There are some things you can't find by stumbling across them. There are some things you can't find unless they stumble across you, and other things you can't find unless you're looking for them. Sometimes telling anyone about the thing is a betrayal of the very thing you found. I guess what I'm saying is there are better things we could all be doing than suffering through these assholes, including, but not limited to... nothing. Who's got time to just sit back in awe at the absolute splendor of existence and try to figure it out, whatever that means to you? Not me. Instead, we have to constantly deal with the greedy pricks of the world when we could be spending our time with people who are not just easy to get along with but fun to be around. This could be you, with nothing better to do than get it all down and react to it, separating the lessons from the riff raff.
A genuine lesson just showed up, a personal moment, and it's a bit of a betrayal to tell it to you, but share I shall nonetheless.
An old friend pissed me off, did something unforgivable, and I did nothing about it, let it sit there, as though it meant nothing, and years later, they came through in a big way, much bigger than the thing that pissed me off. You know, it could have gone one way or another. I could have reacted and suffered the consequences or let it go and garnished the reward. Lesson learned. All hail the glory of a bridge that wasn't burnt and a fence that wasn't built.
Transition
There's a group that wants to build a fence between the United States and Mexico and they're asking the US government for $4 billion to do it.
If you were in the fence building business and knew you'd be getting some of that $4 billion, would you be for or against this proposition? Chances are you'd be for it. It wouldn't be a moral issue, the question would be purely financial. Anybody's business could use a couple billion mad cash. What businessman would turn it down?
What you DON'T want is the businessman with the fence company to actually BE the government official who makes the decision. That's called fascism. You want the government official to make a moral decision as well as a financial one, and the scales of justice can't have an automatic giant chunk of gold sitting on one plate of the scale for the government official to keep after weigh-in. That's called bribery. You can't have a government that does all these things with impunity and malice and forethought. That would be called a crime syndicate. You can't have a crime syndicate rule the country. That would be called America, where the "free market" and "justice for all" are anathema to one another. You can't possibly have both. Like Howard Zinn says, "You leave things to the free market and the rich will go to college and the poor will go to work."
So hey, let's all go into the fence building business and pray for a piece of that fence building project on the Mexican border. Let's drive all them feriners to Canada where they belong. Make 'em go over Niagra Falls to get into the United States. That'll show 'em, and make a mighty fine reality show too. Let's call it "I Can't Believe I'm Doing This!" We'll pick up all them Cubans in tires floating to Miami too, and drop 'em off at the top of the falls. Survive and you're a citizen. Imagine the ratings.
I kid the Cubans. They're actually good people. The Terrainians are nice too. I never Mediterranean I didn't like.
I can't help myself. And they say I need an editor. Ha! Sometimes I think that if I ruled the world, things would be a lot different because I would give people a little more reason to trust each other. Then I imagine all the people who can't be trusted and who would blow the shit out of everyone else if they got the chance. Unfortunately, you can't tell by looking at someone whether to trust them or not. It's a gut instinct that often steers you wrong.
I don't think we need to keep people out of the United States just because they come from the south. If you want to get into the United States, there are lots of other ways to do it. There won't be any squadrons of foreign terrorists going "Oh my God, they're closing the Mexican border. NOW what are we going to do?"
Stealing our jobs? That's bullshit too. There aren't any squadrons of unemployed beet pickers going "Oh my God, a Mexican stole my job! Somebody build a fence."
So it isn't even a moral question, it's pretty much common sense. The fence would do good for the fence builders. Years later, it would come down like the one in Berlin and those who built it would look like assholes, rich dead assholes, but assholes nonetheless.
More bridges, less fences, that's my motto.
Understatement of the Week
"The White House has grown a bit arrogant and self-centered."
The Trial of Saddam DeLuise ("I plead guilty... to being fabulous!")
Smug Check (Please check your smug at the door.)
8 Simple Rules for Stealing My Material (Rule #1: Change my name. Nobody will believe you wrote it if my name is still on it.)
The Trial of Saddam Perignon (The most effervescent trial of the century!)
Recipe of the Week: Amerikneidlach (No goyem will ever get this joke.)
Sodomite Makes Right (or Sodomitey Joe Young, I could never decide.)
Praying with People's Emotions (Give us this day our daily shit fit.)
The Misanthropic Sociopathic Megalomaniac with a Heart of Gold (The world's shortest column.)
Is This the Right Womb for an Argument? (I told you once.)
Scathing on Thin Ice (Jokes no one will ever repeat.)
A Rivet Runs Through 'er (The Worst Things I've Ever Seen.)
Bono Contention (What's HE got to complain about?)
The Witless Protection Program (Insure yourself against those without a sense of humor.)
Neutron Bomblegum (Destroys all bacteria but leaves your teeth standing)
Hemp Hemp Hurrah, or High Resolution (Hold on, wait a minute, where's a pencil, I gotta get this down.)
Realizing the Terror of his Ways (Boot Camp for Reformed Terrorists.)
As Long As You've Got Your Stealth (What the... Now where'd they go? They were here just a minute ago.)
I Ain't Got No Money That I Can Depend On (No Tengo a Nadie)
20 Articles I Never Finished Writing
I Changed my Mind
As I'm allowed to do. When they outlaw changing your mind, only outlaws won't change their minds, especially when they decide to rob liquor stores. I've decided that my motto actually is "avoiding the topic is misanthropic," for no other reason than it's got a better rhyme.
I'm Down on My Bended Knee
Please, oh please, don't make me have to decide between Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice in 2008.
Calling All Idiots
It's time to get pissed off at the idiots at the IMDB for listing in numerical order but with the films in REVERSE chronological order. Has nobody else noticed this gigantic flaw in what is otherwise one of the internet's most incredible databases? Please explain why it's better for the listings to go like this...
1. Actor's third movie
2. Actor's second movie
3. Actor's first movie
instead of with the numbers reversed too, like this...
3. Actor's third movie
2. Actor's second movie
1. Actor's first movie
Is it so fucking hard to understand that anyone's first movie should be numbered 1?
Pretty idiotic if you ask me.
I Changed my Mind Again
These intrusions from the other side of my brain just aren't going to work. They break up the rhythm of the thing. This will be the last one, I promise.
Unless...
I change my mind again, as I apparently do all too frequently. Maybe I'm nervous because I just got this...
Here's a stupid question. Is it the stupidest day of your life when you try and try and try to write a stupid question but you just can't come up with one?
Answers to Last Week's Slightly Less Stupid but Still Pretty Stupid Question.
