| MONDAY • NOVEMBER 17, 2008 |
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THOUSANDS FLOOD LBN — NO RELEASE FOR TERRORIST!: Within two hours of yesterdays LBN E-Lert, thousands of readers from all over the world sent their strong opinion that terminally ill terrorist Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megraphi should not be released from jail early due to his illness. Over 90% of reader reaction voiced strong opposition to early release. To see the original story run yesterday, click on www.LBNElert.com.
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 OBAMA CALLS FOR AID TO U.S. AUTO INDUSTRY, WITH CONDITIONS: President-elect Barack Obama said the government needs to provide help to U.S. automakers on condition that management, labor and lenders come up with a plan to make the industry “sustainable.'’ “For the auto industry to completely collapse would be a disaster in this kind of environment — not just for individual families but the repercussions across the economy would be dire,'’ Obama said in an interview broadcast this evening on CBS News’s “60 Minutes.'’ Government aid could come in the form of a “bridge loan,'’ he suggested.
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 CITIGROUP TO CUT ANOTHER 53,000 JOBS: Citigroup Inc. is cutting approximately 53,000 more jobs in the coming quarters as the banking giant struggles to steady itself after suffering massive losses from deteriorating debt.
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JAPAN JOINS EUROPE IN RECESSION; G20 FAILS TO CHEER: Japan sank into recession in the third quarter, even before it felt the full force of the financial crisis, and world leaders at a weekend summit gave investors little hope they could rescue the global economy.
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 SEC CHARGES MARK CUBAN WITH INSIDER TRADING: The Securities and Exchange Commission filed insider trading charges against Mark Cuban, the outspoken owner of the Dallas Mavericks, for allegedly dumping shares in Mamma.com upon learning it was raising money in a private offering (full text of complaint). The SEC alleges in a civil action that Mr. Cuban sold his entire 6% ownership stake on June 28, 2004, after learning that Mamma.com was raising money through a private investment in a public entity, or PIPE. The next day, on June 29, the company announced the PIPE financing and shares of the company dropped by more than 10%. By selling his stake, the SEC alleges, Mr. Cuban avoided more than $750,000 in losses.
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A SYSTEM’S FATAL FLAWS; THOUSANDS OF INMATES ADMIT THEY’RE IN THE U.S. ILLEGALLY, BUT EVEN THOSE CONVICTED OF VIOLENT CRIMES ARE OFTEN RELEASED RIGHT BACK ONTO HOUSTON’S STREETS: Federal immigration officials allowed scores of violent criminals some ordered deported decades ago to walk away from Harris County Jail despite the inmates’ admission to local authorities that they were in the country illegally, a Houston Chronicle investigation found. A review of thousands of criminal and immigration records shows that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials didn’t file the paperwork to detain roughly 75 percent of the more than 3,500 inmates who told jailers during the booking process that they were in the U.S. illegally. ***LBN-BONUS: We will forward your comments directly to the head of Homeland Security. Send your comments to: LBNElert@TimeWire.net (Please put ‘Homeland Security’ in the subject line).
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 IRAQ’S GOVERNMENT APPROVES SECURITY PACT WITH US: Iraq’s Cabinet overwhelmingly approved a security pact with the United States on Sunday, ending prolonged negotiations to allow American forces to remain for three more years in the country they first occupied in 2003. The deal detailing the conditions of the U.S. presence still needs parliamentary approval, and lawmakers could vote as soon as Nov. 24. For Iraqis, the breakthrough was bittersweet because they won concessions from the Americans but must accept the presence of U.S. troops until 2012.
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 LBN-SNAP:….Julia Roberts…..
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 FIRES RAGE FOR FIFTH DAY IN CALIFORNIA: Fires raged across California for a fifth day Monday as investigators began sifting through the smoldering aftermath of infernos that have destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands to flee. Around 800 residences — ranging from multi-million-dollar mansions to modest prefabricated mobile homes — have been razed by a series of wind-whipped fires that have erupted through the region since Thursday.
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LBN-BUSINESS INSIDER: ***Calling the auto industry a dinosaur, two Republican senators said a bailout would only postpone its demise.
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OBAMA, MCCAIN TO MEET FACE-TO-FACE: President-elect Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain are meeting Monday for the first time since the presidential election to talk about how they can work together on problems facing the country. The former rivals will sit down at the Obama transition headquarters in Chicago, Illinois.
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 AFGHAN PRESIDENT OFFERS TALIBAN LEADER SAFETY DEAL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai offered Sunday to provide security for the Taliban’s reclusive leader if he agrees to enter peace talks, and suggested that the U.S. and other Western nations could leave the country or oust him if they disagree.
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LBN-MEDIA INSIDER: ***With newspapers cutting back and predictions of even worse times ahead, Rupert Murdoch said the profession may still have a bright future if it can shake free of reporters and editors who he said have forfeited the trust and loyalty of their readers. “My summary of the way some of the established media has responded to the internet is this: it’s not newspapers that might become obsolete. It’s some of the editors, reporters, and proprietors who are forgetting a newspaper’s most precious asset: the bond with its readers,” said Murdoch, the chairman and chief executive officer of News Corp. He made his remarks as part of a lecture series sponsored by the Australian Broadcast Corporation.
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 LBN-THE “INSIDE” STORY: The UKs hopes in next years Eurovision song contest received an unlikely boost yesterday from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. He said he would vote for the British entry, to be composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber even though the song has not yet been written or a performer chosen. With the competition due to be held in Moscow next May, Lord Lloyd-Webber met Mr. Putin in Russia over the weekend (pictured above) to discuss bringing credibility back to the event.
