It was a private conversation

It was a private conversation:



H. R. Haldeman was among a very few people in the Nixon Administration who knew that the President had ordered the installation of microphones and recording equipment.  So both men in this particular conversation knew it was being recorded.  What neither of them knew was that decades later, those tapes would be transcribed and made available to the world.  The internet was still yet to reach the pipe-dream phase at that time.

I received my first modem in 1989.  I'm guessing most of you who were alive and capable of using the web back then also have histories going back that far.  So, think fast...what would people see if your quarter-century of internet history were to be captured and published in an archive?

Somewhere out there are Geocities sites I made when I was trying to learn the art of web-design.  There was a site I developed with the help of a friend that was a movie review site.  I had a bunch of reviews and one of my favorite pieces of writing, the 100 Worst American Movies that were never made.  There are email exchanges with two women who came to California to meet me, two relationships that did not end well.  I'm sure we all have things in our internet history that we would not want others to be sifting through.

Those who defended Donald Sterling when he made his less than polite remarks that were recorded and released by V. Stiviano almost universally said that it was a "private conversation" and there was no right for her to release it.  Would one of you who defended Mr. Sterling please explain to me how his conversation is any different than any of the email exchanges between Amy Pascal and Scott Rudin in terms of being a private conversation?  Please?

The truth is that we have no expectation of privacy in our internet dealings, save for the hope and prayer of secure transactions involving commerce.  As we've seen in recent months, those hopes and prayers are nothing more than a fantasy.  Nothing online is completely secure.  The moment a computer can surf the web, or contact other computers, it is vulnerable.  You want a completely secure computer, just unplug it from the network and the web.  Otherwise, forget privacy.

I don't know Amy Pascal personally but I don't believe her to be a bigot or a racist.  I do know people who do know her and they all speak very highly of her.  I trust their judgment a lot more than some leaked emails.  But the larger issue is that we shouldn't be in the position to be passing judgment over her private communications and conversations.  How is this different than what transpired between Donald Sterling and V. Stiviano?  Sterling may or may not have been aware that she was recording their conversations.  But at least one of them took place with another person within earshot.  As it does with attorney-client and doctor-patient privilege, the presence of another party defeats any expectation of privacy.  Ms Pascal did not expect anyone to be reading her emails.

We must all remember that every email we compose from this moment forward can become a matter of public record.  Rule of thumb for me from now on is, if I wouldn't say it in a crowded room, I'm not going to write it in an email.

Sony Pictures Entertainment is threatening the media to try to get them to stop reporting leaked emails and other information released by the folks who hacked the studio.  They are barking up the wrong tree.  The material is already in the public domain.  The damage is done.  Their only recourse would be civil action against media outlets and if the courts weren't going to stop the New York Times from publishing the Pentagon Papers, they aren't going to step in here.

Further, what monetary damages could they prove from the further dissemination of information that is already easily available on the internet?  The answer is none.

But the threats are instructive.  They tell us just how much trouble SPE is in. 

* * *

I have nothing but sympathy for the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting.  But their lawsuit against the manufacturer of the gun used is just wrong.  There is no logic behind their position that the gun shouldn't have been sold to civilians because of its potential for violence and murder.  Congress banned assault weapons and then let the ban expire.

We are a nation of laws.  There is no law that precludes this type of weapon from being manufactured and sold.  If we don't like that, we can work to pass laws to change this.  But just because there were a heinous act is no reason to allow a company acting within the law to be sued over the event.

Common sense gun control is a good thing.  Attempting to keep guns of any type out of the hands of criminals is also a good thing.  So far, as a nation, we are failing at both.

* * *

I watched "Undercover Boss" this past Sunday evening.  My favorite new drama "Madame Secretary" is on hiatus until next Sunday.  Tonight's episode focused on Doug Guller, Founder and CEO of Bikini Sports Bar & Grill.  Since his company, ATX Brands owns a number of differently branded bar/restaurants, clearly he's had some success in business; but tonight's program was basically an exercise on how NOT to be an effective CEO.  I suspect he's an okay guy in his non-work life, but the moves he made on tonight's show were...outright stupidity.  To illustrate this more clearly, a quick recap of what happened while he was undercover, and afterward, will be helpful.

