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[JURIST] A Haitian court on Monday convicted US missionary Laura Silsby of attempting to illegally smuggle 33 Haitian children to the US through the Dominican Republic in the wake of the January 12 earthquake [JURIST news archive]. Silsby was found guilty of irregular travel [JURIST report] and sentenced to time served during judicial proceedings. At the opening of trial proceedings on Thursday, Haitian prosecutors claimed that Silsby knew she was breaking the law [AP report] when she attempted to take the children into the Dominican Republic and requested a six-month prison term [JURIST report]. The court agreed with the prosecution’s allegations, but denied the request for additional prison time. Silsby has been released and is now permitted to leave the country and return home to Idaho.

Silsby was the only one to face trial of a group of 10 missionaries affiliated with the Central Valley Baptist Church [church website] of Idaho and the New Life Children’s Refuge Charity [BBC profile] who were arrested [JURIST report] in January. A Haitian judge ordered the release of eight missionaries in February and then ordered the release of a ninth [JURIST reports] in March. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused massive damage to property and infrastructure in Haiti, and the death toll has been estimated at 230,000.

The OnStar app we previewed at CES is set to get some more Google love for version 2.0. A new navigation tab will be added to the OnStar Mobile app for Android which allows users to locate their car in Google Maps. These features are in addition to those that allow drivers to control car functions like charging their Volt, unlocking and locking their doors, remotely starting the engine, running diagnostics, and receiving automatic alerts.

OnStar’s first app was more of a demo instead of a fully functioning app, but the company is expected showcase their new app at this week’s Google I/O. Check back tomorrow for a full hands-on report.

“While OnStar will never lose sight of our core focus on safety and security, this relationship is an example of how we’re evolving our leadership position in connected vehicle technology. What we’re talking about today is only the beginning.”Chris PreussOnStar president

If a BlackBerry tablet fell in a forest, would anybody hear it? We’ve been hearing rumors that RIM is hard at work on a BlackBerry companion tablet, fueled by reports that the company has ordered 8.9-inch displays for such a device. The question that keeps popping up every time I think of such an effort is — why? Sure, tablets are the hot ticket in mobile tech currently, but just pushing one to market isn’t going to guarantee a success.

A BlackBerry tablet would be intended to compete with the iPad and upcoming Android tablets obviously. These tablets certainly bear watching given the sales volume Apple has already achieved with the iPad, and the expectation that Android tablets will be cheap enough to make good sales numbers. But RIM lacks one thing required to make a competitive product — a viable OS.

The BlackBerry OS is dated and the next big version has only recently been put on display. It certainly looks like the UI has been updated and is more modern than the older version, but it’s still not clear how good the touch operation will be. A good touch interface is absolutely required for a tablet device, and it’s not a given that BlackBerry OS 6 will provide it.

It’s not even clear if BlackBerry enthusiasts want a device with a touch interface. They stayed away from the BlackBerry Storm in droves, the company’s only phone without a physical keyboard. The BlackBerry has long been famous for its keyboards, and a tablet certainly wouldn’t have one of those. While BlackBerry 6 may do a better job incorporating touch controls than previous versions, it is designed to run the BlackBerry phone line, and that is almost exclusively non-touch.

The tablet rumors indicate that RIM is building a tablet without phone capability; it’s expected to use Wi-Fi for connectivity. That’s like the original iPad, but Apple planned the 3G version from the get-go to also allow the iPad to be a stand-alone mobile device for those who desired it. The RIM tablet is said to be a “BlackBerry companion”, and will mate with a BlackBerry smartphone to share user data. That sounds like the ill-fated Palm Foleo, and to believe there is a market for such a device now doesn’t make a lot of sense.

It’s not clear why RIM would produce such a tablet, and even less clear who might buy one. Let’s hope these BlackBerry tablet rumors are just that.

Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub. req’d): How Microsoft Can Win Back the Tablet Market

Yesterday we announced Gameloft Releases 10 HD Games for Android Smartphones, however, today it seems they pulled the page without any announcement of a return. My guess is the piss poor approach to selling their games outside Google’s Android Market plus a barrage of support calls and emails. The page is no longer available and redirects to their homepage.

We tried and tried numerous times to purchase and download the iPhone ported HD 3D games without an ounce of success. The process went a little something like this… Start out on their website choosing the game you want to purchase then press Buy. Enter carrier, country, birth date info, then enter your phone number to receive an SMS text message with link to complete purchase on your phone and download. Text never came.

