Sunday, May 29, 2011

U.S. enables Chinese hacking of Google

Google users in Hong Kong hold a banner saying, "Say no to Internet censorship: Google, well done!"

Editor's note: Bruce Schneier is a security technologist and author of "Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly About Security in an Uncertain World." Read more of his writing at http://www.schneier.com/

(CNN) -- Google made headlines when it went public with the fact that Chinese hackers had penetrated some of its services, such as Gmail, in a politically motivated attempt at intelligence gathering. The news here isn't that Chinese hackers engage in these activities or that their attempts are technically sophisticated -- we knew that already -- it's that the U.S. government inadvertently aided the hackers.

In order to comply with government search warrants on user data, Google created a backdoor access system into Gmail accounts. This feature is what the Chinese hackers exploited to gain access.

Google's system isn't unique. Democratic governments around the world -- in Sweden, Canada and the UK, for example -- are rushing to pass laws giving their police new powers of Internet surveillance, in many cases requiring communications system providers to redesign products and services they sell.

Many are also passing data retention laws, forcing companies to retain information on their customers. In the U.S., the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act required phone companies to facilitate FBI eavesdropping, and since 2001, the National Security Agency has built substantial eavesdropping systems with the help of those phone companies.

Systems like these invite misuse: criminal appropriation, government abuse and stretching by everyone possible to apply to situations that are applicable only by the most tortuous logic. The FBI illegally wiretapped the phones of Americans, often falsely invoking terrorism emergencies, 3,500 times between 2002 and 2006 without a warrant. Internet surveillance and control will be no different.
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Official misuses are bad enough, but it's the unofficial uses that worry me more. Any surveillance and control system must itself be secured. An infrastructure conducive to surveillance and control invites surveillance and control, both by the people you expect and by the people you don't.

China's hackers subverted the access system Google put in place to comply with U.S. intercept orders. Why does anyone think criminals won't be able to use the same system to steal bank account and credit card information, use it to launch other attacks or turn it into a massive spam-sending network? Why does anyone think that only authorized law enforcement can mine collected Internet data or eavesdrop on phone and IM conversations?

These risks are not merely theoretical. After September 11, the NSA built a surveillance infrastructure to eavesdrop on telephone calls and e-mails within the U.S. Although procedural rules stated that only non-Americans and international phone calls were to be listened to, actual practice didn't match those rules. NSA analysts collected more data than they were authorized to and used the system to spy on wives, girlfriends and notables such as President Clinton.

But that's not the most serious misuse of a telecommunications surveillance infrastructure. In Greece, between June 2004 and March 2005, someone wiretapped more than 100 cell phones belonging to members of the Greek government: the prime minister and the ministers of defense, foreign affairs and justice.

Ericsson built this wiretapping capability into Vodafone's products and enabled it only for governments that requested it. Greece wasn't one of those governments, but someone still unknown -- A rival political party? Organized crime? Foreign intelligence? -- figured out how to surreptitiously turn the feature on.

And surveillance infrastructure can be exported, which also aids totalitarianism around the world. Western companies like Siemens and Nokia built Iran's surveillance. U.S. companies helped build China's electronic police state. Just last year, Twitter's anonymity saved the lives of Iranian dissidents, anonymity that many governments want to eliminate.

In the aftermath of Google's announcement, some members of Congress are reviving a bill banning U.S. tech companies from working with governments that digitally spy on their citizens. Presumably, those legislators don't understand that their own government is on the list.

This problem isn't going away. Every year brings more Internet censorship and control, not just in countries like China and Iran but in the U.S., the U.K., Canada and other free countries, egged on by both law enforcement trying to catch terrorists, child pornographers and other criminals and by media companies trying to stop file sharers.

The problem is that such control makes us all less safe. Whether the eavesdroppers are the good guys or the bad guys, these systems put us all at greater risk. Communications systems that have no inherent eavesdropping capabilities are more secure than systems with those capabilities built in. And it's bad civic hygiene to build technologies that could someday be used to facilitate a police state.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bruce Schneier.

'Revolution' artist Gil Scott-Heron dies

'Revolution' artist Gil Scott-Heron dies


(CNN) -- Gil Scott-Heron, a poet and musician best known for the song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," died Friday, his publicist at XL Recordings said.

Born in 1949, Scott-Heron was known for his poetry and soul works in the late 1960s and early 1970s, according to his official website.

His early albums, "Pieces of a Man" and "Winter in America," has been credited with influencing other musical genres like hip hop.

After a 13-year hiatus from making music, Scott-Heron put out a new album last year called "I'm New Here."

Some Yemeni residents flee homes as clashes rage

Some Yemeni residents flee homes as clashes rage
Yemeni anti-government protesters in Sanaa shout slogans Saturday calling for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.


Some Yemeni residents heeded calls to evacuate parts of their capital city Saturday in expectation of further clashes between the country's long-time president Ali Abdullah Saleh and tribal leaders, but most remained firmly entrenched in their homes, according to witnesses.

The order was carried out by members of the country's Republican Guard and law enforcement, who warned residents in city neighbourhoods of more confrontations after tensions flared Friday between Nehm tribesmen and soldiers of the Republican Guard.

The tribesmen said the soldiers attacked a village, but tribal fighters, battling back, managed to take over military compounds.

Meanwhile, armed tribesmen were seen massing at four locations around the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, witnesses said, as well as near the house of Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar, the leader of the powerful al-Hashid tribe whose forces oppose the government.

Love, Down Under: Dating agency matches single women to farmers

Love, Down Under: Dating agency matches single women to farmers
"Brides" pursue a single male on a race track as part of a radio promotion in Brisbane, Australia.


Pop singer Beyonce told single ladies to put their hands up, but maybe she should have directed them Down Under.

A dating agency is shuttling busloads of single women to rural areas in hopes that they’ll find lonely farmers, according to an article in the London Telegraph.

Contacted by CNN late Friday, Brie Peters said she got the idea for the single women tours from a chance encounter.

“I’m lucky enough to have some friends that live in the outback of Australia,” she said, “and we were at a pub one night and the pub owner said, ‘Brie, you’ll be interested in this, ‘I know a lot of single women that send me letters’ ” looking for rural men, she said.

Peters said she came up with a tour service, Thank Goodness He’s a Country Boy, that caters to women but also addresses a serious issue in Australia's urban areas: Evidently it's where the boys aren't.

In 2008 a book by author Bernard Salt stated Australia had nearly 100,000 more women than men in its metropolitan areas. The book even had maps that showed where the guys were.

Is it that bad for single women in Australia, particularly in New South Wales, Queensland and Melbourne, areas where Peters operates her agency?

In February a Brisbane radio station ran a promotion, Running of the Brides, that pitted women in bridal dresses in a race after one man. The pre-Valentines Day stunt was a gas, but the event was put on after statistics that showed there were seven women to every one man in the city.

Peters, who also owns an event company, said she remains single despite running into great guys every time she organizes a tour.

“What we do is we take the city girls out to the country and throughout the day. The women get fully pampered, they get makeup, they go out to eat and the guys put on a massive show,” she said.

Peters said she’s been doing the tours for about six months now and has an “85% success rate.” She said her biggest outing consisted of 200 women heading to the dust roads and Outback bush in search of menfolk.

But don’t think the men aren’t screened, Peters said.

“I try to go out into the town and meet as many of the guys as I can beforehand,” she said, “because many of them are shy. They aren’t just farmers, either. They are plumbers, run-of-the-mill normal, ordinary men.”

The girls night out does come with a cost: Peters said she charges $350 for women and $50 for men.

Macabre body ID process adds to Joplin's pain

Macabre body ID process adds to Joplin's pain
A spray-painted message sums up the helplessness -- and hope -- some feel in Joplin, Missouri, after a tornado hit the city.


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A Newton County, Missouri, official said authorities would begin streamlining the process of identifying bodies Saturday in Joplin in the aftermath of a killer tornado.

"The decision was made that if a person can make a positive ID, let’s say for instance … piercings or tattoos," said Mark Bridges of the Newton County, Missouri, coroner’s office, "[Saturday] we’re gonna start the process of allowing those people to view the bodies of the loved ones."

"We’re going to go ahead and start releasing those bodies," he said.

Already frayed nerves reached a boiling point Friday in Joplin, Missouri, as families trying to retrieve their dead loved ones were stalled by cautious medical examiners meticulously trying to sort remains.

The deadliest tornado ever recorded in the U.S. smashed through the city Sunday, killing 132 people and leaving more than 156 unaccounted for.

While acknowledging families’ frustration, Bridges told CNN’s Eliott Spitzer that they were making “good progress” in identifying bodies.

Bridges said the coroners were trying to avoid a horror that had unfortunately already taken place.

