Kanye West Says He Will Be New King of Pop, Replacing Michael Jackson

Following Michael Jackson's sudden death on June 25, Kanye West claims he will become the next King of Pop, replacing the late singer. "You know everyone loves and respects Michael but times change. It's so sad to see Michael gone but it makes a path for a new King of Pop and I'm willing to take that on," so he told Scrape TV.

On what makes him deserve the title, Kanye said, "There's nobody who can match me in sales and in respect so it only makes sense for me to take over Michael's crown and become the new King." The rapper then added, "First there was Elvis [Presley], then there was Michael, now in the 21st century it's Kanye's time to rule. I have nothing but respect for Michael but someone needs to pick up where he left off and there's nobody better than me to do that. I am the new King of Pop."

Furthermore, Kanye reportedly has reached out to the Jackson family to obtain official permission to use the title but so far received no response from them. It is believed that the family is still mourning over Michael's death.

"King of Pop" was a honorific title popularized by Elizabeth Taylor when she presented Michael Jackson with Artist of the Decade prize around 1989. At that time, the British-American actress proclaimed Michael, who has sold million copies of records, as "the true king of pop, rock and soul."

* Update 07/30:
Scrape TV wrote at the bottom of its page, "All content herein should be considered rumor or truth based solely on your perspective". This interview itself hasn't been verified by Kanye West.

Bill Gates quits Facebook over 'too many friends'

NEW DELHI (AFP) -

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said he was forced to give up on the social networking phenomenon Facebook after too many people wanted to be his friend.

Gates, the billionaire computer geek-turned-philanthropist who was honoured Saturday by India for his charity work, told an audience in New Delhi he had tried out Facebook but ended up with "10,000 people wanting to be my friends".

Gates, who remains Microsoft chairman, said he had trouble figuring out whether he "knew this person, did I not know this person".

"It was just way too much trouble so I gave it up," Gates told the business forum.

Gates was in the Indian capital to receive the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development, awarded by the government for his work for the charitable organisation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The foundation, built by his massive fortune, has committed nearly one billion dollars to health and development projects in India, targeting especially AIDS and polio.

Gates also confided to the audience that he was "not that big at text messaging" and that "I'm not a 24-hour-a-day tech person".

"I read a lot and some of that reading is not on a computer," he said.

Gates, who sought to drive a vision of a computer on every desk and in every home, said the information technology revolution had been "hugely beneficial" but added: "All these tools of tech waste our time if we're not careful."

Secret Moneys

How's this for a plot twist? Yesterday we broke the story that the Special Administrators of Michael Jackson's estate filed legal papers saying they just recovered $5.5 million is cash from a former financial advisor. The advisor is Dr. Tohme Tohme, who got involved with Jackson in the last year-and-a-half of his life, and he claims the money was "a secret."

In an interview last night, Dr. Tohme said the money came from recording residuals and that "It was a secret between Michael and me."

Dr. Tohme claims the money was going to be used for a Las Vegas "dream home."

Tohme says Michael implored him, "Don't tell anyone about the money." He says when the singer died, he came forward and said he had the stash.

Kelis Skips Court: Oh Shes Having A Baby Right Now!

There’s a damn good reason Kelis is skipping out on today’s scheduled court date to fight Nas for child support and baby and prenatal expenses — she’s giving birth right now!!!

We also know Nas — the baby daddy — is definitely not by her side.

The two were scheduled to battle over expenses. She says he’s paid nothing. Nas claims he’s paid some.

But the big question — will Nas actually have the stones to show up to court and argue against his baby mama while she’s pushing out their child?!

J to the N-O -- Lopez Refuses Baby Gift

Jennifer Lopez deflated the hopes of a local NY business after she turned away an elaborate balloon bouquet for the twins -- and we've got a shot of the denied goods.

Jenny is currently in town to film a movie -- and we're told the Balloon Saloon sent her a gift and a note thanking her for making their area "a bit more interesting."

But the balloons only made it as far as Lopez's trailer door -- where they were completely rejected by her bodyguard and sent back to the shop.

So, for the record: J. Lo's love don't cost a thing -- and definitely can't be bought with inflatable latex.

Real Archaeologist Digs Up Fact, Fiction of 'Angels & Demons'

Antimatter!
Early on in the movie a potentially catastrophic vial of antimatter is stolen from CERN setting the plot in motion. Antimatter sounds like a fantasy sci-fi movie product, but it has been created -- at the cost of about $1,772 trillion per ounce. Why? Because it takes enormous energy to create in particle accelerators like CERN. (Remember CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research. They've got the huge underground particle accelerator that was supposed to create a black hole and swallow the earth last fall, until an accident took everything offline. Cross your fingers for this fall, when they start the accelerator up again.)

The only reassuring news about antimatter besides its prohibitive cost? The fact that, at this point, there's no way to store it, much less broadcast it on the Internet.

After the jump, learn the truth about the Vatican's leadership and the badass-itude of the Swiss Guard.

The Vatican Leadership
Oh Vatican, oh Vatican, who's the most murderous of them all? Yep, probably because of the lousy press from the Catholic Church that followed "The Da Vinci Code," this film played nice with Catholicism's major domos. But in real life, popes and cardinals haven't been innocent when it comes to murder, bribery, rape, incest, etc. Around the time that so many of the fantastic churches in the film were built, for instance, there was Pope Alexander VI (d. 1503). Known as the "STD Pope," Alex allegedly committed his first murder at 12, slept with his daughter, and died drinking poison intended for a potential cardinal.

The Illuminati
OK, here's the problem with the secret society chronology in this movie: most of the groups we're familiar with today, like the Freemasons and the Illuminati, were founded during the Age of Enlightenment, which began in the 1700s. In fact, the Illuminati were founded in 1776 -- a good 100-150 years after the characters (Galileo, Bernini) mentioned in "Angels & Demons" existed. (By the way, the original Illuminati preferred to call themselves the "Perfectibilists," and "The Order of the Bees," neither of which is nearly as sexy or intimidating.)