The first stop was at their location in Richardson, TX.  He worked with Jessica, the bartender there.  Doug was upset when they met, because she was not wearing a bikini top.  She chose to wear a t-shirt because she was going to be on television.  He has a point in that the "Bikini Babes" need to be wearing the proper uniform, but I wonder if she'd cleared her choice with her manager before he arrived.  We weren't given this information.  She also did a very poor job in serving a customer who was clearly over-served.  Doug suggested cutting him off, but Jessica overruled him.  She also made it clear that she wasn't interested in pursuing a career with Bikini Sports Bar & Grill.

Next up was the San Antonio location and Kitchen Supervisor Henry.  This spot had been suffering real problems in the kitchen until Henry was promoted into the position.  He apparently fixed all the problems and Doug was very pleased with this experience.

From there it was on to another pretty good experience for Doug at the chain's location in Arlington, TX.  He worked with Grace to learn how to be a server.  Fortunately for those watching, he did not don the required uniform.  He was very impressed with most of her performance, although he did find a few areas where he felt she needed additional training.

Last stop on Doug's undercover journey was to train for a management position with Meagan at the Dallas location.  She did an awesome job and Doug was extremely impressed.

Then came the final segment, where the four employees traveled to the town that the chain bought, to learn that "Jake" was really the company CEO.  Henry was awarded a 30% raise, retroactive to the day he was promoted, and given $10,000 so he could take his wife on a vacation.  Meagan got a consulting gig in addition to her management duties, along with an 8% raise.  Better still, Doug promised to cover all of the expenses Meagan would incur in getting some needed dental surgery for her daughter, and help her get into a house with a yard.  These two encounters worked out well.

Jessica's vignette was first in this segment and Doug took her to task for over-serving the one customer, not wearing the bikini top and lacking a passion for her work as a Bikini Babe.  So, he fired her on television.  Bad move.  Maybe she lacked passion for the job but she had the right skill sets.  Counseling and more training would have been a far better move.  It would have demonstrated a concern on Doug's parts for his employees.  Yes, Texas is an at-will employment state and none of the exceptions to this legal doctrine apply there.  He can hire and fire at will.  But it was the wrong move, particularly in light of what happened when it was Grace's turn.

He was mostly pleased with Grace but took her to task for being on her phone at work.  He also asked her to work with the soon to be hired Director of Marketing.  She had mentioned wanting to get breast implants during the time Doug was working with her, and at this encounter he offered to pay for this. But only if she could go for six months without using her phone on the job, and being a "rock star" during that time.  She was ecstatic.

The dichotomy of how these two Bikini Babes were treated by their CEO ignited a firestorm of criticism.  Breastaurants get lots of criticisms to begin with and this was just asking for trouble.  Most of those who complain about such establishments claim they exploit women.  Ask the women working there if they are being exploited and the vast majority will say no.  I actually got a chance to pose this question to Holly Madison when she was still wearing orange shorts and tank-tops to work at the Santa Monica location of Hooters.  She responded with a resounding "no."  Kat Cole, currently President of Cinnabon, worked for Hooters for 15 years, rising from being a Hooters Girl to becoming the company's Vice President of Training and Development.  Being a server at a breastaurant is a choice.  Unless violations of the law are involved, it's very difficult to be exploited because of your gender without your consent.

It is clear that Mr. Guller's decisions giving one woman the boot and the other boobs was a really, really dumb move.

* * *

Before I comment on the following statement by the big windbag, Rush Limbaugh, listen to it for yourselves.  You don't have to torture yourself by hearing the entire thing.  The point of the sound-bite is that Mr. Blowhard is saying Idris Elba can't be James Bond.

