'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Martha Burk: Women Own The Democratic Party (TomPaine.com; Posted on alternet.org)
Analysis shows that female voters determined the 2006 elections. Will women-friendly policy result?
SEYMOUR M. HERSH: THE NEXT ACT (newyorker.com)
Is a damaged Administration less likely to attack Iran, or more?
Khalid Hasan: Michael Moore writes to Bush (dailytimes.com.pk)
WASHINGTON: Marking the longest presence ever of the United States in a foreign war, iconoclastic moviemaker Michael Moore in an open letter to President George Bush has pointed out that after 1,347 days, not even the road from the airport to Baghdad city is safe.
Memories are made of this (guardian.co.uk)
It began with a project that encouraged Ugandan women with Aids to prepare for death by making 'memory books' for their children. Now 'memory work', in various different forms, is used by HIV organisations across Africa. By Gideon Mendel.
Connie Tuttle: Time to Get to Work (tucsonweekly.com)
Imagine what could be accomplished if voters stay awake and in touch with Congress.
Connie Tuttle: Welcome to the fascist era of the United States (tucsonweekly.com)
Protest was easy during the Vietnam War. The mainstream media had not been muzzled and corporatized; teach-ins exposed a large segment of the population to the history of the conflict; the draft provided an immediate and, for many, a personal reason to resist; the nation had not been successfully immobilized by a steady diet of fear-mongering; and the Internet did not exist.
Connie Tuttle: Throw away the magazines and develop your own style (tucsonweekly.com)
Just when I get around to replacing those comfy, baggy jeans with something called a "boot cut," along come the fashion mavens to tell me I'm already out of style. Jeez, why don't clothes come with an expiration date, like bread or yogurt? Instead of "best by such-and-such a date," the label could read, "Warning: Wearing after October 2006 exposes you to the risk of fashionista ridicule."
Marcel Berlins: Borat's humour is immoral (guardian.co.uk)
Extracting racist remarks from naive and ignorant victims is not only not that funny, it's morally wrong.
Annalee Newitz: Crap of the Future (alternet.org)
For the holidays, please allow me to predict what kinds of lame holiday crap I'll be complaining about in years to come.
The BMI myth (guardian.co.uk)
It's long been accepted as the most accurate indication of good health, but now the efficiency of the body mass index is being questioned. Peta Bee reports.
David Bruce: Wise Up: Education (athensnews.com)
Currently, President George W. Bush is spending $200 million a day on his war in Iraq -- a war that does us no good at all. I have a modest proposal about how we can get better value for our money than we are currently getting. My proposal involves two steps: 1) Take $100 million a day and flush it down the toilet. 2) Give $100 million a day to schools. In my humble opinion, if we do these two steps, we will get much better value for our tax dollars than President Bush and his war are giving us. After all, President Bush also uses two steps when spending our money in Iraq: 1) Take $100 million a day and flush it down the toilet. 2) Repeat step 1.
Tim Harford: Charity Is Selfish (slate.com)
The economic case against philanthropy.
Reader Comment
Re: Anne Frank Story
Thanks for the story about Anne Frank.
It reminded me of a contest run in the Netherlands a few years ago to determine who was the 'greatest' Dutchman/woman.
Anne Frank was among the finalists. This caused all sorts of consternation because she was, in fact, not a Dutch citizen. She was a refugee, without citizenship because Germany, where she was born, had stripped her family of their rights.
Jasper
Thanks, Jasper!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, cold and windy.
Have frost warnings tonight - a rare occurrence in these parts.
With the furnace still out of commission, I'm doing what my mother or grandmother would have done in similar circumstances - baking beans.
Heh - their version of a trifecta. A reason to keep the oven on all night, a warm house in the morning, and supper's cooked before breakfast.
Highest-Paid Actress
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman is the queen of Hollywood when it comes to money. The Oscar winner, who earns as much as $17 million per movie, tops the fifth annual list of highest-paid actresses released Wednesday by The Hollywood Reporter.
In second place, with $15 million per movie, was Reese Witherspoon, 30, who won the best-actress Oscar this year for her performance in "Walk the Line."
Renee Zellweger, Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz placed third, fourth and fifth, respectively. They also get $15 million for each film.
Rounding out the top 10 are Halle Berry ($14 million), Charlize Theron ($10 million), Angelina Jolie ($10 million), Kirsten Dunst ($8 million to $10 million) and Jennifer Aniston ($8 million).
