Monday, January 31, 2005
Today's Highlights in History
See a larger version of this front page.
On Jan. 31, 1865, the House of Representatives passed a constitutional amendment to abolish slavery. (Go to article.)
On Jan. 31 , 1919, Jackie Robinson , who made history in 1947 by becoming the first black baseball player in the major leagues , was born. Following his death on Oct. 24 , 1972, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. Other Birthdays)
On January 31, 1863, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the Civil War. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)
On this date in:
1606
Guy Fawkes, convicted for his part in the ''Gunpowder Plot'' against the English Parliament and King James I, was executed.
1797
Composer Franz Schubert was born in Vienna, Austria.
1865
Gen. Robert E. Lee was named general-in-chief of the Confederate armies.
1917
Germany announced its policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
1944
U.S. forces invaded the Japanese-held Marshall Islands during World War II.
1945
Private Eddie Slovik became the only U.S. soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion.
1949
The first TV daytime soap opera, ''These Are My Children,'' was broadcast by the NBC station in Chicago.
1950
President Harry S. Truman announced that he had ordered development of the hydrogen bomb.
1958
The United States entered the Space Age with its first successful launch of a satellite into orbit, Explorer I.
1971
Astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., Edgar D. Mitchell and Stuart A. Roosa blasted off aboard Apollo 14 on a mission to the moon.
1990
McDonald's Corp. opened its first fast-food restaurant in Moscow.
2000
Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker was suspended by baseball commissioner Bud Selig for disparaging foreigners, homosexuals and minorities in a Sports Illustrated interview.
2000
An Alaska Airlines jet plunged into the ocean off Southern California on a flight from Mexico to San Francisco, killing all 88 people on board.
2001
A Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands convicted one Libyan and acquitted a second in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
2004
Six U.S.-bound flights from England, Scotland and France were canceled because of security concerns.
Current Birthdays
Anthony LaPaglia turns 46 years old today.
AP Photo/Reed Saxon Actor Anthony LaPaglia (''Without a Trace'') turns 46 years old today.
84
Carol ChanningActress
82
Norman MailerAuthor
76
Jean SimmonsActress
73
Ernie BanksBaseball hall-of-famer
68
Philip GlassComposer
68
Suzanne PleshetteActress (''The Bob Newhart Show'')
65
Stuart MargolinActor
64
Richard A. GephardtFormer House minority leader
61
Charlie MusselwhiteBlues singer-musician
57
Nolan RyanBaseball hall-of-famer
54
KCSinger-musician (KC and the Sunshine Band)
49
Johnny RottenRock singer (The Sex Pistols)
46
Kelly LynchActress
44
Lloyd ColeSinger-musician
42
John DyeActor
39
Al JaworskiRock musician (Jesus Jones)
32
Portia de RossiActress (''Arrested Development,'' ''Ally McBeal'')
28
Kerry WashingtonActress (''Ray'')
24
Justin TimberlakeSinger
Historic Birthdays
Jackie Robinson
1/31/1919 - 10/24/1972African/American baseball player (Go to obit.)
72
Robert Morris1/31/1734 - 5/8/1806American merchant/banker
54
Andre-Jacques Garnerin1/31/1769 - 8/18/1823French parachutist
85
Charles Green1/31/1785 - 3/26/1870English balloonist
70
Sam Loyd1/31/1841 - 4/10/1911American puzzlemaker
58
George Perkins1/31/1862 - 6/18/1920American insurance executive
67
Zane Grey1/31/1872 - 10/23/1939American Western writer
49
Anna Pavlova1/31/1881 - 1/23/1931Russian ballerina
72
Eddie Cantor1/31/1892 - 10/10/1964American comedian
84
Alva Myrdal1/31/1902 - 2/1/1986Swedish diplomat
65
John O'Hara1/31/1905 - 4/11/1970American writer
53
Thomas Merton1/31/1915 - 12/10/1968American Catholic monk/poet
Go to a previous date.
SOURCE: The Associated PressFront Page Image Provided by UMI
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
Children's Privacy Notice
See a larger version of this front page.
On Jan. 31, 1865, the House of Representatives passed a constitutional amendment to abolish slavery. (Go to article.)
On Jan. 31 , 1919, Jackie Robinson , who made history in 1947 by becoming the first black baseball player in the major leagues , was born. Following his death on Oct. 24 , 1972, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. Other Birthdays)
On January 31, 1863, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the Civil War. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)
On this date in:
1606
Guy Fawkes, convicted for his part in the ''Gunpowder Plot'' against the English Parliament and King James I, was executed.
1797
Composer Franz Schubert was born in Vienna, Austria.
1865
Gen. Robert E. Lee was named general-in-chief of the Confederate armies.
1917
Germany announced its policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
1944
U.S. forces invaded the Japanese-held Marshall Islands during World War II.
1945
Private Eddie Slovik became the only U.S. soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion.
1949
The first TV daytime soap opera, ''These Are My Children,'' was broadcast by the NBC station in Chicago.
1950
President Harry S. Truman announced that he had ordered development of the hydrogen bomb.
1958
The United States entered the Space Age with its first successful launch of a satellite into orbit, Explorer I.
