This week's heat film reviews - Looper, The Campaign and Holy Motors

This week the heat team grabbed their popcorn and Minstrels and headed to the pictures to watch the three biggest releases in Moviesville over the past seven days - Looper; starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis, The Campaign; starring Will Ferrell and Holy Motors; starring Kylie Minogue.

Here's what we thought:

GALLERY

Looper

 

• 
• 
• 

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels
Director: Rian Johnson (CERT 15, 118 minutes)

The plot: Kansas, 2044. The economy isn’t in great shape, but paid assassin Joe (Gordon-Levitt) is doing OK: he gets paid in silver, which is attached to the bodies of the poor saps that are blasted back from the future for summary execution. All Loopers have to do is stand at the designated place and time, finger on the trigger, but Joe falters when he realises his latest target is none other than himself, 30 years older (Willis). He soon comes to regret that hesitation, and not just because of the wrath of his scary boss (Daniels)…

What’s right with it? From the basic premise, you might imagine that Looper is a high-concept sci-fi actioner about a younger and older version of the same person crossing time barriers to unite against a common foe, but a) it isn’t, and b) it’s actually a lot more interesting than that. As Joe holes up with single mum Sara (Blunt) and her young son in an isolated farmstead, the film achieves an unexpected emotional depth, and you’ll enjoy puzzling out the rules of this elaborately conceived universe.

What’s wrong with it? We initially struggled to care about a paid murderer that leads a swanky life in a dystopian future where others starve, even if Joe seems like a soulful type who listens to vinyl records and is learning French. In no small part thanks to Gordon-Levitt’s huge likeability, we soon got past this hurdle.

Verdict: With the notable exception of GI Joe, the presence of Gordon-Levitt is a reliable indicator of a film having some kind of intelligence, ambition and merit. With Looper, he’s picked another fun ride with both heart and brains.

Selena Gomez: ‘I’m never coming back’ on the Ellen DeGeneres Show

The 20-year-old pop princess was a little startled by a man with a chainsaw as Ellen DeGeneres played a prank on her.

Selena Gomez told the cheeky chat-show host that her and global sensation Justin Bieber like to go to Disneyland and visit the seasonal event at Knott’s Scary Farm.

Although she is a fan of the scary side of life she admits to acting the most terrified, “I'm the kind of person that likes to get scared but, I'm covering my eyes and ears the entire time.”

The audience surprisingly, and probably pre-warned, kept completely silent as a man dressed in a leather Texas Chainsaw Massacre style outfit sneaked out from the wings to creep up and scare Selena.

The Disney star kept to her word by immediately covering her eyes as she curled up into her chair and then attempted to brush off her embarrassment.

The Wizards of Waverly Place actress spoke a bit about her new movie Hotel Transylvania, saying she 'fell in love' with co-star Andy Samberg.

In the film Selena plays the 118-year-old daughter of Dracula who is voiced by Adam Sandler.

When Selena began to relax again evil Ellen played the second prank on the singer/actress. This time Ellen had a man dressed up as Dracula. He jumped up at Selena with his black cape before she quickly joked that she would never come back to the show.

What a big scaredy cat you are Selena. Man with a chainsaw? Yeah we would be terrified also.

Three-Parent IVF Could Reduce Disease, But Stirs Debate

Human genetic material is stored at a laboratory in Munich,
Researchers say devastating birth defects caused by tiny genetic errors in a mother’s DNA could be prevented with a controversial procedure that would produce an embryo from the recombined DNA of a mother, a father and a second female donor. The in-vitro fertilization technique, known as 3-parent IVF, would correct the mother's defective egg with the healthy genetic material from a female donor. The experimental procedure is stirring a big debate in Britain, where medical researchers are hoping to win government approval for human trials.

