November 19, 2003

M'SOFT BATTLES GLOBAL DISDAIN

It's hard to say who's playing to a tougher foreign audience - President Bush or Microsoft Corp. From Asia to South America to Europe, more and more governments are turning...

CONRAD'S BOOKS DON'T BALANCE, BUT HE'S BUSY HAWKING HIS OWN

Conrad Black isn't letting a growing financial scandal hinder his book tour. Black appeared yesterday at a Toronto bookstore to pitch his new biography on Franklin D. Roosevelt, and will...

EDGAR LEADS IN WARNER BIDDING

An investment group led by Edgar Bronfman Jr. and Haim Saban, once considered a dark horse, appears to be emerging as the frontrunner in the race for Warner Music. The...

REALITY BLACK-OUT ; BILLIONAIRE'S BRAGGING OUTRAGES SHAREHOLDERS

Conrad Black may have dug himself an even deeper hole yesterday. Black, who resigned in disgrace as Hollinger CEO Monday, was defiant - some might even say in denial -...

IT TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE: BLODGET COVERS MARTHA TRIAL

Henry Blodget, evangelist of the Internet era, is reporting on the trial of Martha Stewart, who is accused of performing her own glowing prognostications. It's like the Amazing Kreskin writing...

REGENT WALL ST. TO ROLL UP RED CARPET; REGENT WALL ST. TO SHUT ITS DOORS

In a big blow to downtown Manhattan, the luxurious, 144-room Regent Wall Street Hotel will close its doors on Jan. 15, its owners said yesterday. The Regent Wall Street, a...

TOP EXECS NAMED AT LVMH

A round of management shuffling was completed in the fashion world yesterday, with the widely anticipated confirmation of new chief executives at Donna Karan and Saks Fifth Avenue. Jeffry Aronsson,...

CRATE & BARREL EYEING BUDDHA BAR'S OLD SITE

LOOK out, Chelsea Market: Crate & Barrel may be headed to the Buddha Bar space. Sources say the home furnishings giant, which recently set up shop at Houston and Broadway,...

NEW FRONT IN WAR OF WORDS

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Securities and Exchange boss William Donaldson continued their verbal sparring yesterday. Donaldson hit first, saying that his critics, who have included the Spitzer,...

CARSON 'EYE' LANDS ON US ; FASHION MAVEN'S WRITING DEAL SAID TO BE WORTH $500K

CARSON Kressley, the fashion expert in the cable TV hit "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," has inked a deal with Us Weekly to become a regular columnist. The deal...

NYSE OKS REED OVERHAUL ; NYSE OKS OVERHAUL ; NYSE GIVES OK TO SMALLER BOARD

New York Stock Exchange members yesterday approved interim Chairman John Reed's sweeping proposal to overhaul the exchange's board and ruling structure. Early results last night showed the members, who have...

NASD ALLOWS PANEL ON OMNIBUS TRADES

The NASD agreed to a request by SEC Chairman William Donaldson that the group form an Omnibus Account Task Force to help the mutual fund industry better police itself against...

SILENT TYPE 'SMALLVILLE' STAR WON'T TALK

'SMALLVILLE" star Tom Welling says his personal life is off limits to the media. "I'm sorry but I don't want my whole life story spelled out for everyone," he tells...

HAIL, OCEANA!

OCEANA (four stars) 55 E. 54TH ST. AT MADISON AVENUE (212) 759-5941 CORNELIUS Gallagher, executive chef at Oceana, is the new master and commander of the deep. In the past...

GOOD WILL FRONTING

THE BEARD OF AVON At the New York Theatre Workshop, 79 E. Fourth St. Call Telecharge (212) 239-6200. IMAGINE Shakespeare as an oafish, balding Stratford guy hired by a touring...

JACKO TV SPECIAL LOOKS IFFY NOW

A police raid on Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch has CBS wondering what to do with its new Jacko special, slated to air next week. CBS declined to "speculate" if the...

IT'S 'ELF' BY BIDDING - NO KIDDING

CONSIDER this for the person on your Christmas list who really does have everything. New Line Cinema is currently auctioning off the Santa's sleigh used in Will Ferrell's No. 1...

ON THE SIDE ; OYSTER BAY STATE OF MIND

BILLY Joel, who grew up on Long Island, wants to revive the culinary atmosphere in the Oyster Bay area, close to the new home he bought on the island's Gold...

KISS OF DEATH; 'WIDOW' KILLED AFTER ONE SHOW

'THE Oldest Living Confederate Widow" turned out to be one of the shortest living Broadway shows. After opening Monday night to generally poor reviews, the $1.2 million one-woman play starring...

