'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Amy Goodman: A Tortured Logic (King Features Syndicate)
It is up to the new Democratic majority to investigate the use of torture and demand prosecution for those who engaged in it.
The great defender (guardian.co.uk)
Edward Fitzgerald QC specialises in representing some of the most hated people. Why does he do it? He talks to Stuart Jeffries.
Peter Byrne: Morgue News (bohemian.com)
In my life, I have seen hundreds of photographs of murdered bodies piled up, and every time I see them, my heart shudders -- I must see them, because if I refuse to see them, then I am without a sense of humanity.
Annalee Newitz: The Anti-Christian Mythology of Phillip Pullman
His Dark Materials yields more religious propaganda than anti-religious content.
Rap This: Guest commentary by Christina M. Rau (irascibleprofessor.com)
I never wonder what my students do with the knowledge they gain in class when they leave campus. I assume they absorb my highly interesting lectures and become one with the verse. Right now, I'm actually thinking about it for the first time, and I'm realizing that they probably do not go into the parking lot reciting "Whatever happens with us, your body / will haunt mine" from Adrienne Rich's "Floating Love Poem." If anything, they probably talk about how I'm obsessed with orgasms.
Question time (guardian.co.uk)
Kyle Eastwood, 38, is a jazz musician and the eldest son of actor Clint. So does he ever get tired of being asked about his dad?
Dan Wasserman Political Cartoons (boston.com)
Mike Luckovich Political Cartoons (www.ajc.com)
zEN mAN Comments
Hubert's Hubris
Hey Marty
I loved "Hubert's Poetry Corner",,, "Frequently Alternate Response Therapy" (BartCop Entertainment - Wednesday, 24 January, 2007)!!!!
I made me laugh so hard I had to PEE!!!!
Knowing our President affects someone soooo...flatulently????
Remebering George's secret gaseous weapon surging silently!!
It made me imagine something truly frightening to see..
Both of them blasting each other......crepitatiously!!!!!
zEN mAN (observing 2 fetid fart knockers)
Thanks, zEN mAN
Tip From Kip
Re: Virtual Memory
Sorry Marty, I sent the instructions for increasing memory in Vista. I hope
you are lucky enough to not have Vista yet. Here's how you increase memory
in XP:
Right click the My Computer Icon
Select Properties
Click on the advanced tab
Click settings under preformance
Click the Advanced tab
Click change under Virtual Memory
Kip
********
"What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end, of
little consequence. The only consequence is what we do." - John Ruskin
1000000milesaway.blogspot.com
Thanks, Kip!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and very summerlike.
Wonder why I'm seeing so many commercials for Ernie Boch, Jr. Honda on the Auto Mile in Norwood, Mass.
late at night on the local network TV stations (KCBS, KNBC & KABC)?
Last night it showed up on both 'Frazier' (KCBS) and 'Poker After Dark' (KNBC).
Backs Hillary
Elizabeth Taylor
Hollywood may be debating who to support in the 2008 presidential election, but Dame Elizabeth Taylor already has her woman -- Hillary Rodham Clinton.
In a statement on Thursday, the actress said, "I have contributed to Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign because she has a mind of her own and a very strong one at that. I like the way she thinks. She is very savvy and a smart leader with years of experience in government, diplomacy and politics."
A spokesman for the 74-year-old actress said she had contributed $2,100 to the New York Democratic senator, the legal limit an individual can give in a primary campaign. Earlier the spokesman had said Taylor gave $100,000, but said that was an incorrect figure based on misinformation.
Elizabeth Taylor
Membership Drops To 12 Percent
Unions
The number of wage and salary workers who were union members dropped to 12 percent of the work force last year, the lowest percentage since the government started tracking that number over two decades ago.
The number of workers in a union was 20.1 percent in 1983, when Bureau of Labor Statistics first provided such comparable numbers, and that number has been declining steadily. More than a third of American workers, about 35 percent, were union members in the mid-1950s.
The continuing decline in union membership, documented in the BLS report released Thursday, comes as organized labor is pushing for legislation in the Democratic-controlled Congress making it easier for workers to form unions.
The union membership rate for government workers, 36.2 percent, was substantially higher than for private industry workers, 7.4 percent.
Unions
LOTR Online
Shadows of Angmar
From Middle-earth, the creatures of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" will rise into a new digital world in April with the launch of an online game which has raised the hackles of among some die-hard fans.
Game publishers Turbine Inc. and Midway Games Inc. will on Thursday unveil details of the highly-anticipated massively multiplayer online game, "The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar" with a launch date of April 24.
The game's creators are assuring fans of Tolkien's epic fantasy adventure that the game recreates the vast world of Middle-earth with dedication to the books and players able to create thousands of virtual characters.
But the game, the first Tolkien-based massively multiplayer online offering, was already causing dissent among some Tolkien fans who know all the details of the 1954 and 1955 trilogy.
Shadows of Angmar
Groups Protest Hiring
Glenn Beck
Three groups are urging ABC News not to keep CNN Headline News personality Glenn Beck on as a "Good Morning America" commentator because they believe he's biased against Arabs.
