ZOMG!

that was fast.

Update the death pool.

Lung cancer is a bitch.

But, yes, all you smokers - the ones of accord with my aunt, Nancy, anyway - there is no definitive link between Jennings's long-time smoking and his lung cancer.

I better lay off the Blunts...

I always liked Jennings, maybe because he was a Canadian.

But he died an American.

Haha, Steve... seriously, didn't he have dual citizenship?

I watched him every night for years...

did anyone hear Koppel going on about how handsome he was, "appearing uncannily like Roger Moore in his days of playing 007"

what!? When Barbara Walters comes across as having more credibility than you it's time to just sew your mouth shut.


a friend of mine once met Jennings at a party and describied him as "a chain-smoking womanizer", which seems to tie things up nicely.

but he looked respectable on tv!

I never really watched the guy (we were an NBC Chancellor/Mudd/Brokaw family for the most part) but I respect the hell out of the work that he did---especially in the Middle East; he was above, and beyond the issue 30+ years ago.

Another in a long line of MONSTERS that are now gone. Get your fill of guys like this kids, somehow I don't think Z-Grade bloggers like dailykos and matt drudge will be mourned in the same way.

Speaking of the Middle East, I have always been a big fan of the Safari Jacket/Kaffeyeh combo for that night reporting from the desert..I think I will appropriate that look for the fall.

Another unrelated question but I'm sort of reminded since I saw an old cut of Jennings from Beirut: If the Syrians get the fuck out of Lebanon how long until I can take a fine tropical vacation (complete with the top-shelf hotels and casinos of old) in a rebuilt Beirut?

Also, can we reinstall a Shah in Iran?

Yeah, my gramma told me that Beirut at one point was the Veg-y of the Meditteranean. She also used to by "ancient" Persian rugs from dudes that would put 'em out in the road so cars would run over them.

I am all for bringing back The Shah...as is Ross Perot I'm sure.

Why can't dudes like Adnan Kashoggie peddle some massive influence on these suicide mongers.

That's the problem with these goat-fuckers. Even in the golden age of mid-east terrorism (Munich, the Akillelaro, various (especially 70's hijackings), there was some honor among thieves. Things are simply too uncivillized now. Blech.

That's the main problem with fanatics..they never know how to have fun.

hmph. Well, if not Beirut, think we'll gamble in Havanah in our lifetime?(now estimated at 12-15 years)

I hold out hope, but with busters like Audioslave propping up Castro, and the influx of neo-hippies and baseball scouts I think the allure is lost on me now...you are not Ward Littell.

says you

the baseball scouts are just seedy/scummy enough to be entertaining

a well trained police/security force should take care of the hippies; plus hippies don't hang out on beaches or at casinos very much....

Yeah, I mean those scouts would be great if we owned United Fruit or United Sugar, I am sure we could sell most of the workers at cut rate prices to these people. (You know Big Stein and that Moneyball kid would be in on owning a few people)

As for the hippies..I just envision being accosted at the airport by some new age Krishnas...its not gonna be like Momo and the Boys had it down there, no matter how hard we try. When you can gamble in almost every state of the union, it loses some of the allure to travel to a steaming hot island full of psychopaths trained from birth to despise you. Have you SEEN the machetes these buggers carry?

Well I was saving to go to Italy but I guess I could be persuaded...