The Weekly Poll
Results
The 'Falling on Her Sword' Edition
I don't believe an introduction is needed for this question...
Should Helen Thomas 'un-retire' and write for another news service such as The Nation or The Progressive?
My apologies for the late posting. I was indisposed... So, let's get to it...
Richard McD. sent...
I would support whatever she does except retiring.
DanD, 'feisty' as ever was, responded...
Quick and harsh, Helen Thomas didn't "fall" on her sword, she's been eviscerated by the filth of Zionism. "The Lobby" has let HT know what will happen to that particular part of Lebanon that's still alive and that she's related to if she just doesn't shut-the-fuck-up and go quietly into that night.
And of course, she was right ... the Zionified, colonial war-criminals of Caucasoid "Israel" should mandatorily be expelled from all the Levant and should (also from everywhere else) be sent to Garcia Diego to consume themselves. They really do give "white" people a bad name, you know.
(Hmmm... Those Mizrahim (Jews from Iraq, Iran, Morocco, Turkey etc) look pretty 'Brown' to me. They can, and do, pass for Arabs. Ask the Mossad...)
As additional punishment, I feel that any self-proclaiming, Zionist-sponsored colonist should further be summarily neutered just to insure that their political disease of mass-genocide isn't genetically perpetuated.
Anyway, ANY entity that would starve an entire population to death just because they have the misfortune to be living on property that some imaginary deity allegedly promised to a bunch of religiously insane ancestors ... sometimes it makes one regurgitate the oxymoronic (focusing on the moron of it all) consideration that Hitler may have been right.
(Ah, yes... That would be 'The Final Solution', right? Arbeit macht frei...)
It's probably a good thing that I ain't emperor of the world. However, I think that HT would make an acceptable Empress ~
(She's 89, Dan. Her reign wouldn't be very long. Who gets the throne then,eh?)
bebo answered...
hola--- the last time I checked, this is still the united states of america. helen thomas can do whatever she wants to do. as an aside, if israel is your friend, you don't need any enemies.
(What does that last sentence mean? If Israel is your friend, it's also your enemy? What? I'm confused...)
David Dvorkin stated...
I think Helen Thomas should get the hell out of the land of the American Indian and go back to Lebanon. That makes as much sense as what she said.
(Indeed...)
Adam in NoHo said...
Yes. She said nothing wrong. News orgs the entire world over willfully mis-quoted and mis-interpreted what Thomas said. I have never seen anything get lied about so blatantly. And is Israel so weak and pathetic that they can't be criticized ever for anything? They have been treating the world around them like shit for 50+ years, and they really need to cut it out.
(I disagree that she said nothing wrong, Adam. But, that's OK...
Yer still the best!)
DC Madman adamantly wrote...
Helen Thomas is nearing 90, she should do whatever SHE wants to do. She's probably had enough crap and gave Sarah Palin what SP wants, an uncritical lame stream media.
(Of course she should do whatever she wants to do. I'm nearing 57 and I do whatever I want to do... although not always when I want to do it, haha!)
litebug
Absolutely! It's a no brainer. She's too valuable to quit.
(I agree... The Nation would be a good fit, I'm thinkin'...)
DRD opines...
In my humble opinion, the notion that 'retirement' was necessary as a penalty for a person charged with reporting the facts of the story, should be a non-starter! From the time of Raygun, those believing in the equality of all persons have been muted out of fear of the 'right-wing-giant-echo-chamber' while at the same time, more so called liberal politicians, have developed the love of corporation money! Those two factors led up to the failure to respond forcefully to the false outcry of the right against Helen Thomas! This episode is simply another in a growing list where the GOP allows their PR Media Arm to go 24/7, no holds barred, because they know there will be little if any stand-up resistance to most anything they spout out over the air or in print! By standing idly by while the GOP gathered more and more share of all communicational markets, those caring for the welfare of the masses have been run over by the shear thunder of the echo chamber!
~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, then, Poll-fans... Here's how I see it...
1.) I'd like to see Ms. Thomas resume her career (if SHE wants to, of course)
with a non-MSM outlet such as The Nation. Creating her own blog that's
linked to by progressive web sites is another option. I'm afraid, though, her
front row seat in the White House Press Room would no longer be
available. (You could always write 'The Man' and ask him to make it so!)...
2.) As to what she said, I agree with David above. It made absolutely no sense
and I'll tell ya why:
(a) Israel is not going to go away. It's a fait accompli...
No matter what anyone says or how many say it, it's not gonna happen!
