The HERALD TIMES PARADE  is an international monthly magazine published in London and Paris by the MONTHLY HERALD PUBLISHING HOUSE. The main objective of the magazine is the concentration and the focus on  world's personalities and pioneers achievements  in the fields of arts, social endeavors and humanities. We welcome and encourage essays and articles by writers, academicians, essayists and authors who are involved with visual, performing and illustrative arts, as well as any field of humanities, world culture, civilizations and comparative arts. Articles must be sent directly to Mrs. Ruth Sielberg, Senior Assistant Editor-in-Chief of the Monthly Herald in London at ruthsielberg@monthlyherald.com    The Herald Times Parade  does not discriminate against race, gender, sex, religion and ethnic-sociological and political ideologies. Offensive materials are ipso facto rejected by our editorial staff. Refused articles will be kept on file and shall not be returned to senders. Photos and negatives sent to our editorial office might be enhanced and retouched for quality assurance and high artistic definition. if deemed necessary by our art department specialists. Intellectual property must be  always observed by all senders & writers.

Publisher: Alexander Campton.   Chairman: Charles Hamilton Cadzow. C                          

Directors of Publications: Ludmilla Terechenko, Kurt Jurgessen. Senior Editor: Xavier Laroche. Executive Editor:  Angela Deerfield. Editorial Director: Timothy Holmes. Creative Director: Terry Goldstein. News Senior Editor: Arnold Hartman. Features Editor: Edwin Kalmowitz. Art Director: Ester Ostroff. Assistant Art Director: Vincenzo Fortini. Production Director: Wilfred Holston. Research Director: Thelma Yafet Gourion. Editorial Executives: Allan Feldman, Dorothea Oppenheimer, Rita Davidson. Archives: Flora  Ganzenhuber, Rebecca Darcey.  Photos Archives: Nat Rozenfeld. Advertising Manager: Melvin Gershon.  Advertising Account Executives/Authorized Sales Representatives:  Stuart D'Arcy, Joshua Olberstein, Emanuelle Coperstone, David Shapiro. Ric Carzoli, Ernest Hakimian, Benedict Laramy, Mireille Martel, Solange Zimmer, Brubo Broderick. Estefan Manoulli. Ballet: Howard Tarlow, Elaine Blanchard.  Music: Norman Siegel, Nestor Rummel. Theater: Arthur Schulman, Veria Peterson, Leida Ruiz. Celebrities:  Dave Rogers, Melvin O'Connell, Raymond Neufeldt, Inga Moss. Sculpture: Eusepio Cornelius Mondragon. Modern Art: Esther Portugal, Irma Wallenberg, Dave Mauro. Choreography: Robert Hammerstein. Dance: Serge Corbel, Madelaine Lifar, Bernadette Morietti, Maria Petrakis. Opera: Umberto Granata, Emilio Salino Bossi. Visual Arts:  Marjorie Huntington, Rafa Mackey. Cabaret: Louise Bernardino, Lucette Howard, Maximillien de Lafayette, Raoul Loriendo.  Interviews:  David Nye, Bernard Boghossian, Jayson Meynard, Elaine Bernard. Media: Marlin Simonides, Howard Shackelton. Politics: Dawn Zimbalist, Linda Bolman,  Daniel Gutterman. Society: Gail Gasmann, Judith Eaton, Myriam Darley. Femina: Elizabeth Coves, Lisa Carter.Stars and Legends: Olivia Santorini, Jordan Hamilton, Rachel Bird. World Entertainment: Joseph Bishop, Theodore Meyers. UK Entertainment:  Arnold Allenbee. Rosalinda Fordham.  Books:  Joshua Norville, Norman Fieldman.  Museums: Esmeralda Prado. News Express: Robert Lafont, Richard Bonot, Francis Maringo.  World Breaking News: Rebecca Davidoff, Angela Burton, Richard Marlin, Ismael Bobuto, Salma Sursock, Jeanette Lebrun, Mathilda Escobar, Guy Richardson. Senior Correspondent: J.D. Lacroix.

 

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© Copyright of Monthly Herald-2004. London. Paris. All Rights Are Reserved     Monthly Herald© Herald Publishing House 2004

 

 

 TIMES PARADE

CONTENTS

Editorial Staff and contacts......................................................................................................................................................2

Ludmilla: French dancer and actress Ludmilla Tcherina has died in Paris at the age of 79. Tcherina, one of the leading ballet dancers of her generation, appeared in several films including The Red Shoes and The Tales Of Hoffmann. In 1960 she became the first western dancer to appear at the Bolshoi theatre in Moscow - where she performed in Adolphe Adams' ballet Giselle. She was also known for her paintings, sculptures and novels. Born Monika Tchemerzine in Paris during October 1924, she was the daughter of an exiled Russian................................................................27

Geniuses: The mysterious, delightful, reclusive, elusive but brilliant Russian pianist Mikhail Pletnev. "He mumbled something," says the concierge, "but I'm not sure what." This is not a good start. The photographer, Barry Marsden, and I have arrived at a block of flats in central London to meet the musician for whom the adjectives enigmatic and unpredictable could have been coined.  Mikhail Pletnev, pianist, conductor, composer and famously difficult to get hold of, has bidden us for 11.30 on a Saturday morning, while he is over here from his base in Moscow, but the concierge is undecided whether we should go up or stay put.  I put Barry at his ease by telling him that, however much Pletnev dislikes giving interviews, he hates having his picture taken even more. .....................................................................28

Celebrities: Celebrities News:  Aretha Franklin has been hospitalized for an undisclosed ailment and is in stable condition, her publicist said Monday. The Queen of Soul, who lives in Detroit, was hospitalized Saturday, according to Gwendolyn Quinn, her New York City-based publicist...Billy Bob Thornton says he and former wife Angelina Jolie had "a great relationship" but different ideas about how they wanted to live their lives. "It was a great relationship," Thornton tells GQ magazine in its April issue. "For the time we were together, we loved each other and we did it all the way. We didn't leave any stone unturned. But we had different ideas about how we wanted to live our lives - that's all it was." The couple married in May 2000. They bragged about their sex lives in interviews...Canadian fans of the Material Girl can rest easy -- Madonna has included a stop in Toronto on her upcoming summer tour. The tour, titled The re-Invention Tour, will launch in Los Angeles on May 24 and hit Toronto on July 18. It's been over a decade since the pop diva performed in the city. But catching the show at the Air Canada Centre won't come cheap. Tickets, which go on sale Saturday, range from $49.50 to $300. Some had begun to wonder if Madonna was intentionally snubbing the country............................................................................................................30-31

If Regis Philbin once "saved" ABC, Donald Trump has certain bragging rights at NBC. In two months, The Apprentice has made a huge difference on Thursday nights for NBC, an evening the network was worried about because of the impending conclusion of Friends. Last week was typical: The Apprentice was No. 6 in weekly prime-time ratings, with 19.2 million viewers, despite competing against television's most popular program, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. By running The Apprentice for a full hour and moving Will & Grace to 8:30, it enables NBC to avoid its oft-repeated problem of putting two struggling comedies... ...............................................................................32

Crawford: Hollywood legend Joan Crawford, born 100 years ago on Tuesday, was an iconic figure whose rollercoaster career on screen was mirrored by an equally turbulent life off it. The Oscar-winning actress spent 50 years in front of the camera, repeatedly falling out of favour with the public only to continually reclaim the spotlight. If her films did not get her noticed, her tumultuous love life and bitter feuds with ......................................................................................................................................................32-34

