Limewire Shut Down for Good

By Karla Barone

New Rochelle, NY--

All good things must come to an end.

This saying is especially true now more than ever for music lovers who have been loyal fans of downloading music from websites such as Limewire and Limewire Pro.

After a four-year legal battle with the U.S. Music Industry, the ever-popular file sharing website has been shut down for good.

Limewire had been the world's most popular peer-to-peer file sharing network that enabled anyone with a computer and an internet connection to share files such as audio, video, and software.

It was started 10 years ago by founder Mark Gorton as a simple file sharing platform on the Gnutella Network. However, Limewire quickly grew into an enormous global file sharing phenomenon that only angered the music industry and that only got itself into many legal battles.

A permanent injunction has been ordered by a federal court in New York this past month that will prevent any searching or sharing of any copyrighted files.

U.S. Judge Kimba Woods ruled that record companies "have suffered-- and will continue to suffer irreparable harm from Limewire's inducement of widespread infringement of their works," adding that the potential damages were staggering.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Limewire has cost the industry hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Also, according to their figures, U.S. recorded music sales fell to $7.7 billion in 2009 from $14.5 billion in 1999.

However it is hard to say if shutting down Limewire will truly help the music industry. Limewire is not the only file sharing website out there. Other websites such as Frostwire and BitTorrent are accessible alternatives for those looking to continue downloading free music. It is likely that nore and more people will start turning to these sites.

A trial is set for January of 2011, so that a federal court can decide the appropriate amount of compensation for record companies from all of the illegal downloading throughout the years. Due to the massive quantity of files that were downloaded in the past 10 years that Limewire has been available to the public, it is estimated that the damages could amount to around $1 billion dollars. However, despite the grim-sounding future, Limewire CEO, George Searle remains positive and has not lost all hope that his company will once again be up and running sometime in the future.

"We are extremely proud of our pioneering history and have, for years, worked hard to bridge the gap between technology and content rights holders," Searle said in the statement. "However at this time, we have no option but to cease further distribution and support of our software."

So, for the time being, music lovers everywhere will just have to be patient and wait for that promising solution or cough up the $1.29 per song fee from iTunes.

Links:

http://www.limewire.com

http://http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/03/limewire-to-shut-down-completely-december-31_n_791956.html

The Notorious Tea Party

By: Alex Bishop

New Rochelle, NY - The most traditional and popular political parties in the U.S.A. are the democratic and republican parties. Though the Tea Party is not a national political party, it is still influencing American politics.

The name “Tea Party” is a direct reference to the 1773 Boston Tea Party, which was when a protest was conducted by American colonists. The colonists were opposed to a British tax on tea. As a result of the British tax, the colonists disposed of tea into the harbor once it was taken from British ships. One of the popular chants that emerged from colonists because of the Boston Tea Party was “no taxation without representation.” This phrase has become a slogan for the Tea Party movement.

The Tea Party movement has assisted local and national protests since 2009. Since then, the Tea Party has gained much recognition but many people do not know what exactly the Tea Party movement is or what it stands for.

An American opinion pollster, Scott Rasmussen, says that the bailouts of banks by the Bush and Obama Administration have caused the Tea Party’s movement. Rasmussen explains two issues that anger the Tea Party: “They think federal spending, deficits and taxes are too high, and they think no one in Washington is listening to them, and that latter point is really, really important.”

The Tea Party’s political philosophy is populist- based and contains mostly conservative and libertarian views. In terms of what issues mean the most for the Tea Partiers, the Tea Party has publicly endorsed the reduction of government spending, the reduction of the national debt, the lowering of taxes and a reduction of the federal budget deficit. The Tea Party movement also focuses attention on an originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.

The Tea Party has several aspects attributed to them that make it hard to really classify what kind of group the Tea Party is. For example, the Tea Party does not have a central leadership base. However, it does have relationships with certain groups that determine their own platforms and agendas. For this reason, the Tea Party movement has been identified as grassroots political activity which means the movement is driven by politics within a community.

In a July 2010 Washington Post article, written by Chris Cillizza, there is mentioning that some opponents of the Tea Party believe that the Tea Party is a marketing tool for the Republican policies and candidates. Because of similar views on the Tea Party, observers have also categorized the Tea Party as an example of astroturfing. Astroturfing is a formed campaign that has been planned by an organization but listed as grassroots political activity.

The Tea Party’s role in American politics greatly favors the Republican Party. Though the Tea Party has not officially run congressional candidates or appear on a ballot, 80% of the candidates that classify themselves as Tea Partiers are registered Republican.

