Marc Dion: Is Obamacare Down for Good? (Creators Syndicate)
I was sitting in the newsroom, enjoying the muddy end of my coffee, when disaster came upon the room, frightening the reporters, who were uniformly clad in khaki pants, button-down collar shirts and cheap shoes.
Terry Savage: No Good deed Goes Unpunished (Creators Syndicate)
It's likely that JPMorgan will pay a "fine" of $13 billion to settle the government's charges of fraud in the mortgage-backed securities collapse. And for those looking for either a scalp or a scapegoat, even that amount is considered relatively small compared to the billions of dollars lost during the credit crisis.
Scott Burns: Meditation on McDonald's, Once More (AssetBuilder)
… I'd like to point out a fundamental fact that has been overlooked by everyone: the real problem with healthcare is that it costs too much. No matter how much the Washington mandarins finagle the costs with mandates, faux controls and subsidies, it's still more than the country can afford. Healthcare doesn't cost so much in other countries because it isn't practiced or administered in the same way as ours.
Bodybuilder's Dance (YouTube)
"At the Open Cup in St. Petersburg, Russian bodybuilder Vadim Skornyakov spiced up his pose routine with a funny lip-sync and dance. His body says, "Muscles!" while his face says, "Let's have fun!" The crowd loved it!" - Neatorama
Topo Gigio was the lead character of a children's puppet show on Italian and Spanish television in the early 1960s. The character, created by artist Maria Perego, debuted on Italian television in 1959 and has been customarily voiced by actor Giuseppe "Peppino" Mazzullo and later Davide Garbolino. The Italian nickname "Gigi" is a derivative of Luigi ("Louis"), so Topo Gigio could be translated as Louie Mouse.
During the 1960s, the American Topo Gigio appeared on the long-running CBS-TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. Created by a troupe of Italian puppeteers, it took four people to bring the 10" tall character to life, three to manipulate him and one to create his voice. In more than fifty appearances on the show, the mouse would appear on stage and greet Sullivan with, "Hello, Eddie!". Gigio would occasionally talk about his girlfriend, Rosie. Gigio ended his weekly visits by crooning to the host, "Eddie, kiss me goodnight!" (pronounced as "Keesa me goo'night!"). Topo Gigio closed Sullivan's final show in 1971.
Source
When Topo Gigio gingerly descended onto The Ed Sullivan Show stage on December 9, 1962, no one could have predicted that the little Italian mouse puppet would go on to become one of the show's most memorable acts. In time, Topo would go on to star in a feature film, an Italian TV show and Japanese and Latin American animated series.
One of the most famous puppets in history, Topo was just ten inches tall, with Bambi eyes and a precocious personality. Viewers wondered how he could walk, talk, roll his eyes, wiggle his ears and toes - all without visible strings. The little mouse was as complicated as he was cute. His creator, Maria Perego of Milan, Italy, controlled his legs with her fingers and opened and closed his mouth with her other hand using rods. Actor Giuseppe Mazullo voiced Topo while two other puppeteers moved his arms. They all were dressed in black velour against a black curtain to stay invisible. An impressed Sullivan stated, "When he's on my arm, I actually feel that he's a living thing, and that I'm talking to somebody. I've never had that feeling before with any puppet or dummy."
Nearly every Topo appearance on the show ended with these four words, sung in the mouse's signature squeaky voice. Topo had a magical 11 year run on The Ed Sullivan Show. And on June 6, 1971, millions of loyal viewers sat in front of their television sets to watch The Ed Sullivan Show for the very last time. As the episode came to a close, Topo made his final appearance, begging Ed to once more kiss him goodnight. Topo's farewell was also Ed's.
Topo Gigio | Ed Sullivan Show
Charlie was first, and correct, with:
It seems it was Topo Gigio.
Adam answered:
Per Wikipedia:
The last original Sullivan show telecast (#1068) was on March 28, 1971 with guests Melanie, Joanna Simon, Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass, and Sandler and Young.
Lois Of Oregon responded:
Ed's last show featured guests Melanie, Joanna Simon, Danny
Davis and the Nashville Brass, and Sandler and Young. Hm.
Who were these people? Guess we now know why it was his last
show. I thought Sandler and Young was a brand of coffee.