Other, earlier "secret societies" known to pose a threat to the Church, like the Knights Templar, were ruthlessly stamped out by popes in the 1300s. So poor A&D author Dan Brown was essentially left with a secret society "dead zone" from 1400 to 1700 -- the time of Galileo.

The Swiss Guard
Let's talk about how badass the Swiss Guard is. Would you mess with a Chechen, a Colombian, or an Afghani? Multiply that by 10 and we have the Swiss. Crazy-ass, take-no-hostages mountain people -- these are the men who have ruthlessly guarded the Vatican for 500 years. And those nasty-looking halberds they carry? Renowned since the 16th century for efficiently piercing human skulls. They also carry assault rifles. So don't make fun of their striped pajamas and funny hats the next time you find yourself in Rome.

Symbology
... is a load of crap. I'd love to teach it at Harvard too, but what our esteemed professor Dr. Robert Langdon does is actually some weird combo of western art history and anthropology.

Why is it impossible to teach "symbology"? Because those two crossed keys that mean "Vatican" in the West may mean something entirely different in say, Vietnam. And the whole elements-of-the-earth spiel that works for Langdon in Rome may mean nothing in the Peruvian desert. To be a symbologist, he'd have to have in-depth knowledge of all of the world's cultures in order to properly interpret symbols, which is impossible unless you're Stephen Hawking. Our dear Harvard professor doesn't even know Italian, for Pete's sake.

Kristin Romey is an anthropologist, explorer, former executive editor of Archeology Magazine and, most prestigiously, Asylum's scientific adviser.

Intelligent women enjoy sex more than 'bimbos', research finds

A study of more than 2,000 female twins showed that those with greater emotional intelligence had larger numbers of orgasms.

Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to monitor and manage feelings and emotions in oneself and others.

The findings suggest that low EI is a risk factor for female orgasmic disorder, one of the most common sexual problems suffered by women.

Up to 30 per cent of women find it difficult or impossible to reach a climax during sexual intercourse.

Professor Tim Spector, director of the Twin Research Department at King's College London and co-author of the study, said: "These findings show that emotional intelligence is an advantage in many aspects of your life including the bedroom. This study will help enormously in the development of behavioural and cognitive therapies to improve women's sexual lives."

A total of 2,035 female volunteers from the TwinsUK registry were recruited for the study, ranging in age from 18 to 83.

The registry consists of adult twins who have agreed to take part in studies to investigate the causes of common disorders. Using twins makes it possible to disentangle genetic and environmental risk factors.

All participants completed questionnaires giving details of their sexual behaviour and performance and also answered questions designed to test their emotional intelligence.

A significant association was found between EI and frequency of orgasm both during masturbation and sexual intercourse.

Women in the bottom 25 per cent of the emotional intelligence range had twice the normal risk of infrequent orgasm.

The results of the study appear today in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

Lead author, psychologist Andrea Burri, also from King's College, said: "Emotional intelligence seems to have a direct impact on women's sexual functioning by influencing her ability to communicate her sexual expectations and desires to her partner."

She added that there was a possible connection with a woman's ability to fantasise during sexual intercourse.

"Emotional intelligence seems to have a direct impact on women's sexual functioning by influencing her ability to communicate her sexual expectations and desires to her partner," said Ms Burri.

Wikileaks.de: Denic defends itself against Lock-accusation

The registry for. Com domains, the Frankfurt-based Denic, defends itself against allegations of the operator of the German edition of the Wikileaks project, which wikileaks.de on 9 April "ohne Vorwarnung durch die deutsche Registrierungsstelle Denic gesperrt" worden sei. April "without warning by the German registry Denic locked" was. In einer Pressemitteilung hatten die Wikileaks-Betreiber erklärt , die deutschen Behörden versuchten damit offenbar, "eine ganze Presseorganisation wegen einem von hunderttausenden Dokumenten zu schließen". In a press release, the operator of Wikileaks says that the German authorities tried so apparently, "a press organization because one of hundreds of thousands of documents to close."

In mid-March wikileaks.de was a non-public list of censorship Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) released were on more than one Internet offerings with alleged child pornography content were recorded. Kurze Zeit später fand beim Inhaber der Domain wikileaks.de eine Hausdurchsuchung wegen des Verdachts der Verbreitung kinderpornografischer Schriften statt. A short time later, the holder of the domain wikileaks.de a house because of the suspicion of child pornography and dissemination of writings instead.

Nachdem die Registrierungsstelle für Rückfragen zunächst nicht zu erreichen war, teilte Denic-CEO Sabine Dolderer heise online jetzt mit, dass die "angebliche Sperrung seitens der Denic in Wirklichkeit gar nicht stattgefunden" habe. Once the registry for inquiries initially was unable to reach shared Denic CEO Sabine Dolderer heise online now that the "alleged blocking of the Denic in fact not taken place" had. Vielmehr sei am 9.4. Rather was at 9.4. durch den Provider mitgeteilt worden, "dass die Domain nicht mehr durch ihn verwaltet wird". by the provider have been notified, "that the domain is no longer managed by him." In solchen Fällen könne der Domain-Inhaber "die Domain zu einem anderen Provider umziehen (Providerwechsel beauftragen), die Domain bei DENICdirect belassen oder aber auch die Domain löschen". In such cases, could be the holder of the domain "the domain name to another provider move (changing the subject provider), the domain at DENICdirect leave or they can delete the domain."

