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At Comic-Con, Jennifer Lawrence and her co-stars debuted fresh footage from their "Hunger Games" sequel in Hall H on Saturday.
By Jean Bentley
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1710948/catching-fire-trailer-comic-con.jhtml
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JERUSALEM (AP) ? Israel will release some "hardcore" Palestinian prisoners as part of the new breakthrough by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in efforts to restart Mideast talks, a senior Israeli official said Saturday.
The remarks by Yuval Steinitz were the first Israeli comment detailing the terms for the negotiations since Kerry on Friday night announced that the two sides will meet soon in Washington to formalize an agreement on relaunching peace talks that collapsed in 2008.
Kerry's announcement came after last-minute meetings with Palestinian officials at the end of a day in which he shuttled between the Jordanian capital and the West Bank. In Amman, Kerry said Israel and the Palestinians had agreed on a basis for returning to negotiations, five years after talks broke down.
Steinitz's remarks on Saturday were all the more surprising because Kerry insisted that the agreement is still in the process of being formalized, "so we are absolutely not going to talk about any of the elements now."
Steinitz, Israel's intelligence and strategic affairs minister, told Israel Radio on Saturday that "there will be hardcore prisoners (released) ... those that have been sitting in jail for dozens of years."
In Israeli parlance, term "hardcore" refers to prisoners implicated in deadly attacks. Their release has been a long-standing Palestinian demand. Steinitz didn't say how many would be released, adding only that they would be freed in phases.
But, Steinitz said, other Palestinian demands will not be met, such as a freeze on settlement building and defining the 1967 lines as borders ahead of the negotiations.
The fate of the prisoners is extremely sensitive in Palestinian society, where after decades of fighting Israel, many families have had a member imprisoned. The Palestinians are held on a range of charges, from rock throwing to deadly assaults like shooting attacks or bombings targeting Israeli soldiers and civilians.
The Palestinians mostly view the prisoners as heroes while Israelis tend to see them as terrorists.
Steinitz also said it was agreed that there would be a timetable of at least nine months during which the negotiations would go on, to prevent them from collapsing along the way.
He also said the Palestinians agreed to refrain from taking action against Israel at the United Nations while the talks are underway.
Other Israeli officials in the government could not be immediately contacted to back up Steinitz's remarks. There was no word from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who did not meet with Kerry during the American diplomat's trip this week.
And though Kerry's statement fell short of an outright resumption of Mideast negotiations, which would tackle the toughest issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he said the two sides had agreed on "a basis" for the talks.
"If everything goes as expected," Israeli and Palestinians negotiators will hold initial talks "within the next week or so," Kerry said.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who met with Kerry in the West Bank town of Ramallah earlier on Friday, said "lengthy talks ... have resulted in the Palestinians accepting the resumption of talks."
In a statement, Abbas said "some details still need to be worked out."
Kerry said all talks are being held privately.
"Any speculation or reports you may read in the media or elsewhere or here in the press are conjecture. They are not based on fact because the people who know the facts are not talking about them. The parties have agreed that I will be the only one making further comments about this," Kerry said.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israel-palestinian-prisoners-freed-talks-102223951.html
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By Zorianna Kit
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Gabriela Cowperthwaite was a mom who took her kids to SeaWorld when the death of a killer whale trainer at one of the marine parks sparked her latest filmmaking project.
The documentary "Blackfish" was originally conceived without a point of view as Cowperthwaite set out to answer the question of why a top trainer at SeaWorld became the victim of the killer whale with which she worked and performed.
The resulting film that opens in movie theaters on Friday, however, turned out to be a critical look at the consequences of keeping killer whales in captivity.
SeaWorld has launched its own campaign to challenge the criticism of "Blackfish," which has drawn comparisons to the 2009 Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove" about the killing of dolphins in Japan, a film embraced by animal activists.
In a statement released this week, SeaWorld accused the film of painting "a distorted picture" of its facility, calling it "inaccurate and misleading," as well as exploiting "a tragedy that remains a source of deep pain for Dawn Brancheau's family, friends and colleagues."
Brancheau was killed in 2010 by the great orca, Tilikum, at SeaWorld in Orlando. Although reports differ as to how exactly she was pulled under the water, the autopsy report revealed she died of drowning and blunt force trauma.
"Blackfish" traces the life of Tilikum, who has been performing for 30 years since he was captured in 1983 around the age of 2.
"The Hollywood Reporter" described "Blackfish" as "emotionally powerful," "harrowing" and "a damning indictment of the SeaWorld theme park franchise."
That was not what Cowperthwaite had in mind.