“The situation that we had early on is we had some family members that made identification on an individual and they got him to a mortuary, got him embalmed, got him dressed and when they went back [to prepare visitation services] it was not their son,” he said. “So the Jasper County Coroner ... clamped it [streamlined identification] down at that time.”

But that was little comfort for residents like Divine Akino, who lost her mother in the twister.

The Kansas City, Missouri, resident said her mother’s body was released Friday morning, one of the first, but only after days of agonizing bureaucratic red tape.

“We just want to claim our dead bodies,” Akino said. “It was a little frustrating because we kept asking them, ‘Where is the help that we’re getting?' " she said, referring to the coroner's office. "Is this where our tax dollars are going?”

Akino said her mother was worshipping at the evening service at Harmony Heights Baptist Church when the tornado tore the walls down.

Drawn to the Bible's message of salvation, Grace Akino was a religious woman, her daughter said.

“She named me Divine because I was the first born. She and my dad met through a missionary in the Philippines,” she said.

Grace Akino's body was found covering her 12-year-son, who survived, Divine Akino said.

A visitation service for Grace Akino drew more than 200 people late Friday, her daughter said.

Afghans, NATO investigate airstrike that reportedly killed 12 children



Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- An investigation was underway Sunday into allegations that a coalition airstrike in southern Afghanistan killed a dozen children and two women, Afghan and NATO officials said.

In a statement, Afghan President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned the airstrike, saying he was warning the U.S military and government "for the last time" on behalf of the Afghan people about civilian deaths. He called the operation a mistake, but offered a different death toll, saying 10 children, two women and two men were killed.

The civilians were reportedly killed Saturday during an airstrike against insurgents who were attacking NATO-led International Security Assistance Force troops in the Nawzad district of the Helmand province, according to a spokesman for the provincial governor.

The death toll, if confirmed, would make it the largest loss of civilian life this year as a result of an ISAF airstrike.

ISAF confirmed there was an attack against its troops, though it did not know whether civilians were killed.

"We do know about the allegations," Navy Lt. Cmdr. Ronald Flesvig, an ISAF spokesman, told CNN. There was no mention of possible civilian casualties on ISAF's daily operational update posted daily on its website.

Both ISAF and Afghan investigators were looking into the claims, which came from residents as well as the district governor, said Daud Ahamadi, the ISAF spokesman.

Residents, according to Ahamadi, said an ISAF helicopter conducted the airstrike, which hit two houses where women and children were staying.

Helmand province, a Taliban-stronghold that borders Pakistan, has been the scene of intense fighting this month since insurgents lauched their so-called spring offensive.

Anger in Afghanistan and Pakistan over civilian casualties has mounted in recent months following NATO airstrikes that have killed dozens along their shared border.

In March, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates offered a personal apology to Afghan President Hamid Karzai for the killings of nine boys in a helicopter attack targeting insurgents.

The top coalition commander in Afghanistan has warned of a likely increase in high-profile attacks by insurgents looking to demonstrate their ability to strike. In a letter this month to ISAF forces, U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus said the attacks may increase the risk of civilian casualties and put Afghan and ISAF forces in difficult situations.

Meanwhile, a bombing in northern Afghanistan that killed a top Afghan official and wounded a German general Saturday came as tribal leaders warned that insurgent attacks were discouraging some civilians from cooperating with security efforts, officials said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing at a high-level meeting of Afghan and ISAF officials, the latest in a series of attacks that have rocked Afghanistan following the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

During meetings last week with senior Afghan ministers and ISAF officials in the volatile Zabul province, civilians "cautioned that insurgent intimidation has discouraged cooperation from some citizens," according to an ISAF statement released Saturday.

Provincial Gov. Mohammed Neseri warned residents to do their part to protect themselves.

"Insurgents cannot intimidate citizens if everyone is united in defending their homes and their villages," Neseri said, according to the statement.

The attack Saturday in the northern Takhar province town of Taloqan occurred at a high-level meeting of Afghan and coalition officials in a governor's office, a provincial spokesman said.

The officials were gathered to talk about security following a May 18 protest in front of a NATO compound where German soldiers opened fire on demonstrators, who they claimed had become violent, German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere told reporters.

The blast Saturday killed seven people, including Gen. Dawood Dawood -- a well-known Afghan regional police chief who was one of the country's lead point-persons in eradicating opium poppy fields, said Faiz Mohammad Tawhidi, a spokesman for Takhar provincial Gov. Abdul Jabar Taqwa.

Dawood was a veteran anti-Soviet and anti-Taliban resistance commander, he said.

Also killed were two German soldiers, a provincial police chief, the governor's secretary and two guards, according to Tawhidi and Qari Sadiqullah, secretary of the provincial council.

Among the eight wounded was Maj. Gen. Markus Kneip, a veteran German officer and the regional head of the ISAF across nine provinces of northern Afghanistan, de Maiziere said.

The provincial governor was also wounded, Taqwa said.

In a phone call to CNN, Taliban spokesman Zabulliah Mojahed claimed responsibility for the attack.

Mojahed said Taliban fighters targeted the officials because they were making plans in the meeting to "launch an operation against the Taliban in the north."

"After our mujahedeen found (out) about this meeting, then it was targeted by our suicide bomber," he told CNN from an unknown location.

ISAF spokesman Rear Adm. Vic Beck condemned what he called "the senseless murder of these Afghans and coalition members who have fought so hard for the people of Afghanistan.

"ISAF will remain relentless in our support to our Afghan partners to find those responsible and bring them to justice," he said.

Guardiola to stay at champions Barca

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Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola wants to stay on for another season at the Nou Camp after leading his team to a second Champions League title in three seasons.

Barca produced a masterclass to take home the trophy after a 3-1 win over Manchester United at Wembley, but there had been speculation the match would be Guardiola's last.

Guardiola, who signed a contract extension until the end of next season, had been linked with the vacant Chelsea hot seat and a new challenge in the Premier League.

However, after securing a fourth European Cup for Barca, the 40-year-old said: "I've the intention to continue one more year and after we will see. You have girls falling at your feet when you win but that can change overnight."

Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi - who scored Barcelona's crucial second goal - shone as Barcelona powered to the Champions League title and Guardiola admitted he might not have players of such class if he moved clubs.

"My future will be very tough as I'll be at another club with other players, thinking 'where are these kinds of players?' added Guardiola. "A coach depends on the players."

"I feel privileged to have these players. Everyone has worked towards this. We are very happy. But I have to look inside of me. I am happy to be here as coach of these guys. but it is not an easy job."

Guardiola also believes it is not realistic to try to emulate the 25 years opposite number Sir Alex Ferguson has been at the helm at Old Trafford in Spain.

"In England it can be 25 years, in Spain it is impossible," said Guardiola. "They are different ways. For him to be manager for 25 years and create new teams and new teams he has my admiration. I know it is difficult."

Guardiola has won 10 titles - including two European Cups - in his three years in charge of the club he served as a player for 17 years.

2NE1 wins Inkigayo Mutizen + other performances

SBS’s Inkigayo is back once again, and this week’s show was full of amazing and fun performances from the top participating K-pop artists!

The ‘Take 7‘ nominees for this week’s show were B2ST (“Fiction“), SISTAR19 (“Ma Boy“), Heo Young Saeng (“Let It Go“), Baek Ji Young (“As Usual“), Lim Jeong Hee (“Golden Lady“), 2NE1 (“Lonely“), and December (“Beautiful Woman“). SISTAR19 and Lim Jeong Hee did not perform.

We had a new winner this week, as the Mutizen winner was announced to be 2NE1!

Congratulations to 2NE1!

===

Winner

Interview

Don’t Cry

Lonely

===

Others who performed included NS Yoon Ji, X-5, Dal Shabet, Norazo, 5dolls, Eru, Jewelry, and f(x).

===

MC Cut

X-5

Dal Shabet

NS Yoon Ji

5dolls

December

Jewelry

Heo Young Saeng

f(x)

B2ST

Fergie insists Berbatov did not storm out

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson insists Dimitar Berbatov did not storm out of Wembley after being dumped from the squad to face Barcelona in the Champions League final on Saturday night.
Berbatov, a £30 million signing from Tottenham Hotspur in 2009 and the joint leading scorer in the Premier League this season, wasn't expected to start the game, which United lost 3-1, but failed even to make the bench.

Early reports suggested Berbatov had left Wembley after being told of his omission and the Sunday newspapers are full of speculation about the Bulgarian's future, or lack of it, at Old Trafford.

However, Ferguson insists that Berbatov did not throw a wobbler and was in the United dressing room after the final whistle. The United boss also said his decision to leave out the 30-year-old had prompted "heartache" in the build-up to the match.

"For Berbatov it was a difficult decision," said Ferguson. "Picking my team I found easy, but picking my subs I found very difficult. I tended to overload the midfield positions because I thought that was the position that was most important.

