Who's Going To Hell This Week
Helen A. Handbasket
Weekly Review
from Harper's Magazine
HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW - 12 March, 2002
The Pentagon's top-secret "Nuclear Posture Review" was leaked to the
press. The document describes situations in which nuclear weapons
might be used in a first strike on Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, or North
Korea. There was concern that the Bush Administration was trying to
redefine nuclear weaponry as an instrument of war rather than a
deterrent; one Russian lawmaker suggested that the President's men had
"somewhat lost touch with reality." An unnamed Bush Administration
official acknowledged that the President was beginning to lose the
political advantage that resulted from September 11; the "post-attack
glow is fading," he said.
Washington's state senate passed a ban on bullying.
Texans for Public Justice revealed that President Bush has
rewarded 43 of his "Pioneers," people who raised more than $100,000
for his campaign, with ambassadorships and other government patronage
jobs.
President Bush tried to get Stevie Wonder's attention by smiling
and waving at him.
There was heavy fighting in Afghanistan; eight American soldiers were killed.
"First let me say that our thoughts and
prayers go out to the families and the friends of the service members
who have lost their lives in our ongoing operations in Vietnam," said
General Tommy Franks, who oversees Operation Enduring Freedom from
Tampa, Florida.
"Certainly that sacrifice is appreciated by this
nation." Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said that "the United
States is leaning forward and not back."
( continued at Weekly Review )
--Roger D. Hodge
From 'TBH Politoons'
Great Site!
Thanks, again, Tim!
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Had mostly NBC sitcoms on in the background as 'The Mystery of The Running Toilet' was solved.
Tonight, Wednesday, it's fresh on CBS. 'Survivor: Marquesas' (with the 'shy kidney' side story [see below]), 'Amazing Race 2', and
'60 Minutes II'.
NBC starts the night with 'Dateline', and then goes rerun for the rest of the night with 'The West Wing' (Barlett vetoes the 'death tax' bill) and 'Law
& Order'.
The Mouse House, ABC starts the night with a rerun 'My Wife & Kids', and then goes fresh with 'Jim', 'Drew Carey',
'The Job', and wraps primetime with 'Downtown'.
The WB has a night of rerun 'Dawson's Creek''s.
Faux starts the night with reruns of 'The Simpsons' and 'Bernie Mac', using their best stuff as the lead-in to 'Celebrity Boxing',
where I'm more than secretly hoping Tonya Harding whoops Paula's sorry, bony, cosmetically non-re-enhanced ass.
AMC has 'North To Alaska', a deliciously cheesy comedy with John Wayne, Ernie Kovacs, Fabian & Capuchine...ohhh, la-la, and a bitchin' theme song, too.
TMC seems to be collusion with Kleenex tonight, and has 'Pride & Prejudice', 'Little Women' (damn, Bess), 'Romeo & Juliet' (the Norma Shearer version, not
the Zeffirelli one, but directed by George Cukor, and it spotlights one of the greatest character actors of all time, Edna May Oliver), and then 'Lolita', where
Kubrick interprets Nabokov and James Mason is Humbert Humbert.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Big Dog Watch, With Bono
Bono & Bill
Former President Bill Clinton speaks with Bono, left, of the rock group U2, before a dinner hosted by former president of the Russian
Federation, Mikhail Gorbachev, Sunday, March 10, 2002, at the Russian Embassy in New York in honor of the Frank Foundation Child Assistance
International of Washington D.C. The foundation is active in helping disadvantaged children around the world and has developed a program
that would assist children victimized by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks by taking a group to Russia at the inviation of President Putin
for a cultural exchange and young leader development. President Clinton and Bono are lending their support to the program.
Photo by Stephen Chernin
'CSI' Edges 'ER' in Nielsen Ratings
'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'
For seven years, "ER" reigned as television's most popular drama. Now that streak is being seriously threatened.
CBS' second-season hit about forensics investigators, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," beat NBC's medical drama for the second
straight week when they both competed on Thursday night with original episodes.
CBS won the week's ratings crown, primarily due to the 39 million people who watched the "9/11" documentary on Sunday. It was the
largest audience for any non-sports program this season.