"I don't come from animal activism - I am a mother who took her kids to SeaWorld," said Cowperthwaite, 42. "I thought (the Brancheau) incident was a one-off. In my mind, I was going to make a larger philosophical film about human beings and our relationships with our animal counterparts."
Things took a turn when, during Cowperthwaite's two-year project, she discovered that Brancheau's death was not an isolated incident, and that Tilikum was involved in two other deaths since 1991.
SEAWORLD QUESTIONS 'GOOD FAITH'
By interviewing Tilikum's former trainers, along with academics and whale experts, the documentary paints a portrait of a captive orca whose behavior appears to come from the stress of the circumstances he was unwittingly placed in after his capture three decades ago.
Cowperthwaite said she exchanged emails with SeaWorld over the course of six months in an attempt to get its side of the story. She provided a list of questions she wanted to discuss, but in the end, the answer she got was "no."
"I wonder whether it was because the truth is in some ways very complicated, very dark," she said. "How could they address those incidents without being defensive or sounding negligent?"
"Or maybe because I'm not a famous filmmaker, they thought this movie will go away and fall by the wayside."
When contacted by Reuters, SeaWorld's vice president of communications, Fred Jacobs, said in a statement that SeaWorld is "much more likely to cooperate with authors or filmmakers when we feel they are approaching the topic in good faith, with a true commitment to balance, fairness, and accuracy. That did not appear to be the case with this project."
Former SeaWorld trainer Samantha Berg, 45, who worked with Tilikum when she was in her 20s and is featured in "Blackfish," told Reuters it's not about being "anti-SeaWorld" but "anti the way things have been done up to this point."
"I'm rooting for SeaWorld to change its business model, retire the whales and stop the breeding program," Berg said. "Given what we now know, there is a moral responsibility for us to do the right thing."
Cowperthwaite hopes that "Blackfish" will inspire others to take action and not be "passive consumers" like she once was.
"I hope future generations will become more agile in seeing past veneers," she said.
(Editing by Mary Milliken and Sandra Maler)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blackfish-documentary-dives-killer-whale-captivity-215741903.html
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In this photo taken Monday, July 15, 2013, a photo of fugitive ex-monk Wirapol Sukphol, left, is shown by Songkran Artchariyasarp, a lawyer and Buddhist activist in Bangkok, Thailand. Now Wirapol is at the center of the biggest religious scandal the predominantly Buddhist country has seen in years. Critics say the case is an extreme example of a wider crisis in Thai Buddhism. The arrest warrant implicates Wirapol on three charges including statutory rape, embezzlement and online fraud to seek donations. He is also under investigation for money laundering, drug trafficking and manslaughter for a hit-and-run accident. Authorities are struggling to figure out how he amassed so much money. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
In this photo taken Monday, July 15, 2013, a photo of fugitive ex-monk Wirapol Sukphol, left, is shown by Songkran Artchariyasarp, a lawyer and Buddhist activist in Bangkok, Thailand. Now Wirapol is at the center of the biggest religious scandal the predominantly Buddhist country has seen in years. Critics say the case is an extreme example of a wider crisis in Thai Buddhism. The arrest warrant implicates Wirapol on three charges including statutory rape, embezzlement and online fraud to seek donations. He is also under investigation for money laundering, drug trafficking and manslaughter for a hit-and-run accident. Authorities are struggling to figure out how he amassed so much money. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
In this photo taken Monday, July 15, 2013, Songkran Artchariyasarp, a lawyer and Buddhist activist, shows a picture of a Buddha statue that is part of an alleged embezzlement by former Buddhist monk Wirapol Sukphol in Bangkok, Thailand. Now Wirapol is at the center of the biggest religious scandal the predominantly Buddhist country has seen in years. Critics say the case is an extreme example of a wider crisis in Thai Buddhism. The arrest warrant implicates Wirapol on three charges including statutory rape, embezzlement and online fraud to seek donations. He is also under investigation for money laundering, drug trafficking and manslaughter for a hit-and-run accident. Authorities are struggling to figure out how he amassed so much money. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
BANGKOK (AP) ? He's known as Thailand's jet-setting fugitive monk, and his story has riveted the country with daily headlines of lavish excess, promiscuity and alleged crimes ranging from statutory rape to manslaughter.
Until a month ago, 33-year old Wirapol Sukphol was relatively unknown in Thailand. Now he is at the center of the biggest religious scandal the predominantly Buddhist country has seen in years.
Despite the vows he took to lead a life of celibacy and simplicity, Wirapol had a taste for luxury, police say. His excesses first came to light in June with a YouTube video that went viral. It showed the orange-robed monk in aviator sunglasses taking a private jet ride with a Louis Vuitton carry-on.
