By SAMANTHA GROSS, Associated Press Writer
BUSKIRK, N.Y. – A few years ago, Kathleen Breault was just another suburban grandma, driving countless hours every week, stopping for lunch at McDonald’s, buying clothes at the mall, watching TV in the evenings.
That was before Breault heard an author talk about the bleak future of the world’s oil supply. Now, she’s preparing for the world as we know it to disappear.
Breault cut her driving time in half. She switched to a diet of locally grown foods near her upstate New York home and lost 70 pounds. She sliced up her credit cards, banished her television and swore off plane travel. She began relying on a wood-burning stove.
“I was panic-stricken,” the 50-year-old recalled, her voice shaking. “Devastated. Depressed. Afraid. Vulnerable. Weak. Alone. Just terrible.”
Convinced the planet’s oil supply is dwindling and the world’s economies are heading for a crash, some people around the country are moving onto homesteads, learning to live off their land, conserving fuel and, in some cases, stocking up on guns they expect to use to defend themselves and their supplies from desperate crowds of people who didn’t prepare.
The exact number of people taking such steps is impossible to determine, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the movement has been gaining momentum in the last few years.
These energy survivalists are not leading some sort of green revolution meant to save the planet. Many of them believe it is too late for that, seeing signs in soaring fuel and food prices and a faltering U.S. economy, and are largely focused on saving themselves.
Some are doing it quietly, giving few details of their preparations — afraid that revealing such information as the location of their supplies will endanger themselves and their loved ones. They envision a future in which the nation’s cities will be filled with hungry, desperate refugees forced to go looking for food, shelter and water.
“There’s going to be things that happen when people can’t get things that they need for themselves and their families,” said Lynn-Marie, who believes cities could see a rise in violence as early as 2012.
Lynn-Marie asked to be identified by her first name to protect her homestead in rural western Idaho. Many of these survivalists declined to speak to The Associated Press for similar reasons.
These survivalists believe in “peak oil,” the idea that world oil production is set to hit a high point and then decline. Scientists who support idea say the amount of oil produced in the world each year has already or will soon begin a downward slide, even amid increased demand. But many scientists say such a scenario will be avoided as other sources of energy come in to fill the void.
On the PeakOil.com Web site, where upward of 800 people gathered on recent evenings, believers engage in a debate about what kind of world awaits.
Some members argue there will be no financial crash, but a slow slide into harder times. Some believe the federal government will respond to the loss of energy security with a clampdown on personal freedoms. Others simply don’t trust that the government can maintain basic services in the face of an energy crisis.
The powers that be, they’ve determined, will be largely powerless to stop what is to come.
Determined to guard themselves from potentially harsh times ahead, Lynn-Marie and her husband have already planted an orchard of about 40 trees and built a greenhouse on their 7 1/2 acres. They have built their own irrigation system. They’ve begun to raise chickens and pigs, and they’ve learned to slaughter them.
The couple have gotten rid of their TV and instead have been reading dusty old books published in their grandparents’ era, books that explain the simpler lifestyle they are trying to revive. Lynn-Marie has been teaching herself how to make soap. Her husband, concerned about one day being unable to get medications, has been training to become an herbalist.
By 2012, they expect to power their property with solar panels, and produce their own meat, milk and vegetables. When things start to fall apart, they expect their children and grandchildren will come back home and help them work the land. She envisions a day when the family may have to decide whether to turn needy people away from their door.
“People will be unprepared,” she said. “And we can imagine marauding hordes.”
So can Peter Laskowski. Living in a woodsy area outside of Montpelier, Vt., the 57-year-old retiree has become the local constable and a deputy sheriff for his county, as well as an emergency medical technician.
“I decided there was nothing like getting the training myself to deal with insurrections, if that’s a possibility,” said the former executive recruiter.
Laskowski is taking steps similar to environmentalists: conserving fuel, consuming less, studying global warming, and relying on local produce and craftsmen. Laskowski is powering his home with solar panels and is raising fish, geese, ducks and sheep. He has planted apple and pear trees and is growing lettuce, spinach and corn.
Whenever possible, he uses his bicycle to get into town.
“I remember the oil crisis in ‘73; I remember waiting in line for gas,” Laskowski said. “If there is a disruption in the oil supply it will be very quickly elevated into a disaster.”
Breault said she hopes to someday band together with her neighbors to form a self-sufficient community. Women will always be having babies, she notes, and she imagines her skills as a midwife will always be in demand.
For now, she is readying for the more immediate work ahead: There’s a root cellar to dig, fruit trees and vegetable plots to plant. She has put a bicycle on layaway, and soon she’ll be able to bike to visit her grandkids even if there is no oil at the pump.
Whatever the shape of things yet to come, she said, she’s done what she can to prepare.
SOurce:news.yahoo
BERLIN (Reuters) – The United States is already in a recession and it will be longer as well as deeper than many people expect, U.S. investor Warren Buffett said in an interview published in German magazine Der Spiegel on Saturday.
He said the United States was “already in recession” and added: “Perhaps not in the sense that economists would define it” with two consecutive quarters of negative growth.
“But the people are already feeling the effects,” said Buffett, the world’s richest man. “It will be deeper and last longer than many think.”
But he said that won’t stop him from investing in selected companies and said he remained interested in well-managed German family-owned companies.
“If the world were falling apart I’d still invest in companies,” he said.
Buffett also renewed his criticism of derivatives trading.
“It’s not right that hundreds of thousands of jobs are being eliminated, that entire industrial sectors in the real economy are being wiped out by financial bets even though the sectors are actually in good health.”
Buffett complained about the lack of effective controls.
“That’s the problem,” he said. “You can’t steer it, you can’t regulate it anymore. You can’t get the genie back in the bottle.”
(Writing by Erik Kirschbaum; editing by James Jukwey)
Source:news.yahoo
LONDON – A British teenage actor playing a minor role in the upcoming “Harry Potter” film was stabbed to death during a brawl in London on Saturday, police said.
Rob Knox, 18, was stabbed after he got caught up in a fight outside a bar in southwest London early Saturday, London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
Knox plays Ravenclaw student Marcus Belby in the upcoming film “Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince,” the sixth installment of the popular series set for release in November.
