'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Weekly Review
HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW
October 1, 2002
A federal district judge in Vermont ruled that the Federal
Death Penalty Act of 1994 is unconstitutional because it
violates the right to due process and the right to confront
and cross-examine witnesses; in July, a federal judge in New
York also declared the law unconstitutional, saying it was
in effect the "state-sponsored murder of innocent human
beings."
Texas executed a clown who murdered two young girls
for playing loud music and talking back when he asked them
to turn it down.
Prime Minister Tony Blair finally presented
his famous "dossier" on Iraq, which largely amounted to a
compilation of material from defectors and nongovernmental
organizations that has long been public domain. Germany,
Belgium, and Russia all said that the dossier failed to
justify an attack on Iraq; Russian foreign minister Igor
Ivanov dismissed Blair's presentation as a "propaganda
furor" and called for a return of weapons inspectors.
Professor Richard Dawkins, the Oxford biologist, said in
response to the report that the British "have every right to
feel degraded and humiliated at our government's cringing
subservience to the illiterate, uncouth, unelected cowboy in
the White House." British newspapers have taken to calling
Blair "Bush's poodle."
The International Atomic Energy
Agency disputed President Bush's assertions that Iraq could
build a nuclear bomb within months if it obtained fissile
material: "I don't know where they have determined that Iraq
has retained this much weaponization capability, because
when we left in December 1998 we had concluded that we had
neutralized their nuclear-weapons program. We had
confiscated their fissile material. We had destroyed all
their key buildings and equipment," said Mark Gwozdecky, the
agency's chief spokesman. "There is no evidence in our view
that can be substantiated on Iraq's nuclear-weapons
program," he continued. "If anybody tells you they know the
nuclear situation in Iraq right now, in the absence of four
years of inspections, I would say that they're misleading
you because there isn't solid evidence out there."
Rep. Mike
Thompson of California and Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington
traveled to Baghdad hoping to persuade Iraqi officials to
submit to new weapons inspections and thus prevent the war;
Mr. McDermott said he was suspicious of attempts by the
White House to tie the Iraqis to Al Qaeda and flatly stated
on television, "I think the President would mislead the
American people." Senator Trent Lott replied that McDermott
"needs to come home and keep his mouth shut."
Continued at www.harpers.org/weekly-review
-- Roger D. Hodge
Viewing Suggestion - Thursday Night
John O'Neill - 'The Man Who Knew'
On PBS this week - THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3 at 8:00 p.m.
Frontline - "The Man Who Knew"
Frontline presents the story of John O'Neill, an FBI agent who predicted the al-Qaida's devastating attack on America, yet was silenced by bureaucracy. Forced out of the job he loved, O'Neill took a job in the private sector -- as head of security
at the World Trade Center, where he was killed on September 11, 2001.
Related John O'Neill sites: The Ballad of John O'Neill, and the original lyrics.
Here is an explanation of why we should care
about John O'Neill.
And don't forget Remember John.
He's On A Roll!
the worried shrimp
Dysfunction
Mistakes
Thanks, Marc!
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Weather cooled off to the point where I had to close most of the windows for the first time in nearly 6 months tonight.
Returning to the Las Vegas saga - the drive to Vegas in the cherry red Mustang was fairly uneventful, but, about 80% of the road was under construction with lowered speed limits. As obvious as it was on Friday, it was even more so on leaving on Sunday - lot more traffic than we had encountered on the way in.
Coincidentally dear old dad was also visiting Vegas, and was waiting (with his friend, Janet) in the casino, just off the lobby of Fitzgerald's. Even though we had yet to digest lunch from Denny's he wanted to take us out to dinner. So, we went to the room & got ready for dinner. Not saying dad's a
bull-shitter first class, but, came to realize we were going to be late for the BartFest Bus Trip.
So, we missed the bus trip. We went to the Pink Taco at the Hard Rock, and marched through the lobby, restaurant & a good chunk of the parking lot and came to the realization that we were way too late...
Went back to the room, and waited til it seemed time for the bus trip to be done. Went back to the Hard Rock, and again marched through the lobby, restaurant & a good chunk of the parking lot, and came to the realization (again)...went back to the room & used the super-secret phone number, only to have the line go dead just after it was answered.
That was Friday. Will pick up the tale of Saturday on tomorrow's (Thursday's) page. ; )
Tonight, Wednesday, CBS has a fresh '60 Minutes II', a fresh 'The Amazing Race 3', and wraps with a fresh 'Presidio Med'.
Scheduled on a fresh Dave are Anthony LaPaglia, 90-year-old powerlifter Effie Nielson, and Clinic.
Scheduled on a fresh Craiggers are Melina Kanakaredes and Graham Nash.
NBC has a fresh 'Ed', and a fresh 'The West Wing', followed by the season premiere 'Law & Order'.