It is interesting to note that this paragon of cognitive dissonance is spewing this rhetoric at a moment when Hollywood should be struggling with a much more important issue regarding race, ethnicity and casting.  Ridley Scott's "Exodus: Gods and Kings" is not a commercial success, although it isn't a big flop either, but it has some serious issues with which actors are playing particular roles. 
All of the major roles in this film are being played by Caucasian actors.

I know that the founder of the nebulous EIB Network (EIB = Extremely Irritating Blowhard) won't be reading my blog anytime soon, but even he should be able to understand a simple concept.  When it comes to characters out of history, casting actors who at least remotely resemble the real-life person they are portraying is damn important.  Joel Edgerton is a fine actor but he is hopelessly miscast as Ramesses II (the Pharaoh that most believe was ruling Egypt during the time of the Exodus).  While we can't state with absolute certainty that Ramesses II was not a Caucasian, it is extremely unlikely that he was.  Why not cast an actor of "color" to portray him?

On the other hand when it comes to fictional characters, race just isn't that important in most cases. Now if you're casting an actor to portray a slave in the South during the pre-Civil War period, you probably don't want to cast a Caucasian as that slave. 

When Marvel Comics created "Nick Fury" they chose to make him Caucasian.  But in 2001, seven years before the first "Iron Man" film (which is where Nick Fury made his big screen debut), Marvel published Ultimate X-Men, and the character was reimagined as an African-American character.  So casting Samuel L. Jackson in the role in the movie wasn't all that far off the mark.

"The Equalizer" was a TV series for four seasons with a Caucasian actor in the title role in the mid/late 1980s.  When Sony decided to go ahead with a big screen version, Denzel Washington got that role.  He was good in it, and the film did well at the box office.

No one in their right mind would cast Daniel Day-Lewis to portray Nelson Mandela.  As talented an actor as he is, there's just no way for portray President Mandela.  Can't happen.  We also won't see Meryl Streep as Maya Angelou in a biopic.  Makes no sense.

Ian Fleming wrote his Bond novels mostly in the 1950s (some in the early 1960s, prior to his death in 1964).  Like it or not, Mr. Limbaugh, times have changed.  Eon Productions owns the rights to the entire James Bond franchise.  If they want to cast Idris Elba as James Bond, they can certainly do so.  I'd prefer that over one bad Bond idea that was put forward when Sean Connery was reluctant to reprise the role.  George Lazenby refused to do another Bond film (a wise move on his part).  After Burt Reynolds was unavailable, the role was offered to Adam West.  West turned it down, saying James Bond should be played by a Brit.  I'm not sure if that's true, but it definitely is a British role and would require an actor who can do a convincing turn as a Brit.  That isn't Adam West.

To put this into simple terms for Mr. Limbaugh, changing the race or ethnicity of a fictional character is fine, provided you have the right to do so.  No one has the right to reimagine historical characters in serious film.  You can certainly do a film about fictional things in the life of a real person.  I'm pretty sure Abraham Lincoln wasn't out hunting vampires in his copious free time, and FDR was not a monster slayer ("FDR: American Badass" is a terrifically funny, way over the top spoof and I own the DVD if you want to borrow it).   The bottom line is, I wouldn't go to see a movie starring Anne Hathaway as Tokyo Rose.  Zhang Ziyi maybe, but not a Caucasian actress.

* * *

Once again, the golfing of President Obama is in the news and he is taking some heat for the planning of one round of golf that disrupted the wedding plans of a pair of military officers.  Natalie Heimel and her fiancé Edward Mallue, Jr. are both captains in the U. S. Army were scheduled to be married on Sunday near the 16th hole of a golf course located on the grounds of Marine Corps Base, Hawaii. 

They had even invited President Obama to their wedding, knowing he would be in Hawaii on that date, but one of his minions sent his regrets.  Then on Saturday, less than 24 hours from the wedding itself, the couple was told they would have to move their wedding elsewhere because President Obama was playing that course, at that time.

President Obama doesn't schedule his own golf games.  Others failed to prevent a scheduling conflict and they are the ones who screwed up, not the President.  He made a personal call to the bride, to apologize for the inconvenience.  The people who are claiming this proves he doesn't support the military are clueless.