Warner Bros., the studio that is producing the film, said it was shocked by the news.
Knox was one of five young men taken to various hospitals after the brawl, police said. Among them was a 21-year-old who has since been arrested on suspicion of murder.
The fight did not appear to be gang-related, police added, but it puts the number of violent teenage deaths in London at 14 so far this year.
Source:news.yahoo
By LEE KEATH, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD – The U.S. ambassador to Iraq said Saturday that al-Qaida’s network in the country has never been closer to defeat, and he praised Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for his moves to rein in Shiite and Sunni militant groups.
Ryan Crocker’s comments came as Iraqi forces have been conducting crackdowns on al-Qaida militants in the northern city of Mosul and on Shiite militiamen in the southern city of Basra. Thousands of Iraqi forces also moved into the Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad last week imposing control for the first time in years.
But truces with the powerful Mahdi Army militia that have calmed violence in Basra and paved the way for the Sadr City deployment have been strained in the past two days.
Supporters of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who heads the Mahdi Army, accused al-Maliki on Saturday of seeking to eliminate their movement and warned that “dark clouds” hang over the truce.
Al-Qaida fighters or other Sunni insurgents struck back in Mosul on Saturday. A roadside bomb in the city’s Sumer neighborhood hit an Iraqi army patrol, destroying a vehicle and killing four soldiers, a police officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Near Baqouba — where a U.S. offensive last year targeted al-Qaida in Iraq — gunmen assassinated a member of the local Awakening Council, a U.S.-backed group of Sunni tribesmen who are fighting al-Qaida. The attack occurred in the village of Had, north of Baghdad, police said.
U.S Ambassador Crocker spoke as he visited reconstruction projects in the southern city of Najaf.
“There is important progress for the Iraqi forces in confronting the Sunni and Shiite militias,” he said, speaking Arabic to reporters. “The government, the prime minister are showing a clear determination to take on extremist armed elements that challenge the government’s authority … no matter who these elements are.”
“You are not going to hear me say that al-Qaida is defeated, but they’ve never been closer to defeat than they are now,” Crocker said.
The U.S. military says attacks have dropped dramatically — down to an average of 41 a day across the country, the lowest rate since 2004 — amid the crackdowns and truces. The U.S. military, backed by Sunni Arab tribal fighters, have scored successes in battling al-Qaida in Iraq and other Sunni insurgents in western parts of the country.
The Mosul sweep aims to dislodge the terror network from its most prominent remaining urban stronghold. The operation has met little opposition, suggesting that many al-Qaida militants fled, intending to regroup elsewhere as they have in past crackdowns.
In Baghdad, three men attending a conference at the offices of the National Dialogue Front, a leading Sunni Arab political party, were killed when a bomb exploded under their car as they left the gathering, police said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
Meanwhile, new tensions over the truces in Sadr City and Basra were sparked when Iraqi troops in Basra fired over the heads of al-Sadr followers congregating in a northern square for Friday prayers. Iraqi police recently banned al-Sadr gatherings there after a large cache of weapons was found nearby.
Iraqi troops were deployed and when those gathering refused to disperse, the police fired rounds over their heads, witnesses said.
Iraqi police in Basra said one person was wounded, but al-Sadr officials contended that one person was killed.
Also Friday, Iraqi and U.S. troops carried out a sweep in two Mahdi Army strongholds of western Baghdad, the Amil and Bayaa districts, arresting around 100 people, police officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
Iraqi forces in the operation cordoned off a cultural center in Amil where Sadrists were gathering to hold prayers and arrested some worshippers, the officials said.
Sadrist lawmakers denounced the moves saying there was a “nationwide conspiracy against Friday prayers” and a government move to “eliminate” their movement.
Sadrist lawmaker, Aqeel Abdul-Rahman, said the group was still committed to Sadr City truce. “But we see black clouds on the horizon, being brought by the government to rain on the sons of the Sadr Movement,” he said.
The Sadrists’ angry rhetoric may in part be aimed at warning al-Maliki not to take more aggressive steps against the Mahdi Army in Sadr City, such as confiscating heavy weapons or arresting key figures. The government has said it plans to do so, but has not begun any raids in the district, wary of sparking retaliation.
SOurce:news.yahoo
By JOE MILICIA, Associated Press Writer
RITTMAN, Ohio – The cracking of rifle fire silenced the twittering blue jays, blackbirds and killdeer.
As members of the color guard lowered their rifles, the smell of bitter smoke drifted over the family and friends of former Army Sgt. Ellis Hale, a Vietnam War veteran who died of prostate cancer at age 59. Sniffles and gentle sobs accompanied a recording of taps.
Moments after the final note, Sherry Hale walked down a curved brick walkway past the saluting line of representatives of the country’s past wars. Head bowed, she clutched to her chest the American flag that covered her husband’s casket.
The scene at the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery is repeated nationwide more than 100 times a day. Military veterans are being buried at such a rapid rate that national cemeteries use heavy equipment to make room.
“We’re still in growth mode right now,” said Bill Tuerk, under secretary for memorial affairs at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. “We’re in a very high demand time period and we’re trying to respond to it.”
An average of 1,800 veterans die each day, and 10 percent of them are buried in the country’s 125 national cemeteries, which are expected to set a record with 107,000 interments, including dependents, this year. And more national cemeteries are being built.
The peak year for veterans’ deaths will be either 2007 or 2008, Tuerk said. An estimated 686,000 veterans died in 2007. While many World War II veterans are dying, so are an increased number of Korean War and Vietnam veterans.
Ohio Western Reserve, a 273-acre expanse south of Cleveland, opened in 2000 and has about 11,000 veterans and dependents buried there. It has enough land to keep it open 92 more years and accommodate a total of 106,000 burials.
Thirty-four veterans groups volunteer for services. Every seventh Thursday members of American Legion Post 548 from Louisville, Ohio, dressed in black coats, ties and pants with white belts, gloves and shoulder cords, come to pay tribute to fellow veterans.
