Oscar organizers honor film science, technology

LOS ANGELES: Hosting Oscar organizers’ Scientific and Technical Awards on Saturday night, actress Milla Jovovich, a veteran of effects-driven movies like the “Resident Evil” franchise, confessed she knew little about what actually goes on behind the cameras.  

“I’m not an expert in technology. However I will say that as an actor, I certainly benefited from the many innovations you bring to filmmaking,” she told a packed ballroom of technical wizards being honored by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills.  

The annual awards event is typically overshadowed by the Academy Awards, or Oscars, which will be given out on February 26 for the best film, performances, directing, writing and other film work of the year.  

Saturday’s scientific and technical awards were reserved for honorees including Douglas Trumbull, recipient of the Gordon E. Sawyer Award for work that has “brought credit to the industry.”  

Trumbull has been at the forefront of visual effects for decades, working on classics like “2001:  A Space Odyssey,” “Blade Runner” and more recently, “The Tree of Life,” a contender in this year’s best film race.  

He spoke to the audience about rapidly changing technology in cinema and challenges facing the industry as attendance dips.  

“I think we can make movies that make people say, ‘I’m going to go out to a movie tonight because it’s so cool, it’s so big, it’s so grand and it’s so spectacular and there’s so much showmanship,” said Trumbull. “I think we can bring movies to new heights.”  

Other scientific and technical winners included the late John D. Lowry, inventor of the Lowry technique that is used to enhance image quality. Lowry died in his sleep only three weeks ago on January 21. Upon accepting the honor in his absence, his widow kissed the plaque then held it to the heavens.  

Honorees also included achievements in lens development, high-speed digital camera systems, camera stabilization rigs and high-resolution stock used in archival preservation.  

Visual effects guru Jonathan Erland was awarded the John A. Bonner Medal for a lifetime of dedication to the academy. With a career spanning over 50 years, Erland joined legendary effects house Industrial Light & Magic in the 1970s and worked on such classics as “Star Wars.”  

The academy’s science and technical awards chairman, Erland holds a patent for the Blue-Max flux projector, a traveling matte process, and was instrumental in establishing visual effects as a separate branch of the Academy.  

“The real task before us is to manage the present so that motion pictures stay relevant to the academy’s mission and the ideals we espouse,” declared Erland. “When all motion pictures are excellent, then, perhaps, we can talk about a new vision for this body. AGENCIES

Saif Gaddafi to be moved to Tripoli, then tried

TRIPOLI: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son and one-time heir apparent of toppled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, will be moved to a Tripoli prison within two months and then face trial, the chairman of Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) said on Sunday.

Three months after his capture in Libya’s Sahara desert dressed as a Bedouin tribesman, Saif al-Islam remains at a secret location in the northwestern town of Zintan, reflecting a wider problem of powerful local militias and a weak central government in the North African country.

In an interview with Reuters, Mustafa Abdul Jalil said authorities were completing the construction of a prison in central Tripoli, begun under the late Muammar Gaddafi, to which Saif al-Islam would be moved.

“At this moment he is being interrogated and his trial will begin as soon as the prison facility is ready,” Abdul Jalil said. “I can’t give an exact timeframe in terms of weeks or months for this but it will not be more than two months.”

Zintan commanders say they have kept Saif al-Islam in their remote mountain town, rather than hand him over to the NTC in Tripoli, to spare him the fate of his father.

The older Gaddafi was killed by his captors shortly after being seized in October, his decomposing body put on public display in a Misrata meat locker before given an inglorious secret burial in the Libyan desert.

Saif al-Islam, a fluent English speaker educated at the London School of Economics, was seen as a the Western-friendly acceptable face of Libya before transforming from liberal reformer to a key figure in his father’s fight against rebels seeking his overthrow.

He now faces trial in Tripoli on charges of murder and rape and could face the death penalty if convicted. The International Criminal Court in The Hague has also indicted him for crimes against humanity but Libya says he will be tried in his home country.

“By God’s will, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi will receive a fair trial and also all those who are accused in this regard,” Abdul Jalil said.

OFFSPRING’S SHADOW

A transitional government appointed in November is leading the country to elections in June but is struggling to restore services and impose order on a myriad of armed groups that toppled Gaddafi after 42 years in power.

And his offspring continue to cast a shadow over the oil-rich North African state.

Abdul Jalil said Niger had confiscated all communication devices belonging to Saif al-Islam’s brother Saadi, after he warned of a “coming uprising” in Libya by those opposed to the authorities now in power in Tripoli.

Saadi, who fled south to Niger in September, told Al-Arabiya television by telephone on Friday that he was in regular contact with people in Libya unhappy with the authorities put in place after the ousting and killing of his father.

That prompted Libya to urge Niger on Saturday to extradite Saadi, saying his comments threatened bilateral ties. But Niger said it could not hand over Saadi because he would face execution in Libya.

“First of all, the foreign minister of Niger and the prime minister of Niger were the ones to initiate contact with their counterparts and expressed their apology for what happened,” Abdul Jalil said. “I can confirm that the government of Niger has taken all measures and steps to confiscate all communication devices in his possession.”