Gibson's Film: A Brazilian pastor has died during a screening of Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion of the Christ. Jose Geraldo Soares, a 43-year-old Presbyterian, had booked a whole cinema to view the film with his congregation. Halfway through, his wife noticed that he was no longer awake, and a doctor in the audience confirmed that he had suffered a heart attack. Friends denied that violence scenes of Christ's beating and crucifixion had caused Pastor Soares to expire. "He was calmly watching the movie next to his wife," said Amauri Costa, a family friend..............................................................................................................................34-35

Art: My Body Is Art. It's been empty for 150 years. But this week it was announced that the vacant fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square will be occupied by a 15ft-high nude statue of a pregnant Alison Lapper. She talks to Hadley Freeman about art, disability and notions of beauty...Alison Lapper has never been on a diet. Nor does she ever feel guilty about not going to the gym, not even when she glances through women's magazines. In fact, there is not a single thing about her body that Lapper would change. "If you told me I could have any bit of plastic surgery that I wanted, I wouldn't take it because I'm just fine as I am, thank you very much," she says in a strident voice that occasionally makes her sound as if she is speaking from a platform rather than a personal viewpoint. Lapper, who was born without arms and with shortened legs as a result of the drug thalidomide, will soon be "speaking" from a very large platform indeed. After 150 years of debate, the sculpture for the fourth, hitherto empty, plinth in Trafalgar Square was chosen on ............................................................................................................................36-39

 

Royal sculpture:  Monuments or recognition To help the Mail's 'Carve Her Name With Pride' campaign along, the Guardian asked six of Britain's leading artists to design memorials to the much-loved royal. (Actually, we didn't - we just guessed what they would come up with.) So is Rachel Whiteread's brilliantly iconoclastic Queen Mother Interior sufficiently reverential? Is Antony Gormley's Angel of the South a trifle predictable? Will Christo's pristine Königinmutter-Wrap survive the pigeons? Let the people decide....................................................................................................................40-42

 

Artists: Artists of the World. Bill Brandt: A Centenary Retrospective, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.The V&A will celebrate the centenary of the birth of Bill Brandt (1904-83), one of the most important photographers of modern times, with a major exhibition and an international conference. The exhibition presents 155 vintage gelatin-silver prints from the Bill Brandt Archive and is the most important Brandt exhibition for over 30  years. Boundaries: Jo Roberts, Pump House Gallery, London. Maria Chevska: Can't Wait (Letters R.L.), Andrew Mummery Gallery, London. Awaiting the visitor to her first solo show in London for almost three years are two significant developments in Maria Chevska's work. The first is the introduction of objects into the gallery space, objects that the viewer has to negotiate and which act as both an aid and a restriction  to reading her paintings. And the second is that this exhibition is suffused with one voice only, rather than the conversation between literary figures that has been a  feature of Chevska's ......................................................................................................50-52

     

Media: Keep on flipping and changing stations. You are not going to miss a thing! American media is a contemplative product. A blend of autocratic ideology and individualistic comprehension of events. American journalists including an avalanche of TV commentators and talk show hosts seem to know everything. Yes sir, they talk about every imaginable topic. Bill O'Reilly,  (honest and sharp!) for instance, at ease and with permissive critical approach nightly argue about an astonishing variety of delicate subjects, topics and themes, ranging from questioning the loyalty of President Bush's former senior advisors to same-sex marriage, and from global ecology to immigration and naturalization services, and from questioning the validity and honesty of a ruling by a Judge in the State of Florida to salty or sweet water on Mars. The two guys and "lovely" lady of the FoxNews morning show have answers to all your questions. Certainly, they are entertaining and easy to follow but, their conquest and analysis of world affairs, Spanish political dynamics, President Chirac's political ideology, Bin Laden's underwear, Michael Jackson lipstick and astro-physics-outer-of-space latest technologies are a little bit "too much". They know everything and they talk about everything. Nevertheless, we rush to our TV sets..............................................................................53-55

Cabaret: LA GOULUE: THE STRIPPER WITH A GOLDEN HEART. THE SUPER STAR OF LE MOULIN ROUGE. THE QUEEN OF MONTMARTRE CABARETS…  AND THE SADDEST SHADOW OF THE STREETS OF PARIS. She lived the two lives of Cabaret: The happy one on stage and the tragic one in her real life when her last  impoverished days ended her up  in the streets of Paris. Nee Louise Weber. She was born in Clichy, France around 1865. Her mother was a “Blanchisseuse” laundry woman. Her father, unknown. At 16, she became like her mother, a « Blanchisseuse ». To earn more money, she sold roses on rue de la Goutte d’Or in her spare time. God knows how it happened, she met France’s great, Auguste Renoir and became one of his models. Her income as a model allowed her to buy ....................................................56-77

Chevalier-Mistinguet: Maurice Chevalier and Mistinguet. In 1918, the first world war constant bombardments forced « Le Casino de Paris » to close its doors. Around the end of the war, the Casino resumed its operations and offered a sensational show to inaugurate and celebrate its comeback. The two headliners were Maurice Chevalier and Mistinguet. It was an obvious choice. Every six months, their show was renewed and enlarged to include various acts by other Parisians singers and dancers. Volterra, the mastermind of the Casino’s attractions and shows kept the show and other artistic presentations going for 12 consecutive years. Quite a record. He produced 24 productions of .........................................................78-87

Nicole: The great Nicole Martel. Some artists don’t need to pass away to become immortal. While they are still alive, the crowd, the critics, the audience, the fans and all those who are between call them “Living Legend”. In my book, this is a polite way to say “they did not die yet”! And once they do, “Legend” becomes “Immortality” and “Living Legend” becomes “Immortal”! What a very funny and lazy transition…a lazy, lengthy and agonizing waiting period to recognize them as such. In France, they are a little bit faster than in any other country in the World. If you have been admitted to “L’Academie Francaise”................................................................................................88-111

Israel-Palestine: Art and Politics: Leading artists of Israel and Palestine. This article reveals truth, reality, unaltered dimensions, feelings, talents and major work of leading Arab and Israeli artists living in the Near East, Middle East and spread around the world. There are a lot of pros and cons opinions expressed herewith. They are NOT ours. Those opinions were deemed indispensable to be included in our article, because they constitute the very fabric of similarities and differences in way of life, politics, social structure and substructure, artistic ideologies and accomplishments, social and artistic struggles, genius, visions of today and tomorrow. This article should prove extremely informative and educational..................................................................................................................112-138

 

Celebrities: Mona Hatoum. Hatoum's use of industrial materials, along with her style, resemble the Minimalist and Conceptual work first introduced in the 1960s. The Museum of Contemporary Art in   Chicago was the site of Mona Hatoum's first major museum exhibition in the US in 1997. Her work is said to be drawn from both her Lebanese exile as well as her awareness of racial and gender issues. They possess a personal and a political side. She insists that her viewers follow their own instinctual reactions, while still enabling them to see her perspective. Hatoum's recent exhibition at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art........................139

Hedy: Hedy Lamarr.The Glamorous  Actress and Hollywood 1940 Screen Goddess, Hedy Lamarr invented the Spread Spectrum: Torpedoes Guiding and Anti-Guiding Communication System. Who would have guessed that a glamorous movie goddess of the 1940's would create a communications system that was decades ahead of its time and is only now coming into widespread use? She was born in Vienna in 1914 as Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler. She went to Max Reinhardt's famous acting school in Berlin during her late teens, and in 1933 she showed the world her acting skills and most of herself in the film Extase (Ecstacy), which quickly became notorious for its extensive nude scenes. The movie played in America after severe cutting, and in 1937 its leading lady went to Hollywood. Louis B. Mayer, of MGM, hired her and gave her the name Lamarr. Some people thought Hedy to be the most beautiful woman in.............................................................................140-149