One crisp spring morning, dozens of mourners for Hale more than filled the benches inside a stone open-air shelter tucked into a wooded corner.
Several jumped as the seven members of Post 548 fire the first of three volleys. The shell casings faintly ping and clatter as they landed on the brick walkway.
“Every time I fire, I say ‘This is for you,’” says Navy veteran Dave Scanlon, choking up while referring to his father, “Skip,” a World War II veteran who died in 1999.
Ohio Western Reserve averages 7 1/2 burials a day. The busiest national cemetery is Riverside National Cemetery, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles. It averages about 30 burials, followed by Florida National Cemetery, 50 miles north of Tampa.
Third busiest is Calverton National Cemetery, about 50 miles east of Manhattan, although it has handled as many as 55 burials in a day, said Michael Picerno, director of Calverton National Cemetery in New York.
To accommodate so many burials, hundreds of crypts are preplaced at Calverton, then covered with dirt and grass. When it comes time for a burial, the sod is cut away, the crypt opened and the casket lowered in.
Six new national cemeteries are under construction under a fiscal year 2008 budget of $167.4 million, triple the previous year. It’s the largest number of cemeteries constructed at one time.
Despite handling burials at an assembly-line pace, the National Cemetery Administration has the highest customer satisfaction score of any federal government agency and any private sector company, according to the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index. It tops companies such as Heinz, Amazon.com, and Hershey’s.
“We are ever-conscious of the fact that with each family we get one chance to get it right,” Tuerk said.
Part of streamlining the process involved holding services at committal shelters — open-air, gazebo-like structures — instead of graveside. Calverton has seven shelters; Western Reserve has two.
After taps, two uniformed members of an Army honor guard, wearing white gloves, perform the third and final ritual — the folding of the flag. They make each of the traditional 13 folds with precision as mourners look on in silence.
The flag was presented to Hale’s wife of 36 years. She was seated on a bench in the front row.
“I feel so blessed to be an American and that America has furnished something like this for our soldiers. It gives you such a wonderful feeling,” she said. “I feel proud.”
A cemetery employee politely asked the mourners to leave the shelter so the next service could begin.
Men and women in dark suits and dresses, some holding hands or with arms around one another for comfort, climbed into their Fords and Buicks and slowly drove away.
Source:news.yahoo
By TOBY MUSE, Associated Press Writer
BOGOTA, Colombia – The Colombian Defense Ministry said Saturday it believes the legendary leader of Latin America’s largest guerrilla army is dead.
Manuel “Sureshot” Marulanda, commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, died on March 26, the ministry said in a statement, citing “different military intelligence means.”
“We know that inside the FARC, the version is that he died of natural causes, specifically from a heart attack,” the ministry said. “Whether the death of Marulanda came in a bombardment or from natural causes, this would be the most serious blow this terrorist group has suffered.”
Marulanda, whose real name is Pedro Antonio Marin, was believed to be about 80, and had led the peasant-based FARC since its founding in 1964.
Colombia’s government has announced his death various times over the past 15 years, but each time proof that he was alive cropped up months later.
“If (the FARC) are going to say that the information we have is not true, they should show him,” said the statement, which was read by the military’s chief of staff, Adm. David Moreno.
The FARC did not immediately respond on the Web sites that publish rebel communiques.
Colombia has tried for years to bring down the FARC, which the government says is currently holding 700 hostages, including three U.S. military contractors and French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt, who was running for president when the rebels kidnapped her in 2002.
President Alvaro Uribe has made defeating the FARC his chief objective.
First word of Marulanda’s possible death came earlier Saturday when the newsmagazine Semana quoted Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos as saying he had information that Marulanda died in the guerrillas’ southern Colombian stronghold at the time of three bombing raids.
In the Semana interview, Santos said that the government had been told of the rebel leader’s death from a “source who has never failed us.”
A senior defense official told The Associated Press that the military’s main intelligence source is human and that communications intercepts support the claim — but he cautioned that Marulanda’s actual death remains to be confirmed. The official, who was not authorized to discuss the issue, spoke on condition of anonymity.
The ministry’s announcement and the Semana interview Saturday follow a series of rebel setbacks. The past year’s blows include the March killings of rebel commander Raul Reyes and another member of the rebel’s seven-man ruling Secretariat and the defection last weekend of a female leader well regarded inside the rebel group.
The military also said that Marulanda has been replaced as FARC leader by a rebel ideologue known as Alfonso Cano. The army has for months said it has Cano cornered in the southwest Colombian jungle and that his death or capture is imminent. FARC statements have denied Cano is in the area.
Born to a poor peasant family, Marulanda was radicalized by the vicious civil wars that ravaged Colombia in the middle of the last century, pitting Liberals against Conservatives.
He and other survivors of a 1964 army attack on a peasant community escaped to the mountains and formed the FARC, which grew over the decades to include some 15,000 fighters. The defense minister now estimates the FARC’s strength at around 9,000.
The guerrillas remain strong in many parts of Colombia’s countryside, but many Colombians believe they have abandoned their communist ideology as the movement has come to rely chiefly on drug trafficking as its main funding source.
Marulanda’s deadly aim in combat against the army earned him the name “Sureshot.”
Notoriously reclusive, he is said to have never set foot in Colombia’s capital or to have left the country, giving just a handful of interviews over the course of his life.
Even senior commanders within the FARC speak of Marulanda with awe, and he is known to have the final word over any major decision taken by the FARC.
__
Associated Press Writer Frank Bajak contributed to this report.
Source:news.yahoo
By CHRISTOPHER WILLS, Associated Press Writer
BAYAMON, Puerto Rico – Barack Obama told veterans Saturday that he can’t understand why Republican John McCain opposes legislation that would provide college scholarships to people who have served in the U.S. military.
“Now, let me be clear: No one can dispute John McCain’s love for this country or his concern for veterans. But here’s what I don’t understand. I don’t understand why John McCain would side with George Bush and oppose our plan to make college more affordable for our veterans,” the Democratic presidential candidate said. “George Bush and John McCain may think our plan is too generous. I could not disagree more.”