MEET THE 4-STAR KID! OCEANA'S CORNELIUS GALLAGHER IS GOTHAM'S NEW TOP CHEF

HE landed at Oceana as chef de cuisine just two weeks before Rick Moonen left and, two months later, took the helm. "I'm gonna rock this place," Cornelius Gallagher said...

STARR REPORT

Deb gets 'the get' "Inside Edition's" Deborah Norville has snared the first sit- down interview with Bethany Hamilton, the 13-year-old surfer whose arm was bitten off by a shark two...

DOES THIS GUY LOOK LIKE MAFIA BOSS YOU?

IT'S the newest twist in gang warfare: One of the gangs is the FBI. Welcome to the grim, ultra-violent world of "Line of Fire." This is the new crime series...

DUNGEON DRAGON DIDN'T EXPECT JAIL

JOHN Jamelske, the twisted Syracuse rapist who kept women chained up in his underground "dungeon" over a 15-year period, says he thought he'd only get a slap on the wrist...

EASY AS PIE: DON'T BE SCARED BY THE BIRD: AN ULTRA-SIMPLE THANKSGIVING

Even the most talented chefs has to dread Thanksgiving - what with those hours spent in the kitchen roasting and basting. And that's just for the bird - leaving little...

48 TRADERS BUSTED IN FED FINANCE RAIDS

Federal agents yesterday began rounding up 48 currency traders suspected of bilking their clients after a daring, months-long undercover probe, sources said. The first raids took place at Two World...

GUN BUST AT WAKE FOR DIDDY BUDDY

A man carrying a gun was arrested at the wake of Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' former bodyguard last night after someone told cops the pistol-packer once shot him, police sources...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

Manhattan A Manhattan woman heading to parent-teacher night with her 6-year-old daughter was injured yesterday when a minivan crashed into two parked cars and flipped over on the Upper West...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Christmas may have gone a little too high-tech in Kalamazoo, Mich., where kids who want to see Santa at a local shopping center are being handed pagers that beep and...

PRESS-ING THE CASE AGAINST BUSH

LONDON NOTEBOOKLONDON - Anyone who wonders why President Bush is such a controversial figure in Britain should just read the vitriol that's typical for some of the British press. Democratic...

DEAN'S 30-YR. ORDEAL; BODY OF LONG-MISSING BROTHER FOUND IN LAOS

WASHINGTON - The body of the brother of Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean has been found in Laos, where he was executed nearly 30 years ago by the communists, the...

COURT BOOSTS MARRIAGE FOR GAYS

The highest court in Massachusetts ruled yesterday that homosexual couples there can marry - and gay-rights advocates hope New York soon follows suit. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled 4-3 in...

TRAGIC LOSS WAS 'MOST TRAUMATIC' EVENT OF HIS LIFE

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean recalls his loving rivalry with his brother in his new book - and says Charlie's 1974 death in Laos was the worst tragedy...

NYPD TIX BLITZ HITS HATED HOMELESS SITE

The NYPD has taken its "ticket blitz" to the homeless. Residents of one of the city's most notorious homeless shelters received 228 summonses in a 28-day blitz by the 77th...

MASSIVE AIRSTRIKES HAMMER IRAQ REBELS

WASHINGTON - U.S. forces launched the biggest air assault on Iraq since the end of the war yesterday, pounding Ba'athist hideouts and ambush positions in Baghdad and other towns in...

SCANDAL DEMS: WHO, US?

Brooklyn Democratic boss Clarence Norman and his top lieutenant pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges of extortion and grand larceny stemming from an alleged shakedown of judicial candidates seeking the...

WTC IDEAS FOR MEMORIAL OUT TODAY

New Yorkers will get their first look today at the eight designs chosen as finalists in the Ground Zero memorial competition - proposals that are expected to generate controversy and...

BIG 6 FOR SEPTS; MIRACLE MCCAUGHEY 7 CELEBRATE B'DAY TODAY

The McCaughey Septuplets, those mischievous miracle munchkins from Iowa, are marking yet another milestone in their already historic lives - the Seven turn 6 today. The sibs started kindergarten this...

CAR SLAMS ONTO LIRR TRACKS

An elderly Queens man was in critical condition after rocketing his car onto the LIRR tracks near the Bayside train station yesterday morning. Jennifer Boyd, 29, who witnessed the bizarre...

