Benjohn

HAVANA, Cuba  -- Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro accused U.S. President George W. Bush of pushing the world to the brink of World War III and widespread famine in an essay that appeared in Cuban state media Tuesday.

"The danger of a massive world famine is aggravated by Mr. Bush's recent initiative to transform foods into fuel," referring to his support for biofuel projects that convert foodstuffs like corn into fuel.

Castro said Bush was simultaneously "threatening humanity with World War III, this time with atomic weapons," but did not give any details.

The essay titled "Bush, Hunger and Death" was published a day before Bush was due to announce new initiatives on Cuba.

Last week, the White House said Bush would announce new strategies on Wednesday to promote free speech and multi-party elections on the communist island.

In Tuesday's essay, Castro said he expected Bush would announce "new measures to accelerate the 'transition period'" that he said would be "equivalent to a new conquest of Cuba by force."

The 81-year-old leader temporarily handed power over to his younger brother Raul Castro 15 months ago. Officials say he is recovering, but they have not clarified if or when Castro could resume the presidency.

Castro hasn't been seen in public since his surgery, but he has appeared in numerous videos and photos in state media.

He has also written about 60 articles called "Reflections of the Commander-in-Chief" on a broad range of international topics, often railing against the U.S. government.

LONDON, England  -- A British museum has canceled a lecture by Dr. James Watson, co-discoverer of the DNA double helix, after he claimed black people are less intelligent than whites in a recent newspaper interview.

Watson, who won the 1962 Nobel prize for his part in discovering the structure of DNA, provoked a storm of criticism after his comments were published in the Sunday Times.

The eminent biologist told the British newspaper he was "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours -- whereas all the testing says not really."

Watson, 79, had been due to give a lecture at London's Science Museum on Friday but the museum canceled his appearance, saying his comments had "gone beyond the point of acceptable debate."

The American professor's words have been roundly condemned as "racist," with fellow scientists dismissing his claims as "genetic nonsense."

"He should recognize that statements of this sort have racist functions and are to be deeply, deeply regretted," said Professor Steven Rose of the British Open University.

Watson is credited with discovering the double helix along with Maurice Wilkins and Francis Crick in 1962.

In the newspaper interview, he said there was no reason to think that races which had grown up in separate geographical locations should have evolved identically. He went on to say that although he hoped everyone was equal, "people who have to deal with black employees find this not true".

The British government's skills minister, David Lammy, who is black, called the comments "deeply offensive" and said Watson would only succeed in providing oxygen for extremist political groups.

"It is a shame that a man with a record of scientific distinction should see his work overshadowed by his own irrational prejudices," Lammy told CNN.

Watson is not the first scientist to show sympathy for the theory of a racial basis for intellectual difference. In March of last year Dr. Frank Ellis from Leeds University provoked anger in Britain after he admitted he found evidence that racial groups perform differently "extremely convincing."

SAN FRANCISCO, California -- The "Mona Lisa" has long been shrouded in mystery, including one long-standing question about the famous lady: What happened to her eyebrows and eyelashes?

Now, a French engineer and inventor says he's uncovered part of the enigma.

Pascal Cotte announced at a press conference Wednesday that he has found definitive proof that when Leonardo da Vinci painted the original portrait he included "Mona Lisa's" lashes and brows.

Cotte examined the world's most famous painting using a high-definition camera of his own design.

The device scanned a 240-million pixel image using 13 light spectrums, including ultra-violet and infrared.

The resulting ultra-high resolution photograph of 150,000 dots per inch yielded a reproduction of the "Mona Lisa's" face magnified 24 times. And there Cotte found the evidence he sought -- a single brushstroke of a single hair above the left brow.

"One day I say, if I can find only one hair, only one hair of the eyebrow, I will have definitively the proof that originally Loenardo da Vinci had painted eyelash and eyebrow," said Cotte.

So, if she once had lashes, where did they go? Possibly faded pigment, Cotte suggested, or possibly a poor attempt to clean the painting.

"And if you look closely at the eye of 'Mona Lisa' you can clearly see that the cracks around the eye have slightly disappeared, and that may be explained that one day a curator or restorer cleaned the eye, and cleaning the eye, removed, probably removed the eyelashes and eyebrow," he said.

Cotte's high resolution camera led him to numerous additional discoveries about the enigmatic artwork.

