Greg Oden Leaked Photos Are Available, and Photos Are Better Than Oden's Basketball Career

Greg Oden leaked photos are available, and Greg Oden leaked photos are better than Oden's basketball career. Don't get me wrong, Oden is a good basketball player but the thing I will remember him for (and I am sure I am not alone) are the leaked photos that surfaced on The Greg Oden leaked photos involve the basketball star standing in front of a mirror, naked, and taking photos of himself. They weren't taken by someone else - the entire situation is pretty much his own doing.
He sent his photos to a lady friend, who grew angry with him for one reason or another and leaked the photos. This is reason number 476 why you shouldn't take nude pictures of yourself, send them to someone, and then expect that there be no consequence to your action in the future.

Of course, the photos are fully nude and expose Greg Oden's entire "package" and for that reason, it's not possible to link directly to them from this post (hey - I don't want to be responsible for some 13 year old kid clicking on a link and getting exposed to a long, dangling...well...you get the point.)

Currently, Greg Oden is injured and is on the bench. The man that was expected to be one of the NBA greats has fizzled, and the leaked photo scandal may be the most press that he will receive for quite some time.

Typically, these scandals happen to women. A woman will be "vulnerable" and "in love" and will expose her ta-ta's or her other lady parts in cell phone pics to significant others. Then, somewhere down the road the "gentleman" will "leak" the pictures. Oh - and she's the innocent victim. She shows up on Oprah, cries a bit and talks about how it was the "worst experience" of her life and how she "learned her lesson" and will "never take nude photos again."

A man can't follow that defense pattern. Greg Oden won't get any sympathy for his leaked photos. Everyone will look at him and tell him that he should have known better and that he should have kept it in his pants. I know it's a double standard, but that's just the way things are.

Review: Flatts, Rucker deliver high-energy show

Rascal Flatts must love Charleston, having appeared in town at least four or five times in their relatively short but highly illustrious career.

Here's a news flash: Charleston loves Rascal Flatts, as evidenced by the polite yet wildly enthusiastic crowd that bumped up against the rafters of the Civic Center auditorium.

Also quite telling was the fact that RF gave West Virginia a Saturday night show that could have been easily done in a bigger city playing before a much larger audience in a more spacious venue.

Thanks, Flatts. And thanks also for bringing along the extremely talented Darius Rucker as your opening act.

Oddly enough, Rucker, the former front man of the alt-rock supergroup Hootie & The Blowfish, turned out to be the country portion of the evening's entertainment.

The South Carolina native seems to possess a doctorate in debuts, having struck No. 1 gold on both his first album and single.

Rucker certainly hit the ground running by starting the show with "Forever Road," the opening salvo from his groundbreaking CD "Learn to Live." From that point on there was no stopping his high-energy performance.

Rucker's rapid rise has to be due in part to his smooth, confident, everyman voice, making it quite easy for all to sing along with his catchy, thoughtful tunes.

His five-member band had little trouble keeping up as he showcased several songs from the aforementioned CD. "Alright," "Learn to Live," "It Won't Be Like This for Long," "History in the Making" and "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" were all highlights and "All I Want" and "Drinkin' and Dialin'" spotlighted Rucker's ability to vocalize with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

A cover of Hank Jr.'s "Family Tradition" was aces high, and Rucker thankfully acknowledged his Hootie history with excellent renditions of "Let Her Cry" and "Only Wanna Be With You."

Rucker ended his dozen-song set with a blowout version of a Prince classic. Anyone who can country-up "Purple Rain" is bowling right up my alley.

Darius Rucker is certainly an artist I haven't heard enough or the last of.

Darius Rucker: Darius Rucker to sing for Grandstand concert (Entertainment and Showbiz!)

Darius Rucker, the Country Singer will be playing the final Sunday Grandstand concert at the Illinois State Fair. The information has been put up on the contract notice published on the website. Ruckerr, the former Hootie and the Blowfish front man has shot to fame with his song “Don’t Think I Dont Think About It”. His SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Darius Rucker: Darius Rucker to sing for …

Go here to see the original:
Darius Rucker: Darius Rucker to sing for Grandstand concert (Entertainment and Showbiz!)

Darius Rucker: Country Music for Blacks, Whites and All of Us

He is mainstream–articulate, bright, clean and a nice-looking guy. Vice President Biden called that combination “storybook”. He doesn’t use Negro dialect, as Senator Harry Reid envisioned. You forget, after a while, that he’s even black, as Chris Matthews noticed while trying to contain a thrill running down his leg.

His audience is largely white, but their enthusiasm is palpable and unrestrained. His words tell stories of their hopes and dreams, of the difficulties they face making ends meet, of love and family. After a while he puts down his guitar–wait, you say you didn’t know the President played guitar?

I’m not talking about Barack Obama–I’m talking about Darius Rucker, also of Hootie and the Blowfish, the Country Music Association’s New Artist of the Year for 2009.

Charley Pride

But country music–that’s for racist rednecks with rifles in their pickups and a pinch of chaw between cheek and gum, right? Not necessarily. It wasn’t that long ago–1988–that a song by an African-American, Charley Pride, was last in the Top 20 on the country charts. Pride had thirty-six number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart in the early to mid-seventies.

Jimmie Rodgers, the Singing Brakeman

The cross-fertilization of black and white music in America is a story that’s usually told from the opposite perspective; how white kids of succeeding generations form bands that slavishly imitate the sounds of black music that they love, going back from the white rappers of today, who are even more annoying than their black counterparts, to the Austin High Gang, a group of young Chicago musicians including Bud Freeman who’d sneak out of their bedrooms at night and into jazz clubs in the 1920s.

Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter

But the admiration is mutual; the blue yodel of Jimmie Rodgers–a white man–was heard by anyone with a radio or a phonograph in the early years of the twentieth century. Listen to any collection by Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter, a black man, and you’ll hear songs–some written by Ledbetter himself, such as “Irene, Goodnight”–that wouldn’t sound out of place at a garden club ice cream social.

Bud Freeman

In part, the willingness of black musicians to play white music was a virtue made out of economic necessity; if you’re an entertainer in a small town, the more songs you know, the more gigs you can play. But it reflects something deeper as well; in the south, where blacks and whites grow up in small towns together, not divided by economically disparate suburbs as is largely the case in the north and east, you get to know each other from talking to each other, and you end up sounding alike.

Randy Moss

Thus Pride, who grew up in Sledge, Mississippi (population, 529), spoke a black-white patois, not an inward-looking dialect of an all-black community. When Randy Moss, the temperamental wide-receiver (I know–I repeat myself) of the New England Patriots deigns to address reporters at a post-game press conference, you could close your eyes and think you were hearing the white owner of a feed and grain store in his native West Virginia. Moss was born in Rand, West Virginia, which is so small it isn’t even an incorporated municipality.

Nelson Goodman: What the hell is he doing in this post?

The aesthetic philosopher Nelson Goodman, in trying to explain how we understand paintings, once pointed out that every painting of a haystack looks more like another painting than a haystack. Perhaps we will someday reach the point where every person in America will be viewed more as simply another person than a member of any race.

iPad bestbuy Apple news

The iPad will come complete with 3G data. 3G service will be available through AT&T with two plan options: $14.99 per month for up to 250MB of data or $29.99 for unlimited use. There is no contract necessary for use and you also will have free use of AT&T hotspots. According to Apple pricing for the iPad will start $499 for the 16GB model ($629 with 3G capability). Buy iPad for the best and Cheapest Price, Here at Buy iPad we are banging the drum for the just announced jewel in the Apple crown - the Apple iPad. We are going to tell you where to get your iPad for the cheapest possible price, where to find them when they are running out of stock, what stores have them in stock, and what to do with it once you've bought it. We are going to be your one stop shop for everything to do with iPads.

I would like it if it came with stand of some sort i already have this problem with my ipod touch that when im watching or reading somting its annoying to hold with my hands so a stand to kinda slant it up would be cool.

