Sunday, June 27, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Jobless aid measure dying in Senate
6-24-2010
By ANDREW TAYLOR (AP)
WASHINGTON — Republicans in the Senate appear likely to kill legislation to provide continued unemployment checks to millions of people and provide states with billions of dollars to avert layoffs.
It would be a bitter defeat for President Barack Obama and Capitol Hill Democrats, who have been trying to advance the measure for months as an insurance policy against a double-dip recession.
Despite another round of cuts to the measure aimed at pacifying GOP deficit concerns, the measure seems doomed to die by a filibuster in a vote expected as early as Thursday.
Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he would pull the measure from the floor if Democrats lose the vote. Democrats hope that political pressure from voters and business groups might eventually revive the measure.
The latest version of the measure contains a variety of provisions sought by lawmakers in both parties, blending jobless aid averaging about $300 a week with the renewal of dozens of tax cuts sought by business groups and a host of other legislation. It is considerably smaller than a version that passed with GOP help just three months ago.
"It adds new taxes and over $30 billion to an already staggering $13 trillion dollar national debt," said Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
The catchall measure also includes $16 billion for state governments to avert layoffs, farm disaster aid, $1 billion for a youth summer jobs initiative and an extension of a bond program that subsidizes interest costs for state and local infrastructure projects. It would levy a new tax on investment fund managers but extend tax breaks such as lucrative credits that help businesses finance research and develop new products, and a sales tax deduction that mainly helps people in states without income taxes.
The death of the measure would mean that more than 200,000 people a week would lose their jobless benefits because they would be unable to reapply for additional tiers of benefits enacted since 2008. People seeking the popular homebuyer tax credit would be denied a paperwork extension approved by the Senate last week.
"This is a bill that would remedy serious challenges that American families face as a result of this Great Recession," said Max Baucus, D-Mont., the chief author of the bill. "This is a bill that works to build a stronger economy. This is a bill to put Americans back to work."
And doctors are livid about a 21 percent cut in their Medicare payments imposed last week; the bill would have afforded them a six-month reprieve from the cuts. Stand-alone legislation to address the problem has stalled in the House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is insisting that it be part of the broader measure.
By the end of this week, about 1.2 million people will have lost their jobless benefits since a temporary extension expired at the beginning of the month, according to Labor Department estimates.
Crestfallen Democrats tried in vain to win support from moderate Republicans like Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, leaving them apparently two votes short of the 60 needed to defeat a filibuster. But talks collapsed Thursday, aides said, leading Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to offer a pared-back measure that would add $33 billion to the deficit over the upcoming decade.
The bill has long been considered a must-pass measure, but the political sands have shifted since it first passed in March. That vote came in the wake of a political scalding for Republicans after Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., blocked a short-term extension of jobless aid.
In the interim, however, the debt crisis in Europe and growing anxiety on deficits and debt among voters, has turned Republicans against the legislation, even though it's been cut considerably since passage of a March version that would have added about $100 billion to the debt.
Most of the measure — except for a six-month extension of jobless benefits for people who have been out of work for more than six months — is financed with offsetting tax increases or spending cuts, including more than $10 billion cut from last year's stimulus bill. Congress has always approved additional unemployment benefits as a deficit-financed emergency measure.
Democratic leaders said they bent over backwards to accommodate demands by Republicans for a smaller measure. Among the cuts revealed Wednesday was a more than $10 cut from last year's stimulus bill, mostly buy paring back food stamp benefits by about $11 a month per beneficiary.
"They asked to have it reduced, we did it. They asked to have it paid for, we did it," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.
A spokesman for Snowe confirmed she would vote to support the filibuster. She had unsuccessfully pressed for changes to a tax reform provision aimed at small businesses that shelter income as dividends exempt from payroll taxes.
By ANDREW TAYLOR (AP)
WASHINGTON — Republicans in the Senate appear likely to kill legislation to provide continued unemployment checks to millions of people and provide states with billions of dollars to avert layoffs.
It would be a bitter defeat for President Barack Obama and Capitol Hill Democrats, who have been trying to advance the measure for months as an insurance policy against a double-dip recession.
Despite another round of cuts to the measure aimed at pacifying GOP deficit concerns, the measure seems doomed to die by a filibuster in a vote expected as early as Thursday.
Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he would pull the measure from the floor if Democrats lose the vote. Democrats hope that political pressure from voters and business groups might eventually revive the measure.
The latest version of the measure contains a variety of provisions sought by lawmakers in both parties, blending jobless aid averaging about $300 a week with the renewal of dozens of tax cuts sought by business groups and a host of other legislation. It is considerably smaller than a version that passed with GOP help just three months ago.
"It adds new taxes and over $30 billion to an already staggering $13 trillion dollar national debt," said Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
The catchall measure also includes $16 billion for state governments to avert layoffs, farm disaster aid, $1 billion for a youth summer jobs initiative and an extension of a bond program that subsidizes interest costs for state and local infrastructure projects. It would levy a new tax on investment fund managers but extend tax breaks such as lucrative credits that help businesses finance research and develop new products, and a sales tax deduction that mainly helps people in states without income taxes.
The death of the measure would mean that more than 200,000 people a week would lose their jobless benefits because they would be unable to reapply for additional tiers of benefits enacted since 2008. People seeking the popular homebuyer tax credit would be denied a paperwork extension approved by the Senate last week.
"This is a bill that would remedy serious challenges that American families face as a result of this Great Recession," said Max Baucus, D-Mont., the chief author of the bill. "This is a bill that works to build a stronger economy. This is a bill to put Americans back to work."
And doctors are livid about a 21 percent cut in their Medicare payments imposed last week; the bill would have afforded them a six-month reprieve from the cuts. Stand-alone legislation to address the problem has stalled in the House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is insisting that it be part of the broader measure.
By the end of this week, about 1.2 million people will have lost their jobless benefits since a temporary extension expired at the beginning of the month, according to Labor Department estimates.
Crestfallen Democrats tried in vain to win support from moderate Republicans like Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, leaving them apparently two votes short of the 60 needed to defeat a filibuster. But talks collapsed Thursday, aides said, leading Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to offer a pared-back measure that would add $33 billion to the deficit over the upcoming decade.
