'Barefoot Bandit' gets more than 7 years for spree

Colton Harris-Moore, also known as the "Barefoot Bandit," glances at the courtroom gallery as he walks to the defense table, in Island County Superior Court, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, in Coupeville, Wash. Harris-Moore pleaded guilty Friday to burglary and theft charges in the Barefoot Bandit case. The 20-year-old softly answered affirmatively when the judge asked if he understood his rights. He said guilty when the judge asked how he wanted to plead. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Colton Harris-Moore, also known as the "Barefoot Bandit," glances at the courtroom gallery as he walks to the defense table, in Island County Superior Court, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, in Coupeville, Wash. Harris-Moore pleaded guilty Friday to burglary and theft charges in the Barefoot Bandit case. The 20-year-old softly answered affirmatively when the judge asked if he understood his rights. He said guilty when the judge asked how he wanted to plead. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Colton Harris-Moore, right, also known as the "Barefoot Bandit," stands with his attorney, John Henry Browne, in Island County Superior Court, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, in Coupeville, Wash. Harris-Moore pleaded guilty Friday to burglary and theft charges in the Barefoot Bandit case. The 20-year-old softly answered affirmatively when the judge asked if he understood his rights. He said guilty when the judge asked how he wanted to plead. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Colton Harris-Moore, left, also known as the "Barefoot Bandit," is escorted to the defense table, in Island County Superior Court, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, in Coupeville, Wash. Harris-Moore pleaded guilty Friday to burglary and theft charges in the Barefoot Bandit case. The 20-year-old softly answered affirmatively when the judge asked if he understood his rights. He said guilty when the judge asked how he wanted to plead. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Colton Harris-Moore, left, also known as the "Barefoot Bandit," talks with his attorney, John Henry Browne, right, in Island County Superior Court, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, in Coupeville, Wash. Harris-Moore pleaded guilty Friday to burglary and theft charges in the Barefoot Bandit case. The 20-year-old softly answered affirmatively when the judge asked if he understood his rights. He said guilty when the judge asked how he wanted to plead. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Island Co. Sheriff's Deputy Luke Atkins stands watch outside Island County Superior Court, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, in Coupeville, Wash. prior to the sentencing hearing for Colton Harris-Moore, who is also known as the "Barefoot Bandit." Harris-Moore is expected to plead guilty to about 30 state felony charges arising from a two-year, cross-country crime spree in stolen planes, boats and cars. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

COUPEVILLE, Wash. (AP) ? The youthful thief who rocketed to international notoriety as the "Barefoot Bandit" while he evaded police in pilfered cars, boats and planes during a two-year crime spree was sentenced Friday to more than seven years in a Washington state prison after pleading guilty to dozens of charges.

Colton Harris-Moore, now 20, showed no reaction as the sentence was delivered by a judge who took pity on his bleak upbringing at the hands of an alcoholic mother and a series of her convict boyfriends ? a situation she described as a "mind-numbing absence of hope."

"This case is a tragedy in many ways, but it's a triumph of the human spirit in other ways," Island County Judge Vickie Churchill said. "I could have been reading about the history of a mass murderer. I could have been reading about a drug abusive, alcoholic young man. That is the triumph of Colton Harris-Moore: He has survived."

Harris-Moore's daring run from the law earned him international fame and a movie deal to help repay his victims after he flew a stolen plane from Indiana to the Bahamas in July 2010, crash-landed it near a mangrove swamp and was arrested by Bahamian authorities in a hail of bullets.

Friday's proceedings consolidated cases against Harris-Moore in three Washington counties. He has already pleaded guilty to federal charges in Seattle and will be sentenced for those crimes early next year, but the sentence is expected to be shorter than his state term.

Harris-Moore faced a sentencing range of just over seven years to just under 10 years.

"Colton's very pleased," said his attorney John Henry Browne. "He was expecting the worst."

Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks said he's glad the case is over and he could live with the sentence.