So how popular is this movement? Google issued the top searches according to its search engine for the year 2010. The list has shown that Tea Party notables Rand Paul and Marco Rubio have gained interest due to their political ties with the Tea Party. As for the Tea Party as a whole, Google has declared that “tea party” has been an increasingly searched term especially as the year has proceeded. Google indicates that the Tea Party will continue to be an area of interest among users.

The Tea Party is still a movement that is developing. Though the Tea Party has made definite strides to become involved in the political system in America, the true impact of the Tea Party remains to be seen.

Below (in order) are three notable members of the Tea Party: Sarah Palin, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio






Expand Your Knowledge:
- Google's 2010 List of "Rising Searches"
- Washington Post Article
- The overlapping relationship between Tea Party members and Republicans

'Mo Money, Mo Problems'

By: Alex Bishop

New Rochelle, NY- New York Yankee shortstop, Derek Jeter, has sparked much media coverage in recent weeks and its not even baseball season.

The 36- year- old short stop for the New York Yankees major league baseball team, has expressed sincere irritation over the leaked information to the media regarding his financial negotiations. When he was asked recently if he was angry or disappointed, Jeter said, “A little bit of both. A lot of it was because of how I was being portrayed. Any time you have people saying you're this way or that way and you know it's not the truth, you're a little disappointed and angry at it. Most of them were saying, 'Why don't you just come out and say something?' I didn't because I said from the get-go I wasn't going to talk about it. Now that it's over with, I can address it today and then I won't talk about it anymore."

The deal, that has been discussed since the end of the last major league baseball season, involved Jeter, his personal agent and the New York Yankee baseball team, which has been the home of Derek Jeter since his first season in the major leagues in 1995.

Despite plenty of complaints on both sides, the deal has been reached. Jeter will be paid $51 million for 3 years as a Yankee. However, the specifics of the deal include incentives that Jeter can acquire through superb achievements. This aspect of the contract deal means that even though Jeter is scheduled to be paid a certain amount, he can still end up with more. There is a possible $17 million that Jeter can obtain through this part of the deal.

Here are the possible ways Jeter can gain more bucks for his bats:
• A $4 million bonus for winning AL MVP.
• A $2 million bonus for placing second through sixth in the AL MVP voting.
• A $1.5 million bonus for winning a Silver Slugger award.
• A $500,000 bonus for winning a Gold Glove.
• A $500,000 bonus for winning the League Championship Series MVP.
• A $500,000 bonus for winning the World Series MVP.

Kevin Davidoff, writer for newsday.com, expresses his opinion on Jeter’s contract and how he believes the Yankees benefited the most: “This is a team-friendly structure. Jeter is very unlikely to reach that $17 million figure. He's unlikely to get even halfway from $8 million to $17 million.”

Derek’s Jeter’s contract comes to many sport writers’ attention, including Adena Andrews. Andrews used to write for ESPN the Magazine and now is a contributing writer to espnW.com. Andrews expresses her issue with Jeter’s handling the media, but also notes that there is no denying Jeter’s accomplishments: “Note to Jeter, by voicing your dislike in the media you are extending the story and giving journalistic leeches more blood to suck out of the story. I was over the negotiations after the deal was signed, sealed and delivered. But once Jeter expressed his aversion to the negotiations the story was dragged through the 24-hour news cycle, and here I am writing a story about it a day later. This isn't to say that Jeter isn't the man. Five championships, an awesome arm and great hit-by-pitch acting skills are blessings not every man has in life. Jeter is privileged to have worked hard for them all.”

Online bloggers have been Jeter's biggest critics. Jason Gay, writer for the Wall Street Journal, offers little sympathy for Jeter’s recent media conundrum: “Well, la-dee-dah. Here's a brief list of things Mr. Jeter should be more angry at than the Yankees… That most people on earth would need to work for at least 10 years to earn his salary for one game…etc.”

Writers and columnists are quick to analyze a professional athlete, but what about a local fan of Jeter? Luis Amador, a junior at a New York College, expresses his feelings about Jeter’s situation: “It’s done now. A lot of people are going to continue to complain about his contract and whatnot. I still love him. Unlike Tiger Woods and other athletes that have harmed their reputation, Jeter hasn’t ruined his career. I just hope that he proves he’s worth at least half of what he’s being paid.”

Expand Your Knowledge:
- More by Adena Andrews regarding Jeter
- Other reasons why Jeter should be angry
- More specifics on the contract
- Steinbrenner's handling of Jeter's contract

An Ageless Society

Reaching the age of 100 has been a challenge for many but will soon become reality.