The only way Israel would cease to exist is if it was utterly destroyed and
every last one of'em were killed (and No, Dan, that ain't gonna happen
either). Why? Cuz they gots nukes. Hello? About 140 weapons from the
estimates I've read. And if it looked like they were gonna face annihilation,
they would use them. All of them. Cairo, Damascus, Riyadh, Tehran,
Mecca, Medina etc would be turned into radioactive dust blowin' in
the wind... Götterdammerung ... and the Arabs know that...
(b) Helen got her facts wrong (Gasp!) Yes, wrong... Very wrong...
The vast majority of Jewish immigrants to Israel did NOT come from
Germany, Poland and America. Since 1919-2006 the total from those three
countries was almost 274,000 out of 3,374,275 immigrants. Guess from
what country came the most? Russia (USSR) at a tad over A MILLION!...
Furthermore, guess how many came from the Islamic countries of the
Middle East and North Africa? How about almost 700,000! Those Jews
should go back there? Yeah, right... Jews have immigrated to Israel from
over 50 countries. The facts are here... Aliyah - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
and finally
(c) Israel has the right to exist because the UNITED NATIONS
says it does... So there... It's a moot point... Get over it, Helen...
3.) Now, having said all that, I will now say this. I do NOT endorse, condone or
otherwise support the unduly harsh actions of Israel against the
'Palestinian' peoples... The only resolution to this conundrum is a
'Two State Solution' as detailed in the Camp David Accords. That would
include recognition of Israel by the relative Arab countries and signed
peace treaties (such as Egypt has done)... So there it is... (whew!)
Thanks to all responders... As always, Yer the Best!
BadToTheBoneBob
~~~~~~~~~~~
New Question
The 'Gettin' Yer Buzz On' Edition...
America's Prohibition laws were meant to cut crime and boost morality - they failed on both fronts. So how can the 'War on Drugs' ever succeed?
How Can America's 'War on Drugs' Succeed When Prohibition Laws Failed? | CommonDreams.org
What is your position on 'illegal' drugs?
1.) Legalize them all
2.) Legalize only ______
3.) Keep the status quo. They're bad, bad, bad...
Send your response to
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Mark Morford: Marriage, kids, adulthood. But why? (sfgate.com)
Look, you can't have it both ways, uppity American culture.
Which is it? Either we're forcing kids these days to grow up far too quickly, exposing them to a raft of brutal and complex adult ideas and pressures they are ill equipped to handle, or, well, something possibly far, far worse: They never really grow the hell up at all.
Garrison Keillor: The miracle of shared pleasure (chicagotribune.com)
A drizzly Flag Day and wet flags hang on their little poles stuck in the grass along our street. The child asks, "Why the flags?" So you talk about the meaning of the flag, that we Americans are one people, despite our contrariness, and you go on too long about this in the coffee-grinder voice of adulthood, but it's June, School Is Out, time to simply enjoy America and not try to explain it.
Froma Harrop: Is Being Half There OK? (creators.com)
You've seen the zombie parents on the streets and at the mall. Off in some cell-phone cloud, they pay no attention to what's in the stroller. It could be a sack of potatoes. It could be a cocker spaniel. More often than not, it's a baby staring blankly ahead or crying to no avail.
Daniel Gross: Austerity Now! (slate.com)
Can the United States and Europe cut their way to economic prosperity? Probably not.
Scott Adams: Betting on the Bad Guys (wsj.com)
Cartoonist Scott Adams's personal road to riches: Put your money on the companies that you hate the most.
Nancy Altman: To Deficit Hawks: We the People Know Best on Social Security (huffingtonpost.com)
Deficit hawks plotting to cut Social Security to reduce the deficit are seriously misguided. The truth is that Social Security contributes not a single penny to the deficit. Indeed, it is the poster child for fiscal responsibility.
Marion Maneker: Why the iRex e-Reader Failed (thebigmoney.com)
The mainstream buyers have taken the safer and smarter choice of sticking with Amazon or Apple. It's still too early to know whether Barnes & Noble will remain a player here. But there's a good chance that the bookstore chain is limited by being a book brand instead of an Internet brand.
"Old Men in Love: John Tunnock's Posthumous Papers" by Alasdair Gray: A review by Gerry Donaghy
Recently I attended Book Expo America, an annual book industry trade show where booksellers and publishers get together to discuss both why there's never been a better time to be in publishing and how, regardless of our best intentions, our industry is doomed."
Christina Aguilera: 'I'm a very sexual person by nature' (guardian.co.uk)
The little girl with the big voice tells Hermione Hoby why the art of the tease is a beautiful thing.
