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American Morning
Iranian Newspaper Invites Holocaust Cartoons; Do the Grammys Matter?; Sudoku Mania
Aired February 08, 2006 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. This is AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Zain Verjee, in for Soledad.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miles O'Brien. We're glad you're here with us.
(NEWSBREAK)
VERJEE: Five people die today in protests over those cartoons offensive to Muslims. Those deaths are in Afghanistan, and as CNN's Tom Foreman reports now, it's no surprise that the violence is happening in places where Islamic extremists have the most influence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even in a region that produces much of the world's oil, millions of Muslims are barely connected to the global economy. They live on little money with few political rights. And that, analysts say, fuels their reaction to insults from the outside.
IMAM AJMAL MASROOR, ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF Britain: They are now allowed to freely express their views. And any opportunity they get, they jump on the bandwagon. So it's a whole mishmash of various political as well as social issues that all come to a head with this cartoon saga.
FOREMAN: Certainly al Qaeda has pushed hard for such a clash of civilizations, fanning resentment among poor Muslims into religious, cultural and militant zeal. Although Osama bin Laden and many of his lieutenants came from wealthy families, they have recruited among the poor and encouraged religious schools in poor areas to teach an intolerant brand of Islam.
That worries moderate Muslim who are offended by the cartoons but who also condemn the violence that has followed.
AHMED YOUNIS, MUSLIM PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL: The people that we see on TV are less than one percent of the Muslim masses.
FOREMAN: Still, that percentage, however small, is making a big noise now, just as Osama bin Laden has openly hoped it would.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: Hard-liners in Iran are adding their own fuel to the fire. now. An Iranian newspaper's inviting cartoonists to draw caricatures of the Holocaust.
Robin Oakley joins us live from London.
Robin, why did Iran decide to do this? Is there a political motive here?
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, it looks like a combination of motives, I think, Zain. First of all, of course, there have been crowds in the streets in Tehran over recent days, protesting their outrage over the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed. And we've seen a fire at the Norwegian embassy, not quite on the scale of the burning of embassies in Damascus and Beirut.
But I think what we're seeing here from this newspaper Hamshahri, which is staging this competition for cartoons about the Holocaust, is first of all, a retaliation by Muslims, and taking in the traditional enemy Israel in the protests in the process. But it's also, I think, reflecting the kind of mood we've seen from the President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has, after all, called for Israel to be wiped off the map and said that the Holocaust is a myth.
But some people, I think, in the E.U. are also seeing a political motive here, because E.U. countries have joined the United States now in seeking the reference of Iran to the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program, Zain.
VERJEE: How would Europeans react to something like this?
OAKLEY: Well, Europeans, for the most part, believe in freedom of expression. They believe that newspapers have the right to print what they want without government interference. But, of course, in many cases, people would like newspapers to show some restraint. And that's what European Union leaders are saying should happen now over these questions of the newspapers that keep on repeating the Danish cartoons.
People are saying, OK, let's have our freedom, but use it with discretion. At the same time, those Muslims who are demonstrating against the publication of the cartoons should not go beyond boundaries into violence -- Zain.
VERJEE: And in Europe, Robin, this really -- this controversy goes to the heart of issues of identity and integration, doesn't it?
OAKLEY: Well it does, yes. There are all sorts of problems. There are 15 to 20 million Muslims in the 25 countries of the European Union already. There's lots of tension about the prospect of Turkey coming in, an Islamic country, although an Islamic democracy. And people feel jobs at risk, they feel that the identity of certain neighborhoods where Muslim immigrants congregate is being changed.
All of that does lead to tensions, and there is this basic tension between people for whom religion is a major part of their lives and Westerners, for whom their religion is worn a little more lightly and allowing them to back ideas like freedom of expression -- Zain.
VERJEE: Robin Oakley in London, giving us some good European perspective there. Thanks, Robin.
Miles?
O'BRIEN: You going to watch the Grammys tonight?
VERJEE: I am going to try.
O'BRIEN: While you watch -- counting elephants?
VERJEE: While I'm counting elephants, yes.
O'BRIEN: A sure-fire way to put yourself to sleep, watch the Grammys, in my opinion.
VERJEE: So I take you are not watching?
O'BRIEN: I'm not a big Grammy fan.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" COLUMNIST: How about Sly Stone?
O'BRIEN: Oh, the Sly Stone, that would be worth. Is Sly Stone on there? Andy Serwer says Sly Stone's on.
SERWER: If he shows up, like he's always supposed to show up.
O'BRIEN: He's always -- he's in the house, maybe. A lot of folks will, others won't. It is past my bedtime, anyway. Do the Grammys really matter anymore? If you're nominated, the answer certainly is yes, you'd like them to matter.
CNN's Brooke Anderson is live in L.A. to give us the Grammy relevance test. Hello, Brooke.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. Only Andy would commit to watching the Grammys tonight. That's really funny.