The video sparked criticism of his un-monkly behavior and a stream of humorous headlines like, "Now boarding, Air Nirvana."
Since then, a long list of darker secrets has emerged ? including his accumulated assets of an estimated 1 billion baht ($32 million). This week, authorities issued an arrest warrant for the disgraced monk after having him defrocked in absentia.
Wirapol was in France when the scandal surfaced after leading a meditation retreat at a monastery near Provence. He is believed to have then fled to the United States but his current whereabouts are unknown.
The arrest warrant implicates him on three charges including statutory rape, embezzlement and online fraud to seek donations. He is also under investigation for money laundering, drug trafficking and manslaughter for a hit-and-run accident. Authorities are struggling to figure out how he amassed so much money.
"Over the years there have been several cases of men who abused the robe, but never has a monk been implicated in so many crimes," said Pong-in Intarakhao, the case's chief investigator for the Department of Special Investigation, Thailand's equivalent of the FBI. "We have never seen a case this widespread, where a monk has caused so much damage to so many people and to Thai society."
Cases of monk misconduct in recent years have centered on alcohol use or cavorting with women or men, all forbidden activities. Last year, about 300 of Thailand's 61,416 full-time monks were reprimanded and in several cases disrobed for violating their vows, according to the Office of National Buddhism.
In Wirapol's case, investigators believe they have only scratched the surface.
Born in the poor northeastern province of Ubon Ratchathani, he entered the monkhood as a teenager and gained local renown for claims of supernatural powers like the ability to fly, walk on water and talk to deities. He renamed himself, Luang Pu Nen Kham, taking on a self-bestowed title normally reserved for elder monks.
Gradually, he cultivated wealthy followers to help fund expensive projects in the name of Buddhism ? building temples, hospitals and what was touted as the world's largest Emerald Buddha. The 11-meter (36-foot) high Buddha was built at his temple in the northeast, touted as solid jade but made of tinted concrete.
Thailand's Anti-Money Laundering Office has discovered 41 bank accounts linked to the ex-monk. Several of the accounts kept about 200 million baht ($6.4 million) in constant circulation, raising suspicion of money laundering.
Investigators also suspect that Wirapol killed a man in a hit-and-run accident while driving a Volvo late at night three years ago.
Critics say Wirapol is an extreme example of a wider crisis in Buddhism, which has become marginalized by a shortage of monks and an increasingly secular society. The meditative lifestyle of the monkhood offers little allure to young Buddhists raised on shopping malls, smartphones and the Internet.
But the case of Wirapol has also shown the benefits of social media, says Songkran Artchariyasarp, a lawyer and Buddhist activist.
"Buddhists all around the world can learn from this case," said Songkran, who heads a Facebook group that collects tips about wayward monks. Photos uploaded to his page helped launch the investigation into Wirapol.
"Let this be a case study that shows if a monk does something wrong, it's harder to get away with it ? especially in the era of social media."
But it remains stunning how much Wirapol did get away with. During a shopping spree from 2009 to 2011, Wirapol bought 22 Mercedes worth 95 million baht ($3.1 million), according to the DSI. The fleet of luxury cars were among 70 vehicles he has purchased. Some he gave as gifts to senior monks, others he sold off as part of a suspected black market car business to launder his money, Pong-in said.
Luxury travel for the monk included helicopters and private jets for trips between the northeast and Bangkok.
"I always wondered what kind of monk has this much money," said one of his regular pilots, Piya Tregalnon. Each domestic roundtrip cost about 300,000 baht ($10,000) and the monk always paid in cash, he said in comments posted on Facebook.
"The most bizarre thing is what was in his bag," Piya said, referring to the typical monk's humble cloth shoulder sack. "It was filled with stacks of 100 dollar bills."
Like many people, Piya only went public with his suspicions after the scandal erupted. Dozens of pictures have been posted in online forums showing Wirapol's high-flying lifestyle ? riding a camel at the pyramids in Egypt, sitting in a cockpit at the Cessna Aircraft factory in Kansas. According to the pilot and investigators, Wirapol was interested in buying his own private jet.
Even more incriminating were accusations of multiple sexual relationships with women ? a cardinal sin for monks who are not allowed to touch women. Among them was a 14-year-old girl with whom he allegedly had a son, a decade ago. The mother filed a statutory rape case against him last week.
Police have yet to determine how many people he swindled, but the trail of disappointed followers is long.
One of them is a Bangkok housecleaner originally from Ubon Ratchathani who remembers first hearing him preach a year ago.
