Issue #37
Disinfotainment Today
By Michael Dare
k
y
-mn, -ky
-) n. Quickness and keenness of judgment or insight. [Latin ac
men < acuere, to sharpen < acus, needle; see ak- in App.]
UNDO THE COUP
'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Weekly Review
HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW
January 14, 2003
Governor George Ryan of Illinois commuted the sentences of
the state's 156 death-row inmates and pardoned four men who
were tortured by police into confessing to murders they did
not commit. Ryan, whose last day in office was Monday, said
that "the Illinois death penalty system is arbitrary and
capricious -- and therefore immoral."
A federal appeals court
ruled that President George W. Bush may at his sole
discretion strip Yasser Esam Hamdi, a United States citizen
raised in Saudi Arabia and captured in Afghanistan, of his
constitutional protections because of the need to fight the
war on terrorism.
Administration officials then asked a
federal judge to deny Jose Padilla, the alleged "dirty
bomber," access to his lawyer because the presence of a
lawyer "would threaten permanently to undermine the
military's efforts to develop a relationship of trust and
dependency that is essential to effective interrogation."
A United Nations report entitled "Likely Humanitarian
Scenarios" estimated that an American invasion of Iraq will
result in some 500,000 casualties and about 900,000
refugees, who will require food and shelter; up to 3 million
Iraqis could require "therapeutic feeding."
The U.S.
military admitted that it has spammed thousands of Iraqis
with email messages urging them to defy Saddam Hussein.
Iraqi dissidents met with resident Bush, who told them he
favors a quick transition to democracy in Iraq after a short
military occupation; Ari Fleischer, the White House
spokesman, made a point of saying that the resident still
hasn't decided whether or not to invade Iraq.
Bush
Administration sources said they had largely completed their
plans for administering Iraq after the war and securing the
Iraqi oil fields; Colin Powell recently stated that the goal
is to "protect those fields and make sure that they are used
for the benefit of the people of Iraq."
Continued at www.harpers.org/weekly-review
-- Roger D. Hodge
from Kip
Here is an article written by Peter Townshend on internet child pornography.
It was on his website which is either down or overloaded.
www.hecktow.com/pete.html
~~ Kip
Thanks, Kip!
And, for an additional perspective, from a rational British site, check out 'The SideShow', by Avedon Carol.
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Another foggy morning, followed by a fair day.
The kid was given an envelope to bring home. He was a bit agitated, and said he was sorry, but he didn't know what it was that he did this time. Turns out they want to test him for some advanced stuff. Told him that this was a very good thing, then I went in the bathroom & did a Snoopy Happy Dance.
Have some more 'LOTR' responses, but they'll have to wait til tomorrow - today's page is w-a-y too big.
tonight, Wednesday, CBS opens the evening with a fresh 'Star Search', the follows with '48 Hours', and '60 Minutes II'.
Scheduled on a fresh Dave are Sandra Bullock and Marv Albert.
Scheduled on a fresh Craiggers is Jeff Cesario.
NBC has a fresh 'Ed', a fresh 'West Wing', and a fresh 'Law & Order'.
Scheduled on a fresh Jay are Denzel Washington and Elton John.
Scheduled on a fresh Conan are Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Rosario Dawson, and Boothby Graffoe.
Scheduled on a fresh Carson Daly are Ashton Kutcher and Exies.
ABC starts the night with a RERUN 'My Wife & Kids', then a fresh 'George Lopez', a fresh 'Bachelorette', and a fresh 'Celebrity Mole Hawaii'.
The WB has a fresh 'Dawson's Creek', and a fresh 'Angel'.
Faux has a fresh 'Bernie Mac', a fresh 'Cedric The Entertainer', and a fresh 'Man vs. Beast'.
UPN has a RERUN 'Enterprise', and a RERUN 'Twilight Zone'.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Big Dog Watch Continues
Bill Clinton
Former United States President Bill Clinton listens to speakers at the Second Annual William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Foundation Forum held at New York University on January 14, 2003. The forum consists of panel discussions focusing on Globalization in the Twenty First Century.
