Stuart Hall's 'inadequate' jail sentence doubled by Court of Appeal

Veteran broadcaster Stuart Hall's prison sentence for indecently assaulting 13 girls was doubled to 30 months today after the Appeal Court ruled that the punishment was inadequate for the crimes that he had committed.

The disgraced former presenter of 'It's a Knockout' was told by Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge that he had "got away with it" for decades that he had committed over 18 years from 1968 and lived a lie for more than half of his life.

Portraits on the beach

 

Introducing “The Kindle Singles Interview”

New Kindle Singles Interview series debuts with Israeli President Shimon Peres

Peres’ Kindle Singles Interview available today for $0.99, exclusively on Kindle devices and free Kindle reading apps

 

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul. 25, 2013-- (NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon.com announced today “The Kindle Singles Interview,” a new series designed to take full advantage of the Kindle Singles platform by offering major long-form interviews with iconic figures and world leaders. The Kindle Singles Interview is a new exclusive series in the Kindle Singles store (www.amazon.com/kindlesingles). The debut Kindle Singles Interview, “The Optimist,” is an interview with Shimon Peres, the 89-year-old President of Israel.
Peres, who turns 90 on August 2, was elected president of Israel in 2007. He previously served two terms as Israel’s Prime Minister, and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 (with Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin) for his role in the peace negotiations that led to the Oslo Accords. In “The Optimist,” President Peres insisted that forthcoming peace talks arranged by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are serious, and asserted that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is a partner for peace. He also called for a peaceful resolution to his country’s conflicts with Iran, declaring that “sanctions are functioning” and adding that “I wouldn’t like to start anything by shooting.” In a nearly two-hour conversation last Sunday, President Peres described Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg as the most important revolutionary leader in the world today. “Karl Marx never forecast Zuckerberg,” Peres said. “He made a revolution with a billion people.”
“In September of 1962, novelist Alex Haley’s conversation with Miles Davis launched the Playboy Interview, and pioneered the idea of a long-form, extended dialogue with the great personalities of our time,” said David Blum, editor of Kindle Singles. “We hope to carry forward that tradition, and use the unlimited digital space to engage great artists and thinkers in conversation with skilled writers and interviewers.”
The interview was conducted by David Samuels, in association with Tablet Magazine. Samuels is a contributing editor at Harper’s and a longtime contributor to The New Yorker and The Atlantic, and the author of Only Love Can Break Your Heart and The Runner. Tablet Magazine (tabletmag.com) is the daily online magazine of Jewish news, ideas, and culture.

Your pass to Comic-Con

By Christina Thiry (@inthiry)

Twitter has long been a staple at conventions. You can keep up with speaking schedules, network with attendees, or live-tweet your thoughts during a keynote. But when that conference happens to be Comic-Con (#SDCC), Twitter suddenly fills with zombies, superheroes and dancing robots.
Attendees, presenters, celebrity guests and die-hard fans are sharing their experiences at the pop culture event — whether it’s encountering a comic book legend like Superman or seeing the highly anticipated #CatchingFire preview.

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J. Crew Then and Now

Ever since J. Crew creative director Jenna Lyons became president in 2010, the brand has gone through a most notable identity shift, and many loyal customers aren't too pleased. So long are the prototypical khakis, neutrals, and loafers. The retailer is up to par with its couture competitors -whimsical patterns, chunky, funky jewelry, and all things trendy are now part of the norm. When J. Crew CEO Mickey Drexler received an e-mailed from a concerned customer, he responded by saying that perhaps they've: "strayed too far from the classics and brand messaging for which J. Crew had become known." And in a follow-up e-mail he wrote: "We are on it for sure. I hope you see a difference this fall." Whether change is visible in the upcoming collection or not, here's a slideshow to pay testament to the evolution of the brand.

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دوربین مخفی در آبگرم مالزی

Ariel Castro agrees to plea deal to avoid death penalty

By Ashley Fantz, CNN


(CNN) -- Ariel Castro agreed Friday in an Ohio courtroom to a plea deal in one of the most sensational kidnapping cases in recent memory. The deal, reached with prosecutors, would let him avoid the possibility of a death sentence and spare his alleged victims from having to testify at a trial.

The plea deal recommends that he be sentenced to life in prison without parole -- that he never get a parole hearing. It would also mean that a trial Castro was facing on August 5 would not happen and he would not face the possibility of being sentenced to death. Judge Michael J. Russo went over the deal with Castro, and told him that he would be labeled as a sexual predator.

Castro replied that he understood. At one point, he interjected that he was "also a victim as a child" to which Russo responded that he could make whatever statement he wanted during the sentencing hearing. Russo also said that victims would be notified of the hearing and also would then have a chance to say what they liked.

Russo went through charges Castro faces relating to the allegations he held three women captive for a decade and asked him how he pleaded.

Over and over, Castro replied: "Guilty."

At another moment in the hearing, which lasted well over an hour, the judge asked Castro how good his English is.

Castro replied that he is good at spelling and reading but his comprehension is bad because "my addiction to pornography and my sexual problem has really taken a toll on my mind."