1971
Astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., Edgar D. Mitchell and Stuart A. Roosa blasted off aboard Apollo 14 on a mission to the moon.
1990
McDonald's Corp. opened its first fast-food restaurant in Moscow.
2000
Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker was suspended by baseball commissioner Bud Selig for disparaging foreigners, homosexuals and minorities in a Sports Illustrated interview.
2000
An Alaska Airlines jet plunged into the ocean off Southern California on a flight from Mexico to San Francisco, killing all 88 people on board.
2001
A Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands convicted one Libyan and acquitted a second in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
2004
Six U.S.-bound flights from England, Scotland and France were canceled because of security concerns.
Current Birthdays
Anthony LaPaglia turns 46 years old today.
AP Photo/Reed Saxon Actor Anthony LaPaglia (''Without a Trace'') turns 46 years old today.
84
Carol ChanningActress
82
Norman MailerAuthor
76
Jean SimmonsActress
73
Ernie BanksBaseball hall-of-famer
68
Philip GlassComposer
68
Suzanne PleshetteActress (''The Bob Newhart Show'')
65
Stuart MargolinActor
64
Richard A. GephardtFormer House minority leader
61
Charlie MusselwhiteBlues singer-musician
57
Nolan RyanBaseball hall-of-famer
54
KCSinger-musician (KC and the Sunshine Band)
49
Johnny RottenRock singer (The Sex Pistols)
46
Kelly LynchActress
44
Lloyd ColeSinger-musician
42
John DyeActor
39
Al JaworskiRock musician (Jesus Jones)
32
Portia de RossiActress (''Arrested Development,'' ''Ally McBeal'')
28
Kerry WashingtonActress (''Ray'')
24
Justin TimberlakeSinger
Historic Birthdays
Jackie Robinson
1/31/1919 - 10/24/1972African/American baseball player (Go to obit.)
72
Robert Morris1/31/1734 - 5/8/1806American merchant/banker
54
Andre-Jacques Garnerin1/31/1769 - 8/18/1823French parachutist
85
Charles Green1/31/1785 - 3/26/1870English balloonist
70
Sam Loyd1/31/1841 - 4/10/1911American puzzlemaker
58
George Perkins1/31/1862 - 6/18/1920American insurance executive
67
Zane Grey1/31/1872 - 10/23/1939American Western writer
49
Anna Pavlova1/31/1881 - 1/23/1931Russian ballerina
72
Eddie Cantor1/31/1892 - 10/10/1964American comedian
84
Alva Myrdal1/31/1902 - 2/1/1986Swedish diplomat
65
John O'Hara1/31/1905 - 4/11/1970American writer
53
Thomas Merton1/31/1915 - 12/10/1968American Catholic monk/poet
Go to a previous date.
SOURCE: The Associated PressFront Page Image Provided by UMI
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
Children's Privacy Notice
January 31, 2005
World Leaders Welcome High Turnout in IraqBy THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 12:59 p.m. ET
BERLIN (AP) -- The presidents of France and Russia, top opponents of U.S. policy in Iraq, joined world leaders Monday in praising this weekend's landmark Iraqi elections as a success of democracy over terrorism, but the welcome was tempered by concern that Sunni Arabs be included in a future government.
French President Jacques Chirac spoke with President Bush by telephone, saying he was satisfied by the ``participation rate and the good technical organization.''
``These elections mark an important step in the political reconstruction of Iraq. The strategy of terrorist groups has partly failed,'' Chirac said, according to a French presidential spokesman.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also praised the elections, calling them ``a step in the right direction and a positive event,'' according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.
``The conditions for holding the elections were quite difficult, to put it mildly,'' Putin said after meeting in the Kremlin with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. ``At the same time, I must say that the very fact of it is an important event, maybe a historic event, for the Iraqi people because it is undoubtedly a step toward democratization of the country.''
Putin's comments were a far cry from his harsh warning in December that the elections could not be fair amid a continuing U.S.-led occupation.
Iranian government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh said the elections were ``held freely'' but under ``difficult circumstances.''
He expressed hope the vote would contribute to security in Iraq and hasten the departure of U.S. troops, adding that Shiite-ruled Iran was ``ready to cooperate'' with the future Iraqi government -- which is likely to be dominated by Shiite Muslims.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the successful election was a psychological blow to insurgents because it demonstrated that Iraqis were committed to democracy. Britain has been Washington's chief ally in the Iraq war.
``Yesterday's elections represent a real blow to this disgusting campaign of violence and intimidation,'' said Straw, who also recognized Iraqi security forces for helping police the election.
Straw said Britain would call for an early meeting of the Sharm-el-Sheik group of Iraq's neighbors and the G-8 industrialized countries to build international support for the new national assembly.
In Brussels, Belgium, the European Union's foreign policy chief said Iraq's move toward democracy would pay off in the provision of more aid.
``They are going to find the support of the European Union, no doubt about that, in order to see this process move on in the right direction,'' Javier Solana told The Associated Press.
Areas where the EU was looking to help include drafting a new constitution and training the judiciary and security forces, he said.
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the election could lead to the alliance stepping up training efforts for the Iraqi military.