Scheduled on a fresh Jay are Jackie Chan, Oscar de la Hoya, and Jackson Browne.
Scheduled on a fresh Conan are Alyson Hannigan, Luke Perry, and Bonnie Raitt.
Scheduled on a fresh Carson Daly are Patrick Dempsey and Uncle Kracker.
ABC a fresh 'My Wife & Kids', the season premiere 'George Lopez', a fresh 'The Bachelor', and a fresh 'MDs'.
The WB the season premiere of 'Dawson's Creek', where Jack Osbourne shows up as Audrey's childhood friend.
Faux has baseball.
UPN has a fresh 'Enterprise' and a fresh 'Twilight Zone'.
The nimrod programming geniuses at Disney/ABC have off-loaded the baseball division playoffs to the hell that is now called Disney Family Channel - and they wonder why their ratings suck!
AMC has Duck Soup (1933) in the very early morning (or very late night, depending where you live).
This was the last Marx Brothers film made at Paramount (before their move to MGM), and very much a movie for our times. In particular, the 'All God's Children Got War' routine.
It stars Groucho Marx as
Rufus T. Firefly, who has been named president/dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of wealthy Mrs. Teasdale.
A great satire about the nature of war, politics, and affairs of state.
Harpo Marx is Pinky,
Chico Marx is Chicolini,
Zeppo Marx is Bob Rolland, and
the incomparable Margaret Dumont as
Mrs. Gloria Teasdale.
It was directed by Leo McCarey, and written by the team of
Bert Kalmar and
Harry Ruby (the 'movie' about their lives is
Three Little Words (1950) which stars
Fred Astaire as Bert Kalmar and
Red Skelton as Harry Ruby).
Marx Brothers links:
Why A Duck?,
John Fentner's Marx Brothers Page,
Marxist Propaganda,
Welcome to The Marx Brothers Museum, and
Groucho Marx Slept Here.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Big Dog Watch Continues
Bill Clinton In Blackpool
From right: British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former President Bill Clinton and Blair's wife Cherie, laugh during a reception at the Labour party conference in Blackpool, England
Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2002. Clinton is scheduled to address the annual Labour Party Conference Wednesday.
Photo by Richard Rayner
''According To Egg-Boy...''
Barbra Streisand
Singer Barbra Streisand came to praise Shakespeare, not to misquote him. But the course of politics never did run smooth.
Two days after blistering resident Bush over a threatened war on Iraq with what she called "the words of William Shakespeare," Streisand admitted on Tuesday that
she had inadvertently quoted an Internet prankster instead of the beloved British Bard.
Streisand, who sang a few of her standards at the fund-raiser, paused during a rendition of "The Way We Were" to tell the crowd that she found Bush and Vice resident
Dick Cheney "frightening" for "bringing the country to the brink of war unilaterally five weeks before an election."
According to Drudge, Streisand then said:
Barbra Streisand
So, Egg-Boy is a 'reliable' source, and Ms. Streisand is seemingly not entitled to an opinion. Check out
her site for her response to mr. drudge, and while there enjoy
her 'new' words to ''The Way We Were/The Way We Are''.
Here is an explanation of the quote Ms. Streisand used from Snopes.
Labels To Pay $143 Million In Fines
CD Price-Fixing Case
The world's five largest music companies and the three largest music retailers will pay $143.1 million to settle a CD price-fixing case launched by New York and Florida two years ago, New York State Attorney
General Eliot Spitzer said on Monday.
In August 2000, most U.S. states joined in a lawsuit alleging that an industry practice called "minimum advertised pricing" (MAP) artificially inflated the price of CDs between 1995 and 2000, violating federal and state antitrust laws.
Under MAP, the labels subsidized advertising for retailers that agreed not to sell CDs below a certain price.
The five record labels -- Vivendi Universal's Universal Music Group, Sony Corp.'s Sony Music, Bertelsmann AG's BMG Music Group, Warner Music Group, a division of AOL Time
Warner Inc. and EMI Group Plc -- and the three retailers, Musicland Stores Corp., Trans World Entertainment Corp. and Tower Records, agreed to stop using MAP policies as part of the settlement.
The companies, which did not admit any wrongdoing, will pay $67.4 million in cash to compensate consumers who overpaid for CDs between 1995 and 2000. The companies also agreed to distribute $75.7 million worth
of CDs to public entities and nonprofit organizations throughout the country.
CD Price-Fixing Case
Lock Out!
Long Beach, CA
Container ships sit anchored off a neighborhood in Long Beach, California October 1, 2002. The Pacific Maritime Association has suspended work at West Coast ports indefinitely until
a new contract agreement is reached with the International Longshore Union. More than 100 ships sit offshore awaiting arrival into West Coast ports.