Caresse: Mary Phelps Jacobs. In 1913, the first modern brassiere to be awarded a patented was invented by a New York socialite named Mary Phelps Jacob. Mary had just purchased a sheer evening gown for one of her social events. At that time, the accepted undergarments were corsets, stiffened with whaleback bones and steel rods. Mary found that the "whalebone-spocked" out visibly around the plunging neckline and under the sheer fabric, so with two silk hankerchiefs and some pink ribbon, the first bra was invented. Mary's new undergarment went well with the new fashions being introduced at the time and demands from friends and family were high for the new brassiere. On November 3, 1914, she was awarded a patent for the "Backless Brassiere". Caresse Crosby was the business name Jacob used for her brassiere production. However, Jacob did not enjoy the business, so she sold the brassiere patent to the Warner Brothers Corset Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut for $1,500. ..........................................................................150-158

Hypatia: Hypatia of Alexandria is the earliest woman scientist whose life is well documented; she was also the last scientist of the Golden Age of Pericles, before enlightenment gave way to the Dark Ages. Her martyrdom has had more of an impact on the history than her inventions, although the hydroscope itself—the first laboratory instrument to measure the specific gravity of liquids—was a breakthrough. Born in Alexendria in A.D. 370, Hypatia came into a rarefied intellectual world. Her father, Theon, was a mathematician and astronomer at the Museum at Alexandria, and Hypatia was his prize pupil. She studied in Athens and Italy, and she became a lecturer and writer in the fields of mathematics, philosophy, astronomy and mechanics. Her classes were attended by students from throughout the known world, and her treatise on algebra, Arithmetica, was a thirteen-volume definitive study. Practical technology was Hypatia's main interest...159-160

Golda: Golda Meir. When the word "greatness" comes to mind, Golda Meir comes immediately to the forefront. Her commitment to her land and to her people was the paragon of human dedication. Her complete involvement, tempered with love, fired by fierce devotion, caused the world to know that she was a true mover of mountains. Though born in Kiev, Russia, she moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her family in 1906. In 1915, she joined the Labor Zionist Party. In 1917, she married Morris Meyerson and they moved to Tel Aviv (then Palestine) in 1921. Later they became the proud parents of Sarah and Menachem. Eighteen years ago today (March 7, 1969), Golda Meir was nominated by.............................161-162

 

Greatness. United States Women of Greatness and Magnificent Accomplishments. America's Women Hall of Fame......163-180

 

 

 

 

Theater: George W. Bush, Tony Blair and God appear - but not Saddam Hussein. Michael White introduces a new play with music about the war on terror. It isn't widely known in the corridors of world power, no doubt for reasons of security, but later this month President Bush and Prime Minister Blair will make their vocal debut at the Birmingham Rep in a cheerful little number called "We're sending you a cluster-bomb for Jesus". Sadly, not the actual Bush and Blair, just close approximations in a singing/dancing/cursing play-with-music by the satirist Alistair Beaton and composer Richard Blackford. And whether the audience will leave the theatre grinning or crying is something the authors can't guarantee, although Beaton promises "a roller-coaster evening where you'll laugh, you'll be disturbed, and you might be very angry. As I was. Which is why I wrote it." Follow my Leader is...................................184-186

Comedy-Satire: Alistair Beaton's new play-satire on the war on terrorism. What I did find offensive in Beaton's satire is his depiction of Americans as complete idiots. However, it is refreshing, hilarious and provocative. Refreshing, for it depicts two heads of states, Blair and Bush as half arrogant and half quasi idiots leaders with astonishing childish naivety.  Hilarious, for the characterization of the personalities and political assumptions of both leaders is sublimely ridiculous and humouristic. Provocative, for Mr. Beaton's without reservation portrays Americans as "complete....................................................................................................................187-189

Wickstrom: THE HUMAN TRUTH ON APRIL FOOL'S DAY. The first thing that comes to my mind today is the date! Do you realize what the date is today friend? Well, that's right it happens to be April 1st - a day in which the comics in all of us play tricks on friends of ours. What do you  think I should have you write about, today? Probably what steams up my life? I'll tell you what I think my life's purpose is... it's threefold 1) To help as many people as I can to become truly happy 2) To earn a lot of money in order to build the required capital to fulfill my final goal...which is..........................................................................................................................................................190

April Fool: Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time......................................................................................................191-221

Jocelyne:  Stars and Legends from France. Jocelyne Jocya: The immortal voice of world music. The moment she died on August 18, 2003,  the world of goodness and the cosmos of  music trembled, whipped and...the musical and vocal virtuosity was shattered on stage, on records and in the hearts of millions around the world. Her death killed me. For she was one of the most talented and brilliant singers of the century, and one of the most generous and loving human beings on the face of the earth. She was larger than life! She was a diva, a saint, a humanitarian, a celestial artist, an adventurer, a giver, a story-teller, a loving shadow and dreams of lights to millions of children, needy, oppressed, music lovers and those souls who found comfort, strength and life in her songs. She died, and part of my heart died with her.............................................................................224-237

Anne: Stars and Legends from the USA. Anne Kerry Ford. Broadway lights could and would shine brighter, should Ms Anne Kerry Ford perform again in New York. Any script? Any musical costumed made for this bright American diva? She excelled on the big screen. She brilliantly performed in Europe. She has been selected among the 25 most admired and well-thought artists by an international audience and readers of European magazines. She carries the torch of symphonic musical beauty. She released very well-welcomed and acclaimed CDs. She did it all with class, professionalism and originality. Broadway, perhaps Paris and London should get ready for Ms Kerry Ford. Anne is not your regular cabaret singer, for she has more to offer than a set of romantic songs for an audience in a cozy cabaret room setting. She brings to the cosmos of cabaret, a solid dramatic and traditional training and background. Actress, thinker, big stage and cinema  star,  Ms Kerry Ford adds an ultra dimension to standard cabaret repertoires.................................................238-252

Westbrooks: Stars and Legends from Great Britain. Kate Westbrook and Mike Westbrook. Two living Jazz and cabaret legends in London. The "Guardian" called Mr Mike Westbrook "a giant of contemporary music". There are no limits and no boundaries to the creativity, innovative talents, genius and astonishing artistic energy of Mr Mike Westbrook  and Ms Kate Westbrook. They are simply overwhelming and magical. Probably they have done and accomplished everything which could be done, imagined,  to be seen, to be moved, composed, written, designed, produced, rehearsed, created,  existed or to exist and imagine on stage, in theater, in music, in dance and performing arts.  Nothing more or less is left to do for the Westbrooks. They have done it all, from writing dozens of scripts, films, videos, motion pictures, stage plays, hundreds of musical scores, endless  musical arrangements, conducting orchestras, producing more than 30 albums, producing and directing   numerous shows, singing virtually all styles ranging from opera to jazz to painting, visual arts, writing essays, diaries, books and touring the world.  And Lord!, they did ................................................................................................................................................................253-260

