LBN E-Lert » 8.12.09

8.12.09

WEDNESDAY • AUGUST 12, 2009

SPECTER: PROTESTS NOT ‘REPRESENTATIVE OF AMERICA’: Sen. Arlen Specter said Wednesday he thinks people who have been angrily disrupting town hall meetings on overhauling the health care system are “not necessarily representative of America,” but should be heard. “It’s more than health care,” said Specter, 79, who earlier this year left the Republican Party and became a Democrat. “I think there is a mood in America of anger with so many people unemployed, with so much bickering in Washington … with the fear of losing their health care. It all boils over.”

ECONOMISTS CALL FOR BERNANKE TO STAY, SAY RECESSION IS OVER: Economists are nearly unanimous that Ben Bernanke should be reappointed to another term as Federal Reserve chairman, and they said there is a 71% chance that President Barack Obama will ask him to stay on, according to a survey. Meanwhile, the majority of the economists The Wall Street Journal surveyed during the past few days said the recession that began in December 2007 is now over. Battling the downturn defined most of Mr. Bernanke’s term, which began in early 2006 and expires in January, and economists say his handling of the crisis has earned him four more years as Fed chief.

OFFICIALS SEE RISE IN MILITIA GROUPS ACROSS US:
Militia groups with gripes against the government are regrouping across the country and could grow rapidly, according to an organization that tracks such trends. The stress of a poor economy and a liberal administration led by a black president are among the causes for the recent rise, the report from the Southern Poverty Law Center says. Conspiracy theories about a secret Mexican plan to reclaim the Southwest are also growing amid the public debate about illegal immigration.

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MARINES ASSAULT TALIBAN TOWN IN AFGHANISTAN: Helicopter-borne U.S. Marines backed by Harrier jets stormed a Taliban-held town in southern Afghanistan before dawn Wednesday, the launch of a new operation to uproot Taliban fighters from a longtime base and provide security for next week’s presidential election.

CHINA WARNS OF ‘ARMS RACE IN OUTER SPACE’: China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi called Wednesday for international diplomacy to avert an “arms race in outer space.” Space should be reserved for peaceful purposes, Yang told the 65-nation Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.

OSCAR ARIAS, COSTA RICA’S PRESIDENT, HAS SWINE FLU: Nobel Peace laureate and Costa Rican President Oscar Arias said Tuesday that he has swine flu, showing that not even a head of state is safe from the virus that has caused worldwide concern but relatively few deaths.

LBN-BUSINESS INSIDER: ***American Express and Discover customers will soon be free of fees for charging over their credit limits.The two companies said separately Tuesday they will soon end the charges that have generated widespread criticism from consumers. ***Frank DiPascali, Bernie Madoff’s finance chief, pleaded guilty Tuesday to numerous charges related to helping facilitate one of the largest financial swindles in history. Speaking before the judge, DiPascali said he “was loyal to a terrible, terrible fault.” DiPascali worked on the infamous 17th floor where Madoff’s Ponzi scheme was orchestrated, and admitted to “using a stock program to look up the historical prices of stocks to create false statements” CNN reports. “I don’t know how I went from an 18-year-old kid who happened to have a job to standing in front of you today,” DiPascali said. He faces up to 125 years in prison. ***Worried about seeming ostentatious, major businesses that entertain clients do so very quietly. ***General Motors said its Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle, scheduled for release in 2011, would have a fuel rating of 230 miles a gallon in city driving.

LBN-HISTORICAL COMMENTARY By ABRAHAM LINCOLN: Upon the subject of education, not presuming to dictate any plan or system respecting it, I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in. (1832)

LBN-NOTICED: ***Over 100 movers and shakers from the Hollywood attended Michael Levine’s 2nd Annual Entertainment Industry breakfast yesterday morning at the popular Porta Via Restaurant on Canon Drive in Beverly Hills. Included in the crowd were ICMs Scott Pang & Steve Levine, Fox News Reporter Hollie McKay, KABCs Mark Austin Thomas, Entertainment Lawyer Kim Swartz & his wife Megan Blake, amongst many others. Over 150 pairs of used shoes were collected for the LCO “We All Walk In Different Shoes” Charity Program which donates shoes to the Salvation Army for use with their homeless program. ***Veteran personal manager Joannie Burnstein having lunch yesterday at Sparks Woodfire Grill on Pico in L.A. ***Ron Howard caught “Next Fall” at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater on West 42nd Street IN NYC the night before it closed amid talk it will reopen in the fall in a bigger off-Broadway theater. ***Camila Alves, the Brazilian beauty pregnant with Matthew McConaughey’s second child, getting a mani/pedi at the Maria Bonita Spa on Prince Street in NYC and confiding that the paparazzi in LA are much worse than their colleagues in New York. ***Billy Zane, Gerog Sanford Brown and photographer legend Herman Leonard with Nikon in hand at Bar Libitsch in West Hollywood, enjoying the Gonzalo Bergara Quartet performing 1930’s gypsy jazz in the tradition of Django Reinhardt. ***Denise Richards was seen shopping at Beverly Hills Mutt Club in Beverly Hills for her pooches. ***Paula Abdul in an off white sequined blouse and skirt and oversized sunglasses talking with fans and posing for pictures outside KCAL 9 on the CBS radford lot in Studio City.

