December 16, 2003
PUSH ON GRASSO PAY ; OFFICIAL WANTS NYSE TO DISCLOSE PROBE FINDINGS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amNorth Carolina Treasurer Richard Moore is pushing the New York Stock Exchange to disclose details of a confidential report on Dick Grasso's pay that the Big Board's management is trying...
SARBANES DRIVES COS. OFF MARTS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amTougher accounting standards in the wake of the Enron debacle have driven more companies to flee public markets, a new survey finds. The number of public companies going private has...
HOLLINGER TALKS TO HICKS ON BUYOUT
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amEmbattled Canadian newspaper baron Conrad Black is in talks with buyout firm Hicks Muse Tate & Furst to help him avoid a cash crunch at Hollinger Inc. Black has been...
FOR STOCKS, WAL-MART OUTWEIGHS SADDAM
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amIT'S hard to keep Wall Street enthused when something really important happens when the Street has been enthused about unimportant things for so long. I'll explain: The stock market has...
DILLER RESISTS GORE CHARM, WON'T AID NETWORK
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amWith Barry Diller blocking his plans to buy a cable network, former Vice President Al Gore decided that it might be time for a sit-down. The two got together last...
NBC'S HEIR-TIME ; ZUCKER LOOKING LIKE WRIGHT SUCCESSOR AFTER PROMOTION
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amJeff Zucker took a giant step yesterday toward eventually running both NBC and Universal. Zucker will take on a host of new responsibilities and become a group president as part...
MICROSOFT'S MUSIC PLAY AIMS TO PUT APPLE'S ITUNES IN JUICER
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amStop us if you've heard this one before. Apple Computer has a critically acclaimed but closely held technology. It's threatened by a Microsoft standard, which may or may not be...
NEWS AMERICA UPS SPACE WITH MAJOR LEASE REVAMP
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amTHE Post's parent company, News America Inc., has just completed what may be the year's biggest lease transaction - a complex restructuring, extension and expansion at 1211 Sixth Ave., the...
FAO FAILS TO ATTRACT BIDDERS BY DEADLINE
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amFAO Inc.'s sale deadline passed without a buyer yesterday, meaning the company will be sold in pieces, if at all. The company's stores, including the flagship FAO Schwarz store on...
SEC GOES AFTER 2 AT HEDGE FUND
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amFlexing its muscles in the hedge fund arena, the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday slammed two executives at a fund that wasn't registered with the agency. The case represents the...
'SURVIVOR' RATINGS A REAL WINNER
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amSUNDAY'S "Survivor: Pearl Islands" finale snared 25.4 million viewers, carrying CBS to an easy prime-time victory. The finale, which aired from 8 to 10 p.m. (followed by a one-hour "reunion"...
HITTING THE WAL ; BARGAIN HOUND LISA MARSH DOES HER MAJOR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING IN THE POCONOS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amNEW YORKERS are genetically programmed to look for a bargain. Whether it's pocketbooks on Canal Street or chinoiserie from Chinatown, we want it to be cheaper - and preferably accompanied...
TOUR OF 'THE RINGS': A TOLKIEN LOOK AT HOBBIT HISTORY - IN TIME FOR 'RETURN OF THE KING'
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amSO, we know the king is returning - but where has he been? Unless you've just sat through a seven-hour viewing of the first two installments, you might need a...
TOP OF THE WORLD: YOUR TOTAL GUIDE TO THE BIG 'IDOL' RECITAL
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amIT'S a small "World Idol" after all. A new global talent show airing on Christmas night on Fox will pit the winners of 11 different versions of "American Idol" against...
TV'S TOP LEGAL EXPERTS SALIVATING FOR CHANCE TO DEFEND DICTATOR
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amTHE trial of Saddam Hussein - on TV! The prospect of a televised war-crimes trial of the "Butcher of Baghdad" was a real possibility yesterday. President Bush says he is...
FDA SMOOTHES THE WAY
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amA new wrinkle-remover just won the FDA seal of ap proval - and doctors say Restylane is likely to re place collagen as the filler of choice. "It lasts for...
DISC THE HALLS ; 'IDOL' HANDS DO SANTA'S WORK
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amIT'S easy to feel you're missing out on the goodwill of the season when you're stuck in some mall. Or maybe you're just pining for the way things were when...
DIANE'S LUCKY BREAK
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amDIANE Sawyer might as well have won the lottery. In what may be considered a stroke of incredible luck, ABC's Sawyer will be the first network correspondent to interview George...
