An uneasy ride with Dennis Hopper

A writer's tortured 10-year relationship with the actor never produced the biography originally sought by Hopper, who feared opening a Pandora's box of the past. What was revealed was a serious careerist who tenaciously managed his sobriety

By Richard Stayton, Special to the Los Angeles Times

What went down behind those corrugated steel walls of Dennis Hopper's Venice fortress as he lay dying at age 74?

He was divorcing his fifth wife after 18 years together, obtaining an "emergency restraining order" to keep her at a 10-foot distance. They battled over his valuable artworks. She also filed complaints about him keeping marijuana joints throughout his compound, ready to provide quick relief from pain, and loaded guns in strategic locations, ready to provide quick resolutions.

If a person's manner of dying is a distillation of their life, then Hopper's death seemed a revisit of the same stories about a man once called the "patron saint of the deranged." Never an easy rider.

But the private Dennis I spent a decade alongside, working on his biography, had a different persona. The artist I came to know was a serious careerist calculating his return from illegality and literal madness, tenaciously managing his sobriety.

Duma to consider response to U.S. missile deployment in Poland

The State Duma will discuss Russia's response to the deployment of U.S. missiles in Poland during debates on the new Russian-U.S. strategic arms reduction treaty, Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov said on Saturday.

In an interview with the Rossia TV channel, he suggested one possibility could be the deployment of Russian missiles in the Kaliningrad exclave near the Polish border.

"I would not like the situation to develop," he said. "[Military] reinforcement in Kaliningrad Province as a response has been discussed... There is no doubt that this issue will be discussed in the Duma".

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said earlier on Saturday his country would not apologize to Russia for hosting U.S. Patriot missiles.

His remarks came in response to Moscow's reaction with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko saying on Friday nothing could justify the deployment of U.S. missiles near the Polish-Russian border.

Commenting on Grushko's remarks, he said S-300 Russian air defense systems were stationed close to Poland's border.

Sikorski stressed that as a NATO member state Poland has every right to set up defense systems together with its allies and this should not cause any problems.

The United States opened on Monday a temporary military base near the northern Polish town of Morag, 80 km (50 miles) from the Russian border, in accordance with an agreement negotiated under former President George Bush in 2008.

RS polls: Cong likely to field Satish Sharma

Congress is likely to field Satish Kumar Sharma, who is considered to be close to the Gandhi family, as its candidate for the biennial poll to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh.

The election to fill 11 Rajya Sabha seats from UP is scheduled for June 17. The strength of the Congress in the state Assembly is 20 and it needs 14 more votes to win a seat. In a bid to send its lone candidate to the Rajya Sabha from the state, the party is already in talks with Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal, which has 10 members in the state Assembly.

“The party’s senior leaders are in touch with Ajit Singh in New Delhi. Congress will first get a concrete assurance from RLD and then declare the name of its candidate,” said a source.

Sharma is currently a Rajya Sabha member from Uttarakhand and his term will end on July 4.

According to sources in the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC), the party leadership wants Sharma to get elected from Uttar Pradesh.

Surya Pharma ties up with Crocs for selling therapeutic footwear in India

Crocs, a US based footwear manufacturing company has signed an exclusive contract with Surya Pharmaceuticals for marketing their medical footwear in India. Surya Pharmaceuticals and alliance aim to earn revenue to the tune of Rs. 1 billion in India by marketing Crocs medical footwear in the country in the next two years. Crocs Rx Medical has become a household name in the past few years as the company has ventured into developing and manufacturing medical footwear for those having problems of diabetes or arthritis or general foot ailments.

Surya Pharmaceuticals and its alliance aim to sell over 6.5 lac pairs of the footwear in the next 2 years which is a part of their future plan to introduce many international brands in India. The country sees a rising number of percentages of people becoming diabetic each year. According to figures the diabetic population in increasing each year in India at a rate of 10-15% per year. With an ever increasing diabetic population in the country, achieving a sales target of Rs. 1 billion in 2 years does not look impossible at all to the company.

Indian women smokers working with BPOs, News media on rising trend: Study

As the globe gears up to celebrate ‘World no tobacco day’ on May 31st, 2010 there is a sad contribution from India. The country witnesses a growing number of women smokers and the case is specifically relevant to females working in BPOs and media. The picture looks sad especially in a culturally rich nation like ours where there is still a social stigma attached to women smoking. A recent study revealed that nearly 8% of female BPO workers smoke and the percentage is much larger (5-35%) in media.  

According to the survey the majority of women smokers are still unaware of the health hazards of smoking. The only health hazards they are aware of is cancer and heart disease related to smoking.