"I can see why people are sympathetic to him," Banks said. "It's still a significant amount of time for someone who's never been in the adult system."

Wearing handcuffs and an orange jail uniform, Colton Harris-Moore spoke softly in court while entering his pleas.

In a statement provided to the judge, he said his childhood was one he wouldn't wish on his "darkest enemies."

Still, he said he takes responsibility for the crime spree that brought him international notoriety, and said he learned only too late of the fear he was instilling in his victims.

Harris-Moore said he studied manuals and online videos to teach himself to be a pilot, and the thrills he experienced while flying stolen planes renewed his passion for life and will help him rehabilitate while in prison.

"The euphoria of the countdown to takeoff and the realization of a dream was nearly blinding," he wrote of his first illicit flight on Nov. 11, 2008. "My first thought after takeoff was 'Oh my God, I'm flying.' I had waited my entire life for that moment."

He said he'll use his prison time to study and get ready to apply to college, with the hope of earning an aeronautical engineering degree.

Several victims and a few curious citizens watched Harris-Moore enter his pleas in Island County Superior Court, along with Harris-Moore's aunt.

Browne also said the young man's time on the run was horrific and included spending nights in culverts and portable toilets.

Harris-Moore's first conviction came at age 12, in 2004, for possession of stolen property, and according to the reports, his first experience with burglary came when he broke into the homes of his classmates to steal food because his mother spent most of her Social Security income on beer and cigarettes ? something she has denied.

Over the next three years he was convicted of theft, burglary, malicious mischief and assault, among other crimes.

In 2007, the boy was sentenced to three years in a juvenile lockup after pleading guilty to three burglary counts in Island County. But he fled the minimum-security facility in April 2008 and was soon back to his old tricks, breaking into unoccupied vacation homes, stealing food and sometimes staying there.

As red-faced investigators repeatedly failed to catch him, his antics escalated: He began stealing planes from small, rural airports and crash-landing them ? at least five in all.

Waves of burglaries broke out on Orcas Island, where Kyle Ater runs his Homegrown Market and Deli, in late 2009 and in early 2010, after stolen planes were found at the airport there. The second time, Harris-Moore left Ater's new security system in a utility sink, under a running faucet.

Harris-Moore's final spree came after he stole a pistol in eastern British Columbia and took a plane from a hangar in Idaho, where investigators found bare footprints on the floor and wall. That plane crashed near Granite Falls, Wash., after it ran out of fuel.

He made his way to Oregon in a 32-foot boat stolen in southwestern Washington ? stopping first to leave $100 at an animal shelter in Raymond, Wash. From Oregon, authorities said, Harris-Moore traveled across the United States, frequently stealing cars from the parking lots of small airports. In Indiana, he stole another plane and made for the Bahamas, more than 1,000 miles away, where authorities finally caught him in a manhunt that spanned multiple islands.

Among the courtroom spectators Friday were 18-year-olds Annie Cain and Hayley Hanna, who drove from nearby Langley to be at the courthouse at 5:30 a.m. ? four hours before the hearing.

"We wanted to be here just because he's so young, and everything he did, it's fascinating," Cain said.

Fox bought the movie rights in a deal that could be worth $1.3 million, and Dustin Lance Black, who won an Academy Award for writing the movie "Milk," about the gay rights activist Harvey Milk, is working on the screenplay.

Harris-Moore doesn't get to keep any of the money under the terms of his federal plea deal.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-16-Barefoot%20Bandit/id-016de647c013404590a08961c924baef

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Cuban-Americans eye travel limit budget amendment (Providence Journal)

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Obama wants payroll tax extended for entire year (AP)

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama, rebuffed by Congress on a yearlong extension of a Social Security payroll tax cut, said Saturday that it would be "inexcusable" for lawmakers not to lengthen the short-term deal when they return from their holiday break.

The measure, passed by the Senate shortly before the president spoke briefly at the White House, would extend the tax cut and long-term jobless benefits for just two months ? a partial victory for Obama that also sets the stage for another fight in February.

