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| WEDNESDAY • MARCH 10, 2010 |
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ROBERTS ‘TROUBLED’ BY STATE OF THE UNION: Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts can tell when he’s unwelcome: Roberts criticized the atmosphere of the president’s annual State of the Union address to Congress, calling it a “political pep rally.” Speaking to University of Alabama law students, Roberts said Obama’s speech in January was “very troubling” because the president knocked the court for its overturning of limits on corporate spending on campaign ads. “To the extent the State of the Union has degenerated into a political pep rally, I’m not sure why we’re there,” Roberts said. Though anyone is free to criticize the Court, “there is the issue of the setting, the circumstances and the decorum. The image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court—according the requirements of protocol—has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling.” He also said senators ask inappropriately political questions, which they know nominees can’t answer, at confirmation hearings. Obama’s press secretary defended the speech by further criticizing the decision in question.
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 SOMALIA FOOD AID BYPASSES NEEDY, U.N. STUDY SAYS: As much as half the food aid sent to Somalia is diverted from needy people to a web of corrupt contractors, radical Islamist militants and local United Nations staff members, according to a new Security Council report. The report, which has not yet been made public but was shown to The New York Times by diplomats, outlines a host of problems so grave that it recommends that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon open an independent investigation into the World Food Program’s Somalia operations. It suggests that the program rebuild the food distribution system — which serves at least 2.5 million people and whose aid was worth about $485 million in 2009 — from scratch to break what it describes as a corrupt cartel of Somali distributors.
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 ISRAEL APOLOGIZES TO BIDEN: Israel apologized for embarrassing Vice President Joe Biden by announcing it had approved 1,600 new homes in disputed east Jerusalem while Biden was engaged in talks with Palestinian leaders. Israel is not going to rescind the decision, however. The announcement was sharply criticized by Biden and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. “The substance and timing of the announcement, particularly with the launching of proximity talks, is precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now,” Biden said.
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 COREY HAIM DRUG O.D. DEATH: Eighties teen idol Corey Haim dead at 38 as result of an accidental drug overdose at his Hollywood home. According to KTLA-TV, Haim was found unresponsive at his Oakwood apartment. His mother was at the apartment at the time of his death. When First Responders arrived, Haim was still alive, new reports say, but weak with flu-like symptoms. Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson said Haim was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Burbank, California early Wednesday morning. The coroner’s office said TOD (time of death) was 2:15 AM.
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 LBN-THE “INSIDE” STORY: The Roman Catholic Church is being plunged into a renewed crisis over how it has dealt with the sexual abuse of children by its clergy after it emerged that the brother of Pope Benedict XVI, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger (pair pictured above), ran a renowned choir at the centre of child abuse claims. Reports of systematic historical abuse by pedophile Roman Catholic clergy have surfaced at 3 schools in the Regensburg diocese in Bavaria. One of them is the much-heralded Regensburger Domspatzen, a 1000 year-old male choir and boarding school, whose choral master for 30 years was the Pope’s older brother, Georg Ratzinger. Monsignor Ratzinger has agreed to testify in any eventual prosecutions – but says that he knew of no abuse. The German Justice Minister, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, has joined a growing chorus of politicians in Berlin to criticize the church over its attitude to the investigation, accusing Roman Catholic institutions of a policy of secrecy.
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WHO READS THE LBN E-LERT? 12 members of the White House staff along with over 317,000 other “influencers”.
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HOUSE TO MISS OBAMA’S DEADLINE?: Once upon a time, health care was supposed to be President Obama’s Christmas gift to America; now, it’s possible it may not even be ready for Easter. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer cast doubt that the House could pass health-care reform by the March 18 deadline set by President Obama. “None of us have mentioned the 18th other than [Press Secretary Robert] Gibbs,” Hoyer said “We are trying to do this as soon as possible.
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BOFA TO END DEBIT OVERDRAFT FEES: Bank of America announced it will end overdraft fees on debit cards this summer, a move that will cost the bank a large amount of revenue and pressure others to follow suit. Customers who don’t have enough cash in their accounts to make a purchase will simply be declined. More than 60 percent of overdraft fees charged by Bank of America come from debit cards. A new federal law is forcing banks to get permission from customers before allowing overdrafts on debit purchases and ATM withdrawals, fees that earned banks $20 billion last year.
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FORMER AG MUKASEY SLAMS LIZ CHENEY: Former Attorney General Mike Mukasey may have served in the Bush administration with Dick Cheney, but he has a bone to pick with Cheney’s daughter Liz. In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Mukasey calls the efforts of Cheney and others to smear Justice Department lawyers who have represented terrorists as “shoddy and dangerous.” He then states the should-be obvious: “A lawyer who represents a party in a contested matter has an ethical obligation to make any and all tenable legal arguments that will help that party.”