It must have been me who asked: What was the big deal with keeping the Manhattan Project such a big secret?
They were afraid of getting sued for use of the name"Manhattan" before the bomb was completed. Who, in their right mind, would sue somebody with a bomb like that?
-Mitch (The Mitch Project)
I suppose unlike last week's question, this week's is a bit stupid. It had to be kept a secret for the most obvious of reasons: they didn't know if it would work! Imagine the uproar over the millions & millions spent if it went toward a bomb that was a dud.
The flip-side is that they were not at all sure that the chain reaction would stop. They put it in the middle of nowhere to hopefully reduce casualties if it worked too well. Best to just keep it all a huge secret until the genie was loosed from the bottle.
- Herr Bookmonger
Because if the Muppets had gotten wind of it, they'd have wanted to take it.
- Locke
Japanese people are very small, and can slip in and out of places unnoticed. If everyone knew about the Manhattan Project, it would only be a matter of time before the Ninjas became aware of it. Now, we only had enough uranium isotope for two bombs, and we busted our ass and polluted Hanford TN to make enough enriched plutonium for a third. You need about 12 pounds of either one to make a WWII -style bomb. This stuff is heavy, and 12 pounds is a little bigger than a golf ball. This is also very small. Coincidence? I don't think so! Now, stay with me here. Ninjas don't carry luggage, so if one snuck in and tried to steal the plutonium, he would probably put it in his pocket. This would kill him in about 24 hours or so. The sight of a Ninja that appeared to be rotting from within would have set off a panic. The people of the United States would have thought that he was infected with some sort of plague/germ warfare weapon. This is because almost nobody knew shit about radioactivity. So, the Manhattan project was kept secret to protect the American Public from what they didn't know.
- John Bogart
spies.
- palantir
ps thanx for the brevity. less really is more.
A: To honor the sacrifices of the fallen.
- Craig
The Manhattan Project wasn't initially developed in regards to Japan. It was developed in regards to Germany. And it was a race to beat Germany as Germany had a very well developed program already in place and making progress. The repeated bombing of the heavy water plants severely crippled Germany's atomic program. As for the secrecy...German agents look just like regular white folk while Japanese agents were mostly of the stick out like a sore thumb crowd.
- S. Bennett
Michael,
The dirty little secret was not really the bomb itself, it was the fact that we absconded and paid Nazi scientists at the end of the German theater of war to bring the atomic theory to fruition. We needed to keep the bad press (back then the press was an ally of government, if not a tool) away from that fact and lest we forget those pesky Russia bastards were up to the same with the Nazi's they hid away in secret labs. The cold war started as soon as we entered Berlin.
Surreptitiously yours,
- Buck Turgeson
Why keep it under wraps? Easy. Russia stole the plans and shaved years off their development. What would have Hitler targeted if he had stolen tech info which allowed him to shave 2-3 years off the development? London? Paris?
- Nighthawk
All boys and girls clubs have got to have secrets. What's the use of a club if you can't have secrets that only the club knows? Having secrets show how special you are cause all the dumb-asses who aren't in your club don't know shit about your secrets! That's why all those secret organizations like the FBI and CIA and FDA and DEA and well, you know, all those secrets guys they love having secrets, specially about people who don't know that secrets guys have got secrets about their asses which are dumb cause they don't know that the secrets guys are spying on their ass so as to discover their secrets, which will be put in a big secret file in a secret dossier that only special secrets people can look at and use against your dumb ass if ever they need to.
- Wal
I wasn't aware that Peter Minuet's buying Manhattan for $24.00 and a Yankees season ticket was a secret during WWII. I think they called it the Manhattan Transfer. And it's not a Big Bomb, it's a Big Apple, for some reason.
Here's a stupid question for you: What comic book or comic strip characters do the leading members of the Bush Administration most strongly resemble?
Here are my stupid answers:
Bush: Richie Rich's evil twin.
Cheney: Daddy Warbucks' evil twin.
Rummy: Skeletor's even more evil twin.
Condi: A minor, and evil, character from Li'l Abner, if Al Capp hadn't been such a racist.
Karl Rove: Eddie Haskell's evil twin. (Okay, not exactly a comic book character.)
Lewis Libby: Any scary character from EC's old Creepy comics.
Harriet Miers: Jughead's mother in the Archie comics.
- RSJ
There's something very wrong about answering your own stupid question, isn't there?
- this guy
No.
- the other guy
From the Internet, it Came...
1. The U.S. Constitution says that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, based on the sovereign authority of God
in the First Amendment
in Section VI
in the Preamble
nowhere. Our nation was founded as a secular government, based on the authority of "We, the People," not a god, king, or dictator.
2. How many times does the word "God" appear in the U.S. Constitution?
0. The U.S. Constitution is a godless document.
1
3
6
3. How many times does the Declaration of Independence refer to Christianity or Jesus?
0. There is no mention of Jesus, Christ, Christianity, religious persecution, or religious freedom in the Declaration of Independence.
1
3
8
4. The US Constitution guarantees religious liberty for
Christians
all religions
atheists & agnostics
all of the above. Religious liberty is meaningless unless we all have it. Freedom From Religion Foundation president Anne Gaylor says, "There can be no religious freedom without the freedom to dissent."
5. Where did the separation of church and state originate?
France
Soviet Union
United States of America. The U.S.A. was the first nation in history to separate church and state.
Nazi Germany
6. What does the First Amendment say about religion?
nothing
the US is founded upon Christian principles
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting free exercise. The First Amendment begins with these words:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; . . ." The two clauses are referred to, respectively, as the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause.
that there is no national religion, but each state may set up its own religious practices
7. The phrase "wall of separation between church and state" originated with
the Soviet constitution
a dissenting opinion by former Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter
a letter written by President Thomas Jefferson. President Thomas Jefferson coined this phrase in a carefully crafted letter to the Danbury Baptists of Connecticut in 1802. It has since been widely picked up and invoked in major Supreme Court decisions.
a speech by President Ulysses S. Grant
8. Which early colonies practiced freedom of religion?
the Pilgrims and Puritans in Massachusetts
the colony in Virginia
Roger Williams' Providence settlement
Trick question! Roger Williams' Providence settlement founded in 1656 expressly guaranteed religious freedom. However, the Pilgrims originally were a tolerant people, when they founded Plymouth in 1620. By 1691, the Pilgrims had adopted the theocratic, intolerant Calvinism of the Puritans, who founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1628. The Puritans came to this land expressly to establish a bible commonwealth, and banished "heretics" and dissenters. In Virginia, heresy was a capital offense punishable by death by burning. Quakers were particularly persecuted. People who were not orthodox Christians were not legally protected, could be denied civil rights and jailed. The founders of the new nation of the United States of America, conversant with extreme religious intolerance and violence in the several colonies, were determined to put an end to it. That is why they established state/church separation.
all of them
9. The Puritans escaped religious persecution and, in their own colony, allowed religious freedom for
everyone
all Christians
Puritans only. Puritans (Congregational Calvinists) only were allowed. Even practicing Puritans were held to strict litmus tests. (The Puritans loved religious freedom so much that they kept it all to themselves.)