"I gambled with just one defender (on the bench) to allow me to get as many options in midfield and wide positions. It was a choice between Michael Owen and Dimitar Berbatov and if you are looking for someone to nick a goal in the last few minutes you want Owen's experience."

Berbatov is entering the last year of his contract at Old Trafford and he has been linked with a return to Tottenham.

A Pink’s Eunji shows off her vocal talent on MBC’s “Quiz That Changes the World”

On May 28th, A Pink’s main vocalist Jung Eunji guested on MBC’s “Quiz That Changes the World” and wowed viewers with a stunning cover of Maya’s “Shouting.

Originally from Busan, panelists immediately noticed her Busan accent. Coincidentally, Simon D, the representative celebrity for the Busan dialect, was also guesting on the show.

When asked whether she had met him previously, she copied Simon D’s tone of voice by replying, “I met him on a broadcast program once, and he asked me where I was from immediately. I said somewhere from Busan and he called me cute.”

Simon D smugly stated, “I do represent the Busan dialect. Everyone copies me since they know what will make them succeed.“ Eunji quickly retorted, “I didn’t copy, I just always use Busan’s dialect.”

One of the panelists jokingly remarked, “Busan kids are always bickering with each other!”

Messi proud of 'better team' Barca

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Messi grabbed his side's second goal - and a record-equalling 12th of the competition - to put them on course for an eventual 3-1 win over Manchester United at Wembley.

Pedro and David Villa got Barcelona's other goals, with Wayne Rooney's first-half equaliser for United eventually nothing more than a consolation.

Messi was subsequently named man-of-the-match for his overall display, but the 23-year-old insisted that it was a triumph built on collective spirit rather than individual skill - and that ultimately the right team won.

"To be the man-of-the-match is the least important thing, because it was incredible how we played. We were very good in all areas," Messi said. "We're very happy to lift another trophy.

"It was a difficult season but we showed who we are. We were the better team."

Nevertheless, Messi's team-mates paid tribute to the Argentine, with Xavi saying: "He is the number one, he makes the difference - he is just the best player in the world."

The lifting of the trophy saw a poignant moment, as club captain Carles Puyol deferred the armband to Eric Abidal, who only two months earlier had suffered a severe health scare that resulted in a tumour being removed from his liver.

"Even before all of this, we said our biggest victory, our most important trophy, was the recovery of Abi," Dani Alves noted. "We put on a spectacle for everyone who is passionate about football and who loves football.

"And I think that people who really like football will be very happy today because they have seen a great match."

Friday, May 27, 2011

Did Lee DeWyze Snub Scotty McCreery, American Idol?

In the wake of Scotty McCreery's American Idol triumph, the country is asking multiple questions today?

  1. Did he deserve to win? It's debatable.
  2. Are Lauren and Scotty dating? No.
  3. Did Lee DeWyze snub the show last night? Sort of.

Typically, the previous winner ends up on the stage to congratulate the new champ and hand him/her a trophy. But DeWyze was seated in the fifth row at the finale, and Ryan Seacrest never even mentioned his name.

What happened?

The 10th American IdolNinth Idol

According to producer Nigel Lythgoe, DeWyze refused to be a good sport. The producer Tweeted today: "I was so upset Lee DeWyze wouldn't present the winners trophy to Scotty. Especially as he's been on the show this Season. I guess he was shy."

Andrew Garfield and Shannon Woodward: It's Over!

Andrew Garfield is no longer in a relationship with Shannon Woodward.

The 27-year-old Social Network star has broken up with the Raising Hope actress, his girlfriend since 2008, Us Weekly sadly confirms this afternoon.

A source says that the British actor and Woodward grew apart as he "got deeper into filming The Amazing Spider-Man; he literally never saw her."

Andrew Garfield and Shannon Woodward

The insider adds that Woodward is "telling people they're on a break... [but] they haven't spoken to each other in weeks." Sounds like it's over.

[Photo: WENN.com]

Will MLS rules hinder future growth?

Some day, when Major League Soccer's history is no longer counted in years but in decades, maybe we'll look back on the current transfer window as the dawning of an era -- a time when the league truly came of age.

That things might have turned a corner for the league forever grappling for commercial traction was evident when the Chicago Fire hosted the New York Red Bulls on Aug. 8. With five well-known designated players (four of them recent signings) on the field, it was undeniable that MLS's on-field product, a focus of the league since its inception, had leaped forward.

But if there was indeed a watershed moment, it was an unlikely one. The Designated Player program was instituted in 2007 to facilitate the signing of David Beckham by the Los Angeles Galaxy and to allow other teams the marketing cachet of fielding one big-name player without restrictions on what they could pay him, while getting to count only part of his salary toward the salary cap. But before this season, the initiative looked to be dying a slow death.

In its inaugural year, four designated players were signed in a league of 13 teams. In 2008, that number went up to seven among 14 teams. In 2009, as the league expanded to 15 teams, the number of DPs grew to eight. But before this season's July transfer window, the league was down to five DPs with few teams showing much enthusiasm for the program after several high-profile imports had fizzled quickly.

Only after an April rule change allowing for a second DP slot (without having to trade for one) and even a third -- which can be bought from the league for a $250,000 fee (which is redistributed among teams) -- did the program get a jolt and result in a flurry of signings. In just two months, six DPs were signed while Blaise Nkufo, who had been signed to a DP contract in March and the Galaxy's Landon Donovan, no longer grandfathered into the program, helped bump the number of DPs to 12. (While Houston DP Luis Angel Landin has been released in the meantime, two additional signings have brought the number to 14.)

[+] EnlargeJuan Pablo Angel
Mike Stobe/New York Red Bulls/Getty ImagesJuan Pablo Angel, acquired by New York during the initial season that the designated player rule came into effect, has been joined by fellow DP signings Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez this season.

The new rules made it considerably easier to sign designated players by reducing the part of their salary (which has to be over the $335,000 a year maximum in place for regular players) that counts against the team's cap. Instead of $415,000 (2009's value), a DP will now only cost a team $335,000 against its $2.55 million salary cap. "I think that's important because you want to have the right pieces around your designated player," said DC United general manager Dave Kasper.

That said, it also means that more of the overrun on the DP's salary will be left for the team's owners to pony up. The payroll that is within the salary cap is financed by the league, which draws its income from a revenue sharing system. "You have to understand that it's a burden on the team owners as well," said Houston Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear. "It's not just salary cap money but it's money above and beyond that.

"I think it's a little bit easier to sign a DP now but I also think with expansion and the thinning of squads it makes it a little bit more of a priority," said Kinnear. "At first it was a novelty to sign a DP and now it's becoming almost commonplace."

What has been fostered is an environment in which teams get to choose for themselves how they fill out the roster, rather than be subjected to a top-down approach orchestrated by the league. "We wanted the teams who wanted to build their roster on star power to have the possibility to do that. But teams that want to focus on a different thing, such as youth development, are put in a place where they have the same competitive ability to win the MLS Cup," said MLS executive vice president Todd Durbin. "All of it was designed to be competitively neutral."

Even within the decision to bring in one or several DPs, a number of approaches are emerging. Some teams, according to Kasper, opt to bring in big names, like recent Red Bulls signings Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez. "They drive you commercially but they also do the business on the field," said Kasper. "Those are harder to find. It's hard to identify a player who is in the right period of his career and has a lot of playing time left who can drive you commercially." Other teams, like United, are opting for what Kasper calls "lower-end DPs," like recent United signing Branko Boskovic and Seattle Sounders recruit Nkufo, who are serviceable and more affordable players but whose promotional value is much more limited.

"The measure of the rule is that teams can be competitive irrespective of the approach they want to take," said Durbin. But many see that luxury of getting to choose which approach to use to build a roster as an obstacle. Some clubs would like to surround their DPs with the best players possible, but the tight salary cap makes that difficult.

"I respect and I understand the development of the league and I think the salary cap you have in this country is sensible, a lot of European countries should have the same," said Red Bulls general manager Erik Soler. "But for me the size of the cap at the moment is a very large barrier for what kind of players you can bring in."

New York isn't alone in its frustration with the still stringent budget and roster limitations, implemented to avoid the financial recklessness that sank MLS' predecessor, the North American Soccer League. Several other rich clubs find it cumbersome. "We have [salary] cap issues; we have roster space issues," said Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer. "From a financial standpoint, our club would certainly consider three designated players if we could make the rest of the math work. (Seattle now has two.) We're playing in three competitions right now so we need quality and depth. We were able to at midseason get a designated player who hit our salary cap at $167.5k. (For DPs signed in the middle of a season, only half their salary counts toward the cap.) But next year they will hit at $335k each and we'll have some very difficult decisions to make."