The Arab American Institute, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and the Muslim Public Affairs Council all said Thursday they had written to ABC News President David Westin about Beck.
"Good Morning America" executive producer Jim Murphy has spoken to a representative of the groups and has invited them on the air to talk about their grievances, said ABC News spokeswoman (sic) Jeffrey Schneider. Beck has appeared twice on the show, once together with a Muslim religious leader.
The groups said that Beck - who's drawing strong ratings with his evening show on CNN Headline News - has stated on his show that Arab and Muslim Americans are apathetic to terrorism. During an interview in November with Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim member of Congress, Beck asked him to "prove to me that you are not working with our enemies."
Glenn Beck
Knox College Offers Fireproof Degree
Stephen Colbert
A small Illinois college says it would consider issuing a new, fireproof honorary degree to simmer down last spring's commencement speaker, satirist Stephen Colbert.
The arch-browed comic threatened to burn the honorary doctorate of fine arts he received last year after Knox College landed former President Bill Clinton as next June's graduation speaker.
Colbert fumed that Clinton had "stolen his thunder" Monday during an installment he calls "Who's Riding My Coattails Now" on his Comedy Central program, "The Colbert Report."
"If you give Clinton the same doctorate you gave me, I will be forced to burn (my degree) on the air," said Colbert, who plays a caricature of a conservative pundit on his show.
Stephen Colbert
References Removed From Movie
'The Queen'
So much for God and country, at least during some in-flight showings of the Oscar-nominated movie "The Queen." That's because all mentions of God are bleeped out of a version of the film given to some commercial airlines.
Even in these politically correct times, censoring references to God in the film wasn't a statement of some kind. Rather, it was the mistake of an overzealous and inexperienced employee for a California company that edits movies selected for onboard entertainment.
The rookie censor was told to edit out all profanities - including any blasphemy - for the version of the movie distributed to Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, Air New Zealand, and other carriers.
So the new censor mistakenly bleeped out each time a character said "God," instead of just when used as part of a profanity, said Jeff Klein, president of Jaguar Distribution, the company that distributed the movie to airlines this month.
'The Queen'
Expecting John Lennon Fans
Durness, Scotland
Tourism officials expect a tiny village in the Scottish Highlands to be swamped soon with John Lennon fans after launching a website promoting the late former Beatle's boyhood links to it.
Officials said Thursday that more than 150,000 hits have been recorded since Monday on the site promoting Durness in northern Scotland, where Lennon spent summers and where he returned with wife Yoko Ono and their children.
Between the ages of nine and 14 the musician spent summer holidays at Durness, which has a population of 351. He returned in 1969 with his own family, during which he survived a car accident at Loch Eriboll.
Durness, Scotland
Royal Swedish Academy of Music
Polar Music Prize
US composer Steve Reich and jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins have been awarded the Polar Music Prize for their contributions to music, the Royal Swedish Academy of Music said.
The two will receive one million Swedish kronor (140,000 dollars, 108,000 euros) each, and will be presented their awards by Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf at a gala ceremony in Stockholm on May 21.
The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by the late Stig Anderson, the publisher, lyricist and manager of iconic Swedish pop group ABBA.
Polar Music Prize
Accident On Set
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman was taken to a hospital after the Jaguar she was in crashed early Thursday during downtown shooting of the science fiction thriller "The Invasion," police said.
Kidman, 39, was examined at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and then released a short time later. Paramedics were called to examine Kidman for injuries before she was taken to the hospital, police said.
The Jaguar was being towed by a camera rig that skidded while taking a corner and caused Kidman's car to hit a pole on West Sixth Street, police said. The actress was wearing a seat belt.
Eight people, including Kidman, stuntmen and cameramen, were taken to hospitals for examination and were released, Smith said. Warner Bros. said two crew members had minor injuries.
Nicole Kidman
Family Sues Radio Station
KDND
The radio station disc jockeys who hosted an on-air water-drinking contest knew drinking too much water quickly could be fatal but dismissed the concerns with juvenile jokes, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed Thursday by the family of a contestant.
Jennifer Lea Strange, a mother of three, died Jan. 12 hours after drinking as much as two gallons of water in the on-air promotion to win a video game console.
"The talent admitted during the broadcast that they should have done more research once various participants, including (Strange), began to report medical symptoms," according to the lawsuit filed in Sacramento County Superior Court. "Such conduct was despicable and so vile, base or contemptible that it would be looked down upon and despised by reasonable people."
The lawsuit names as defendants KDND's parent company, Entercom/Sacramento, and the on-air talent who hosted the contest, as well as employees and managers who organized, promoted and participated in the contest.
KDND
Becoming Rock Opera
Runaway Bride
The story of runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks is on its way to a theater in the form of a rock opera.
The show is scheduled to open in October at the Red Clay Theatre and Arts Center.