But the issue of Sunni participation -- both in the vote and in the government that will emerge -- was high on many leaders' minds.
``The most difficult task lies ahead -- to make sure the results of the elections have a stabilizing effect on the situation in the country,'' the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer praised Iraqis ``for the will they have shown to shape the future of their country peacefully and democratically, despite massive intimidation.''
But, he added, ``it is of decisive importance in this to integrate all political, ethnic and religious groups in Iraq ... no part of the population must be excluded from shaping the common fate of all Iraqis.''
New Zealand's Foreign Minister Phil Goff echoed that view.
``Sunni Arabs make up 20 percent of the population and Sunni extremists are at the core of the insurgency,'' he said. ``Ways must be found to involve Sunnis in the drafting of the constitution, which will define power among Iraq's disparate groups, and to give them a stake in the new government.''
The vote was to elect a 275-member National Assembly and lawmakers in 18 provincial legislatures. Once results are in, it could take weeks of backroom deals before a prime minister and government are picked by the new assembly.
Turnout among Iraq's estimated 14 million eligible voters will take some time to determine, Iraqi election officials have said, but Iraqi and U.S. officials said they believe it was higher than the 57 percent predicted.
But a U.S. official said Monday it appears turnout was low in Sunni Arab regions.
Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi expressed hope the elections would help spread democracy in Arab countries.
``Iraq will become influential, a factor of change and democracy for all the other countries'' in the region, he said on state radio. ``This vote can have a positive knock-on effect in all the other Arab countries where there is authoritarian rule, where the situation of women is not one of liberty or dignity, where there are still many steps to make to emerge from the Middle Ages.''
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, said it was encouraged by Sunday's turnout among Iraqis, which the Foreign Ministry said showed ``commendable determination to decide their own destiny.''
In neighboring Malaysia, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who chairs the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference, said he was ``very sad'' about a series of attacks that marred Sunday's voting. At least 44 people died in suicide and mortar attacks on polling stations, including nine suicide bombers.
``At the time the election is being held, people are still dying,'' Abdullah told reporters. ``There doesn't seem to be any real way of stopping it.''
Former Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev took a dim view of the vote.
``These elections have not yielded much,'' he said, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency. ``It is necessary to wait and see the results, but I think all this is unreliable and dubious.''
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press Home Privacy Policy Search Corrections RSS Help Back to Top
World Leaders Welcome High Turnout in IraqBy THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 12:59 p.m. ET
BERLIN (AP) -- The presidents of France and Russia, top opponents of U.S. policy in Iraq, joined world leaders Monday in praising this weekend's landmark Iraqi elections as a success of democracy over terrorism, but the welcome was tempered by concern that Sunni Arabs be included in a future government.
French President Jacques Chirac spoke with President Bush by telephone, saying he was satisfied by the ``participation rate and the good technical organization.''
``These elections mark an important step in the political reconstruction of Iraq. The strategy of terrorist groups has partly failed,'' Chirac said, according to a French presidential spokesman.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also praised the elections, calling them ``a step in the right direction and a positive event,'' according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.
``The conditions for holding the elections were quite difficult, to put it mildly,'' Putin said after meeting in the Kremlin with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. ``At the same time, I must say that the very fact of it is an important event, maybe a historic event, for the Iraqi people because it is undoubtedly a step toward democratization of the country.''
Putin's comments were a far cry from his harsh warning in December that the elections could not be fair amid a continuing U.S.-led occupation.
Iranian government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh said the elections were ``held freely'' but under ``difficult circumstances.''
He expressed hope the vote would contribute to security in Iraq and hasten the departure of U.S. troops, adding that Shiite-ruled Iran was ``ready to cooperate'' with the future Iraqi government -- which is likely to be dominated by Shiite Muslims.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the successful election was a psychological blow to insurgents because it demonstrated that Iraqis were committed to democracy. Britain has been Washington's chief ally in the Iraq war.
``Yesterday's elections represent a real blow to this disgusting campaign of violence and intimidation,'' said Straw, who also recognized Iraqi security forces for helping police the election.
Straw said Britain would call for an early meeting of the Sharm-el-Sheik group of Iraq's neighbors and the G-8 industrialized countries to build international support for the new national assembly.
In Brussels, Belgium, the European Union's foreign policy chief said Iraq's move toward democracy would pay off in the provision of more aid.
``They are going to find the support of the European Union, no doubt about that, in order to see this process move on in the right direction,'' Javier Solana told The Associated Press.
Areas where the EU was looking to help include drafting a new constitution and training the judiciary and security forces, he said.
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the election could lead to the alliance stepping up training efforts for the Iraqi military.
But the issue of Sunni participation -- both in the vote and in the government that will emerge -- was high on many leaders' minds.
``The most difficult task lies ahead -- to make sure the results of the elections have a stabilizing effect on the situation in the country,'' the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer praised Iraqis ``for the will they have shown to shape the future of their country peacefully and democratically, despite massive intimidation.''
But, he added, ``it is of decisive importance in this to integrate all political, ethnic and religious groups in Iraq ... no part of the population must be excluded from shaping the common fate of all Iraqis.''
New Zealand's Foreign Minister Phil Goff echoed that view.