Puritans and Anglicans
10. ". . . the government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; . . ."
Where does this phrase appear?
The U.S. Communist party platform
A speech by Abraham Lincoln
American Jewish Congress
U.S. treaty signed by President Adams. In 1797 the United States entered into a treaty with Tripoli, in which it was declared:
"As the government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquillity [sic] of Musselmen . . . it is declared . . . that no pretext arising from religious opinion shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries." This treaty was written under Washington's presidency, and it was ratified by Congress under John Adams, signed by Adams.
11. By an Act of Congress, U.S. currency has carried the motto "In God We Trust" since
the very beginning
1862
1914
1957. In 1955, Congress passed a law requiring that "In God We Trust" appear on all U.S. coins and currency. The first paper currency with the motto appeared in 1957. This was right after the McCarthy era, during the early Cold War, when no congressperson would dare be seen voting against "God." "In God We Trust" did appear occasionally on a few coins, starting with a 2-cent piece in the 1860s, in an attempt (it is surmised) to put "God" on the side of the north during the Civil War. In 1956, an Act of Congress adopted "In God We Trust" as a national motto. The original motto, "E Pluribus Unum" ("out of many, [come] one,") celebrating plurality, still appears on the Presidential Seal and on some paper currency.
12. The Pledge of Allegiance, first published in 1892, has included the words "under God" since
1892
1914
1942
1954. As with "In God We Trust," "under God" is also a Johnny-come-lately. It was inserted into the Pledge of Allegiance during the McCarthy era. The original pledge was first published on September 8, 1892 in the magazine "Youth's Companion" with no reference to a deity.
13. Who made the following statement?
"Secular schools can never be tolerated because such a school has no religious instruction and a general moral instruction without a religious foundation is built on air; consequently, all character training and religion must be derived from faith . . . We need believing people."
Pat Robertson
Abraham Lincoln
Adolf Hitler. April 26, 1933, from a speech made during negotiations leading to the Nazi-Vatican Concordat of 1933.
Rev. Jerry Falwell
14. In 1890, bible reading was outlawed from Wisconsin schools. Who was responsible?
a Lutheran family
a Roman Catholic family. A Roman Catholic family objected to the exclusive use of the Protestant King James Version of the bible. The court barred all bible reading from Wisconsin public schools. [State ex rel. Weiss vs. District Board, 76 Wisc. 177 (1890)]. Catholicism was a small minority in 19th-century America. It is usually minority groups who need the protection of the Bill of Rights.
an atheist family
a Jewish family
15. The U.S. Supreme Court outlawed student-initiated prayers at high-school football games in 2000. Who were the plaintiffs in that lawsuit?
Roman Catholic and Mormon families. The Texas lawsuit was taken by a Catholic family and a Mormon family who had children who were being harassed by the born-again majority in the public schools.
two Jewish families
a Unitarian (agnostic) family
an atheist organization
16. According to the "Lemon test," in order to be constitutional, a law or public act must:
have a secular purpose
have a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion
not result in excessive governmental entanglement with religion
all of the above. The 3-pronged Lemon test (Lemon v. Kurtzman, 1971, which dealt with public aid to private schools) has almost consistently been utilized by the Supreme Court since the early 1970s. ALL THREE prongs of the test must be satisfied.
17. All American Presidents have been practicing Christians
True
False. John Adams, John Q. Adams, Millard Fillmore and William H. Taft were Unitarians*. Jefferson was a Deist/Freethinker. Harrison, Johnson, Grant and Hayes were not members of a church. Lincoln was a Deist. Etc. (*Although some Unitarians of that time considered themselves "Christians," they rejected the Trinity and other doctrines that most Christians today consider essential.)
18. The U.S. Constitution says there shall be no religious test for public office
True. Article VI:
" . . . but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
False
19. John Adams declared Christmas to be a national holiday
True
False. Christmas was outlawed in some colonies. Alabama was the first state to make it a holiday in 1836.
20. A president, being sworn in, is required to place a hand on the Holy Bible and say "so help me, God."
True
False. The oath of office does not mention a deity or the bible:
"Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--'I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.' " [U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1] This is the only oath given in the Constitution, and it is entirely secular.
21. Since the First Amendment deals with "Congress," states are free to advance religion if they wish.
True
False. The 14th Amendment makes the entire Bill of Rights applicable to the states. The first Supreme Court case to declare a state's religious practices illegal under the 14th Amendment was the McCollum case (1948) which removed religious instruction from the public schools.
Holy Crap How Many Stupid Questions Can There Be?
For more than a week, Hurricane Wilma was slowly headed north yet the weather bureau issued warnings to Florida, not Louisiana or Mississippi or Alabama, as though they knew it was going to change direction and head east. What's up with that?
"The rule of law does not do away with the unequal distribution of wealth and power,
but reinforces that inequality with the authority of law. It allocates wealth and poverty in
such calculated and indirect ways as to leave the victim bewildered."
Laws
Dare's Law: Anything good you find, pass it on.
Satan's Corollary to Dare's Law: Anything good you find, pass it on and take credit for it.
Agnes Allen's Law: Almost anything is easier to get into than out of.
Army Laws: If it moves, salute it. If it doesn't move, pick it up. If you can't pick it up, paint it.
Barth's Distinction: There are two types of people: those who divide people into two types, and those who don't.
Bartz's Law of Hokey Horsepuckery: The more ridiculous a belief system, the higher the probability of its success.
Baruch's Rule for Determining Old Age: Old age is always fifteen years older than I am.
Basic Law of Construction: Cut it large and kick it into place.
Becker's Law: It is much harder to find a job than to keep one.
Benchley's Law: Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn't the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment.
Berra's Law: You can observe a lot just by watching.