While pleased by the Senate vote, Obama said "it would be inexcusable for Congress not to further extend this middle class tax cut for the rest of the year. It should be a formality, and hopefully it's done with as little drama as possible when they get back in January."

He added, "This really isn't hard. There are plenty of ways to pay for these proposals."

The renewal of the 2-percentage-point cut in the Social Security payroll tax for 160 million workers and unemployment benefits averaging about $300 a week for the additional millions of people who have been out of work for six months or more is a modest step forward for Obama's year-end jobs agenda.

As a condition for GOP support of the payroll tax measure, Obama has to accept a provision that forces him to decide within 60 days whether to approve or reject a proposed a Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline that promises thousands of jobs.

Obama made no reference to the pipeline in his remarks.

The bill awaits House action next week.

"I'm looking forward to the House moving forward and getting this done when they get back on Monday," Obama said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111217/ap_on_bi_ge/us_obama_tax_cut

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Paul, Bachmann spar over Iran and nuclear threat

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, speaks during a Republican presidential debate in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, Pool)

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, speaks during a Republican presidential debate in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, Pool)

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., speaks during a Republican presidential debate in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, Pool)

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) ? Republican presidential candidates Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann are trading barbs over Iran, with the Texas congressman saying the U.S. has no legitimate claim to block Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon and Bachmann calling his position wildly dangerous.

The two House members clashed during Thursday night's GOP debate while standing next to each other.

Paul says that terrorists want to harm the U.S. because it bombs innocent civilians and invades countries. The libertarian-leaning lawmaker says the worries over a nuclear Iran are merely the pretense for the U.S. to start another war.

Bachmann says that Iran is led by "an avowed madman" and committed to destroying Israel. She says Iran must be stopped.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-12-16-GOP%20Debate-Paul-Bachmann/id-7f5586fa2788490cb8d7ca116514ea07

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'Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' Is MTV's Best Movie Of 2011!

You won't see a film all year that holds you like David Fincher's thriller.
By Eric Ditzian

Roonie Mara in "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
Photo: Columbia TriStar

It was our fault for underestimating David Fincher.

Honestly, though, we weren't the only ones going, "Wait, really?" when the Oscar-nominated helmer (who got straight-up robbed by the Academy last year in the Best Director category) cast his sweet, dimpled, couldn't-even-really-intimidate-a-tech-nerd "Social Network" actress Rooney Mara as hard-edge hacker Lisbeth Salander in his adaptation of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."

Then, this past January, we got our first look at Mara in character: She was Salander. And we were wrong, wrong, wrong. How do you say "mea culpa" in Swedish?

Maybe like this: "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" is MTV's Best Movie of 2011!

The movie hasn't even hit theaters yet (that'll happen on December 20), but trust our panel of experts on this one, OK? For all the sizzling cool of "Drive" and all the 3-D majesty of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2," you won't see a film all year that holds you — that'll haunt you — like "Dragon Tattoo."

Based on Stieg Larsson's international best-selling crime thriller (you know, the one half the people in any subway car in any city in the world are reading at any given moment), Fincher's film followed up on the Swedish original, a critical and fan fave in its own right. What these three fictional treatments have in common, of course, is the story: Mikael Blomkvist, a disgraced journalist, is hired to investigate a decades-old missing-persons case. He convinces Salander, a motorcycle-driving ward of the state who's not adverse to violent confrontations with anyone who crosses her, to assist in the search.

Where Fincher separates and ultimately distinguishes his picture, then, is not in plot particulars (though he and writer Steven Zaillian do take a few liberties, especially with the ending), but in how he unfurls the story. Moviegoers might never need to travel to Sweden after watching his "Dragon Tattoo," so fully does Fincher immerse viewers in an atmosphere of foggy Nordic islands and gritty Stockholm back alleys. There's really no sense arguing: David Fincher is the finest working director in Hollywood.