Apple Tablet -First pics of ‘Apple Tablet’ now out on cyber space !

It has arguably been one of the most eagerly anticipated smart phones from the stable of ‘Apple’, following the maniacally popular ‘iPhone.’

And as per the latest reports, it would appear that the first pictures of the hotly anticipated ‘Apple Tablet’ may have already made its way to the cyber space.

While the same still awaits an official confirmation, a buzz has already been generated on line by two new pictures, which appears to be a prototype of the Apple Tablet.

Indeed, the twin eye –catching images, features the one of a kind phone, which is currently being readied for commercial release in the ‘Apple’ stable, and the tablet is seen to be enclosed in a leather case with snaps.

From the evidence of the said visuals, it would appear that the ‘Tablet’ is not a miniaturized gadget and is kind of good in size and from a closer look; it becomes fairly evident that the same is quite at variance with an Apple iPhone and a Safari browser, but of a highly-scaled resolution.

A cellular service icon, saying ‘No Service’, and a WI –FI Meter can further be spotted in the visuals, but the carrier of the same is not properly visible.

Suffice to say that, the visuals alone would have set off a manic frenzy among millions of gadget freaks worldwide, who are dying to lay their hands on this newest ‘Apple’ baby.

It is further learned that ‘End Gadget’, has reportedly been tipped off about some essential features of the App le Tablet and it goes as thus;

“The device will have a 10-inch screen and look like a larger iPhone with a Mac Book-like aluminum back, and that pricing will run $800 on contract with Verizon and $1000 without when it arrives in March, also that the official name remains a secret and that Apple employees are still calling it by the codename of K48. “

Apple’s iPad: Never use Apple’s iPad

I have 5 reasons why I would never use the iPad in my day to day life.iPad fever had reached sky high until Apple man Steve Jobs unveiled the much awaited product at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco. But all the fizz is going down fast. There is no doubt that the gadget is cool but it’s becoming hard for me to relate to it in my daily life.

* No camera – So I would still need my iPhone.
* Storage – What do I do with a max of 64 GB storage? I would still need my laptop to store movies, and a bunch of my videos.
* Portability – Call it portable but I would still prefer reaching my pocket to email via iphone rather than reaching my bag forthe iPad while I m on the plane.
* Comfort – Now this is a million dollar question, while I am on the go and I need to type stuff, how do I type and hold the iPad at the same time? I still need my laptop for that.
* Flash – It surfs the web just fine but hello where is the flash? So I still need my laptop to visit websites with flash.

So the iPad, which promised to bridge gap between the laptop and the smart phones thus reducing our work and gadget load, has originally found itself into a nowhere land between my iPhone and my laptop. Even if I carrythe iPad, I still would need my laptop and iPhone to carry out specific tasks.

So instead of reducing my load from two gizmos (laptop and smart phone) to one, I have to carry three gizmos now! What’s the point? I can take the pain of reading my eBooks on my iPhone with my eye working just fine and I have no intentions of spending a truck load of money to have a gadget that only helps me read eBooks in a bigger screen.

iPad review cnet: Microsoft gearing up to launch iPad killer!

While it’s a good thing to check cnet (one of the world wide leaders in gizmo information) giving their valuable reviews on the newly unleashed iPad, you must not miss the opportunity to see what they are saying about the next possible iPad killer.

According to them and us, the iPad is a cool gizmo to play around with but it would neither replace a laptop nor a smart phone. Yes! It might just replace note books. A fact that both cnet and we agree upon is that the pricing ofthe iPad ($500) has been kept perfect which makes it extremely buyable.

Except for the memory (64GB max), the iPad would be a pretty tough competition to notebooks. With much advanced graphics, crispy display, and lightning fast speed, amazing gesture functional and extremely light weight of 1.5-1.6 pounds it will blow away stereotype notebooks which look like boxes, weigh around 3-7 pounds and have much slower processing speed along with an average display.

Cnet shared some interesting facts about Microsoft’s effort on tablet computers. They reveal Bill Gates first talked about the idea of a Tablet PC at Comdex back in 2000. In 2001, Microsoft rolled out one Compaq prototype that resembled a giant version of its iPaq handheld as Gates stated “Next year I hope a lot of people in the audience will be taking their notes on a Tablet PC.” But to his disappointment his tablet computer did not attract many buyers. Microsoft’s products and other companies like Samsung which released another tablet computer named Q1 ended up being very costly unpacked with equivalent features and attraction.

It’s Apple who has hit the right spot with its curvy tablet and it is being speculated to sell four million to five million iPad tablets this year.

Microsoft hasn’t given up on tablets, reports cnet. The company is hoping that a new generation of tablets will hold more interest. Phil McKinney says that the company has been working on an entertainment-oriented slate for the past five years. The device is expected mid-year which is supposed to sport an 8.9-inch display. They are also exploring possibilities for a dual-screen tablet, code-named Courier, a video of which leaked out early last year.

ipad Bestbuy: New I Pad in Retail

The official announcement of the I Pad launch has already been made two days back in Yerba Buena Center for arts in San Francisco. All the details about this new device have already been presented to eager worldwide audience by journalists all over the world.

Now customers and prospective buyer are waiting for this i-pad to reach to retail markets. In his presentation, Steve Job, CEO of Apple said i-pad will hit the retail stores within two months. The initial price range will be $499 to $829 for six different models of this i-pad.

Jeff Sisk, the authority manager of Apple said customers have already stated to come in the stores to enquire about i-pad accessories before i-pad comes in to open market. Apples fans calling their nearest retail shops and asking when they can get i-pad in hand.

So Apple is looking forward to sell their new tech-sensation in hugh numbers this year. Customers are also worried about the initial stock in shops as production and supply by the Apple may not meet unexpected demand for first few months. So buyers are in a real hurry and everyone wants to have i-pad before anyone else.

Darius Rucker is obsessed with football LAtest News

Country singer Darius Rucker said he'll be depressed on Feb. 7.

What? How could he?

Rucker had a 20-year run as lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish and now has become a rising country star.

He already has three No. 1 songs on his debut country album "Learn to Live." He's on a national tour with megagroup Rascal Flatts. And he recently won the Country Music Association New Artist of the Year Award.

"It's going to be a big letdown for me around 10 p.m. that night," Rucker said slowly. "That's when football season will end, after the Super Bowl. See, there are two times of the year: football season and waiting for football season. Why can't they play pro football Wednesday through Sunday?"

Rucker, who was raised in South Carolina, is a huge sports fan and has met a lot of athletes on the road. In fact, pro wrestler Ric Flair does a video introduction to Rucker's performance on tour, and the Nike-adorned Rucker has played golf with Tiger Woods.

In the past handful of years, Rucker has gotten addicted to fantasy football and actually won this year's title over his band and crew. "I wear this 'Fantasy Football Legend' T-shirt on tour just to rub it in," he said.

Rucker traditionally heads to the Super Bowl to watch in person, but he'll be off for a few days from the tour and will spend time with his family at home.

Rucker, who is married and has a couple of children, has a room in his house called the "Man Room," with six TVs ranging from 42 inches to 70 inches.

"We're just going to sit there and watch," he said. "I hope it's a good game. In my heart, I don't really care who wins. But I think the Colts probably will do it."

iPad Best Buy: Dream come true or dream on?

As 36 hours ago, the world witnessed the consumer electronics giant Apple release its iPad, queries regarding its availability in retail outlet Best Buy have already started. And why would people search for it, their instead of going to the Apple Store?

Best Buy gives you electronics on 18 monthly installments with zero interest and that is why searches for the iPad’s availability there has gone sky high.

I hate to spoil the party but there have been heavy rumors about the Apple iPad not making it inthe Best Buy stores.