The 24 top-rated shows in Nielsen's list this week were either on CBS or NBC. It isn't until No. 25, ABC's "The Practice,"
that another network breaks through.
A ratings point represents 1,055,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 105.5 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use
televisions tuned to a given show.
'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'
National Geographic, 17 Years Later
Sharbat Gula
Seventeen years ago, an Afghan girl orphaned and living in a refugee camp appeared on the cover of National Geographic, her eyes big and
green, a red scarf draped loosely over her hair.
Now, the magazine says it has tracked down the subject of that famous photo, a wife and mother living in a remote part of Afghanistan, and
will once again feature her in its April issue focusing on the plight of refugees.
The girl, whose parents had been killed by bombing during the Soviet war in Afghanistan, was photographed in 1984 at the Nasir Bagh refugee
camp in Pakistan by Steve McCurry. The photo was first published on the cover of the June 1985 issues of National Geographic.
She was believed to be about 13 at the time, said Geographic spokeswoman Ellen Siskind, which would make her 29 or 30 now.
Sharbat Gula married shortly after the 1984 picture was taken and has had four girls, one of whom died as an infant. A Pashtun, she had never
seen her famous photo, the magazine said.
Sharbat Gula
National Geographic
Yoo Hoo
From BartCop
Special Bonus From BartCop
Rerunning ''The Larry Sanders Show''
Bravo
Highbrow cable channel Bravo has greenlit five new shows for next season, and will also premiere the 90 rerun half-hours of "The Larry Sanders Show" with very limited editing.
"We'll allow adult dialogue and mature situations because kids don't watch Bravo," said Ed Carroll, executive VP and general manager of Bravo and its Independent Film Channel
sibling. "We'll edit the show to 'South Park' standards," he added with a smile.
However, basic cable still can't accommodate the word "f---," which Carroll said would not be heard on the soundtrack.
Carroll said Garry Shandling, the star of "Sanders," has gone out of his way to help Bravo market the reruns of the show, taping promos and joining network salespeople on visits to ad-agency buyers.
Rerunning ''The Larry Sanders Show''
Damn! 'The Larry Sanders Show' was the whole reason we got HBO! It's so good, it was worth the price of the Dish all
by itself. Now that it's going to Bravo wonder if we should option one of the other cable packages. Any suggestions?
Entertaining & Useful Site!
Great Animations, Too
Jeff Crook has updated Uncommon Sense, again!
Today's animation features the selected one speaking with the press about his jobs program...LOL
Lots of things worth reading, and fun stuff to keep you entertained, too.
Uncommon Sense...Check it out!
'Golden Showers' Time On ''Survivor''?
Real Pisser
'Survivor' is wrestling with a taste problem in this week's episode: How much do they show of a home-remedy for sea urchin bites?
The remedy? Human urine, applied directly.
In the scene, a female castaway urinates on a male teammate's hand to relieve the severe pain from a sea urchin sting.
This week and next, the show is bumped from its regular Thursday night slot and air on Wednesday instead.
'Golden Showers' Time On ''Survivor''?
Tuesday In Washington, DC
Pat, Bono & Tom
Bono, lead singer for U2, center, talks to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., right, after
meeting with House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt to discuss debt relief, African development, and global AIDS policy in Washington
Tuesday, March 12, 2002.
Photo by Terry Ashe
Great Quote
Great Site
"The only good I can find in fundamentalists so consumed by an afterlife,
is they will make better dead people than live ones."
http://rackjite.com
Newest James Bond Film Named
''Die Another Day''
He's come "From Russia with Love," decided "The World is Not Enough," but in his 20th film James Bond, the world's greatest spy, is promising to "Die Another Day."
Movie producers on Tuesday ended months of speculation among 007 devotees about the new film's name.
"Die Another Day," which sees Pierce Brosnan as Bond for the fourth time and also stars actress Halle Berry, will be released in Britain and the United States on November 22.
'Die Another Day'
Surveillance Video Contradicts LAPD Allegations
Winona Ryder
A surveillance video of actress Winona Ryder's ill-fated shopping spree last December won't win her an Oscar, but it may very well keep her out of jail.