Of the titles listed we were about to review the game Asphalt 5 via the Android Market which is truly awesome on higher end Android phones. We’ll see if they can get this together and Giveth again.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs owns about $2.5 billion worth of Apple stock. But he would own about $13 billion worth of Apple stock if it weren’t for a huge mistake he made back in 2003, MarketWatch’s Brett Arends reports.

In 2003, Apple (AAPL) stock had declined from a peak $36 per share during the tech boom to about $7.

This put options granted to employees near the peak deeply underwater.

So, to keep these employees motivated, Apple’s board gave Steve Jobs and every other Apple employee the opportunity to exchange the underwater options for new, fewer options at a much lower strike price.

Steve took the leap and canceled all his options for a much smaller number of them at a lower price.

With Apple stock now trading above $250 – well above the strike price of all those options Steve gave up – Steve, with one pen stroke, lost himself about $10.3 billion in future gains.

Brett calls it, “the dumbest trade ever.”

Don’t miss: How Steve Jobs Got Sick, Got Better, And Decided To Save Some Lives

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• How Steve Jobs Got Sick, Got Better, And Decided To Save Some Lives
• New Email From Steve Jobs: ‘Life Is Fragile’
• My Amazing Email Exchange With Steve Jobs

Eco factor: Sustainable structure combining cutting-edge technology and architectural form

Designed to fit into the 2010 National Design Triennial theme, ‘Why Design Now?’, the Masdar Headquarters has put together almost everything from architectural form to passive energy-efficiency strategies to cutting-edge energy generation technologies. The new construction outside Abu Dhabi, an effort by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is presently being featured in the show that will be on from 14th May until 9th January 2011.

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LONDON Greece seems to have edged back from the financial abyss…again.

On the eve of a large tranche of debt coming due Wednesday, the European Union has handed over the equivalent of 18 million dollars in bail-out money.   That plus IMF help should tide over the troubled Greek government for now.

“The first precipice was May 19^th,” John Sittilides of Trilogy Advisors told Fox News, “the obligation will be paid off.”

With EU finance ministers meeting today in Brussels, the actions of the international community have stabilized the markets in Europe as well as the common currency, the Euro.  Both were down sharply Monday.

“We are seeing more stability,” Bronwyn Curtis of HSBC told us, “People who feared risk have already gotten out.”

Still no analysts feel Europe or the EU is out of the woods. Some have said the long-term stability of the Euro remains in question.

“There are deep-seated problems,” Curtis added, “A lot depends on politics.”

Some predict the Euro will sink to parity with the US Dollar in the coming weeks.   The Euro is now roughly worth $1.23.  Some do not preclude some countries even falling out of the Eurozone.

“The Euro has been found wanting,” Howard Wheeldon of BGC Partners told Fox.

Meanwhile there is a war of words being conducted between the US and Greece.    

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou was quoted Sunday saying that an investigation into US bank conduct during the Greek troubles was possible and that a lawsuit against certain US banks could not be ruled out.

At the same time the US Senate voted to add an amendment to a finance reform package Monday aimed at blocking US funding of IMF moves to help countries in financial trouble.  A move aimed some see at Greece.

According to Fox News freelance Producer Anthee Carassava in Athens, there doesn’t seem to be any “repercussions”  in Greece to this.

The Greeks, according to Carassava, are now more taken with the resignation of the Deputy Tourism Minister after it turned out her husband may have tax arrears of nearly $7 million dollars!

The most profitable comedy series in the U.S., “Two and a Half Men,” will continue with its main star, actor Charlie Sheen. The artist himself has sent a statement confirming all the media news ensuring that its presence in the series will continue, because he has signed for two more seasons. “I’m looking forward to returning to my CBS home on Monday nights,” he said in the memo that includes the BBC.

With these statements ending a saga that took months on pages of newspapers. Charlie had threatened to leave “Two and a Half Men” requiring up to one million dollars per episode. Following this request, actor, producers and managers of the chain began negotiations now appear to have reached agreement, although the details of his meetings were not disclosed.

Still, on the other side of the pond, the media assume that Sheen has achieved its purpose and has become the highest paid TV actor of the moment.

