Fist returns in fun kung fu movie - Tv Series

VENICE (Hollywood Reporter) - Although one expects more from producer Gordon Chan and the director Andrew Lau of the "Infernal Affairs" trilogy -- which Martin Scorsese remade into "The Departed" -- "Legend of the Fist" still is good fun, a popcorn movie of epic proportions for kung fu fans.
The film feels tailored to Western palates -- sure there's violence, but it's toned down by Hong Kong standards, and even the fighting is cut back. Chinese and Hong Kong audiences might be critical of this take on an iconic cultural hero, but star Donnie Yen is a household name in Asia. With an all-star cast and the director's following, the film is practically a guaranteed megahit at the local box office.
"Fist" is all about Yen, who has the requisite acting and kung fu chops to play a suave, sensitive and serious badass. The martial-arts superstar slips back into the legendary role of Chen Zhen, who has had countless incarnations, the most memorable by Bruce Lee in "Fist of Fury." Yen actually played Zhen in a popular 1995 TV series, and the years have left him no worse for wear.
The film opens in 1917 France, where Third World recruits -- including countless Chinese -- were brought to Europe by the French and British to help with the war effort. Most of them died on the front, a fate the noble Zhen promises to spare his friends. Just when you think you've seen every battle scene imaginable, Yen, who also served as action master on "Fist," delivers the film's best and most breathtaking fight sequence. Bayonets and bullets are nothing against Zhen's superhuman skills.
Eight years later, Zhen resurfaces, disguised (in, ahem, only a tiny mustache) as a piano player working in Casablanca, Shanghai's hottest nightclub. He befriends the owner (Anthony Wong, always a joy to watch) and falls for hostess-siren-singer Kiki (the impossibly beautiful Shu Qi) as he secretly leads the Resistance against the Japanese occupation of China, led in Shanghai by a ruthless Japanese general (Kohata Ryuichi).
Zhen also dons a black suit and mask and starts fighting the Japanese single-handedly as the Masked Avenger. He hovers over the city like Batman, which adds to the film's comic-strip feel, along with the stylized sets placed in a CGI Shanghai.Lau is a rare breed of director: He has leased almost all of his own films, and his trademark visual pizzazz is there, if not the gritty intensity of his other work.
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Former African child soldier helps Americans get fit - Arts

NEW YORK (Reuters) - For most of his life, Tchicaya Missamou's warrior training made him into a killing machine. Now, he is using his skills to help Americans get fit.
Missamou's memoir, "In the Shadow of Freedom," recounts his childhood in Congo Republic and his journey to America, his tour in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Corps and, finally, civilian life in California, where he opened the Warrior Fitness gym that teaches Congolese and U.S. fighting techniques.
"By the time you finish this book, you will understand that there is not an obstacle that you cannot overcome," Missamou, 32, told Reuters. "I want people to control their own destiny."
Growing up in Congo-Brazzaville as one of 16 siblings born to his father's seven wives, Missamou's childhood was shaped by the violence that sprung up in the 1990s following the oil-rich central African nation's first democratic elections.
Missamou describes how, at around 14, he and his teenage friends were handed guns and a few grenades and put in charge of a checkpoint with orders to block members of rival ethnic groups from entering the area.
"I saw awful things during this time," he wrote in the book, co-written with Travis Sentell that was published earlier this month by Atria Books. "These militias had learned what a mighty weapon Congolese youth could be in a struggle."
When the fighting ended, the boys returned to their former lives and Missamou entered Congo-Brazzaville's gendarmerie.
Violence broke out again in 1997, and this time Missamou became a war profiteer. He assembled a convoy of armed men and struck lucrative deals with Brazzaville whites, most of whom had fled, to rescue abandoned suitcases of cash and valuables.
"The Congo was falling apart, but I was rich," he wrote.
As Missamou's success grew, so did his notoriety. With the help of his father, a police captain, he fled Africa while still a teenager. He ended up in California and found work at a martial arts studio. There, Missamou met a U.S. marine recruit who encouraged him to enlist.
Soon, Missamou was deployed overseas, going to Afghanistan and Iraq to fight for his adopted homeland. Through an executive order that fast-tracked citizenship applications of U.S. soldiers, Missamou became a U.S. citizen in 2003.
TALKING CURE
Despite a disastrous return to Congo-Brazzaville in 2004, when he was arrested and almost beaten to death, Missamou said he still dreams of returning to his homeland.
But Missamou, who wears his crisp, white U.S. marine's uniform on his book tour, said he also wants to give back to his adopted country.
In 2007, he opened The Warrior Fitness Camp in Valencia, California, where he trains students in military techniques as well as the skills he learned as a child in the African bush.
He has plans to expand it into a chain and is even pitching a reality show in which he would travel around the country and teach fitness, spirituality and nutrition to Americans with "weight issues."
"My workout is a mind game because I believe the mind is the most powerful weapon that we have on our body," he said.
But while he said he wants to give back to his adopted country, he said he sees his memoir as a route to dealing with his past.
"What I learned in America is that it's by talking that we heal. It's by talking that we change people's lives," Missamou said.
"America is the greatest country on earth," he said. "If you don't know what you got, then read this book."
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IT Works Out, Gets Fit - Board Games