The beauty comes in six flavors and three memory capacity (16GB, 32GB, and 64GB) choices with prices ranging from $499 – $829. You can get the 3G capability via AT&T’s package of $14.99 per month for up to 250MB of data or $29.99 for unlimited use.

I don’t know about you but I would rush to the nearest Best Buy if Apple’s beautiful iPad makes it there.

iPad - Bestbuy Availability

Will Bestbuy sell the iPad soon? In Bestbuy, you can get an item for no interest in 18 months. If iPad will be available in those terms, people surely will flock Bestbuy stores to get one.

While people are excited of seeing that possibility of having iPad in Bestbuy, there are also rumors that the store may not carry the iPad at all.

ipad Bestbuy: The new Apple iPad gets a warm welcome

The new Apple iPad got a grand opening in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. The excitement about the product got the people including the journalist hooked to the web on the related blogs. The program was watched eagerly by the Chattanooga retailers and consumers together as Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple unveiled the most awaited product to the world.

Some stores reportedly received enquiries about the product even before the ceremony was getting over. Priced between $499 and $829, the new Apple iPod has been brought out in six eye catching flavors. Jeff Sisk, Manager, Mac Authority is too keen to have the product on the shelf as he is getting lots of Apple fans visiting his stall and trying to get more info on the new product.

He feels that the $499 pricing is very competitive and may get more customers in the queue. He is in favor of having a good stock of the iPad. Computers Plus man Spencer Charlesworth had a few doubts if the newly manufactured goods will be as competitive as the demo piece of the Apple iPad. He wanted the device to work on the Snow Leopard rather than the iPhone software. During the unveiling ceremony the store reportedly got numerous calls for the orders.

Oscar De La Renta | UssPost.com

Oscar De La Renta | UssPost.com:The New Moon countdown has begun! The second film in the Twilight series comes stateside Friday and the LA premiere sizzled tonight. Kristen opted for a princess-like beaded Oscar de la Renta that complements her sweet side. It looks lovely against her pale skin and a few bangles bring some fun to the mix. What do we think of this Kristen red carpet look?

Codswallop Meaning

LONDON - Michael Jackson’s father wants to investigate the death of his son and has filed papers in Los Angeles, demanding release of medical records.

Joe Jackson is convinced the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Centre documents will help him determine if anyone was to blame for the King of Pop’s death and how much he should sue them for.

Family members, including Joe, have accused the singer’s personal physician Conrad Murray of wrongful death of the star, but police have yet to charge the medic with any wrongdoing and he has maintained he’s innocent.

Joe Jackson’s lawyer filed papers in Los Angeles County Superior Court Friday in which he claimed: “The UCLA records will permit Joe to determine with medical experts and then present to this court, how much support he needs to pay for the prosecution of his wrongful death action against those responsible for his son’s death.”

Michael was pronounced dead on arrival at the medical centre.The plot is set in 2019, a group of survivors get into a abandoned underground complex of Los Angeles Dollhouse. The group consists of Mag, Zone, Griff, Lynn, along with a little girl named Iris and her mind-wiped father. They are ‘actuals’ i.e. actual-minded people, struggling to survive in a post-Apocylptic society where a tech mind wipe has turned most of Earth’s population into ’scaventers’ or ‘butchers’. They gradually come to know Dollhouse’s mind imprinting technology. They unlock the secret of how the technology first became corrupted. * Hollywood
* Latest Gossips

Codswallop: Codswallop Meaning: Codswallop Definition
Jan 29, 2010
Written By: Dante Daria

Codswallop: Codswallop Meaning: Codswallop Definition – Codswallop, what does it mean? If a person says that is a load of codswallop, would you know what they are saying to you? They would be saying that it is nonsense. Codwallop means nonsense.
From Merriam-Webster online
Main Entry: cods·wal·lop
Pronunciation: \?ko?dz-?wä-l?p, ?kädz-\
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
Date: 1963
British : nonsense
But John Buchan, [...]
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Codswallop: Codswallop Meaning: Codswallop Definition – Codswallop, what does it mean? If a person says that is a load of codswallop, would you know what they are saying to you? They would be saying that it is nonsense. Codwallop means nonsense.

From Merriam-Webster online

Main Entry: cods·wal·lop

Pronunciation: \?ko?dz-?wä-l?p, ?kädz-\

Function: noun

Etymology: origin unknown

Date: 1963

British : nonsense

But John Buchan, skipper of the Peterhead-registered Ocean Venture II, who found fame in the 2006 Trawlermen series, said he was “disgusted” by the show, and urged fellow fishermen to make official complaints.Jaclyn Smith seeks apology from blogger Hilton

October 20th, 2009 LONDON - Hollywood actress Jaclyn Smith has called on celebrity blogger Perez Hilton to apologise for going public with an erroneous story suggesting she had shot herself. Hilton’s article suggested that the Charlie’s Angel star shot herself while on vacation in Honduras, but the actress denied this.
Smith’s New Success Is Down To Rogen’s Weed Diet

October 4th, 2009 Filmmaker KEVIN SMITH has credited actor SETH ROGEN - and a newfound love of marijuana - with pulling him out of a creative downturn. The Clerks director was uninspired and unsure where his career was headed until the Pineapple Express star talked him into smoking cannabis last summer (08). A BBC documentary on fishing has been dismissed as codswallop, meaning “nonsense”. The documentary, presented by Alex Riley, portrayed the Scottish fishing industry as whale and dolphin killers who were committing “slow suicide”.

But John Buchan, skipper of the Peterhead-registered Ocean Venture II, who found fame in the 2006 Trawlermen series, said he was “disgusted” by the show, and urged fellow fishermen to make official complaints.

The skipper said of the TV presenter: “He was an idiot and the programme was a load of rubbish. The Scottish fishing industry has done more than any other country to protect fish stocks. We want a future for the generations behind us.

Lady Gaga Dead

LATES NEWS UP DATE Lady Gaga Dead Britney Spears Lady Gaga A new ad from an Irish radio station shows a dead body under the headline “Britney Spears Lady Gaga”. the the word “spears” is intended as an action. Though I’m not at all a Lady Gaga fan, the trouble with this kind of marketing is that, while it gets your attention, it tells you what the station is not, rather than what it is. In this instant information age not being something is no longer enough. (via Ads of the World)Bits of bacon are like the fairy dust of the food community. At least, they are when you see the world through comedian Jim Gaffigan’s eyes.

And through him, you can also see how the apostles must’ve looked like a homeless football team. How a snooze button is a good way to start your day off with a little procrastination. How you need to take a nap halfway through a Cinnabon. How Jesus might have actually been a bad carpenter. And how moving a futon is like moving an 800-pound taco full of hatred.

Then there’s the whole Hot Pockets bit, when Gaffigan pokes fun at the boiling lava-hot Pop-Tart full of nasty meat and its three-note jingle. It’s all part of Gaffigan’s dead-on look at the mundane-but-true, and what has him selling out show after show all over the country.

It's National Lady Gaga Day!

So says a massive gaggle of Lady Gaga wannabes on Facebook. At least 100,000 fans will be getting their poker face on tonight. In other news, Usher and Chilli are back in the sack (maybe). And Oscar de la Renta appeared on 'The View' to remind Americans to follow their dreams and keep Haiti in your hearts. This is What You're Searching for Today...


National Lady Gaga Day – Fans have proposed several days throughout the year as "National Lady Gaga Day." Jan. 29 has picked up more steam than any before. Over 100,000 Gaga groupies are "attending" the Facebook event, which is your chance to "dress like her, sing, dance, have themed parties, wear a kermit the frog jacket," and "JUST HAVE FUN!" We're attending. Are you?

Patrick Kane Limo Pictures

Pictures of Patrick Kane shirtless in a limo are the talk of the internet today.

Apparently the photos of Patrick Kane and teammates John Madden and Kris Versteeg were taken almost a week ago. Kane said the photos were taken after the Chicago Blackhawks played in Vancouver on Saturday night.