Footage of the "Girl, Interrupted" star taken by closed-circuit cameras inside a Saks Fifth Avenue store appears to contradict allegations that
Ryder removed security tags from merchandise in an attempt to shoplift the items, according to her attorney and others who have seen the tape.
About 90 minutes of surveillance footage shows Ryder trying on hats, putting on lipstick, riding the escalator, moving through racks of clothes,
chatting with sales clerks and going in an out of dressing rooms before she walks out of the store and is stopped by security personnel.
But Ryder is never seen trying to remove anti-theft sensors from merchandise, as police have alleged she was caught doing by the cameras, according
to separate examinations of the tape by the Los Angeles Times and the TV show "Extra."
Indeed, her attorney, Mark Geragos, said he found nothing incriminating on the video.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley told reporters Tuesday he had not seen the videotape and declined to discuss what it may show.
Winona Ryder
90 minutes of video! Jeez, was security stalking Winona?
Most of the elected officials in LA are dems....but, guess the party of DA Steve Cooley?
Will Deprives Daughter
Michael Hutchence
INXS star Michael Hutchence, who hanged himself in 1997, has left his family penniless. It was believed the Aussie pop star was worth at
least $5 million when he died. But the estate's executors now say he was actually worth only $30,000 - and his family won't get even that
much because his will stipulated that the first $1 million from the estate had to go to charity. After that, half was to go to his daughter,
Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily, when she turns 25, and the rest was to be divided among his mother, father, half-sister, brother and lover Paula
Yates. The executors now say all that's left after paying off Hutchence's debts are three guitars and a couple of paintings worth about $10,000.
"Would anyone seriously believe that Michael did not want to leave anything to his family, including Tiger?" Hutchence's mother Patricia Glassop
asked the Melbourne Herald Sun. "He drove an Aston Martin, his personal effects were stored in homes around the world . . . yet we are
supposed to believe he owned none of these things."
Michael Hutchence
Sir Paul & Heather
'Wandering Eyes'?
Sir Paul McCartney and his fiancee Heather Mills watch the fashion show of his daughter Stella McCartney during the Fall-Winter
ready-to-wear collections presented in Paris Monday, March 11, 2002.
Photo by Francois Mori
Thanks, Alex!
Union Problems On The Horizon?
ABC News
ABC News is in for more pain. After catching heat for offering up Ted Koppel's "Nightline" slot to David Letterman, news execs are
now facing labor trouble. An insider at the Writers Guild of America tells us the union will start pressing for a viewer boycott of
"Good Morning America" and "Eyewitness News." The guild says ABC is trying to force writers and producers out of the union by refusing
to renegotiate a contract that expired Feb. 1. An ABC rep says the jobs in question are non-union at other networks, and the
Disney-owned broadcaster has to stay competitive.
Union Problems On The Horizon?
Jeez, some night I have to find the time to tell a story about IATSE (and yes, I know the WGA is NOT IATSE).
Extras Needed In North Carolina
Andie MacDowell
Hundreds of extras are needed for a television project starring Andie MacDowell that will be shot in the Asheville area.
If the project becomes a weekly CBS series, the impact could be greater, say state film officials.
The first wave starts this weekend, when makers of the MacDowell TV pilot "Jo" hold an open call for extras Saturday and Sunday at the Asheville Mall.
All ages, types and races are needed, said Lisa Mae Fincannon of the casting company Fincannon & Associates. No previous experience is needed.
Mike Newell, who directed MacDowell in the comedy "Four Weddings and a Funeral," will also direct the pilot.
Andie MacDowell
Special Guest, Saturday, 16 March - Greg Palast!
Erin Hart
Liberal radio - what a concept!
Saturday, March 16th at 10pm PST, Greg Palast visits with 710 KIRO-Seattle talk show host Erin Hart,
and discusses his new book on globalization, ''The Best Democracy Money Can Buy''.
Live streaming audio available at
www.710kiro.com or www.kiro710.com.
Listener calls at 1-877-710-KIRO
And there's a chatroom, too!
