Baron Dave Romm
Rudy Jumps The Shark
By Baron Dave Romm
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My suggestion for what to call this secular year: MMX, pronounced "MeMex".
Rudy Giuliani jumps the shark
Here is the story, from the horse's mouth (so to speak): George's Bottom Line, Reporting and Analysis from Anchor of Good Morning America and ABC News Senior Political Correspondent George Stephanopoulos, January 8th, 2010CE. George's blog from immediately after Good Morning America (including video):
President Obama yesterday took personal responsibility for failures in the Christmas day terror plot, but Rudy Giuliani still isn't convinced.
I spoke to the former mayor of New York City this morning on GMA, who assailed the Obama administrations decisions on national security.
What he [Obama] should be doing is following the right things that Bush did-- one of the right things he did was treat this as a war on terror. We had no domestic attacks under Bush. We've had one under Obama, Giuliani said. Number two, he should correct the things that Bush didn't do right. Sending people to Yemen was wrong, not getting this whole intelligence thing corrected.
Giuliani seems to have forgotten about the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and shoe bomber Richard Reid.
And so, apparently, did George Stephanopoulos. On live national tv, Rudy's remarks were just left unchallenged.
Later that day, when George realized what a sap he'd been played for, he blogged, Giuliani Update:
Through his spokesman, Rudy Giuliani has clarified the remarks he made this morning on GMA regarding terrorist attacks on the United States under Presidents Bush and Obama.
The Mayors spokesman says that the remark didn't come across as it was intended and that Giuliani was clearly talking post-9/11 with regards to Islamic terrorist attacks on our soil.
Whatever the Mayor meant, its not what he said. All of you who have pointed out that I should have pressed him on that misstatement in the moment are right. My mistake, my responsibility.
Too little, too late. And, if it comes right down to it George, you did nothing. Then or since.
Believe it or not, it get's worse for the onetime GOP deity. Giuliani Comments on GMA Prompt Debate, Jake Tapper also a blogger for ABC News, a couple of minutes before Stephanopoulos' blog entry, above:
There were a number of things that didn't quite seem to jive with the better part of reality, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said at Fridays briefing. I think he mentioned there not being any domestic terror attacks in the previous administration... Its interesting that the mayor of New York had forgotten that.
A spokesman for the former Mayor clarifies, saying that the remark didn't come across as it was intended and that he was clearly talking post-9/11 with regards to Islamic terrorist attacks on our soil.
By on our soil, the former mayor is not including either Umar Farouq Abdulmutallabs failed Christmas Day attack or Richard Reid's December 22, 2001 attempt to blow up American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami.
So the spokesman says that the one attack that Giuliani says took place during the Obama administration was a reference to the alleged Fort Hood shooter, Major Nidal Hasan.
Emphasis mine. Notice the double-about face, not merely a major gaffe but still appealing to the sphincter conservatives, where Giuliani modifies "domestic attack" to "Islamic terror attacks on our soil". And still gets it wrong. Tapper's report has an update:
UPDATE: The Giuliani spokesperson says the former Mayor does not consider the events with Hadayet, Muhammed, or the anthrax attacks Islamist terrorist attacks since "he was referring to what are known islamic terrorist attacks."
So not only does Rudy try to weasel out by defining "domestic terrorism" as "Islamic terrorism", he gets to rewrite history. He forgot about 9/11. In itself, a major admission of his current irrelevancy, since he based his entire 2008 campaign on the attack. Further, he now claims he was referring to the underwear bomber, but to a completely different incident, the alleged Ft. Hood shooter. First time he's mentioned that one...
Just to recap: The person most associated with heroism during the 9/11 attacks, who has bet his entire political career on people honoring his actions that day, completely forgets about America's worst day. Now, it's one thing to misspeak, and quite another to squirm out of it with obvious lies.
Baron Dave verdict: Rudolph Giuliani has jumped the shark and is not merely irrelevant, he's part of the problem. Some terrorists are Islamic terrorists, but the safety of Americans is threatened by much more than one group or ideology. Rudy is trying to get us all killed, but that's okay with him as long as the terrorists are his friends. Rudy shouldn't be ignored, he and his radical right cronies should be scrutinized for saying the exact opposite of reality.