Miranda Sawyer: "MIA: 'I'm here for the people'" (guardian.co.uk)
MIA is the most provocative pop star of her age. Here, the rapper discusses her new multifaceted album, the absence of her father during childhood and having the video to her latest song, in which a child is 'murdered', censored by YouTube.
Will Harris: A Chat with Anna Gunn of "Breaking Bad" (bullz-eye.com)
And he kept looking her in the eye and saying, "I'm not doing anything. I love you. Everything's fine, and nothing's going on. I just like to take long walks and disappear for days at a time. It's fine." (Laughs) And then she finally gets him. I thought that moment, when you see in his face that he can't lie any more and that the jig is up, was terrific. I love that.
Julie Hinds: Wanda Sykes has plenty to talk about, from politics to motherhood to showbiz (Detroit Free Press)
As the mother of 1-year-old twins, Wanda Sykes has shifted her television viewing habits. When asked whether she plans to watch Conan O'Brien's upcoming late-night show for TBS, she says with you've-got-to-be-joking bluntness: "With two kids now? I will be in bed. I Tivo everything. I'm serious. I can't make it past 10 o'clock watching TV."
wrote:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still sunny, still warm.
Vegas Auction
Jimi Hendrix
Michael Jackson memorabilia, including furniture, stage clothes and handwritten lyrics, are up for sale as part of a celebrity auction planned in Las Vegas this month.
Julien's Auction also plans to auction guitars played onstage by Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley at the four-day auction at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
The June 24-27 auction includes a Mercedes car owned by Anna Nicole Smith, as well as dozens of personal items from Cher, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe and others.
The auction will also feature items from "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry's estate.
Jimi Hendrix
Tardis To Auction
Doctor Who
A Doctor Who Tardis used to whizz Christopher Eccleston around the galaxy as the ninth Time Lord and the "earliest surviving Dalek" will go under the hammer next week.
The Tardis was created in 2005 and has an estimate of £8,000 to £12,000. For those who think this price tag is too out of this world, a smaller model measuring 5ft tall created for an exhibition has an estimate of £300 to £400.
The auction house is offering a lot believed to be the earliest surviving Dalek - first appearing in Dr Who And The Daleks in 1964 and The Chase in 1965. It is estimated to fetch £2,000 to £3,000.
Another Dalek featured in The Evil Of The Daleks in 1967 is also expected to realise £2,000 to £3,000.
Doctor Who
Wedding News
Flockhart - Ford
TMZ has learned Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart were married yesterday and Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico performed the ceremony.
We're told the couple was married in the Governor's mansion in Santa Fe. Their marriage license was filed today in the County Clerk's Office.
Harrison and Calista have been together for almost 8 years, and got engaged over Valentine's weekend in 2009.
Harrison is filming "Cowboys and Aliens" in New Mexico right now.
Flockhart - Ford
Babt News
Harper Renn Smith
Former Saved By The Bell star Tiffani Thiessen is a first-time mum after welcoming a baby girl with her actor husband Brady Smith.
The couple welcomed its first child, Harper Renn Smith, in Los Angeles on Tuesday, reports People.com.
Thiessen and Smith wed in 2005.
Harper Renn Smith
Engagement News
Megan Fox
Megan Fox is off the market. Again.
A spokeswoman for the 24-year-old actress says Fox is engaged to her longtime boyfriend, actor Brian Austin Green.
Fox was previously engaged to Green, 36, whom she has been dating for several years.
The two appeared together in an online video protesting California school budget cuts earlier this year. Fox can next be seen in the film "Jonah Hex," opening Friday.
Megan Fox
Divorces Third Wife
Sultan of Brunei
The sultan of the small oil-rich kingdom of Brunei has divorced his third wife and stripped her of all royal titles after five years of marriage.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, 63, divorced Azrinaz Mazhar Hakim, 30, a former Malaysian television journalist, whom he married in 2005, according to state television late Wednesday.
Grand chamberlain Haji Alauddin Haji Abu Bakar said the divorce was granted based on "special reasons" but no other details were given. Rumours of the royal break-up had been circulating in the capital in recent weeks.
During their marriage, Azrinaz bore two children, adding to the Sultan's 10 heirs from earlier marriages.
Sultan of Brunei
Ex-Hells Angel Claims FX Stole
"Sons of Anarchy"
Chuck Zito, who describes himself as the former leader of the New York City Hells Angel chapter and a "radio, television and film personality," filed a breach of implied contract lawsuit Tuesday claiming that the hit FX drama "Sons of Anarchy" was based on his ideas.