The bill has long been considered a must-pass measure, but the political sands have shifted since it first passed in March. That vote came in the wake of a political scalding for Republicans after Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., blocked a short-term extension of jobless aid.
In the interim, however, the debt crisis in Europe and growing anxiety on deficits and debt among voters, has turned Republicans against the legislation, even though it's been cut considerably since passage of a March version that would have added about $100 billion to the debt.
Most of the measure — except for a six-month extension of jobless benefits for people who have been out of work for more than six months — is financed with offsetting tax increases or spending cuts, including more than $10 billion cut from last year's stimulus bill. Congress has always approved additional unemployment benefits as a deficit-financed emergency measure.
Democratic leaders said they bent over backwards to accommodate demands by Republicans for a smaller measure. Among the cuts revealed Wednesday was a more than $10 cut from last year's stimulus bill, mostly buy paring back food stamp benefits by about $11 a month per beneficiary.
"They asked to have it reduced, we did it. They asked to have it paid for, we did it," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.
A spokesman for Snowe confirmed she would vote to support the filibuster. She had unsuccessfully pressed for changes to a tax reform provision aimed at small businesses that shelter income as dividends exempt from payroll taxes.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Anti-homelessness strategy expands programs to assist veterans, families
By Henri E. Cauvin
Tuesday, June 22, 2010; 5:29 PM
The Obama administration released a strategy Tuesday to end homelessness that would expand programs to secure housing for veterans and families with young children, and build on efforts to help chronically homeless Americans.
With the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq highlighting the needs of veterans and the economic crisis straining more families, the administration's plan widens the role envisioned for the federal government in curbing -- and ending -- homelessness. But it does not provide a significant infusion of federal money to combat the problem.
Instead the 67-page strategy, drafted by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and unveiled Tuesday, details a host of smaller projects intended to spur collaboration among federal agencies and with local and state governments.
One project combines Section 8 housing vouchers with other anti-poverty assistance to help 6,000 families in communities with high concentrations of homeless families. Another project couples vouchers with health and social services funded by Medicaid and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to assist 4,000 chronically homeless people move off the streets and out of shelters. Another initiative, similar to a program underway in the District, helps vulnerable veterans move swiftly into housing by linking local housing and social services with the Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program.
"No one should be without a safe, stable place to call home, and today we unveil a plan that will put our nation on the path toward ending all types of homelessness," HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, who leads the 19-agency council, said in a statement.
Nationwide, about 1.5 million people experienced homelessness last year, according to HUD. In the Washington region, more than 12,000 people were homeless last year, including more than 6,000 in the District, according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
From adults with severe mental illness to adolescents aging out of the foster care system, homelessness has its roots in many societal problems. But the Obama administration's strategy emphasizes that only when people are back in a home can they be expected to really address underlying problems in their lives.
This Housing First philosophy has been embraced in the District and elsewhere. In D.C., it has helped place about 1,000 people in homes, said Linda Kaufman, the chief operating officer of Pathways to Housing, which works with several hundred mentally ill, chronically homeless people. "If you don't do housing, you can't address the issues of homelessness," Kaufman said.
Framed by 10 objectives, the new national strategy aims to end homelessness among veterans and the chronically homeless by 2015 and among children and families by 2020.
The Bush administration's anti-homelessness strategy focused on the chronically homeless and as a result, said Mary Cunningham, a senior researcher at the Urban Institute, tens of thousands of people are in supported housing today. To the Obama administration's credit, Cunningham said, that focus has been broadened to include veterans and families with children. "They didn't abandon the previous administration's initiative. They expanded it."
But even supporters of the strategy say a far larger financial commitment to housing assistance will be needed to accomplish the objectives.
"The administration does call for some added vouchers, which is terrific," said Elizabeth Lower-Basch, senior policy analyst at the Center for Law and Social Policy. "But even if it's fully funded by Congress, it still would only reach a small fraction of those who are potentially eligible for housing subsidies."
Maria Foscarinis, executive director of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, said the plan offers a compelling portrait of the causes of homelessness and ways to end it. But that's not enough, she said.
"Where it is short in my view," Foscarinis said, is it does not make specific commitments with resources that the administration will pursue to actually fund the plan.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010; 5:29 PM
The Obama administration released a strategy Tuesday to end homelessness that would expand programs to secure housing for veterans and families with young children, and build on efforts to help chronically homeless Americans.
With the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq highlighting the needs of veterans and the economic crisis straining more families, the administration's plan widens the role envisioned for the federal government in curbing -- and ending -- homelessness. But it does not provide a significant infusion of federal money to combat the problem.
Instead the 67-page strategy, drafted by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and unveiled Tuesday, details a host of smaller projects intended to spur collaboration among federal agencies and with local and state governments.
One project combines Section 8 housing vouchers with other anti-poverty assistance to help 6,000 families in communities with high concentrations of homeless families. Another project couples vouchers with health and social services funded by Medicaid and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to assist 4,000 chronically homeless people move off the streets and out of shelters. Another initiative, similar to a program underway in the District, helps vulnerable veterans move swiftly into housing by linking local housing and social services with the Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program.
"No one should be without a safe, stable place to call home, and today we unveil a plan that will put our nation on the path toward ending all types of homelessness," HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, who leads the 19-agency council, said in a statement.
Nationwide, about 1.5 million people experienced homelessness last year, according to HUD. In the Washington region, more than 12,000 people were homeless last year, including more than 6,000 in the District, according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
From adults with severe mental illness to adolescents aging out of the foster care system, homelessness has its roots in many societal problems. But the Obama administration's strategy emphasizes that only when people are back in a home can they be expected to really address underlying problems in their lives.
This Housing First philosophy has been embraced in the District and elsewhere. In D.C., it has helped place about 1,000 people in homes, said Linda Kaufman, the chief operating officer of Pathways to Housing, which works with several hundred mentally ill, chronically homeless people. "If you don't do housing, you can't address the issues of homelessness," Kaufman said.
Framed by 10 objectives, the new national strategy aims to end homelessness among veterans and the chronically homeless by 2015 and among children and families by 2020.