The phrase "team-building exercise" has a literal meaning for the IT staff at JM Family Enterprises Inc.
A group of tech workers plays pick-up basketball in the company's parking garage in an area that executives have agreed to keep clear for the hoop and the regular lunchtime games. Another group of IT workers heads out to run together, while another works out at the same time in the company gym.
This commitment to on-the-job fitness isn't just tolerated by IT executives there -- it's encouraged.
"It allows folks to stay fit, burn off some stress, to work together and build relationships," says Shawn Berg, vice president of technology operations at the Deerfield Beach, Fla., company.
It's really a trickle-down phenomenon. If it doesn't come from the top to encourage the associates to stay healthy, then it's not going to happen.
Richard Luceri, M.D., vice president of health care services, JM Family Enterprises
Companies with corporate fitness and wellness programs have a diverse selection of offerings for their workers, from health fairs during business hours to 24/7 corporate gyms to on-site medical services. While these programs benefit all workers, program leaders and IT executives say getting the company's tech staff on board presents some challenges as well as opportunities.
"In our IT services, folks are for the most part sedentary, so there's a lack-of-activity issue. They are exposed to a high degree of stress. And they're so diligent and passionate about what they do that the day or night goes by and they haven't gotten up to do anything for themselves," says Richard Luceri, M.D., vice president of health care services at JM Family Enterprises. (Read more about IT's on-the-job health hazards.)
Luceri says he works with managers in all departments to make sure they encourage their workers to make time to take care of their health.
"It's really a trickle-down phenomenon. If it doesn't come from the top to encourage the associates to stay healthy, then it's not going to happen," he explains.
A Department Priority
IT managers are getting the message. Berg says his department discourages using e-mail and holding meetings after 5 p.m. so workers feel like they can move on to their own activities. ("It sounds goofy but it makes a big difference," he says.) Lunch meetings are also discouraged, he says, to keep that time free for those pick-up basketball games, daytime runs and midday gym sessions (followed up with showers in on-site locker rooms).
Berg isn't just paying lip service to the topic. IT managers really do help workers make their own health a priority.
Jason Schell, director of product administration for information technology services at JM Family Enterprises, works out early in the morning, regularly getting in around 5:30 a.m. to exercise before getting an egg-white omelet from the cafeteria and heading to his desk.
Schell says the on-site 24/7 gym helps him fit exercise into his day, and he says he often bumps into IT workers getting off an overnight shift who are doing an early morning workout before heading home.
"It's all about convenience," he adds.
Other companies are making a push to integrate health and wellness into the DNA of their IT departments.
"Our IT workers do have a challenge fitting work/life balance into their schedules, but I can tell you that the IT workers are highly engaged in our wellness program," says Bob Merberg, wellness program manager at Paychex Inc., a payroll services company headquartered in Rochester, N.Y.
Merberg says there's no single program that attracts techies. Rather, the company and the IT leadership had to build a culture that made health as important as other components of the IT lifestyle.
Walking the Walk
Laurie Wright, a database administrator at Paychex, says she has seen an evolution in how her department regards health and wellness programs.
"There was probably initially a lot of hesitation, not because they were concerned that we wouldn't get our work done but because we support production and they were concerned that something might happen when we were out running," she says with a laugh. "But we showed we could handle ourselves. If you work in a stressful kind of environment like IT, you know you have to rely on your co-workers and you can work out plans that can fit everyone's needs."
Wright's an example of that. A 20-year veteran of IT, she led a team of Paychex IT workers that logged the highest number of average steps in the northeast division in the company's most recent eight-week Eat Well, Live Well challenge. Wright says she started wearing a pedometer when she first got involved in the company's wellness program.
"I was surprised to learn that I didn't even walk 2,000 [steps a day]. Now on a normal day I can get 10,000," she says, attributing the improvement to both little changes like taking the stairs instead of the elevator and using the company's outside walking track. She even walks around her office as she talks.
Wright, who has lost 40 pounds and lowered her blood sugar level, says she has seen some changes in management's attitude toward health and wellness. She says at least one manager is likely to suggest walking the track while meeting with others.
Indeed, rank-and-file employees, wellness program administrators and IT leaders themselves agree that the best way to get techies to participate in a company's fitness regimens is to make it part of the department's culture.
"It often comes down to breaking down the barriers as to why people aren't doing it on their own," explains Debbi Brooks, the company's employee wellness program expert. Companies need to make it convenient for workers, offer incentives and find the programs that appeal to particular groups and individuals.
Brooks says she finds that IT workers tend to "feed off each other and cheer each other on," so they like to exercise together and compare results. They like their gadgets, so social networking tools and smart phone programs that let them track fitness progress have been popular, too. And considering the demanding hours that IT often works, flexibility is key.
Telecommunications analyst Tom Walsh says that last one really helped him. He took part in a 10-week nutrition and wellness program offered through his company, Health Care Service Corp.
"Having it at work made it much easier to be part of it," he says. As did his manager's support, he says. His manager adjusted his morning start time by a half-hour to accommodate morning workouts. The ROI was impressive: Walsh dropped 60 pounds, came off his blood pressure medicine and is looking at getting off his cholesterol and diabetes medicine, too.
Pratt is a Computerworld contributing writer in Waltham, Mass. Contact her at marykpratt@verizon.net.
Your Best Work Posture
The market for ergonomic products has come up with some healthier alternatives to the traditional desk. There's the desk that lets you stand up. There's also a treadmill desk, which, as you can imagine, allows you to exercise while you work.
But Tom Revelle, vice president of marketing at Humanscale, which designs and manufacturers ergonomic tools in New York City, says the best desk is one that adjusts to your own individual needs so you can maintain the best posture you can throughout the day.
That doesn't mean you should be sitting ram-rod straight at your desk. Rather, you want to be reclining slightly in your chair, so that the chair takes the weight off your back, he says.
To do that, try the following:
* Move the keyboard off your desktop; instead, put it on an adjustable shelf below the desktop or put it in your lap.
* Get a good ergonomic chair that allows you to lean back and adjust the tension on that back support. (It should be adjustable for height, too.)
* Move your monitor up to the front of your desk when you're working on the computer and move it back when you need desk space, so you're not leaning forward to see the screen.
* And get some really good task lighting for your desk. Very few people need to stand up all day, Revelle says. And he suspects most people may have a hard time working and walking on a treadmill simultaneously.
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Lindsay Lohan admits flaws but says career not over - Movies

Lohan, 24, recently released early from jail and a rehabilitation program and now ordered to attend behavioral therapy classes twice a week, told Vanity Fair magazine in an interview conducted one week before her jail term began that she would cut back on hedonistic ways to revive her career.
"I want my career back," she told the magazine. "I want the respect that I had when I was doing great movies. And if that takes not going out to a club at night, then so be it. It's not fun anyway."
The "Freaky Friday" actress said landing in Los Angeles several years ago was "very go-go-go" with ample freedom and money that brought upon damaging behavior, but now she "was fine" and her acting ability was in top shape.
"I don't care what anyone says. I know that I'm a damn good actress," she said. "And I know that in my past I was young and irresponsible, but that's what growing up is. You learn from your mistakes."
Adding to her confusion, she said, was that she constantly read U.S. tabloids, which she called "really scary and sad."
"I would look up to those girls...the Britneys and whatever. And I would be like, I want to be like that," she said.
Reports of alcohol abuse were overplayed, she said, while dealing with her father was far harder.
"I think everyone has their own addictions and hopefully learns how to get past them," she said. "I think my biggest focus for myself is learning how to continue to get through the trauma that my father has caused in my life."