Jim from CA, retired to ID, replied:
March 28, 1971: Final Sullivan Show - Melanie, David Frye, Joey Adams
Sally said:
Actually, there was no "Ed Sullivan, Last Show" officially at least. CBS never gave any official notice that the show was canceled, and Ed went on to produce specials until his death in 1974.
If you look back however, the guests listed on June 6, 1971 were Melanie Joanna Simon, Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass, and Sandler and Young.
Who knew...
PS: @Bruce, I was so sorry to read about your dad's passing, he sounds like a wonderful man. You have been very blessed, and thankfully, he will stay alive in your precious memories of both of your dear parents.
@Marian, that has to be the BEST (1 picture = 1K words) photo ever! I am saving it for future reference. Thank you SO much. Hope B2BB enjoyed it as well... (Wink, wink!)
DJ Useo
I only learned the answer to this trivia question was the Temptations
a few months back when I helped put together a Motown mashup album.
I wasn't really into that style of music. It used to bug me on the oldies radio.
After mixing with the Temptations, and Motown in general, I really acquired an appreciation for the style,
and read about many of the acts, and listened to their tunes.
I wasn't real familiar with Ed Sullivan Show either, but my wife showed me some and it was a hoot.
I wish there was good variety television currently. There's so many talented Americans plus professional acts,
I'm sure it'd be better than countless crime shows.
BttbBob replied:
Hell-if-I-know... (I been itchin' to say that... yeah) But! I betcha it wasn't Elvis!
~~~~~
Speaking of "The King" Moment - Do you recall exactly where you were and what you were doing when you first heard of his death? I do... and I wasn't really a big fan of his then, and am not really now. That is one reason why he was/is called, "The King", I guess...
~~~~~
Forwarded Photo Comment - Thanks, Marian! It proves exactly my assertions. Men do ogle (it's in our DNA) and some ladies either don't mind or, in fact, encourage the behavior. Any ideas why the later might be? Hell-if-I-know...
~~~~~
Happy Birthday this day to:
(75) "Hot Lips"... She is the only army nurse-type depicted in M*A*S*H that I never encountered in my nearly 4 years of working with them. Now, some of the other younger ones depicted, heck ya! I liked army nurses quite nicely, I'll have you know. Even the true (not neurotic like "Hot Lips") older "Battle Ax" types, ya know, the majors and colonels. I got along with them just fine. I figured out, right away, that if you were professional and acted like you knew what you were about, they treated ya just fine. Also, finding out what makes them laugh. That worked, too... Har!
The lady standing, somewhat exposed (Ah! Christine!), is (62). She was one of my 80's heart-throbs (yeah, she was hot)... Do any of you recall this scene? I do... You betcha... Oh, and I liked the program, too..
Born this day:
(1916-2009) The standard for "Gravitas" at the anchor desk...
(1979-1935) He would like me... but, then again he liked every man.
(1918-2003) In my "Perfect World", everybody would have to have a neighbor like "Ed" just for the experience of it. The length of time would be what you deserved...
(1919-1996) Yeah... He was a tough guy... least I thought so.
Marian responded:
Gladys Knight and the Pips I am guessing
Dale of Diamond Springs, Norcali, took the day off.
MAM wrote:
Gladys Knight and the Pips were the musical guests on the final episode of The Ed Sullivan Show.
And, Joe S said:
Lifted from TV.com
--Opening of show, with montage of clips from past shows.
--Danny Davis & the Nashville Brass (3 singers with a 9 piece band) - perform "I Saw the Light."
--Commercials: (1) Coffeemate Creamer (2) Friskies Cat Food
--Danny Davis & the Nashville Brass - "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "Down Yonder."
--David Frye (impressionist) - routine includes impressions of Nixon (at press conference), Hubert Humphrey, Kirk Douglas, George C. Scott (as Patton) and the Reverend Billy Graham.
--Commercials: (1) Dairy Queen (2) Keds Grasshoppers (shoes)
--Melanie (folk singer) - "Look What They've Done to My Song, Ma," "Alexander Beetle" and "Ruby Tuesday."
--Lennie Schultz (comedian) - does a routine about 'The Chicken Heavyweight Championship" (with Ed playing a bird).
--Commercials: (1) Alka Seltzer (2) movie: "Flight of the Doves"
--Tony Sandler & Ralph Young (singers) - medleys about rain and applause, songs include "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" (mostly in French), "Applause," "Singing in the Rain," "Over the Rainbow," "Harvest Moon" (audience sing along), and "Bill Bailey"/"Around the World in 80 Days."