The Bush administration's anti-homelessness strategy focused on the chronically homeless and as a result, said Mary Cunningham, a senior researcher at the Urban Institute, tens of thousands of people are in supported housing today. To the Obama administration's credit, Cunningham said, that focus has been broadened to include veterans and families with children. "They didn't abandon the previous administration's initiative. They expanded it."
But even supporters of the strategy say a far larger financial commitment to housing assistance will be needed to accomplish the objectives.
"The administration does call for some added vouchers, which is terrific," said Elizabeth Lower-Basch, senior policy analyst at the Center for Law and Social Policy. "But even if it's fully funded by Congress, it still would only reach a small fraction of those who are potentially eligible for housing subsidies."
Maria Foscarinis, executive director of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, said the plan offers a compelling portrait of the causes of homelessness and ways to end it. But that's not enough, she said.
"Where it is short in my view," Foscarinis said, is it does not make specific commitments with resources that the administration will pursue to actually fund the plan.
Friday, June 18, 2010
In the end, Lakers beat Celtics at their own grinding game
In the end, Lakers beat Celtics at their own grinding game
June 17, 2010By Baxter Holmes
Ugly, brutish basketball favored the boys from Boston.
It had all series against the finesse Lakers, as the Celtics' East Coast style helped turn the 2010 NBA Finals into a grind-it-out affair in which the stars were mostly unable to tally high point totals, forced instead to trudge through collapsing defenses and foul trouble.
Fittingly, the games got uglier as the series progressed, and Thursday's Game 7, an 83-79 Lakers win, became the ugliest of all.
"It was exactly the type of game we wanted," Coach Doc Rivers said.
Heading into the fourth quarter, 12 minutes from their 18th title, the Celtics led, 57-53. The game had consisted of a five-for-20 night from Kobe Bryant, and a surprise nights from Ron Artest (14 points up to then) and Rasheed Wallace (eight points), who started in place of the injured Kendrick Perkins.
But the feeling inside of Staples Center was that the Celtics and their aging Big Three couldn't last much longer. And, as the quarter proved, they didn't.
As the Lakers piled up 30 points, the Celtics got only eight combined points from Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen scored only two until he hit two three-point jumpers inside of a minute that kept the game close.
Lakers' stars Bryant and Pau Gasol, on the other hand, poured in 19 of those 30 as the Lakers re-took the lead and built upon.
The Lakers' defense, to be sure, frustrated the Big Three late.
Ron Artest stuck to Pierce, who shot one for five in the quarter.
Allen struggled to get open looks and ran around screen after screen while the Lakers continually switched to not allow him the split second he is known to need for an open shot.
Garnett, whether inside or at the top of the free-throw stripe, pump-faked for shots several times, but looked for his teammates more than he looked for his own, shooting just three times all quarter.
Foul trouble, too, played a role. The Big Three were whistled seven times in the final quarter.
Still, the Celtics got double-digit scoring from all their starters, and the Lakers shot 32.5%. As has held true this series, though, the team (Lakers) that won the rebounding (53-40) won the game.
"I thought the lack of size, at the end of the day, was the difference in the game," Rivers said.
Thought it was close, Rivers credited two big plays late: Bryant's three made foul shots with 8:46 left that made it a one-point game, and Derek Fisher's three-point jumper that tied the score with 6:12 remaining.
"They were close – we always hoped they wouldn't go on a roll," Rivers said. "Neither team did, but they were close, and those two shots bailed them out."
This had seemed like the last run for these Celtics, considering the makeup of the team, which fought through a fourth-place finish in their conference.
"We're not going to be the same team next year," Rivers said. "Guys are not going to be there, so that was tough for me. But again, I was just proud."
baxter.holmes@latimes.com
davidradiotv2000@yahoo.com
June 17, 2010By Baxter Holmes
Ugly, brutish basketball favored the boys from Boston.
It had all series against the finesse Lakers, as the Celtics' East Coast style helped turn the 2010 NBA Finals into a grind-it-out affair in which the stars were mostly unable to tally high point totals, forced instead to trudge through collapsing defenses and foul trouble.
Fittingly, the games got uglier as the series progressed, and Thursday's Game 7, an 83-79 Lakers win, became the ugliest of all.
"It was exactly the type of game we wanted," Coach Doc Rivers said.
Heading into the fourth quarter, 12 minutes from their 18th title, the Celtics led, 57-53. The game had consisted of a five-for-20 night from Kobe Bryant, and a surprise nights from Ron Artest (14 points up to then) and Rasheed Wallace (eight points), who started in place of the injured Kendrick Perkins.
But the feeling inside of Staples Center was that the Celtics and their aging Big Three couldn't last much longer. And, as the quarter proved, they didn't.
As the Lakers piled up 30 points, the Celtics got only eight combined points from Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen scored only two until he hit two three-point jumpers inside of a minute that kept the game close.
Lakers' stars Bryant and Pau Gasol, on the other hand, poured in 19 of those 30 as the Lakers re-took the lead and built upon.
The Lakers' defense, to be sure, frustrated the Big Three late.
Ron Artest stuck to Pierce, who shot one for five in the quarter.
Allen struggled to get open looks and ran around screen after screen while the Lakers continually switched to not allow him the split second he is known to need for an open shot.
Garnett, whether inside or at the top of the free-throw stripe, pump-faked for shots several times, but looked for his teammates more than he looked for his own, shooting just three times all quarter.
Foul trouble, too, played a role. The Big Three were whistled seven times in the final quarter.
Still, the Celtics got double-digit scoring from all their starters, and the Lakers shot 32.5%. As has held true this series, though, the team (Lakers) that won the rebounding (53-40) won the game.
"I thought the lack of size, at the end of the day, was the difference in the game," Rivers said.
Thought it was close, Rivers credited two big plays late: Bryant's three made foul shots with 8:46 left that made it a one-point game, and Derek Fisher's three-point jumper that tied the score with 6:12 remaining.
"They were close – we always hoped they wouldn't go on a roll," Rivers said. "Neither team did, but they were close, and those two shots bailed them out."
This had seemed like the last run for these Celtics, considering the makeup of the team, which fought through a fourth-place finish in their conference.