Photo by Chip East
Renewal Deal Near
'West Wing'
His administration may have slipped in the ratings since he was reelected, but NBC is ready pay a lot more to keep fictional U.S. President "Jed" Bartlet in office and on the air a few more seasons.
The General Electric Co. -owned network is near a deal with Warner Bros. Television to renew "The West Wing" for roughly triple the $2 million it currently pays per episode, sources close to the show said on Tuesday.
The licensing pact, which is expected to be completed in the next few days, would keep the Emmy-winning White House drama on NBC's prime-time schedule for two or three more years beyond its fourth season, which ends in May, the sources said.
Under the deal, NBC would pay Warner Bros., a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc., from $5 million to $7 million an episode, they said. The Los Angeles Times reported the exact figure would be based in part on the show's ratings.
'West Wing'
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Re: Pete Townshend Story
AP Correction
In stories sent Jan. 11 and 13 about Pete Townshend, the rock guitarist and co-founder of The Who, The Associated Press erroneously reported that he had admitted using his credit card to
download images from an Internet site advertising child pornography.
Townshend said only that he had used his credit card to enter the site and told a London newspaper he had never downloaded child pornography.
AP Correction
The sun sets as Mt. McKinley casts its reflection on Reflection Pond at the west end of Denali National Park road a few miles east of Camp Denali in Denali Park, Alaska. Denali was cited as one of 'America's Ten Most Endangered National Parks' in an annual list released by The National Parks Conservation Association on Tuesday.
Photo by Al Grillo
Unhappy With Television Exposure
Kathy Griffin
Comedian Kathy Griffin's image isn't very soft-spoken, so people probably assumed it was a scripted bit when she yelled at "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest for opening her blouse last night when they were co-presenters at the "American Music Awards."
While they were announcing the Fans' Choice Award winner, Griffin pretended to read an email that asked her to open her shirt and flash. Seacrest picked up on that and threw open Griffin's blouse, exposing her black lace bra. Griffin was furious when she came backstage to talk to reporters.
"Ryan Seacrest physically assaulted me on stage. Follow me to the precinct, he's going down! Look, maybe I did walk up the freaking stairs like Shania. But Ryan Seacrest took my top off! That would never happen to Shania," Griffin told AP Radio.
Kathy Griffin
Rips Hollywood in Announcing Bid
Joe Lieberman
Announcing his 2004 presidential bid, Sen. Joseph Lieberman didn't miss a beat Monday in promising to help families fight off Hollywood's bad influence on kids.
"As a father and now a grandfather, I have taken on the entertainment industry for peddling sex and violence to our children -- and spoken up for parents who feel they are in competition with
the popular culture to raise their children and give them the right values," Lieberman said at a Monday morning press conference in Stamford, Conn.
Generally speaking, Hollywood isn't likely to embrace Lieberman's candidacy, even though he is a Democrat, due to his anti-pop culture platform.
Throughout his senatorial career, Lieberman has railed against showbiz. That's included putting pressure on MTV to tone down Johnny Knoxville's stunt show "Jackass" and criticizing the movie
ratings system for not doing a good enough job in shielding children from violence and smut.
Joe Lieberman
Testing America's Intelligence
Faux
How smart is America?
Fox will soon give everyone a chance to find out this spring when it airs "Test the Nation," a sort of national intelligence test.
The show, taped live in a studio, allows everyone watching to figure out his or her IQ. Data compiled from at-home participants will be tabulated to provide a statistical analysis of America's smartest -- and where they live.
Versions of "Test the Nation" have aired in the U.K. and Germany, among other territories.
Faux
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Kicks Ass, Kills Handler
Cockfighting Rooster
A rooster about to be set loose for a bout in a crowded cockfighting arena attacked its handler with the razor-sharp steel spikes strapped to its legs, killing the stunned man, police said Tuesday.
The gaffs hit the man's thigh and groin as the bird made one rapid shuffle, causing him to bleed profusely Sunday before a large crowd of shocked spectators, police investigator Johnny Muhajil said.