STARR REPORT
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amChris' Penny ante "I'm with Her" co- creator Chris Henchy has corralled director Penny Marshall for an episode of the ABC sitcom set to air in February. "We're trying to...
FISHNET FETISH: SEXY TREND TAKES OFF LIKE A ROCKETTE
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amHere are the Rockettes like you've never seen them before - modeling the latest look in legwear just for The Post. While bare legs are so last season, this winter's...
HOW TO SHED THE POUNDS : LONDON FOR JUST $114 A DAY? IT CAN BE DONE, AND DAVID LANDSEL SHOWS YOU
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amFOR those who've been living under a rock, let's bring you up to speed: It's never been cheaper to get to London. For months, travelers have been spoiled by $198...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amBronx Cops yesterday were asking for help in capturing this man (right), who they say beat and raped a woman in her Bronx apartment. The violence began at around 9:30...
WEDDING BELLS FOR AL D'AMATO
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amFormer Sen. Al D'Amato didn't have to filibuster to ask his girlfriend Katuria Smith to marry him. In fact, he didn't say a word. The longtime Republican senator from New...
ALBANY GOES EBAY ; STATE PUTS SURPLUS ODDS & ENDS UNDER THE HAMMER ONLINE
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amALBANY - New York state is joining the legions of Internet users who have caught eBay fever, selling hundreds of thousands of items online at bargain-basement prices to a slew...
PUNK'S SUCKER PUNCH SENT HUNK TO THE HOSPITAL
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amTHE TEACHER'S STORY Osagie Ehigie, a teacher who practices martial arts, may wind up requesting a safety transfer out of his Bronx middle school. The young instructor said he still...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amBetter think twice before bringing Broadway to Bluffton, S.C. Pols there have banned a production of the award-winning show "The Vagina Monologues" from the Town Hall auditorium because the title...
VICIOUS ATTACKS COMMON, SAY TERRIFIED TEENS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amTHE STUDENT'S STORY Teenage pals Roberto Sanchez and Jason Manco hope to go to college and eventually launch a club-promotions business together, but they admit they're afraid they'll never get...
ARAB MEDIA REACTS ANGRILY TO HAGGARD HUSSEIN
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amAl-Jazeera TV led the Arab world in covering the capture of Saddam Hussein, portraying it as an earth-shattering - and deeply humiliating - event. The Qatar-based satellite station was among...
DOW TO PAY $2M FINE IN PESTICIDE SUIT
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amALBANY - A Dow Chemical Co. subsidiary has agreed to pay a record $2 million fine to the state for illegally advertising safety claims of their products, state Attorney General...
COWARDLY LYIN' SADDAM BUSH WHACKS SCARED[[U1;U1]]Y-RAT FOR CRAWLING IN HOLE
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush took a shot at captured Saddam Hussein yesterday, bidding "good riddance" to the Iraqi tyrant - and painting him a coward. "The world is better off...
AWARD OF THE 'RINGS'
December 16, 2003 | 5:00am"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" is opening in theaters today - but it has already taken its first step on the road to a Best...
BLOOMBERG ON CAPTURE
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amThe capture of Saddam Hussein will do little to combat the threat of terrorism around the world, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday. "I think it's of marginal help to the confidence...
HAMMER-BASHED SAMARITAN LOSES EYE
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amA Long Island man tried to break up a barroom brawl between his friend and another man - and ended up being attacked with a hammer and losing an eye....
BULLY'S DEATH THREAT FORCES STAR GOALIE TO TRANSFER OUT
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amTHE ATHLETE'S STORY The star goalie of Jamaica HS's championship soccer team has been quietly transferred to another school after a bullying student threatened his life, The Post has learned....
WINONA'S PROBATION ROLE WINS RAVES FROM JUDGE
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amBEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Winona Ryder won glowing reviews yesterday from a judge, who might reduce the sticky-fingered actress' shoplifting convictions from felonies to misdemeanors. Los Angeles County Superior Court...
DEAN: STILL A DOVE; HAWK TALK ALL SCHLOCK
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amIT would be inaccurate to say that Howard Dean, the candidate of the anti-war Left, is now moving toward the center. It would be more precise to say that the...
APPLE STAYS ON LOW-MURDER HOT STREAK
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amThe city could end the year with fewer than 600 murders - only the second time that's happened in four decades, Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday. Savoring every moment of more...
RIDE-SCANDAL POL FACES NEW RAP
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amThe Albany district attorney said yesterday a grand jury probing Brooklyn Democratic Assemblyman Roger Green will likely soon take up new allegations against him. The panel is already determining if...
