Newsweek News & Comments

Bush Says Domestic Surveillance ‘Limited’ (AP via Yahoo! News)
President Bush is standing firmly behind his domestic spying program, saying his decision to let the intelligence community listen in on phone calls Americans have with suspected terrorists is lawful and does not result in widespread domestic eavesdropping.

NEWSWEEK COVER: ‘How Much Power Should They Have?’ (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
On one day in the spring of 2004, White House chief of staff Andy Card and the then White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales made a bedside visit to John Ashcroft, attorney general at the time, who was stricken with a rare and painful pancreatic disease, to try — without success — to get him to reverse his deputy, Acting Attorney General James Comey, who was balking at warrantless eavesdropping on

CHIRAC HELPS “THE DA VINCI CODE” MAKERS, ASKS FAVORS: MAGAZINE (The Tocqueville Connection)
WASHINGTON, Dec 28 (AFP) - French President Jacques Chirac offered to help makers of “The Da Vinci Code” film in the Louvre, and suggested they cast his daughter’s best friend in the leading female role, Newsweek magazine said.

Simply Does It (Washington Post)
Kids do say the darnedest things. I once promised my daughter Jillian that I would do something the following day. (Honestly, I don’t remember what it was she wanted me to do.) By the end of the day, I knew I couldn’t keep my promise. So I warned Jillian, who was 4 at the time, that I would have to…

Torrey Pines High Academic Team places first in state, fourth in the nation (North County Times)
SAN DIEGO — The Torrey Pines High School Academic Team has placed first in California and fourth in the nation in a trivia competition involving math, biology and language arts, it was reported Thursday.

Did Amazon Treat Artist Like A Crumb? (WebProNews)
The reclusive R. Crumb has had his representatives file a lawsuit against Amazon.com for copyright infringement of his “Keep on Truckin’” image.

CHIRAC HELPS “THE DA VINCI CODE” MAKERS, ASKS FAVORS: MAGAZINE (The Tocqueville Connection)
WASHINGTON, Dec 28 (AFP) - French President Jacques Chirac offered to help makers of “The Da Vinci Code” film in the Louvre, and suggested they cast his daughter’s best friend in the leading female role, Newsweek magazine said.

Toga Parties Made Easy With Rent.com (WebProNews)
There was a time, I tell the younguns, when finding an off-campus apartment and a suitable roommate not only tested the diligence of your would-be researcher within, but also your skills at making paper flyers with little tear-off tags. For Generation Xbox, though, eBay has added a feature to its Rent.com that helps starry-eyed pre-frosh find leaky and close-to-pizza-joint housing as well as a

The I-Word is Gaining Ground (The Nation via Yahoo! News)
The Nation — In 1998, House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, currently under indictment on corruption charges, proclaimed:

‘Teach science, and only science, in our science classrooms’ (USA Today)
The debate between proponents of evolution and supporters of “intelligent design” (ID) rests on a set of false distinctions. Evolution explains the increased complexity and diversity of life across millions of years. It does not attempt to explain the creation of the universe, or of the Earth or of life itself (”Pa. ruling may have ripples,” News, Friday).

CURTAIN CALLS (New York Post’s PageSix via Yahoo! News)
To commemorate their lives, I ri fled through The Post’s archives in search of reviews and interviews that were published at the beginning or at key moments in their careers.

LU spends $6,300 for full-page Newsweek ad (Jefferson City News Tribune)
Newsweek magazine’s Missouri readers this week are being told that Lincoln University “offers high quality undergraduate and select graduate programs to prepare students for careers, citizenship and leadership in a global society.”

Jason Leopold: The Case Against Karl Rove (Scoop.co.nz)
Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald met with the second grand jury investigating the leak of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson for several hours Friday.

Istanbul on a plate (Guardian Unlimited)
According to Newsweek, Istanbul is “re-emerging as one of Europe’s great metropolises”, its faded grandeur “leavened with new energy”.

Live Talk: Devin Gordon on ‘Da Vinci Code’ (Newsweek)
NEWSWEEK’s Devin Gordon will take your questions about ‘The Da Vinci Code’ on Thursday, Dec. 29, at noon, ET.

Sharon`s new Kadima party slides in the polls since the Newsweek disclosures (DEBKAfile)
A storm of criticism on right and left wings of Israeli politics greeted the statement attributed by pollster Kalman Gayer to prime minister Ariel Sharon in Newsweek. He was quoted as favoring a Palestinian state on 90pc of the West Bank and a compromise on Jerusalem.

Miami exhibit invites visitors to taste some art (USA Today)
Visitors to an international art show are invited to place flavored strips representing paintings and photos on their palates. Visitors to Visionaire art magazine’s “taste bar” are offered postage-stamp-sized strips that dissolve like film breath mints. They were developed in conjunction with artists, and the artwork paired with each flavor is displayed menu-like above the bar.

Live Talk: Women of Jihad (Newsweek)
Join Christopher Dickey, NEWSWEEK’s Middle East Regional Editor and Paris bureau chief, at noon ET on Thurs, Dec. 8, to discuss changing terror tactics and other questions about Islam’s complex attitude toward sex and gender.