The man died while being brought to a hospital in Zamboanga, a bustling port city about 530 miles south of Manila, he said.
Cockfighting Rooster
Chef Eddie Gozdz prepares 20-ounce burgers fashioned from ultra-tender Kobe beef at the landmark Old Homestead restaurant in New York, Friday Jan. 10, 2003.
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'Concerned' by Media Concentration
Michael Powell
U.S. officials will probably not radically lift ownership limits on television stations, newspapers and other media when they take up the issue this year, the top telecommunications regulator told Congress on Tuesday.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell said the agency would not allow one company to dominate local airwaves or other media outlets when it revisits the long-standing rules under court order.
Consumer advocates and many lawmakers worry that news operations at television and other media outlets could suffer if the FCC allows them to be bought up by a few large companies.
"When you talk about more voices, are you talking about more voices by one ventriloquist?" asked North Dakota Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan.
For more, Michael Powell
Drops Claims Against Van Morrison
Linda Gail Lewis
The sister of rock 'n' roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis has withdrawn harassment allegations against singer Van Morrison, a court said Tuesday.
Linda Gail Lewis, 54, had lodged two claims — one of sexual harassment and one of wrongful dismissal — against Morrison, her former employer.
An employment tribunal in Cardiff, Wales, rejected the wrongful dismissal claim in July 2002, and announced Tuesday that Morrison and Lewis had settled the other claim.
Lewis, a country singer whose case was listed at the tribunal under her married name of Braddock, had claimed she was sacked after telling the star she was going to leave her job at the end of a tour.
She also claimed he made unwanted sexual advances. Morrison, 57, denied the allegations.
The news media was banned from identifying Morrison during earlier hearings of the case.
Linda Gail Lewis
Headlining Oregon Jamboree
Alan Jackson
Country singer Alan Jackson will headline the opening night of the 2003 Oregon Jamboree, an annual three-day music festival that will run Aug. 1-3.
The Jamboree also will feature Trick Pony, Phil Vasser, Joe Nichols and Carolyn Dawn Johnson.
Alan Jackson
Oregon Jamboree Web site
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Sad Baby News
Mantovani & Pavarotti
The partner of opera star Luciano Pavarotti, expecting twins, has given birth to a baby girl, but a baby boy died, a hospital spokeswoman told Reuters Tuesday.
Nicoletta Mantovani, 33, had an emergency Caesarean section in a Bologna hospital Monday afternoon in her 31st week of pregnancy.
The girl was the first child for Mantovani but the fourth for 67-year-old Pavarotti, who has three daughters from his former wife.
Mantovani & Pavarotti
Eight-year-old panda Gao Gao is loaded onto a plane at Shuangliu International Airport of Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2003. Gao Gao will fly to the San Diego Zoo in the United States to mate with another Chinese panda Bai Yun and will stay in the U.S. in the coming six years.
Photo by Cheng Xie
Revisits 'Sounder' As Director
Kevin Hooks
Kevin Hooks appears calm, sitting on the family room sectional in his newly built suburban estate, sipping morning coffee. But he's a little on edge, he concedes. It's the butterflies in his stomach.
The butterflies have been circling for nearly a year since Hooks signed on to direct the remake of the 1972 film "Sounder," in which he played a major role.
Based on William H. Armstrong's novel, "Sounder" tells the story of a black sharecropper family in the South during the 1930s. Hooks' remake airs 7 p.m. EST Sunday on ABC.
The film, directed by Martin Ritt, received Oscar nominations for best picture, adapted screenplay and for lead actors Paul Winfield and Cicely Tyson. Hooks, then 13, was nominated for a Golden Globe as most promising male newcomer for his feature film debut.
A longtime director, Hooks, 44, was aware of the risks in remaking a classic. He knew his version of "Sounder" had to be different.
After "Sounder," Hooks starred in several made-for-TV movies, including "Aaron Loves Angela" and "Just an Old Sweet Song," before landing a role in "The White Shadow," the series (1978-81) starring Ken Howard about an urban high school basketball team.
