Houston Mirror
HoustonMirror.com Thursday 11th March 2010 Issue 70/2010
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bullet On the record corner
"I believe the United States Congress owes the American people a final vote on healthcare reform. I ask Congress to finish its work, and I look forward to signing this reform into law."
Barack Obama
The U.S. president was speaking at the White House.

bullet Exchange Rates corner
$£€ United States, Dollar Euro Canada, Dollar Japan, Yen Mexico, Peso
United States, Dollar - 0.730 1.023 90.69 12.57
Euro 1.368 - 1.400 124.0 17.20
Canada, Dollar 0.976 0.713 - 88.58 12.28
Japan, Yen 0.011 0.008 0.011 - 0.138
Mexico, Peso 0.079 0.058 0.081 7.213 -

bullet More Houston News corner
Kendleton Isd May Shut Down
Court Oks Reciting Pledge Of Allegiance
Some Can Get Taxes Done For Free
Bank Robbers Lock Employees In Vault
Wiess Tabletop Theater Presents Sondheim's Company

bullet State News corner
Novacek's Wife Took Her Own Life, Medical Examiner Says
Kansas Topples Texas Tech For Milestone Win
Conjunto Great Ruben Vela Dies At 72
Jurors Sentence Newlywed Killer To Life
Binswanger Named Exclusive Agent For Marketing Of Magnificent, Fully Air-conditioned Former Telect/hendry Facility In Plano, Texas

bullet Movies corner
Renee Zellweger gifts $100 coffee voucher to paparazzo
Stewart banned from groping Fanning during kiss
Thurman's US flop gets only one viewer in London!
Pattinson to auction movie costumes for charity

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Breaking News
Cop Who Sold Pot Going To Prison
Robert Jones - defense attorney :46OUT OF A HOUSTON POLICE UNIFORM AND INTO AN ORANGE JUMPSUIT.. 31-YEAR-OLD TRACI TENNARSE WAS SENTENCED BY A JUDGE TO 7-YEAR IN PRISON.BACK IN JANUARY OF 2008, THE...

Teen Accused Of Hacking School Computers
A Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School Districts student has been accused of hacking into the school district's computer system, KPRC Local 2 reported Thursday.Harris County prosecutors said Richard...
Betty White To Host 'saturday Night Live'
The Internet has gotten its way: Betty White will host "Saturday Night Live." NBC said Thursday that the 88-year-old actress will host the show May 8. "SNL" executive producer Lorne Michaels says he...
More breaking stories
World News
Christian and Muslim sites being ignored by Israel, says U.S. State DepartmentChristian and Muslim sites being ignored by Israel, says U.S. State Department
The U.S. State Department has scolded Israel for only recognizing Jewish holy...

Ahmadinejad and Gates accuse each other of interferenceAhmadinejad and Gates accuse each other of interference
With official visits overlapping in Afghanistan, Iran's outspoken president and the US defence secretary have accused each other of interfering in local...
Proposal to outlaw salt in New York eateriesProposal to outlaw salt in New York eateries
A state legislator in New York wants salt banned from pre-packaged and restaurant...
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Business News
U.S. stocks recover in late tradingU.S. stocks recover in late trading
A surge in bank shares returned the major indices to the black Thursday, after rough sailing earlier in the...

Sri Lanka doing massive deals with ChinaSri Lanka doing massive deals with China
Sri Lanka will soon build a second international airport on the south of the island, with much of the money coming from...
BA strike to go ahead after talks failureBA strike to go ahead after talks failure
There has been no agreement reached between British Airways and the Unite...
More business stories

bullet Diehard fans defend 'worst ever' Whitney Houston concert corner

Fans walked out on Whitney Houston and her tour manager hid from critics after a Melbourne concert that at best revealed 'added flaws that give her character', and at worst was 'as terrible as everyone said it was'.

Tuesday's reviews echoed earlier accounts of dates on the Australian leg of her first world tour in 10 years.

'Houston is a mere shadow of the diva she once was,' Robyn Riley wrote in the Herald Sun. 'She deserves credit for putting it out there and giving it her best shot, but these days her best shot falls well short of the mark.'

Bianca Allaway, who left before fellow fans helped Houston through to the end of show-stopper I Will Always Love You, said: 'It was the worst concert ever.'

Laurie Caulfield told The Australian newspaper of a 90-minute show punctuated by lengthy rest breaks and a 15-minute costume change. 'We went in with an open mind, but it really was as terrible as everyone said it was,' he said.

Houston, who has sold 170 million records, was flayed for concerts in Brisbane and Sydney in which she forgot lyrics, had coughing fits and mistook the names of her band.

The same barbs were levelled against the 46-year-old after the first of two Melbourne gigs.

'It was very disappointing to see and hear Whitney attempt songs when she does not have the capacity to hold a note, sing in key or keep time with the band,' Michael Boyd wrote to his local paper. 'I can't believe the promoter would allow such a performance to continue.'

Fans sprang to Houston's defence, with Zoe Wiles arguing in a letter to the Sun Herald: 'People need to be realistic. Yes, it probably wasn't as good as it would have been had the concert been held 20 years ago, but as a whole it was great.'

Promoter Andrew McManus refused comment on the Melbourne show.

'It is what it is,' he said after negative reviews in Brisbane and Sydney. 'She's comfortable with the show she's performing. She knows she's not hitting every note like she used to. But it's value for money. It's Whitney Houston, warts and all.'


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    bullet Houston Weather corner
    Houston, Texas
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    bullet Movie Review corner

    bullet National News corner
    Obama donates Nobel Peace Prize money
    US raises concerns about human rights in Pakistan
    Won't mind falling in love with a woman: Lady Gaga
    Obama names Hillary Clinton authority for India n-deal
    Obama names Clinton as certification authority of Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear deal

    bullet U.S. Business corner
    Defects unable to stop Toyota sales in US
    Chrysler takes Volkswagen exec to run Fiat
    Kansas City school district shrunken to reduce deficit

    bullet Record Your Vote corner
    Do you believe Gordon Brown will still be prime minister of the UK after the forthcoming elections?


    bullet Hotel Review corner
    Hotel InterContinental Singapore
    Hotel InterContinental Singapore

    I took a taxi from Changi International Airport, and arrived about 15 minutes later at the InterContinental. The cab fare was...


    bullet Space corner
    Meteorites could have kick-started life on earth 4 billion years ago
    Mysterious cosmic 'dark flow' tracked deeper into universe
    Students who understand Earth's geological age are more likely to accept human evolution
    Einstein's General Theory of Relativity passes biggest cosmic test