Three-parent IVF involves producing embryos for implantation in the womb that contain the genetic material of three individuals - two women and a man. It is designed to correct mitochondrial diseases - inherited conditions passed down through the mother's DNA. Mitochondria are the biochemical power plants in every human cell. When they don't function properly, the result is a wide range of mostly neuromuscular problems, some of them devastating. But they also can affect the heart, and cause vision and hearing loss, seizures and serious digestive problems.

To correct the mitochondrial glitch, doctors say they would fertilize the mother’s defective egg with the father’s sperm, and then transfer their genetic material into a hollowed-out egg containing a female donor's healthy mitochondrial DNA. The corrected egg then would be implanted into the mother to carry to term, permanently eliminating the risk of mitochondrial disorders from the family line. That's the theory, anyway.

Elizabeth Chao is medical director of Ambry Genetics in California, which develops prenatal tests for genetic disorders.  

Chao said mitochondrial diseases are rare worldwide, with anywhere from one in 6,000 to one in 10,000 children born with the incurable genetic defect. If approved by regulators in Britain, though, where three-parent IVF is now being studied, Chao said the procedure could make a huge difference in the lives of affected families.

“A lot of these diseases are very devastating, and the options to date have been very few for them to prevent disease and to treat disease in their children," said Chao. "And I think this is a real breakthrough that could be remarkable to help a small number of individuals - when used appropriately."

But to David King, director of the British health watchdog group Human Genetics Alert, three-parent IVF is unnecessary and dangerous. He compares it to widely discredited schemes for social engineering.

“That opens the door then to starting to create so-called supposedly superior children with enhanced intelligence and appearance and so on.  And we may end up going down much the same road as the Nazis. But rather than it ends up being controlled by the state, it will be controlled by market forces,” said King.

Pointing to experiments in which cloned animals have shortened life spans or are bigger than normal, King also is concerned that the genetically engineered embryos could result in babies with unforeseen physical disabilities that would be passed down to future generations in the modified DNA.  

British regulators are expected to rule on the safety of the three-parent IVF procedure next year.

Nicole Scherzinger and Chris Brown gett VERY close on a night out in LA

We did NOT see this coming: Nicole Scherzinger and Chris Brown getting VERY close on a night out in LA.

In fact, in new pictures it looks like they’re kissing! The pair were out at Supperclub, at the launch of Chris’s new clothing range, and Nicole arrived with will.i.am. The pair were spotted in deep conversation and then seemed to bring their faces incredibly close to each other – in full view of the crowd.

Chris’s on/off girlfriend Karruche Tran was nowhere to be seen (even though she was Tweeting Chris just two days ago) and um, what about poor Lewis Hamilton?

Nicole and Lewis haven’t been seen together since the start of the month – when he posted a picture of “his girl” on Twitter.

So what’s going on? Why would 34 year old Nicole trade lovely Lewis in for 23 year old Chris who has a er, complicated past?

Kesha has admitted to sleeping with a ghost

Kesha has revealed that she thinks that she may have got down to it with a spirit from the other side.

No. We didn’t think it was possible either but who are we to judge.

Just a one-night thing…

Un-surprisingly, the singer has just released her new track, Supernatural - a song that she claims was inspired by her cheeky relations with a ghost.

"It's about experiences with the supernatural... but in a sexy way."

You’ve got to love a sexy ghost. All that transparency and that.

"I had a couple of experiences with the supernatural. I don't know his name! He was a ghost! I'm very open to it."

At least we can guarantee that whatever they got up to – they practised it safely.

It gets weirder…

It seems that the 25-year-old has been up to all sorts lately. All in the name of music of course.

"I was in Africa rehabilitating baby lions. I went diving with great white sharks, and just went on this crazy spirit quest.

We think you may have gone through the wonderful phase of finding yourself, Kesha.

"The theme of this record is magic. I went on a spirit journey by myself. No security guard. No managers. I just went around the world and lived on a boat."

“I got hypnotised, and I just really wanted this record to be really positive, really raw, really vulnerable.”