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LBN-HOLLYWOOD INSIDER: ***With the Oscars fading into memory, it’s time to look forward to the industry’s next big glitzy affair: The Cannes Film Festival, where, Wiretap is hearing, a band of merry men may be making their way up the red carpet on opening night. According to information we’ve received, Ridley Scott’s “Robin Hood” is tipped to open the festival. Further, it’s also been whispered that French passport holder, Oliver Stone, will screen his “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” out of competition. ***In a step that is unusual even for litigation-heavy Hollywood, the maker of “Iron Cross,” a small independent film that has yet to find a distributor, charged in a complaint filed on Tuesday that the trade paper Variety had damaged the movie. The suit says that the paper lured the film’s producer into last year’s awards race with the offer of an expensive promotional package, then savaged the film in a review. The suit against Variety, which is a unit of the media giant Reed Elsevier, was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by Calibra Pictures, the producer of “Iron Cross,” which included the last performance by Roy Scheider, who died in 2008. ***Actor John Krasinski, better known as Jim from The Office, is the “main focus” of Marvel’s search for an actor to play Captain America, says Fox News. “John has read four times and is doing screen tests,” a source says. “He has screen tested 2 times so far. It’s very likely that he will be the new Captain America. He is a favorite among the key decision makers and has been asked to come back for more this week.” ***Fresh off Disney’s massive success with Tim Burton’s updating of “Alice in Wonderland,” Warner Bros. is looking into a remake of another childhood classic. A possible new film treatment of “The Wizard of Oz” would refurbish the property with special effects and 3-D. ***Verve Literary Agency signed Rob Edwards, Alex Litvak, Trevor Munson, David Silverman and Rich Wilkes. ***Seann William Scott has left CAA for IMC.
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 LBN-NOTICED: ***Steve Tisch at the Beverly Hills Grill telling some Kansas City girls he’d just met that he once visited the famous Outhouse strip club there. ***Ethan Hawke was lunching al fresco with Sam Mendes and his dog at the Maritime Hotel in NYC. ***Former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine and his psychotherapist girlfriend, Sharon Elghanayan, sitting in Central Park in NYC near the Alice in Wonderland sculpture reading a newspaper. ***Comedian Wendy Liebman having dinner last night at Chin-Chin at the Sunset Plaza. ***Seamus Lyte with Andrew Wishart, KidsCo Marketing Manager, and Lyn Rothman at The Oscar Academy Dinner in Londons RAC club watching the proceedings from Los Angeles on behalf of Seamus Lyte Management Ltd. ***Brooke Shields attends the Giambattista Valli Ready to Wear show as part of the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week Fall Winter 2011 at Place Vendome. ***LA Business Journal editor Charlie Crumpley having lunch at the Ivy on Robertson Blvd. in Beverly Hills. ***Paul McCartney walks in Paris to attend a fashion show during the Paris Fashion Week. ***Sandra Bullock smiles away as she leave the Oprah Winfrey show in Los Angeles. ***Rob Lowe gets into his Mercedes after having lunch with friends at the famous Ivy restaurant on Robertson Blvd in West Hollywood. ***BE AN LBN-CORRESPONDENT- Send your celebrity sightings to: LBNElert@Timewire.net.
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LBN-MEDIA INSIDER: ***Newsweek editor Jonathan Meacham is in talks to host a weekly program on PBS. The Friday night public-affairs program is called Need to Know. It will be co-anchored by Alison Stewart and debut on May 7 at 8:30. Meacham, in addition to editing Newsweek, won a Pulitzer last year for his biography of Andrew Jackson. ***Bob Christie, the longtime spokesperson for the Wall Street Journal, is jumping to the New York Times. Christie is described as a PR rep who “doesn’t try to pretend that bad news doesn’t exist.” With Christie, the Times “might try to tell its own story in a more active way.” ***The Los Angeles Press Club is giving its highest honors this year to CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, CBS2/KCAL9 reporter Dave Bryan and NPR Senior Foreign Correspondent Anne Garrels.
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LBN-INVESTIGATES: Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the minimum wage was originally 25 cents per hour on Oct. 24, 1938.
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 LBN-SNAP:Jennifer Aniston.
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WHO READS THE LBN E-LERT? Over 100 winners of the Academy Award along with over 317,000 other “influencers”.