Barb: Stars and Legends from Great Britain. Barb Jungr. Should we parade our Cabaret stars on a red velvet carpet, the names of Barb Jungr,   Caroline Nin,     Kate Westbrook and Michael Westbrook would appear at the top of the list. They are Great Britain's finest entertainers and singers. Ms Jungr's  career as a pop and jazz singer stretches back to the early 80s. She is a veteran of world music. To many cabaret lovers and critics, Ms Barb Jungr is "Britain's answer to Ute Lemper". To many others, Barb is " Queen of the Musical Cabaret of Britain". All lead to the same citadel: The universal shrine of music. The citadel where Ms Jungr has already secured a historical place, a throne for her laurel, legendary talent and the brightest/smartest cabaret repertoire ever delivered by a contemporary singer in Britain. Barb is powerful. Strikingly intelligent. Warmly intellectual. Passionately fashioned into music within stimulating dialogues and electrifying persona on stage. She is perfect for Cabaret. She is made for it. ...........................................................................................................261-276

Elgar: Britain's first period of musical greatness spanned the Elizabethan period through the Restoration period--from the late 1500s, with composers such as Byrd, Gibbons, and Dowland, through the life of Henry Purcell (d. 1695). For virtually the next 200 years, Britain was the "Land without Music"--or at least, without any real music of its own. While there was musical life, it was entirely dominated by foreign--primarily German and Italian--musicians. Not one British composer during this period created works remotely comparable to those produced on the continent. With the appearance of Elgar, Britain at last produced a composer of international stature, and he is the first in a series of composers who created a 20th century Renaissance of British music, a series that included composers such as Vaughan Williams, Delius, Holst....................................................................................................................277-281

Caroline Nin: The Priestess and Diva of the Parisian Cabaret. To   understand this complex woman; singer, entertainer, philosopher, teaser,  rebel, poet, artiste and Diva, one should realize that Caroline Nin's universe is bigger than the one we live in, a world of her own,  quite inaccessible to those who are limited by factual time and space, defined by  what "regular" people  see and believe and touch if they are unable to feel. This woman's universe is intensely complex, rich and dramatically charged and inhabited by people or memories of places, stories and  people who once upon a time fashioned a world of drama, human tragedy, fantasies, extravaganza, poetry, adventures, scepter of Mata Hari, "Les Années Folles", escapades on "Les Grands Boulevards",  fatale encounters and...............................................................282-292

 

Lisa Richard: Lisa Richard is a new  refreshing product and  a pulverizing breed of singers and contempo theatrical performers. She sings the old  tunes but resuscitates them. She delivers new material but preserves and passes on the torch of solid  conservational musical  excellence and revered traditional virtuosity. She lives in a crazy American city but she reaches out to universalism in music and esthetic autonomy in delivery and in communicating with multi-ethnic audiences. Thus, appealing to New Yorkers,  conservatives under the Hollywood Symphony Bowl pillars, innovative and ultra modern artists and those who are in the making. Lisa Richard is powerful, yet extremely hilarious and sweet on the inside. Sharp intelligence, productive/creative spontaneity, original quasi intimate-quasi sarcastic talent  nourished with  guts forge the trilogy of the persona of this shining and talented Diva.....................293

Lisa: FROM THE USA. Lisa Richards and Susan Egan, Two Super Duper Entertainers: The American Way! Susan Egan and Lisa Richards in Susan Egan's Cabaret dressing room/ bathroom on Broadway in 2003! (Copyright 2004 Lisa Richard) Photo, right/Photo caption: "I love this picture. We were taking publicity shots for the show Nunsense, and I posed like this as a goof. You should have seen the faces of the people driving by as they spotted this wine-drinking, smoking, mechanic nun. You can't see it in the photo..........................................................294

UK Art: FROM THE UK. Rubbish and Decadence of the Modern Art in England! Outrageous art, scandalous photos and disgraceful exhibitions.....Of course, we are talking about Charles Saatchi and madness....................................................................................295

Bizarre:  FROM THE UK. The bizarre and expensive art. Britain's most outrageous paintings, photos and prints. The published, more or less reliable facts about Charles Nathan Saatchi are as follows. He was born in Baghdad in 1943, the son of a successful Jewish textile merchant. When he was four years old he came to Britain with his parents; he has lived in London almost ever since. His brother Maurice was born in the suburbs of Baghdad in 1946. They left Iraq in an exodus of 120,000 people at a time of increasing persecution of the country's ancient Jewish population. While the move to Britain was not easy, their parents managed to once again build a prosperous business, and the family lived in a large house in Highgate, north London. At school Charles did poorly; he didn't go into higher education and appears to have more or less drifted into the advertising industry.................................296-320

Egan: Susan Egan is America's sweetest, most charming, striking  and adorable mega talent on and off stage. Every time, she performs, she takes the town by storm.  It happens all the time and this enormous success was evidenced and acclaimed by her audience, the fans and the public who attended two of her most recent and  "perfect performances";  playing Sally in Cabaret and  Millie in Broadway's Thoroughly Modern Millie!  It was quite hard to catch Ms Egan before our publications deadlines. We  will try again to capture this nymph and glue her for a moment or two on the Monthly Herald Herald pages. Perhaps, the forthcoming issue.................................................................................321

WHO'S WHO: Who's Who of American Female Cabaret and Torch Singers from the 19th Century to Present. Publishers note: It is our sincere belief that the present work is the most up to date, accurate and informative “Documented Publication” on America’s Greatest Singers/Entertainers and English speaking artists worldwide from the 19^th century to present......................................................322-346 

 

TIMES PARADE

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS. PART II

Hot: Hottest faces and bodies. The new list of the most attractive and hottest faces includes a puzzling variety of stars, celebrities, media personalities, as well as female authors with impressive academic credentials, ranging from super model  Nikki Visser to Dr. Monica Crowley, the most brilliant and prettiest face of the American media. Little we did know that many of those beauties have authored books, lectured on the international circuit and served as advisors in multicultural disciplines and endeavors. Some wee selected by our editorial staff and others were chosen by our readers around the globe. Beauty and brains are blending in unison. Although, they have different personalities and colorful tempers, almost all of them make millions.........................................................................51-56

Lavigne: I have been labelled like I'm this angry girl - I'm like, this rebel, I'm like, punk, and I am SO not any of them. It's so funny, and I'm actually really shy," the petite, Canadian-born Lavigne says in typical teenspeak, sitting on a hotel bed wearing a black hooded sweat shirt, greyish pants, boxy shoes and socks bearing the message "boys are dumb." Lavigne the one-dimensional angry rocker chick is just one misconception she hopes to dispel as she releases her second album, Under This Skin, on Tuesday. It's the follow-up to her hugely successful debut, 2002's Let Go. Though she's only 19, Lavigne has had a profound effect on the pop world in her short career. In 2002, most teen female singing stars were little more than sexy nymphets singing prepackage.........................................................57

Geoffrey Rush: For a movie about the life of Peter Sellers, who could possibly star as the comic genius who played Dr. Strangelove and Inspector Clouseau? Answer: Geoffrey Rush, the man who played the Marquis de Sade and Leon Trotsky. In The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, the Academy Award winner gave one of the Cannes Film Festival's strongest performances playing the tormented title character and his pantheon of comic creations. The role was so daunting that Rush initially turned the part down. "I was very frightened of putting myself on the line,".......................................................................................................................................59

Doyle: Arthur Conan Doyle: He died in 1930 and he is still the hottest author. Thousands of personal papers belonging to Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fetched almost $1.8 million US at an auction Wednesday, with many of the items sold to private U.S. collectors. Christie's Auction House had expected the entire archive of letters, notes and handwritten manuscripts to raise about double the amount. However, 31 of the 135 lots on offer failed to meet their reserve price and remained unsold. The highest successful bid for an individual lot was $250,000 US for a collection of items including the author's notebooks from his time as a young medical doctor in Southsea, southern England. The lot, which was snapped up by a private American buyer, also contained the author's drawing for the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes in the novel A Study in Scarlet, with the original title of .....................................62