* * *

Random Ponderings::

The Disney employee portraying Mickey Mouse could have postponed his break long enough to do a photo with Christina Aguilera and her group.  Or with any other patron who asked.  I'd have called him an asshole, as she did...although I'd have done it mentally.

I can't believe that Dustin Diamond, the actor who portrayed the milquetoast "Screech" on "Saved by the Bell" was arrested for allegedly stabbing someone.  It's further alleged that he was carrying the switchblade that is supposedly the weapon used in the incident.  He is claiming self-defense.

The decision by Ireland's High Court to remove the life-support for a clinically dead woman who was 18 weeks pregnant is the right one, even in the face of the rights of the unborn in that nation set forth in their constitution.  A fetus only 18 weeks along has no "reasonable prospect" of surviving.

The app developer who is behind iPhone video editor Videoshop gave his parents a Christmas gift none of us are going to be able to top.  He paid off their mortgage.  Well played, sir.

After viewing a gallery of 50 people who turned 50 in 2014, my thoughts were:
1.  Sandra Bullock looks amazing for a 50 year old woman
2.  I still have a thing for at least two other women on this list.
3.  Why in the world would someone name a child Hoda?

What is the point of a halftime contest at a basketball game where if you sink a half-court shot, the entire crowd gets free pizza?  You make a tough shot and you don't win anything for yourself other than a pizza??  I remember when my father went onto the ice at the Fabulous Forum during a hockey game, between the 2nd and 3rd period to try to score a goal from the blue line.  He got cheered for making the easy shot and winning a trip to any city in California, and then was roundly booed for missing the tough shot and blowing his chance to win a trip for two to Hawaii.  Now those are prizes worth trying to win.

* * *

December 31st in History:

