Sex appeal sells private tutors in Hong Kong

Angela Yiu and Stella Cheng spent weeks meeting with fashion stylists and photographers before deciding on the miniskirts and high heels to wear in their promotion campaign.

They're not models peddling perfume or sports cars. They're English tutors who earn good money helping secondary school students pass Hong Kong's grueling exams to get into college.

"Their long legs are the most beautiful ones in the tutorial industry," said Ken Ng, head of Modern Education, one of the city's biggest tutoring businesses. "This is our selling point."

Sex appeal has become a hot selling point, just as important as teaching ability and knowledge, in Hong Kong's hypercompetitive world of cram schools - or bou zap se in the local Cantonese dialect.

Attractive teachers are marketed like movie stars. Their schools show them off on billboards, full-page newspaper ads and TV screens in railway stations and on buses.

Some tutors have their own teams of stylists, fashion designers and photographers, Ng said. They also have personal Web sites, where potential students can see their photos, read their online journals and download video clips of "gag moments" in class.

It's just the latest twist in the competition to grab the business of students caught up in Hong Kong's make-or-break exam culture. Youngsters take two college exams during their seven years in secondary school, and they have to pass both to get into a university.

So hordes of students trek to after-school lectures at tutoring centers.

The Census and Statistics Department says one-third of the students in secondary schools sought private tutoring in the 2004-2005 school year, spending a total of $18.9 million a month - 25 percent more than five years earlier.

Industry pioneers such as Modern Education and King's Glory each have about 10 centers around the city, each offering around 200 lessons a week.

All the companies boast of their ability to give youngsters an edge by predicting what questions will be asked in the exams, employing teams of full-time analysts who study patterns from previous exam papers.

With competition growing fierce on that front, the tutorial centers in recent years have increasingly focused on promoting their teachers as trendy icons consumable by students.

"When our rivals are equally good at predicting the exam questions, we need a new ground to outrun them," Ng said. "And that is the tutor's appearance."

Last summer, Ng hired Yiu, who once won a modeling contest, to teach English along with Cheng, described by Ng as "a gorgeous former lawyer."

Yiu, who has a business degree, said: "Being a model is not a long-term career. I should plan for the future. I know my good appearance has a market."

Indeed, tutoring is one of the more profitable jobs in this Asian city. Top tutors who have more than 4,000 students can earn high salaries.

Elaine Chow, an advertising executive, said tutoring businesses are applying a "star-making" promotion technique in which tutors dress fashionably and are given nicknames like "the Godfather of Science," "Brand-A tutor" or the "Queen of English."

"In the advertisements, going to tutorial centers is portrayed as a trendy after-school activity more than a chance to acquire knowledge," she said. "This is a twisted tutoring market."

Percy Kwok, a former education researcher of the Chinese University of Hong Kong who studied the private tutoring phenomenon in 2003, said tutorial centers closely follow the consumption culture of youths to catch their attention.

"They may even expose tutors' private life if necessary," he said.

But he added that while tutorial centers have become highly commercial, they provide useful techniques in tackling exams, such as predicting question types. Daytime teachers don't have comparable resources or the time to do that, he said.

Tutorial centers will continue, he said, "as long as university certificates and exam results are the best evidence to prove one's competence and guarantee a stable income."

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Sinking starlets see nothing wrong in stripping to save career

Ryann Connell

Those seeking happiness in life could do worse than take a leaf from the book of fallen actresses who pose nude for photo collections, Motoji Takasu -- a man who's arranged about 500 such publications - tells Shukan Asahi.

Takasu says that many actresses who agree to bare all for the cameras are often in careers taking a downward turn.

But he says that most of the actresses are hardly bothered by their dwindling fortunes, writing their fall off as part of a life filled with ups and downs, with some of them not even regarding stripping as one of the lower points.

Takasu says Yoko Shimada, who co-starred in the movie version of James Clavell's "Shogun," was the most relaxed of all the actresses who have posed nude for him. Despite having made a name for herself outside of Japan, Shimada never was stuck up and was perfectly happy to chow down on a bowl of noodles at a neighborhood ramen restaurant. And even though she'd done some time in Hollywood, she had no qualms about posing nude for Asahi Geino, arguably the lowest of Japan's lowbrow men's weeklies.

"When I asked her why, she simply said because the magazine had asked her to do it," Takasu tells Shukan Asahi. "She didn't care about her past glories. She was simply living the moment to its fullest."

The nude photo collection producer says that apart from only a few very lucky actresses, most thespians have to spend some of their career struggling, which makes the times when they do have work all the more delightful. He adds that when these women act like stars, it's nothing more than a drama set where everything is for external appearances. Takasu says that the majority of actresses who pose nude normally live very quite private lives and that the majority who've undressed for him have been polite and humble even if their public persona has not always been like that.

Takasu says ordinary women are usually much more interested in fashion than actresses who undress for the cameras, caring little for their fashions.

"Ordinary women probably wear pricier undies than the big name actresses," he says.

Takasu says that actresses who pose nude generally know when they need to perform.

"Top actresses know when to turn it on and off. They know when they need to look good. They know the times they need to perform," he says.

Takasu says nude model actresses are usually so relaxed, they're unlikely to be the types to take their own lives. He urges people considering ending it all not to do so, no matter how down they feel.

"Nothing is ever so bad that you have to take your own life," Takasu tells Shukan Asahi. "I can't understand why these people don't just strip down to their last thread and bare everything to the world before starting all over again."

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Serial sexual offenders on the loose across Taiwan, the Police Reporrts

Police and a women's group are warning the public on up to five serial rapists who are on the loose in northern Taiwan and Kaohsiung city.

Among the criminals, the most active has committed sixteen offenses since October of 1997 in Taipei City, Taipei County, Taoyuan County, and Hsinchu County.

Targeting women who live in old apartments with no security guards, the "Apartment Wolf" most recently went on the prowl in 2003 when he used handcuffs and a knife to subdue two separate victims in Taipei City.

The rapist is described as between the age of 30-40 years old, 170 to 175 centimeters tall, with short, curly hair and dark skin.

Modern Women's Foundation also warned of another rapist who has committed more than ten rapes inside apartments of greater Taipei.

The foundation's chief executive Chang Chin-li said that a third rapist who is believed to have committed more than seven rapes in Taipei City and Kaohsiung City has the habit of wearing gloves.