It seems that the actor is doing well as an actor, while his personal life crumbles. Sheen must face trial in July after the lawsuit filed by his wife, Brooke Mieller Sheen, who accused him of domestic violence after a fight at Christmas 2009.

No related posts.

Some of the nation’s largest food producers have promised to take 1.5 trillion calories out of products within the next five years, the Associated Press reports.

The Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation is spearheading the effort, and is something First Lady Michelle Obama, an anti-obesity crusader.

“This is precisely the kind of private sector commitment we need,” Obama told the AP.

The story says General Mills Inc., ConAgra Foods Inc., Kraft Foods Inc., Kellogg Co., Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc. and Hershey Co. are members of the effort to alter recipes, lower calories, cut portion sizes.

In other words, get ready for yuckier food, America. And unless smaller portion sizes likely correlate to lower prices, expect to pay more for less.

Food makers to trim 1.5 trillion calories [AP via MSNBC]

AVP Redemption from Alex Popov on Vimeo.

Apparently one dude spent 2 years and only $500 to make this 22 minute AVP video. The graphics aren’t anything special, but what’s important is that the story is solid and a lot more true to the saga than Hollywood’s interpretations. Give it a go after the break. It’s good. [via Kotaku]

Yesterday afternoon we went over the basic tip of how to add contacts to your BlackBerry. The next thought in that process is of how to sync your Blackberry contacts to your Outlook ones. This also works for Outlook Express users. The process is pretty simple, as all you need is a USB cable and Desktop Manager. Once you have those two, you’re ready for a quick syncing process.

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Analysts were looking for .1% sequential growth, so the headline at least is definitely more deflationary than expected.

Ex-core, the PPI was +0.2%, which is a tad hot.

You can read this either way.

The market is still higher with about an hour to go before the opening bell.

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Hotmail, a free Web mail service, will have a makeover come July or August this year. Microsoft Corp. will introduce new applications that will enhance its messaging system, a major improvement in 12 years.

Microsoft executive Chris Jones, who is also the person-in-charge, admits the web service was not performing that well in comparison with Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc., but the tables may turn.

The changes will require less time in managing incoming messages. Attachments in e-mails containing photos will be displayed as thumbnails. Photo uploads is up to 10 gigabytes that can be stored in Skydrive, Microsoft’s free storage device, and there is a search engine Bing, both connected to the web mail service.

Hotmail holds the record for the world’s most used service, while Yahoomail leads in the US. This breakthrough for Microsoft can level up its performance against Yahoo and Google. We will know when the application becomes available to users.

No related posts.

There is no way the violence will end in central Bangkok other than through negotiation.This is the proposal of 64 senators in response to the clamor of the mob. But the suggestion may not be as fruitful since even the senators are not united, according to political scientist Somjai Phagaphasvivat, from Bangkok Thammat University.

Nattawut Saikua, acting spokesperson of the protesters, opted for the series of talks believing it may neutralize the violence and avoid more deaths. Around 5,000 poor activists, who are also supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra, surround the shopping district. They have been clamoring for elections and change in government. Women and children took shelter in a temple just near the protest site.

Reuters reports there was an attempt to hold an election, however, it was lifted when the “red shirts” rallied even more. Given the current situation, order and reconciliation are very much afloat.

No related posts.

The NYT reports that huge columns of oil are floating under the surface of the Gulf of Mexico – Giant Plumes of Oil Forming Under the Gulf.

Scientists are finding enormous oil plumes in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, including one as large as 10 miles long, 3 miles wide and 300 feet thick in spots. The discovery is fresh evidence that the leak from the broken undersea well could be substantially worse than estimates that the government and BP have given.

“There’s a shocking amount of oil in the deep water, relative to what you see in the surface water,” said Samantha Joye, a researcher at the University of Georgia who is involved in one of the first scientific missions to gather details about what is happening in the gulf. “There’s a tremendous amount of oil in multiple layers, three or four or five layers deep in the water column.”

The plumes are depleting the oxygen dissolved in the gulf, worrying scientists, who fear that the oxygen level could eventually fall so low as to kill off much of the sea life near the plumes.

Dr. Joye said the oxygen had already dropped 30 percent near some of the plumes in the month that the broken oil well had been flowing. “If you keep those kinds of rates up, you could draw the oxygen down to very low levels that are dangerous to animals in a couple of months,” she said Saturday. “That is alarming.”