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LBN-MEDIA INSIDER: ***Barack Obama will address the nation each week via a “fireside chat” video posted on YouTube, his campaign has announced. The Obama White House will also hold online Q&As. Eric Schmidt, the CEO of YouTube owner Google, is a member of the U.S. president-elect’s advisory board. ***Evidence seems to support Dan Rathers assertion that CBS wanted its investigation into a segment about President Bushs National Guard service to mollify critics.
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 LBN-NOTICED: ***With President-elect Barack Obama looking at the country’s bottom line, his own team is practicing budgetary restraint. Obama’s chief-of-staff, Rahm Emanuel sat in coach on a US Airways flight from Chicago to DC on Thursday, much to other passengers’ surprise. “He was in a suit, multitasking with a BlackBerry in one hand, mobile phone in the other, reading the Wall Street Journal, and went straight to an article on Sarah Palin,” our spy said. ***Christina Aguilera and Martha Stewart clinking snifters of $35,000 cognac in Beverly Hills to celebrate photographer Matthew Rolston’s new book “beautyLIGHT”. ***Fergie, in a short, tight Tommy Hilfiger dress, telling Matt Lauer, “I wore this for you,” when the “Today” host offered her his coat. ***BE AN LBN CORRESPONDENT Send your celebrity sightings to LBNElert@TimeWire.net.
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LBN-HEALTH WATCH: ***The scientist who developed a vaccine for cervical cancer is working on another inoculation against certain types of skin cancer that could be available in five years time.
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THE WEALTH IN MEXICO: As drug-related violence spirals out of control, security measures have become a way of life for Mexicos affluent.
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LBN-COMMENTARY By JAMES E. MCWILLIAMS: For all the outrage about Chinese melamine, what the United States has failed to scrutinize is how much melamine has pervaded our own food system.
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WHO READS THE LBN E-LERT? Prominent L.A. banker Steve Shapiro along with approximately 300,000 other “influencers”.
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LBN-HOLLYWOOD INSIDER: ***The final “ER” season is bringing back some of its original stars for guest shots, but Julianna Margulies won’t be among them. She was invited, she says, but declined. ***NCIS, a six-year-old series on CBS that lands on few magazine covers and enjoys almost no love from critics, is suddenly the hottest show on the air. ***Kiefer Sutherland has signed with CAA. Sutherland leaves the William Morris Agency along with his longtime agent, Scott Lambert, who announced internally his plans to leave WMA. While Lambert hasn’t unveiled his plans — joining Ryan Kavanaugh’s Relativity tops a short list — Sutherland didn’t wait before leaving for CAA. The agency reps his father, Donald Sutherland; his half brother, Roeg Sutherland, is an agent in CAA’s independent film department. ***Alex Goldstone has left his post as partner at management-production company Fuse Entertainment to become a manager at Anonymous Content. Goldstone brings with him a group of scribes who will bolster the Anonymous lit department. ***The Laugh Factory comedy clubs sign with LCO for all media representation.
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 LBN-POLITICAL BRIEFING By GEORGE WILL: Conservatism’s current intellectual chaos reverberated in the Republican ticket’s end-of-campaign crescendo of surreal warnings that big government — verily, “socialism” — would impend were Democrats elected.
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LBN-COMMENTARY By HOWARD KURTZ: Perhaps it was the announcement that NBC News is coming out with a DVD titled “Yes We Can: The Barack Obama Story.” Or that ABC and USA Today are rushing out a book on the election. Or that HBO has snapped up a documentary on Obama’s campaign. Perhaps it was the Newsweek commemorative issue — “Obama’s American Dream” — filled with so many iconic images and such stirring prose that it could have been campaign literature. Or the Time cover depicting Obama as FDR, complete with jaunty cigarette holder. Are the media capable of merchandizing the moment, packaging a president-elect for profit? Yes, they are.
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SUPPORT LBN: Click on all of the Sponsor Links. Support our advertisers.
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 LBN-OVERHEARD: ***Yes, that’s Prince going door-to-door in LA to preach the word of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The purple-loving pop star tells this week’s New Yorker that since he joined the Christian denomination two years ago, he’s started leaving his gated community to knock on doors and proselytize. “Sometimes people act surprised, but mostly they’re totally cool about it,” says Prince.
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LBN-DID YOU KNOW: ***The human heart creates enough pressure while pumping to squirt blood 30 feet. ***If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes. ***Dolphins sleep with 1 eye open. ***The king of hearts is the only king without a mustache. ***Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.
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LBN-QUOTE: “It’s the toughest development season I’ve ever seen,” said ICM President Chris Silbermann.
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LBN-HISTORY: On Nov. 17, 1973, President Nixon told an Associated Press managing editors meeting in Orlando, Fla., that “people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook.'’
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EVERYTHING. ANYTHING. HERE. NOW.
1. Website Alert: www.godominicanrepublic.com2. LBN Reader Comment: My secret obsession is to play Dance, Dance Revolution —- Jerrad Byrd, Houston, TX3. Experienced soccer players needed for a 11v11 womens team. If you have prior experience, want to have fun, can commit and be a team player please email me. Please state position and experience when replying.
evelyn_yvette@yahoo.com4. Treat yourself to a trail ride in the beautiful Santa Monica Mountains. We have horses to accommodate every kind of rider from beginner to advanced. English or Western. $50 for two hour trail ride. For more information call Lori at 310-457-02135. Dinner Theater for sale. Contact agent representative at 959- 259 7882
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11. Website Alert: http://www.invisibleroots.com/
12. Yoga Instructor, private class sawransky@gmail.com13. Website Alert: www.newjewishvalues.com14. Check out these local poker home games going on around LA. Always looking to add new players. For game details and contact information, go to: Los Angeles Games: http://www.k9poker.com/locate/CA/Los%20Angeles/games 15. Website Alert: http://www.meetup.com/Single-Meetup-Group/calendar/9142589/.
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