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Speaking Of Halloween...
This just in, from the Manson wire via Kansas City (link not yet available):
Well, only minor injuries. By Ed Moltzen · 31 October 2003
Sen. Murray Gets Tough With... Australia
In a letter to President Bush, she writes:
Whether the issue is now moot, because Australia helped the U.S. manipulate Saddam Hussein's government into oblivion, was not immediately addressed by the White House. For the record, though, the Oil-for-Food Programme was run under the auspices of the United Nations. When she opposed the Congressional resolution to support military action in Iraq, Murray said she preferred a greater role for the U.N. in Iraq, as opposed to military action. By Ed Moltzen · 31 October 2003
Ice Cream Man Gets 10 Years In The Cooler
An ice cream man who molested girls, and pleaded guilty to 124 counts in Westchester County, N.Y. court, will spend as much as the next ten years in prison, the D.A.'s office said. David A. Ohnmacht, 23, of Katonah, N.Y., got only half the sentence prosecutors had been advocating. According to the prosecutors, "Ohnmacht...worked as an ice cream truck delivery man, an EMT at a summer camp and a children�s party planner." Over the course of 15 months, he sexually assaulted at least six girls, aged 12 to 15. The D.A.'s Office doesn't seem happy with the sentence:
10 years/124 counts = less than a month per sex crime. By Ed Moltzen · 31 October 2003
Streisand: GOP Afraid Of "Unpleasant Truths" About Reagan
Actress, singer and Al Sharpton supporter Barbara Streisand is, in one fell swoop, distancing herself from the upcoming CBS "biopic" about Ronald and Nancy Reagan, and defending it. In a "truth alert" posted to her web site yesterday, Streisand said she never saw the script for the project in which her husband, James Brolin, plays Ronald Reagan. She said she only appeared on the production set one day, for four hours. But that didn't stop her from defending the movie, which Reagan supporters criticize and being unfair, inaccurate and distorted:
She also addressed those who have said the project is a CBS-run smear campaign and a last-ditch attempt to tar the 40th president's legacy. Says Streisand:
We reported last week that Streisand contributed $1,000 to the presidential campaign of Rev. Al Sharpton, who rose to prominence in the late 1980s by helping to advocate the Tawana Brawley hoax in the Hudson Valley. By Ed Moltzen · 31 October 2003
The Party of Inclusion
Democratic U.S. Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia announced he was endorsing President Bush for re-election, and his fellow Democrats are none too pleased. Consider these remarks on the official blog of the Democratic National Committee:
By Ed Moltzen · 31 October 2003
No Editorial Comment Required
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, two men have been charged with the sport shooting of sea lions in the Pacific Northwest:
If convicted, they could get a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. By Ed Moltzen · 31 October 2003
Democratic Talking Points
By Ed Moltzen · 30 October 2003
Uh Oh
This just in (link not yet available):
First this. Now a severe throat infection. Nah, never mind. By Ed Moltzen · 30 October 2003
"Six Months From Now, It Will All Be Over"
Sales at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia may be down, but Janet Nickerman doesn't want to see Martha down! The home economics diva continues to post supportive messages she receives on her MarthaTalks.com web site, and today we stumbled across this one:
Sunny-face time for Martha, in that event, should be sometime after her coming criminal trial in federal court, scheduled to start in January. For MSO investors, we're not quite sure. By Ed Moltzen · 30 October 2003
Politics
Today's rage seems to be discovery of the Gender Genie, which will take the words written by any author and, almost magically, determine whether they are male or female. A thought emerged: Who cares about the manliness or femininity of their own writing? What about the Democrats running for president? The following male Democratic candidates for president - including metrosexual Howard Dean - all came up with female writing scores when the following works were run through the gender machine: John Kerry Dick Gephardt Howard Dean Al Sharpton Joe Lieberman John Edwards On the other hand, Ambassador Carol Mosely Braun came out with some masculine speech of her own. (For what it's worth, Gender Genie said a guy wrote this blog item.) By Ed Moltzen · 30 October 2003
The Manchurian Candidate: The Remake
They've already cast two significant actors, Oscar-winners Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep, for the remake of the 1962 classic that originally starred Frank Sinatra and Angela Lansbury. By Ed Moltzen · 30 October 2003
Help Wanted
Ever since Opie and Anthony were fired from Infinity Broadcasting last year, for hosting a contest that led to a sex stunt inside St. Patrick's Cathedral, the station that originated the broadcast, WNEW-FM, has been, shall we say, down and out. (They changed to a "women's easy listening" format, began calling itself "Blink 102.7," and hired driver's ed dropout Lizzie Grubman as a gossip reporter.) Now, it seems, they may be having a tad bit o' trouble luring top-notch talent to the station, according to this post at the New York Radio Message Board. By Ed Moltzen · 30 October 2003
Execution Update
The state of Missouri has executed John Clayton Smith, a man who murdered his ex-girlfriend and her father in a bloody, violent knife attack in 1997. By Ed Moltzen · 30 October 2003
A Night Of 50 Tits
Leanna Conley, one of the funniest comediennes in New York City, is performing in "A Night Of 50 Tits," an evening of comedy and entertainment featuring 25 female artists. It's Nov. 11, 9 p.m., at the Siberia in Manhattan (356 W 40th St off 9th Avenue). ($5 cover.) You can read Leanna's tribute to Buddy Hackett and John Ritter at Uproar Magazine. By Ed Moltzen · 30 October 2003
This Is Your Big Chance
The Democratic National Committee's Web Blog will be hosting a Q&A with Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and they want your help.