The infrared layer of the image shows that the fingers of the "Mona Lisa's" left hand were originally painted in a slightly different position than in the final portrait.

Cotte said the change in position was the result of a lap blanket held by Leonardo's model. In today's faded image the blanket is all but obscured, but the highly detailed camera detected the faded pigment.

"It was really the first time that we have this kind of position of the arm," Cotte said, "and after Leonardo da Vinci, thousands of painters have made a copy of this position but without understanding why we have this position. The real justification of the position of the wrist is to hold the blanket on her stomach. It's really a great, for me, it's really a great discovery."

One of the results of Cotte's work is a "virtual" restoration of the painting, an exact replica showing the original colors as they would have looked when the painting was new.

The skin tones of Leonardo's model appear as a warm pink and the sky behind her is a glowing blue, far different from the gray-green tint that covers the artwork today. That dark patina is the result of 500 years of aging, according to Cotte.

Cotte presented numerous other findings within the infrared layer he photographed.

The researcher said the "Mona Lisa's" smile was originally slightly wider than it appears today, and, in fact, so was her entire face.

Leonardo kept this painting with him for more than a decade, and is said to have worked on it up until his death. The Renaissance artist once said, "Art is never finished, only abandoned."

The results of Cotte's study are on display at the Metreon in San Francisco, as part of the exhibit "Da Vinci: An Exhibition of Genius."

BOSTON, Massachusetts  -- From clothes riddled with sensors to name tags that detect our moods, computing's next wave could unleash small devices that increasingly augment everyday activities with digital intelligence.

That was the predominant vision at a conference on "wearable computing" held recently in Boston, where researchers showed off prototypes and discussed ideas.

Some attendees took wearable computing to its extreme, donning cyborg-like miniaturized displays attached to eyepieces. But most of what was on exhibit seemed much closer to jumping into a mainstream commercial product.

For example, researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (known as ETH Zurich) showed off stretchable, threadlike sensors that can be woven into shirts to detect their wearers' posture. People with back pain or injuries could be prompted on a PC or a mobile device to straighten up, pronto.

Stephane Beauregard of Germany's University of Bremen displayed a shoe-borne sensor whose tiny accelerometers perform electronic dead reckoning -- providing real-time location tracking in places satellite navigation systems either can't reach or can't describe with precision. For now the sensor has to be held in place by the shoelaces, but Beauregard expects a version that can fit inside a boot heel could be a year away. His first intended market is firefighters and other emergency responders.

Graduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab had black plastic badges around their necks that analyze multiple factors -- including motion and speech patterns -- to detect the level of engagement two people are exhibiting in a conversation.

Information gathered from the badges, which weigh just a few ounces and are a bit smaller than a deck of cards, can be sent wirelessly to a computer or a phone to give their wearers helpful tips. Sales reps could be advised that a customer's interest seems to be waning. A doctor could be alerted to indications of depression in a patient being monitored remotely.

The badges might find their first use in gathering reams of data for social network analysis, the study of how groups form and interact. There's big money in applying such research in corporations, which want to ensure that important knowledge doesn't stay trapped in organizational silos. But a lot of data for social network analysis is gathered from e-mail traffic, which only says so much about how people connect with each other.

MIT graduate student Daniel Olguin Olguin said the devices were tested on 25 employees at a German bank and produced surprising insights about alternative ways the office might be laid out. Now Hitachi Ltd. is interested in making the badges for corporate consultants to use with their clients, he said.

Each badge could probably be made for under $100, "and in the future, of course, all of this will be smaller and integrated into your name card," Olguin said.

A prototype shown off by Carsten Mehring of the Colorado School of Mines was far more about convenience. He has embedded sensors into gloves so that snowboarders or motorists could control portable music devices with the faintest squeeze of their fingers -- and nary a glance away from a snowy slope or the road.

"The idea," he said, "is to wear your remote, not to carry it."

TOULOUSE, France  -- Singapore Airlines on Monday became the first customer to take delivery the Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger jet, in what the airline's chief executive called "a dream come true."

This delivery really marks the beginning of a new chapter for the aviation industry," chief executive Chew Choon Seng said at a presentation ceremony at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France.

The double-decker plane can carry up to 550 passengers, but the roomy design for Singapore Airlines seats 471.

Singapore's jet includes a first class with 12 enclosed "suites," each containing a seat and full-size mattress. Business class has four seats across, each reclining to become fully flat for sleeping. Economy features greater legroom, larger video screens, and a PC power outlet at each seat.