--Commercials: (1) Geritol (2) Sominex
--Vic Perry (sleight-of-hand artist) - 'Pick Pocket' routine (with two volunteers from audience).
--Joanna Simon (mezzo-soprano) - "My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice" (aria from "Samson & Delila")
--Commercials: (1) Firestone (2) Allerest
--Joey Adams (comedian) - routine includes Ed telling some of Joey's jokes.
--Norman Wisdom and Tony Fane (correct last name?) - pantomime sketch with two men trying to wallpaper a room.
--Commercial: Bayer Aspirin
--Ed announces next week's guests. Closing credits with Melanie singing "Ruby Tuesday" (performance from earlier in show).
So the answer is ....... Either Norman Wisdom and Tony Fane or Melanie, depending how you look at it.
This is the way I look at it.
I was having a tough time falling asleep last night until a sense of peace came over me, a feeling of satisfaction that I had just figured out something that has puzzled many, many Americans and really curious humans around the globe. I can't lie, it felt pretty darn good to crack this case as a ton of so called inside the beltway pundits and political talking heads have spun their wheels trying to break it all down so it makes sense. As I know now they were on the wrong track and have been successfully led in a wayward direction by it turns out a small, very shrewd group of shady figures on the right. The alleged party of stupid, the GOP will someday in the not so far off future spring out from behind the figurative curtain with an ear splitting cry of "Pysch!"
Yep, these described stupid people will in fact get the last laugh on this one and that is disheartening. I was way on board with the stupid label, relishing repeating it over and over at family gatherings. Sure some may have quietly disagreed with me but not one relative could actually come out and voice their dissent as they would be ridiculed like flat earther's were centuries ago. I realize some reading this now are assuming I am going with the "Punked" angle in this column but I only wish that were the case. Be warned there will never, ever be any derivative of an Ashton Kutcher coming to a camera to reassure us that it was all just a semi innocent prank, a no harm no foul deal. Nope that ain't happening with this thing cuz it's real. Very real. If you are in the party of stupid right now then sad to say your day is coming so start stocking up on cheap champagne and party poppers.
Pretty sure most reading this are saying about now, hey, get to the flipping point so I will. It's like this, the GOP is playing the long game and if all goes according to the "plan", it's likely victory will be theirs. This master strategy did not originate from the brain of Karl Rove, The Koch Brothers or The Heritage Foundation; nope it actually should be credited to the path chosen by one Ed Wood. Yes that Ed Wood. The legendary film director of the described "worst movie of all time," became a legend due to how stupid his motion picture Plan 9 From Outer Space was, is and will always be. We are talking so stupid that years later it was hailed for its sheer stupidity and its popularity expanded beyond belief. Are you starting to get where I am heading now? It's actually pretty simple. For something like a political philosophy to be popular it first must attract attention before people can evaluate it. As most Americans see themselves as being at least sorta cool the last thing a political party needs is to be dismissed as lame out of the box like Readers Digest or a Members Only jacket these days so this is where the genius lies and my fear begins.
It took Ed Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space about 30 years to be considered really cool as it evolved from a total piece of crap to a must rent from Blockbuster or your neighborhood video store. As of today it is now considered mandatory viewing for any serious movie fan with its peak demand around Halloween for some reason. Sadly Mr. Wood was long gone before his creation was given any degree of respect and this may well be the short term fate of many current GOP mover & shakers but for those conservatives with patience and endurance very good things await them. It will take only one or two columns or Blog entries that go viral and the party's resurrection will be inseminated. Though Republicans will have to deal with many more years of the current jokes about being crazy, brain dead, suicidal, racist, etc. they will be redeemed down the road by American's jumping on the bandwagon due to their constant and relentless pursuit of coolness. I should mention here that this moment will break my heart in tiny pieces and I will die a thousand deaths but no matter as it's pretty much a sure thing if any of you are laying money down.