They don't specify what they mean by "best ones." One could guess what they'd consider the "worst ones." By Ed Moltzen · 29 October 2003
Zell Miller: Bush Is "The Right Man"
Miller told Barnes that he thinks Bush is "the right man at the right time." Miller's endorsement shouldn't come as a total surprise, but if nothing else it will highlight the problems the Democratic party will have with the South in the 2004 election. The Electoral College math isn't getting any easier for the Democrats, with California about to be run by a Republican, New York - another traditional Democratic stronghold - even-money in early polls between Bush and any potential Democratic challenger, and now Miller, a key Southern Democrat, backing the incumbent. By Ed Moltzen · 29 October 2003
$30 million gambling ring gets him 1-to-3.
The Sopranos' new season doesn't start until March, but until then we have the Gambinos. Ronald Trucchi, who prosecutors say is a captain in the Gambino organized crime family, will do one-to-three years in state prison on enterprise corruption charges, the Queens D.A.'s office said. Trucchio will do the time in connection with running a $30 million-a-year gambling operation for the Gambinos, prosecutors said. (The operation was so big, it once took a $15,000 bet on the Redskins, who failed to cover in a loss to Jacksonville.) Trucchio's son, Alphonse, who also pleaded guilty in the case, earlier got a 1 and 1/2 to 4 and 1/2-year sentence. By Ed Moltzen · 29 October 2003
The Heist That Went Bad
Two guys - one from Brooklyn, one from Queens - almost got away with $7 million in a daring, mid-day heist earlier this month. Key word: almost. Cops caught them, a grand jury indicted them, and now they're facing fifteen years in prison. According to the Manhattan D.A.'s office, Kyrie Baum and Orneth South began their adventure on Oct. 20:
The FDR? Smart robbers tune their motorcycles to Traffic and Weather on the 8's, to avoid such problems. By Ed Moltzen · 29 October 2003
Napster's Back
Napster has returned, this time owned by Roxio and providing a pay service. The service will charge .99 per song, or $9.95 per album:
The service offers about 500,000 recordings. Let the reviews begin. By Ed Moltzen · 29 October 2003
The War Against Terror, and Partisanship
Most Americans still approve of the military effort in Iraq, despite months of angry, fist-pounding speeches by Democratic candidates and anti-war protesters, according to the most recent Gallup numbers. When the pollsters drill down, though, they find this:
If nothing else, the numbers may encourage Democratic presidential candidates to continue playing to their base - the three out of four members of their party who disagree with the effort in Iraq. By Ed Moltzen · 29 October 2003
Kerry and Paper Tigers
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry bashed President Bush on Sunday night, during the Democratic candidates' debate, for not going through the United Nations on his way to war in Iraq. But four years ago, in a Senate hearing that questioned former U.N. inspections chief Richard Butler, Kerry indicated he was fed up with the U.N. over Iraq, calling the international group "paper tigers."
