Nick Wins!
Weekly Review
HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW
February 11, 2003
Colin Powell presented the United Nations Security Council
with America's latest case against Iraq. He played
recordings of what he said were intercepted conversations of
Iraqis discussing the removal of "forbidden ammo" from
weapons sites, and he showed satellite photos in which
trucks appeared to be parked next to warehouses. Powell
referred to a "potentially sinister nexus between Iraq and
the Al Qaeda terrorist network" but provided no conclusive
evidence of collaboration. French, Russian, and German
diplomats said that Powell had made a good case for
continuing the inspection process.
resident Bush missed the
first half of Powell's performance but watched the second
half at the White House over cheese and crackers and a Diet
Coke.
"This is a defining moment for the U.N. Security
Council," resident Bush said. "If the Security Council were
to allow a dictator to lie and deceive, the Security Council
will be weakened."
The British government admitted that its
new "intelligence" dossier on Iraq, which purported to
provide "up-to-date details of Iraq's network of
intelligence and security" and which Colin Powell cited
approvingly in his presentation to the United Nations, was
largely plagiarized from various published articles,
including one by a student that described Iraqi intelligence
activities in 1990 and 1991.
One of the articles was
published in 1997, and some of the plagiarized material even
reproduced spelling and punctuation errors, though in
several instances the language was tweaked to make it sound
more sinister.
France, Germany, and Belgium vetoed a NATO
plan to reinforce Turkey's defenses in anticipation of an
attack from Iraq; American officials were said to be
"livid," and Colin Powell said the action was "inexcusable."
There was talk of a "crisis of credibility."
Ansar al Islam,
the militant group that supposedly has links both to Saddam
Hussein and to Al Qaeda, gave reporters a tour of the camp
that Colin Powell identified as a poison factory. They found
a primitive collection of buildings powered only by a small
generator. The buildings had no plumbing.
A State Department
functionary insisted, however, that Powell's description of
the camp was accurate: "A poison factory," he said, "is a
term of art."
A copy of the Justice Department's proposed expansion of the
USA Patriot Act was leaked to the Center for Public
Integrity. The draft bill, entitled the Domestic Security
Enhancement Act of 2003, contains proposals to radically
expand the authority of law-enforcement agencies, to
increase the surveillance of American citizens, and to
reduce or eliminate judicial oversight over that
surveillance; it would also authorize secret arrests, create
a DNA database of "suspected terrorists," create new death
penalties, and empower the government to strip American
citizenship from anyone who "provides material support" to a
terrorist organization.
Continued at www.harpers.org/weekly-review
-- Roger D. Hodge
'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Reader Link
from Joe Bacon
New on Connections
Ancient Chinese UFO & The Ruins of Mars
Connections
From Outlaws of the Marsh, a 14th Century Chinese
novel written by Shi Nai'an and Luo Guanzhong, about
events that happened during the Song dynasty, ca 12th
Century.
Suddenly, there was a sound like the ripping of fabric
in the northwest corner of the sky. Everyone looked.
They saw an object resembling an up-ended golden
platter, narrow at both ends and broad in the middle.
Known as Heaven's Gate, or Heaven's Eye, it was
dazzingly bright and respledent as sunset clouds. A
column of fire, shaped like a willow basket, twirled
down from the center of the Eye towards the altar. It
circled the altar once, then plunged into the earth
near the southern end of the hall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Ruins of Mars
Around 1991, the Boeing company produced a poster and
distributed it among the scientific and NASA community
to generate interest in a manned exploration of Mars.
At first glance, this seems like an innocent if
fanciful bit of graphic art. But upon close look, one
notices something strange about that outcropping of
rock in the foreground. It isn't an outcropping of
rock at all.
It's ruins. Notice the joints in the stone blocks, and
the carvings? But wait, there's more.
There's a face. A strangely Egyptian face, with the
nose knocked off, just like the Great Sphynx.
So why did Boeing distribute a poster of NASA
astronauts exploring ancient Egyptian ruins on the
surface of Mars? And why did George W. Bush use his
2003 budget to declare that there may be space aliens
yet to be discovered?
Connections
Thanks, Jeff!
Reader Link
from Pete
Monkey Mail
from Eleni
Your stupidity can only be mathed by the ignorant
phonies of the Demorats.
I cannot believe the shit you put out there and the
lefties lick it up!
( ~~~ Eleni)
Hi Eleni -
What does ''stupidity can only be mathed'' mean (I love math questions)?