Recent research has found that there may be a way to expanding the human life expectancy in the near future to at least 100 years of age. Experts are predicting that with the proper medications and a healthy way of living, this can be the norm for millions of people.

“I guess its good news for individuals and a challenge for societies. If this trajectory continues half the babies will be 100 and I think that gives us a new perspective for how to plan your life,” said Dr. Kaare Christensen, an epidemiologist and lead author from the Danish Aging Research Center at the University of Southern Denmark.

Recently in the British Medical Journal Lancet, an article was released which revealed that babies born since 2007 will most likely live 15 years longer than their parents, 40 years longer than their grandparents and accomplish the goal of seeing their 100th birthday.

Whether this prediction proves to be correct is up to the individual and their willingness to live a certain lifestyle that will require daily medications and exercise.

Once people heard about the prediction, many opinions were expressed. However, Christensen added, “I don’t hear any concerns among the elderly that they are living too long.”

One question that was asked is if it is possible to maintain a healthy lifestyle if the life span was to expand?

Professionals in the medical field such as Hector Gonzalez, assistant professor of medicine and public health at Wayne State University, think this cannot be possible.

“I that’s a very optimistic scenario; however there may be chronic health problems that may not allow us to follow the best-case scenario, not yet,” said Gonzalez.

With the growing number of tribulations with health many are questioning whether or not the predictions will be true. The truth is there is a larger number of American’s population experiencing health problems due to the growing number of obesity, diabetes and the endless battle against cancer.

“There is no reason to think more than half the population living today can’t live until 100,” said Dr. Harrison Bloom, senior associate at the International Longevity Center of New York. “But that would assume better eating habits, a healthier lifestyle and continuing improvements in the environment.”

Keeping all that in mind, many are also wondering if the economy will be healthy enough to keep up with an increase in population. By the time the life span reaches 100 citizens will have to have saved enough to support the growing number of families as well as health care, social security, Medicare, etc. Time will only tell if we will have the resources to support a longer and healthier life span.

Expand your knowledge...

http://abcnews.go.com/wnt/video/cold-snap-reaches-canada-florida-12328365&tab=9482930§ion=1206853&playlist=11686190

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUPqrFpcB9E

Eminem Back From The Dead

He is referred to as Eminem or Slim Shady, but what a lot of people don’t know is that he’s about to take over rap. Marshall Mathers is back from the trenches and has overcome a drug problem that nearly took his life three years ago. Now, the 38 year-old rapper has one of the biggest-selling records of 2010 and isn’t looking back.

“Guess who’s back, back again? Shady’s back, tell a friend.” These lyrics are from the song called “Just lose it” off of the Curtain Call album that hit the radio in 2005. This album sold 1.2 million albums in the first three weeks of its release.

The only difference now is Eminem is actually back and is looking to take over the music industry. Throughout his twelve-year rap career, Eminem has sold 32 million albums, the most of any artist. The Beatles were the runner up in album sales not even coming close to Slim Shady. Eminem is also up for 10 Grammies, including album of the year, song of the year, and record of the year.

But it wasn’t an easy path to success for Eminem. From 2002 to 2008 the rapper was addicted to prescription drugs, including Vicodin, Ambien and Valium. His life was on a tailspin that was going down.

In an attempt to get clean in 2006, Eminem’s best friend Proof was shot and killed. The death of his childhood friend sparked a relapse, during which Eminem was found on a bathroom floor on the verge of death. According to an interview in Rolling Stones Magazine, the rapper said, “ The doctors told me I’d done the equivalent of four bags of heroin. They said I was two hours from dying.”

The painkillers were not only affecting Eminem’s body, but also his song writing. Around 2004, his songs were beginning to not make sense and reeked of stupidity and foolishness. Eminem has saved every piece of writing from the time he was on drugs, storing the influenced writing in a closet. According to Rolling Stone when asked why he does this, Eminem uses it as a tool of motivation. It reminds him of a place where he never wants to revisit. Eminem just celebrated his second year of sobriety.

The once bleached-blonde rapper, who was against everyone and anyone who didn’t support him, has matured. He is a rapper in the recording studio and a father at home. He has custody of three girls, two who are not biologically related to him. He lives with his 14-year-old daughter Haile, and two adopted daughters, 8-year-old Whitney and 17-year-old Alaina.

Life is full of second chances and Eminem made it known to the world that he is taking every advantage of being alive. The rapper has begun to go on tour. In September, he performed in New York City and in his hometown of Detroit. His hard work in the studio and in sobriety is paying off for Eminem. After it’s all said and done, Eminem could be labeled as one of the five greatest rappers to ever have picked up a microphone.