Andrew Sullivan takes a closer look at both Kerry's remarks and remarks by retired Gen. Wesley Clark during the debate, and finds significant flaws in the reasoning of both men. By Ed Moltzen · 28 October 2003
Bin Laden Scout Up the River
Al Qaeda terror scout Iyman Faris will serve 20 years in prison on federal charges of looking out for terror targets on behalf of Osama Bin Laden. According to a statement put out the the Justice Department:
No word yet on when the feds will make Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the 9/11 mastermind and allegedly Danny Pearl's killer, face justice. By Ed Moltzen · 28 October 2003
From the "Who'da Thunk It?" Department
By Ed Moltzen · 28 October 2003
D.A. Says Manhattan Headmaster Was Internet Perv
Westchester County prosecutors say they've nailed the headmaster of New York City's Trevor Day School in an Internet kiddie perv sting:
At the Trevor Day School's web site, Dextor's message to readers touts the school's programs, including an "Anytime Anywhere Laptop Program" for kids. Tuition at the school ranges from $18,000+ for kindergartent to $25,000+ for high school, not including the laptop. By Ed Moltzen · 28 October 2003
NY Times Correction Du Jour
They were only off by about $23 million a year:
By Ed Moltzen · 28 October 2003
It Was Only A Matter Of Time
Con men may be trying to fleece senior citizens in L.A., using fears over the Southern California firestorms as their foot in the door. According to the LAPD:
Not terribly sophisticated but, evidently, just enough to get them in the door. Nice. By Ed Moltzen · 28 October 2003
Clark Stumbles
Retired General Wesley Clark is back in second place - with Howard Dean back in first - in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to results of the most recent Gallup numbers published this morning. That number is actually up from the 25 percent Gallup found in April. It seems the more Democrats hear from the frontrunning candidates, the more they want somebody else. By Ed Moltzen · 28 October 2003
A Big Week For The Economy
Would he be tipping Americans off to keep their eyes open for bad news? By Ed Moltzen · 27 October 2003
Can You Hear Me Now?
One can assume he was serious in making that statement. If you can't get through to 311 - because of the dead spot - take the Number 4 train to Yankee Stadium and stand in the box seat area. Celebrities had no problem calling up to the Fox Sports broadcast booth from that area, for umpteen million distractions during the World Series. By Ed Moltzen · 27 October 2003
The Army Goes Public With Chief Wiggles
Amid today's bloodshed and violence in Iraq, Central Command has put the spotlight on Chief Wiggles' effort bring toys to Iraqi children. In a press release, Centcom says Chief Wiggles,
Since the drive began, Chief Wiggles says he's gotten more than 700 boxes of toys for Iraqi kids. UPDATE: Chief Wiggles will be featured tonight on Scarborough Country on MSNBC. By Ed Moltzen · 27 October 2003
Fact-Checking Dean
Democrats running for president debated again last night, in Detroit. Fox News Channel has the transcripts of the debate, in two parts, here and here. There wasn't much new ground broken during the debate, but former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean continues to make untrue statements that mischaracterize Bush Administration statements and actions. During the debate, Dean said:
President Bush never said Iraq was involved the the Sept. 11 attacks. Never. He and Secretary of State Colin Powell did talk about the nexus between Iraq and al Qaeda. Powell, in his Feb. 5 speech at the U.N., noted that Abu al-Zarqawi, a top bin Laden associate, had entered Iraq and established a foothold:
That's what the Bush Administration said. By Ed Moltzen · 27 October 2003
Talking With Iran
According to this report, Iran may be ready to turn Bin Laden Jr. over to the U.S. in exchange for Bush taking them off the "Axis of Evil" list. By Ed Moltzen · 27 October 2003
Compare and Contrast
Here are remarks given by President Clinton, a day after the "Black Hawk Down" attacks in Mogadishu left 18 American soldiers dead. By Ed Moltzen · 26 October 2003
Death Penalty Watch: John Clayton Smith
Smith was convicted in the brutal, 1997 stabbing murders of his ex-girlfriend, Brandie Kearnes and her father, Wayne Hoewing. He had appealed his conviction and death sentence, and his lawyers and supporters claimed that he both suffered from bi-polar disorder, and that the prosecutor in his case was at one time his defense lawyer, creating a conflict of interest that should have led to another trial. He has since dropped his appeals. By Ed Moltzen · 26 October 2003
Objective Journalism Update
UPDATE: Here is a link to the piece. It doesn't seem to support the scare-nature of the cover. Many of the allegations of mismanagement and cronyism are broad, sweeping generalizations with little to no attribution. There's also a lot of seemingly uncalled for, loaded language. For example, the writers refer to the Iraqi reconstruction effort as "America's postwar adventure in Iraq." And President Bush isn't referred to as "President Bush." He's referred to as "George W. Bush," without the title. If anyone might perceive a problem with the story, it's not that it's a lengthy opinion piece - it's that it's an opinion piece dressed up as a news story. By Ed Moltzen · 26 October 2003
Democrats In Disney Land
There is a potentially huge fight among Democrats brewing in, of all places, Florida. On the Democratic Party's official blog, a Florida state Democratic committee member is roasting national party chairman Terry McAuliffe. It seems Florida Democrats have scheduled a presidential straw poll for December at the Disney complex, and McAuliffe is none too pleased. According to a post by the committee member, Robert Charles Pickering:
Another Florida Democrat isn't happy, either, writing:
Democrats have been divided in California, are now divided in Florida, and Andrew Cuomo is saying the party is "bloodless, soulless and clueless." If nothing else, the party leadership has some perception issues they may want to deal with before the 2004 election season begins. By Ed Moltzen · 26 October 2003
Bad Day For A Bad Guy
The Pakistanis have captured what appears to be a senior member of Al Qaeda, according to the AP:
Here is a menu of possibilities as to who it could be. Usually there is a price on your head if you've been involved in killing people previously. By Ed Moltzen · 26 October 2003
Hey Fred, gotta Flint?
