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'Mad Money' shortchanges viewers
Female heist movies are a rare film genre. Especially ones that star such respected actresses as Oscar-winning Diane Keaton and Oscar-nominated Queen Latifah, alongside Katie Holmes, with direction by Callie Khouri, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Thelma & Louise. Given the combined talent assembled, the expectation that Mad Money -- about three U.S. Federal Reserve Bank workers who decide to rip off their employer -- might be a decent night at the movies is definitely there.
Sadly, this is no guilty-pleasure chick flick in the vein of Nine To Five, a fun-to-watch and funny film that also featured three women coming together. Although in that movie the trio were getting back at their sexist, bigoted, egotistical boss -- thegreat Dabney Coleman.
The difference with Mad Money, based on a British made-for-TV movie about a true-life incident, is that the robbery is a victimless crime as the worn-out currency the three women steal is scheduled for destruction, so there is no huge reason to root for Keaton, Latifah and Holmes other than to see them beat the system. More>>
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India, Saudi Arabia raises air traffic entitlement
A major increase in passenger traffic may be witnessed in the India-Saudi Arabia sector soon both countries today more than doubled the traffic entitlement between each other, and allowed direct flights to more cities. Officials of the two countries decided to hike the seat entitlement per week from 8,500 to 20,000 with immediate effect, and to designate more than one airline to operate in each other's territory, a Civil Aviation Ministry spokesperson said.
The move would benefit Jet Airways to begin with, while other Indian private carriers would be able to fly to Saudi Arabia whenever they become eligible to operate on internationl routes.
While Saudi airlines have been allowed to fly to new points of call like Calicut, Lucknow and Bangalore, Madina was opened as a new destination for their Indian counterparts. More>>
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Eric Halvorson's Blog
Turner was accused of resisting law enforcement, intimidation, and battery by bodily waste. The jury found Turner guilty of those charges. At the end of the trial, Judge Altice told Turner: "Thanks for behaving yourself, today."
November 28, 2007
Here's another important consideration raised by this week's report on underage drinking. This message comes from a viewer in Greensburg:
I have been watching your reports concerning underage drinking and parents who supply their children and their children's friends with alcohol. The focus seems to be strictly with the law and the argument about providing a safe place for underage drinking since "everyone does it". I think it is very important to provide information that includes the effects of alcohol on the adolescent brain. Numerous brain studies show that the prefrontal cortex of the human brain is not fully developed until a person is in their mid-twenties. This area of the brain controls reasoning and decision-making (thus the reasons why teenagers sometimes make "stupid" decisions). Alcohol, in any amount, disrupts the development of this part of the brain at a very crucial time of development. Just because parents are continuing a tradition of providing alcohol in a "safe environment", doesn't make it right for more than the reason of breaking any laws. Parents are supposed to protect their children and we now have the information to show that alcohol is a dangerous substance that can affect development and learning. More>>