``Sunni Arabs make up 20 percent of the population and Sunni extremists are at the core of the insurgency,'' he said. ``Ways must be found to involve Sunnis in the drafting of the constitution, which will define power among Iraq's disparate groups, and to give them a stake in the new government.''
The vote was to elect a 275-member National Assembly and lawmakers in 18 provincial legislatures. Once results are in, it could take weeks of backroom deals before a prime minister and government are picked by the new assembly.
Turnout among Iraq's estimated 14 million eligible voters will take some time to determine, Iraqi election officials have said, but Iraqi and U.S. officials said they believe it was higher than the 57 percent predicted.
But a U.S. official said Monday it appears turnout was low in Sunni Arab regions.
Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi expressed hope the elections would help spread democracy in Arab countries.
``Iraq will become influential, a factor of change and democracy for all the other countries'' in the region, he said on state radio. ``This vote can have a positive knock-on effect in all the other Arab countries where there is authoritarian rule, where the situation of women is not one of liberty or dignity, where there are still many steps to make to emerge from the Middle Ages.''
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, said it was encouraged by Sunday's turnout among Iraqis, which the Foreign Ministry said showed ``commendable determination to decide their own destiny.''
In neighboring Malaysia, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who chairs the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference, said he was ``very sad'' about a series of attacks that marred Sunday's voting. At least 44 people died in suicide and mortar attacks on polling stations, including nine suicide bombers.
``At the time the election is being held, people are still dying,'' Abdullah told reporters. ``There doesn't seem to be any real way of stopping it.''
Former Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev took a dim view of the vote.
``These elections have not yielded much,'' he said, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency. ``It is necessary to wait and see the results, but I think all this is unreliable and dubious.''
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press Home Privacy Policy Search Corrections RSS Help Back to Top
January 31, 2005
Jury Selection Begins in Jackson's TrialBy JOHN M. BRODER
ANTA MARIA, Calif., Jan. 30 - Fourteen months after a small army of sheriff's deputies laid siege to Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch seeking evidence of lewd acts by Mr. Jackson with a 13-year-old cancer patient, jury selection began today in California's latest and greatest celebrity show trial.
Mr. Jackson arrived at the courthouse here today just before noon Eastern time, dressed all in white and surrounded by a team of lawyers and bodyguards, one of whom held a parasol to shade him from the sun. As he got out of a black vehicle, he waved to the throngs of fans and other onlookers, and the hundreds of news media representatives who have crowded the steps of the small courthouse here.
This will be the setting for what promises to be a months-long legal saga, whose every procedure and turn will be televised, pored over and otherwise dissected by the industry spawned by celebrity trials.
Mr. Jackson, who has said he is not guilty of child-molesting charges brought against him, did not say anything today before going through the metal detectors at the entrance to the courtroom, and a strict gag order will limit what is known about the proceedings.
But this morning, Mr. Jackson's parents, Katherine and Joe Jackson, told CBS's "The Early Show" that their son's accuser was only after his money.
"I know my son, and this is ridiculous," Mrs. Jackson said in the interview. She said people who believe her son is guilty "don't know him."
Mr. Jackson's father said racism was behind the accusations, as well as financial gain: "It's about money."
On Sunday, with his liberty, his livelihood and what is left of his reputation riding on the outcome of the trial, Mr. Jackson himself made a pre-emptive move by releasing a videotaped statement, approved by the judge, in which he proclaims his innocence. In the videotape, Mr. Jackson responded to reputed grand jury reports leaked to the news media over the last few weeks that said his accuser, who is now 15, had testified that the entertainer groped him and plied him with alcohol two years ago.
On the videotape, Mr. Jackson denied the accusations against him, pleaded for a fair hearing from the jury and the public, and predicted he would ultimately be "acquitted and vindicated."
"In the last few weeks, a large amount of ugly, malicious information has been released into the media about me," Mr. Jackson, 46, said in the video, which he released on his Web site, www.mjjsource.com. "Apparently, this information was leaked through transcripts in a grand jury proceeding where neither my lawyers, nor I, ever appeared. The information is disgusting and false."
The entertainer said he had invited the boy and his family to stay at his Neverland ranch because they had told him the boy was ill with cancer and needed his help. Over the years, he said, he has helped thousands of similar children who were ill or in distress.
"These events have caused a nightmare for my family, my children and me," Mr. Jackson said. "I never intend to place myself in so vulnerable a position ever again.
"I love my community, and I have great faith in our justice system. Please keep an open mind and let me have my day in court," he continued. "I deserve a fair trial like every other American citizen. I will be acquitted and vindicated when the truth is told."
Mr. Jackson's life and music career have seemed on a downward spiral for the past decade, beginning with similar accusations involving sex with a young boy in 1993, which Mr. Jackson settled out of court for $15 million to $20 million.
The attention this new case has generated has further damaged the onetime King of Pop's already bizarre image and slashed his economic value. Music industry executives said conviction on some or all of the counts against him could effectively end his career as a public performer, although he still stands to profit from royalties on music catalogs he controls.
