'Best of TBH Politoons'
Reader Suggestion
Earth Science World Image Bank
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: King of Pain (The New York Times)
We know that the world would see this action as a U.S. repudiation of the rules that bind civilized nations. We also know that an extraordinary lineup of former military and intelligence leaders, including Colin Powell, have spoken out against the Bush plan, warning that it would further damage America's faltering moral standing, and end up endangering U.S. troops. But I haven't seen much discussion of the underlying question: why is Mr. Bush so determined to engage in torture?
Paul Craig Roberts: War Criminal at Bay (informationclearinghouse.info)
President George Bush, betrayed by the neoconservatives whom he elevated to power and by his Attorney General, Torture Gonzales who gave him wrong legal advice, is locked in a desperate struggle with the Republican Congress to save himself from war crimes charges at the expense of America's reputation and our soldiers' fate.
The denial industry (guardian.co.uk)
For years, a network of fake citizens' groups and bogus scientific bodies has been claiming that science of global warming is inconclusive. They set back action on climate change by a decade. But who funded them? Exxon's involvement is well known, but not the strange role of Big Tobacco. In the first of three extracts from his new book, George Monbiot tells a bizarre and shocking new story.
Ben Adler: Five Minutes With: Julian Bond (campusprogress.org)
... one thing we all ought to be worried about is discrimination at the ballot box and the efficiency and the functionality of the election process. But you know the discrimination is so widespread and so pervasive and so harmful, it's really almost impossible to say, this is the most important thing. All these things are important: discrimination in education and employment, in almost everything, it touches so many people lives and breeds so much harm for them. So we've just got to be alert to it wherever it rears its ugly head.
Martin Foreman: I'm all right, Jack (godwouldbeanatheist.com)
Humanity's blessing and curse
'A man with little sympathy for other faiths' (guardian.co.uk)
Pope Benedict is being portrayed as a naive, shy scholar who has accidentally antagonised two major world faiths in a matter of months. In fact he is a shrewd and ruthless operator, argues Madeleine Bunting - and he's dangerous.
Villains of the Vatican (guardian.co.uk)
Peter Stanford on controversial popes through the ages.
Glen Ford: Bigger Than Hip-Hop (In These Times. Posted on AlterNet.org)
Hip-hop is arguably the most potent musical force in the country today, and African-American activists are working to shape it into a political movement as well.
Games and Humor (Reader's Digest)
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, a bit cooler, and a year older.
2nd Coming of Howard Beale?
Keith Olbermann
Keith Olbermann sometimes feels as if he's out there by himself on the high wire, a lone (or nearly lone) voice of reason in a world gone mad. Emboldened by the left as the right man in the right place at the right time, dismissed by the right as a Bush-bashing tool of liberal propagandists, the host-anchor of MSNBC's nightly "Countdown" newsmagazine has long been a zealous polarizing force as a journalist who wears his heart in plain sight.
But while using his platform in part to protect what he sees as truth, justice and the American way and its ongoing assault from the Bush administration, Olbermann has suddenly evolved into more than merely Bill O'Reilly's sardonic whipping post. He's morphed before our eyes into the second coming of Howard Beale.
While Olbermann has fully embodied the Beale zeitgeist more than ever, he has done so with decidedly more clear-eyed focus than the manic rage practiced by that particular fictitious icon. Over the past three weeks, he has crafted and delivered a pair of impassioned, acerbic essays that first slammed defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld (on August 30) and then, on September 11, one skewering resident Bush for his politicizing the events of five years before.
Unlike Beale, Olbermann maintains that he is not going nuts and has simply been inspired by his senses of history and right and wrong to take to the air with both lungs breathing fire. While he has increasingly become an enemy of the state, the support he's received from his network bosses has been complete. In fact, MSNBC reran his September 11 "Countdown" commentary on Friday night and featured him as a guest on the "Today" show that same morning, which the host obviously appreciates.
Keith Olbermann
Man With An Opinion
Ted Turner
The U.S. invasion of Iraq was among the "dumbest moves of all time" that ranks with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and the German invasion of Russia, billionaire philanthropist Ted Turner said on Tuesday.
The founder of CNN and unabashed internationalist also defended the right of Iran to have nuclear weapons and the effectiveness of the United Nations and, in a jocular mood, advocated banning men from elective office worldwide in a Reuters Newsmaker appearance.