Obama’s criticism renews a clash that turned personal after the Senate approved the scholarship bill Thursday.
During the Senate debate, the Illinois senator questioned why McCain a Navy veteran and former prisoner of war would oppose the measure.
McCain responded with a sharp statement saying that he wouldn’t listen to any lectures on veterans’ affairs from Obama, “who did not feel it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform.”
Obama, speaking to reporters aboard his plane Saturday, countered that the idea that he can’t speak on veterans’ issues because he didn’t serve in the military “makes no sense whatsoever.”
“I didn’t serve, as many people my age, because the Vietnam war was over by the time I was of draft age and we went to an all-volunteer Army. But obviously I revere our soldiers and want to make sure they are being treated with honor and respect,” he added.
The Arizona senator opposes the scholarship measure, as does the Pentagon, because it applies to people who serve just three years. He fears that would encourage people to leave the military after only one enlistment even as the U.S. fights two wars and is trying to increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps.
Instead, McCain and Republican colleagues proposed a bill to increase benefits in conjunction with a veteran’s length of service. Senate Democrats blocked that measure.
“While Barack Obama engages in the same tired partisan politics that has failed our veterans time and again, John McCain has offered legislation that will expand needed education benefits for veterans while promoting retention in our armed forces,” McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said Saturday.
Only three primaries are left in the battle for the Democratic nomination, and Puerto Rico is holding one of them. Puerto Ricans can vote in party primaries but not in the fall general election.
Clinton spoke at an evening rally in Aguadilla, where she reminded the crowd of her ties to Puerto Rico as a first lady and then as senator from New York, which has approximately 1 million Puerto Rican residents.
“My commitment to Puerto Rico did not start last month or last year,” she said. “I will always be your voice as president.”
Through her speech, Clinton drew applause by insisting Puerto Ricans should get the same tax breaks, health care and economic opportunity afforded mainland U.S. citizens.
“You deserve a president who will give Puerto Rico’s issues as much attention as the president gives to any state,” she said.
Both candidates are hoping to increase their share of the 55 delegates who will be chosen June 1.
After Obama’s speech, he led a caminata a short political parade through the streets of Old San Juan. With an oceanfront park on one side and colorful colonial buildings on the other, Obama shook hands with cheering fans as scores of supporters marched behind.
Occasionally, he clapped or wiggled his hips to the Latin beat of his campaign song.
About 100 pro-independence advocates noisily protested a couple of blocks away. “Presidential primary is colonial trickery!” they chanted, criticizing both Obama and Clinton for not pledging to resolve Puerto Rico’s status remain a territory, become a state or declare independence.
But Obama was careful not to get caught up in the controversy, repeatedly saying that Puerto Ricans should be given a chance to decide their status for themselves.
___
Associated Press Writers Andrew O. Selsky and Devlin Barrett contributed to this report.
Source:news.yahoo
By JEFF LATZKE, Associated Press Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY – A slow-moving storm packing tornadoes and hail battered rural Oklahoma on Saturday, destroying several buildings, tearing up trees and tossing a mobile home onto a highway. The bodies of two storm victims were found in Kansas.
A twister destroyed three barns at a hog farm near Lacey in Kingfisher County, about 75 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, said Michelann Ooten, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Emergency Management Department.
No injuries were reported at the farm or elsewhere in the state.
“It’s all been out mostly in the countryside,” Kingfisher County Sheriff’s dispatcher Lonnie McDade said. “But that farm happened to be in the path and took a direct hit.”
John Hardaway, a production manager at the farm, said the 3,900 pigs housed at the farm were kept in crates and most were not hurt.
In Garfield County, a trailer was blown onto State Highway 74 near Covington and power lines were downed, said the county’s emergency manager, Mike Honigsberg.
The pace of the storm was slow for a system producing so many tornadoes, Daryl Williams, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Norman.
“It gives us time to get the warnings out, but where the tornadoes are on the ground, it creates a lot more damage,” Williams said. “We’ve been lucky because this has been mostly rural areas, but it’s not lucky if it’s your farm.”
Saturday’s storm followed two days of violent weather in the Midwest. In Kansas, cleanup was under way a day after a storm system raked the state with at least 17 tornadoes.
That storm killed at least two people, injured at least six others and heavily damaged at least 19 homes, authorities said.
The two people killed in the storm were found Saturday in a car near Pratt, the Pratt County Sheriff’s Office said. The vehicle had been blown 150 yards off a highway. Gary S. Whitlow, 33, and Kimberly S. Whitlow, 29, died.
Authorities are looking into whether lightning killed a camper in Osage County.
A Kansas Highway Patrol aircraft flew along the path of the tornado to search for other possible victims.
In northern Colorado, where a tornado struck Thursday, killing one person and damaging hundreds of homes, residents of the hard-hit farming town of Windsor were allowed into their neighborhoods Saturday to assess the damage and in some cases, salvage what they could.
“Our house is not too bad,” said Courtney Schinner. “Our roof is gone, a lot of windows are blown out, but the interior is OK.
“We got really lucky compared to a lot of people,” she said as she gathered her valuables and prepared to move into a hotel while her apartment is repaired.
Officials advised residents of the dangers in the area: exposed electrical wires, severed gas lines, nails, broken boards and other debris.
Of the 596 homes officials said were damaged by the Colorado storm, 102 were deemed unsafe to occupy.
About 100 people have died in U.S. twisters so far this year, the worst toll in a decade, according to the weather service, and the danger has not passed yet. Tornado season typically peaks in the spring and early summer, then again in the late fall.
___
Associated Press writers David Twiddy in Kansas City, Mo., Ivan Moreno in Denver and Murray Evans in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.
Source:news.yahoo
Amy Jade Winehouse[1] (born 14 September 1983)[2] is an English singer-songwriter, known for her eclectic mix of various musical genres including soul, jazz and R&B.
Winehouse’s 2003 debut album Frank did well, both commercially and critically, in her native Britain. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Her 2006 follow-up album Back to Black led to six Grammy Award nominations and five wins, tying the record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night and becoming the first British singer to win five Grammys,[3][4] including three of the “Big Four”: Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. On February 14, 2007, she won a BRIT Award for Best British Female Artist; she had also been nominated for Best British Album. She has won the Ivor Novello Award twice, among other prestigious distinctions.