The plumes were discovered by scientists from several universities working aboard the research vessel Pelican, which sailed from Cocodrie, La., on May 3 and has gathered extensive samples and information about the disaster in the gulf.

Scientists studying video of the gushing oil well have tentatively calculated that it could be flowing at a rate of 25,000 to 80,000 barrels of oil a day. The latter figure would be 3.4 million gallons a day. But the government, working from satellite images of the ocean surface, has calculated a flow rate of only 5,000 barrels a day.

BP has resisted entreaties from scientists that they be allowed to use sophisticated instruments at the ocean floor that would give a far more accurate picture of how much oil is really gushing from the well.

“The answer is no to that,” a BP spokesman, Tom Mueller, said on Saturday. “We’re not going to take any extra efforts now to calculate flow there at this point. It’s not relevant to the response effort, and it might even detract from the response effort.”

The undersea plumes may go a long way toward explaining the discrepancy between the flow estimates, suggesting that much of the oil emerging from the well could be lingering far below the sea surface.

The scientists on the Pelican mission, which is backed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the federal agency that monitors the health of the oceans, are not certain why that would be. They say they suspect the heavy use of chemical dispersants, which BP has injected into the stream of oil emerging from the well, may have broken the oil up into droplets too small to rise rapidly.

Orac has a great post skewering an ambitious gambit over at Age of Autism: One Julie Obradovic lectures us there on how to actually save the vaccine program. Much of the advice has to do with accepting the incorrect premises of the vaccine skeptics, and humoring them. All of Orac’s criticisms are on target, but I actually thought Obradovic wrote one thing worth listening to–at least if we take the more abstract point out of the biased context in which she introduces it. It is this:
Additionally, [vaccine skeptical parents] don’t take kindly to propaganda or threats, and they most definitely don’t like to be insulted. Telling them their choice is to go with the scientific side is juvenile in its approach, suggesting that any parent who researchers [sic] both sides of the debate, personally knows someone with a different experience, and disagrees with the one size fits all approach to vaccination is by default, non-scientific. Brilliant. Well, they actually are unscientific when they do this. However, it probably is true that the confrontational, “you’re clueless and irrational approach” is unlikely to unclog their minds or shatter their misconceptions. Why? Human beings just don’t work that way. We have vast bodies of social science …

Here’s another major loser from the eurozone crisis.

With oil prices in dollars, and Europe a significant source of oil demand, the plummeting euro is making oil more expensive for Eurozone nations.

OPEC’s scared that this will reduce demand, thus pressuring global oil prices to fall in U.S. dollar terms, as Makis Theodoratos highlights:

Hellenic Shipping News:

OPEC members are monitoring closely the situation in Eurozone, and seem to be a little bit annoyed by the late reaction of European Union leaders to the Greek crisis. For the moment cartel members are not considering any urgent measures, such as a new cut on their daily production, and officially insist that better compliance on official exploring quotas can support oil prices to fair levers for consumers and exporters. But if euro’s appreciation against dollar continues, then OPEC will have to face a very serious problem.

It’s another reason for OPEC to be jawboning oil prices right now.

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If you’re one of the many proud owners of the T-Mobile branded BlackBerry Pearl 8120 and have been patiently waiting to upgrade to the highly anticipated 3G version, well then you had better sit down for this one.  Take this with whatever measure of salt you like, but word on the street is that Magenta has decided to pass on adding the BlackBerry Pearl 3G to its lineup.  This a bit difficult to swallow considering the current popularity of the device on T-Mobile as well as the strong reception of the device at WES a few weeks back.

Speculation as to why T-Mobile would pass on the Pearl 3G can be attributed to the possibility of a 3G Curve coming down the pike.  However, the Curve and Pearl have managed to live side-by-side in harmony on T-Mobile for several years, making it difficult to believe that Magenta would ditch one for the other.  But again, this is all a rumor, and truth be told, not a single US carrier has acknowledged they will be carrying the new Pearl.  As usual, father time will be the ultimate judge on this one.

Who’s going to be disappointed if T-Mobile doesn’t pick up the Pearl 3G?  Let us know in the comments!

Via TmoNews

With the nation’s attention focused on the unfolding oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, activists are taking steps to ensure another recent fossil fuel tragedy is not forgotten.