Bug: Concerned about picking up a nasty bug while in hospital? Forget about whether your doctor washed his hands before examining you. Ask when he last dry-cleaned his tie. Neckties worn by doctors can and do carry dangerous pathogens, a clever new study released Monday reveals. It suggests a bedside visit by a well-dressed physician could dole out disease along with comfort and care. The presence of bugs on ties suggests doctors aren't washing their hands enough, or at the right times, said Dr. Allison McGeer, one of Canada's leading infection control experts. "If physicians washed their hands when they were supposed to, their ties would not be contaminated," she said flatly. McGeer suggested these finding probably also pertain outside hospitals, noting male pediatricians often wear ties with cartoon themes to entertain their young patients. ".......................................................................................................63

 Sperm: A British woman gave birth to a baby boy using sperm from her husband that was frozen 21 years earlier, their doctor said Tuesday. Dr. Elizabeth Pease, a consultant in reproductive medicine at St. Mary's Hospital in Manchester where the baby was born two years ago, said she believed the age of the sperm made the case a world record. Pease said the father had five vials of his sperm "cryopreserved" at the age of 17, before treatment for testicular cancer that left him sterile...............................................................63

Business: Kmart: What rate version? Kmart will fail if it tries to be a "second- or third-rate version" of Wal-Mart and must stake out a different niche, the discount retailer's chairman told shareholders Tuesday. Edward Lampert, Kmart Holding Co.'s chairman and majority shareholder, said the company should focus on giving customers specific reasons to shop at Kmart, such as its revamped exclusive clothing lines that will hit stores this summer. He said when it comes to technology allowing speedy movement of inventory, no retailer could beat Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's biggest retailer. "If that's who our competition is going to be, and we're going to be a second- or third-rate version, I don't think we're going to win," Lampert said during Kmart's .... PetroFalcon. PetroFalcon Corp. said Tuesday it has signed a mandate letter with International Finance Corp., an arm of the World Bank, calling for up to $40 million US in financing to develop gas reserves in the state of Falcon, Venezuela. Gas from the Cumarebo and La Vela fields will be delivered to a gas pipeline being constructed by under construction by Petroleos ...Deutsche Telekom is paying $2.3 billion US to end a joint venture with the U.S. wireless company Cingular Wireless and buy Cingular's mobile phone network in California and Nevada. The agreement announced Tuesday would unwind a joint venture set up in 2001, under which Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA customers phoned over the Cingular network in California and Nevada and Cingular's customers used the T-Mobile USA network in New York. "Deutsche Telekom will further strengthen its presence and growth potential in the United States," the Bonn-based firm, Europe's biggest...............................64

Technology: An Air Force plan to acquire 100 refueling tankers from Boeing Co. was put on hold Tuesday for at least six months by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who said the delay will give officials time to complete two additional studies he has ordered to evaluate the controversial deal. The studies will include an analysis of alternatives that requires a comprehensive look at other refueling options, he said. The decision was based in part on recommendations made by the Defense Science Board, which submitted a report critical of the tanker deal earlier this month. The report by the advisory panel said there is no compelling reason for the Air Force to immediately acquire 100 refueling tankers. Contrary to Air Force claims, corrosion of the aging tanker fleet is "manageable" and several options exist to refurbish the fleet, the report said....Russia successfully launched a cargo spacecraft  loaded with fuel, food and mail for the Russian-American crew of the International Space Station, an official at mission control said. The Progress M-49 craft lifted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan atop a Soyuz-U rocket at 8:34 a.m. EDT, spokeswoman Vera Medvedkova said....Frank Quattrone, the former star technology banker convicted earlier this month of obstructing justice, requested a new trial Tuesday based on "unorthodox and confusing" jury instructions. Lawyers for Quattrone said U.S. District Judge Richard Owen misled jurors about the legal standards the government was required to meet in order to find the ex-banker guilty. "These errors were highly prejudicial to the defence and seriously compromised the fairness of the trial," Quattrone......................65-66

Painting: Joseph Matar. The artist is an intriguing, prophetic and captivating presence which transcended the frontiers of conventionalism and the limitations of the power of mind and esthetical visions. For he is a poet, a philosopher, a published author, an academician, a religious visionary, a painter, a raconteur and...probably, the last of the illustrious "true artists" of the Near East. Classically trained, nourished with French and Lebanese culture, traditions, history and arts, Mr Joseph Matar continued to discover new themes and new esthetical landscapes through his religious and philosophical contemplations. Admirably he paints sceneries and landscapes of the magical lands of Lebanon, its old warm and ethnic houses, colorful villages, faces of shepherds and peasants, small town gatherings, weddings, prairies and enchanted mountains enrobed in captivating horizons and memories of the Grand Orient and his majestic homeland. Equally grandiose and lyrical is his style of blending and creating colors which transform............................................................................67-71

Zeidan: Salwa Zeidan, the strokes of intellectual elegance and lyrical beauty. Salwa Zeidan was born in the Bekaa valley of Lebanon. Daughter of a poet and a vivid student of world art and humanities, her attachment to inner world of human feelings and contemporary art metamorphoses enlarged the perimeter of her artistic creativity to include the simplistic yet eloquent expressions and forms of lyricism, romanticism and quasi-religious fervour embraced with delicate lines, curves and sensitive structural escapades. Relatively a newcomer to the abstract world, Zeidan succeeded in attracting the interest and attention of eminent scholars and art critics at home and abroad. She began to exhibit her work  in 1989. In  2003, she won several awards including the the 4th place at the International  biennale of arts in Italy, 2004.....................................................................................................................................72

Re-election: Baghdad failures might threaten Bush's chances for re-election.  The failures in Baghdad threaten to drown his chances for re-election in November. In order to truly persuade critical swing voters, Mr. Bush requires a very different message than he does when trying to persuade the rest of the world to help create a stable Iraq. So when he recast his objectives for Iraq in last night's televised speech, it was supposed to satisfy two audiences. Few Americans will cast their ballots next November on whether prospects for Middle East peace have improved or Baghdad's streets are safer........................................................................................................73

Cleric: American forces  trying to crash  Iraq cleric's supporters. Parts of one of the most sacred shrines of Shia Islam suffered damage during clashes Tuesday between U.S. forces and radical Shiite militiamen that left at least nine people dead. In Baghdad, a car bomb near a hotel wounded at least five Iraqis, the U.S. military said. The target of the blast, about 100 metres from the Australian Embassy, was not immediately clear. After the fighting in Najaf eased, people gathered at the Imam Ali shrine to look at the damage. The inner gate of the shrine, leading into the tomb of Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib, appeared to have been hit by a projectile. Bits of debris were scattered along the ground. Al-Jazeera television showed a torn veil covering the door to the inner shrine.......................................75

Terrorism: U.S. officials have obtained new intelligence deemed highly credible indicating al-Qaida or other terrorists are in the United States and preparing to launch a major attack this summer, The Associated Press has learned. The intelligence does not include a time, place or method of attack but is among the most disturbing received by the government since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to a senior federal counterterrorism official who spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity Tuesday. Of most concern, the official said, is that terrorists may possess and use a chemical, biological or radiological weapon that could cause much more damage and casualties than a conventional bomb..................................................................................................................................................................76

