NAMES & FACES
Monday, September 25, 2006; Page C03
The Dalai Lama Does Woodstock
Is there a better place to deliver a speech on peace and love? The Dalai Lama made a surprise visit to Woodstock, N.Y., Thursday, to speak before a crowd of thousands who had gathered on word of mouth alone.
The Dalai Lama made the stop between scheduled appearances in Buffalo and New York City. Town Supervisor Jeremy Wilber called the last-minute public appearance a "gift to the people of Woodstock."
  The Dalai Lama drew thousands in an unadvertised visit to Woodstock, N.Y. (By Richard Lam -- Associated Press) Save & Share |
Saving options
On the way to the speech, the crowd funneled past a white van, not realizing it contained an X-ray machine checking for weapons. Peaceful, indeed.
Cosby's Cause
Bill Cosby called on each American to contribute $8 to help build a national slavery museum amid the battlefields of the Civil War.
Cosby, who already has committed $1 million to the project, joined Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder Friday in launching a new campaign to raise $100 million toward the Fredericksburg museum's $200 million price tag.
"The incentive is that they would join in with the rest of the United States of America in saying yes, as an American, I gave $8 to help build something that tells the story," he said in a teleconference with Wilder.
In a nation of some 300 million people, even a tepid response would surpass the $100 million goal, Cosby said. He admitted that this kind of campaign "generally fails badly," but continued, "I'm going to try again because I'm going to present this national slavery museum as a jewel that's missing in a crown."
The campaign marks the latest attempt at fundraising for the U.S. National Slavery Museum, a project in the works for more than a decade.
Booster Busted
Oprah '08? Patrick Crowe hopes so. The retired math teacher says he's enjoying promoting talk show icon Oprah Winfrey for president.
Winfrey's lawyers are not quite as thrilled. They sent Crowe a letter last month demanding that he remove her picture from his Web site, http:/
Crowe's enthusiasm is also persistent, even in the face of a Harpo Inc. spokeswoman saying that her boss has said she has no political aspirations.
"It has become increasingly serious to me," Crowe, who opposes the Bush administration and its foreign policy, told the Kansas City Star for a story Friday. "I know Oprah can do better than that."
End Notes
Crowe -- and many others -- probably will be tuning in today when Oprah Winfrey makes her radio debut on a new channel by XM Satellite Radio. With "Oprah & Friends," XM hopes to woo Winfrey's loyal fans to the pay radio service . . . Lou Diamond Phillips was charged with domestic battery in a fight with his girlfriend, officials said Friday. The actor faces up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine if convicted of the misdemeanor count, which was filed on Thursday in Los Angeles . . . Eric Clapton postponed his Saturday night concert in Auburn Hills, Mich. The three-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee had a sore throat.
-- Compiled by Chris Richards from staff and wire reports
