'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Dan Eggen Justice Dept. Statistics On Terrorism Faulted; Most Numbers Inaccurate, Audit Shows (washingtonpost.com)
Most of the Justice Department's major statistics on terrorism cases are highly inaccurate, and federal prosecutors routinely count cases involving drug trafficking, marriage fraud and other unrelated crimes as part of anti-terrorism efforts, according to an audit released yesterday.
Jane Bryant Quinn: A nest egg for low earners (Newsweek)
An idea has come along that's a start. It's called an 'automatic IRA,' designed for those with no ready access to retirement savings plans.
Annalee Newitz: Lisa Nowak, Astronaut (AlterNet.org)
Gender equality has come a long way when the press doesn't differentiate between homicidal maniacs who are men, and those who are women.
RICHARD ROEPER: Academic team makes one proud to say: We are Marshall (suntimes.com)
In a week filled with stories about teenagers and tragedies, I keep thinking about the Marshall High academic decathlon team. They didn't win the city's academic competition last Saturday. In fact they came in 22nd out of 30. Whitney Young won for the 20th time in 21 years.
RICHARD ROEPER: After a celebrity encounter, you do have right to remain silent (suntimes.com)
Britney's former boyfriend, Ralph's mile-high-club partner, Anna Nicole's bodyguard/confidant . . . Everybody talks. As a longtime MPC (Minister of Pop Culture), I know I should be grateful for this, but every once in a while, I just wish someone would say "No comment" and mean
'It's like San Francisco - with greyer weather' (guardian.co.uk)
Is Liverpool really the centre of the creative universe? Alfred Hickling sets off on a Mersey odyssey to find out.
Emily Nussbaum: Say Everything (nymag.com)
"Kids today have no sense of shame or privacy. They are little fame whores who post their diaries, phone numbers, and stupid poems on the web"...
Meghan O'Rourke: In Defense of "Loose" Women (slate.com)
The latest crisis on college campuses.
Clive James: Terry Gilliam (slate.com)
What Brazil tells us about torture today.
Clive James's Cultural Amnesia: Selected Essays (slate.com)
Free Downloads of Bruce's Books: Librarians and Anecdote Lovers, Take Note (Must Register)
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and cool - changing back to winter.
Anybody have any Oscar™ predictions?
Finds Friends In Hollywood
Barack Obama
A Beverly Hills reception for Barack Obama on Tuesday night brought in $1.3 million for the Illinois senator's White House bid in the first major show business fund-raiser of the 2008 presidential campaign cycle, organizers said.
The $2,300-per-person event was hosted by DreamWorks co-founders Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg. It was followed by a private dinner at Geffen's home for those who raised at least $46,000 each for Obama.
The star-studded reception drew such Hollywood names as Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Aniston, Ben Stiller, Ron Howard, Morgan Freeman and Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines.
Others writing checks for the event included studio executives Ron Meyer of Universal Studios and Brad Gray of Paramount Pictures, a source close to the event told Reuters.
Barack Obama
Latest Slate
'Dancing With the Stars'
Here's a bet there won't be any Beatles songs on the next "Dancing With the Stars." ABC announced Wednesday that Paul McCartney's estranged wife, Heather Mills, will be among the competitors.
Olympian Apolo Anton Ohno, boxer Laila Ali, former basketball star Clyde Drexler and actor Vincent Pastore, who played gangster Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero on "The Sopranos," are also in the cast.
"Dancing With the Stars" has proved to be a substantial hit for ABC, although this is the first time it will air when a season of Fox's "American Idol" is under way. ABC will air its dancing competition on Monday and Tuesday nights to avoid going head-to-head with "American Idol."
Actor and former country star Billy Ray Cyrus, former 'N Sync member Joey Fatone, Miss USA 2004 Shandi Finnessey, former "Entertainment Tonight" host Leeza Gibbons, model Paulina Porizkova and former "Beverly Hills, 90210" star Ian Ziering round out the cast.
'Dancing With the Stars'
Baby News
Eden & Savannah Mahoney
The "Desperate Housewives" actress Marcia Cross, 44, gave birth to daughters Eden and Savannah in Los Angeles on Tuesday, her spokeswoman said Wednesday. The father is Cross' stockbroker husband, Tom Mahoney.