To the nominees, certainly, the Grammys are very meaningful, but in recent years, the Grammys' telecast has experienced flagging ratings. So are people really watching like they used to? Well, not because of the ratings. That's a clear sign. So now we find out why the Grammys are still relevant.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): When the spotlight shines on music's biggest night, audiences can expect to see plenty of flash.
(SINGING) ANDERSON: And hear some incredible musical performances. But with the number of people actually watching the award ceremony on television shrinking, we asked the question why do the Grammys still matter?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Santana. Perhaps the biggest week of his career. He was already number one, so the record-buying public loves him, but he wins a bunch of Grammys and then he has an even bigger sales week the week after that.
ANDERSON: That was 1999. Fast forward to 2005. The Grammy telecast suffered in the ratings due in part to stiff competition from ABC's "Desperate Housewives."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last year's ratings were down, and yet I can tell you that there were at least 20 albums that I noticed that had noticeable sales impact because of what happened with that show.
ANDERSON: But there is far more at stake than just record sales that makes the Grammys so important to people like first-time nominee Kelly Clarkson.
KELLY CLARKSON, GRAMMY NOMINEE: I think the cool thing about the Grammys is that your peers are voting for you. You know, it's people in the music industry, the people that are working alongside you.
ANDERSON: And winning a Grammy can be even more powerful. Just ask Kanye West, a big winner at the 2005 Grammys who is up for eight awards this year.
KANYE WEST, GRAMMY NOMINEE: Yo, you could try to like downplay the awards and all that type of stuff, but winning a Grammy has really, like, advanced my career a lot. I've got a lot of sponsorships. I've got respect across the world.
ANDERSON: In recent years, the recording academy has worked hard to silence criticism that the voting members are out of touch by instituting a blue ribbon voting panel to make sure they're on the mark with their nomination.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of all the award shows, and our magazine happens to be involved with one, of all award shows, it's the biggest. It's the one that makes the biggest noise.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And the recording academy is hoping to make big noise tonight with a number of high-profile performances, including U2 and Mary J. Blige together, also Paul McCartney hitting the stage here for the very first time and Madonna.
Miles, back to you.
O'BRIEN: It's The biggest show, you think?
ANDERSON: That's what he said. For the music industry, it is music big night.
O'BRIEN: For the music industry. All right, a little asterisk on that.
All right, thank you very much, Brooke Anderson. Thanks for getting up early for us. Always a pleasure.
Andy, "Minding Your Business." Hello, Andy.
SERWER: Hello, guys,
Almost as big as our show. You can already use your phone to make phone messages, of course, send text messages, get sports scores, take pictures, listen to music, but what about buying a head of broccoli or a six-pack? That's the future, coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
VERJEE: As if there are not enough ways to spend your money, Andy is going to tell us about another way to spend the money we don't have, right?
SERWER: It has to do with your phone. And the phone is your friend, so many people think and indispensable to millions of us, and will becoming more and more so if Motorola gets its wish. The phone giant is looking to introduce a product called the M-wallet, the M- wallet, Which is a phone with a chip in it that will allow you to waive said phone over a scanner at a cash register, allowing you to perch items such as the aforementioned broccoli.
O'BRIEN: Purchase, not perch them.
SERWER: Purchase, that's what I said.
O'BRIEN: I'm just helping you.
SERWER: Oh, thank you. I thought I said purchase.
O'BRIEN: That's all right.
SERWER: OK, purchase or perch. Perch is a kind of fish you could purchase with broccoli and six-packs.
Now they have this service already in Asia, so we're behind. And Motorola has some problems here. They have to convince a wireless company such as T-Mobile or a Verizon to participate in this. It would be either a debit card service or a credit card service.
O'BRIEN: All right, here is the concern.
SERWER: Tell me your concern.
O'BRIEN: You're walking by a new car dealership and you open up your car, notice, and you bought a Ferrari. I mean, that could happen, because you've got your card out right.
SERWER: Or a Porsche.
O'BRIEN: Or a Porsche.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: That could get you in a pack of trouble, right?
VERJEE: But it would be fun.
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: You would have to hit a little button here.
O'BRIEN: Presumably.
VERJEE: Are you sure?
SERWER: Speaking of innovative things companies are doing. Have you heard the Timberland is up to, the shoe company, they have a new nutritional label on its boxes of shoes and goods, telling you where the product was made, how it was made, whether the environment was harmed in making this product, where it was manufactured, how it was produced, much like a nutritional label for a food product.
O'BRIEN: This is an eye test for our viewers, by the way.
SERWER: Take our word for it.
O'BRIEN: I guess you could call of filet of sole.
SERWER: That's very good. How about this one? No animals were hurt in the making of these leather shoes. The cow would have disagree, right?
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: Yes. Interesting stuff.
O'BRIEN: It might get under his skin, so to speak.
SERWER: Hide nor hair.
O'BRIEN: All right, Andy Serwer, thank you very much.
SERWER: Coming up, have you been seduced by Sudoku?