Yechury refutes conspiracy theories in rail accident

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Saturday hit out at “pro-Trinamool Congress intellectuals in West Bengal” who have charged that the CPI (M) and the Left Front government of West Bengal conspired to cause the Jhargram accident to score some political points against Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Sitaram Yechury, CPI (M) Polit Bureau member, said in a statement that this reminded him of happenings in Germany when false charges against a communist party leader were used to signal a witch-hunt against communists.

Instead of joining the collective effort to provide relief and assistance to victims of this ghastly incident, all kinds of conspiracy theories were being spun. Decrying this, he said it was strange the Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee continued to talk about a “bomb blast” at the site when the Union Home Ministry denied this and talked about possible sabotage.

Mr. Yechury charged that Ms. Banerjee was deliberately trying to shield “the actual culprits” by suggesting Maoists might not be behind the sabotage. It was shocking that all this was being done to influence municipality elections in West Bengal and to further petty partisan interests, he said.

The Railway Minister was also trying to “cover up her own serious lapses of leadership.” How is that during the five months of 2010 there have been many more major railway accidents that in any year since 1980, Mr. Yechury asked.

Visakha Bucha Day in Pattaya

Hundreds of tourists joined the Buddhist ceremonies for Visakha Bucha Day in Vien Tien along with a great number of young people who found the day delightful and uplifting.

Pattaya, 28th May 2010 [PDN] Through out the day, Buddhists in Pattaya attended the Buddha activities for Visakha Bucha Day in total joy. In addition to the days’ activities, local residents and tourists traveled together to various temples in Pattaya and Banglamung to participate in the ceremony of Vien Tien, walking with lighted candles, incenses and lotus around a chapel. 

The atmosphere was electrifying and very busy with more people than last year joining the crowd resulting in a traffic jam on most of Pattaya roads. At the same time, the officers arranged task forces combined with volunteers to assist in any queries and security guards for the safety of the tourists.

Dalkieth family's terror at gun attack on home

By MARK McLAUGHLIN

A DRIVE-BY shooting on a Lothian home is being linked to a long-running feud which has already seen firebombings, vandalism and violent attacks.

Police are investigating after a shot was fired at the house in Dalkeith's Woodburn Avenue before the attacker sped off. The terrified family were at home at the time and called 999.

It is the home of the parents of George Rae, 39, who has been targeted several times over the past ten years. 

Earlier this month, armed police swooped on a nearby house as part of an investigation into alleged threats made against him. No-one was injured in the latest attack at around 11:25pm on Wednesday, after the bullet missed a window and lodged in the gutter. 

But neighbours said Mr Rae was now receiving round the clock police protection. A police van was parked outside his parents' home yesterday.

Digital wave threatens Germany's fixed-price book world

The German book price fixing scheme has been in place for more than 120 years. But the publishing world faces new challenges now that e-books and electronic reading devices have been thrown into the mix.

Germany likes to think of itself as 'the land of poets and thinkers'.  Considering the nation has around 20,000 publishers, about 5,000 book-sellers and more than 90,000 new books hitting the market each year it may seem hard to disagree with that assessment. 

However, the country's publishing industry has had a little extra help:  Germany operates a fixed book price system that allows publishers to set the cost of new releases.  The time-honored pricing scheme has been is even protected under European Union regulations.

Ruth Klinkenberg of Marga Schoeller bookstore in Berlin believes that fixed prices keep her business alive.  

"For book stores like ours, it's imperative.  Fixed prices take away the pressure of having to compete on price,” she said, adding: “I think if the fixed book price system went away, our bookstore and others like it, that, thank God still exist in Berlin, they would all very quickly disappear".

The Marga Schoeller bookstore in Berlin's western neighborhood of Savignyplatz is something of an institution in the German capital. For over three-quarters of a century, the book shop has been hosting authors and revolutionarie. It's also home to Ida, the cute shop dog.

Harsh weather mars war on mosquitoes

Hard winds and driving rain have hampered the battle against an annual mosquito invasion around the lower part of the Dalälven river in eastern Sweden. 

A company run by biologist Jan Lundström, Nedab, has been granted permission to carry out a major pesticide operation in an area that has previously registered the highest concentration of mosquitoes in Europe. 

But adverse weather conditions have hampered the firm's plans, with workers only managing to spray an area covering 1,000 hectares since Monday. Lundström had expected them to spray 600 hectares per day. 

“It has gone incredibly slowly,” he told local newspaper Gefle Dagblad. 

The slow pace of the project is a cause of major concern as the pesticide only has an effect on mosquito larvae at an early stage of their development. 

Hezbollah operating Scud missiles from Syria, Netanyahu claims

Lebanese militants have long-range missiles at secret base outside Damascus, prime minister tells Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday told his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi that Lebanese militants were operating long-range Scud missiles from bases inside Syria, according to Israeli media reports.

Netanyahu made the claims during a meeting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris this weekend, Channel 2 news reported.

