'TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
David Cole: Are We Safer? (nybooks.com)
President Bush is fond of repeating, "We are fighting them over there so that we won't have to fight them here at home." As a slogan, this may be good politics. But as a counterterrorism strategy, it appears to be a disaster. Fighting them "over there" has since 2003 meant committing over one hundred thousand troops, hundreds of billions of dollars, and thousands of lives to a conflict in Iraq whose only clear connection to the "war on terror" has been its encouragement of terrorism.
Bruce Reed: The Cause-a-Year Man (slate.com)
In praise of Eli Segal, who made purpose and decency a way of life.
Richard Roeper: Age-old issue: Leading men get hot young girls (suntimes.com)
Even though Harrison Ford is in his 60s, he still gets to play the ambitious security analyst with the hot wife and the two young children in the recently released "Firewall."
Katie McKy: Pretending to be you and me (rawstory.com)
Whereas I generally contain more crap than a dairy barn, I do like this about me: my friends are enough. I'm enough. I don't need to read about Angelina to feel alive. And I wonder why friends and family aren't often enough for folks. Sure, Angelina's impressive at 20 feet. Her talent is gargantuan too. And I expect she's also impressive at her natural 5 feet and 7 inches, but my buds are major babes too. And unlike Angelina, they talk to me and there's this plus: they aren't allegedly bearing Bigfoot's baby.
Pat Aufderheide: Sundance Docs 2006 (inthesetimes.com)
Have the marketplace successes of Michael Moore (Fahrenheit 9/11) and Robert Greenwald (Outfoxed, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price) changed the chances for documentary films? If Sundance this year was any guide, yes. The trend-spotting festival was bolder than usual in showcasing politically-charged films.
Jack Shafer: TV's Aryan Sisterhood (slate.com)
They know only one hair color: blonder!
Donna Ladd: Coretta, Betty and Me (jacksonfreepress.com)
"We can no longer ignore that voice within women that says: 'I want something more than my husband and my children and my home,'" Friedan declared. Coretta Scott King was a wife, a mother-and an activist in her own right. She chose to use her life to make a difference, with or without a strong husband at her side. She heeded the stirring. My life and my choices are better and richer due to both of these women. May their dear souls rest in peace.
Annalee Newitz: China Syndrome (AlterNet.org)
High-tech companies should absolutely be bargaining with China over human rights -- asking for less censorship in exchange for more goodies -- but they should be striking the same bargains with the U.S. government.
Mark Morford: Obese American Tourists, Ho! (sfgate.com)
Here in the famed San Francisco bubble, with its incredible array of spas and outdoor activities and yoga studios, our love of Whole Foods and farmers' markets and organic everything, you simply don't see this level of physical neglect, this utter rejection of the body as something to be cultivated and cared for. It is simply not a factor.
David Bruce: Wise Up! Police (athensnews.com)
Abbie Hoffman was under constant surveillance by government agents for five years. He handled this situation well -- when he needed to go somewhere, he used to hitchhike and get a ride with the agents who were trailing him.
The Perfect Gift for Bush Lovers
Guerrilla News
Editorial Cartoons By Terry Laban (inthesetimes.com)
Reader Review
John Stewart
Hubert's Poetry Corner
SAGA OF HARRY AND THE DICK$TER
COME ON IN AND REST YUR FACE AND HANZ! SAT DOWN AND POUR'D YURSELF A BIG TALL DRANK, AND I'LL TELL YOU'D STILL'D NOTHER CHAPTUR IN THE KONTINUIN' STORY OF OLD HARRY AND THE DICK$TER. PLEAZ KEEP'N YUR GUNS IN PLANE CITE AND UNLOADED ON THIS HERE BAR!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny & a bit warmer.
Added a new flag - Barbados 
Rock Against War in Iraq
'Bring 'Em Home Now'
R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, Bright Eyes, Rufus Wainwright, Fischerspooner, Public Enemy's Chuck D, Devendra Banhart and Peaches have signed on for "Bring 'Em Home Now," a March 20 concert at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom.
The event is tied to the third anniversary of the United States' invasion of Iraq and will feature a speech by antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan.
Proceeds will benefit Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace. Janeane Garofalo's Air America Radio show "The Majority Report" will broadcast live from the show and feature interviews with the performers.
'Bring 'Em Home Now'
Upholds CBS Fine
FCC
Federal regulators will stick by their decision to slap CBS with a $550,000 fine for the Janet Jackson flash at the 2004 Super Bowl.
They also plan new sanctions against Fox, NBC and CBS TV stations or affiliates for violating decency standards, according to people familiar with the matter.
In the next couple of weeks, the agency is expected to release a batch of indecency rulings and dismissals of complaints - about 40 in all. There will be a mix of fines, about six, as well as a handful of sanctions that will essentially put broadcasters on notice that certain utterances or other actions could bring fines in the future. No dollar figures were given for any of the fines.