For more details, visit Erin's fan page (courtesy of 14Dem), http://www.erinistas.com/, or to join her mailing list, drop a
note to erinistas@aol.com.
Or drop me a note at one of the addy's below....after all, I am Erin's 'LA Producer'.
The Monks of the Saint Augustine & Seraphim Sarof Monastery
Boy Band, Greek-Style?
Greece's most famous boy band, the black-robed Orthodox monks of the Saint Augustine and Seraphim Sarof monastery, are aiming to break
into the English-singing music world.
Like Latin stars Gloria Estefan in the 1980s and Ricky Martin in the 1990s, who dropped their Spanish tunes for more mainstream English
vocals, the monks of "Free" have now released their first album containing both Greek and English songs.
"By Your Side," the group's third CD in just two years, which includes a English-language club remix of their chart-topping "I Learned to
Live Free," was unveiled at a concert in a packed trendy Athens theater late on Monday.
It tops a remarkable rise to fame for a group of monks from central Greece who initially shot to Greek stardom and world attention with
the anti-globalization hit "I Learned to Live Free" in 2000.
Boy Band, Greek-Style?
Saturday Nuptials
Liza & David
Liza Minnelli and her fiancé, David Gest, continue the discreet planning of their small, understated nuptials on Saturday. Yesterday,
their spokesman trumpeted 54 acts on the bill — count them, 54 — in a release that promised "more than 200 stars confirmed to attend."
Certainly some big names are due at the Marble Collegiate Church on Fifth Ave. when Liza takes her fourth trip down the aisle. Those said
to be expected as Whitney Houston belts out "The Greatest Love of All" include Elton John, Michael Jackson, Anthony Hopkins, Andrew Lloyd
Webber, Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Douglas, Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson.
Among the TV stars due to bear witness are Diane Sawyer, Rosie O'Donnell, and Barbara Walters and her sidekicks from "The View." The list
goes on to include showbiz legends such as Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, Tony Curtis, Lee Grant, Jane Russell, Gena Rowlands, Jennifer Jones,
Dina Merrill and Debbie Reynolds. Also mentioned are Dudley Moore, Joan Collins, Mia Farrow, Clive Davis, Usher, Natalie Cole, Paula Abdul and Dionne Warwick.
Guests will move on to the Regent Hotel on Wall St. There, a 60-piece orchestra will back up performers including Usher, Andy Williams,
Chaka Kahn, Ray Conniff, Ashford & Simpson, the Doobie Brothers, Little Anthony and the Imperials and some of the Jacksons. Spokesman Warren
Cowan promises "the music will go on into the wee hours of the morning, with breakfast being served at 2 a.m. for those who wish to jam all night."
Liza & David
Producing, Re-Cutting, Releasing 'Suriyothai'
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola has agreed to produce an international version of the Thai box office smash "Suriyothai."
Directed by Chatrichalerm Yukol, a friend of Coppola's since they were at UCLA together, "Suriyothai" tells the story of a 16th-century queen, who sacrificed
herself in battle to save the king during a Burmese attack on the capital.
Coppola, who traveled to Bangkok last week, will release the new version as "Francis Ford Coppola Presents: A Film by Chatrichalerm Yukol" and get
an executive producer credit.
The picture is being prepared to screen at the Cannes Film Festival in May. "Time is short and there is much to do, but the film stands
every chance of going to Cannes purely on its merits," Coppola said.
The new version will run about 150 minutes, down from 185 minutes. Coppola said the original should stay as intact as possible because "it
would be a shame to leave such beautiful work on the cutting room floor." Some scenes will be deleted, while others not seen in the original
version will be reshot and added to bolster sections of the story line.
Coppola will revisit the film's soundtrack when he re-edits the English soundtrack and adds graphic overlays to enhance the picture's flow.
"The story line, while already suspenseful, exciting and dramatic, can be further improved by using a style of language the Western
audience is more familiar with," Coppola said.
Francis Ford Coppola
Big Mice Try To Mend Fences
Ted Koppel
Now that David Letterman is staying at CBS, ABC's corporate bosses took steps to mend fences with "Nightline" host Ted Koppel on Tuesday.