Degeneres: Ellen DeGeneres capped a successful first year on daytime television by winning a Daytime Emmy award for best talk show on Friday. But Wayne Brady won the Daytime Emmy award as best talk show host even though his program has been cancelled. An overwhelmed DeGeneres turned and kissed her mother, Betty, before taking the stage to accept the trophy. She thanked television executives who convinced station managers across the country that people still wanted to see her on TV. "I have fun everyday," said DeGeneres, whose show won three other technical awards. "It's the best job I ever had." In what had to be bittersweet, Brady was honoured as best talk show host for......................................................................................................................................77

Ludwig: Wiebo Ludwig has always blamed the energy industry and its sour gas emissions for harming his land, livestock and family in northwestern Alberta. But his actions in the 1990s sharply divided the public, who still view him as either a danger or a simple man protecting his family. "I had great respect for the fact he wouldn't be stepped on," said Alan Scarfe, whose portrayal of Ludwig anchors Burn: The Robert Wraight Story, which airs Tuesday on CTV. Wraight (played by Scarfe's son, Jonathan Scarfe) is the former Ludwig confidant who turned RCMP informant after becoming alarmed by the escalating violence and sabotage between environmentalists and the Alberta oil industry. Ludwig's battle with resource companies in the late .................................................79

Shrek: Shrek 2 turned out to be even greener than expected. The sequel about a verdant ogre and his chatty sidekick Donkey collected $108 million US at the weekend box office, almost $4 million more than its studio, DreamWorks SKG, predicted Sunday, according to final figures released Monday afternoon. The computer-animated movie earned about $129 million Wednesday through Sunday for the highest five-day opening in Hollywood history, besting December's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which had $124.1 million. Shrek 2 had the second biggest three-day weekend debut, behind only 2002's Spider-Man with $114.8 million. It beat Spider-Man for the highest single-day gross. On Saturday, Shrek 2 earned $44.8 million, compared to the $43.6 million earned by Spider-Man on its first Saturday.............................................................................................................................................................80

Review: Whatever was wrong with Shrek -- and there were more weaknesses than its beloved status would suggest -- has been eradicated or improved upon with Shrek 2, a rare example of a sequel that's better than the original. The computer-generated animation, which dazzled the first time in 2001, looks even better. The backgrounds and landscapes are even more lush and detailed, from the realistic drops of water during a thunderstorm to the contours left in the snow after a horse-drawn carriage has rumbled through. The characters' movements are smoother, not as herky-jerky -- especially those of Princess Fiona (voiced by Cameron Diaz) -- all of which contributes to the sensation of watching something truly filmic, not digitally manufactured. But the most important change of all, and the most fundamental, is in the screenplay.............................................................................................................................81

Fiction: On a leisurely spring afternoon, author E.L. Doctorow sits for an interview in his office at New York University, a professorial figure with a high forehead and soft beard, his wry smile fitting for a man who always seems to be debating how much he's willing to tell. With books by Stendhal, Tolstoy and other favourites stacked on shelves behind him and his own books on shelves in front of him, it is a comfortable setting for the author of Ragtime, Billy Bathgate and other acclaimed bestsellers. A professor of creative writing at NYU, the 73-year-old Doctorow has been publishing novels for more than 40 years and remains committed to storytelling at a time when readers seem preoccupied with politics, diets and spirituality. "Fiction writers have always faced obstacles of this sort," he says. "So part of the game is figuring out how to move the audience. "I stay away from theory, from any aesthetic plan or ideal of what fiction should be..............................................................................................................................................................82

Diva: Anne Kerry Ford: A sparkling soprano, a superb actress, leading star of America’s best theatrical plays and musicals, a Broadway stage sensation with wit, humor and philosophical depth, American Cabaret sweet princess and shining star, an outstanding recording artist, a philosopher and an artist bigger than the world we live in!! Anne Kerry Ford had her ups and downs and her share of terrible experiences and disappointments in the world of art but, she remained the ultimate warrior, the art trooper and Cabaret ambassador to the world, the perfect lady and ever glowing star… Well spoken, articulate, educated, multi-dimensional, formidably trained, experienced and blessed with unsurpassed talent and captivating beauty, Anne Kerry Ford has been involved and excelled in about every imaginable artistic endeavors including but not limited to TV soap operas, Broadway stage productions, motion pictures, American and world theater performances, Europe theatrical tours, art world events and performances, big time recordings, singing, Cabaret acts, jazz, blues.....................................................................................................................................................83-91

Nancy: Nancy Kelly: POWERFUL!! A tornado of music! Explosive, mesmerizing and dangerously captivating Diva!! And there is nothing you can do about it, except, sit, listen, and witness how Goddesses descend on earth, take you by storm and lift you up to the magical firmament of music, splendors and delightful madness…Her performance on stage is the culmination of life in all its forms, passages, seasons and adventures. A performance which explodes from within, from the depth of her inner universe, abundant with wisdom, experience, knowledge, ups and downs, guts and reflections, beauty and reflective hesitations, mesmerizing personality and unsurpassed talent. Nancy Kelly is not a singer. Nancy Kelly is........................................................................................92-93

USA: President Bush, trying to dispel rising doubts about the war, declared  the United States would stay in Iraq until it was free and democratic and suggested more U.S. soldiers might have to be sent to stop enemy forces bent on destroying the new government. ''There are difficult days ahead and the way forward may sometimes appear chaotic,'' he said. ''The terrorists and Saddam loyalists would rather see many Iraqis die than have any live in freedom. But terrorists will not determine the future of Iraq.'' In a prime-time address at the U.S. Army War College, he also promised to demolish the Abu Ghraib prison that has become an ugly symbol of the U.S. occupation............................................................................................................94

Bush: Bush defends his vision for Iraq. In a keynote speech aimed at reassuring the US public, he said he was taking five "specific steps" to help Iraq achieve democracy and freedom. Mr Bush also said the US would demolish Abu Ghraib prison after the handover of power, if Iraq's new government agreed. The speech came after the US and UK tabled a draft resolution at the UN on plans for the handover on 30 June. The president stressed that the United Nations would have an important role to play in the process of making Iraq a democracy......................................................................................................................................................................................96

Speech: Bush's speech analysis: After weeks of seemingly unremitting bad news from Iraq, President Bush needs to convince audiences in the United States, Iraq, and the international community that he still sees a clear way ahead, and one that all those constituencies can support........................................................................................................................................................96-98

Monica: The grande dame of the American Media and certainly the brightest and prettiest political analyst in the United States. Michelangelo just finished working on his most illustrious masterpiece; the statue of Moses. He was taken by it. He posed for a while, began to look and look at Moses face, grabbed his chisel, and with a divine fury hit the foot of the patriarch, smashing his toes and screamed: “You are Perfect! Moses, TALK!!”  This is the feeling and this is the very sensation you will feel upon looking at Monica Crowley and while listening to her. A moment of half-divine, half-human presence and  omnipotence. This woman is almost perfect! Although, a stroke of luck launched her career like a rocket when she met President Richard Nixon...........................................................................................................99-117

 Breaking News: A U.S. soldier who deserted his Iraq-bound regiment and sought asylum in Canada said the U.S war in Iraq was illegal and he accused the United States of committing war crimes. Pte. Jeremy Hinzman, 25, also defended his decision to leave his unit with the 82nd Airborne Division on Jan. 2, about two weeks after he learned his unit would be deployed to Iraq. He fled to Toronto along with his wife and child. "The Iraqi war is illegal according to international standards. It was condemned by most the international community," Hinzman said in a speech Tuesday sponsored by an anti-war group and an Arab advocacy group. "If I had participated in the Iraq occupation, I would have participated in a criminal enterprise," he said. .........................................................118

