'Best of TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Reader Suggestion
Re: Cost Of War
check it out:
Reader Comment
Re: president pilot?
Marty,
One of the first accounts I heard of Bushs trip to Iraq said and i paraphrase here, the presidents plane arrived in Baghdad with the lights out and the president in the cockpit. I wonder if that will be used in a campaign ad?
James P
Thanks, James!
My first thought was 'what costume do they have him dressed up in, this time?'.
Since the 'Mission Accomplished' pictures are now tainted, they probably will use this footage in campaigning.
OTOH, in keeping with the Faux 'moon-landing hoax' mentality, I'm not sold he actually went anywhere near the Baghdad airport.
from Mark
Damning with Faint Praise
Clark used one of my favorite rhetorical devices,
faint praise, in his interview -
Face the Nation. Take it away Wesley ...
But I'm not running to bash George Bush. A lot of Americans really love him. They love what he represents -- a man who's overcome adversity in his life from alcoholism, and pulled his marriage back together, and moved forward.
Selected Sunday Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
A dappled sunny day.
Got a summons for jury duty in the mail today. Argh.
The kid has started dropping hints about what he wants for Christmas, and I'm grateful. When he was little he'd never tell us what he wanted - it was his way of testing to see if there really was a Santa.
So far, it's mostly science fiction DVDs - from the 50's, 60s & 70s, with the exception of 'Tremors.'
Tonight, Sunday, CBS starts the night with '60 Minutes', followed by a FRESH 'Cold Case', then a FRESH made-for-tv-movie -
'Finding John Christmas'.
NBC begins the evening with 'Dateline', followed by a FRESH 'American Dreams', then a
RERUN 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent', followed by a FRESH 'Lyon's Den'.
ABC opens the night with 'America's Funniest Home Videos', followed by a FRESH '10-8', then a FRESH 'Alias', followed by a
FRESH 'The Practice'.
The WB offers the weekly RERUN 'Smallville', followed by a RERUN 'Charmed', then a
FRESH 'special' - 'Christina Aguilera Stripped In London'.
Faux has a RERUN 'King Of The Hill', followed by a FRESH 'King Of The Hill', then a FRESH 'Simpsons', followed by the
Season Premiere of 'Bernie Mac', then a FRESH 'Malcolm', followed by a FRESH 'Arrested Development'.
UPN has the weekly RERUN 'Enterprise', followed by 'Stargate SG-1'.
A&E has 'Who Killed Laci Peterson?', 'Biography' (Theodore 'Dr. Seuss' Geisel), and 'Meet The Royals'.
AMC offers the movie 'Ghost', followed by the movie 'The Horse Whisperer', then the movie 'Ghost', again.
BBC -
[6pm] 'Monarch of the Glen' - Episode 4;
[7pm] 'Changing Rooms' - Stourbridge;
[7:30pm] 'Changing Rooms' - Leicester;
[8pm] 'Faking It' - Radiographer to Fashion Photographer;
[9pm] 'The Office' - Episode 2;
[9:40pm] 'Coupling' - The Melty Man Cometh;
[10:20pm] 'The Office' - Episode 1;
[11pm] 'Faking It' - Radiographer to Fashion Photographer;
[12am] 'The Office' - Episode 2;
[12:40am] 'Coupling' - The Melty Man Cometh;
[1:20am] 'The Office' - Episode 1;
[2am] 'Changing Rooms' - Stourbridge;
[2:30am] 'Changing Rooms' - Leicester;
[3am] 'The Office' - Episode 2;
[3:40am] 'Coupling' - The Melty Man Cometh;
[4:20am] 'The Office' - Episode 1;
[5am] 'Faking It' - Radiographer to Fashion Photographer; and
[6am] 'BBC World News'. (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Queer Eye', 'Inside The Actors Studio' (Benicio Del Toro), and the movie 'Highlander'.
Comedy Central offers FRESH Richard Pryor - 'Richard Pryor: I Ain't Dead Yet'.
History has 'Greatest Movie Gadgets', 'Mail Call', and 'Tactical To Practical'.
SciFi has freaking infomercials from 6pm til 9pm, then the movie 'Mystery On Monster Island'.
SHOWTIME has 'The Reagans'.
TCM -
[6am] 'The Man Who Came To Dinner' (1941);
[8am] 'Bringing Up Baby' (1938);
[10am] 'Holiday Inn' (1942);
[12pm] 'Pat And Mike' (1952);
[2pm] 'To Kill A Mockingbird' (1962);
[4:30pm] 'Sleeper' (1973);
[6pm] '2001: A Space Odyssey' (1968);
[9pm] 'A Christmas Story' (1983);
[11pm] 'Clara Bow: Discovering the "It" Girl' (1999);
[12am] 'Down to the Sea in Ships' (1923) SILENT ;
[1:30am] 'Escape From Alcatraz' (1979);
[3:30am] 'Telefon' (1977); and
[5:30am] 'MGM Parade Show #20' (1955). (ALL TIMES EST)
A giant advertising sign of a stamp featuring Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf from the movie 'Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King' hangs on the side of a post office building in Wellington, New Zealand, Friday, Nov. 28, 2003, as part of the buildup for the world premiere of the movie in Wellington on Dec. 1.