Madonna and her brother have finally made up

Madonna and her brother Chris have reportedly kissed and made up after things all went a bit sour in 2008 when he released the book, Life With My Sister Madonna.

We’re guessing he’ll take that off his bookshelf when she nips round for a cuppa then.

Siblings reunited…

Speaking recently the 51-year-old said that things have gone back to how they used to be and that the fall out is all water under the bridge.

“We've gotten to a point where, as far as I'm concerned, we're back to being a brother and sister and this is a good place for me. What happens between us is private now and there's no other books coming out.”

Madge can sleep easy now.

It’s not been an easy road for the siblings though – well, after writing an entire book about her, how could it be.

‘It's taken a bit to get there, as I understand, but she's my sister and from this point on it's us as brother and sister.

Pope Benedict on 3-Day Tour of Lebanon

Pope Benedict XVI waves upon his arrival at Beirut international airport as he is welcomed by Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman, September BEIRUT — Pope Benedict has arrived in Lebanon on a three-day visit aimed at promoting peace in this turbulent nation bordering both Syria and Israel. He is the first pope to travel to Beirut in 15 years, and his trip comes at a time of rising tensions among Christians in many parts of the Middle East.

Hundreds of people and heavy security greeted the pope's arrival at the capital's Rafik Hariri international airport. He asked for prayers and efforts to deepen the dialogue between Christians and what he called “followers of other religions.”

Lebanon has been preparing for the papal visit for months. Main highways are decorated with Vatican flags and billboards welcoming the pope.

Christians like Nabil Braidy are celebrating what they call a momentous occasion. "The pope’s visit is important, and it’s kind of a victory for Christians as well as Muslims," said Braidy.

Pascal Sakr, another Lebanese Christian, hopes the pope's visit will promote peace. It’s good to have this visit now, at this moment, because of the situation in the region. This visit will give us support and peace for Lebanon and the Orient,” Sakr stated.

This is a turbulent time for Christians in this part of the Middle East. Lebanon is undergoing a period of relative peace after years of civil war, and Christians say they feel secure here, but they are concerned about spillover from the civil war in Syria, which has had a powerful influence on Lebanon for decades.

More than 1,330 Syrian Christian refugees have fled to Lebanon, says Archbishop Issam John Darwich of Zahle, a Christian stronghold.

“We are really afraid that the same event that’s happening in Syria will happen in Lebanon, and everywhere in the Arabic country," he said.

Still, Lebanese Christians are divided politically over the conflict in Syria. Amin Ammourieh, a columnist with the An Nahar newspaper, says some of this derives from political divisions here between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims.

“Most of the Sunnah [Sunnis] are against the Syrian government and most of the Shias are with the Syrian government, so the Sunnah are united, the Shias are united, but the Christians are divided," he explained. "And that is the reason why they are weak in politics.”

There are an estimated 13 million Catholics in the Middle East. Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center, says the pope will work toward allaying their concerns about rising Islamic fundamentalism, and plead with them not to flee their homelands.

“The Christians have always played a key seminal role in this culture, in this civilization from the time of the advent of Islam in the seventh century onward," Salem stated. "They are part of this history, this civilization. They should not alienate themselves from it.”

The 85-year-old pontiff will meet with Muslim leaders and politicians and also visit the pilgrimage site of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa. His visit will conclude Sunday after a public Mass near the Beirut waterfront.

World Stock Indexes Jump on US Economic Boost

A man walks past a stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan,

Stock markets in Asia and Europe surged Friday as investors cheered the U.S. central bank's aggressive actions to boost the sluggish American economy.

 

The Hong Kong index advanced nearly 3 percent and the Tokyo market almost 2 percent. Stock indexes in London, Frankfurt and Paris closed higher, while key exchanges in the U.S. moved upward after a big surge late Thursday.

 

One stock analyst in Hong Kong, Francis Lun of Lyncean Holdings, said investors had expected the U.S. Federal Reserve to act, but nonetheless welcomed the central bank's latest attempt to spur hiring in the slack American labor market and to keep interest rates low for the next several years.

