| Comcast: we’ll loose TV subs
The AB group has concluded a range of deals ahead of its launch of the low cost satellite platform Bis Television next week. The basic Bis package costs just E4.90 a month for 25 channels, with film and adult add-on options costing an extra E4.90 a month each. AB has just concluded a deal with the Arabic platform ART to include its channels as a further option. Also, AB has concluded alliances with box manufacturers and the distribution channels to roll out a range of STBs with the Bis label and including a viewing card in the package, for E149. The viewing card gives ten days of free viewing, after which it must be validated by taking out a monthly subscription. Alternatively, a tuner with a viewing card pre-paid for one year costs E199, or a one-year pre-paid card alone for E99.
Ghosts of Kosovo
Kosovo's ethnic-Albanian leaders have belatedly tried to extend an olive branch to the province's aggrieved 120,000 Serbs. In addition to allowing Serbs in northern Kosovo to have their own police, schools and hospitals, Kosovo's new Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, did the unthinkable: he delivered part of his inauguration speech in the hated Serbian language. Even in Serbia, whose citizens feel genuine humiliation over losing Kosovo (which Serb nationalists call their "Jerusalem"), the protests should abate. Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has threatened to retaliate against Kosovo's becoming independent by suspending talks with the European Union, but Kostunica can't afford to cut ties with the West. The E.U. supplies 49% of Serbia's imports and buys 56% of its exports--a far more valuable trade relationship than Serbia's with Russia.
'Fowl' Language Upsets Some in Pa.
ALTOONA, Pa. - A convenience store chain's billboard advertising its fried chicken sandwich is ruffling the feathers of some residents. Sheetz unveiled the "Crispy Frickin' Chicken" billboards at the beginning of February. The campaign consists of 100 billboards placed locations that carry the sandwich, spokeswoman Monica Jones said Thursday. The campaign is aimed at young adults, and the company did not intend to offend anyone, Jones said. "We're kind of known for edgy, kind of brash advertising tactics, and we knew this would spark a certain amount of controversy," Jones said. "That said, we're proud of the campaign." .
BREAKING: Virginia Beach-based Navy Seal Dies From Parachute Training
Another SEAL death occurred last month on 13 February, 2008 during a parachute training exercise near Marana, AZ. "The circumstances of these two incidents appear on the surface to be unrelated but that is why we conduct meticulous investigations," Geisen said. "It would be premature to make any conclusions before the investigators have had a chance to do their jobs." This is the 5th Virginia-based Navy SEAL that has died in recent months. .
Nicksta101's Blog
Last week on Saturday I picked up the trilogy in a box set for 20 I think. Because I'm not buying the 10-DVD box set for 30, sod that! I saw The Matrix on that Saturday and Reloaded on the Sunday following. Yesterday I watched Revolutions as I haven't got time on weekdays and I'm never in a film watching mood. What can I say a trilogy that will be remembered as an epic one. The Matrix The Matrix certainly is the best out of the series and it's story is brilliant with a stunning performance by Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith, Keanu Reeves as Neo and Lawerence Fishbourne as Morpheus. The film opens up with a computer hacker called Thomas Anderson who does under alias of "Neo" who tries to understand the strange code of the Matrix. During a day at his office he recieves a package with a cell phone.
Beautiful Miss Idaho in LCHS Parade
Self-described skate punk and anarchist Thomas Brent Andrews is hell-bent on changing the way law enforcement agencies do business by martyring himself for the cause. The Pot Plan: Louie B. Stumblin and the War on Drugs (Chronic Discontent) is a true account of Andrews' life as a small-town journalist and his bouts with alcoholism and drugs. The book is filled with stories of death-defying episodes, such as Andrews accidentally lighting himself on fire, scaling downtown Nashville's buildings, fighting country thugs and generally defending his punk-rock title. But his biggest scare came when police representatives harassed him for a column he'd written in a Tennessee newspaper about the War on Drugs. After many years of abusive and destructive drinking, Andrews came up with the "Pot Plan" - putting down the booze in favor of marijuana.
Menaker to host new online series
Daniel Menaker, a longtime Gotham lit figure who decamped from Random House as editor-in-chief last spring, is hosting a new online interview series. Touted as a Web first, "Titlepage" will feature roundtable interviews with a group of writers, taking its inspiration from "The Charlie Rose Show," IFC's "Dinner for Five" and the French staple "Apostrophes." The six-episode first season begins March 3 on www.titlepage.tv. "Titlepage" is the "perfect way to share my enthusiasm for books and their authors -- in an instantly and permanently accessible format -- with as many readers as possible," said Menaker. "I've always sought out literary conversations, and I think we can make them surprising and entertaining for anyone who might want to stop by." Though it will have the production values of a TV show, "Titlepage" will seek to exploit its Web trappings by offering forums for discussion and links to online booksellers.
DTCM hosts CNBC talk show during Cityscape
The German TV host was in Dubai as part of her coverage of top international events being organized in major cities of the world. This time it was Cityscape Dubai. 2007 which pulled her in for her episode titled, Global Land Grab: Building Sustainability. The popular TV show in English will be aired tomorrow (Saturday) as part of Christiansen's worldwide talk shows on the CNBC TV coming out of Dubai. Mr Hamad bin Mejrin, DTCM Director Missions, said: 'The DTCM is always on the lookout for promoting Dubai internationally as a commercial and touristic destination and we succeeded in hosting this popular CNBC talk show which has a viewership of 350 million households all over the world and the show will help us reach out to that many viewers thus enhancing the appeal of Dubai worldwide.' Added Mr bin Mejrin, 'A majority of CNBC viewers are investors and businessmen which gives us the golden opportunity of reaching out to the people who matter and thus to promote Dubai as a year-round family destination.' The shooting was done in Emirates Towers' Jumeirah Hall which served as a studio and the Al Badeah Hall that doubled up as a broadcasting and meetings area.
One-shoulders rule as Cotillard looks stunning
Was this a Valentino tribute? I can't remember ever seeing this many red dresses at the Academy Awards. The influence of the great couturier, who retired this year after 45 years, was front and center Sunday night. Ironically, there didn't seem to be very many Valentino dresses in the crowd, but never mind. Everyone wore the color well, from 83-year-old Ruby Dee's understated square bodice sheath and matching jacket to Heidi Klum's souped-up Galliano gown with an unusual high ruffled collar and long train. Anne Hathaway's scarlet one-shoulder chiffon Marchesa gown with a swirling cascade of roses from the shoulder carried some high wattage. Presenter Katherine Heigl shone in a one-shoulder red gown with a keyhole cutout at the shoulder, and a fun, bouncy Marilyn Monroe 'do.
Paris Hilton has new boyfriend, reality show
The "war against our will" continues because Americans are so apathetic that they can't be bothered to vote out of office whoever fails to change the course in Iraq. The buck stops with American citizens, as in any democracy. In terms of citizenship, you're as lazy and irresponsible as these celebrities you're obsessed with. .
Economic gurus: Counseling the candidates
The first thing the economics adviser brings to any campaign staff is a hip coolness and bling," he wrote in the New York Times Freakonomics blog. "Economists want to be valued for their minds and respected for their command of policy proposals ... but it just doesn't work that way," he wrote. Nevertheless, Holtz-Eakin, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office and former chief economist on President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, is well-respected among deficit hawks for his positions on less-than-hip issues like entitlement reform, for which he's advocated early and often. In his view, the sooner the long-term shortfalls in Medicare and Social Security are addressed, the better for the economy. Shoring up both programs would involve tough choices when it comes to spending cuts, Holtz-Eakin has said, a route he believes would be more effective than tax increases.
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