Etc...

A table for two?

You're dating yourself if you can remember when the Humphrey Bogart-Ingrid Bergman classic, "Casa-blanca," was making the rounds of movie theaters across the US. (The year was 1942.) But even if you've only seen it on TV, you probably can recall the name of the - ahem - gin joint that was its centerpiece: Rick's Café Americain. Alas, to the disappointment of generations of tourists to Morocco's No. 1 city, there never was such a place (most of the scenes were shot in a Hollywood studio). Well, now there is. It opened in the spring, thanks to the efforts of owner and former US diplomat Kathy Kriger and features $30 entrees and a 1940s-vintage piano played by a musician named ... Issam. Really. And every Sunday night it offers patrons a movie on a large-screen TV. Care to guess the title? Right: "Casablanca." Says Kriger: "I couldn't believe no one had done this before."

American military might is clearly reflected in the revenues of defense contractors. Want proof? Take a look at the latest rankings compiled by the international weekly journal Defense News. US builders of warplanes and other armaments dominate the list of leading manufacturers, with Lockheed Martin and Boeing and shipbuilder Northrup Grumman holding down the top three spots, based strictly on their defense sales. Two dozen other US companies are among the top 50. The 10 leaders, their home bases, and their defense revenues (in billions) for fiscal 2003:

1. Lockheed Martin (US) $30.1
2. Boeing (US) $27.4
3. Northrup Grumman (US) $18.7
4. BAE Systems (Britain) $17.1
5. Raytheon (US) $16.9
6. General Dynamics (US) $12.8
7. Thales (France) $8.5
8. EADS (Netherlands)$8.0
9. Finmeccanica (Italy) $5.9
10. United Technologies (US)$5.3