VERJEE: I'm trying to be. I've been working on this one during the course of the morning.
SERWER: That stuff is hard. I think it's hard.
VERJEE: You know, I'm struggling with it. I'm not good with numbers. I prefer the crossword puzzles.
O'BRIEN: Here is the thing.
VERJEE: It's hard. Miles, is it hard...
O'BRIEN: It take assess logical mind. And I'll just leave it at that.
VERJEE: Thank you very much! Let's take this outside.
O'BRIEN: We're going to give you a Sudoku primer her and explain why this is a craze.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: The first-ever world Sudoku championships will be held next month in Lucca, Italy. More proof this craze is reaching a critical mass. Now Google Sudoku, S-U-D-O-K-U, and you'll get about 50 million hits. Go to Amazon, you'll find no less than 15 books of these puzzles.
You confused about this? So were we. But then we met up with Will Shortz.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Here's the first puzzling thing about this game. What's with the name?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sudoku.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sudoku.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, I think it's Sudoku.
O'BRIEN: No, we're not calling the whole thing off. It's Sudoku. Repeat after me now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sudoku.
O'BRIEN: Much better. It's a contraction for "suji wa dokushin ni kagiru," Japanese for the digits must remain single. Now if you are math phobic, please do not adjust your dial. There's no arithmetic in this story and there will not be a quiz.
Although we are going to take a Sudoku 101 class with a real-life enigmatologist, or professor of puzzledom, if you prefer.
WILL SHORTZ, N.Y. TIMES PUZZLE-MASTER: The idea is to fill each row, each column, and each three-by-three box with the digits from one to nine, without repeating. That's all there is to it.
O'BRIEN: Easy peasy for Will Shortz, a man who needs no introduction among puzzlephiles. He presides over "The New York Times" crosswords and has built a cottage industry, churning out Sudoku books, a dozen so far.
(on camera): Each row, each column, each little box, has to have the digits?
SHORTZ: It's a game of pure logic. There's no math involved. You don't have to add or do any other math. And let me get you started on this one.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Will chalk-talked me through my first Soduku puzzle for me.
SHORTZ: I find generally speaking, it's best to attack three-by- three boxes across up and down, because you'll get the most clues the fastest that way. And let's look at nines in the top three rows of boxes.
O'BRIEN: While we're finishing this puzzle, a little background for you. Sudoku first appeared in a U.S. puzzle magazine in 1979. It was called Number Place. No wonder it didn't catch on. But it got a new life after the Japanese imported it, renamed it and launched the craze.
(on camera): And why are people so fascinated, do you think?
SHORTZ: You know, once you do a puzzle, you start to understand the addiction.
O'BRIEN: Uh oh. Now the whole thing is cascading. Is it cascading now?
SHORTZ: Oh, no, no, no, no.
O'BRIEN: How far -- how long ago did we do that? It was -- what do I have in there? Two twos?
SHORTZ: One, two, three, four, five, and six we're missing. Let's see here. And we did five. And six -- is this definitely...
O'BRIEN: There's a reason I'm in TV.
SHORTZ: We'll do it in pencil. First of all, it's easier. And secondly, if you make a mistake, you can erase and start over. You fill it in with pen and you make a mistake, you're dead.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): No. No pen for me any time soon.
(on camera): And six.
SHORTZ: That's it.
O'BRIEN: Are you sure we're OK?
SHORTZ: Because we already had a two in this box.
O'BRIEN: Oh, yes, yes, yes.
SHORTZ: There was a two there.
O'BRIEN: OK, so that was my mistake. Just that one little -- oh, we need a five across here, right?
SHORTZ: Yes. There it goes, yes.
O'BRIEN: And we're missing one, two, three, four. And now, the final -- we are missing on this one, two, three, four, five.
SHORTZ: You need a five.
O'BRIEN: And a six.
SHORTZ: That's it.
O'BRIEN: Five and a six. Five and six.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: So. What did you...
VERJEE: How did you do there?
O'BRIEN: I did very poorly. Thank God for Will. He's a good man, very patient man.
So who better to help us answer some questions about this than the Sudoku grandmaster, Edwin Marin (ph), or is it Marin? Which do you prefer? Marin. There he is. He will be joining us in 20 minutes to give us the best tips on solving Sudoku. He won the "New York Post," contest, won five grand and a trophy and he's going to try to explain his strategy. Although I have a feeling he doesn't want to tell too much, if you know what I mean? You know?
VERJEE: He'll give us some tips that are helpful.
O'BRIEN: For beginners.
VERJEE: For beginners.
O'BRIEN: Exactly.
VERJEE: The day's top stories are straight ahead.
Also, more people than ever turning to sleeping pills to get a good night's rest. But is it really the best cure in the long run? Dr. Sanjay Gupta will give us some answers.
Plus our special series on New York City's Fashion Week. We're going to look at why high-end designers like Isaac Mizrahi are making clothes for stores like Target, or "Tar-jay." That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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