'Best of TBH Politoons'
TODAY & FRIDAY
Erin Hart
Join
Erin Hart on
Progressive Talk AM 760
today and tomorrow when she fills in for Jay Marvin from 6am - 10am MST (8am - noon EST / 7am - 11am CST / 5am - 9am PST).
Tune in if you're in the area, or listen online.
We have an array of guests to analyze GW's speech, so be prepared to talk about it -- you are the analyst who means
the most: the vote, the citizen.
This is Bush's WAR. But all of us are going to pay. It is OUR country. So tune in to AM 760 where you actually have a voice and are heard.
Talk about all of it: from the escalation, the cost to our troops and
Iraqis, the price paid in region, the separation of powers, the legacy of
this heartbreaking situation.
Our guests so far:
Ari Berman of The Nation who will be posting a
blog tonight on www.thenation.com. We will talk to Congressman Mark Udall
and probably Congressman Ed Perlmutter about the Congress and how and what
they will do about. (Since the press reports the first troops of the
escalation are on their way, what CAN Congress do?)
And we will talk to Jeremy Broussard, a veteran who has founded VoteVets.org
and to Michael MacPhearson, Executive Director for Veterans for peace who
served in the Gulf, visited Iraq in 2003 and has a son who has done a tour
in Iraq and may get called back in this "surge".
Please join us. We will need at least two days to dissect this together, here, where America actually gets a voice.
Please keep in touch via erinhartshow.com - and -
links can be found here.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
PAUL KRUGMAN: Quagmire of the Vanities (The New York Times)
The only real question about the planned "surge" in Iraq - which is better described as a Vietnam-style escalation - is whether its proponents are cynical or delusional.
Editorial: The Imperial Presidency 2.0 (The New York Times)
Observing President Bush in action lately, we have to wonder if he actually watched the election returns in November, or if he was just rerunning the 2002 vote on his TiVo.
Andi McDaniel: Can We Create A World Without Waste? (Posted on AlterNet.org)
A new movement is working to make manufacturers more accountable by pushing them to stop producing anything that can't be resold, recycled or reused.
Peter Berkowitz: Liberal Education, Then and Now: J.S. Mill's idea of a university, and our own (hoover.org)
"The highest justification of liberal education is that by forming free and well-furnished minds it prepares students to fashion for themselves a good life." J.S. Mill had it right...
Annalee Newitz: Science Fiction Made Me Do It
Ruminations on what makes a scientific project too ridiculous to get funded.
Kira Cochrane: Sidelines (guardian.co.uk)
Oprah Winfrey: what's not to like? She escaped an abusive childhood, she turned the US public on to reading, she stumped up for a retirement home when civil rights heroine, Rosa Parks, needed one.
The Culture of Weight Gain (livescience.com)
Both healthy and unhealthy habits run in the family, a concept unintentionally raised in a new Japanese cookbook.
Jeanna Bryner: Bad Habits: Why We Can't Stop (livescience.com)
It might seem a total wonder that a smoker won't quit after hearing that puffing away is a leading cause of death, or that an obese person can't shed a few pounds after learning that lethal ailments loom for the overweight.
Top 10 Bad Things That Are Good For You (livescience.com)
Beer quells heart disease and chocolate staves off cancer? Though often tagged with a disclaimer, studies that tell us to eat, inhale and generally indulge in "bad stuff" is music to our ears. So go ahead and enjoy these bad-for-you remedies-everything in moderation, as they say-until the next study inevitably overturns the research.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Overcast and cooler.
Can't decide who is more contemptuous of the citizenry - the networks or the White House.
They passed off another taped speech as 'live' - why bother?
Comedy Arts Fest To Honor
Don Rickles
The grandfather of insult comedy, Don Rickles, will be the guest of honor at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in this Colorado mountain resort town next month.
The festival will present Rickles with its first "Pinnacle Award," honoring him for his 50-plus year career. A documentary on Rickles by John Landis, called "The Rickles Project," will be screened during the festival.
The event, which runs Feb. 28-March 4, will also feature George Carlin, Steven Wright and Katt Williams.
Don Rickles
Paramount Movie Chief 'Resigns'
Gail Berman
Gail Berman, the former Fox television chief named Paramount Pictures president less than two years ago, resigned on Wednesday, effective immediately, as the film studio made way for an executive overhaul.