The show's director, the late Bruce Paltrow, encouraged Hooks to step behind the camera.
For the rest - Kevin Hooks
To Open on Ice Stage
Arctic 'Hamlet'
"The air bites shrewdly, it is very cold" -- in the original setting in Elsinore castle in Denmark, Shakespeare's Hamlet would have good reason to complain about the winter weather.
But with temperatures dropping toward minus 40, Hamlet is likely to freeze when the tragedy opens in the new Ice Globe Theater in Jukkasjrvi far above the Arctic circle in Sweden.
That is about 725 miles north of Stockholm and almost 1,250 miles north of Elsinore.
The Ice Globe -- a replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theater in London -- is built of some 15,000 tons of snow and ice from the nearby Torne River. It stands beside Jukkasjarvi's Ice Hotel.
This year the play will be performed for the first time in Sami, a Finnish-Hungarian language spoken by around 85,000 indigenous people living in northern Norway, Finland, Sweden and Russia.
"We have been forced to cut the play to one hour and 15 minutes. At minus 38 it is impossible to stand outside for four hours," said Rolf Degerlund, who calls himself the world's only ice theater manager.
Arctic 'Hamlet'
Resolve Sons' Custody
Anderson & Lee
Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson have agreed to end their bitter custody battle over their two sons, a lawyer for the actress said Tuesday.
Suzanne Harris, Anderson's attorney, said the couple signed an agreement and submitted it to the court, where it is expected to be signed by Superior Court Judge Lee Smalley Edmon.
Harris said Anderson, 35, now has the option of moving Brandon, 6, and Dylan, 4, to Michigan, the home state of her fiance, rap-rocker Kid Rock.
As part of their divorce, the pair agreed to share custody of the children, but the actress filed a petition in 2001 seeking full custody of their sons. She claimed Lee was a poor role model
and a "very angry, unstable man who presents a danger to others, particularly when he is using alcohol."
Lee filed a court declaration saying he's been sober for two years and poses no danger to his sons.
Anderson & Lee
Judge Allows Release
Diana Ross Video
A judge on Tuesday ordered the release of a police videotape shot during Diana Ross' arrest on suspicion of drunken driving, but without audio of her comments.
The singer's attorneys and a city lawyer representing the Tucson Police Department agreed to conditions of the release. Her lawyers had objected previously to making the tape public.
The video was shot while police questioned Ross and administered a field sobriety test.
Diana Ross Video
Police Say Fire Intentional
Aretha Franklin
A fire that destroyed a 12-bedroom home belonging to Aretha Franklin last year was intentionally set, investigators said.
The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office is reviewing a report on the arson early Oct. 25 that burned through the singer's unoccupied, 10,000-square-foot home in this Detroit suburb.
Franklin, 60, primarily uses the house for storage and lives in another in the township. She was on tour at the time of the blaze.
Aretha Franklin
Packed with Rotten Fish
Ghost Ship
Australian police said on Tuesday they were baffled by the discovery of a ghost ship full of rotting fish -- but no crew or life rafts -- drifting off the remote northwest coast of Australia.
The 65-foot High Aim 6, registered in Taiwan and flying an Indonesian flag, was intercepted and boarded by the Australian navy last week about 185 miles west of the fishing port of Broome after it was spotted drifting aimlessly.
A massive search in the area has turned up no survivors, life rafts or clues, but the presence of up to three tons of rotting mackerel and tuna in the hold has convinced police the boat was used by fisherman, not people smugglers.
The weather in the area has been calm for weeks.
Police have launched an international investigation in a bid to track down the owners or crew of the boat.
Ghost Ship
Two American brown pelicans stand near a sign informing visitors not to go beyond this point at the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station Saturday, Jan. 11, 2003, in Miami. Pelican Harbor is a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating injured seabirds.
Photo by Wilfredo Lee
'The Osbournes'
Fairly freshly updated - 'The Osbournes' ~ Page 4
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