Warum das Kundenverhältnis zwischen dem Provider und dem Domain-Inhaber beendet wurde, die Domain also "in Transit" gegangen sei, "entzieht sich dabei unserer Kenntnis", schreibt Dolderer in einer E-Mail. Why the customer relationship between the provider and the domain ownership has been completed, the domain that is "in transit" was gone, "it eludes our understanding," Dolderer writes in an e-mail. Gründe könnten zum Beispiel sein, "dass der Vertrag mit dem Kunden gekündigt ist, dass die Bezahlung aussteht, ...". Reasons could, for example, "that the contract with the customer notice is that the payment is outstanding, ...". Der Denic habe bis zum 12. The Denic have until 12 April "keinerlei Providerwechselauftrag oder eine andere Information des Domaininhabers" vorgelegen, wie die Domain zukünftig verwaltet werden soll. April "no provider change orders or other information to the domain owner" existed, as the domain will be managed. Insoweit könne die Denic "im Moment nicht (sinnvoll) tätig werden". In that regard could Denic "at the moment is not (common sense) to act."

"Aber seinen Provider oder die DENIC zu kontaktieren ist sicher weniger spektakulär, als eine Pressemitteilung mit ungeprüften Anschuldigungen rauszugeben", wirft Dolderer den Wikileaks-Betreibern vor. "But his DENIC provider or contact is certainly less spectacular than a press release with untested allegations rauszugeben" raises the Dolderer Wikileaks operators before. Der Inhaber der Domain wikileaks.de, Theodor Reppe, erklärte unterdessen gegenüber ORF.at, er wisse gar nichts zu dem Thema und sei bisher auch nicht informiert worden. The holder of the domain wikileaks.de, Theodor Reppe, said having the opposite ORF.at he knew nothing about and had not yet been informed. Der fragliche Provider teilte heise online heute jedoch schriftlich mit, man habe den Vertrag bereits Anfang Dezember 2008 "fristgerecht und mit entsprechendem Vorlauf zum 30. März 2009 gekündigt." The provider in question told heise online writing today, however, you have the contract in early December 2008 "on time and with adequate preparation for the March 30, 2009 terminated." Grund sei "nicht vertragsgemäßes Verhalten" gewesen. Reason was "non-conforming behavior" was.

In dem Kündigungsschreiben sei ebenfalls darauf hingewiesen worden, was mit Domains, die bis zum Kündigungsdatum nicht umgezogen wurden, passieren würde: "Domains, welche bis zum 31.03.2009 nicht umgezogen sind, werden von uns an die Vergabestelle zurückgegeben oder entsprechend gekündigt." In the termination letter had also been pointed out what to do with domains, until the termination date was not moved, would happen: "domains, which until 31.03.2009 are not moved, will be forwarded to the awarding body is returned or terminated accordingly." Die Domain sei dann am 9. The domain was then, on 9 April in den Abendstunden durch den Provider an die Denic übergeben worden. April in the evening hours by the Provider to the Denic been given. Zeitgleich seien die Nameserver für diese Domain abgestellt worden. At the same time, the nameservers for this domain have been turned off.

Die Übergabe in den Transit sei "weder eine Folge der Hausdurchsuchung vom 24. März 2009 beim Domaininhaber der Domain, noch eine Anordnung einer deutschen Behörde oder eine willkürliche Zensur durch uns. Vielmehr ist die Nichterreichbarkeit das Versäumnis des Domaininhabers sich rechtzeitig einen neuen Provider zu suchen", schreibt Beasts Associated . The handover in transit was "neither a consequence of the house by March 24, 2009 at the domain holder of the domain, nor a decision by a German authority or arbitrary censorship by us. Rather, the non-availability of the domain name holder's failure to timely present a new provider to seek "writes Associated Beasts. Auch der genannte zeitliche Ablauf zeige deutlich, dass es keinen Zusammenhang zwischen der Kündigung des Vertrages, die Rückgabe der Domain in den Transit und den Ereignissen der vergangenen Wochen gebe. Also called the chronology clearly shows that there is no connection between the termination of the contract, the return of the domain in the transit and the events of the past few weeks there.

Wikileaks sieht in der Veröffentlichung der australischen Zensurliste einen Beitrag zur umstrittenen Diskussion um Websperren als Mittel zur Bekämpfung von kinderpornografischen Inhalten im Internet. Wikileaks believes that the publication of the Australian censorship list contribute to the controversial discussion about Websperren as a means to combat child pornography content on the Internet. So wollen fünf der acht großen deutschen Zugangsprovider voraussichtlich noch in dieser Woche einen Vertrag unterzeichnen , der vorsieht, dass der Zugriff auf Internetseiten mit illegalen Inhalten auf Grundlage einer vom Bundeskriminalamt erstellten und aktualisierten Sperrliste künftig unterbunden wird. Like five of the eight major German internet provider is expected to start this week a contract to sign, which provides that the access to websites with illegal content on the basis of a Bundeskriminalamt created and updated revocation list will be blocked.

Allerdings ist eine Prüfung, ob die Liste tatsächlich nur illegale Angebote umfasst, nicht möglich: Da sie Links auf Kinderpornografie enthält, soll sie geheim bleiben. However, an examination of whether the list actually only illegal deals, is not possible: Since it links to contain child pornography, should it remain secret. Weder Privatpersonen noch Verbraucherschützer oder Journalisten dürfen nach gesperrten Seiten suchen oder die Rechtmäßigkeit einer Sperrung überprüfen. Neither individuals nor consumer protectors or journalists must search for banned sites, or the legality of a blocking check. Niemand kann also etwa kontrollieren, ob einmal gesperrte Seiten nach Entfernung von beanstandeten Inhalten wieder freigeschaltet werden. Nobody can take control, even if blocked sites after removal of disputed content will be unlocked again. Bei Analysen von Sperrlisten anderer Länder (die wie die australische Liste im Internet aufgetaucht waren), hatte sich gezeigt, dass dort viele Adressen verzeichnet waren, die sich bei näherer Betrachtung nach dem jeweils geltenden Strafrecht nicht als Kinderpornografie-Links klassifizieren ließen. For analysis of restricted lists of other countries (like the Australian list had appeared on the Internet), it had become apparent that there were many addresses listed, which on closer inspection under the applicable criminal law not be considered child pornography links classify them.