Berman, 49, has been the focus of scrutiny almost from the day she was named to the Paramount job in March 2005. In the past year, several reports have surfaced around Hollywood that the former TV executive had a difficult time working with movie agents, talent managers and others.
A former talent manager herself who oversaw the rise of hit TV shows such as "American Idol" while head of entertainment for Fox, Berman was the first female executive to hold top posts at both a major network and a major movie studio.
Gail Berman
Dances In India
Richard Gere
Hollywood star Richard Gere cheered on thousands of Indian prostitutes dancing to raunchy Bollywood songs on Wednesday and urged them to refuse sex without condoms to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.
"No condom, no sex. No condom, no sex. No condom, no sex," Gere hollered into a microphone as about 10,000 prostitutes gathered at a dusty Mumbai fairground joined him in chorus.
The actor, dressed in a brown jacket and black trousers, presented awards to sex workers in recognition of their work on various HIV/AIDS intervention programs.
Richard Gere
Liverpool Home May Be Preserved
Ringo Starr
The childhood home of Ringo Starr may be saved from the wrecking ball.
Negotiations are under way to dismantle the condemned Liverpool row house and rebuild it as part of a major new museum in the northwestern English city, officials said Wednesday.
The Liverpool City Council approved the demolition of the tiny Victorian house on Madryn Street, one of more than 400 properties to be razed for a redevelopment project, in 2005, despite protests from Beatles fans.
The childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney are both owned by the National Trust heritage group and are open to the public.
Ringo Starr
Handwritten Lyric Sheet For Sale
Beatles
The original handwritten lyrics to Beatles classic "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" will go on sale in the United States on Monday and are expected to fetch up to 400,000 pounds ($780,000).
The manuscript, penned by George Harrison, includes lines not included in the final version of the song, which was first recorded in 1968.
Other star lots include a baby grand piano owned by Lennon, the earliest known pair of signatures of Lennon and McCartney and a handwritten letter by Marilyn Monroe.
Beatles
Wedding News
Thorne-Smith - Fishman
Courtney Thorne-Smith, who stars on ABC's "According to Jim," married her boyfriend, agent Roger Fishman, on New Year's Day, her spokesman said Wednesday.
Thorne-Smith, 39, and Fishman wed "at her home in a small, private ceremony," said publicist Jim Broutman. He declined to give further details.
Thorne-Smith - Fishman
Baby News
Heaven Rain Charvet
It's a girl for television host Brooke Burke and actor-singer David Charvet. Burke, 35, gave birth Monday to Heaven Rain Charvet in Santa Monica, her publicist Nancy Iannios said.
"They're doing great and resting at home now," Iannios said Tuesday.
It was the third child for Burke, who has daughters Neriah, 6, and Sierra Sky, 4, with former husband Garth Fisher, a plastic surgeon who has appeared on ABC's "Extreme Makeover."
Heaven Rain Charvet
May Get Early Prison Release
Gary Glitter
Former British glam rocker Gary Glitter, convicted of molesting two Vietnamese girls, may be released early from his three-year sentence, a prison official said Wednesday.
Glitter, 62, is on a list of inmates being considered for early release as part of next month's Lunar New Year celebrations, said Tran Huu Thong, director of the Thu Duc detention center, where Glitter is being held. Vietnam traditionally reduces the terms of inmates with good prison records at that time of year.
Under Vietnamese law, prisoners can be nominated for early release if they have behaved well and their fellow inmates recommend it. Nearly everyone in the jail voted for Glitter's early release, Thong said, and nearly all the prisoners recommended for early release receive it.
Gary Glitter
Golden Globes Do Away With
Swag Bags
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which presents the annual Golden Globe Awards, announced Wednesday that it had reached an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service to satisfy past tax obligations on the plush gift packages given to awards-show presenters.
The end result: No such swag will be handed out at this year's show, to be held Monday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, said HFPA president Philip Berk.
Last year, Golden Globe presenters got gift boxes worth more than $20,000. Each package included a $2,000 gym membership, a $1,200 diamond pendant, an $865 Chopard watch and a $475 camera phone, plus handbags, MP3 players and a slew of gift certificates.
Swag Bags
Westwood One Radio Show
Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller, the "comedian" and former Weekend Update anchor on television's "Saturday Night Live," plans in March to launch his first radio show on Westwood One Inc.'s network, the company said on Wednesday.
The daily three-hour show, "The Dennis Miller Show," will include Miller's commentaries as well as interviews and calls from listeners, and be broadcast in major U.S. markets. Westwood One said it will also relaunch Miller's official Web site.