"We're not going to be the same team next year," Rivers said. "Guys are not going to be there, so that was tough for me. But again, I was just proud."
baxter.holmes@latimes.com
davidradiotv2000@yahoo.com
Thursday, June 17, 2010
San Francisco Approves Cellphone Radiation Law
Jun 16, 2010 1:05 pm
David Zeiler, PC World
Graphic: Diego AguirrePreferring to err on the side of caution, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 10-1 to require cell phone makers to post notices in their stores with details on the level of radiation each model emits.
The ordinance requires retailers to post information on what is called the "specific absorption rate" (SAR) of its products. The SAR rates measure the amount of radio wave radiation absorbed into the user's body tissue.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who supports the ordinance, is expected to sign it into law. It would take effect in February, with a $300 fine for those found in violation. Other jurisdictions, including Maine and California, have considered similar legislation, but it appears San Francisco would be the first to enact it.
(To watch a video recording of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors' vote click here)
Some worry that prolonged exposure to cell phone radiation may cause brain cancer, although scientific studies have proven inconclusive. The most recent and most comprehensive study, conducted by Interphone and published May 17, found no increased risk for the two most common types of brain cancer.
The lack of certainty one way or the other poses a conundrum. If the government issues warnings just to be safe, it may scare consumers needlessly. On the other hand, if a risk does indeed exist, the government is obligated to alert the public of the potential harm.
The Federal Communication Commission, which regulates cell phone safety along with the Food and Drug Administration, states on its Web site "there is no scientific evidence to date that proves that wireless phone usage can lead to cancer or a variety of other health effects," but goes on to note that "studies are ongoing."
The FCC has set a standard that no cell phone sold in the United States can have a SAR in excess of 1.6 watts per kilogram.
Enterprising consumers can find SAR information on the FCC Web site, but they need to have the product's FCC ID code. San Francisco's new law would put that hard-to-find data directly in front of consumers in stores.
Not surprisingly, representatives of the cell phone industry oppose the law, citing both the existing FCC standard and the lack of definitive scientific evidence linking cell phone use to brain cancer.
John Walls, a spokesman for the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the law "will potentially mislead consumers with point-of-sale requirements suggesting that some phones are safer than others, based on radio emissions."
That argument did not sway the lawmakers in city of San Francisco, who say it will serve the public.
"This is a modest and commonsense measure to provide greater transparency and information to consumer," Tony Winnicker, a spokesman for Mayor Newsom, told the Chronicle.
David Zeiler, PC World
Graphic: Diego AguirrePreferring to err on the side of caution, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 10-1 to require cell phone makers to post notices in their stores with details on the level of radiation each model emits.
The ordinance requires retailers to post information on what is called the "specific absorption rate" (SAR) of its products. The SAR rates measure the amount of radio wave radiation absorbed into the user's body tissue.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who supports the ordinance, is expected to sign it into law. It would take effect in February, with a $300 fine for those found in violation. Other jurisdictions, including Maine and California, have considered similar legislation, but it appears San Francisco would be the first to enact it.
(To watch a video recording of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors' vote click here)
Some worry that prolonged exposure to cell phone radiation may cause brain cancer, although scientific studies have proven inconclusive. The most recent and most comprehensive study, conducted by Interphone and published May 17, found no increased risk for the two most common types of brain cancer.
The lack of certainty one way or the other poses a conundrum. If the government issues warnings just to be safe, it may scare consumers needlessly. On the other hand, if a risk does indeed exist, the government is obligated to alert the public of the potential harm.
The Federal Communication Commission, which regulates cell phone safety along with the Food and Drug Administration, states on its Web site "there is no scientific evidence to date that proves that wireless phone usage can lead to cancer or a variety of other health effects," but goes on to note that "studies are ongoing."
The FCC has set a standard that no cell phone sold in the United States can have a SAR in excess of 1.6 watts per kilogram.
Enterprising consumers can find SAR information on the FCC Web site, but they need to have the product's FCC ID code. San Francisco's new law would put that hard-to-find data directly in front of consumers in stores.
Not surprisingly, representatives of the cell phone industry oppose the law, citing both the existing FCC standard and the lack of definitive scientific evidence linking cell phone use to brain cancer.
John Walls, a spokesman for the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the law "will potentially mislead consumers with point-of-sale requirements suggesting that some phones are safer than others, based on radio emissions."
That argument did not sway the lawmakers in city of San Francisco, who say it will serve the public.
"This is a modest and commonsense measure to provide greater transparency and information to consumer," Tony Winnicker, a spokesman for Mayor Newsom, told the Chronicle.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
The merits of iPhone moviemaking
Apple’s new app could change how people think about portable video
Posted on
Jun 8, 2010 10:57 am by Christopher Breen, Macworld.com
During Steve Jobs’s keynote speech Monday at the Worldwide Developers Conference, he introduced the $5 iMovie for iPhone. In a demo hosted by Apple’s chief architect of video applications, Randy Ubillos—the man responsible for 2008’s loved-it-or-hate-it iMovie makeover—we saw an iMovie that works very much like its fuller-featured sibling, iMovie ’09. Unlike iMovie ’08 and iMovie ’09, however, this mobile video editor may receive a far warmer reception from its intended audience.
What came before
The iPhone 3GS can shoot and edit standard-definition video, but its editing features are meager at best. The built-in editor acts as a way to trim the fat so you’re not uploading more video than you need to. Using a timeline, you can trim the beginning and end of a clip but you can’t split a video, combine clips, or add opening or closing titles or music. You can then send the resulting clip via e-mail, as an MMS message, or to your MobileMe Gallery or YouTube.
Coming soon
The iPhone 4 and iMovie for iPhone app changes that. To begin with, just like such pocket camcorders as Cisco’s popular Flip MinoHD (), the iPhone 4 can shoot 720p HD video at 30 frames per second from its rear-facing camera. Unlike the Flip MinoHD and other pocket camcorders, the iPhone 4 includes an LED flash, which works with video as well as stills. It also includes a tap-to-focus feature that lets you easily choose what you’d like the camera to focus on. Digital zooms generally produce unsatisfying results, as the process simply enlarges pixels rather than moves lens elements, but Apple gains bragging rights for offering a 5x digital zoom versus the 2x or 4x zoom offered by most pocket camcorders.