In a statement about the photos Kane said, "I've had a couple of incidents, obviously. I'm 21 years old. It's probably time to grow up a little bit."

In my opinion, the photos really aren't that big of a deal. Watch 10 minutes of the Jersey Shore and you'll see much more skin than this.

Anyway, here are the Patrick Kane limo photos!

Lady Gaga Philippine Tour Video

by

LATES NEWS UP DATE Lady Gaga Dead Britney Spears Lady Gaga A new ad from an Irish radio station shows a dead body under the headline “Britney Spears Lady Gaga”. the the word “spears” is intended as an action. Though I’m not at all a Lady Gaga fan, the trouble with this kind of marketing is that, while it gets your attention, it tells you what the station is not, rather than what it is. In this instant information age not being something is no longer enough. (via Ads of the World)Bits of bacon are like the fairy dust of the food community. At least, they are when you see the world through comedian Jim Gaffigan’s eyes.

And through him, you can also see how the apostles must’ve looked like a homeless football team. How a snooze button is a good way to start your day off with a little procrastination. How you need to take a nap halfway through a Cinnabon. How Jesus might have actually been a bad carpenter. And how moving a futon is like moving an 800-pound taco full of hatred.

Then there’s the whole Hot Pockets bit, when Gaffigan pokes fun at the boiling lava-hot Pop-Tart full of nasty meat and its three-note jingle. It’s all part of Gaffigan’s dead-on look at the mundane-but-true, and what has him selling out show after show all over the country.

Lady Gaga dead Breaking news details

With the start of a new weekends, there's also the start of a new celebrity death hoax. This time it's the Lady Gaga dead rumors floating around the internet. Now fans of the popular musical star are seeking the truth, is Lady Gaga dead or alive?

Various websites are reporting that a radio station is displaying a controversial ad which shows Lady Gaga dead:

"In an ad to further grab more market share in Ireland, the radio station, 104FM, with the largest fan-following went to the extreme and showed Lady Gaga ad dead with blood oozing out of her body."

Reportedly the ad campaign shows a woman's body under a canvas with blood seeping out. It reads "When you play great music back to back someone is going to get hurt".

There is blood on the wall behind the body and a woman's leg is protruding out under the canvas. Next to the dead body is a sign reading 'Britney Spears Lady Gaga' - a play on Britney Spears and her last name.

The Lady Gaga dead ad is generating a lot of controversy and buzz for the radio station over in Dublin, Ireland. So apparently the station is generating plenty of attention, but is it alienating or adding new listeners?

Debating the merits of Apple's iPad Video

Debating the merits of Apple's iPad Infomation

There's been no shortage of opinions on the iPad, for sure. Some think it's just a big iPhone that can't make phone calls, while others see it as the tablet of the future. To get into some of these points, CNET's Ina Fried and Josh Lowensohn weigh in on some of the issues.

Also, be sure to check out CNET Reviews' Editor's take by Donald Bell.

Who is this for?/Who will buy this?

CNET senior writer Ina Fried: This is a tough one. I think it is for people who want a second computing device, for sure. It won't replace your laptop. It is good for casual Web browsing in the house--seems like a great way to be even less social while watching TV with the family. I think it is also good for travelers who want to have one device that can replace a stack of magazines, books, and DVDs. Most of all, I think a lot of the killer uses for this have yet to be created.

CNET associate editor Josh Lowensohn: Travelers indeed, and everyone I've talked to about this keeps bringing up how "awesome" this would be on an airplane. I don't spend all that much time on airplanes, but when I do, I'm completely satisfied with using my iPhone.

If anything, the two things that bring that experience down are having to hold on to it the entire time (which the iPad requires), and the smallish screen (which the iPad fixes). Then again, if I do want more screen real estate, a laptop always seems to be a better option since I can just adjust the screen to stand it up, leaving my hands free to grip the elbow rests in terror of the next patch of turbulence.

What about the name?

Lowensohn: I think the iPad makes a lot more sense than the iSlate would have. Everyone knows that a pad is something flat that you write/work on. A slate? What?

Fried: Yeah, I got nothing for you there Josh. But, iPad? Might be another reason for Apple to add a few more women to its top ranks.

How about the size?

Fried: It is a little awkward--too big for any clothing and yet not a full replacement for a laptop. It's between a PC and a phone, and the key question is if people want something that size.

That said, people love this touch interface, whether it is on the iPhone or Microsoft's Surface. The iPad's size gives the opportunity for people to get their hands on something closer to the Surface. It is also just big enough that I think we will see some multiuser applications, which are part of what makes the Surface so cool, but not really practical on the iPhone or iPod Touch.

Lowensohn: I totally agree about the size, and thank goodness it doesn't need to double as a coffee table in my living room.

But being the curmudgeon I am, I have one big qualm about the screen. The 1024x768 resolution is great for apps, but less than ideal for the Web. Bumping it up to a 16:9 ratio display would be even better for Web browsing, along with movies and certain types of games.

Fried: I tend to agree about the aspect ratio. I think making it killer for HD movies and TV would have made a more compelling product. That said, there's always the next iPad.

How about the price?

(Credit: James Martin / CNET)

Fried: By having an option that starts at $500, there is some opportunity to get people that aren't 100 percent sure there is a killer use. It also doesn't have to replace a laptop or phone--which is good, because it doesn't. That said, you can easily spend $800 to get more memory and a 3G connection.

Lowensohn: To me, the pricing matrix seems just a tad too complex. Apple took what they did with the iPod Touch and basically doubled it, then added the idea of a 3G model. Did there really need to be six SKUs?

It is, however nice (and un-Apple like) that people can get in the door with a low capacity model that still has 3G. This goes against the grain with what the company has done with the iPhone--which once could only be purchased in white if users got the higher capacity version, and the current generation iPod Touch, which only has the faster processing prowess if you get the more expensive 32 and 64GB models.

I have a feeling a lot of people who get the version with just Wi-Fi are probably going to feel the need for 3G data later on, and won't be able to get it. And that's a bummer.

Is the lack of Flash support a big deal?

Lowensohn: Flash is still an incredibly important part of browsing the Web, but it's also one that is easily lived without on the iPhone and iPod Touch. That said, if I'm paying $500 to $829 for what is basically a portable computer, it's a bummer I won't be able to experience a "full" version of the Web.

The slow roll out of HTML5 video players should be some incentive for those who are worried about it, as Safari can handle those just fine. Where it still grinds my gears is when trying to visit a page where the actual navigation is done with Flash, which can make a handful of sites utterly useless.

Fried: I can't argue too much with you there. Flash is important. I can only hope this falls into the category of things that aren't there on Day 1 but get there over time. I know for a lot of people, if they can't tend to their virtual farm or play with their SuperPoke pet, the iPad isn't for them, not to mention those that want to watch streaming video and other things that the iPad would seem to be well-suited for.

As a reading device

Fried: Much as Steve Jobs pooh-poohed reading awhile back, this is a key use. I'm an avid Kindle user and I still think the Kindle is a better tool for book reading. But, given a little time, the iPad should be a much better tool for reading magazines and newspapers--and even for certain books like graphic novels or travel guides. And, as the New York Times showed, the iPad can also incorporate audio and video, meaning publishers aren't limited to just replicating paper.

(Credit: Apple)

There's another area of reading and that is documents. Plastic Logic, for example, has focused its e-reader on being able to take business documents with you. But lots of documents have color and pictures and video that just don't lend themselves to electronic ink devices, even large-screen ones like Plastic Logic's Que. I really like the idea of having lots of my documents on a device, whether they are PDFs, Word documents, or even PowerPoints (I don't like reading them period, but if I have to look at them, I'd just as soon do it when I am on the bus or something.)

Lowensohn: I think you're right about the iPad being better for reading content that requires a more powerful screen. Apple also totally has Amazon's Kindle beat in all the other things the iPad can do, like music, videos, Web browsing, and apps. That comes at the expense of a larger, more expensive device that is harsher on your eyes than an e-ink display.