FCC
Launches Film Festival
Howard Stern
His credits include radio, books, cable TV and movies. Now Howard Stern is adding talent scout to his "King of All Media" resume.
Stern is seeking entries for the Howard Stern Film Festival, In Demand Networks announced Wednesday.
Submissions of the films, which need to be five minutes or less, will be accepted until April 11. The top three films will earn cash prizes and air on Howard TV On Demand. The winner's share will be $15,000.
Howard Stern
Spencer Tracy Award
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman will be honored with UCLA's Spencer Tracy Award, which recognizes outstanding screen performances and professional achievement.
Jason Kaminsky, UCLA campus events commissioner, made the announcement Tuesday. An awards ceremony is scheduled for March 7.
Morgan Freeman
What Money Can't Buy
'Gifting'
What started out in 1989 as a discreet thank you gift from Oscar organizers to the (unpaid) presenters of the Academy Awards has turned into a multimillion-dollar industry that has spawned a wave of freelance gifting and the arrival of the "gift lounge" at most of Hollywood's movie and music awards ceremonies.
Lash Fary, whose company, Distinctive Assets, has a reputation for "impressing the seemingly unimpressible," said his first gift bag -- for Grammy presenters seven years ago -- was worth $5,000. Companies pay a hefty fee to Fary to have their items included as gifts.
This year his Grammy gift basket was worth about $65,000 including a guitar and a coupon for Lasik eye surgery. His Oscar "loser bag," to be handed out after the March 5 award show to the non-winning Oscar nominated actors, actresses and directors, ranges from the sublime (three days in a private suite at a Las Vegas hotel) to the mundane (a stain removing pen and a tin of breath mints).
For a lot more, 'Gifting'
Shirts Auctioned
'Brokeback Mountain'
Tom Gregory just spent more than $100,000 on two used cowboy shirts. And he couldn't be happier. The shirts are the ones worn by the ill-fated lovers, played by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, in Oscar front-runner "Brokeback Mountain."
"They really are the ruby slippers of our time," said Gregory, 45.
'Brokeback Mountain'
Court Blocks Sex Tape
Kid Rock
Rap-rocker Kid Rock has convinced a federal judge in Detroit to block a California company from selling or promoting a video showing him and former Creed singer Scott Stapp having sex with four women after a Miami concert.
The temporary restraining order issued on Tuesday by U.S. District Court Judge John Feikens bars World Wide Red Light District, which released the Paris Hilton sex tape, from selling the video or using Kid Rock's likeness in its promotions.
Feikens set a hearing for Friday in Detroit to hear arguments in the case.
Kid Rock
Launching Mini-Network
News Corp
News Corp. announced Wednesday it would launch a new mini-network called My Network TV that will supply prime-time shows for the 10 local TV stations the company owns that were left without programming after UPN announced that it would close.
The new lineup will be centered around two serial dramas that will air six days a week with 13-week story lines, similar to the soap opera-esque "telenovela" format that has been a big success on Spanish-language networks like Univision.
The new lineup will launch on Sept. 5 on stations in major cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas with initial coverage of 24 percent of the United States, News Corp. said. Executives said they hoped to sign up other affiliates as well.
News Corp
Bans Human/Animal Hybrid Programs
China
In a move that could benefit its nascent domestic animation industry, China has banned from television any new shows that combine animation with live actors.
In a February 15 notice, the State Administration of Radio Film and Television said it would no longer allow hybrid programs and ordered designated animation channels to rid themselves of programs that incorporate live-action performances.
One such film, "Babe," was earlier banned in China on the grounds that animals don't talk.
China
'Samurai Love God' On Comedy Central
Jenna Jameson
Porn star Jenna Jameson will lend her voice to an animated series produced by Viacom's Comedy Central that will be delivered to mobile phone users, the network said on Wednesday.
The show, called "Samurai Love God," is the first original animated mobile video series from Comedy Central, a unit owned by Viacom Inc., and will also star 'The Daily Show' correspondent Ed Helms,
The series has eight 2-1/2 minute episodes and will premiere this quarter across three cellular carriers, Verizon, Sprint Nextel and Amp'd. It will be available to all subscribers of the carriers' standard video service.
Jenna Jameson
'Death By Misadventure'
Li Xiao Meng
A teenage guitarist got so carried away while bouncing up and down on his bed mimicking a rock star that he flew out of a third floor window to his death, a Singapore newspaper reported Wednesday.
The Straits Times said Li Xiao Meng, a 16-year-old from China who was studying at Singapore's Hua Business School, was a keen musician who liked to jump up and down while playing his guitar in his hostel room.