The big difference, though, is on-device editing. Today’s pocket camcorders demand that you export video to a computer before you can edit it. With the iMovie app you should be able to edit and deliver fairly polished videos without the iPhone ever touching your Mac or Windows PC.
What iMovie brings
When you see iMovie on the iPhone, iMovie ’08 and ’09 make more sense. It’s as if Apple originally designed them with a touchscreen interface in mind, as much of iMovie seems ideal for dragging and pinching rather than mousing, regardless of the platform it's running on.
The iMovie for iPhone app brings a workflow similar to what you find in iMovie ’09. You drag clips from a bin into your project or, if you like, add live video from the iPhone’s camera. Once in the project you can trim clips using drag handles and zoom in when you need to make finer edits. As with iMovie for Mac you can add transitions—a cross-fade or theme-base transition—between clips as well as titles. You can additionally apply up to five themes to your project.
You can also add music—canned music that comes with each project theme or music from your iTunes library. It appears that iMovie for iPhone has an auto-ducking feature that reduces the background music’s volume when there’s dialog in the video. And iMovie for iPhone can take advantage of the iPhone’s geolocation talents by displaying the location of the video in the movie’s title.
Additionally, you can add still images from the phone’s photo library to your project. By default, the Ken Burns pan-and-scan effect is applied to these images (hopefully the effect can also be switched off) and by pinching and dragging you can configure the direction and zoom level of the effect. The delivery options are no different than what we enjoy now—e-mail, MMS, MobileMe Gallery, and YouTube—though you can choose the resolution of the exported movie (360p, 540p, or 720p).
Peering into the future
What iMovie for iPhone eventually means depends on a variety of factors—the quality of the iPhone 4’s video, how much trouble it is to edit movies with the app, and how necessary slick-looking videos are to iPhone owners.
When the fifth-generation iPod nano () was released—that’s the version of the nano that shoots video—some people predicted the fall of the Flip pocket camcorder. It turned out that the nano shot pretty marginal video, so the Flip and its like lived on. If the iPhone 4 produces HD video that matches or exceeds the quality of the video produced by dedicated pocket camcorders (plus shoots better in low light because of its LED flash) and delivery of videos is as seamless as Apple suggests, Cisco, Kodak, Creative, and other pocket camcorder manufacturers may have to think long and hard about the future of some of their products.
iMovie for iPhone looks to be an easy-to-use application. But is it easy enough to use that iPhone owners will take the time to sit down and edit video on a small screen—particularly when a Mac, complete with a more feature-rich video editor, may be just a room or two away?
While some Mac users may opt to use iMovie for Mac rather than edit video on their phones, Windows users don’t have this luxury. Windows’ video editing application—Windows Movie Maker—is far more limited than iMovie for the Mac. Because it is, Windows iPhone users may find that they prefer editing video on their phones rather than doing the job on their PCs.
And finally there’s the question of whether most people shooting video with a phone care about using that material to create finished videos. Up to this point the typical pocket camcorder owner is someone within the 18-to-24 demographic interested solely in capturing their buddy doing something incredibly stupid (often involving alcohol and gravity) and, within minutes, posting the results on YouTube. For them, simple trim controls are enough. Shoot and post are their watchwords.
The iPhone and iMovie for iPhone, with its family-and-friends focus, is likely to change the way people think about portable video—how it’s shot as well as edited. It will be interesting to see if iPhone 4 owners continue to produce polished videos after the novelty of editing video on the iPhone wears off.
[Christopher Breen is a senior editor for Macworld.]
Posted on
Jun 8, 2010 10:57 am by Christopher Breen, Macworld.com
During Steve Jobs’s keynote speech Monday at the Worldwide Developers Conference, he introduced the $5 iMovie for iPhone. In a demo hosted by Apple’s chief architect of video applications, Randy Ubillos—the man responsible for 2008’s loved-it-or-hate-it iMovie makeover—we saw an iMovie that works very much like its fuller-featured sibling, iMovie ’09. Unlike iMovie ’08 and iMovie ’09, however, this mobile video editor may receive a far warmer reception from its intended audience.
What came before
The iPhone 3GS can shoot and edit standard-definition video, but its editing features are meager at best. The built-in editor acts as a way to trim the fat so you’re not uploading more video than you need to. Using a timeline, you can trim the beginning and end of a clip but you can’t split a video, combine clips, or add opening or closing titles or music. You can then send the resulting clip via e-mail, as an MMS message, or to your MobileMe Gallery or YouTube.
Coming soon
The iPhone 4 and iMovie for iPhone app changes that. To begin with, just like such pocket camcorders as Cisco’s popular Flip MinoHD (), the iPhone 4 can shoot 720p HD video at 30 frames per second from its rear-facing camera. Unlike the Flip MinoHD and other pocket camcorders, the iPhone 4 includes an LED flash, which works with video as well as stills. It also includes a tap-to-focus feature that lets you easily choose what you’d like the camera to focus on. Digital zooms generally produce unsatisfying results, as the process simply enlarges pixels rather than moves lens elements, but Apple gains bragging rights for offering a 5x digital zoom versus the 2x or 4x zoom offered by most pocket camcorders.
The big difference, though, is on-device editing. Today’s pocket camcorders demand that you export video to a computer before you can edit it. With the iMovie app you should be able to edit and deliver fairly polished videos without the iPhone ever touching your Mac or Windows PC.
What iMovie brings
When you see iMovie on the iPhone, iMovie ’08 and ’09 make more sense. It’s as if Apple originally designed them with a touchscreen interface in mind, as much of iMovie seems ideal for dragging and pinching rather than mousing, regardless of the platform it's running on.
The iMovie for iPhone app brings a workflow similar to what you find in iMovie ’09. You drag clips from a bin into your project or, if you like, add live video from the iPhone’s camera. Once in the project you can trim clips using drag handles and zoom in when you need to make finer edits. As with iMovie for Mac you can add transitions—a cross-fade or theme-base transition—between clips as well as titles. You can additionally apply up to five themes to your project.