The women's group reported that two serial sex offenders were recently arrested by police, including Wei Yung-ching, who targeted children, and another who victimized betel nut beauties.

Wei had served time for sexually abusing children before being caught in the act on January 9, assaulting a six-year old girl.

Following Wei's case, Chang pointed the finger at the Ministry of Justice, saying that not more than ten sexual offenders currently on parole are under electronic surveillance.

According to statistics released by the Ministry of Interior, a total of 6601 cases of sexual abuse have been reported last year with an average of 18.1 cases taking place every day.

That figure does not include sexual abuses which was not reported, which the MOI puts at around 60,000 cases a year.

Modern Women's Foundation said that only a tenth of those charged with sexual offenses actually go to jail resulting in a large number of sexual offenders on the loose.

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China will step up enforcement of laws against sex-selection abortion

Steven Ertelt,
LifeNews.com Editor

On a day when hundreds of thousands of Americans are lining the streets of Washington to protest 34 years of legalized abortion, China's political leaders say they will do more to stop sex-selection abortions there and to correct a growing gender imbalance that its one-child family planning program has yielded.

The official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported on Monday that the government will increase enforcement of laws designed to prohibit the use of ultrasounds to determine the sex of an unborn child.

Xinhua says the Central Committee of the ruling Communist Party and the State Council, or cabinet, has issued a new document saying anyone running afoul of the gender identification laws should face "serious punishment."

"The document said the gender-ratio imbalance, which has been developing for some time, amounts to 'a hidden danger' for society that will 'affect social stability,'" the government news service reported.

Authorities will also step up monitoring hospitals and other medical facilities to ensure ultrasound isn't improperly used or that the abortion pill is given out only for purposes of a sex-selection abortion.

Last year China scrapped plans to prohibit sex-selection abortions altogether but has put forward educational campaigns telling Chinese of the virtue of girl babies.

China currently has a male-female ratio of 119-100 while the number is closer to 103-100 in most industrialized nations.

As a result, large numbers of Chinese man are finding it difficult to get married. The general imbalanced has also caused an increase in crime, selling of girl babies, prostitution and forcing women into sexual slavery or domestic positions.

Because Chinese couples are limited to one child, abortion and infanticide are frequently used to ensure that child is a boy. That is especially the case in rural areas where boys are preferred because of their ability to carry on the family name or run the family farm.

Some girls are even sold or given away in order for Chinese families to have one son to comply with the family planning rules.

Chinese couples determined to have a son easily get around the new laws as a black market has sprung up of people with ultrasound machines in the trunks of cars or house closets are willing to divulge the sex of an unborn baby for a price.

As a result, the skewed male-female ratio is growing worse as there are 130 boys to 100 girls in the provinces of Guangdong and Hainan.

China instituted the coercive family planning policy in 1979 and Chinese women and families have been the victims of an intense campaign ever since that has involved forced abortions and sterilizations, and the arrest and harassment of those who resist it.

But the policy has caused the gender imbalance to explode.

Ironically, China distributed ultrasound machines to local clinics on a wide scale after the coercive family planning policy was instituted to ensure women were not pregnant and violating the one-child program.

Despite the problems, Xinhua reported Monday that the new document says the one-child policy and reducing the number of people in China is still a priority.

"Maintaining a low birth rate is the priority of family planning during the next phase," it said.

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Counterterrorism police arrested nine men in U.K. terror raids

Counterterrorism police arrested nine men in an alleged kidnapping plot today — a plan that reportedly involved torturing and beheading a British Muslim soldier and broadcasting the killing on the Internet.

The kidnapping plot was the first of its kind to be uncovered in Britain, according to counterterrorism officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.

Police would not confirm the potential victim’s occupation or details of the plot that was unravelled in the predominantly Pakistani neighbourhood in central England. A dozen houses and two Islamic bookshops were cordoned off and being searched.

Since suicide bombers killed 52 people in London on July 7, 2005 — killings carried out by Muslim extremists who grew up in Britain — counterterrorism units have conducted several raids across Britain. Several sweeps have been conducted in Birmingham, including a raid in August when suspects were arrested in an alleged plot to use liquid explosives to blow up at least 10 planes between flying between Britain and the United States.

The potential victim of the latest plot — a British Muslim soldier — was under police protection, Sky News reported, adding that the kidnapping was going to end in an “Iraq-style” execution. The British Broadcasting Corp. also reported that the plan was to kidnap a soldier.

“The threat of terrorism has been growing over the years,” said David Shaw, a police spokesman in Birmingham, adding that the current investigation had been in the works for months before today’s raid.

Birmingham is the hometown of Britain’s first Muslim soldier to be killed in Afghanistan last year — a death that prompted militant Islamist websites to denounce Cpl. Jabron Hashmi, 24, as a traitor. One site — that of the British sect al-Ghurabaa — posted an image of the soldier surrounded by flames.

Last year, a London street vendor was sentenced to six years in prison in a plot to kill a decorated British soldier. Abu Baker Mansha was accused of targeting Cpl. Mark Byles, whose address and other materials, were found in Mansha’s apartment.

Byles was awarded a military cross for bravery following an attack in which several Iraqi insurgents were killed — exploits covered by British newspapers. One of the articles with Byles’ name was circled and found in Mansha’s apartment.

The Defence Ministry said 330 Muslims are serving in the British armed forces. It would not comment on reports that the intended victim was a soldier.

Dozens of people have been kidnapped in Iraq, and captors have often broadcast their pictures on the Internet.

One widely publicized kidnap-slaying was that of 62-year-old Kenneth Bigley from Liverpool. He was abducted from a Baghdad suburb where he was working in September 2004 and beheaded three weeks later. His death was captured on video.

“People don’t trust their own children any more,” said Shabir Hussain, chairman of the Ludlow Road Mosque in Birmingham. “You feel like you should challenge your son or daughter: `Where are you going at night? What are you watching on TV? What are you doing on the Internet?’

In a raid last year in London, a man was shot by police, sparking complaints from Muslim communities across the country.

“The police and government seem to be against Muslims and are trying to turn us against one another,” said Kadir Mohammad, 18, who lives in one of the raided neighbourhoods.

Britain’s MI-5 has said it set up a network of eight new regional offices across the country in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, including a centre in the West Midlands.

The service had previously had regional branches in Northern Ireland, but uses the new offices to liaise with police in counterterrorism work.

