Silence of the Lambs added to US film archive
Oscar-winning 1991 thriller The Silence of the Lambs is to be preserved by the US Library of Congress as part of its National Film Registry.
The film - in which Sir Anthony Hopkins made his first appearance as serial killer Hannibal Lecter - was one of 25 new additions announced.
Others include Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks, classic Disney animation Bambi and Charlie Chaplin's The Kid.
The titles were chosen from 2,228 films nominated by the public.
Every new addition must be considered "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant in order to be added to the registry.
Other additions include the 1979 Sally Field film Norma Rae, Robert Rodriguez's 1992 debut feature El Mariachi and the 1953 version of War of the Worlds.
They are joined by such lesser-known titles as A Computer Animated Hand - a one-minute film made in 1972 that is one of the earliest examples of 3D computer animation.
The oldest entries are silent films dating from 1912. One documents the pre-World War I child labour reform movement, while the other is a farce starring comic actor John Bunny.
Gump, which won Hanks his second Oscar for best actor in 1995, is the most recent of the new additions.
"These films are selected because of their enduring significance to American culture," said James H Billington, who has been the US Congress librarian since 1987.
"Our film heritage must be protected because these cinematic treasures document our history and culture and reflect our hopes and dreams."
Wade's winning shot lifts Heat over Bobcats 96-95
When Dwyane Wade was told he was going to take the winning shot against the Charlotte Bobcats , he nearly deferred to the hotter LeBron James.
Then Wade thought better of it.
"When (coach Erik Spoelstra) called it, I was shocked because this guy had it going on," Wade said, pointing to James. "I wasn't in the flow. I was about to say, `Let LeBron run it.' Then I said, `You know what, I'll do it."'
And he did.
With James in the corner, Wade brought the ball up, drove to the left side and banked a 10-footer over Gerald Henderson with 2.9 seconds remaining Wednesday night to lift the Heat to a 96-95 victory over the pesky Bobcats to remain unbeaten at 3-0.
After Wade's shot gently fell through the net, he turned to Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton seated courtside and imitated Newton's popular Superman touchdown celebration by pretending to rip open his shirt.
"It's a great homage to him," Wade said. "He was laughing. He was cracking up. But it was great respect to him. I wasn't trying to show nobody up. It's about how much respect we have for the athletes."
The Bobcats had a chance to steal one at the buzzer, but D.J. Augustin's 3-point attempt off a side inbounds play didn't fall and D.J. White's follow at the buzzer rolled off the rim as time expired.
Wade, who missed almost the entire third quarter with a bruised foot, only had 10 points on 5 of 13 shooting.
James led all scorers with 35 points, while Chris Bosh added 25. They combined for 35 second-half points to overcome a 60-45 halftime deficit.
Henderson led the Bobcats with 21 points, including a 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining to give the Bobcats the lead at 95-94. Augustin finished with 20 points, while center Boris Diaw turned in another terrific game with 16 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists.
James said he wasn't upset Wade got the last shot.
"I guess that's why they give him the big bucks," laughed James.
"Hey, they deserved to take my money today," Wade said. "But I earned my money toward the end."
Said James: "D-Wade said he finally earned it. He didn't play well tonight but, hey, nobody cares about what else you do after you hit a game-winner like that. That was a big shot by him."
But it was James who brought the Heat back, taking his team on his shoulders in the third quarter.
"I feel good and this is the best I've felt in a while," James said. "I'm back to having fun playing the game and doing what I do best and that's attacking and getting to the free throw line."
James was 9 for 9 from the foul line.
The Heat needed to dig deep after a sluggish first half in front of a crowd of 19,614 fans, the largest ever to see a Bobcats game at Time Warner Cable Arena.
They had plenty of help from the Bobcats, who turned the ball over 12 times on 25 third-quarter possessions.
"In the third quarter, we turned it over too many times," Bobcats coach Paul Silas said. "It got them back in the game. Once they got back in the game, we played tough. They're just too good."
Said Diaw: "I think they adjusted to what we did in the first half and made a conscious effort to be in the line of passes and really focusing on stealing the ball in the second half."
Still, it was an encouraging game for the young Bobcats, who are clearly in a rebuilding mode.
They seemed to feed off the crowd early on and certainly weren't intimidated by the Eastern Conference champions jumping out to an 11-0 lead. They led by as many as 16 points in the first half against a Heat team that hadn't trailed for more than 14 seconds in their first two games.