A DREAM DIES ON THE MEAN STREETS

JUST like she does every morning, Kimberly Hill walked to her son's elementary school - but yesterday the 8-year-old was not beside her. The teary-eyed mother was going to PS...

PHILANTHROPIST HELPS HUNT FOR MISSING GIRL

Philanthropist Sale Johnson is appealing for help finding a 14-year-old girl who disappeared three weeks ago in Brooklyn. The missing teen, Joevanie Gardener, is the granddaughter of Johnson's long-time employee...

N.Y. RABBI'S SON IN GRISLY SUICIDE

A Brandeis University senior, the son of two Jewish scholars from New York, told friends he didn't "want to live anymore" before slashing his neck and jumping off a balcony...

JOLTING JAVA FINES MAY SENDS JOBS TO JERSEY

Small-business owners testified at the City Council yesterday that unfair fines - such as the one levied on a coffee company for producing coffee odors - are driving them to...

BLOOMBERG CALLS OUT THE DOGS OVER FOE GIFFIE GAFFE

Mayor Bloomberg called on good-government groups yesterday to denounce Council Speaker Gifford Miller, a probable rival in 2005, for allegedly crossing the line between politics and government. A Miller aide...

BOOT DUE FOR TRAIN-VID DUO

Federal authorities are moving to revoke the visas of two Iranian employees at their country's U.N. mission after they were spotted videotaping the subway in Queens, The Post has learned....

ATTORNEY: DAN BEAT GENEROSA

Danny Pelosi beat his late wife, Generosa Ammon, "on more than one occasion," a lawyer for the dead woman claimed in papers asking a Long Island court to dismiss Pelosi's...

CITY BUDGET GAP A BIT LESS CAVERNOUS

Mayor Bloomberg finally has some budget news to celebrate: the $2 billion deficit projected for next year has slightly declined. But the mayor wasn't donning any party hats. "We are...

'NO RECORD' OF ARAFAT'S MILLIONS

Yasser Arafat is receiving about $7 million a month in Palestinian funds - and most of it is unaccounted for, his official budget shows. The Palestinian president's office received a...

DUBYA PLAYS THE PALACE

LONDON - Even with thousands of protesters vowing to mess up President Bush's visit, he is still getting the full royal treatment here, where he slept last night at Buckingham...

JUDGE REJECTS MARTHA

Martha Stewart suffered a serious setback to her criminal defense yesterday when a judge refused to throw out two charges against her that carry a maximum 15-year prison sentence. Stewart,...

SLAY WITNESS TANGLED UP IN LIES

The brother of a pot dealer slain in a drive-by shooting yesterday fingered a reputed drug boss in the killing - but also admitted on the witness stand that he's...

TRAGIC 'POT' SHOTS; 'DIME BAG' SPARKED GUNFIRE THAT KILLED KID

Deasean Hill, the 8-year-old boy killed by a stray bullet just steps from his Brooklyn home, died because somebody sold a "dime bag" of pot on the wrong block, police...

KIMES TURNS ON MOM; KILLER GRIFTER TO RAT HER OUT IN SLAY

Fiendish "grifter" killer Kenny Kimes, convicted with his mother Sante of killing a wealthy Manhattan socialite, dramatically confessed yesterday to another murder - and agreed to spill his guts about...

RIKERS' 'BAD LOAN' OFFICER

A correction officer was arrested yesterday for attempting to steal $25,000 from a Rikers Island inmate who claims the money was in exchange for helping him escape. Heriberto Vasquez, 35,...

SCHOOL CHANGES ROCK ROCKAWAYS

A sweeping reorganization of schools in the racially divided Rockaways in Queens is running into choppy waters - with parents opposing the planned shutdown of its low-performing middle school. The...

COUPLE DIES IN 1ST-DATE CRASH

A young couple's budding romance ended in a burst of blood and twisted metal when a Staten Island man lost control of his speeding car and hit a power pole,...

JUDGE KOS RACKETS SUIT AGAINST DIDDY

A federal judge yesterday tossed a sensational lawsuit against Sean "P. Diddy" Combs in which a former business partner attempted to implicate the rap mogul in two murders. Manhattan judge...

SCHOOL AIDE BUSTED IN TEEN RAPE

A former employee at a Salvation Army-run school was arrested yesterday for allegedly having a four-month affair with a 14-year-old student. Scott Frazier, 32, was charged with 20 counts of...

MAYBE NOW HE'LL JOIN A CERTAIN 'PAL' BEHIND BARS

MAYBE they'll get the evidence on him this time. Maybe this time, all the whitewash, p.r. and back-stepping from Michael Jackson's spin machine won't make this, his latest accusation from...