The prime minister's comments follow a report in the London Times on Friday claiming that new satellite images prove the existence of Hezbollah arms bases on Syrian soil. The bases are stocked with Syria-made weapons, including surface-to-surface missiles, the newspaper said.

According to The Times, the Hezbollah base was detected near the town of Adra, northeast of Damascus, adding that evidence indicated that militants have their own living quarters, armory, and a fleet of supply vehicles used to ferry weapons into Lebanon.

Downtown Helsinki hosts global village

By Peter Marten

Helsinki becomes more international than ever during the World Village Festival, when Kaisaniemi Park and Railway Square feature five stages full of music, meetings, commerce and cuisine.

The two-day World Village Festival contains something for everyone and something from everywhere – and, we should add, it's free! The participants come from all over the globe – even Finland – and are too numerous to list in one article, but here's a sample:

Experience Japanese drummer Ichitaro on the Mekong Stage on Railway Square, then move over to Kaisaniemi Park to catch Chilean reggae star Quique Neira on the Savannah Stage.

If you seek more intellectual vibrations, listen to discussions of "Islam and equality" or "Turning oppression into opportunity for women" on the Amazon Stage, then go for "Democracy and development in Nigeria" or the Poetry Slam event.

The festival also includes the Kids' Corner Stage, a sports area, a street art area, and a Market of Possibilities with stalls run by more than 100 nongovernmental, cultural, political and other organisations, from Amnesty International to the Finnish-Zimbabwe Association.

Needless to say, if you get hungry after concerts by musicians such as Danish-Faroese-Ecuadorian-Swiss band Valravn or Finnish Algerian, Parisian-born Manna, you can stop off at one of the 57 food vendors and enjoy cuisine from another continent.

Bangladesh : Facebook blocked

Ban follows arrest of man over 'cartoon' of Hasina, Khaleda; members of popular social network angrily react to govt decision.

The government yesterday evening "temporarily" blocked access to Facebook, the most popular social networking website. The decision came after the arrest of a youth in connection with uploading satiric images of some politicians including the prime minister and the leader of the opposition.

Even though the government did not make any official statement in this regard, Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission sources said posting of some anti-religious and pornographic links by users across the globe are among the reasons for restricting the access. 

"We have decided to block all access to facebook temporarily," said a high official of BTRC. "It was done following a decision of the government high ups," the official said.

Earlier, the BTRC directed Mango Telecom and BTCL, the two international Internet gateways, to find out a way to block anti-social contents posted by facebook users.

But the two Internet data service handlers failed to solve the problem. Therefore, the government has made the decision to block facebook, said the official demanding anonymity.

The BTRC official said recently some users posted anti-Islamic content about Prophet Hazrat Mohammad (SM), which the government took very seriously. Some users frequently post some sub links to pornographic materials, which are not "tolerable", the official said.

"The access to facebook will resume when the data operators find a way to block such anti-social content," said the official.

Rab Legal And Media Wing Director commander Mohammad Sohail told The Daily Star yesterday evening, "I have heard about the blocking of Facebook but I don't know the reason behind it".

Three Islamic political parties--Islami Oikya Jote, Islami Andolan and Khelafat Andolan--on Friday demanded immediate ban on Facebook for a recent campaign by some users inviting people to draw images of Prophet Muhammad (SM). 

In March last year, the government blocked the video sharing website YouTube for hosting a recorded conversation between the prime minister and army officers after the BDR carnage.

Pakistan has recently banned facebook.

In Bangladesh more than 10 lakh people are using Internet services. Facebook is the most popular social network especially among the young.

Kalonzo, Ngilu mend fences

By  KITAVI MUTUA

Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and Water minister Charity Ngilu on Saturday sought to mend fences, again, this time to push for the adoption of the proposed constitution.

The two, who met in Kitui during the burial of former Changamwe MP Kennedy Kiliku, blamed their lieutenants and supporters for their persistent political wrangling and vowed to marshal the Kamba community towards voting for the new constitution.

Bad light

Mrs Ngilu accused some leaders of portraying the VP in bad light as regards his position on the proposed constitution, saying both were now singing the same tune politically.

And, in a show of commitment to her reconciliatory gesture, the minister declined to read a condolence message from the Prime Minister’s office, saying that would amount to a breach of protocol and a show of disrespect to Mr Musyoka.

The two have had an on and off political friendship.

Interests Of Malays Will Not Be Affected In Kampung Baru Development-Raja Nong Chik

KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 (Bernama) -- The interests of the Malays in Kampung Baru here will not be jeopardised even if non-Malays are given a 40 per cent quota to own property in the area when the Kampung Baru Development Project is implemented later, said Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin.

He said this was because the Federal Territories Land Working Committee and Kampung Baru Development Corporation which will be established under acts of Parliament would serve as mechanisms to protect Malay ownership of property in the area.

