, the New York Marathon. A time of 2:25:53 made her the first American woman to place in the top three since 1994.

Together, Hall and Goucher could trigger a renaissance for American runners, said Amby Burfoot, the 1968 Boston winner.

“Ryan and Kara are attractive, smart, lovely people, and they bring all that to the starting line,” Burfoot said, calling them the new Rodgers and Joan Benoit Samuelson. Samuelson, 51, won gold at the first women’s Olympic marathon in 1984 and is a two-time Boston winner. Hall and Goucher weren’t available to comment.

Marathons can be tricky to predict because there are so many variables, Treseler said. The odds say Hall’s quest for victory will be more difficult than Goucher’s. At least eight other men have the potential to best Hall, including Kenyan Robert Cheruiyot, who is going for his fifth Boston win and fourth in a row, he said.

Massachusetts Holiday

The race is the biggest event on Patriots’ Day, a Massachusetts holiday on the third Monday in April that commemorates the 1775 showdown in Concord and Lexington between colonists and British troops. It’s still early when crowds begin to gather and vendors set out their souvenirs and fried bread dough on the old town common in Hopkinton, next to the starting line. The top runners are secreted in the basement of a white- steepled church nearby.

When the starting gun is fired at 9:35 a.m. for women and 10 a.m. for men, those elite runners lead the charge on a course that winds up and down hills for 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometers) through seven towns before ending in Boston.

Americans pulled off the 1983 win in both the men’s and women’s divisions with Meyer and Benoit. Lisa Weidenbach’s victory in 1985 was the last for an American of either gender. Neither Meyer nor Benoit is running this year, Treseler said.

Rodgers’s Return

It’s Rodgers’s first Boston Marathon since 1999, when he dropped out because of dehydration. He’s returning after a prostate cancer diagnosis in 2007 and surgery last year. His four wins earned Rodgers the nickname “Boston Billy” and propelled him into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame.

In his heyday, Rodgers, who received a master’s degree from Boston College, drew thousands of supporters at favorite checkpoints like Wellesley College in Wellesley and Heartbreak Hill in Newton. On the race route in Framingham, Peter Phylis said he had throngs of thirsty spectators waiting to enter his 120-seat Happy Swallow pub when Rodgers competed.

“It’s still busy on the day of the race but not like that, nothing like those days,” he said. The emergence of an American runner as a favorite would bring out more fans, he said.

A local competitor who stands a chance of winning would stimulate news media interest in the event, said Tim Kilduff, who was the marathon’s race director in 1983 and 1984.

“They’d track him through winter training,” he said.

Kilduff, 60, heads the Hopkinton Athletic Association, which he founded in 1996 to raise funds for local projects and raise the town’s profile in the running world.

“The only thing better than an American winning this race would be a person born and raised in Hopkinton winning,” he said. “Now that would be the ultimate.”

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Integration With ZoomInfo Delivers Tools and Intelligence to Expand Customer Relationships, Drive Sales

Sales Executives, Marketers and Customer Relationship Managers Gain Access to Unparalleled Information on People and Companies From Within Microsoft Dynamics

WALTHAM, MA - ZoomInfo, the most comprehensive source of business information on people and companies, today announced that ZoomInfo is fully integrated with Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Businesses using Microsoft Dynamics CRM can now leverage the powerful capabilities of ZoomInfo from within Microsoft Dynamics CRM to identify new leads; expand intelligence on existing customers, qualify prospects and create targeted marketing and sales campaigns.

ZoomInfo is a streamlined business information search tool designed to help sales and marketing teams access in-depth sales intelligence on companies and people. Providing detailed and fresh data on 45 million people and 5 million companies, ZoomInfo allows sales teams and marketers to accelerate prospecting and shorten sales cycles with the creation of intelligent targeting through more qualified leads. Complementing Microsoft Dynamics CRM existing capabilities, ZoomInfo provides a centralized platform for aligning the needs of marketing and sales teams -- enabling sales and marketing to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their efforts by leveraging a single data source across the organization.

"It's important to have good visibility to be able to accurately predict your business," said Brad Wilson, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics CRM at Microsoft. "Microsoft Dynamics CRM gives organizations the power to improve customer interactions. The integration with ZoomInfo's search engine can help give Microsoft customers additional insight into their customer base."

Following on the heels of ZoomInfo's announcement of Enhanced Company Data and ZoomInfo Lists, the integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM continues ZoomInfo's effort to expand its offering to provide a complete portfolio of services and tools for every stage of the new business acquisition process.

