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A couple of days ago we mentioned the campaign against smoking in films. Horrors! James Bond puffs cigars in the new Die Another Day, which is set in Cuba: The decision to feature cigars in the film, which premieres in London Monday, has outraged the anti-smoking lobby. Bond, better known …

Our Ryan Irelan swears by his iPOD – Paul Boutin sees the iPOD as the real threat to the msuic biz as we know it: The real action in music sharing isn’t online. It’s on foot. Look at the numbers: Industry estimates say 6 billion blank CDs will be sold …

Steve Chapman sounds like a Euroweenie here: Wouldn’t it be nice to be rid of Saddam Hussein? That’s how the Bush administration has managed to frame the debate over war with Iraq. In its cheerful scenario, there really won’t be much of a fight: Our peerless military will crush all …

Europe’s view of Middle East: fearful, clinging to stability, in love with the status quo, “any change can only be worse.” Bush team (now that Powell seems to be on board): bold, looking to a better future, the status quo is corrupt, calcified, infected, inherently doomed to failure, supportive of …

Of course she’s part of it. The Cornell Daily Sun reports: Yesterday evening, Pat Mitchell, president and chief executive officer of PBS gave a lecture entitled “Media Consolidation, Convergence, Connection: The Good, the Bad and the Downright Dangerous” at Ithaca College (IC). ….Mitchell spoke for an hour and a half …

Comics Journal mines it’s archive of audio interviews with Comics notables for a 1989 discussion with Gilbert Hernandez, now one-third of the creative team behind the comic book that launched a thousand indy comics, Love and Rockets. Gilbert discusses his comics-obsessed childhood, his influences, the /Heartbreak Soup/ stories, drawing, how …

David Crotts, of Senator Helms’ office, has passed this on to Blogcritics regarding passage of HR 5469: Small Webcaster Settlement Act of 2002 November 15, 2002 Last night, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives passed Senator Helms’ substitute amendment to HR5469, the Small Webcaster Settlement Act of …

Another interesting analysis of the travails of the global music biz, this one from Sathnam Sanghera in the Financial Times: It is not hard to see why piracy is perceived as the biggest factor behind the industry’s woes. There are now some 900m music files available to be downloaded free …

Victoria’s Secret “Christmas Dreams and Fantasies” fashion show was interrupted by a PETA protest: Activists for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals rushed the stage as Gisele Bundchen strutted down the runway in a beaded bra and panties, thigh-high black stockings and red strappy heels. The four female protesters, …

Our friends at the Future of Music Coalition are set to drop a bombshell on the commercial radio biz this Monday: On November 18, 2002 the FMC will publicly release its report documenting the effects of radio station ownership consolidation on musicians and the public. This comprehensive analysis was conducted …