Sky TV reported that British investigators contacted Pakistani intelligence agents four days ago about the plot. The Foreign Office would not confirm there were such discussions.

In Islamabad, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said, “The British authorities have confirmed to us that there is no Pakistan connection.”

She gave no other details on the contact between authorities in the two countries.

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Ultra-Tough Nanotech Materials

Researchers have used clay nanoparticles to modify a polymer material, making it 20 times stiffer, 4 times tougher, and able to withstand temperatures that are more than twice as hot. The new materials could eventually be used in rugged lightweight fabrics, less-bulky packing materials, and much lighter car parts.

The work is part of a growing effort to design materials with nanoscale structures that mimic those found in nature, such as those in ultra-strong seashells. (See "Silicon and Sun.") In the current work, researchers at MIT's program in polymer science and technology greatly improved the properties of an elastic polyurethane used in biomedical applications by dispersing tiny clay particles throughout it.

Source: money-making-machines.blogspot.com

NowPublic

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Pole Dancing Around Lisa Ann Taylor's Arrest

JIM STINGL

Having your arrest show up on the news normally is poison for your career.

Unless you're an exotic dancer. It just makes the bad girl badder.

"A $10,000 a nite callgirl? That's what I was arrested for. You've seen me on the news, now have your picture taken with me," says the ad for Melissa Wolf at On the Border, the "gentlemen's club" where she'll be posing and performing all this week starting Monday.

The half-page ad ran last week in the Shepherd Express, and the pitch also appears on the club's Web site.

Wolf, whose off-stage name is Lisa Ann Taylor, has found a way to squeeze lemonade from the lemons tossed at her by police and the Gwinnett County district attorney in Georgia, where her million-dollar mansion in a gated community outside Atlanta was raided this month.

The former Penthouse centerfold and another woman were arrested on charges of prostitution, racketeering and procuring drugs for clients. Authorities are claiming the mansion was rocking till all hours of the night.

The ad capitalizes on that, too. Come see the performer that police called the "mansion madam."

Taylor has performed in Milwaukee many times over the years, which has fueled another little nugget of the investigation into her case. The police are poring over customer lists said to possibly include men from suburban Milwaukee.

"I'm booking her because she needs a shot," said Danny Hay, co-owner of On the Border, 10741 S. 27th St., Franklin. "I'm almost positive we'll do really well. I'm hoping you guys blow it way out of proportion."

Done.

He said Taylor has performed as Melissa Wolf at his clubs many times, going back to the 1980s at Hoops, the rock club turned strip joint that used to be on 26th and State.

If you're doing the math in your head, yes, that makes Taylor a non-traditional pole dancer. At age 42, she told me she had been planning to retire, but the arrest has sidetracked her real estate sales career and pushed her back on stage.

"I haven't been given much of a choice," Taylor said when I reached her Saturday on her cell phone as she shopped for earrings in Allentown, Pa., where her not-guilty tour stopped last week.

"Would you buy real estate from me?" she said. "Probably not."

Publicity from the arrest and sensational accusations has given her take-it-off dancing career a jolt. She says she needs the money to pay her mortgage and lawyer bills.

"And I can still do the splits, believe it or not," she said. "The fans have been coming out in droves, and they think it's BS what's been going on."

Taylor professes her innocence but doesn't want to talk in detail about the allegations for fear she'll make it worse. Her bondsman has given her permission to travel.

Hay said all he knows is that Melissa Wolf is his friend and she's always been able to fill his club with customers. If she's done anything illegal, he's not aware of it, he said.

"We live in America where we are innocent until proven guilty - or we used to be," Hay said.

In this instance, though, that whiff of guilt is Melissa Wolf's biggest draw.

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Icy Roads - Treacherous?

Alwynne Gwilt and Josh Wingrove
staff reporter

A major accident on Highway 401 near Port Hope was just one of hundreds of crashes in Southern Ontario after a heavy blast of winter made for slick driving.

The highway east of Port Hope was still closed late in the afternoon as the OPP investigated a crash between a small car and a transport truck.

The victims in that accident had to be pulled out from the vehicle and were sent to hospital with serious injuries.

There were more than 500 collisions Saturday along the major Greater Toronto highways, OPP Staff Sgt. Bruce Pritchard said.

Freezing drizzle made the drive into the city treacherous in stretches, although most of the accidents were minor.

The majority of the crashes were along the 401 and the 404, with cars sliding into the ditch or guard rails. Around 10 a.m. a tractor-trailer jack-knifed across the 401 westbound at Whites Rd. and caused two lanes of the highway to close.

At Pearson International Airport, about 10 flights were cancelled and more than three dozen delayed as crews worked to de-ice each plane leaving the busy hub, creating a backlog of flights waiting to leave.

"It was widespread. You're seeing a bit of a snowball effect," said Greater Toronto Airport Authority spokeperson Scott Armstrong, who added that the cancellations are still just "a bit higher than usual."

According to Environment Canada, that wintry weather is here to stay with light snow continuing today and lows near -16C Monday.

The collisions weren't the only surprise on the roads. Const. Angela Diase might have expected a typical call when she stopped to investigate a van pulled over on Hwy. 407 at Markham Rd. Instead, Diase found a woman in labour and, before an ambulance could arrive, had a healthy baby boy wrapped in her jacket, OPP said.

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Dead woman served jail time

Luke E. Saladin
Post staff reporter

A Northern Kentucky woman whose partially clothed body was found in the Ohio River Thursday in Ludlow had had extensive run-ins with police and been convicted of prostitution.

A man walking his dog spotted the body of Krystal Michelle Coy, 23, a few feet from the shore at the foot of Butler Street.

The death is being investigated as a homicide by the Kenton County Police Department, which is typical until a cause of death is determined.

According to records at the Kenton County Detention Center, Coy, whose last know arrest was Latonia, has faced at least 22 charges in Kenton County since March 2004, and been convicted of prostitution and loitering for prostitution purposes.

Among the other charges: giving an officer a false name, alcohol intoxication in a public place, disorderly conduct, operating on a suspended license, failure to appear in court and contempt of court. Her last visit to the jail was Dec. 21, when she was sentenced to serve 10 days in jail for probation violation. There was also an active bench warrant issued in October for Coy's arrest in Boone County, on a charge of theft of services for under $300.

Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney Rob Sanders said because an initial medical examination found that there was no severe trauma to the body, authorities would check for drug use.