"Our customers are demanding new and innovative ways to access information that will make them more effective in connecting with existing and potential customers," said Sam Zales, President of ZoomInfo. "By integrating ZoomInfo with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, we are further empowering marketing and sales executives with the information they need to be effective and efficient in their job."

About ZoomInfo

ZoomInfo is the most comprehensive source of business information on people and companies in the world. ZoomInfo is used by sales and marketing professionals to find leads, recruiters to uncover talent and by business professionals to find detailed information on people and companies. ZoomInfo's semantic search engine gathers publicly-available information from the Business Web -- millions of company websites, news feeds and other online sources -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, then automatically compiles it into easy-to-search and easy-to-read profiles. ZoomInfo currently has profiles on more than 45 million people and 5 million companies, and its search engine adds over 20,000 new profiles monthly.

More than 6 million people search www.zoominfo.com every month. And over 3,000 customers, including Yahoo!, Microsoft, Oracle, PepsiCo, and 20% of the Fortune 500, subscribe to ZoomInfo's premium service products. ZoomInfo is privately held and based in Waltham, Mass.

For Further Information:
Matthew Lloyd
M2L2 Communications and Design
617-834-3146
matt@m2l2communications.commatt@m2l2communications.com

© MarketWire 2009

 

'Tunnel' links New York to London

By Matthew Price BBC News, New York   People in New York see as far as London It was possibly the most laborious and least informative interview ever conducted. It took about five minutes, yielded a one-word answer, and gave little real flavour of the subject. Still - it was conducted using two whiteboards, two marker pens, and it was done over a distance of 3,471 miles (5,585 km). How? Well there are two answers to that. If you believe artist and inventor Paul St George then his "Telectroscope" connects New York and London via a (very) long tunnel running through the earth's crust, with the images bouncing back and forth using mirrors. The other explanation is that it is all done by optical fibres - take your pick. One end of the "tunnel" emerges next to Tower Bridge on the banks of the Thames in London - the other is next to Brooklyn Bridge on the banks of New York's East River. It looks like something HG Wells might have imagined. Each end has a giant telescope-like construction which appears to punch its way out of the earth. There are dials, and levers, and thermometer gauges on the side of the 20m long brass and wood construction. Peer into it and you can see people on the other side of the Atlantic. Wave at them, they wave back at you. Write on the whiteboard, and ask a question, and they will write back. Mesmerising It is rather like using a giant web-cam, live streaming (though we are told the internet is not involved and there is no audio connection) between two of the world's biggest cities. So now you know why the following interview took so long. Once you have got the whiteboard, and written your message on it, you have to angle it correctly so they can read it over in Europe. "What is your name?" I wrote. The stranger at the other end, standing in front of Tower Bridge and surrounded by onlookers, picked up his marker and replied. "Mik," came back the answer, once he had angled his board correctly. "Where are you from?" It is a piece of art, and it's also a sort of curiosity in a public space Peter Coleman New York organiser "Bangladesh." "What do you think of this?" I asked. (Top journalism, huh?) "GREAT!" came the reply. Told you it was informative. Still it is kind of addictive and mesmerising, which strikes me as strange in a world in which we type, text, and Twitter every day, within seconds, to individuals on the other side of the planet without even thinking about it. Peter Coleman is the producer for the New York end of the project. "It is a piece of art, and it's also a sort of curiosity in a public space. London and New York are cities with millions of people. "They can't believe that those are actually people in another city looking at them. That's what I find all these people are sort of amazed at. It pulls you right into it." English sarcasm A group of children from California now cluster round the "Telectroscope" - waving and writing messages to the London end. "That's so cool - they can see us!" one says as they get a wave back from Tower Bridge. "They're like way over there, and you're sort of talking to them. This is so much fun!" A New York policeman stands in front with a message. A man at the other end writes something down. "How's the band?" "I'm with the NYPD, not the group The Police," the copper writes back. English sarcasm clearly does not work down a tunnel. A New York football fan who presumably supports the English club Chelsea steps up: "Man U. Suck!" he writes. Tunnel vision - the view of London from New York The people in London look perplexed, and a little annoyed to be frank - until someone points out that perhaps to them it reads: "Man, you suck." Then everyone gets very excited. There are two women at the London end who are from New York City - they are writing where exactly they come from. They hold up their sign. "Bay Ridge Brooklyn, yer, go Bay Ridge!!" the New York crowd shout, and for a moment, two groups of strangers, in two cities thousands of miles apart, jump up and down and smile at one another.

Patti Davis Playboy Photos Online
by Jack Ryan

Back in 1994, Patti Davis, the daughter of former President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan, discarded the Reagan name and posed for the July 1994 issue of Playboy magazine using her mother's maiden name instead.

Patti Davis has always been portrayed as the "wild child" of the Reagan family. Like her brother Ron, she is politically liberal, smoked marijuana, and has her mother's stubbornness and father's outspokenness.

She lived with Bernie Leadon of rock group 'The Eagles,' and co-wrote the Eagles' song "I Wish You Peace."

Thomas' wife detained by Moats' cop

Rihanna's Gun Tattoo Revealed

'Anything Goes' At Rock Star Sanctum Hotel

Matt Smith, entertainment correspondent

A new hotel catering solely for rock stars is due to open in London next month - and Sky News has been given an exclusive look inside.

Thunder guitarist Luke Morely at the Sanctum Soho Hotel

 

Staff at the Sanctum hotel in Soho are offering a jacuzzi bar on the roof and an "anything goes" attitude.

"We're here to look after the rockers," said owner Mark Fuller, the man behind the famous Embassy nightclub.

He said staff will be happy do anything for guests - as long as it is legal.

"If they want their Jack Daniels in the bath, we're here and we won't question it, we'll just get on with it. We'll just ask, 'How much Jack Daniels do you want in the bath?'" he said.

I think that a hotel with a very understanding attitude and a very accommodating one is actually far [less] likely to get trashed than one that isn't.

Thunder guitarist Luke Morley

At prices starting at £175 per night for the tiniest crash pad, to £3,500 for a garden suite, this 30-room hotel is not for indie bands on their first tour.

This is aimed squarely at the bands that have made it and in financial terms are still making it.

So they are pitching this at the Madonnas, Coldplays and U2s of the music world.

The Sanctum Soho Hotel

It is also about the way that bands get treated. If you 'rock up' at a posh hotel with a suit on, you tend to get handled in a good way.

If you turn up late in a leather jacket and a couple of fans on each arm, you can get sneered at. The Sanctum is promising to treat all with equal respect.

As guitarist with rock band Thunder, Luke Morley has stayed in his fair share of hotels. He has been banned from a couple, too - once for filling a bath and flooding out the room below.

So Sky News got him to give this new hotel the once over.

He said: "I think it's great because a lot of time when you arrive at a hotel, it's very late at night, you're tired, a little emotional and drunk sometimes.

"I think that a hotel with a very understanding attitude and a very accommodating one is actually far [less] likely to get trashed than one that isn't."

If you do want to lob the TV out of the window at this new hotel, you might struggle, as it is protected by glass and the windows do not open wide enough.

But there will also be 24-hour chefs and hundreds of, ahem, adult TV channels. Lily Allen, Ozzy Osbourne and Motley Crue have all made inquiries.

But what about the rock star parties? Most hotels tell guests to turn it down when things get too noisy.

Mr Fuller said this place will be different. "We'll tell them to turn it up!" he laughed.

Charles in Charge's Willie Aames Holds Garage Sale

Originally posted Friday March 27, 2009 09:20 AM EDT

Analyzing Idol: Who Got Knocked Down by Motown?by Matt Mitovich

Megan Joy, Kimberly Caldwell

Throughout American Idol's final weeks, as each sing-off signs off, TVGuide.com will be checking in with TV Guide Network hosts/Idol alums Kimberly Caldwell and Justin Guarini for their particularly qualified take on who soared, who stumbled, and which judge's review most rang true.

This week, Caldwell shares her thoughts on whose star went up and whose went down as they sang Motown. Plus: Did Simon cross a line this week?

TVGuide.com: Who were you most excited for going into Motown night? And who were you most excited for by the end?
Caldwell: I was the most excited for Lil Rounds, obviously. This was really set up to be her week. But I came away most impressed by Adam Lambert. I was very surprised by his sleek look and polished performance.

TVGuide.com: If Adam had walked by you on the street last night, would you have recognized him? Because I would not have.
Caldwell: I definitely would have taken a second look because he looked so stunningly handsome. I really like that he is such a chameleon and so versatile.

TVGuide.com: Having been christened a "star," what should Adam now be cautious of?
Caldwell: Being such a front-runner from the beginning can sometimes hurt you in this competition, but I think that in Adam's case, he has really given us something new and fresh every week. So I say the best thing Adam can do is not be cautious.

TVGuide.com: The judges called Megan Joy an "atrocious," "mad-crazy" "train wreck" who is now "in trouble." Do you concur that she in fact struggled the most out of the Top 10?
Caldwell: I think Megan has a lot of raw talent and that she just had an off week. With a little tweaking and polishing, she could be back in the game.

TVGuide.com: What potential do you see in Megan?
Caldwell: She's very fresh and modern and has that whole Duffy/Amy Winehouse energy. It's worked out for them, so, "Go Megan!"

TVGuide.com: What would be your best advice to Anoop moving forward, assuming he may have hit a ceiling?
Caldwell: When we first saw Anoop, he was on fire. So I really think he just needs to get that spark back in his eye. And when he's on that stage, he needs to soak up the moment and realize this is his time to shine.

TVGuide.com: Michael Sarver was told by Simon that he has "no chance of winning." What does a singer do with that moving forward?
Caldwell: Even though everybody comes to win Idol, it's been proven over and over again that if you represent yourself as the artist you want to be while you're on the show and really take advantage of all the opportunities afterward, winning is not a necessity. But I think Michael is really relatable and likable; he definitely still has a shot.

TVGuide.com: Take a moment here to rave freely about the 17-year-old powerhouse that is Allison Iraheta.
Caldwell: She is flawless. What a superstar! Every performer should aspire to have her comfort level and star power on stage. She is a true pro.

TVGuide.com: Lastly, do you suspect Simon had hell to pay, after the cameras stopped rolling, having doodled with marker on Paula's lip?

Caldwell: I think we all get a kick out of the banter between Simon and Paula every show, however this really took it over the top. But I'm sure in that studio, Simon can do no wrong. Chalk it up to good TV!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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SMOKEY ROBINSON TALKS NEW ALBUM AND DUET WITH JOSS STONE

Tonight, “American Idol” continues Motown Week with longtime "Idol" fan and Season 8 coach Smokey Robinson, who will once again appear on the series to show the kids how it's done -- with a brand-new song of his own.

The 69-year-old will debut “You’re the One for Me,” a duet with Joss Stone from his forthcoming record, "Time Flies When You're Having Fun," which is tentatively scheduled to drop in May.

“I first met Joss in England when she was about 15,” Robinson said by phone today. “She’s just incredible, and her voice is so powerful.”

The former Miracles member said the two recorded the tune together in New York last year. And Stone isn’t the only guest Robinson has slated to appear on his forthcoming disc either. The “Tears of a Clown” singer has lined up India.Arie and Carlos Santana to appear on other tracks.

“I had a few people in mind for this project,” said Robinson, who added that he had been slowly putting together original songs (and a version of Norah Jones’ “Don’t Know Why”) for the record over the last three years.

So who would Robinson like to see take “Idol” this year? Could it be Adam Lambert, to whom he gave a standing ovation for the contestant's shockingly elegant take on "Tracks of My Tears"?

“Oh man,” Robinson laughed. “After mentoring these kids, I am so glad I don’t have to be the one to choose.... They are all so talented.”

-- Charlie Amter

 

 

 

Sarver Not Saved from 'Idol' Ouster

By

Roger Catlin

 on March 26, 2009 9:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (29)

Michael Sarver, 27 year old oil rigger from Jasper, Texas, was the latest to be voted off "American Idol" Thursday.

After his second consecutive week in the bottom two, he was undone by a version of "Ain't too Proud to Beg" judges said was not good enough.

More than 36 million voted, a record for this stage of the competiton.

Sarver was the only one of the Top 10 who didn't fly out to Detroit to see Motown headquarters last week because of an illness. Staying behind meant he could heal up, he said on Wednesday's show. But he may have been missing some of the Motown magic dust the others got.

A second version of the song Thursday didn't get him a save from the judges either.
Sarver was in the bottom two with Matt Giraud, who got high marks for starting the Motown show Wednesday with "Let's Get It On."

In the bottom three for a moment was a third male, Scott MacIntyre, who got mixed reviews for his rendition of "Can't Hurry Love."

Saved from the bottom was Megan Joy, the tattooed blonde from Utah who got the worst reviews of the night for her version of "for Once in My Life," a hit for Stevie Wonder, who was on hand during the results show to perform a medley of his other hits (and a new one, "All About the Love Again" that included a shount out - "I love you Barack Obama!" and "It's all about positivity!"

Sarver, a married father of two, will be saved from another summer work as a roughneck on an oil rig as he just made the cut on the "American Idol Live" summer tour with the rest of the Top 10.

The Top 10 began the show with their own Motown medley -- the first since producers admitted the group numbers are lip-synched. The admission made their attempt to mouth it look all the more labored.

 

 

WRESTLEMANIA'S ECONOMIC EFFECT ON THE CITIES IT'S HELD IN,