Some stories since the morning papers...
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided that it will not enter the fray on the 10 Commandments mess from Alabama... It will, however, decide a case on whether patients' can sue when their HMOs refuse to pay for recommended medical treatment.
Slate.com's Today's Papers notes that all the papers today lead with the U.S. Chinook helicopter that was shot down in Iraq early yesterday, killing 16 soldiers and injuring 20, many severely. It was the deadliest single attack on American forces since the U.S. invaded. Two American civilian contractors and a GI were also killed in other attacks.
The papers all say villagers near were the helicopter went down-a few miles from Fallujah-celebrated the shoot-down. The NYT notes, "Nobody regretting the American loss of life could be found."
The Chinook was the first craft to have been downed by a missile since President Bush declared major combat operations over May 1. But it certainly wasn't the first attempt. The Washington Post says that "more than two dozen missiles" have been fired at U.S. aircraft since June. The New York Times says there have been "two or three" attempted downings per week. So far as TP knows, that (large) number has never been reported before. As the NYT's Raymond Bonner mentioned Sunday, the military has refused to publicly state the number of known missile firings.
The WP notes that in response to the chopper attack, the White House issued a statement that didn't specifically mention the attack but did invoke the "war on terror and the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001." (I might note, however, that the White House statement was not posted on the White House Web site.)
File Sharing Pits Copyright Against Free Speech [NYT]
Forbidden files are circulating on the Internet and threats of lawsuits are in the air. Music trading? No, it is the growing controversy over one company's electronic voting systems.
Following up on last week's item about Fox News's "Memo"...
Fox News flack on The Memo: "Roger is not addressing this" [LAT; registration required]
Fox News chairman Roger Ailes won't talk about The Memo or ex-Fox News staffer Charlie Reina's letter to Romenesko, says a Fox spokesman. "All we are saying is that these are false accusations," he tells Tim Rutten. "Roger is not addressing this and is not available." Former ABC News exec Av Westin says of Reina's letter: "Nothing about this surprises me. The uniform smirks and body language that are apparent in Fox's reports throughout the day reflect an operation that is quite tightly controlled."
Local TV News: Now Part of Sales? [WP]
By Howard Kurtz
At the NBC affiliate in Jackson, Miss., the pitch was perfectly clear.
German Way to Go Digital: No Dawdling [NYT]
Berlin is the world's first major city to switch from analog to entirely digital television broadcasting.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/03/technology/03digital.html?th
Something that has always shocked me -- how anybody can even watch Jay Leno is astonishing to me, but...
Late at Night, That's NBC Crowing [NYT]
By BILL CARTER
Ten years into the deeply personal competition for supremacy in late-night television, David Letterman appears to have lost.
The Volatile Notion of a Married Jesus [NYT]
An ABC News special on supposed secrets about Jesus and Mary Magdalene has clergy members all riled up.
Weather Channel President's Network Faces a 'Very Challenging Time' [NYT]
Bill Burke, a protégé of Ted Turner, knows cable television. But the Weather Channel, which he now leads, presents some unique challenges.
Worth reading... a bunch of interesting columns in the NYT yesterday...
Pros at the Con
By MAUREEN DOWD
Those who go for the big con, who audaciously paint false pictures, think everyone else is stupid.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/02/opinion/02DOWD.html?th
So Much for 'The Front Page' [NYT]
By Frank Rich
The diminished reputation of the media shouldn't be blamed on the individual transgressions of Jayson Blair and Stephen Glass.
The End of the West? [NYT]
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Maybe it's time for a U.S.-French-German summit to ease the tensions of the post-cold war.
The World's Most-Desired Art (A Top 10 List)[ARTnews]
What are the most-wanted pieces of art in private hands? ARTnews has made a list of the ten most-coveted artworks. "Yearning - the more discreet the better - makes the art world go 'round. Dealers and auction specialists at the top of their game know where the most wanted artworks are at any given moment and what price might wrest a coveted object from its owner. Museum curators keep track of the same information to court loans and gifts. Collectors, meanwhile, no matter how desired the works in their own collections, always have an eye on something else."
Recording Companies Increasingly Focusing On Older Consumers[NYT]
While overall sales of recordings are down, music sales to older music lovers are strong. "The growing success of albums by older artists - and of singers like Norah Jones, who appeal to less cutting-edge tastes - offers some solace to an industry mired in a three-year sales slump. The older audience, typically more affluent consumers who grew up buying their music on vinyl LP's, seldom uses the free file-sharing sites. And because they account for a growing segment of the record-buying public, labels are increasingly tailoring their releases and their marketing, particularly on television, to reach them."
British Library To Save Web Pages [BBC]
The British Library is going to begin archiving websites. "The archive will comprise selective 'harvesting' from the 2.9 million sites that have 'co.uk' suffixes. This new legislation will now mean that a vital part of the nation's published heritage will be safe."
Off-topic...
The NYT's Week in Review reveals that Mikhail Gorbachev is attempting to trademark, well, himself-not just his name, but his nickname ("Gorby") and his signature birthmark. The writer discovers that virtually anything is trademark-able, as long as it refers to a single, popularly identified source. Lakers coach Pat Riley trademarked the term "threepeat," Rosie O'Donnell trademarked her name for use in a magazine and a TV show, and Vanna White won a trademark-infringement suit against the producers of an ad featuring a robot turning letters on a board. For his part, Gorbachev (tm) is miffed that his likeness appears on a brand of Russian vodka without his permission.
NYT reporter Elisabeth Bumiller tries to get to the bottom of what she dubs "Bannergate." To review: President Bush asserted last week that the big "Mission Accomplished" banner that was behind him during his May 1 speech was "of course put up by the members of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, saying that their mission was accomplished." Soon after that, press secretary, Scott McClellan clarified that while the White House actually made the banner it "was suggested by those on the ship." Bumiller says she talked with a spokesman on the Lincoln who said some officers attended a meeting in which White House officials asked the officers if they needed any help. The spokesman-who said that Navy ships do occasionally put up such banners-recounted, "Somebody in that meeting said, `You know, it would sure look good if we could have a banner that said `Mission Accomplished.' " And who was that person, Bumiller asked. The spokesman replied, "No one really remembers."
The 80's lyrics quiz
"Horrify yourself at how many fragments of completely stupid 80s songs are still rattling about your head (or, alternately, terrify yourself at how many of these songs you've forgotten -- your youth! It's slipping away)."
Yes! I'm feeling guilty about having failed to resist the Star Wars hype -- even proclaiming that I would not even see episode III because I was so disgusted with episode II. And I feel guilty that I am just too weak to resist. I'm so weak that I'm now seeing midnight showing.
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