Chew said the plane sets a "new standard for luxury and comfort" in a commercial aircraft.

The A380 is expected to take off for Singapore on Tuesday. The airline says the first scheduled service begins Oct. 28 between Singapore and Sydney.

The A380 is unquestionably the defining aircraft of its generation," said Airbus chief executive Tom Enders, "and the airlines operating it will be in a class of their own."

Other airlines awaiting delivery of the plane include Emirates Airlines and Qantas.

While nearly two years late, delivery of the A380 comes as Airbus rival Boeing announced a six-month delay in delivery of its premier plane, the 787 Dreamliner.

London,oct 14- Brad Pitt and partner Angelina Jolie have shelved out a whopping 2 million dollars on art by British

 “guerrilla artist” Banksy.The couple picked up the artist’s work at a contemporary art auction in London at The

  Shadow Lounge organized by photographer-turned-gallerist Steve Lazarides.

The auction also saw worth an estimated $ 20 million by artists including Damien Hirst go under the hammer.

TOKYO, Japan  -- If you grow old in Japan, expect to be served food by a robot, ride a voice-recognition wheelchair or even possibly hire a nurse in a robotic suit -- all examples of cutting-edge technology to care for the country's rapidly graying population.

With nearly 22 percent of Japan's population already aged 65 or older, businesses here have been rolling out everything from easy-entry cars to remote-controlled beds, fueling a care technology market worth some $1.08 billion in 2006, according to industry figures.

At a home care and rehabilitation convention in Tokyo this week, buyers crowded round a demonstration of Secom Co.'s My Spoon feeding robot, which helps elderly or disabled people eat with a spoon- and fork-fitted swiveling arm.

Operating a joystick with his chin, developer Shigehisa Kobayashi maneuvered the arm toward a block of silken tofu, deftly getting the fork to break off a bite-sized piece. The arm then returned to a preprogrammed position in front of the mouth, allowing Kobayashi to bite and swallow.

"It's all about empowering people to help themselves," Kobayashi said. The Tokyo-based company has already sold 300 of the robots, which come with a price tag of $3,500.

"We want to give the elderly control over their own lives," he said.

The rapidly aging population here has spurred a spate of concerns: a labor shortage, tax shortfalls, financial difficulties in paying the health bills and pensions of large numbers of elderly.

Moreover, a breakdown of family ties in recent years means a growing number of older Japanese are spending their golden years away from the care traditionally provided by children and grandchildren.

That's where cutting-edge technology steps in.

A rubber and nylon "muscle suit" developed by the Tokyo University of Science helps keep the elderly active by providing support for the upper body, arms and shoulders.

Powered by air pressure actuators, the prototype suit -- which looks like an oversized life jacket -- provides subtle backing to help older people lift heavy objects.

The intelligent wheelchair TAO Aicle from Fujitsu Ltd. and Aisin Seiki Co. uses a positioning system to automatically travel to a preset destination, and uses sensors to detect and stop at red lights, and to avoid obstacles.

Another wheelchair designed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology responds to oral commands like "forward" and "back," "right" and "left."

Then there are cars designed for easy entry for the wheelchair-bound or those with difficulty walking, such as Toyota Motor Corp.'s Welcab series. Its slogan: "A car that's more patient than your daughter."

Tired? Retire to a Lowland futon bed by Kaneshiro Tsuhso Inc. that can be adjusted into a reclining seat.

And there's help for caregivers, too.

A full-body robotic suit developed by the Kanagawa Institute of Technology outside Tokyo is a massive contraption powered by 22 air pumps to help nurses hoist patients on and off their beds.

Sensors attached to the user's skin detect when muscles are trying to lift something heavy -- and signals to the air pumps to kick in to provide support.

Though the suit makes its wearer look a little like Robocop, a student who was easily lifted off a table in a demonstration said he felt comfortable during the test.

"It doesn't feel at all like I'm being lifted by a robot," he said. "This feels so comfortable and very human."

 Bill Gates House

Several pictures of Microsoft founder Bill Gates house.

Microsoft Photo

The Gates home is a modern design in the "Pacific lodge" style, with classic features such as a large private library with a domed reading room. The house occupies 50,000 square feet (4,600 m²) on a 5.15 acre (2.1 ha) lot. Garage space and outbuildings may occupy an additional 16,000 square feet. Property records indicate eight bedrooms and four building levels. According to King County public records, as of 2005, the total assessed value of the property (land and house) is $125 million, and the annual property tax is $990,000 (Zillow.com).