Photo by Ross Setford
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
New Book On Hope
Studs Terkel
At the age of 91, Studs Terkel, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and oral historian, who over the years had chronicled the Depression, growing old and just about everything in between, has come out with a new book on hope.
In Hope Dies Last Terkel lets more than 50 people relate their own hopes, stories that might give others hope, how they've hung onto it or even lost it.
"A lot of people feel, 'What can I do, (it's) hopeless,' " Terkel says in an interview at his home on Chicago's North Side. "Well, through all these years there have been the people I'm talking about, whom we call activists ... who give us hope and through them we have hope."
Terkel, whose own history includes being blacklisted during the McCarthy era, taking an active role in the civil rights movement and having "never met a picket line or petition I didn't like," gives voice to those for whom the activist moniker is obvious - and some for whom it is not.
For a great read, Studs Terkel
South African AIDS Benefit
46664
Beyonce Knowles, Bono, Peter Gabriel and other musicians from around the world took to the stage Saturday for an AIDS benefit concert hosted by former South African President Nelson Mandela.
More than 30,000 people, among them Oprah Winfrey and other celebrities, filled Cape Town's Greenpoint Stadium for the show, part of Mandela's 46664 campaign to fight AIDS, named after his number when he was imprisoned for his fight against apartheid.
With a massive bronzed image of his face as a backdrop, Mandela came on stage dressed in a black shirt with the number emblazoned across his chest.
"For the 18 years that I was in prison on Robben Island I was supposed to be reduced to that number," Mandela said. "Millions infected with HIV/AIDS are in danger of being reduced to mere numbers if we don't act now. They are serving a prison sentence for life."
The concert will be screened globally by MTV on World Aids Day on Monday. Proceeds are going to the foundation, whose work includes funding research on HIV and AIDS in South Africa and supporting services for sufferers.
For all the details, 46664
Brazilian writer Rubem Fonseca, left, receives the Latin American and Caribbean Juan Rulfo Literature award as Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez looks on during the opening day of the Guadalajara Book Fair, Saturday Nov. 29, 2003, in Guadalajara City, Mexico. This year the fair has invited writers of Canada's Quebec province as its honored guests.
Photo by Guillermo Arias
Man With An Opinion
Steve Earle
Steve Earle's been on the Atkins diet, which has stripped more than 50 pounds off his frame, and the 48-year-old singer-songwriter is nearly unrecognizable when he walks into a conference room at his record company offices.
Being active works well with a diet, and Earle is typically busy. He's the subject of Just an American Boy, an Amos Poe documentary that focuses on his political activism. A two-CD live album, released by Artemis Records, preceded it.
Also this month, he joined Billy Bragg, Tom Morello and other artists on a brief concert tour to call attention to media consolidation.
In a recent interview, Earle was asked the following questions:
AP: Did the reaction to John Walker's Blues (where Earle was criticized in conservative media outlets for writing from the perspective of American Taliban John Walker Lindh) make you regret writing the song?
Earle: Absolutely not. The negative reaction came from people I expected it to come from. That's a really good barometer. ... Then again, equating that to a really serious political discussion is like thinking that pro wrestling is real. It's like that Toby Keith song. It's not a political dialogue. It's pandering. It's pandering to people's worst instincts at a time they are hurt and scared. I don't think it's OK, but I do defend it on a First Amendment basis.
For the rest, Steve Earle
Champions Childhood Cancer Crusade
Cindy Crawford
When supermodel Cindy Crawford's younger brother died of leukemia more than 25 years ago, a reunion of more than 200 childhood cancer survivors didn't seem possible.
"Cancer is not a death sentence anymore," Crawford said before Saturday's "Kids with Courage" reunion at the University of Wisconsin Children's Hospital, where her 4-year-old brother, Jeffrey, was treated. "The kind of leukemia my brother had is now 80 percent curable."
Saturday's reunion was the third and Crawford has attended each one.
"The great thing about this is you see the miracles, you meet the miracles," she said. "It's so not my day ... I just feel lucky to be in the room."
Cindy Crawford
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
To Resume British Tour
Meat Loaf
Singer Meat Loaf, who underwent heart surgery after collapsing onstage in London last week, said Friday that doctors have cleared him to resume his stalled British tour.
The musician, famous for epic power ballads such as "Bat Out of Hell" and "I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)," said he experienced dizzy spells all summer but hadn't seen a doctor.
"I just chalked it up to being old," said Meat Loaf, whose real name is Marvin Lee Aday.
Meat Loaf had said he hoped to resume his tour Sunday in Manchester, but his record company later said he'd been advised to have a few more days' rest. He now hopes to perform Tuesday in Dublin, followed by dates in other cities.
Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf fan club
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (R) and Senator Jack Reed (C) get a tour by Lt. Col. Brian Mennes through the base of the 2nd battalion, 2nd Airborne Division in Baghdad, November 28, 2003. Clinton and Reed spent a day touring Baghdad, meeting with military personnel, top officials of the occupation administration and aid groups.