He's also one hell of a casting director. There could be no other English-language choice for Blomkvist than Daniel Craig. Fincher fought for Mara against the wishes of his studio, even as A-listers like Scarlett Johansson competed for the role. To say Mara transformed herself to play Salander doesn't quite capture the enormity of what the actress pulled off — butchering her hair, piercing her body, shedding weight, picking up a Swedish accent and almost re-sequencing her DNA to create the character. We'd say she came as close to becoming Salander as anyone born outside of Scandinavia could possibly be, if we hadn't already seen Noomi Rapace's impressive performance in the Swedish original and been sure Mara's is the more absorbing portrayal.

"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" is by no means a prefect film. It drags at times. It's probably confusing to anyone who hasn't read the book and committed the names of the huge cast of characters to memory. The ending, regardless of Fincher's tweaks, remains a letdown. But these are quibbles. Let the Oscars and Globes anoint a silent black-and-white film as their favorite of the year. MTV knows "Dragon Tattoo" is the Best Movie of 2011.

See for yourself on December 20.

Stick with MTV as we count down the Best of 2011, including the top Artists, Songs, Live Performances and EDM Artists of the year.

Check out everything we've got on "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Apple launches iTunes Store in Lat Am (AP)

SAO PAULO ? Apple has launched its iTunes store in Brazil and 15 other Latin American countries, the company said Tuesday, making available for sale more than 20 million songs in a region where music piracy is rampant.

One top Brazilian music industry official said he thinks the launch of the online iTunes store, along with expectations that Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn will soon produce iPods, iPads and iPhones in Brazil, will put a dent in piracy in Brazil.

"For 15 years there have been immeasurable losses to pirated CDs, and for 10 years to piracy carried out on the Internet," said Paulo Rosa, president of the Brazilian Association of Record Producers. "The more legal alternatives there are for the consumer, the better it is for the market. Unquestionably, this will help music sales at the expense of piracy."

Rosa didn't offer specifics on his forecasts for how sales might improve, and it remains unclear how consumers will embrace the service, given how widespread piracy of music and videos have become in Brazil and most other Latin American nations. The 16 Latin American nations where the iTunes store is being launched rank among the worst in the world when it comes to pirated entertainment.

The 2011 International Property Rights Index report from the Washington-based Property Rights Alliance group ranked Venezuela last of all 129 nations examined in terms of piracy of intellectual property. All the other nations where iTunes is launching in Latin America, except for Chile, were also ranked among the worst for piracy.

Consumers in Brazil and elsewhere with broadband connections easily download music for free, and those without Internet connections can buy the latest pirated music and films on virtually any corner of major cities for $2 or less.

Brazil is one of the markets "with the highest number of users accessing unlicensed services," the London-based International Federation of the Phonographic Industry says in its 2011 Digital Music Report. It said 45 percent of Brazilian Internet users download music illegally in a single month.

"Sixty-five percent of the music market (in Brazil) is dominated by pirated CDs and illegally downloaded music," said the website of the Cinema and Music Anti-Piracy Association, a watchdog group.

The iTunes store could become an effective anti-piracy tool in Colombia, said Adrian Restrepo, a director of the Society of Colombian Authors and Composers.

"It is an opportunity to combat piracy," Restrepo said. "People will stop buying pirated goods because they will have access to songs they can buy easily and economically."

Paul Lee, an 18-year-old law student in Sao Paulo, chuckled when asked if he would pay for music through the iTunes store.

"Brazilians have been downloading music for free for so many years, it's part of the culture. Nobody expects to pay for music," said Lee, who was listening to music on his iPhone during a smoke break between classes. "I've been getting my music for free off the Internet for a decade, and I'm not going to stop."

In Rio de Janeiro, 23-year-old video editor Carlos Cavalcanti said the iTunes service could help less famous artists distribute their music.

"The store will be a boon to local talent," Cavalcanti said. "Sometimes newer musicians who aren't as well known might have trouble selling a CD, but through iTunes, listeners can now purchase a single song."