406 – Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gaul.
535 – Byzantine general Belisarius completes the conquest of Sicily, defeating the Gothic garrison of Palermo (Panormos), and ending his consulship for the year.
1225 – The Lý dynasty of Vietnam ends after 216 years by the enthronement of the boy emperor Trần Thái Tông, husband of the last Lý monarch, Lý Chiêu Hoàng, starting the Trần dynasty.
1229 – James I of Aragon the Conqueror enters Medina Mayurqa (now known as Palma, Spain) thus consummating the Christian reconquest of the island of Majorca.
1501 – The First Battle of Cannanore commences.
1600 – The British East India Company is chartered.
1660 – James II of England is named Duke of Normandy by Louis XIV of France.
1687 – The first Huguenots set sail from France to the Cape of Good Hope.
1695 – A window tax is imposed in England, causing many householders to brick up windows to avoid the tax.
1757 – Empress Elizabeth I of Russia issues her ukase incorporating Königsberg into Russia.
1759 – Arthur Guinness signs a 9,000 year lease at £45 per annum and starts brewing Guinness.
1775 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Quebec: British forces repulse an attack by Continental Army General Richard Montgomery.
1790 – Efimeris, the oldest Greek newspaper of which issues have survived till today, is published for the first time.
1796 – The incorporation of Baltimore as a city.
1831 – Gramercy Park is deeded to New York City.
1853 – A dinner party is held inside a life-size model of an iguanodon created by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins and Sir Richard Owen in south London, England.
1857 – Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa, then a small logging town, as the capital of Canada.
1862 – American Civil War: Abraham Lincoln signs an act that admits West Virginia to the Union, thus dividing Virginia in two.
1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Stones River begins near Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
1878 – Karl Benz, working in Mannheim, Germany, filed for a patent on his first reliable two-stroke gas engine, and he was granted the patent in 1879.
1879 – Thomas Edison demonstrates incandescent lighting to the public for the first time, in Menlo Park, New Jersey.
1906 – Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar signs the Persian Constitution of 1906.
1907 – The first New Year's Eve celebration is held in Times Square (then known as Longacre Square) in New York, New York.
1909 – Manhattan Bridge opens.
1923 – The chimes of Big Ben are broadcast on radio for the first time by the BBC.
1944 – World War II: Hungary declares war on Nazi Germany.
1944 – World War II: Operation Nordwind, the last major German offensive on the Western Front begins.
1946 – President Harry S. Truman officially proclaims the end of hostilities in World War II.
1951 – The Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than US$13.3 billion in foreign aid to rebuild Europe.
1955 – General Motors becomes the first U.S. corporation to make over US$1 billion in a year.
1960 – The farthing coin ceases to be legal tender in the United Kingdom.
1961 – RTÉ, Ireland's state broadcaster, launches its first national television service.
1963 – The Central African Federation officially collapses, subsequently becoming Zambia, Malawi and Rhodesia.
1965 – Jean-Bédel Bokassa, leader of the Central African Republic army, and his military officers begins a coup d'état against the government of President David Dacko.
1967 – The Youth International Party, popularly known as the "Yippies", is founded.
1981 – A coup d'état in Ghana removes President Hilla Limann's PNP government and replaces it with the Provisional National Defence Council led by Flight lieutenant Jerry Rawlings.
1983 – The AT&T Bell System is broken up by the United States Government.
1983 – In Nigeria a coup d'état led by Major General Muhammadu Buhari ends the Second Nigerian Republic.
1986 – A fire at the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, kills 97 and injures 140.
1988 – Pittsburgh Penguins' Mario Lemieux becomes the only National Hockey League player to score goals in five different ways: even strength, shorthanded, power play, penalty shot, and empty net, during an 8–6 win over the New Jersey Devils.
1988 – First Winter Ascent of Lhotse (8,516m) by Krzysztof Wielicki (solo).
1991 – All official Soviet Union institutions have ceased operations by this date and the Soviet Union is officially dissolved.
1992 – Czechoslovakia is peacefully dissolved in what is dubbed by media as the Velvet Divorce, resulting in the creation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
1994 – This date is skipped altogether in Kiribati as the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands change time zones from UTC−11:00 to UTC+13:00 and UTC−10:00 to UTC+14:00, respectively.
1994 – The First Chechen War: Russian army began a New Year's storming of Grozny.
1998 – The European Exchange Rate Mechanism freezes the values of the legacy currencies in the Eurozone, and establishes the value of the euro currency.
1999 – First President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, resigns from office, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President and successor.
1999 – The United States Government hands control of the Panama Canal (as well all the adjacent land to the canal known as the Panama Canal Zone) to Panama. This act complied with the signing of the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties.
1999 – Indian Airlines Flight 814 hijacking ended after seven days with the release of 190 survivors at Kandahar Airport, Afghanistan.
2004 – The official opening of Taipei 101, the tallest skyscraper at that time in the world, standing at a height of 509 metres (1,670 ft).
2009 – Both a blue moon and a lunar eclipse occur.
2010 – Tornadoes touch down in midwestern and southern United States, including Washington County, Arkansas; Greater St. Louis, Sunset Hills, Missouri, Illinois, and Oklahoma, with a few tornadoes in the early hours. A total 36 tornadoes touched down, resulting in the deaths of nine people and $113 million in damages.
2011 – NASA succeeds in putting the first of two Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory satellites in orbit around the Moon.

Famous Folk Born in 2010:

Pope Callixtus III
Emperor Go-Yozei of Japan
Henri Matisse
Elizabeth Arden
General George Marshall
Jules Styne
Simon Wiesenthal
Anthony Hopkins

Rosalind Cash

Sarah Miles
Andy Summers
John Denver
Taylor Hackford

Diane von Furstenberg
Burton Cummings
Tim Matheson

Donna Summer

James Remar
Bebe Neuwirth
Val Kilmer (his performance in the film below was worth of Oscar consideration)

Paul Westerberg
Nina Li (Jet Li's wife)
Don Diamont
Gong Li ("To Live" is one of my all-time favorite foreign films)
Nicholas Sparks
Lisa Joyner
Crystal Knight
Psy (I refuse to put a clip from Gangnam Style here)
Gabby Douglas