Dennis Miller
Defense Workers Warned
Spy Coins
Can the coins jingling in your pocket trace your movements? The Defense Department is warning its American contractor employees about a new espionage threat seemingly straight from Hollywood: It discovered Canadian coins with tiny radio frequency transmitters hidden inside.
In a U.S. government report, it said the mysterious coins were found planted on U.S. contractors with classified security clearances on at least three separate occasions between October 2005 and January 2006 as the contractors traveled through Canada.
The U.S. report doesn't suggest who might be tracking American defense contractors or why. It also doesn't describe how the Pentagon discovered the ruse, how the transmitters might function or even which Canadian currency contained them.
Spy Coins
Art Teacher Fired
Stephen Murmer
An art teacher whose off-hours work as a so-called "butt-printing artist" became widely circulated among high school students has been fired.
The Chesterfield County School Board, in a unanimous voice vote, fired Stephen Murmer at a meeting Tuesday night, spokeswoman Debra Marlow said.
In its decision, the board reasoned that students have a right to receive their education in an environment free from distractions and disruptions, Marlow said. The decision also is in keeping with court rulings that hold that teachers are expected to lead by example and be role models, she said.
Murmer, a teacher at Monacan High School, was suspended in December after objections were raised about his private abstract artwork, much of which includes smearing his posterior and genitals with paint and pressing them against canvas.
Stephen Murmer
Antarctic Explorer's Letters Made Public
Capt. Robert Falcon Scott
Knowing he was days from death on a tragic trek back from the South Pole in 1912, Capt. Robert Falcon Scott wrote to his wife that "we are in a very tight corner and I have doubts of pulling through."
However, he assured Kathleen Scott, he faced his end without regret. "How much better it has been than lounging in comfort at home," Scott wrote in the letter, recovered the year after he and his companions died of cold and starvation.
Scott's courage in facing his doom - following the bitter disappointment of losing the race to the South Pole - burnished his stature as a national hero, and was an inspiration to generations of British youth.
Now the British explorer's last letter to his wife, previously published only in part, will be among those displayed to the public in his own sprawling handwriting for the first time beginning Jan. 17 at the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge University.
Capt. Robert Falcon Scott
'Extinct' Turtle Found In Thailand
River Terrapin Turtle
Thai villagers have caught a river terrapin turtle that was thought to be extinct in the country, a leading conservation group said Wednesday.
The female turtle - known for its egg-shaped shell and upturned snout - was found Jan. 3 in a mangrove canal in Phang Nga province on the country's Andaman coast, said the World Wide Fund for Nature-Thailand. It was the first time the species was found in Thailand in two decades, the WWF said.
Villagers from Klong Tum were out fishing when they spotted the turtle - about 20 inches long and weighing 62 pounds - as it was on its way to nest, the WWF said. They sold it to another villager who then alerted local conservation authorities.
River Terrapin Turtle
Toppled By Stellar Blast
Pillars of Creation
They helped open the public's eyes to the wonders of space when they were first photographed in 1995, but a new study suggests the famous Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula might have already been toppled long ago, and that what the Hubble Space Telescope actually captured was their ghost image.
A new picture of the Eagle Nebula shot by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, presented here at the 209th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, show the intact pillars next to a giant cloud of glowing dust scorched by the heat of a massive stellar explosion known as a supernova.
Astronomers think the supernova's shock wave knocked the pillars down about 6,000 years ago. But because the Eagle Nebula is located some 7,000 light years away, the majestic pillars will appear intact to observers on Earth for another 1,000 years or so.
Pillars of Creation
On The Market
Dracula's Castle
The Habsburg family said Wednesday that it wanted to sell a Transylvanian castle famous for its connections to the 15th century medieval ruler who inspired "Dracula" for 60 million euros, or $78 million, to the local authorities, an attorney said.
The local council says it is interested in buying Bran Castle, but a government minister criticized the price tag, calling it too expensive.
The castle, perched high on a rock and surrounded by snowcapped mountains in southern Transylvania, is one of Romania's top tourist attractions and is visited by 400,000 people each year.
Dracula's Castle
Sydney's Taronga Zoo
"Groucho Marx" Penguin
And he thinks he's tired now. A rare "Groucho Marx" penguin found exhausted on an Australian beach after a 2,000 km (1,240 miles) swim has been saved by Sydney zookeepers but will soon have to earn his keep by snuggling up to two lonely females of his vulnerable species.
