Is Al Gore's Web site safe for the kiddies?

Al Gore gets wired; divorce gongs for Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman; exclusive photo rights for Posh Spice's wedding.

Published April 8, 1999 11:35AM (EDT)

Wooden you just know it? Al Gore, who raked in the ridicule last month when he claimed that he "took the initiative in creating the Internet," was the last of the 12 presidential hopefuls (and counting) to hang out his online shingle. (Flat-tax-loving Steve Forbes beat hot-wired Al and the other would-be Oval Office denizens to the cyber-punch, launching www.Forbes2000.com, March 16.)

On Tuesday, the very earnest veep finally flipped the switch on his campaign Web site, www.AlGore2000.com, but not before making a few last-minute adjustments -- for the sake of the kiddies. According to the Associated Press, Gore's campaign manager, Craig Smith, ordered that questions asking children for their names, e-mail addresses and ZIP codes be removed from the site's "Just for Kids" section after, having been given an advance peek, the AP questioned their inclusion. Turns out wheedling such info from the wee ones without getting their parents' consent may not jibe with an Internet privacy law signed by President Clinton last year and slated to take effect in 2001.

While Gore's office maintains that the questions didn't violate the law, the mere hint that they might have is likely enough to make the vice POTUS break out in a high-tech sweat. After all, in a speech last spring, he called kids "the most vulnerable and sometimes the most willing to innocently disclose information when they are online." Does Tipper know about this?

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Carmen and Dennis: Singled out

Here's a shocker: MTV marvel Carmen Electra and her hair-dyin', hoop-shootin' hubby, Dennis Rodman, are taking a another trip to Splitsville. But this time, it's the former "Baywatch" babe and Playboy pinup who's sounded the final buzzer on their bizarre five-month marriage. (Rodman, you'll recall, filed for an annulment just nine days after their quickie Vegas nuptials, saying he was of "unsound mind" at the time. It was widely reported that they were drunk out of their gourds when they tied the knot. He later rescinded his annulment, declared undying love for his wife and got on with the game.)

A spokesperson for the cross-dressing NBA bad boy and his erstwhile beloved bride has issued a statement saying the peculiar pair have "mutually" and "amicably" agreed to divorce and that they "are, and will remain, friends." Electra is blaming the break on irreconcilable differences. But our guess is she was just sick of him borrowing her clothes.

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In happier celebrity marital news 

Well, more girl power to 'em. That piquant new mama Posh Spice (nee Victoria Adams) and her soccer star beau, David Beckham, are planning to tie the knot where Irish eyes are smiling. According to the Sun newspaper, what the high-profile celebs want -- what they really, really want -- is a church wedding, which is set to take place in Dublin on July 4. But proving that they don't call her Posh Spice for nothing, Adams and her goal-oriented hubby-to-be are reportedly sending out lavish gold-leaf-accented invitations, designing their own wedding coat of arms and planning a reception after the ceremony for 500 guests (rumored to have been asked to dress in black and white for the event) at a nearby castle. And word on the street is that the British magazine OK! has paid 1 million pounds for exclusive rights to photograph the wedding. Eat your heart out, Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones.

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"The Producers" produced?

Is "Springtime for Hitler" headed for the Great White Way? It may well be. According to the Hollywood Reporter, shtick-master Mel Brooks is in negotiations to get the rights back to his classic flick "The Producers." His plan: to bring to the Broadway boards the high-larious 1968 comedy about a Broadway show that, despite the intentions of a down-on-his-luck theatrical producer and his meek accountant, refuses to flop. And yes, his plans include a gala rendition of the movie's show-stopping signature song about the Nazi leader. "I originally wrote 'The Producers' as a play," Brooks told the Reporter. "And for 20 years, people have been begging me to make a musical out of it. It's a natural." Tom Meehan ("Annie") will collaborate with Brooks on the script. Mike Ockrent ("Me and My Girl") is likely to direct, and David Geffen may produce the musical, which could be ready for an initial run-through by December. Could it be that, like the shifty producers in the film, Brooks has some kind of "take the money and run" scam up his sleeve? Naaah ...


By Salon Staff

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