The Conservative News Media
If George Stephanopoulos were a real reporter, he would have been prepared. GOP talking points are lies and exaggerations, and are easily countered when you have the facts. But all too often, the mainstream media is not prepared. Most just cover the same few stories, and not very well. They trumpet GOP talking points and relegate other stories to deep inside their coverage, if at all.
Almost none of the conservative news media touched this story. Even though Rudy Giuliani is (well, was) a major figure appearing on national broadcast television. He's only two years from being the GOP frontrunner for president and Time Magazine's Man of the Year for 2001. And yet, this story was quickly swept under the covers. I had to wade through seven pages of Google to find the New York Times article., which is very gentle on the former New York City mayor.
The problem is that Rudy's remarks are not a misstatement, he's echoing the GOP party line. By itself, you'd think that a complete disinformation campaign would be a story. But it's up to the left wing blogosphere to set the record straight.
Giuliani falsely claims "[w]e had no domestic attacks under Bush", Media Matters, 1/8/10 (just a few hours after the Good Morning America interview, and several hours before either Stephanopoulos' or Tapper's blog with minimal corrections):
Several domestic attacks took place under Bush, including 9-11 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks. As CNN noted, "On September 11, 2001, four U.S. planes hijacked by terrorists crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania killing nearly 3,000 people in a matter of hours."
2001 anthrax attacks. A March 2004 State Department report on "Significant Terrorist Incidents, 1961-2003" quotes then-Attorney General John Ashcroft saying of the letters containing anthrax mailed to various targets: "When people send anthrax through the mail to hurt people and invoke terror, it's a terrorist act." Five people were killed as a result of those letters in the autumn of 2001.
2001 shoe bomber attempted attack. In June 2008, then-Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described Reid's December 2001 attempt "to blow up a trans-Atlantic plane with a shoe bomb" as an attempt to "carry out terrorist operations for Al-Qaeda."
2002 attack against El Al ticket counter at LAX. In July 2002, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet opened fire at an El Al Airlines ticket counter at Los Angeles International Airport killing two people and wounding four others before being shot dead. A 2004 Justice Department report stated that Hadayet's case had been "officially designated as an act of international terrorism."
2002 DC-area sniper. The state of Virginia indicted Washington, D.C.-area sniper John Allen Muhammad -- along with his accomplice, a minor at the time -- on "an act of terrorism" for one of the murders he committed during a three-week shooting spree across Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Muhammad was convicted, sentenced to death, and subsequently executed for the crime.
2006 UNC SUV attack. In March 2006, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill graduate Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar drove an SUV into an area of campus, striking nine pedestrians. According to reports, Taheri-azar said he acted because he wanted to "avenge the deaths or murders of Muslims around the world." Taheri-azar also reportedly stated in a letter: "I was aiming to follow in the footsteps of one of my role models, Mohammad Atta, one of the 9/11/01 hijackers, who obtained a doctorate degree."
I would add one that tends to get glossed over: The outing of a valuable CIA agent, specializing in intelligence on nuclear weapons, by the Bush White House. Only Cheney's senior aide Scooter Libby was convicted of felonies. Federal prosecutors implicated VP Dick Cheney and President Bush, but the cover-up succeeded. What happened was that Bush and Cheney decided to play politics with America's safety. If terrorists exploded a nuclear bomb in the US, the lack of intelligence would have fallen squarely on them. The Plame case is treason, and only helps Republicans and terrorists.
Aside: The selfishness of the far right is disgraceful. After 9/11, Bush said, "Over time it's going to be important for nations to know they will be held accountable for inactivity," he said. "You're either with us or against us in the fight against terror."
There have been horrific terror attacks all over the world, in nations that expressed great sympathy after 9/11, who joined us in the fight against Al Queda and by people who Bush coerced into helping us invade Iraq. But politics as usual trumps safety for the Republicans. Other countries have to help us, but we can just ignore them. Shameful.
Politically correct conservatives
Rudy was just playing GOP politics, repeating The Big Lie. Right wing Political Correctness. In order to be a Republican these days, one must believe lies and not believe the truth. It's so much easier on the sphincter to be afraid of who Karl Rove is afraid of, to let Dick Cheney wag his corrupt finger for you.
The Media Matters story continues, and is echoed by others:
Giuliani latest conservative to downplay terrorist attacks under Bush
Frederick: All domestic terrorist attacks since 9-11 took place "on Obama's watch." As Media Matters for America documented, Las Vegas Review-Journal publisher Sherman Frederick wrote in a January 3 column:
..
