Tuesday, November 22, 2005
' 'Ugly dog' Sam dies at 14'
CNN article here.
SANTA BARBARA, California (AP) -- Sam, the dog whose ugliness earned him TV appearances, limousine rides and even a meeting with millionaire Donald Trump, has died, the Santa Barbara News-Press reported Tuesday.
The pooch with the hairless body, crooked teeth and sparse tuft of hair atop his knobby head died Friday, just short of his 15th birthday, said his owner, Susie Lockheed.
'Principal resigns after shaming student'
CNN article here.
ELIZABETH, Pennsylvania (AP) -- An elementary school principal resigned after parents denounced her for parading an 8-year-old girl from class to class after a classmate falsely accused her of stealing $5.
...
After the classmate accused the girl of stealing the $5, Whitby took her from room to room, calling her a liar and thief. The other child later recanted the story.
'Pentagon to probe Iraq war architect'
CNN article here.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The Pentagon's inspector general has agreed to review the prewar intelligence activities of former U.S. defense undersecretary Douglas Feith, a main architect of the Iraq war, congressional officials said on Thursday.
' Ex-CIA chief: Cheney 'VP for torture''
CNN article here.
LONDON, England -- Former CIA director Stansfield Turner has labeled Dick Cheney a "vice president for torture."
In an interview with Britain's ITV news Thursday, Turner said the U.S. vice president was damaging America's reputation by overseeing torture policies of possible terrorist suspects, the UK's Press Association reported.
"I'm embarrassed the United States has a vice president for torture," Turner said, according to ITV's Web site. "He condones torture, what else is he?"
Turner said he did not believe U.S. President George W. Bush's statements that the United States does not use torture.
Turner ran the Central Intelligence Agency from 1977 to 1981 under former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
"We have crossed the line into dangerous territory," PA quoted Turner as saying. "I think it is just reprehensible."
'Timid Mice Made Daring by Removing One Gene'
article by BENEDICT CAREY here.
Scientists working with mice have found that by removing a single gene they can turn normally cautious animals into daring ones, mice that are more willing to explore unknown territory and less intimidated by sights and sounds that they have learned can be dangerous.
The surprising discovery, being reported today in the journal Cell, opens a new window on how fear works in the brain, experts said.
'Met Rarity: Barcarolle Simulated for a Movie'
article on next Kenneth Lonergan film by DANIEL J. WAKIN here.
'From Tapes, a Chilling Voice of Islamic Radicalism in Europe'
article by ELAINE SCIOLINO here.
MILAN - Playing an Internet video one evening last year, an Egyptian radical living in Milan reveled as the head of an American, Nicholas Berg, was sawed off by his Iraqi captors.
"Go to hell, enemy of God!" shouted the man, Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed, as Mr. Berg's screams were broadcast. "Kill him! Kill him! Yes, like that! Cut his throat properly. Cut his head off! If I had been there, I would have burned him to make him already feel what hell was like. Cut off his head! God is great! God is great!"
'American Faces Charge of Graft for Work in Iraq'
article by JAMES GLANZ here.
In what is expected to be the first of a series of criminal charges against officials and contractors overseeing the rebuilding of Iraq, an American has been charged with paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and kickbacks to American occupation authorities and their spouses to obtain construction contracts, according to a complaint unsealed late yesterday.
'A Reminder of How Debate Over Prewar Intelligence Continues to Shadow Bush'
article by RICHARD W. STEVENSON and DOUGLAS JEHL here.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 - At a time when the Bush administration is furiously parrying a new round of accusations that it exaggerated the threat from Saddam Hussein in leading the nation to war, the imagery on Monday was startling.
There was Ahmad Chalabi, who as a leader of Iraqi exiles before the war funneled what proved to be inaccurate information about Mr. Hussein's weapons programs to the United States, being whisked into meetings with Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, the most influential of the hawks in the administration when it came to Iraq.
'Lisa Loeb to look for mate on TV'
CNN article here.
LOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter) -- E! Entertainment Television said Tuesday that it has greenlighted an unscripted series that will follow newly single singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb as she re-enters the dating world.
The eight-episode series, titled "#1 Single," will feature Loeb as she moves back to New York and starts dating again for the first time since college. The half-hour series is set to premiere in January.
...
"I decided to do this TV series because what I do as a musician and songwriter is connect to an audience, so why not take that to another level," Loeb said.
'Oh, Oprah, 20 Years of Talk, Causes and Self-Improvement'
article by ALESSANDRA STANLEY here.
It's not just that her rise to fame turned into a uniquely satisfying parable of the American dream, though hers is a remarkable story. Ms. Winfrey was born into poverty in Mississippi and refers to herself as a "former colored girl." Like another prominent African-American, Condoleezza Rice, Ms. Winfrey owes her distinctive first name to a spelling error: she was supposed to be named Orpah, after a figure in the Book of Ruth, but someone transposed the letters at the registry.
Most significantly, she presents her triumph over adversity, discrimination and child abuse in positive terms that allow Americans to feel better about themselves - a quid pro quo that she shamelessly exploits for good, goading viewers to improve themselves and also give something back. Ms. Winfrey, who speaks in slow, emphatic phrases, can be deadly earnest at times, but she also brought fun to philanthropy. Hers is a frilly pulpit: the self-made billionaire appears to spend as freely and gleefully on friends, strangers and the needy as herself.
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