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Computer Animator
Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke didn't have computerized special effects to make his car take flight in the 1968 musical fantasy "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang."
But now the comic actor said one of his favorite hobbies is creating his own special effects in a home computer lab.
"I'm a computer animator. I'm a real nerd," Van Dyke told The Associated Press, in an interview to promote the "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" DVD, released in stores Tuesday. "I do special effects, animation and everything on computer graphics - and I'm pretty good. I haven't ever put anything out professionally, but it's an absolutely addictive hobby."
The 78-year-old started tinkering with the technology about 13 years ago and now works on four computers connected with one 40-inch screen.
Dick Van Dyke
Back at Work
Stan Lee
The popularity of movies like "X2: X-Men United," "Spider-Man," "Daredevil" and "Hulk" has gotten 80-year-old Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee back to work.
Lee, who helped create those comic book superheroes during his tenure at Marvel in the 1960s, now has his own production company, POW! Entertainment.
"I'm working on so many new things," Lee told The Associated Press. "The one thing I love to do is come up with ideas for characters and for stories. At Marvel, we had done so many of them and after a while I moved away from the creative end and I just became a promoter for Marvel. But now I have the chance to be creating more things, and it's tremendous amount of fun."
Stan Lee
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Pentagon Funds Pro-U.S. Network
Al-Iraqiya
One of the chief U.S. weapons in the battle to win Iraqi hearts and minds is Al-Iraqiya — a Pentagon-funded TV station with an optimistic, pro-American slant.
Announcers on Al-Iraqiya, which reaches 85 percent of Iraqis, decry the guerrillas attacking U.S. military and Iraqi civilian targets as "terrorists."
Problem is, those Iraqis fortunate enough to have satellite dishes consider Al-Iraqiya stodgy and slow on breaking news. They prefer Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, the flashy Gulf-based stations where anti-American fighters are branded "resisters."
Al-Iraqiya, run by the Iraqi Media Network that also includes two Baghdad radio stations, gets exclusive interviews with coalition leaders and streams live broadcasts of speeches by L. Paul Bremer, the top U.S. official in Iraq.
The Pentagon is seeking bids for a $100 million upgrade to the IMN network, adding an all-news channel that would eventually be broadcast via satellite — in direct challenge to the Arab satellite channels.
Pull on your hip-waders, shake your head, and read the rest - Al-Iraqiya
A Russian Cossack rides his horse during the reconstruction of the 'Battle of Three Emperors' ( France's Napoleon, Russia's Alexander I and Austria's Franz I) while some 600 hundred history enthusiasts from all over Europe gathered on November 29, 2003, to commemorate the 198th anniversary of one of the largest of Napoleon's battles near the south Moravian town of Austerlitz.
Photo by Petr Josek
Paints Unflattering Portrait
'The Reagans'
If admirers of former President Reagan didn't like a television movie about him after reading leaked snippets of a script, their opinion isn't likely to change after seeing the final product.
"The Reagans," which premieres on Showtime on Sunday, depicts the former president as amiable but often confused, controlled to a large extent by his wife, Nancy, and presiding over a dysfunctional family.
Showtime made copies of the film available to journalists Saturday.
The film opens with a befuddled Ronald and tearful Nancy Reagan dealing with the fallout of Iran-Contra, in which the government traded arms to Iran for hostages. It then switches to 1949, when film actor Ronald Reagan meets actress Nancy Davis.
She's depicted as controlling from the start, scheming to get a first date with Reagan and compelling him to propose by threatening to move to New York.
For the rest, 'The Reagans'
Australian Leisel Jones races to her seond world record win in the 200 meter breaststroke women's final during the World Cup Swimming in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2003. Jones broke the world record with a time of 2 minutes 17.75 seconds.
Photo by David Callow
Transvestite Kickboxer
'Beautiful Boxer'
He'd put on mascara, a layer of blush, bright red lipstick and finally the gloves before stepping into the testosterone-charged ring to knock the stuffing out of his opponents. Now Parinya Charoenphol, one of Thailand's most famous kickboxers, is the subject of a movie.
"Beautiful Boxer," which premiered Wednesday night, is about the prizefighter who earned 22 wins and 18 knockouts in a career that lasted six years.
Parinya, 22, hung up his gloves at the peak of his career three years ago to undergo a sex change operation and become an entertainer in Bangkok's famous bar district of Patpong.
"In the end it is not just a story about a transvestite boxer but a story about a human being who goes through an emotional journey to match his heart with his body," director Ekachai Uekrongtham told The Associated Press.
'Beautiful Boxer'
A fish, at right, a symbol of Christianity, is seen stuck on a car of one of Egypt's Coptic Christian minority on a Cairo street, Friday, Nov. 28, 2003. First came the fish, imported from the United States as a symbol of Christianity and placed on the cars of members of Egypt's Coptic Christian minority. Before long, some Muslims were responding with their own bumper stickers: fish-hungry sharks.
Photo by Mahmoud Nour Eddin
'The Osbournes'
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