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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2010

DAILY GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCHEDULE FOR
THURSDAY, MAY 20, 2010

In the morning, the President will receive the Presidential Daily Briefing and the Economic Daily Briefing in the Oval Office. The President will also meet with senior advisors in the Oval Office. These meetings are closed press.

In the afternoon, the President and the Vice President will meet with Secretary of the Treasury Geithner in the Oval Office. This meeting is closed press.

Also tomorrow, Solicitor General Elena Kagan will travel to Capitol Hill to meet separately with Senator Gregg, Senator Lincoln, Senator Snowe, Senator Lautenberg, Senator Landrieu, and Senator Boxer.

In-Town Travel Pool
Wires: AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
Wire Photos: AP, Reuters, AFP
TV Corr & Crew: NBC
Print: NY Post
Radio: AURN

EDT

9:30AM In-Town Travel Pool Call Time

10:00AM THE PRESIDENT receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press

10:30AM THE PRESIDENT receives the Economic Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press

11:00AM THE PRESIDENT meets with senior advisors
Oval Office
Closed Press

3:00PM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT meet with Secretary of the Treasury Geithner
Oval Office
Closed Press

Briefing Schedule

1:00PM Briefing by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs

##

After the great success of both the editions of Transformers, the crowd is all ready and await the third sequel of the robots. The shooting of the movie Transformers 3, starts this summer with more action and new robots to feature in the third installment. Things started to make a twist and suddenly users were seen gluing to the internet to find updated reports on the upcoming movie. Megan Fox, who has always been the center of attraction and the most stunning part of both the sequels is heard to miss the latest edition.

Reports started to pour in, as early as Wednesday, that Megan Fox would not be casting in the third picture. An official word from Paramount Pictures confirmed that the studio were keeping Fox out of the movie. No reasons were there to furnish the real story as to what happened and why is Megan Fox not ready to cast in the third edition as she earlier acted swiftly. A close source confirmed that there was something wrong with the Director and the lady.

Later on the day as the news came out flashing and the actress herself got a glimpse that Paramount Pictures had out casted the lady, she was there to comment and defend the story.

Megan Fox was all words as she lashed out on the production explaining that it was solely her decision to pull out from the movie and not the company kicking her out.

Megan Fox’s Rep. told:

“Megan Fox will not be starring in ‘Transformers 3. It was her decision not to return. She wishes the franchise the best.”

Back when, Transformers 2 or Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was launched, both the Director and actress lashed out on each other as they exchanged some heated words against each other. The director was of the view that the actress was too young in blood and needed much work and needs to grow up, while the actress referred the Director as Hitler.

Critics were also of the view that the actor and hero, Shia LaBeouf had to be given “a new love interest”. Transformers 3 will be hitting theaters July 2011.

Related posts:

1. Megan Fox will not be in Transformers 3
2. Megan Fox Ousted In Transformers 3
3. Megan Fox, Out in Transformers 3

Megan Fox expects us to believe that she voluntarily walked away from her leading role in the blockbuster action-flick franchise Transformers.

Uh-huh…And I’m Betty White.

Megan, who solidified her status as a modern day sex symbol playing Shia LaBeouf’s sultry love interest in the first two Transformers movies, has been dropped from the third, Paramount Studio chiefs said Wednesday. Fox, however, denies that she was dropped at all. The star’s pokesperson has moved swiftly to dismiss rumors the actress was fired – insisting it was the star’s decision to leave the franchise.

“Megan Fox will not be starring in Transformers 3. It was her decision not to return. She wishes the franchise the best.”

Megan, who is notorious for making headline-grabbing comments to the media, engaged in a public spat with Transformers director Michael Bay last summer. Bay later defended the star and said he looked forward to working with her on part three.

According to sources familiar with the production, Bay reportedly wanted to take the story in a different direction and wanted a new actress to play Shia LaBeouf’s love interest.

Fox played the role of Mikaela Banes in the first Transformers film released in 2007 and reprised her role in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, released last June.

Invisible cowboys and their invisible horses have apparently invaded Red Dead Redemption thanks to a bug that pops up in multiplayer mode.

Glenn Greenwald has a post on reports that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has had his Australian passport confiscated – WikiLeaks founder has his passport confiscated.

This is a reminder that one can’t run around exposing the secrets of the most powerful governments, militaries and corporations in the world without consequences (h/t):

The Australian founder of the whistleblower website Wikileaks had his passport confiscated by police when he arrived in Melbourne last week.

Julian Assange, who does not have an official home base and travels every six weeks, told the Australian current affairs program Dateline that immigration officials had said his passport was going to be cancelled because it was looking worn.

However he then received a letter from the Australian Communication Minister Steven Conroy’s office stating that the recent disclosure on Wikileaks of a blacklist of websites the Australian government is preparing to ban had been referred to the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

Last year Wikileaks published a confidential list of websites that the Australian government is preparing to ban under a proposed internet filter — which in turn caused the whistleblower site to be placed on that list.