Matalin downplays attacks under Bush, falsely claiming "Bush inherited" 9-11 attacks. On the December 27 edition of CNN's State of the Union, Republican strategist Mary Matalin falsely claimed that Bush "inherited the most tragic attack on our own soil in our nation's history." In fact, the September 11, 2001, attacks occurred eight months into Bush's presidency and more than a month after he had received a Presidential Daily Briefing titled, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S."
Perino: "We did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush's term." Bush White House Press Secretary Dana Perino falsely claimed on the November 24, 2009, edition of Fox News' Hannity that "[w]e did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush's term."
These are the people on Fox "News". On ABC TV. On CNN. They are known liars, spouting the exact opposite of the truth. And yet, they know that they face softball conservative media elite, like George Stephanopoulos. Their lies go unchallenged except by a very few.
The record is clear. And yet, the GOP "base" is all too willing to believe lies and not believe the truth. As Jon Stewart cries, "Don't these people know we have videotape?" Obama's response faster and better.
Obama's response to Christmas bomber incident faster, better than Bush's response to shoe bomber
Giuliani was really "on message". That is, he was part of the disinformation campaign against the president. That is, Giuliani & co. are lying through his teeth.
Soon after 9/11, when the world was still nervous about terrorism, Bush went on vacation. After Richard Reid tried to blow up an airplane with explosives in his shoe, Bush was on vacation for another two weeks. He mentioned the attempted bombing only in passing, six days after the incident.
Obama is being criticized for not making a public statement for 72 hours. Karl Rove on Fox "News", of course (see above link) and other ass-kissers. Obama's response was faster and better than Bush's. But Republicans don't care about terrorism, they only care about politics. Conservatives don't care about the safety of Americans as long as they are lied to.
Vikings vs. Cowboys -- next week
Having rooted for the Cowboys last week, to help the Vikings have a bye week this week, I get to go back to normal for the matchup next week.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog maintains a Facebook Page, plays with a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E. Podcasts of Shockwave Radio Theater. Permanent archive. More radio programs, interviews and science fiction humor plays can be accessed on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Ted Rall: THE CRAZYIEST TAX (uexpress.com)
Lost Your Job? The IRS Thinks You're Loaded.
Susan Estrich: The Lady and the Bracelet (creators.com)
We got to the airport two hours early. My daughter made fun of me. Maui is not a likely terrorist target. Then again, the president was about one minute away in Oahu, and so was Rush Limbaugh, so who's to say for sure? The thing about terrorists is that they strike when and where you don't expect them.
Tweety brings it (theygaveusarepublic.com)
...one of [Chris Matthews'] guests on 'Hardball' was Todd Harris, a top republican strategist, who was there to make the case for republicans taking back the levers of power, at least in Congress, in 2010. Matthews, to his credit, asked him to give a brief rundown of republican accomplishments in the last twenty years. Reasonable question, right? Except it caught Harris flat-footed. He hemmed. He hawed. He stammered.
Dr. Mark H. Shapiro: Higher Education in California - Time for a New Master Plan I? (irascibleprofessor.com)
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Thomas H. Benton: Graduate School in the Humanities: Just Don't Go (chronicle.com)
Nearly six years ago, I wrote a column called "So You Want to Go to Grad School?" (The Chronicle, June 6, 2003). My purpose was to warn undergraduates away from pursuing Ph.D.'s in the humanities by telling them what I had learned about the academic labor system from personal observation and experience.
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Roger Ebert: Review of "YOUTH IN REVOLT" (R; 3 stars)
Michael Cera is not a sissy. It's more like he's unusual... diffident. Laid-back to a point approaching the horizontal. Yet he yearns. He's so filled with desire, it slops over. I speak not of the real Cera, unknown to me, but of the persona he has perfected in such movies as "Superbad," "Juno," "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" and most recently, "Paper Heart."
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Reviews of Criterion films.
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The "That's Mr. Flipper to you, bub" Edition...
Dolphins have been declared the world's second most intelligent creatures after humans, with scientists suggesting they are so bright that they should be treated as "non-human persons"... The researchers argue that their work shows it is morally unacceptable to keep such intelligent animals in amusement parks or to kill them for food or by accident when fishing...
Scientists say dolphins should be treated as 'non-human persons' - Times Online
Do you agree with the scientists's assertions?