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LBN-BOOK NEWS: ***New York Post reporter Maureen Callahan’s POKER FACE: The Rise and Rise of Lady Gaga, a biography of singer, composer, songwriter, designer, performance artist, and general phenomenon Lady Gaga, sold to Elisabeth Dyssegaard at Hyperion, for publication in September 2010, by David Kuhn of Kuhn Projects (world). ***Former executive vice president of Apple Computer Jay Elliot’s iLEADERSHIP THE STEVE JOBS WAY: Courage, Charisma, Credibility and Being Way Cool, an insider’s revelation of the ‘real’ Steve Jobs, the mysteries of his innovative management style and the risks, rewards and failures Jobs experienced, as told by a participant in those adventures, written with William L. Simon, co-author of the NYT best-selling Steve Jobs biography iCON, sold to Roger Cooper at Vanguard Press, by Bill Gladstone at Waterside Productions (NA). ***Sarah Palin’s next book, “Celebration of American Virtues & Strengths,” in which she “will reflect on the key values [in her life] — both national and spiritual,” including selections from classic and contemporary readings that have inspired her, as well as portraits of some of the extraordinary men and women she admires, again sold to Jonathan Burnham at Harper, with no publication date announced, by Robert Barnett at Williams & Connolly. ***Author and talk-radio host Laura Ingraham’s WON BY ONE, a satirical takedown of the Obama Administration and its plans to “remake America,” building case against Team Obama using their own words and actions, sold to Anthony Ziccardi at Threshold, for publication in September 2010 (world).
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LBN-BUSINESS INSIDER: ***Wal-Mart is under fire for a picture posted to a blog showing two Barbies—identical except for skin color—on sale for different prices, with the black doll listed on sale at half the price of the white one. The photo was first posted to FunnyJunk.com, a humor site, and then Guanabee.com, a Latino site that says the person who offered the photo said it was taken at a Louisiana store. Wal-Mart officials say items are routinely put on sale to move inventory and make room for spring merchandise. But critics say the corporate giant should have been more sensitive, absorbing losses from not selling the black dolls instead of putting them on clearance. A sociologist-blogger said the retailer should avoid sending “a message that we value blackness less than whiteness.” ***LBN means business. Leading executives from Starbucks, Mattel, Intel, Home Depot, Ford Motor Company, Exxon, Sears all read the LBN E-Lert.
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 “W. BASHING” AND THE CULTURE OF THE LAST ADMINISTRATION:
Yesterday on the Fresh Air program on National Public Radio(NPR), host Terry Gross welcomed as a guest David M. Walker, former comptroller general of the United States. What ensued during that interview was an indictment of the George W. Bush administration, an administration Walker was paid quite well to work for. Why the change of heart? Walker now has a book out, of course, and he was on the radio pandering to partisan-bashing detractors to sell more copies of his novel. While Walker is perfectly within his entrepreneurial rights to do so, Herald de Paris publisher Jes Alexander took a contrary position, and offered this “Soapbox” rant on Le Morning Show, this morning.
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WHO READS THE LBN E-LERT? Over 300 winners of the Grammy Awards along with over 317,000 other “influencers”.
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LAST CALL: This Saturday March 13th, 2010 there will be a “Secrets of Success” workshop hosted by best-selling author Michael Levine in Beverly Hills from 1-4pm. Only 20 people can attend and there are only a couple of seats left. For additional information click here.
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 LBN-SPORTS INSIDER: ***The L.A. Clippers and general manager Mike Dunleavy are parting ways, just weeks after he stepped down as coach to focus on being GM. “The team has simply not made sufficient progress during Dunleavy’s seven-year tenure,” says the statement. “The Clippers want to win now.” ***Willie Davis, the L.A. Dodgers centerfielder through most of the 1960s who came out of Roosevelt High in Boyle Heights, was found dead today at home in Burbank.
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LBN-COMMENTARY By BEN BRANTLEY: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s belated sequel to “The Phantom of the Opera” feels as eager to be walloped as a clown in a carnival dunking booth.
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LBN-COMMENTARY By MAUREEN DOWD: I was tempted to turn my abaya into a black masquerade cloak and sneak into Mecca, just hop over the Tropic of Cancer to the Red Sea and crash the ultimate heaven’s gate. Sir Richard Burton, the 19th-century British adventurer, translator of “The Arabian Nights” and the “Kama Sutra” and self-described “amateur barbarian,” was an illicit pilgrim to the sacred black granite cube. He wore Arab garb and infiltrated the holiest place in Islam, the Kaaba, the “center of the Earth,” as he called it, in the Saudi city where the Prophet Muhammad was born. But in the end, it seemed disrespectful, not to mention dangerous. So on my odyssey to Saudi Arabia, I tried to learn about the religion that smashed into the American consciousness on 9/11 in a less sneaky way. And that’s when the paradox sunk in: It was nearly impossible for me to experience Islam in the cradle of Islam.
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LBN-COMMENTARY By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN: Of all the pictures I saw from the Iraqi elections last weekend, my favorite was on nytimes.com: an Iraqi mother holding up her son to let him stuff her ballot into the box. I loved that picture. Being able to freely cast a ballot for the candidate of your choice is still unusual for Iraqis and for that entire region. That mother seemed to be saying: When I was a child, I never got to vote. I want to live in a world where my child will always be able to. God bless her. This was a very good day for Iraq.