"We're awaiting the police report to see what they find, then we'll try to locate the last people who saw her alive and try to piece the puzzle together," Sanders said.

"The bottom line is a partially clothed body doesn't just appear along the river. Somebody knows what happened."

Kenton County Deputy Coroner Ron Cook said results of an autopsy should be known early next week.

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Navy Searches For 3 From Copter Crash

ALLISON HOFFMAN,
Associated Press Writer

Navy vessels about 50 miles off the California coast searched Saturday for three crew members of a Navy helicopter that crashed during a training operation.

The Friday crash killed one crew member and left the remaining three missing as darkness fell over the Pacific.

The sailor died after being pulled alive from the water, said Navy spokesman Cmdr. Jack Hanzlik.

"It's a sad time whenever we lose shipmates like this, so our hearts and prayers go out to the families," Hanzlik said.

The helicopter, based at Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, was on a training mission when it crashed at about 5:30 p.m. EST. The MH-60S, commonly known as a Seahawk, was on a mission off the USS Bonhomme Richard, near San Clemente Island, directly west of the Camp Pendleton Marine base.

Hanzlik said the helicopter crew put out a mayday call before the crash. Navy sailors and Marines who were training with them aboard ship arrived at the crash site in inflatable boats within minutes.

The sailor pulled alive from the water died aboard the Bonhomme Richard while receiving medical attention, the Navy said.

His name was being withheld pending family notification. The names and rank of the others aboard also had not been released.

It was not clear whether mechanical malfunction or pilot error might have contributed to the crash, the Navy said. An investigation was under way.

Hanzlik said he did not know what type of maneuver the helicopter was performing when it crashed.

The USS Bonhomme Richard is an amphibious assault craft that took Marines to Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami.

The ship was training with two other Navy ships, the destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and the cruiser USS Chosin. Both of those ships were also participating in the rescue mission, Hanzlik said.

Two additional vessels, the destroyer USS Milius and the amphibious craft USS Rushmore, were deployed to assist with the search.

The MH-60 Sierra is a twin-turbine craft based on the UH-60L Black Hawk and the Navy's SH-60B Seahawk, according to the manufacturer, United Technologies Corp.'s Sikorsky Aircraft. It is designed to operate off aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and frigates, ranging up to 100 nautical miles from the ship.

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Singapore Snubs Nigeria, Others; Executes Tochi Iwuchukwu

SINGAPORE yesterday snubbed Nigeria, the United Nations, Amnesty International, and a host of other anti-death penalty activists when it hanged convicted Nigerian, Tochi Amara Iwuchukwu (21), and one Nelson Malachy Okeke (35), said to be stateless. Both were hanged at dawn yesterday.

Singapore's Central Narcotics Bureau confirmed the executions in a statement.

"The appeals of both Tochi and Malachy to the Court of Appeal and to the President (S.R. Nathan) for clemency have been turned down. Their sentences were carried out this morning at Changi Prison," it said.

Last Tuesday President Olusegun Obasanjo in a letter appealed to Singapore for clemency on behalf of Tochi. A statement from his office said that "President Olusegun Obasanjo has sought the personal intervention of the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, in the imminent execution of a Nigerian, Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi, in Singapore," adding that the President "had asked that the death sentence be commuted to imprisonment."

In reply, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wrote to President Obasanjo to explain why his government was rejecting his appeal for clemency.

"Mr. Tochi has committed a serious offence under Singapore law," Lee said, adding that the amount of drugs he carried amounted to more than 48,000 doses of heroin on the streets.

Lee said that his government "takes a firm stance against drugs to deter Singaporeans and others from importing drugs into Singapore or using the country as a transit hub for narcotics," and had made its position publicly known."

And in Lagos, Tochi's lawyer accused the government doing too little, too late to help his client. The lawyer, Princewill Akpakpa who is also head of litigation at the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) said "the Nigerian government just woke up at the eleventh hour... belatedly writing letters to authorities in Singapore" to grant him clemency, said in a televised interview after the execution.

Akpakpa said that several letters he wrote last year to authorities in Nigeria, including the parliament, after Tochi was convicted, were neither acknowledged nor acted upon.

"The Nigerian governnment failed woefully. It did not look at the merit of Tochi's case," he said.

"Tochi did not know the content of the parcel that was given to him," at the airport in Dubai for delivery in Singapore, said the lawyer, who said he visited Singapore several times and led several campaigns in favour of Tochi after his conviction.

A Nigerian embassy spokeswoman told AFP they had informed Tochi's family about the execution and are waiting for instruction on what to do with the body.

In Geneva, Philip Alston, the UN Human Rights Council's special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said Tochi's trial did not respect legal safeguards around the presumption of innocence.

Singapore law provides that a person caught in possession of illegal substances is assumed to be trafficking, thus putting the burden of proof on the accused.

"It is a fundamental human right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty," Alston said.

Tochi was arrested trying to smuggle 727.02 grammes (more than 25 ounces) of heroin through Changi Airport in November 2004. He said he came to Singapore to try his luck at football clubs.

About 10 activists and sympathisers held a sombre overnight vigil outside the suburban prison compound, hanging Tochi's football kit on the wall above photographs of him surrounded by candles.

Shortly after 6:00 am (2200 GMT), the time when prisoners are normally hanged, each protester laid a bunch of red roses in front of the photographs.

Malachy was charged as an accomplice.

Under Singapore's tough anti-drug laws, the death penalty is mandatory for anyone caught trafficking more than 15 grammes of heroin, 30 grammes of cocaine or 500 grammes of cannabis.

Tochi said he was given a bag containing the substance at Dubai airport to pass on to a man in Singapore but was unaware it contained heroin.

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Lugovoi denies role in Alexander Litvinenko's death

HENRY MEYER,
Associated Press Writer

The man reported by British media to be a suspect in the murder of a former Russian agent in London hit out Saturday at "lies, provocation and government propaganda," denying any role in the radiation poisoning death of Alexander Litvinenko.

Andrei Lugovoi told The Associated Press that he viewed the reports in Britain's Guardian newspaper and Sky News that he is a suspect in the murder as an attempt by the British authorities to make up for the lack of evidence against him.

"This is all lies, provocation and government propaganda by the United Kingdom," he said. "They are trying to make up for their weak hand."