Then there's ''ignorant phonies of the Demorats'' - is that as opposed to the ignorant phonies of the Repukes?
You seem to have an oral fixation of a scatalogic nature. On the other hand, if you are relying on Faux for
your news, you're projecting your dietary requirements, not mine.
Speaking of stench, don't you realize that the longer there is no investigation into 9/11, the more it stinks of a burning Reichstag? For extra points, contrast and
compare Hitler and the League of Nations with what is currently going on at the UN.
Lick away, girl - don't you realize that's your only position in their movement?
Buh-Bye.
Jandek on Corwood
from Kip Shepherd
Jandek - the movie!
The longest-running, weirdest, loneliest enigma in popular music is a
guy from Texas who calls himself Jandek. - Douglas Wolk, Mystery Man; The
Jandek Story
There are two types of people in the world; Jandek, and everyone else.
Thirty-three albums from this reclusive artist have seemingly materialized
in mailboxes, radio stations and record stores over the last twenty-five
years. It's quite possible that the most mysterious package you'll ever
receive in your lifetime will bear the return address "CORWOOD INDUSTRIES,
PO Box 15375, Houston, Texas."
What is known about Jandek? If you read the preceding paragraph one more
time, you'll qualify as a Jandek expert.
Just so you don't think that last answer was cheeky... consider the
following; Jandek has never performed live and has never been interviewed.
His album covers have no liner notes, minimal ornamentation and depict some
of the more stark and desolate urban landscapes imaginable without even a
hint of context. The music? Well the music won't help you much, either.
Have you given up yet? Have you abandoned all hope? We didn't think so.
Filmmakers Chad Freidrichs and Paul Fehler hadn't given up, either. But
that was before a cross-country trek, meeting with the various people
involved in the creation of this unique mystery, trying to make some sense
of this Jandek fellow. They are, predictably, no closer to the truth, but a
documentary survives... destined to bring many thousands of people no closer
to the truth, as well.
Recapturing the spirit, minimalism and wit of a forgotten age of American
documentary, Jandek on Corwood very much celebrates the journey of
discovery, reveling with the viewer in the opportunity to examine this
unique musical icon.
www.jandekoncorwood.com/
~~ Kip
Thanks, Kip!
Reader Link
'Something Awful'
These guy's do some great stuff...this weeks comedy goldmine is the iraqi "war machine"
iraqi "war machine"
~~ Rob
Thanks, Rob!
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
A rainy day, and the yard is looking all the better for it.
The kid has another cold, so kept him home from school. He got in trouble for blowing his nose too much last cold, so I'm erring on the side of snot this time.
For the complete list of Oscar Nominees,
look here.
Tonight, Wednesday, CBS opens the evening with a 'special' 'The Price Is Right', with supposedly a million $ prize. It's followed by '60 Minutes II', and '48 Hours'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Dave - well, it's TBA. It's pretty unusal for a 'To Be Announced', especially during sweeps - the last time, the Big Dog showed up. If only I dared hope...
Scheduled on a FRESH Craiggers is Katey Sagal.
NBC has a FRESH 'Ed', then a FRESH 'West Wing', followed by a FRESH 'Law & Order'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jay are Ben Affleck, Dave Chapelle, and Lionel Richie.
Scheduled on a FRESH Conan are Goran Visnjic and Heidi Klum.
Scheduled on a FRESH Carson Daly are Scott Foley and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
ABC offers a FRESH 'My Wife & Kids', a FRESH 'George Lopez', a
FRESH 'Bachelorette: the Men Tell All', and then thankfully, the Season Finale of 'Celebrity Mole Hawaii'.
The WB has a FRESH 'Dawson's Creek' and a FRESH 'Angel'.
Faux starts with a FRESH 'That 70's Show', then a FRESH 'American Idol', a FRESH 'Bernie Mac',
and a FRESH 'Cedric'.
UPN has a FRESH 'Enterprise', and a FRESH 'Twilight Zone'.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Fate of the Universe
It Will Expand Forever
An all-sky image of the infant Universe, 380,000 years after the Big Bang, as captured by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. The WMAP image reveals temperature fluctuations (shown as color differences) differing
by one-millionth of a degree Celsius. Temperature fluctuations stem from density differences in place soon after the Big Bang, the seeds of galaxies and the vast structure we see today. Picture released February 11, 2003.