Hundreds of prospective jurors are expected to be screened for service on a trial that court officials project will last into the summer. Nearly 1,000 reporters, photographers, television technicians and courtroom artists have applied for credentials to cover the trial, which will be re-enacted nightly by a combined British-American television group that includes E! Entertainment.
Months of pretrial maneuvering have already produced thousands of pages of legal pleadings and teased a global audience awaiting the lurid details of Mr. Jackson's extravagant and eccentric life at his 2,700-acre private Xanadu in the hills between Santa Maria and Santa Barbara.
The case itself offers all the elements of a pop culture roundelay, including a music superstar who likens himself to Peter Pan; a grandfatherly prosecutor who has pursued him for 12 years; a silver-maned chief defense lawyer who is a colorful defender of the famous and the downtrodden alike, and a scandal-saturated media horde, many of them fresh from the Scott Peterson murder case. And throngs of Jackson groupies are promising daily courthouse rallies.
Court documents and pretrial arguments indicate that evidence will include testimony from experts on Mr. Jackson's finances, sexually explicit books and magazines taken from Mr. Jackson's bedroom, notes written by the performer to his young accuser, and a pair of white briefs, boy's size small.
The stern ringmaster in the case, Judge Rodney S. Melville of Santa Barbara County Superior Court, has conducted the pretrial action under extraordinary secrecy. The judge sealed virtually every piece of paper and silenced all the lawyers and other parties to the case under threat of jail time.
The lawyers have complied with the judge's order silencing them. But hundreds of pages of explicit grand jury testimony recently leaked out and have hurtled around the globe on the Internet and on ABC News programs.
In the final pretrial hearing before Judge Melville on Friday, Gordon Auchincloss, one of the lead prosecutors, said he expected the trial to produce "scorched-earth combat." "There's no mystery this will be a very contentious lawsuit," Mr. Auchincloss said.
Judge Melville, offering his final commentary before the legal winds begin to howl on Monday, noted dryly that he had felt a marked increase in tension around the courthouse. "Tempers are beginning to get short," he said. "There is a lot of pressure on everyone to have a case of such public scrutiny."
The defense team, led by Thomas A. Mesereau Jr., has made it clear it is going to put the accuser and his family on trial, accusing them of changing their stories and seeking to extort millions from Mr. Jackson. And the defense lawyers clearly intend to put the state on trial as well, beginning with the Santa Barbara County district attorney, Thomas W. Sneddon Jr., who they contend has a long-running vendetta against Mr. Jackson.
After his first run-in with Mr. Sneddon over the 1993 pedophilia accusations, Mr. Jackson wrote a satirical song about a "Dom Sheldon" who "really tried to take me down by surprise." The song's refrain, rendered "Dom Sheldon is a cold man" in the liner notes, sounds very much like "Tom Sneddon" on the album.
Mr. Sneddon, in his sixth and final four-year term as district attorney, is leading the prosecution himself. He was asked early on if he believed Mr. Jackson had gotten away with a crime in 1993.
"I think there's a sense in the public that he did that," Mr. Sneddon said. "My feeling about this is I'm sad that there's another victim out there."
The trial will exert pressure on Mr. Jackson's financial empire, which has appeared increasingly fragile in recent years. Even his close advisers say he is an extravagant spender whose wealth has been eroded by an overly lavish lifestyle, poor investments and a rogue's gallery of business associates.
Mr. Jackson has taken out an estimated $270 million in loans from Bank of America Corporation, backed by his two major music-publishing catalogs, and at least part of the debt must be repaid - or refinanced - - by early 2006, according to advisers close to Mr. Jackson.
For his income, Mr. Jackson relies heavily on the profits from the two publishing companies, which generate sales when the songs they own are recorded or licensed for commercials, films and the like. There has been speculation for years that Mr. Jackson might put his publishing assets on the auction block to pay off his loans, and there is little doubt that such a move could help clear his balance sheet.
Mijac Music, which holds the copyrights to Mr. Jackson's own hit compositions and other songs, including "People Get Ready" by Curtis Mayfield, has been valued at roughly $75 million. Mr. Jackson's share of Sony/ATV, a joint venture with the Sony Corporation that holds rights to the Beatles hits, is worth perhaps $400 million or more, music executives say.
Mr. Jackson's worth as a performer, once of incalculable value but steadily declining for years, hinges on the outcome of the trial, industry executives said.
"If he's convicted, that'd be a tough mountain to climb," said Steve Rennie, the former West Coast general manager for Sony's Epic Records label, which releases Mr. Jackson's albums. But even if he is acquitted, the prospects for a lucrative new contract appear dim, Mr. Rennie said, noting that Mr. Jackson's music is extremely expensive to produce.
Nevertheless, Mr. Rennie said, Mr. Jackson still could cash in on the international concert circuit, and even perhaps profit from his new notoriety.
"Forgetting Michael Jackson's personal circus, there was never a more electrifying performer, ever," he said. "It's a big world out there. I think there are promoters that would step up."
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company Home Privacy Policy Search Corrections RSS Help Back to Top
Jury Selection Begins in Jackson's TrialBy JOHN M. BRODER
ANTA MARIA, Calif., Jan. 30 - Fourteen months after a small army of sheriff's deputies laid siege to Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch seeking evidence of lewd acts by Mr. Jackson with a 13-year-old cancer patient, jury selection began today in California's latest and greatest celebrity show trial.