Accusations: U.S. troops said they scored a major success against Iraqi Shiite Muslim militiamen , arresting a key lieutenant of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in clashes hospital and militia officials said killed 24 people and wounded nearly 50. Later, Iraq's national-security adviser said al-Sadr had offered to remove his fighters from Najaf - except for those who live there. Al-Sadr demanded U.S. and other coalition troops "return to base," allowing Iraqi police to regain control of the city. Mouwafak al-Rubaie, a Shiite and the U.S.-backed Iraqi government's national-security adviser, said the offer was made in a letter from al-Sadr...............................118

Mel Brooks: The Producers will end its run at the Canon Theatre in Toronto on Sept. 5, it was announced . The Mel Brooks musical has been a smash hit on Broadway, and the Toronto version began Nov. 21 with Sean Cullen, Michael Therriault and Sarah Cornell in the lead roles. "We've had a wonderful six-month run thus far and want to make sure the engagement's final three months are as heavily attended as the show's initial performances,'' said theatre impresario David Mirvish. "..............................................................119

Love: Rock star Courtney Love pleaded guilty  to a misdemeanour count of being under the influence of a controlled substance and agreed to enter a drug rehabilitation program. "Guilty," Love said softly when the judge asked for her plea. Love, 39, also answered "Yes" several times when asked if she understood the terms of the plea agreement. Sentencing was set for July 16. Assistant City Attorney Jerry Baik told reporters that the rehabilitation effort will last several months and is an outpatient program that includes classes, counselling and probably random drug testing. At the end of the program, Love may petition to have the case dismissed. If she fails the drug program, she could be sentenced to at least 90 days in jail.....................................................119

Divorce:  Nicolas Cage and Lisa Marie Presley took nearly a year and a half to end a marriage that lasted less than four months. The divorce was finalized , according to court papers filed in Superior Court. The documents show that neither will pay financial support to the other and each will retain any assets they had prior to the marriage. They filed for separation in November 2002, just a few months after their romantic wedding in Hawaii in August of that year. The actor -- filing under his real name, Nicolas Coppola -- cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split in the.......................................................................121

Missy: Hip-hop star Missy Elliott cancelled a planned concert in Jakarta after the U.S. Embassy warned Americans about potential terrorist attacks in Indonesia. Elliott had been scheduled to perform Wednesday as part of an international tour. "We apologize to all the fans of Missy Elliott because of this cancellation," Roberto of Lunar Entertainment, the show's promoter, said Tuesday. Roberto, who uses a single name like many Indonesians, said ticket holders will get refunds. The U.S. Embassy issued a statement Friday reminding U.S. citizens to remain aware of the "continued potential for terrorist attacks against Americans or American interests in Indonesia and  ................121

Jen: Jen Schefft says she and Andrew Firestone of The Bachelor have a bond despite their split - and she's got the engagement ring. "Obviously, it's a beautiful ring and Andrew said that he bought that for me and that it was mine to keep, so I'm gonna keep it," Schefft says on The Bachelor: After the Final Rose. Last May, Firestone proposed to Schefft on the season finale of The Bachelor. Their breakup was announced in December. The special episode of the reality dating show airs 9 p.m. EDT Wednesday on ABC. Schefft also talks about a reality crossover: briefly dating The Apprentice winner Bill Rancic................................................121

Toby: A celebrity golf tournament hosted by Toby Keith raised about $250,000 US to assist families of pediatric cancer patients in Oklahoma. Keith organized the golf classic following the August death of Allison Webb, the two-year-old daughter of one of his original bandmates, Scott Webb. Allison spent the last year of her life being treated for Wilms' tumours affecting both of her kidneys. The funds from the tournament and an auction featuring items donated by sports teams and entertainers including Garth Brooks and Christina Aguilera will benefit a charity..........................................................................121

Terran: Jennifer Terran is an unusual, very unusual kind of artists and quite a woman! A truly magnificent Film Noire Diva and a world-class songwriter-singer. This woman is unique, captivating vocalist, pianist,  tenderly rebellious songwriter, producer by raison d'etre and necessity, hip-hop dynamic instructor and dancer,  story-teller, an existentialist philosopher, an emotionally and intellectually charged teaser and provocative presence and most certainly a daring-devil entrepreneur. It is hard not to notice her presence in a room, or not to gaze at the way she moves, she talks and most certainly it is quite impossible not to get fully absorbed by  the crafty style she adopted to scream life in her songs and music. Quite a woman and quite an artist indeed! She has already released on her own and independent record label, Grizelda Records, four splendid  records "Cruel", "Rabbit",  Live from Painted Cave" and the internationally acclaimed "The Musician". ..........................................................122-123

Terrorism: Abu Hamza al-Masri, the fiery Muslim cleric whose shuttered London mosque was linked to Zacarias Moussaoui and shoe bomber Richard Reid, was arrested Thursday in Britain, accused in a U.S. indictment of trying to establish a terrorist training camp in Oregon and providing aid to al-Qaida, officials said. Al-Masri, 47, also is charged in the 11-count indictment with hostage-taking and conspiracy in connection with a December 1998 incident that killed four tourists in Yemen. "Those who support our terrorist enemies anywhere in the world must know that we will not rest until the threat they pose is eradicated," U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said in announcing the arrest. Al-Masri, whose real name is Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, was arrested at his London ........................124

Iraq: The U.S.-led coalition agreed Thursday to suspend offensive operations in Najaf after Iraqi leaders struck a deal with radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to end a bloody standoff threatening some of Iraq's holiest Shiite shrines. Despite the moves to calm violence in the south, Iraq remains in crisis. Gunmen ambushed a convoy carrying a member of the Iraqi Governing Council, Salama al-Khafaji, as she was returning to Baghdad from Najaf, where she had been helping with negotiations. Al-Khafaji survived but one of her guards was killed and her 18-year-old son was missing, aide Fateh Kashef al-Ghataa said....................................125

Nichols: Nearly a decade after the Oklahoma City bombing, Terry Nichols was found guilty of 161 state murder charges  for helping carry out what was then the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil. He could get the death sentence he escaped when he was convicted in federal court in the 1990s. The verdict came after only five hours of deliberations. Nichols was stone-faced and stared straight ahead at the judge as the verdicts were read. His lawyers bowed their heads and clenched their hands.............................126

Wanted:  List of top terrorists wanted by the US. Two Canadian citizens are among seven terrorists who may be plotting an attack this year, top U.S. officials said Wednesday as they warned there's "disturbing intelligence'' suggesting al-Qaida intends to "hit the United States hard.'' U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft named six men and one woman who present "a clear and present danger to America'' amid "credible intelligence from multiple sources.'' "Beyond this intelligence, al-Qaida's own public statements suggest that it's almost ready to attack the United States.'' The warnings seemed likely to return the public focus to one of President George W. Bush's strong points after weeks of trouble with the Iraq prison abuse scandal and the lowest approval ratings......126-127

Idols: Fantasia Barrino's fantasy of pop stardom became a reality Wednesday night when she was named the winner of American Idol. Barrino grabbed runner-up Diana DeGarmo in a bear hug and twisted her around as tears streamed down her face. "Thank you much," she sobbed. "I broke my shoe!" Then she added: "I been through some things but I worked hard to get to where I'm at." Barrino, a 19-year-old single mother from High Point, N.C., with a powerful, gospel-tinged voice, topped DeGarmo, an effervescent 16-year-old from Snellville, Ga. DeGarmo continued smiling through tears in defeat...............................................................................128