"I think we surprised by playing so aggressive," Diaw said. "And shots were falling and we were really committed defensively."
The Bobcats got plenty of open looks in the first half, using a pick-and-pop to free up center Diaw for 3-pointers from the top of the key. Augustin was fearless in the first half, showing no signs of a sprained ankle from Monday night by hitting on 3 of 4 3-pointers in the first half for 16 points as the Bobcats took a 60-45 lead into the locker room.
"In order for us to be successful, we're going to have to defense better than that," James said.
Even without an established big man, the Bobcats outrebounded the Heat 53-30.
The Heat looked out of sync and frustrated early on.
James got pickpocketed by Derrick Brown in the halfcourt set and later threw up an air ball - one of two in the game - on a turnaround jumper after posting up low against Corey Maggette.
The other two-thirds of Miami's Big Three also struggled, with Bosh getting rejected in the paint by rookie Bismack Biyombo and Wade hitting just 2 of 8 from the field.
SI
Hornets drop Celtics to 0-3 with 97-78 victory
Jarrett Jack gave NBA fans in New Orleans their first real taste of life without Chris Paul. The standing ovation as the clock wound down indicated they liked what they saw.
Jack had 21 points and nine assists in his season debut, and the Hornets dominated their home opener despite missing Eric Gordon, beating the winless Boston Celtics 97-78 on Wednesday night.
"We didn't have Eric, so we needed to find those 20 points somewhere," Hornets coach Monty Williams said. "Jarrett Jack played very well. He gave us a calming effect. ... He's our leader and we'll need him to play like that all year."
The Celtics are 0-3 for the first time since 2006-07, the season before they traded to bring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in to help Paul Pierce, who has yet to play this season because of a bruised right heel.
Before the game, Celtics coach Doc Rivers worried aloud that the Hornets would be a feisty opponent because of how many NBA analysts have written them off since Paul was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers .
"This team's going to play with a chip on its shoulder the entire year," Rivers said. "If I was a player and all I heard was. `If you lose Chris Paul it's be the demise of the franchise,' that would make we want to prove a lot of people wrong, and watching them in preseason and watching them in the first game, they pretty much played with that chip."
Gordon was out because he bruised his right knee in a season-opening win at Phoenix in which he scored a team-high 20 points.
Jack did not play in the win over the Suns on Monday night because of a one-game suspension stemming from a drunken-driving arrest last season. His return helped a Hornets squad looking for a boost in Gordon's absence.
"We have a lot of guys on this team that are hungry," Jack said. "A lot of guys want to prove themselves - a lot of capable guys. Guys who've been around this league."
Power forward Carl Landry pitched in with 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets.
Allen led Boston with 15 points.
"Our defense was terrible. Offensively we didn't execute. We looked scattered out there on the floor," Allen said. "That's just us and how we didn't execute on both ends of the floor and we know better.
"Defensively, we've got to get the trust in each other. We've let too many people score in our paint in all three games that we've played so far," Allen continued. "We're being tested. ... Our backs are up against the wall so we've got to come out swinging."
Jack inherited the Hornets' starting point guard job in the preseason after Paul, a four-time All-Star, was traded for Gordon, Chris Kaman, and Al-Farouq Aminu.
Kaman, who had 10 points and five rebounds off the bench in his Hornets debut Monday, came back with 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots against Boston.
"I'm learning about this team, learning about my teammates," Kaman said. "Everything for me is an adjustment right now and I'm just trying to play off everybody and do the best I can. We have a good core group of guys here who care about the game and care about our teammates."
Kaman backed up Emeka Okafor, who had 13 points, six rebounds and five blocks. Marco Belinelli, who started for Gordon at shooting guard, was 3 of 4 from 3-point range and also finished with 13 points. Five of Landry's rebounds came on the offensive end, helping the Hornets outscore the Celtics 21-11 in second-chance points.
Rajon Rondo scored 13 for Boston, while Brandon Bass added 11 points and Keyon Dooling 10.
Garnett had a difficult night in what was Boston's third road game in four nights to open this lockout-compressed season. One night after scoring 12 in a loss at Miami, he finished with eight points on 4-of-10 shooting.
The Celtics shot like a team with tired legs, hitting only 37 percent from the field (29 of 78). New Orleans, by contrast, appeared energized by a sellout crowd, shooting 45.6 percent and outrebounding Boston 48-37.