Sky News reported Friday that British prosecutors believe they have enough evidence to charge Lugovoi.

Investigators have identified the teapot believed to have contained the radioactive tea, which eventually killed Litvinenko in November, Sky News said, citing unnamed Scotland Yard officials. ABC News had a similar report, citing an unidentified official.

The reports cap a week of media speculation on the direction of the British investigation into the death. The Guardian newspaper also reported Friday that police were focusing on Lugovoi and had sufficient evidence for prosecutors to decide whether to file charges against him, citing unnamed government officials.

Scotland Yard's investigation has centered on Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, two Russian ex-KGB officers who were present at the Millennium Hotel in central London when Litvinenko fell ill on Nov. 1 after contamination from a rare, radioactive substance.

ABC News said the teapot, found at the Millennium Hotel, remained in use for several weeks after the poisoning, adding that its radiation readings were extremely high.

Of the 13 people who tested positive for contamination with Polonium-210 since Litvinenko was poisoned, eight worked at the hotel. Two others who tested positive for the rare radioactive material also visited the hotel's bar.

Litvinenko, 43, died on Nov. 23. The former KGB agent fled to Britain after leaving Russia and was granted asylum. In exile, he became a vocal opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him in a deathbed statement of masterminding his death.

Russian officials have denied any involvement in his murder. The politically-charged case has driven relations between London and Moscow to post-Cold War lows.

In a reminder of the tensions, the Russian Prosecutor General's office on Saturday reaffirmed that Russia would not extradite Lugovoi to Britain.

"A Russian citizen cannot be extradited to another country under the Russian Constitution," Natalia Fyodorova, a spokeswoman for Prosecutor-General's office, told the AP.

She added that Russia would not put him on trial itself if Britain filed charges against Lugovoi, only if the Russian investigators looking into Litvinenko's murder decided to prosecute him.

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Korean hookers busted in US visa scam

Police have busted 42 prostitutes for using forged documents to get a US visa. Police in Seoul also detained a broker identified as Kim (47) on charges of faking a variety of documents to help them get the visas.

According to police, Kim and his Korean-American accomplice had been mocking up bank account records, job certificates and Family Register documents for their clients and training them for the visa interviews since September 2004, charging KRW 4 million (approximately USD $4,363.20) per person.

The two made profits of W1 billion in all by doing so. Half of their 500 clients succeeded in getting a US visa. Their clients included mostly 20-something women who wanted the visa to work in the sex trade in large US cities.

Kim, one of the women, told police the number of customers here dropped after new anti-prostitution laws were introduced two years ago, and word is that prostitutes can earn at least USD $10,000 a month in the US.

"As far as we know, some 200 Korean women were caught for prostitution in the US this year alone and 100 of them were deported," a police officer said. "The number of cases where the US Embassy seizes forged visa application documents rose to 200 a month. This is a serious stumbling block to Koreans being included in the US visa waiver program."

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Bahrain denies Thai investigators are in Manama to probe prostitution ring

Habib Toumi

Manama - Bahraini officials yesterday denied recent media reports that a police unit from Thailand was conducting investigations in Manama into an alleged prostitution ring involving Thai women.

The report, first published in a Thai newspaper, said that the newly-formed police Transnational Sex Trafficking Unit was coordinating with Bahraini police in preparation for a crackdown on a highly-organised prostitution ring supplying Thai women.

Senseless

The Thai chief of the Crimes Against Children, Juveniles and Women Suppression Division, which oversees the unit, was quoted as saying that "although most Thai prostitutes in Bahrain are working there of their own volition, this is still regarded as transnational human trafficking."

But Bahraini officials denied the presence of the Thai unit in the country. "The thought that there is a Thai investigation unit operating in Bahrain without the knowledge or cooperation of the Bahraini authorities is senseless," interior ministry media head Mohammad Bin Daina said.

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Indian sleaze saga: Sex, CDs and murder?

Lalit Kumar

It began with a mysterious disappearance. It turned into a political drama. And on Monday, the Kavita Rani murder case acquired an even more sensational hue, with Ravindra Pradhan, the prime accused in her murder, claiming that she used to make films of her sex acts with ministers, and senior officers, to blackmail them.

Pradhan, who surrendered in Noida on Sunday, claimed on Monday that he and one Yogesh, who formed a trio with Kavita to extract money from her victims, had strangled her to death after a row between him and Kavita. The row was about sharing Rs 35 lakh allegedly extracted from former UP minister Meerajuddin of the Rashtriya Lok Dal, for returning him a CD of his "obscene acts" with Kavita.

Ravindra also said Kavita told him she possessed similar CDs of former Meerut University vice-chancellor, RP Singh and UP fine arts minister, Brijendra Pratap Singh. He also suggested she may have had a CD of current UP minister Babulal too. "Otherwise," he queried, "why would the two exchange 57 phone calls in a week or so?"

Interestingly, even as he 'indicted' the RLD politicians, he categorically cleared Samajwadi Party minister Kiranpal of any hand in the murder or the sleaze.

Ravindra told the media all this at a press meet organised by the Meerut police, at which the police seemed to have tied themselves in more knots than the Noida police did in the Anant kidnapping case.

According to a senior police officer, "Kavita had been at her parental home, in Bulandshahr, for a few days, until the afternoon of October 23, when her brother dropped her at the Hapur Chowk to catch a bus for her hostel room in Meerut. But, from there, Ravindra and Yogesh took her to Ghaziabad, where they stayed the night. Next morning, they drove her towards Bulandshar, after sedating her with two tablets of Alprax . On the way, they strangled her to death, and dumped the body, weighed down with stones in her own bag, in the Ganga Canal . And they burnt her belongings."

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Former Miss Nevada Goes 'On the Record'

This is a partial transcript from "On the Record," January 25, 2007, that has been edited for clarity.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: Take a young beauty queen, a pageant winner, toss in some raunchy photos, a few rumors, and what do you get? One racy scandal.

You know this one. When sexy pix of Miss Nevada surfaced, they landed Katie Rees in very steamy hot water.

The pictures? They were old. But Katie, out in the cold. Yes, the Rees reign ended. Donald trump took her tiara. She's fired. Not fair, Katie says. Miss USA, Tara Conner, got rehab and a second chance.

The scandal started last month, but it's far from over. Katie isn't just speaking out. She's now fighting back too. And the former Miss Nevada is right here to go "On the Record."