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From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Freshly Updated!
2 Dudes
Watch the Documentary Film for Free
Biggie and Tupac
BIGGIE & TUPAC documents the rap superstars, Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace (aka Biggie Smalls, The Notorious B.I.G.), and how they were gunned down in separate incidents, the apparent victims of hip hop's infamous east-west rivalry. Nick Broomfield's film introduces Russell Poole, an ex-cop with damning evidence that suggests the LAPD deliberately fumbled the case to conceal connections between the police, LA gangs and Death Row Records, the label run by feared rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight.
Purple Gene Reviews
Crazy Heart
Purple Gene's review of "Crazy Heart" (2009).
Directed by Scott Cooper.
Back in the late 60's I had a girlfriend named Charlene Dallas who became Miss America and then happened to get a lead role in the movie "Rancho Deluxe" (1975) with…..Jeff Bridges. Charlene went on to be a "Price is Right " girl…while Jeff Bridges went on to act in a myriad of mid range movie roles…."Jagged Edge" (1985) - "8 Million Ways to Die" (1982) - "Starman" (1984) - "The Morning After" (1986)….then he played "the Dude" in "The Big Lebowski" (1998). Now he has gone from being a drunk Cowboy in "Rancho Deluxe" to being a drunk cowboy in his new Oscar tour de force…"Crazy Heart"!
What do you do with a drunk has been country singer/songwriter??? Well… you name him "Bad" Blake…show him playing his old songs with pick-up bands in bowling alleys.
Then, out of nowhere, Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal - "Secretary" (2002) - "SherryBaby" (2006) - "Dark Knight" (2008) walks into his hotel room to interview him for the local newspaper. It takes about 2 minutes for "Bad" to look into her big eyes to come back to consciousness…for a while…Well she has a 7 year old son from a previous failed relationship and is a little cautious about getting serious….but what the hell…they take a roll in the hay and the next thing you know "Bad" is cookin' biscuits for her little boy ….a falling hard for her.
Of Course we have a couple of token performances….."Bad's" old buddy Wayne (Robert Duvall - "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962) - "The Great Santini" (1979) - "Tender Mercies" (1983) runs a deteriorating bar back in "Bad's" hometown and takes the beat up old Blake out fishin every so often for Zen R&R. Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell - "Phone Booth" (2002) - "The New World" (2005) - "Miami Vice" (2006) is the hugely popular Country singer who made his fame by singing "Bad" songs…..
Some new vids and year in review
Formerly 'Dick Eats Bush'
Hi!
I wanted to share a link to a year in review article and a couple of new videos. I've tried to stand back and take a few things (like politics) into perspective. Sadly, there is no point in being passive further after nearly a year the only thing that can be seen is that things have gotten worse. More wars visible (Pakistan, Yemen), but not counting what we (the US) might be doing covertly (we've been in Yemen a couple years already - Covertly). But as in the past it has been said, Republican, Democrat.. it's just two sides of the same coin. Our (psychopathic) leaders only want one thing, Empire, and look what it is costing us as the Empire crumbles.
Anyhow on with the recent videos - Presented oldest to newest.
We're all to blame (video.yahoo.com/watch/6070676/15773487 )
Weapons of mass distortion (video.yahoo.com/watch/6445921/16711760 )
I wish we'd all been ready (video.yahoo.com/watch/6546577/16995684 )
Styx - Miss America (video.yahoo.com/watch/6748128/17539009 )
I understand if some of them cause you to disassociate, it happens to me to.. in more ways than I'm often aware.
Happy reading And Happy New Year
Steve
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
Wild Horse Rescue
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow has spoken out against the war in Iraq and in support of embryonic stem-cell research and efforts to combat global warming. Now, she's trying to ride to the rescue of thousands of wild horses that roam the West.
After campaigning for President Barack Obama in 2008, the Grammy-winning singer has become a leading critic of his administration's plans to remove as many as 25,000 mustangs from the range and ship them to pastures in the Midwest and East.
Since coming out in favor of a moratorium on government roundups of mustangs in November, Crow has lobbied Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, dropped off books and DVDs about wild horses for Obama at the White House and appeared in a video produced by equine activists.
To no avail, she also called on the president to halt a roundup of about 2,500 mustangs in Nevada, which began late last month as part of the administration's strategy to remove thousands of mustangs from the range.
