The parliamentary sub-committee formed to probe the August 2007 clashes between the students and army personnel in Dhaka and elsewhere, on Sunday decided to ask the chief adviser to the then military-backed interim government and the former army chief to appear in the committee to give information about the incidents.
The sub-committee at a meeting decided to invite former chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed and former army chief Moeen U Ahmed to its next meeting to take their statements on the incidents, meeting sources said.
The sub-committee on Sunday took the statements of the then chief of general staff Sina Ibne Jamali and former DGFI official Shamsul Alam Khan while the former DGFI officials ATM Ameen and Chowdhury Fazlul Bari did not appear in the committee.
The former army officers told the committee that the DGFI had no role in the incidents that had taken place on the Dhaka University campus in August 2007 as the intelligence agency always followed the order of the chief adviser and the army chief at that time.
‘We have decided to invite the former chief adviser and the former army chief to our next meeting,’ the convener of the sub-committee, Rashed Khan Menon told reporters after the meeting, adding that the date for the next meeting had not yet been set.
Parliament formed the four-member sub-committee, headed by Workers Party lawmaker Rashed Khan Menon, on August 9, 2010 to probe the violent incidents involving Dhaka University students and army personnel in August 20-22, 2007.
The other members of the committee are Mirza Azam, Biren Sikdar and Shah Alam.
Earlier, the sub-committee gathered information about the incidents from witnesses, teachers and students of Dhaka University and former advisers to the then interim government.
The then education adviser Ayub Quadri in his statement accused an intelligence agency of instigating the incidents.
On August 20, 2007 the violence erupted after some army personnel beat up three students on the Dhaka University campus and insulted a teacher during a football match on the university playground.
Hundreds of DU students took to the streets in protest at the incident and demanding withdrawal of the army camp from the campus and an apology from the persons responsible.
As violence spread through educational institutions in the capital and elsewhere, the military-backed government imposed a curfew on the divisional headquarters and closed universities and colleges on August 22.
Read the original story on the daily New Age
US asks govt not to harass Prof Muhammad Yunus
David Bergman
US officials have told Sheikh Hasina that there will be no further high-level diplomatic interaction between the United States and Bangladesh until the harassment of Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, ends.
A senior western diplomat, with direct knowledge of these conversations, told New Age that Hasina was warned that her government must not force Yunus out of the Grameen bank and that he should be allowed to leave the bank gracefully and be given reasonable time to find a successor.
Mohammed Yunus, Bangladesh’s first Nobel Peace laureate, has been under sustained attack from the Bangladesh government and sections of the country’s media since the broadcast of a Norwegian documentary in December 2010 alleging that Yunus had ‘quietly tapped’ the Grameen Bank for $48 million of Norwegian aid money.
Although the Norwegian government found that this allegation was false, the Bangladesh prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, described Yunus as a ‘blood sucker’ and set up a wide-ranging inquiry into the bank.
Three criminal cases involving defamation, fraud and food adulteration have also been filed against him although the High court in the past week stayed the adulteration case for six months.
Hasina was told directly by US officials that a possible visit to Bangladesh early April by the US secretary of state, Hilary Clinton, following her trip to Delhi, was contingent on a resolution of this high-profile crisis.
Hasina, who is planning to visit Washington in April to take part in the World Islamic Forum, has also been informed that she will not be given a meeting with the US president, Barack Obama, unless Yunus is personally agreeable to the terms of any compromise.
The prime minister’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad said that he could not comment since he was unaware that these conversations had taken place. He added that he did not know that there was a possibility that Hilary Clinton might come to Bangladesh.
While many countries share US concerns about the Bangladesh government’s handling of the Grameen bank, no other country is known to have come close to the US in imposing these kinds of sanctions in support of Muhammad Yunus.
The government’s attack on Yunus has already resulted in the loss of some US financial support.
The US Millennium Challenge Corporation, an independent US foreign aid agency funded by the US congress, decided in January against putting Bangladesh on its ‘threshold’ programme where countries must ‘demonstrate a commitment to just and democratic governance, investments in the people of a country, and economic freedom.’
Humayun Kabir, who until 2009 was the ambassador to the United States, told New Age, ‘Maintaining high-level contacts is important for both the countries as these are building blocks to the relationship which is a very important one for Bangladesh. United States is one of the country’s most important trading partner and a partner in security.’
Although Hasina has shown no signs of relenting, it is understood that discussions between Muhammad Yunus, the finance minister, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, and former Grameen Bank chairperson Rehman Sobhan, took place in Delhi over the last few days where they all attended the same conference.
‘Muhith has been told what the Grameen Bank wants. It is now in the minister’s hands,’ said a person privy to the conversations.
Even if Hasina gives Yunus time to leave the organisation, a likely stumbling block to any agreement, however, concerns the position of Muzammel Huq, the new chairperson of the Grameen Bank, appointed in January by the Bangladesh government.
Formerly, the general manager of the bank, Muzammel was fired by Yunus more than 10 years ago. The New York Times recently reported that he said that Yunus had a ‘small heart’ and could not ‘give credit to anyone but himself.’
Another contentious issue is whether Yunus will be allowed to continue at the bank in some advisory or honorary role
On Monday, the Grameen Bank will hold its first board meeting under Muzammel’s new chairmanship. The board comprises three government appointees – including the chairperson - and nine others elected by the borrower-shareholders.
The western diplomat told New Age that the finance ministry was going to use the board meeting as an opportunity to send a dismissal letter to Yunus on the basis that his previous extension to his employment had not been sanctioned by the Bangladesh Bank.
However, it is understood that the government, under pressure, decided not to do this.
The government may have to come to a quick decision on whether to change tack
Yunus is due to go to the United States in early March where he is likely to meet Hilary Clinton. The western diplomat told New Age that what Yunus tells Clintion about any change in the government stance towards him and the bank will influence any plans Clinton may have about coming to Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh government is also likely to be aware that the argument over Yunus is impacting badly on the US Congress which has recently awarded Yunus a Congressional Gold Medal.
The Congress decides, each year, the level of money that the United States Agency for International Development will provide to Bangladesh. It will also ultimately consider whether Bangladesh’s apparel sector should be included in the Generalised System of Preferences that would reduce the tax on imported Bangladesh garments – a long standing demand of the country’s apparel sector.
While in the weeks after the initial press reports, civil society actors in Bangladesh showed little support for Yunus, in recent days this has changed, with increasing number of people signing statements against the government’s ‘harassment’ of Yunus.
His greatest high-level support however comes from outside Bangladesh, with Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland, recently setting up a Friends of Grameen, which includes the former president of the World Bank James Wolfensohn.
Robinson alleged that Yunus and the Grameen Bank were the victims of a ‘campaign of misinformation.’
Read the original story on the daily New Age
US officials have told Sheikh Hasina that there will be no further high-level diplomatic interaction between the United States and Bangladesh until the harassment of Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, ends.
A senior western diplomat, with direct knowledge of these conversations, told New Age that Hasina was warned that her government must not force Yunus out of the Grameen bank and that he should be allowed to leave the bank gracefully and be given reasonable time to find a successor.
Mohammed Yunus, Bangladesh’s first Nobel Peace laureate, has been under sustained attack from the Bangladesh government and sections of the country’s media since the broadcast of a Norwegian documentary in December 2010 alleging that Yunus had ‘quietly tapped’ the Grameen Bank for $48 million of Norwegian aid money.
Although the Norwegian government found that this allegation was false, the Bangladesh prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, described Yunus as a ‘blood sucker’ and set up a wide-ranging inquiry into the bank.
Three criminal cases involving defamation, fraud and food adulteration have also been filed against him although the High court in the past week stayed the adulteration case for six months.
Hasina was told directly by US officials that a possible visit to Bangladesh early April by the US secretary of state, Hilary Clinton, following her trip to Delhi, was contingent on a resolution of this high-profile crisis.
Hasina, who is planning to visit Washington in April to take part in the World Islamic Forum, has also been informed that she will not be given a meeting with the US president, Barack Obama, unless Yunus is personally agreeable to the terms of any compromise.
The prime minister’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad said that he could not comment since he was unaware that these conversations had taken place. He added that he did not know that there was a possibility that Hilary Clinton might come to Bangladesh.
While many countries share US concerns about the Bangladesh government’s handling of the Grameen bank, no other country is known to have come close to the US in imposing these kinds of sanctions in support of Muhammad Yunus.
The government’s attack on Yunus has already resulted in the loss of some US financial support.
The US Millennium Challenge Corporation, an independent US foreign aid agency funded by the US congress, decided in January against putting Bangladesh on its ‘threshold’ programme where countries must ‘demonstrate a commitment to just and democratic governance, investments in the people of a country, and economic freedom.’
Humayun Kabir, who until 2009 was the ambassador to the United States, told New Age, ‘Maintaining high-level contacts is important for both the countries as these are building blocks to the relationship which is a very important one for Bangladesh. United States is one of the country’s most important trading partner and a partner in security.’
Although Hasina has shown no signs of relenting, it is understood that discussions between Muhammad Yunus, the finance minister, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, and former Grameen Bank chairperson Rehman Sobhan, took place in Delhi over the last few days where they all attended the same conference.
‘Muhith has been told what the Grameen Bank wants. It is now in the minister’s hands,’ said a person privy to the conversations.
Even if Hasina gives Yunus time to leave the organisation, a likely stumbling block to any agreement, however, concerns the position of Muzammel Huq, the new chairperson of the Grameen Bank, appointed in January by the Bangladesh government.
Formerly, the general manager of the bank, Muzammel was fired by Yunus more than 10 years ago. The New York Times recently reported that he said that Yunus had a ‘small heart’ and could not ‘give credit to anyone but himself.’
Another contentious issue is whether Yunus will be allowed to continue at the bank in some advisory or honorary role
On Monday, the Grameen Bank will hold its first board meeting under Muzammel’s new chairmanship. The board comprises three government appointees – including the chairperson - and nine others elected by the borrower-shareholders.
The western diplomat told New Age that the finance ministry was going to use the board meeting as an opportunity to send a dismissal letter to Yunus on the basis that his previous extension to his employment had not been sanctioned by the Bangladesh Bank.
However, it is understood that the government, under pressure, decided not to do this.
The government may have to come to a quick decision on whether to change tack
Yunus is due to go to the United States in early March where he is likely to meet Hilary Clinton. The western diplomat told New Age that what Yunus tells Clintion about any change in the government stance towards him and the bank will influence any plans Clinton may have about coming to Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh government is also likely to be aware that the argument over Yunus is impacting badly on the US Congress which has recently awarded Yunus a Congressional Gold Medal.
The Congress decides, each year, the level of money that the United States Agency for International Development will provide to Bangladesh. It will also ultimately consider whether Bangladesh’s apparel sector should be included in the Generalised System of Preferences that would reduce the tax on imported Bangladesh garments – a long standing demand of the country’s apparel sector.
While in the weeks after the initial press reports, civil society actors in Bangladesh showed little support for Yunus, in recent days this has changed, with increasing number of people signing statements against the government’s ‘harassment’ of Yunus.
His greatest high-level support however comes from outside Bangladesh, with Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland, recently setting up a Friends of Grameen, which includes the former president of the World Bank James Wolfensohn.
Robinson alleged that Yunus and the Grameen Bank were the victims of a ‘campaign of misinformation.’
Read the original story on the daily New Age
Bangladesh’s Petrobangla likely to bring case against Polish oil company Cracow
Manjurul Ahsan
State-run oil, gas and mineral resources corporation Petrobangla is likely to bring a case against the Polish oil company Cracow as it declined to drill five fresh wells in two gas fields after winning the tender.
A Petrobangla official told New Age that Petrobangla would take legal advice from law firms before deciding whether to bring charges against the Polish company.
The Russisan state oil company, Gazprom, is currently negotiating with Petrobangla to take over the project that the Polish company declined to undertake.
‘We are extremely disappointed at the decision of Cracow as it retreated from implementing the projects on the basis of something that had been well known before the bid was floated,’ he said.
The Polish oil company Poszukiwania Naftyi i Gazu Krakow (Oil and Gas Exploration Company Cracow) informed Petrobangla earlier in February that it would not drill five wells in the Titas and Rashidpur gas fields claiming that the fields were leaking gas.
The Titas and Rashidpur gas fields are owned by the Bangladesh Gas Field Company and the Sylhet Gas Field, two subsidiaries of Petrobangla.
Following the success of Cracow in winning the bid, negotiations with the company opened on September 9, 2010 and were completed on September 27, 2010.
Professor Anu Mohammad, member secretary of the national committee to protect oil, gas, mineral resources, power and ports, said that foreign companies were unable to complete projects on time even though Petrobangla pays them three to five time the amount it would cost state-run companies.
He said that such kind of withdrawal hampers the implementation of national policies, particularly the development projects.
He said that international oil companies had in the past left gas blocks without conducting any exploration for oil and gas and that this was done to ultimately extract from the government better financial benefits for the company over and above the agreement.
‘This is highly alarming for the energy security of the country,’ he warned.
The Petrobangla official said that the decision by Cracow had created a crisis within the orgnanisation as the project was planned to provide at least 100 million cubic feet of additional gas a day which comprised half the total target of additional gas that the government wanted to be supplied to the national grid from state-run gas fields by 2012.
In addition, Petrobangla had, under the same agreement, hoped to expand the project with Cracow by increasing the number of wells it drilled in the state-owned gas fields.
In September 2009, Petrobangla had sought expressions of interest from foreign firms for drilling in the state-owned gas fields.
Following interest from 25 global oil companies, the Polish company was selected, in an open tender, to develop and produce natural gas by drilling wells with integrated services including the supply of all materials, on a turnkey basis, at the Titas gas field.
Cracow has appointed a local law firm to try and realise the $1 million that it had deposited as the bid bond, the Petrobangla official said.
Read the original story on the daily New Age
State-run oil, gas and mineral resources corporation Petrobangla is likely to bring a case against the Polish oil company Cracow as it declined to drill five fresh wells in two gas fields after winning the tender.
A Petrobangla official told New Age that Petrobangla would take legal advice from law firms before deciding whether to bring charges against the Polish company.
The Russisan state oil company, Gazprom, is currently negotiating with Petrobangla to take over the project that the Polish company declined to undertake.
‘We are extremely disappointed at the decision of Cracow as it retreated from implementing the projects on the basis of something that had been well known before the bid was floated,’ he said.
The Polish oil company Poszukiwania Naftyi i Gazu Krakow (Oil and Gas Exploration Company Cracow) informed Petrobangla earlier in February that it would not drill five wells in the Titas and Rashidpur gas fields claiming that the fields were leaking gas.
The Titas and Rashidpur gas fields are owned by the Bangladesh Gas Field Company and the Sylhet Gas Field, two subsidiaries of Petrobangla.
Following the success of Cracow in winning the bid, negotiations with the company opened on September 9, 2010 and were completed on September 27, 2010.
Professor Anu Mohammad, member secretary of the national committee to protect oil, gas, mineral resources, power and ports, said that foreign companies were unable to complete projects on time even though Petrobangla pays them three to five time the amount it would cost state-run companies.
He said that such kind of withdrawal hampers the implementation of national policies, particularly the development projects.
He said that international oil companies had in the past left gas blocks without conducting any exploration for oil and gas and that this was done to ultimately extract from the government better financial benefits for the company over and above the agreement.
‘This is highly alarming for the energy security of the country,’ he warned.
The Petrobangla official said that the decision by Cracow had created a crisis within the orgnanisation as the project was planned to provide at least 100 million cubic feet of additional gas a day which comprised half the total target of additional gas that the government wanted to be supplied to the national grid from state-run gas fields by 2012.
In addition, Petrobangla had, under the same agreement, hoped to expand the project with Cracow by increasing the number of wells it drilled in the state-owned gas fields.
In September 2009, Petrobangla had sought expressions of interest from foreign firms for drilling in the state-owned gas fields.
Following interest from 25 global oil companies, the Polish company was selected, in an open tender, to develop and produce natural gas by drilling wells with integrated services including the supply of all materials, on a turnkey basis, at the Titas gas field.
Cracow has appointed a local law firm to try and realise the $1 million that it had deposited as the bid bond, the Petrobangla official said.
Read the original story on the daily New Age
Tri-nation concert badly damages Bangabandhu National Stadium
Azad Majumder and Shafiur Rahman
A concert in the past week has left the Bangabandhu National Stadium badly damaged, raising fears that it could jeopardise Bangladesh’s chance to host a series of international football matches scheduled in the ground in March.
ATN Records, an event management firm, hosted the concert, Tri-Nation Big Show, in the stadium on February 24, seven days after the opening of the Cricket World Cup in the ground.
Bangladesh Football Federation officials alleged that the concert had left many holes in the outfield making it barely usable.
The athletic turf installed in the ground was also badly damaged by the concert where stars of Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, which are co-hosts of the Cricket World Cup 2011, performed.
The Olympic Pre-Qualifier football between Bangladesh and Kuwait is scheduled to be held the ground on March 9.
The ground is also supposed to host six Olympic pre-qualifiers matches of the women’s event seven days later.
The BFF grounds committee chair, Fazlur Rahman Babul, said that it would take at least a month for them to make the ground usable for an international match.
‘The entire pitch looks barren apart from few grasses in the western part. We need to fill in the holes and plant grass which is not possible to complete before a month,’ Babul told New Age on Sunday.
‘The FIFA match commissioner will arrive here three days before the match and I am afraid he may not find the ground in an appropriate condition. In that case, he can cancel the match and it will be very embarrassing for us,’ he said.
‘If the match is cancelled, we will also need to count a big amount in fine,’ he said.
Babul said they had informed the National Sports Council of the matter well in advance but they did not pay any heed. NSC officials refused to shoulder any responsibility.
‘When you see a big stadium getting allocated for a concert, you must know it is not me who gave the permission. The instruction comes from people who are high up. We had nothing to do here,’ said Haiul Quium, the director of sports, who is usually responsible for giving such permission.
Abdur Rahman, the director of planning and development of the NSC, admitted that the ground and the turf had been damaged.
‘We have heard that the athletic turf is not in a good condition. We will ask turf specialists to examine the condition and estimate the cost of repairs. The concert organisers will be asked to pay the compensation then,’ he said.
Anthony Philip, the event co-coordinator of the ATN Records, however, brushed aside the charges of causing any damage to the ground.
‘I and my people have examined the ground after the concert. It is in a good condition. If anything may really have happened to the ground, it happened because of the World Cup opening ceremony, not for us,’ he said.
Philip said they did not obtain any permission from the National Sports Council, the custodian of the ground, and they had obtained permission from the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
It was learnt that the ATN records had paid the cricket board Tk 5 crore in compensation for the concert.
As the cricket board has no legitimate right to give the ATN Records any permission for such concert in the stadium, it tagged the event to the Cricket World Cup opening to make money, sources said.
The ATN Records initially planned to host two concerts, in Chittagong and Dhaka, on February 16 and 18 and promised to pay the cricket board Tk 10 crore.
The Chittagong event had to be cancelled as it coincided with Eid-e-Miladunnabi and the ATN records also deferred the Dhaka event as they expected a low turnout between the World Cup opening ceremony and the opening match.
‘We had to spend a huge amount of money on the installation of giant screens and other World Cup promotional activities in all the district headquarters. We were told by the government to raise fund from this concert,’ said Jalal Yunus, a BCB director and the chairman of the media committee.
Kamrunnahar Dana, a national award winner sports woman and former national badminton champion, criticised renting the playground out for concert.
‘We need the stadium for sports and not for any cultural shows. I request the government to build a permanent cultural complex where such programmes could be held,’ she said.
‘It will help all of us to hold cultural programmes and will save the playgrounds as well,’ she added.
Read the original story on the daily New Age
A concert in the past week has left the Bangabandhu National Stadium badly damaged, raising fears that it could jeopardise Bangladesh’s chance to host a series of international football matches scheduled in the ground in March.
ATN Records, an event management firm, hosted the concert, Tri-Nation Big Show, in the stadium on February 24, seven days after the opening of the Cricket World Cup in the ground.
Bangladesh Football Federation officials alleged that the concert had left many holes in the outfield making it barely usable.
The athletic turf installed in the ground was also badly damaged by the concert where stars of Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, which are co-hosts of the Cricket World Cup 2011, performed.
The Olympic Pre-Qualifier football between Bangladesh and Kuwait is scheduled to be held the ground on March 9.
The ground is also supposed to host six Olympic pre-qualifiers matches of the women’s event seven days later.
The BFF grounds committee chair, Fazlur Rahman Babul, said that it would take at least a month for them to make the ground usable for an international match.
‘The entire pitch looks barren apart from few grasses in the western part. We need to fill in the holes and plant grass which is not possible to complete before a month,’ Babul told New Age on Sunday.
‘The FIFA match commissioner will arrive here three days before the match and I am afraid he may not find the ground in an appropriate condition. In that case, he can cancel the match and it will be very embarrassing for us,’ he said.
‘If the match is cancelled, we will also need to count a big amount in fine,’ he said.
Babul said they had informed the National Sports Council of the matter well in advance but they did not pay any heed. NSC officials refused to shoulder any responsibility.
‘When you see a big stadium getting allocated for a concert, you must know it is not me who gave the permission. The instruction comes from people who are high up. We had nothing to do here,’ said Haiul Quium, the director of sports, who is usually responsible for giving such permission.
Abdur Rahman, the director of planning and development of the NSC, admitted that the ground and the turf had been damaged.
‘We have heard that the athletic turf is not in a good condition. We will ask turf specialists to examine the condition and estimate the cost of repairs. The concert organisers will be asked to pay the compensation then,’ he said.
Anthony Philip, the event co-coordinator of the ATN Records, however, brushed aside the charges of causing any damage to the ground.
‘I and my people have examined the ground after the concert. It is in a good condition. If anything may really have happened to the ground, it happened because of the World Cup opening ceremony, not for us,’ he said.
Philip said they did not obtain any permission from the National Sports Council, the custodian of the ground, and they had obtained permission from the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
It was learnt that the ATN records had paid the cricket board Tk 5 crore in compensation for the concert.
As the cricket board has no legitimate right to give the ATN Records any permission for such concert in the stadium, it tagged the event to the Cricket World Cup opening to make money, sources said.
The ATN Records initially planned to host two concerts, in Chittagong and Dhaka, on February 16 and 18 and promised to pay the cricket board Tk 10 crore.
The Chittagong event had to be cancelled as it coincided with Eid-e-Miladunnabi and the ATN records also deferred the Dhaka event as they expected a low turnout between the World Cup opening ceremony and the opening match.
‘We had to spend a huge amount of money on the installation of giant screens and other World Cup promotional activities in all the district headquarters. We were told by the government to raise fund from this concert,’ said Jalal Yunus, a BCB director and the chairman of the media committee.
Kamrunnahar Dana, a national award winner sports woman and former national badminton champion, criticised renting the playground out for concert.
‘We need the stadium for sports and not for any cultural shows. I request the government to build a permanent cultural complex where such programmes could be held,’ she said.
‘It will help all of us to hold cultural programmes and will save the playgrounds as well,’ she added.
Read the original story on the daily New Age
Food inflation a threat to macro economic stability: Unnayan Anneshan
Food price inflation could threaten Bangladesh’s macro economic stability, said think tank group Unnayan Anneshan.
In an economic update for the first two months of the current year, it warned that rising food prices could push more people into the poverty trap.
It also warned that unless anti inflationary measures were taken to contain food inflation rising by 1.31 per cent a month, overall inflation could touch 10.71 per cent by the end of the current fiscal year.
In that event, it warned, food inflation could touch 12.84 per cent by the end of this fiscal.
The report said that a double digit inflation would pose a severe threat to macro-economic stability of the country.
Food inflation, said Unnayan Anneshan would cut down the real income of the poor, seriously erode their purchasing power and leave a profound impact on poverty and inequality.
It means, it said, those above the poverty line before the food price started to rise could go below it.
The economic think tank apprehends that the rise in global food grains price together with supply constrains could threaten Bangladesh’s macro-economic stability.
According to it a one per cent rise in global food price converts to 0.23 per cent rise in food price in Bangladesh on an average raising general inflation by 0.18 per cent.
The rise in food price created a range of macro-vulnerabilities in the country, it said in its economic review of the first two months of the year titled, ‘Bangladesh Economic Update: Food Prices and Inflation Trajectory.’
In the report the group sought to analyze the food prices and inflation trends.
It observed that prices of essential food items particularly, rice sky rocketed defying a bumper harvest of boro crop.
It pointed out that the wholesale prices of wheat and rice rose at higher rates than their retail prices in 2010.
From January to December 2010, the wholesale price of rice increased by 25 per cent on an average while the price of wheat rose by 16.67 per cent, it said.
It said that in 2010 the retail price of rice went up by 20 per cent and of wheat by 13.04 per cent.
The gap between wholesale and retail price of rice was five per cent of wheat it was 3.63 per cent.
It identified hoarding by wholesalers as the main contributing factor of the enormous gap between the wholesale and retail prices.
In other words, it said, the wholesalers dictated the retail price.
Read the original story on the daily New Age
In an economic update for the first two months of the current year, it warned that rising food prices could push more people into the poverty trap.
It also warned that unless anti inflationary measures were taken to contain food inflation rising by 1.31 per cent a month, overall inflation could touch 10.71 per cent by the end of the current fiscal year.
In that event, it warned, food inflation could touch 12.84 per cent by the end of this fiscal.
The report said that a double digit inflation would pose a severe threat to macro-economic stability of the country.
Food inflation, said Unnayan Anneshan would cut down the real income of the poor, seriously erode their purchasing power and leave a profound impact on poverty and inequality.
It means, it said, those above the poverty line before the food price started to rise could go below it.
The economic think tank apprehends that the rise in global food grains price together with supply constrains could threaten Bangladesh’s macro-economic stability.
According to it a one per cent rise in global food price converts to 0.23 per cent rise in food price in Bangladesh on an average raising general inflation by 0.18 per cent.
The rise in food price created a range of macro-vulnerabilities in the country, it said in its economic review of the first two months of the year titled, ‘Bangladesh Economic Update: Food Prices and Inflation Trajectory.’
In the report the group sought to analyze the food prices and inflation trends.
It observed that prices of essential food items particularly, rice sky rocketed defying a bumper harvest of boro crop.
It pointed out that the wholesale prices of wheat and rice rose at higher rates than their retail prices in 2010.
From January to December 2010, the wholesale price of rice increased by 25 per cent on an average while the price of wheat rose by 16.67 per cent, it said.
It said that in 2010 the retail price of rice went up by 20 per cent and of wheat by 13.04 per cent.
The gap between wholesale and retail price of rice was five per cent of wheat it was 3.63 per cent.
It identified hoarding by wholesalers as the main contributing factor of the enormous gap between the wholesale and retail prices.
In other words, it said, the wholesalers dictated the retail price.
Read the original story on the daily New Age
No massive evacuation of Bangladeshis from Libya now: minister
Expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain said on Sunday that the situation in Libya at the moment did not call for a massive evacuation of Bangladesh nationals trapped in the trouble-torn north African country.
The government has, however, made all preparations for evacuation of Bangladeshis from Libya by air and ships in case an extreme situation arises, he added.
‘We have preparations for evacuation although at the moment we are trying to relocate our citizens from the risky areas in Libya. If needed, we will evacuate them by air and ships,’ Mosharraf Hossain told reporters at the secretariat after an inter-ministerial meeting.
He said that the Bangla-desh navy had a unit in Lebanon and a ship was kept ready there for operation any time.
‘The government is very much alert about the Libyan situation…The shipping and the civil aviation ministries have also been asked to remain prepared for a possible evacuation.’
The minister said a total of 804 Bangladeshis had safely reached Crete Island of Greece.
Senior officials from the ministries of foreign affairs, home affairs, shipping and civil aviation and also from the armed forces division, including foreign secretary and the chief of navy, were present at the meeting on the situation of Bangladesh nationals in Libya, among others.
The minister called upon Bangladeshis trapped by the unrest in the North African country not to be panicked.
There were no confirmed reports of casualties among the foreign nationals, including Bangladeshis trapped in Libya so far, Mosharraf said.
He said around 60,000 Bangladeshis were at present staying in Libya. ‘Many of our people have already taken shelter in various camps in Tripoli where 15,000 to 20,000 Bangladeshis are living.’
When asked why the government preferred to wait until the situation turns worse in Libya, the minister said that the present situation did not call for a mass evacuation.
The government on Saturday said about 2,000 Bangladeshis had reached Egypt, Tunisia and Greece from Libya by road and ship.
Bangladesh has requested international communities, including Egypt, Tunisia and Libyan authorities, employers of Bangladesh nationals in Libya, the UN International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to ferry them to safer places by immediately available air, ship and road transports.
The Bangladesh mission in Libya has been asked to provide travel documents, including passports, free of cost for their hassle-free travel.
Foreign minister Dipu Moni is expected to meet the chiefs of ICRC and IOM in Geneva today.
Families of the Bangla-deshi nationals trapped in Libya, meanwhile, are becoming increasingly worried about the conditions of their near and dear ones.
Read the original story on the daily New Age
The government has, however, made all preparations for evacuation of Bangladeshis from Libya by air and ships in case an extreme situation arises, he added.
‘We have preparations for evacuation although at the moment we are trying to relocate our citizens from the risky areas in Libya. If needed, we will evacuate them by air and ships,’ Mosharraf Hossain told reporters at the secretariat after an inter-ministerial meeting.
He said that the Bangla-desh navy had a unit in Lebanon and a ship was kept ready there for operation any time.
‘The government is very much alert about the Libyan situation…The shipping and the civil aviation ministries have also been asked to remain prepared for a possible evacuation.’
The minister said a total of 804 Bangladeshis had safely reached Crete Island of Greece.
Senior officials from the ministries of foreign affairs, home affairs, shipping and civil aviation and also from the armed forces division, including foreign secretary and the chief of navy, were present at the meeting on the situation of Bangladesh nationals in Libya, among others.
The minister called upon Bangladeshis trapped by the unrest in the North African country not to be panicked.
There were no confirmed reports of casualties among the foreign nationals, including Bangladeshis trapped in Libya so far, Mosharraf said.
He said around 60,000 Bangladeshis were at present staying in Libya. ‘Many of our people have already taken shelter in various camps in Tripoli where 15,000 to 20,000 Bangladeshis are living.’
When asked why the government preferred to wait until the situation turns worse in Libya, the minister said that the present situation did not call for a mass evacuation.
The government on Saturday said about 2,000 Bangladeshis had reached Egypt, Tunisia and Greece from Libya by road and ship.
Bangladesh has requested international communities, including Egypt, Tunisia and Libyan authorities, employers of Bangladesh nationals in Libya, the UN International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to ferry them to safer places by immediately available air, ship and road transports.
The Bangladesh mission in Libya has been asked to provide travel documents, including passports, free of cost for their hassle-free travel.
Foreign minister Dipu Moni is expected to meet the chiefs of ICRC and IOM in Geneva today.
Families of the Bangla-deshi nationals trapped in Libya, meanwhile, are becoming increasingly worried about the conditions of their near and dear ones.
Read the original story on the daily New Age
Bangladesh war crimes trial to take shape by Mar 26
The state minister for law, Quamrul Islam, on Sunday said that war crimes trial would take a shape by March 26 and the government would adhere to international standards at any cost.
‘We are will hold the trial at the earliest. So do expect the people. But we are trying to hold the trial without any flaw by adhering to international standards. The investigation is taking time as we do not want to leave any scope for questions about the trial in the future,’ he said.
‘You should keep in mind that we are holding trial of crimes that took place 40 years ago. So it calls for proper investigation and this is why the process is getting lengthy,’ he said.
Quamrul said whether war crimes trial could begin by March 26 depends on the development of investigation.
He said the investigation team of the International Crimes Tribunal would soon get 30 more policemen to assist in the work.
‘Ten inspectors, 10 subinspectors and 10 constables will soon be appointed to assist the investigation team,’ Qamrul said after the meeting.
The meeting was convened to ensure proper logistic support and coordination of the work of the prosecution panel and the investigation team.
Quamrul said they sat with the precaution and the investigation agency of the International Crimes Tribunal to meet their demands for logistic support.
He said that the investigators’ demand for allocation of a building for interrogating the war crimes suspects would be met immediately.
The meeting began with the law minister, Shafique Ahmed, and the home minister, Sahara Khatun, being present but the both left a few minutes after asking others to continue.
The state minister for home, Shamsul Haque Tuku, the home secretary, Abdus Sobhan Sikder, the law secretary, Sahidul Karim, the chief prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal, Golam Arif Tipu, and the chief investigator, Abdul Mannan Khan, also attended.
The prosecution and the investigation team at the meeting resented the lack of logistic support for the tribunal.
Shamsul Haque asked them to submit a list of what they need right at the meeting if the government support was not enough for them.
Read the original story on the daily New Age
‘We are will hold the trial at the earliest. So do expect the people. But we are trying to hold the trial without any flaw by adhering to international standards. The investigation is taking time as we do not want to leave any scope for questions about the trial in the future,’ he said.
‘You should keep in mind that we are holding trial of crimes that took place 40 years ago. So it calls for proper investigation and this is why the process is getting lengthy,’ he said.
Quamrul said whether war crimes trial could begin by March 26 depends on the development of investigation.
He said the investigation team of the International Crimes Tribunal would soon get 30 more policemen to assist in the work.
‘Ten inspectors, 10 subinspectors and 10 constables will soon be appointed to assist the investigation team,’ Qamrul said after the meeting.
The meeting was convened to ensure proper logistic support and coordination of the work of the prosecution panel and the investigation team.
Quamrul said they sat with the precaution and the investigation agency of the International Crimes Tribunal to meet their demands for logistic support.
He said that the investigators’ demand for allocation of a building for interrogating the war crimes suspects would be met immediately.
The meeting began with the law minister, Shafique Ahmed, and the home minister, Sahara Khatun, being present but the both left a few minutes after asking others to continue.
The state minister for home, Shamsul Haque Tuku, the home secretary, Abdus Sobhan Sikder, the law secretary, Sahidul Karim, the chief prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal, Golam Arif Tipu, and the chief investigator, Abdul Mannan Khan, also attended.
The prosecution and the investigation team at the meeting resented the lack of logistic support for the tribunal.
Shamsul Haque asked them to submit a list of what they need right at the meeting if the government support was not enough for them.
Read the original story on the daily New Age
BNP protests power price hike in Bangladesh
BNP held countrywide demonstrations on Saturday amid ‘police obstructions’ to protest against load shedding and the government decision to increase power tariff ‘abnormally’
The main opposition party, however, kept the cities of Dhaka and Chittagong out of the purview of the demonstrations to facilitate undisturbed Cricket World Cup matches.
The district and thana units of BNP held rallies and took out processions demanding immediate reduction of power tariff.
The police, without any provocation, charged batons to foil the demonstrations at several districts, BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed told reporters at a news briefing at the party’s central office at Naya Paltan Saturday evening.
Rizvi said that at least 50 BNP leaders and activists were injured in police attacks.
He announced that BNP would hold countrywide demonstrations on February 28 to press the demand for the release of party leaders as well as to protest against Saturday’s police attacks on the opposition’s demonstrations.
On Feb 8, the authorities raised power tariffs.
Enhanced in two phases — power tariff in bulk went up on Feb 1 and the second raise would be effective from Aug 1.
The New Age correspondent in Sylhet reports: The district chapter of BNP held demonstrations to protest against increased power tariff.
Later it held a rally at Court Point in the city chaired by organising secretary M Ilias Ali. The rally was also addressed, among others, by BNP district chapter general secretary Abdul Gaffar, city unit general secretary Abdul Kaiyum Jalali Panki and former lawmaker Dildar Hossain Selim.
New Age’s Khulna correspondent reports: The Khulna unit of BNP held a rally and brought out a procession in the city under the nationwide demonstrations.
The rally in front of Khulna BNP KD Ghosh Road office in the city, chaired by city BNP president Nazrul Islam Monju MP, was addressed by former lawmakers - M Nurul Islam and Sekendar Ali Dalim, city general secretary Moniruzzaman Moni and district general secretary Shafiqul Alam Mona.
They leaders said that the country’s economic independence had been endangered by the Awami League-Jatiya Party led alliance government by handing over electricity, port and telecommunication sectors over to Indian companies.
New Age correspondent in Barisal reported that the district chapter BNP held demonstration on the streets of the divisional city in protest against increasing the power tariff.
BNP Barisal city, south and north district units held demonstrations in the morning and afternoon led by lawmaker Mezbahuddin Farhad, former public prosecutor Advocate Kamrul Ahsan Shahin.
Speakers told gatherings of protesters that the increased retail and bulk power tariffs would adversely affect the economy and the common people, already hit hard by all time high essential prices.
They demanded a reversal of the decision to raise power tariffs.
Read the original story on the New Age
The main opposition party, however, kept the cities of Dhaka and Chittagong out of the purview of the demonstrations to facilitate undisturbed Cricket World Cup matches.
The district and thana units of BNP held rallies and took out processions demanding immediate reduction of power tariff.
The police, without any provocation, charged batons to foil the demonstrations at several districts, BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed told reporters at a news briefing at the party’s central office at Naya Paltan Saturday evening.
Rizvi said that at least 50 BNP leaders and activists were injured in police attacks.
He announced that BNP would hold countrywide demonstrations on February 28 to press the demand for the release of party leaders as well as to protest against Saturday’s police attacks on the opposition’s demonstrations.
On Feb 8, the authorities raised power tariffs.
Enhanced in two phases — power tariff in bulk went up on Feb 1 and the second raise would be effective from Aug 1.
The New Age correspondent in Sylhet reports: The district chapter of BNP held demonstrations to protest against increased power tariff.
Later it held a rally at Court Point in the city chaired by organising secretary M Ilias Ali. The rally was also addressed, among others, by BNP district chapter general secretary Abdul Gaffar, city unit general secretary Abdul Kaiyum Jalali Panki and former lawmaker Dildar Hossain Selim.
New Age’s Khulna correspondent reports: The Khulna unit of BNP held a rally and brought out a procession in the city under the nationwide demonstrations.
The rally in front of Khulna BNP KD Ghosh Road office in the city, chaired by city BNP president Nazrul Islam Monju MP, was addressed by former lawmakers - M Nurul Islam and Sekendar Ali Dalim, city general secretary Moniruzzaman Moni and district general secretary Shafiqul Alam Mona.
They leaders said that the country’s economic independence had been endangered by the Awami League-Jatiya Party led alliance government by handing over electricity, port and telecommunication sectors over to Indian companies.
New Age correspondent in Barisal reported that the district chapter BNP held demonstration on the streets of the divisional city in protest against increasing the power tariff.
BNP Barisal city, south and north district units held demonstrations in the morning and afternoon led by lawmaker Mezbahuddin Farhad, former public prosecutor Advocate Kamrul Ahsan Shahin.
Speakers told gatherings of protesters that the increased retail and bulk power tariffs would adversely affect the economy and the common people, already hit hard by all time high essential prices.
They demanded a reversal of the decision to raise power tariffs.
Read the original story on the New Age
Truck kills cricket fan during celebrations in Bangladesh
A man was killed and 25 were injured in a road accident at Banani in the capital early Friday. The deceased was Azad Babu, 17, a resident of Sector 8 of Uttara.
Gulshan police subinspector SM Tuhin said that a group of cricket fans, after Bangladesh’s win against Ireland in the Cricket World Cup match, were out on the road in a truck Abdullahpur area of Uttara about 1:30am celebrating Bangladesh’s first win in the event.
As the speeding truck reached Banani, it hit a road divider in which at least 25 were injured.
Azad, who was badly injured in the head, died about 2:00am in Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Three of the injured were admitted to the hospital. They are Arman Ahmed, 25, Shihab Hossain, 24, and Helal Uddin. Others were admitted to different city clinics.
The police officer said that Azad had lived in a slum at Uttara and was a student of a local school. The police could not give details. The body was handed over to the family after a post-mortem examination.
The police officer also said that a general diary had been filed with Gulshan police in this regard.
Read the original story on the New Age
http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/frontpage/9621.html
Gulshan police subinspector SM Tuhin said that a group of cricket fans, after Bangladesh’s win against Ireland in the Cricket World Cup match, were out on the road in a truck Abdullahpur area of Uttara about 1:30am celebrating Bangladesh’s first win in the event.
As the speeding truck reached Banani, it hit a road divider in which at least 25 were injured.
Azad, who was badly injured in the head, died about 2:00am in Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Three of the injured were admitted to the hospital. They are Arman Ahmed, 25, Shihab Hossain, 24, and Helal Uddin. Others were admitted to different city clinics.
The police officer said that Azad had lived in a slum at Uttara and was a student of a local school. The police could not give details. The body was handed over to the family after a post-mortem examination.
The police officer also said that a general diary had been filed with Gulshan police in this regard.
Read the original story on the New Age
http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/frontpage/9621.html
Bangladesh government plans seaport between Barguna, Patuakhali: PM
The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has said apart from building a deep seaport in Chittagong her government has a plan to construct a seaport in between Barguna and Patuakhali to handle the growing external trade.
The prime minister said this while laying the foundation stone of Sheikh Mujib Maritime University under the ‘Enhancing Marine Academy into Maritime University’ project at a cost of Tk 260 crore on the Marine Academy premises in Chittagong Saturday.
About maritime boundary, she said Bangladesh had lodged its submission formally to the United Nations on Friday claiming an area of more than 400 NM in the seabed of the Bay of Bengal. The foreign minister, Dipu Moni, who is now in the USA, lodged the submission before the UN, she added.
The maritime university which will be established as a regional university in South Asia will start its academic activities in 2013. It is aimed to meet the growing demand of skilled marine manpower at home and abroad with the increase of maritime transportation.
Hasina said her government had taken steps to set up six more marine academies at Barisal, Khulna, Pabna, Rangpur, Narayanganj and Sylhet at a cost of nearly Tk 800 crore.
She said the government was also procuring full-mission deck bridge simulator and full-mission engine control simulator for the Marine Academy at a cost of about Tk 80 crore under another programme.
Hasina said the university would provide masters, M Phil and PhD degrees on Ship Building Engineering, shipping management, international and national maritime transportation and maritime laws.
She said her government had so far raised the number of trainee cadets in the academy to 200 from 100 and had a plan to further raise the number to 500.
She told the function with satisfaction that the International Maritime Organisation had already included Bangladesh with the Philippines, China and India as the rapidly growing and skilled marine manpower supplying country.
Referring to her meeting with IMO secretary general during her recent London visit, she said the IMO had assured Bangladesh of providing all-out cooperation on maritime education and development of maritime management.
The prime minister said her government after assuming office had been working to establish the country’s firm footing in the regional and international shipping as it is encouraging exportable marine vessel and shipbuilding industries.
In this context, she said her government had recognised ship building as a separate industry. ‘After the recognition, we all have remained cautious so that the industry could not leave any negative impact on our environment,’ she added.
The prime minister also referred her government’s programmes of carrying out capital and maintenance dredging in the major rivers to ensure their navigability and measurers to transport goods by river routes across the country.
Regarding food security, she said the present government had been working relentlessly to increase the country’s food production to feed its growing people. Besides, she said her government had also taken steps to keep prices of essentials within the reach of common people.
Shipping minister M Shahjahan Khan, chairman of parliamentary standing committee on shipping Noor-e-Alam Chowdhury, shipping secretary Abdul Mannan Hawlader and Commandant of Bangladesh Marine Academy Sajid Hossain also spoke on the occasion.
Earlier, the prime minister attended the Cadet Graduation Parade of 45th batch of Bangladesh Marine Academy and distributed special merit awards of the academy to the cadets for their outstanding performances.
She also inspected a spectacular march past and took salute of the graduating cadets.
On her arrival on the Marine Academy premises, the prime minister was received by the shipping minister and the commandant of the academy.
Read the original story on the New Age
The prime minister said this while laying the foundation stone of Sheikh Mujib Maritime University under the ‘Enhancing Marine Academy into Maritime University’ project at a cost of Tk 260 crore on the Marine Academy premises in Chittagong Saturday.
About maritime boundary, she said Bangladesh had lodged its submission formally to the United Nations on Friday claiming an area of more than 400 NM in the seabed of the Bay of Bengal. The foreign minister, Dipu Moni, who is now in the USA, lodged the submission before the UN, she added.
The maritime university which will be established as a regional university in South Asia will start its academic activities in 2013. It is aimed to meet the growing demand of skilled marine manpower at home and abroad with the increase of maritime transportation.
Hasina said her government had taken steps to set up six more marine academies at Barisal, Khulna, Pabna, Rangpur, Narayanganj and Sylhet at a cost of nearly Tk 800 crore.
She said the government was also procuring full-mission deck bridge simulator and full-mission engine control simulator for the Marine Academy at a cost of about Tk 80 crore under another programme.
Hasina said the university would provide masters, M Phil and PhD degrees on Ship Building Engineering, shipping management, international and national maritime transportation and maritime laws.
She said her government had so far raised the number of trainee cadets in the academy to 200 from 100 and had a plan to further raise the number to 500.
She told the function with satisfaction that the International Maritime Organisation had already included Bangladesh with the Philippines, China and India as the rapidly growing and skilled marine manpower supplying country.
Referring to her meeting with IMO secretary general during her recent London visit, she said the IMO had assured Bangladesh of providing all-out cooperation on maritime education and development of maritime management.
The prime minister said her government after assuming office had been working to establish the country’s firm footing in the regional and international shipping as it is encouraging exportable marine vessel and shipbuilding industries.
In this context, she said her government had recognised ship building as a separate industry. ‘After the recognition, we all have remained cautious so that the industry could not leave any negative impact on our environment,’ she added.
The prime minister also referred her government’s programmes of carrying out capital and maintenance dredging in the major rivers to ensure their navigability and measurers to transport goods by river routes across the country.
Regarding food security, she said the present government had been working relentlessly to increase the country’s food production to feed its growing people. Besides, she said her government had also taken steps to keep prices of essentials within the reach of common people.
Shipping minister M Shahjahan Khan, chairman of parliamentary standing committee on shipping Noor-e-Alam Chowdhury, shipping secretary Abdul Mannan Hawlader and Commandant of Bangladesh Marine Academy Sajid Hossain also spoke on the occasion.
Earlier, the prime minister attended the Cadet Graduation Parade of 45th batch of Bangladesh Marine Academy and distributed special merit awards of the academy to the cadets for their outstanding performances.
She also inspected a spectacular march past and took salute of the graduating cadets.
On her arrival on the Marine Academy premises, the prime minister was received by the shipping minister and the commandant of the academy.
Read the original story on the New Age
MMCH intern strike enters 2nd day
The indefinite strike enforced by the interns and students of Mymensingh Medical College Hospital entered second day Saturday protesting at attack on them by some local people Thursday night.
Sources said students and intern doctors locked the administration building and hospital main gate at about 9:30am.
Boycotting classes, students staged demonstration and formed human chain on the campus demanding arrest and punishment of the attackers.
The strike caused untold sufferings to the patients of the hospital.
Earlier, intern doctors and some outsiders of nearby Charpara area were locked into an altercation over harassing a female intern doctor by a stalker on Thursday night.
Following the incident, some people of the area launched an attack on the intern doctors and at one stage they also vandalised different rooms of the hospital.
Later, the intern doctors went on indefinite strike demanding arrest and punishment of the attackers.
Read the original story on the New Age
Sources said students and intern doctors locked the administration building and hospital main gate at about 9:30am.
Boycotting classes, students staged demonstration and formed human chain on the campus demanding arrest and punishment of the attackers.
The strike caused untold sufferings to the patients of the hospital.
Earlier, intern doctors and some outsiders of nearby Charpara area were locked into an altercation over harassing a female intern doctor by a stalker on Thursday night.
Following the incident, some people of the area launched an attack on the intern doctors and at one stage they also vandalised different rooms of the hospital.
Later, the intern doctors went on indefinite strike demanding arrest and punishment of the attackers.
Read the original story on the New Age
Bangladesh government asked to make UGC autonomous
The University Grants Commission has urged the government to transform the UGC into a completely independent and autonomous organisation by changing its name following the model of other SAARC countries.
The UGC made the recommendations in its annual report recently submitted to the president, Zillur Rahman, at Bangabhaban Saturday.
The report says it is rational to change the name of the commission and rename it as ‘Higher Education Commission’ or ‘Universities’ Commission of Bangladesh’ resembling the SAARC countries aiming at transforming the UGC into a completely independent and autonomous body.
The report says organogram of the commission should also be restructured along with its manpower to be increased with proper training to build the UGC as an apex body in expanding and strengthening the higher education in the country.
It mentions that number of public and private universities has been largely increased after the four decades of the country’s independence and responsibility of the commission has also increased many times to face the emerging challenges for extension of both types of the universities.
The report says it’s essential to bring necessary amendments to the Grants Commission Act (No 10 order of the President in 1973) increasing UGC’s power, status and image to turn the commission as an effective and strong organisation.
Read the original story on the New Age
The UGC made the recommendations in its annual report recently submitted to the president, Zillur Rahman, at Bangabhaban Saturday.
The report says it is rational to change the name of the commission and rename it as ‘Higher Education Commission’ or ‘Universities’ Commission of Bangladesh’ resembling the SAARC countries aiming at transforming the UGC into a completely independent and autonomous body.
The report says organogram of the commission should also be restructured along with its manpower to be increased with proper training to build the UGC as an apex body in expanding and strengthening the higher education in the country.
It mentions that number of public and private universities has been largely increased after the four decades of the country’s independence and responsibility of the commission has also increased many times to face the emerging challenges for extension of both types of the universities.
The report says it’s essential to bring necessary amendments to the Grants Commission Act (No 10 order of the President in 1973) increasing UGC’s power, status and image to turn the commission as an effective and strong organisation.
Read the original story on the New Age
Biman Bangladesh Airlines launches Sylhet-London service
Now you need not come to Dhaka to fly to London, thanks to Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
The national flag carrier on Saturday launched first-ever direct flights between Sylhet and London.
The flights will operate every Saturday until March 26, and later four times a week — every Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.
The opening flight BG-017 of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, national flag carrier, left Osmani International Airport of Sylhet for London, with 223 passengers and over two tonne vegetable and fish, at 9:00am on Saturday.
The people of Sylhet had long been demanding a direct route to the UK, as a large number of locals have relocated to that country in the recent past.
Member of the parliamentary standing committee on civil aviation ministry Shafiqur Rahman greeted the passengers with flowers at the airport.
He termed the launch an ‘epoch-making’ step, which was realised due to sincere efforts of the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.
‘The flight will help further strengthen the relationships between the people of Sylhet and the UK,’ Rahman hoped, adding the demand of Bangladeshi vegetables in the UK would also see an increase.
Airport manager Motahar Hossain said the standard of service offered to the passengers would gradually improve, and the travel time between Sylhet and the UK would come down substantially.
Read the original story on the New Age
The national flag carrier on Saturday launched first-ever direct flights between Sylhet and London.
The flights will operate every Saturday until March 26, and later four times a week — every Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.
The opening flight BG-017 of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, national flag carrier, left Osmani International Airport of Sylhet for London, with 223 passengers and over two tonne vegetable and fish, at 9:00am on Saturday.
The people of Sylhet had long been demanding a direct route to the UK, as a large number of locals have relocated to that country in the recent past.
Member of the parliamentary standing committee on civil aviation ministry Shafiqur Rahman greeted the passengers with flowers at the airport.
He termed the launch an ‘epoch-making’ step, which was realised due to sincere efforts of the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.
‘The flight will help further strengthen the relationships between the people of Sylhet and the UK,’ Rahman hoped, adding the demand of Bangladeshi vegetables in the UK would also see an increase.
Airport manager Motahar Hossain said the standard of service offered to the passengers would gradually improve, and the travel time between Sylhet and the UK would come down substantially.
Read the original story on the New Age
Stars rock the Kodak at Oscar's music rehearsals
AP, LOS ANGELES: The Kodak Theatre was rocking as Gwyneth Paltrow, Mandy Moore, Celine Dion and other musicians ran through the numbers they'll perform on Sunday's Academy Awards.
Moore dueted with Zachary Levi on "I See the Light," the nominated song from Disney's "Tangled," as composer and eight-time Oscar winner Alan Menken backed them on piano. Paltrow continued to show her musical side, singing "Coming Home" from her recent film "Country Strong." Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman and indie rocker Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine performed a haunting rendition of "If I Rise" from "127 Hours." Dion sang "Smile" as the In Memoriam packaged played on a big screen above her.
But an energetic group of 10-year-olds stole the show from all those stars.
The 64 fifth graders who make up the chorus at New York's Public School 22 in Staten Island arrived at the Kodak Theatre Friday to rehearse their performance of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." They'd flown in earlier that morning, many of them on their first-ever airplane trip. Wearing green or blue T-shirts that declared them to be an alto or soprano, they filled the theater with elementary-school enthusiasm.
"Justin Timberlake, oh my God!" one girl said when she saw the star's seat-saving placard. "When I'm up there, my eyes will be right here."
Then they tromped onto the Oscar stage and sang with such conviction and heart that they choked up an audience of Hollywood veterans.
Guided by stage managers and their teacher, Gregg Breinberg, the students practiced getting on and off stage and memorized their spots for the night. They marveled at the names they recognized in the audience. Sandra Bullock! Nicole Kidman! They looked around the big theater and had to be reminded to pay attention. But when they sang, it was clear they knew exactly what they were doing. They swayed and moved to the beat. They closed their eyes and gestured with their hands. They felt it.
"You're in this song. You're inside of it," Breinberg told them. "You're going to blow everybody away."
Moments later, the kids were the ones blown away when show hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco surprised them on stage. The actors hugged and high-fived them, then posed for a photo.
"Way to go," Hathaway told the group. "I love your dance moves."
Next up for PS 22? They're going to Disneyland Saturday, where they're set to perform in front of the famous Magic Castle.
"We didn't think we could beat the Oscars, but Disneyland is coming damn close," Oscar producer Bruce Cohen said.
Then on Sunday, the fifth-grade singers will walk the red carpet before making their Academy Awards debut.
Moore dueted with Zachary Levi on "I See the Light," the nominated song from Disney's "Tangled," as composer and eight-time Oscar winner Alan Menken backed them on piano. Paltrow continued to show her musical side, singing "Coming Home" from her recent film "Country Strong." Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman and indie rocker Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine performed a haunting rendition of "If I Rise" from "127 Hours." Dion sang "Smile" as the In Memoriam packaged played on a big screen above her.
But an energetic group of 10-year-olds stole the show from all those stars.
The 64 fifth graders who make up the chorus at New York's Public School 22 in Staten Island arrived at the Kodak Theatre Friday to rehearse their performance of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." They'd flown in earlier that morning, many of them on their first-ever airplane trip. Wearing green or blue T-shirts that declared them to be an alto or soprano, they filled the theater with elementary-school enthusiasm.
"Justin Timberlake, oh my God!" one girl said when she saw the star's seat-saving placard. "When I'm up there, my eyes will be right here."
Then they tromped onto the Oscar stage and sang with such conviction and heart that they choked up an audience of Hollywood veterans.
Guided by stage managers and their teacher, Gregg Breinberg, the students practiced getting on and off stage and memorized their spots for the night. They marveled at the names they recognized in the audience. Sandra Bullock! Nicole Kidman! They looked around the big theater and had to be reminded to pay attention. But when they sang, it was clear they knew exactly what they were doing. They swayed and moved to the beat. They closed their eyes and gestured with their hands. They felt it.
"You're in this song. You're inside of it," Breinberg told them. "You're going to blow everybody away."
Moments later, the kids were the ones blown away when show hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco surprised them on stage. The actors hugged and high-fived them, then posed for a photo.
"Way to go," Hathaway told the group. "I love your dance moves."
Next up for PS 22? They're going to Disneyland Saturday, where they're set to perform in front of the famous Magic Castle.
"We didn't think we could beat the Oscars, but Disneyland is coming damn close," Oscar producer Bruce Cohen said.
Then on Sunday, the fifth-grade singers will walk the red carpet before making their Academy Awards debut.
Report: Rocker Vince Neil released from Vegas jail
AP, LAS VEGAS: Motley Crue singer Vince Neil has been released from jail after serving 10 days of a 15-day sentence for a drunken driving conviction.
The Las Vegas Sun reports the 50-year-old rocker got out of the Clark County Detention Center Friday.
Neil pleaded guilty in January to driving drunk last summer near the Las Vegas Strip. He was sentenced to 15 days in jail and 15 days on house arrest under a plea deal that spared him a trial. He was also fined $585.
Neil could have faced up to six months in jail if convicted.
Las Vegas police said he was stopped in his black Lamborghini sports car June 27 after leaving the Las Vegas Hilton resort.
The jail and police didn't immediately return calls from The Associated Press
The Las Vegas Sun reports the 50-year-old rocker got out of the Clark County Detention Center Friday.
Neil pleaded guilty in January to driving drunk last summer near the Las Vegas Strip. He was sentenced to 15 days in jail and 15 days on house arrest under a plea deal that spared him a trial. He was also fined $585.
Neil could have faced up to six months in jail if convicted.
Las Vegas police said he was stopped in his black Lamborghini sports car June 27 after leaving the Las Vegas Hilton resort.
The jail and police didn't immediately return calls from The Associated Press
Foreign films navigate rough waters to reach Oscars
Reuters, BEVERLY HILLS, California: Acclaimed Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez-Inarritu knew he was in a bad way when the film critics who loved his drama "Biutiful" kept calling it bleak, dark and depressing.]
Those adjectives scared off distributors, particularly in the United States, where the director said "everyone was really afraid of the film" about a dying man played by Javier Bardem.
It took four months to find a U.S. distributor, but now "Biutiful" is playing in major cities and is a front-runner
for best foreign language film at Sunday's Oscars, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Bardem, the Spanish Oscar winner, is nominated for best actor.
But the director of "Babel and "21 Grams" still said it was "very tough."
Gonzalez-Inarritu is the most well known of the five directors who met Saturday for a pre-Oscar symposium, but like his fellow nominees he suffers the stresses of making films far from the comforts of the Hollywood studio system.
Whether it is hard-to-digest subject matter or shoestring budgets, these directors fought some epic battles on their way to Hollywood's biggest night.
The Greek director of bizarre family drama "Dogtooth," Yorgos Lanthimos, works on a laughably low budget but now can't get state financing because of Greece's debt crisis.
Algeria's Rachid Bouchareb of "Outside the Law" had to fight to get his film screened at Cannes due to political opposition in France to his depiction of the Algerian fight for independence.
Susanne Bier, the Danish director of "In a Better World," about young boys battling bullies and split families, used her financial limitations to get a sharper focus on the boys.
Canada's Denis Villeneuve, director of the dark drama "Incendies" filmed partly in the Middle East, edited before he shot to reduce waste on the cutting room floor.
PARTICULARLY GRIM YEAR
Every year, the Oscars briefly shine their spotlight on the exotic world of foreign-language films, which often provide a departure from mainstream commercial movies and the widely palatable productions of the United States.
This year is no different. The foreign-language films up for Oscar contention are indeed bleak, dark and depressing.
In fact, of the 66 films submitted to the Academy, only one was a comedy. The day Sweden's "Simple Simon" screened for the selection committee, it was met with loud cheering, but no nomination, alas.
"What really struck me this year was what we saw in 66 movies ... a seriousness, a grimness and even bleakness that I don't remember in our recent past," said Hollywood producer Mark Johnson, chairman of the foreign language film award committee.
For Johnson, the lack of relief in these films reflects both the minds of the filmmakers and the state of the world.
On Gonzalez-Inarritu's mind was the last 75 days of a human being. He was lucky to get financial backing for the $20 million "Biutiful" when the economy was still somewhat rosy.
"I started shooting one month before the economic collapse in 2008," he said. "This film would never be financed again. A guy who is dying? It's just impossible."
(Editing by Todd Eastham)
Those adjectives scared off distributors, particularly in the United States, where the director said "everyone was really afraid of the film" about a dying man played by Javier Bardem.
It took four months to find a U.S. distributor, but now "Biutiful" is playing in major cities and is a front-runner
for best foreign language film at Sunday's Oscars, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Bardem, the Spanish Oscar winner, is nominated for best actor.
But the director of "Babel and "21 Grams" still said it was "very tough."
Gonzalez-Inarritu is the most well known of the five directors who met Saturday for a pre-Oscar symposium, but like his fellow nominees he suffers the stresses of making films far from the comforts of the Hollywood studio system.
Whether it is hard-to-digest subject matter or shoestring budgets, these directors fought some epic battles on their way to Hollywood's biggest night.
The Greek director of bizarre family drama "Dogtooth," Yorgos Lanthimos, works on a laughably low budget but now can't get state financing because of Greece's debt crisis.
Algeria's Rachid Bouchareb of "Outside the Law" had to fight to get his film screened at Cannes due to political opposition in France to his depiction of the Algerian fight for independence.
Susanne Bier, the Danish director of "In a Better World," about young boys battling bullies and split families, used her financial limitations to get a sharper focus on the boys.
Canada's Denis Villeneuve, director of the dark drama "Incendies" filmed partly in the Middle East, edited before he shot to reduce waste on the cutting room floor.
PARTICULARLY GRIM YEAR
Every year, the Oscars briefly shine their spotlight on the exotic world of foreign-language films, which often provide a departure from mainstream commercial movies and the widely palatable productions of the United States.
This year is no different. The foreign-language films up for Oscar contention are indeed bleak, dark and depressing.
In fact, of the 66 films submitted to the Academy, only one was a comedy. The day Sweden's "Simple Simon" screened for the selection committee, it was met with loud cheering, but no nomination, alas.
"What really struck me this year was what we saw in 66 movies ... a seriousness, a grimness and even bleakness that I don't remember in our recent past," said Hollywood producer Mark Johnson, chairman of the foreign language film award committee.
For Johnson, the lack of relief in these films reflects both the minds of the filmmakers and the state of the world.
On Gonzalez-Inarritu's mind was the last 75 days of a human being. He was lucky to get financial backing for the $20 million "Biutiful" when the economy was still somewhat rosy.
"I started shooting one month before the economic collapse in 2008," he said. "This film would never be financed again. A guy who is dying? It's just impossible."
(Editing by Todd Eastham)
Oscar winners' dilemma: To list or not to list?
AP, LOS ANGELES: You can forgive George VI, the central figure in "The King's Speech," for painfully picking through his syllables when he steps up to the microphone. Like all stammerers, the guy lived in terror of public speaking.
But don't we deserve some speechifying for the ages from the Hollywood elite that win Academy Awards on Sunday? They're paid millions for their creative talents, so why do they often bore the stuffing out of TV audiences with droning thank-you lists?
The problem, said "King's Speech" screenwriter David Seidler, expected to win the Oscar for original screenplay, is that if recipients fail to deliver a monotonous litany of thanks, they hurt a lot of feelings in a town of big, fragile egos.
"You're stuck. If you don't thank a long list of people, you have a long list of people very upset, and if you do thank a long list of people, you have a billion people out in the audience bored stupid," Seidler said.
And if he wins? "I'm not quite sure what to do," he said.
Oscar overseers know what they'd like winners to do, though. They're making their usual exhortations to nominees that should they win, don't lull the world to sleep by thanking their agents, managers, hairstylists and latte fetchers. Say something remarkable.
"Leave your list in your pocket," Oscar producer Bruce Cohen advised contenders at their annual nominees luncheon three weeks before the show. "Nothing is more deadly than a winner reading a list of names."
"If you are lucky enough to get up there, tell us how you feel about being up there. What is this moment in your life like? Speak from the heart," said fellow Oscar producer Don Mischer. "When winners pull out a list on a piece of paper, we lose viewers by the hundreds of thousands."
At the end of "The King's Speech," which leads Oscar contenders with 12 nominations and is favored to win best picture, Colin Firth as George VI muddles through with a rousing radio address to inspire his nation as World War II approaches.
The king overcame his stammer with help from an unconventional speech therapist, Lionel Logue (played by Geoffrey Rush), who coached, counseled and cajoled that grand oration from his patient.
"King's Speech" director Tom Hooper said winners at Sunday's Oscars would "do well being coached by Lionel Logue. ... He teaches the king a lot about the importance of being relaxed and in the moment. That key idea, which is very central to broadcasting, is: 'Don't say it to the millions of people watching, say it as if you are saying it to one person. Say it as if you are saying it to a friend.' That is his advice to the king, and it remains great broadcasting advice today."
Being in the moment has resulted in some of the most memorable occasions, good and bad, in Oscar history.
Jack Palance did one-armed push-ups on stage when he won for "City Slickers." Adrien Brody won for "The Pianist" and planted a wet, sloppy kiss on Halle Berry, who presented his award. Roberto Benigni climbed the furniture like a kid on a swing-set and declared he wanted to "make love to everybody" after winning for "Life Is Beautiful."
"Titanic" creator James Cameron proclaimed himself "king of the world," "Bowling for Columbine" director Michael Moore castigated President George W. Bush for going to war in Iraq, "Moonstruck" acting winner Olympia Dukakis gave a shout out to her cousin, Michael Dukakis, who was then running for president.
When Julia Roberts won for "Erin Brockovich," she thumbed her nose at the 45-second time limit for acceptance speeches, declaring "I may never be here again" and speaking giddily for about three minutes. Greer Garson went on about twice that long when she won for "Mrs. Miniver," while Joe Pesci, who later confided he had not expected to win for "Goodfellas," took the stage and simply said, "It was my privilege. Thank you."
When she won her second Oscar, for "Million Dollar Baby," Hilary Swank started off memorably with the line, "I'm just a girl from a trailer park who had a dream," then lapsed into list mode, thanking sparring partners, cinematographers, editors, her publicist.
At the nominees luncheon, producers Cohen and Mischer advised contenders to save their laundry list of names for backstage, where they can gush thanks to as many people as they want in front of a camera whose video goes online.
Academy president Tom Sherak joked Friday that steps have been taken to prevent list reading: "They have done away with the metal detectors, and they are going to have paper detectors," he quipped. "So before (winners) come up, they're going to walk through a scan that will make sure they have no paper in their pockets."
David O. Russell, a best-director nominee for "The Fighter," said the producers "gave all the nominees a speech-therapy session, which was badly needed. Because you need to finally produce the show like films are produced: Keep it real, keep it short, keep it entertaining. You wouldn't do that in your film, why do you want to do it on television?"
One of those most likely to land a speaking role at the Oscars is Firth, the guy who plays King George. Firth has been the best-actor front-runner throughout awards season, and he's a witty, expressive speaker himself.
"He is funny and articulate and eloquent," said Helena Bonham Carter, who plays his devoted wife, Queen Elizabeth, in the film. "It is a good job that Colin is going to win, because he is going to give a good speech."
But don't we deserve some speechifying for the ages from the Hollywood elite that win Academy Awards on Sunday? They're paid millions for their creative talents, so why do they often bore the stuffing out of TV audiences with droning thank-you lists?
The problem, said "King's Speech" screenwriter David Seidler, expected to win the Oscar for original screenplay, is that if recipients fail to deliver a monotonous litany of thanks, they hurt a lot of feelings in a town of big, fragile egos.
"You're stuck. If you don't thank a long list of people, you have a long list of people very upset, and if you do thank a long list of people, you have a billion people out in the audience bored stupid," Seidler said.
And if he wins? "I'm not quite sure what to do," he said.
Oscar overseers know what they'd like winners to do, though. They're making their usual exhortations to nominees that should they win, don't lull the world to sleep by thanking their agents, managers, hairstylists and latte fetchers. Say something remarkable.
"Leave your list in your pocket," Oscar producer Bruce Cohen advised contenders at their annual nominees luncheon three weeks before the show. "Nothing is more deadly than a winner reading a list of names."
"If you are lucky enough to get up there, tell us how you feel about being up there. What is this moment in your life like? Speak from the heart," said fellow Oscar producer Don Mischer. "When winners pull out a list on a piece of paper, we lose viewers by the hundreds of thousands."
At the end of "The King's Speech," which leads Oscar contenders with 12 nominations and is favored to win best picture, Colin Firth as George VI muddles through with a rousing radio address to inspire his nation as World War II approaches.
The king overcame his stammer with help from an unconventional speech therapist, Lionel Logue (played by Geoffrey Rush), who coached, counseled and cajoled that grand oration from his patient.
"King's Speech" director Tom Hooper said winners at Sunday's Oscars would "do well being coached by Lionel Logue. ... He teaches the king a lot about the importance of being relaxed and in the moment. That key idea, which is very central to broadcasting, is: 'Don't say it to the millions of people watching, say it as if you are saying it to one person. Say it as if you are saying it to a friend.' That is his advice to the king, and it remains great broadcasting advice today."
Being in the moment has resulted in some of the most memorable occasions, good and bad, in Oscar history.
Jack Palance did one-armed push-ups on stage when he won for "City Slickers." Adrien Brody won for "The Pianist" and planted a wet, sloppy kiss on Halle Berry, who presented his award. Roberto Benigni climbed the furniture like a kid on a swing-set and declared he wanted to "make love to everybody" after winning for "Life Is Beautiful."
"Titanic" creator James Cameron proclaimed himself "king of the world," "Bowling for Columbine" director Michael Moore castigated President George W. Bush for going to war in Iraq, "Moonstruck" acting winner Olympia Dukakis gave a shout out to her cousin, Michael Dukakis, who was then running for president.
When Julia Roberts won for "Erin Brockovich," she thumbed her nose at the 45-second time limit for acceptance speeches, declaring "I may never be here again" and speaking giddily for about three minutes. Greer Garson went on about twice that long when she won for "Mrs. Miniver," while Joe Pesci, who later confided he had not expected to win for "Goodfellas," took the stage and simply said, "It was my privilege. Thank you."
When she won her second Oscar, for "Million Dollar Baby," Hilary Swank started off memorably with the line, "I'm just a girl from a trailer park who had a dream," then lapsed into list mode, thanking sparring partners, cinematographers, editors, her publicist.
At the nominees luncheon, producers Cohen and Mischer advised contenders to save their laundry list of names for backstage, where they can gush thanks to as many people as they want in front of a camera whose video goes online.
Academy president Tom Sherak joked Friday that steps have been taken to prevent list reading: "They have done away with the metal detectors, and they are going to have paper detectors," he quipped. "So before (winners) come up, they're going to walk through a scan that will make sure they have no paper in their pockets."
David O. Russell, a best-director nominee for "The Fighter," said the producers "gave all the nominees a speech-therapy session, which was badly needed. Because you need to finally produce the show like films are produced: Keep it real, keep it short, keep it entertaining. You wouldn't do that in your film, why do you want to do it on television?"
One of those most likely to land a speaking role at the Oscars is Firth, the guy who plays King George. Firth has been the best-actor front-runner throughout awards season, and he's a witty, expressive speaker himself.
"He is funny and articulate and eloquent," said Helena Bonham Carter, who plays his devoted wife, Queen Elizabeth, in the film. "It is a good job that Colin is going to win, because he is going to give a good speech."
Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows
AP, WASHINGTON: Guest lineups for the Sunday TV news shows:
___
ABC's "This Week" — Live from Tripoli, Libya; from Washington, Govs. Jan Brewer, R-Ariz.; Deval Patrick, D-Mass.; John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.; and Nikki Haley, R-S.C.
___
NBC's "Meet the Press" — Govs. Scott Walker, R-Wis., and Haley Barbour, R-Miss; Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo.; Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO president.
___
CBS' "Face the Nation" — Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J.
___
CNN's "State of the Union" — McCain; Sens. Joe Lieberman, Connecticut independent, and Kent Conrad, D-N.D.; Govs. Dannel Malloy, D-Conn., and Rick Scott, R-Fla.
___
"Fox News Sunday" — Gov. Mitch Daniels, R-Ind.; former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark.
___
ABC's "This Week" — Live from Tripoli, Libya; from Washington, Govs. Jan Brewer, R-Ariz.; Deval Patrick, D-Mass.; John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.; and Nikki Haley, R-S.C.
___
NBC's "Meet the Press" — Govs. Scott Walker, R-Wis., and Haley Barbour, R-Miss; Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo.; Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO president.
___
CBS' "Face the Nation" — Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J.
___
CNN's "State of the Union" — McCain; Sens. Joe Lieberman, Connecticut independent, and Kent Conrad, D-N.D.; Govs. Dannel Malloy, D-Conn., and Rick Scott, R-Fla.
___
"Fox News Sunday" — Gov. Mitch Daniels, R-Ind.; former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark.
Banksy, Franco's singing among Oscar mysteries
AP, LOS ANGELES: To the movie industry, the Oscars are an awards ceremony. For the rest of us, they're a show.
So while we couldn't recall last year's best picture on a bet (Cameron's blue-aliens movie? No, wait, it was "Hurt Locker" from his ex!), we savor the memory of Billy Crystal's great opening bits and Jack Palance's one-armed push-ups and brave Christopher Reeve onstage, alone, in a wheelchair.
So, Academy Awards, what are you going to do for us in the three-hour-and-then-some ABC broadcast starting at 8 p.m. EST Sunday?
Nobody's complaining about seeing the likes of nominees Natalie Portman, Amy Adams or Colin Firth in their designer duds and with a potential winner's aura (and, in Portman's case, the unbeatable glow of pregnancy).
But in a year with so many apparent dead-certs — including Portman as best actress for "Black Swan," Firth as best actor for "The King's Speech" and Melissa Leo and Christian Bale of "The Fighter" for the supporting-actor prizes — we need more bells and whistles.
First, there's the all-important theme for the Kodak Theatre event. This year: "You're invited."
OK. We accept.
Moving on, it's going to be cold, at least by L.A. standards, with temperatures dipping into the 40s at showtime. So during the red-carpet parade, look for loyal publicists earnestly guiding starlets out of the chill because why cover a designer gown with a coat?
The show's hosts are a key element and, this year, relatively daring: Anne Hathaway and James Franco, two fine, handsome actors but lacking the standard credentials of their predecessors, whether a seasoned emcee (Johnny Carson), comedian (Chris Rock) or song-and-dance man (Hugh Jackman).
ABC's promotional spots, including one in which Franco puts Hathaway's bathroom-break quickness to the stopwatch test, are a good sign that clever comedy is afoot. So is the approval of Alec Baldwin, who was a hit last year with co-host Steve Martin.
"She's a very smart and talented and gorgeous and funny woman, and he's a very charming and polished leading man," Baldwin said Friday. "They are great symbols of young Hollywood. The show is very well served by having them."
Any hosting advice for Hathaway, who was a best-actress nominee for 2008's "Rachel Getting Married," and Franco, who's up for best-actor honors for "127 Hours"?
"Just go with your instincts, because your instincts are what got you there in the first place," Baldwin counseled.
Hathaway, at 28 the youngest host ever, and Franco, 32, are expected to make a little music together. Hathaway sparkled in a 2008 Oscar duet with Jackman, while Franco practically demanded the chance to sing Sunday, said producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer.
More tunes are on tap with the return of the best-song showcases. The four nominated numbers will be performed by Gwyneth Paltrow ("Coming Home" from the film "Country Strong"); Randy Newman (his "Toy Story 3" song, "We Belong Together"); Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi and composer Alan Menken ("I See the Light" from "Tangled") and Florence Welch and composer A.R. Rahman ("If I Rise" from "127 Hours").
The producers have secrets in store, including something they've termed "scenic transitions," with music and images that will take viewers to different points in film history for presentation of the more technical awards.
The best surprises, of course, are the unplanned emotional peaks. One could come courtesy of Annette Bening, 52, nominated three times before without winning, finally earning her trophy for "The Kids Are All Right." Or it could be provided by 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld emerging as the underdog winner for her film debut in "True Grit."
Then there's presenter Sandra Bullock, returning to the stage where she triumphantly claimed her best-actress trophy last year for "The Blind Side" and then, within days, saw cheating allegations surface against her now-ex-husband, Jesse James.
Suspense over winners and losers is obviously a staple of the night. But there's a twist this year thanks to Banksy, the elusive British bad-boy street artist and nominee for best documentary feature for his directing debut, "Exit Through the Gift Shop."
Will the artist who prefers to hide his face from public view suddenly turn ham and appear in front of a half-billion viewers? As the movie academy would put it, you're invited to find out.
So while we couldn't recall last year's best picture on a bet (Cameron's blue-aliens movie? No, wait, it was "Hurt Locker" from his ex!), we savor the memory of Billy Crystal's great opening bits and Jack Palance's one-armed push-ups and brave Christopher Reeve onstage, alone, in a wheelchair.
So, Academy Awards, what are you going to do for us in the three-hour-and-then-some ABC broadcast starting at 8 p.m. EST Sunday?
Nobody's complaining about seeing the likes of nominees Natalie Portman, Amy Adams or Colin Firth in their designer duds and with a potential winner's aura (and, in Portman's case, the unbeatable glow of pregnancy).
But in a year with so many apparent dead-certs — including Portman as best actress for "Black Swan," Firth as best actor for "The King's Speech" and Melissa Leo and Christian Bale of "The Fighter" for the supporting-actor prizes — we need more bells and whistles.
First, there's the all-important theme for the Kodak Theatre event. This year: "You're invited."
OK. We accept.
Moving on, it's going to be cold, at least by L.A. standards, with temperatures dipping into the 40s at showtime. So during the red-carpet parade, look for loyal publicists earnestly guiding starlets out of the chill because why cover a designer gown with a coat?
The show's hosts are a key element and, this year, relatively daring: Anne Hathaway and James Franco, two fine, handsome actors but lacking the standard credentials of their predecessors, whether a seasoned emcee (Johnny Carson), comedian (Chris Rock) or song-and-dance man (Hugh Jackman).
ABC's promotional spots, including one in which Franco puts Hathaway's bathroom-break quickness to the stopwatch test, are a good sign that clever comedy is afoot. So is the approval of Alec Baldwin, who was a hit last year with co-host Steve Martin.
"She's a very smart and talented and gorgeous and funny woman, and he's a very charming and polished leading man," Baldwin said Friday. "They are great symbols of young Hollywood. The show is very well served by having them."
Any hosting advice for Hathaway, who was a best-actress nominee for 2008's "Rachel Getting Married," and Franco, who's up for best-actor honors for "127 Hours"?
"Just go with your instincts, because your instincts are what got you there in the first place," Baldwin counseled.
Hathaway, at 28 the youngest host ever, and Franco, 32, are expected to make a little music together. Hathaway sparkled in a 2008 Oscar duet with Jackman, while Franco practically demanded the chance to sing Sunday, said producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer.
More tunes are on tap with the return of the best-song showcases. The four nominated numbers will be performed by Gwyneth Paltrow ("Coming Home" from the film "Country Strong"); Randy Newman (his "Toy Story 3" song, "We Belong Together"); Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi and composer Alan Menken ("I See the Light" from "Tangled") and Florence Welch and composer A.R. Rahman ("If I Rise" from "127 Hours").
The producers have secrets in store, including something they've termed "scenic transitions," with music and images that will take viewers to different points in film history for presentation of the more technical awards.
The best surprises, of course, are the unplanned emotional peaks. One could come courtesy of Annette Bening, 52, nominated three times before without winning, finally earning her trophy for "The Kids Are All Right." Or it could be provided by 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld emerging as the underdog winner for her film debut in "True Grit."
Then there's presenter Sandra Bullock, returning to the stage where she triumphantly claimed her best-actress trophy last year for "The Blind Side" and then, within days, saw cheating allegations surface against her now-ex-husband, Jesse James.
Suspense over winners and losers is obviously a staple of the night. But there's a twist this year thanks to Banksy, the elusive British bad-boy street artist and nominee for best documentary feature for his directing debut, "Exit Through the Gift Shop."
Will the artist who prefers to hide his face from public view suddenly turn ham and appear in front of a half-billion viewers? As the movie academy would put it, you're invited to find out.
Kathleen Parker out of CNN's "Parker Spitzer" show
Reuters, LOS ANGELES: Journalist Kathleen Parker is leaving CNN talk show "Parker Spitzer," and the prime-time program will be revamped with former New York governor Eliot Spitzer remaining, alongside others, CNN said on Friday.
CNN said Parker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post columnist was leaving to focus on her writing. The "Parker Spitzer" talk show debuted in October to disappointing ratings, and critics said the pair lacked chemistry as a duo.
Spitzer has sometimes been appearing solo in recent weeks, chairing a more hard news-oriented show about politics and the upheavals in Arab states.
"We have been pleased with how the 8 p.m. hour has become a centerpiece of substantive, policy-oriented conversation, and we are looking forward to building on that with this new format, " CNN executive vice president Ken Jautz said in a statement.
Jautz said the new program would be called "In the Arena" and it will adopt an ensemble format with several newsmakers, guests and contributors joining Spitzer each night. On a regular basis, Spitzer will co-host the show alongside news anchor E.D. Hill and conservative columnist Will Cain.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
CNN said Parker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post columnist was leaving to focus on her writing. The "Parker Spitzer" talk show debuted in October to disappointing ratings, and critics said the pair lacked chemistry as a duo.
Spitzer has sometimes been appearing solo in recent weeks, chairing a more hard news-oriented show about politics and the upheavals in Arab states.
"We have been pleased with how the 8 p.m. hour has become a centerpiece of substantive, policy-oriented conversation, and we are looking forward to building on that with this new format, " CNN executive vice president Ken Jautz said in a statement.
Jautz said the new program would be called "In the Arena" and it will adopt an ensemble format with several newsmakers, guests and contributors joining Spitzer each night. On a regular basis, Spitzer will co-host the show alongside news anchor E.D. Hill and conservative columnist Will Cain.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
John Lasseter wins lifetime achievement award
AP, WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif: John Lasseter's pair of Oscars have a new friend: a lifetime achievement trophy. The Pixar and Disney animation chief received the award Friday night for his dedication to the 40-minutes-or-less medium from Shorts International, an entertainment organization which promotes, distributes, broadcasts and produces short films.
"It feels fantastic because I love short films," said Lasseter. "I love the art form and what it did for me as a filmmaker. I learned so much from making short films. They're these little gems, these fantastic little ideas that are not meant to be a feature film. They're perfect unto themselves. A great short film leaves you smiling and thinking about it."
Lasseter won the animated short film Oscar in 1988 for "Tin Toy," as well as a special achievement award in 1995 for "Toy Story," the first feature-length computer-generated film. The lifetime achievement award from Shorts International may not be his only prize this weekend. He's nominated with the other "Toy Story 3" filmmakers for best adapted screenplay.
"Toy Story 3" is also competing in the sound editing, original song, animated feature and best picture categories. Lasseter is hopeful about it's chances for the top prize, even though the motion picture academy has never bestowed an animated film with the best picture honor. "Toy Story 3" is only the third animated film to be nominated in that category.
"I do believe we will one day see an animated film win the best picture Oscar, and I hope it's on Sunday," said Lasseter. "I think that over time, more and more of Hollywood and the Academy has gotten to know animation. It's exactly the same as live action filmmaking. We tell great stories. We use great actors. We just use a different camera."
Other honorees Friday included director Kenneth Branagh and actresses June Foray and Melissa Leo, who commended short films for keeping her "going many a time when things were quite blue." This year's crop of live action, documentary and animated short film nominees were also recognized during the swanky affair at Soho House overlooking the Sunset Strip.
"It feels fantastic because I love short films," said Lasseter. "I love the art form and what it did for me as a filmmaker. I learned so much from making short films. They're these little gems, these fantastic little ideas that are not meant to be a feature film. They're perfect unto themselves. A great short film leaves you smiling and thinking about it."
Lasseter won the animated short film Oscar in 1988 for "Tin Toy," as well as a special achievement award in 1995 for "Toy Story," the first feature-length computer-generated film. The lifetime achievement award from Shorts International may not be his only prize this weekend. He's nominated with the other "Toy Story 3" filmmakers for best adapted screenplay.
"Toy Story 3" is also competing in the sound editing, original song, animated feature and best picture categories. Lasseter is hopeful about it's chances for the top prize, even though the motion picture academy has never bestowed an animated film with the best picture honor. "Toy Story 3" is only the third animated film to be nominated in that category.
"I do believe we will one day see an animated film win the best picture Oscar, and I hope it's on Sunday," said Lasseter. "I think that over time, more and more of Hollywood and the Academy has gotten to know animation. It's exactly the same as live action filmmaking. We tell great stories. We use great actors. We just use a different camera."
Other honorees Friday included director Kenneth Branagh and actresses June Foray and Melissa Leo, who commended short films for keeping her "going many a time when things were quite blue." This year's crop of live action, documentary and animated short film nominees were also recognized during the swanky affair at Soho House overlooking the Sunset Strip.
Oscar winners' dilemma: To list or not to list?
AP, LOS ANGELES: You can forgive George VI, the central figure in "The King's Speech," for painfully picking through his syllables when he steps up to the microphone. Like all stammerers, the guy lived in terror of public speaking.
But don't we deserve some speechifying for the ages from the Hollywood elite that win Academy Awards on Sunday? They're paid millions for their creative talents, so why do they often bore the stuffing out of TV audiences with droning thank-you lists?
The problem, said "King's Speech" screenwriter David Seidler, expected to win the Oscar for original screenplay, is that if recipients fail to deliver a monotonous litany of thanks, they hurt a lot of feelings in a town of big, fragile egos.
"You're stuck. If you don't thank a long list of people, you have a long list of people very upset, and if you do thank a long list of people, you have a billion people out in the audience bored stupid," Seidler said.
And if he wins? "I'm not quite sure what to do," he said.
Oscar overseers know what they'd like winners to do, though. They're making their usual exhortations to nominees that should they win, don't lull the world to sleep by thanking their agents, managers, hairstylists and latte fetchers. Say something remarkable.
"Leave your list in your pocket," Oscar producer Bruce Cohen advised contenders at their annual nominees luncheon three weeks before the show. "Nothing is more deadly than a winner reading a list of names."
"If you are lucky enough to get up there, tell us how you feel about being up there. What is this moment in your life like? Speak from the heart," said fellow Oscar producer Don Mischer. "When winners pull out a list on a piece of paper, we lose viewers by the hundreds of thousands."
At the end of "The King's Speech," which leads Oscar contenders with 12 nominations and is favored to win best picture, Colin Firth as George VI muddles through with a rousing radio address to inspire his nation as World War II approaches.
The king overcame his stammer with help from an unconventional speech therapist, Lionel Logue (played by Geoffrey Rush), who coached, counseled and cajoled that grand oration from his patient.
"King's Speech" director Tom Hooper said winners at Sunday's Oscars would "do well being coached by Lionel Logue. ... He teaches the king a lot about the importance of being relaxed and in the moment. That key idea, which is very central to broadcasting, is: 'Don't say it to the millions of people watching, say it as if you are saying it to one person. Say it as if you are saying it to a friend.' That is his advice to the king, and it remains great broadcasting advice today."
Being in the moment has resulted in some of the most memorable occasions, good and bad, in Oscar history.
Jack Palance did one-armed push-ups on stage when he won for "City Slickers." Adrien Brody won for "The Pianist" and planted a wet, sloppy kiss on Halle Berry, who presented his award. Roberto Benigni climbed the furniture like a kid on a swing-set and declared he wanted to "make love to everybody" after winning for "Life Is Beautiful."
"Titanic" creator James Cameron proclaimed himself "king of the world," "Bowling for Columbine" director Michael Moore castigated President George W. Bush for going to war in Iraq, "Moonstruck" acting winner Olympia Dukakis gave a shout out to her cousin, Michael Dukakis, who was then running for president.
When Julia Roberts won for "Erin Brockovich," she thumbed her nose at the 45-second time limit for acceptance speeches, declaring "I may never be here again" and speaking giddily for about three minutes. Greer Garson went on about twice that long when she won for "Mrs. Miniver," while Joe Pesci, who later confided he had not expected to win for "Goodfellas," took the stage and simply said, "It was my privilege. Thank you."
When she won her second Oscar, for "Million Dollar Baby," Hilary Swank started off memorably with the line, "I'm just a girl from a trailer park who had a dream," then lapsed into list mode, thanking sparring partners, cinematographers, editors, her publicist.
At the nominees luncheon, producers Cohen and Mischer advised contenders to save their laundry list of names for backstage, where they can gush thanks to as many people as they want in front of a camera whose video goes online.
Academy president Tom Sherak joked Friday that steps have been taken to prevent list reading: "They have done away with the metal detectors, and they are going to have paper detectors," he quipped. "So before (winners) come up, they're going to walk through a scan that will make sure they have no paper in their pockets."
David O. Russell, a best-director nominee for "The Fighter," said the producers "gave all the nominees a speech-therapy session, which was badly needed. Because you need to finally produce the show like films are produced: Keep it real, keep it short, keep it entertaining. You wouldn't do that in your film, why do you want to do it on television?"
One of those most likely to land a speaking role at the Oscars is Firth, the guy who plays King George. Firth has been the best-actor front-runner throughout awards season, and he's a witty, expressive speaker himself.
"He is funny and articulate and eloquent," said Helena Bonham Carter, who plays his devoted wife, Queen Elizabeth, in the film. "It is a good job that Colin is going to win, because he is going to give a good speech."
___
AP entertainment writers Sandy Cohen and Mike Cidoni contributed to this report.
But don't we deserve some speechifying for the ages from the Hollywood elite that win Academy Awards on Sunday? They're paid millions for their creative talents, so why do they often bore the stuffing out of TV audiences with droning thank-you lists?
The problem, said "King's Speech" screenwriter David Seidler, expected to win the Oscar for original screenplay, is that if recipients fail to deliver a monotonous litany of thanks, they hurt a lot of feelings in a town of big, fragile egos.
"You're stuck. If you don't thank a long list of people, you have a long list of people very upset, and if you do thank a long list of people, you have a billion people out in the audience bored stupid," Seidler said.
And if he wins? "I'm not quite sure what to do," he said.
Oscar overseers know what they'd like winners to do, though. They're making their usual exhortations to nominees that should they win, don't lull the world to sleep by thanking their agents, managers, hairstylists and latte fetchers. Say something remarkable.
"Leave your list in your pocket," Oscar producer Bruce Cohen advised contenders at their annual nominees luncheon three weeks before the show. "Nothing is more deadly than a winner reading a list of names."
"If you are lucky enough to get up there, tell us how you feel about being up there. What is this moment in your life like? Speak from the heart," said fellow Oscar producer Don Mischer. "When winners pull out a list on a piece of paper, we lose viewers by the hundreds of thousands."
At the end of "The King's Speech," which leads Oscar contenders with 12 nominations and is favored to win best picture, Colin Firth as George VI muddles through with a rousing radio address to inspire his nation as World War II approaches.
The king overcame his stammer with help from an unconventional speech therapist, Lionel Logue (played by Geoffrey Rush), who coached, counseled and cajoled that grand oration from his patient.
"King's Speech" director Tom Hooper said winners at Sunday's Oscars would "do well being coached by Lionel Logue. ... He teaches the king a lot about the importance of being relaxed and in the moment. That key idea, which is very central to broadcasting, is: 'Don't say it to the millions of people watching, say it as if you are saying it to one person. Say it as if you are saying it to a friend.' That is his advice to the king, and it remains great broadcasting advice today."
Being in the moment has resulted in some of the most memorable occasions, good and bad, in Oscar history.
Jack Palance did one-armed push-ups on stage when he won for "City Slickers." Adrien Brody won for "The Pianist" and planted a wet, sloppy kiss on Halle Berry, who presented his award. Roberto Benigni climbed the furniture like a kid on a swing-set and declared he wanted to "make love to everybody" after winning for "Life Is Beautiful."
"Titanic" creator James Cameron proclaimed himself "king of the world," "Bowling for Columbine" director Michael Moore castigated President George W. Bush for going to war in Iraq, "Moonstruck" acting winner Olympia Dukakis gave a shout out to her cousin, Michael Dukakis, who was then running for president.
When Julia Roberts won for "Erin Brockovich," she thumbed her nose at the 45-second time limit for acceptance speeches, declaring "I may never be here again" and speaking giddily for about three minutes. Greer Garson went on about twice that long when she won for "Mrs. Miniver," while Joe Pesci, who later confided he had not expected to win for "Goodfellas," took the stage and simply said, "It was my privilege. Thank you."
When she won her second Oscar, for "Million Dollar Baby," Hilary Swank started off memorably with the line, "I'm just a girl from a trailer park who had a dream," then lapsed into list mode, thanking sparring partners, cinematographers, editors, her publicist.
At the nominees luncheon, producers Cohen and Mischer advised contenders to save their laundry list of names for backstage, where they can gush thanks to as many people as they want in front of a camera whose video goes online.
Academy president Tom Sherak joked Friday that steps have been taken to prevent list reading: "They have done away with the metal detectors, and they are going to have paper detectors," he quipped. "So before (winners) come up, they're going to walk through a scan that will make sure they have no paper in their pockets."
David O. Russell, a best-director nominee for "The Fighter," said the producers "gave all the nominees a speech-therapy session, which was badly needed. Because you need to finally produce the show like films are produced: Keep it real, keep it short, keep it entertaining. You wouldn't do that in your film, why do you want to do it on television?"
One of those most likely to land a speaking role at the Oscars is Firth, the guy who plays King George. Firth has been the best-actor front-runner throughout awards season, and he's a witty, expressive speaker himself.
"He is funny and articulate and eloquent," said Helena Bonham Carter, who plays his devoted wife, Queen Elizabeth, in the film. "It is a good job that Colin is going to win, because he is going to give a good speech."
___
AP entertainment writers Sandy Cohen and Mike Cidoni contributed to this report.
Oscars to continue on ABC TV through 2020
Reuters, LOS ANGELES: ABC television will broadcast the annual Oscar ceremony until 2020, extending its current agreement by six years, the TV network and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said on Thursday.
ABC, a unit of the Walt Disney Co, has broadcast the Academy Awards -- traditionally the most-watched non-sporting event of the year -- to U.S. viewers for decades.
"This contract ensures that the Oscar show will be an ABC tradition for 45 consecutive years," Academy president Tom Sherak said in a statement.
ABC television group president Anne Sweeny said that ABC has aired 46 of the annual telecasts honoring the best movies and performances of the year "so we're thrilled to announce that this tradition will continue."
The 83rd Academy Awards will be aired live from Hollywood on Sunday.
Last year, the ceremony was watched by 41.7 million Americans -- the largest TV audience in five years.
The Oscars are also watched by millions of people around the world under a separate agreement with Walt Disney International, which runs through 2014.
ABC, a unit of the Walt Disney Co, has broadcast the Academy Awards -- traditionally the most-watched non-sporting event of the year -- to U.S. viewers for decades.
"This contract ensures that the Oscar show will be an ABC tradition for 45 consecutive years," Academy president Tom Sherak said in a statement.
ABC television group president Anne Sweeny said that ABC has aired 46 of the annual telecasts honoring the best movies and performances of the year "so we're thrilled to announce that this tradition will continue."
The 83rd Academy Awards will be aired live from Hollywood on Sunday.
Last year, the ceremony was watched by 41.7 million Americans -- the largest TV audience in five years.
The Oscars are also watched by millions of people around the world under a separate agreement with Walt Disney International, which runs through 2014.
Chris Medina: The "American Idol" interview
Reuters, LOS ANGELES: Eliminated "American Idol" hopeful Chris Medina's inspirational story prompted super-producer Rodney Jerkins (Britney Spears, Michael Jackson) to put pen to paper. The result: a just recorded single, "What Are Words," and an accompanying video premiering on Friday at 2 p.m. EST on aol.com.
"The song embodied what I'm going through and the promises that I kept," explained Medina, who pledged to take care of his fiancee Juliana following crippling car accident.
Medina's Milwaukee audition made him a instant household name, but his fan favorite status didn't save him from the judges' wrath -- which, in Jennifer Lopez's case, turned into a full-on meltdown.
THR caught up with the Oak Park, Illinois native 24 hours after his farewell episode aired, and just before he went shopping for a new blazer to wear on Friday's "Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
THR: How hard has it been to be home and keep all of your "Idol" experiences a secret?
Chris Medina: It was pretty easy. I didn't go out. I just stayed in my house and didn't talk to anybody. Every week, I'd get a phone call saying "Hey, this is so-and-so from TMZ, is this Chris Medina from 'American Idol?'" And I'm, like, "No! But I've been getting that all week." I kind of pretended I wasn't myself and just ignored them.
THR: Every 'Idol' hopeful has that moment when he/she realizes the show is much bigger than they ever imagined, when was yours?
Medina: The day that my audition aired. I was at a bar with my family watching (the show) and my buddy pulls me aside and says, "You're the number one trending topic on Twitter and Google." It was this weird "Twilight Zone" stuff, like it isn't real." The a few days after it aired, Juliana's cousin, who's a volleyball coach, invites my whole family to this grammar school game, and as soon as I walk through the parking lot, someone recognized me. In the gym, this kid asked me to sign his arm. I look at the stands and everyone is going berserk. I hugged a kid and he started crying. A mom got red in the face telling me, "You need to take a picture with my daughter!" That's when I realized that this was way bigger than anything I'd ever done.
THR: What was your impression of the judges?
Medina: Steven Tyler is a maniac and so cool. It's amazing that someone so iconic with such superstar power can be so down-to-earth. He has an aura about him, he makes you feel comfortable. On the very first audition, he gave me a kiss. In Vegas, when he was walking by me, he touched my face... He's like a hippie with a mission -- just a free spirit, rock 'n rollin man who loves people.
THR: And Jennifer?
Medina: She's just really sweet. I'd heard all these rumors about her being this diva. Like, you can't call her (J Lo), don't look at her in the eyes or you'll turn into a statue but she's not that way at all! She's just super kind and her comments have substance. She'll tell you "You're almost there, you're doing good. Just a little more less of this, a little bit more of that. I felt you, you gotta sing like you own it."
THR: How about Randy?
Medina: What you see on TV, that's the way he is.
THR: You and Ryan Seacrest seemed to get along well
Medina: Ryan is very cool. He's a master at delivery and I love the way he holds his cool.
THR: Ryan was surprised by your exit, but Jennifer had a total meltdown.
Medina: Ryan seemed shocked, but he's seen it happen a hundred times. I heard about Jennifer, but I didn't get to see it in person, otherwise I probably would've started crying. She was really concerned with how she gave me the axe. But actually the way she said it, I was just, like, "cool." And then she gave me a hug that made it all better. I don't think Jennifer could have said it better, she was being too hard on herself. She hit it right on the head: I had some good performances and some not-so good performances, and there were people there who've had consistently really awesome performances
THR: Do you still plan to get married?
Medina: I sure hope so, that's the goal. I've already told myself that it's okay that she's in a wheelchair. It doesn't mean anything to me. It's okay if she has a hard time speaking. What's not okay is if in a couple years, she's not 100% and we can't could have a conversation with each other, because that's the essence of a relationship. I don't mind helping her into her car, but I don't want to be feeding her or taking her to the bathroom everyday from this day forward. I want her to become somewhat independent. Those are more my own personal issues, and I know that it might be rough for a lot of people to hear, but that's the truth of the matter. To me, Juliana is still beautiful, but I want to be able to sit down and have a meaningful conversation with my wife I want to get to a point where I feel less like a caretaker and more like a fiancé. But to say, "We're not going to get married until you get better" is unfair to her, too. So the only thing I say is: "Babe, if you keep trying, I'll keep trying." And that's the truth.
THR: Does Juliana have decent health insurance?
Medina: She's on my health insurance from (working at) Starbucks. They recognized her as my domestic partner because I had been living with her for eight years. After (the audition episode) aired, I had no idea that it was going to blow up the way it did. People donated equipment, a van, money, offered to pay for hospital bills, a few doctors offered their services for free. It wasn't like I wanted to be an "American Idol," I just wanted to help her and had to figure out a way to do it. Because steaming foamy milk is not going to cut it. And I think I did something really good for her and her family. I accomplished it.
THR: How was your experience recording this song?
Medina: Rodney Jerkins was too cool. He made me do things I didn't think I was capable of. I'd be, like, "Man, that's too high," and he'd say, "No, you just think it is. Your emotion is going to bring it out and you're going to hit those notes." In the vocal booth, I told him, "It's really hard to be sad when I'm so happy to be here!" There was a point when I lost it and started crying just thinking about the lyrics. "Every promise I'll keep / You'll see / I'll be there wherever you are / I'll be near / Wherever you go."
THR: So what's your goal at this point?
Medina: I want to write music and see what happens with this single. I want to work on my stage presence. I want to play 250 shows a year. I want to be a complete artist. I want to take care of my fiancé. I have this fantasy that I make enough money to build us a house where she can get around and I could take care of her for the rest of our lives, whether we get married or we don't. I want her to just be happy. That's all.
"The song embodied what I'm going through and the promises that I kept," explained Medina, who pledged to take care of his fiancee Juliana following crippling car accident.
Medina's Milwaukee audition made him a instant household name, but his fan favorite status didn't save him from the judges' wrath -- which, in Jennifer Lopez's case, turned into a full-on meltdown.
THR caught up with the Oak Park, Illinois native 24 hours after his farewell episode aired, and just before he went shopping for a new blazer to wear on Friday's "Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
THR: How hard has it been to be home and keep all of your "Idol" experiences a secret?
Chris Medina: It was pretty easy. I didn't go out. I just stayed in my house and didn't talk to anybody. Every week, I'd get a phone call saying "Hey, this is so-and-so from TMZ, is this Chris Medina from 'American Idol?'" And I'm, like, "No! But I've been getting that all week." I kind of pretended I wasn't myself and just ignored them.
THR: Every 'Idol' hopeful has that moment when he/she realizes the show is much bigger than they ever imagined, when was yours?
Medina: The day that my audition aired. I was at a bar with my family watching (the show) and my buddy pulls me aside and says, "You're the number one trending topic on Twitter and Google." It was this weird "Twilight Zone" stuff, like it isn't real." The a few days after it aired, Juliana's cousin, who's a volleyball coach, invites my whole family to this grammar school game, and as soon as I walk through the parking lot, someone recognized me. In the gym, this kid asked me to sign his arm. I look at the stands and everyone is going berserk. I hugged a kid and he started crying. A mom got red in the face telling me, "You need to take a picture with my daughter!" That's when I realized that this was way bigger than anything I'd ever done.
THR: What was your impression of the judges?
Medina: Steven Tyler is a maniac and so cool. It's amazing that someone so iconic with such superstar power can be so down-to-earth. He has an aura about him, he makes you feel comfortable. On the very first audition, he gave me a kiss. In Vegas, when he was walking by me, he touched my face... He's like a hippie with a mission -- just a free spirit, rock 'n rollin man who loves people.
THR: And Jennifer?
Medina: She's just really sweet. I'd heard all these rumors about her being this diva. Like, you can't call her (J Lo), don't look at her in the eyes or you'll turn into a statue but she's not that way at all! She's just super kind and her comments have substance. She'll tell you "You're almost there, you're doing good. Just a little more less of this, a little bit more of that. I felt you, you gotta sing like you own it."
THR: How about Randy?
Medina: What you see on TV, that's the way he is.
THR: You and Ryan Seacrest seemed to get along well
Medina: Ryan is very cool. He's a master at delivery and I love the way he holds his cool.
THR: Ryan was surprised by your exit, but Jennifer had a total meltdown.
Medina: Ryan seemed shocked, but he's seen it happen a hundred times. I heard about Jennifer, but I didn't get to see it in person, otherwise I probably would've started crying. She was really concerned with how she gave me the axe. But actually the way she said it, I was just, like, "cool." And then she gave me a hug that made it all better. I don't think Jennifer could have said it better, she was being too hard on herself. She hit it right on the head: I had some good performances and some not-so good performances, and there were people there who've had consistently really awesome performances
THR: Do you still plan to get married?
Medina: I sure hope so, that's the goal. I've already told myself that it's okay that she's in a wheelchair. It doesn't mean anything to me. It's okay if she has a hard time speaking. What's not okay is if in a couple years, she's not 100% and we can't could have a conversation with each other, because that's the essence of a relationship. I don't mind helping her into her car, but I don't want to be feeding her or taking her to the bathroom everyday from this day forward. I want her to become somewhat independent. Those are more my own personal issues, and I know that it might be rough for a lot of people to hear, but that's the truth of the matter. To me, Juliana is still beautiful, but I want to be able to sit down and have a meaningful conversation with my wife I want to get to a point where I feel less like a caretaker and more like a fiancé. But to say, "We're not going to get married until you get better" is unfair to her, too. So the only thing I say is: "Babe, if you keep trying, I'll keep trying." And that's the truth.
THR: Does Juliana have decent health insurance?
Medina: She's on my health insurance from (working at) Starbucks. They recognized her as my domestic partner because I had been living with her for eight years. After (the audition episode) aired, I had no idea that it was going to blow up the way it did. People donated equipment, a van, money, offered to pay for hospital bills, a few doctors offered their services for free. It wasn't like I wanted to be an "American Idol," I just wanted to help her and had to figure out a way to do it. Because steaming foamy milk is not going to cut it. And I think I did something really good for her and her family. I accomplished it.
THR: How was your experience recording this song?
Medina: Rodney Jerkins was too cool. He made me do things I didn't think I was capable of. I'd be, like, "Man, that's too high," and he'd say, "No, you just think it is. Your emotion is going to bring it out and you're going to hit those notes." In the vocal booth, I told him, "It's really hard to be sad when I'm so happy to be here!" There was a point when I lost it and started crying just thinking about the lyrics. "Every promise I'll keep / You'll see / I'll be there wherever you are / I'll be near / Wherever you go."
THR: So what's your goal at this point?
Medina: I want to write music and see what happens with this single. I want to work on my stage presence. I want to play 250 shows a year. I want to be a complete artist. I want to take care of my fiancé. I have this fantasy that I make enough money to build us a house where she can get around and I could take care of her for the rest of our lives, whether we get married or we don't. I want her to just be happy. That's all.
In new download, Spidey teams with a Top Chef
AP, PHILADELPHIA: When the web-slinger heads out for dinner, danger is always on the menu.
In a new one-shot tale available through Marvel Comics' app and online, Spider-Man teams up with "Top Chef" Eli Kirshtein in a bid to thwart the hallucination-spewing Mysterio who disrupts the wall-crawler's date.
The team-up was born, Marvel said Friday, of a fascination for food shared not just by Kirshtein, but also C.B. Cebulski, the comic publisher's senior vice president of creator and content development.
An avid fan of Twitter, and food, Cebulski and Kirshtein struck up a friendship that led to the latter's appearance in the 11-page digital-only tale that was written by Marc Bernardin and drawn by Mike Henderson.
In a new one-shot tale available through Marvel Comics' app and online, Spider-Man teams up with "Top Chef" Eli Kirshtein in a bid to thwart the hallucination-spewing Mysterio who disrupts the wall-crawler's date.
The team-up was born, Marvel said Friday, of a fascination for food shared not just by Kirshtein, but also C.B. Cebulski, the comic publisher's senior vice president of creator and content development.
An avid fan of Twitter, and food, Cebulski and Kirshtein struck up a friendship that led to the latter's appearance in the 11-page digital-only tale that was written by Marc Bernardin and drawn by Mike Henderson.
NY judge: Seinfeld can mock cookbook author on TV
AP, NEW YORK: A judge has thrown out a lawsuit by a cookbook author who accused Jerry Seinfeld of hurting her reputation by mocking her on national television.
In a ruling filed with the court Friday, state Justice Marcy Friedman said it was clear the comedian was joking when he called author Missy Chase Lapine a "wacko" during an appearance on the "Late Show with David Letterman" in 2007.
The judge said Seinfeld also has a constitutional right to express his opinion.
The suit stemmed from a legal battle in which Lapine accused Seinfeld's wife, Jessica, of stealing her idea for a book on how to get children to eat healthy. Both women had published their books that year. Lapine's was called, "The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals." Jessica Seinfeld's was titled "Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food."
The case became tabloid fodder, and Seinfeld addressed it on Letterman with a heaping of ridicule.
"One of the fun facts of celebrity life is wackos will wait in the woodwork to pop out at certain moments of your life to inject a little adrenaline into your life experience," Seinfeld told Letterman.
"So there's another woman who had another cookbook," he continued. "My wife never saw the book, read the book, used the book ... But the books came out at the same time. So this woman says, 'I sense this could be my wacko moment.'"
Seinfeld said Lapine was accusing his wife of "vegetable plagiarism."
"She comes out and says, 'You stole my mushed-up carrots. You can't put mushed-up carrots in a casserole. I put mushed-up carrots in the casserole.'"
A federal court eventually agreed with Seinfeld that the copyright suit was baseless and tossed it out last year. The judges said there was nothing original about the idea of "stockpiling vegetable purees for covert use in children's food."
Friedman's ruling, signed Wednesday but filed Friday, noted that you can't sue someone for libel in the U.S. merely for hurling an insult. You must show that a person lied about facts in order to damage a person's reputation and did so in such a way that a reasonable person would have believed that those false statements were true.
Given all of the hyperbole in his jokes — one of which implied that people who went by three names, like Lapin, were predisposed to become assassins — the judge said she found it "inconceivable" that a reasonable viewer thought he was serious about fearing for his safety. And as for Seinfeld's suggestion that Lapine was an opportunist making up baseless plagiarism claims, the judge wrote that he was entitled to voice his opinion.
"If the law were to the contrary, the protection of the First Amendment would be unacceptably denied to persons who publicly defend themselves against what they believe to be baseless charges or lawsuits," she wrote.
The judge also absolved "Deceptively Delicious" publisher HarperCollins of any wrongdoing. Lapine had accused the company of lifting ideas from a book proposal she sent the company in 2006.
Lapine's lawyer, Howard Miller, said he and his client were evaluating the opinion and would decide later whether to appeal. He had no other comment.
Seinfeld's attorney, Orin Snyder, called the decision "a complete victory for Jerry, and also a victory for the First Amendment and the right of comedians to tell jokes."
In a ruling filed with the court Friday, state Justice Marcy Friedman said it was clear the comedian was joking when he called author Missy Chase Lapine a "wacko" during an appearance on the "Late Show with David Letterman" in 2007.
The judge said Seinfeld also has a constitutional right to express his opinion.
The suit stemmed from a legal battle in which Lapine accused Seinfeld's wife, Jessica, of stealing her idea for a book on how to get children to eat healthy. Both women had published their books that year. Lapine's was called, "The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals." Jessica Seinfeld's was titled "Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food."
The case became tabloid fodder, and Seinfeld addressed it on Letterman with a heaping of ridicule.
"One of the fun facts of celebrity life is wackos will wait in the woodwork to pop out at certain moments of your life to inject a little adrenaline into your life experience," Seinfeld told Letterman.
"So there's another woman who had another cookbook," he continued. "My wife never saw the book, read the book, used the book ... But the books came out at the same time. So this woman says, 'I sense this could be my wacko moment.'"
Seinfeld said Lapine was accusing his wife of "vegetable plagiarism."
"She comes out and says, 'You stole my mushed-up carrots. You can't put mushed-up carrots in a casserole. I put mushed-up carrots in the casserole.'"
A federal court eventually agreed with Seinfeld that the copyright suit was baseless and tossed it out last year. The judges said there was nothing original about the idea of "stockpiling vegetable purees for covert use in children's food."
Friedman's ruling, signed Wednesday but filed Friday, noted that you can't sue someone for libel in the U.S. merely for hurling an insult. You must show that a person lied about facts in order to damage a person's reputation and did so in such a way that a reasonable person would have believed that those false statements were true.
Given all of the hyperbole in his jokes — one of which implied that people who went by three names, like Lapin, were predisposed to become assassins — the judge said she found it "inconceivable" that a reasonable viewer thought he was serious about fearing for his safety. And as for Seinfeld's suggestion that Lapine was an opportunist making up baseless plagiarism claims, the judge wrote that he was entitled to voice his opinion.
"If the law were to the contrary, the protection of the First Amendment would be unacceptably denied to persons who publicly defend themselves against what they believe to be baseless charges or lawsuits," she wrote.
The judge also absolved "Deceptively Delicious" publisher HarperCollins of any wrongdoing. Lapine had accused the company of lifting ideas from a book proposal she sent the company in 2006.
Lapine's lawyer, Howard Miller, said he and his client were evaluating the opinion and would decide later whether to appeal. He had no other comment.
Seinfeld's attorney, Orin Snyder, called the decision "a complete victory for Jerry, and also a victory for the First Amendment and the right of comedians to tell jokes."
Charlie Sheen's rants put his career in doubt
Reuters, LOS ANGELES: Hollywood appeared to be distancing itself from "Two and a Half Men" star Charlie Sheen Friday after days of erratic behavior and insults put the future of his top-rated TV comedy in jeopardy.
Sheen, on vacation in the Bahamas after a month of "rehab" at his Los Angeles home, sent off more angry messages to the U.S. media Friday insisting he was sober but calling his bosses "Nazis," "hypocrites" and "clowns" for pulling the plug on his CBS TV show for the remainder of this season.
Speculation was rife about the long term future of "Two and a Half Men" -- or at least Sheen's lead role in it as a womanizing bachelor.
Some TV writers wondered if the 45 year-old actor committed "career suicide" with his expletive-filled attacks on the show's producer and co-creator. Dozens of fans slammed Sheen on Twitter and the Internet and hoped the show would go on next season without him. But whether it will was anybody's guess.
"CBS and makers Warner Bros Television may very well decide to call it a day on 'Two and a Half Men' because the hassle is not worth it," said Michael Schneider of TV Guide Magazine.
TV industry sources said a deal was already in place for a 9th season of the comedy, but they declined to speculate whether Sheen would be in it.
"Two and a Half Men" has been a major cash cow for CBS and Warner Bros Television, pulling in millions of dollars in advertising revenue and syndication deals.
But a CBS executive said the decision to cancel the remaining eight shows of the season would have "no material impact in the short term on a company the size of CBS."
Barclays Capital said that the network's Monday night line-up might suffer in the ratings, but "the financial impact to CBS will be difficult to quantify in the short-term."
"Two and a Half Men," now in its 8th season, gets about 15 million weekly viewers. But repeat telecasts bring a robust 10 million -- higher than many other TV shows -- and healthy ad revenue for the network, industry sources said.
Schneider said that with eight seasons of "Men" under their belts, the TV show would continue to do well in syndication for Warner Bros. The Hollywood Reporter estimated Warner Bros makes up to $250 million in domestic syndication deals on the show.
But it is also costly to make. Sheen is the highest paid actor on U.S. television with a reported annual salary of $27.5 million. Neither he nor the rest of the cast and crew will be paid for the eight lost episodes.
If "Two and a Half Men," does not continue, there were questions in Hollywood about how much damage Sheen had done to his career. Before the sitcom made it to TV in 2003, Sheen had starred in dozens of movies including "Platoon," "Wall Street" and the "Major League" baseball movies.
He had been in line to make a third "Major League" film, but producer James G. Robinson told TMZ.com Friday he would not risk using Sheen if he doesn't clean up his act.
"When an actor doesn't show up for work, you can lose half a million dollars a day paying the 250 other people there for the shoot and the costs for the set," Robinson said Friday.
Cable channel HBO tersely refuted claims by Sheen that he was in talks for a new program of his own that would land him a whopping $5 million an episode.
Sheen was persuaded to seek help in January after a cocaine-fueled 36-hour party, months of rabble rousing with porn stars and a conviction for assaulting his now ex-wife.
Friday, he was compared in U.S. media to fallen actor Mel Gibson and starlet Lindsay Lohan, whose careers have tumbled in recent years as each battled substance abuse.
Schneider said he doubted Sheen's Hollywood career was over, but added; "It will require him really cleaning up and doing a little bit of a mea culpa tour.
"But this is Hollywood. Everyone can reinvent themselves."
Sheen, on vacation in the Bahamas after a month of "rehab" at his Los Angeles home, sent off more angry messages to the U.S. media Friday insisting he was sober but calling his bosses "Nazis," "hypocrites" and "clowns" for pulling the plug on his CBS TV show for the remainder of this season.
Speculation was rife about the long term future of "Two and a Half Men" -- or at least Sheen's lead role in it as a womanizing bachelor.
Some TV writers wondered if the 45 year-old actor committed "career suicide" with his expletive-filled attacks on the show's producer and co-creator. Dozens of fans slammed Sheen on Twitter and the Internet and hoped the show would go on next season without him. But whether it will was anybody's guess.
"CBS and makers Warner Bros Television may very well decide to call it a day on 'Two and a Half Men' because the hassle is not worth it," said Michael Schneider of TV Guide Magazine.
TV industry sources said a deal was already in place for a 9th season of the comedy, but they declined to speculate whether Sheen would be in it.
"Two and a Half Men" has been a major cash cow for CBS and Warner Bros Television, pulling in millions of dollars in advertising revenue and syndication deals.
But a CBS executive said the decision to cancel the remaining eight shows of the season would have "no material impact in the short term on a company the size of CBS."
Barclays Capital said that the network's Monday night line-up might suffer in the ratings, but "the financial impact to CBS will be difficult to quantify in the short-term."
"Two and a Half Men," now in its 8th season, gets about 15 million weekly viewers. But repeat telecasts bring a robust 10 million -- higher than many other TV shows -- and healthy ad revenue for the network, industry sources said.
Schneider said that with eight seasons of "Men" under their belts, the TV show would continue to do well in syndication for Warner Bros. The Hollywood Reporter estimated Warner Bros makes up to $250 million in domestic syndication deals on the show.
But it is also costly to make. Sheen is the highest paid actor on U.S. television with a reported annual salary of $27.5 million. Neither he nor the rest of the cast and crew will be paid for the eight lost episodes.
If "Two and a Half Men," does not continue, there were questions in Hollywood about how much damage Sheen had done to his career. Before the sitcom made it to TV in 2003, Sheen had starred in dozens of movies including "Platoon," "Wall Street" and the "Major League" baseball movies.
He had been in line to make a third "Major League" film, but producer James G. Robinson told TMZ.com Friday he would not risk using Sheen if he doesn't clean up his act.
"When an actor doesn't show up for work, you can lose half a million dollars a day paying the 250 other people there for the shoot and the costs for the set," Robinson said Friday.
Cable channel HBO tersely refuted claims by Sheen that he was in talks for a new program of his own that would land him a whopping $5 million an episode.
Sheen was persuaded to seek help in January after a cocaine-fueled 36-hour party, months of rabble rousing with porn stars and a conviction for assaulting his now ex-wife.
Friday, he was compared in U.S. media to fallen actor Mel Gibson and starlet Lindsay Lohan, whose careers have tumbled in recent years as each battled substance abuse.
Schneider said he doubted Sheen's Hollywood career was over, but added; "It will require him really cleaning up and doing a little bit of a mea culpa tour.
"But this is Hollywood. Everyone can reinvent themselves."
ABC names new 'Good Morning America' chief
AP, NEW YORK: ABC News said Friday that current "Nightline" executive producer James Goldston will slide over to take control behind the scenes at "Good Morning America."
He replaces Jim Murphy as senior executive producer. Murphy is leaving to become executive producer of Anderson Cooper's new syndicated talk show, which debuts in the fall.
ABC News President Ben Sherwood said in a memo to staff that Goldston and his team had turned "Nightline" into a powerhouse, "against all odds and speculation that (the show's) best days had come and gone." Goldston's top deputy for the past five years, Jeanmarie Condon, will take over as "Nightline" executive producer.
Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos host "Good Morning America," which competes against NBC's top-rated "Today" show.
Goldston noted that "Good Morning America" has been creeping up in the ratings against "Today," which hasn't lost a single week in the morning show ratings since December 1995.
"There is a self-confidence about the show that is appealing," he said.
Condon said ABC has asked the "Nightline" staff to produce several hours of prime-time programming for this summer.
He replaces Jim Murphy as senior executive producer. Murphy is leaving to become executive producer of Anderson Cooper's new syndicated talk show, which debuts in the fall.
ABC News President Ben Sherwood said in a memo to staff that Goldston and his team had turned "Nightline" into a powerhouse, "against all odds and speculation that (the show's) best days had come and gone." Goldston's top deputy for the past five years, Jeanmarie Condon, will take over as "Nightline" executive producer.
Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos host "Good Morning America," which competes against NBC's top-rated "Today" show.
Goldston noted that "Good Morning America" has been creeping up in the ratings against "Today," which hasn't lost a single week in the morning show ratings since December 1995.
"There is a self-confidence about the show that is appealing," he said.
Condon said ABC has asked the "Nightline" staff to produce several hours of prime-time programming for this summer.
Have TV viewers seen last of Charlie Sheen?
AP, NEW YORK: As Charlie Sheen continued to rant on, his bosses at "Two and a Half Men" seemed prepared Friday to move on.
The network's decision to stop production of television's most popular sitcom this season — and maybe for good — has multimillion-dollar implications for CBS and producer Warner Bros. Television, but it's hardly fatal.
The remaining four episodes were scrapped Thursday after Sheen called the show's executive producer Chuck Lorre a "contaminated little maggot." Sheen's remarks were made on a radio program and in a letter posted on the TMZ website. He kept it up Friday, calling Lorre a clown and loser in text messages to ABC's "Good Morning America" and vowing to show up for work next week.
However, there won't be any work for him to do, as Sheen's erratic personal life may finally have killed a job that reportedly pays him $1.8 million an episode. He's been hospitalized three times in three months, with the production put on hold in January after his most recent hospital stay following a night of frenzied partying. Taping was to resume next week, a plan that blew up Thursday.
"There comes a time when you say, `Enough,'" Jeffrey Stepakoff, a veteran television writer and author of "Billion Dollar Kiss: The Kiss That Saved Dawson's Creek and Other Adventures in TV Writing," said Friday.
The last original episode of "Two and a Half Men" aired Feb. 14.
Sheen plays a hard-partying playboy in the series, which has been a durable performer for CBS for eight seasons. It has averaged 14.6 million viewers this season, down 4 percent from last year, the Nielsen Co. said. The show has fluctuated little in audience, with the 16.5 million viewer average in 2004-05 its highest and 13.8 million in 2007-08 the lowest, Nielsen said.
"It's very hard to get rid of a show that is successful and popular and has served as a launching pad for other comedies," said Brad Adgate, a television analyst for Horizon Media. "This is still a hit-driven business and it's hard to get a hit like that."
Sheen, in an interview Friday with Pat O'Brien on Fox radio's "Loose Cannons" show, said he would fight any effort to not pay him for the balance of his contract, which runs through next season.
He questioned whether he would go back for a ninth season or not, calling it a "toxic environment."
"If they want to roll back to season nine, I gave them my word I would do that but not with the turds that are currently in place. It's impossible ... it would go bad quickly," he said.
Canceling the show outright would eliminate the anchor series on CBS' popular Monday night lineup, with its 9 p.m. replacement likely getting lower ratings. However, since "Two and a Half Men" is a long-running hit with a highly paid cast and staff, CBS will almost certainly replace it with a show that's cheaper to put on, perhaps making up for the lost ad revenue, analysts say.
It's been widely thought that next season would be its last. It would have brought "Two and a Half Men" up to around 200 episodes in its life span, considered optimal for a long life in syndication. There are 177 episodes now.
Unlike NBC, which is looking to continue "The Office" even though star Steve Carell is leaving after this season, it seems unlikely that CBS or Warners would want to continue the show without Sheen or choose another actor to replace him.
CBS is in a strong position as the top-rated broadcast network. Last week, for example, Fox's two editions of "American Idol" were the most-watched prime-time shows on television, and the next 16 on the Nielsen Co.'s popularity list were all on CBS.
"CBS, of anybody, can absorb an issue like this, because they have bench strength," said Don Seamen, vice president and communications analysis for MPG North America. "They have other shows that can fill the slot. If it was NBC, they would be more willing to look the other way."
Can Lorre look the other way at insulting, even borderline anti-Semitic remarks sent his way by the actor he cast in his series? If "Two and a Half Men" ends, it's hardly the end for Lorre, already one of the most successful producers in TV whose other shows include the CBS hits "The Big Bang Theory" and "Mike & Molly."
"Chuck Lorre might just say, `I can't work with this guy anymore,' and nobody would blame him," Seamen said.
Still, stranger things have happened in television.
"I'd like to think anyone could kiss and make up. Laverne and Shirley did," said Drew Carey, who starred in and co-created "The Drew Carey Show." He referred to the oft-rumored feud between stars Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams on the hit sitcom that debuted in 1976.
Producers can also bring in someone to replace Sheen, Carey said, acknowledging it's a risk with viewers.
"I'd put a million bucks on the table that they're discussing this" and weighing possible replacements for Sheen, said Carey, host of "The Price Is Right" game show.
"Two and a Half Men" already airs in syndication, and has deals locked up with stations that represent roughly 95 percent of the country to keep the reruns on the air through 2020, said Bill Carroll, an expert in the syndication market for Katz Media.
Sheen's troubles haven't hurt the show's popularity in this market; if anything, the opposite may be true, Carroll said. Two weeks ago, it was the third most popular syndicated show on TV after "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy," he said. This season it has been the most popular sitcom in reruns, beating out "Family Guy," "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Seinfeld," he said.
Syndication is where a producer such as Warner Bros. and others involved in TV shows make their real money. For example, the FX cable network licensed rights to the 177 "Two and a Half Men" episodes for a reported $750,000 each, he said. A less popular show, "Family Guy," sold rights to its reruns in New York for $68,000 a week — and that's just one of more than 200 markets across the country.
Add in the fact that Warners gets to sell some advertising time on the "Two and a Half Men" episodes, and it's an astronomical amount of revenue with little expense; the shows are already filmed. Warners would take a financial hit if the show ended now, but not until after 2020, Carroll said.
"It's not inconsequential," he said. "But it's not tragic."
Warners has already prepared for the possibility: even before the latest Sheen episode, it had sent contingency notices to stations that had bought rights to the show for what would happen to their contracts if there's no ninth season.
CBS said Friday that the show's slot will be filled with reruns for the time being. It would not be a surprise if CBS airs some of its other comedies in the slot before the season ends, as a test to see how they might do.
"Mike & Molly," averaging 11.9 million viewers in its freshman season in Monday's 9:30 p.m. time slot, could be a candidate to move up. Less risky might be the more established "How I Met Your Mother," although that show is considered near the end of its run.
CBS moved "The Big Bang Theory" from Monday to Thursdays this season and it has done quite well, lessening the likelihood the network would want to move it back.
The network's decision to stop production of television's most popular sitcom this season — and maybe for good — has multimillion-dollar implications for CBS and producer Warner Bros. Television, but it's hardly fatal.
The remaining four episodes were scrapped Thursday after Sheen called the show's executive producer Chuck Lorre a "contaminated little maggot." Sheen's remarks were made on a radio program and in a letter posted on the TMZ website. He kept it up Friday, calling Lorre a clown and loser in text messages to ABC's "Good Morning America" and vowing to show up for work next week.
However, there won't be any work for him to do, as Sheen's erratic personal life may finally have killed a job that reportedly pays him $1.8 million an episode. He's been hospitalized three times in three months, with the production put on hold in January after his most recent hospital stay following a night of frenzied partying. Taping was to resume next week, a plan that blew up Thursday.
"There comes a time when you say, `Enough,'" Jeffrey Stepakoff, a veteran television writer and author of "Billion Dollar Kiss: The Kiss That Saved Dawson's Creek and Other Adventures in TV Writing," said Friday.
The last original episode of "Two and a Half Men" aired Feb. 14.
Sheen plays a hard-partying playboy in the series, which has been a durable performer for CBS for eight seasons. It has averaged 14.6 million viewers this season, down 4 percent from last year, the Nielsen Co. said. The show has fluctuated little in audience, with the 16.5 million viewer average in 2004-05 its highest and 13.8 million in 2007-08 the lowest, Nielsen said.
"It's very hard to get rid of a show that is successful and popular and has served as a launching pad for other comedies," said Brad Adgate, a television analyst for Horizon Media. "This is still a hit-driven business and it's hard to get a hit like that."
Sheen, in an interview Friday with Pat O'Brien on Fox radio's "Loose Cannons" show, said he would fight any effort to not pay him for the balance of his contract, which runs through next season.
He questioned whether he would go back for a ninth season or not, calling it a "toxic environment."
"If they want to roll back to season nine, I gave them my word I would do that but not with the turds that are currently in place. It's impossible ... it would go bad quickly," he said.
Canceling the show outright would eliminate the anchor series on CBS' popular Monday night lineup, with its 9 p.m. replacement likely getting lower ratings. However, since "Two and a Half Men" is a long-running hit with a highly paid cast and staff, CBS will almost certainly replace it with a show that's cheaper to put on, perhaps making up for the lost ad revenue, analysts say.
It's been widely thought that next season would be its last. It would have brought "Two and a Half Men" up to around 200 episodes in its life span, considered optimal for a long life in syndication. There are 177 episodes now.
Unlike NBC, which is looking to continue "The Office" even though star Steve Carell is leaving after this season, it seems unlikely that CBS or Warners would want to continue the show without Sheen or choose another actor to replace him.
CBS is in a strong position as the top-rated broadcast network. Last week, for example, Fox's two editions of "American Idol" were the most-watched prime-time shows on television, and the next 16 on the Nielsen Co.'s popularity list were all on CBS.
"CBS, of anybody, can absorb an issue like this, because they have bench strength," said Don Seamen, vice president and communications analysis for MPG North America. "They have other shows that can fill the slot. If it was NBC, they would be more willing to look the other way."
Can Lorre look the other way at insulting, even borderline anti-Semitic remarks sent his way by the actor he cast in his series? If "Two and a Half Men" ends, it's hardly the end for Lorre, already one of the most successful producers in TV whose other shows include the CBS hits "The Big Bang Theory" and "Mike & Molly."
"Chuck Lorre might just say, `I can't work with this guy anymore,' and nobody would blame him," Seamen said.
Still, stranger things have happened in television.
"I'd like to think anyone could kiss and make up. Laverne and Shirley did," said Drew Carey, who starred in and co-created "The Drew Carey Show." He referred to the oft-rumored feud between stars Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams on the hit sitcom that debuted in 1976.
Producers can also bring in someone to replace Sheen, Carey said, acknowledging it's a risk with viewers.
"I'd put a million bucks on the table that they're discussing this" and weighing possible replacements for Sheen, said Carey, host of "The Price Is Right" game show.
"Two and a Half Men" already airs in syndication, and has deals locked up with stations that represent roughly 95 percent of the country to keep the reruns on the air through 2020, said Bill Carroll, an expert in the syndication market for Katz Media.
Sheen's troubles haven't hurt the show's popularity in this market; if anything, the opposite may be true, Carroll said. Two weeks ago, it was the third most popular syndicated show on TV after "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy," he said. This season it has been the most popular sitcom in reruns, beating out "Family Guy," "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Seinfeld," he said.
Syndication is where a producer such as Warner Bros. and others involved in TV shows make their real money. For example, the FX cable network licensed rights to the 177 "Two and a Half Men" episodes for a reported $750,000 each, he said. A less popular show, "Family Guy," sold rights to its reruns in New York for $68,000 a week — and that's just one of more than 200 markets across the country.
Add in the fact that Warners gets to sell some advertising time on the "Two and a Half Men" episodes, and it's an astronomical amount of revenue with little expense; the shows are already filmed. Warners would take a financial hit if the show ended now, but not until after 2020, Carroll said.
"It's not inconsequential," he said. "But it's not tragic."
Warners has already prepared for the possibility: even before the latest Sheen episode, it had sent contingency notices to stations that had bought rights to the show for what would happen to their contracts if there's no ninth season.
CBS said Friday that the show's slot will be filled with reruns for the time being. It would not be a surprise if CBS airs some of its other comedies in the slot before the season ends, as a test to see how they might do.
"Mike & Molly," averaging 11.9 million viewers in its freshman season in Monday's 9:30 p.m. time slot, could be a candidate to move up. Less risky might be the more established "How I Met Your Mother," although that show is considered near the end of its run.
CBS moved "The Big Bang Theory" from Monday to Thursdays this season and it has done quite well, lessening the likelihood the network would want to move it back.
Report: Fox News boss told exec to lie about Kerik
AP, NEW YORK: Fox News chairman Roger Ailes told a former publishing executive to lie to federal investigators who vetted now-disgraced ex-New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik for a Cabinet post in 2004, according to court documents cited in a news report Friday.
The New York Times reported that former lawyers for Judith Regan — a one-time publishing powerhouse who worked for a unit of Fox parent News Corp. before a nasty public split — said in sworn statements that Ailes and Regan had a taped conversation about what she'd say about Kerik. Regan had previously said a senior News Corp. executive advised her to lie and withhold information about the now-imprisoned Kerik.
But News Corp. said Regan had provided the company with a letter saying Ailes "did not intend to influence her with respect to a government investigation." In 2008, News Corp. and Regan settled a $100 million lawsuit in which she accused unnamed executives at the New York-based media empire of urging her to dissemble in the federal background probe into Kerik, with whom she'd had an affair.
"The matter is closed," the company said in a statement.
Regan declined to comment through a current lawyer, Robert E. Brown.
The episode created a stir in media and political circles from New York to Washington, and it has at least tangentially swept up a roster of prominent — and sometimes infamous — figures.
While at News Corp.-owned HarperCollins Publishers, Regan made a name for herself by bringing out such provocative best-sellers as Jose Canseco's "Juiced" and Jenna Jameson's "How to Make Love Like a Porn Star." But her career foundered after an outcry over her efforts to release "If I Did It," O.J. Simpson's hypothetical "confession" to the slayings of wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Her 2006 firing came about a month after News Corp. canceled the project.
Regan fought back by suing her former employers, saying they had tried to destroy her reputation and making the eye-catching claims that she was told "to lie to, and to withhold information from, investigators concerning Kerik" while he was being vetted to head the federal Department of Homeland Security.
Regan's lawsuit said News Corp. executives knew about her liaison with Kerik, whose memoir she had published, and they wanted to keep her from potentially damaging the presidential ambitions of Kerik patron Rudy Giuilani. The former New York mayor recommended Kerik — whom he had appointed the city's jail chief and then police commissioner — for the Homeland Security post.
The lawsuit didn't identify the News Corp. executive who Regan says told her to lie, nor another whom she accused of telling her to withhold documents.
But in a separate case stemming from a fee dispute with some of her former lawyers, one of them, Seth Redniss, refers in a sworn statement to "a recorded telephone call between Roger Ailes, the chairman of Fox News (a News Corp. company) and Regan, in which Mr. Ailes discussed with Regan her responses to questions regarding her personal relationship with Bernard Kerik" and says "the `Ailes' matter became a focal point of our work," according to the Times.
Another ex-Regan attorney, Brian C. Kerr, said in a sworn statement that he had reviewed "a tape recording of a conversation between her and Roger Ailes, which is alluded to throughout the complaint" in her lawsuit against News Corp., the Times said.
Court records show some statements from her ex-lawyers and other documents were deemed confidential and have been removed from the public file. Kerr and Redniss declined to comment Friday.
Regan herself referred in court filings to the existence of tapes she entrusted for a time to her former lawyers. But her settlement with News Corp. "prohibits me from confirming or denying the identity of the person whose voice appears in these tape recordings," she said in a sworn statement given in June 2009.
The fee fight is a convoluted case in itself, especially since the attorney who headed one of the firms Regan sued is serving a 20-year federal prison term. That attorney, Marc Dreier, pleaded guilty in 2009 to using impersonations and fake documents to defraud hedge funds out of more than $400 million.
Also in a federal prison is Kerik, who withdrew from consideration for the Homeland Security post amid questions about his finances and associations; he cited tax issues involving a former nanny as his reason for withdrawing. The failed bid began a downfall that spiraled into a 2009 guilty plea to tax fraud, lying to the White House and other crimes.
Giuliani ran unsuccessfully for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, at times facing questions about the trust he'd placed in Kerik. Giuliani said he'd made mistakes in dealing with Kerik.
Asked about Regan's claims once on the campaign trail in 2007, Giuliani laughed.
"That's a gossip column story, and the last thing in the world you want to do when you're running for president is respond to gossip column-type stories," he said.
The New York Times reported that former lawyers for Judith Regan — a one-time publishing powerhouse who worked for a unit of Fox parent News Corp. before a nasty public split — said in sworn statements that Ailes and Regan had a taped conversation about what she'd say about Kerik. Regan had previously said a senior News Corp. executive advised her to lie and withhold information about the now-imprisoned Kerik.
But News Corp. said Regan had provided the company with a letter saying Ailes "did not intend to influence her with respect to a government investigation." In 2008, News Corp. and Regan settled a $100 million lawsuit in which she accused unnamed executives at the New York-based media empire of urging her to dissemble in the federal background probe into Kerik, with whom she'd had an affair.
"The matter is closed," the company said in a statement.
Regan declined to comment through a current lawyer, Robert E. Brown.
The episode created a stir in media and political circles from New York to Washington, and it has at least tangentially swept up a roster of prominent — and sometimes infamous — figures.
While at News Corp.-owned HarperCollins Publishers, Regan made a name for herself by bringing out such provocative best-sellers as Jose Canseco's "Juiced" and Jenna Jameson's "How to Make Love Like a Porn Star." But her career foundered after an outcry over her efforts to release "If I Did It," O.J. Simpson's hypothetical "confession" to the slayings of wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Her 2006 firing came about a month after News Corp. canceled the project.
Regan fought back by suing her former employers, saying they had tried to destroy her reputation and making the eye-catching claims that she was told "to lie to, and to withhold information from, investigators concerning Kerik" while he was being vetted to head the federal Department of Homeland Security.
Regan's lawsuit said News Corp. executives knew about her liaison with Kerik, whose memoir she had published, and they wanted to keep her from potentially damaging the presidential ambitions of Kerik patron Rudy Giuilani. The former New York mayor recommended Kerik — whom he had appointed the city's jail chief and then police commissioner — for the Homeland Security post.
The lawsuit didn't identify the News Corp. executive who Regan says told her to lie, nor another whom she accused of telling her to withhold documents.
But in a separate case stemming from a fee dispute with some of her former lawyers, one of them, Seth Redniss, refers in a sworn statement to "a recorded telephone call between Roger Ailes, the chairman of Fox News (a News Corp. company) and Regan, in which Mr. Ailes discussed with Regan her responses to questions regarding her personal relationship with Bernard Kerik" and says "the `Ailes' matter became a focal point of our work," according to the Times.
Another ex-Regan attorney, Brian C. Kerr, said in a sworn statement that he had reviewed "a tape recording of a conversation between her and Roger Ailes, which is alluded to throughout the complaint" in her lawsuit against News Corp., the Times said.
Court records show some statements from her ex-lawyers and other documents were deemed confidential and have been removed from the public file. Kerr and Redniss declined to comment Friday.
Regan herself referred in court filings to the existence of tapes she entrusted for a time to her former lawyers. But her settlement with News Corp. "prohibits me from confirming or denying the identity of the person whose voice appears in these tape recordings," she said in a sworn statement given in June 2009.
The fee fight is a convoluted case in itself, especially since the attorney who headed one of the firms Regan sued is serving a 20-year federal prison term. That attorney, Marc Dreier, pleaded guilty in 2009 to using impersonations and fake documents to defraud hedge funds out of more than $400 million.
Also in a federal prison is Kerik, who withdrew from consideration for the Homeland Security post amid questions about his finances and associations; he cited tax issues involving a former nanny as his reason for withdrawing. The failed bid began a downfall that spiraled into a 2009 guilty plea to tax fraud, lying to the White House and other crimes.
Giuliani ran unsuccessfully for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, at times facing questions about the trust he'd placed in Kerik. Giuliani said he'd made mistakes in dealing with Kerik.
Asked about Regan's claims once on the campaign trail in 2007, Giuliani laughed.
"That's a gossip column story, and the last thing in the world you want to do when you're running for president is respond to gossip column-type stories," he said.
In new download, Spidey teams with a Top Chef
AP, PHILADELPHIA: When the web-slinger heads out for dinner, danger is always on the menu.
In a new one-shot tale available through Marvel Comics' app and online, Spider-Man teams up with "Top Chef" Eli Kirshtein in a bid to thwart the hallucination-spewing Mysterio who disrupts the wall-crawler's date.
The team-up was born, Marvel said Friday, of a fascination for food shared not just by Kirshtein, but also C.B. Cebulski, the comic publisher's senior vice president of creator and content development.
An avid fan of Twitter, and food, Cebulski and Kirshtein struck up a friendship that led to the latter's appearance in the 11-page digital-only tale that was written by Marc Bernardin and drawn by Mike Henderson.
"C.B. and I met on Twitter and began to talk about food and comics regularly," Kirshtein said. "I, on a whim, almost jokingly asked if he could get me into Spider-Man. With no hesitation he said 'Sure!' It's an amazing honor to be part of the legend that is Spider-Man. It's every kid's dream!"
Cebulski, who tweets often with advice to aspiring artists, and even writers, also talks about a love for food, too.
"The more we explore the similarities between art and food worlds, the more we've discovered certain connections between chefs and comics, especially on a creative level," Cebulski said. "Upon hearing Eli was a comic fan, asking him to appear in a comic for us seemed like such a natural fit. The fact Eli was also open to playing an active role in the story and helped lend his culinary expertise to ideas on how to help Spidey out of a super-villain jam really added to the overall experience we had making this comic with him."
In a new one-shot tale available through Marvel Comics' app and online, Spider-Man teams up with "Top Chef" Eli Kirshtein in a bid to thwart the hallucination-spewing Mysterio who disrupts the wall-crawler's date.
The team-up was born, Marvel said Friday, of a fascination for food shared not just by Kirshtein, but also C.B. Cebulski, the comic publisher's senior vice president of creator and content development.
An avid fan of Twitter, and food, Cebulski and Kirshtein struck up a friendship that led to the latter's appearance in the 11-page digital-only tale that was written by Marc Bernardin and drawn by Mike Henderson.
"C.B. and I met on Twitter and began to talk about food and comics regularly," Kirshtein said. "I, on a whim, almost jokingly asked if he could get me into Spider-Man. With no hesitation he said 'Sure!' It's an amazing honor to be part of the legend that is Spider-Man. It's every kid's dream!"
Cebulski, who tweets often with advice to aspiring artists, and even writers, also talks about a love for food, too.
"The more we explore the similarities between art and food worlds, the more we've discovered certain connections between chefs and comics, especially on a creative level," Cebulski said. "Upon hearing Eli was a comic fan, asking him to appear in a comic for us seemed like such a natural fit. The fact Eli was also open to playing an active role in the story and helped lend his culinary expertise to ideas on how to help Spidey out of a super-villain jam really added to the overall experience we had making this comic with him."
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