 

"Of course, the market has been expecting the news, and welcomed the news, and we see today that equity markets in Asia, all around, rise strongly, and the Hang Seng Index up almost 500 points," he said. "So it is a good measure, a market-boosting measure, and I think that the Hong Kong market will rise a little bit more."

 

Some U.S. analysts remained skeptical that the Fed's action to buy $40 billion a month of securities supported by real estate loans to put more money into the world's largest economy would make much difference in the economy.  The central bank has already bought more than $2 trillion worth of securities since the world recession hit in 2008, but U.S. job growth remains weak and the jobless rate has been above an unusually high 8 percent level for 43 straight months.

 

Some critics also say the central bank action could eventually lead to increased prices for U.S. consumer goods, even as the Fed, for now, is clearly intent on boosting hiring in the labor market and has concluded that inflation is under control.

 

The U.S. government reported Friday that more expensive gasoline pushed consumer prices ahead in August by the most in three years -- six-tenths of a percent. But it said that overall inflation remains tame, up only 1.7 percent over the last year.

 

In addition to buying securities, the Federal Reserve said it would extend the timetable to keep its key lending rate near zero percent from late 2014 at least through mid-2015. The central bank said it expects that eased financing "will remain appropriate for a considerable time," even after the economy strengthens from its current sluggish pace.

 

The central bank maintains political neutrality in the United States. But its latest stimulus lands in the final stages of the country's presidential election campaign, where the state of the economy is the key issue.

 

Republican challenger Mitt Romney says the incumbent Democrat, President Barack Obama, has failed in his oversight of the American economy and that he would not reappoint Fed chairman Ben Bernanke when his term ends in early 2014.

 

Romney attacked the Fed's latest round of monetary easing, calling it a "sugar high" that will cut the value of the dollar and the savings accounts of Americans.

 

As he campaigns for a second term in the White House, President Obama has pointed to 30 months of job growth in the U.S. He says Romney would return to policies that led to the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930's.

India PM Sparks Protests Over Fuel Hike

Activists of Socialist Unity Center of India (SUCI) burn an effigy with a portrait of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a protest in Kolkata, India, SeptemberIndian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has defended economic reforms aimed at reducing his country's rising fiscal deficit and attracting foreign investment.

Singh on Saturday supported the government's move to raise diesel fuel prices by about 12 percent.

He approved an increase of nearly one cent per liter at a Cabinet meeting Thursday, sparking a backlash from some of his political allies and the opposition.

India's government also agreed Friday to open its retail market to large foreign companies.  Opponents say that move will hurt the country's small retailers and cost many jobs.

India's economic growth is slowing and worries about the country's credit rating and inflation are rising.

The government has been under pressure to reduce its deficit by cutting spending for subsidies, including fuel.

14 Killed in Pakistan Blast

A security official and residents inspect the site of a bomb attack in the Lower Dir tribal area in Pakistan September 16, 2012.

Officials in northwestern Pakistan say a roadside bomb blast has hit a van, killing 14 people, including two children.

Authorities say at least 10 passengers were wounded in the explosion Sunday in the Lower Dir tribal area near the Afghan border.

Police officials say the bomb was detonated by remote control.

Officials say they do not know who set off the bomb, but insurgent attacks are common in the country's remote tribal regions where militants from both Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are active

Protesters Condemn Japanese Move to Nationalize Islands

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Japanese embassy in Beijing Thursday to condemn Japan's move to nationalize a disputed island chain in the East China Sea.

The protesters called for Japan to leave the uninhabited islands — known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese — and for a boycott of Japanese products.

Chinese authorities allowed the demonstrations to proceed, although police prevented protesters from getting close to the Japanese embassy compound.

Japan's Kyodo news agency reported anti-Japan protests also took place in Shanghai and Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian Province.