Yagira: Yuuya Yagira, the 14-year-old named best actor at this year's Cannes Film Festival for his role in the Japanese film Nobody Knows, says he had never received an award for anything in his life before. "It's my first trophy or award ever. I couldn't be happier," Yagira told a news conference Wednesday. "I want to become a fine actor."..........................................................................128

Israel: The simmering debate over the role of Jewish neoconservatives in drawing America into war in Iraq erupted with new fury this week. One of America's most respected ex-generals took to the airwaves to charge on CBS News' "60 Minutes" that the war had been fought for Israel's benefit, just days after a similar charge was leveled on the floor of the U.S. Senate. The retired general, Anthony Zinni, a past chief of the U.S. Central Command and President Bush's former Middle East special envoy, told "60 Minutes"..........................................................129

ZINNI ACCUSATIONS: Invading Iraq was a big mistake. They screwed up big time. From 1997 to 2000, he was commander-in-chief of the United States Central Command, in charge of all American troops in the Middle East. That was the same job held by Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf before him, and Gen. Tommy Franks after.  Following his retirement from the Marine Corps, the Bush administration thought so highly of Zinni that it appointed him to one of its highest diplomatic posts -- special envoy to the Middle East.  But Zinni broke ranks with the administration over the war in Iraq, and now, in his harshest criticism yet, he says senior officials at the Pentagon are guilty of dereliction of duty -- .................................................................................................................................130-138

Democracy: It's clear now that Iraq will not transform into a democracy anytime soon. The uninspiring, but inescapable, fact is that Saddam Hussein never stood between the Iraqi people and Western-style democracy. The Iraqi dictator was justifiably despised by most of his fellow countrymen. A Saddam-free Iraq may have been a little wealthier; it may even have been a little freer. But it would not have been a liberal democracy without Saddam, and it will not be a democracy significantly faster now. The end of Saddam as a political leader does nothing to alter the fundamental incompatibility of Iraqi society with liberal democracy, or to alter the nature of democratization, as experienced around the globe over the past several decades. It is very hard, therefore, to be optimistic about the chances of post-Saddam Iraq..........................................................................................................................................................139-143

Illusion: Is it Really Liberation? Where is the American democracy in Iraq?  Across the political spectrum, from Adnan Pachachi, former foreign minister of the pre-Ba'ath 1968 Iraqi government, to the Communist Party, there were calls for the United Nations to sponsor the conference instead of the United States, because many participants felt that U.S. control of the process deprived it of legitimacy. Popular opinion echoed that feeling. In April, there were mass protests in Baghdad, Mosul, and across the country, including 20,000 in Nasiriyah at the site of the talks, saying, "No to Saddam, No to America, Yes to Islam, Yes to Democracy." In May, Bremer briefly postponed talks on creating an interim government..............................................................................................144-145

Saade: Rania Saade, a Lebanese artist on her way to the top. Lyrical early  neo-cubism compositions come to life through autonomously well-structured forms and evocative colors escaping the frontiers of creative imagination and nostalgic expressions. She studied in the Near East, yet her art encompasses universal, multidimensional esthetical definitions and multilayered genres of various abstract periods. The world of her palette offers  warm and humanistic sceneries and landscapes of her beautiful Lebanon, as well as magnificently projected avant-garde visionary...................................................................................................................................146

Sanford Biggers: Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America.The Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) presents Sanford Biggers “Both/And Not Either/Or”, an exhibition that will embrace Japanese hip-hop, Buddhist tradition, and African-American power on May 28 through August 16. Sanford Biggers is a New York-based artist whose sculptural installations draw from a remarkably diverse range of sources, including Eastern religions, black vernacular expression, 1970s process art, urban street culture, and new technologies. He works with discarded and overlooked materials—linoleum, lumber, recyclables—seamlessly blending ancient and contemporary, local and global images to encourage a reconsideration and revaluation of ..........................................................147

The beauty of failure. Joan Miro Foundation, Barcelona,  Spain. The Joan Miro Foundation presents “The beauty o failure / The failure of beauty”, selected by Harald Szeemann and co-produced by Forum Barcelona 2004 as one of the “Forum in the City” events concerned with the Conditions of Peace. It contains around 150 works – drawings, paintings, sculptures, photographs and installations – from a period running from the end of the nineteenth century to the present day. The exhibition is about how great dreams and utopias that seem so splendid in the abstract are..............................................................................................................................................148

War and Peace: Soviet Press Photography. Giedre Bartelt Galerie, Berlin, Germany. On The exhibition presents a complete collection (created in the 70s) of Soviet press photography. Virtually all pictures are of high aesthetic quality, and most prints are technically excellent. Moreover, the choice of subjects provokes a strong impression of the ideology and cultural policy of the Soviet Union during the Brezhnev era. The collection consists of several convoluts that used to be shown in various combinations at travelling exhibitions in the foyers of so-called palaces of the press and palaces of culture, as well as in Soviet army clubs and in institutions of higher education, frequently on the occasion of political festivities.............................................................................................................................................................148

Webism:  Webism - Art connecting the World. Electric Avenue, Vienna, Austria. From May 27 to June 12, 2004 an exhibition of international artists takes place on the prestigious Electric Avenue of Vienna Museumsquartier (MQ). The exhibition, 32 Bit Connection:  Webism - Art connecting the World............................................................149

Territories: Territories brings together architects and artists in an exhibition about politics, architecture and geography. As the title of the exhibition implies, a number of projects are presented dealing with the occupation, control and defence of space. The exhibition speaks less about the cultural meaning of land use, housing and cultivation, but rather explores the strategic use of architecture and planning in times of crisis and conflict, bearing witness to.........................................................................................149

Day After Tomorrow: The Day After Tomorrow is a big, loud, summer action movie masquerading as a cautionary tale with social and political relevance. The film's cataclysm of climatological chaos turns the northern hemisphere into tundra more frozen than Lambeau Field. Yet it also manages to bring people -- the right people, namely the film's stars -- and enlighten them at the right moments. High school students Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Laura (Emmy Rossum) fall in love while trying to avoid freezing to death in the New York Public Library (though we know they can't possibly die, because they're too good-looking). Sam's estranged parents, Professor Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) and Dr. Lucy Hall (Sela Ward), seem likely to reconcile, thanks to the pouring rain and driving snow. A homeless man (Glenn Plummer), with his trusty border collie in tow, teaches a rich kid from Manhattan's Upper East Side (Austin Nichols) how to keep warm using paper. And most important of all, the vice president of the United States, who just happens to resemble Dick Cheney, realizes only in the aftermath of mass destruction that, maybe he should have listened to warnings about the dangers of global warming.

American media: THE 25 MOST LIKED,  TRUSTED & CAPTIVATING  CABLE TV FEMALE PERSONALITIES IN THE US.

They are the most trusted, respected and liked personalities of the American tube. What is their secret?..................................153-204

Media: Most Admired TV Personalities in the United States: Anchors/Hosts/Commentators-Female: The results of  the Monthly Herald recent international poll* on the most admired and popular American television personalities (Anchors, Commentators and Hosts)  In February-March 2004, the NewsDesk of the Monthly Herald conducted a survey in the American continent, Britain, France, Germany and the Middle East, on the most popular and admired male and female anchors of the American tube. The poll is in no way scientific or 100% accurate. However, it could provide a global view of television watchers preferences and favorite choices. No names were submitted to any party and no reference was made to particular TV personalities. The results are the personal choice of the people who received and completed the survey.........................................................................................................................204-205

       

Men: Anchors/Commentators/Hosts-Male. The results of  the Monthly Herald recent international poll* on the most admired and popular American television personalities (Anchors, Commentators and Hosts) ......................................................................206-207