IFilms is currently running this long-forgotten (not to mention banned) T.V. commercial from the '60s. Follow this link, and scroll down a bit to find the exact clip. You'll have a gay, old time. By Ed Moltzen · 25 October 2003
The Case Of The Racial Slur
Scotland Yard has closed a case involving charges a 20-year old Metropolitan Police Service cadet used racial slurs in front of colleagues while at their training facility. The cadet was confronted, and quit. Says Scotland Yard:
In other words: No slurs, Sherlock. By Ed Moltzen · 25 October 2003
$190 million
Tonight's Powerball jackpot is up to $190 million. We feel confident predicting that, this time, there will be a winner. How do we know this? Because Late Final management was too busy this week to drive to Connecticut and buy some tickets. UPDATE. I was right:
By Ed Moltzen · 25 October 2003
A Tale Of Two Cities
Michele at A Small Victory is watching the anti-Iraq war protests on C-Span, and she's not impressed:
Michele also sees it as one of the thinnest anti-war protests yet. Now, juxtapose that, with this story from Chief Wiggles, who reports on a dinner he had with two now-freed Iraqi generals:
The war is over, and, it seems, we're getting closer to the war over the war being over, too. By Ed Moltzen · 25 October 2003
Great Moments In Text Messaging
This appears to be a pretty scary - not to mention weird story. According to Columbus, Ohio police, a local woman was kidnapped from her home by two unknown assailants, and thrown into the trunk of their car. While in the trunk, the victim managed to send a text email message to her boyfriend. According to a report posted on the web by Columbus cops:
Before anything worse happened, the victim managed to escape and drive herself to safety. The cops are still looking for the kidnappers. By Ed Moltzen · 25 October 2003
Would You Like Those Eggs With A Side of Plant Sterols?
It doesn't say, though, whether it comes with or without pulp, with our without extra calcium, with or without extra Vitamin D. By Ed Moltzen · 25 October 2003
Freebie Of The Day
By Ed Moltzen · 24 October 2003
Krugman Says He Got No Mahathir Money
New York Times columnist and Bush critic Paul Krugman is incensed that Donald Luskin would raise potential ethical questions over any potential relationship he may have had with Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia's prime minister. Krugman wrote a column earlier this week, explaining Mahathir's potential rationale for a viciously anti-semitic speech, and cited that speech as another example of a Bush Administration failure. Luskin noted that Krugman took Mahathir up on an invitation to appear publicly with the Malaysian prime minister a few years ago, and suggested it might be in the columnist/economist's interest to disclose any financial compensation he may have gotten from Mahathir. Krugman wasn't amused. On his web site, he refers to those who questioned him as "the smear machine." He also denied any financial compensation from the subject of his column:
Most of his diatribe is spent defending himself against charges of anti-semitism, or condoning antisemitism. (He says he's not, and doesn't, some of his grandfather's relatives died in the Holocaust and Mahathir actually complained about things Krugman had said about him in the past.) He concludes by saying, "What a disgusting episode. And what a demonstration of the sleaziness of these people." It's unclear who he means by "these people," whether it's Luskin or the Anti-Defamation League, which complained about the column to The Times. The issue of Krugman and disclosure arose not just as a result of the Mahathir column, but also because of Krugman's past as an economist hired gun (he was paid as an advisor to Enron, before the company collapsed.) By Ed Moltzen · 24 October 2003
Ominous Signs
The British Foriegn Office put out an advisory today reiterating to its citizens that they shouldn't travel to Saudi Arabia. While the advisory has been in effect for some time, the FO added this ominous quote to the notice:
The pattern of these things has been: Video or Audio Tape from Osama Bin Laden is played by Al Jazeera, big terrorist attack takes place soon thereafter. Earlier this week, the CIA confirmed a Bin Laden audio tape played by Al Jazeera last week was probably authentic. By Ed Moltzen · 24 October 2003
A Long, Hard Slog Indeed
Memo leaks and snarky comments from political opponents aside, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld took to the podium at a Pentagon news conference yesterday and remembered the 20th Anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut that left 240 servicemen dead.