"The other challenge is that the designated players hit the cap at $335k," added Hanauer. "If you have three of them, that's a little more than $1 million on a not enormous salary cap, so you're really having to balance. You can either have three highly compensated players and really boot-strap the rest of your roster, or you can try to balance your roster without highly compensated players. In doing the simple math, if you have a roster of 20 senior players and three of them are taking a million of the cap, then 17 of them are taking up $1.5 million -- which is about $88k per player, and that's a challenge." There aren't too many established quality players who will work for $88k, after all.

[+] EnlargeBlaise Nkufo
Otto Greule Jr/Getty ImagesThe Seattle Sounders added Blaise Nkufo as a designated player signing after the forward competed with Switzerland's team at the 2010 World Cup.

Kinnear said that Houston can't sign a DP until it manages to free up cap space.

Hanauer's other issue with the DP program is that it needlessly labels certain members of the locker room, creating a 23+1 or 22+2 situation. "I hate the designated player moniker and what it represents -- singling out one or two players as designated. We call people designated players, I think it's kind of stupid," he said. "You have players all over the world and some are paid a lot of money and some are paid not a lot of money and sometimes they sit in locker rooms together. There are no designations for players elsewhere around the world."

Also unpopular with the more spendthrift is a clause docking a club's salary budget for any transfer fees it pays. MLS clubs haven't been known to pay transfer fees. This was long assumed to just be a business policy for clubs but could have more to do with league rules. Seattle recently paid Uruguayan club Nacional an undisclosed transfer fee for 24-year-old midfielder Alvaro Fernandez, according to Hanauer, believed to be one of the first such transactions in league history.

Seattle paid a steep price, not just in the fee for the rights to the player, but also the repercussions thereof. "Between the transfer fee and the salary, he's a DP, and without the transfer fee he would have not been a designated player," said Hanauer. Fernandez's transfer fee was divided by the number of years he signed for, and that amount counted against Seattle's salary cap in addition to the player's salary, taking him over the $335,000 limit and pushing him into DP territory. That means he not only takes up a DP slot but also counts more heavily against the team's already snug cap space.

The situation could eventually stunt the growth of the league, some GMs argue. "I think we're missing an opportunity," said Hanauer. "I'd like us to look at transfer fees a little differently, because I think it's in the league's best interest to be going out and buying young players. For players who are 23 or 24 years old and could be in our league for 10 years and could be massive stars, we should be encouraging teams to sign them and not create salary caps and player rules that inhibit that in any way."

Not being able to afford transfer fees puts MLS clubs at a decided disadvantage in the market, according to Soler. "It's hard to sign young kids because you are at the back of the line in terms of the quality you can go after," said Soler. "If we could transfer young players and develop them it could be a huge asset for this league."

The league contends that the rules are what they are to avoid teams over-exerting themselves financially, NASL-style. "The rule is designed taking that into account," said Durbin. "It is measured. You can't sign eight DPs or seven DPs or six DPs. We have a very disciplined ownership group with a very long-term approach. They want to win today but they want the league to be viable."

That doesn't take away that the richer teams, like Red Bulls, could probably easily afford more DPs without risking their financial solvency. "I would definitely sign more DPs if I could," said Soler. "Maybe not 10 or 11 but four or five, I would do that. I think that would bring this league even more forward."

Said Hanauer: "I'm extremely cognizant of the fact that we have to do this thing in a very intelligent way and make sure that we don't blow our brains out from a business standpoint. We do need to continue to figure out ways to improve the quality, and some of that is going to include spending money. Hopefully over time we begin to find a balance where if you have highly compensated players on your roster it doesn't compromise your ability to have the rest of the depth in your roster that continues to provide the quality we're all looking for as a league."

In spite of the willingness of a few teams to ratchet their up payroll further, the league isn't yet considering adding a fourth and fifth DP. "Right now, we're very happy with where the rule is," said Durbin. "If we get to a point where we think it's not delivering what we want it to deliver, where it's not providing teams the possibility to build their team around star players, we would consider changing the rule."

Yet the net result of signing more DPs has had a snowball effect. "With the influx of more guys and the big names that are coming in, obviously our league is one that is becoming more sought after by guys all over the world -- and more at a prime age and not just coming here for retirement," said Kansas City Wizards coach Peter Vermes, whose club just announced the DP signing of 30-year old Mexican star striker Omar Bravo, who will join the club in 2011.

"Guys like David Beckham have really opened up the eyes of a lot of players about coming here," said Kasper.

If only the purse strings were opened a little further, allowing for a few more big names to flow in, the league could grow faster still, argue some. "I think it's a better league than a lot of people think," said Soler. "This is a decent league and we're not that far away. We just need to take the last steps here and we'll surprise everybody and get the TV ratings that are crucial to us. I think if everybody had a little bit more to work with it would bring the league forward very quickly."

For that to happen though, the league will have to alter its philosophy entirely. And that is something one had best not bet on.

Scholes: We can match Barca's style

Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has hailed Barcelona as "the ultimate" team, but is confident the Premier League champions can match their opponents blow-for-blow in the style stakes at Wembley.

Paul Scholes v Barcelona celebration
GettyImagesPaul Scholes scored Man Utd's winner against Barcelona in the 2008 semi-final

Preview: Barcelona v Manchester United
Venables on Barca and La Masia
Duerden: Asian hopes pinned on Park
Jolly: Carrick has point to prove
Jolly: Rio out to blunt Barca attack
Rewind: Cruyff builds his Dream Team
First XI: European Cup finals

Scholes, 36, is preparing for his third Champions League final with United, having also competed in the 2008 and 2009 finals, though he missed out on the club's 1999 triumph through suspension.

The former England international helped United to the 2008 final by scoring the winning goal against Barca in the semi and he was rewarded with a place in Ferguson's starting line-up against Chelsea in Moscow.

But a year later it was a different story for Scholes, who was reduced to a 20-minute cameo at the end of the Red Devils' 2-0 defeat to the Catalans in Rome.

The veteran midfielder is expected to start on the bench again on Saturday, but he believes United are relishing the prospect of testing themselves against Pep Guardiola's talented charges.

"There is no doubt the two best teams have made it to the final,'' Scholes said. "Barcelona are the ultimate. They are what we all look to and want to play like.

"But our football can be just as good as theirs at times. We have a lot of quality too. Both teams want to go forward and score goals, so I don't think anyone could ask for a bigger or a better final.''

And Scholes says regrets over the meek surrender of their European crown to Barca in 2008 drive he and his team-mates to want to regain the title.

"There is a determination to make sure that doesn't happen again,'' Scholes said. "It wasn't a nice night and the summer afterwards felt very long. This time we intend to at least give it a go.''

Scholes is still to reveal his intentions for next season, having so far refused to say whether he is going to accept the option of another one-year contract.

"I felt great until the Rangers game [in December], when I did my groin,'' he said. "I should only have been out for a week to 10 days. It ended up dragging on for six weeks and I found it quite difficult to get back in.

"It took me a while to get used to the fact it would take me longer to get match fit again because I was only playing every couple of weeks. It is just the way it is. Now I am looking forward to a good end to the season.''

10 fascinating Facebook facts -- and what they say about us

Mashable's Pete Cashmore says Facebook surveys provide intriguing insights into our online behaviors.

Editor's note: Pete Cashmore is founder and CEO of Mashable, a popular tech-news blog. He writes occasional columns about social networking and tech for CNN.com.

(CNN) -- A study released this week revealed that 47% of Facebook users have swear words on their pages. A survey last week, meanwhile, showed that undergraduate men who talk about alcohol on Facebook tend to have more friends.

Whether it's our level of tolerance for swearing or the link between alcohol and bonding with friends, these Facebook studies provide intriguing insights into our online behaviors.

And yet I'd argue that Facebook surveys have a more fundamental role. With more than 600 million people actively using Facebook, these studies in fact provide a deeper understanding of our evolving cultural norms: our values, our morals and our changing relationships between one another.

Don't believe me? Here are some fascinating Facebook facts that just might serve as a peek into our 21st-century values.

1. 56% of Americans think it's irresponsible to friend your boss on Facebook

A survey released in February 2010 showed the majority of Americans don't find it socially acceptable to be Facebook friends with their boss. The study of 1,000 people by Liberty Mutual's Responsibility Project suggests that despite an increasing overlap between our work and home lives, we continue to value a separation between the two.

Meanwhile, 62% of those surveyed said it's wrong for a manager to befriend an employee on Facebook. And yet 76% of respondents said it was acceptable to befriend a peer on Facebook, suggesting what we truly value is that our work be judged on its merits rather than getting ahead based on personal relationships.

2. Facebook links about sex are shared 90% more than average

Facebook confirms the adage: Sex sells. From February until May 2010, social media scientist Dan Zarrella processed 12,000 links to news sites and blogs. He discovered that links about sex were 90% more likely to be shared on Facebook than any other subject matter.