You can also add music—canned music that comes with each project theme or music from your iTunes library. It appears that iMovie for iPhone has an auto-ducking feature that reduces the background music’s volume when there’s dialog in the video. And iMovie for iPhone can take advantage of the iPhone’s geolocation talents by displaying the location of the video in the movie’s title.
Additionally, you can add still images from the phone’s photo library to your project. By default, the Ken Burns pan-and-scan effect is applied to these images (hopefully the effect can also be switched off) and by pinching and dragging you can configure the direction and zoom level of the effect. The delivery options are no different than what we enjoy now—e-mail, MMS, MobileMe Gallery, and YouTube—though you can choose the resolution of the exported movie (360p, 540p, or 720p).
Peering into the future
What iMovie for iPhone eventually means depends on a variety of factors—the quality of the iPhone 4’s video, how much trouble it is to edit movies with the app, and how necessary slick-looking videos are to iPhone owners.
When the fifth-generation iPod nano () was released—that’s the version of the nano that shoots video—some people predicted the fall of the Flip pocket camcorder. It turned out that the nano shot pretty marginal video, so the Flip and its like lived on. If the iPhone 4 produces HD video that matches or exceeds the quality of the video produced by dedicated pocket camcorders (plus shoots better in low light because of its LED flash) and delivery of videos is as seamless as Apple suggests, Cisco, Kodak, Creative, and other pocket camcorder manufacturers may have to think long and hard about the future of some of their products.
iMovie for iPhone looks to be an easy-to-use application. But is it easy enough to use that iPhone owners will take the time to sit down and edit video on a small screen—particularly when a Mac, complete with a more feature-rich video editor, may be just a room or two away?
While some Mac users may opt to use iMovie for Mac rather than edit video on their phones, Windows users don’t have this luxury. Windows’ video editing application—Windows Movie Maker—is far more limited than iMovie for the Mac. Because it is, Windows iPhone users may find that they prefer editing video on their phones rather than doing the job on their PCs.
And finally there’s the question of whether most people shooting video with a phone care about using that material to create finished videos. Up to this point the typical pocket camcorder owner is someone within the 18-to-24 demographic interested solely in capturing their buddy doing something incredibly stupid (often involving alcohol and gravity) and, within minutes, posting the results on YouTube. For them, simple trim controls are enough. Shoot and post are their watchwords.
The iPhone and iMovie for iPhone, with its family-and-friends focus, is likely to change the way people think about portable video—how it’s shot as well as edited. It will be interesting to see if iPhone 4 owners continue to produce polished videos after the novelty of editing video on the iPhone wears off.
[Christopher Breen is a senior editor for Macworld.]
Monday, June 07, 2010
2 New Jersey Terror Suspects Appear in Court
Published June 07, 2010
FOXNews.com
Two American men arrested as they allegedly tried to fly to Somalia to join a terrorist group made their first appearance in federal court Monday.
Mohamed Mahmood Alessa and Carlos Eduardo Almonte are accused of trying to join al-Shabab, which was designated by the U.S. as a terrorist group in 2008. They face charges of conspiring to kill, maim and kidnap persons outside the United States.
The 20-year-old Alessa and the 24-year-old Almonte appeared briefly Monday in U.S. District Court in Newark. Both had curly dark hair and bushy beards and had their feet and hands shackled.
They spoke only to say they understood the charge against them. Both remained in custody pending a bail hearing Thursday.
If convicted, the two men could face life in prison.
Though the alleged plot was arrested before the two men boarded separate Egypt-bound flights from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, federal officials said the two posed a threat to American citizens abroad.
"Sophistication is not necessarily a measure of danger, as we've learned in lots of other cases," U.S. attorney Paul Fishman said outside the courthouse Monday. "I think that we would be remiss if we didn't pay attention to anyone who has the intention to do what these folks are alleged to have done, which is to seek to join a violent jihad to commit acts of violence against people here or abroad."
New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told reporters Sunday that the young men had traveled to Jordan in 2007. From there, they tried to get into Iraq but were turned back, he said.
"It's not unlike other cases that we've seen recently where individuals who express an interest to do 'jihad' go overseas and then are turned around" and "come back to attempt acts of violence in the United States," Kelly said, citing other high-profile cases, like Najibullah Zazi and Faisal Shahzad, both charged with plotting separate acts of terror inside the United States.
State and federal law enforcement agents have been investigating Alessa, of North Bergen, and Almonte, of Elmwood Park, since 2006, intercepting several conversations between the two about beheading Americans and committing acts of terror.
On Nov. 29, 2009, authorities recorded a conversation between Alessa and Almonte in which Alessa allegedly said: "They only fear you when you have a gun and when you -- when you start killing them, and when you -- when you take their head, and you go like this...and you behead it on camera."
"We'll start doing killing here. If I can't do it, over there," Alessa said, according to the U.S. District Attorney's office.
Speaking of Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, charged with killing 13 people and wounding scores of others in a Nov. 5, 2009, massacre, Alessa allegedly told an undercover agent: "He's not better than me. I'll do twice what he did."
Almonte reportedly told the undercover officer in April that there would soon be American troops in Somalia, which he allegedly said was good because it would not be as gratifying to kill only Africans.
"My soul cannot rest until I shed blood," Alessa said, according to court documents. "I wanna, like, be the world's known terrorist."
Alessa, a U.S. citizen of Palestinian descent, and Almonte, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in the Dominican Republican, are scheduled to appear Monday in federal court in Newark.
Alessa and Almonte had planned their trip to Somalia for several months, saving thousands of dollars, undergoing tactical training and test runs at paintball fields to condition themselves physically, and acquiring equipment and clothing they could use when they joined al-Shabab, officials said. Both had reportedly bragged about wanting to wage holy war against the United States both at home and internationally.
Officials said the two men were not planning an imminent attack in the New York-New Jersey area.
A neighbor of Alessa's, Helen Gonyou, said Alessa was attending school and lived with his parents but that she had not seen him in a while. They are good neighbors, she said, adding that she regularly exchanged pleasantries with Alessa's father.