"I just thought we played tired," Rivers said. "We looked old tonight."
The Hornets also had a whopping 46-24 advantage in points in the paint.
"Their guards beat us off the dribble most of the night," Rivers said. "They lived in the paint."
New Orleans took the lead for good late in the first quarter and Belinelli's 3 ignited a 13-4 run to open the fourth. Landry's jumper capped the spurt, giving New Orleans an 85-67 lead with 6:25 to go.
Boston's largest lead was 9-2 before the Hornets stiffened defensively and raced into the lead with an 8-0 run ignited by Belinelli's 3 and capped by Jack's steal and fast-break layup.
The Hornets led by as many as 16 points before taking a 48-49 lead into halftime.
SI
Seb Cole promises London will not become "siege city" during Games
Sebastian Coe, the president of London Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Commitee (LOCOG), promised to local media that the capital would not turn into a siege city due to military deployment next summer.
Coe told Guardian that security would not be overbearing during the Games and will be balanced by a sense of "proportionality".
"You don't want people coming to London thinking they've walked into siege city," said the president. "It's certainly not what you're going to get legacy tourism from."
In December, British government doubled the venue security bill to 553 million pounds. An extra 13,700 security guards within venues, including a part of 135,000 military personnels deployed to the Games, will be needed on top of the 10,000 already planned.
But Coe was confident that public enthusiasm would build towards the special moment.
"I think people will realise they're in a very special year. It's a bit like Halley's comet, it doesn't come around that often and everything is in alignment," said he.
Britain's Williamson aims to prove Bolt right
Highly-regarded British sprinter Simeon Williamson said he was looking to prove Usain Bolt has a keen eye for talent.
Bolt, the Jamaican sprint marvel, has identified the 25-year-old Williamson, one of his training partners, as one of the sprinters that could seriously rival him.
Williamson has been sidelined with persistent knee problems since helping the British 4x100 metres relay team to bronze at the World Championships two years ago in Berlin.
He said he's gotten over his injury problems and looked forward to the coming season, particularly with the 2012 Olympic Games in his backyard.
"I've now got a chance to prove Usain right," he told the Daily Star newspaper. "Doing the indoor season will get me back out there competing with the best.
"That will show what sort of level I am at going into the outdoor season. It can help make up for lost time."
He added: "During the last couple of years I have had those injuries, but in recent months I have had no problems, so I hope things can now go smoothly for me.
"After missing last year, I thought I would be 100 per cent this year, but I have still had problems. Now I am just getting ready for next year. I don't want any niggles and want my knee to be 100 per cent."
Williamson said he hoped for a change of luck and set some lofty goals for himself at the Olympics.
"I definitely want to make the 100m final," he said. "I will also be hoping to get a relay medal. That would be a great double, especially after the couple of years I have had."
Pollard, Bravo for launch of Bangladesh T20
ESPN-Cricinfo said Pollard and Bravo have been named among at least 25 foreign players who have made themselves available for the tournament, scheduled to start on February 9, with the final to be played on February 29.
The Trinidad & Tobago and West Indies pair would be heading into the tournament fresh from the Caribbean Twenty20 Championship, which concludes on January 22.
"The main thing is the Bangladesh players have to be available," Arun Lal, the former Indian opener and consultant to Game on Sports, the tournament organisers, told the website.
The 20-day tournament will feature six teams that will play each other twice in a round-robin format over 33 matches to be held in Chittagong and Dhaka.
Teams will be allowed to field five foreign players in their final 11s, as opposed to four in the Indian Premier League (IPL), with former Australia stars Adam Gilchrist and Mathew Hayden, Pakistani Kamran Akmal and England fast bowler James Anderson reportedly among the imported players for the tournament.
As in the first season of the IPL, each team will have an icon player.
This is it! More than 1.6 million Jamaican electors to vote today
JAMAICANS WILL today journey to approximately 7,000 polling stations across the island to cast their votes to determine the party which will form the next government.
This collective decision will either ratify the ruling Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) four-year tenure in office, giving the Andrew Holness-led party a second consecutive term in government, or catapult the Portia Simpson Miller-led People's National Party (PNP) to the seat of power after a short spell in the political wilderness.
It is the 16th time since universal adult suffrage in 1944 that Jamaicans will cast their ballots for a government they believe has the capacity and vision to steer the country on a path to economic growth and job creation, leading to economic and social stability.