Mr. Jackson arrived at the courthouse here today just before noon Eastern time, dressed all in white and surrounded by a team of lawyers and bodyguards, one of whom held a parasol to shade him from the sun. As he got out of a black vehicle, he waved to the throngs of fans and other onlookers, and the hundreds of news media representatives who have crowded the steps of the small courthouse here.
This will be the setting for what promises to be a months-long legal saga, whose every procedure and turn will be televised, pored over and otherwise dissected by the industry spawned by celebrity trials.
Mr. Jackson, who has said he is not guilty of child-molesting charges brought against him, did not say anything today before going through the metal detectors at the entrance to the courtroom, and a strict gag order will limit what is known about the proceedings.
But this morning, Mr. Jackson's parents, Katherine and Joe Jackson, told CBS's "The Early Show" that their son's accuser was only after his money.
"I know my son, and this is ridiculous," Mrs. Jackson said in the interview. She said people who believe her son is guilty "don't know him."
Mr. Jackson's father said racism was behind the accusations, as well as financial gain: "It's about money."
On Sunday, with his liberty, his livelihood and what is left of his reputation riding on the outcome of the trial, Mr. Jackson himself made a pre-emptive move by releasing a videotaped statement, approved by the judge, in which he proclaims his innocence. In the videotape, Mr. Jackson responded to reputed grand jury reports leaked to the news media over the last few weeks that said his accuser, who is now 15, had testified that the entertainer groped him and plied him with alcohol two years ago.
On the videotape, Mr. Jackson denied the accusations against him, pleaded for a fair hearing from the jury and the public, and predicted he would ultimately be "acquitted and vindicated."
"In the last few weeks, a large amount of ugly, malicious information has been released into the media about me," Mr. Jackson, 46, said in the video, which he released on his Web site, www.mjjsource.com. "Apparently, this information was leaked through transcripts in a grand jury proceeding where neither my lawyers, nor I, ever appeared. The information is disgusting and false."
The entertainer said he had invited the boy and his family to stay at his Neverland ranch because they had told him the boy was ill with cancer and needed his help. Over the years, he said, he has helped thousands of similar children who were ill or in distress.
"These events have caused a nightmare for my family, my children and me," Mr. Jackson said. "I never intend to place myself in so vulnerable a position ever again.
"I love my community, and I have great faith in our justice system. Please keep an open mind and let me have my day in court," he continued. "I deserve a fair trial like every other American citizen. I will be acquitted and vindicated when the truth is told."
Mr. Jackson's life and music career have seemed on a downward spiral for the past decade, beginning with similar accusations involving sex with a young boy in 1993, which Mr. Jackson settled out of court for $15 million to $20 million.
The attention this new case has generated has further damaged the onetime King of Pop's already bizarre image and slashed his economic value. Music industry executives said conviction on some or all of the counts against him could effectively end his career as a public performer, although he still stands to profit from royalties on music catalogs he controls.
Hundreds of prospective jurors are expected to be screened for service on a trial that court officials project will last into the summer. Nearly 1,000 reporters, photographers, television technicians and courtroom artists have applied for credentials to cover the trial, which will be re-enacted nightly by a combined British-American television group that includes E! Entertainment.
Months of pretrial maneuvering have already produced thousands of pages of legal pleadings and teased a global audience awaiting the lurid details of Mr. Jackson's extravagant and eccentric life at his 2,700-acre private Xanadu in the hills between Santa Maria and Santa Barbara.
The case itself offers all the elements of a pop culture roundelay, including a music superstar who likens himself to Peter Pan; a grandfatherly prosecutor who has pursued him for 12 years; a silver-maned chief defense lawyer who is a colorful defender of the famous and the downtrodden alike, and a scandal-saturated media horde, many of them fresh from the Scott Peterson murder case. And throngs of Jackson groupies are promising daily courthouse rallies.
Court documents and pretrial arguments indicate that evidence will include testimony from experts on Mr. Jackson's finances, sexually explicit books and magazines taken from Mr. Jackson's bedroom, notes written by the performer to his young accuser, and a pair of white briefs, boy's size small.
The stern ringmaster in the case, Judge Rodney S. Melville of Santa Barbara County Superior Court, has conducted the pretrial action under extraordinary secrecy. The judge sealed virtually every piece of paper and silenced all the lawyers and other parties to the case under threat of jail time.
The lawyers have complied with the judge's order silencing them. But hundreds of pages of explicit grand jury testimony recently leaked out and have hurtled around the globe on the Internet and on ABC News programs.
In the final pretrial hearing before Judge Melville on Friday, Gordon Auchincloss, one of the lead prosecutors, said he expected the trial to produce "scorched-earth combat." "There's no mystery this will be a very contentious lawsuit," Mr. Auchincloss said.
Judge Melville, offering his final commentary before the legal winds begin to howl on Monday, noted dryly that he had felt a marked increase in tension around the courthouse. "Tempers are beginning to get short," he said. "There is a lot of pressure on everyone to have a case of such public scrutiny."