She cautioned against prejudgment and called the charges an "unfortunate set of circumstances."
"I just have to hope that if the case is true, they caught them before they could do bodily harm to anyone," she said.
Fox News' David Lee Miller and the Associated Press contributed to this report
FOXNews.com
Two American men arrested as they allegedly tried to fly to Somalia to join a terrorist group made their first appearance in federal court Monday.
Mohamed Mahmood Alessa and Carlos Eduardo Almonte are accused of trying to join al-Shabab, which was designated by the U.S. as a terrorist group in 2008. They face charges of conspiring to kill, maim and kidnap persons outside the United States.
The 20-year-old Alessa and the 24-year-old Almonte appeared briefly Monday in U.S. District Court in Newark. Both had curly dark hair and bushy beards and had their feet and hands shackled.
They spoke only to say they understood the charge against them. Both remained in custody pending a bail hearing Thursday.
If convicted, the two men could face life in prison.
Though the alleged plot was arrested before the two men boarded separate Egypt-bound flights from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, federal officials said the two posed a threat to American citizens abroad.
"Sophistication is not necessarily a measure of danger, as we've learned in lots of other cases," U.S. attorney Paul Fishman said outside the courthouse Monday. "I think that we would be remiss if we didn't pay attention to anyone who has the intention to do what these folks are alleged to have done, which is to seek to join a violent jihad to commit acts of violence against people here or abroad."
New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told reporters Sunday that the young men had traveled to Jordan in 2007. From there, they tried to get into Iraq but were turned back, he said.
"It's not unlike other cases that we've seen recently where individuals who express an interest to do 'jihad' go overseas and then are turned around" and "come back to attempt acts of violence in the United States," Kelly said, citing other high-profile cases, like Najibullah Zazi and Faisal Shahzad, both charged with plotting separate acts of terror inside the United States.
State and federal law enforcement agents have been investigating Alessa, of North Bergen, and Almonte, of Elmwood Park, since 2006, intercepting several conversations between the two about beheading Americans and committing acts of terror.
On Nov. 29, 2009, authorities recorded a conversation between Alessa and Almonte in which Alessa allegedly said: "They only fear you when you have a gun and when you -- when you start killing them, and when you -- when you take their head, and you go like this...and you behead it on camera."
"We'll start doing killing here. If I can't do it, over there," Alessa said, according to the U.S. District Attorney's office.
Speaking of Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, charged with killing 13 people and wounding scores of others in a Nov. 5, 2009, massacre, Alessa allegedly told an undercover agent: "He's not better than me. I'll do twice what he did."
Almonte reportedly told the undercover officer in April that there would soon be American troops in Somalia, which he allegedly said was good because it would not be as gratifying to kill only Africans.
"My soul cannot rest until I shed blood," Alessa said, according to court documents. "I wanna, like, be the world's known terrorist."
Alessa, a U.S. citizen of Palestinian descent, and Almonte, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in the Dominican Republican, are scheduled to appear Monday in federal court in Newark.
Alessa and Almonte had planned their trip to Somalia for several months, saving thousands of dollars, undergoing tactical training and test runs at paintball fields to condition themselves physically, and acquiring equipment and clothing they could use when they joined al-Shabab, officials said. Both had reportedly bragged about wanting to wage holy war against the United States both at home and internationally.
Officials said the two men were not planning an imminent attack in the New York-New Jersey area.
A neighbor of Alessa's, Helen Gonyou, said Alessa was attending school and lived with his parents but that she had not seen him in a while. They are good neighbors, she said, adding that she regularly exchanged pleasantries with Alessa's father.
She cautioned against prejudgment and called the charges an "unfortunate set of circumstances."
"I just have to hope that if the case is true, they caught them before they could do bodily harm to anyone," she said.
Fox News' David Lee Miller and the Associated Press contributed to this report
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Some oil spill events from Wednesday, June 2, 2010
By The Associated Press
6-2-2010
A summary of events on Wednesday, June 2, Day 43 of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that began with the April 20 explosion and fire on the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, owned by Transocean Ltd. and leased by BP PLC, which is in charge of cleanup and containment. The blast killed 11 workers. Since then, oil has been pouring into the Gulf from a blown-out undersea well.
OVERVIEW
As the crude crept closer to Florida, the risky effort to contain the nation's worst oil spill hit a snag Wednesday.
PIPE CUTTING
A diamond-edged saw got stuck in a thick pipe on a blown-out well at the bottom of the Gulf. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said the goal was to free the saw and finish the cut later in the day. A mile underwater, robot subs wielded tools akin to oversized garden shears to break away part of the broken riser pipe so engineers can then position a cap over the well's opening. Even if it succeeds, it will temporarily increase the huge leak's flow by 20 percent — at least 100,000 gallons more a day. That's on top of the estimated 500,000 to 1 million gallons gushing out already. BP's best chance to actually plug the leak rests with a pair of relief wells. Those won't likely be completed until August.
OBAMA
President Barack Obama said it was time to roll back billions of dollars in tax breaks for oil companies and use the money for clean energy research and development. He said the catastrophic Gulf oil spill shows the country must move toward clean energy, tapping natural gas and nuclear power and eliminating tax breaks for big oil.
OIL SPREADS
Florida officials confirmed an oil sheen about seven miles from the famous white sands of Pensacola beach. Thunderstorms were making it difficult to track the slick. Crews shored up miles of boom and prepared for the mess to make landfall as early as Wednesday. Florida would be the fourth state hit. Crude has already been reported along barrier islands in Alabama and Mississippi, and it has mucked up some 125 miles of Louisiana coastline.
SHAREHOLDER DIVIDENDS
Two Democratic senators are pressing BP to delay plans to pay shareholder dividends worth an expected $10 billion or more until the full costs for cleaning up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are calculated. Senators Charles Schumer of New York and Ron Wyden of Oregon called it "unfathomable" that BP would pay out a dividend to shareholders before the total cost of the cleanup is known.