Between the 7 a.m. opening and 5 p.m. closing of the polls, the just over 1.6 million eligible electors will signal their choice of government. The new government will lead a country faced with the monumental task of resuming the stalled 27-month standby agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Since September 2010, the country has not taken the quarterly IMF tests due to major hiccups with Jamaica's economic targets under the existing agreement.
During the leadership debate on December 20, the last of three national debates, Holness and Simpson Miller sought to woo those voters who might not have made up their minds.
In her closing remarks, Simpson Miller reeled off specific actions that a PNP government would take if it is elected.
"When we form the next government, we will expand educational opportunities at all levels, finance a national export strategy, place a special focus on SMEs, negotiate an extended fund facility with the IMF, focus on non-traditional sectors such as ICTs and the creative and cultural sectors," Simpson Miller outlined.
Soar to prosperity
Holness used his closing statement to paint a picture of hope, arguing that there were signs that the country could soar to prosperity.
"Now that we have stability in our economy, the glimmers of hope can be turned into the flame of prosperity for all. I believe we can do it; I believe we can end poverty; I believe we can have universal education; I believe we can have world-class infrastructure; I believe we can have a disciplined, loving and caring society. I believe in Jamaica, I believe in you. I ask for your support," the prime minister said.
That was in keeping with the position of the JLP on the campaign trail where it has claimed that its members are the better managers of the economy and have set the framework for economic growth. Following 13-consecutive quarters of decline, the country this year recorded growth for the last three quarters covering the period January to September. For the period January to March, the economy grew by 1.5 per cent; April to June 1.5 per cent and July to September 0.5 per cent.
This followed the massive effects of the global economic meltdown which had sent world markets in a tailspin and left developing states, like Jamaica, struggling to recover from its crippling impact.
On the other hand, the PNP has castigated the administration for what it describes as "the mismanagement" of the country, citing significant job losses over the last four years, a stalemate in the IMF agreement and the skyrocketing of the country's debt from about $900 billion in 2007 to approximately $1.6 trillion at present.
The Gleaner
CARICOM chairman looks back at 2011
Outgoing Caribbean Community (CARICOM) chairman, St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas, says despite the ongoing global economic and financial crises the 15-member regional integration bloc has remained a “symbol of stability and good governance.”
In a Christmas message to the region, Douglas said reflections on the past year will be coloured by the challenges spawned by the current period of global uncertainties.
“The challenges, including those directly related to the global economic and financial crises have honed our attention particularly on finding creative ways to confront them. We have sought, for example, to encourage foreign investment from new areas and welcomed the interest shown by India, China and Japan, all of whom mounted trade and investment missions to the region seeking opportunities,” he pointed out.
Douglas said the continuing increases in the prices of food and the search for food sovereignty have engaged the attention of CARICOM.
“Our stakeholders in the agriculture sector, as evinced most recently in Dominica, where they participated in the Caribbean Week of Agriculture, are working assiduously to find a solution to those particular challenges. We must continue to encourage them by buying and consuming locally grown food -- which we are by no means short of – so that we could lower our very high food import bill, and at the same time, maintain healthy lifestyles,” Douglas said.
In advancing the latter ideal, Douglas said that the Community can take pride in the fact that it provided the leadership to appropriately position on the international stage, the threat of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
As a result of the Community’s advocacy, the United Nations General Assembly agreed to convene a high level meeting on NCDs, which was held in September in New York, although the outcome may not have been as ambitious as had been envisaged.
“Regionally, we have made great strides in initiating operations of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), a consolidation of five regional health institutions. The Agency, I am pleased to announce, will come on stream early in the New Year. Our solid achievements in health have extended also to successes recorded by the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP),” Douglas said in his message to the people of the Caribbean.
“People of the Community, securing your livelihood and well-being have been at the forefront of our activities; however, given their importance to our Community, we have placed much emphasis on youth development. In the last quarter of this year, we boosted our campaign against youth gangs and gang violence with interventions across the Region that have yielded encouraging results and which will determine our response going forward,” he said.
Douglas said that a major factor in ensuring that well-being and indeed the existence is a commitment to the adaptation and mitigation of climate change.