China's vice commerce minister, Jiang Zengwei, warned Thursday the dispute could affect trade between China and Japan, while Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba called for calm.

China is Japan's largest trading partner.

On Monday, Japan announced a $26 million deal to nationalize the disputed island chain, whose waters contain rich fishing grounds and potential oil reserves. Japanese officials said the move was meant to ensure that no one triggers a confrontation with China by developing the uninhabited islands.

China called Japan's purchase a violation of Chinese sovereignty, saying China does not recognize any Japanese ownership of the islands. China urged Japan to revoke the purchase immediately.

Japan rejected China's demand, saying Tokyo will not reconsider a transaction involving what it considers to be sovereign Japanese territory.

UNICEF Reports Sharp Decline in Child Mortality Rate

Children eat a meal at a school in a shanty neighborhood of New Delhi, India, Sept. 13, 2012.
A United Nations report says the number of children who die before the age of five has fallen drastically in the past decade, amid gains in health care, education, development programs and economic progress.

The report released by the U.N. Children's Fund shows less than seven million kids under age five died last year, compared to nearly 12 million in 1990.

The countries with the biggest decline in mortality rates include Laos, East Timor, Liberia, Bangladesh and Rwanda.  Collectively, countries in East Asia and Latin America cut their rates by more than half.

But the report says much more must still be done to meet a worldwide goal of reducing deaths by another 43 percent by 2015.  The United Nations says almost 19,000 children under five die every day.

Higher mortality rates persist in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.  Preventable diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria account for many of the deaths.

Mars Rover Preparing for First Major Drive

This image from NASA's Curiosity rover shows the open inlet where powered rock and soil samples will be funneled down for analysis. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
The Mars rover Curiosity will undergo a final round of mechanical checks Thursday before making its first lengthy drive across the surface of the Red Planet.

Engineers with the U.S. space agency NASA have kept Curiosity parked in one spot for the past week while testing its sophisticated instruments, including a high-resolution camera and a tool designed to analyze a Martian rock's chemical makeup.  Tests have also been run on Curiosity's 2.1-meter-long arm, which will scoop up dirt and rock for processing.

This image shows the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on NASA's Curiosity rover, with the Martian landscape in the background. Image was taken by Curiosity's Mast Camera, Sept. 8, 2012, UTC). (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

​​​In addition to final tests on the robotic arm, engineers will also use Curiosity's camera to record video of the Martian moon Phobos passing in front of the sun.

Mission manager Jennifer Trosper told reporters Wednesday that Curiosity has "performed almost flawlessly" during the tests.  Trosper said the six-wheeled rover will start to "drive, drive, drive" towards a site dubbed Glenelg where three types of terrain intersect.  Scientists hope to find rock and soil suitable enough for Curiosity's first sample testing.

This photo, taken by the Curiosity rover, shows the layered geology of Mars.

​​Curiosity landed in the planet's Gale Crater last month to begin a two-year mission to determine if the Martian environment has ever been hospitable to life.  It has traveled on the Martian surface about 109 meters since then, with its ultimate destination Mount Sharp, a mountain rising from the floor of the crater.

On Special Day, Disabled Kids Ride the Waves

Austin Bramson takes a ride on a surfboard with the help of a Best Day at the Beach volunteer
LONG BRANCH, NEW JERSEY —

Austin Bramson is about to ride on a surfboard for the first time, and that will be quite an accomplishment. The 15 year old has a rare genetic disorder, and is unable to speak or walk.

His mother, Nancy Cruse, explains that since birth, he has been totally dependent on others for his care. "He will always be in diapers. He needs to be fed. He can not self feed at all, he can not self drink. He can not dress himself. He’s in a wheelchair which he can not operate himself."

Yet now, wearing a life-jacket and water safety helmet, Austin is getting ready to ride the waves rolling into this Atlantic shore. He's one of dozens of developmentally and physically challenged kids who've come to the popular seashore in Long Branch, New Jersey, to have one of their "best days at the beach."