� Continued...
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Disney snaps up Tron director's comic book - Sci Fi

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Oblivion," the upcoming illustrated novel from "Tron Legacy" director Joseph Kosinski, has found a home with Disney.
The story is set on a future Earth, where civilization lives above the clouds and alien scavengers stalk the irradiated surface below. When a surface drone repairman finds a woman inside a crashed spacepod planetside , it leads him on a journey filled with romance and adventure.
Kosinski, who will direct and produce the feature version, created the comic. Writtem by Arvid Nelson and illustrated by Andree Wallin, it will be released in the fall by Radical Publishing.
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Corruption report expected in two to three days - Board Games

LONDON (Reuters) - The International Cricket Council's (ICC) anti-corruption unit has been asked to submit a report within the next three days on an investigation into alleged corruption within the Pakistan team.
British police have confiscated the mobile phones of test captain Salman Butt and pace bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif after a newspaper report alleging players had been bribed to fix incidents in the fourth test against England.
Tour manager Yawar Saeed said the trio plus wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal had been questioned by police at the team's London hotel.
ICC president Sahrad Pawar told reporters on Monday the issue had been discussed in a teleconference which included the head of the council's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit Ravi Sawani, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt and his English counterpart Giles Clarke.
"We at the ICC are waiting for definite information from the PCB and our own anti-corruption unit. We hope to get something in the next two to three days' time and that information would lead to appropriate action, if required," he said.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said in a statement anti-corruption officials were assisting London metropolitan police with their separate criminal investigation.
"Make no mistake, once the process is complete, if any players are found to be guilty, the ICC will ensure that the appropriate punishment is handed out. We will not tolerate corruption in this great game," Lorgat said.

DONKEYS PELTED
On Monday the police said they had released on bail a 35-year-old man who had been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers following the report in The News of the World newspaper.
According to the report Mazhar Majeed, an agent who claimed to represent 10 Pakistan players including Butt, said Amir and Asif had bowled three no-balls between them by pre-arrangement in the fourth test against England which finished on Sunday.
Despite the growing criticism against Butt, Asif and Amir, former Pakistan captain Imran Khan said the trio should be given a fair hearing.
"I think justice demands that these players be given a chance to defend themselves and clear themselves. It is unfair to assume these players are guilty," Imran told reporters in Islamabad.
Pawar ruled out the possibility of Pakistan cutting short their tour of England.
"It is the desire of the ICC and the cricket boards of England and Pakistan that the game should continue," he said.
The team arrived in Taunton in west England on Monday where they will play a warm-up game against Somerset on Thursday before starting a seven-match one-day series against England from Sunday.
A source in the team told Reuters Pakistan could release any player who was under investigation. The one-day team is led by Shahid Afridi who was scheduled to have talks with Butt and manager Yawar Saeed on Monday.
"The meeting on Monday is important because obviously some players in the squad who are not under investigation are feeling uncomfortable with the whole situation leading up to the one-day series," said the source, who declined to identified.
"The prospect of releasing the players who are under investigation from the one-day squad and replacing them is under consideration and will be discussed at the meeting."
The newspaper report also cast doubt on the second test between Pakistan and Australia in Sydney this year when Australia made a remarkable comeback to win by 36 runs after overcoming a 206-run first-innings deficit.
The scandal has outraged cricket fans in Pakistan where protestors in Lahore slapped donkeys with shoes and pelted them with rotten tomatoes on Monday.
Protesters led a procession of donkeys with the names of the players accused of taking bribes stuck on the foreheads of the animals.
"These players have let us and the country down. We are already facing so many problems because of the floods and terrorism and they took away our one source of happiness," one protestor told a television channel.
(Additional reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi and Adrian Croft in London)
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar;
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Venice festival gambles on youth, movie mavericks - Movies

LONDON (Reuters) - What the Venice film festival lacks in star power this year it hopes to make up for with an unusually young list of directors and the appearance of some of Hollywood's more enigmatic figures.
With the irrepressible Quentin Tarantino heading the jury that hands out the coveted Golden Lion at the end of the Sept. 1-11 event, it is fitting that mavericks and misfits more than movie royalty look set to steal the headlines.
"In a way Venice can still hold itself up and say 'we've got the edgier American people coming, as you have Vincent Gallo and Monte Hellman, for example," said Jay Weissberg, film critic for trade publication Variety who is based in Italy.
"It makes it look as if they are holding up the art side of cinema."
It is a calculated gamble at a time when Venice, the world's oldest film festival and one of its most prestigious, is struggling to fight off competition from Toronto, which overlaps with Venice and features many of the same movies.
Its location in North America, relatively low costs and the presence of so many industry executives looking to deal all make Toronto a tempting alternative for studios keen to showcase their films as the unofficial cinema awards race gets underway.
Stars expected in Venice this year include Natalie Portman, Helen Mirren, Ben Affleck, Catherine Deneuve and Tarantino, but, according to The Hollywood Reporter, "that's still a far cry from the star-studded cast of previous years."
Youth, at least, is on Venice's side, with the average age of filmmakers in the main competition an unusually low 47.
They include 41-year-old Darren Aronofsky, winner of the Golden Lion in 2008 with "The Wrestler", who presents "Black Swan", a ballet-themed psychological drama starring Portman.
Also in competition is Oscar winner Sofia Coppola, 39, with comic drama "Somewhere".
At the other end of the age range are 78-year-old Hellman, competing with low-budget crime drama "Road to Nowhere," and Polish filmmaker Jerzy Skolimowski, 72, on the Lido beachfront with the thriller "Essential Killing."
BUZZ SURROUNDS GALLO, PHOENIX
In Essential Killing, actor and painter Gallo stars as an Afghan Taliban fighter who is captured but escapes on his way to a secret detention centre in Europe.
The topical subject, and Gallo's reputation as an uncompromising, eccentric artist, make it one of the more eagerly anticipated movies in competition.
Robert Rodriguez's out-of-competition "Machete" has also been highlighted. The action picture set partly along the U.S.-Mexico border features Jessica Alba, Don Johnson, Lindsay Lohan and Robert De Niro.
"With Mexico, immigration and the drug wars a daily front page story in the U.S., Machete is likely to draw ample buzz," said Sheri Jennings of Screen International.
Actor and director Casey Affleck presents his documentary "I'm Still Here", about his brother-in-law actor Joaquin Phoenix's surprise decision to retire in 2008 and reinvent himself as a hip-hop musician.
A bizarre TV chat show appearance last year as a mumbling, shaggy-haired guest had industry watchers wondering if Phoenix's new act was a hoax, and already critics are debating whether I'm Still Here is more "mockumentary" than documentary.
And Julian Schnabel directs "Slumdog Millionaire" star Freida Pinto in "Miral", about an orphaned Palestinian girl growing up in the wake of the first Arab-Israeli war who finds herself drawn into the conflict.
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H-P, Dell spar over 3PAR, DLL attacks rage - Arts