Bicycle Law: All bicycles weigh 50 pounds: A 30-pound bicycle needs a 20-pound lock and chain. A 40-pound bicycle needs a 10- pound lock and chain. A 50-pound bicycle needs no lock or chain.
Boling's Postulate: If you're feeling good, don't worry. You'll get over it.
Bombeck's Rule of Medicine: Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died.
Boren's Laws of the Bureaucracy: 1. When in doubt, mumble. 2. When in trouble, delegate. 3. When in charge, ponder.
Borstelmann's Rule: If everything seems to be coming your way, you're probably in the wrong lane.
Bralek's Rule for Success: Trust only those who stand to lose as much as you do when things go wrong.
Brien's First Law: At some time in the life cycle of virtually every organization, its ability to succeed in spite of itself runs out.
Cannon's Comment: If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the next morning you will have a flat tire.
Captain Penny's Law: You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool MOM.
Cardinal Conundrum: An optimist believes we live in the best of all possible worlds. A pessimist fears this is true.
Character and Appearance Law: People don't change; they only become more so.
Clarke's Law of Revolutionary Ideas: Every revolutionary idea -- in Science, Politics, Art or Whatever -- evokes three stages of reaction. They may be summed up by the three phrases: 1. "It is completely impossible -- don't waste my time." 2. "It is possible, but it is not worth doing." 3. "I said it was a good idea all along."
Clarke's Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Cleveland's Highway Law: Highways in the worst need of repair naturally have low traffic counts, which results in low priority for repair work.
Clyde's Law: If you have something to do, and you put it off long enough, chances are someone else will do it for you.
Cohen's Law of Wisdom: Wisdom is considered a sign of weakness by the powerful because a wise man can lead without power but only a powerful man can lead without wisdom.
Cole's Axiom: The sum of the intelligence on the planet is a constant; the population is growing.
Cole's Law: Thinly sliced cabbage.
Colvard's Logical Premise: All probabilities are 50%. Either a thing will happen, or it won't.
Commoner's Three Laws of Ecology: 1. No action is without side- effects. 2. Nothing ever goes away. 3. There is no free lunch.
Cooper's Law: All machines are amplifiers.
Dieter's Law: The food that tastes the best has the highest number of calories.
Displaced Hassle Principle: To beat the bureaucracy, make your problem their problem.
Ducharm's Axiom: If you view your problem closely enough, you will recognize yourself as part of the problem.
Dykstra's Law: Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Edelstein's Advice: Don't worry over what other people are thinking about you. They're too busy worrying over what you are thinking about them.
Ehrlich's Rule: The first rule of intelligent tinkering is to save all the parts.
Ettorre's Observation: The other line moves faster. Corollary: Don't try to change lines. The other line -- the one you were in originally -- will then move faster.
Farber's Third Law: We're all going down the same road in different directions
Finagle's Laws of Information: 1. The information you have is not what you want. 2. The information you want is not what you need. 3. The information you need is not what you can obtain. 4. The information you can obtain costs more than you want to pay.
Finnigan's Law: The farther away the future is, the better it looks.
Satan Doesn't Want You to Know
Is your job market softening? Try Hiramal, yes "Hire 'em all," a DNA altering pill that makes all employers hire absolutely everybody who applies for every job. Unemployment problem solved.
Don't Take My Word for It
"A drowning man is not troubled by rain."
- Persian Proverb -
"Wanna Bet?"
- Cajun Proverb -
"Laws control the lesser man. Right conduct controls the greater one."
- Chinese Proverb -
"Says who?"
- Italian Proverb -
"My ass is killing me."
- Republican Proverb -
"A deal's a deal."
- Satan -
"Consider this: A guitar is constructed from dozens of parts: tuning knobs, clamps, the sides and faces of the air chamber and, typically, six strings. The strings produce six fundamental frequencies: 82 Hz, 110 Hz, 147 Hz, 196 Hz, 247 Hz, 330 Hz corresponding to the open notes of E2, A2, D3, G3, B3, and E4.
"A typical rocket, on the other hand, is made of thousands of parts. The space shuttle famously contains more than a million components. All these pieces vibrating together produce a cacophony of frequencies ranging from subsonic waves that only an elephant could hear to high-pitched whines akin to fingers scratching a blackboard.
"Which frequencies might do the most damage? What parts of the spacecraft are most vulnerable to resonance? And how do you de-tune this complicated instrument?
"To answer these questions, NASA engineers have developed 'sound studios' for spacecraft. 'These are huge chambers where we take pieces of our rockets and expose them to loud noises.' Really loud. 'One of our 165 decibel acoustic horns at JSC can make as much noise as a space shuttle main engine,' he says."
"At the trial Saddam insisted he is still president, he is still in charge, despite the fact that his people disapprove of him and his top assistants are all in jail or going to jail. No, I'm sorry, that's President Bush."
- Jay Leno -
"Belaboring the obvious is funny."
- Mr. Funny -
"Imagine that you are on your way to work, coffee in hand, one December morning when three men in United States military uniforms, armed with guns, approach you. They say your name; you acknowledge it.
"One of them slams you in the chest, knocking your briefcase and coffee to the ground, but not before the hot beverage spills on your hand, burning you. The men throw a heavy plastic black hood over your head. You can see nothing. It is very hard to breathe. You are confused and scared out of your mind. You do not have any idea what these men might want. What happened to the quiet day you were expecting? How can you get word to your family? Nobody knows where you are. They will be paralyzed with worry.
"You are helpless: this cannot be. This is a free country, not a totalitarian state. This is "the greatest country in the world." Things like this happen in other places, not here. Innocent people are protected here; innocent people are not jailed and abused for no reason, not here...
"Put yourself in the position of this prisoner. It could very easily have been you. If you're a United States citizen, it could still be you in the not-too-distant future. Or it could be someone you love with all your heart, someone you would die to protect.
"There is no protection in the current US law for any innocent person who undergoes such treatment. You could be treated thus just for sport, really, and your abusers could claim they 'suspect' you of some sort of terrorism, thus leaving them free to do as they will with you, without oversight or accounting.
"The story just touched on above is that of at least one man in Abu Ghraib - an innocent man who was tortured and abused at the hands of US military personnel in such unimaginable ways it makes me sick to contemplate them...
"But what kind of 'civilized society' could allow such systemised abuse of human beings? What kind of society does the United States want to be? This abhorrent, arrogant abuse of power must be stopped. There is no moral or ethical justification for it. We ourselves are made victims when our government so incapacitates us with terror that we lose our own decency and compassion. We cannot allow such blind, incoherent fear and cold-heartedness to take us over. We cannot allow hatred and ignorance to destroy all the good that we claim to have in abundance. We cannot devolve into beasts. Yet that is what happens when we allow ourselves to behave in such subhuman ways."
