MILK (2008, directed by Gus Van Sant, 128 minutes, U.S.) BY DAN BUSKIRK, FILM CRITIC Just last month Josh Brolin starred in W, the Oliver Stone biopic, utterly inhabiting the the dim, destructive id of incurious-ness. Now a month later Brolin pops up as the dark id of intolerance, political assassin Dan White in Gus Van Sant’s Milk. Where W seemed designed to hammer a stake into the heart of Bush’s legacy, Milk, which chronicles the life of slain gay activist Harvey Milk, uses the past as a map to inspire the future’s possibilities. If Stone’s film was dismissed in […]
International Press Goes GaGa For Mendte-Gate
Not just the British press, either. Germany and Australia picked up the story as well.
NEWS CLUES: Like A Friendster Of The Truth
Facebook Spammer Fined $873 Million, Now All They Have To Do Is Catch Him Facebook has won $873 million judgment against a Canadian man who bombarded the popular online hangout with sexually explicit “spam” messages. The victory, sealed with a judge’s order issued last Friday, probably won’t yield a windfall for privately held Facebook Inc., whose revenue this year is expected to range between $250 million to $300 million. Court records indicate the alleged spammer, Adam Guerbuez of Montreal, has been difficult to find since Facebook sued him four months ago. But Facebook is hoping the size of the judgment […]
INQUIRY: Congressional Committee Wants To Know If Spitzer Sex Bust Was A Federal Takedown
NEW YORK TIMES: Eight months after a federal investigation into a prostitution ring brought about, the question persists in some circles: Was the federal government out to get Mr. Spitzer? No evidence has surfaced to support such an assertion, and the prosecutor in the case has said that politics played no role in the pursuit of Mr. Spitzer, a Democrat. But that has not put to rest suspicions, expressed on left wing blogs, that Mr. Spitzer, a zealous pursuer of Wall Street wrongdoing who some thought could one day be president, had been singled out. Now, a congressional committee is […]
HELLS BELLS: Sarah Palin Is Coming To Town!
ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS: The governor is planning a trip to Georgia to campaign on behalf of Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss early next week on her way to Philadelphia to meet with her old foe, President-elect Barack Obama. Obama is meeting with governors of both parties in Philadelphia to talk about the ailing economy. It’s not clear how many governors are going to attend the Obama event, which the National Governors Association helped put together. “I don’t know if she has a one-on-one with (Obama),” said Palin spokesman Bill McAllister. “It may be, given that they were both involved in […]
DEFANGED: Ann Coulter’s Jaws Wired Shut?
BREAKING: Literally. The interweb is atwitter with reports that right wing vampire Ann Coulter has broken her jaw and doctors have wired it shut. Repeat, ANN COULTER’S JAWS HAVE BEEN WIRED SHUT. PHAWKER: This sounds too good to be true: Obama is elected president and Ann Coulter gets her jaw wired shut. If this is a dream, we never wanna wake up. DRUDGE: Bestselling author and controversialist Ann Coulter plans to crash Obama’s inauguration party with her new work, GUILTY. Set for release first week of January, the book exposes and mocks, in graphic detail, the media’s love affair with […]
WHY WE FIGHT: 10 Talibani Militants Arrested For Squirting Acid In The Faces Of Afghan Schoolgirls
ASSOCIATED PRESS: KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Afghan police have arrested 10 Taliban militants involved in an acid attack this month against 15 girls and teachers walking to school in southern Afghanistan, a provincial governor said Tuesday. “Several” of the arrested militants have confessed to taking part in the acid attack, said Kandahar Gov. Rahmatullah Raufi. He declined to be more precise. High-ranking Taliban fighters paid the militants a total of $2,000 to carry out the attack, Raufi said. The attackers came from Pakistan but were Afghan nationals, said Doud Doud, an Interior Ministry official. The attackers squirted the acid from water […]
SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS: Whatever Happens In Room 315 Stays In Room 315, Part 3
BY JEFF DEENEY If there’s real concern that a physical confrontation between the students and staff in room 315 might arise the behavioral health worker steps in. Mr. Thompson’s official function falls somewhere between teacher’s aid and social worker; he’s supposed to help students with their work during those rare moments when they’re actually working, try to build a therapeutic bond with them when they have structured free time and de-escalate their behavior from the brink of violence if it reaches that stage. In reality, Mr. Thompson’s function is more like a security guard; he provides the muscle necessary to […]
HENRY PAULSON: The Man Who Wasn’t There
[CBS News: Bush Vows to Safeguard Financial Systems] DAN BUSKIRK: I don’t want to start a panic or anything but is anyone paying attention to Treasury Secretary/Bail-Out Chief Henry “Hank” Paulson these days? Look at him fidgeting behind Bush “Relax, I’M on the job” announcement yesterday. He looks like he’s ready to start sobbing, or he has to pee or he’s afraid someone’s going to run up from behind and de-pants him. What ever is going on, he ain’t inspiring confidence. MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS: Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, warning that “millions of Americans cannot find affordable financing for basic credit needs,” […]
WORTH REPEATING: My Life In The Ghost Of Bush or The Best Way To Rob A Bank Is To Own One
MOE TKACIK ON HOW WE GOT HERE: For years, Wall Street has exhibited only contempt for anyone on the government payroll who did not work for the Fed. This attitude was abetted and enabled by a Republican leadership that did not trust its own party members on the Financial Services Committee. They saw this coming — when Long Term Capital Management almost exploded the markets as a direct result of the “counterparty risk” that bound us to bail out AIG, when Enron touched off a wave of 30 or so separate multi-billion-dollar accounting restatements that killed Arthur Andersen and made […]
SENTENCING: The Last Temptation Of Larry Mendte
UPDATE: Mendte gets 3 years probation, 6 months home confinement, 250 hours community service, computer monitoring plus a fine. MORE PHILLY.COM: Paul Rosen, Alycia Lane’s lawyer, said she would not speak at sentencing. In a statement, he said: “Alycia never sought publicity for her private life, and she does not intend to give a public statement today. She gave a confidential statement to the probation officer which was presented to the Court. The only public life she wanted was her news anchor career. Larry Mendte’s criminal conduct destroyed that career and made her a tabloid feeding frenzy. He then attempted […]
CONCERT REVIEW: No Tears On Prom Night
BY DAVE ALLEN Only minutes into Ingrid Michaelson‘s set at the TLA on Sunday, there was already talk of wardrobe malfunctions. Michaelson took the stage in a satiny blue ballroom gown with, as she soon discovered, a large slit up the middle. Why the elaborate get-up? Inspired by theTLA’s red curtains and chandeliers during her last Philly appearance in June, Michaelson declared that her next show there would be a ballroom dance. Thus Ballroom Madness was born, drawing a sold-out crowd last night, only some of whom seemed to have got the dress-up memo. Michaelson’s music, though perhaps better suited […]