He also discovered that links with positive sentiment were more likely to be shared on Facebook than those with negative viewpoints.

3. People in Facebook relationships are happier than single people

In February 2010, Facebook marked Valentine's Day by comparing the relationship status of its users to their happiness -- this was surmised based on the level of positive or negative sentiment in the user's Facebook updates.

The result: Those in relationships were found to be slightly happier than single people. Those who were married or engaged were also happier than single people on average.

However, Facebook users in an "open relationship" -- where the partners are not exclusive to one another -- were significantly less happy than single people. Monogamy, it seems, makes us happy.

4. 21% of people would break up via Facebook

A June 2010 survey of 1,000 Facebook users -- 70% of whom were male -- found that 25% had been "dumped" via Facebook (via their significant other updating his or her relationship status).

Twenty-one percent of those surveyed said they would end a relationship by changing their Facebook relationship statuses to "single." While worrisome, the survey does show the majority of people do not split up via Facebook.

For this uncomfortable task, it seems, we still turn to more personal forms of communication. This particular study also appears to suffer from a little male bias -- a July 2010 survey found that 9% of women have initiated a breakup via Facebook, versus 24% of men.

5. 85% of women are annoyed by their Facebook friends

For women on Facebook, friends can sometimes be irritating. In a March study conducted by Eversave, 85% admitted to having been annoyed by their Facebook friends. Of these annoyances, the most cited was "complaining all the time" (63%).

Other pet peeves included "sharing unsolicited political views" (42%) and "bragging about seemingly perfect lives" (32%).

While I've yet to see a similar survey focused on men, it's probably safe to assume these feelings are universal: Our friends are a source of joy and occasional irritation.

6. 25% of households with a Facebook account don't use privacy controls

A June 2010 survey from Consumer Reports stated that "in one of four households with a Facebook account, users weren't aware of or didn't choose to use the service's privacy controls."

While Consumer Reports chose to interpret this finding in a negative light, I'd propose a contrary view: Seventy-five percent of households did take the time to understand Facebook's privacy controls, suggesting that privacy remains important to our society.

The same study stated that "Twenty-six percent of Facebook users with children had potentially exposed them to predators by posting the children's photos and names."

Again, the positive view would be that 74% of Facebook users with children did not post their photos and names -- suggesting that we value privacy.

7. 48% of parents friend their kids on Facebook

On the question of whether it's OK to friend your kids on Facebook, parents are roughly split down the middle -- 48% have chosen to do so. Respondents in a May 2010 survey by Retrevo admitted that this could be "awkward at times."

Parents were also asked about the minimum age at which their children should be allowed to sign up for Facebook or MySpace. Twenty-six percent of parents replied "over 18," 36% said "16 to 18," 30% said "13 to 15" and 8% said "under 13."

Opinions may be changing rapidly, however. A Consumer Reports survey released this month says the majority of parents of kids 10 and under "seemed largely unconcerned by their children's use" of Facebook.

8. 47% of Facebook users have profanity on their walls

As previously mentioned, a new study by the reputation management service Reppler has found that 47% of Facebook users have swear words on their walls, with these profanities being posted by a friend 56% of the time.

In other words: Nearly half of Facebook users are comfortable with swearing. The most common profanity on Facebook? No prizes for guessing: It's the "F-word."

9. 48% of people say they look at their ex's Facebook profile too often

In a January study by YouTango, 48% of respondents said they look at their ex's Facebook or other social-networking profile too often. The statistic illustrates one danger of social-networking profiles -- ex-partners are more accessible than ever.

But the survey also points to a degree of self-awareness among the respondents. While new technologies provide new temptations, it seems that many of us are able to control these behaviors.

10. 36% of under-35s check Facebook, Twitter or texts after sex

An October 2009 study by Retrevo suggested that social networks are becoming an increasingly important part of young people's lives. Among under-35s, 36% admitted to "tweeting, texting and checking Facebook after sex." Forty percent of respondents admitted to doing so while driving, 64% said they do so at work, and 65% use these communication channels while on vacation.

Here, we might conclude that the next generation is driving society into a less desirable direction: a world in which digital devices are never put down, even in the most inappropriate of situations.

And yet if Facebook is our guide, I'd say our cultural norms have remained intact. We continue to value professionalism. We find great rewards in human relationships -- and most of us try to exit them honorably.

On the whole, we continue to value privacy. We try to look out for our kids. And as we have been since time immemorial, we continue to be fascinated by sex -- after which we go straight to Facebook to find out what our exes are up to.

Moratti warns Udinese on Sanchez

Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti has confirmed he is interested in signing Alexis Sanchez but will not pay over the odds for the Udinese winger.

Alexis Sanchez
GettyImagesAlexis Sanchez has attracted interest from Inter Milan

Sanchez has had another fine season in Serie A and the 22-year-old has been targeted by the Nerazzurri as a possible acquisition this summer.

A number of clubs including Premier League sides Chelsea and Manchester City have also been linked with the Chile international and Udinese have already received an offer of €35million for the midfielder.

Moratti claims Inter will not be held to ransom by Udinese but admits they are certainly interested in bringing Sanchez to the San Siro.

"People are talking about the ongoing negotiations with Udinese and we certainly are interested in Sanchez, but we're also looking at other players," he told Sky Sport 24.

"I think we're very strong in attack and I do not think that is one of the areas that we'll be trying to strengthen particularly.

"Any good deal is welcome - by all means, let's bring in a few more quality players - but not at excessive prices."

He added: "I rate Sanchez very highly and it's no secret that we're speaking to Udinese to try and work something out.

"However, I do believe the player still has a bit to prove. I think when Ronaldo and [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic joined us they were a few notches further up."

Schalke deny Neuer agreement

Schalke have rejected reports that they have already agreed a deal to sell goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to Bayern Munich.

Neuer is out of contract in 2012
GettyImages / PatrikStollarzNeuer has been strongly linked with a move to Bayern

Neuer, 25, is understood to be close to a switch to the Allianz Arena, making the move between the two German clubs despite strong interest from Manchester United earlier in the year.

Bayern are thought to have had a £22million bid accepted for Neuer, but Champions League semi-finalists Schalke deny that he is definitely leaving the club.

Club executive Peter Peters told Sportinformationsdienst: "We had good talks with Bayern Munich and we also reached an idea about the economic part of an agreement.

"But we have not yet decided to accept the offer. Manuel Neuer is under contract at Schalke until June 2012, he is our first-team goalkeeper and we really feel he is an important player of our first team."

Premier League champions United are now poised to complete a deal for Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David De Gea, clearing the way for Bayern to secure the services of Neuer.

Lindsay Lohan fitted with ankle bracelet, placed under house arrest

Lindsay Lohan must wear an ankle bracelet and be confined to her Venice, California, home, authorities said.
Lindsay Lohan must wear an ankle bracelet and be confined to her Venice, California, home, authorities said

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Actress Lindsay Lohan was under house arrest early Friday, authorities said, after she turned herself in early to begin a sentence for jewelry theft conviction.

Lohan showed up three weeks early at a Los Angeles jail to begin serving her sentence, Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said Thursday.

It was determined that she would serve her time under house arrest because of overcrowding at the facility, authorities said.

She was fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet to monitor her movements and ensure she stays at home, except as allowed by the court, Whitmore said.

The actress was sentenced May 11 to 120 days in jail, but overcrowding at the facility and state rules could reduce the time she must be confined to her Venice, California, home, the sheriff's office said earlier.

Lohan, 24, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor theft charge after she apparently left a Venice jewelry store in January wearing a gold and diamond necklace she had not paid for.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner gave Lohan until June 17 to begin the sentence, but she reported to the jail early on Thursday, Whitmore said.

Once there, it was determined that she was eligible for home confinement instead of jail, he said.

Early release formulas, required by a federal order to reduce jail overcrowding, will likely reduce the sentence to about 14 days, Whitmore said after the sentencing.

"Because of budget constraints and because we're under a federal consent decree that requires us to curb our overcrowding situation, nonviolent offenders, lesser crimes, get 20% of their sentence," the spokesman explained.

Sautner remarked that the discounts on the sentences "seem to be like shopping at Costco."

As part of Lohan's sentence, Sautner also ordered that the actress remain on supervised probation until she completes 480 hours of community service.

But the judge rejected Deputy City Attorney Melanie Chavira's request for substance abuse counseling for the actress.

Sautner said drugs and alcohol are not the root of Lohan's legal troubles, but "she's got other problems for which she self-medicates."

Lohan's four years in and out of court -- and sometimes jail -- started with two drunken driving arrests in 2007. Since then, she's spent more than eight months in substance abuse rehabilitation programs. After her sentencing, the court released a probation report that said the actress "appears to be continuing to struggle with substance abuse issues."