The lot was purchased in December 1988 for $2 million, and construction occurred over a period of seven years with nominal completion in 1995. The address is 1835 73rd Ave NE, Medina, WA 98039

Gates often entertains the rich and powerful at his home. Once when Bill Gates had a private party at the house, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced a "temporary security zone" around Gates' Lake Washington home which locked down all of Lake Washington south of the Highway 520 bridge and stayed in effect for two days

House View from the Lake

Photo by Arden Sanford

Photo by Arden Sanford

The 1997 total assessed value of the house was $53,392,200 with the land value being $9,122,200.

House View from the Air

The house encompasses more than 66,000 square feet which is equal to 1.5 acres.
The major rooms include seven bedrooms, 24 bathrooms, six kitchens, and six fireplaces.

Hallway

Fire Place

Swimming Pool

Features include a swimming pool, a grand staircase, a theater, a library, a formal
dining room, a reception hall, conference facilities, offices, an exercise room, outdoor
sports courts, and of course loads of technology

The big boss of Microsoft does have a nice little pad down on the shores of Lake Washington.

Bill and Melinda Gates' $97 million house.

Much of the house is built underground into the hill, so the house looks smaller than it actually is.
Unfortunately the hidden section underground did not escape the taxman's view; Bill paid over a million dollars last year on property taxes.

A stream flows through the property.
The pool room is in the background.

Sylvester Stallone has established worldwide recognition as an actor, writer and director since he played the title role in his own screenplay of “Rocky,” which won the Academy Award in 1976 for Best Picture. Stallone’s new project is “The contender” a powerful and action-packed reality series for NBC.

Born in New York City, Stallone attended school in suburban Philadelphia where he first started acting and also became a star football player. He then spent two years instructing at the American College of Switzerland in Geneva.

Returning to the United States, Stallone enrolled as a drama major at the University of Miami and also began to write. He left college to pursue an acting career in New York City, but the jobs did not come easily.

By 1973, Stallone had auditioned for almost every casting agent in New York and had gone on thousands of acting calls, with little success.

During this period, he turned more and more to writing, churning out numerous screenplays while waiting for his acting break. The opportunity first came in 1974 when he was cast as one of the leads in “The Lords of Flatbush.” He also received his first writing credit for “additional dialogue” on this film,With the money earned from that film, Stallone left New York for Hollywood. He again began to make the rounds of studios and casting agents, managing to get a few small roles in television and movies. He also continued to pursue writing.

Prize fighter Rocky Balboa was born and given life in a script Stallone wrote in longhand. Several producers offered to buy the screenplay, wanting to cast a name star in the title role, which Stallone insisted on playing himself. Although his bank balance was barely $100, Stallone held fast with his perseverance finally paying off in a big way.

Stallone’s credits as actor/writer/director are “Rocky II” and “Paradise Alley.” As actor and co-writer, Stallone filmed “F.I.S.T.,” “First Blood,” “Rambo: First Blood Part II,” “Rhinestone” and “Rambo III.” He co-wrote, directed and produced “Staying Alive” and starred in “Nighthawks,” “Victory,” “Tango & Cash” and “Lock Up.” “Rocky V,” starring and written by Stallone and directed by John Avildsen, opened in 1990.

In addition, Stallone has also starred in “Demolition Man,” which set box-office records for its Fall 1993 release. He also starred in the films “The Specialist,” co-starring Sharon Stone; in “Assassins,” and in “Daylight.”

Stallone starred in the challenging and compelling role of Freddy Heflin, in the Miramax feature film “Copland,” which has garnered him international critical and audience acclaim. He had the starring role in “Get Carter” for Warner Bros., co-starring Michael Caine, which opened in Fall 2000. Stallone wrote and starred in the #1 box-office race-car thriller “Driven,” co-starring Burt Reynolds and Christian de la Fuente. In addition, he completed filming “Avenging Angelo,” co-starring Madeline Stowe.

Most recently Stallone starred in the role of “The Toymaker” in the international hit film “Spy Kids 3,” the final installment of that successful film franchise.

This summer Stallone launches INSTONE, a company created from Stallone’s vision of a holistic product line for complete health and fitness management.