HOWARD HAMMERS 'RADICAL' PRESIDENT
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Howard Dean yesterday slammed President Bush, saying his White House was dragging America in a "radical and dangerous direction." In stinging words during a foreign policy speech in...
TA SLASHES 468 SUBWAY JOBS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amAs a chorus of protesters booed, the Transit Authority slashed hundreds of jobs yesterday in a cost-cutting move that will save the agency $46 million. The TA, which runs city...
UNHOLY HEIST ; BROOKLYN THUG STEALS DONATED 12G FROM PRIESTS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amAn armed robber stole more than $12,000 from a Brooklyn church, holding up one priest at gunpoint and fighting with another before he fled with the money, police said. The...
$2.3B CITY DEFICIT LOOMS: COMPTROLLER
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amThe city could face a $2.3 billion budget deficit next year - over $400 million larger than projected by the Bloomberg administration, Comptroller William Thompson reported yesterday. Thompson said he...
COUNCIL OKS LEAD CLEANUP BILL
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amThe City Council yesterday approved a controversial bill that toughens landlords' obligations to clean up debris from poisonous lead paint. Speaker Gifford Miller described the bill as the "most effective,...
SADDAM'S SECRETS: PAPERS BARE HIS TERROR CONTACTS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Saddam Hussein's capture has yielded a treasure trove of secrets that led yesterday to the arrests of two key leaders of the Iraqi terrorist resistance. U.S. officials said...
GAL INDICTED IN INHERIT SWINDLE
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amA Harlem woman accused of stealing her cousin's inheritance by claiming he didn't exist was indicted yesterday on charges carrying up to 15 years in prison, authorities said. Queens prosecutors...
POLICE MOUTHPIECE MOVING ON
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amMichael O'Looney, the NYPD spokesman, has resigned after two years as the department's press secretary to take take a position as vice president for corporate communications at Merrill Lynch, Commissioner...
JUDGE: AUNT TOLD ME TO BLOW HER $$
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amAn embattled Brooklyn judge took the witness stand in Manhattan yesterday, where he said he blew through his ailing aunt's fortune because that's what the nonagenarian wanted him to do....
BODY MAY BE EX-POST FOREMAN'S
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amFederal investigators believe they've unearthed the body of a former New York Post employee - who was bumped-off by the mob 11 years ago to prevent him from singing about...
DEA MAN'S 140G HABIT ; HE SCAMMED AND MOONLIGHTED: FEDS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amAn ex-top DEA official in New York was hammered with a 214-count indictment yesterday for allegedly embezzling nearly $140,000 and ordering agents to conduct probes across the United States and...
WEEPY TRANSIT $CAMMER OFF TO SLAMMER
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amA mobbed-up check cashier who laundered more than $7 million stolen from the MTA blubbered as a federal judge ordered him to serve 6½ years behind bars yesterday. Disgraced cashier...
STAR FIRE TRAGEDY ; OSCAR-WINNER'S KIN DIES IN QNS.
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amThe 6-year-old nephew of Academy Award-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden was killed in a raging fire touched off by a candle's flame that ignited a sofa in his family's Queens...
KOZ EVEN HAD $3G HANGERS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amHow do you spend $7 million to furnish a single New York City co-op? Manhattan prosecutors released 300 pages of invoices yesterday that show how tainted Tyco tycoon Dennis Kozlowski...
WHAT A LOUSE-Y HOTEL; LEONA'S BEDBUGS ATE US UP: SUIT
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amLeona Helmsley apparently never told the bedbugs not to bite. A Mexican man and his son have filed suit against Helmsley's Park Lane Hotel charging they were devoured by bedbugs...
CLOTHING-LABEL CLUE IN OLD ENTOMB SLAY
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amA union label stitched into the clothing found inside a Manhattan building alongside a female skeleton suggests the young murder victim was killed 15 years ago - and not in...
CITY AGENCIES NOW TO SPEAK 6 LANGUAGES
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amNew Yorkers seeking social services will soon be able to get help in six languages. A bill passed yesterday by the City Council requires the Human Resources Administration to provide...
BX. SCHOOL TO GET NEW HOME
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amA new public-private financing venture will enable a Bronx charter school to move into its own $4.7 million facility, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein announced yesterday. Civic Builders Inc., Bank of...