Volunteers put their arms around his body, lift him out of his wheel chair, and lay him on his stomach on top of a surfboard.

The volunteers carry him out into the ocean about 15 meters from the shore and when the right wave comes along, Austin starts riding it in with the help of a volunteer who’s lying on the back of the same surfboard.

There’s a wide grin on Austin’s face as he comes ashore. His arms and legs wiggle with excitement.

His mother beams. "It just had to be pure joy. Just had to be pure joy. I just, the smile on his face I haven’t seen that smile in a long time from him. So I mean I started to cry. You wonder sometimes when you have a child with a disability: are they happy and to see that I knew he was happy. At that moment, he was happy."

Best Day at the Beach is a day when young people from ages 4 to 24 with developmental and physical disabilities can get help surfing, boogie-boarding and kayaking -- and draw cheers from their families, friends and volunteers.

"Really, it’s about showing kids what’s possible and showing everyone what’s possible," says Max Montgomery, a longtime surfer who co-founded Best Day at the Beach four years ago in his native California after being inspired by a similar local program. "We have parents come down and tell us 'Oh, my kid is not going to do this.' And then they’re standing there with tears watching their kid exceed their wildest dreams. We have kids come down here saying they’ve dreamed of being a surfer and yet maybe they’re in a wheel chair. And we get them out in the water, surfing."

While some of the kids very rare disorders, like Austin, most of the new surfers have disabilities such as Downs syndrome, cerebral palsy or autism.

Best Day at the Beach sponsors about 20 events each year at Atlantic and Pacific beaches. Montgomery says each one gives about 40 special-needs children and young adults the chance to ride the waves.

"There’s just something about tapping into the power of the ocean and feeling freedom and to be able to help someone experience that is truly a blessing," he says.

Dozens of volunteers come out to help Montgomery with his events. New York attorney Eliot Bickoff spent the day surfing with one kid after another.

Growing up, Bickoff spent his weekends on the Jersey Shore.

"I’m a surfer myself [and an] avid waterman," he says. "And it’s just a great opportunity to share the sport with other people, you know, let everybody have a fun time and try a sport that otherwise would be pretty tough or inaccessible."

"Awesome, dude!" says Jenny Heath-Kaplan,12, who is autistic, as she rides a surfboard, just as she did on her first trip to Best Day at the Beach last year.

Her mother, Wendy Heath, says the fun and social interactions help Jenny progress.

"Often times we find when we give her an experience like this she gets a language surge," Heath says. "On the way home, she’ll say things that we’ve never heard her say before. So I think that thrill, translates into that sort of surge."

Each time Jenny finishes riding a wave to the shore, she asks for another trip. The volunteers get ready to take her out again, giving her the Best Day at the Beach possible.

2012 Kennedy Center Honorees Announced

This undated handout photo provided by the Kennedy Center shows members of Led Zeppelin, from left, John Paul Jones, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.
Oscar-winning actor Dustin Hoffman, television comedian David Letterman and Chicago bluesman Buddy Guy are among seven people who will receive this year's Kennedy Center Honors.  

The three, along with Russian-born ballerina Natalia Makarova and three members of the British rock group Led Zeppelin - keyboardist and bassist John Paul Jones, guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant - will be honored by Washington's John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for their contributions to American culture through the arts.  

The honorees will be saluted at an all-star gala at the Kennedy Center on December 2, which will be broadcast on national television later that month.  The seven will be treated to a lavish dinner at the U.S. State Department hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, followed by a reception at the White House hosted by President Barack Obama.

Hoffman won Oscars for his roles in Kramer vs. Kramer and Rain Man, and has appeared in other Hollywood classics as All the President's Men, The Graduate and Tootsie.  Letterman, the host of a long-running late night talk show, was cited by the Kennedy Center as "one of the most influential personalities" in the history of the medium.  