Rozental and Weiss: Only the U.S. can win war on drugs

Despite a surge of military and police forces across the country, the killings continue – more than 5,000 last year. Some regions are terrorized by a wave of kidnappings, assassinations and beheadings.


Iraq? Afghanistan? Pakistan? Somalia? In fact, the country – which a recent U.S military study warned could be at risk of "a rapid and sudden collapse" – is none other than Mexico. Two years into President Felipe Calderon's war against the drug cartels, and the cartels' ensuing war with each other, this is a nation at war with itself.

To be sure, the government has had its successes. Huge weapons caches have been seized, large tracts of illegal drug crops have been eradicated and an increasing number of cartel kingpins, couriers and foot soldiers have been put behind bars.

But despite these tactical victories, Mexico's fight – attacking the supply-side of the western hemisphere's drug war – will remain an unwinnable war so long as its northern neighbor fails to attack the demand side: Americans' insatiable appetite for illicit drugs.

When then-President-elect Barack Obama met President Calderon in January, he reaffirmed Washington's support for Mexico's heroic efforts. But he should remember Plan Colombia, which has cost American taxpayers $8 billion. While Colombian cartels have been weakened, there has been no significant reduction in the amount of cocaine and other drugs shipped out of Colombia, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

So long as the vast American market for cocaine, heroin and other drugs yields irresistible profits, the cartels will continue taking the risks of producing, transporting and distributing the products their customers want. Even with U.S. support for Mexico's fight – $450 million this year – the cartels will always have more money and guns at their disposal. Even if the U.S.-Mexico border were improbably sealed, the traffickers would find alternate routes to their American customers.

Mexico's war on supply must be matched, once and for all, by a real American war on demand.

Despite decades of a supposed U.S. "war on drugs" – including some of the harshest penalties for drug use in the world – the percentage of Americans using cocaine, heroin, crack, marijuana and methamphetamines has remained largely steady in recent years, according to the latest National Drug Threat Assessment. Given population growth, the number of users has actually increased to 35 million Americans, including the world's highest use rates of cocaine and marijuana.

So how to achieve major reductions in American demand for illegal drugs, as well as the profitability and criminality it fuels?

Seventy-five years after its repeal, Prohibition remains instructive. Like the 13-year ban on alcohol, the illegality of drugs failed to curb demand. Like the bootleggers and gangsterism of that era, today's drug cartels are simply serving popular demand.

As with the repeal of Prohibition, the U.S. must again follow a common-sense approach by thinking the unthinkable: the gradual legalization of some drugs.

For such a change in strategy, the U.S. must recognize that all drugs are not created equal. It is now clear that marijuana and methamphetamines do not have the same harmful effects as cocaine, heroin, opium and other hard drugs. Discriminating among different drugs – as does the new Massachusetts law decriminalizing possession of less than an ounce of marijuana – points the way toward a more rational approach.

At great cost, in blood and treasure, Mexico is fulfilling its responsibility with a war on supply. It's time the U.S. fulfills its responsibility with a real war on demand.

Ambassador Andrés Rozental, former deputy foreign minister of Mexico, is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and may be reached at andres@mexconsult.com. Stanley A. Weiss is founding chairman of Business Executives for National Security, a nonpartisan Washington-based organization, and may be reached at sweiss@bens.org.

EXCLUSIVE: Megan Fox and Actor Brian Austin Green Call Off Engagement

Megan Fox and fiance Brian Austin Green have split, Usmagazine.com has learned.

"The relationship had run its course," an insider tells Us exclusively. "It's completely amicable, and they are remaining friends."

Fox, 22 (who’ll reprise her role as Mikaela in this June’s sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), and Green, 35 (a regular on Fox's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), now “are both focusing on their careers," the source adds.

Us Weekly has more details on their shocking split. Pick up the new issue, on stands tomorrow.



The couple -- who have tattoos of each other's names -- met in 2004 and, as Us first reported, got engaged in November 2006.



Last November, Fox told Us that the wedding plans were still on.

"It's not going to be a big wedding," she told Us at a GQ bash. "I'm not one of those girls. If it happens, it will be very low-key and quick and unplanned."



She said she and Green -- who has a 6-year-old son, Kassius, from a previous relationship -- haven't talked about wanting more kids.

"I feel like I need to set my career and do a movie other than Transformers," she said. "Then I’ll explore family."

Katie Holmes spends $14m in six months in New York

The actress arrived in the New York in July to appear on Broadway in the Arthur Miller play, All My Sons.

She is living in a Manhattan apartment owned by her husband Tom Cruise and has become a regular fixture on the city's social circuit.

As well as regularly frequenting the city's best restaurants, Holmes is often photographed with her daughter Suri carrying purchases from some of New York's most expensive shops.

The New York Post's Page Six magazine estimates that, mainly due to her real estate purchases, she has spent more than $14 million (£9.6 million) since being in the city.

"While ordinary city dwellers are cutting back, Mrs Cruise has been valiantly doing her bit to boost our economy," the magazine said.

"We tally up a conservative estimate of her 24-week NYC spending spree, and crown her Manhattan's Most Valued Shopper."

Holmes has reportedly spent a reported $13,987 (£9,600) on child care and taking Suri out over the last six months

According to the publication, she and Cruise have bought three new apartments in the building where he has owned his home since 1985.