Libya’s interim leaders last year approved a request to open an investigation into Saadi over the murder of a footballer who played for the national team in the 1980s.

“The prosecutor general has already sent an extradition request to bring Saadi back to Libya in light of the crime he committed in the field of sports in Libya. The legal and penal procedures in this regard will be followed,” he added. AGENCIES

Afghanistan chopper crash kills 6 US officials

WASHINGTON: Six US service personnel were killed in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, officials said, indicating the incident was not believed to be the result of enemy fire.

The helicopter, a CH-53 Sea Stallion, went down in the volatile Helmand province, according to one US official who said: “Initial indications are that this was not hostile fire.”

The dead were members of the US military, another US official told AFP.

In a brief statement, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said the cause of the crash was “under investigation.”

“However, initial reporting indicates there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash,” it said.

The Sea Stallion is a heavy transport aircraft capable of carrying about 40 people. The US officials did not say whether anyone else was on board, other than the six victims.

An ISAF spokesman told AFP in Kabul that the crash occurred late on Thursday local time.

He stressed that “there was no enemy around,” but could not give further information such as the terrain at the crash site or the weather.

In August, 30 US troops were killed when Taliban insurgents shot down a US Chinook helicopter, in the most deadly incident for US and NATO forces since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001.

The dead included 17 Navy SEALs and five other Navy sailors assigned to the SEAL unit. Seven Afghan troops and an interpreter were also killed.

Most of the Navy commandos came from the same SEAL team credited with killing Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a May raid in Pakistan. AGENCIES

US wants broad-based ties with Pakistan: White House

TrendPK.com

WASHINGTON: The United States is keen to have a strong cooperative relationship with Pakistan across a range of important issues, political, economic and security, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said on Friday.

The spokesperson said there are reports about reopening of NATO supply routes soon. But the US has not formally contacted Pakistan in this regard.

To a question, she said the US will give its response only when Pakistan proposes taxes after completing a parliamentary review.

“Despite having difficulties, the US is maintaining ties with the civilian government,” she said.

Obama’s Uncle arrested

Look who’s back! President Barack Obama‘s long-lost uncle Onyango Obama (A.K.A. ”Uncle Omar“) has been arrested for drinking and driving just outside of Boston and has also been detained as an illegal immigrant.

The elder Obama, 67, was arrested outside the Chicken Bone Saloon in Framingham, Massachusetts at 7:10 p.m. EDT on August 24, 2011. According to police, he almost crashed his Mitsubishi SUV into a police car, then insisted the officer should have yielded to him.

Uncle Omar reportedly blew a 0.14 on his breathalyzer test, which is above the state limit of 0.08.

Obama was charged with DUI and driving to endanger, as well as failing to use a turn signal. He was then detained as an illegal immigrant due to the fact that the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement has an outstanding warrant for him because he was previously ordered deported to Kenya.

In his 1995 memoir, “Dreams of My Father”, President Obama refers to “Uncle Omar” as “the uncle who had left for America 25 years ago and had never come back”.

Obama pleaded not guilty at his remand hearing, but was held in custody due to the immigration warrant.
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Libya’s future is in hands of the people: Obama

In a statement issued Sunday from Martha s Vineyard, where he s vacationing, Obama said the surest way for the bloodshed to end is for Moammar Gadhafi to relinquish power.

The president said, “The future of Libya is now in the hands of the Libyan people.” The rebels seized control of much of Libya s capital, Tripoli, on Sunday.

Obama s statement came after a Sunday evening conference call with his national security team.

He promised to work in close coordination with the rebels and said the U.S. will “continue to insist that the basic rights of the Libyan people are respected.”

The White House said Obama was briefed Sunday on the latest developments by counterterrorism adviser John Brennan and heard reports from US teams on the ground in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

US officials are poised to assist the opposition as the country moves toward democracy, although it wasn t clear Sunday how close such a transition might be.

US wants cooperative ties with Pakistan-White House

WASHINGTON: The United States wants to have a cooperative relationship with Pakistan despite strains over the killing of Osama bin Laden, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Monday.

“We believe it is very important to maintain a cooperative relationship with Pakistan, precisely because it’s in our national security interests to do so,” Carney told a news briefing. AGENCIES

Furore in US over Osamas death

Euphoria engulfed the United States soon after US President Barack Obama announced the death of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. A large crowd of people gathered outside the White House gates on Pennsylvania Avenue, waving flags and dancing in jubilation.

They sang the “Star Spangled Banner” in unison and chanting “USA USA USA” and “Na na na na — na na na na …Hey hey goodbye” in reference to Osama bin Laden.

The crowd is swelling by the minute. People are running to join the group with American flags and there is lot of dancing and cheering. As the news was finally confirmed, families of those who died in the 2001 attacks spoke through tears of their relief that Bin Laden had finally been killed.
Bush has called the killing a “momentous achievement”. He said, “The fight against terror goes on.”

Former US secretary of state Conoleezza Rice said, “The demise of Osama Bin Laden is a tremendous victory for the American people.”

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said US had kept their promise after the 09-11 attacks to capture or kill Bin Laden.