Winehouse has received media attention apart from her singing. Her distinctive style, most notably her signature beehive hairstyle, has spawned imitators and been the muse for fashion designers, most notably Karl Lagerfeld. The singer’s struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, as well as self-destructive behaviour, have become regular tabloid news since 2007. She and her husband have also been plagued by legal troubles that have led to the cancellation of several tour dates.
Early life
Amy Winehouse was born in the Southgate area of Enfield, London to a Jewish family who shared her love of jazz music.[5] She was raised in a family of four: her father Mitchell (a taxi driver), her mother Janis (a pharmacist), and her older brother Alex.[6] She attended Southgate School before leaving to go to Ashmole School.[citation needed] At age ten, Winehouse founded a short-lived rap group called Sweet ‘n’ Sour with childhood friend Juliette Ashby.[7] She was trained initially at The Susi Earnshaw Theatre School from the age of eight years old. She stayed for four years before seeking full time training at Sylvia Young Theatre School, but was allegedly expelled at fourteen for “not applying herself” and for piercing her nose.[8][6] With other children from the Sylvia Young School, she appeared in an episode of The Fast Show in 1997.[9] She later attended the BRIT School in Selhurst, Croydon.[10]
Career
Early career
After toying with her brother’s guitar, Winehouse received her first guitar when she was thirteen, and began writing music a year later. She began working soon after, including as a “showbiz journalist” for the World Entertainment News Network in addition to singing with a jazz band.[6] Her sometimes boyfriend at the time, soul singer Tyler James, sent her demo tape to an A&R person.[5] The tape led to her signing with record label Island/Universal under Simon Fuller’s company 19 Management,[11] and to a publishing deal with EMI. Winehouse hired New York singer Sharon Jones’s longtime band, the Dap-Kings to back her up in the studio and on tour, giving the group its first real taste of the limelight.[12]
Major label success
Performing at the Bowery Ballroom, New York CityAmy Winehouse’s debut album, Frank, was released on 20 October 2003. Produced mainly by Salaam Remi, many songs had jazz-influences and, apart from two covers, every song was co-written by Winehouse. The album received positive reviews[13][14] with compliments over the “cool, critical gaze” in its lyrics[15] and brought comparisons of her voice to Sarah Vaughan,[16] Macy Gray and others.[15]
The album entered the upper levels of the UK album chart in 2004 when it was nominated for BRIT Awards in the categories of “British Female Solo Artist” and “British Urban Act”. It went on to achieve platinum sales.[17] Later in 2004, she won the Ivor Novello songwriting Award for Best Contemporary Song, alongside Salaam Remi, with her contribution to the first single, “Stronger Than Me”.[18] The album also made the short list for the 2004 Mercury Music Prize. In the same year, she performed at the Glastonbury festival, on the Jazzworld stage, and at the V Festival.
After the release of the album, Winehouse commented that she was “only 80 percent behind [the] album” because of the inclusion by her record label of certain songs and mixes she disliked.[5] Upon the release of her second album, she stated “I can’t even listen to Frank any more — in fact, I’ve never been able to. I like playing the tracks live because that’s different, but listening to them is another story.”[19] She later clarified this, saying: “I listen to it differently now. I am still really proud of it, I still think it’s a great album. But, with hindsight, there are some things I would have done differently… Just because I would do things a bit differently now doesn’t mean I don’t like what’s on that album.”[20]
International success
In contrast to her jazz-influenced former album, Winehouse’s focus shifted to the girl groups of the 1950s and 1960s. In an interview, Winehouse explained, “After Frank I didn’t write for 18 months but when I met Mark [Ronson] I pretty much wrote the album in six months — he was so inspiring.”[19] In early 2006, Winehouse’s demonstration tracks such as “Wake Up Alone” and “Rehab” appeared on Mark Ronson’s New York radio show on East Village Radio. These were some of the first new songs played on the radio after the release of “Pumps” and both were slated to appear on her second album. The 11-track album was produced entirely by Salaam Remi and Ronson, with the production credits being split between them. Promotion of Back to Black soon began, and in early October 2006, Winehouse’s official website was re-launched with a new layout and clips of previously unreleased songs.[17]
Audio samples:
“Rehab”
21 second audio sample from Amy Winehouse’s first North American hit
“Tears Dry on Their Own”
25 second audio sample from one of the standout tracks on “Back to Black” album
“Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”
Originally performed by The Shirelles in the 1960s, This version slows the tempo down and features a jazz arrangement.
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Back to Black was released in the UK on 30 October 2006. It went to number one on the UK Albums Chart numerous times, and entered at number seven on the Billboard 200 in the United States. By October 25, the album was approaching 5x platinum in the UK, making it the best-selling album of 2007 and the top iTunes album in the UK in 2007.[21][22]
The album spawned a number of singles. The first single released from the album on 23 October 2006 was the Ronson-produced “Rehab”.[19] The song was a number-seven single in the UK,[23][24] and the Ivor Novello award for best contemporary song.[25] “Rehab” peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of June 21, shortly after a performance of it on the 2007 MTV Movie Awards. Time magazine named “Rehab” one of the 10 Best Songs of 2007, ranking it at number one. Writer Josh Tyrangiel praised Winehouse for her confidence, opining, “What she is is mouthy, funny, sultry, and quite possibly crazy” and, “It’s impossible not to be seduced by her originality. Combine it with production by Mark Ronson that references four decades worth of soul music without once ripping it off, and you’ve got the best song of 2007.”[26]
The album’s second single, “You Know I’m No Good” was released on 8 January 2007 with a remix featuring rap vocals by Ghostface Killah. It ultimately reached number 18 on the UK singles chart. Back to Black was released in the United States in March 2007, with “You Know I’m No Good” as its lead single. The title track, “Back to Black”, was released in the UK on 30 April 2007 and peaked at number 25. A deluxe edition of Back to Black was also released on 5 November 2007 in the UK. The bonus disc features B-sides, rare, and live tracks, as well as “Valerie”. Winehouse’s debut DVD I Told You I Was Trouble: Live in London was released the same day in the U.K. and November 13 in the U.S. It includes a live set recorded at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire and a 50-minute documentary charting the singer’s career over the previous four years.[27] On December 10, 2007, the final single from Back to Black, “Love Is a Losing Game”, was released in the United Kingdom and U.S.