At the same time, I think Amazon is offering users a more matured marketplace of content, and a richer community of users who write thoughtful, and often helpful, reviews. Of course this argument goes out of the door as soon as Amazon rolls out an iPad-optimized version of its Kindle reading app, which you know will happen. If Apple is going to salt Amazon's game, you know Amazon is at least going to try and profit off it somehow.

As a work device

Fried: This is going to depend a lot on what kind of work one is trying to do. If you are doing a lot of typing, I suspect that you are going to find an on-screen keyboard wanting. There is always that add-on keyboard, but then you are really starting to get into laptop-like size, weight and bulk. To me, work-related reading is probably the task it is best-suited for.

The iPad's mail app.

(Credit: Apple)

I think work will be done on the iPad, but it won't be a driver of sales.

Lowensohn: What got me more than the iWork apps in Wednesday's demos was the e-mail client. It looked so much more mature than the one that's on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Things like attachments, and zooming around messages looks faster and more straightforward.

That said, I still think Apple has a long way to go toward making the iPhone, and now iPad OS, do a better job of letting apps talk to one another. Google's Android does a great job at this by letting apps share data between them; Apple made it pretty clear that it's not quite ready for that.

On that same note, another deal killer for people who intend to use the iPad as a work machine is the continuing lack of multitasking. Sure the processor is zippy, and this will have the same push notification system that iPhone apps enjoy, but with a device this size, it's disappointing that we don't yet have a way to keep multiple apps running at the same time, or an easy way to switch between them as Apple's Snow Leopard OS does with Expose.

As a gaming device

Lowensohn: I think the iPad has big potential as a gaming device, but Apple could have taken it a step further. One of the things that's been pretty impressive with the iPhone platform is how far developers have been able to go with that 3.5-inch diagonal, 480x320 resolution screen. Now they have 1024x768 pixels to design for, and a beefier processor too.

(Credit: Apple)

Still, Apple missed a big chance to make gamers and game developers just a smidgen happier. It could have gone the extra mile is by adding some touch sensitivity to that huge bezel around the edge of the screen. There were even rumors of Apple adding such a feature, but they didn't pan out.

On the iPhone gaming works well because the screen goes nearly edge to edge. That, and users can just their thumbs or fingers without moving too far. But on the iPad, and it's large expanse of screen, users are going to have to prop it up somewhere to get full use of both of their hands. I can easily see this getting quite tiring depending on the game.

Fried: I think this is one area where you will really see this evolve as a platform over time. As I mentioned earlier, I think the screen may be big enough to see it as a multiuser game playing option. It seems well-suited for couples to play a board game, for example.

Lowensohn: I think you're totally right about things evolving on this front. Yesterday's demo of the Brushes app really showed that off. Oddly enough, the demos of Gameloft's N.O.V.A. and EA's Need for Speed: Shift looked a little ungainly.

What this means for developers

Lowensohn: The move to include backwards compatibility and screen scaling is going to be a good one early on. But I do worry about this having the same kind of splintering that the iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch brought into play.

(Credit: Apple)

While most developers have done a good job at trying to create apps that work on all the various generations of hardware, Apple is now splitting up development efforts even further by trying to make everyone happy. I worry that this will keep some really good games that could have been made for the iPhone, get turned into iPad exclusives. Either that or a whole crop of games that are developed to work for both platforms, but don't get the necessary crafting or attention to be amazing on both.

Fried: It is a bummer to have to create for different screen sizes and abilities. I think the key here will be market size. If Apple can sell a bunch, developers will write apps specifically for the iPad. If sales are less than stellar, then I think the developers will stick to writing iPhone apps, perhaps with a bit of optimization for the larger screen.

What's next/what it's missing

Fried: There are plenty of things missing. We've already touched on Flash support. But I'd remind the naysayers that the original iPod was black and white and only worked on a Mac. The first iPhone didn't have copy and paste.

Lowensohn: To me, the biggest thing that's missing is a camera. Apple has done to the iPad what it did to the iPod compared to the iPhone. By not including a camera, iPad users are going to miss out on some really cool apps that take advantage of having one. I'm also a little disappointed that the rumors of a front-facing camera turned out to be false, since using this thing for video conferencing would be great.

Well, that's two more opinions on the iPad. Has either Josh or Ina changed your mind? Feel free to sound off below.

iPad Review CNET

Many people are searching for the reviews related to the Apple’s iPad and they are trying to compare it with the other existing tech products or devices. The reaction to the iPad has been less positive than it was expected. CNET that is one of the most respected sources of the technology information has stated that being a portable computer, iPad needs some improvement. Viewers have shown dissatisfaction with this product. Nobody knows about the usage of this product and in what replace this is launched. Its size, price, specs, content availability and the usage model all dissatisfied the customers. it is not a phone, not a laptop or a music player then what is its target market and who will be its potential buyers. This will be cleared within next 60 days.

On Wednesday it was said that the trademark of the iPad were its crisp display, touch capabilities and thin profile and it was just a bigger iPod Touch or iPhone. It has been described by the CNET review of the 64 GB model that iPad has a iPod Touch with a glandular problem. According to another review iPad is the reinvention of notebook by the Apple. It has also been pointed by the CNET review that iPad has the operating system which is the version of the operating system of iPhone. It has a storage space of 64GB, its display is 9.7 inches and it has 1GHZ Apple processor. But it has some different features from the notebook like its weight is 1.5-1.6 pounds while the weight of the notebook is 3-7 pounds. There are no moving parts and it is thin monolith while the design of the notebook is always the same since 25 years and it has moving breakable parts.

Super Bowl 2010 ads preview

Tough cowboys and sinister mobsters were the face of Denny's for last year's Super Bowl. This year, the breakfast chain has chickens getting a warning from a TV pitchman. You could bet a hen's tooth it's about eggs.

Foreclosure plague: Where it's spreading

Boise's population has more than doubled since 1980, and its economy has diversified over the past half century. Tech industries have come into the mix, and Micron Technology is now the city's largest employer.

As in many Western cities, the real estate market here was quite volatile during the boom. The median home price jumped from about $150,000 during 2003 to $260,000 at its peak in 2006, according to the Wells Fargo-National Association of Home Builders housing opportunity index. Since then prices have dropped more than 32%.

Christine Loucks, an economics professor for Boise State University, attributes the foreclosure runup in town to two main causes: A small speculative bubble that has burst and the economic slowdown.

"With the rapid population increase, there was strong demand for housing," she said, "and that led to buying for speculation."

When prices started to slow down, the speculators pulled out, driving prices down further and trapping some buyers underwater. Many flippers were caught in the downswing and lost their homes.

Job losses also began to mount. Micron laid off 1,500 to 2,000 workers, HP slowed some of its operations, and the financial and construction industry employers also cut jobs.

"Residential construction just stopped," said Loucks.

Add it all up and Boise went through a similar -- though less severe -- cycle as frothier markets in California, Nevada, Florida and Arizona.

Tarkenton critical of Favre

Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton, who has taken some shots at Vikings quarterback Brett Favre in the past, took a few more Thursday during an interview with radio station 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia. "I think the Vikings were clearly the best team," Tarkenton said. "Their offense turned the ball over five times, the Viking offense. But still if (Favre) didn't make that stupid play at the end of the game they would have won the game. I have never seen any quarterback much less, well he is going to be a Hall of Fame quarterback, make plays like that at a critical time."