MAP Mission: Results
MAP Mission: Results-Winning Theories
Place To Be, Tonight, 7pm (est)
American Stranger & 'Take Back The Media'
Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Debut
Bill Clinton
Former President Bill Clinton will debut with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra on the March 25 program "Let Freedom Ring," a celebration of the American spirit that pays tribute to the seven Columbia astronauts.
Clinton will narrate Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait," which includes excerpts from speeches by Abraham Lincoln, and will narrate "Let Freedom Ring," Alexander Miller's symphonic setting of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.
The orchestra will perform Gustav Holst's "Jupiter," the fourth movement of Holst's seven-movement suite "The Planets," to honor the astronauts who died when the space shuttle Columbia broke apart before landing on Feb. 1.
Foreman native Lawrence Hamilton, star of Broadway's "Ragtime," will make a special appearance in a program that includes George Gershwin's "An American in Paris."
The one-night-only performance will benefit the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation.
Tickets start at $30 and go on sale Feb. 24 through the ASO box office.
Bill Clinton
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
New Tomb to Be Erected
Jimi Hendrix
A new memorial for rock icon Jimi Hendrix will open in April with "rainbow" marble and more space to accommodate the thousands of fans who pay homage to the legendary guitarist each year, his family said on Tuesday.
The domed tomb, which will feature granite walkways, multicolored marble and a bronze sculpture of Hendrix, is nearing completion in the Greenwood Memorial Park and Cemetery in Renton, 10 miles south of Seattle,
Hendrix's birthplace, said Janie Hendrix, Jimi's half-sister.
The previous grave site, in the same cemetery, was often left muddy from the frequent Seattle rain and littered with beer cans left by fans paying homage to the guitarist.
Hendrix's remains have already been placed in the new memorial along with those of his father Al Hendrix and Al's second wife and Jimi's step-mother, Ayako "June" Hendrix.
The new memorial will have benches for visitors and the sculpture, being carved in Italy, will arrive soon, Janie Hendrix said.
Jimi Hendrix
An 1858 photo signed by Abraham Lincoln and donated by the family of Oliver James Keller Jr., is to be on display at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2003, as part of the celebration
for the 16th president's 194th birthday. The photograph was taken when Lincoln was gaining national fame. Historians say he liked the photo and signed several for supporters. It will eventually go to the Lincoln
Presidential Library when it is complete.
Photo courtesy Oliver James Keller Family
Egg-Boy Was Right!
Ed Bradley
Ed Bradley of "60 Minutes" made it to the doorstep of Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch this past Saturday, but a hoped-for interview with the embattled pop star never materialized.
The interview would have aired the following evening, but it was not to be, for reasons which were unclear yesterday.
Don Hewitt, executive producer of "60 Minutes," confirmed that Bradley and a camera crew were at Jackson's California compound on Saturday, where they discussed with Jackson and members of his entourage the possibility of an interview.
Hewitt emphasized that no agreement had been made for an interview before Bradley flew to California.
He said he wasn't exactly sure why the interview didn't come to pass. "They weren't ready to do anything right now," Hewitt said, "and whether they will at some point remains to be seen."
Ed Bradley
300th Episode This Sunday
'The Simpsons'
The characters may be yellow but "The Simpsons" hasn't mellowed as it marks its 300th episode Sunday.
If anything, the Fox animated comedy born in 1989 is more boldly iconoclastic in the 21st century. Given that timidity is programmed into television's very DNA, how does "The Simpsons" thrive?
By being very good at being naughty, so much so that Fox simply can't afford to tinker with success. In its 14th season, the series (8 p.m. EST Sunday) can still field top 20 episodes and is the heart of a merchandising empire.
Fox just renewed the program for two more seasons, which will carry it at least through May 2005 and make it the longest-running sitcom ever (with "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet" set to fall to second).
"There's nothing glamorous about a network executive peering over the shoulders of people making goofy drawings," said Matt Groening. "They'd rather hang around the edges of a sitcom set and say an actress needs to have a more revealing blouse."
That unusual TV freedom has resulted in comedy and satire of often breathtaking proportions, especially since the show's creators and actors pride themselves on their democratic approach to targets.
For the rest, 'The Simpsons'
Averts Hip-Hop Boycott
Pepsi
Pepsi agreed to make a donation to the foundation of a rapper whose ad the company yanked, averting a boycott threatened by hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons.