"It would appear that the defendant's criminal conduct is increasing in seriousness and severity," the probation report said, yet it suggested she serve her sentence on probation and not in jail.

Lohan tested positive for alcohol use, a violation of probation rules, in February, the report said.

It also revealed that the drug test failure last August, which resulted in a jail sentence and court-ordered rehab, involved cocaine and amphetamines.

Lohan was not at the May 11 hearing, but her lawyer entered a no-contest plea to the misdemeanor theft charge on her behalf.

"I am glad to be able to put this past me and move on with my life and my career," Lohan said in a written statement released by her lawyer. "I support the judge's decision and hold myself accountable for being in this situation."

Xavi: United success has led the way

Barcelona midfielder Xavi believes Manchester United's achievements over the past two decades should be a "reference point" for other clubs to try to emulate.

Xavi Barcelona celeb
GettyImagesXavi believes Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs have been two of the best players in recent memory

Jolly: Rio out to blunt Barca attack
Rewind: Cruyff builds his Dream Team
First XI: European Cup finals
Blog: Barca travel early to London

Xavi, 31, has helped create a lasting legacy at Barca, winning six La Liga titles, two Champions Leagues, one Copa del Rey and a FIFA World Club Championship during his 13-year career at Camp Nou.

But the World Cup-winning midfielder feels that Manchester United's sustained period of success under Sir Alex Ferguson is the real yardstick for the Catalans to aim for.

"For me Manchester is the reference point - not just now but over many years," Xavi was quoted as saying in The Times. "What Ferguson has achieved deserves a lot of credit. Ferguson, [Paul] Scholes and [Ryan] Giggs are references for everyone in football throughout the world.

"They have been at the top for many years, playing at an extraordinary level. They have won leagues year after year and they keep reaching Champions League finals and semi-finals. They have a spectacular level and everyone in Europe still looks to them."

While Xavi recognises United have some quality individuals in their ranks, the Barca star believes United's chief threat comes from their ability to pull together as an effective team unit.

"The key is that they don't just have talent, but they work very hard for each other," he said. "They can play in many different ways. If they score, they can sit back and defend the lead playing on the counterattack. The fact that they are so versatile again shows the great job that Ferguson has done.

"They are an example of how to defend from the front. They all work so hard. There is solidarity about them, they are working for each other and I suppose that comes from Ferguson. He is the reason they are what they are."

Barcelona will likely be relying on Lionel Messi, who scored in the 2009 final against United, to lead their line at Wembley but Xavi believes the Spanish champions will have to be wary of the Red Devils' own talisman, Wayne Rooney.

"They move the ball quickly and the attacking players really stand out: Giggs, Rooney, Chicharito and [Antonio] Valencia," Xavi said. "If I had to pick one out, then it would be Rooney. I would have said Scholes for many years, but he plays a little less now."

Srebrenica: Worst European atrocity since WWII

A photo dated July 24, 1996, shows International war crimes tribunal investigators examine a mass grave in Srebrenica.
A photo dated July 24, 1996, shows International war crimes tribunal investigators examine a mass grave in Srebrenica.

\
This article by the late Graham Jones first appeared on CNN.com in 2006

(CNN) -- It is now remembered as the worst atrocity in Europe since World War II.

In a five-day orgy of slaughter at Srebrenica in July 1995, up to 8,000 Muslims were systematically exterminated in what was described at the U.N. war crimes tribunal as "the triumph of evil."

Former Bosnian Serb commander-in-chief General Ratko Mladic, who is accused of direct involvement in the genocide at Srebrenica, was arrested on Thursday after more than 15 years on the run.

In 1995, Srebrenica was designated a U.N. "safe area."

A judge at The Hague tribunal was later to describe what happened there as "truly scenes from hell written on the darkest pages of human history."

Thousands of Bosnian Muslims had sought refuge in the spa town of Srebrenica in 1995 as the Bosnian Serb army marched towards them.

They were protected by just 100 lightly equipped Dutch peacekeepers -- who proved no match for the advancing, heavily-armed Serb army.
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Denied reinforcements, the Dutch were forced to stand aside while Serb troops intent on "ethnic cleansing" did their worst -- the peacekeepers even witnessing the summary execution of civilians.

In the days before the onslaught, 30,000 Muslims fleeing the advancing Serb army were crammed into the town. Within days there was not one Muslim left.

A great number fled -- only for many of them to be wiped out in Serb ambushes -- but the men who stayed fared the worst.

Thousands of men and boys as young as 10 were rounded up and murdered. Those who tried to hide in their homes were, according to evidence at the trial of Serb General Radislav Krstic at The Hague in March 2000, "hunted down like dogs and slaughtered."

Serbian TV footage shows women and children being separated from the men and put on buses.

In a sickening show of "reassurance" Mladic -- now on the war crimes tribunal's most wanted list -- told the women everyone would be taken out by bus out and safely reunited.

When the cameras were turned off the real face of the Serb army emerged as the slaughter began.

More than 60 truckloads of refugees were taken from Srebrenica to execution sites where they were bound, blindfolded, and shot with automatic rifles.

Some of the executions were carried out at night under arc lights. Industrial bulldozers then pushed the bodies into mass graves.

Some were buried alive, a French policeman who collected evidence from Bosnian Muslims, Jean-Rene Ruez, told The Hague tribunal in 1996.

He gave evidence that Bosnian Serb forces had killed and tortured refugees at will. Streets were littered with corpses, he said, and rivers were red with blood. Many people committed suicide to avoid having their noses, lips and ears chopped off, he said.

Among other lurid accounts of mass murder, Ruez cited cases of adults being forced to kill their children or watching as soldiers ended the young lives.

"One soldier approached a woman in the middle of a crowd," he said. "Her child was crying. The soldier asked why the child was crying and she explained that he was hungry. The soldier made a comment like, 'He won't be hungry anymore.' He slit the child's throat in front of everybody."

Later it was revealed that Mladic had been able to press on unhindered by issuing ultimatums to the U.N. protection force.

It was suggested the U.N. high command had promised to stop air strikes against the Serb army in return for the release of 370 U.N. soldiers held prisoner -- and Mladic took this as the green light to attack Srebrenica.

The Commander of the Dutch U.N. troops, Col. Thomas Karremans, told The Hague tribunal in 1996 that he had first requested NATO air strikes when Mladic's troops began their assault on July 6, but that the request was not granted until July 11 when Srebrenica fell. By then, Karremans said, it "was too late and too little."

Karremans said a long Serb blockade before the attack had left the lightly armed Dutch battalion desperately short of food and fuel, but requests for fresh supplies went unheeded.

In 1999 the U.N. admitted its error in expecting 100 Dutch troops to deter the Bosnian Serb army.

Arsenal and Spurs want Falcao - agent

North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham are both willing to pay £26 million to sign Porto striker Radamel Falcao, according to the player's agent.

Falcao
GettyImagesFalcao set a new record when notched his 16th goal of the Europa League campaign.

Falcao scored a record-breaking 17 goals to help Porto win the Europa League this season - surpassing Jurgen Klinsmann's 15-year-old record of 15 goals in a single campaign - and has attracted the attention of some of Europe's biggest clubs.

The Colombian also netted 16 times in Porto's victorious league campaign and the Portuguese champions are in contract negotiations with the 25-year-old after admitting that the €30 million (£26 million) release clause in his current deal is too low.

And according to Claudio Mossi, an agent from the Sivori & Asociados group that represents Falcao, both Arsenal and Tottenham are willing to pay the buyout amount.

"England are crazy about Falcao," Mossi said. "Among the leading candidates are Arsenal and Tottenham. They are willing to hit the €30 million clause. The figure is not an extraordinary value for them."

Falcao spoke of his intention to stay at the Estadio do Dragao after scoring the winner in last week's Europa League final win over Braga. The former River Plate man said he wanted to remain with the Portuguese champions to play Champions League football under young manager Andre Villas-Boas, and Mossi added that staying with Porto is an option.

"He is very happy at Porto," Mossi said. "There he can play the Champions next year. The problem is that every day he is linked with other clubs. It is important that he is left alone for a time with his family now to decide."

Ratko Mladic: Bosnian Serb commander turned fugitive

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(CNN) -- Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb army commander wanted for crimes against humanity, is a notorious name synonymous with the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Balkan wars of the 1990s and the bloody assaults on Sarajevo and Srebrenica.

Born in Kalnovik, Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the height of World War II, the 69-year-old was a career soldier who served in Yugoslavia's military before that nation dissolved in the early 1990s.

Mladic then became a leader of Bosnian Serb forces during the brutal conflict in Bosnia, the bloodiest in Europe since the allies fought Germany in the 1940s.