Photo by Robert Galbraith
Premiere Postponed
'Liza & David'
VH1 must rue the day it ever signed a deal with Liza Minnelli and her hubby, David Gest. "It is a nightmare," said our source. "VH1 was supposed to go live with their reality show in
November. They have to try and do promotionals and television specials on other shows for it, but Liza and David have yet to film even one segment of their program." So what is New
York's wackiest couple waiting for? "Because Liza is too busy rehearsing for it. I guess she has no idea what reality TV means."
'Liza & David'
#20
Highest TV Ad Dollars
'Friends'
NBC's top-rated situation comedy "Friends" commands the highest price for television advertising space, overtaking CBS's "Survivor," at about $455,700 for a 30-second commercial, according
to Advertising Age's annual network pricing survey.
NBC's Thursday hospital drama "ER" was the second most expensive show for advertisers with an average of $438,514 per 30-second spot, while CBS reality show "Survivor" slipped to third
at $418,750 after leading the survey with a $445,000 average last year.
The six broadcast networks took in a total of $8.1 billion in the upfront market, in which advertisers commit to the new television season, with NBC leading the way with an average
commercial price of $176,462, Ad Age said.
CBS came in second with an average cost of $124,246 per 30-second spot, followed by Fox at $123,617. ABC trailed among the four major networks at $118,850 per spot, the survey found.
'Friends'
Portraying King Kamehameha the Great
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
The state land board has approved a movie company's use of a site considered sacred by Hawaiian royalty, but imposed stringent conditions on the stunt planned for the film starring The Rock.
The state Board of Land and Natural Resources on Monday approved an action scene that involves flipping a jeep off a rock outcropping next to Kapena Falls and into the pool beneath.
"The jeep will be steam-cleaned, have no engine, transmission or glass and will be removed after the stunt by helicopter to avoid damage to surrounding areas," the board said in a news release.
Kapena Falls, just outside downtown Honolulu, was a sacred bathing area for Hawaiian royalty in ancient times.
Requirements imposed on the filmmaker, Helldorado Productions of Van Nuys, Calif., include keeping the falls and pool open to the public during the two weeks of shooting, with safety measures
to be taken by the company during rigging and filming.
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Jonesborough, Tennessee
Storytelling Festival
The crowd listened raptly to the poignant story told in a clipped New England accent about a girl forced to grow up when her brother dies in combat.
Another audience burst into laughter as a lanky Westerner drawls out a story about the hurdles he encountered buying a bra for his wife.
These tales were told in past years at the National Storytelling Festival, held every October in this east Tennessee hamlet. The festival features no laser lights, no loud music,
no dancers, no loudspeakers -- just people absorbed in tall tales, ghost stories and a patchwork of anecdotes.
Jonesborough's festival, marking its 30th anniversary this week, launched the revival of storytelling as a global art form once it caught hold in the early 1980s, and there are
now roughly 300 such gatherings held each year across the United States.
After three decades, the festival has blossomed into a three-day event and an international cast of paid storytellers appearing on six stages. To celebrate the anniversary, frequent
festival goers were allowed to choose their 30 favorites.
For a lot more, Storytelling Festival
Lunedì 23 Settembre 2002, 8:08
Chernobyl, un Ufo fermò il reattore
'Celebrating America: Masterworks From Texas Collections'
Amon Carter Museum
Winslow Homer's watercolor, "The Woodcutter," Fitz Hugh Lane's "Sunset at Gloucester Harbor" and Georgia O'Keeffe's "Open Clam Shell" and "Closed Clam Shell" can not be viewed
at any museum in New York City or Paris.
They're in Texas — where they usually aren't on public display at all.
But those and nearly 60 other pieces borrowed from private, public and corporate collections across the state are on display through Nov. 17 at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth.
"Celebrating America: Masterworks From Texas Collections" features paintings, sculptures, watercolors and photographs by celebrated artists from 1771 to 1969.
The exhibit also features works from museums at the University of Texas at Austin and Southwest Texas State University and in Fort Worth, San Antonio, Dallas, El Paso and Albany.
'Celebrating America: Masterworks From Texas Collections'
Amon Carter Museum
To Portray John Holmes
Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer will play late porn king John Holmes in "Wonderland," a movie about the 1981 involvement of Holmes and his teenage lover in a quadruple homicide, to be distributed by Lions Gate Films.
Producers and Lions Gate also are in advanced negotiations with Josh Lucas ("Sweet Home Alabama"), Kate Bosworth ("Blue Crush") and Lisa Kudrow to co-star. Christina Applegate
and Kevin Pollak are in talks to join the cast.
Shooting will begin in Los Angeles in early November under the direction of James Cox ("Highway").