The agreement calls for Pepsi to make a multimillion-dollar donation over several years to the Ludacris Foundation, Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit Action Network said in a statement.
The agreement was reached Monday night, and the amount of the donation and the length of time were still being worked out, spokeswoman Jody Miller said. She said the boycott had been called off.
Pepsi pulled the ad featuring the rapper Ludacris in August, a day after Fox News Channel's Bill O'Really ran a segment criticizing the company for using the rapper and criticizing some of his lyrics.
Pepsi
Latest to Leave CNN
Willow Bay
Anchor woman Willow Bay will leave CNN in the next couple of weeks, a company spokeswoman said on Tuesday, marking the latest in departures at the 24-hour news network that have included six correspondents and CNN head Walter Isaacson.
The cable network, owned by AOL Time Warner Inc. canceled Los Angeles-based Bay's show "Pinnacle" last month.
Bay, wife of Walt Disney Co.'s Chief Operating Officer Bob Iger, joined CNN in 1998 and spent some of her tenure anchoring Moneyline News Hour. In September 2000, Bay started anchoring from California. Before CNN, she co-anchored ABC's Good Morning America on Sundays.
A CNN spokeswoman told Reuters that it did not have an appropriate position for Bay in California at this time.
Willow Bay
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Change Name Again
'The Dead'
The surviving members of the Grateful Dead, who retired the group's name and dubbed themselves The Other Ones after the death of leader Jerry Garcia, have decided to rename themselves The Dead.
Bassist Phil Lesh, guitarist Bob Weir and drummers Bill Kreutzman and Mickey Hart will inaugurate their new name — which has served as their unofficial nickname for years — at a Valentine's Day benefit concert in San Francisco.
"With the greatest possible respect to our collective history, we have decided to keep the name 'Grateful Dead' retired in honor of Jerry's memory, and call ourselves: 'The Dead,'" the band said.
The Feb. 14 concert will benefit three San Francisco-based foundations. A blood drive will be held the same day.
'The Dead'
www.dead.net
Richard Ortega co-owner of Nick's Gardening Center inspects tomato plant seedlings in one of his greenhouses in Aurora, Colo., Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2003. Ortega and his business partner stand to lose thousands
of dollars this summer as the City of Aurora announced Tuesday that effective May 3, due to the continuing drought, it is banning the planting of vegetables, lawns, and new annuals.
Photo by Ed Andrieski
Files for Chapter 11
Rand McNally
Rand McNally & Co., the world's largest seller of maps, filed on Tuesday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, court records show.
The 147-year-old privately held company, which is based in Skokie, Illinois, filed for protection from creditors in Chicago with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, according to the court's Web site.
A Rand McNally spokesman confirmed the bankruptcy filing, but declined further comment.
Rand McNally last month said it agreed to turn over a majority ownership stake to Los Angeles-based buyout firm Leonard Green & Partners, which had acquired about $180 million of the company's $300 million of loans.
The agreement envisioned that Rand McNally would seek a "prepackaged" Chapter 11 bankruptcy after agreeing with creditors on a restructuring plan.
Rand McNally
Man With An Opinion
Ted Turner
"Connie Chung is just awful" - Ted Turner told the Toronto Globe & Mail, assessing CNN and his hopeless yearning to regain control of the news network he founded . . .
Ted Turner
Celebrity Portraits Come to Vegas
Andy Warhol
The Bellagio hotel-casino might have found the quintessential art exhibit for the Las Vegas Strip. Sin City meet Andy Warhol.
In another attempt to persuade tourists that there is more to Las Vegas than slot machines, the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art has assembled "Andy Warhol: The Celebrity Portraits."
The exhibit, which opened last week, is a collection of Warhol portraits spanning three decades of the career of the pop art legend who died in 1987. Mickey Mouse, Mick Jagger, Marilyn Monroe and Sylvester Stallone
are among 45 paintings and one print hanging in the 2,600-square-foot space cloistered in the posh casino.
There is also a room dubbed "Andy Warhol: The Making of a Celebrity." It is devoted to Warhol's life, providing some insight into the man who became famous by doing portraits of Monroe and paintings of Campbell's
soup cans. There are 57 pictures of Warhol, a wig he once donned and a Calvin Klein leather jacket he wore toward the end of his life.
The gallery already is swamped with hundreds of tourists willing to pay the $12 to $15 entry fee and listen to the free audio guide narrated by Liza Minnelli.
The show runs through Sept. 7.