To me the price today's Republican party is willing to pay to one day return as a major player in our country's political system is surprising but when it's fourth down at their opponents 36 yard line, there's 8 seconds left and they are trailing by 5 what the hell choice does one have but to go for it and not kick a field goal? Since this means there are at least 15 to 20 years more to kill before late night talk show hosts stop picking low hanging fruit (GOP congress people) for easy monolog material then this might be the only time right wing nuts might give me a like at my blog site as this may give them a small degree of hope that better days lay ahead "if" I am right about this. For the time being though it will remain tough for conservatives to show their face in public each day knowing that a vast majority of their fellow Americans feel they are no smarter than a piece of drift wood. They have no one to blame but themselves but nonetheless it is still a sad story that has yet many more chapters to unfold before they will ever see a happy ending. Some like to say everything happens for a reason, that God has a plan for us all but in this case it's difficult to see God's hand prints all over this one. If this hail mary play call does flop it rightfully will have to be pinned on Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and toss in Sean Hannity for good measure. As anxious as some on the right are to leap to the conclusion that Obama is the anti-Christ, maybe they should take a quick peek at the AM radio dial Mon-Fri and they might find much better candidates who gave birth to this freaking trojan horse stupidity. I'm just saying. Later.
CBS opens the night with a FRESH'How I Met Your Mother', followed by a FRESH'2 Broke Girls', then a FRESH'Mike & Molly', followed by a FRESH'Mom', then a FRESH'Hostages'.
Scheduled on a FRESHDave are David Ortiz, Woody Harrelson, and the Wanted.
Scheduled on a FRESHCraig are Lauren Graham and Eugenio Derbez.
NBC begins the night with a FRESH'The Voice', followed by a FRESH'The Blacklist'.
Scheduled on a FRESHLeno are Anthony Hopkins and Sting.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Fallon are Simon Baker, Sen. John McCain, and the Dismemberment Plan.
Scheduled on a FRESHCarson 'The Scab' Daly are Strfkr and Caitlin Crosby.
ABC starts the night with a FRESH'Dancing With The Stars', followed by a FRESH'Castle'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Kimmel are Chris Hemsworth, Artie Lange, and Jane's Addiction.
The CW offers a FRESH'Hart Of Dixie', followed by a FRESH'Beauty & The Beast'.
Scheduled on a FRESHArsenio Hall are Michael Weatherly, Barkhad Abdi, and Janelle Monae.
Faux has a FRESH'Bones', followed by a FRESH'Sleepy Hollow'.
MY recycles an old 'L&O: SVU', followed by another old 'L&O: SVU'.
A&E has all 'Gangsters: America's Most Evil' all night.
AMC offers the movie 'Escape From Alcatraz', followed by the movie 'Above The Law', then the movie 'Hard To Kill'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] BBC WORLD NEWS
[7:00AM] BBC WORLD NEWS
[8:00AM] DOCTOR WHO - Season 2 - Ep 13 - Doomsday
[9:00AM] TORCHWOOD - Season 1 - Ep 1 - Everything Changes
[10:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 5 - Ep 2 - Darmok
[11:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 5 - Ep 3 - Ensign Ro
[12:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 5 - Ep 4 - Silicon Avatar
[1:00PM] RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES UK - Season 2 - Ep 4 - La Riviera
[2:00PM] RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES US - Season 1 - Ep 5 - The Mixing Bowl
[3:00PM] RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES US - Season 2 - Ep 4 - Black Pearl
[4:00PM] TOP GEAR - Season 5 - Episode 1
[5:00PM] TOP GEAR - Season 5 - Episode 2
[6:00PM] TOP GEAR - Season 16 - Episode 3
[7:00PM] TOP GEAR - Season 16 - Episode 5
[8:00PM] TOP GEAR - Season 16 - Episode 6
[9:00PM] TOP GEAR: TOP 41-Episode 4 NEW
[10:00PM] TOP GEAR - Season 18 - Episode 1
[11:00PM] TOP GEAR - Season 16 - Episode 6
[12:00AM] TOP GEAR: TOP 41-Episode 4
[1:00AM] TOP GEAR - Season 18 - Episode 1
[2:00AM] TOP GEAR - Season 5 - Episode 1
[3:00AM] TOP GEAR: TOP 41-Episode 4
[4:00AM] TOP GEAR - Season 16 - Episode 3
[5:00AM] TOP GEAR - Season 16 - Episode 5 (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills', followed by a FRESH'Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills', then a FRESH'Vanderpump Rules', followed by a FRESH'Real Housewives Of Miami'.
