Baidu makes deal with world music giants

Baidu makes deal with world music giants

Baidu Inc., the largest Chinese search engine based in Beijing, said Tuesday it closed a deal that allows the company to provide download services of music from Universal Music, Warner Music and Sony Music.

According to the deal signed between Baidu and One Stop China (OSC), a joint venture of the three music companies, Baidu will pay them on a per-play and per-download basis for all tracks delivered through its MP3 server, said a press release provided by Baidu.

Users can have access to the authorized music free of charge, and Chinese songs, both in Mandarin and Cantonese, and some global content provided by the three music companies will be included in the catalogue.,sheepskin boots,

Baidu also launched a social music platform called "Baidu ting!" through which users can obtain and share some music-related information and content.,discount ugg boots,

Li Xinzhe,,Mbt shoes, CFO of Baidu, described the deal as a "milestone" that can benefit not only Baidu and its partners but also music lovers and the privacy-stricken industry.

Wang Bin, secretary general of Copyright Union of Internet Society of China, predicted that it would have a demonstrative effect on the Internet sector.

In 2008, Universal, Warner and Sony Music sued Baidu for at least 63.,hair weave,5 million yuan (9.8 million U.S. dollars) in copyright infringement.

Mia Doi Todd and Bebel Gilberto

Mr. Dranoff, who produced both "Red Hot and Rio" recordings, noted that technological change accounts for the sequel's increase in scope. "When we did the first one, we had to send master tapes all over the world," he explained. "Every time we handed one off to FedEx, we practically said a prayer that it would reach its destination." Now many of the collaborations were finished by sending digital sound files back and forth via email.

The new recording is the contemporary equal of the original, its tracks brimming with energy and vitality. The album begins with a duet between R&B singers Alice Smith and Aloe Blacc, who deliver an elegant take on Mr. Veloso's "Baby." The backing sounds combine small Brazilian percussion instruments and sweeping cinematic string arrangements. On his "Tropicália," which melds Brazilian percussion and rock bass lines, Beck sings with Brazilian crooner Seu Jorge. Mr. Veloso provides two of the album's highlights. His rendition of "Terra," which he wrote, is adroitly remixed and enhanced with gentle atmospheric sounds by the producer Prefuse 73, and Messrs. Veloso and Byrne close disc one with a riveting duet on their "Dreamworld/Marco De Canaveses."

Os Mutantes and Of Montreal turn "Bat Macumba," a piece written by Messrs. Veloso and Gil, into a funky romp. And the Phenomenal Handclap Band plus Brazilian singer-songwriter Marcos Valle make "Todo O Que Você Podia Ser" into an infectious anthem. Strong performances are also turned in by Mr. Zé, Money Mark, Mia Doi Todd and Bebel Gilberto.

He's dedicated his whole life on that cause.

Though the charges are not related to espionage, the arrest adds another strain to the already difficult relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan, which suffered after the U.S. found Osama bin Laden hiding inside Pakistan and killed him without telling the government there.

ISI has a complicated relationship with U.S. intelligence. The agency is a crucial ally in the war on terrorism but also works against the U.S. at times, including running double agents against the CIA.

"Dr. Fai and the Kashmiri freedom movement have nothing to do with the ISI," said Nadim Malik, a close associate of Fai and the executive director of the advocacy group Kashmir Mission USA.

Fai has donated to congressional campaigns of both parties for years. His donations include $250 to President Barack Obama in 2008; a total of $4,500 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2004 and 2008; and $250 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2009. Prosecutors said none of the recipients knew the organization was a front for money from Pakistan.

Zahid Bukhari, the president of the Islamic Circle of North America who says he's known Fai for years and used to teach at Georgetown University, said he found the accusations stunning.

"It doesn't make any sense," Bukhari said. "He's dedicated his whole life on that cause."

He was speaking just to promote peace

A second man, Zaheer Ahmad, was also charged. Prosecutors said he recruited people to act as straw donors who would give money to the Kashmiri American Council that really was coming from the Pakistani government. Ahmad is not under arrest and is in Pakistan, prosecutors said. Both men are U.S. citizens.

Prosecutors said the Kashmiri American Council was being run in secret by the Pakistani government. Fai coordinated his activities with his ISI handlers and often communicated in coded emails, the FBI said. Pakistani officials reviewed Fai's budget and told him what to do and with whom to meet.