Zito says he developed a show called "Nomads" (later "The Wild Angels") and had ICM agent Ted Chervin set up a pitch meeting with FX executives John Landgraf and Nick Grad in 2004, during which Zito disclosed his ideas for a show about a renegade motorcycle club.
FX passed but in 2006 began developing "Sons of Anarchy" with Kurt Sutter. Sutter, who is alleged to have had no previous knowledge of bikers, did have a relationship with FX, where he executive produced "The Shield." And he apparently also had Chervin as his agent (ICM ultimately packaged the show, according to the lawsuit).
Zito wants $5 million in damages. FX didn't respond to a request for comment.
"Sons of Anarchy"
DUI On The 101
Chris Klein
Actor Chris Klein was arrested early Wednesday on suspicion of drunken driving after he was spotted weaving across lanes on a Southern California highway, authorities said.
The 31-year-old "American Pie" star was pulled over while driving through Sherman Oaks on the Hollywood Freeway, the California Highway Patrol said in a statement. CHP Officer Patrick Kimball said Klein was booked and released on his own recognizance.
Klein was fined $1,800 and ordered to perform 150 hours of community service in 2005 after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor drunken driving charge in north San Diego County.
Klein played the character of Chris "Oz" Ostreicher in 1999's "American Pie" and in the 2001 sequel. He was also featured in the 1999 film "Election."
Chris Klein
Canceled After Crowd Gets Unruly
Free NYC Concert
A free concert by pop band Hanson and up-and-coming Canadian rapper Drake was canceled Tuesday after twice as many people as anticipated showed up and many became unruly, police said.
The show started at about 6 p.m. with an opening act at Pier 17 on Manhattan's South Street Seaport, a popular summer locale for concerts. Hanson, the Tulsa, Okla., brothers behind the 1997 hit "Mmmbop," and headliner Drake, whose album "Thank Me Later" debuted Tuesday, were to appear on stage soon after.
Organizers were anticipating about 10,0000 people but nearly 20,000 showed up, police said. Many people climbed roofs and started throwing bottles, as concertgoers smashed together toward the stage, police said.
The concert was part of the "Sounds Like Paper" series presented by Paper magazine, an independent magazine focusing on arts, culture and music. The magazine apologized on its website: "Wow, the crowd was much larger than we anticipated, and unfortunately the show was canceled. But we will make it up to you guys!"
Free NYC Concert
Amends "Desperate Housewives" Lawsuit
Nicollette Sheridan
Fired "Desperate Housewives" co-star Nicollette Sheridan has updated her lawsuit against series creator Marc Cherry and ABC, alleging for the first time that the network investigated her claim of physical abuse on the set and told her that it was merely a "light tap on the side of the head."
Sheridan's lawyers have quietly filed an amended complaint in her $20 million, seven-count lawsuit for wrongful termination, assault and battery, and discrimination. While it nearly mirrors the original (some language has been cleaned up and a few of the claims are more clearly stated), two interesting paragraphs have been added.
In the wake of Sheridan's bombshell April 5 lawsuit alleging that Cherry struck her on the "Housewives" set and engaged in a pattern of abusive behavior, ABC said only that "we investigated similar claims last year by Ms. Sheridan and found them to be without merit." At the time, Cherry and ABC executives reportedly told people the "incident" was merely Cherry rehearsing a scene with Sheridan involving a slap.
Now Sheridan confirms that was exactly ABC's excuse to her. She also says she was told to go back to work and finish the season "in the spirit of professionalism" but was instead unprofessionally terminated two months later and forced to put on a happy face for the press.
Nicollette Sheridan
Ramps Up Offensive
ABC
ABC is going on the offensive against fired "Desperate Housewives" co-star Nicollette Sheridan, who made worldwide headlines in April by filing a $20 million lawsuit alleging wrongful termination, assault and battery, and discrimination.
The network has hired a big-time litigator, and taken the first steps toward forcing Sheridan and her reps to turn over private documents in connection with her lawsuit.
It hired Adam Levin, an employment litigation specialist who successfully defended Warner Bros. Television in a high-profile harassment claim filed by a writers' assistant on "Friends." Levin has hit the ground running, serving requests for documents and detailed information on Sheridan and seeking to take her videotaped deposition as soon as possible, perhaps as early as August.
Rather than quietly settle the case, ABC is now choosing to fight it head on. Levin is also seeking documents and information from agents at Innovative Artists and Don Buchwald & Associates, as well as publicity house BWR. Other subpoenas could be on the way.