The Australian document was so damaging because the Australian government claimed that the to-be-banned websites were all associated with child pornography, but the list of the targeted sites including many which had nothing to do with pornography. That WikiLeaks was then added to the list underscores the intended abuse.

Forcing Assange to remain in Australia would likely be crippling to WikiLeaks. One of the ways which WikiLeaks protects the confidentiality of its leakers and evades detection is by having Assange constantly move around, managing WikiLeaks from his laptop, backpack, and numerous countries around the world. Preventing him from leaving Australia would ensure that authorities around the world know where he is and would impede his ability to maintain the secrecy on which WikiLeaks relies.

Secrecy is the crux of institutional power — the principal weapon for maintaining it — and there are very few entities left which can truly threaten that secrecy. As the worldwide controversy over the Iraqi Apache helicopter attack compellingly demonstrated, WikiLeaks is one of the very few entitles capable of doing so and fearlessly devoted to that mission. It’s hardly surprising that those responsible would be harassed and intimidated by governmental agencies — it’d be far more surprising if they weren’t — but it’s a testament to how truly threatening they perceive outlets like WikiLeaks to be.

Fisker Automotive, Inc., the new American manufacturer of premium green automobiles, unveiled its first production car — the 2010 Fisker Karma.

With a starting price of $87,900 ($80,400 after US government tax credits), 1,000 orders for the 100 mile-per-gallon luxury plug-in hybrid have been received since the prototype debuted at the 2008 NAIAS.

The Fisker Karma is a plug-in hybrid luxury sports sedan revealed on 14 January 2008 at the North American International Auto Show.

It is the first car from Fisker Automotive, a joint venture of Quantum Technologies and Fisker Coachbuild, LLC, announced on 5 September 2007.

Fisker Automotive plans to begin production by Valmet Automotive in May 2010 and have the first cars in showrooms by September 2010.

The car is anticipated to have a PHEV-50, 50-mile (80 km) all-electric range, and sell for US $87,900.

Fiber may be a utlity, but it’s not mandaotry – not in Jackson, Minnesota. According to the Jackson County Pilot…

“We are going to make freely available a connection to every home, every business, every building in the city of Jackson,” said [Jackson Mayor] Jasper, a longtime fiber proponent and the city’s representative on the Southwest Minnesota Broadband Project Board of Directors. “But if you don’t want this on your land, we will not put it there.”

Now if you decide later (or the next owner decides) that you do want fiber the installation cost will be on you.

It’s an interesting notice reflecting a viewpoint I almost forget exists. Also it makes the case for broadband adoption programs. I assume there are situations I cannot imagine where fiber may not be attractive – but for most folks I think it’s just a matter of explaining what broadband can do for them and failing that, what access to fiber can do for resale values.

Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze will battle each other for the 2010 American Idol title on next week’s Season 9 finale after guitarist Casey James was voted off by viewers on Wednesday.

For months, Bowersox — a 24-year-old dreadlocked single mom from Ohio — had for months seemed certain to win the current season of the TV singing show. However, DeWyze, 23, who worked as a paintshop clerk in Chicago before auditioning for the show last year, has gained steadily in favor with Idol viewers in recent weeks.

The studio finally reached a deal with Ashley Greene and Kellan Lutz to reprice their supporting roles as vampires in the fourth film, Breaking Dawn. There had been reports of salary dispute between Summit Entertainment and Green and Lutz where the actors wanted to have a million dollars each the movie  Breaking Dawn. However, the actors and Summit reached a deal where the studio already named them as cast members in the upcoming film. Ashley Greene plays Alice Cullen, the sister of Edward Cullen (played by Robert Pattinson)  and the closest friend of Isabella Swan (played by Kristen Stewart). Kellan Lutz plays Emmet Cullen, the brother of Edward Cullen.

There had been worried fans worldwide since Summit had already replaced Victoria in the film where Rachel Lefevre was replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard. Lefevre was the original actress to play Victoria in Twilight and was replaced by Howard to play as the same Victoria for Eclipse. Now fans can breathe easily as they expect to see the same characters to play Alice and Emmet for the Movie Breaking Dawn. Breaking Dawn will be split into two movies. Bill Condon will be directing and the production is set to begin this fall.

Breaking Dawn will be due in November 2011.

Related posts:

1. Is it Goodbye for Alice and Emmet in Breaking Dawn and Hello New Cast?
2. Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Divided in Two Films, Recasting Possible
3. Alice in Wonderland

Hi drivers around the world, please review the fastest cars in the world

Via Headlines – David Icke Website

Read more: Euro in Danger: Germans Trigger Panic Over Future of Single Currency

U.S. Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus (IAPC) have identified Russia, China, Canada, Spain, and Russia as the top five countries under its full-scale piracy watch list this year. These countries performed poorly in protecting copyrighted works such as movies, music, and video games that have cost the U.S. $25 billion worth of lost sales every year.

There is a prevailing online copyright theft that must be addressed by all governments through its laws and treaties. Internet pirates flock in Canada, for instance, as well as in Spain and they have pending legislation discouraging intellectual property theft.

