Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

Those @$#%* Foreigners:

A French government panel was due to release a report yesterday on a proposed partial ban on wearing Muslim head veils. The ban woud apply to wearing the veils in hospitals and schools and fall short of a total ban desired by many French citizens and politicians.
   Islam is the second-largest religion in France, and any proposed ban has been opposed by Roman Catholic and Jewish leaders, who say it's a drastic and unnecessary step. But French citizens --by a 57-to-37-percent margin-- support such a ban.  
   France is home to about five-million Muslims, and many French natives are worried about the affect that Islam might have on diluting their culture. (Pacelli)

WARNING: Note Yummy Content.
London's Guardian Daily reports that Chinese legal experts are proposing a ban on eating dogs and cats. Such a move would end a Chinese culinary tradition that dates back thousands of years.
   High level authorities in the Beijing government will take a look at the issue this April as part of a wider bill to tackle animal abuse.
   Dog meat was considered a "medicinal tonic" in ancient times. It's still commonly sold and consumed throughout the country --particularly in Northern China-- where dog stew is popular for its supposed "warming qualities." (Pacelli)

Apple to announce tablet today:

Everybody believes Apple will introduce a tablet computer today but nobody knows for sure --except for the New York Times, that is.
   An article in yesterday's Times says "People who have seen the tablet say Apple will market it not just as a way to read news, books and other material, but also a way for companies to charge for all that content."
   In other words, the tablet is expected to do for print media what the iPod did for the music biz --enable people to take their digital content with them.
   The Times also says the new tablet computer:
   --will have a 10-inch color display,
   --will run all the applications of the iPhone and iPod Touch, and
   --will use cellphones' 3G networks and Wi-Fi.
   Editor's note: See following item for evidence the tablet may not save the print industry.

McLawsuits:

A court in the Netherlands says McDonald's was wrong when it fired a worker there for putting an extra slice of cheese on a burger.
   Agence France-Presse says the employee was accused of selling a cheeseburger to a co-worker for a discount, then throwing in an extra piece of cheese. The Dutch branch of the fast food chain fired that worker, saying she had broken the rules.
   A court has now ruled the worker should have been given a warning instead of termination. Now, the company has to pay the employee 5-months worth of wages --over 6-thousand dollars. McDonald's has also been ordered to pay all court costs. (Still)

Broadcast, cable and video news:

Although you might imagine that NBC and CONAN O'BRIEN didn't part under the best of terms, yesterday the TV network picked up a pilot from Conan's production company, Conaco.
   The untitled drama --which was previously known as "Justice"-- is about a former Supreme Court Justice who leaves the highest court in the land in order to start his own legal practice.

Movies that will suck:

You knew this would happen --the TIGER WOODS saga made into a porn flick.
   The folks at Adam & Eve Pictures have produced a new film called (wait for it...) "Tyler's Wood." The film stars TYLER KNIGHT and KAYDEN KROSS as "the long-suffering wife of (cough-cough) a world renowned golfer."
   The two-plus hour-long film has five "scandalous scenes" with "Tyler" and his multiple mistresses, and was shot eight weeks ago. In Hollywood, that's production at light speed!
   FYI: you can see the flick on video-on-demand through adamandeveondemand.com and aeod.com; the DVD is available at adameve.com
   Editor's note: Well, that's one way to improve your image.
   --I hear this film has an 18-hole limit. Ahem.
   --Behind the Green Jacket. (That's right, dawg, we went old school.)
   --Boy, how many changes of grip are we gonna see in this film?
   --Whoa, you're telling me the highest score wins?
   --This would probably be a lot more interesting if the film included some of those girls from the LPGA --if ya get my meaning. (Maiman)