Comedy Central has an old 'Colbert Report', an old 'Jon Stewart', 'Futurama', another 'Futurama', 'South Park', another 'South Park', 'Brickleberry', and 'South Park'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJon Stewart is Bob Woodruff.
Scheduled on a FRESHColbert Report is David Folkenflik.
FX has the movie 'Colombiana', followed by the movie 'Salt', then the movie 'Salt', again.
IFC -
[6:00AM] Comedy Bang! Bang!-Jessica Alba Wears a Jacket with Patent Leather Pumps
[6:30AM] The Birthday Boys-Catching up on Shows
[7:00AM] The Marine 3: Homefront
[9:00AM] Missing in Action
[11:15AM] Missing in Action 2: The Beginning
[1:15PM] Mystery Men
[3:45PM] The Marine 3: Homefront
[5:45PM] Hanna
[8:00PM] The Warriors
[10:00PM] Scarface
[1:45AM] Scarface
[5:30AM] The Birthday Boys-Catching up on Shows (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[6:00AM] Land of the Heads
[6:15AM] The Big Chill
[8:30AM] Dragonslayer
[11:00AM] The Color Purple
[2:15PM] The Right Stuff
[6:15PM] Hot Shots!
[8:00PM] The Outsiders
[10:00PM] Dream School-Suze Orman's Smackdown
[11:00PM] Breaking Bad-Mas
[12:00AM] Breaking Bad-Sunset
[1:00AM] Dream School-Suze Orman's Smackdown
[2:00AM] Brazil
[4:45AM] Next Floor
[5:00AM] The Writers' Room-Breaking Bad
[5:30AM] The Writers' Room-American Horror Story (ALL TIMES EST)
SyFy has the movie 'The Adjustment Bureau', followed by the movie 'The Bourne Ultimatum'.
TBS:
Scheduled on a FRESHConan are Kevin Kline, Brie Larson, and King Krule.
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio (L) and director Martin Scorsese pose at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) 2013 Art+Film Gala in Los Angeles, California November 2, 2013.
Photo by Mario Anzuoni
Crying babies, Win Butler's Kanye moment, a double suicide, face painting, a makeup-free Lady Gaga in plaid and a trucker's cap. There were all kinds of unexpected moments on the first YouTube Music Awards, as imagined by Spike Jonze and carried off by the odd couple hosts Jason Schwartzman and Reggie Watts.
Eminem won artist of the year and Taylor Swift and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were among the winners during Sunday night's live webcast from New York. But the awards were sort of beside the point as Jonze and others directed live videos with Eminem, Gaga, M.I.A. and Earl Sweatshirt, and Schwartzman and Watts careened about the soundstage with no script and only notecards to point the way.
Actress Zoe Saldana poses at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) 2013 Art+Film Gala in Los Angeles, California November 2, 2013.
Photo by Mario Anzuoni
If you've been following the protests against shale-gas development in Canada you might be confused about what the frack is going on (apologies to Battlestar Galactica geeks).
Your position on the issue probably wasn't influenced much by this week's publicity stunt in Montreal, where a couple dozen oil and gas executives took sips from glasses of fracking chemicals.
According to the Financial Post, Halliburton Canada vice-president John Gorman served up the stuff in champagne bottles at the Quebec Oil and Gas Association's annual luncheon to demonstrate that the international petroleum-services giant's trademarked CleanStim fracking fluid is not environmentally dangerous.
Gorman conceded no company in Canada and just a few in the United States have used this drinkable fracking fluid so far, partly because it's new and costs more, the Post reported. Yes, he and other fracking proponents hope it demonstrates that the industry is serious about allaying fears about the environmental impact of fracking.
Not surprisingly, opponents think Halliburton's stunt - staged in a province where fracking is banned for now - didn't prove a thing, nor do industry claims that fracking has proven safe elsewhere in Canada and the U.S.
Nearly 1,500 priceless paintings including works by Picasso and Matisse that were stolen by the Nazis have been discovered in a flat in Munich, a news report said Sunday.
The German weekly Focus said police came upon the paintings during a 2011 search in an apartment belonging to the octogenarian son of art collector Hildebrand Gurlitt, who had bought them during the 1930s and 1940s.
The search was carried out because the son, Cornelius Gurlitt, was under suspicion for tax evasion, Focus said.
The report said the works were thought to be worth around one billion euros ($1.3 billion dollars) on today's market.