"The longer we wait to withdraw the more people will die. All the arguments about how if we withdraw it'll be chaos are absurd because there is chaos now. And the chaos in fact is to a large extent - and those generals indicated that - caused by our occupation. It's the occupation that's fueling so much of the anger and so much of the violence. So the most healthy thing we can do is to get out of there as quickly as possible. Even from a military point of view, we're losing, we have to get out.
"From a larger moral point of view, of course, we didn't belong there in the first place, we don't deserve to be there. Even if we were winning, it would be an immoral victory. We have won before at certain times where the winning was not something we could be proud of.
"We won in the Philippines - we defeated the Filipinos, and what was the result? The result was fifty years of occupation, dictatorship and poverty. So the real question, the moral question is not 'are we losing or are we winning?' The question is, 'why are we there?'
"And we seem to be there for oil, for military bases, for the psychological kicks that people in power get from extending the American Empire. So both from a practical and military point of view, the fact that we're losing -- and from the long term moral point of view, which asks are we doing the right thing -- the best thing that we can do is to get out of there as quickly as possible."
"We have two types of citizenship in the United States: common and preferred."
- E.L. Doctorow -
"As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances there is a twilight where everything remains seemingly unchanged, and it is in such a twilight that we must be aware of the change in the air, however slight, lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness."
- Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas -
"What does restoration look like? The South African government started a series of programs in 1995. After the 'Working for Water' program hired unemployed people to clear thirsty alien trees from important watersheds, rivers began to run again that had been dry for forty years. 'Working for Wetlands' is restoring marshes to purify polluted water. 'Working on Fire' sends crews to prevent and control wildfires. 'Working for Woodlands' is reforesting subtropical thickets to sequester carbon from the atmosphere and support bio-diversity. These programs serve as job training and often hire the poorest of the poor. This is what restoration looks like."
"In an interview yesterday, Joseph Wilson said that once the criminal questions are settled, he and his wife may file a civil lawsuit against Bush, Cheney and others seeking damages for the alleged harm done to Plame's career. If they do so, the current state of the law makes it likely that the suit will be allowed to proceed -- and Bush and Cheney will face questioning under oath -- while they are in office. The reason for that is a unanimous 1997 U.S. Supreme Court decision ruling that Paula Jones' no-proof suit against Clinton could go forward immediately, a decision that was hailed by conservatives at the time."
"The real bottom line is the biological bottom line. We are animals who live within the exquisite confines of the air, water and land where life exists. It's the biosphere that is the source of everything that matters to us including the economy."
- David Suzuki -
"Finally, the pieces of the puzzle start to add up. Last week, President Bush sought to instill panic in this country by telling us a minimum of 200,000 people will die from the avian flu pandemic but it could be as bad as 2 million deaths in this country alone.
"This hoax is then used to justify the immediate purchase of 80 million doses of Tamiflu, a worthless drug that in no way shape or form treats the avian flu, but only decreases the amount of days one is sick and can actually contribute to the virus having more lethal mutations.
"So the U.S. placed an order for 20 million doses of this worthless drug at a price of $100 per dose. That comes to a staggering $2 billion.
"We are being told that Roche manufactures Tamiflu and, in yesterday's New York Times, they were battling whether or not they would allow generic drug companies to help increase their production.
"I certainly hope that if there is going to be an indictment that says something happened, that it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality where they couldn't indict on the crime so they go to something just to show that their two years of investigation were not a waste of time and dollars."
"Isn't 'some perjury technicality' precisely the 'waste of time and dollars' you used to impeach Clinton?"
- follow-up question not asked on Meet the Press -
"Although Hunter is gone, she [Anita Thompson] is still surrounded by him, weighed down not only by his papers, which entirely fill the basement, and by his fans, who still turn up from time to time, but also by his stuff, which covers every surface, and which she will never be able to throw away. After I've got rid of the taxi driver, Anita takes me inside and makes me - unexpected, this - a cup of Lady Grey tea. Then, while she disappears to dry her hair, I have a look round. The experience is like being in some crazy, hippie version of Sale of the Century. In the living room, I see: a cactus, a stuffed alligator, a small cannon, an exercise bike, a ram's head, a stuffed crow, the Encyclopaedia Britannica, an owl, a human skull and a blue candle in the shape of a woman with its wicks as nipples. In the kitchen, Hunter's handwritten notes - 'Let's get stoned and have orgasms and laugh a lot' - are stuck to every wall. So, too, are photographs of him. In one, he is wearing lipstick and a pink wig. It is captioned: 'Hunter's aunt visits, September 2004.' On a kitchen counter is a lamp. On its shade hang some 30 pairs of Hunter's spectacles, their glass still smeared with his fingerprints."
"If we divide into two camps - even into violent and the nonviolent - and stand in one camp while attacking the other, the world will never have peace. We will always blame and condemn those we feel are responsible for wars and social injustice, without recognizing the degree of violence within ourselves. We must work on ourselves and also with those we condemn if we want to have a real impact.
- Ayya Khema: Be An Island -
"It may be that the old astrologers had the truth exactly reversed, when they believed that the stars controlled the destinies of men. The time may come when men control the destinies of stars."
- Arthur C. Clarke: First on the Moon -
"Lying to ourselves is more deeply ingrained than lying to others."
- Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky -
"Crime does not pay as well as politics." - Alfred E. Newman -
"Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear but forgetting where you heard it." - Laurence J. Peter -
"You will not be able to give anyone happiness by means of your wealth, so do it by means of a cheerful countenance and good humor."
- The Prophet Muhammad in Qushayri: al-Risalat al-Qushayriyya -
"I never vote for anyone; I always vote against." - W. C. Fields -
"The only way to predict the future is to have power to shape the future. Those in possession of absolute power can not only prophesy and make their prophesies come true, but they can also lie and make their lies come true."
- Eric Hoffer -
"He who has learned to disagree without being disagreeable has discovered the most valuable secret of a diplomat."
- Robert Estabrook -
"It is the great triumph of genius to make the common appear novel."
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe -
"Harriet Miers is not the brightest bulb in the room, and it's going to be on display for the whole country to see and it's going to be embarrassing." - Rush Limbaugh -
"If I ever agree with Rush Limbaugh, please shoot me."