He was shaped by the war when his father was killed by Croat Nazis when he was 2 years old. In 1965 he graduated from a military academy and joined the Communist Party in Yugoslavia, an ethnic stew of six states -- Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia, and Montenegro.
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Working his way up the ranks, Mladic was general of the Yugoslav Federal Forces in Sarajevo in 1992, an entity later transferred to the Bosnian Serb army when war engulfed Bosnia after it declared independence.

The state was populated by Muslims, Croats and Serbs, but Serbian forces wanted to take lands where Serbs had been a majority.

Mladic is charged with leading a 1992 siege against the city of Sarajevo, an assault that lasted two years and killed thousands. He is also accused of leading a 1995 attack on the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica, where close to 8,000 Muslim men and boys died.

In 1995, he was indicted by the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia for war crimes and an international arrest warrant was issued a year later.

Mladic faces charges of genocide, complicity in genocide, persecutions, extermination and murder, deportation and inhumane acts, unlawfully inflicting terror upon civilians, murder, cruel treatment, attacks on civilians and the taking of hostages.

The genocide and complicity in genocide charges involve "the planning, preparation or execution of the intentional partial destruction" of Bosnian Muslims in various towns, including Srebrenica.

In detailing its charges against Mladic, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia cites the "widespread killing, deportation and forcible transfer of non-Serbs in furtherance of the 1992 and 1993 'ethnic cleansing' campaigns in the Bosnian Krajina and in eastern Bosnia; by causing serious bodily or mental harm to Bosnian Muslims, including torture, physical and psychological abuse, sexual violence and beatings."

It said Bosnian Muslims were subjected "to conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction, namely through cruel and inhumane treatment, including torture, inhumane living conditions and forced labor." Such alleged crimes occurred many locations, including in Banja Luka and Srebrenica.

The court also cites Mladic's alleged role in the Bosnian Serb siege on the city of Sarajevo. Mladic, working with others, planned and ordered "a protracted military campaign in which Bosnian Serb forces under his control, in particular the Sarajevo Romanija Corps, used artillery and mortar shelling and sniping to target civilian areas of Sarajevo, killing and wounding civilians."

The U.S. Rewards for Justice program announced a $5 million reward for information leading to Mladic's capture.

Over the years, he has eluded authorities as his cohort, the former Bosnia Serb president, Radovan Karadzic, was apprehended and is facing various charges at the court in The Hague.

Mladic arrest hailed as 'important day for international justice'

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World leaders and human rights groups celebrated the arrest of former Serbian army commander Ratko Mladic on Thursday, calling it "historic" and "an important step forward."

It is "an important day for international justice," said the office of Serge Brammertz, prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, in a written statement.

"Mladic's arrest clearly signals that the commitment to international criminal justice is entrenched. Today's events show that people responsible for grave violations of international humanitarian law can no longer count on impunity."

The office awaits Mladic's transfer to The Hague, where he will stand trial, the statement said.
Mladic is charged with crimes including the murders of nearly 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995; forcible transfers and detentions of Bosnian Muslims and Croats; a "terror campaign and the shelling and sniping of civilians in Sarajevo by Bosnian Serb forces under his command"; and the taking of United Nations military observers as hostages, the statement said.

"With the news of the arrest," Brammertz said, "we think first and foremost of the victims of the crimes committed during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. These victims have endured unimaginable horrors -- including the genocide in Srebrenica -- and redress for their suffering is long overdue."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called it a "historic day for international justice. This arrest marks an important step in our collective fight against impunity as well as for the work of the" tribunal.

He praised Serbian President Boris Tadic and the Serbian government.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Thursday that she hopes "Mladic's trial, along with that of Radovan Karadzic, and the recent ICTY convictions of Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac, as well as the dozens of earlier convictions, will help victims and their families see justice done and receive acknowledgement of their suffering."

Former Serbian leader Karadzic -- who was arrested in Belgrade, Serbia, in 2008 -- faces 11 counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. He has denied the charges.

Gotovina commanded Croatia's Split military district during the mid-1990s war, while Markac headed Croatia's Interior Ministry's Special Police.

Both were convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Notorious Hutu militia leader captured

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he strongly welcomed the news. "As Bosnian Serb military commander, General Mladic played a key role in some of the darkest episodes of Balkan and European history, including the siege of Sarajevo and the massacre of thousands of Bosnian men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995. Almost 16 years since his indictment for genocide and other war crimes, his arrest finally offers a chance for justice to be done."

The White House issued a statement Thursday applauding Tadic and the government of Serbia on "their determined efforts to ensure that Mladic was found and that he faces justice."

"We look forward to his expeditious transfer to The Hague," the statement said. "Today is an important day for the families of Mladic's many victims, for Serbia, for Bosnia, for the United States, and for international justice.

"May the families of Mladic's victims find some solace in today's arrest, and may this deepen the ties among the people of the region," it added.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomed the news while hosting the G8 summit in Deauville, France, calling the arrest "very big news."

"It is a very brave decision by the Serbian president, and it's an important step towards the integration in the near future (of Serbia) into the European Union," he said.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called the arrest "an important step forward for Serbia and for international justice." It is "a very positive development for the European Union, for Serbia's neighbours, but most of all for the rule of law in Serbia itself," she said. "The families of his countless victims deserve justice."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the arrest "is a historic moment for a region that was torn apart by the appalling wars of the 1990s."

He added, "Our sympathies are with all those who lost loved ones during those conflicts. Today should mark the beginning of a new chapter for the countries of Western Balkans."

British Prime Minister David Cameron said, "there is a very good reason why the long arm of the international law has been looking for this man for such a long time."

In a news release, Interpol called Mladic "Europe's most wanted war crimes suspect."

"The arrest by Serbian police of Ratko Mladic, an alleged architect of human carnage and mass murder, is a triumph for international justice," Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said in the release.

Amnesty International's senior director of international law, Widney Brown, said, "It took more than 15 years, but at last the people who suffered have hope that he will be brought to justice."

Brown called on Serbian authorities to renew their efforts "to arrest the remaining indicted suspect General Goran Hadzic," who is believed to be in the region, and "bring him to justice."

Madeleine Albright, former U.S. secretary of state, said Mladic's trial "should teach again the grim reality of ethnic cleansing and, I hope, bring some comfort to those who survived."

"Mladic tried to become a conquering hero. Instead, he lived as a fugitive in obscurity and now faces years in custody. Justice works," she said in a statement. "It is a welcome sign that Serbian officials arrested him. An emerging democracy is helping to confront its own past."

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Ivanka Trump reveals she's having a girl

Ivanka Trump is officially due on July 14. She's having a girl.

Ivanka Trump has revealed some new tidbits about her pregnancy: She's officially due July 14, and she's having a girl!

The savvy businesswoman and "Celebrity Apprentice" judge, 29, also talks about her expectations for motherhood and her hopes for her first child with husband Jared Kushner, 30, in the June issue of Harper's Bazaar.

The good news: Her cravings are mild, and include only double-toasted salt bagels with cream cheese.

The not-so-good news: Long before the birth, she's already in mommy overdrive.

"I do have a bit of first-time-mom syndrome," she admits, chuckling over the piles of books on pregnancy, mothering, and early-childhood development she's assigned herself.

"I'm already on what I should be doing when she is three and when I should introduce new languages," including French and Mandarin Chinese.

With the famously luxurious Trump lifestyle ready to greet the baby, she says she and Kushner will strive to make sure their daughter earns her privileges.

"We have our work cut out for us to ensure that our daughter is grounded and not spoiled," she says.

And although she hasn't yet embarked on motherhood, she's already been subjected to one big surprise: How often a newborn baby needs to eat.

"I was in total shock," Trump says. "I work so close [to home] that I figured I'd return to work and the baby nurse would bring the baby to me, and I'd run home periodically, and I'd make it work. But every two hours? That's a whole other level," she says. "I'll have to make a nursery at the office."

Even so, she's not afraid of a little hard work -- and, in fact, she's eager for more.

"I'd love to have three or four kids," she says. "But my mom always says, 'Speak to me after you have your first.'"

Michelle Williams to play Glinda in 'Oz' prequel

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2011/images/05/18/t1larg.michelle.williams.casting.jpg

Add Michelle Williams to the growing list of actors getting ready to hit the yellow brick road in the upcoming "Wizard of Oz" prequel "Oz: The Great and Powerful."

The enchanting actress has just been offered the part of Glinda the Good Witch, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

James Franco has already been cast as a snake-oil salesman whose balloon carries him to a magical place somewhere over the rainbow, where he goes on to become the Wizard of Oz.

Rachel Weisz is circling the role of Wicked Witch of the East Evanorah, who, long before Dorothy's house did her in, attempts to draw kid sister Theodorah over to the dark side. Apparently it worked: Theodorah, played by Mila Kunis, eventually becomes known as the Wicked Witch of the West.