Buddy Guy, 76, was hailed by the center for being "a tremendous influence" on guitarists for the last half-century.  Makarova, who left her native Russia in 1970 and debuted with the legendary American Ballet Theater that same year, "ignited the stages of the world's greatest ballet companies" during her career.    

And the Kennedy Center says Jones, Page and Plant "transformed the sound of rock-and-roll with their lyricism and innovative song structures."

With Instant-Pay Apps, Wallets Can Stay Home

A lot of people gave up carrying much cash a long time ago, since they knew “plastic” - a credit or debit card, or a store or public transit “smart card” - would be accepted just about everywhere.

But to hear tech companies tell it, plastic cards will be museum pieces as well before long.

Smartphone online payment apps could soon make wallets, and plastic credit cards, obsolete. (denharsh, Flickr Creative Commons)

​​
It’s all because young people, in particular, love their mobile devices so much - and despise the time-wasting process of digging out a credit card, presenting it to a clerk or swiping it on a card reader, waiting for the sale to be approved, then writing their signatures on a paper receipt or the reader.

It’s all so 20th Century.

So companies such as Google developed technology that allows customers to simply wave their phones against a reader. It instantly picks up the product and your account information, confirms the sale, and sends a receipt to your phone.  

The idea has come so far that technology inside some stores - or even on the street near one - can detect that your handheld phone or other device is in the area and send you quick messages, telling you about sales or special discounts.  

And all that’s getting a run from an even newer application, called “Card Case,” devised by the payments company Square. With it, you walk into a store, or pass a vendor on the street who has the right technology, and see something you’d like to buy.  

You simply give the salesperson your name, and he or she calls it up on a small screen. If the picture there matches you, the device instantly checks your balance and approves the sale, and the item is yours. No swiping. No signing. No receipt. The details of the transaction show up on your phone.

“In one case, I walked into Pinkie’s Bakery [in San Francisco] and asked for a cupcake,” tech writer Farhad Manjoo wrote in the online magazine Slate.  

“The cashier told me my total, and I said, ‘Put it on Farhad’s tab.’  She saw my name and photo on her iPad, tapped it, and I was done.  The experience was magical - almost creepy.”

“Bye-bye, Wallets,” wrote Time magazine when reviewing this trend last month. Its technology writer, Harry McCracken, went a whole week without carrying one.  

Or almost a whole week. At a baseball game, his “Google Wallet” payment app wouldn’t work. Since he had no physical wallet he was, he wrote, “reduced to begging [my] wife for beer.”

US Jobs Numbers Fuel Presidential Campaign Rhetoric

A supporter uses her personalized mobile phone to take a picture of U.S. President Barack Obama as he speaks at a campaign event at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida, September 9, 2012.
Economic concerns are dominating the U.S. presidential contest, days after a monthly labor report showed weak job creation and hundreds of thousands of Americans leaving the workforce.

Friday’s disappointing jobs numbers are playing into a central argument put forth by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

“We are not creating as many jobs to keep up with our population growth," said Romney. "This is not the kind of news the American people were hoping for and deserve. But I am here to tell you that things are about to get a lot better.”

Romney told supporters in Virginia he will revive America’s slow-growth economy if he is elected president in November.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama acknowledged U.S. economic woes while campaigning in Florida.

“Nobody is satisfied with the status quo," said Obama. "There are too many folks out there who still need a job. And the question is not whether we need to make more progress. The question is how do we do it.”

In an election expected to turn on economic sentiment, the candidates are offering sharply different plans to boost growth and create jobs.  The president wants to allow taxes to rise on top earners while boosting infrastructure and education spending.  Former Obama economic adviser Austan Goolsbee spoke on the U.S. television program Fox News Sunday.

“I do not believe that having the [income tax] rates go back to what they were in the 90s will have any negative impact that is significant on the economy," he saud. "And you can use the money for things that are important, like cutting taxes for businesses that hire people.”