- every liberal in America -
"Why is Saddam being tried for crimes he committed before the BFEE [Bush Family Evil Empire] went into business with him? And why did Poppy Bush get in bed with Saddam after these atrocities? Was Saddam a model dictator his last 23 years? Did he not commit any crimes between 1982 and that spider hole?"
dIsInFoTaInMeNt ToDaY is free and may be reproduced in any form, preferably parchment. It consists of information from dozens of sources, cut up, thrown in the air, and recycled randomly. It is sent all over the place, so I apologize if you're seeing the same thing twice. If you see a joke, graphic, or news item that came from or through you, thanks, send more, and please accept the fact that much of dIsInFoTaInMeNt ToDaY is unacknowledgeable, and if I sought permission from everyone whose bastardized material showed up here, I'd never get anything else done. Please note that I don't even put my own name on it. If you're still pissed off, hey, it's either satire or fair use.
G. Pascal Zachary: See No Evil (inthesetimes.com)
... Microsoft is concocting an Orwellian policy for its new Chinese version of MSN, a news site and search engine. Microsoft has decided (and publicly confirmed this summer) that anyone in China doing a search containing the words "freedom" or "democracy" will be shown a message explaining that those words are banned and the requested search query will not be processed.
James Moore: The Most Important Criminal Case in American History (huffingtonpost.com)
If special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald delivers indictments of a few functionaries of the vice president's office or the White House, we are likely to have on our hands a constitutional crisis. The evidence of widespread wrongdoing and conspiracy is before every American with a cheap laptop and a cable television subscription. And we do not have the same powers of subpoena granted to Fitzgerald.
Rachel Kramer Bussel: On Not Having Sex (villagevoice.com)
The last time I had sex was July 8. It sounds severe to state it that way, but it's been on my mind. I share this so those of you who imagine me screwing day and night know you're probably having more sex than I am.
Steve Schneider: MORE LETTERS FROM HARRIET MIERS (orlandoweekly.com)
Dear Macy's: I recently purchased one of your high-quality microfiber sofas (model #4475-E) and I have to say that it is the best sofa EVER! I have owned a lot of furniture in my time - and most of it was GREAT - but I have never had the honor of parking my tired old bones on a piece of living-room décor quite as GREAT as this one!!
You know what????? It fucking made me cry....all alone down here in my writing studio, watching this corny little 5 minute montage with Emmy Lou singing "I am Lost Unto this World" over the top....and Marla in this funny furry Afghan leather vest....so innocent and so determined and so happy!
She's from Lakeport in Northern California....little podunk town...I went to her funeral up there ......I live part of the time by Clear Lake....
I will never, ever forgive Debbie Schlussel, the right wingnut big mouth, for the hateful things she wrote about this wonderful young woman after her tragic death.
Toward the end of the video clip, Marla is bouncing a little Iraqi boy on her knee as he is holding a "Code Pink" balloon....up and down...bouncy bounce until he was giggling with delight....this is where I lost it.....she was the epitome of compassion and love....seeing the effect she had on the children and the Iraqi women was beautiful....
The end of the clip has Marla dancing and skipping into the desert sunset like a mirage while Bob Marley sings "Song of Freedom".......
This little 5 minute tribute will make you cry if you get a chance to see it and if you have half a heart in your chest......Her death was like losing my own daughter!!!!!!
It may sound corny from a Buddhist but Purple Gene gives Marla a "hundred heavenly halos"
P.S. I just don't see how hollywood will ever be able to tell her story without trivializing it!!!
P.S. I hate this fucking war !!!!!!!!
P.S. I hope for many endictments to be handed down on Thursday!
CBS begins the night with a FRESH'NCIS', followed by a FRESH'Amazing Race: Family Edition', then a FRESH'Close To Home'.
Scheduled on a FRESHDave are Uma Thurman and Rachael Ray.
On a RERUNCraig (from 10/10/05) are Dominic Monaghan, Nuala O'Faolain, and Rihanna.
NBC starts the night with a FRESH'Biggest Loser', followed by a RERUN'My Name Is Earl', then a RERUN'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'.
On a RERUNLeno (from 10/4/05) are Charlize Theron, Dane Cook, and Sinead O'Connor.
On a RERUNConan (from 3/22/05) are Jarod Miller, Ozzy Osbourne, and Trace Adkins.
On a RERUNCarson Daly (from 10/4/05) Bill Paxton and Liz Phair.
ABC opens the night with 'It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown', followed by a RERUN'Jim', then a FRESH'Commander In Chief', followed by a FRESH'Boston Legal'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Kimmel are David Cross and Jerry Tarkanian.
The WB offers a FRESH'Gilmore Girls', followed by a FRESH'Supernatural'.
Faux has LIVE'World Series Baseball - Game 3', followed on the left coast by RERUNs of 'Simpsons' and 'Malcolm'.
UPN has a RERUN'America's Next Top Model', followed by a RERUN'Love, Inc', then another RERUN'Love, Inc'.
A&E has 'American Justice', 'Cold Case Files', 'Dog The Bounty Hunter', another 'Dog The Bounty Hunter', still another 'Dog The Bounty Hunter', and yet another 'Dog The Bounty Hunter'.
AMC offers the movie 'Tremors', followed by the movie 'Halloween 4: Michael Myers', then the movie 'Halloween 5'.
BBC -
[2pm] 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' - How to Recognize Different Parts of the Body;
[5pm] 'Monarch of the Glen' - Episode 8;
[6pm] 'BBC World News' - BBC World News;
[6:30pm] 'House Invaders' - Edgbaston;
[7pm] 'The Benny Hill Show' - Episode 42;
[8pm] 'Cash in the Attic' - Episode 2;
[9pm] 'Footballers Wives' - Episode 8;
[11pm] 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' - How to Recognize Different Parts of the Body;
[11:40pm] 'The Catherine Tate Show' - Episode 1;
[12:20am] 'The Catherine Tate Show' - Episode 2;
[1am] 'Footballers Wives' - Episode 8;
[3am] 'Randall & Hopkirk' - Ep. 1 Drop Dead;
[4am] 'Randall & Hopkirk' - Ep. 2 Mental Apparition Disorder;
[6am] 'BBC World News'. (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has 'West Wing', 'Celebrity Poker Showdown', and another 'West Wing'.