The defense team, led by Thomas A. Mesereau Jr., has made it clear it is going to put the accuser and his family on trial, accusing them of changing their stories and seeking to extort millions from Mr. Jackson. And the defense lawyers clearly intend to put the state on trial as well, beginning with the Santa Barbara County district attorney, Thomas W. Sneddon Jr., who they contend has a long-running vendetta against Mr. Jackson.
After his first run-in with Mr. Sneddon over the 1993 pedophilia accusations, Mr. Jackson wrote a satirical song about a "Dom Sheldon" who "really tried to take me down by surprise." The song's refrain, rendered "Dom Sheldon is a cold man" in the liner notes, sounds very much like "Tom Sneddon" on the album.
Mr. Sneddon, in his sixth and final four-year term as district attorney, is leading the prosecution himself. He was asked early on if he believed Mr. Jackson had gotten away with a crime in 1993.
"I think there's a sense in the public that he did that," Mr. Sneddon said. "My feeling about this is I'm sad that there's another victim out there."
The trial will exert pressure on Mr. Jackson's financial empire, which has appeared increasingly fragile in recent years. Even his close advisers say he is an extravagant spender whose wealth has been eroded by an overly lavish lifestyle, poor investments and a rogue's gallery of business associates.
Mr. Jackson has taken out an estimated $270 million in loans from Bank of America Corporation, backed by his two major music-publishing catalogs, and at least part of the debt must be repaid - or refinanced - - by early 2006, according to advisers close to Mr. Jackson.
For his income, Mr. Jackson relies heavily on the profits from the two publishing companies, which generate sales when the songs they own are recorded or licensed for commercials, films and the like. There has been speculation for years that Mr. Jackson might put his publishing assets on the auction block to pay off his loans, and there is little doubt that such a move could help clear his balance sheet.
Mijac Music, which holds the copyrights to Mr. Jackson's own hit compositions and other songs, including "People Get Ready" by Curtis Mayfield, has been valued at roughly $75 million. Mr. Jackson's share of Sony/ATV, a joint venture with the Sony Corporation that holds rights to the Beatles hits, is worth perhaps $400 million or more, music executives say.
Mr. Jackson's worth as a performer, once of incalculable value but steadily declining for years, hinges on the outcome of the trial, industry executives said.
"If he's convicted, that'd be a tough mountain to climb," said Steve Rennie, the former West Coast general manager for Sony's Epic Records label, which releases Mr. Jackson's albums. But even if he is acquitted, the prospects for a lucrative new contract appear dim, Mr. Rennie said, noting that Mr. Jackson's music is extremely expensive to produce.
Nevertheless, Mr. Rennie said, Mr. Jackson still could cash in on the international concert circuit, and even perhaps profit from his new notoriety.
"Forgetting Michael Jackson's personal circus, there was never a more electrifying performer, ever," he said. "It's a big world out there. I think there are promoters that would step up."
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January 30, 2005OP-ED COLUMNIST
Torture Chicks Gone WildBy MAUREEN DOWD
WASHINGTON
By the time House Republicans were finished with him, Bill Clinton must have thought of a thong as a torture device.
For the Bush administration, it actually is.
A former American Army sergeant who worked as an Arabic interpreter at Gitmo has written a book pulling back the veil on the astounding ways female interrogators used a toxic combination of sex and religion to try to break Muslim detainees at the U.S. prison camp in Cuba. It's not merely disgusting. It's beyond belief.
The Bush administration never worries about anything. But these missionaries and zealous protectors of values should be worried about the American soul. The president never mentions Osama, but he continues to use 9/11 as an excuse for American policies that bend the rules and play to our worst instincts.
"I have really struggled with this because the detainees, their families and much of the world will think this is a religious war based on some of the techniques used, even though it is not the case," the former sergeant, Erik R. Saar, 29, told The Associated Press. The A.P. got a manuscript of his book, deemed classified pending a Pentagon review.
What good is it for President Bush to speak respectfully of Islam and claim Iraq is not a religious war if the Pentagon denigrates Islamic law - allowing its female interrogators to try to make Muslim men talk in late-night sessions featuring sexual touching, displays of fake menstrual blood, and parading in miniskirt, tight T-shirt, bra and thong underwear?
It's like a bad porn movie, "The Geneva Monologues." All S and no M.
The A.P. noted that "some Guantánamo prisoners who have been released say they were tormented by 'prostitutes.' "
Mr. Saar writes about what he calls "disturbing" practices during his time in Gitmo from December 2002 to June 2003, including this anecdote related by Paisley Dodds, an A.P. reporter:
A female military interrogator who wanted to turn up the heat on a 21-year-old Saudi detainee who allegedly had taken flying lessons in Arizona before 9/11 removed her uniform top to expose a snug T-shirt. She began belittling the prisoner - who was praying with his eyes closed - as she touched her breasts, rubbed them against the Saudi's back and commented on his apparent erection.
After the prisoner spat in her face, she left the room to ask a Muslim linguist how she could break the prisoner's reliance on God. The linguist suggested she tell the prisoner that she was menstruating, touch him, and then shut off the water in his cell so he couldn't wash.