"It will go down in history, it is already being seen in history, as one of the dumbest moves that was ever made by anybody. A couple of others that come to mind were the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and the German invasion of Russia," Turner told the forum.
"It literally broke my heart. You don't start wars just because you don't like somebody. ... I wouldn't even start a war with Rupert Murdoch," Turner said, referring to his onetime cable network rival.
Ted Turner
Sirius Denies Reports
Howard Stern
Sirius Satellite Radio said on Tuesday that reports suggesting that shock jock Howard Stern was planning a return to mainstream radio was "wrong."
"There has never been any discussion of Howard Stern in any way, shape, or form being anything but exclusive to Sirius. Published reports suggesting otherwise are wrong," said Sirius spokesman Patrick Reilly. Stern's agent was not immediately available for comment.
The New York Post, citing Inside Radio editor Tom Taylor, reported on Tuesday that there were rumors among radio insiders that Howard Stern may be planning a return to free airwaves.
The newspaper article said industry talk suggested that a mega-deal was brewing among Stern, Sirius Chief Executive Mel Karmazin and Farid Suleman, a long-time Karmazin associate whose Citadel Broadcasting Corp. is buying ABC Radio from Walt Disney Co.
Howard Stern
Rose Parade Grand Marshal
George Lucas
"Star Wars" creator George Lucas was named Tuesday as grand marshal of the 118th annual Tournament of Roses.
To the soaring strains of the "Star Wars" theme, Lucas arrived at the Tournament of Roses headquarters to accept the honor. On hand to greet him were "Star Wars" characters such as a roaring Chewbacca and a diminutive Ewok.
The theme for the parade is "Our Good Nature."
George Lucas
Travels Appalachian Trail Barefoot
Ron Zaleski
More than 500 people hike the entire Appalachian Trail, which runs from Maine to Georgia, each year. Ron Zaleski has been trying to accomplish the feat barefoot. His goal is to bring attention to the need for combat veterans to receive counseling.
"In the beginning I thought, 'I gotta do this to show how tough I am. I want to be famous,'" he said at a recent pause to eat some pecan ice cream. "Now I just want to help these kids."
Zaleski, a retired health-club owner from Flanders, N.Y., said other hikers tend to stop complaining about the weight of their equipment or sore feet when they see him.
Zaleski said his aversion to wearing shoes began after he left the Marine Corps following a two-year stint in the early 1970s. Going barefoot started as a protest against the Vietnam War, although for 33 years he didn't make his explanation public, he said.
Ron Zaleski
Gets Star On Hollywood Walk O'Fame
Amy Grant
Singer Amy Grant was joined by husband Vince Gill, friends and fans Tuesday as she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
"I see all my family, co-workers and friends and I have to say nothing happens alone," Grant, 45, told the crowd. "Life is like a massive vessel. You don't sail alone, and sometimes I feel like the naked lady on the front of the ship. ... It's been an exciting ride."
Amy Grant
British Painter Sentenced
Robert Thwaites
A British painter who sold his forgeries for tens of thousands of pounds has been sentenced to two years in prison.
Robert Thwaites, 54, fooled art experts - including one from the "Antiques Roadshow" television program - with paintings he claimed were by the Victorian artist John Anster Fitzgerald.
He had pleaded guilty to obtaining money by deception and was sentenced at London's Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court on Monday. His brother, Brian Thwaites, 50, was given a one-year sentence for conspiracy to obtain money by deception, but it was suspended.
Robert Thwaites allegedly worked for nearly five years, between 1999 and 2004, producing and selling paintings at his home in Herefordshire, western England, which he said were by Fitzgerald, who died in 1906 and was known for his images of fairy scenes.
Robert Thwaites
Launches New Christian Home-Video Unit
FoxFaith
Twentieth Century Fox launched a Christian home-video label on Tuesday, becoming the first major studio with a unit devoted to the church-going audience that turned "The Passion of the Christ" into a blockbuster.
The new FoxFaith banner will acquire Christian-themed films produced outside the studio and release them on DVD, with the help of a marketing network tied into 90,000 churches and 14 million households nationwide, said Steve Feldstein, a spokesman for 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
FoxFaith also plans to help market theatrical releases for six to 12 such movies a year, most of them small-budget productions in the $5 million range, through a deal with specialty distributor the Bigger Picture, he said.