"You are aware that we have been working together for the cause for over a decade now," Fai wrote in an email to a senior ISI official in 1995. "All these years, I have closely worked with you and others who came before you. It has taken us much time, energy, dedication, strategy and planning to achieve our common cause."

Fai, 62, appeared before a federal magistrate judge, who ordered him jailed until a detention hearing Thursday afternoon. Prosecutor Gordon Kromberg said Fai faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

A soft-spoken father of two, Fai is a leading voice in the debate over the future of Kashmir, the mountainous border area that India and Pakistan have fought over for years. He supports the pro-Pakistan viewpoint that Kashmiris should vote on whether to be part of Pakistan or India. India claims the territory as its own.

He is perhaps best known in Washington for organizing the annual Kashmir Peace Conference on Capitol Hill. The event is billed as an independent forum for Indian and Pakistani voices, but the Justice Department said the Pakistani government approved the speakers and gave Fai talking points to highlight. Photo galleries on the group's website include images of him alongside Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Israr Mirza, the former president of the Pakistani Student Association at George Mason University, recalled hearing Fai speak at a February event his organization hosted on India-Pakistan relations.

"I don't see him as a spy or anything. He's an old gentleman," said Mirza, who has since graduated from George Mason. "He seemed like a very collected guy. He was speaking just to promote peace."

China urges 'wisdom' to resolve South China Sea disputes

China urges 'wisdom' to resolve South China Sea disputes

China on Monday told the Philippines and Vietnam to use "diplomatic wisdom" to resolve tensions in the South China Sea,,wholesale Gucci Shoes, amid criticisms that Beijing was being increasingly aggressive in its claims.

"It is important to manage the conflicting points," Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying said in a speech on "China's peaceful development and international environment" in Hong Kong on Monday.

"It takes diplomatic wisdom from China, from Vietnam and from the Philippines to make sure that our differences will be contained,,Celebrity lace wigs, well-managed and we will be able to not allow the differences to affect our relationship.

"You could see we are moving in that direction," she said, acknowledging the countries in the territorial dispute all felt strongly about their claims.

China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea,phoenix suns jerseys which is believed to have vast oil and gas deposits, while its shipping lanes are vital for global trade.

Vietnam and the Philippines have in recent months accused China of taking increasingly aggressive actions in staking its claims.

In May,portland trailblazers jerseys Vietnam said Chinese marine surveillance vessels cut the exploration cables of an oil survey ship inside Hanoi's exclusive economic zone.

And Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has accused China of inciting at least seven recent incidents, including one in which a Chinese vessel allegedly opened fire on Filipino fishermen.

In response,timberland boots sale China has insisted it wants to resolve disputes peacefully but remains firm in its claims to most of the South China Sea, even waters within the Philippines' economic exclusion zone.

threatens grain output

Experts also argue that an increase in plant disease and the deterioration of the environment have been triggered, partly, by years of chemical fertilizer use.

"Farmers usually only care about crop output and income. They seldom consider the soil damage and potential risks to human health from overusing fertilizers," Li Shilin, director of the agricultural technical station in Anhui province's Fengtai county, said.

China uses 1.3 million tons of pesticides annually, with usage per unit area 2.5 times the global average, Zhang Weili, a CAAS professor on soil and fertilizer, told China Daily, citing official figures.

Also, the country's surface water pollution is grave while its seven major rivers and coastal waters are also polluted, a report by the Ministry of Environmental Protection said in June.

Of the 26 lakes and reservoirs under monitoring, 42.3 percent are "eutrophicated", a process that can lead to a proliferation of plant life caused by excessive levels of phosphorous and nitrogen, the report adds.

"China can no longer boost grain production by relying on agrochemicals," Zhang said.

Together with her colleagues at the CAAS, Zhang conducted a field investigation on the effects of agrochemicals on soil fertility across the country over the past 10 years.

"More cultivated land will face risks of greater yield decreases in the next few years since the soil is too fragile to withstand natural disasters, which will become more severe and longer due to climate change," she said.

Jiang, from the Academy of Sciences, highlighted the importance of government support.

"More subsidies are needed to support intensive cultivation, a traditional way to protect soil fertility. At present, almost no farmers are willing to do so because of higher costs in terms of time and money," he said.

Lu Bu, another CAAS professor, said farmers needed practical help.

"The government should encourage companies to help local farmers with intensive cultivation, such as providing advanced equipment that ordinary farmers cannot afford."