As many as 5,000 members of the United Mine Workers of America are expected to take part in a march and rally today outside Massey Energy’s annual shareholders meeting at its headquarters in Richmond, Va.

They want to draw attention to the company’s troubled safety record — including the deaths of 29 miners last month at the company’s non-unionized Upper Big Branch mine in Raleigh County, W.Va. In all, 52 workers have been killed at Massey facilities over the past decade.

The union members are also demanding that Massey CEO Don Blankenship be held accountable and that the three board members up for re-election be ousted. UMWA President Cecil Roberts and Secretary-Treasurer Daniel Kane will present their case to the board as holders of shareholder proxies.

The AFL-CIO will cover the protest at its AFL-CIO Now blog and via Twitter using the hashtag #firemassey.

Last week, the UMWA along with relatives of the Massey mine disaster’s victims filed a legal challenge against the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration’s refusal to publicly release interviews with witnesses to the disaster.

In addition, the pro-labor group American Rights at Work is collecting signatures on a petition calling on the Massey board to fire Blankenship for ignoring safety regulations and intimidating workers, among other things.

“There are consequences for playing fast and loose with workers’ lives,” the petition states.

Among the consequences Massey is already facing is a 38% decline in the price of its stock since the deadly April blast. Analysts blame the drop on the Department of Justice’s investigation of Performance Coal Co. — the Massey subsidiary that owns Upper Big Branch — for willful criminal activity. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also investigating the company for possible bribery of state and federal inspectors.

Two years ago, Massey paid the largest civil penalty ever for water pollution violations at its coal mines in West Virginia and Kentucky following an investigation by the DOJ and Environmental Protection Agency.

Meanwhile, two environmental activists associated with the group Climate Ground Zero were arrested yesterday while blockading the driveway to Massey’s regional headquarters in Boone County, W.Va. The protest took place under a banner that said, “Massey, Profits Before People & Mountains, Fight Back!”

In an open letter to Massey shareholders, protesters EmmaKate Martin and Benjamin Bryant cited the company’s workplace safety record, as well as its involvement in mountaintop removal mining and risky coal sludge storage practices, for their action.

“Massey must be stopped — that is why we are putting our bodies on the line today,” they wrote.

Charged with misdemeanor counts of trespassing, conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor, obstructing an officer and littering, Martin and Bryant have had their bail set at a staggering $100,000 each by a Boone County magistrate.

Climate Ground Zero’s legal team is reportedly looking into the legality of the unusually high bail, with some activists charging that it’s being used as a punitive tactic and to intimidate others from engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience.

Geothermal power: ready to take off in the U.S.?

EnergySource LLC has broken ground on its $399 million, 49.9-megawatt Hudson Ranch I geothermal project in Imperial Valley, Calif., with financing from a banking consortium and GeoGlobal Energy – a developer backed by New Zealand’s Mighty River Power, Ltd.

The project, which is based on 65 acres of land near the Salton Sea geothermal region, will supply power to the Arizona-based utility Salt River Project for use in the Phoenix area.

Energy Source President Dave Watson called the project “one of the best geothermal resources in North America.”

Mighty River Power, a major geothermal operator owned by the government of New Zealand, will take a $107 million, 20 percent equity stake in the project through through the Denver-based GeoGlobal.

Debt financing for the project was raised by ING Capital, Societe Generale, West LB, Union Bank, MetLIfe, CIBC, Siemens Financial and Investec.

The plant will also receive stimulus funds.

The project, which was first explored in 2004, should come online by late 2011 and could be followed by two to four more phases, EnergySource Vice President of Development Larry Grogan told the Imperial Valley Press newspaper.

Geothermal development has been crawling along relative to other renewables, posting a mere 6 percent gain in capacity for 2009.

Geothermal also faced an image crisis in the winter brought on by reports that drilling in Switzerland and near San Francisco heightened earthquake risk.

But Mighty River Power is an expert operator and its doubling down on the technology: the company also announced that it is upping its commitment to the GeoGlobal Energy capital fund to $250 million and will pursue geothermal projects in Chile.

Mighty River Chief Executive Officer Doug Heffernan told Bloomberg of his company’s relationship with GeoGlobal,

“We think there are some other prospects that they may well bring to the table in the U.S. over the next two or three years.”

Image: Courtesy Mila Zinkova/Wikimedia Commons