Billy Joel (Newsweek)
Billy Joel’s new four-CD set, “My Lives,” includes such rarities as tracks with his early bands, covers of Beatles and Dylan songs, and a concert DVD. He spoke with NEWSWEEK’s Nicki Gostin.

Naomi Watts suffers for her heart (Herald Sun)
SHE has finally ascended Hollywood’s pinnacle thanks to an 8m-tall gorilla and a giant of a movie. But Naomi Watts, the Australian star of King Kong , said she wished her success had come earlier because she would love to have had children and started a family.

The Week wants to be taken seriously (Market Watch)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - The Week wants to be taken seriously.

Michael Evans, Photographer of Ronald Reagan, Dies at 61 (New York Times)
Michael A. W. Evans, a photographer whose picture of Ronald Reagan in a well-worn cowboy hat was on the covers of Time, Newsweek and People after Mr. Reagan’s death last year, died yesterday at his home in Atlanta. He was 61.

Iran won’t talk to US about Iraq security (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Iran has said that direct security talks with the United States were “not on our agenda”, dismissing reports that Washington could seek Tehran’s cooperation to quell unrest in Iraq.

The Week wants to be taken seriously (Market Watch)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - The Week wants to be taken seriously.

CW: Saving Face Edition (Newsweek)
The CW has a secret Plan for Victory: Plant up arrows in Iraqi edition and bill U.S. government for millions.

Santa: Life Story (Newsweek)
Dec. 12, 2005 issue - Santa visits millions, but what do we really know about the guy? Gerry Bowler, author of the new “Santa Claus: A Biography,” talked to Elise Soukup about the jolly old fellow.

Live Talk: Women of Jihad (Newsweek)
Join Christopher Dickey, NEWSWEEK’s Middle East Regional Editor and Paris bureau chief, at noon ET on Thurs, Dec. 8, to discuss changing terror tactics and other questions about Islam’s complex attitude toward sex and gender.

Deaths elsewhere (Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune)
Michael A.W. Evans, a photographer whose picture of Ronald Reagan in a well-worn cowboy hat was on the covers of Time, Newsweek and People after the former president’s death last year, died of cancer Thursday at his home in Atlanta. He was 61.

Arts Extra Podcast: 12/02/2005 (Newsweek)
Featuring content from our Friday and Saturday section, Arts Extra, this podcast covers film, TV, music, fashion, museums and much more. Tara Weingarten gets behind the wheel of some seductive sedans, impressive imports, and other alluring automobiles.

Obituaries in the News (AP via Yahoo! News)
Michael Evans

2nd King Kong review 1st to use bad gorilla metaphors (Cinematical)
Filed under: Peter Jackson , Remakes and Sequels , Critical Thought & Trends , Newsstand , Sci-Fi & Fantasy Earlier this week, the first “review” of Peter Jackson’s King Kong hit the web, in the form of a pay-for-play puff piece by Devin Gordon of Newsweek . The second review of the film, courtesy of The Daily Mail , is essentially exactly what you’d expect from a tabloid take on a

Art’s new dimension: Taste (Orlando Sentinel)
At Art Basel Miami Beach, an exhibit offers flavor strips so visitors can savor the concepts. It’s the First Commandment of museum visiting: Thou shalt not touch. So licking a painting? Call security and a psychiatrist.

Outside investors inflate Valley prices (The Idaho Statesman)
January-September, 2005; Source: LoanPerformance, subsidiary of First American Real Estate Solutions.

King Kong earns early accolades (Stuff)
American magazine Newsweek is rapt with Peter Jackson’s King Kong after a sneak preview of the director’s $292 million epic.

Poster shop owner keeps upbeat during tough times (Morton Grove Champion)
It may not be fair to describe Magazine Memories as, well, really cluttered. Though that’s how it looks to someone walking in for the first time, with its narrow aisles, newspapers and magazines stacked in homemade racks, bins of posters and cardboard standup characters in every available space.

How (not) to withdraw from Iraq (Asia Times)
On the September 27 Charlie Rose Show , interviewing New Yorker editor David Remnick, Rose brought up the question of what the United States should do in Iraq. Should we “get out” - or, as Remnick so delicately put it, should we “bolt”?

Don’t look far for good writing (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Homegrown writing talent too often goes unappreciated — until that talent moves away.

US Approaches Iran About Iraq (Zaman Online)
The US President George W. Bush gave official permission to the US ambassador to Bagdat (Baghdad) Zalmay Khalilzad to make contact with Iranian officials, according to the weekly American news magazine Newsweek.

US to reach out to Iran in effort to subdue unrest (IranMania.com)
“I’ve been authorized by the president to engage the Iranians,” Khalilzad told Newsweek in its edition set to hit newsstands on Monday. “There will be meetings, and that’s also a departure and an adjustment,” he said in an interview with the magazine.

US Iraq ambassador to discuss Iraq with Iran (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — U.S. President George W. Bush has authorized the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad to meet Iranian officials to help secure Iraq after the Pentagon starts withdrawing troops, Newsweek reported on Monday.