Andy Warhol
Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art
The Warhol Museum
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Joins NBC for Olympics
Keith Olbermann
Broadcaster Keith Olbermann will anchor much of NBC Sports' cable coverage of the Olympics from Athens next year.
Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Sports and Olympics, said on Tuesday that Olbermann would serve as host of MSNBC's weekday coverage and CNBC's weekend coverage of the 2004 Games.
For Olbermann, the Olympic assignment is a return to NBC. He worked at the network in 1997-98 before leaving for Fox Sports, when NBC let him out of his contract. As part of that deal, Fox paid NBC $1 million.
Ebersol said Bob Costas would anchor the network coverage from Athens and that he was in negotiations with broadcasters Jim Lampley and Pat O'Brien. Lampley would work with Costas and O'Brien with Olbermann.
Keith Olbermann
British actor and UNICEF goodwill ambassador Roger Moore, left, and his colleague Faye Dunaway, right, present a UNICEF petition against the trade of children, which they earlier had signed during the 'Cinema for Peace' gala
event at the Berlin Concert Hall, late Monday, Feb. 10, 2003. The UNICEF gala within the Berlin Film Festival was raising funds for children in war zones worldwide.
Photo by Jens Kalaene
L.A. Youth Group to Held Vigil
Michael Jackson
Members of a Los Angeles youth group, fearing that Michael Jackson will kill himself over a British television documentary about his bizarre lifestyle, plan to hold a prayer vigil for the embattled pop star in Hollywood on Tuesday.
Some 200 teens will participate in the vigil at Jackson's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, hoping to inspire people around the world to pray for the onetime "King of Pop" amid revelations that he sleeps with young boys,
said Alex Poe, director of Right Way Youth Activities Inc.
Poe said most of the children in his group, who range in age from 12 to 16, believe that Jackson has lost his way and can find it again with prayer, support and counseling.
"For the most part they love Michael," Poe said. "They do not think Michael is a pedophile. They want to start a prayer movement for Michael because he needs prayer. He doesn't deserve to be kicked to the side like this."
Michael Jackson
Read this, then pray - The Smoking Gun - Michael Jackson - page 1
The Smoking Gun - Michael Jackson - page 2
The Smoking Gun - Michael Jackson - page 3
The Smoking Gun - Michael Jackson - page 4
Alleges Mob Shakedown
Steven Seagal
Action film star Steven Seagal testified Tuesday that a crew of alleged mobsters demanded that he make movies with them — or else.
Seagal was called as a government witness at the racketeering trial of Peter Gotti, brother of the late crime boss John Gotti, and other reputed gangsters.
Wearing an Asian jacket and blue jeans, the actor testified that he was menaced by defendant Anthony "Sonny" Ciccone, who allegedly demanded the actor pay the Gambinos $150,000 for each movie he made with Nasso.
Defense attorneys deny any threats were made, saying Nasso was always businesslike in seeking to get Seagal to repay $500,000 he loaned the actor for taxes. In his opening statement last month, defense attorney
George Santangelo called Seagal "a pathological liar."
Seagal also testified that he never asked authorities to protect him from the mob.
"I'm a movie star," he said. "If you want to keep making movies, you don't want to start a war with these people."
Steven Seagal
Parole Board Hearing Postponed
Marion "Suge" Knight
A California state prison board on Tuesday postponed a hearing to decide whether to send rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight back to prison for a year for alleged parole violations.
The hearing to determine whether Knight violated conditions of his parole by associating with gang members was originally scheduled for Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles.
Knight has been held in Los Angeles county jail since Dec. 23 for allegedly violating his parole by associating with gang members that police have linked to a string of shootings last year.
Knight's attorney David Chesnoff said he was not pleased that Knight would be detained longer, but was happy the board had decided to reconsider his request to represent him at the hearing.
Chesnoff, who is based in Las Vegas, said the parole board was unfairly applying a double standard to Knight, whose involvement with gang members has occurred in the course of running his music label, formerly Death Row Records and now called Tha Row.
Marion "Suge" Knight
A Tibetan refugee displays an anti-China poster during a day-long hunger strike in Bombay, India, Friday, Jan. 31, 2003. The protesters mourned the execution of Tibetan Lobsang Dhondup on Jan. 26 after
he was charged by a Chinese court for a string of bomb attacks in support of Tibetan independence.
Photo by Rajesh Nirgude
'The Osbournes'
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 4
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