In a country where piracy is rampant, Cavalcanti said he would use the iTunes store because of the trust he has in the quality of Apple products.

"I've got an iPod, an iPad, a Mac, and with iTunes, I can download music into all of them, and I know it's safe," he said. "I know I'm not going to ruin my gadgets."

The launch of iTunes in Brazil comes as Foxconn is expected to begin producing products by tech giant Apple Inc. at a plant in Brazil.

Brazil's Minister of Science and Technology Aloizio Mercadante and other top Brazilian officials have repeatedly said such production is imminent. Neither Apple nor Foxconn responded to requests for comment.

In its statement about the iTunes store launch, Apple said most of the songs are priced at 99 cents and most albums cost $9.99.

The Latin American iTunes stores offer music from major labels such as EMI Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music, the statement said. Calls to the Brazilian offices of the labels and the Brazilian Union of Music Publishers were not immediately returned. The Brazilian Association of Record Producers said it had no immediate comment.

According to Apple's statement, the new iTunes store also offers over a thousand movies to rent or purchase from major studios such as 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Pictures, The Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures.

The service is simultaneously being launched in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela.

___

Associated Press writers Bradley Brooks in Sao Paulo, Juliana Barbassa in Rio de Janeiro and Cesar Garcia in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/digitalmusic/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111213/ap_on_bi_ge/lt_latam_itunes_store

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The nativity gets updated for the modern age (AP)

LONDON ? There's a beautifully groomed Mary in a blue party dress, a fashionable Joseph gazing adoringly at the baby, and wise men carrying a Faberge egg, a crystal bottle of perfume and a decorated skull.

With only twelve days to go until Christmas, a church group unveiled a poster Thursday to remind people of the religious aspect of the holiday ? while making a statement about modern-day extravagance.

The poster, deliberately designed to look like a fashion photograph, has the words: "However you dress it up, Christmas starts with Christ."

Francis Goodwin, chairman of multi-denominational religious group ChurchAds that organized the poster campaign, said the image is meant to remind people of the origins of Christmas.

"We are not killjoys, we do not object to giving presents and having a good time," he said. "This is just a reminder that the real reason for Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Christ."

Goodwin said he hoped the poster would also modernize the traditional Christmas image.

"We wanted to update the Christmas message, to put a new image out there," he said. "Most people outside the church think the nativity just means the traditional Victorian images we all recognize ? it's not something that is relevant to many people."

The campaign is aimed at a country that has become, according to the European Social Survey, one of the least religious countries in Europe. A survey carried out in 2008 and 2009 found that slightly more than half of Britons had never attended a religious service ? with only France and the Czech Republic having more secular populations.

But Christmas is still a hugely popular festival. Many shops put decorations up as early as October and families spend hundreds of pounds (dollars) on presents for their children and friends. Even famed atheist Richard Dawkins has said he exchanges gifts and allows his daughter to have a Christmas tree despite being a passionate critic of religion.

In the poster, Mary and Joseph are an attractive couple in a mix of designer and high street clothes, while the wise men look more wealthy than wise.

The original shepherds may have walked across their fields to see the baby Jesus ? here they are turned into trendy cyclists who might have ridden across city streets instead.

The wise men's gifts are a new take on the traditional gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh ? the Faberge egg represents gold, the Swarovski crystal perfume bottle refers to frankincense, and the diamond-encrusted skull by British artist Damien Hirst, like the more traditional Myrrh, symbolizes death.

"In the middle of this financial crisis the poster does make you think what the value of all this stuff is," said the Bishop of Croydon Nick Baines, who has supported the poster campaign.

"We live in a very superficial culture when appearance can be everything. The other part of the poster is to ask ourselves where do we fit into this story ? does the nativity belong to us."

ChurchAds poster campaign officially begins Thursday when the Bishop of Bolton Chris Edmondson unveils a large billboard in Manchester city center 200 miles (324 kilometers) north west of London.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/britain/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_christmas_poster

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