Top 10 Richest Person In The World 2009 - 2010

William Gates III

Rank: 1 Net Worth: $40.0 bil, Fortune: self made

Software visionary regains title as the world’s richest man despite losing $18 billion in the past 12 months. Stepped down from day-to-day duties at Microsoft last summer to devote his talents and riches to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Organization’s assets were $30 billion in January; annual letter lauds endowment manager Michael Larson for limiting last year’s losses to 20%. Gates decided to increase donations in 2009 to $3.8 billion, up 15% from 2008. Dedicated to fighting hunger in developing countries, improving education in America’s high schools and developing vaccines against malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS. Appointed Microsoft Office veteran Jeffrey Raikes chief exec of Gates Foundation in September. Gates remains Microsoft chairman. Sells shares each quarter, redeploys proceeds via investment vehicle Cascade; more than half of fortune invested outside Microsoft. Stock down 45% in past 12 months. "Creative capitalist" wants companies to match profit making with doing good.

Warren Buffett

Rank: 2 Net Worth: $37.0 bil, Fortune: self made

Last year America’s most beloved investor was the world’s richest man . This year he has to settle for second place after losing $25 billion in 12 months. Shares of Berkshire Hathaway down 45% since last March. Injected billions of dollars into Goldman Sachs, GE in exchange for preferred stock last fall; propped up insurance firm Swiss Re in February with $2.6 billion infusion. Admits he made some "dumb" investment mistakes in 2008. Upbeat about America’s future: "Our economic system has worked extraordinarily well over time. It has unleashed human potential as no other system has, and it will continue to do so." Scoffs at Wall Street’s over-reliance on "history-based" models: "If merely looking up past financial data would tell you what the future holds, the Forbes 400 would consist of librarians." Son of Nebraska politician delivered newspapers as a boy. Filed first tax return at age 13, claiming $35 deduction for bicycle. Studied under value investing guru Benjamin Graham at Columbia. Took over textile firm Berkshire Hathaway 1965. Today holding company invested in insurance (Geico, General Re), jewelry (Borsheim’s), utilities (MidAmerican Energy), food (Dairy Queen, See’s Candies). Also has noncontrolling stakes in Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Wells Fargo.

Carlos Slim Helu & family

Rank: 3 Net Worth: $35.0 bil, Fortune: self made

Economic downturn and plunging peso shaved $25 billion from the fortune of Latin America’s richest man. Global recession testing his ability to live up to the principles he sets for his employees: "Maintain austerity in times of fat cows." Son of a Lebanese immigrant bought fixed line operator Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex) in 1990; now controls 90% of Mexico’s telephone landlines. Would be a billionaire based on his dividends alone. Biggest holding: $16 billion stake in America Movil, Latin America’s largest mobile phone company with 173 million customers. America Movil and Telmex reportedly planning to jointly invest $4 billion to bolster telecom infrastructure in Latin America. Buying up cheap media, energy and retail assets. Last year took stakes in New York Times Co., former billionaire Anthony O’Reilly’s Independent News & Media and Bronco Drilling; also increased position in Saks. Baseball statistics aficionado, art collector

Lawrence Ellison

Rank: 4 Net Worth: $22.5 bil, Fortune: self made

Database titan continues to engulf the competition; Oracle has racked up 49 acquisitions in the past 4 years. Bought BEA Systems for $8.5 billion last year. Still sitting on $7 billion in cash. Revenues up 11% to $10.9 billion in the six months ended November 30; profits also up 11% to $2.4 billion. Stock down 25% in past 12 months. Invested $125 million in Web software outfit Netsuite; took public in 2007, stock has fallen 80% since. His shares still worth $300 million. Chicago native studied physics at U. of Chicago, didn’t graduate. Started Oracle in 1977. Public 1986, a day before Microsoft. Owns 453-foot Rising Sun; built a smaller leisure boat because superyacht is hard to park. Squabbling in court with Swiss boating billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli over terms of next America’s Cup. Recently unveiled hulking 90-foot trimaran he intends to use to win it.

Ingvar Kamprad & family

Rank: 5 Net Worth: $22.0 bil, Fortune: self made

Peddled matches, fish, pens, Christmas cards and other items by bicycle as a teenager. Started selling furniture in 1947. Opened first Ikea store 50 years ago; stores’s name is a combination of initials of his first and last name, his family farm and the nearest village. Retired in 1986; company’s "senior adviser" still reportedly works tirelessly on his brand. Discount retailer now sells 9,500 items in 36 countries; prints catalog in 27 languages. Revenues up 7% to $27.4 billion in fiscal year 2008. Opened tenth store in China this February; planning to open first in Dominican Republic later this year. Three sons all work at the company. Thrifty entrepreneur flies economy class, frequents cheap restaurants and furnishes his home mostly with Ikea products.

Karl Albrecht

Rank: 6 Net Worth: $21.5 bil, Fortune:self made

Source:Aldi , Age:89, Country Of Citizenship:Germany,Residence:Mulheim an der Ruhr
Industry:Retail.

Germany’s richest person owns discount supermarket giant Aldi Sud. Retailer faring well amid economic downturn; analysts expect its 2008 sales to be up 9.4% to $33.7 billion. Sales in the U.S. up estimated 20% last year to $7 billion. Plans to open 75 U.S. stores in 2009, including first in New York City. With younger brother, Theo, transformed their mother’s corner grocery store into Aldi after World War II. Brothers split ownership in 1961; Karl took the stores in southern Germany, plus the rights to the brand in the U.K., Australia and the U.S. Theo got northern Germany and the rest of Europe. Retired from daily operations. Fiercely private: little known about him other than that he apparently raises orchids and plays golf.

Mukesh Ambani

Rank: 7 Net Worth: $19.5 bil, Fortune: inherited and growing

Oversees Reliance Industries, India’s most valuable company by market cap despite stock falling 40% in past year. Merging his Reliance Petroleum with flagship Reliance Industries. As part of deal, will exercise right to buy back Chevron’s 5% stake in Reliance Petroleum at $1.20 per share—the same price at which he sold it 3 years ago. Today the stock trades for $1.80 a share. Increased stake in Reliance Industries in October; paid $3.4 billion to convert 120 million preferential warrants into shares. Reliance Petroleum refinery on India’s western coast began operating in December despite falling global demand and declining margins. Late father Dhirubhai founded Reliance and built it into a massive conglomerate. After he died Mukesh and his brother, Anil, ran the family business together for a brief time. But siblings feuded over control; mother eventually brokered split of assets. Brothers may be looking to bury hatchet; played joint hosts at mother’s recent 75th-birthday bash. Has yet to move into his 27-story home that he’s building at a reported cost of $1 billion. Ardent fan of Bollywood films. Wife, Nita, oversees school named after his father.

Lakshmi Mittal

Rank: 8 Net Worth: $19.3 bil, Fortune: inherited and growing

Indian immigrant heads world’s largest steel company; ArcelorMittal was formed via hostile takeover 3 years ago. Stock in company makes up bulk of his fortune; shares at a 4-year low with steel prices down 75% since last summer. Company forced to pay heavy fines after a French antitrust investigation found 10 companies guilty of price-fixing in European steel markets. Arcelor posted $2.6 billion loss in most recent quarter; announced plans to slow acquisitions, cut capital expenditures, pay down debt. Started in family steel business in the 1970s, branched out on his own in 1994. Initially bought up steel mills on the cheap in Eastern Europe. Company bought 19.9% stake in Australia’s Macarthur Coal last year. Also owns pieces of Mumbai’s Indiabulls Group, London’s RAB Capital; owns stake in, sits on board of Goldman Sachs. Holds substantial cash; owns 12-bedroom mansion in London’s posh Kensington neighborhood.

Theo Albrecht

Rank: 9 Net Worth:Net Worth:$18.8 bil, Fortune:self made

Source:Aldi, Trader Joe’s, Age:87, Country Of Citizenship:Germany
Residence:Foehr, Industry:Retail

Runs discount supermarket group Aldi Nord; firm holding up amid economic downturn. Sales expected to hit $31 billion in 2008. After World War II he and older brother Karl transformed their mother’s corner grocery into Aldi. Brothers split ownership in 1961; Karl took the stores in southern Germany, plus the rights to the brand in the U.K., Australia and the U.S. Theo got the northern Germany stores and the rest of Europe. Unable to operate Aldi stores in U.S., Theo developed discount food store Trader Joe’s; now has more than 320 U.S. stores. Also owns stake in Supervalu. Became a recluse after being kidnapped for 17 days in 1971; said to collect old typewriters; loves golf.