Beirut was a real shooting gallery during that era, and Rumsfeld - who eventually became President Reagan's special envoy to the Middle East - recalled that cement barricades had been placed in front of buildings to protect them. "The barricades are fine for trucks; they're not so fine for airborne missiles of various types," he said. Eventually, buildings in Beirut covered themselves with mesh to protect against rocket-propelled missiles. "The mesh worked for a short period, and pretty soon, they started hitting soft targets, people going to and from where they were working," he said. He continued:
Later, Rumsfeld cut to the chase about what the Defense Department is doing (in between leaking memos and giving contracts to Halliburton):
By Ed Moltzen · 24 October 2003
41*
Americans say the ideal age is 41, according to Harris Interactive. Well, actually, that's the "mean age chosen" as the ideal age, when more than 2,306 Americans were asked the question by the Harris folks. Broken down, it also goes like this: Men say the ideal age is 39. Women say it's 43. Republicans say it's 42, Democrats 43. Unfortunately, Harris doesn't appear to have given people the option of choosing any age below 18 as the "ideal age," so it will be a mystery for now as to how many people would have chosen 6,7 or 8 as their ideal. By Ed Moltzen · 24 October 2003
Iraq Wired
U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans went to Iraq, and when he came back he did an online Q&A answering questions about what's going on over there. He said this:
That's still a drop in the bucket for a country of 20 million, but it's a start and, with Saddam no longer controlling information flow the real changes over there appear to not even really have begun. By Ed Moltzen · 24 October 2003
They're For Al
Johnnie Cochran is backing Al Sharpton's presidential candidacy, according to the reverand's most recent financial disclosures filed with the Federal Election commission. So is P.Diddy. And Newark Mayor Sharpe James. And Barbra Streisand. None of the contributors to Sharpton's candidacy is much of a surprise - except for Streisand. On her web site this past year, Streisand has repeatedly accused President Bush of being untruthful, including when she made this remark:
Streisand contributed $1,000 to Sharpton's presidential campaign, and Sharpton should know a thing or two about imparting lying messages and children - given that he was largely responsible for the Tawana Brawley hoax that tore apart the Hudson Valley in the late 1980s. Sharpton has never apologized for that, nor admitted he did anything wrong. Streisand cut Sharpton a $1,000 check on May 13. By Ed Moltzen · 23 October 2003
Fun With Search Engines
Amazon.com is unveiling a new function on its web site that allows users to search if a word is located anywhere in the text of about 120,000 books it has in stock. In his letter to customers, Amazon honcho Jeff Bezos writes:
Amazon is even running a contest: tell them them your experience using the new search engine, and the grand prize winner gets a Segway. (Weren't those things recalled, anyway?) By Ed Moltzen · 23 October 2003
"Steve from Manhattan (Bronx, Queens, Long Island), You're On The Air"
Over at the New York Radio Message board, someone posts a comment on an issue that's always eaten away some people: Why a person with the same voice, thoughts and ideas (but a different name) can call the same radio call-in show over and over, with no one raising a red flag.
It's not just one radio station or program where this phenomenon has been noticed, either. By Ed Moltzen · 23 October 2003
The Brawny Man: Metrosexual?
Georgia Pacific says it has given the Brawny Man a "makeover" (their word). In a statement, the paper giant announces:
So today's Brawny Man gets a makeover and a clean shave. Metrosexual conspiracy theorists, start your engines. By Ed Moltzen · 23 October 2003
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