Does ‘Innocence of Muslims’ Actually Exist?

Paul Bond,hollywoodreporter.com
Innocence of Muslims is perhaps the most famous movie in the world, but no one seems to have seen it.

Maybe that’s because it doesn’t exist beyond the muddled 14-minute “trailer” on YouTube that has prompted anti-American violence in the Middle East.

The film’s writer, Sam Bacile, aka Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, initially said he created a full-length movie that screened at the Vine Theatre in Hollywood under the title The Innocence of Bin Laden.

But a theater employee told the Los Angeles Times no one attended the screening, nor did the employee watch the movie.

And a YouTube video called “Innocence of Muslims 74 Min” is merely the same 14 minutes looped over and over.

One of the actors, Cindy Lee Garcia, tells THR that Nakoula boasted he was making a two-hour action epic, though Garcia has seen nothing beyond the infamous 14 minutes.

“The movie doesn’t exist,” says Marium Mohiuddin of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, which advises Hollywood producers on how to portray Muslims accurately. “We’ve been looking hard for a full movie, and we haven’t found anything.”

But whether it’s real doesn’t seem to matter to the rioting radicals because not only are they convinced there is such a movie, “there’s a complete misconception that this is a major Hollywood project and not a poorly thrown-together video,” adds Mohiuddin.

“They’re used to government-sanctioned entertainment, so they think that this has been sanctioned by the U.S. government, which makes sense to them because they believe Americans mistreat Muslims who live in America.”

California judge denies petition to remove anti-Islam film from YouTube

LOS ANGELES – A California judge denied a request by an actress on Thursday to remove an anti-Islam film from YouTube that has spawned violent protests across the Muslim world.

Actress Cindy Lee Garcia, who said she had received death threats after the video was posted on YouTube, had sought to have the film removed in a suit against parent company Google Inc and a California man linked to the film.

“The request for a temporary restraining order is denied. The plaintiff has not shown a likelihood to prevail on the merits,” Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Luis Lavin said. — Reuters

United States Congress defers anti-piracy legislation

US lawmakers on Friday indefinitely postponed anti-piracy legislation that pits Hollywood against Silicon Valley, two days after major Internet companies staged an online protest by blacking out parts of prominent websites.

US Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid postponed a showdown vote in his chamber on the Protect Intellectual Property Act, or PIPA for short, that had been scheduled for Jan. 24.

Lamar Smith, the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, followed suit, saying his panel would delay action on similar legislation called the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, until there is wider agreement on the legislation.

“It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products,” Smith said in a statement.

The bills are aimed at curbing access to overseas websites that traffic in pirated content and counterfeit products, such as movies and music. But support for the legislation has eroded in recent days because of fears that legitimate websites could end up in legal jeopardy.

The entertainment industry wants legislation to protect its movies and music from counterfeiters, but technology companies are concerned the laws would undermine Internet freedoms, be difficult to enforce and encourage frivolous lawsuits.

On Wednesday protests blanketed the Internet, turning Wikipedia and other popular websites dark for 24 hours. Google , Facebook, Twitter and others protested the proposed legislation but did not shut down.

In a brief statement, Reid said there was no reason why concerns about the legislation cannot be resolved. He offered no new date for the vote.

Reid’s action comes a day after a senior Democratic aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the measure lacked the 60 votes needed to clear a procedural hurdle in the 100-member Senate.

A handful of senators who had co-sponsored the legislation dropped their support after Wednesday’s protests started.

Reid expressed hope on Friday that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, who has been shepherding the bill through Congress, could help resolve differences in the legislation.

“I am optimistic that we can reach a compromise in the coming weeks,” Reid said.

Leahy said in a statement that he was committed to addressing online piracy and hoped other members of Congress would work with him to get a bill signed into law this year.

“But the day will come when the Senators who forced this move will look back and realize they made a knee-jerk reaction to a monumental problem,” he said.

“Criminals who do nothing but peddle in counterfeit products and stolen American content are smugly watching how the United States Senate decided it was not even worth debating how to stop the overseas criminals from draining our economy,” Leahy said. — HS, Reuters

2 hired killers shot dead in N. Ecija

Two suspected hired killers were shot dead in Nueva Ecija Tuesday night.

Muñoz Police Chief Superintendent Pedro Soliva said police noticed two armed men sitting on a parked motorcycle along Muñoz-Lupao road. The police approached the suspects, identified as John Parica and Ruben Baldovino, but they suddenly fled the scene.

The police chased the suspects, and were killed in a brief exchange of fire.

Police recovered 2 caliber .45 pistols from the two and a sketch showing the direction to a barangay captain’s house. This led them to suspect that the barangay captain was the target of the slain suspects.

Initial police investigation revealed that Parica was a leader of a group of hired killers. He is also included in the list of most wanted criminals in the province. – reports from Edwin Sevidal, dzMM; Nica Tomines, ABS-CBN News Pangasinan

Pinoy abducted in Afghanistan ‘tortured’

Nanginginig sa takot ang pamilya ni Mark Ramos nang dumulog sa ABS-CBN The Filipino Channel (TFC) office sa Dubai.