Walt Disney Co. chief executive Michael Eisner phoned Koppel and the two had a "warm, friendly" conversation, according to an ABC employee
who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The future of "Nightline" is being closely watched among journalists for signals about how news is valued in an era when the major networks are small parts
of conglomerates — ABC in Disney, CBS in Viacom and NBC in General Electric.
Some in TV news suggest that their most revered institutions — the evening news broadcasts — could be in trouble once current anchormen Tom Brokaw, Peter
Jennings or Dan Rather step away because of years of declining ratings.
ABC executives said "Nightline" would still have a place somewhere on ABC even if Letterman had jumped. They continue to believe they made the right move in going after Letterman.
Big Mice Try To Mend Fences
See what happened with the deregulation of broadcasting? Currently, 'news' is part of the 'entertainment' division in corporate broadcasting, and a profit is more than expected.
The movie 'Network', written by Paddy Chayefsky has come true. All that's missing is an 'oracle', or is that Miss Cleo?
Sony Settles Fabricated Movie Reviewer Suit
'David Manning'
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. has agreed to pay the state $325,000 for using fake reviews attributed to a Connecticut newspaper in promoting its films.
Sony also has agreed to stop fabricating movie reviews, and to stop using ads in which Sony employees pose as moviegoers praising films
they have just seen, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Tuesday.
The state launched an investigation last June after a reporter for Newsweek challenged the authenticity of movie blurbs in Sony print ads.
The reviews, said to be from film critic "David Manning" of The Ridgefield Press, praised films including "A Knight's Tale" and "The Animal."
The Ridgefield Press, a small weekly newspaper in Connecticut, was unaware that its name was being used.
'David Manning'
Auction Canceled
Malcolm X
Butterfields auction house on Tuesday canceled a planned auction of the largest known collection of personal writings by the late black
militant Malcolm X after it learned of a question about its ownership.
The auction house, which is owned by online auction company eBay Inc., had put the collection, owned by an anonymous owner, on display
in anticipation of a March 20 auction in San Francisco. But Butterfields said in a statement on Tuesday that it had received information
revealing a "possible irregularity" in the title transfer process, prompting the archive's removal from sale until the issue could be resolved.
Last week an attorney for the six daughters of the assassinated black leader vowed to go to court to prevent the sale. Family members had
been unaware that the materials existed until they surfaced at Butterfields, and had not given permission for the sale, said Joseph Fleming,
who also represents the estate of Malcolm's widow Betty Shabazz, who died in 1997. Fleming was not immediately available for comment Tuesday.
Butterfields said the collection was sold to its current owner from a storage locker facility in Florida. How the materials got there and who
owned them originally are not known.
Malcolm X
Angelina & Billy Bob Thornton's New Son
Maddox Thornton
Film stars Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton on Tuesday have named their adopted son Maddox, and said the 7-1/2 month-old boy
will be raised both in the United States and in Cambodia, where he was born.
News of Jolie and Thornton's new son came from Jolie's father, Jon Voight, at a luncheon for Academy Award nominees here on Monday,
and the new parents said it took them by surprise.
They said Maddox finally received a Cambodian passport, and he will be spending the next few months with his adoptive parents in Africa and Asia.
While he has an American name, they will also give him a Cambodian name, the two said.
Maddox Thornton
Thanks To Fud
Hear The 'Trifecta' Statement
(quoting)
'' And we've got a job to do at home, as well. You know, I was campaigning in Chicago and somebody asked me, is there ever any time where the budget might have to go into deficit? I said only if we were at war or had a national emergency or were in recession. (Laughter.) Little did I realize we'd get the trifecta. (Laughter.) But we're fine. ''
Scroll down 31 paragraphs to read it for yourself.
Hear The 'Trifecta' Quote Here.
Many Thanks, to Fud, a loyal bartcopper : )
11 New Recipes!
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
'Bob Woodward vs. John Belushi and Me'
Michael Dare - 'The Life and Death of Captain Preemo'
BartCop TV!
See It For Yourself
Sing Along With John Ashcroft
Sing Along With John Ashcroft
From BartCop
The Bush Rap (Sheet)
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