The Fiordland Crested Penguin, also known as Groucho Marx penguins because of their distinctive bushy eyebrows, is one of the world's most endangered penguin species and is usually found in the frigid sub-Antarctic waters off southern New Zealand.
The male penguin was found at Norah Head, a sleepy beachside hamlet about 80 km (50 miles) north of Sydney, last November, exhausted and suffering respiratory problems after his trans-Tasman trek.
The penguin nick-named "Munroe" was taken to Sydney's Taronga Zoo, where he is now the only male of his species in captivity in the world.
"Groucho Marx" Penguin
Waiting At Home
James Brown
The body of soul singer James Brown has yet to be buried as attorneys and his children work to settle issues surrounding his estate, including where he will be laid to rest.
For now, his body lies in a sealed casket in his home on Beech Island, said Charles Reid, manager of the C.A. Reid Funeral Home in Augusta, Ga., which handled the services.
The room where Brown's body lies is being kept at a controlled temperature, and security guards keep watch, Reid said.
James Brown
In Memory
Yvonne De Carlo
Actress Yvonne De Carlo, who starred in films opposite Clark Gable and Charlton Heston but won enduring fame as wife of a Frankenstein monster-like character in the TV series "The Munsters," has died at age 84, her son said on Wednesday.
Bruce Morgan said his mother, who played Moses' wife in Cecil B. De Mille's 1956 epic "The Ten Commandments," died of natural causes on Monday at the Motion Picture & Television Fund's Retirement Home in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills.
Born in Vancouver, De Carlo was raised in poverty and had to drop out of high school to work. But she won a beauty contest and used that as an entree to bit parts in movies, starting in the 1940s.
She had bit parts in "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1943) and "The Road to Morocco" (1941). But in 1945, she won a key role in "Salome, Where She Danced," about a ballerina who lands in a small Arizona town.
She dropped out of films in 1959 to raise a family, but returned to work in television, where she became a cult favorite as the heavily made-up, ghoulish Lily Munster on the popular sitcom "The Munsters."
From 1964 to 1966, she played opposite Fred Gwynne, who starred as her good-natured but scary-looking spouse, Herman Munster, the head of an oddball family who lived in a big, creepy house at 1313 Mockingbird Lane.
She made nearly 100 films in all, played on Broadway, most famously in Stephen Sondheim's "Follies," and made guest appearances on such TV series as "Bonanza" and "The Virginian."
Yvonne De Carlo
In Memory
Carlo Ponti
Italian producer Carlo Ponti, who discovered a teenage Sophia Loren, launched her film career and later married her despite threats of bigamy charges and excommunication, has died in Geneva. He was 94.
He produced more than 100 films, including "Doctor Zhivago," "The Firemen's Ball," and "The Great Day," which were nominated for Oscars. Other major films included "Blow-Up," "The Cassandra Crossing," "Zabriskie Point" and "The Squeeze."
In 1956, "La Strada," which he co-produced, won the Academy Award for best foreign film, as did "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow" in 1964.
Born near Milan in the small town of Magenta on Dec. 11, 1912, Ponti studied law and worked as a lawyer before moving into film production in the late 1930s.
He was married to his first wife, Giuliana, when he met Loren - then Sofia Lazzaro - about 1950. At the time she was only 15 - a quarter-century younger than Ponti.
Ponti and Loren were married by proxy in Mexico in 1957 - two male attorneys took their place and the happy couple only found out when the news was broken by society columnist Louella Parsons.
But they were unable to beat stringent Italian divorce laws and the wrath of the Roman Catholic church. Ponti was charged with bigamy.
Ponti and Loren finally beat Italian law by becoming French citizens - the approval was signed personally by French President Georges Pompidou - and they married for a second time in Paris in 1966.
He was briefly imprisoned in by the Fascist government in Italy during World War II for producing "Piccolo Mondo Antico," which was considered anti-German. An Italian court later gave Ponti a six-month suspended sentence for his 1973 film "Massacre in Rome," which claimed Pope Pius XII did nothing about the execution of Italian hostages by the Germans. The charges eventually were dropped on appeal.
Ponti had two sons with Loren - Carlo Jr., a celebrated conductor, and Edoardo, a film producer. He also had two children from his first marriage, Guendolina and Alexander.
Carlo Ponti
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