A spokesperson for Cruise has denied the purchases but real estate executive Barbara Corcoran claims they bought a trio of lofts last year.

The magazine says a similar, three-bedroom home on the same street is on the market for $4.8 million, (£3.3 million) and calculates that the Cruises would have spent $14.4 million (£10 million) on their apartments as a result.

Meanwhile the couple is reported to have spent an additional $7,000 (£4,800) on installing gym equipment in their home.

The publication also claims that Holmes, 30, and Cruise, 46, have spent an estimated $7,315 (£5,000) on dining out at top restaurants such as brasserie Balthazar, and sushi restaurant Nobu and more than $17,000 (£11,700) on clothes for Holmes and Suri from shops like Hermes and Bonpoint.

Did Palin abuse power again for future son-in-law?

A critic of Gov. Sarah Palin claimed the Alaska politician may have once again abused her power to obtain an apprenticeship for her soon-to-be son-in-law Levi Johnston.

Dan Fagan, who also publishes a Web site called the thealaskastandard.com, said federal regulations require all apprentices to have a high school diploma, which Johnston does not have.

"So how is it that the governor's soon-to-be son-in-law is working in an apprentice program?" Fagan wrote in an column. "Is this another case of the governor believing the rules don't apply to her or her family?"

Called "Troopergate" by the media, an investigation of Palin concluded in October that she abused her power as an Alaska governor in the firing of the state public safety commissioner.

Palin defended her daughter's fiance from what she considers inaccurate descriptions of Johnston as a high school dropout. Palin said he is working for his diploma through a correspondence program.

Palin said she is "over the moon" about her future son-in-law.

"You need to know that both Levi and Bristol are working their butts off to parent and going to school and working at the same time," Palin said in her first public statement about the father of her grandchild.

But Fagan questioned how Johnston gained entrance to the apprenticeship program when similar programs have long waiting lists. There are only three in the state, according to Fagan, and at least one of them has a waiting list of at least 100 people.

"I believe 2009 will be the year more and more Alaskans will come to realize Sarah Palin is in way over her head as governor, doesn't always play by the rules, and is, at times, less than honest," Fagan wrote.

Marriage Calculator figures divorce odds

PHILADELPHIA , Nov. 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. divorce rate has been dropping and some couples have much better odds than the often-quoted 50-50 chance of wedded bliss, researchers say.

Betsey Stevenson of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School said the divorce rate has been falling in the United States since 1979. And, she said, the rate can vary widely according to demographics.

"For many of these folks, their divorce rates so far have fallen substantially compared with previous generations," Stevenson said in a statement without providing any new divorce rate figures. "Different types of people face different divorce rates historically."

Your chances of divorce lessen the more education you have and increase the younger you marry, Stevenson explained.

Stevenson -- in partnership with divorce360.com -- developed The Marriage Calculator that lets people see how the incidence of divorce evolves throughout the life of a marriage.

The calculator uses data from the U.S. Census bureau to allow users to compare themselves to others who married about the same time period, have a similar education and have been married as long as you. With the marriage calculator, you can find out how many people with similar backgrounds have divorced. In addition, it estimates how many people like you are likely to get divorced in the next five years.

The calulator is at http://www.divorce360.com/content/divorcecalculator.aspx

How the New Bond Movie Pissed Off the Entire Nation of Bolivia

Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster explains how he almost touched off an international incident -- and 10 more behind-the-scenes secrets with 007, including the film's Oscar hopes and new Bond girls.

Marc Forster has directed some of the most lauded movies of the last ten years. Movies like Monster's Ball and Finding Neverland, which, between them, earned nine Oscar nominations and two wins. He directed The Kite Runner, too, an emotional drama about two Afghan boys whose friendship falters after one of them is raped. Naturally, he was selected to direct the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace.

The movie takes place 20 minutes after 2006's Casino Royale ends, as Bond sets out to avenge the murder of the woman we're supposed to believe he actually loved. Like any Bond movie, there are explosions, cars, and women. Unlike any Bond movie, there's concern that 007 might cry. Here, Forster addresses our skepticism.

ESQ: Even you must have been surprised when you were asked to direct this.

MF: I didn't want to do it. I took the meeting out of pure courtesy. But then I read an interview with Orson Welles that asked him to name a big regret in life, and he said he wished he'd done a mainstream movie. So I thought, Why not?

ESQ: How do you think you made your mark on the franchise?

MF: I tried to embrace the framework of villain, girls, and cars but at the same time make the film my own, visually and emotionally. I tried to be honest, in an emotional sense, to Bond's character.

ESQ: So you made him a sissy?

MF: There is this emotional scar in him, but he's trying not to admit it.

ESQ: Is he at least still philandering?

MF: He's definitely still philandering. He has to be. It's part of Bond's charm.

ESQ: Could you have made the first Bond movie to win an Oscar for Best Picture?

MF: Uh, no.

ESQ: How did you pick new Bond girls Gemma Arterton and Olga Kurylenko?

MF: I thought it would be easy to cast a Bond girl, because there are so many beautiful women in this world. But not many of them can act. Their acting needed to be really strong and three-dimensional. Historically, the role of women in the world has changed. You can't have someone in a Bond film just as a sex object.

ESQ: Guess so. But beauty is still the most important part, right?

MF: Oh, yeah. They have to be sexy and beautiful. That's what people expect, and that's what Bond is about.

ESQ: How grotesque is the villain?

MF: I didn't want a villain we gave a crutch to, like the teeth for Jaws, or even the last one who had tears of blood. [Mathieu Amalric]'s villain's threat comes from within. At the beginning, it's more of a creepiness. As the movie goes on, it's revealed more and more what kind of villain he is.

ESQ: Is it true that he's based on Dick Cheney?