The bidding duel between Hewlett-Packard and Dell over 3PAR took over IT news headlines this week with a dizzying back-and-forth flurry of increased bids. Meanwhile, DLL attacks are keeping IT security pros up at night and a top official said that the Pentagon got a security-related wake-up call when a low-level worm caused a serious systems breach.
1. The battle for 3PAR: The volleys will continue -- both want their prey badly.
2. How to thwart the new DLL attacks: Attacks involving dynamic link library load hijacking are sweeping the Internet, with Microsoft urging users to download a free tool for protection.
3. Low-threat worm caused 'most significant breach' of U.S. military net: What is being called "the most significant breach of U.S. military computers ever" was caused by a worm that could easily be removed from systems. We'll take small comfort in being told by a high-level Pentagon official that this fact was taken as "an important wake-up call."
4.Allen sues Google, Apple, others over patents: Paul Allen's firm Interval Licensing filed patent infringement lawsuits against Google, Apple, Facebook and other companies alleging patent violations related to search, multimedia, screen pop-ups and database management.
5. Google Voice: 5 truths behind the hype:: A bit of context to the news that Google introduced new VoIP functionality to Gmail this week.
6. How IT will change when Gen Y runs the show: More fun, more encouragement, more flexibility, a positive attitude with fewer meetings and less focus on time worked and more on results -- that's what some Generation Y up-and-comers say is in store when they are running IT.
7. Gmail hiccup sends e-mail messages multiple times and Google fixes Gmail bug that re-sent e-mail messages: This explains the inundation our inbox endured and why the onslaught suddenly (thankfully) stopped.
8. Intel's upcoming laptop chips will play Blu-ray 3D: Now, if someone would just figure out how to watch without wearing silly-looking glasses that may or may not fit over the glasses we need to see in the first place.
9. Apple announces Sept. 1 special event and Will the iPod Touch get some FaceTime at Apple's event?: As usual, to build suspense and excitement, Apple isn't saying much beyond issuing invitations to an event Sept. 1, though it does offer some clues. The invitation includes a photo of a guitar and the event will be at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Apple has in recent years announced music-related news, including iPods, in September.
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Prime-time TV show hits Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood - Tv Series

* Brotherhood members portrayed as aggressive, cunning
* Analysts play down impact on Brotherhood's popularity

By Yasmine Saleh
CAIRO, Aug 22 (Reuters) - A prime-time TV show charting the
rise of Egypt's main opposition movement the Muslim Brotherhood
is gripping audiences and angering leaders of the group, who see
an attempt to tarnish its name before elections this year.
The sweeping historical drama shows how the Brotherhood's
call for a return to Islam's roots took hold in colonial 1920s
Egypt and gained traction after independence as its criticism of
Western influence on Muslim society resonated among the poor.
The 35 million Egyptian pound ($6.15 million) series is
being aired every night on Egypt's main state-owned channel
during the holy month of Ramadan, when TV ratings soar as
families and friends gather in the evening.
"The government would never allow a series on the
Brotherhood to be shown on its TV channels unless it is happy
with it... The government is very cautious towards anything that
involves the group," said film critic Tarek el-Shenawy.

� Continued...
The relations between First Quantum and the Democratic Republic of Congo have gone from bad to worse in recent months, after the country expropriated the miner’s $765 million Kolwezi copper tailings project in September. � Blog�
When some of the most influential figures in emerging markets finance spoke to a group of Reuters editors, they were asked about top picks for growth beyond the so-called BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China.� Blog�
The giggles started when the seventh journalist in a row said that his question was for Egypt’s water and irrigation minister, Mohamed Nasreddin Allam.� Blog�
It has debt levels to die for and huge amounts of oil, but economically it’s lagging and political concerns remain. Speakers at a Libyan trade and investment forum this week saw the North African country as a mixed bag.� Blog�
If Guinea can pull off free and fair elections this weekend, it will lay the foundations for what could be one of Africa’s most unexpected and significant good news stories.� Blog�
Africa is providing a lot of fine material for the London theatre these days.� Blog�
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Smoking still too common in movies, CDC says - Movies

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of U.S. movies showing people smoking has declined since 2005, but cigarettes still feature in far too many films and could be influencing young people to take up the habit, according to a report released on Thursday.
The report's authors recommended that movie ratings also consider whether the film depicts smoking and suggested strong advertisements about the dangers of smoking precede movies that show tobacco use.
"The results of this analysis indicate that the number of tobacco incidents peaked in 2005, then declined by approximately half through 2009, representing the first time a decline of that duration and magnitude has been observed," the team at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the University of California San Francisco and elsewhere wrote.
"However, nearly half of popular movies still contained tobacco imagery in 2009, including 54 percent of those rated PG-13, and the number of incidents remained higher in 2009 than in 1998," they added in the CDC's weekly report on death and illness.
Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrat Edward Markey and Republican Joseph Pitts, who both serve on the Energy and Commerce Committee, wrote the Motion Picture Association of America encouraging the industry to adopt stronger anti-smoking measures.
"Exposure to onscreen smoking in movies increases the probability that youths will start smoking. Youths who are heavily exposed to onscreen smoking are approximately two to three times more likely to begin smoking than youths who are lightly exposed," the CDC report reads.
The researchers counted each time tobacco use was shown in the biggest-grossing films of 1991 to 2009.
"This analysis shows that the number of tobacco incidents increased steadily after the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between the state attorneys general and the major cigarette companies, in which the companies agreed to end brand placement," they wrote.
They said the Motion Picture Association of America had done little to make changes but noted some studios had made voluntary changes and said Viacom was the first company whose movies rated for youth showed no use of tobacco in 2009.
They suggested more policies could encourage filmmakers to do better.
"Such policies could include having a mature content (R) rating for movies with smoking, requiring strong antitobacco ads preceding movies that depict smoking, not allowing tobacco brand displays in movies, and requiring producers of movies depicting tobacco use to certify that no person or company associated with the production received any consideration for that depiction," they wrote.
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Cameron Diaz tops malware bait list - Celebrities

Cameron Diaz is the most dangerous celebrity on the Web, antivirus company McAfee said Thursday.
Search strings using Diaz's name have a one-in-ten chance of coming up with a site infected with or spreading malware, said Dave Marcus, McAfee's director of security research and communication. Search for "Cameron Diaz and screensavers," and the risk doubles, Marcus added.
As it has for the last three years, McAfee compiled search phrases that contained names of prominent celebrities, professional athletes, politicians and other newsmakers, then calculated the percentage of the resulting sites tagged as dangerous by the company's SiteAdvisor software.
SiteAdvisor is a free plug-in for Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Mozilla's Firefox that flags risky sites -- those serving up malware, adware, spyware and the like -- in a search result list.
Diaz replaced Jessica Biel, last year's top name bait. Biel fell two spots to third on McAfee's list this year.
Actress Julia Roberts placed second on the Most Dangerous list, while supermodel Gisele Buendchen took fourth. Brad Pitt, the highest ranking man on the list and one of only two on the top 10, held the fifth spot.
"It's a simple fact. The bad guys read the same news as the good guys," said Marcus as he explained why some celebrities ranked higher than others. He attributed Diaz's prominence to the fact that McAfee's list was composed around the time when she was in two currently-showing films, "Knight and Day" and "Shrek Forever After."
Attackers and scammers trade on the names of prominent people and topical events to dupe users into visiting malicious sites, to open malicious e-mails, and to click on malicious links embedded in Twitter messages, said Marcus.
"Dangerous searches relate to the news of the day," he said. "In 2008, politicians like President Obama and [former Governor] Sarah Palin were the most abused. We expect politicians to be abused in the future."
Obama was at No. 49 on McAfee's list this year, while Palin was right behind the president at No. 50.
Others on the dangerous list included tennis player Andy Roddick (No. 14), and singers Lady Gaga (No. 37) and teenager Justin Bieber (No. 46).
"We're not saying stay away from searching for celebrities like Cameron Diaz," said Marcus. "We're saying be aware of the broad use of their names, and know that criminals are looking for a way to social engineer you, and this is the type of attack they'll use."
McAfee released the fourth annual most-dangerous celebrity list Thursday just minutes before it announced Intel was buying the company for nearly $8 billion . Before the interview with Marcus, a McAfee spokeswoman made it clear he would not take any questions about the acquisition.
Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer , or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His e-mail address is gkeizer@ix.netcom.com .
Read more about security in Computerworld's Security Topic Center.
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Travel Postcard: 48 hours in Paris - Arts

PARIS (Reuters Life!) - Got 48 hours in Paris? The city of revolution and love has endless things to do. If it's the end of a busy business week and your first time then throw yourself into the heady mix of heritage, culinary delights and entertainment.
Reuters correspondents with local knowledge help visitors get the most out of a visit to the French capital.
FRIDAY
5 pm - So where best to start than overlooking the city. Perched 130 meters above Paris, Montmartre in the north will give you ample scope to build your appetite. From Pigalle metro wander up to the Basilique de Sacre Coeur, a Byzantine-inspired cathedral originally planned as a memorial for the lost soldiers of the Franco-Prussian war. The views from the top will give you a taste of what the city is all about. Head north to Place du Tertre to encounter artists sketching away, bustling cafes and a rabbit warren of cul-de-sacs with aging edifices.
7 pm - At the steps of Montmartre in the red-light district of the boulevard Clichy, lies the infamous Moulin Rouge. While a little touristy these days, the once favorite hangout of French society has a pricy menu that includes foie-gras trimmings, the finest bubbly and, of course, the famous dancers.
SATURDAY
8 am - It's an early start, but how often are you in Paris? Exit your hotel, enter the first bakery, pick-up a mix of croissants, pain aux raisins and a brioche and take a seat in a cafe. Enjoy a creme or noisette with people-watching.
9 am - It will be a long day, but well worth it. Take a metro to Bir-Hakeim. Book your ticket online to avoid the hordes of tourists at the Eiffel Tower and then, be it by lift or foot, head up the 324-meter high structure. Originally supposed to be a temporary fixture for the Universal Exhibition in 1889, the tower remains the emblem of France.
11 am - Time for a cruise along the Seine river. Pick your transport. The options depend on your level of laziness: City bikes (Velib) are spread across the city and are much like a hop-on-hop-off system. The Batobus or traditional Bateaux Mouches moored by the quay at the foot of the tower stop at major sites along the river. Or go on foot to give yourself versatility to roam.
11.30 am -Head along the river's edge by the Quai Branly. The museum of the same name on the right hand side and a pet project of former president Jacques Chirac offers collections from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. Wander about 10 minutes further down on the right to Les Invalides. The complex of buildings houses museums and monuments relating France's military past, including the tomb of Corsica's most famous son Napoleon Bonaparte.
Continue along the Quai d'Orsay past the Foreign Ministry and the Assemblee Nationale (Parliament) before turning left and crossing over the Louis 16th-built Pont de la Concorde on the Right Bank. From here enter the Jardin des Tuileries and amble through the gardens leading up to the Louvre Museum.
If you fancy a slight shopping detour, turn left at rue de Castiglione. The Westin hotel has an antique-styled courtyard for a tea or a glass of fine wine, while a bit further down toward the Place Vendome and rue Saint Honore the fashion conscious have a chance to experience the likes of Christian Lacroix, Hermes or Pierre Cardin first hand.
If shopping isn't your thing, then carry on through the gardens to the Louvre and its controversial glass pyramid. Remember queues are often long and it's best to pick one or two exhibitions of the time or select a specific collection such as the jaw-dropping ancient civilizations of the Near East.
Favorites such as the Mona Lisa or the Venus de Milo will mean hours of queuing no matter how early you get there and for many De Vinci's smiling 'La Jaconde'is often a disappointment.
3 pm - Time for a late lunch. Cross the Pont des Arts at the end of the Louvre, where the lovestruck often attach padlocks on to the bridge showing their deepest affections. You're now in the St Germain des Pres area. Stroll along the river and then turn right heading toward the Notre Dame metro.
On rue Saint Andre des Arts is the Creperie Saint-German. A cozy atmosphere with an eclectic selection of music welcomes you to a world of sweet and savory pancakes and a goblet of cider.
4 pm - Cross over Paris' oldest bridge the Pont Neuf dating back to the early 17th century and made famous by the film Les Amants du Pont Neuf starring Juliette Binoche. It takes you on to l'ile de la Cite, one of two mini islands home to some of Paris crown jewels.
About 200 meters ahead on the left is Sainte Chapelle with its unforgettable stained glass windows, while on the right is the Cathedral of Notre Dame tracing its history back to the 12th century. Behind the cathedral, its gardens lead to the second island l'ile Saint Louis where often the bridge linking the two islands will have accordion players and a raft of free entertainment. Have a seat and soak in the atmosphere.
From here head north into the Marais district. The heart of Paris' Jewish community includes the Picasso museum, lots of trendy craft and fashion boutiques and an increasingly vibrant Chinese community. Once at the rue des Francs-Bourgeois, turn left toward rue Rambuteau and the futuristic Pompidou Center. The vibrant Beaubourg area is a den of restaurants, cafes and bars so the choice is vast for an evening out, but for dinner why not try something completely different on the rue Quincampoix - Dans le Noir? (In the dark?). The restaurant, bar and lounge offers top notch food served entirely in the dark. The waiters are blind and without their help you're not allowed to move anywhere within the restaurant.
SUNDAY
9 am - A trip to France wouldn't be complete without seeing the finest food on display. Take the metro to Denfert Rochereau in the 14th and amble through rue Daguerre. From oysters to horsemeat and the fruits of the season, some of the freshest foods are delivered to this market street often ahead of their local communities. Try some of the delicacies.
11 am - A stone's throw away from rue Daguerre is the entrance to the underground Catacombes, an ossuary that fills a section of caverns and tunnels that once were Paris' mines. Skulls, bones and tombstones adorn kilometers of passages.
1 pm - Keeping to the same theme, once out of the Catacombes take the metro to the north east to Pere Lachaise. Paris' biggest cemetery is home to the likes of Oscar Wilde and Doors lead singer Jim Morrison and its multiple alleyways offer the odd pastime of tomb-spotting. Just a few hundred meters away on rue du Chemin Vert is a little Kurdish restaurant Zagros. It offers simple, but tasty food from a family whose offspring starred in the 2009 film "Welcome" about a Kurdish refuge looking to swim across the English channel to reach his El Dorado.
4 pm - One last port of call -- the world's most famous avenue the Champs Elysees. Why not drop into the Citroen showroom, the first new building on the road in more than 30 years. If cars aren't your thing, then fight the hordes to get into Laduree to taste the creative pastries of some 40 chefs and where most walk away with at least a box of macaroons.
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Ailing Zsa Zsa Gabor to spend final days at home - Game Shows

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor has decided to spend her final days at her Bel Air home after declining to undergo any more surgery, her publicist said on Monday.
Gabor, 93, was given the last rites by a priest in hospital at the weekend after undergoing a series of setbacks following hip replacement surgery a month ago.
Doctors wanted to perform surgery on her liver that would give her a 50-50 chance survival rate, but Gabor and her husband, Frederick Prinz von Anhalt, decided "she wanted to spend her final days at home," publicist John Blanchette said.
"Frederick said he did not want to torture her anymore," Blanchette added. He said the star, who has been a Hollywood fixture for 60 years, "is in and out of consciousness".
She left a Los Angeles hospital on Monday and returned home.
Gabor, whose string of movies, television shows and wealthy husbands dates to the 1950s, was released from hospital last week but was taken back on Friday to treat two blood clots.
She broke her hip on July 17 when she fell out of bed while watching the television game show "Jeopardy." The actress was partially paralyzed in a 2002 car accident.
"She had a great run," Blanchette said. "She's 93. She knew five presidents...she knew kings and queens, celebrities."
The Hungarian-born Gabor has appeared in more than 30 movies, and her penchant for calling everyone "dah-ling" in her Hungarian accent made her a well-known Hollywood personality.
She, along with her two glamorous sisters Eva and Magda made several appearances on radio and television shows in the 1950s and 1960s. Gabor appeared in movies "Moulin Rouge," followed by "Lili" and later "Touch of Evil."
Gabor was married nine times to a string of husbands that included a Turkish diplomat and the hotel magnate Conrad Hilton. She has been married to von Anhalt for 24 years.
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NHL wants concessions from IOC to remain in Olympics - Board Games

TORONTO (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will have to sweeten the pot if it wants the NHL to even consider playing at the 2014 Winter Games, commissioner Gary Bettman told the World Hockey Summit on Wednesday.
A tough-talking Bettman said the league is not looking for money from the IOC but has a long list of demands, including a bigger say in scheduling and access to its players, if the NHL is to continue its Olympic involvement.
"There are a host of issues that need to be addressed ... if the decision is going to be that we go to Sochi," said Bettman. "We haven't said no and anyone who suggests that we have made a decision or that I'm anti-Olympics doesn't get it.
"When we understand what the IOC and IIHF are prepared to do to make our taking a 16 day break sensible... the board of governors will make a decision."
The Olympic question has dominated discussions the opening three days of the summit that has brought together hockey's power brokers to discuss ways to globally grow the sport.
Despite the massive exposure the NHL received from the hugely successful men's ice hockey tournament at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, Bettman says the benefits have not always out-weighted the negatives.
Chief among the NHL's concerns is turning over control of its biggest asset -- $2.1 billion worth of players -- without having any input into how the tournament is run.
It was revealed at the summit that NHL team doctors were denied access to examine injured players in Vancouver while team officials, including Detroit Red Wings owner Mike Illich, were prevented from meeting their players.

� Continued...
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COLUMN: A painful holiday's end for Europe - James Saft - Magic

(James Saft is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own)
By Jim Saft
HUNTSVILLE Ala. (Reuters) - Europe's long summer holiday still has a week to run but this year's reentry will bring with it evidence that very little progress has been made on the issues that threaten to rend the currency union and upend the global economy.
Despite waving the stress-test magic wand over its banks in late July the same problems continue to grow unchecked: a euro zone periphery that can't compete, may not be able to pay its debts and so may bring down with them the very banks that have been pronounced healthy.
While the German economy is growing at a rate not seen since the Berlin Wall came down, things are a good bit worse in Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Italy and especially Greece, all of which face some combination of an austerity-induced recession and debts public and private which which threaten their banking systems, local governments and Treasuries.
Investors have looked at this on the one hand and on the other a $1 trillion bailout, a pliant International Monetary Fund and the results of the stress tests and have voted with their feet: average spreads between German and peripheral country bonds are back in territory last seen in June and heading north. Ten-year Greek bonds now yield 861 basis points more than German issues, or about where they were in May when we were all debating the chances of the euro surviving in its current form.
Irish bonds too have underperformed alarmingly as austerity without debt rescheduling does what austerity without debt rescheduling does: kills growth and kills the prices of assets the debts are secured upon, leaving the country less able to service its debts and more likely to default even harder. Yes, defaults are like sneezes; some are polite and soft and some splatter everyone in the room.
A number of interlocking stories show that, while European central bankers are talking a firm game about upgrading growth forecasts on the back of German exports, their actions show continued very strong concern.
First comes news on Monday that Anglo Irish Bank has transferred a new batch of impaired loans to the state-run bad bank National Asset Management Agency at just 38.1 percent of their face value, a price lower than the last transfer and one that, while it may prove optimistic, even at this level implies a weakening asset market and a growing and perhaps ultimately un-meetable bill for the government. Remember, the more money Ireland needs from the center, the less there is available to meet the growing needs of Greece and Spain.
Shortly after came news that the European Central Bank last week bought 338 billion euros of bonds, the most since early July. This follows closely on talk, unsubstantiated, last week among bond market participants that the ECB had bought up 60 billion euros of Irish bonds as investors lost confidence in Ireland and sold.