LBN-BRUTAL FACT: About 19 percent of the total net electricity generated in the United States comes from nuclear power. That’s about equal to the amount of electricity used in California, Texas and New York, the three most populous states.

SMART PEOPLE READ THE LBN E-LERT: The NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell along with approximately 300,000 other “influencers” understand that information is power and that the LBN E-Lert is a power-tool.

LBN-HEALTH WATCH: ***According to a US study, malaria, a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects some 500 million people a year, was first transmitted to humans by chimpanzees. Researchers long knew that chimpanzees carry a parasite that is similar to the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, but they have only just discovered that the human strain is actually a mutated form of the chimp strain. Scientists are not sure when or how this mutation occurred but theorize that as early humans settled into an agrarian lifestyle in Africa, their encroachment on chimpanzee territory brought the two species into close contact. ***A survey shows the sort of irrational pricing of medical care that is an integral part of health care problems in the U.S.

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LBN-MEDIA INSIDER: ***Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza (above) is leaving her post bearing gifts. The Venezuelan stunner will appear topless in Maxim’s September issue, which will hit newsstands just as she relinquishes her crown Aug. 23 at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. ***Apple, the iPhone and iPod maker, has passed Google in market value and appears to have become tech’s No. 2 powerhouse behind Microsoft. Apple is next expected to enter the tablet PC market in the coming months. As for Google, it is “struggling to move beyond search.” ***Last week, for the third time this summer, ABC scored the lowest rating among the viewers it most seeks — those between the ages of 18 and 49 — than any broadcast network has ever posted. ABC averaged a 1.1 rating in that group. It even trailed Spanish-language network Univision. ***Tina Brown’s The Daily Beast is heading for Britain. The U.S. news and opinion site, funded by Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp, is said to be planning to launch a U.K. version within months. A spokesman, however, says there is “no timeline currently in place” for a launch. ***Vibe, the hip-hop magazine that folded six weeks ago under a pile of debt, is being resurrected with a new spin — as a Web-focused publication. Vibe is being acquired by a group led by private-equity firm InterMedia Partners and InterMedia’s luxury mag publisher, Uptown Media.

WOMAN THROWS MUG AT ‘MONA LISA’: Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece the “Mona Lisa” was attacked with a mug earlier this month, but the world’s most famous painting — protected by thick glass — emerged with its enigmatic smile undimmed.

LBN-THE “INSIDE” STORY: Pictured above are 2 child killers. They are the mother of Baby P and her boyfriend, both of whom tortured and killed the 17-month-old child. Their identities were made public yesterday, more than 2 years after the toddler died. Tracey Connelly and Steven Barker abused the child, who can now be known by his full name, Peter Connelly, over a period of 8 months, causing him 60 separate injuries including a broken back and ribs. He suffered all of these injuries despite the fact that he was on the child protection register at Haringey council. He was found dead in his cot in Haringey, north London in August 2007.

LBN-THE “INSIDE” STORY-PART 2: Germanys Central Council of Jews has taken the unprecedented step of backing a proposal to republish Adolf Hitlers infamous autobiographical manifesto Mein Kampf (pictured right), which has been strictly outlawed in the country since the end of the World War 2. Although many German Jews still oppose publishing Hitlers anti-Semitic work, Stephan Kramer, the general secretary of the countrys leading Jewish organization, supports a new scholarly edition of the work designed to inform future generations of the evils of Nazism. It makes sense and is important to publish an edition of the book with an academic commentary, Mr. Kramer said. A historically critical edition needs to be prepared today to prevent neo-Nazis profiting from it.

WILLKOMMEN, BERLIN! If youre between the ages of 18-30, opportunity knocks. The non-profit Palomar5 initiative is building an international network of creative people ready to design and engineer the working world of tomorrow. Palomar5 seeks to break with prevailing paradigms and create new ways for business to operate that will engage and satisfy the needs of the digital generation. This fall, 30 Digital Natives from around the globe will come together in Berlin (air, food and lodging will be paid) for a six-week innovation camp to collaborate on real-world solutions while living and working together in an extraordinary interdisciplinary environment. The camps participants and output will be introduced to economic and political leaders during a post-camp summit. Applications are still being accepted until 8/30. Palomar5s main sponsor is Deutsche Telekom AG. For more info and application: http://palomar5.org/

LBN-SPORTS INSIDER: ***One year removed from reconstructive knee surgery, Tiger Woods has won five times, three more than anyone else on the PGA Tour, and he is approaching the seasons final major with aplomb.