MF: I heard [Amalric] based it more on [Nicolas] Sarkozy and Tony Blair.

ESQ: And did you really piss off the entire nation of Bolivia during filming?

MF: The Bolivians and Chileans have a tension going on for a very long time. There was a war a while back, and because of that, Bolivia doesn't have access to the sea, while Chile does. Bolivia didn't like that we shot in Chile, saying it was Bolivia. It's as if you were to shoot in Paris and say it's London. The French wouldn't like that.

ESQ: Tell us the rumor that the set designer was inspired by the color of Daniel Craig's eyes, isn't true.

MF: He didn't tell me that.

Justin.tv accused of bending it like Beckham

If you thought Justin.tv was just some bloke walking around with a camera on his head, then you have less faith in Web 2.0 than you should.

Because the site's ingenuity (or, depending on your perspective, ingenuousness or even disingenuousness) has got it a red card from the UK's Premier League soccer and its TV partners.

It seems that Justin.tv, in all its innocence, has been broadcasting live Premier League soccer, the rights to which happen to be owned by the Premier League and channels such as Fox and Setanta.

On the other hand, it depends on how you would like to define 'broadcasting.' You see, Justin.tv has expanded on its original idea by allowing anyone who fancies it to launch their own TV channel on its site.

Which means you can watch Dennis.tv, a live broadcast of a singer from Florida, whose hair looks like it was painted on his head by a local contractor.

It also means that you can watch any number of channels launched by people who are watching live televised soccer in many parts of the world.

These people, in the interests of world fan harmony, helpfully point their webcams at their TV screens. They do this so that those in, say, the UK, who happen not to be able to enjoy the game live (either because they don't pay for the appropriate channel or because the appropriate channel is not screening it in the UK that day), can hiss every miss and cheer with every beer.

For some this might seem an active and charitable example of social networking- people from all parts of the world being brought together to enjoy the same experience.

For those who own the rights to these events it's, well, bootlegging. The equivalent of that scratchy Springsteen tape you bought in the Village or Camden Market in 1987. The picture quality isn't perfect, but you can see enough. And those with the fattest tummies and wallets don't get paid.

You will be teary-eyed to discover that the Premier League is now threatening legal action against JustinTV.

You see, a recent Justin.tv broadcast of a Manchester United game enjoyed 167,138 hits. And some fine and altruistic executive multiplied that number by the cost of a cable subscription and thought: "Aha. Lawsuit."

The UK's Premier League has gorged itself on so much money that it has yet to perceive its own indigestion. With no salary cap, the richest clubs attract some of the world's finest players, many of whom enjoy the money and a spectacularly tasteless lifestyle without necessarily exerting themselves too much against teams of desperately inferior quality.

Imagine if the NFL could only be won by one of four teams every year. That is the Premier League.

So perhaps some might find surprising that 167,138 people would want to watch matches that are, in the majority, rather predictable. Still, why bother to make your product more interesting and equitable when you can go after Justin.tv?

"As rights holders we believe what Justin.tv is doing amounts to piracy," Setanta Sports marketing director told the News Of the World. "It contravenes the owners' rights which has implications for us. We are working closely with the Premier League and other rights holders to clamp down on piracy such as that represented by Justin.tv."

See if you can balance those words with Justin.tv's mission statement: "The company's mission is to enable viewers and broadcasters to interact and exchange ideas in real time through chat and live video."

Perhaps there are those who might be stricken temporarily dumb on learning that Justin.tv enjoys the spectacle of ads on its site. Many are, naturally, ads by Google.

Wouldn't that be the same Google that owns YouTube? You know, that site with all the entirely legally-obtained TV shows and music videos.

Anyone know of a good Law 2.0 conference?

Nielsen: 33.6 million watched Obama ad

UPDATED: If Barack Obama fails to win the election, perhaps the networks should hire him to entertain viewers on Wednesday nights.

Obama's 30-minute primetime infomercial was seen by 33.6 million viewers across seven networks -- including CBS, NBC, Fox, Univision, MSNBC, BET and TV One.

That's 70% more people than watched the conclusion of the World Series last night on Fox (19.8 million). Clearly, Obama vs. McCain is more compelling to viewers this week than Phillies vs. Rays.

Nielsen estimates that roughly 71% of viewers were white, 17% of viewers were black and 15% were Hispanic.*


Now the tricky question is: What do you compare Obama's ad to? After all, such a national pre-election special hasn’t been attempted in more than a decade.

>> A Ross Perot political special in 1996 totaled 22 million viewers. And one of Perot's ads on Nov. 2 in 1992 carried on ABC and CBS attracted 26 million viewers. Obama's ad was 30% higher but, then again, Perot only got 19% of the vote on Election Day.

>> The lowest-rated of the three recent presidential debates received a 52.4 million viewers -- but that was carried by more networks and was, after all, a highly anticipated debate instead of a paid ad.

>> Among all seven networks, the time period typically draws a total of 30.3 million -- so Obama increased their viewership by about 11%.

The entertainment programming that usually runs in the slot on NBC, CBS and Fox averages 23.1 million viewers each week since the start of the season, roughly 9% lower than the Obama ad total on those networks (which is 25.5 million).

But the usual shows are comedies and dramas. Can one realistically compare "Knight Rider" to a political ad? That would normally seem unfair -- to the politician. Obama improved NBC's time period average this season by 40% and CBS' by 19%.

And keep in mind Obama was competing against himself.

NBC was the most-viewed and highest-rated network for its presentation of Obama's ad, pulling 9.8 million viewers and a 3.0 preliminary adults 18-49 rating. CBS had 8.6 million (2.3) and Fox had 7.1 million (2.8).

Among the top 56 local metered markets, Nielsen says the Baltimore market had the largest TV audience for the ad while the Portland market had the lowest.