NEW WELL
Federal regulators on Wednesday approved the first new Gulf of Mexico oil well since President Barack Obama lifted a brief ban on drilling in shallow water. Deepwater projects remained frozen after the massive BP spill. The Minerals Management Service granted a new drilling permit sought by Bandon Oil and Gas for a site off the coast of Louisiana and 115 feet below the ocean's surface. It's south of Rockefeller State Wildlife Refuge and Game Preserve, far to the west of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that triggered the BP spill.
PR SPOOF
A spoof on BP's oil spill public relations has brought in $10,000 for a nonprofit conservation group for the Gulf of Mexico. Gulf Restoration Network official Aaron Viles says the person who has been tweeting as "BPGlobalPR" put $10,000 into the organization's PayPal account Wednesday. And Viles says there's a promise of more if the tweeter's T-shirts satirizing BP keep selling.
HOW MANY GALLONS?
Since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, eventually collapsing into the Gulf of Mexico, an estimated 21 million to 45 million gallons of oil has spewed, eclipsing the 11 million that leaked from the Exxon Valdez disaster.
CONSERVATIVES
Ben Brooks, a lawyer and Republican state senator from coastal Alabama, says he's no fan of big government but he expects an aggressive federal response to the oil spill. "There's nothing inherently contradictory in saying we believe in smaller government and demanding that the government protect public safety," Brooks said. He's not alone. All along the Gulf Coast, where the tea party thrives and "socialism" is a common description for any government program, conservatives who usually denounce federal activism suddenly are clamoring for it.
CELEBRITIES
As oil continues to pour into the Gulf of Mexico, actress Victoria Principal has stepped up with a $200,000 donation to help clean things up. Oceana and the Natural Resources Defense Council say the former "Dallas" star wants the two nonprofits to work together to address the damage along the Gulf Coast and support a shift toward renewable energy. Other celebrities also have become involved. Ted Danson, who is on Oceana's board of directors, is an outspoken critic of offshore drilling. Director James Cameron met with officials to share his expertise on underwater filming and remote vehicle technologies. And Kevin Costner has invested more than $24 million to develop devices now under consideration to help clean up the spill.
6-2-2010
A summary of events on Wednesday, June 2, Day 43 of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that began with the April 20 explosion and fire on the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, owned by Transocean Ltd. and leased by BP PLC, which is in charge of cleanup and containment. The blast killed 11 workers. Since then, oil has been pouring into the Gulf from a blown-out undersea well.
OVERVIEW
As the crude crept closer to Florida, the risky effort to contain the nation's worst oil spill hit a snag Wednesday.
PIPE CUTTING
A diamond-edged saw got stuck in a thick pipe on a blown-out well at the bottom of the Gulf. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said the goal was to free the saw and finish the cut later in the day. A mile underwater, robot subs wielded tools akin to oversized garden shears to break away part of the broken riser pipe so engineers can then position a cap over the well's opening. Even if it succeeds, it will temporarily increase the huge leak's flow by 20 percent — at least 100,000 gallons more a day. That's on top of the estimated 500,000 to 1 million gallons gushing out already. BP's best chance to actually plug the leak rests with a pair of relief wells. Those won't likely be completed until August.
OBAMA
President Barack Obama said it was time to roll back billions of dollars in tax breaks for oil companies and use the money for clean energy research and development. He said the catastrophic Gulf oil spill shows the country must move toward clean energy, tapping natural gas and nuclear power and eliminating tax breaks for big oil.
OIL SPREADS
Florida officials confirmed an oil sheen about seven miles from the famous white sands of Pensacola beach. Thunderstorms were making it difficult to track the slick. Crews shored up miles of boom and prepared for the mess to make landfall as early as Wednesday. Florida would be the fourth state hit. Crude has already been reported along barrier islands in Alabama and Mississippi, and it has mucked up some 125 miles of Louisiana coastline.
SHAREHOLDER DIVIDENDS
Two Democratic senators are pressing BP to delay plans to pay shareholder dividends worth an expected $10 billion or more until the full costs for cleaning up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are calculated. Senators Charles Schumer of New York and Ron Wyden of Oregon called it "unfathomable" that BP would pay out a dividend to shareholders before the total cost of the cleanup is known.
NEW WELL
Federal regulators on Wednesday approved the first new Gulf of Mexico oil well since President Barack Obama lifted a brief ban on drilling in shallow water. Deepwater projects remained frozen after the massive BP spill. The Minerals Management Service granted a new drilling permit sought by Bandon Oil and Gas for a site off the coast of Louisiana and 115 feet below the ocean's surface. It's south of Rockefeller State Wildlife Refuge and Game Preserve, far to the west of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that triggered the BP spill.
PR SPOOF
A spoof on BP's oil spill public relations has brought in $10,000 for a nonprofit conservation group for the Gulf of Mexico. Gulf Restoration Network official Aaron Viles says the person who has been tweeting as "BPGlobalPR" put $10,000 into the organization's PayPal account Wednesday. And Viles says there's a promise of more if the tweeter's T-shirts satirizing BP keep selling.
HOW MANY GALLONS?
Since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, eventually collapsing into the Gulf of Mexico, an estimated 21 million to 45 million gallons of oil has spewed, eclipsing the 11 million that leaked from the Exxon Valdez disaster.
CONSERVATIVES
Ben Brooks, a lawyer and Republican state senator from coastal Alabama, says he's no fan of big government but he expects an aggressive federal response to the oil spill. "There's nothing inherently contradictory in saying we believe in smaller government and demanding that the government protect public safety," Brooks said. He's not alone. All along the Gulf Coast, where the tea party thrives and "socialism" is a common description for any government program, conservatives who usually denounce federal activism suddenly are clamoring for it.
CELEBRITIES
As oil continues to pour into the Gulf of Mexico, actress Victoria Principal has stepped up with a $200,000 donation to help clean things up. Oceana and the Natural Resources Defense Council say the former "Dallas" star wants the two nonprofits to work together to address the damage along the Gulf Coast and support a shift toward renewable energy. Other celebrities also have become involved. Ted Danson, who is on Oceana's board of directors, is an outspoken critic of offshore drilling. Director James Cameron met with officials to share his expertise on underwater filming and remote vehicle technologies. And Kevin Costner has invested more than $24 million to develop devices now under consideration to help clean up the spill.
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