“Earlier this month, at the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, we continued our advocacy for attention to be paid to the deleterious effects of climate change on the natural environments and economies of our small states. One of the outcomes of the Durban Conference was a decision by parties to adopt a universal legal agreement on climate change as soon as possible, and no later than 2015. The Community, in particular, through Grenada’s leadership of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), ensured that a number of our concerns was addressed in the outcome document,” the CARICOM chairman said.
He also mentioned the continued quest to cement relations with third states and groups of states with some emphasis on those in the hemisphere.
A plan of action for closer co-operation and joint initiatives was drawn up with the Integration System of Central America (SICA) in a range of areas and work has begun through the two regional Secretariats to ensure that these initiatives make an impact on the lives of the people of both regions.
Douglas said he was particularly pleased to participate in the fourth CARICOM-Cuba summit held in Trinidad and Tobago earlier in December, where the Community renewed and advanced its longstanding relationship with Cuba.
“There are also meaningful people-centered activities arising out of that encounter in health, agriculture, infrastructure building and culture, which would doubtlessly improve the well-being of our citizens,” he said.
Looking back on 2011, “we can do so with a measure of comfort that we have fulfilled the charge delivered at the beginning of the year by my predecessor, the Hon. Tillman Thomas, Prime Minister of Grenada, to make 2011 a ‘watershed year,’ a year when a new generation of leaders would take their place in the Community. At that time, we were confident that we would weather the multiple storms that were facing us by dint of strengthening community bonds, cooperating with each other and utilising all the skills available to us.”
He also noted that one of his first tasks as chairman of the Community was to install Ambassador Irwin LaRocque as the new secretary-general of CARICOM, an occasion that, “for me, heralded a turning point in the history of our Community.”
“He has begun the task of finding creative ways to chart the Community’s course in the current global environment. As we contemplate our resolutions for the new year, let us collectively pledge to work together to build on our founding fathers’ dreams of regional integration, securing a community for all for generations to come.
“During our celebration of this season of goodwill, let us, as a Community, reflect on our achievements over the year that is fast ending, a reflection that will no doubt be coloured by the challenges spawned by the current period of global uncertainties,” he said.
Douglas said those external upheavals have served to strengthen the resolve to drive the integration movement forward, a stance for which there has been firm support and commitment from the regional populace.
“I wish to reiterate my commendation to you for your resilience and for the outstanding qualities that have enabled our Community to remain a symbol of stability and good governance, reflected in our embrace of democratic processes,” the CARICOM chairman said.
CUOPM
St Vincent and the Grenadines ranked in top world destinations by CNN
St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) has been ranked number five in the “World’s Top Destinations for 2012” by Cable News Network (CNN).
SVG is the only Caribbean destination to make the CNN rankings and is described as “a tropical paradise”.
“What's not to like about a tropical paradise that bills itself as ‘one destination, 32 gorgeous Caribbean islands’?” CNN said.
“Located between St Lucia and Grenada, this island chain has long drawn stars and vacationers with deep pockets, but it will become more accessible to a wider range of travelers thanks to a $240 million airport scheduled to open on St Vincent,” Travel + Leisure reports.
The nine destinations to have made the rankings came from the recommendations of four travel experts: Robert Reid, US travel editor for Lonely Planet; Martin Rapp, senior vice president of Leisure Sales at Altour; Anne Banas, executive editor at Smarter Travel; and Jeanenne Tornatore, senior editor for Orbitz.com. Other suggestions came from Travel + Leisure and Budget Travel.
I-Octane, Mavado no-show at Sting
Sting 2011 has come and gone.
At the end of the night, Merciless lay dead, but high-riding entertainer, I-Octane was nowhere in sight, neither was Mavado, both of whom had performed at Jagra GT Taylor Christmas Extravaganza the previous night.
Promoter Isaiah Lain had been heard saying that Sting 2011 had two of the hottest artistes, Mavado and Popcaan, but the Gully Gad was a no-show.
With regards to I-Octane, deejay Ninja Kid had sent out a BB blast early Sting night saying that I-Octane was not going to perform on Sting. Ninja Kid did not give a reason, but clearly he knew something that the rest of us didn't, because I-Octane never made it to the venue.
The streets are saying that I-Octane possibly felt that Khago and Teflon, who were on stage together at Extravaganza, had a surprise in store for him.
And, truth be told, Khago did come to Sting looking for a fight with I-Octane, and Teflon also fired a few missiles.
Perhaps artistes are getting smarter and realising that it makes no sense to put their careers on the line for Sting.