Sheryl Crow
NBC Pulls Plug
Leno
NBC said Sunday that it's waiting to hear if Jay Leno and "Tonight" host Conan O'Brien will accept its new late-night TV plans after the network decided to end the Leno prime-time experiment.
NBC decided to pull the plug on the experiment after learning some affiliates were considering dropping the nightly prime-time show.
NBC Universal Television Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin said that "The Jay Leno Show" at 10 p.m. EST will end with the Feb. 12 beginning of the Winter Olympics, which will air in the prime-time hours, including Leno's slot.
Gaspin said about one-third of the affiliates were really hurt by the Leno show, although he wasn't clear on how many said they might pre-empt his show.
Leno
835 Hours On NBC
Vancouver Olympics
U.S. television network NBC said on Sunday it would lose money for the first time on the winter Olympics, which starts in Vancouver in February.
General Electric Co's NBC, currently languishing in last place among the four major U.S. TV networks, paid a record $2.2 billion in 2003 for the U.S. broadcast rights to the Beijing 2008 summer and Vancouver 2010 winter Olympics.
But NBC Olympics executive producer Dick Ebersol told TV reporters on Sunday that although advertising sales for the network's three-week coverage of the Vancouver games had picked up, the network would end up in the red, partly due to the higher licensing fees.
Ebersol said NBC would run 835 hours of competition from Vancouver, most of it live on network TV and on its cable outlets including MSNBC and USA. The figure is double the broadcast hours of previous winter Olympics.
Vancouver Olympics
Replaces Hasselhoff On 'America's Got Talent'
Howie Mandel
Howie Mandel is replacing David Hasselhoff as one of the judges on NBC's "America's Got Talent."
NBC executives confirmed the move Sunday. Mandel, who has been host of NBC's "Deal or No Deal," will be teamed with returning hosts Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan.
Howie Mandel
'Absinthe Drinker'
Pablo Picasso
The heirs of a late German-Jewish banker have relinquished all rights to a painting by Pablo Picasso, allowing a foundation set up by British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber to keep the work, a US lawyer said Friday.
The descendants of Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy reached an out-of-court settlement allowing the Andrew Lloyd Webber Art Foundation, based in Berkshire, England to retain ownership of the Picasso painting "The Absinthe Drinker", John Byrne, a lawyer for the heirs of the Mendelssohn-Bartholdy family said.
Under the terms of the settlement, Byrne was not at liberty to discuss the terms of the deal.
Pablo Picasso
Assistant Goes On Trial
Linda Stein
The confession was dramatic and videotaped. The weeping woman described to a prosecutor how she fatally bludgeoned her boss - punk-rock pioneer and celebrity real estate broker Linda Stein - with a piece of exercise equipment.
The suspect, Stein's personal assistant, said she snapped after Stein insulted and cursed at her and blew marijuana smoke in her face.
Lowery has since said her confession was false - a claim at the heart of the 2007 murder case as it heads for trial. Jury selection is expected to start as soon as Monday.
Stein, 62, was a fixture in the punk scene that centered on the gritty club CBGB in the 1970s, and co-managed the Ramones in their heyday. Her ex-husband, Seymour Stein, was the president of Sire Records, a launching pad for such artists as Madonna and the Talking Heads. Elton John is godfather to one of her daughters.
Linda Stein
Yellowstone Bison Bid Draws Protest
Ted Turner
Ted Turner's bid to get 74 wild bison from Yellowstone National Park is drawing stiff opposition from those who say the animals are being given up for private profit instead of conservation.
Turner has offered to take the animals at the request of Montana's Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer. Federal officials earlier warned that the animals faced slaughter if no home was found.
Turner would keep the bison five years and then return them to the state. As compensation, Turner would keep 90 percent of the animals' offspring, meaning he would gain an estimated 190 bison from a herd prized for its genetic purity.
Some conservationists - plus a group representing dozens of Indian tribes - insist the animals should not be privatized or commercialized. At a Thursday public hearing over the Turner proposal, they said the bison belong on public or tribal lands. That's what state and federal officials had promised over the last several years.
Ted Turner
9th Annual
No Pants Subway Ride
Hundreds of New Yorkers have been riding the city's subway trains in their underwear.
They stripped down to their undies on Sunday for the ninth annual No Pants Subway Ride.