It brings together his lifelong dedication to fitness and keen understanding of business with some of the preeminent minds in the sports nutrition industry.

Stallone is also one of the founding partners in Planet Hollywood, the internationally famous chain of entertainment complexes. Among other principals of Planet Hollywood are a number of motion-picture industry figures, including producer Keith Barish, The Rank Organization, Plc., Robert Earle, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis. Plans are underway to open Planet Hollywood throughout Europe, Tokyo and other major capitals around the world.

In 2002, Stallone was honored by the Video Dealers Software Association when he was presented with the “Action Star of the Millennium Award” at the Organization’s 21st Annual Convention.

LOS ANGELES -- Madonna intends to sign a $120 million recording and touring deal with live entertainment promoter Live Nation Inc. and leave her longtime record label at Warner Music Group Corp., a person familiar with the contract negotiations said Wednesday.

The pop superstar's management informed Warner last week that she would accept Live Nation's offer after the record company refused to match the deal, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the matter.

Under terms of the proposed deal, Madonna, 49, would receive a signing bonus of about $18 million and a roughly $17 million advance for each of three albums, the person said. A portion of the compensation would involve stock, the person said.

Madonna could also benefit significantly from the touring component of the deal, which gives Live Nation the exclusive right to promote her tours, the person said.

In a bid to compete with the Live Nation offer, Warner pursued a possible partnership with ticket retailer Ticketmaster, a unit of IAC/InterActiveCorp, that would have enabled the record company to offer a spectrum of touring services to Madonna, the person said.

Warner Music and Live Nation declined to comment. A call to Madonna's publicist was not immediately returned.

The proposed 10-year agreement would give Live Nation the rights to sell Madonna merchandise and license her name, and any revenue from such products would be split between the singer and the company, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the deal.

Live Nation also would have to pay $50 million in cash and stock to promote Madonna's tours, according to the Journal, which broke news of the deal on its Web site Wednesday afternoon.

The agreement would be in line with similar deals other artists have struck with labels in recent years that give record companies a stake in their artists beyond the sale of recordings.

Live Nation, which promotes and produces music shows, theatrical performances and other live events worldwide, has been looking to expand beyond its core businesses to offer artists services such as direct merchandising and exclusive ticket sales. Its Artist Nation division sells tickets and artist merchandise online.

Warner has also set out to strike deals with artists and other music industry players in a bid to garner a share of revenue from other segments of the music industry, such as merchandising and touring. Those segments are faring better than recorded music sales.

Madonna first signed with Warner Music Group subsidiary Warner Bros. Records in 1984. Her last contract with the New York-based company calls for her to deliver one more studio album, expected next year, and a greatest hits record.

The singer has been among Warner Music's best-selling artists for years and arguably remains pop music royalty. Losing the rights to release her new recordings could prove to be a significant blow to the company's bottom line.

Warner, however, retains the rights to sell and license her catalog of hits such as "Like a Virgin" and "Music."

Warner shares rose 11 cents to $11.29 Wednesday. Shares of Live Nation fell 32 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $23.36, then gained 64 cents in after-hours trading

        if Apple’s impressively-specified, impressively-priced MacBook Pro just isn’t quite expensive enough for you fear not;

a solution is at hand. Oregon-based case modification experts Computer Choppers have just announced that they

 will be offering a 24-carat gold plating service for the world-beating laptop for well-heeled customers later this year.

The modification is expected to add something in the region of  £780 to the purchase price of a standard aluminium-skinned model.

      For extra bling power buyers will be able to specify a diamond or sapphire-encrusted Apple logo although, keen

as they are to avoid a stern letter from Apple's lawyers, Computer Choppers make it clear that they will be treating

any request to modify or enhance the famous logo on a 'case-by-case basis'.

With the rise and general ubiquity of digital music and it's availability through downloads on all kinds of

appliances, sales of CD's are collapsing, forcing all the industry players to review their business models and

negotiate wide-ranging contracts with artists to boost sales and profit margins. The latest would seem to be

 Madonna with news today of her possible move from her long-time record label Warner Brothers to concert

 promoter Live Nation Inc., which underscores how shrinking music sales are turning former partners into

 competitors. It would seem that Madonna is close to sealing a $120 million, 10-year contract with Live Nation, says

a source familiar with talks. With the ever increasing number of opportunities for people to download music digitally,

 it will only get worse for the major record companies