The script, based on the true tale of the murders on Wonderland Avenue in Los Angeles, was penned by Todd Samovitz, D. Loriston Scott, Captain Mauzner and Cox.
Val Kilmer
BartCop TV!
Andre Roussimoff
'Andre the Giant'
It would be hard to forget Andre the Giant, whose freakish size belied surprising grace and agility and made him one of the most popular professional wrestlers of all time, even now, nearly a decade after his death.
Andre the Giant, nicknamed "The Eighth Wonder of the World," was billed as 7-foot-5 and 520 pounds with a sprawling 71-inch chest and 16-inch hands that made beer cans look like thimbles.
Yet to his only child, watching today's beefcakes strut for screeching fans at a raucous World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. news conference last week, the man who was one of the foremost
worldwide attractions in professional wrestling in the 1970s and 1980s seemed less than an afterthought.
During his career, Andre the Giant was one of the top attractions in professional wrestling -- a spectacle of matches with predetermined finishes that blends athletics with outlandish showmanship.
Andre wrestled frequently for the World Wrestling Federation, as WWE was known until earlier this year, but also was a wrestling star abroad, particularly in Japan. He also appeared in
several films and television shows, most notably a key role in director Rob Reiner's 1987 hit "The Princess Bride."
For the rest, 'Andre the Giant'
Guwahati, India
Ape & Kitty
Ein Affe im Zoo der indischen Stadt Guwahati spielt am Dienstag in seinem Käfig mit einer kleinen Katze. Nach Auskunft von Zoo-Vertretern hatte die
Katze sich den Zugang zum Affenkäfig selbst verschafft. Und seit nunmehr drei Wochen residiert sie hier - bei den Affen.
Photo by Utpal Baruah
Rejoining ABC Sports
Donna de Varona
Olympic gold medalist and Emmy Award winner Donna de Varona dropped her $50 million discrimination suit against ABC Sports and is rejoining the network.
She will work as a commentator and reporter and will help ABC in its dealings with the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee.
De Varona, then 52, sued ABC Sports in April 2000, saying she was fired because of her age and gender.
She won two gold medals at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Donna de Varona
Hits Irish Mansion Again
Art Theft
A set of paintings, including two by Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens, were stolen Sunday from a country house in Ireland that has now been targeted four times by thieves, police said.
The five paintings, which included "Portrait of a Dominican Monk" and "Venus Supplicating Mars" by Rubens, were stolen from Russborough House south of Dublin — the home of the late English art collector Sir Alfred Beit — shortly after 6 a.m.
Russborough House has now been targeted four times. In 1974, an Irish Republican Army gang stole 19 paintings after tying up Beit and his wife. All the paintings were later found in County Cork in southwest Ireland.
In May 1986, 18 paintings were stolen from the mansion by a 13-member gang led by Dublin gangster Martin Cahill. The haul was gradually recovered and only two paintings now remain unaccounted for.
In June last year two more paintings, Thomas Gainsborough's portrait of Madame Bacelli and Bernardo Bellotto's "View of Florence," were stolen. Police said last week they had been found at a house in Dublin.
Art Theft
Gruner + Jahr Printing and Publishing Co
Suing Rosie O'Donnell
The publisher of Rosie magazine is filing a $100 million lawsuit against former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell for abruptly pulling out of their business partnership last month.
Gruner + Jahr Printing and Publishing Co. said in court papers Tuesday that O'Donnell's decision to quit Rosie magazine has or will cost them "in excess of $100 million dollars
in damages." The filing claims O'Donnell, who announced Sept. 18 she was quitting the magazine, breached her contract with G+J and publicly disparaged the magazine.
G+J's decision to file a lawsuit had been anticipated. The publisher and O'Donnell had been feuding for months about the direction of the magazine. After O'Donnell announced she
was leaving the magazine, the publisher made it clear that it held O'Donnell to blame for the collapse of the business arrangement.
Rosie debuted in April 2001, as part of a partnership to revive struggling McCall's magazine. The joint venture gave O'Donnell and G+J each a 50 percent stake in the business.
Gruner + Jahr Printing and Publishing Co
For a bit of background on this (and note who is Rosie's attorney),
Rosie (& Mary Jo)
In Memory
Walter Annenberg
Philanthropist, publisher and former Ambassador Walter Annenberg died at the age of 94 at his home in Pennsylvania, a spokeswoman for the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania said Tuesday.
He died after a brief bout with pneumonia.
Annenberg, who was a close friend and political ally of President Nixon, was the former publisher of TV Guide and The Philadelphia Inquirer and was Nixon's ambassador to Britain. He also was founder of Seventeen Magazine, which was part of a magazine empire that he built.
Annenberg's foundation recently gave $100 million each to his namesake schools at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California.
Walter Annenberg
'The Osbournes'
Updated! 'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
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