As for ABC's underdog "Pushing Daisies," airing on the only major broadcaster not to carry the ad, the counterprogramming tied CBS for third place in the adults 18-49 demo in the afternoon nationals. "Daisies" (6.7 million, 2.3) was also up by 21% from last week to a season high. The CW's "America's Next Top Model" (3.9 million, 2.0), also running in the time period, didn't receive a bump and was on par with last week.

MTV smacks YouTube, posts almost every music video ever

Do you sometimes find yourself wishing that there was a place you could go to just watch music videos? Back in the 80s, MTV served that purpose. These days, MTV and its sibling MTV2 are hardly channels anyone would watch in order to get a music video fix. MTV is looking to redeem itself in the music video department, however, by launching a new site Tuesday called MTV Music that opens up the company's massive video archive and puts it on the web for free.

MTV Music expands upon the music video offerings already posted to MTV.com by offering an entire back catalogue of videos that go all the way to when music videos were born. The library includes more than 16,000 videos, sprinkled with "exclusive" MTV concert footage and MTV "Unplugged" performances that used to be all the rage. And that's just the beginning. According to a blog post on MTV's Splash Page, more videos are being added by the day, so even if your favorite Paula Abdul selections haven't been posted yet, they probably will make it up eventually.
In addition to the consumer-facing side of MTV Music, the company has also launched an API that allows developers to build applications that make use of MTV Networks Content. The examples provided include creating a video gallery, a MySpace or Facebook app to send music video dedications to friends, the "music application of your dreams" made up of your favorite videos, or a blog plug-in to pull in various videos.

MTV Music may not seem like a big deal to some, but it's pretty major when you consider what's going on behind the scenes. YouTube originally stated in 2006 that its goal was to host "every single music video ever created"—an ambitious goal that the company hoped to accomplish within 6 to 18 months. That obviously hasn't happened, quite yet, and now MTV Music is way ahead of YouTube in the music video department. Ice burn.

Why hasn't YouTube caught up, even with a two-plus year head start? MTV is owned by Viacom, the company that filed a $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube for "brazen" copyright infringement in 2007 (the suit is still pending). Among other things, Viacom wanted to have full control over any of its content that gets posted—something that YouTube could not provide.

MTV Music is also differentiating itself from YouTube by being light on the ads. All 16,000+ videos lack any form of advertising except for banner ads at the top of the page, while Google is currently testing video ads on some of its videos in order to monetize the massive (and otherwise un-monetizable) amount of content on the site.

Like YouTube, MTV Music allows users to not only watch videos on the site, but to also leave comment, give ratings, and embed the videos on their blogs or personal websites. Here's a favorite of Ars Editor in Chief Ken Fisher... enjoy!

Zuckerberg: Facebook is all about growth

Maybe it's advice he heard from a career counselor at Harvard and took to heart: Do what you love, and the money will follow. For now, what Mark Zuckerberg wants most for Facebook is to see it grow and grow and grow some more, without too much fretting over the bottom line.

In an interview with a blogger for the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Facebook's co-founder and CEO minced no words on the matter: "Growth is primary, revenue is secondary."

Of course, it could be less a philosophical matter than a practical one for a site that's still sketching out its plans for making money to match its popularity. And bless his heart, even in a tanking global economy, Zuckerberg suggests there's plenty of time for that. He elaborates:


But what every great Internet company has done is to figure out a way to make money that has to match to what they are doing on the site. I don't think social networks can be monetized in the same way that search did. But on both sites people find information valuable. I'm pretty sure that we will find an analogous business model. But we are experimenting already. One group is very focused on targeting; another part is focused on social recommendation from your friends. In three years from now we have to figure out what the optimum model is.

Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer, said essentially the same thing over the summer--the social network's focus is on growth.

How do the two executives divvy up their responsibilities? Zuckerberg said of Sandberg, who joined Facebook about six months ago:


She is an excellent manager. She is very good in building our international organization. I'm focused on the direction of the company, especially of the product development, and the overall strategy. I spend a lot of time working with engineers and product developers. We work together hand in hand.

He also made it clear who's boss: "Me!"

On Friday, Zuckerberg will be taking part in a "fireside chat" at the Future of Web Apps conference in London

Paramount And Dreamworks Finalize Separation And Future Joint Projects; David Geffen Ends DW Relationship

I'm told the decision as to the new distributor for DreamWorks 2.0 will be made at the beginning of the week by Steven Spielberg. (Of course, odds are it's going to be Universal.) Below is an advance look at the press release to be issued about the formal separation of Paramount and DreamWorks which was started by Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg. This ends David Geffen's 14 years as a DreamWorks partner and his retirement from the film business now that the DreamWorks principals' resignations were finalized with this agreement. Wow, end of an era! The deal now means that Geffen has engineered his most fervent wish: to give director Steven Spielberg and his studio chief Stacey Snider a big enough warchest of $1.5B worth of indie financing (half from India's Reliance ADA) so they could leave their rocky relationship with Paramount behind and answer only to themselves. As for Katzenberg, he is chief of the publicly traded DreamWorks Animation, and its distribution agreement with Paramount continues. He, too, will not be associated with the new Spielberg- and Snider-run DreamWorks.

After Paramount bought DreamWorks and merged development, the two studios still have 200 active joint projects. My sources tell me this about their status: some 15 to 20 of those projects will now have DreamWorks taking the lead in their development, with Paramount having an option to co-finance and co-distribute pic by pic. Then there are 15 to 20 projects where the situation is flipped so that Paramount will take the lead in their development, with DreamWorks having an option to co-finance and co-distribute pic by pic. The remainder of the new projects will stay at Paramount, and the new DreamWorks will have no continuing association with them. Regarding the Transformers franchise, Spielberg will be attached on a continuing and exclusive basis for Paramount on mutually agreeable terms. DreamWorks is expected to take the majority of their employees with it. One certainty is that DreamWorks COO Jeff Small will follow Snider. Not known is the status of Adam Goodman: I understand that there's a Paramount job for him if he wants it, but contrary to rumors it's not as the replacement for Brad Weston.

