It was, indeed, Nelson Mandela who brought these thoughts to mind because he had set his heart on South Africa being nominated by the International Federation of Football Associations to host the soccer World Cup in 2006. He almost achieved this ambition but was thwarted by a single man. Charles Dempsey, a 79-year-old New Zealander and Chairman of the Oceania Football Associations had, it is said, been mandated to cast his vote for South Africa. - KEVIN CAREY "FIFA" More

CARTOONS BY GASPIRTZ: A droll sense of humor, a twist of fate. OLIVER GASPIRTZ.

MY GLASS HOUSE: Being a Web Editor and Publisher is not a job for the faint-hearted, and certainly not one for people who require a great deal of sleep. You have to be ready to deal with server crises and interpersonal relationships with people you have never met face-to-face (f2f). And, on occasion, you have to be willing to take it on the chin... ROD AMIS "The Man Behind the Curtain - Part 2" - More

POWERSSOUND: In person, Kenton bands played with screaming power, easily raising the temperature in the auditorium and the blood pressures of all those assembled. Kenton played a thoughtful, often quiet piano, but that certainly didn't extend to other members of his groups.

In this band, the last that he would lead, there were five trumpets, five trombones, and five saxophones, along with drums, bass and Latin percussionist Ramon Lopez. That made for a very loud, often very exciting experience. - BOB POWERS "Stan Kenton's Lost Concert" More

PLANETARY MADNESS: Whether you are retaining unwanted water or whether you are finding it difficult to let go of mawkish sentiments (or resentments), your pinscher-sporting inner Crab is reluctant to release anything (or anyone).....JENNIFER BLUE "JULY, 2000"


RDR 07.24.00: ED CANTARELLA says that enhancing reality is a natural human tendency. "Opiates for the Masses."

RDR 07.21.00: "Soccer Hooliganism" isn't the only major story coming out of Europe's football. AL DUNSMUIR believes it's high time for a "South Africa World Cup."

LOOKING FOR A PREVIOUS "RDR" Essay? Visit our complete ARCHIVES.


VOX POPULI: From John M., (No City Provided,) USA:

Mr. McDaniel,

Although I don't agree on ALL the points in your "There's a Spy in the 'I' " article, I would like to compliment you on your writing ability. That was one of the most entertaining and cleverly informing articles I have read in a long time. I look forward to reading more of your work. I would appreciate it if you could point me at any more articles you have done. Thanks for your time.

TABLOID HART:

The National Curse

My fellow Sanitation Engineers, your ole pal Tabloid Hart has been developing a theory. I actually think that the Clintons are a national curse upon the United States.

Think about it. Have you ever seen people who rumors stick on like white on rice before these folks? Let alone what we know they actually did?

As Mr. Trailer Trash, I just gottah ask a question: How come these two are just so hard to like?

MEMOIRS OF THE INFORMATION AGE

Duck & Cover

I knew that it was only a matter of time before there would be a backlash against what we on the Internet were doing to the wider world. That's why I was not surprised when stickers started appearing on the streets with names like F--kYouandtheDotcomYouRodeInOn. In places like my former home, San Francisco, those of us working on the Internet are reviled.... What I didn't anticipate --- and many didn't --- was how quickly the (stock and venture capital) markets would turn on us...

RECOMMENDED DAILY REQUIREMENT

Opiates for the Masses

So, last week I flip open the newspaper and see that an American jury has handed down $145 BILLION(9 zeros if you are not including a decimal point ,) in awards against some of the largest tobacco companies. The attorneys for the companies say the judgements would bankrupt them. The lawyers for the plaintiffs had cited how the tobacco companies had increased the nicotine content to make their products more addictive, how they targeted the youth, that the executives had lied about their knowledge of the negative health effects. All quite true.

The state governments' pursuance of this lawsuit seemed a little hypocritical to me.

Why? Because for DECADES the United State's government has known: that tobacco causes cancer and emphysema ; is highly addictive; and is pretty much started during adolescence, if ever.

The United States government has paid out BILLIONS of dollars in farm subsidies to tobacco farmers and has committed itself to propping up this "killer drug" market.