"Mother and babies are all doing well," publicist Heidi Slan said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Eden & Savannah Mahoney
She Does It Again
Britney Spears
Britney Spears left a live-in rehabilitation facility early Wednesday, less than a day after checking in, according to several reports. It was the second time in a week that Spears entered a rehab facility and checked out before her first day was finished.
The television news magazine "The Insider" initially reported that Spears called a car service, walked out of the Promises Malibu Treatment Center and left the facility early Wednesday morning.
Later, the TV show "Extra" and the celebrity Web site TMZ.com said the 25-year-old pop star had left the center far short of the usual 45-day stay. TMZ said she couldn't handle rehab and went home.
Britney Spears
Blogger Sued
Perez Hilton
A Hollywood movie studio filed a lawsuit claiming gossip blogger Perez Hilton posted a stolen topless photograph of Jennifer Aniston on the Web.
Universal City Studios Productions LLLP filed the suit Tuesday claiming the stolen image was posted on the perezhilton Internet site by Mario Lavandeira, aka Hilton.
The picture was allegedly "misappropriated and illegally copied" during production or post-production of the 2006 romantic comedy hit "The Break-Up," starring the actress and Vince Vaughn, the suit said.
The suit seeks an injunction barring further distribution of the picture and requests a court order "directing the U.S. Marshal to seize" the copyrighted material from the 28-year-old blogger.
Perez Hilton
Challenges Feds
Americans for Safe Access
Armed with a new study showing the drug can ease pain in some HIV patients, medical-marijuana advocates sued the federal government Wednesday over its claim that pot has no accepted medical uses.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court by Americans for Safe Access, accuses the government of arbitrarily preventing "sick and dying persons from seeking to obtain medicine that could provide them needed and often lifesaving relief."
The Food and Drug Administration's position on medical marijuana "is incorrect, dishonest and a flagrant violation of laws requiring the government to base policy on sound science," Joe Elford, said chief counsel for Americans for Safe Access.
California is one of 11 states that have made marijuana legal for people with a doctor's recommendation. But because the U.S. government does not recognize pot's medical benefits, patients can still be arrested by federal authorities.
Americans for Safe Access
Suit Filed
Michael Jackson
The family of a woman who died two years ago is suing Michael Jackson and a hospital, claiming the gravely ill patient was moved to make room for the pop star when he arrived with flu symptoms.
The complaint, claiming abuse of celebrity status, was filed against Jackson and Marian Medical Center in Santa Maria on Thursday, the second anniversary of the death of Manuela Gomez Ruiz, 73. It seeks unspecified damages.
The family had previously complained publicly that Ruiz, who had suffered a heart attack and was on life support, was suddenly moved to make way for Jackson, whose Feb. 15, 2005, admission caused cancellation of a court session in his child molestation trial. Ruiz suffered a second heart attack and died later that day.
The suit alleges intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, elder abuse, false imprisonment and conspiracy by Jackson, Marian Medical Center and Catholic Healthcare West, which owns the hospital.
Michael Jackson
Accidentally Discovered
Amphitheatre of Acharnes
An ancient Greek theater accidentally discovered by construction workers in Athens is one of the classical world's most famous lost stages.
Builders stumbled last week across the 2,500-year-old amphitheatre of Acharnes, known from ancient writings to be an important arena for tragedies, comedies and musical contests.
They have dated it to the 4th century BC, the golden age of ancient Greek drama when the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides were performed before thousands of people.
Amphitheatre of Acharnes
Gone Missing
Yellow Submarine
A 3 1/2-ton yellow submarine has fallen off the radar. The 10-foot-long sub, built by a resident to patrol Monterey Bay during the 1940s and 1950s, was reported missing Feb. 15 from its Santa Cruz Mountains berth on Steinmaier Road by owner Carl Barker.
Irven Thomson built the vessel from an old propane tank about 60 years ago. He added a turret, hatch, windows and a cement keel, rudder and navigational instruments.
"One of the neighbors said they saw a tow truck loading it up," Barker, 38, said. "Someone knew they wanted it and came and took it. I don't think they stole it for any kind of recycling value."
Barker said Thomson would go on vigilante patrols of the bay and used the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf as his home base. Neighbors said the sub worked, but that Thomson quickly gave up the patrols and beached the vessel on his land in south Felton.