Amancio Ortega

Rank: 10, Net Worth: $18.3 bil ,Fortune: self made

Railway worker’s son started as a gofer in a shirt store. With then-wife Rosalia Mera, also now a billionaire, started making dressing gowns and lingerie in their living room. Business became one of world’s most successful apparel manufacturers. Today Inditex has more than 4,000 stores in 71 countries. Sales: $12.3 billion. Ortega is chairman. Company exported its cheap chic Zara stores to 4 new markets last year: Ukraine, South Korea, Montenegro and Honduras. Stock up 1% in past 12 months, but fortune down because of weak euro. Also has personal investments in gas, tourism, banks and real estate. Owns properties in Madrid, Paris, London, Lisbon, plus a luxury hotel and apartment complex in Miami, a horse-jumping circuit, and an interest in a soccer league. Shuns neckties and fanfare. Daughter Marta works for Inditex; recent speculation suggests she is being groomed to eventually replace her father.

Doctor’s Killer Puts Abortion on the Stand

WICHITA, Kan. — Scott Roeder, the man charged with murder in the shooting of George R. Tiller, one of the few doctors in the country to perform late-term abortions, took the witness stand in his own defense on Thursday, and said that, yes, he did it.
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Orlin Wagner/Associated Press

District Attorney Nola Foulston cross-examined Scott Roeder on Thursday at his first-degree murder trial in Wichita, Kan.
Related
In Abortion Murder Trial, No Motive Mentioned (January 23, 2010)
Times Topics: Scott Roeder | George R. Tiller
Documents Document: Kansas v. Roeder Criminal Complaint (via FindLaw)
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Pool photograph by Jeff Tuttle

Scott Roeder testifying at his murder trial in Wichita, Kan., on Thursday.
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Pool photograph by Mike Hutmacher

Jeanne Tiller, wife of Dr. George Tiller, the slain abortion provider, at the trial on Thursday.
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Orlin Wagner/Associated Press

Outside the courthouse, Randall Terry demonstrated in favor of the man accused of the killing.

Yes, he bought a gun. Yes, he took target practice. Yes, he had learned about Dr. Tiller’s habits, his home address, his security precautions. And, yes, he shot Dr. Tiller last May 31 as Dr. Tiller stood inside his church.

“That is correct, yes,” Mr. Roeder told the jurors, in a calm, matter-of-fact voice.

But there was a twist.

Lawyers for Mr. Roeder, who provided the only testimony for the defense in a trial that has spanned several weeks, are hoping that jurors will consider Mr. Roeder’s motive: his growing opposition to abortion, which he deemed criminal and immoral, and his mounting sense that laws and prosecutors and other abortion opponents were never going to stop Dr. Tiller from performing them.

“I did what I thought was needed to be done to protect the children. I shot him,” he testified, adding at another point, “If I didn’t do it, the babies were going to die the next day.”

Was he remorseful? No, Mr. Roeder said without emotion. After the killing, he said, he felt “a sense of relief.”

And so, in a way, the hearing here, watched intensely by all sides of the abortion debate, turned into precisely what the presiding judge had said all along that it ought not to be — a trial over abortion. Judge Warren Wilbert has wrestled with requests from the prosecution and the defense over how to permit Mr. Roeder to mount a murder defense without allowing him to turn the case into a public forum on abortion.

But even with his pointed testimony, based on a ruling late Thursday by Judge Wilbert, Mr. Roeder continues to face a difficult legal hurdle in beating back a charge of first-degree murder.

Judge Wilbert ruled that he would not instruct the jury to consider a lesser charge when they begin deliberations on Friday. Mr. Roeder has pleaded not guilty to murder, but defense lawyers had argued that his beliefs about abortion might warrant a voluntary manslaughter conviction if jurors concluded that Mr. Roeder possessed, as Kansas law defines it, “an unreasonable but honest belief that circumstances existed that justified deadly force.”

Seated on the witness stand, facing a tiny courtroom gallery that included Dr. Tiller’s widow, Jeanne, abortion opponents from other parts of the country, and national abortion rights supporters, Mr. Roeder seemed quiet, almost lawyerly, in his responses to inquiries about the killing, in which Dr. Tiller was shot in the forehead, the gun pressed to his skin.

Mr. Roeder, 51, of Kansas City, Mo., told jurors that he had a growing sense of his own faith and opposition to abortion in the 1990s after watching “The 700 Club,” the evangelist Pat Robertson’s television talk show. Mr. Roeder’s views on religion and abortion, he said, went “hand in hand.”

Mr. Roeder acknowledged under cross-examination that he had, as early as 1993, thought about killing Dr. Tiller. A year before the shooting, he said, he had gone to Dr. Tiller’s church with a gun intending to shoot him. (Dr. Tiller was not there that day, he said.) And he said he considered other alternatives: cutting off Dr. Tiller’s hands with a sword, shooting him from a distance with a rifle, or finding him at his house.

Of his decision to go to the church, he said, “It was the only window of opportunity I saw that he could be stopped.”

Abortion opponents here, including some who have served time in jail for abortion clinic violence, praised Mr. Roeder for his testimony. But some complained bitterly that Judge Wilbert had severely limited the defense by barring the testimony of Phill Kline, a former Kansas attorney general who had unsuccessfully pursued criminal investigations against Dr. Tiller and by preventing jurors from considering some conviction short of murder.

Abortion rights supporters, meanwhile, called Mr. Roeder’s statements deeply chilling, and said they mandated nothing short than a first-degree murder conviction, which could carry a life sentence. “It should send a message that there is no justification for this,” said Vicki Saporta, the president of the National Abortion Federation, who sat in the court.

Over four days, prosecutors laid out a case that rarely dealt with abortion, but stuck instead to dates and times and forensic and witness evidence implicating Mr. Roeder in the Tiller shooting. Abortion rights supporters said that was as it should be: this was murder, plain and simple.

By the middle of the week, the courthouse had drawn some of the most outspoken members of the abortion debate from around the country.

“George Tiller shed the blood of 60,000 innocent children,” Randall Terry, the founder of Operation Rescue, told reporters. Mr. Terry (who is in a legal dispute over the use of the group’s name with Operation Rescue’s current president, Troy Newman) said that he was neither condoning nor condemning Mr. Roeder’s actions, but that people should remember the children.

Days after Mr. Roeder’s arrest, the United States Department of Justice announced it was investigating Dr. Tiller’s death to determine whether there was anyone else involved in the plot. On Thursday, Mr. Roeder acknowledged that he has friends who, like him, believe that the killing of abortion doctors is justifiable. One such friend, Shelley Shannon, was imprisoned for shooting Dr. Tiller in both arms in 1993. Still, Mr. Roeder said on Thursday, he acted alone.

Justice Department representatives are “actively monitoring” Mr. Roeder’s case, a department spokesman said, adding, “Our investigation into the murder of Dr. Tiller is open and ongoing.”

Guided by lawyers, Mr. Roeder methodically described the morning of the shooting — how he had fired the gun inside the church, driven away from Wichita, hidden the gun in a small town, and picked up a snack, a pizza. In the days after the killing, Dr. Tiller’s family announced that it would close the abortion clinic, the only one in Wichita.

So, Nola Foulston, the prosecutor asked him, do you feel you have successfully completed your mission?

Bidder Offers $13, 300 for Federer's Racket

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Roger Federer and other top players have continued their fundraising efforts for Haiti with an auction of autographed rackets used in this year's Australian Open.

Two days after the bidding opened, Federer's racket was easily the most sought after, with the latest of 87 bids offering $13,300. The next most-wanted racket is Rafael Nadal's, with a current bid of $4,150.