Joining us are former Miss Nevada, Katie Rees, and her attorney Mario Torres. Welcome to both of you.

Katie, what happened?

KATIE REES, FORMER MISS NEVADA: Gosh, I don't know. I just thought I was being a regular girl, having a good time with my friends. Next thing I know, it was the biggest, hot scandal.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right, let's get a few dates in this. First of all, when did you become Miss Nevada in the Miss USA pageant?

REES: October 7 was the evening of the pageant.

VAN SUSTEREN: When did you get fired by Donald Trump?

REES: Around Christmas time.

VAN SUSTEREN: Was that before Tara Conner got her second chance or after that?

REES: It was after Tara Conner got her second chance. I remember watching it on TV.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right, back me up. Let's talk about these pictures because that's what has gotten you in this dispute with Donald Trump. Where were the pictures taken?

REES: They were just at a local bar that my girlfriends and I used to go to in Tampa.

VAN SUSTEREN: How long ago were they taken?

REES: When I was about 19. I had just come home from college, so almost four years ago.

VAN SUSTEREN: How many pictures are there, about, that are the subject of this controversy?

REES: To be honest with you, I'm not quite sure.

VAN SUSTEREN: How old are you now?

REES: I'm 22.

VAN SUSTEREN: So the pictures were taken about three years before the pageant?

REES: That's right.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Did they end up on the Internet? Is that the problem?

REES: Actually, I'm told that the friend at the time, who had taken the pictures, sold them to a station or something.

VAN SUSTEREN: Was that sold after you became Miss Nevada or was that before?

REES: No, ma'am, it was after I became Miss Nevada. It was just around the time of Tara Conner.

VAN SUSTEREN: So obviously somebody got wind of the fact that it could stir up some trouble for you.

REES: Yes. I can imagine. I actually don't think that that was so much the reason as to maybe monetary value.

VAN SUSTEREN: How much do you think the person got for these pictures?

REES: I honestly don't know. But I can imagine that it would be worth it.

VAN SUSTEREN: Mario, how much money do you think that these pictures sold for?

MARIO TORRES, ATTORNEY FOR KATIE REES: Well, Greta, I would probably say they probably sold for somewhere in the neighborhood or a few thousand dollars, if that. Many of these tabloids, as you are well aware of, they try to emphasize these issues and get as much media exposure as they can from exposing these things that happen in many of the celebrities and Miss USA, Miss Universe in the past in order to make a quick buck. I would say somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,000 to $3,000.

I think the point we have to emphasize, though, with the pictures, is that Katie did not take those pictures for any keep type of monetary gain. She was out with a bunch of her friends, being a 19-year-old. Did they get out of hand? Likely. She was being egged on by her friends. She took the pictures. And now, obviously regrets them.

But again, isolated incident. It happened several weeks ago, way before she was even thinking about participating as Miss Nevada.

VAN SUSTEREN: Katie, when you signed up for the pageant for Miss Nevada, when did you first start the whole procedure?

REES: I'm sorry?

VAN SUSTEREN: When did you first get involved with the pageant? When? Was it last August? When did you get started with this pageant?

REES: It was around summertime that I started preparing for the pageant. I had always watched the pageant my whole life as a little girl. And I always wanted to be Miss USA. But it was around summertime that I really took it seriously and knew that I was going to go for it.

VAN SUSTEREN: When you signed up for the pageant, do they give you some kind of contract, some sort of morals clause. Did they ask you anything like nude photos or anything like that?

REES: To be honest with you, no. But after you do win a state, they do give you a contract stating those things. Yes, ma'am.

VAN SUSTEREN: But that's after you have won it?

REES: Right.

VAN SUSTEREN: And I take it — is the agreement — or maybe I should pay that back to you, Mario.

Is the agreement that, from the moment you become Miss Nevada, you promise to be — must hold up some sort of standards of Miss Nevada from that day onward? Is that the way the contract reads, Mario, or not?

TORRES: It does read like that. And the prior contract that she signed, likewise asked her to reveal any type of pictures that are scantily — or that she was aware of that she had taken that, in any way, are scantily clad and/or reveal anything of here.

As previously noted, Katie did not recall taking these pictures. She was with friends. She was being silly. And it was a friend of hers that actually took the pictures.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Are these pictures — obviously, the ones we show have you in clothes, at least, the best I can see. We haven't shown them all.

Katie, are you scantily clothed in some of the pictures we don't have that were obviously disseminated?

REES: No ma'am. I just — I was wearing just a tank top and jeans, just out with my girlfriends.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. We're going to take a quick break. And we're going to find out this whole — with Donald Trump, what you're going to do, what Trump said, when we come back. We have much more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAN SUSTEREN: Well Rosie, move over, Miss Nevada Katie Rees stripped of her title after some raunchy old photos surfaced, wants to take on the Donald. Her tiara may be toast but Katie, she is on the mission. Still with us, former Miss Nevada, Katie Rees and her attorney Mario Torres.

Katie, did you speak directly to Donald Trump after your pictures surfaced on -- in public?

REES: No, ma'am. I haven't had a chance to speak with Mr. Donald Trump.

VAN SUSTEREN: If he's watching tonight, what do you want to say to him?

REES: Well, I guess I'd just like to say that I really do admire him. I think he's a very smart businessman and he did what he had to do. I'm just -- you know, it's just a shame that I didn't get the capture the title of Miss USA, so he could really get to know me.

VAN SUSTEREN: do you think you were treated fairly? Now, Tara Connor who was almost stripped of her crown for some partying, went onto rehab and she's getting a second chance. Do you think that the two of you -- that both are treated correctly?

REES: No, I believe that there was a huge double standard given, only because my actions were not at the time of my title of Miss Nevada and also, you know, I wasn't caught doing illegal drugs or -- or you know, kissing Miss Teen Nevada at the time of my title.

VAN SUSTEREN: In terms of -- what do you think of those pictures?

REES: I'm not proud of them, but, you know, I think people are giving me a lot more heat for them than I really deserve. You know, most of my life I never got in trouble, so sometimes it is hard to interview knowing that -- this is something that I -- in some people's eyes something I did wrong. They're just perceived wrong, to be honest with you, it's just a bunch of girls being silly.

VAN SUSTEREN: Who told you that you're out?