Al Qaeda leader bin Laden dead, Obama says

WASHINGTON: Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed on Sunday in a firefight with U.S. forces in Pakistan and his body was recovered, President Barack Obama announced on Sunday.

“Justice has been done,” Obama said in a dramatic, late-night White House speech announcing the death of the elusive mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the New York and Washington.

Obama said U.S. forces led the operation that killed bin Laden. No Americans were killed in the operation and they took care to avoid civilian casualties, he said.

“The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda and a terrorist who is
responsible for the murder of thousands of men, women and children,” Obama said.

It is a major accomplishment for Obama and his national security team, after many Americans had given up hope of ever finding bin Laden.

A crowd gathered outside the White House to celebrate, chanting, “USA, USA.”

Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, had repeatedly vowed to bring bin Laden to justice “dead or alive” for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington that killed nearly 3,000 people, but never did before leaving office in early 2009.

U.S. officials said that after searching in vain for the al Qaeda leader since he disappeared in Afghanistan in late 2001, the Saudi-born extremist was killed in the Pakistani town of Abbotabad and his body recovered.

Having the body may help convince any doubters that bin Laden is really dead.

He had been the subject of a search since he eluded U.S. soldiers and Afghan militia forces in a large-scale assault on the Tora Bora mountains of Afghanistan in 2001.

The trail quickly went cold after he disappeared and many intelligence officials believed he had been hiding in Pakistan.

While in hiding, bin Laden had taunted the West and advocated his militant Islamist views in videotapes spirited from his hideaway.

Besides Sept. 11, Washington has also linked bin Laden to a string of attacks, including the 1998 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the 2000 bombing of the warship USS Cole in Yemen.

Pakistan spells out ‘concerns’ to US general

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan spelt out “concerns” dogging its troubled alliance with the United States at talks Thursday with the most senior American to visit since the release of a CIA contractor accused of murder.

US commander of the Middle East and Afghanistan, General James Mattis, flew in as relations took a further knock from a White House report criticising Pakistan’s fight against Islamist militants on the Afghan border.

Mattis was meeting Pakistan’s army chief General Ashfaq Kayani and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee, General Khalid Shamim Wynne, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Shavers at the US embassy told AFP.

During the meetings, Mattis would “hear from them their concerns with regard to the relationship with the US military here”, Shavers said.

“He’s going to be in listening mode… that’s the main reason why he’s here,” he said. Mattis aims to visit Pakistan every three months and last visited in November, Shavers added.

The United States has made Pakistan a front line ally in the nearly 10-year war in Afghanistan and against Al-Qaeda, which US officials believe has carved out a global headquarters in Pakistan’s border areas with Afghanistan.

Under heavy US pressure, Pakistan has stepped up military operations against homegrown Taliban over the last two years, but US officials say more needs to be done to neutralise the threat posed by Islamist networks on its soil.

Islamabad rejected fresh criticism of its anti-militant fight, calling comments in this week’s White House report “unwarranted”.

“I would like to categorically state that we do not share the assessment of the US,” said foreign ministry spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua in a news briefing.

“Pakistan should not be held accountable for the failings of coalition strategy in Afghanistan,” she added.

Pakistan argues that its troops are already dangerously overstretched. With an estimated 147,000 forces in the northwest — more than the 130,000 US-led NATO force in Afghanistan — the army has also endured heavy losses.

The military says more than 2,800 soldiers have died and more than 8,700 have been wounded since 2001, when the September 11 attacks on the United States ignited the US-led war on terror.

Aside from military operations, more than 4,200 people have been killed across Pakistan in attacks blamed on Taliban and other Islamist extremist networks since government troops stormed a radical mosque in Islamabad in 2007.

On the same day as the Mattis-Kayani talks, a suicide bomber killed a Pakistani police constable and wounded five other people, including two children, in the southwestern province of Baluchistan that borders Afghanistan.

But the White House report noted a deterioration this year in the northwestern border with Afghanistan and criticised the Pakistani military for failing to forge a clear and sustained path to beat Islamist insurgents.

The Pakistan military confirmed that the Mattis talks dealt with Afghanistan and “military cooperation,” but commanders did not give detailed comment.

Mattis is the highest ranking US official to visit Islamabad since Pakistan released a CIA contractor who shot dead two men in Lahore in January.

The killings and Pakistan’s subsequent seven-week detention of Raymond Davis sparked a major diplomatic crisis between Washington and Islamabad, until $2 million in blood money was paid to the families of the dead men.

A covert US drone campaign in the border region, which fosters deep anti-Americanism within Pakistan, has also continued to inflame tensions.

A missile strike on March 17 killed 39 people, civilians among them, and led to rare public condemnation by Kayani of the drone campaign, which continues with the tacit consent of Islamabad.

Military analyst Talat Masood said the recent trials and military relations between the two countries had “great scope for improvement”.

“They’ll have to work a lot harder to improve them — both between the intelligence services and the military,” he said.

Pakistan last month boycotted a key meeting on Afghanistan in protest against the March 17 drone attack.

“We are trying to build these relations between the two countries on the principles of mutual interest and mutual respect, and at no point the national interest of Pakistan will be undermined in any way,” Janjua told reporters. AGENCIES

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