PATIENT SLAMS 'KISSY' DOCTOR

A Brooklyn woman yesterday testified in graphic detail that her cardiologist opened her gown and kissed her breasts in his Upper East Side office. The woman, 42, who said she's...

WITHDRAWAL $YMPTOM ; RUSH'S 'SUSPICIOUS' BANK ACTIVITY SPURS CASH-LAUNDER PROBE

Conservative radio-show host Rush Limbaugh may be in more big, fat trouble for possibly violating state money-laundering laws while trying to hide the fact he was buying scores of painkillers...

FUGITIVE QNS. MAN NABBED IN LOVER-SLAY

A Queens man was arrested yesterday in the bludgeoning death of his live-in lover, police said. Ernesto Marmol, 60, also known as Ernesto Rosario, was busted last night while walking...

'DIRTY DOC' SLAM; PATIENT CLAIMS HE KISSED HER BREASTS

A Brooklyn woman yesterday testified in graphic detail that her cardiologist opened her gown and kissed her breasts in his Upper East Side office. The woman, 42, who said she's...

MOM HURT IN UPPER W. SIDE CRASH

A Manhattan woman heading to parent-teacher night with her 6-year-old daughter was injured yesterday when a minivan crashed into two parked cars and flipped over on the Upper West Side....

IDEAS ON WTC MEMORIAL WILL 'OVERWHELM'

The Twin Towers' footprints are the emotional focus of the eight final Ground Zero memorial proposals to be unveiled today - with the area where the buildings stood marked with...

ONE-TIME POP KING FEELING THE $QUEEZE

The latest sex-abuse allegation against Michael Jackson couldn't have come at a worse time for the Gloved One, who's rumored to be more the King of Poor than Pop right...

SLAY SUSPECT ON LAM, RELATIVELY SPEAKING

A Queens man was arrested yesterday in the bludgeoning death of his live-in lover, police said. Ernesto Marmol, 60, also known as Ernesto Rosario, was busted last night while walking...

GAY-MARRIAGE BOOST

The highest court in Massachusetts ruled yesterday that homosexual couples there can marry - and gay-rights advocates hope New York soon follows suit. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled 4-3 in...

STATEN ISLAND COUPLE DIE IN FIRST-DATE CRASH

A young couple's budding romance ended in a burst of blood and twisted metal when a Staten Island man lost control of his speeding car and hit a power pole,...

KID-PROTECT OFFICIALS ARE WACKO, TOO

THE latest volcano erupting around Michael Jackson came as no surprise to Dr. Carol Lieberman. "Whatever occurred at the Neverland Ranch was an accident waiting to happen," Lieberman was saying....

BLOOMBERG CALLS OUT THE DOGS OVER GIFFIE'S BLUNDER

Mayor Bloomberg called on good-government groups yesterday to denounce Council Speaker Gifford Miller, a probable rival in 2005, for allegedly crossing the line between politics and government. A Miller aide...

SHIPPING NEWS: GOP CRUISE IS STILL ON

WASHINGTON - The tiff between Mayor Bloomberg and Rep. Tom DeLay heated up yesterday as the powerful House leader said he was steaming ahead with a luxury-liner booze cruise at...

POLICE TIX BLITZ HITS HATED HOMELESS SITE

The NYPD has taken its "ticket blitz" to the homeless. Residents of one of the city's most notorious homeless shelters received more than 200 summonses in a 28-day blitz by...

NEW TEST FOR GRADY, COACH

It's rarely easy when a coach takes over a program as successful as Grady's, but Mark Seltzberg is facing more challenges than he initially expected. The Falcons' best player, Jamel...

AMAZIN'S SACK SINGER

Bill Singer's tenure with the Mets lasted exactly 12 days. As expected, the Mets fired Singer yesterday for his ethnically insensitive comments to Dodgers assistant GM Kim Ng at the...

ISLES NEED MORE FROM PECA'S LINE

SUNRISE, Fla. - If the Islanders are to dig themselves out of the current slump that has seen them lose three of their last four games, their second line of...

LANGENBRUNNER WENT FROM STAR TO STAR

He was anything but a throw-in. Now ex-Star Jamie Langenbrunner is becoming a star in his own right. It wasn't just by luck that the 28-year-old right wing salvaged that...

CLOTTEY BROTHERS SET FOR FOES

When Emmanuel and Joshua Clottey were growing up in Ghana, they used to play fight. Then, they started sparring together. Not long after that, the two brothers found themselves on...