Yellow Submarine
The Big List
Coalition Forces
A look at the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq:
ALBANIA: 120 non-combat troops, mainly patrolling airport in Mosul; no plans to withdraw.
ARMENIA: 46 soldiers, serving as medics, engineers and transport drivers, serving under Polish command; mission extended to end of 2007.
AUSTRALIA: 550 troops helping to train security forces in two southern Iraqi provinces.
AZERBAIJAN: 150 troops, mostly serving as sentries, on patrols and protecting dam near city of Hadid; no plans to withdraw.
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA: Bosnia has 36 soldiers - including three teams of 10 officers and a command team of six - in Iraq.
BRITAIN: 7,100 troops in southern Iraq; Prime Minister Tony Blair announced plans to reduce force by 1,600 in the coming months.
BULGARIA: 155 in total, including 120 non-combat troops guarding refugee camp north of Baghdad and 35 support personnel.
CZECH REPUBLIC: 99 troops.
DENMARK: 460 troops patrolling Basra; to be withdrawn by August.
EL SALVADOR: 380 soldiers doing peacekeeping and humanitarian work in southern city of Kut; no immediate plans to withdraw.
ESTONIA: 35 troops serving under U.S. command in the Baghdad area.
GEORGIA: About 900 combat forces, medics and support personnel serving under U.S. command in Baqouba; no plans to withdraw or reduce contingent.
KAZAKHSTAN: 27 military engineers; no plans to withdraw.
LATVIA: 125 troops are serving under Polish command in Diwaniyah.
LITHUANIA: 53 troops are part of a Danish battalion near Basra. A government spokeswoman said it is "seriously considering" not replacing the contingent when its mission ends in August.
MACEDONIA: 40 troops in Taji, north of Baghdad.
MOLDOVA: 11 bomb-defusing experts returned home at end of January; parliament has not yet decided on sending a new mission.
MONGOLIA: 160 troops; no plans to withdraw.
NETHERLANDS: 15 soldiers as part of NATO mission training police, army officers; no plans to withdraw.
POLAND: 900 non-combat troops; commands multinational force south of Baghdad; mission extended to end of 2007.
ROMANIA: About 600 troops, most serving in the south under British command, with the rest - a few dozen military intelligence officers - serving north of Baghdad; Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu wants them withdrawn.
SLOVENIA: Four instructors training Iraqi security forces.
SOUTH KOREA: 2,300 troops in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil; plans to bring home 1,100 by April and parliament insists on a plan for a complete withdrawal by end of 2007.
UNITED STATES: Approximately 140,000 troops.
Coalition Forces
Nielsen Top 20
Ratings
Prime-Time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Feb. 12-18. Listings include the week's ranking, with viewership for the week and season-to-date rankings in parentheses. An "X" in parentheses denotes a one-time-only presentation.
1. (1) "American Idol" (Tuesday), Fox, 31.2 million viewers.
2. (2) "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 28.89 million viewers.
3. (8) "House," Fox, 25.99 million viewers.
4. (5) "Grey's Anatomy," ABC, 25.76 million viewers.
5. (3) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 22.71 million viewers.
6. (8) "CSI: Miami," CBS, 19.9 million viewers.
7. (6) "Desperate Housewives," ABC, 18.51 million viewers.
8. (X) "Daytona Winners Circle," Fox, 16.4 million viewers.
9. (12) "Survivor: Fiji," CBS, 16.08 million viewers.
10. (12) "Deal Or No Deal" (Monday), NBC, 16.07 million viewers.
11. (15) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 15.5 million viewers.
12. (17) "NCIS," CBS, 15.36 million viewers.
13. (17) "Criminal Minds," CBS, 15.16 million viewers.
14. (26) "Shark," CBS, 15.12 million viewers.
15. (17) "CSI: NY," CBS, 14.81 million viewers.
16. (21) "Heroes," NBC, 14.68 million viewers.
17. (21) "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," ABC, 14.15 million viewers.
18. (15) "24," Fox, 13.73 million viewers.
19. (29) "Ugly Betty," ABC, 13.66 million viewers.
20. (25) "Rules of Engagement," CBS, 13.43 million viewers.
Ratings
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