LBN-COMMENTARY By DR. ANDREW WEIL (Founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine): Simple, safe and inexpensive protocols should be the new foundation of American health care. It is the key to cutting the out-of-control costs that are sinking the system.

LBN-COMMENTARY By ROBERT REICH (Former Secretary of Labor, Professor at Berkeley): I’m a strong supporter of universal health insurance, and a fan of the Obama administration. But I’m appalled by the deal the White House has made with the pharmaceutical industry’s lobbying arm to buy their support.

LBN-COMMENTARY By MAUREEN DOWD: The postpartisan, postracial, post-Clinton-dysfunction world that President Obama was supposed to usher in when he hit town on his white charger, with turtle doves tweeting, has vanished.

LBN-COMMENTARY By MOLLY RINGWALD: John Hughes was our director, our mentor, our Peter Pan.

LBN-COMMENTARY By ALANA STEWART (Actress, former model, and talk-show host): One day Farrah was fine, the next she was not. Yet through it all, I never heard her question “Why me?” I never saw her act like a victim.

LBN-COMMENTARY By ARIANNA HUFFINGTON: The White House may be willing to cave on drug price negotiations and having a public option. Giving us health care reform without those key ingredients is like serving a PBJ sandwich without the peanut butter or the jelly.

LBN-COMMENTARY By TINA BROWN: The fascinating thing about Bill and Hillarys relationship is the way they perform their emotional correctives in public. Because Bill got so thoroughly smacked around last year for mouthing off on the campaign trail at the wrong moments and causing Hillary vote-losing blowback, he has been as good as gold ever sincethe very model of a discreet, dignified former president.

LBN-COMMENTARY By NEWT GINGRICH: How much is one additional year of your life worth? Or one more year of life for your father or your wife? For your child? In Great Britain, the government has settled on a number: $45,000. That’s how much a government commission with the Orwellian acronym NICE has decided British government-run health care will pay for one additional year of life for a British subject.

LBN-RECOMMENDS By DAVIS GUGGENHEIM (DIRECTOR): I just saw The Dead Weather with Jimmy Page at The Roxy in L.A. and I couldn’t believe it. Alison Mosshart is unbelievable. It was in-your-face, relentless, I-don’t-care-if-you-don’t-like-it rock. It was just new punkpunk 2009.

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LBN-A DIFFERENT VIEW:….Colonel Muammar Qaddafithe longest-serving leader in both Africa and the Arab world…..

LBN-OVERHEARD: ***Rudy Giuliani ruled out running for mayor again, but wouldn’t rule out a race for governor, while he was being inter viewed by Woody Johnson and David Asman on Fox Business Channel’s “Playmakers”. ***Police executed a search warrant at a Las Vegas pharmacy Tuesday morning in connection with the investigation into Michael Jackson’s death, a federal drug agent said. Applied Pharmacy on Flamingo Road in Las Vegas sold the anesthetic propofol to Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson’s doctor, a source familiar with the investigation said. ***Actor Liam Neeson has walked the red carpet for the first time since the death of his wife, actress Natasha Richardson. Publicists at the New York City screening of Neeson’s new film, “Five Minutes of Heaven,” told members of the press Tuesday all personal questions were strictly off-limits. ***The girlfriend of actor Cameron Douglas was arrested Monday for allegedly trying to smuggle heroin to him in an electric toothbrush, court papers show. Kelly Sott was busted after passing the toothbrush to Douglas while he was under home detention following a court hearing on his drug charges. She was arrested at the Hotel Gansevoort in Manhattan where she was staying.

LBN-DID YOU KNOW: ***A re-painting of The Last Supper in Peru features Christ and his disciples dining on guinea pig. ***The Amish are distinguished by the highest numbers of twin births in a known human population. ***Maple Syrup Urine Disease is a fatal genetic disorder characterized by an infant with secretions that smell like syrup. ***Other than humans, almost all mammals have a penis bone. ***Famed artist Picasso’s full name was “Pablo Diego Jos Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Mara de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santsima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruiz y Picasso.”

LBN-QUOTE: “It was all fake. It was all fictitious. It was wrong, and I knew it was wrong at the time.”-FRANK DiPASCALI, described as a crucial figure in the $65 billion Ponzi scheme run by Bernard L. Madoff.

LBN-HISTORY: On Aug. 12, 1898, the peace protocol ending the Spanish-American War was signed.

LBN-CORRECTION: ***Chris Ludacris Bridges is currently represented by CAA. Please make note and we apologize for the mistake.

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