JEAN-CLAUDE TRICHET STARS IN "NO EXIT"
All of this put dovish comments by Axel Weber, Bundesbank President and a hawk's hawk, in perspective. Weber told Bloomberg Television on Friday that it was "wise" to extend unlimited lending to banks through the volatile end of year period, effectively moving the conversation about exiting some of its support of the market and of banks back to 2011.
That was not far from market consensus, but coming out of Weber's usually tough-talking mouth unexpectedly on a summer's Friday suggests that things in the banking system in Germany are not stable and will require continued support.
Spain too is a huge source of concern: as of June its banks have borrowed 126 billion euros from the ECB, up nearly half from May, money they need because many are shut out of interbank funding markets and have amassed huge portfolios of real estate which they hope will somehow rise rather than fall in value.
Surveys of purchasing managers released on Monday only underscored the divide between the robust center and the struggling edges; Germany and France are doing pretty well but there are no signs that austerity is bringing with it a rapid growth in competitiveness for the hindmost.
This is the problem: Europe cannot support its banks, honor all its debts, increase the competitiveness of the weak and hold on to a common currency all at the same time. This is not a problem that market confidence can solve, even if market confidence can be generated.
Like the United States, Europe has decided that the banks won't be allowed to fail and has reasoned outward from there, a debts over people, or taxpayers if you like, strategy.
Welcome back, policymakers, you have an interesting autumn ahead.
(Editing by James Dalgleish)
(At the time of publication James Saft did not own any direct investments in securities mentioned in this article. He may be an owner indirectly as an investor in a fund.)
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LTE demo will test broadband for oil fields - Radio Stations

LTE is generating excitement in the world of consumer electronics and ever-faster online video viewing, but the 4G (fourth-generation) mobile network technology may have even greater implications for specific industries that lack a good means of connectivity.
Texas Energy Network, a startup in Houston, will focus on the oil and gas industry in an LTE (Long-Term Evolution) test next week. Using equipment from Alcatel-Lucent, TEN hopes to demonstrate that LTE can bring more economical Internet access to drilling and exploration sites in the vast oil fields of the Permian Basin, which spans western Texas and southeastern New Mexico.
Most of the oil drilling in this region of about 25 counties takes place far from the populated areas where most cellular networks are concentrated, said TEN Chief Technology Officer Stan Hughey. As a result, oil and gas companies often are on their own when it comes to sending critical real-time data such as flow, pressure and volume from equipment in the field, he said. When mobile exploration teams are out looking for new fields, they need to make audio and video calls and generate large amounts of geological data that needs to be sent back to headquarters.
TEN, led by former Qwest Communications International executive Gregory Casey, wants to be an independent service provider for these companies, setting up and managing its own network. So far, the company is only looking at LTE.
"It appears to us it's becoming a de facto standard," Hughey said. Most mobile operators around the world that plan to deploy 4G networks have chosen LTE, a trend that bodes well for relatively high-volume, low-cost client devices once networks go live. Having a wide selection of clients was an important factor for TEN, Hughey said.
Today, most oil and gas companies rely on narrowband point-to-point wireless links (comparable to dial-up) using unlicensed radio spectrum, according to Hughey. Some lay fiber across their oil fields. For exploration, which requires high bandwidth and mobility, they often use satellite VSATs (very small aperture terminals). These can offer more than 1M bps (bit per second) but at a higher cost and with more delay than LTE, he said. It's also likely that LTE client equipment will be much less expensive than VSATs, Hughey said.
The test will use one base station and last about a week, according to Alcatel-Lucent. The oil industry presents different challenges from consumer mobile data networks, said Mark Madden, Alcatel's regional vice president of energy markets in the Americas. As with utilities setting up smart grids, the main purpose of the network is to send many small streams of data in from the field, he said. "The needs of the entire energy sector are uplink-focused," Madden said.
The other difference is that the geographic reach of a base station is more important than densely packing base stations into an area to cover many simultaneous users. Alcatel is hoping to demonstrate its LTE base station working over a range of 20 miles, Madden said.
Alcatel said players in a number of vertical industries including health care, transportation and public safety have expressed interest in LTE. But this will be the first time Alcatel actually demonstrates LTE for an energy-sector application, Madden said.
Before it can move from tests to deployment, TEN will need radio spectrum licenses across the region. The company is now talking with several spectrum holders, Hughey said. The company plans to use paired spectrum, with one band for upstream and one for downstream traffic. It's not clear yet what spectrum TEN will be able to use, but the company would like to tap into the 700MHz band, the same range that Verizon Wireless plans to use for its LTE network, coming later this year. In general, the 700MHz band offers greater reach per cell site than higher bands.
Alcatel said it could adapt to different bands depending on where TEN gets its licenses. Alcatel wouldn't comment on how much bandwidth its equipment could deliver, saying that depends on how much spectrum TEN has.
If LTE works as expected and the frequencies are available, it will probably take between 12 and 18 months to roll out the network, TEN's Hughey estimated. The service provider hopes later to expand to other parts of the U.S. and potentially other countries.
However, the company remains focused on the oil and gas industries. If it does allow private residents of the Permian Basin to hop on to the LTE network, its service-level agreements with oil companies will have to come first, Hughey said.
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Bomb explodes in Colombian capital - Radio Stations

BOGOTA (Reuters) - A suspected car bomb exploded on Thursday in the north of Colombia's capital Bogota outside a main radio station, slightly injuring six people and blowing out windows in a rare urban attack.
Television images showed a damaged bus abandoned on a main avenue and panicked residents in the streets, but police said there were no deaths in the first major bombing since President Juan Manuel Santos took office at the weekend.
"This is a terrorist attack," Santos told reporters at the site of the blast.
Bombings and attacks on Colombian cities have dropped sharply since former President Alvaro Uribe took office in 2002. Violence from the country's war ebbed as Uribe's security campaign battered leftist rebels and drug traffickers.
The main anchorman of Caracol, one of the country's major radio stations, has received threats from armed groups before and has in the past left Colombia for his safety.
Windows as high as 30 stories were blasted out in buildings along Bogota's main 7th Avenue and glass was still falling onto the streets after the attack.
"I woke up and my floor and bed were covered in glass," said Mauricio Marentes, 28, a geologist who lives on the fourth floor of a building overlooking the blast site.
Santos pledged to continue Uribe's security campaign and his pro-investment policies that have helped the Andean country overcome the dark days of its conflict when bombings and massacres made daily newspaper headlines.
(Additional reporting by Hugh Bronstein, Luis Jaime Acosta and Nelson Bocanegra; editing by Vicki Allen)
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Legendary boxing gym goes the distance - Music