Participants met up at six locations throughout the city. They formed groups and dispersed to subway stations to catch trains. Once inside the subway cars, they began calmly removing their pants and folding them up.
The event started in 2002 with just seven people. It has spread to other cities. The stunt is organized by Improv Everywhere, a group that says its mission is to cause "scenes of chaos and joy in public places."
No Pants Subway Ride
Just Add Cadmium
Kids' Jewelry
Barred from using lead in children's jewelry because of its toxicity, some Chinese manufacturers have been substituting the more dangerous heavy metal cadmium in sparkling charm bracelets and shiny pendants being sold throughout the United States, an Associated Press investigation shows.
The most contaminated piece analyzed in lab testing performed for the AP contained a startling 91 percent cadmium by weight. The cadmium content of other contaminated trinkets, all purchased at national and regional chains or franchises, tested at 89 percent, 86 percent and 84 percent by weight. The testing also showed that some items easily shed the heavy metal, raising additional concerns about the levels of exposure to children.
Cadmium is a known carcinogen. Like lead, it can hinder brain development in the very young, according to recent research.
Children don't have to swallow an item to be exposed - they can get persistent, low-level doses by regularly sucking or biting jewelry with a high cadmium content.
Kids' Jewelry
Roxxxy The Talking Robot
Sexbot
A New Jersey company says it has developed "the world's first sex robot," a life-size rubber doll that's designed to engage the owner with conversation rather than lifelike movement.
At a demonstration at the Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas on Saturday, the dark-haired, negligee-clad robot said "I love holding hands with you" when it sensed that its creator touched its hand.
Another action, this one unprintable, elicited a different vocal response from Roxxxy the robot. The level of sophistication demonstrated was not beyond that of a child's talking toy, but Roxxxy has a lot more brains than that - there's a laptop connected to cables coming out of its back. It has touch sensors at strategic locations and can sense when it's being moved. But it can't move on its own, not even to turn its head or move its lips. The sound comes out of an internal loudspeaker.
Douglas Hines, founder of Lincoln Park, N.J.-based True Companion LLC, said Roxxxy can carry on simple conversations. The real aim, he said, is to make the doll someone the owner can talk to and relate to.
Owners will also be able to select different personalities for Roxxxy, from "Wild Wendy" to "Frigid Farrah," Hines said. He's charging somewhere from $7,000 to $9,000 for the robot, including the laptop, and expects to start shipping in a few months.
Sexbot
Still Doing Drugs as Seniors
Baby Boomers
Almost 5 percent of aging Baby Boomers in the United States are abusing drugs, a new government report shows.
That's about 4.3 million adults over the age of 50 who are smoking marijuana, abusing prescription medication and engaging in other illicit drug activity -- a number that far exceeds that of their parents' generation.
The projected increase in the number of older drug abusers is expected to double the demand for treatment services by 2020, the report stated.
The report, based on data collected during 2006-08 from almost 20,000 U.S. adults born between 1946 and 1964, found that more men are smoking marijuana than are abusing prescription drugs (4.2 percent vs. 2.3 percent). About the same proportion of women engage in both behaviors (hovering near 2 percent).
Baby Boomers
Weekend Box Office
'Avatar'
James Cameron's "Avatar" continues to race up the box office charts, remaining No. 1 domestically for the fourth straight weekend with $48.5 million and placing second among all-time top-grossing films worldwide.
The science-fiction saga from 20th Century Fox added $143 million overseas to raise its international haul to $906 million. With $429 million domestically, "Avatar" has pulled in $1.34 billion worldwide, behind only Cameron's "Titanic," which took in $1.8 billion.
The No. 2 and No. 3 box office draws remained unchanged from the previous weekend, with the Warner Bros. hit "Sherlock Holmes" in second place at $16.6 million and 20th Century Fox's "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" in third at $16.3 million. "Sherlock Holmes" raised its domestic take to $165.2 million, and "Alvin and the Chipmunks" lifted its total to $178.2 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Avatar," $48.5 million.
2. "Sherlock Holmes," $16.6 million.
3. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," $16.3 million.
4. "Daybreakers," $15 million.
5. "It's Complicated," $11 million.
6. "Leap Year," $9.2 million.
7. "The Blind Side," $7.8 million.
8. "Up in the Air," $7.1 million.
9. "Youth in Revolt," $7 million.
10. "The Princess and the Frog," $4.7 million.
'Avatar'
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