Comedy Central has 'Drew Carey's Green Screen Show', 'Reno 911!', last night's 'Jon Stewart', last night's 'Colbert Report', 'Mind Of Mencia', 'South Park', 'Chappelle's Show', and last Thursday's 'Showbiz Show With David Spade'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJon Stewart is Al Franken.
Scheduled on a FRESHColbert Report is Greg Behrendt.
Scheduled on a FRESHAdam Carolla are Dr. Drew Pinsky and David Alan Grier.
History has 'Fire And Ice', followed by a FRESH'History's Mysteries', then another 'History's Mysteries', and a FRESH'Man Moment Machine'.
IFC -
[6AM] 'The Quiet Room (1996);
[7:45AM] 'IFC in Theaters (2005);
[8AM] 'Secret Ballot (2001);
[10AM] 'The Sweet Hereafter (1997);
[12PM] 'The Quiet Room (1996);
[1:45PM] 'Home Movie (2002);
[3PM] 'Secret Ballot (2001);
[5PM] 'IFC October Short Film Collection I (2005);
[7:05PM] 'Wild Man Blues (1997);
[9PM] 'Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001);
[11PM] 'Hopeless Pictures #1 (2005);
[11:30PM] 'Greg the Bunny #10: "Sex, Button Eyes and a Video Ape" (2005);
[11:40PM] 'The Festival #4 (2005);
[12AM] 'Hopeless Pictures #9 (2005);
[12:15AM] 'Greg the Bunny #9: "2001-1: Space & Stuff" (2005);
[12:30AM] 'The Festival #3 (2005);
[1AM] 'Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001);
[3AM] 'Hopeless Pictures #1 (2005);
[3:30AM] 'Greg the Bunny #10: "Sex, Button Eyes and a Video Ape" (2005);
[3:40AM] 'The Festival #4 (2005);
[4AM] 'Hopeless Pictures #9 (2005);
[4:15AM] 'Greg the Bunny #9: "2001-1: Space & Stuff" (2005);
[4:30AM] 'The Festival #3 (2005);
[5AM] 'At The IFC Center (2005);
[5:30AM] 'Short: Life Lesson (2003). (ALL TIMES EDT)
SciFi has the movie 'Dracula 3000: Infinite Darkness', followed by the movie 'Frankenstein' (Parker Posey version).
Sundance -
[7AM] 'The Al Franken Show: (10/24/05);
[8AM] 'Kursk, A Submarine in Troubled Waters;
[9:15AM] 'The Last Detail;
[11AM] 'The Al Franken Show: (10/24/05);
[12PM] 'Control Room;
[1:30PM] 'Ginger and Cinnamon;
[3:15PM] 'In This World;
[4:45PM] 'Kursk, A Submarine in Troubled Waters;
[6PM] 'The Staircase: Chapter 8. The verdict;
[7PM] 'Death on the Staircase: The Aftermath;
[7:45PM] 'Mott Music;
[8:15PM] 'Underdog;
[8:30PM] 'I Am NOT an ANIMAL: Money;
[9PM] 'TransGeneration: Episode 6;
[9:30PM] 'Amazon Women On The Moon;
[11PM] 'TransGeneration: Episode 6;
[11:30PM] 'The Al Franken Show: (10/25/05);
[12:30AM] 'Washington Heights;
[2AM] 'Underdog;
[2:30AM] 'The Al Franken Show: (10/25/05);
[3:30AM] 'Amazon Women On The Moon;
[5AM] 'The Last Detail Hal Ashby. (ALL TIMES EDT)
Eric Idle, left, Paul Simon and Mike Nichols sing a song for Steve Martin, recipient of the Mark Twain Prize, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2005, at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.
Photo by Haraz N. Ghanbari
Philip Roth has been honored in his hometown of Newark, which has served as the setting for many of his 26 books.
Roth, whose "American Pastoral" was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1997, was greeted at his childhood home by 75 fans who were on a bus tour Sunday of places in Newark that have been featured in his novels.
Mayor Sharpe James helped Roth unveil a plaque on the home and a street sign renaming the road "Philip Roth Plaza."
Actor Charles Lane (R) is interviewed by Stan Tasse during a special tribute to Lane at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, California October 23, 2005. The 100-year-old Lane is a veteran character actor who has appeared in several hundred movies and television shows in a career spanning seven decades.
Photo by Phil McCarten
Mobsters in the 1990 film "Goodfellas" have beaten a fear of heights in "Vertigo" and the great white shark of "Jaws" to help the Martin Scorsese film clench the mantle of greatest movie of all time in a survey of UK film experts.
Goodfellas, which featured Ray Liotta, Robert de Niro and an Oscar winning supporting role from Joe Pesci, topped the list of 100 movies in a survey of film critics by Total Film.
Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 classic "Vertigo" took second place, while third went to Steven Spielberg's 1975 classic "Jaws," the tale of a coastal town terrorised by a great white shark.
Led Zeppelin tickets are on sale now. The only catch is that it doesn't actually get you into a concert.
The rock memorabilia dealer Metro Pulse is selling the tickets that were meant for a series of Led Zeppelin concerts in Chicago in November 1980. The tickets were about to go on sale when drummer John Bonham died. The concert never happened, and the unused tickets sat in storage for years.
Metro Pulse is now selling the tickets, along with a certificate of authenticity and a map that shows where the seats were located in the old Chicago Stadium. The tickets range from $35 to $299.
Two actors recreated John Lennon's 1969 "bed-in" at a Montreal hotel on Monday to draw attention to the November auction of the original lyrics of his "Give Peace A Chance" anthem.
The actors, clad in white pyjamas, portrayed Lennon and wife Yoko Ono in a scene reenacting the couple's week-long meeting with the press and public in their small two-room suite at Montreal's Queen Elizabeth Hotel in May 1969.
Lennon scrawled the lyrics, which featured the refrain, "all we are saying is give peace a chance," on a hotel envelope. The song was recorded in the hotel room with guests such as Timothy Leary, Tommy Smothers and Petula Clark and became a favorite of peace demonstrators worldwide.
Actor William Shatner, right, poses for photos with television personality Cristina Saralegui before both were inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame during ceremonies at the 15th Annual Hall of Fame Awards Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, Monday, Oct. 24, 2005.
Photo by Henny Ray Abrams
Janet Jackson and James DeBarge, who were briefly married in 1984, had a daughter together, DeBarge's brother Young DeBarge has claimed on a radio program.
Young DeBarge said the child, named Renee and now 18, has been living with Rebbie Jackson, Janet's oldest sister. His comments lent support to reports that have circulated for years claiming Janet has a "secret" daughter.