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - The folks at Gleason's Gym like to say that boxing is the art of not getting hit.
With its down-at-the-heels decor, Gleason's looks like it's taken a punch or two. But focus and fancy footwork have kept this oldest active boxing gym in the United States firmly in the ring since 1937.
"I'm a specialist. We're a boxing gym. That's what we do," said Bruce Silverglade, owner of Gleason's, located in Brooklyn, New York. "Woman or businessman we'll train you in the sport of boxing, prepare you physically and mentally for a 12-round fight."
Although the gym has retained its rough and tumble feel one of the biggest changes in the past few decades has been the arrival of white collar clientele.
Businessmen discovered Gleason's in the late 1970s, so in 1988 the gym set up the first white collar boxing match: between an English professor and a veterinarian.
Women showed up in the 80s and were welcomed. Today 50 percent of Silverglade's clients are businessmen and women.
"Women train and sweat and get a good workout. If they want to look good, they go to Chelsea Piers," he said, referring to the trendy Manhattan fitness complex.
"If they just want to work out they come here."
These days the biggest single group at Gleason's, aside from fighters, is lawyers and judges.
"It's one of the last melting pots," he said. "You don't know if the person to your right is a millionaire from Wall Street or a kid from the projects."
But no one who trains there should expect to be pampered.
"Walk up our steps and first thing you'll notice is the smell," said Silverglade. "There's no air conditioning. That's the aroma of working out."
Muhammad Ali and Twyla Tharp are among the many who have savored that scent over the years. Middleweight Jake LaMotta is one of 132 world champions who trained there, as did Robert DeNiro when he played LaMotta in "Raging Bull."
Hilary Swank used Gleason's to shape up for her Oscar-winning role in "Million-Dollar Baby."
Gleason's glories in its appearance of decrepitude. To Silverglade, it's not neglect, it's ambiance, and a juicy source of revenue.
"The look of the place is a money maker," Silverglade said.
Gleason's blood-red walls and concrete floors are regularly rented for fashion shoots and movie locations.
"We keep the paint chipping off the walls because the fashion people like the contrast of a pretty woman in good clothing against a boxing gym," he said.
Even the taped and rusty dumbbells are in demand.
"That rust and tape makes a lot of money for me," he added.
When the neighborhood went from grungy to gentrified, Silverglade rolled with the punches. He put on chamber music concerts and art festivals, alongside the amateur boxing matches.
"There have been oboes and French horns, that kind of music. During the neighborhood art festival, artists are invited to display their work here as long as it has something to do with boxing."
Jihad Abdul-Aziz has been a trainer at Gleason's for three years. The former Golden Gloves champion explained that while it takes time to learn the proper punches, how to move around, jump rope, boxing is one of the most intense workouts there is.
"You'll definitely get in shape," he said. But like most boxers, he thinks the real payoff is mental.
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Supermodel Miranda Kerr says she's pregnant - Fashion

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr, who married actor Orlando Bloom in secret in July after a one-month engagement, has confirmed that she is pregnant.
Kerr, 27, who shot to international fame as a Victoria's Secret lingerie model, broke the news to the Spanish edition of Vogue magazine. She stars on the cover of the magazine's September issue.
"Yes, I am pregnant. Four months along," said Kerr, adding that it had been hard to keep the news quiet.
"I remember on one occasion in the early days (of my pregnancy) when it was still too soon to say anything and I had a dreadful time at one job," she said.
Kerr began dating Bloom, 33, star of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "The Lord of the Rings" movies, in 2007.
The couple's marriage was announced last month by upmarket Australian store David Jones, for which Kerr is an ambassador.
At that time Kerr thanked David Jones for letting her cancel her appearance in the store's spring/summer fashion launch for her wedding and honeymoon.
No one at David Jones was immediately available to comment on Kerr's pregnancy and what this meant for her contract with the store.
Kerr, who was raised in the Australian country town of Gunnedah, was ranked ninth on the Forbes' Top 10 Earning Models list this year after earning an estimated $4 million in the past 12 months.
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Facebook Places: The Cat-and-Mouse Game Continues - Entertainment News

Every time Facebook introduces a new feature it initiates a game of cat-and-mouse with its users when privacy holes are opened up and the user is left to close them. It comes as no surprise, then, that Facebook's new location-sharing feature, Places, continues this cycle of potential data leaks.
Places is far better in terms of protecting user privacy than previous new feature roll outs such as the Instant Personalization service launched in April. Nevertheless, Places can still reveal important data about you if you don't take the time to adjust your privacy settings.
Configuration Dilemma
Instead of explicitly opting you in by default for Places, Facebook leaves most of your Places privacy settings unconfigured and you have to manually set them up. Choices include settings that let you share your check-ins with all Facebook users or just your Facebook friends. One setting allows your Facebook friends to initiate a check-in for you (for a primer on what it means to "check-in" see PC World's Geolocation 101).
The most crucial setting is the one that allows friends to check-in for you. If you leave this setting unconfigured you end up in a kind of privacy limbo, as TechCrunch describes it, where you have not opted in to Places but you're not opted out either.
Let's say a friend initiates a check-in for you at a bar called Louie's. You will then get a notification telling you your friend checked you in at Louie's. Since you are in privacy limbo, you will be given two choices: always allow others to do check-ins for you or ask you about this setting later. If you choose to be asked again, or if you do nothing at all, your presence at Louie's won't be registered in Facebook as a place you visited. However, your presence will be broadcast to others via a status update in real time. Since a friend could tag you in a regular status update and reveal your location that way--the thinking goes--why not allow the same functionality in Places?
The other problem is with third-party applications.   Even if you lock down your location-sharing data so that only your friends can see it, your data could still be sent to a third-party application. Let's say your friend Linda uses Facebook to connect to Pandora. Once Linda authorizes Pandora, that application can access Linda's Facebook data and any of the publicly available data from people on Linda's friends list. If you're on Linda's friends list that means all kinds of data about you can be shared with Pandora if you haven't configured your privacy settings.
If you don't want third parties accessing your data, you need to find and adjust another setting. Step-by-step instructions are in the previous post entitled Facebook Places: How To Adjust Your Privacy Settings. The information about how third-party applications can access your data via your friends is under the sub-heading "Not Finished Yet."
Why, Facebook? Why?
So why does Facebook do this? Based on the company literature I've read, Facebook believes the more open your data is, the better your experience on Facebook will be. Your data is also enticing for third-party applications that connect with Facebook. True, Facebook's policies are supposed to prevent third-party apps from using your data for anything other than enhancing your Facebook experience. But who can guarantee that a rogue business isn't building a profile on you based on the data they collect from Facebook?
It's also much easier for Facebook to automatically turn on a new feature, thereby forcing it on users, than to try and convince you to activate the new feature yourself.   And without new features that enhance your user experience, you might become bored with the service and look elsewhere for your online entertainment.
So the neverending cat-and-mouse game continues, with Facebook activating new features to entice you to use Facebook more often than you already do. Users who care about privacy scramble to turn off the new features as soon as they appear.
Connect with Ian on Twitter (@ianpaul).
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