Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Jay-Z spoof Newport State Of Mind removed from YouTube

The clip had been viewed hundreds of thousands of times since last month.

A statement from EMI said: "When a song is created based wholly on any of our writers' works, those writers need to grant their permission.

"If that permission isn't granted, then we ask the service in question to remove the song."

The video, which parodies Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' Empire State Of Mind using the backdrop of the south Wales city, was directed by filmmaker M-J Delaney.

Made for less than £100, it also featured rapper Alex Warren and singer Terema Wainwright.

Whilst viewers are blocked from seeing it on YouTube the video is still available on other websites.

EMI Publishing represents four of the seven people credited with writing the original Empire State Of Mind: Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Angela Hunte and Janet Sewell

Jay-Z spoof Newport State Of Mind removed from YouTube

The clip had been viewed hundreds of thousands of times since last month.

A statement from EMI said: "When a song is created based wholly on any of our writers' works, those writers need to grant their permission.

"If that permission isn't granted, then we ask the service in question to remove the song."

The video, which parodies Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' Empire State Of Mind using the backdrop of the south Wales city, was directed by filmmaker M-J Delaney.

Made for less than £100, it also featured rapper Alex Warren and singer Terema Wainwright.

Whilst viewers are blocked from seeing it on YouTube the video is still available on other websites.

EMI Publishing represents four of the seven people credited with writing the original Empire State Of Mind: Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Angela Hunte and Janet Sewell

Oxfordshire speeding increase after cameras turned off

Thames Valley's Safer Road Partnership monitored drivers on two roads in the county for five days.

The cameras were axed at the end of July after the county council withdrew £600,000 in funding due to budget cuts.

Road safety charity Brake called the results "extremely concerning" and urged the council to change its policy.

The tests were carried out in Watlington Road, Cowley, and the A44 in Woodstock from Thursday till Monday.

In Cowley, 62 people were clocked speeding, representing a rise of 88%, the partnership revealed.

In Woodstock 110 drivers were over the 30mph limit, which is 18% more than the average for 2010.

Those caught speeding during the trial will not receive fines or points.

Insp Paul Winks, from Thames Valley Police, said: "It's obviously disappointing.

"It clearly means switching off the camera has given a green light to a small number of people to break the law.

"The consequence is more death and more death is unacceptable."

Ellen Booth, campaign officer for Brake, said road deaths cost the taxpayer about £1.7m a year.

She added: "This is people's lives we are talking about.

"Ending speed cameras in certain areas and ending funding for safer road partnerships is taking a huge step backwards.

"What we would like to see is councils looking at the issue of speed cameras, not only at how effective they are in reducing death and serious injuries, but also how cost effective they are."

BP was told of oil safety fault 'weeks before blast'

A Deepwater Horizon rig worker has told the BBC that he identified a leak in the oil rig's safety equipment weeks before the explosion.

Tyrone Benton said the leak was not fixed at the time, but that instead the faulty device was shut down and a second one relied on.

BP said rig owners Transocean were responsible for the operation and maintenance of that piece of equipment.

Transocean said it tested the device successfully before the accident.

Meanwhile, BP has said that its costs in tackling the disaster have now risen to $2bn (£1.34bn).

'Unacceptable'

On 20 April, when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded killing 11 people, the blowout preventer, as the device is known, failed.

Blowout preventer

Investigations into the US oil spill are focused on the blowout preventer system of valves on the seabed.
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The most critical piece of safety equipment on the rig, they are designed to avert disasters just like the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The blowout preventer (BOP) has giant shears which are designed to cut and seal off the well's main pipe. The control pods are effectively the brains of the blowout preventer and contain both electronics and hydraulics. This is where Mr Benton said the problem was found.

"We saw a leak on the pod, so by seeing the leak we informed the company men," Mr Benton said of the earlier problem he had identified. "They have a control room where they could turn off that pod and turn on the other one, so that they don't have to stop production."

Professor Tad Patzek, petroleum expert at the University of Texas, was blunt in his assessment: "That is unacceptable. If you see any evidence of the blowout preventer not functioning properly, you should fix it by whatever means possible."

Mr Benton said his supervisor e-mailed both BP and Transocean about the leaks when they were discovered.

 
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