"His voice was beautiful, it was mesmerizing. He captivated all of us with his words," recalled Onsa Yubram, 42. When he ended his sermon and held out his saffron bag, hundreds of people rushed forward with donations. "His bag was so full of cash, they had to transfer the money into a big fertilizer sack. He told us, 'Don't worry, no need to rush. I'll stay here until the last of you gets to donate.'"
Onsa now feels betrayed but says her belief in Buddhism is too strong to let this scandal shatter her faith.
"As a Buddhist I can understand why this happened. Monks, in a way, are ordinary men who have greed and desire," she said. "Some are bad apples, but that doesn't mean every monk is bad."
___
Associated Press Writer Thanyarat Doksone contributed to this report.
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ZAATARI, Jordan (AP) ? Angry Syrian refugees urged U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday to do more to help opponents of President Bashar Assad's government, venting frustration at perceived inaction on their behalf.
Visiting the Zaatari refugee camp in northern Jordan, Kerry met six representatives of its 115,000-strong population, all of whom appealed to him to create no-fly zones and set up humanitarian safe havens inside Syria. The Obama administration has boosted assistance to the Syrian opposition but has noted grave complications and astronomic costs in enforcing no-fly zones or protecting the opposition on Syrian soil.
In Jordan on his sixth trip to the Middle East as secretary of state, Kerry flew to the Zaatari camp northeast of Amman, about 12 kilometers from the Syrian border. He was accompanied by Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.
Kerry, who spent his time at the camp's administrative base and did not tour the living quarters for security reasons, met with the six refugees who all appealed for the U.S. and others to do more militarily to support the opposition. During the 40-minute meeting, they expressed their anger at what they called inaction and indifference on the part of the international community.
"Mr. Secretary, if the situation remains unchanged until the end of Ramadan this camp will become empty. We will return to Syria and we will fight with knives," said one female refugee, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal against her or her family.
"You as the U.S. government look to Israel with respect," she said. "Cannot you do the same with the children of Syria?"
"The international community can decide to keep its eyes closed as long as it wants. We will return to Syria and we will remember everything," said a male refugee, who asked not to be named for the same reason.
Kerry listened grimly to the complaints of the refugees, which included five from Daara, the Syrian city closest to the camp in Jordan, and one from Homs, which has been under increasing siege by President Bashar Assad's military for weeks.
"A lot of different options are under consideration," Kerry responded. "I wish it was very simple. As you know, we've been fighting two wars for 12 years. We are trying to help in various ways, including helping Syrian opposition fighters have weapons. We are doing new things. There is consideration of buffer zones and other things but it is not as simple as it sounds."
"You are not abandoned," he said. "We are very aware of how terrible conditions are inside Syria. I came here today because we are concerned. I promise you I will take your voices and concerns back with me to Washington as we continue to work with our friends in ways that can be helpful."
After the meeting, Kerry told reporters he understood the refugees' concerns but stressed that the U.S. is the largest provider of humanitarian aid to the Syrian people, both inside the country and in camps. Washington has provided nearly $815 million in humanitarian assistance to Syrians through the United Nations, $147 million of which has been directed to relief agencies working in Jordan.
"I think they are frustrated and angry at the world for not stepping up," Kerry said. "If I was in their shoes I would be looking for help wherever I could find it. I share their passion and frustration for the plight that they face on a day-to-day basis."
Killian Kleinschmidt, the camp manager for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said the refugees' stories are getting worse.
"The conflict has reached a level of brutality that is unbelievable," he told Kerry in a briefing before the secretary met the refugees.
Kleinschmidt said every family can tell stories of rape, torture, arrest and disappearances. Children draw "horrible pictures of destruction," he said.
The camp houses about 115,000 people, making it the fourth largest city in Jordan, which is now home to more than 600,000 Syrian refugees and is struggling to cope with their presence. Turkey and Lebanon are also hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees. The United Nations has called it the worst humanitarian crisis in decades.
The Zaatari camp was set up last July. At the high point in April, an average of 1,500 people arrived each day. The current population is down from a high of nearly 130,000 because some people are leaving ? some to go back to join the fight, some to tend to properties in areas that are relatively safe and some into Jordan proper if they can prove they have relatives already there.
But people are still arriving, although in much smaller numbers than before; most Syrians who lived closest to the border are already in Jordan and the new arrivals are coming from farther away, Kleinschmidt said, One hundred arrivals Wednesday night had spent 17 days on the road coming from the Homs area, about 200 miles away. The start of Ramadan may also play a role in the reduced influx of refugees.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-refugees-urge-kerry-us-action-101738182.html
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