Limewire Shut Down for Good

Nothing in life is free.

This saying is especially true now more than ever for music lovers who have been loyal fans of downloading music from sites such as Limewire.

After a four-year legal battle with the U.S. music industry, the ever-popular file sharing website, Limewire has been shut down.

A permanent injuction has been ordered by a federal court in New York this past month that will prevent any searching or sharing of any copyrighted music files.

U.S. Judge Kimba woods ruled that record companies "have suffered – and will continue to suffer irreparable harm from LimeWire's inducement of widespread infringement of their works", adding that the potential damages were staggering.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Limewire has cost the industry hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Also, according to their figures, U.S. recorded music sales fell to $7.7bn in 2009 from $14.5bn in 1999.

A trial is set for January 2011, so a federal court can decide the appropriate level of compensation for record companies for all of the illegal downloads.

Limewire, however is not the first service of this kind to be shut down. Back in 2002, Napster collapsed after dealing with a substantial amount of legal troubles.

Limewire CEO George Searle assures Limewire fans that they plan on working with the music industry to come up with a legal music service website.

However, music lovers will have to cough up the $1.29 per song to iTunes until a legal solution can be reached.

The Re-birth of Michael Vick

New Rochelle,Ny.
By: Brian Brabazon
It wasn’t too long ago that NFL star Michael Vick was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of sponsoring a dog fighting operation. The then Atlanta Falcons quarterback were charged with competitive dog fighting, and training pit bulls for fighting and conducting this dog fighting ring across state lines. How could something like this happen to such a young, highly touted quarterback, with seemingly everything? It wasn’t long after his indictment that Vick, turned himself in and received twenty three months in prison for committing such a heinous crime. Now the quarterback with everything had nothing, off to prison to wonder what could have been of his career.
Many including myself believed so, fast forward to nineteen months to the end of Vick’s prison sentence, now thirty years old, away from the game for over two years, left sitting stagnant in a Virginia federal prison surely would have diminished those jaw-dropping skills that gave opposing coaches nightmares. The Philadelphia Eagles and head coach Andy Reid were willing to give Vick this chance, to prove his worth, and complete a comeback. Vick said “I had to go through what I went through to be where I am now. I find myself in a position where I'm willing to listen; I've got coaches who are going to coach me regardless of what or how I feel. If I've got an attitude one day, or not just feeling it at the moment I'm going to get coached. And I respect that to the fullest. It brings out the best in me." According to an interview on CBS "60 minutes" Vick, who in the past would shift the blame around to everyone but himeself stated "I blame me, no one else".
Now, with a seemingly clear conscience and full focus on football, Vick's comeback has taken on the national spotlight, it has inevitably become the irresistible talking point all over the country, if you tune in to sports talk radio, flick on ESPN and watch sports center for six hours, scan the back page of newspapers across the country. The Michael Vick story is refreshed again and again each day of.
What blows many peoples minds is his ability to quickly adapt on the playing field after such a long layoff from the game. For about three to four hours, his comeback to the National Football League could have best been seen by what transpired when the Eagles played the Washington Redskins in the rain on Monday night two weeks ago, a mauling that left the Redskins embaressed. Vick was so impressive that night, leading the Eagles to touchdowns on their first five possessions. Showing off his impressive arm, he flicked his wrist and hit wide reciever DeSean Jackson with a 68 yard touchdown. Moments later he hit his other stud wideout Jeremy Maclin for a 48 yeard strike. "Unbelievable” Hall of Fame player and former coach Mike Ditka would say a day later. “It was like a man playing amongst boys”.
It was a thing of beauty to watch, Vicks transformation come to fruition, in the national spotlight with millions of people watching. It was a performance up there with anything that previous greats of the game have accomplished, the Hall of Fame even requesting Vick’s jersey after the game was finished. Vick had single-handedly put Philadelphia in the thick of a Super Bowl conversation and made himself a legitimate candidate for the MVP. After the game commissioner Goodell spoke to the media, proclaiming Vick as a true American success story, almost as if he was the Phoenix rising up from the ashes, resurrecting his life and his career.
Vick’s story however presents the league with an question that many people across the country believe. In a year where there are so many mediocre teams and few standout players, is the NFL ready to make the face of their league a convicted felon?
You can't help but admire his talent, and at the same time you can't forget what happened three years ago. His game is at an all-time high, but yet we can't quite forget about Bad News Kennelz. Will these questions ever go away? As long as Vick keeps playing well skeptics and critics will always be there.

Expand your Knowledge:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2940065
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/10/60minutes/main5231257.shtml