“A high level of piracy, especially as seen in the countries on the watch list, is detrimental to any country’s economic growth. The increasing scourge of online copyright theft underscores the need for all governments to develop and vigorously enforce effective legislative solutions to address online piracy and to encourage greater inter-industry cooperation in the fight against it,” explained MPAA President and Interim CEO Bob Pisano.

U.S. legislators also identified the websites that distribute illegal copies of works of U.S. creators and called them “notorius offenders.” They are the Baidu (China), isoHunt (Canada), MP3fiesta (Ukraine), Pirate Bay (Sweden), Rapidshare (Germany) and RMX4U (Luxembourg).

Related posts:

1. Vancouver 2010: Olympic Hockey USA vs Canada
2. Ash Clouds Caused Airspace Operation Disruption
3. Lindsay Lohan Suspect in Watch Theft

New blog from the Policy and Advocacy team

Zen United has some good news for Euopean fighting game fans. Arc System Works’ BlazBlue: Continuum Shift has been confirmed for a European release.

They are the official mascots for the London 2012 Olympics, and have been apparently modelled from a couple of molten steel drips that formed during some construction work.  Inspiration has to come from somewhere, I suppose!

Here is a video from the London Olympics website:

The Fiat 500 five-door, which is in development, will likely be called the Fiat 600 according to reports. The new car would be based on the platform of the current 500 with a wheelbase increased by ten centimetres to improve rear passenger space. A movable rear seat will also be introduced for greater flexibility in the cabin and to make more boot space when required.

The new Fiat 600 would have some similar aspects to other vehicles from the Fiat group, including the Fiat Panda and the Lancia Ypsilon, and is already expected to appear on the market next year. It’s uncertain though, how this new compact Fiat will be distributed, as its creation is due mostly to the US market and not Europe.

In fact, the new car could be produced exclusively in Mexico meaning its unlikely we’ll see it in Europe. Production facilities would be at Toluca, where the Fiat 500 destined for the US will be assembled. The Fiat 600 will debut in the US towards the end of 2011, but won’t represent the entry level option on that market as it will cost slightly more than the Fiat Panda. We could still see a MPV version of the Fiat 500 emerge, which would be called the 600 Multipla.

Source | Automobile-Magazine via Autoblog.it

The ultimate showdown of this year’s American Idol Finale will be between Lee Dewyze and Crystal Bowersox.

Casey James, the very good looking rocker and seasoned guitarist from Cool, Texas was the last to be eliminated before the show’s big night. Although he garnered a total of 47 million votes, it’s not enough to keep him for the finale.

Crystal Bowersox and Lee Dewyze will collide and gun for the coveted American Idol crown next week. Both finalists are from Chicago; which is a good sign because it’s not gonna be a battle of which is the larger or richer state.

Bowersox, an Indie performer plays various instruments and wowed everyone early in the game. However, her performance went in plateau during the latter part. Her forte is spinning songs into gospel type of music and stage a breathtaking number. Dewyze on the other hand, is the shy paint salesman who has leaped and improved the most among all other contestants. Last Tuesday, the most magical moment of the season was delivered by this guy with his mellow-gospel-rock rendition of “Hallelujah”.

Both auditioned in Chicago, where guest judge Shania Twain praised both for innate singing talent. Now, it’s going to be mother vs paint salesman in what is said to be the biggest Idol night.

Related posts:

1. Say ‘Hallelujah’ to Lee Dewyze
2. Say Goodbye to Aaron Kelly in American Idol Season 9
3. American Idol 2010: the final four

Inspired by India’s “buy one get one free” mentality, designer Ramesh Gound has created a concept where two motorbike owners can join them together, creating a fancy sports car for longer drives. More »










Recreation – Autos – India – Asia – Motorcycle

General Motor’s Joint-Venture partner in China, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) rolled out a concept alongside GM’s EN-V at Expo 2010 which in many ways is more ground-breaking than the EN-V. The idea behind the YeZ Concept is that it will photosynthesize, absorbing carbon dioxide from surrounding air and emitting oxygen back into the atmosphere. Among the many futuristic aspects of the YeZ (Chinese for “leaf” as Nissan already uses the name for a clever green concept that is heading for production) is a roof that incorporates solar panels and wheels that incorporate small wind turbines to harvest energy from the environment. And if you think this is not within reach by 2030, think again – artificial photosynthesis has proven elusive, but there’s every indication it will be a commercial reality within two decades…
Continue Reading SAIC YeZ Concept Car inhales C02, emits oxygen

Tags: Automotive,
Concept,
Electric,
General Motors,
Nissan,
Photosynthesis,
SAIC,
Solar,
Wind Power

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Those willing to jump across the pond for an early iPad were rewarded today, as Apple hit go on the App Store across Europe. Go and download apps aplenty—but check out our list of the best here, first. More »










Apple – IPad – AppStore – Macintosh – GreyMarket