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 LBN-COMMENTARY By KATHY FRESTON (Author, Health and Wellness Expert): It’s resoundingly clear in that a plant-based diet is both preventative and healing, whereas a diet high in animal protein is destructive to our health. High protein diets not only make us sick, but also fat.
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LBN-COMMENTARY By RICHARD J. ABLIN (Research professor of immunobiology and pathology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine): Each year some 30 million American men undergo testing for prostate-specific antigen, an enzyme made by the prostate. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1994, the P.S.A. test is the most commonly used tool for detecting prostate cancer. The test’s popularity has led to a hugely expensive public health disaster. It’s an issue I am painfully familiar with — I discovered P.S.A. in 1970. As Congress searches for ways to cut costs in our health care system, a significant savings could come from changing the way the antigen is used to screen for prostate cancer. Americans spend an enormous amount testing for prostate cancer. The annual bill for P.S.A. screening is at least $3 billion, with much of it paid for by Medicare and the Veterans Administration.
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 LBN-COMMENTARY By JOHN STOSSEL: The people of Louisiana must sleep soundly knowing that their state protects them from unlicensed florists.
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 LBN-HISTORICAL COMMENTARY By PYTHAGORAS: It is better wither to be silent, or to say things of more value than silence. Sooner throw a pearl at hazard than an idle or useless word; and do not say a little in many words, but a great deal in a few.
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 LBN-A DIFFERENT VIEW:
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 LBN-OVERHEARD: ***Charlie Sheen is expected to return to work on CBS’ “Two and a Half Men” on Tuesday, according to his publicist. The actor is said to be in the process of exiting the rehab facility he checked into Feb. 23. ***A French leader with a mistress? Say it ain’t so! European news outlets are buzzing with rumors that, in decades past, would have been shrugged at: Both President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni are allegedly having affairs. The French paper Journal Du Dimanche and website suchablog.com both claim that Sarkozy has been seeing Chantal Jouanno on the side and that Bruni is “unofficially living with” the musician Benjamin Biolay in Paris. Sarkozy’s spokesman says he has “absolutely no comment” on the rumors. ***A top CBS News producer yesterday admitted trying to extort $2 million from David Letterman — but finagled a sweetheart deal after promising to keep his mouth shut about the “Late Show” star’s office shenanigans. Robert Joseph Halderman will be sentenced to six months on Rikers Island — but likely serve just four — in exchange for copping the plea in Manhattan Supreme Court. The disgraced “48 Hours” producer also must perform 1,000 hours of community service and spend 4½ years on probation. ***Demi Moore gave daughter Rumer Willis a pole-dancing lesson at a party at the Chateau Marmont hotel in Hollywood. A partygoer told Life & Style that the “Striptease” star “even spun around the pole upside down.” Then Rumer gave it a whirl as Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Aniston and Leonardo DiCaprio cheered her on at the recent bash. “Everyone was cheering, and Leo gave Ashton a high-five,” the source added. ***Christian Bale hasn’t spoken to his mother since he screamed at her for 10 minutes and threw her and her sisters out of his London hotel suite on the eve of the premiere of “The Dark Knight” two years ago. ***Lisa Marie Presley’s weight has recently ballooned to 165 pounds, friends believe, and they fear new binge eating could be endangering her health.
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LBN-DID YOU KNOW: ***All coffee is grown within 1,000 miles of the equator. ***All major league baseball umpires must wear black underwear while on the job! ***All the swans in England are property of the Queen. ***Aluminum used to be more valuable than gold. ***America once issued a 5-cent bill.
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LBN-QUOTE: “Weighing the risks against the rewards, I thought this was an opportunity to make the best of a bad mess.”-GERALD L. SHARGEL, the lawyer representing Robert Joel Halderman, who pleaded guilty to trying to extort $2 million from David Letterman.
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LBN-HISTORY: On March 10, 1985, Konstantin U. Chernenko, Soviet leader for just 13 months, died at age 73. His death was announced on March 11th. Politburo member Mikhail S. Gorbachev was chosen to succeed him.
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LBN E-Lert Edited by Natgeda Remy
Contributing Editors: Teju Jyothi, Rachel Yip, Kevin Aquino, Marissa Stone, Delia Ramos, Ben Yano, Anna Alaverdyan.
LBN E-Lert Disclaimer: 1.) The LBN E-Lert accepts no liability for the content of this email, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided. The LBN E-Lert is not associated with any commercial or political organization and is transmitted via the web for the sole benefit of its subscribers. 2.) Unfortunately, computer viruses can be transmitted via email. The recipient should check this mail and any attachments for the presence of viruses.
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LBN-VIDEO LINK: Marvin Gaye: