Saturday, April 4, 2009

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Derek Flood: More Military Aid to Pakistan? Think Again... Top
Thursday's edition of the New York Times had a cliched beltway piece by Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker espousing a Pentagon plea that it's seeking three "new" billion dollars in military aid to Pakistan and must bypass the State Department in doing so. "Military supporters of the program said it offered a speedier alternative to the traditional military assistance process overseen by the State Department" says the Times. "Speedier"? Nothing that takes place in Pakistan is terribly speedy. At least nothing beneficial that is. Pakistan needs well thought out, nuanced solutions that will benefit the country in the very long term in order for it to maintain itself with a modicum of integrity into the twenty-first century. As an avid Pakistan watcher, I can tell readers that the very last thing Pakistan needs is the promise of further military aid from the United States and the unwitting American taxpayer. What Pakistan does need, however, are billions in emergency aid for schools and an aggressive rural literacy program. Northwest Pakistan needs up to date hospitals and proper asphalt roads. It is much sexier to sell Congress on injecting useless billions to bolster a feeble, incapable military that has lost every war it has ever fought than, say, printing millions of Pashtu language school books and training an army of Pashtun teachers. As opposed rearming the peasantry. which is essentially what the Frontier Corps is, the Americans must focus on investing in the human infrastructure of the region if the clash of ideals is ever to be reconciled. The United States must stop looking at the short term as insurgencies are not a short term problem. Insurgent movements stem from lack of opportunity among their foot soldiers, vast civil inequality, boredom and outright political and ethnic oppression by the state. The Northwest Frontier and the jihadi hamlets of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) existed for ages in isolation from the mainstream economy of the rest of "settled" Pakistan. The various FATA guerrilla movements will not be defeated by more accurate drone attacks and handing Pakistani soldiers night vision goggles. They would be defeated by a radical increase in literacy and finally coming to a regional settlement with Kabul over nagging territorial and cross border issues and lastly, addressing the aspirations of broader Pashtun nationalism. These are issues Washington does not seem to know how to deal with and Islamabad and Kabul will keep on the back burner for the foreseeable future until their hand is forced by the international community. FATA is not simply Anbar in the mountains. The issues go (at the very least) as far back as the age of the Afghan kings and the British Raj. The Anbar insurgency was a direct result of American war fighting strategy. Pakistan's Tribal belt has been the seat of ethnic and religious tension in that region for much of modern history. Inter tribal blood feuds and the deadly Sunni-Shia schism have little to do with the legacy of the Soviet war or the American intervention and troop build up (though they have since been exacerbated by it). FATA is, and always has been, a threat to Pakistan's already weak territorial integrity since Partition. Letting the Tribal Areas fester and fend for themselves has been part of Pakistani government doctrine for decades in order to avoid the question of Pashtun statehood. The solution lay not in giving the enfeebled Frontier Corps newer small arms, but, short of creating a viable political settlement along the Durand Line with the Afghans, in providing education and healthcare in dangerous and remote areas. A civil society approach is needed which would undoubtedly cost the lives of civil servants, NGO workers and other perceived "collaborators" whom the Taleban and their imitators will certainly harm in the short term as the soft targets they are. It seems as though little has changed in Washington's outlook since the Johnson administration. More money for war? You bet! Simply distributing more weapons to a faltering institution like the Pakistani Army is an irrelevant strategy that failed in the Indochina of yesterday and will not work in South and Central Islamic Asia today. The battle against nihilistic Islamism in Pakistan cannot be fought with conventional weapons. A war of ideas, which is what is actually being waged inside Pakistan today, can only be outgunned by partnering with the indigenous civil society in that country who so desperately seek to be heard. America does have genuine partners in Pakistan, just not those in uniform. More on Afghanistan
 
Dave Johnson: Accountability Means Investigate and Prosecute! Top
Watch this . "What would happen if after a plane crashes we said, "Oh, we don't want to look in the past, we want to be forward looking." No, we have a non-partisan skilled inquiry. We spend lots of money on, get really really bright people and we find out to the best of our ability what caused every single plane crash in America and because of that aviation has an extraordinarily good safety record. We have to do the same thing in the financial industry. We have to learn what went wrong so it doesn't happen again." I know that President Obama has only been in office a little over two months, but I am getting impatient for some accountability. One of the reasons things went so wrong during the Bush years was that there was no accountability. Almost no one was fired for doing wrong. Prosecutons were blocked by a corrupt Justice Department. Regulators were muzzled. Legislators were paid off. To get our system working again we need accountability. We need to hold people accountable for doing the wrong thing, or a signal will be sent that the sheriff is still on vacation and people will continue to do wrong things . But if you send people to jail for corruption, people will have an incentive to stop. So where are the investigations of the corruption of the Bush years? Not prosecuting sends a signal that it was OK, and that it can continue. Torture? Corruption? Bribery? No investigation. No one prosecuted. If I had a company and offered a bribe to an Obama administration official, what would happen? Would they investigate and prosecute? The signal to the public is that they won't because they are not investigating and prosecuting the corruption and other crimes of the Bush years . And if they did prosecute me, why are the bribers of the Bush years allowed to get away with torturing people, destroying the economy, corrupting our government? It would show a double-standard, so people would know that the next Repubican adminsitration can start where the last one left off! That is what happened after Reagan, which led directly to Bush being able to destroy the country and the economy. They wouldn't investigate and prosecute after Reagan, so it just started up all over again under Bush. The financial system needs accountability from top to bottom as well! Where are the investigations of mortgage fraud and of all the mortgage brokers who helped people get "liars loans" and "ninja" loans? Why are the appraisers who said houses were worth hundreds of thousands more than they really were worth getting off scott free? What about the ratings agencies that gave AAA ratings to CDOs? What about AIG setting up insurance schemes called credit default swaps, while not setting aside the reserves to cover those bets? What about all the others? What about the regulators at the SEC and other agencies who didn't do their jobs? What happens to them? What about the lobbyists who wrote big checks to get bills passed, and the members of Congress who took the money and did the favors? So was it wrong and illegal to pay government officials to help individual companies or not? If it was then prosecute. Otherwise, without going back and punishing the offenders who committed crimes I have to assume that this is still going on. And what about the people who did the right thing and didn't get rich? What signal is being sent to them? That they (we) were all just suckers? Is Obama signaling that these things are OK, wink, nod? By not investigating and prosecuting this administration is signaling that maybe the party is not over. We either have accountability or we do not. And that includes prior acts -- we must insist that the Obama investigate and prosecute wrongdoing of the Bush years. Click through tto Seeing the Forest .
 
Heidi Montag On LC: "We Don't Need Her" Top
Heidi Montag isn't shedding too many tears as Lauren Conrad prepares for her final season of The Hills, airing Monday. "We don't need her," she tells MTV News. "We'll miss her. I just don't know if we need her." Montag says she wasn't "surprised" when her former BFF told Us Weekly exclusively that she is leaving the hit MTV show.
 
Scott Mendelson: Friday Night Box Office Rundown: Fast & Furious Grosses $30 million on Friday Alone Top
Since the tracking was apparently identical to that of the 2001 original, I was completely expecting this fourth "Fast and/or Furious" picture to do about $65 million this weekend. Basically, take the 2001 gross of $40 million, adjust for inflation, then adjust for the more front-loaded nature of the business, then finally factor that tracking often misses the young minorities that are one of the main target audiences... that's about gets you about $55 million (which is a touch over what the sequel opened to in 2003). Then toss in a fantastic marketing campaign that almost made me want to see the picture, despite the fact that I haven't seen the other three. So, yeah, $65 million would not have surprised me, and the people predicting $40 million were not doing the math. And, had I not been working 16 hour days all week, I probably would have written as much last night. But, wow, I did not expect $75-$80 million (so maybe I didn't do the math right either). Fast And Furious pulled in a whopping $30 million Friday night . That's by far the biggest single day in April, and it is already 75% of Anger Management 's record $42 million April opening weekend back in 2003. As far as opening day to weekend multipliers... 3x = $90 million -- not gonna happen, not for this kind of film, not in this box office climate. 2.7x = $80 million -- what Universal would love to be able to boast, even if only for the estimates. 2.5x = $75 million - plausible, probably what will happen. 2.25x = $68 million -- likely worst case scenario, with Universal finding an extra $2 million so they can boast $70 million estimates before releasing $68 million actual figures. Bravo to Universal for making four desperate actors returning to the franchise that spawned them into something cool and exciting rather than sad and pathetic. This was smartly billed as more or less a direct sequel to the original Fast and the Furious , almost akin to Halloween H20 and Superman Returns (i.e., ignoring the poorly received earlier sequels). For all the blather I've written of late about whether summer starts on May 1st with Wolverine , or May 8th with Star Trek (official summer preview coming soon, depending on my work schedule), I think we can now agree that summer pretty much started a month ago with Watchmen . Hell, we've had opening weekends of at least $25 million nearly every weekend of the year since Martin Luther King Day weekend. Now we have an April release that will probably top the opening weekend of many of the summer's tent poles. Alas, the charming Adventureland sputtered, grossing just $2.7 million on 1862 screens. And it isn't going to get better, as the marketing campaign makes the film far more broad and farcical than it is. But everyone on the Universal marketing team deserves a big raise, if not new cars. Just everybody remember to drive home safely this weekend. It's only a movie...
 
Michael Moore: Detroit Looks Like "The Landscape Of Another Planet" Top
DETROIT — Michael Moore says parts of it look like "the landscape of another planet." Ted Nugent refers to its "embarrassing filth." Mary Wilson speaks of its beauty and prosperity _ from another time, long ago. What is this woeful place? It's Detroit, a city they all know well and (believe it or not) love dearly. It's also a place that's hard to avoid hearing about lately. It started last month when the contestants from "American Idol" descended for "Motown Week" and heated up Monday with a presidential rejection of General Motors' and Chrysler's turnaround plans. It ends this weekend when college basketball's premier showcase, the Final Four, hits town. The events have trained an oversized spotlight on the Michigan metropolis and have people across America talking about the state of the Motor City. Three of those who weighed in this week are Moore, Nugent and Mary Wilson, all famed Michigan-bred entertainers who were asked to address autos and all things Detroit. And the consensus is this: The city has seen better days. "Sadly, a majority of Americans have written off Detroit, and for those of us who grew up in Michigan and still live here `heartbreaking' doesn't really describe it," said Moore, who rose to prominence with his 1989 documentary, "Roger & Me," which focused on GM plant closings in his hometown of Flint. Moore, who now lives in Traverse City, currently is filming a movie on the economic crisis, Wall Street and corporate greed _ "a comedy," he says. Moore recently was flying to Detroit when, on approach, an out-of-towner in a nearby seat motioned toward the window and asked the filmmaker: "What's it like down there?" Nothing like it used to be, Moore told his fellow traveler. "There was an attitude then that anything was possible," said Moore, who feels the old Detroit mantra that hard work equals a good life no longer holds. He places the blame on the shoulders of auto executives, who he says presided over "a pathetically run business." He applauded President Barack Obama's decision to remove Rick Wagoner from his post atop General Motors Corp. The new president on Monday also rejected GM's and Chrysler LLC's restructuring plans and set the stage for a major realignment of the industry. Nugent, the wildman rocker and outdoor enthusiast known as the "Motor City Madman," is far to the right of Moore on the political spectrum and doesn't see government intervention in autos as a particularly good thing. "Left to their own accord and entrepreneurial enterprise, I am confident the U.S. auto industry would have outperformed all others. ... Now that Fedzilla has had the audacity to turn up the havoc-wreaking, criminally violating the U.S. Constitution and all parameters of logic and decency, it appears the death knell has sounded. It breaks my Motor City heart," he said. Wilson, who grew up in Detroit, fondly remembers the city then as "a beautiful, prosperous place" where car jobs were plentiful. Her father worked in an auto factory. She later became a member of the legendary Motown group The Supremes and went on to worldwide fame. Wilson said she "wouldn't have wanted to grow up in any other city." But Wilson, who now lives in Las Vegas, said things have soured in Detroit, and jobs could be the key to a resurgence. "It's all about people working. The city needs the factories," she said. "It needs the auto industry ... so people can work." As for the city itself, the trio believes Detroit can rise again despite the autos meltdown, recent mayoral scandal and the long-standing problems of crime, poverty, blight and population loss. Some good news will arrive Saturday when years of planning and preparation culminate in tens of thousands of hoops enthusiasts, many of whom traveled a great distance, packing Ford Field. "Outsiders will experience the glowing good will and decency of the fine folks of Detroit and Michigan ... and will also eat great food and meet great people and hear soulful music," said Nugent, who will be back in town later this month for a reunion of his group, the Amboy Dukes. While some in the converted football stadium will be pulling for one of the other three entrants, it's fair to expect quite a few will be cheering on the local favorites from Michigan State, who play Big East power Connecticut in the evening's first game. Moore, who often is seen wearing a green Michigan State ball cap, has this prediction: Spartans 72, Huskies 53.
 
Michelle Obama Gives Carla Bruni-Sarkozy An Acoustic Guitar Top
The American First Lady presented French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy with a practical - and very rock 'n' roll - gift: an acoustic Gibson guitar. Offered "as a sign of friendship', Michelle Obama gave Gibson's Legend model, to Bruni, a former model-turned-singer who is currently in the process of recording her fourth album.
 
Mike Garibaldi-Frick: As the Working Class Burns, Banksters Laugh All the Way to the Bank Top
Anyone interested in learning about what is really happening during this financial crisis, needs to watch Bill Moyers' interview of William K. Black (broadcast on April 3rd, 2009). As most of us intuit, the financial crisis has been manufactured entirely by greed and fraud and this interview clearly and concisely exposes this process. http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04032009/watch.html BILL MOYERS: I was taken with your candor at the conference here in New York to hear you say that this crisis we're going through, this economic and financial meltdown is driven by fraud. What's your definition of fraud? WILLIAM K. BLACK: Fraud is deceit. And the essence of fraud is, "I create trust in you, and then I betray that trust, and get you to give me something of value." And as a result, there's no more effective acid against trust than fraud, especially fraud by top elites, and that's what we have. BILL MOYERS: So you're suggesting, saying that CEOs of some of these banks and mortgage firms in order to increase their own personal income, deliberately set out to make bad loans? WILLIAM K. BLACK: Yes. BILL MOYERS: How do they get away with it? I mean, what about their own checks and balances in the company? What about their accounting divisions? WILLIAM K. BLACK: All of those checks and balances report to the CEO, so if the CEO goes bad, all of the checks and balances are easily overcome. And the art form is not simply to defeat those internal controls, but to suborn them, to turn them into your greatest allies. And the bonus programs are exactly how you do that. While the working class fights among itself - blame the mortgage holders that "lived beyond their means," blame immigrants, blame the unions, blame blue collar workers, etc. - the real criminals run free with trillions. When will Americans wake up and hold the real criminals - Banksters - accountable for their actions, and pressure the government to enact systemic changes to prevent future abuses?
 
Obama Launches Offensive Against Nuclear Weapons Top
Barack Obama yesterday announced a radical drive aimed at ridding the world of nuclear weapons, as the focus of his European visit switched from financial to geopolitical security. More on Barack Obama
 
Steven Weber: Lonesome Rhodes' Wild Ride Top
There was a brief moment back in his CNN days when Glenn Beck made a feint at a seemingly more credible libertarian identity by having as a guest the woefully misused genius D.L. Hughley (full disclosure: he's my friend. Hey, D.L.!) to balance his squint-inducing broadsides, making him merely irascible and somewhat approachable -- a young, "aw, shucks" curmudgeon, mildly winking at the marginally more savvy audience that supposedly comprised CNN's viewership. But like all self-styled TV conservatives who prefer throwing M-80's onto a fire in lieu of water, Beck eventually realized that his own penchant for fomenting dyspepsia should be suitably compensated, hence his ratings-savvy move to Fox, cutting the line in front of other media imps like Michelle Malkin, Michael Savage and the redoubtable and desiccated Anne Coulter (whose froth flecked invective bespeaks their insatiable craving for contrived infamy and who must all be secretly enraged at Beck's ascension). And indeed his evolution from cuddly crew-cutted conservative care-bear to weepy, howling, media moondog makes perfect sense in this corporate controlled brand-driven culture. He is in fact the Obama-era's O'Reilly: younger, arguably sleeker and shallower, the next generation of corporate shill masquerading as outraged Christian Conservative to capture the pitchfork wielding demo of perpetually angry white guys who never travel abroad and never will, who eschew anything with the word "French" in it and who can only achieve a gelatinous erection when told by their flannelmouthed bully pulpiteers there are Commies, Commies and Commies everywhere. Glenn Beck is right wing media's version of the iPhone. (The iCrank? The iFoam? Submit any and all suggestions.) But he is also strongly exhibiting the defining qualities of Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes, Budd Schulberg and Elia Kazan's creation from the 1957 film A Face in the Crowd . "Lonesome" was a reg'lar feller who spoke his mind in the vernacular of Everyman and very quickly found his way into the hearts of the folks at home who had tired of the blizzard of soap flakes emanating from their Magnavox's and RCA's. They wanted homespun common sense, provocative yet easily digested pablum. They wanted someone to fight for them, to give voice to their daily frustrations and ailments, all of which were manufactured by forces beyond their control. And they got it in the form of this tousle-headed media construct (played by a youthful and surprisingly volatile Andy Griffith). The joke, of course, was that the power and fame which accompanies such meteorically successful firebrands ultimately corrupts and the once appealing message of cranky revolt becomes a caustic, solipsistic screed at once exposing and destroying the dime-store fascist beneath the crowd-pleasing polemicist, eventually driving the man into madness and obscurity. As Paddy Chayefsky's Network so presciently portrayed the eventual and crippling corporatization of the media, so A Face in the Crowd tells the same story only from the perspective of the individual seduced by intoxicating wealth and notoriety, engorged on fanatical adulation and ultimately undone by its innate fickleness. Glenn Beck is not so much Everyman as he is the worst in every man. He is yet another in the recent line of high profile media loudmouths which began with Father Coughlin in the late 1920's and reached their apotheosis with the creation of an entire network devoted to indiscriminate rabble-rousing under a false banner of ethical, unbiased journalism, Fox News. The power and reach of television is such that genuine fringe characters, the types of human wrecks people avoid making eye contact with while on their way to work (like Minnesota's cretinous Michelle Bachmann, for instance) have been given national stages upon which to perform. And since the inception of the 24 hour news/entertainment cycle's excision of pondering and thoughtfulness, virtually any inane issue's momentum is initiated by the merest flutter of a rabid wingnut's flapping lips, growing into a squall large enough to initiate things like partisan special elections, pressuring school boards into removing evolution from syllabuses, preventing a woman's right to choose, calling for a candidate's death at a Palin-McCain rally, and generally inciting obstruction and distraction from the progress this country is finally on the road to achieving. Glenn needs to be careful. Not only is he on the media's wild ride, he is the wild ride. And all rides come to an abrupt halt. More on CNN
 
John Farr: On Paul McCartney, and the Memories He Made Top
I had not planned on writing this blog. But early last week, I found myself at a benefit where I witnessed at fairly close range the former Beatle paying tribute to his daughter, designer Stella, before presenting her with an award for her long-standing commitment to the environment. Not being a big detail guy, I confess I had no idea that Paul McCartney would be joining us that evening, nor that Stella McCartney was being honored. Now I am a fairly jaded New Yorker who has attended many events of this type over the years, and seen countless business titans and celebrities speak, either to accept these awards, or introduce other recipients. These experiences now make up the faintest blur in my crowded consciousness. The other night was different for several reasons. First, hearing Paul speak in person, listening first-hand to that achingly familiar voice I've taken refuge in so often over the years. To me it sounded precisely the same as it always has; I could discern no age-related shifts to a lower register, and for some reason, this floored me. Second, Paul's tribute to his daughter was completely forthright and surprisingly personal, a one-two punch that also took me aback. What? No ego? No self-congratulation? Paul volunteered that Stella's name had certainly given her an entrée into the fashion business, but that if she hadn't the talent or work ethic to stand on her own, the industry would have used that same name as a "cudgel" (his word) to deter her progress. A trifle blunt perhaps, but absolutely true. He also praised her courage in challenging established practices by announcing from the outset she would use no animal skins in any of her products; on the face of it then, not the wisest career move, McCartney or no McCartney. He then brought up how proud Stella's late mother Linda would be, to see her daughter receiving the award where she (Linda) grew up- in New York. At this point, Sir Paul became slightly emotional, and so did the rest of us. I thought Stella's acceptance speech showed surpassing grace and humility as well. She fully acknowledged how lucky and blessed she'd been, and she thanked all those who had influenced and encouraged her, including her parents. If there is a heaven, Linda Eastman McCartney must have been looking down. The positively merry ex-Beatle beamed with pride the entire evening. My own engrained cynicism temporarily thrust aside, I started beaming too. I had to admire that someone who had experienced unparalleled fame and adulation from his early twenties could seem so balanced and self-aware, and also be sufficiently responsible and caring to help raise someone as grounded as Stella. This unexpected pleasure brought back my two prior sightings of Paul McCartney: once, walking the streets of New York the day before 9/11, the other in Paris circa 1963, when as a five year old, I looked inside a limousine covered with screaming schoolgirls, and saw the cherubic Paul within, smiling and waving at his ever-growing public. I couldn't identify any of the other Beatles- only Paul's face was at the car window. Just several months later, the world experienced a seismic shift when the Beatles first appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show". In the sixties, most everyone had a favorite Beatle, and since Paul always got the majority of the female votes, I latched on to John. In truth, I found John's anarchic spirit and mischievous persona more appealing then. I had also noted that George, known as the "shy Beatle", had a sizable female contingent in his corner, while court jester Ringo was pretty much universally adored (though few volunteered them as their favorite, as this made an automatic statement about one's musical acumen). The martyred John, of course, will always occupy a symbolic place in my life: only six days and Central Park separated John's slaying with the death of my own mother from cancer. When my immediate family went out to lunch the day she died, Beatles music was playing everywhere, and I recall this fairly cosmic coincidence felt oddly appropriate, since the Beatles was the first rock band my parents ever listened to in earnest. Believing in the timelessness of art, not only would my four children be exposed to great films of all types and stripes, but also to the music that met the same high standards. The Beatles were always front and center. Less than two years ago, we took our kids (now grown) to see the jaw-dropping Cirque de Soleil Beatles tribute, "Love", in Las Vegas. For me, there are few experiences more enjoyable than watching young people totally turned on to something you introduced them to. That's just what happened that night. Like Sir Paul at that benefit, the Beatles themselves never seem to grow old. You may not want to hear their music all the time anymore, but over forty-five years, never have I tired of a Beatles song I loved in the first place. And beyond their enduring songbook, much material exists that keeps the Beatles alive: beyond the literally countless books, you have both the CD and DVD versions of "The Beatles Anthology", arguably best for true fanatics. (Patrick Montgomery's 1984 feature-length documentary "The Compleat Beatles" may be the definitive documentary on the group, but the title remains unavailable on DVD.) To relive Beatlemania in all its madcap glory, I suggest you sit yourselves down to the following double-feature: A Hard Day's Night (1964)- The sheer energy and originality of the Beatles made no traditional plot necessary for this, the group's first film. Director Richard Lester felt it would be sufficient to portray a day in the life of the world's most talked about rock band just as they were attaining a stratospheric super-stardom. The result is part narrative, part documentary- and all magic. The explosive talent and natural charisma of the early Beatles commands our full attention, while fine British character actors like Wilfrid Brambell (playing Paul's incorrigible grandfather) are on-hand to provide comic support (not that much is needed). This contagious romp remains the freshest, most breathtaking of musical rides. Highlight: the spontaneous jam session of "I Should Have Known Better" in a train compartment. Yellow Submarine (1968)- Don't miss this inspired fusion of Beatles music and the vibrant, tie-dye color sensibility of artist Peter Max that became a visual signature for the drug-infused late sixties. In this trippy animated classic, when the Blue Meanies take over Pepperland and turn its inhabitants to stone, lone survivor Lord Admiral escapes in a yellow submarine to London, hoping to enlist the help of the Beatles. Traveling through strange landscapes, the Fab Four bring their psychedelic pop, wit, and message of love to the beleaguered land. Forty plus years after release, "Submarine" endures as an irresistible fantasy, ideal for younger children and their parents (as well as us aging flower children). Its dazzling visual and aural compositions combine with the Beatles' trademark British humor and endless punning to create a generous and satisfying feast for both eyes and ears. For close to 2,000 more outstanding movie recommendations, visit www.bestmoviesbyfarr.com . More on Paul McCartney
 
Pakistan: 62 Migrants Suffocated To Death Inside Shipping Container Top
QUETTA, Pakistan — At least 62 people suffocated to death in the back of a truck packed with illegal migrants, and dozens were rescued unconscious after Pakistani police acting on a tip opened the vehicle Saturday near the Afghan border. Rasool Bakhsh, a senior police official in the city of Quetta, said the shipping container the truck was carrying entered Pakistan from Afghanistan and was headed for Iran. He said most of the victims were Afghans. More than 100 people were packed inside the 40-foot-long (12-meter-long) metal container, Bakhsh said. He said survivors were rushed to the hospital, many of them unconscious. Khalid Masood, another senior officer, said a total of 62 were pronounced dead. Television footage shot shortly after the white container was opened showed dozens of bodies, many of them stripped to the waist, lined up on the road next to the truck. The stench from the container suggested some might have been dead for days, Bakhsh said. Officials said they were holding the truck's driver as part of their investigation. Southwestern Pakistan lies on a well-trodden route for traffickers smuggling young men from poverty-afflicted countries including Afghanistan and Pakistan hoping to find work and prosperity in Europe and elsewhere. More on Immigration
 
Brad Balfour: Q & A: Versatile Actor Craig Bierko Bets On A Revived Guys And Dolls Top
What uncanny timing for a revival of Guys And Dolls. Based on gritty writer Damon Runyon 's Depression-era short stories (and one in particular, "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown"), this version appears set in the Great Depression, peopled by characters of questionable morality struggling to survive, maybe thrive, and--while generally avoiding it on the surface--to find love and commitment in the midst of it all. So it must be tough to be in a show that's gotten mixed reviews after you've worked so hard to realize your character, hammering away at learning the songs, hitting the right note (musically and theatrically), all the while getting the wry tone in place. And this isn't for just any musical. It's for one of the greatest Broadway shows of all time, one shadowed by the spectre of the late Marlon Brando --one of the greatest actors of all time. Brando played, if not the definitive version of Sky Masterson in the 1955 Samuel Goldwyn Company film version, then, essentially, a unique one. With all that in mind, Guys And Dolls could come off as dated, a bit cranky and crusty, or even over-scrubbed if rendered in a too-sanitized fashion. That's not so much the case here, because veteran director Des McAnuff (his hit Jersey Boys got its period right) strives, though not entirely succeeds, in serving up both "a simultaneously razzmatazz and tawdry affair," as Theatermania's reviewer put it. Armed with Frank Loesser 's grand lyrics and score, and the dead-on book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, this show guns for grit and sentiment in "a mythic New York where a kind of perpetual sense of hopefulness exists, even when things are at their worst." And that's where a solid New York theater veteran like Craig Bierko comes in. Since this version was cast with two neophytes to Broadway musicals-- Oliver Platt (Nathan Detroit) and Lauren Graham (Adelaide)--it needed the strong broad experienced shoulders of the 6'4" Bierko to lend support to this production. Along with Kate Jennings Grant (playing Sarah Brown of the "Save a Soul" Mission), Bierko (as gambler Sky Masterson) delivers some of the most seductive, time-tested love tunes of the show. With his 25 years of experience, from delivering a Tony and Drama Desk Award nominated performance as Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man to his stint on Boston Legal (as Jeff Coho), the square-jawed Bierko was a sensible choice to be in this show (currently playing at the Nederlander Theater). And certainly a smart choice of actor to be interviewed about the state of Broadway and the world in this exclusive Q & A. Q: This show has a dramatic element to it that enhances it as a musical. CB: It's deceptive. It's a spoonful of sugar. Aside from what I think is a brilliantly talented handful of co-stars that I'm blessed with, I think the reason you appreciated it was because [of director] Des McAnuff, whose directing was very sure handed, and realizes we've been handed the keys to a Ferrari. This musical works, and is as close to perfect as an American musical can be. The mistake that a lot of people make with musicals when they come over here is, they'll take a Ferrari and paint flames on it and think it's going to go faster. There's an argument that you're actually slowing it down. To extend the metaphor, [McAnuff] doesn't paint flames on a Ferrari, he repaves the track--the things he's done with the LED screen, the things he's done with casting choices, and also making sure that with each character he's lifted out a specific attribute, which is usually, what does this person want? How has it been working for them so far? Where's the point where they realize they're completely wrong, and if they don't change their way of thinking, they're going to be alone the rest of their lives? That's the subliminal message being sent through this musical, and it's a message that every human being over 30 can relate to. Everybody's been all four of the main characters. Everybody's been running from somebody, been running after somebody, or had a childish preoccupation that they have had to give up. There are even people who've hidden behind morality and discovered, like Sarah, that they're truly just hiding from the world, and that God isn't impressed. In my opinion, Adelaide and Nathan are two of a kind. It's easy for me to say--I'm not playing them. They're idiots, they're morons. But they're two of a kind, so it's sweet. They're made out of lead. They're very sweet, they love each other very much, they're operators and schemers, and they're lower rung. Sky and Sarah are also two of a kind. The interesting thing to me, and the reason why this thing is ahead of its time--it was written [in the] late '40s or '50s [the first Broadway opening was November 1950]--she's hiding behind the Bible, he's hiding behind this code of being a sharpie, and they're both prevented from making contact with other human beings. It's almost like God is saying: "I created the world, but I don't need you to sing to me on Sundays; I'd rather you use that day to connect with other human beings." Q: Did it makes sense to revive it now because of the times? CB: Maybe that's true but a good play is a good play. It's a great story, so rich and compelling. It's a masterpiece and stands up any time you do it. I don't think there's a time not to do a great play, though certainly there are times not to do horrible plays. And to go back to the Ferrari metaphor, it's always nice to see a beautiful car take a couple spins around the track. Q: This play has a relevant theme, besides just the ever-relevant theme of romance--especially if you put it into the context of the '30s. People turned to crime because, what other options were there? To put that on a Broadway stage during the '50s was a radical thing. Now, it's not so radical. We've had lots of plays about the dark side of life: Gypsy, Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof, even Sweeney Todd. CB: Every single play you've mentioned, they've come back and somebody brilliant has reinvented that play, and, largely, it's fallen flat. That's because these are American musicals--that is, a light presentation; it is fluff pastry with a meat center. The minute you put the meat on the outside, it falls apart, it doesn't work. The whole recipe falls apart. You don't need to talk about gangsters and Depression and all that stuff. You can imply that stuff. But what people are responding to is: "I'm so afraid of being alone, even with this person I'm with, I'm afraid of being alone." Q: But it was the idea that even gangsters have those feelings--that's what was fresh-- The Sopranos of its day. CB: People love to be told stories, but it's the sugar that draws you into the theater. This is a spiritual play. This is a play, let's face it, that was put mostly together by Jews. I wouldn't necessarily say this is a Christian play, although it uses the mission church, but it is about God. These were men of God. I don't think they were atheists. This is a deeply spiritual play. Sky Masterson--Obadiah [Sky's birth name], by the way, is the guy in the Bible who leads everybody to God--goes down into the sewer, into Hell, to find the sinners. He bares himself, throws out all of his material stuff on one bet; he may have lost the bet, but he's willing to do that. He's willing to walk away from everything because he just wants to connect with God. Maybe I was going too far because I got excited about connecting the dots here that I went: Sky Masterson, Sky Masterson... Sky Master's son. That was the point where Des went, "Don't go nuts on me!" And that's the novelist Damon Runyon, [whose stories] the play is based on. If you break the elements down, it's a witnessing event. The moment at the end of "Luck Be a Lady," the first day, Des said, "I've never seen this before and I've always wanted to see it: I don't want you to sing it to the guys, I want you to sing it right to--it could be God or whatever you believe in--and I want you on your knees."' So I said, "Des, they're going to laugh." And he said, "Maybe some will, but I'm not interested in them." He was absolutely certain that this man needed to be brought to his knees. I really fought him on it right into previews. You don't hear anything, so you don't know what people are responding to. There hadn't been a laugh. I can't know what people are responding to, but I know, in my own work, connecting my own dots to the story, not only was he right, it was necessary, and I can't imagine it any other way. This is a spiritual story. This is a story about men and women being broken down to their bare essence, to the part of them that is God. This is a man who's in Hell, who's not only saying, "help me," but "help these guys get out of here; I'm going to give you everything." And that's what's happening. That's from the Bible. Q: Runyon's stories were about down and dirty, grounded-in-reality characters. This play gives these characters an ambiguous humanity, which traditionally hadn't been seen with such characters. You don't always get that when you take the songs out of context, but when you put them back in context, you really appreciate the songs in a very different way. CB: We're saying the same thing. I'm even digging a little deeper in saying once you get to these guys... What makes gangsters and Huffington Post writers the same? We're all in the fucking sewer. And maybe we do have a guy who's guiding us, leading us and inspiring us to give up an enormous amount to get out of the sewer. There's a very basic human story churning on: people sink down, and then they get inspired again. It's human nature. This story reminds us that it's okay. That's what you're down here to do: you're going to sink down, and then... What's your reaction time? How long before you get out of the sewer? Once you're older than 40, are you doing something to help the other guys who are having trouble? That's what the play is about for me: save yourself, and grab two guys. Try. If they slip out of your hands, at least you tried. Q: That's why the gospel scene--"Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat"--works so well. CB: By the time that scene comes, it's an orgasm. There's a reason why Sky leaves the room. Tituss Burgess is amazingly talented; that's a great vessel to send that song through. Now we're a church--we actually brought church to the Broadway stage. The reason people are reacting is because something has been released inside of them, and they're flying. The people who are open to something better, it's a great play for people to be experiencing at any point. But it's also like you said, especially now, because we're at that point in America where we're going to go through something tough, and once we do it we're going to be very happy we did it. And maybe we won't go back to the sewer again. Q: All Broadway show characters, especially musicals, are "ratcheted up" They're not a real people, they're mythological persons. To make that real on stage is tough. CB: The joy of it for me is, it's an opportunity to say, "Hey, I'm having this experience. Do you recognize this? Isn't this weird sometimes? Isn't this scary? Does this make you sad? Are you scared of this?" That's the joy I get. You can feel that coming off an audience. Usually in the first few rows you can see the people's faces. You can see them reacting or not reacting to certain moments. I don't use that to drive what it is I'm doing but when you have that moment of connection, it's not in the words. It's in the behavior of somebody realizing--you can feel them kind of with you. It feels like what we're doing right now: human beings talking, souls rubbing up against each other. It's positive. Q: What is it that makes us who we are or where are we in the world? Sometimes when you get a chance to talk and think about it, you're really getting in touch with it. That's what that experience of theater is: you have an encapsulated human process at work in this sort of abbreviated but hyper reality. CB: My fear is, you buy a ticket and you go on a ride for something like that, and you have the Guys and Dolls experience, and from the very first note you're like, "Oh," and then you literally feel like you're on a ride. Hopefully, you're fortunate to have someone like Des McAnuff as your ringmaster, so you're in good hands. He's certainly known as an impresario, a man who's in control of traffic. He's in the middle of what's going to be a long career. I suspect as it goes it along people are going to recognize him as a genius. There are a lot of people who can pull levers and visualize and blurry the lines between film and stage and have you feel like you're moving through New York--that's all very exciting. What he did do is, he looked at this play, and Des's vision of the play is complete. He has very strong personalities to work with in myself, Oliver Platt, or Lauren Graham. And they didn't agree on some things sometimes. I look at Oliver as Muhammad Ali. It's his first musical. He's fearless and he's staying in there. There's a lot of actors who, because it wasn't in their wheelhouse naturally, would've backed off, shrunk away, and ended up in the corner. Whereas Muhammad Ali is one of those rare people who just stands up and gets right back in and ends up winning the fight, knowing that they're probably going to die going into the center of the ring. You just get up and you go anyway. It's kinesthetic--the stuff I learn from Oliver. We're both fairly intelligent guys, and we can sit over
 
Bruce Tenenbaum: Gun "Nuts" Top
Let me start by saying, I own a gun. Gun ownership by itself doesn't make someone nuts. It just seems that lots of people who ARE nuts like guns a little bit too much. Today, one day after a man shot and killed 13 people in upstate New York, another man shot and killed three police officers in Pittsburgh. According to the article , his friends said "he feared the Obama administration was poised to ban guns." Does this mean he shot the officers because he was concerned Obama was coming after his guns? No. It means AP knows how to come up with a provocative storyline. It also means the man was probably a bit of a gun "nut." There are other countries with high gun ownership rates. It just seems that we Americans use them on each other more often. A gun is a tool. You can use it for hunting or you can use it for protection. It's a greasy hunk of metal. Yet some people seem to be obsessed by them to the point of it becoming abnormal. I suppose you could be obsessed by your tool collection, too. My father did seem to love his hammers and screwdrivers and saws. But I'm fairly sure he wouldn't have spent his hard earned money to join the National Hammer Association. There is a reasonable argument to ban gun ownership and there's a reasonable argument to support gun ownership. There's no reasonable argument in support of owning an arsenal, for trading guns at "guns shows," for owning weapons with large magazine capacities and, in general, for treating gun ownership like just any other hobby. Background checks, gun locks, licensing and training just make good sense. Yet gun "enthusiasts" are paranoid about such things. Note: If someone is "enthusiastic" about their gun, start to worry. When Obama was elected, gun sales skyrocketed. Why would people think they needed a gun all of a sudden, if they hadn't thought they needed one already? And if they had one already, why all of a sudden did they need more? Because there is a culture in this country that worships guns like a religion. They hold it up as holy. And they vow to defend unregulated gun ownership against any perceived threats as they would defend their children or their belief in God. And that is not normal. It's obsessive and paranoid. And obsessive paranoid people do crazy things. Which makes them nuts.
 

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