"This will allow maximisation of the development potential of Kampung Baru...and when we say non-Malays, it is not limited to non-Malay Malaysians but also interested foreign investors.

"If we continue to restrict development of the area to only Malays, I don't think we will be able to get value of RM4,000 or RM1,000 (per square feet) as is desired by the landowners and beneficiaries," he told reporters after holding a meeting on developing Kampung Baru with landowners and beneficiaries of the Malay settlement in the city, at the Putra World Trade Centre here Saturday.

Based on the proposed lifting of restrictions to develop the prime land, non-Malays will be eligible to own business and housing properties which will be built, on a ratio of 60:40.

Raja Nong Chik said, the Cabinet at its meeting earlier this month, had agreed in principle to the proposal.

Defense secretary addresses concerns over repeal of ban on gays in military

By Reuters

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates sought Friday to ease concerns among U.S. troops about a legislative repeal of the military's ban on openly gay men and lesbians, saying that a long, careful review process lay ahead.

Hours later, the House approved a bill containing language aimed at ending the Clinton-era "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

In his first major address to U.S. troops on the politically charged legislation, Gates said he did not expect the Senate to pass a repeal for months, perhaps not until the end of the year.

Even then, President Obama would have to sign the legislation, and the Pentagon would have to give final approval. The latter must await a comprehensive review that includes input from troops.

"Every man and woman in uniform is a vitally important part of this review. We need to hear from you and your families so that we can make these judgments in the most informed and effective manner," Gates said. "So please let us know how to do this right".

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Gates decided to make the video to address "a lot of political posturing and maneuvering on this issue this week".

"He wanted to make it clear that the department's review of how to smartly implement a change in the law is more important than ever, and their participation in it is absolutely critical to its success," Morell said.

The House on Thursday approved an amendment aimed at ending the policy, which allows gays to serve if they keep quiet about their sexual orientation but expels them it if becomes known.

A Senate committee passed a similar measure Thursday, but more legislative hurdles remain.

Dueling Immigration Rallies in Phoenix

There is a running joke in the Los Angeles bureau that we should rent a “FOX house” in Arizona – as many of our crews have been traveling back and forth from Phoenix and the border to cover the heated immigration law recently signed by Gov. Jan Brewer. My team alone has been to Arizona four times in the last five weeks covering this heated topic – and I am sure we’ll all be back many more times leading up to July 29, the day Senate Bill 1070 goes into effect.

This weekend we’re back at the Arizona Capitol building covering “dueling” protests around the Phoenix area. Organizers tell us about 50,000 opponents will march through the streets of downtown on Saturday to remind the world they believe the law amounts to racial profiling. Along their 5 mile route, protesters will be making stops at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s office to stage mini-rallies there. Everyone will eventually end up on the State House lawn (where we’re reporting live from.) From day one critics have said this new law turns members of local law enforcement into Border Patrol Agents, since it’s the federal government’s job to enforce immigration laws in this country, not at the state level.

Interestingly, supporters of SB1070 are staging their own rally on Saturday at the Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Arizona (about 20 miles east of the Capitol.) Roughly 10,000 people are expected to show up there. Proponents of the law argue it’s time something is done to curtail the illegal immigration problem in Arizona – considering it’s estimated that nearly 500,000 illegal immigrants currently reside in the state. They’re not alone – the latest Rasmussen poll shows that 70 percent of Americans actually support Arizona’s efforts. Pro-immigration reform groups are hoping to use that sentiment to organize a “buycott.” They’re encouraging people to buy goods and services from Arizona companies in addition to bringing valuable tourism dollars to the state.

This, of course, is to counter the boycotts approved by more than 30 cities, counties, and organizations around the country – to sort of punish Arizona for passing this law. Cities like Los Angeles, Boston, Seattle, and San Francisco have already voted to suspend certain business contracts/deals with the state of Arizona. Many other groups have also canceled conventions and suspended business travel to the state – something that could cripple the economy, already suffering due to the recession.

No doubt the only thing hotter in Arizona than the blazing summer temperatures is this immigration debate – one that is not coming to an end anytime soon. In the meantime, “to be continued” from Arizona and perhaps we can work on getting us that FOX house instead of living in hotels the next few months!

Czech Republic voters move to right in general election

Results from the Czech Republic's general election suggest centre-right parties may form the next government.

With almost all votes counted, the left-wing Social Democrats led with about 22%.

But Jiri Paroubek quickly resigned as leader of the party, saying the country was "on track for a right-wing coalition".

The conservative Civic Democrats have about 20%, but potential allies could boost that towards a majority.

One of them, TOP09, has about 16%, while the centrist Public Affairs party has some 11%.

The big campaign issues included cutting the deficit, pension reform and stamping out corruption. Analysts say the pension system is unsustainable.

The country has had an interim administration since the centre-right government was toppled halfway through the country's European Union presidency in March 2009.