I N T E R N A T I O N A L
16 Pages Number 44 5th year
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
Price: Rp 3.000,-
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Letters from Lennon killer to NY cop on sale in LA Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK — Letters from John Lennon’s killer detailing his obsession with the novel “The Catcher in the Rye” to the police officer who arrested him went on sale Monday through a Los Angeles auction house. The four missives from Mark David Chapman to Stephen Spiro are for sale through Moments In Time, which specializes in historical documents and rare autographs, at a fixed price of $75,000, auction house owner Gary Zimet said. Zimet is selling the letters on behalf of Spiro, who arrested Chapman on Dec. 8, 1980, shortly after he shot Lennon outside The Dakota, the ex-Beatle’s Manhattan apartment building. The letters are typed and signed by Chapman. They were written over several months in 1983, after he had pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. In the first letter, from Jan. 15, 1983, Chapman says his reason for
writing, besides wanting to be Spiro’s friend, is to ask for help in locating his copy of “The Catcher in The Rye,” which he was reading at the time of his arrest. “Have you read ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ yet?” Chapman asks. “I would like you to read it and tell me what you think of it. As you remember, in the copy that was taken from me I had written ‘This is my statement.’” Spiro said he received the first letter at the Manhattan precinct where he worked and wrote Chapman back because he was hoping to get evidence on a possible hit list of other victims and people acting with Chapman. “I was trying to get information from him to admit why he
did it and what his motives were,” said Spiro, who had the other letters sent to a post office box. In one letter, Chapman said he’d let Spiro decide whether Lennon was a “phony” or not, a reference to troubled “Catcher in the Rye” narrator Holden Caulfield, who refers to people as “phonies” in the book, written by J.D. Salinger. Spiro said he re-read the novel on Chapman’s request. “I wanted to try to relate to him in the letters,” he said. The letters stopped abruptly, and Spiro said he believes someone told Chapman not to write to the police department anymore. An injury ended Spiro’s job as a New York police officer in 1983, but he said he kept the letters in a file for more than 30 years. He decided to sell them in part to pay off hefty medical bills from cancer and other illnesses and because he thought they should be in the public domain.
‘Argo,’ ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ win at Writers Guild
Photo by Todd Williamson/Invision/AP
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES — The CIA thrillers “Argo” and “Zero Dark Thirty” have won top screenplay honors from the Writers Guild of America. The guild’s adapted screenplay award Sunday went to Chris Terrio for “Argo,” director Ben Affleck’s tale of the CIA’s daring masquerade of six U.S. diplomats as a Hollywood film crew to rescue them from Iran during the hostage crisis there. Mark Boal won the prize for original screenplay for “Zero Dark Thirty,” director Kathryn Bigelow’s chronicle of the CIA’s manhunt for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Director Malik Bendjelloul won the documentary award for “Searching for Sugar Man,” his portrait of acclaimed but largely forgotten 1970s musician Rodriguez. The guild was the last of Hollywood’s major trade unions to weigh in on the year’s top films before next Sunday’s Academy Awards. “Argo” has emerged as the best-picture favorite for the Oscars after sweeping top prizes at earlier film honors, including the Golden Globes and awards from the Directors Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild and the Producers Guild of America. Among the guild’s TV winners:
- Drama series: “Breaking Bad,” written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz and Moira Walley-Beckett. - Comedy series: “Louie,” written by Pamela Adlon, Vernon Chatman and Louis C.K. - New series: “Girls,” written by Judd Apatow, Lesley Arfin, Lena Dunham, Sarah Heyward, Bruce Eric Kaplan, Jenni Konner, Deborah Schoeneman and Dan Sterling. Jessica Chastain attends the 2013 Writers Guild Awards at the JW Marriott on Sunday, Feb. 17., 2013 in Los Angeles.
Entertainment
WEATHER FORECAST 23 - 32 Dps
e-mail: info_ibp@balipost.co.id online: http://www.internationalbalipost.com. http://epaper.internationalbalipost.com.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013 Chavez back in Venezuela, on Twitter with four million followers
Nani inspires United to laboured Cup win over Reading
Workers and police clash at airport during Iberia strike
Page 6
Page 8
Page 13
AP Photo/New York State Department of Corrections, File
FILE - This May 15, 2012 file photo provided by the New York State Department of Corrections shows Mark David Chapman at the Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, N.Y.
Used for camping for two days, Bedugul slope cleared The beautiful scenery of Bedugul is threaten to be damaged due to the extensive removal of tress in the area. Tabanan (Bali Post)—
Forest clearing emerged in the slope of Bedugul tourist area, Candikuning village, Baturiti. Actually this area belongs to protected forest. Uniquely the clearing was only used for camping for two days by an environmental group. The cleared area reaches about 200 square meters and is located just in the southern verge of Lake Beratan. As monitoring made by Bali Post on Monday (Feb 18), the cleared land resembled a parking area project. The whole wild plants were cleared and cleaned up, while large trees were untouched. Two tents were still visible at the site, including a small building resembling a toilet made of woven bamboo. The land cleared was verging with
the lakeside and the green slopes of Bedugul. Location of the clearing was also adjacent to an inn. Such land clearing was a little awkward because the Baturiti subdistrict authority was not aware of the action, including its designation. Baturiti subdistrict head, Putu Adi Supraja, admitted not to hear about the forest clearing activity at the
lakeside. This official only learned after asking for an explanation from the hamlet chief of Candikuning 2. “No prior coordination was made related to the land clearing. But, according to local hamlet chief, it was said to be used for camping,” he said via phone. He confirmed to immediately trace the existence of such forest clearing area. Hamlet chief of Candikuning 2, Nyoman Redana, justified the forest clearing. However, he affirmed the clearing was only carried out to shrubs. According to him, the land was used for disaster response training by local youths in cooperation with the National SAR Agency (Basarnas). “It’s for the disaster
response training camp, while the camp ground is at Wana Pesona Candikuning,” said Redana. Why should it clear the forest? The man could not explain. He admitted just to learn it after a call from the Baturiti subdistrict head. Redana had confidence if the forest clearing had got approval from the Natural Resource Conservation Agency (BKSDA) as the responsible agency for the protected forest area. “Reportedly, the training also involves the BKSDA,” he said. The training and camping were held over two days ago. Clearing of the lakeside reaped criticism from some residents around the lake. They worried the land
IBP/File
clearing would result in a landslide because it was located on a cliff and verging with the lake. “It’s a protected forest, why it should be cleared?” criticized a resident of Candikuning asking to unpublish the name. Another bizarre thing, if it was only used for a two-day camping, it was necessary to open a new land in the protected forest area. Moreover, Candikuning had many open spaces that could be used for camping and outbound activities. Residents worried if the land clearing would be followed by other activities on the lakeside. Headman of Candikuning, Made Mudita, could not be contacted regarding such conditions. (kmb30)