On 20 November 2007, Frank was released in the United States to positive reviews.[28][29] The album debuted at number 61 on the Billboard 200 chart.[30]
In addition to her own album, she has collaborated with other artists on singles. Winehouse was a vocalist on the song “Valerie” on Ronson’s solo album Version. The song peaked at number two in the UK, upon its October single release. The song was nominated for a 2008 Brit Award for “Best British Single”.[31][32][33] Her work with ex-Sugababe Mutya Buena, “B Boy Baby,” was released on 17 December 2007. It served as the fourth single from Buena’s solo debut album Real Girl.[34]
Performing at Eurockéennes 2007By year’s end, Winehouse had garnered numerous accolades and awards. The singer won 2008 Grammy Awards in the categories of ‘Record of the Year’, ‘Song of the Year’, and ‘Best Female Pop Vocal Performance’ for the single “Rehab”, while her album Back to Black was nominated for ‘Album of the Year’ and won the ‘Record of the Year’ award.[35][36] Producer Mark Ronson’s work with her won the award in the Producer of the Year Non-Classical category.[37] The singer also earned a Grammy in the ‘Best New Artist’ category. She performed “You Know I’m No Good” and “Rehab” at the awards ceremony on 10 February 2008 via satellite, as her visa approval came through too late for her to travel to the U.S. She said “This is for London because Camden town is burning down,” in reference to the Camden Market fire.[38] The nominations, announced in early December, led to a 48 percent increase in the sales of Back to Black in the United States.[39] Post Grammy Awards, album sales increased by 368 percent over the prior week, to the number 2 position in the United States.[40]
On 13 January 2008, Back to Black held the number one position on the Billboard Pan European charts for the third straight week.[41] By the end of January 2008, Universal Music International reported that total sales had reached 3.4 million copies and that it believed there was a correlation between that figure and the extensive media coverage the singer has received.[42]
On 20 February 2008, Winehouse performed at the 2008 BRIT Awards, performing “Valerie” with Mark Ronson, followed by “Love Is a Losing Game”. She urged the crowd to “make some noise for my Blake.”[43]
Performing at Eurockéennes in Belfort, Territoire de Belfort, France on 29 June 2007A special deluxe edition of “Back to Black” topped the UK album charts on 2 March 2008. The original edition of the album resided at the number 30 position, in its 68th week on the charts, while “Frank” charted at number 35.[44] By 12 March, the album had sold a total of 2,467,575 copies, 318,350 of those in the previous 10 weeks, putting the album on the UK’s top 10 best-selling albums of the 21st century for the first time.[45]. On 7 April, “Back to Black” was residing at the top position on the pan-European charts for the sixth consecutive and thirteenth aggregate week.[46]
At the 2008 Ivor Novello Awards, Winehouse became the first artist to receive two nominations for the top award, best song, musically and lyrically. She won the award for “Love Is a Losing Game” and was nominated for “You Know I’m No Good”.[47] “Rehab”, a Novello winner for best contemporary song in 2006, also received a 2008 nomination for bestselling British song.[48]
Amy Winehouse – The Girl Done Good: A Documentary Review a 78 minute DVD was released on 14 April 2008. The documentary features interviews with those who knew her at a young age, helped her gain success, jazz music experts, as well as music and pop culture specialists.[49][50]
Future recordings
After a surprise duet with Prince at the end of a London appearance, he proposed that she fly to his Minnesota home to work on a musical collaboration.[51] Meanwhile, George Michael wrote a song with which he wants to duet with Winehouse. Michael said “Amy is the best female vocalist I have ever heard in my entire career, as well as one of the best writers.”[52]
The singer expressed interest in working with Damian Marley, son of reggae legend Bob Marley, in Jamaica.[53]
Winehouse has begun work on songs for a forthcoming album, in collaboration with Mark Ronson.[54]
Pete Doherty said that Babyshambles had begun collaborating with the singer on a song entitled “You Hurt the Ones You Love”.[55] In May 2008, Doherty announced that he will duet with Winehouse on a track for the forthcoming Babyshambles album. Winehouse is writing the song with Babyshambles guitarist Mick Whitnall.[56] In addition Doherty said that Winehouse was “recording loads of new stuff” and that he is taking a “back seat” in the collaboration process.[57]
Touring
Amy Winehouse performing at the Bowery Ballroom, 2007Winehouse toured in conjunction with the album’s release.[clarify] She performed headlining gigs in September and November 2006, including one of the Little Noise Sessions charity concerts at the Union Chapel, Islington. On 31 December 2006, Winehouse appeared on Jools Holland’s Annual Hootenanny and performed a cover of Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” along with Paul Weller and Holland’s Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. She also performed Toots and the Maytals’ “Monkey Man”. She began a run of another fourteen gigs beginning in February 2007. During the summer of 2007, Winehouse performed at various festivals, including UK’s Glastonbury Festival,[58] Chicago’s Lollapalooza festival, Rock Werchter and Baltimore’s Virgin Music Festival. However, Winehouse cancelled her appearance at Provinssirock in Seinäjoki, Finland on 17 June 2007, citing a sore throat.[59] Amid controversy surrounding her health, drug use, and her husband, in October 2007, she cancelled her tour dates for the remainder of the year.