REES: Actually my director, the director of Miss Nevada gave me a call and let me know that she had received a phone call from the Miss Universe organization stating that my crown was going to be taken away and she just simply asked how I would like the letter, if I wanted it FedEx or in the mail? I never actually heard from the Miss Universe organization, except for by letter.

VAN SUSTEREN: How do you react to all of this? I mean, how do you feel about all of this?

REES: I'm disappointed and you know, I'm not proud of the pictures and it's not a fun thing to go through, but I'm really just turning it around and -- and making the most out of it, I guess, just being strong.

VAN SUSTEREN: Mario, is it over or is there some sort of challenge that can be done to -- you know file anything or fight this at this point?

TORRES: To be quite honest, it has only just begun. We are -- let me clarify first, the points on the inequity argument, here. We are in a system where our legal system is always based in courts of equity, and that is nothing more than to be fair. The court systems try to be fair. In this instance we have a basic inequity. That is Katie Rees is being treated completely different than Miss USA, Tara Connor. We have circumstances where Katie Rees, during her reign as Miss Nevada, did nothing wrong, acted completely appropriate versus Tara Connor, which did not.

VAN SUSTEREN: Let me ask -- before we run out of time, Katie, assuming that your title doesn't get restored, what's in your future? What do you want to do?

REES: To be honest with you, I'd really like to pursue my acting career. I've been a sag actress since I was 7-years-old. I have the same agent, Randal Edwards at the Talent Network Atlanta, since I was 7-years- old, and he's been backing me the whole way and this Monday, my good friends at Jet, at The Mirage, Jet nightclub are throwing me a huge party and they're going crown me the queen of Jet Las Vegas, so right now, my friends are just celebrating the fact that I'm being so strong and they're proud of me no matter what.

VAN SUSTEREN: So we're going to see an acting career out of you?

REES: I hope so. That was the plan before all of this, anyway.

VAN SUSTEREN: And of course, now it has been aborted and we'll have to see what does happen to it.

Katie, good luck to you. Mario, thank you very much for joining us.

TORRES: Thank you of that.

VAN SUSTEREN: And we wish you the best. Thank you.

REES: Thank you.

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Top 10 Viruses Of 2006

The absence of large-scale virus epidemics has, once again, been the most notable characteristic of the year. In fact, the list of frequently detected viruses during 2006 has varied little throughout the year. This does not mean, however, that there is a lower risk of infection. What is happening is that the attacks have become more silent and more specific, as they are increasingly motivated by financial gain rather than simply gratuitously attacking users’ computers. A report produced by anti-virus companies in the third quarter of 2006 revealed that 72 percent of Internet threats were financially motivated.

So, malware is just as prevalent as always, if not more so, and more pernicious, if that were possible, than before, as today's attackers are after your money. Despite what people may think the risk of virus infection is greater than ever. Firstly, due to the strategy of simultaneously distributing numerous variants of a malicious code, as was the case with Bagle or Gaobot, thereby increasing the chances of infection, and secondly, because the majority of attacks are now financially motivated, and are therefore more discreet.”

In first place, for the second successive year, is Sdbot.ftp. This malware first appeared in 2004 and six months later occupied first place in the ranking of our Top Ten. Since then it hasn't budged. The severity of this worm is classified as "medium" and there have been several variants all with the same MO of attacking random IP addresses, exploiting system vulnerabilities and downloading copies of the worm via FTP. In 2006, Sdbot.ftp was responsible for 2.62 percent of all infections.

Another veteran in the ranking of viruses detected by ActiveScan, which came second overall in 2006, is Netsky.P. This worm, detected in 1.22 percent of positive cases first appeared in 2004 and spreads via email and P2P file-sharing applications. Interestingly, this worm exploits the Exploit / "iframe" vulnerability in Internet Explorer for which a fix has been available for some time now. In third place this year is Exploit/Metafile. Responsible for just over 1 percent of infections, this malicious code is designed to exploit a critical vulnerability in the GDI32.DLL library in Windows 2003/XP/2000. If a computer is vulnerable, Metafile allows the code to be executed which can then be used, for example, to download and run spyware.

Tearec.A. is in fourth place. This worm, which spreads via email and computer networks, can disable and terminate certain antivirus programs. Fifth place is occupied by the Q.host.gen Trojan, which was found to be the culprit in 0.76 percent of infected computers. The remaining places in the ranking are occupied by Torpig.A, a Trojan that steals passwords saved by certain Windows services, Sober.AH.worm!CME-681, a worm that terminates several processes, including some belonging to security tools; Parite.B, a virus that infects PE files with EXE or SCR extensions; Gaobot.gen, a generic detection for the Gaobot family of worms which exploits software vulnerabilities, and Bagle.pwdzip, a detection of the notorious Bagle family.

Virus % of infections
W32/Sdbot.ftp.worm 2.62
W32/Netsky.P.worm 1.22
Exploit/Metafile 1.08
W32/Tearec.A.worm!CME-24 0.79
Trj/Qhost.gen 0.76
Trj/Torpig.A 0.69
W32/Sober.AH.worm!CME-681 0.67
W32/Parite.B 0.62
W32/Gaobot.gen.worm 0.55
W32/Bagle.pwdzip 0.54



Other conclusions that can be drawn from this year’s ranking include:

- The continuing threat of financial fraud: Sdbot holds, for the second year running, first place in our Top Ten. This is a typical bot/worm designed to exploit system vulnerabilities for financial gain, highlighting the growth of this type of attack. Similarly, threats like Exploit/Metafile or Torpig.A, which are also high up the list, demonstrate this increasingly prevalent trend.

- Variations of worms: Hackers are now tending to launch different variants of the same type of malware in a very short period of time in order to increase the probability of computers being infected. This is the case with Q.host, Gaobot or Bagle. Sdbot, the first in the ranking, has also undergone significant variations over recent months.

- Infections: In 2005, the first nine threats on the list were all responsible for more than 1 percent of infections, while in 2006, only the first three reached that percentage. This should not be understood as an indication that there is less malware, on the contrary, it suggests that there is actually more malware in circulation.

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Mountain lion attacks hiker in Calif.

LISA LEFF,
Associated Press Writer

Wildlife officials on Thursday credited a woman with saving her husband's life by clubbing a mountain lion that attacked him while the couple were hiking in a California state park.

Jim and Nell Hamm, who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next month, were hiking in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park when the lion pounced.