CIRCLE JULY 1ST ; IRAQI SETS SIGHTS ON EXECUTION AFTER TRIAL
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amIraqi leaders said yesterday that they can't wait to put captured dictator Saddam Hussein on trial for human-rights abuses, and that he could be dragged into court in a matter...
BUTCHER IN CUSTODY
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amThe capture of Saddam Hussein will do little to combat the threat of terrorism around the world, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday. "I think it's of marginal help to the confidence...
COWARDLY LYIN' SADDAM ; BUSH WHACKS SCAREDY RAT FOR CRAWLING IN HOLE
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush took a shot at captured Saddam Hussein yesterday, bidding "good riddance" to the Iraqi tyrant - and painting him as a coward. "The world is better...
MOWED DOWN ; MOM WITH BAGS OF GIFTS HIT BY VAN
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amA thoughtful mom of four, lugging an armful of Christmas presents to coworkers at a local hospital, was critically injured yesterday when she was mowed down and then trapped under...
L.I. MAN SLAYS LOVER, BOY: COPS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amA Long Island man brutally stabbed his live-in girlfriend to death because she caught him cheating on her - then coldbloodedly strangled her 11-year-old son to silence him, police said....
AGREEMENT AT LAST OVER WTC PLANS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amWarring architects Daniel Libeskind and David Childs finally agreed yesterday on a compromise design for Ground Zero's Freedom Tower that will allow work on what will be the world's tallest...
JACKO SEX CHARGES THIS WEEK
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amLOS ANGELES - Prosecutors plan to file child-molestation charges against Michael Jackson on Thursday afternoon or Friday morning, according to the Santa Barbara, Calif., district attorney. Sheriff's deputies raided the...
WRONGLY JAILED 'SEX ABUSER' TO GET $5M
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amA former Bronx day-care worker - wrongly jailed for seven years on sex-abuse charges - has landed a $5 million settlement from the city. It's the largest settlement in a...
S.I. WORKER DECAPITATED IN 'RESCUE'
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amA construction worker was decapitated and another hurt yesterday in a freak accident on Staten Island. Two employees of Formica Construction were digging a ditch in the street to install...
KOZ EVEN HAD $3,000 COAT HANGERS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amHow do you spend $7 million to furnish a single New York City co-op? Manhattan prosecutors released 300 pages of invoices yesterday that show how tainted Tyco tycoon Dennis Kozlowski...
DOW PAYS STATE $2M CHEM FINE
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amALBANY - A Dow Chemical Co. subsidiary has agreed to pay a $2 million fine to the state for illegally advertising safety claims of their products, state Attorney General Eliot...
HOWARD'S HATEFEST
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amYOU won't be seeing any video of Howard Dean's x-rated, epithet-ridden New York fund-raiser because Team Dean made sure to bar the TV cameras. Which suggests they expected trouble. Maybe...
CLASSROOM EXTRA: BYE, BYE, CONCORDE
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amThe aviation world recently marked the end of an era when the world's first commercial supersonic jet, the Concorde, made its last trans-Atlantic flight. What's it like to fly faster...
TWO INCINERATED IN MERC CRASH
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amTwo people were killed in a fiery crash early today when their car hit a pillar near a Queens subway station, police said. The car, a 2000 Mercedes, burst into...
THUGS RUN WILD IN TROUBLED HS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amA rowdy, obscenity-spewing student was busted at Far Rockaway HS yesterday - just as schools chief Joel Klein and top City Hall, police and union officials were privately huddling only...
RUDY GIVES ISRAEL MOB-BUSTING TIPS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amJERUSALEM - Former Mayor Giuliani brought his crime-fighting savvy to Israel yesterday, saying a good way to halt Israel's escalating mob war is to freeze assets of underworld families. Arriving...
PROSTATE CANCER OP FOR POWELL
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Secretary of State Colin Powell is expected to be back at work by next month following successful surgery yesterday to treat prostate cancer. Powell, 66, a war hero,...
SHOPPER CRITICAL AFTER VAN HITS HER
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amA woman out Christmas shopping was critically injured yesterday when she was run down and trapped under a van on the Upper East Side. "I heard a woman screaming then...
SADDAM SHAMES PALS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amSupporters of Saddam Hussein in the New York area are "dismayed" that the once-defiant Iraqi leader surrendered sheepishly to U.S. forces, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday, citing information from...
HILL ADDS FAINT PRAISE FOR 'FINALLY' CATCHING HIM
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amSen. Hillary Clinton said yesterday she was "thrilled" that Saddam Hussein had been captured, but warned the United States was turning power too quickly over to the Iraqis. "I was...