Prior to Williams being tapped for Glinda, "Gossip Girl" star Blake Lively was rumored to be in the running for the role. But Kristin Chenoweth, who played Glinda in the Oz musical "Wicked," has her own idea about who would have been perfect for the part. "I always liked the thought of Reese Witherspoon [as Glinda]," she tells Marquee.

"Oz: The Great and Powerful" is set to begin filming in Michigan in July for a fall 2012 release.

Do you think Williams will make a spellbinding Glinda? Tell us in a comment below.

The Messi and Ronaldo show

Ronaldo/MessiSIU WU/AFP/Getty ImagesOne craves the spotlight, the other is all about the football. But Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have both delivered virtuoso performances in La Liga this season.

For those addicted to the wonderful drama of the boot-to-boot combat between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the hearts and minds of the world's football public, these have been a magical few weeks.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man, say the wise ones, and this time magical Messi and clever Cristiano haven't let us down. Of the seven goals scored in the recent quartet of Clasicos, Messi bagged three and Ronaldo two.

The Argentinian effectively put his club in the Champions League final with that gorgeous brace of goals at the Bernabeu, while the Portuguese won Madrid its first Copa del Rey in 18 years thanks to his wonderful header.

The battle for the Pichichi title -- the prize awarded to La Liga's top scorer -- has all but been won, as Ronaldo heads into the final weekend of league play with 38 goals to Messi's 31. But if you weigh a league medal and a place in the Champions League final, both of which Messi has earned, against a Spanish Cup and a goal-scoring garland, it should be the little flea, rather than Ronaldo, who is feeling pretty chipper with a spring in his step.

Instead, this past weekend, Ronaldo's face was all smiles as he smashed in his ninth goal in three games and, depending on who you believe, he either equaled or broke the all-time Spanish league scoring record for a season (more on that later).

[+] EnlargeMessi
David Ramos/Getty ImagesMessi finally joined the Camp Nou season-ending celebration after being left on the bench against Deportivo.

It was in stark contrast to what I witnessed at Camp Nou on Sunday, when a mostly second-string Barcelona side played Deportivo La Coruna. After the game, when the team was being presented with the league trophy in a colorful celebration, I was banging away at my computer. My friend and colleague from BackPage Press, Martin Greig, tapped me on the shoulder. "What's up with Messi?" he asked.

There he was among the Barca squad, the only one who kept on his tracksuit top and trousers rather than joining his teammates in their playing kits to throw red peppers all over the place. He drifted away from Pep Guardiola's lads, who were singing, dancing and generally shaking off the tension of a long, hard football campaign.

If you had taken a snapshot, it looked like each and every player was holding a winning lottery ticket but Messi had lost his and was shuffling about looking for it -- downcast and preoccupied.

Now, I am not trying to overdramatize this. Messi isn't ticked off with his team, his manager or life in general. It is just that he literally cannot stand missing out on a game, even one that has no bearing. So on Sunday, with the league won the week before, Messi was left on the bench, having to watch an understrength Barca trundle along to a goalless draw with Deportivo.

The next day, I asked Josep Maria Minguella, the football scout and player agent who discovered Messi for Barcelona, to confirm my suspicions. He did.

"Leo lives to play, every second, every minute, every match -- it's what he thrives on. He hates not taking part in any game. That's one of the best things about him."

Good old crazy-horse Jose Manuel Pinto, Barca's backup keeper, understood this. He trotted over to put an arm round the little genius's shoulder and eventually convinced him to have a laugh and join the party.

It was a blip, just a moment in time, and yet another indication that Messi is such a straight-down-the-middle kind of guy that his body language normally speaks louder and more articulately than his words do.

Interestingly, over at Villarreal's Madrigal stadium that same day, Ronaldo's patent delight at his current Raging Bull form didn't tell the full story, either. I've spent a good deal of time over the past few days in the company of people who work for Manchester United in various capacities, and they testify that Ronaldo could be much happier than he is at Real Madrid.

Obviously, this does not automatically mean there will be consequences like him misbehaving, sulking or trying to leave.

In fact, Ronaldo has been through a campaign like this before, when he was playing his penultimate season at United, scoring almost equal floods of goals en route to winning the EPL, the Champions League and the FIFA World Club Cup. He didn't enjoy playing center forward, he was coping with a foot injury and was regularly phoning his old friend Walter di Salvo, who had preceded his own move to Real Madrid, to ask for fitness tips and general personal support.

Injured, not allowed to go and join Madrid and being played out of position -- Cristiano felt like a martyr at United.

But being down in the dumps didn't adversely affect his form. He cracked in 42 goals in 49 matches.

[+] EnlargeRonaldo
Denis Doyle/Getty ImagesRonaldo has been all smiles since the Clasicos, which belies the frustrations he's experienced at Madrid.

The frustration he's feeling at Real Madrid has different causes. It's quite obvious, given his words and deeds, that he found the tactics chosen by Jose Mourinho for the "world series of soccer" against Barcelona both frustrating and infuriating.

But Ronaldo's chagrin has not just stemmed from the Clasico matches. His friends at United suggest that he finds Real Madrid less organized than his former club, rife with politics and sporting schisms and with a dressing room that doesn't have the same robust all-for-one spirit he experienced at Old Trafford.

Yet, to his immense credit, Ronaldo hasn't let any of this affect his performance on the pitch. Indeed, I wrote here at the start of this season that Ronaldo's critics often cause me intense frustration because of ill-founded and ill-advised supposition about him. This season he has been sensational. Again.

For Ronaldo, the matches since being knocked out of the Champions League have been like the moment when an angry jungle animal is freed from chains -- all muscle, sinew, teeth and claws. The rage and previous impotence have been transformed into a demonstration of power and dominance.

But his goal-scoring record has come under a bit of controversial scrutiny. Marca, the Madrid-based newspaper that awards the Pichichi, decided earlier this season that Ronaldo's deflected free kick off Pepe's back against Real Sociedad was CR7's goal nonetheless. So Marca credits him with 39 goals, one more than the legendary Hugo Sanchez and Telmo Zarra who have shared the record since the Mexican equaled the Basque striker in 1990.

Everyone else says Ronaldo only has 38. Only?

It is a remarkable achievement. Had Ronaldo been badly injured earlier in the season, Barcelona would have had the title wrapped up in February, instead of a couple of weekends ago. Yes, he likes being the best and sees no shame in it. Ronaldo also knows that because he wants to win the Pichichi and is honest enough to admit that, he provides more ammunition to his critics who love nothing more than to call him selfish.

Rubbish. Ronaldo's attitude to football matches Mourinho's -- a relentless winning mentality, discipline in training and a hunger to practice and improve all the time. If his teammates possessed that approach to their daily work, to winning, and to smashing any obstacles, then Los Blancos would truly be a force.

As it is, Ronaldo will have one more game to try to erase any doubt over whether he has broken the all-time Spanish league goal-scoring record for a season. Look out, Almeria, when you face Real at the Bernabeu on Saturday.

Then, like the majority of the world, Ronaldo will have to settle down on his sofa to watch the Champions League final the following weekend. It won't be a fun night for him. Sure, if his friends and former teammates defeat Barca, there will be great relief. But just as Messi hates missing out on even a second of competitive football, Ronaldo can't bear not being a part of the great soccer occasions.

Di Salvo once told me, "Cristiano genuinely wants to earn the right to be considered as the best player of all time."

That's not achievable unless you are racking up Champions League titles, World Cup finals, European Championship medals and so on.

So the real goal for this powerful, proud Portuguese is not the Pichichi. What lies ahead for Ronaldo is letting Mourinho and Real Madrid know that if he, personally, keeps his standards this high next season, they must match him. No more hiding from Barcelona. Real must follow a blueprint of all-out pursuit when it comes to attacking football -- starting with the two Clasico matches in the SuperCup, which are now only three months away.

But Ronaldo has room for improvement, too. He's got to find a way to score more goals on the big occasions -- and not just run-of-the-mill matches -- for both club and country. He needs to produce goals at Camp Nou, goals if his national team qualifies for the Euro Championship in Poland and Ukraine, goals if he should reach the Champions League final.

What a time we live in. Messi and Ronaldo have scored 103 times between them, led their sides in an intense season-long battle and will still have the La Liga finale and Champions League final to come. And given that the two men are 23 and 26, respectively, Madrid is growing into a better-balanced, more talented unit and Barca is considered to be capable of the best football of all time, I can't wait to discover what the new season will have for us.

More of this battle between two very different geniuses, please. Lots and lots more.

Graham Hunter is a Barcelona-based freelance writer for ESPN.com who specializes in La Liga and the Spanish national team. You can reach him on Twitter at twitter.com/BumperGraham.