Ruling death by misadventure, the court said evidence "points to the deceased unintentionally falling out of the window to his death when he was hyped up with exhilaration, jumping up and down on the bed placed against an open window while mimicking a rock guitarist.""
Li Xiao Meng
Basic Cable Networks
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on basic cable networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of Feb. 13-19. Day and start time (EST) are in parentheses.
1. NBA All-Star Game (Sunday, 8:29 p.m.), TNT, 4.71 million homes, 7.07 million viewers.
2. Movie: "High School Musical" (Monday, 8 p.m.), Disney, 3.44 million homes, 4.59 million viewers.
3. "NBA All-Star Tip-off" (Sunday, 8 p.m.), TNT, 3.30 million homes, 4.62 million viewers.
4. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.26 million homes, 4.37 million viewers.
5. "Fairly Odd Parents" (Sunday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.24 million homes, 4.44 million viewers.
6. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Sunday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.222 million homes, 4.49 million viewers.
7. "NBA All-Star Saturday Night" (Saturday, 8:30 p.m.), TNT, 3.220 million homes, 4.73 million viewers.
8. "WWE Raw" (Thursday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.18 million homes, 4.51 million viewers.
9. "Fairly Odd Parents" (Saturday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.17 million homes, 3.95 million viewers.
10. "Fairly Odd Parents" (Saturday, 10:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.05 million homes, 3.96 million viewers.
11. "Hershey's Kissables 300 (NASCAR)" (Saturday, 1 p.m.), TNT, 2.95 million homes, 3.96 million viewers.
12. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.88 million homes, 3.85 million viewers.
13. "Law & Order" (Monday, 9 p.m.), TNT, 2.87 million homes, 3.86 million viewers.
14. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Sunday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.83 million homes, 3.86 million viewers.
15. "WWE Raw" (Thursday, 9 p.m.), USA, 2.82 million homes, 3.92 million viewers.
Ratings
Prime-Time Nielsen
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Feb. 13-19. 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. (2) "American Idol"-Wednesday, Fox, 28.8 million viewers.
2. (1) "American Idol"-Tuesday, Fox, 27.0 million viewers.
3. (5) "Grey's Anatomy," ABC, 24.4 million viewers.
4. (4) "Desperate Housewives," ABC, 23.4 million viewers.
5. (X) " Winter Olympics"-Monday, NBC, 21.1 million viewers.
6. (X) "Winter Olympics"-Saturday, NBC, 19.7 million viewers.
7. (X) "Winter Olympics"-Thursday, NBC, 19.4 million viewers.
8. (7) "Dancing With The Stars," ABC, 19.3 million viewers.
9. (X) "Winter Olympics"-Sunday, NBC, 19.23 million viewers.
10. (25) "House," Fox, 19.20 million viewers.
11. (X) "Winter Olympics"-Friday, NBC, 18.9 million viewers.
12. (3) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 18.8 million viewers.
13. (X) "Winter Olympics"-Tuesday, NBC, 18.4 million viewers.
14. (12) "Lost," ABC, 18.2 million viewers.
15. (X) "Winter Olympics"-Wednesday, NBC, 17.9 million viewers.
16. (11) "Survivor: Panama-Exile Island," CBS, 17.0 million viewers.
17. (15) "Dancing with the Stars (Results)," ABC, 15.8 million viewers.
18. (5) "Without a Trace," CBS, 14.7 million viewers.
19. (20) "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," ABC, 14.6 million viewers.
20. (14) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 13.6 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
John Belluso
John Belluso, a Los Angeles playwright who championed the rights of the disabled in his work and through the L.A.-based writers program he helped direct, was found dead February 17 in his room at the Marriott Residence Inn in Manhattan. He was 36.
Belluso had Engleman-Camurdrie syndrome, a debilitating bone disease that confined him to a wheelchair.
The playwright had been staying at the Marriott while he completed "The Poor Itch," a play about a disabled American veteran returning from Iraq. Other works included 2002's "Pyretown," a scathing look at the U.S.' managed health care system; "Gretty Good Time," about a 32-year-old woman with postpolio paralysis; and "Traveling Skin," about a waitress with cerebral palsy.
John Belluso
In Memory
Jiro Fukushima
Jiro Fukushima, who wrote a controversial book on his love affair with Japanese novelist Yukio Mishima after his public suicide, has died at age 76, his family said.
Fukushima, himself a well-known novelist who was twice nominated for the prestigious Akutagawa literary award, died of pancreatic cancer at a hospital in southern Japan.
The writer wrote a graphic account of his relationship with the fellow man of letters in his 1998 book "Yukio Mishima: the Sword and the Rouge in Winter."
Mishima, who had a wife, children and several male lovers, is considered one of the most influential writers of post-World War II Japan and wrote longingly for the nation's former samurai way.
Jiro Fukushima
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