Nicole Kidman
Near-Miss In Bermuda
Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas briefly lost his footing while standing in a cherry-picker basket 25 feet in the air to christen a new art museum in Bermuda. Douglas, a benefactor of the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art, was pouring rum on the roof in a traditional regional "roof-wetting" ceremony Monday but managed to steady himself.
"I had a good laugh and stumbled. I had a little moment," he told The Royal Gazette newspaper.
The $9 million museum, scheduled to open next year, will house the Masterworks Bermudiana Collection, including works depicting the island by Winslow Homer and Georgia O'Keeffe.
Michael Douglas
Celebrates 50-Year Career
Buddy Guy
Sitting in his record label's offices, high above the Manhattan skyline, blues legend Buddy Guy looks at a table lined with six of his signature Polka Dot Fender Stratocaster guitars, all of which are awaiting his famous autograph.
But first, the blues legend takes a moment to recall their significance - all the way back to 1957, when Guy left Louisiana to chase his guitar dreams all the way to Chicago.
From his best-selling record in 1991, "Damn Right, I've Got the Blues" to Grammy trophies and his belated induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame just last year, the mainstream is finally giving the 70-year-old Guy his due.
Ever the showman, Guy's music has always come from his heart more than his head, being that to this day he can't read sheet music, and delights in both the spontaneity and sloppiness that comes with improvising (which at times meant playing the guitar with his feet and teeth).
Buddy Guy
Ex-Leaders Join Reality TV Show
Canada
Former U.S. President Clinton raises money to fight poverty and AIDS. Jimmy Carter builds houses for the poor and pushes for peace. Now some former Canadian leaders are trying to inspire young, civic-minded types on a reality TV show.
Ex-prime ministers Brian Mulroney, John Turner, Joe Clark and Kim Campbell will be judges on the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.'s "The Next Great Prime Minister."
Comedian Rick Mercer will host the one-hour special in which the former prime ministers will grill five finalists before a live audience March 18. The ex-leaders and members of the audience will then have an equal vote to pick the winner.
The winner of "The Next Great Prime Minister" will receive a $44,130 cash prize and paid internships in corporate and government organizations.
Canada
Series Renewed
NBC/Bravo
NBC has ordered a fourth season of reality competition "The Biggest Loser," while sibling cable network Bravo is bringing " Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List" back for a third season.
In the current cycle, the weighty contestants from all 50 states are competing for the $250,000 top prize. Hosted by Caroline Rhea, the show is heading to its live, two-hour season finale December 13.
Bravo has ordered six new episodes of Griffin's "D-List" to air in 2007. The one-hour series, which chronicles the comedian's daily adventures, was nominated for an Emmy this year.
NBC/Bravo
Cancels Las Vegas Shows
Celine Dion
Celine Dion has canceled the next five performances of her "A New Day" show and an appearance at the Billboard Music Awards because of a highly contagious respiratory infection, show producers said Wednesday.
The 38-year-old Grammy-winning singer was being treated for Mycoplasma bronchitis, a contagious bacterial infection, and has been ordered to rest during her recovery, producers said.
The show will not resume until Dec. 28.
Celine Dion
Baby News
Romy Coppola Mars
Sofia Coppola has given birth to her first child, a daughter named Romy, the filmmaker's spokesman, Robert Garlock, confirmed Wednesday.
The baby was born Tuesday in Paris to Coppola and her boyfriend, Thomas Mars, singer for the French rock band Phoenix, Garlock said.
Romy Coppola Mars
Pre-Schoolers Nightmare
The Wiggles
The lead singer of the hugely popular children's group The Wiggles announced Thursday he would stop performing because of illness.
In a video-recorded statement, Greg Page said he had been suffering a condition called orthostatic intolerance that had left him debilitated.
"It means that I'll no longer be able to sing and dance as I want to and as a result I've decided to stop performing with The Wiggles," said Page, 34, who is known for his bright yellow T-shirt.
The Wiggles were Australia's top-earning entertainers last year, ahead of No. 2 AC/DC and No. 3 Nicole Kidman. The four men in brightly colored T-shirts, accompanied by a cast of characters including Dorothy the Dinosaur and Wags the Dog, grossed $39 million last year.
The Wiggles
Feels Michael Richards' Pain
Mel "Sugar Tits" Gibson
Though he's lost many fans after being captured on video hurling racist epithets at a comedy club audience, Michael Richards has an ally: Mel Gibson. "I felt like sending Michael Richards a note," Gibson says in an interview in Entertainment Weekly's Dec. 8 issue.