"He didn't scream. It was a different, horrible plea for help, and I turned around, and by then the cat had wrestled Jim to the ground," Nell Hamm said in an interview from the hospital where her husband was recovering from a torn scalp, puncture wounds and other injuries.

After the attack, game wardens closed the park about 320 miles north of San Francisco and released hounds to track the lion. They later shot and killed a pair of lions found near the trail where the attack happened.

The carcasses were flown to a state forensics lab to determine if either animal mauled the man.

Although the Hamms are experienced hikers, neither had seen a mountain lion before Jim Hamm was mauled, his wife said. Nell Hamm said she grabbed a four-inch-wide log and beat the animal with it, but it would not release its hold on her husband's head.

"Jim was talking to me all through this, and he said, 'I've got a pen in my pocket and get the pen and jab him in the eye,'" she said. "So I got the pen and tried to put it in his eye, but it didn't want to go in as easy as I thought it would."

When the pen bent and became useless, Nell Hamm went back to using the log. The lion eventually let go and, with blood on its snout, stood staring at the woman. She screamed and waved the log until the animal walked away.

"She saved his life, there is no doubt about it," said Steve Martarano, a spokesman for the Department of Fish and Game.

Nell Hamm, 65, said she was scared to leave her dazed, bleeding husband alone, so the couple walked a quarter-mile to a trail head, where she gathered branches to protect them if more lions came around. They waited until a ranger came by and summoned help.

"My concern was to get Jim out of there," she said. "I told him, 'Get up, get up, walk,' and he did."

Jim Hamm, 70, was in fair condition Thursday. He had to have his lips stitched back together and underwent surgery for lacerations on his head and body. He told his wife he still wants to make the trip to New Zealand they planned for their anniversary, she said.

Nell Hamm warned people never to hike in the backcountry alone. Park rangers told the couple if Jim Hamm had been alone, he probably would not have survived.

"We fought harder than we ever have to save his life, and we fought together," she said.

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Venezuela may ask U.S. envoy to leave

CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER,
Associated Press Writer

President Hugo Chavez warned Thursday that the U.S. ambassador could be asked to leave the country if he continues "meddling in Venezuela's affairs."

The outspoken Venezuelan leader lashed out after William Brownfield said U.S. companies and investors must receive a fair price for their shares of Venezuela's largest telephone company when Chavez's government nationalizes it.

"If you continue meddling in Venezuela's affairs, first of all, you are violating the Geneva agreements and getting yourself involved in a serious violation and could ... be declared a persona non grata and would have to leave the country," Chavez.

The top American envoy to Venezuela told Caracas' Union Radio the planned takeover of CA Nacional de Telefonos, or CANTV, should proceed "in a transparent, legal manner" and that Venezuela's government must offer "fair and quick compensation to the people who are affected or the owners."

"These are the only obligations that a government has when it decides to nationalize an industry," Brownfield added.

Thursday's exchange is the latest demonstration of tensions between Caracas and Washington.

U.S. officials have accused Chavez of becoming increasingly authoritarian and of being a destabilizing force in Latin America. The Venezuelan leader has repeatedly accused Washington of scheming against his left-leaning government.

Virginia-based Verizon Communications Inc. holds the largest minority share of CANTV, which was privatized in 1991. The takeover jeopardizes an agreement by Verizon to sell its 28.5 percent stake in CANTV to a joint venture of America Movil and Telefonos de Mexico SA, controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.

The sale had been awaiting Venezuelan government regulatory approval.

Chavez, a self-proclaimed "revolutionary" who is steering Venezuela toward socialism, has said he wants an immediate state takeover of the telephone company and will not pay shareholders the market value. The Venezuelan leader has said the price for CANTV would take into account debts to workers, pensions and other obligations to the state.

Brownfield said he was optimistic that shareholders would be fairly compensated.

"I think it can be a process that concludes in a satisfactory manner for all those involved, that's my hope," he said.

Chavez _ a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro _ also has said he plans to nationalize the electricity sector, and take state control of four lucrative oil projects and the natural gas sector.

Relations between Caracas and Washington have been tense since Chavez was briefly ousted in a 2002 coup that he claimed the U.S. played a role in. The Bush administration has repeatedly denied involvement, although it recognized an interim government established by coup leaders.

Brownfield said he wanted to improve relations through "a serious and pragmatic dialogue between the two governments, to identify issues of mutual interest and to look for solutions to those issues."

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Hillary Clinton Faked Her Background for Presidential Announcement?

Jackson Simpson

Oh how I've missed the Clintons. I can still recall how Bill Clinton could cry on cue at funerals and how Hillary Clinton could blame a vast right-wing conspiracy for her husband being serviced by an intern that reportedly admitted she went to Washington, DC to earn her presidential kneepads.
Very little about the Clinton's has ever been real - and it appears Hillary 2008 will at least start off that way. A report online from media watchdog Newsbusters notes that the background in Hillary's announcement is fake.
The woman who would be president gave dives right in with another '60 Minutes' softening type episode just as she did when she tried to say that her hubby had not had an affair with Jennifer Flowers. The idea, take the shrill out of Hillary. That means the background needs some greenery and some flowers, even if it is the middle of winter.
Newsbusters gives this analysis. Please focus on the background, look out the door. Presumably the announcement was shot in one of Hillary's homes: Chappaqua or Georgetown. Now I know it's been a mild winter, but even so, surely the leaves are gone from the trees and bushes in either spot. And check out the yellow spot in the bushes. At first I thought it was just a warm dapple of sunshine. But freeze the frame when, about 1/4 of the way through, Hillary says "how to end the deficits that threaten Social Security."
That's not sunshine -- those are flowers in bloom, newsbusters claims.
Of course, one should be aware that the flowers are blooming and the birds are singing as Hillary is in the race. Hillary is already being lampooned on national television and radio.
An update notes that Rush Limbaugh and Fox & Friends have had some fun with the issue. On Fox & Friends this morning, host Steve Doocy, noting the preternaturally green background, surmised the video had been shot back in October or November. Guest Juan Williams told him the word is it was done last Thursday in DC. When Juan later joked about going skiing, host Brian Kilmeade chipped in: "judging by the background of the Hillary Clinton clip, it's not -- it's too nice, there's no snow."
Gone is the huge cover of Star Magazine presented by Jennifer fowers and the free pass Bill Clinton received when he was nabbed diddling the blonde bombshell. That will be replaced by online video and tougher scrutiny.

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