Winehouse will perform at Nelson Madela’s 90th birthday party concert at Hyde Park in London on 27 June.[60]
Winehouse is scheduled to perform this summer at the Rock in Rio,[61] Rock en Seine,[61] V Festival,[62] Oxegen Festival,[63] T in the Park,[64] Bestival,[65] Isle of Wight[66] and Glastonbury Festival[61] events as well a duet with Pete Doherty at the Albert Hall.[67]
Personal life
On 18 May 2007, Winehouse married on-off boyfriend Blake Fielder-Civil in Miami, Florida.[68] Winehouse has admitted she is violent towards Fielder-Civil when she has been drinking. In a June 2007 interview with World Entertainment News Network she said: “I’ll beat up Blake when I’m drunk. I don’t think I have ever bruised him, but I do have my way. If he says one thing I don’t like then I’ll chin him.”[69]
Substance abuse and mental health issues
Winehouse’s battles with substance abuse and erratic behaviour has been the subject of much media attention. In various interviews, she has admitted to having problems with self-harm, depression and eating disorders.[6][23] In August 2007, Winehouse canceled a number of shows in the UK and Europe, citing exhaustion and ill health. She was hospitalized during this period for what was reported as an overdose of heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine and alcohol.[70]
Soon after, Winehouse and her husband were photographed, bloodied and bruised, in the streets of London after an alleged fight, although she contended her injuries were self-inflicted.[71] Winehouse’s parents and in-laws publicly reported their numerous concerns, citing fears that the two may commit suicide, with Fielder-Civil’s father encouraging fans to boycott her music.[72] Winehouse’s father commented that when he had made public statements regarding her problems, he was using the media because it seemed the only way to get through to her.[73]
On 2 December, images of the singer outside her home in the early morning hours, barefoot and wearing only a bra and jeans appeared on the internet and in some tabloid newspapers. In a statement, her spokesperson blamed paparazzi harassment for the incident.[74] The spokesperson reported that the singer was in a physician-supervised program and was channeling her difficulties by writing a lot of music.[75]
The British tabloid The Sun posted a video of a woman, alleged to be Winehouse, apparently smoking crack cocaine and speaking of having taken ecstasy and valium. Winehouse’s father moved in with her,[76] and Island Records, her record label, announced their plans to abandon its American promotion campaign of her.[77] In late January 2008, Winehouse entered a rehabilitation facility for a two week treatment program.[78] On 23 January 2008, the video was passed on to Scotland Yard, Metropolitan Police,[77] who questioned her on February 5.[79] On 26 March, her spokesperson said she was “doing well” and denied a published report in a British tabloid that consideration was being given to having her return to rehab.[80] Her record company reportedly believed that her recovery remained fragile.[81] By late April 2008, her erratic behaviour caused fear that the drug rehabilitation efforts have been unsuccessful,[82] leading to efforts by Winehouse’s father and manager to seek assistance in having her sectioned.[83] In May, a You Tube video Winehouse and Pete Doherty released caused further concern. In the video, Winehouse, wearing a bra and shorts, picked up newborn mice and talked to them, using one mouse to send a message to her husband not to divorce her.[84][85]
Legal problems
On 8 September 2007, Winehouse settled a claim for copyright infringement over the song “He Can Only Hold Her”, brought against her by songwriter and producer P*Nut. His lawyer stated that the songwriter would receive a share of the royalties from the song and payment of costs. Previously he had received a “thank you” for his contribution but no songwriter credit on the album.[86]
In October 2007, Winehouse and her husband were arrested in Norway for possession of cannabis. The couple were later released and fined 3850 kroner (around £350).[87] Winehouse claimed she was “duped” into confessing, but police denied the allegation, noting that fluent English speakers handled Winehouse when she signed the confession.[88] A 29 February 2008 court appearance was postponed because of a legal conflict concerning an appearance Fielder-Civil was required to attend.[89]
On 9 November 2007, Winehouse’s husband and four other men were arrested on a charge of trying to pervert the course of justice in relation to an assault on a bartender in June 2007;[90] he allegedly offered to pay the victim £200,000 to withdraw his complaint.[91][92] He was denied bail and remains on remand, charges for which are expected to be heard in June.[93][81] Winehouse was cleared of involvement in the matter.[94][95]
Winehouse was initially denied a U.S. visa because of “use and abuse of narcotics”, but was later issued one. The decision came too late for her to appear live at the 2008 Grammy Awards show, and she performed via satellite.[96] Meanwhile, on 17 February 2008, Fielder-Civil reportedly was hospitalized after collapsing in prison from what was reported to be contaminated heroin.[97]
On 26 April 2008, Winehouse was cautioned after she admitted to police she slapped the face of a man with her hand, a “common assault” offense. The incident, for which she has apologized, will stay on her record and could be used against her if she is charged with a similar offense at a future time. She voluntarily turned herself in and was held overnight. When she arrived a doctor ruled she was “unfit for interview”.[98][99]
Winehouse was arrested on 7 May 2008 on suspicion of possessing drugs after a video of her apparently smoking crack cocaine was passed to Scotland Yard in January. [100] After spending nine and one half hours in custody she was bailed.[101][102] The Crown Prosecution Service considered charging her with possessing a controlled drug and allowing her premises to be used for the supply by others of a controlled drug. She was cleared when the service could not establish that the substance in the video was a controlled drug.[103] In reaction to the decision, former Scotland Yard commander John O’Connor said it is an “absolute scandal that nothing could be done” about Winehouse “cooking a snook at the law”.[104] Some Members of Parliament also reacted negatively.[104][105]
Other issues
Winehouse was ranked number two on Richard Blackwell’s 48th annual “Ten Worst Dressed Women” list, behind Victoria Beckham.[106] In Paris, she performed what was described as a “well-executed 40 minute” set at the opening of a Fendi boutique.[107]
Winehouse joined a campaign to stop a block of flats being built beside the George Tavern, a famous London East End music venue. Campaign supporters feared the residential development would end the spot’s lucrative sideline as a film and photo location, on which it relies to survive.[108]
As part of a breast cancer awareness campaign Winehouse appeared in a revealing photograph for the April 2008 issue of Easy Living magazine. [109]
Winehouse has an estimated £10m fortune, tying her for tenth place in the Sunday Times listing of the wealth of musicians under age thirty.[110]
Controversy