Jackson's publicist didn't immediately return a call from The Associated Press on Monday. The singer and James DeBarge were married for less than three months when she was just 18. The marriage was annulled a year later.
Another round of Jack-FM stations could be installed by Infinity Broadcasting tomorrow morning at 8 a.m., according to a statement made by Howard Stern on his syndicated morning program today.
"Tomorrow morning at 8 a.m., during our show, there will be a few small markets that we are presently on that will switch to the Jack-FM format and take us off the air," said Stern, who was not pleased with the prospect. "I guess it's the F.U. to Howard," he added. Later in the program, WXRK/New York GM Tom Chiusano was discussing the rumor with Stern and insinuated that the flips might be a Stern/Jack-FM combo.
A reflective and sentimental tone has been creeping into Stern's program recently and the prospects of being Jack-ed off a few more radio stations prompted a mini-farewell speech. "For those of you who listen to us and won't be hearing us tomorrow, I want to say farewell," said Stern. "I want to tell you it has been a spectacular 20 years here with the company. I'm not leaving radio, I'm going to a whole new form of radio. I do not want you to think ever that I don't appreciate your support and your sticking with me through all the FCC stuff and everything the religious right is doing to us. My intention in all of this has always been to entertain you."
Actor Daniel Dae Kim, one of the cast members of the TV series 'Lost' smiles at a seminar at the Hawaii International Film Festival in Honolulu, Hawaii October 23, 2005.
Photo by Lucy Pemoni
It's a "Star Wars" fan's dream -- the first public display of props and costumes from all six films in the series, including a replica cockpit of Han Solo's asteroid-battered Millennium Falcon.
But the $5 million exhibit goes beyond entertainment and turns "Star Wars" into a educational tool for science and technology, fields in which U.S. dominance faces a challenge from a new generation of engineers in Asia.
"Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination," opening on Thursday in Boston, was developed by "Star Wars" creator George Lucas's LucasFilm Ltd. and Boston's Museum of Science to give some scientific basis to the fantasy of the films.
New Times Media, the top U.S. alternative newspaper publisher, on Monday agreed to merge with the company the publishes The Village Voice, one of the best known countercultural newspapers in the United States.
The new company will take the name Village Voice Media, and will have a circulation of 1.8 million papers and 4.3 million readers. It will publish free weekly newspapers and Web sites in 17 of the largest U.S. markets.
Queen guitarist Brian May, right, drummer Roger Taylor, left, and vocalist Paul Rodgers line up together at a press conference upon their arrival at Narita International Airport in Narita, east of Tokyo, Monday, Oct. 24, 2005. May and Taylor, the original Queen members, and new frontman Paul Rogers will have the 'Return Of The Champions' tour in Japan starting Wednesday, Oct. 26. This is the group's first concert tour in Japan in 20 years.
Photo by Shizuo Kambayashi
In the past few years, commercial-free KEXP has transcended its meager 4,700-watt signal, embracing and even creating Internet technology to emerge as a national indie music tastemaker. With a very few other like-minded stations, it's enjoying a word-of-mouth popularity boom even as Americans are listening to less conventional radio.
In spring 2004, about 26,000 people listened to KEXP online every week - more than any other Internet radio station in the country, according to Arbitron's now-defunct Internet broadcasting service. This year, that number has jumped to 50,000, with large clusters of listeners in New York, where KEXP broadcasts live twice a year; Chicago; San Francisco; and Washington, D.C. Listeners are giving the nonprofit station a projected $1.7 million this year, nearly $1 million more than they gave in 2003.
To pay for a coming trade mission to China, Gov. Arnold $chwarzenegger's political allies are raising tens of thousands of dollars from businesses whose names are largely being concealed.
In addition, at least two of the three public relations firms playing a role in the visit have political ties to $chwarzenegger. One has a West Coast affiliate co-owned by the governor's chief fundraiser.
$chwarzenegger and his supporters want donations to two tax-exempt groups that have championed his interests, and to a government fund meant to boost overseas trade. The money will help cover expenses for the governor's tour of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
A collection of prop fingers from the 1990 movie 'Darkman' is displayed at the Aladdin Resort in Las Vegas October 24, 2005. The finger collection, along with 250 other items including a car once owned by John Lennon, will be auctioned by Julien's Auctions October 29 at the resort.
Photo by Steve Marcus
"Will & Grace" star Megan Mullally's syndicated daytime show has been cleared in four top markets for a fall 2006 launch, an important step in its efforts to reach a nationwide audience.
Syndicator NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution is set to announce Monday that it has cleared the one-hour talk-variety strip on four NBC owned-and-operated stations: WNBC-TV New York, KNBC-TV Los Angeles, WMAQ-TV Chicago and KNTV-TV San Francisco. Further clearances are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
The show, which will originate from Los Angeles, is targeted at women aged between 25 and 54.
The J. Paul Getty Museum, which recently returned artifacts allegedly looted from Italy, is facing similar accusations from Greece.
Greece has renewed a claim that four items acquired by the museum were actually stolen and should be returned, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
Earlier this month, the museum returned three objects that the Italian government claimed were pilfered antiquities. True has been charged by Italian prosecutors with criminal association and receiving stolen goods in that case, and her trial is scheduled to resume next month in Rome.
Rosa Lee Parks, whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man sparked the modern civil rights movement, died Monday evening. She was 92.
Mrs. Parks was 42 when she committed an act of defiance in 1955 that was to change the course of American history and earn her the title "mother of the civil rights movement."
The Montgomery, Ala., seamstress, an active member of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was riding on a city bus Dec. 1, 1955, when a white man demanded her seat.
Mrs. Parks refused, despite rules requiring blacks to yield their seats to whites. Two black Montgomery women had been arrested earlier that year on the same charge, but Mrs. Parks was jailed. She also was fined $14.
Her arrest triggered a 381-day boycott of the bus system organized by a then little-known Baptist minister, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who later earned the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.
She was born Rosa Louise McCauley on Feb. 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Ala. Family illness interrupted her high school education, but after she married Raymond Parks in 1932, he encouraged her and she earned a diploma in 1934. He also inspired her to become involved in the NAACP.
A Playboy bunny costume worn by 1971 Playmate of the Year Janice Pennington, pictured in photo, is displayed at the Aladdin Resort in Las Vegas October 24, 2005. The costume, along with 250 other items including a car once owned by John Lennon, will be auctioned by Julien's Auctions October 29 at the resort.
Photo by Steve Marcus
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