But Mark Pitt, the theater's owner, says the show will not be a comedic spoof of Wilbanks' infamous disappearance before her scheduled 2005 wedding. Instead, the rock opera will show how the community came together and bonded over the experience, which included a massive search for Wilbanks before she turned up a few days later.
Runaway Bride
SVU Raises
'Law & Order'
There will be no disorder on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," with series stars Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni agreeing to new contracts.
They will be joined next season by an additional cast member, Adam Beach of the film "Flags of Our Fathers."
The actors signed two-year deals with substantial raises that will mean annual salaries of more than $6.5 million each, Daily Variety reported, citing unidentified sources.
'Law & Order'
Media Deal With Corbis
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution and Corbis Corp. announced a deal Wednesday to begin selling images from the Smithsonian's collections for editorial and commercial use through the digital media company.
Under the licensing agreement, Corbis will provide hundreds of images from the Smithsonian museums, including archival photos and images of cultural objects, paintings, sculptures, aircraft and space vehicles. A photograph of the 45.52 carat Hope Diamond is among the first images being made available on the company's Web site.
Smithsonian officials said they hope the agreement with Corbis will make museum resources more easily accessible and offer some images in a digital format for the first time.
Smithsonian Institution
No Subliminal Ads
Food Network
It was a glitch - not subliminal advertising - when a McDonald's logo suddenly flashed by on a recent episode of "Iron Chef America," the Food Network said Thursday.
The clip from an episode aired on Sunday showed a brief red flash, nearly invisible to the naked eye, at a point where two men are holding up glasses.
It quickly appeared on YouTube, slowed down to reveal that for one frame, the screen was showing the McDonald's logo with the words, "I'm lovin' it."
"It was a technical error on our part and not a subliminal message as suggested by a Web site running the slow-motion playback," said Food Network spokesman Mark O'Connor. "It has been corrected for all future airings."
Food Network
Dad Doubted Virginity
Honor Killing
A Jordanian man fatally shot his 17-year-old daughter whom he suspected of having sex despite a medical exam that proved her chastity, an official said Thursday. The man surrendered to police hours after the killing, saying he had done it for family honor.
A state forensic pathologist, who works at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in Amman where an autopsy was performed, said in a phone interview that the girl had run away from home several times for unknown reasons.
Weeks ago, the girl had returned home from a family protection clinic after doctors had vouched for her virginity and the father had signed a pledge not to harm her, the pathologist said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the case.
The father shot the girl four times in the head on Tuesday. On Wednesday, an autopsy was performed that again showed "she was still a virgin," the pathologist said.
Honor Killing
Letters Surface
Otto Frank
Desperate letters written by the father of Anne Frank, the teenager whose diary of hiding from Nazis documented the horror of Jews during World War II, have surfaced in the United States and will be released next month.
Otto Frank wrote the letters in 1941 in a despairing effort to get his family out of Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, before finally hiding the family, including Anne, in secret rooms in an Amsterdam office building for two years until they were betrayed, Time magazine said Thursday.
The sheaf of Otto Frank's letters, about 80 documents in total, show him seeking escape routes to Spain, exit visas from Paris and help to get to the United States or Cuba, all in vain.
They were discovered by a researcher at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research two years ago. But concerns over copyright and other legal issues compelled YIVO to keep their existence quiet until now, Time said. The New York Institute will release the letters on February 14, it said.
Otto Frank
Singer Sues PlasticSurgeon
Pete Burns
Pete Burns, the flamboyant lead singer '80s band Dead Or Alive, has filed a lawsuit against a London plastic surgeon for allegedly making him look "physically repulsive."
The androgynous frontman, most famous for the hit "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)," claims Dr. Maurizio Viel performed a terrible job on his lip augmentation procedure at the London Center For Aesthetic Surgery. Burns's suit complains of swelling, blistering, discharge, and impaired ability to eat, drink, or talk. He claims the damage was so extreme that at one point it looked like his lips would actually need to be surgically removed.
Burns claims to have undergone more than 100 operations over the past year and a half to reconstruct his allegedly botched face.
Pete Burns
Western Australia
'Gnomesville Massacre'
It's being called the "Gnomesville Massacre" and emergency workers in Western Australia are offering a reward for the capture of vandals who smashed their way through a local tourist attraction.
An unknown number of attackers lopped off the heads or smashed several dozen of the pot-bellied statues this week at Gnomesville, a collection of more than a 1,000 colorful characters deep in a forest south of Perth.
The population of Gnomesville has grown from a handful of statues placed covertly in the forest a few years ago, making it a popular stop off for tour buses visiting nearby vineyards.
'Gnomesville Massacre'
Iguana With A Problem
Mozart
Mozart, an iguana with an erection that has lasted for over a week, will have his penis amputated in the next couple of days.
Veterinarians at Antwerp's Aquatopia had sought to treat the animal's problem, but decided removal was the only solution because of the risk of infection. The good news for Mozart and his mates is that male iguanas have two penises.
Mozart, sitting on the shoulders of his keeper as camera crews focussed on his red, swollen erection, seemed unperturbed by the news.
Mozart
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