ALL HOPE IS LOST
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amIt's almost impossible to imagine that it could get any worse, any uglier or any more humiliating for the Giants than the 45-7 shellacking they took in New Orleans on...
JET REPORT CARD: NO QUITTING HERE
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amQUARTERBACKSEven though he went through a second consecutive game without leading the offense to a TD, Chad Pennington (15-of-25, 144 yards, 76.1 rating) moved the team and was efficient on...
GIANTS REPORT CARD: NICE EFFORT, GUYS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amQUARTERBACKSWith help, Jesse Palmer (15 of 26, 140 yards, 1 TD) might have squeezed a respectable showing out of this mess. He got none. Field vision just isn't there yet.RUNNING...
YOU WON'T RECOGNIZE NEXT YEAR'S GIANTS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amMANY of the Giants weeks ago played Jim Fassel out of a job. Now they're playing themselves off the team. As much as GM Ernie Accorsi insists it's not smart...
HEISMAN-WINNER WHITE: PLAYOFF THE WAY TO GO
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amDon't get Jason White wrong. He's thrilled about playing in the national championship game when Oklahoma faces LSU in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4. Still, even the Oklahoma quarterback...
VAN HORN VANISHING AT CRUCIAL JUNCTURES
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amKeith Van Horn is no magician, but his disappearing acts are uncanny. They're also becoming troublesome. For the past two games, the Knicks' starting small forward was riveted to the...
HERM RIPS HORN FOR TAUNTING
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amJET NOTES Shortly after Herman Edwards arrived to Weeb Ewbank Hall yesterday, shortly after 4:30 a.m., he began hearing staff members talking about the ridiculous antics of Saints receiver Joe...
ISLES PUMPED FOR REMATCH
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amThey were still showing highlights on TV yesterday of last week's overtime goaltending duel between the Islanders' Garth Snow and the Devils' Martin Brodeur. Among the highest of those highlights...
DUNHAM: DON'T BLAME ME
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amThe statistics say Mike Dunham's confidence should be shaken thanks to his recent shaky play. Dunham says nothing rattles him, that he's merely been blindsided by bad bounces. The statistics...
POWER BROKERS ; SUPERSTAR ADDITIONS MAKE AL EAST MAJORS' BEST
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amNEW ORLEANS - You know what is amazing about the AL East? That Vladimir Guerrero, Alex Rodriguez and Pudge Rodriguez still might be coming. Talk about your division of powers....
RAGING KIDD DENIES TIRADE ; SAYS MEDIA OUT TO 'KNOCK DOWN' NETS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amThe irony was as palpable as the anger. Jason Kidd, in vehemently denying that he'd yelled or cursed at his Net teammates in the wake of Saturday's embarrassing loss in...
THAT SINKING FEELING ; MISSING POSTSEASON LEAVES HERM DEFLATED
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amYou wouldn't know it by his outward appearance, but Herman Edwards is still angry. Edwards conceded yesterday, one day after his team showed some spunk in its 6-0 win over...
METS STILL IN HUNT FOR FREE-AGENT GUILLEN
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amNEW ORLEANS - Don't count out the Mets in the Jose Guillen sweepstakes just yet. While yesterday's Big Easy rumblings were that the Angels were close to signing Guillen to...
MEET MR. MET-SUI KAZ' AGENDA: TALK TO 'GODZILLA,' LEARN ENGLISH
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amAs new Met shortstop Kaz Matsui spoke, a smile broke across his face. Then he chuckled. A serious question cracked him up. Does he look forward to comparisons to the...
MEETINGS ARE JUST TIP OF THE ICEBERG
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amNEW ORLEANS - This was one revealing party . . . and we're not just talking about the Girls Gone Wild display on Bourbon Street Saturday night that would have...
YANKS STILL FINE-TUNING NEW PACTS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amYANKEE NOTES It's a pretty good team the Yankees almost have. Lawyers worked yesterday to finalize Gary Sheffield's three-year, $39 million contract that the slugging outfielder has agreed to twice....
AINGE FINALLY GETS IT RIGHT
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amLET me see if I get this: Danny Ainge, who was convinced he could do damage in the East with just one scorer, now does a double take and gets...
CASHMAN FINE-TUNES NEW DEALS
December 16, 2003 | 5:00amYANKEE NOTES It's a pretty good team the Yankees have but won't announce. Lawyers worked yesterday to finalize Gary Sheffield's three-year, $39 million contract that the slugging outfielder has agreed...