It has been suggested that some of the information in this article’s Criticism or Controversy section(s) be merged into other sections to achieve a more neutral presentation. (Discuss)
Winehouse’s dichotomous public image of critical and commercial success versus personal turmoil has proven to be controversial. In November 2007, the opening night of a 17-date tour was marred by booing and walkouts at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. A music critic for the Birmingham Mail newspaper said it was “one of the saddest nights of my life…I saw a supremely talented artist reduced to tears, stumbling around the stage and, unforgivably, swearing at the audience.”[111] Other concerts ended similarly,[112][113] until she announced on November 27, 2007, that her performances and public appearances were cancelled for the remainder of 2007, citing doctor advice to take a complete rest. A statement issued by concert promoter Live Nation blamed “the rigours involved in touring and the intense emotional strain that Amy has been under in recent weeks” for the decision.[114]
The New Statesman magazine called Winehouse “a filthy-mouthed, down-to-earth diva,”[115] while Newsweek magazine called her “a perfect storm of sex kitten, raw talent and poor impulse control.”[116] Karen Heller with The Philadelphia Inquirer summarized the maelstrom this way:
She’s only 24 with six Grammy nods, crashing headfirst into success and despair, with a codependent husband in jail, exhibitionist parents with questionable judgment, and the paparazzi documenting her emotional and physical distress. Meanwhile, a haute designer (Karl Lagerfeld) appropriates her disheveled style and eating issues to market to the elite while proclaiming her the new Bardot.[117]
By 2008, her continued drug problems threatened her career. Even as Nick Gatfield, the president of Island Records, toyed with the idea of releasing Winehouse “to deal with her problems”, he remarked on her talent, saying, “It’s a reflection of her status [in the U.S.] that when you flick through the TV coverage [of the Grammys] it’s her image they use.”[77]
In the days before her entry into rehabilitation, The Times, in a break with its normal custom of not devoting space to the “saga of pop singers,” editorialized that the government should force the singer into rehabilitation. The editorial, in part, read, “The State’s actions could save a great talent. She desperately needs to be brought into rehabilitation and, this time, to stay put there for weeks if not months.”
The 2008 NME Awards reflected mixed feelings toward Winehouse. The singer was nominated for awards in the categories of “Villain of the Year”, “Best Solo Artist”, and “Best Music DVD” and won in the category of “Worst Dressed Performer”.[118][119]. In its third annual list, Glamour Magazine named Winehouse the third worst dressed British Woman.[120]
Post-Grammys, some questioned whether Winehouse should have been honored with the awards given her recent personal and drug problems.[121][122][123][124] Natalie Cole (who battled her own substance-abuse problems while winning a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1975[125]) remarked, “I think the girl is talented, gifted, but it’s not right for her to be able to have her cake and eat it too. She needs to get herself together.”[125]
In an opinion newspaper commentary, Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, said that the alleged drug habits of Winehouse and other celebrities sends a bad message “to others who are vulnerable to addiction” and undermines the efforts of other celebrities trying to raise awareness of problems in Africa, now that more cocaine used in Europe passes through Africa.[126] Winehouse’s spokesperson called Costa a “ludicrous man” and noted that “Amy has never given a quote about drugs or flaunted it in any way. She’s had some problems and is trying to get better. The U.N. should get its own house in order.”[127] Graeme Pearson, the former head of Scotland’s drug enforcement agency, criticised Winehouse and Kate Moss for making going to rehab a badge of honour, thus giving the false impression that quitting drugs is easy, because many can not afford to go to clinics.[128]
In an April 2008 poll conducted by Sky News, Winehouse was named the second greatest “ultimate heroine” by the UK population at large, topping the voting for that category of those polled under 25 years old.[129] Psychologist Donna Dawson commented that the results demonstrate women like Winehouse who have “a certain sense of vulnerability or have had to fight against some adversity in their lives” receive recognition.[129] Winehouse was voted the second most hated personality in the United Kingdom in a poll conducted one month later by Marketing Magazine.[130]
London’s Mall Galleries opened an exhibit in May 2008 which includes a sculpture of Winehouse, entitled Excess. The piece has the singer sitting on top of a smashed champagne bottle, a pool oif liquid beneath her feet. The body is covered with what appeared to be tiny pills, while one outstretched hand holds a wine glass.[131]
Source:wikipedia
By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer
Buzz Up PrintMcALLEN, Texas (AP)—During three years in the low minors, John Odom never really made a name for himself.
That sure changed this week—he’s the guy who was traded for a bunch of bats.
“I don’t really care,” he said Friday. “It’ll make a better story if I make it to the big leagues.”
For now, Odom is headed to the Laredo Broncos of the United League. They got him Tuesday from the Calgary Vipers of the Golden Baseball League for a most unlikely price: 10 Prairie Sticks Maple Bats, double-dipped black, 34-inch, C243 style.
“They just wanted some bats, good bats—maple bats,” Broncos general manager Jose Melendez said.
According to the Prairie Sticks Web site, their maple bats retail for $69 each, discounted to $65.50 for purchases of six to 11 bats.
“It will be interesting to see what 10 bats gets us,” Melendez said.
The Canadian team signed Odom about a month ago, but couldn’t get the 26-year-old righty into the country. It seems Odom had a “minor” but unspecified criminal record that wasn’t revealed to immigration officials before they scanned his passport, Vipers president Peter Young said.
Odom said the charge stemmed from a fight he was in at age 17. Although he thought it had been expunged from his record, it popped up during immigration.
Odom spent hundreds of dollars driving to the Canadian border and staying at a Montana hotel while the matter was sorted out. He then drove to Laredo after the trade.
Originally from Atlanta, Odom was drafted late by the San Francisco Giants in 2003. He pitched 38 games, all in Class A, from 2004-06, and was released by the organization this spring.
Laredo intends to activate Odom on Monday and have him make his first start Wednesday.
Odom said he was supposed to be traded for Laredo’s best hitter. But when that player balked at moving to Calgary, the bats entered the deal.
Laredo offered cash for Odom, but Young said that was “an insult.”
The bat trade wasn’t the first time Calgary came up with some creative dealmaking. The Vipers once tried to acquire a pitcher for 1,500 blue seats when they were renovating their stadium, Young said.
Source:sports.yahoo
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