| Kazaa settles for $100m
The record industry has reached a legal settlement with Kazaa, the peer-to-peer file-sharing service that has been considered a major contributor to piracy. Under the terms of the settlement, Sharman Networks, Kazaa's Australian-based owner, will pay the world's four major music companies - Universal Music, Sony BMG, EMI and Warner Music - more than $100m in damages. In addition, Kazaa has agreed to restrict the sharing of copyrighted material on its network. "Kazaa was an international engine of copyright theft which damaged the whole music sector and hampered our industry's efforts to grow a legitimate digital business," said John Kennedy, head of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). "It has paid a heavy price for its past activities. At the same time Kazaa will now be making a transition to a legal model and converting a powerful distribution technology to legitimate use." The music industry has reached settlements with a number of file-sharing services following the Supreme Court's landmark ruling last year in the MGM-Grokster case.
Johan Santana trade is no-brainer for Mets, but did Twins get best ...
Perhaps the only thing that kept the Mets out of the last two World Series was this: Their rotation lacked a durable, dominant ace. Of course, they weren't the only club without one. In the big leagues, legitimate No. 1 starters are the hardest commodity to find. So when the Mets had a chance Tuesday to trade for Santana, they jumped at it. Omar Minaya has always been an aggressive general manager, and he wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to land arguably the game's best pitcher. The Mets agreed to send Minnesota four prospects, including three pitchers, for a guy who could cost them $120 million or more to sign to a contract extension of five to seven years. That's a steep price, especially considering Santana could have become a free agent after this year's World Series and the Twins don't have the budget to re-sign him.
Derby spoils settled in a familiar way
We needed to get a reaction out of the players and have done so. That showed in the second half. It wasn't pretty but the players held out for one another. It is only three points, but the added confidence is that it is a win against our rivals."There were peculiar bragging rights on offer. It was the first time in years an Edinburgh derby so late in season was a lower-half of the table contest. Essentially, the bitter rivals were scrapping to prove that they were the lesser struggling capital side. A saying about bald men and combs springs to mind. Providing evidence they weren't in such a form trough as the other lot across the city was supposed to prove an easier task for Hibs. Even if they could not boast a win in eight SPL games, in the past week the Easter Road men were portrayed as a new, improved team under Paatelainen.
Reviews of all the latest DVD releases
Just who is Rowena talking to online? Is someone else out there? It's complicated stuff which takes a fair amount of unravelling, owing its origins to Rowena's own troubled childhood. But it's more than enough to hold your attention for a reasonably entertaining couple of hours of shadow-boxing and second-guessing - an effective thriller with twists ever more twisted as Rowena seems increasingly ensnared in a web of her own making. Not a film that will leave a lasting impressive, but certainly a film to enjoy while it's teasing your mind. Phil Hewitt. /blob/ DVD rental supplied by Blockbuster. For details of other new DVD releases see www.blockbuster.co.uk. .
Too many online social networks, so little time
Too many online social networks, so little time Gina Kim / Sacramento Bee You're already on MySpace. You're LinkedIn. Your slobbery canine even has a page on Dogster. But how many online social networks can you be on before it makes life too complicated? Four, said Beth Simas, 24, a graduate student at the University of California, Davis, who is a member of LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace and inCircle, a community for Santa Clara University alumni. "I don't even keep up with the ones I'm in. I rarely log on to all four during the month -- it just takes too much time," Simas said. .
Righteous resolutions: Have an eco-’08
Having trouble keeping up with our increasingly organic, eco-friendly world? Let me be your guide! From all-natural makeup to the best in eco-conscious jeans, I will test and review the products and treatments that are best for you and the planet. As you welcome in 2008, you may find that your list of New Year's resolutions is eerily similar to the list you made last year. Maybe you still hope to lose weight, quit smoking, learn French, clean out your closets, or run half a marathon. While it's essential to have personal goals — they keep us going, moving forward — I suggest taking the pressure off of that aging list of resolutions and turning your energy instead to aspirations that will not only help you, but will also protect the planet and the future generations that will inhabit it.
From Vick's fight ring to 'love time' in foster home, an unlikely ...
Oscar Allen, who sold a champion pit bull to Vick's dogfighting operation, was sentenced Friday on a federal dogfighting charge. Officers who carried out the raid found dogs, some injured and scarred, chained to buried car axles. Forensic experts discovered remains of dogs that had been shot with a .22 caliber pistol, electrocuted, drowned, hanged or slammed to the ground for lacking a desire to fight. A bewildered Hector and more than 50 other American Pit Bull Terriers or pit bull mixes were gathered up. So were "parting sticks" used to open fighting dogs' mouths, treadmills to condition them, and a "rape stand" used to restrain female dogs that did not submit willingly to breeding. The dogs, held as evidence in the criminal prosecutions, were taken to a half dozen city and county pounds and shelters in Virginia.
Myth of BBC's 'made in Scotland'
A full on cringer looking after Cosgrove, BBC Scotland is full of them.BBC Scotland used to have a religous deparment. They used to do outside broadcasts from the Shetlands to the Mull of Galloway, showing Scotland in all it's glory, and the tourist trade reaped the reward. BBC licence payers in Scotland got to see there own nation at worship. It was all sacrificed to the great God cenralisation under the demigog Birt. Now we get our religious broadcasts from that centre of excellence of religion Manchester. The UK state at it's very worst. Everything has to be filtered through London, no autonomy must be allowed to Scotland or we will soon be asking for independence. Guess what?Sport! I am going to Murrayfield to see the France match. This will be broadcast by a London crew using London outside broadcasting equipment.
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