Novak Djokovic, Kim Clijsters and Jelena Dokic have also donated their rackets.

The eBay auction, which opened Tuesday and closes after the men's final on Sunday, follows ''Hit for Haiti'' -- a charity match initiated by Federer on the eve of the tournament.

That mixed doubles match -- where the public paid discounted prices and the players wore microphones -- raised more than $185,000.

The Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti killed an estimated 200,000 people.

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COOL CILIC: Marin Cilic says staying cool on court helps him play the big points.

The 21-year-old Croatian lost 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 to Andy Murray in the semifinals Thursday. He played three five-setters leading up to that showdown, and has maintained his composure throughout.

''I'm like that naturally. I'm always pretty calm,'' Cilic said. ''When you're on the court, you got to be able to think what you got to do, not to be angry about yourself. That's going to always put you in a disadvantage.''

The 14th-seeded Cilic credits his focus and calm for his strong performance in the first set against No. 5 Murray, who will play either Roger Federer or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final on Sunday.

''I was doing that very good,'' Cilic said. ''That gave me, of course, some important points when I needed them.''

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INTO THE FINALS: Brothers Bob and Mike Bryan, the top-ranked men's doubles pair, say they are looking for revenge against old rivals in their final match at the Australian Open.

The Americans, defending champions at Melbourne Park, beat Germany's Michael Kohlmann and Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-1, 6-4 in what they called their ''first easy match'' of the tournament.

They will face Canadian Daniel Nestor and Serbian Nenad Zimonjic in the finals. That team holds an 8-3 lead in matches against the Bryan brothers, and all of those meetings came in finals.

''We obviously know their game really well, and we feel like we can change some stuff up from the past matches,'' said Mike Bryan. ''We're looking for some nice revenge here. It's a pretty intense rivalry.''

Nestor and Zimonjic held the No. 1 ranking at the end of 2008. Last year, the Bryans took back the crown.

''In 2008 it came down to the last match of the year,'' Mike Bryan said. ''They broke our heart, and last year we kind of broke their heart.''

Another team of American siblings has advanced to a doubles final. Venus and Serena Williams defeated American Lisa Raymond and Australian Rennae Stubbs 6-3, 7-6 (6) on Thursday and will play Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the final Friday.

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TENNIS NOW, FAMILY LATER: Justine Henin is sweeping through her comeback to tennis and is happy to be doing it on her own, unlike fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters who is on the tour again after taking time off for marriage and a baby.

''I'm not quite sure I could do it, having a child and then coming back on the tour,'' said Henin, who advanced Thursday to the finals of the Australian Open with a 6-1, 6-0 win over China's Zheng Jie.

Henin said she had a lot of respect for Clijsters, who won the U.S. Open in her return to tennis last year but was upset in the third round of the Australian Open.

''I think it's brave to do it, to travel with a child, to deal with being a mother and a tennis player,'' Henin said. ''I think it's not easy, so it's great what she's doing.''

Henin retired at No. 1 in May 2008 after battling injuries and going through a divorce. She has said she was inspired by Clijsters return to tennis, and the Australian Open is her second tournament in her comeback.

''It's my life being on the tour now,'' said the seven-time Grand Slam champion. ''I hope one day to have my family, but it's going to be another step in my life.''

Federer routs Tsonga to reach Aussie Open final

Mens Tennis News

* Australian Open Men's Tennis Update - Jan 29
* Federer routs Tsonga to reach Aussie Open final

Federer routs Tsonga to reach Aussie Open final

Melbourne, Australia (Sports Network) - Roger Federer took another step toward his 16th career Grand Slam title with a straight-set victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Australian Open semifinals.

The top-seeded Federer rolled to a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 rout of the 10th-seeded Frenchman and will face Scotland's Andy Murray in Sunday's final with an opportunity to collect his fourth Aussie Open crown. Murray advanced Thursday with a semifinal victory over Croatia's Marin Cilic.

It was virtually no contest on Friday, as Federer needed a mere 88 minutes to dispose of Tsonga, who was trying to reach the Australian Open final for the second time in three years. Tsonga was the 2008 runner-up to Novak Djokovic and gained a measure of revenge for that loss on Wednesday with a victory over the Serbian star in the quarterfinals.

On Friday he had virtually no chance, as Federer was in dominant form. The Swiss superstar committed just 13 unforced errors, converted 5-of-10 break- point chances and didn't face a break point against his own serve.

"I just think it's easier with the top players if you get them in the first set," said Federer after the match. "It's nice going through like this."

Federer's first break of serve came in the fourth game of the first set for a 3-1 advantage and another break in the eighth game finished off the set in just 30 minutes.

The second set featured just one break of serve, which gave Federer a 4-2 edge, and he managed to serve it out. The third was also no contest, as two breaks of serve finished off the weary Frenchman, who had played five sets in each of his previous two matches.

"I was a bit more tired after the first set," stated Tsonga. "It was tough to play against him today. He was really good, and that's it."

Federer will play in his 22nd career Grand Slam final and second straight in Melbourne. He lost to Rafael Nadal in a five-set thriller last year and last won the Aussie Open crown in 2007. His first two wins in the year's first Grand Slam came in 2004 and 2006. Another title Sunday would tie Andre Agassi's Open-era record of four Australian Open championships.

Murray, trying to give Britain its first Grand Slam champion since Fred Perry in 1936, will play in his second major final. His first came in 2008, a 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 setback to Federer in the U.S. Open title match.

Despite that loss, Murray owns a 6-4 lifetime mark against Federer. The two split four meetings in 2009 -- Murray winning semifinals at Doha and Indian Wells before Federer captured the last two matchups with a semifinal win in Cincinnati and a round-robin triumph at the World Tour Finals. The only matchup between the two in a Grand Slam was in the Flushing Meadows final.

Federer, who will be one of the finalists for the 18th time in the last 19 Grand Slam events, is gunning for his 62nd career ATP-level singles crown, while Murray will try for his 15th.

Federer Easily Advances to Final

MELBOURNE, Australia — So much for all the pre-tournament talk about how Roger Federer was distracted, aging and vulnerable here at the Australian Open, and how there were eight to 10 players here ready to knock him from his throne. After filleting Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets, now there is only one — the scrambling Scotsman Andy Murray.
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It took the world’s top player less than 90-minutes to showcase his touch shots, mastery of angles and all around court command and reach his 22nd Grand Slam Final, a record, and an eighth in a row. He broke Tsonga’s serve in the fourth game of the first set, and then toyed with the Frenchman 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.

“It’s nice going through a match like that,” said Federer. “I think against top players, it’s always positive if you can win the first set.”

Tsonga, a finalist here in 2008, and the No. 10 seed, had played back-to-back five-set thrillers, including a grueling quarterfinals victory over No. 3-seed Novak Djokovic. He was unable to make Federer face a break point, and said the world’s top player was just too much for him.

“He was really good, and that’s it,” said Tsonga, 24, who along with Juan Martin Del Potro, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic were among the up and coming challengers ready to unseat Federer.

Now, it falls on Murray, who is playing in his 17th Grand Slam, the same attempt that Federer broke through at the 2003 Wimbledon to notch his first of a record 15 major titles. Murray also is carrying the hopes of the British Empire on his thin shoulders, as he tries to take down a Grand Slam title for the first time in 74 years when Fred Perry won the 1936 United States Open.

Federer has already won the Australian Open three times, in 2004, 2006 and 2007, and is now through to his fifth final after losing an epic five-set clash with Rafa Nadal last year. He was confident, loose and jovial in the moments after the match, making it clear that he is at the top of his game.

“I know he’d like to win the first for British tennis in, what is it, like 150,000 years?” Federer joked in a courtside interview. “The poor guy has to go through those moments over and over again. He’s done tremendously. We match up well. I’m looking forward to the final.”