"I feel really badly for the guy. He was obviously in a state of stress. You don't need to be inebriated to be bent out of shape. But my heart went out to the guy."
The 50-year-old actor-director added: "They'll probably torture him for a while and then let him go. I like him."
Mel "Sugar Tits" Gibson
Busted In Burbank
Snoop Dogg
35-year-old rapper Snoop Dogg was arrested near Los Angeles on Tuesday on weapons and narcotics charges after taping a performance at "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" -- his third bust in as many months.
A spokesman for the Burbank Police Department said authorities executed a search warrant as Snoop Dogg and a posse of friends and bodyguards were leaving the NBC studio. The roadside stop shut down traffic for hours, according to news reports.
The search turned up marijuana, cocaine, a firearm and a false compartment in a car, said spokesman Sgt. Kevin Grandalski. Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, was booked, and bail set at $60,000.
Snoop Dogg
Strike Looms
Canadian Actors
Canadian actors and North American producers wrapped two days of contract talks in Montreal on Wednesday with little progress made toward averting an industry shutdown early in the new year.
The negotiations have yet to move beyond procedural wrangling and begin tackling key issues. The actors union, whose demands include a 15 percent raise in minimum rates over three years, has never gone on strike. Producers want actors to take pay cuts of 10 percent to 25 percent for minimum daily rates paid on film and TV productions shot here.
Canadian industry players, alarmed at the prospect of a possible actors strike after the current Independent Production Agreement expires December 31, have put pressure on both sides in the talks to work out a deal. Both sides are scheduled to return to the bargaining table December 6.
Canadian Actors
Republican Without Panties
Britney Spears
Britney Spears is behaving more like her soon to be ex-husband, Kevin Federline, than a pop princess on the verge of a career comeback.
Fresh from her split from the club-hopping Federline, Spears looked hip and wholesome weeks ago in a surprise appearance on David Letterman's show and while ice skating in New York's Rockefeller Center in a Gap sweater. But now she's unleashing her inner wild child, running around with party girls Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, sporting unflattering hair extensions and flashing her apparently panty-less crotch to the paparazzi. (Be prepared to cringe if you dare to view the uncensored photos).
Spears, who turns 25 on Saturday, and Hilton were inseparable while hitting L.A. hotspots over the holiday weekend. People magazine reported Wednesday on its Web site that the duo will co-host the 2006 Billboard Music Awards, scheduled to air live in Las Vegas on Monday (Fox, 8 p.m. EST).
Britney Spears
Conserative Religious Values
Baptist Pastor
The pastor of a Mount Airy church accused of brandishing a gun as part of his sermon is free on bond after being charged with possession of a firearm by a felon.
Jerry Wayne "Dusty" Whitaker, 58, of Mount Airy, was convicted in Virginia in 1990 of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm during drug trafficking.
Members of Whitaker's Victory Baptist Church say they had no knowledge of his criminal background. Whitaker told them he was a retired Virginia state police officer and a retired U.S. marshal who was injured in the line of duty, said Garry Scearce, trustee chairman at Victory Baptist.
Baptist Pastor
Ancient Calculator
Antikythera Mechanism
An ancient astronomical calculator made at the end of the 2nd century BC was amazingly accurate and more complex than any instrument for the next 1,000 years, scientists said on Wednesday.
The Antikythera Mechanism is the earliest known device to contain an intricate set of gear wheels. It was retrieved from a shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera in 1901 but until now what it was used for has been a mystery.
Although the remains are fragmented in 82 brass pieces, scientists from Britain, Greece and the United States have reconstructed a model of it using high-resolution X-ray tomography. They believe their findings could force a rethink of the technological potential of the ancient Greeks.
Antikythera Mechanism
The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project
Offends Neighborhood
An Iraq Memorial
The hundreds of white wooden crosses planted on a quiet suburban hillside honor the memory of troops killed in Iraq - or, depending on your leanings, exploit personal grief for politics.
Jeff Heaton, who along with peace group members started putting up the crosses in early November in relatively conservative Lafayette, sees the effort as a simple tribute.
But others are offended by the display of more than 400 crosses, on property owned by a friend of Heaton's. It sits opposite a commuter train station and is visible from a heavily traveled highway to San Francisco.
An Iraq Memorial
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