Pakiramdam nila ay halos ubos na ang pasensya ng mga kidnapper na dumukot sa 27 taong gulang na si Mark, isang procurement logistics worker sa Copenhagen Construction Company sa Kandahar.

Dinukot si Mark noong January 7 nitong taon, isang araw bago sana ang kanyang bakasyon sa Dubai kung saan naroon ang kanyang magulang.

Madalas tumatawag ang kidnapper pero ayaw magpakilala at kung anong grupo sila.

Nasa $50,000 ang ransom na hinihingi ng mga kidnapper.

Gusto nila may paunang $10,000 para sa proof of life o pagpapatunay na buhay ang biktima sa pamamagitan ng pag-uusap sa telepono ng pamilya.

“Kailangan daw bayaran namin ‘yung mga naging nagastos nila sa anak ko, malaki ang nagastos nila,” sabi ng tatay ni Mark na si Eduard Ramos.

Isang video ang ipinakita sa amin ng kapatid ni Mark na ipinadala sa kanila ng mga kidnapper.

Tingin ni April Kay ay sinabuyan ng asido ang mukha ng kanyang kapatid at pinagaling muna bago kinunan ng video.

“I am Mark working for Copenhagen. Michael, please help me,” sabi ni Mark sa video.

“Pinutol daw po ‘yung isang daliri [ni Mark] dahil tumatakas daw po,” sabi ng kapatid ni Mark na si April Kay.

Kinuwestiyon ni Mang Eduard ang management ng kumpanya kung bakit pinalabas ng compound si Mark ng walang kaukulang military escort.

Sagot lamang ng kumpanya ay hanggang $15,000 para sa pagpapalaya ng biktima.

Umapila ang pamilya kay Vice President Jejomar Binay para tumulong man lamang sa negosasyon sa pagpapalaya ni Mark. Para sa Middle East News Bureau, Danny Buenafe, Patrol ng Pilipino, Dubai

Illegally-cut Narra logs seized in Agusan

Authorities seized 141 pieces of illegally-cut Narra logs in Agusan del Norte.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) – Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) seized the logs in a checkpoint in Nasipit town.

The 141 pieces of logs, with a volume of 2,700 board feet, were being transported on a tire truck owned by a bus company.

The truck came from Butuan City and was bound for Cagayan de Oro City in Misamis Oriental.

Cenro officer Vicente Cembrano said the truck driver was not able to show proper documentation for the Narra logs.

The bus company’s owners are facing a charge of violating Section 68 of the Presidential Decree Number 705, or the the Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines. – report from Richmond Hinayon, ABS-CBN News Caraga

Passenger vessel hits barge in Cebu

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE) – A passenger vessel rammed a barge in Cebu province Wednesday morning, a coast guard official said.

Cebu Coast Guard Commander Rolando Punzalan said MV Light Ferry 8 hit barge Ironman which was docked in Bantolinao Point in Lapu-Lapu City at 4:05 a.m.

No one was hurt among the vessel’s 221 passengers and 44 crew members.

The vessel came from Ormoc City in Leyte and was bound for Cebu City.

An investigation is ongoing to determine how the sea collision happened. – report from June Perez, dzMM

Magnitude 4 quake hits Biliran

abs-cbnNEWS.com

Earthquake information map courtesy of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs)

MANILA, Philippines – A magnitude 4 earthquake struck off Biliran province in southern Philippines before dawn Wednesday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

The earthquake, which was tectonic in origin, occurred just 3 kilometers (kms) southeast of the province’s capital of Naval at 3:31 a.m. It struck at a depth of 8 kms.

Intensity IV was felt in Naval.

No damage or aftershocks were reported.

A separate report from the US Geological Survey (USGS) measured the magnitude of the earthquake at 4.7.

Fire razes 15 houses in Cagayan de Oro

A fire hit a residential area in Cagayan de Oro City before dawn Wednesday, affecting at least 15 houses.

The fire broke out in Block 3 Piang Puti, Barangay Macabalan at 3:15 a.m. It reportedly started at the house of a certain Felimon Datiel, whose house had no power supply and was only using a lamp.

The fire spread quickly, since the houses were mostly made of light materials.

Firefighters also had a hard time extinguishing the blaze because the area was cramped.

The fire was declared under control at 4:08 a.m. No one was reported hurt in the incident.

The damage from the fire was estimated at P1.7 million. – reports from Rod Bolivar, ABS-CBN News Northern Mindanao; and Fred Dellava, dzMM

Pampanga drugstores raided for selling unregistered medicines

Authorities have raided 3 drugstores in Pampanga province for selling unregistered medical products of a large pharmaceutical company.

Officials of the National Bureau of Investigation-Intellectual Property Rights Division (NBI-IPRD) swooped down on 2 Edes Drugstores in San Roque, Lubao and Farmacia Calaguas in Maharlika Road, Angeles City for selling unregistered products of United Laboratories, Inc. (UNILAB).

According to Joel Tovera, executive officer of NBI-IPRD, UNILAB filed a complaint against the drugstores for selling unregistered over-the-counter drugs such as Biogesic, Aspilets, Diatabs, Bioflu, and Neozep, among others.

The owners of the drugstores will face charges for violating Republic Act 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines. — Report from Maan Macapagal, ABS-CBN News