Gurlitt, a recluse without a job, had sold a few over the course of the years, living off the proceeds, the paper reported.
Photographer David Hockney poses at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) 2013 Art+Film Gala in Los Angeles, California November 2, 2013.
Photo by Mario Anzuoni
EBay has removed from its listings around 30 items of memorabilia from the Nazi Holocaust, including clothes worn by concentration camp victims, after a newspaper investigation discovered they were on sale on the e-commerce website, Britain's Mail on Sunday said.
The newspaper said its reporters found a range of items on the site over the past week, including what was presented by the vendor as a complete Auschwitz uniform worn by a Polish baker who perished in the Nazi death camp.
The Mail on Sunday said it had alerted eBay and that the online auctioneer had removed 30 items from sale and offered to make a donation of 25,000 pounds to a suitable charity.
The paper said the purported Auschwitz uniform had been priced at 11,300 sterling by the vendor, a Ukrainian man based in Canada, who had sold another batch of clothing purporting to be linked to Auschwitz for $18,000 last year.
On "This Week" Sunday, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., dismissed charges of plagiarism in his speeches and writing made in the last week, saying he was being "unfairly targeted by a bunch of hacks and haters" who he wishes he could challenge to a "duel."
"The footnote police have really been dogging me for the last week. I will admit that. And I will admit, sometimes we haven't footnoted things properly," Paul told ABC's George "Judas" Stephanopoulos on "This Week."
"When I wrote scientific papers, I sometimes had statements with eight footnotes for one sentence. Is that what you want me to do for my speeches? If it's required, I'll do it," Paul added. "But I think I'm being unfairly targeted by a bunch of hacks and haters. And I'm just not going to put up with people casting aspersions on my character."
Last week, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow accused the Kentucky senator of plagiarism, alleging that he lifted lines from the Wikipedia entry on the film "Gattaca" in a recent speech in Virginia. Paul seemingly used several lines of description of the film from its Wikipedia page as part of a critique of pro-abortion rights advocates. Buzzfeed's Andrew Kaczynski also reported that Paul had used multiple lines of text from Wikipedia for his description of the film "Stand and Deliver" during a speech in June.
Actress Jane Fonda poses at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) 2013 Art+Film Gala in Los Angeles, California November 2, 2013.
Photo by Mario Anzuoni
Hackers claiming links to international activist group Anonymous defaced dozens of websites belonging to Australian businesses and Philippine government agencies on Sunday.
A group calling itself Anonymous Indonesia posted on Twitter a list of more than 100 Australian sites it had hacked, saying the action was in response to reports of spying by Australia.
The websites, defaced with a message reading "Stop Spying on Indonesia", are mainly owned by small Australian businesses and seemed to have been chosen at random.
China demanded an explanation from the United States after the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported Australian embassies across Asia were part of the U.S. operation.
In a separate incident, a group calling itself Anonymous Philippines said on Facebook it had hacked Philippine government sites with a message seeking support for a protest demanding the abolition of "pork barrel funds" - money activists say is used for political patronage.
Doctors in Albania say hundreds of people have fallen ill from harvesting cannabis in a lawless region that for years has been out of bounds to police, Albanian media reported on Friday.
The hospital in the southern city of Gjirokaster said a total of 700 have sought treatment since June for the effects of planting, harvesting, pressing and packing the cannabis in the village of Lazarat.
"In the last two months about seven to eight people arrive in the emergency ward each day and many more have come earlier with disorders from hashish," Gjirokaster doctor Hysni Lluka told Top Channel television.
Aerial pictures suggest some 60 hectares have been cultivated in Lazarat with 300,000 cannabis plants, capable of yielding 500 metric tons (551.156 ton) or half the total cannabis production in Albania.
Actor Warren Beatty arrives at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) 2013 Art+Film Gala in Los Angeles, California November 2, 2013.
Photo by Mario Anzuoni
When they were kids, Johnny and Luther Htoo were bulletproof and invulnerable to land mines - or so went the story that briefly made them famous as hundreds of guerrillas followed and even worshipped them in the southeastern jungles of Myanmar. Today, well over a decade later, their "God's Army" is no more, and the twins' greatest accomplishment may be that both are still alive.
Luther lives in Sweden. Johnny remains at an unofficial refugee camp inside Thailand, not far from where the brothers were sent after they surrendered to Thai authorities in 2001. Now 25, Johnny has hopes of reuniting with family in New Zealand, and Luther has questions about their former comrades that may never be answered.