So where was all the drama predicted by everyone, including insiders? Deftly avoided. Geffen and Century City entertainment superlawyer Skip Brittenham hashed out all the terms with Viacom general counsel Michael Fricklas and Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore. Brittenham "steered this through pretty quick and calm and productive conversations", according to one source. "Think about it: this separation began two weeks ago, and now there's an actual signed contract." But also Paramount's strategy to tell the DreamWorks principals "to leave immediately" instead of contractually waiting until the end of the year was what facilitated this.

Hollywood, CA (October 5, 2008) -- Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks principals today announced the formalization of their transition agreements as Mr. Spielberg and Ms. Snider depart to form their previously announced new motion pictures company in partnership with Reliance BIG Entertainment. Mr. Geffen, who oversaw the transition for DreamWorks, will not be joining the new company.

As part of the separation agreement, the DreamWorks principals' new company will take the lead on a number of development projects, which Paramount will have the option to co-finance and co-distribute. The majority of existing DreamWorks staff is expected to be offered positions at the new company. All other projects currently in development will remain at Paramount with the opportunity for the Reliance-backed venture to co-finance several projects to which Mr. Spielberg is attached. In addition, Mr. Spielberg will continue to produce the Transformers franchise for Paramount and will also collaborate on three other Paramount films including, "When Worlds Collide."

Brad Grey, Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures said, "We have had a great run with the DreamWorks team both creatively and financially. In particular, it has been a true honor working closely with a storyteller of Steven's talent and stature. We are also grateful to David and Stacey for their exceptional leadership, creative talent and many contributions to our partnership over the past few years. We look forward to building on our joint successes as Paramount plans for the future."

Mr. Spielberg added, "Brad is a friend and I am pleased to be able to continue to work with him and his team with whom we have shared many past successes. We have enjoyed a productive creative and business collaboration with Brad, Paramount and Viacom over the past few years and are enthusiastic about extending the relationship for many years to come. And I have a very special thanks to David Geffen for his far reaching vision that has made it possible for me to steer this new course. His advice and wisdom have always been right on the money. He is a friend for life."

"We are grateful to Brad, Rob and the entire Paramount team for their generous support and constant creativity. We are very proud of the films we produced and marketed together. We're excited about this new venture which wouldn't have been possible without the business genius and loyalty of David Geffen," said Stacey Snider, Co-chairman and CEO of DreamWorks Studios.

Rob Moore, Vice Chairman Paramount Pictures added, "It has been rewarding to work with the DreamWorks team and I'm gratified we'll have the opportunity to continue to work together. We wish them the best as they launch their new venture."

About DreamWorks Studios
DreamWorks Studios was formed in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen. The company won three consecutive Best Picture Academy Awards with "American Beauty," "Gladiator," and "A Beautiful Mind" (both co-produced with Universal). Among the company's other successes have been such films as "Saving Private Ryan" (co-produced with Paramount), "The Ring," "Minority Report" (co-produced with 20th Century Fox), "War of the Worlds," "Dreamgirls," and "Transformers" (all co-produced with Paramount). Stacey Snider joined the company in 2006 as Co-Chairman and CEO. Snider has overseen the company's business strategy as well as the creative and financial aspects of all film development and production. Among its upcoming productions are "The Soloist," "Revolutionary Road," "The Lovely Bones," and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The company's labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, MTV Films, Nickelodeon Movies and DreamWorks Studios. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group, and Worldwide Television Distribution.

About Reliance BIG Entertainment
Reliance BIG Entertainment and its affiliates represent the largest integrated media and entertainment eco-system in India.

Key initiatives include: Movies (Hollywood and Indian), Animation, Music, Home Video/DVD, Multiplexes across, India, the US, and Asia, Broadcasting, Sports, Gaming, Internet and mobile portals, with direct opportunities in delivery across all emerging digital distribution platforms: digital cinema, IPTV, DTH and Mobile TV.

Reliance BIG Pictures, a division of Reliance BIG Entertainment, is the most prolific producer of Indian films in all major languages, with a slate of nearly 100 films to be completed in the next 3 years.

In May 2008, Reliance BIG Pictures announced separate development deals with Nicolas Cage's Saturn Productions, Jim Carrey's JC 23 Entertainment, George Clooney's Smokehouse Productions, Chris Columbus' 1492 Pictures, Tom Hanks' Playtone Productions, Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment, and Jay Roach's Everyman Pictures. More development deals are planned.

Johnny Depp to Earn £32 million for Fourth ‘Pirates of the Caribbean' film

The staggering sum (US$56 million/AU$75 million) is the largest upfront payment in film history and will see Johnny, 45, move to the top of Hollywood's rich list - overtaking Will Smith - when he reprises his role as Captain Jack Sparrow.

A source said: "It's a hell of a lot of money for one movie but there’s only one man who can play Captain Jack Sparrow - and that's Johnny Depp."

"Pirates just wouldn't be the same without him, so they were more than willing to smash the record books to land Depp again. He's been the star of the show every time."

Earlier this year, Will was named the highest earning actor in Hollywood by Forbes magazine after he grossed £40 million (US$70 million/AU$94 million) in one year.

However, Johnny's new deal will see his earnings soar to £72 million (US$123 million/AU$165 million).

The source added: "He's laughing all the way to the bank. Not only is he probably the biggest heartthrob in Hollywood, he's now going to be the richest."

Johnny's co-stars in the first three films in the franchise, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, are unlikely to appear in the latest instalment.