By contrast, Mitt Romney wants to further cut federal income taxes across the board while boosting military spending. Romney economic adviser Glenn Hubbard also appeared on Fox.

“We have very anemic growth in the U.S. economy," said Hubbard. "We could do better with much better policy. Romney is proposing tax reform, regulatory reform, a wise budget strategy, and trade.  The president has proposed tax increases.”

On the campaign trail, President Obama summed up the Republican approach this way:

“Tax cuts, tax cuts, roll back some regulations, and then let us have some more tax cuts," he said. "Tax cuts when times are good. Tax cuts when times are bad. Tax cuts to lose an extra few pounds. Tax cuts to improve your love life.”

Mitt Romney is keeping the focus on President Obama’s economic record and a stubbornly-high unemployment rate.

“We remember that the president promised that if we let him borrow almost a trillion dollars [for economic stimulus spending], he would never let it reach eight percent," said Romney. "It has been above eight percent ever since. He does not have a plan.  And we have got to make sure he does not have any more days in the White House after January.”

Public-opinion polls consistently show the economy as voters’ top concern. Polls show most Americans do not believe President Obama created current U.S. economic woes, but that not enough has been done to correct them during his administration.

Attacks Across Iraq Kill Over 50

Security forces inspect the scene of a car bomb attack in Basra, 550 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012.
A series of attacks across Iraq killed more than 50 people and wounded nearly 250 others Sunday.

The violence hit more than 11 cities and targeted Iraqi security forces, police recruits and markets.  There has been no claim of responsibility, but attacks targeting security forces are the hallmark of insurgents in Iraq.

Authorities say the deadliest attack took place near the southern city of Amara, where two car bombs killed at least 14 people.

Meanwhile, a Baghdad court sentenced the nation's Sunni vice president to death in absentia, in a decision likely to inflame political tensions.

The court found Tariq al-Hashemi guilty of running death squads against security forces and Shi'ites, a charge the vice president has strongly denied.  Hashemi fled Iraq after authorities first leveled the charges against him.  He currently is in Turkey.

Kate Beckinsale's sequin dress at the Porsche Design 40th Anniversary Event - love it or loathe it?

She's been everywhere over the past few weeks promoting new film Total Recalland giving fellow Total Recall star Jessica Biel a run for her (fashion) money in the style stakes. But when Kate Beckinsale rocked up at the Porsche Design 40th Anniversary Event last night wearing this tie-dye effect sequinned Vivienne Westwood strapless number, we weren't so sure. Kate teamed it with Christian Louboutin mesh 'Pigalle' courts and a white clutch, and whilst her body looks incredible, the actual dress was just a bit of a disappointment to us. So we decided to put it to youheatworlders. What do you reckon?  

Kelly Brook thinks Simon Cowell was weird to use her for a photo opportunity

In her new interview with FHM magazine, model and TV presenter Kelly Brook speaks out against Mr High-Trousers-And-V-Neckt-Tees AKA Simon Cowell.

The failed Britain’s Got Talent judge says that she still doesn’t understand why she was given the boot back in 2009 show after a week,

“I turn up and I do my job. I’m professional and if I’m not comfortable I’m honest, I’m really straight forward. If it was editing, if it was bad, they could have edited it to make me look good,” she’s told the lad’s mag.

But there’s more Cowell-bashing. She claims that Mr Cowell is ‘weird’ and that the one time she has seen him since her stint on BGT he used for her a photo opportunity.

“I saw Simon Cowell once afterwards. I caught his eye and I thought, ‘I'm not going to say hello to him, I can't be bothered’, and then he kind of just sulked over and sat next to me,” Kel reveals.

“Then all of the photographers came and then they took a picture as if we were friends. We're not friends. I didn't know him before and I'll probably never meet him again.

“I don't understand why he sat next to me for a photo opportunity. I don't know. It was weird,” Kelly finishes.