BENGALS' TURN-AROUND SIMPLY MARV-ELOUS

COACH Marvin Lewis doesn't mind that his resurgent Bengals are starting to entertain visions of making the playoffs, or perhaps even a Super Bowl berth, as long as they keep...

OH, DEER - TIME'S HERE!

BIG-GAME hunting season is in full swing along the southern half of the state, but if you are planning to hunt in Suffolk County in January, you must file the...

DOC: DESIGNING STEROIDS IS EASY

The doctor who discovered THG told The Post yesterday that he could design 10 other designer steroids on paper in 30 minutes. "If I were to look at the steroid...

DAVIS PUTS BUZZ INTO HORNETS

Over the first 10 games, the Hornets' Baron Davis just might be the best point guard in the NBA. Jason Kidd's fans might want to read that last sentence again....

MESS TO PLAY OUTDOORS

SAN JOSE - The final authorization from Glen Sather still awaits, but with Mark Messier's announcement yesterday that he "really hopes to go," it is inconceivable that the Rangers captain...

TELLEM MAY GIVE YANKS EDGE ON KAZ

After the 2000 season, the Yankees signed Arn Tellem client Mike Mussina as their big free-agent score. After the 2001 season, the Yanks signed Tellem client Jason Giambi. After the...

FACE IT, BARRY: DOUBT AND MVPS GO HAND IN HAND

BARRY Bonds continued to do what no player has ever done when he won an unprecedented sixth MVP award yesterday and became the first man to win three straight. He...

NEW CHALLENGES FOR GRADY, COACH

It's rarely easy when a coach takes over a program as successful as Grady's, but Mark Seltzberg is facing more challenges than he initially expected. The Falcons' best player, Jamel...

SCOTT SAD TO SEE DOC GET PINK SLIP

NET NOTES Sad but not surprised. That was how Byron Scott took the news of the Magic's firing of Doc Rivers yesterday. "I feel bad for Doc because he's a...

VAN HORN SPRAINS ANKLE

KNICK NOTES Less than a day after scoring 21 points to help spark the Knicks to a come-from-behind win over Boston, Keith Van Horn sprained his right ankle 20 minutes...

(SIDE) SHOW TIME AT THE GARDEN: KOBE & CO. BRING SUBPLOTS GALORE

Tonight's Garden game against the Lakers will be one of the Knicks' most intriguing challenges so far this year, playing against the NBA's most dominant center, a lineup that coach...

K-MART: CALL ME DOUBLE TROUBLE

High teens - or 20, of course - and 10. Those are Kenyon Martin's numeric goals for the season. And he's right on a double-double path for points and rebounds,...

BARON PUTS BUZZ INTO HORNETS

Baron Davis isn't simply the best point guard in the NBA right now. The Hornet may be as good as anyone in basketball. "He's playing better than anybody in the...

ICY NETS CAN'T GET ON BOARD

Hornets 88 The Nets found themselves in the worst position imaginable last night; one that brought sweat to their brows, shortness of breath to their lungs, nightmares to their dreams....

WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR: GIANTS, JETS CAN REBUILD IF THEY FOLLOW POST'S PLAN

Any projections for the makeup of the 2004 Giants roster have to include the following caveat: Who's coaching the team? With Jim Fassel's seven-year run nearing an end, the next...

IT'S WAIT TIL NEXT YEAR: GIANTS, JETS CAN REBUILD IF THEY FOLLOW POST'S PLAN

As the Jets careen toward the end of their first playoff-free season under Herman Edwards, and toward their first losing record since Rich Kotite was in charge, we look toward...

PIAZZA DEAL ONLY WAY METS CAN LAND A-ROD

In order to get the superstar they want, the Mets first have to find out what's going on with the superstar they already have. Mike Piazza and his agent, Dan...

BEANTOWN-BOUND? BOSOX MAY MAKE PITCH FOR PETTITTE

It would be George Steinbrenner's worst nightmare. And suddenly it has life. Andy Pettitte, pitching for the Boston Red Sox. Sources said yesterday that the Yankees' arch rivals have expressed...

RANGERS GIVE AWAY LEAD, WIN

Rangers 2 Sharks 2 SAN JOSE - The road to early summers is littered with points lost to the league's refuse. Talk about a game there was no excuse not...

IT'S ALL ABOUT MIKE: DEALING PIAZZA ONLY WAY METS CAN ACQUIRE A-ROD

In order to get the superstar they want, the Mets first have to find out what's going on with the superstar they already have. Mike Piazza and his agent, Dan...