ABC
Too Much Baggage
Lisette Lee
A California woman traveling with a bodyguard on a private jet was arrested at an Ohio airport with 506 pounds of marijuana stashed in 13 suitcases, federal authorities said.
Lisette Lee, the bodyguard and two personal assistants were arrested Monday night after the Drug Enforcement Administration got a tip that the 28-year-old woman was traveling with a suspicious amount of luggage.
After the chartered plane landed in Columbus, one of Lee's assistants and her bodyguard helped baggage workers unload some of the luggage, authorities said. It took two men to carry some of the large suitcases, which were packed with bricks of pot, and three vehicles to carry all the luggage, authorities said.
Lee told investigators that she chartered the plane from Van Nuys, Calif., to Columbus to visit a boyfriend and transport equipment to a horse farm. She said it was her fourth such trip.
Lisette Lee
Researchers 85 Percent Sure Remains Found
Caravaggio
Italian researchers said Wednesday they were almost certain that remains found in a church in Tuscany were those of Renaissance master Caravaggio, who has gone 400 years without a proper burial.
"The bones of one of the individuals found in the crypt of the cemetery church in Porto Ercole belong to Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, with an 85 percent probability," they said in a statement.
The researchers from four Italian universities based their conclusion on DNA, carbon dating and other analysis over an investigation lasting a year, they said.
His unmarked grave was thought to have been among around 200 at a small church cemetery in Porto Ercole. The remains were exhumed in 1956, then placed together in an ossuary in the church's crypt.
Caravaggio
Russian Artists Get Radical
Penis Protest
Radical Russian artists painted a giant protest penis on a drawbridge in central St. Petersburg ahead of a meeting that is the Russian answer to the World Economic Forum, police said on Wednesday.
Measuring 65 metres (220 ft) long and 27 metres across, the light-coloured phallus rises and glistens against the imperial-era capital's elegant skyline when the bridge is drawn up to let ships pass in the twilit northern summer nights.
Politically minded art collective Voina, or War, said they drew the graffiti on Monday to protest the heightened security measures expected at the International Economic Forum, held from June 17 in Saint Petersburg, the hometown of both Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
When the bridge is opened, the erect-looking penis stands beside the local headquarters of the FSB, successor to the KGB.
Penis Protest
Fights Climate Change
Whale Poop
Southern Ocean sperm whales are an unexpected ally in the fight against global warming, removing the equivalent carbon emissions from 40,000 cars each year thanks to their faeces, a study found on Wednesday.
In a heroic calculation, Australian biologists estimated that the estimated 12,000 sperm whales in the Southern Ocean each defecate around 50 tonnes of iron into the sea every year after digesting the fish and squid they hunt.
The iron is a terrific food for phytoplankton -- marine plants that live near the ocean surface and which suck up CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis.
As a result of faecal fertilisation, the whales remove 400,000 tonnes of carbon each year, twice as much as the 200,000 tonnes of CO2 that they contribute through respiration.
Whale Poop
Cable Nielsens
Ratings
1. Movie: "Toy Story 2" (Saturday, 8:30 p.m.), Disney, 4.53 million homes, 7.47 million viewers.
2. "Royal Pains" (Thursday, 10 p.m.), USA, 4.05 million homes, 5.59 million viewers.
3. "Burn Notice" (Thursday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.91 million homes, 5.67 million viewers.
4. "Pawn Stars" (Monday, 10:30 p.m.), History, 3.768 million homes, 5.28 million viewers.
5. "Pawn Stars" (Monday, 10 p.m.), History, 3.766 million homes, 5.35 million viewers.
6. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.41 million homes, 4.95 million viewers.
7. Auto Racing: Sprint Cup/Michigan (Sunday, 1 p.m.), TNT, 3.27 million homes, 4.33 million viewers.
8. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.22 million homes, 4.61 million viewers.
9. Movie: "Toy Store" (Saturday, 7 p.m.), Disney, 3.08 million homes, 5.03 million viewers.
10. "True Blood" (Sunday, 9:04 p.m.), HBO, 3.07 million homes, 5.09 million viewers.
11. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3 million homes, 4.22 million viewers.
12. "American Pickers" (Monday, 9 p.m.), History, 2.97 million homes, 4.94 million viewers.
13. "NCIS" (Sunday, 8 p.m.), USA, 2.81 million homes, 3.81 million viewers.
14. "NCIS" (Sunday, 10 p.m.), USA, 2.72 million homes, 3.55 million viewers.
15. Movie: "Transformers" (Saturday, 8 p.m.), TNT, 2.71 million homes, 3.82 million viewers.
Ratings
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