"The concept was to make the detainee feel that after talking to her he was unclean and was unable to go before his God in prayer and gain strength," Mr. Saar recounted, adding: "She then started to place her hands in her pants as she walked behind the detainee. As she circled around him he could see that she was taking her hand out of her pants. When it became visible the detainee saw what appeared to be red blood on her hand. She said, 'Who sent you to Arizona?' He then glared at her with a piercing look of hatred. She then wiped the red ink on his face. He shouted at the top of his lungs, spat at her and lunged forward," breaking out of an ankle shackle.
"He began to cry like a baby," the author wrote, adding that the interrogator's parting shot was: "Have a fun night in your cell without any water to clean yourself."
A female civilian contractor kept her "uniform" - a thong and miniskirt - on the back of the door of an interrogation room, the author says.
Who are these women? Who allows this to happen? Why don't the officers who allow it get into trouble? Why do Rummy and Paul Wolfowitz still have their jobs?
The military did not deny the specifics, but said the prisoners were treated "humanely" and in a way consistent "with legal obligations prohibiting torture." However the Bush White House is redefining torture these days, the point is this: Such behavior degrades the women who are doing it, the men they are doing it to, and the country they are doing it for.
There's nothing wrong with trying to squeeze information out of detainees. But isn't it simply more effective to throw them in isolation and try to build some sort of relationship?
I doubt that the thong tease works as well on inmates at Gitmo as it did on Bill Clinton in the Oval Office.
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company Home Privacy Policy Search Corrections RSS Help Back to Top
Torture Chicks Gone WildBy MAUREEN DOWD
WASHINGTON
By the time House Republicans were finished with him, Bill Clinton must have thought of a thong as a torture device.
For the Bush administration, it actually is.
A former American Army sergeant who worked as an Arabic interpreter at Gitmo has written a book pulling back the veil on the astounding ways female interrogators used a toxic combination of sex and religion to try to break Muslim detainees at the U.S. prison camp in Cuba. It's not merely disgusting. It's beyond belief.
The Bush administration never worries about anything. But these missionaries and zealous protectors of values should be worried about the American soul. The president never mentions Osama, but he continues to use 9/11 as an excuse for American policies that bend the rules and play to our worst instincts.
"I have really struggled with this because the detainees, their families and much of the world will think this is a religious war based on some of the techniques used, even though it is not the case," the former sergeant, Erik R. Saar, 29, told The Associated Press. The A.P. got a manuscript of his book, deemed classified pending a Pentagon review.
What good is it for President Bush to speak respectfully of Islam and claim Iraq is not a religious war if the Pentagon denigrates Islamic law - allowing its female interrogators to try to make Muslim men talk in late-night sessions featuring sexual touching, displays of fake menstrual blood, and parading in miniskirt, tight T-shirt, bra and thong underwear?
It's like a bad porn movie, "The Geneva Monologues." All S and no M.
The A.P. noted that "some Guantánamo prisoners who have been released say they were tormented by 'prostitutes.' "
Mr. Saar writes about what he calls "disturbing" practices during his time in Gitmo from December 2002 to June 2003, including this anecdote related by Paisley Dodds, an A.P. reporter:
A female military interrogator who wanted to turn up the heat on a 21-year-old Saudi detainee who allegedly had taken flying lessons in Arizona before 9/11 removed her uniform top to expose a snug T-shirt. She began belittling the prisoner - who was praying with his eyes closed - as she touched her breasts, rubbed them against the Saudi's back and commented on his apparent erection.
After the prisoner spat in her face, she left the room to ask a Muslim linguist how she could break the prisoner's reliance on God. The linguist suggested she tell the prisoner that she was menstruating, touch him, and then shut off the water in his cell so he couldn't wash.
"The concept was to make the detainee feel that after talking to her he was unclean and was unable to go before his God in prayer and gain strength," Mr. Saar recounted, adding: "She then started to place her hands in her pants as she walked behind the detainee. As she circled around him he could see that she was taking her hand out of her pants. When it became visible the detainee saw what appeared to be red blood on her hand. She said, 'Who sent you to Arizona?' He then glared at her with a piercing look of hatred. She then wiped the red ink on his face. He shouted at the top of his lungs, spat at her and lunged forward," breaking out of an ankle shackle.
"He began to cry like a baby," the author wrote, adding that the interrogator's parting shot was: "Have a fun night in your cell without any water to clean yourself."
A female civilian contractor kept her "uniform" - a thong and miniskirt - on the back of the door of an interrogation room, the author says.
Who are these women? Who allows this to happen? Why don't the officers who allow it get into trouble? Why do Rummy and Paul Wolfowitz still have their jobs?
The military did not deny the specifics, but said the prisoners were treated "humanely" and in a way consistent "with legal obligations prohibiting torture." However the Bush White House is redefining torture these days, the point is this: Such behavior degrades the women who are doing it, the men they are doing it to, and the country they are doing it for.
There's nothing wrong with trying to squeeze information out of detainees. But isn't it simply more effective to throw them in isolation and try to build some sort of relationship?
I doubt that the thong tease works as well on inmates at Gitmo as it did on Bill Clinton in the Oval Office.
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company Home Privacy Policy Search Corrections RSS Help Back to Top