FoxFaith
Film Crew Granted Rare Access
Acropolis
The Acropolis in Athens is to provide the backdrop for a Hollywood comedy after guardians of the site granted exceptional permission to film there, the film's producer said.
Greece's Central Council of Archaeology, KAS, agreed to let Greek-Canadian actress Nia Vardalos shoot "My Life in Ruins" at a number of famous ancient sites including Delphi, Olympia, Thermopyles and Epidaurus, Mark Hufam said.
The last filmmaker to be granted access to the Acropolis was Francis Ford Coppola in the late 1980s for "My Life Without Zoe", an episode of "New York Stories."
Acropolis
HBO Cancels
Louis C.K.
HBO has opted not to renew its racy blue-collar family comedy "Lucky Louie" for a second season. The show was created by and starred comedian Louis C.K.
The cancellation marks the end of HBO's experiment with the traditional multicamera sitcom format, at least for now.
Louis C.K.
USC Complains
Brent Musburger
Southern California formally complained that ABC-TV's Brent Musburger revealed privileged information in play-by-play commentary during Saturday's game against Nebraska.
The university sent a letter to ESPN, which oversees sports programming on ABC, saying Musburger, with less than 10 minutes to play and the Trojans leading 21-10, began describing how USC quarterback John David Booty lets receivers know he has spotted a certain kind of coverage.
"John David told us that his signal when he finds one-on-one and they're coming, it's that 'hang loose,' that familiar sign you've seen surfers use," said Musburger, referring to the sign where the thumb and little finger are raised.
USC sports information director Tim Tessalone sent a formal complaint to ESPN/ABC game producer Bill Bonnell on Monday and sent a copy to the Pacific-10 conference office.
Brent Musburger
New Sculptures
George Washington
The legs are a little spindly, and the shoulders somewhat slight for a man so often described as strapping.
Still, the life-size depiction of George Washington as a 19-year-old surveyor captures the good looks and dignified bearing that served him so well as a general and then as president.
Workers at George Washington's Mount Vernon estate recently put the finishing touches on the sculpture, as well as models of Washington as a 45-year-old commander of the Continental Army at Valley Forge and at age 57 when he was first inaugurated president in 1789.
Research on the project was meticulous. The estate hired an anthropology professor to do an age-regression analysis of Washington's face calculating the changes that would have occurred as he aged and lost his teeth. They took detailed measurements of Washington's tailored clothes to gain insight into his body shape.
George Washington
Another Broken System
Alistair Cooke
After "Masterpiece Theatre" host Alistair Cooke died, errors in the medical records accompanying his body fell through the cracks, one by one.
His name was misspelled. His birthdate was off by 10 years. His Social Security number wasn't even close. The name of his doctor, contact information for a relative, the time and cause of his death: all wrong.
None of that prevented the removal and sale of the 95-year-old's arms and legs. The fate of his pelvis and other tissue remains a mystery.
Where his daughter Susan Cooke Kittredge's name might have appeared on the records, there is instead a bogus name and phone number for a family member who supposedly agreed to donate her father's body parts for tissue transplants.
Alistair Cooke
Reversed After Two Weeks
First Penis Transplant
Surgeons in China who said they performed the first successful penis transplant had to remove the donated organ because of the severe psychological problems it caused to the recipient and his wife.
Dr Weilie Hu and surgeons at Guangzhou General Hospital in China performed the complex 15-hour surgery on a 44-year old man whose penis had been damaged in a traumatic accident.
The microsurgery to attach the penis, which had been donated by the parents of a 22-year-old brain-dead man, was successful but Hu and his team removed it two weeks later.
"Because of a severe psychological problem of the recipient and his wife, the transplanted penis regretfully had to be cut off," Hu said in a report published online by the peer reviewed journal European Urology, without elaborating.
First Penis Transplant
CBC Head Quits
Guy Fournier
The chairman of the publicly funded Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has resigned after remarks about bestiality and ruminations about defecation, Canadian Heritage Minister Bev Oda said on Tuesday.
Guy Fournier created an uproar in Canada's Lebanese community and in the media when he claimed that Lebanon allowed men to have sexual relations with female animals, but reserved the death penalty for those who did so with male animals.
In comments made in May, and replayed in a CBC weekend interview, he talked at length about the joys of bowel movements.
Guy Fournier
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