Members of their Karen ethnic group who have long sought autonomy in Myanmar have laid down their arms since a military dictatorship gave way to a nominally civilian government in 2011. Last month, during his first trip back to Thailand since leaving for Sweden in 2009, Luther said he would fight only if his people were hurt again.
"It's not fun to fight anymore, now that I'm afraid to die. No one wants to fight unless they have to, you know," Luther said.
The legend of the twins began to form in 1997, when Myanmar troops entered their village during a sweep of Karen territory. At the time, the rebel Karen National Union was in sharp decline.
Actress Drew Barrymore waves poses at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) 2013 Art+Film Gala in Los Angeles, California November 2, 2013.
Photo by Mario Anzuoni
Winston Churchill feared that France was about to declare war on Britain in 1940, according to a telegram sent from the British prime minister to governors of the colonies and sold at a London auction on Sunday.
The message, dated July 4 1940, was sent the day after Britain attacked the French fleet in west Algeria to prevent its assets from falling into enemy hands.
In the top-secret message, Churchill justified the raid, which claimed the lives of 1,297 French sailors.
The telegram was sold on Sunday for £1,600 (1,900 euros, $2,500), nearly 10 times more than its pre-sale estimate, according to auction house International Autographs Auction.
Actress Salma Hayek poses at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) 2013 Art+Film Gala in Los Angeles, California November 2, 2013.
Photo by Mario Anzuoni
Kenya's police cast doubt Saturday on a schoolgirl's testimony she was gang-raped, even as the chief justice ordered "action" in a case that has sparked outrage worldwide after the alleged attackers were ordered only to cut grass.
The reported ferocious attack on the teenage girl and the lack of action against the perpetrators has led to an outcry in Kenya, while over 1.3 million people worldwide have signed a petition demanding justice.
But Kenyan police chief David Kimaiyo said investigations suggested that the girl's report was false, claiming that the time between her screams for help and villagers coming to her rescue was "too short for six assailants to have gang raped her".
The 16-year-old, known by the pseudonym Liz, was reportedly attacked, beaten and then raped by six men as she returned from her grandfather's funeral in western Kenya in June, before the gang dumped her, bleeding and unconscious, in a deep sewage ditch.
Liz has to use a wheelchair after suffering a broken back, caused either by the beating or by being hurled down into the pit. She also suffered serious internal injuries from the rape.
Sam Phillips (L), former Penthouse Pet of June 1993, stands at an altar to the late Penthouse magazine publisher Bob Guccione during the 14th annual Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, festival at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, November 2, 2013. The Day of the Dead festival has its origins in a pre-Hispanic Aztec belief that the dead return to Earth one day each year to visit their loved ones. People pay homage to their deceased relatives by preparing meals and decorating their graves. Los Angeles County has 4.9 million Hispanics, or 9 percent of the nation's total, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.
Photo by Lucy Nicholson
"Ender's Game" scored the No. 1 slot at the weekend box office, earning $28 million in its opening weekend and sending "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa" into second place, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Paramount's candid-camera comedy starring Johnny Knoxville disguised as an old man brought in another $20.5 million in its second weekend, with a domestic total reaching more than $62 million.
CBS Films' "Last Vegas," featuring an all-star cast of silver screen veterans including Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline, opened in third place, with $16.5 million.
Relativity Media's 3-D animated kiddie flick "Free Birds," with characters voiced by Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson and Amy Poehler, debuted in the fourth spot, with $16.2 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak. Where available, latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Ender's Game," $28 million.
2. "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa," $20.5 million.
3. "Last Vegas," $16.5 million.
4. "Free Birds," $16.2 million.
5. "Gravity," $13.1 million.
6. "Captain Phillips," $8.5 million.
7. "12 Years a Slave," $4.6 million.
8. "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2," $4.2 million.
9. "Carrie," $3.4 million.
10. "The Counselor," $2.3 million.
People construct a heart shape using tea candles during the Festival of Lights in Halle (Saale), eastern Germany, on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013. The organizers attempted to beat the existing Guinness World Record for forming a heart, using over eleven thousand tea candles, in Austrian Wien back in 2006. This construction consisted of over twelve thousand tea lights.
Photo by Jens Meyer
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