Could it be true - the mother of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy was once put in charge of little Al Gore?Too bad she didn't sort the kid out.
Conservative political maven Lucianne Goldberg revealed her Gore connection on Monday, telling Fox News Radio's Tony Snow that she was Al Gore's babysitter when he was 10 years old.
Nearly five months ago, I nominated John Bolton to be America's Ambassador to the United Nations. I chose John because of his vast experience in foreign policy, his integrity and his willingness to confront difficult problems head-on. I told the nation that John Bolton would provide clear American leadership for reform at the United Nations. I told them that he would insist upon results.Stand by for the laments of the losers.
The United States Senate held thorough confirmation hearings, and a majority of United States senators agree that he is the right man for the job. Yet, because of partisan delaying tactics by a handful of senators, John was unfairly denied the up or down vote that he deserves.
As a result, America has now gone more than six months without a permanent ambassador to the United Nations. This post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about U.N. reform. So today I've used my constitutional authority to appoint John Bolton to serve as America's ambassador to the United Nations.
The New York Sun takes on the Air America story today and advances it by leaps and bounds, talking with the president of the non-profit which had its money taken by Air America founder Evan Cohen. It turns out that Cohen didn't just get money for the netlet, but also managed to get plenty for his own pockets...And they weren't exactly reaching for their wallets before the story broke.
Now we have potential wire fraud, forgery, and fraud by deception, and probably a host of other potential charges against Mr. Cohen for his actions with Gloria Wise and Air America. Ms. Graves also tells the New York Sun that AA has agreed to pay back $800K over the next two years, not just the $480K originally noted by the Bronx News.
White House press doyenne Helen Thomas is plenty peeved at her longtime friend Albert Eisele, editor of THE HILL newspaper in Washington, D.C.Helen's not the sharpest tool in the drawer.
In a column this week headlined "Reporter: Cheney's Not Presidential Material," Eisele quoted Thomas as saying "The day Dick Cheney is going to run for president, I'll kill myself. All we need is one more liar."
Thomas also said: "I think he'd like to run, but it would be a sad day for the country if he does," according to Eisele's column.
But Thomas said yesterday at the White House that her comments to Eisele were for his ears only. "I'll never talk to a reporter again!" Thomas was overheard saying.
...
"Nobody has thinner skin than reporters," Eisele said with a laugh.
The fist thing you notice is the hosts, they're young, preachy, and entirely too excited about the significance of any of the America's Unfunniest Home Videos they're about to show you. The videottes have something in the lower left part of the screen which looks like a mini-TiVo timeline or camcorder timer. As near as I can tell the progress bar is there to let you know how long your misery will last before one of the slicky boy VJ's get all up in your grill from a bizarre camera angle again. When the hosts come back on telling you how wonderful the whiny video you just saw was they'll also remind you how cool they are for being on Current, and how cool you are for watching.Zzzzzzz.
An exceptional example of good journalism, the current issue of the Atlantic Monthly has a front cover article on Yasir Arafat, “In a Ruined Country: How Yasir Arafat Destroyed Palestine.” It is very detailed, and I think it would be especially enlightening to those who haven’t followed Arafat closely over the years, but even if you have it is worth reading. Written by David Samuels, it is based not simply on documentary records but on a series of interviews with old Arafat companions following his death. This is what makes it entertaining. You can’t read it online without a subscription, but the article is worth the cost of the entire magazine easily.My favorite snip from the article:
The corruption of the Palestinian Authority under Arafat was breathtaking. Samuels cites a 1996 PA report which indicated of the year’s budget, 43% had been embezzled, 12.5% went to Arafat’s personal office (to be spent at his discretion), and 35% went to the myriad of security and intelligence services which Arafat maintained, leaving less than 10% for all other expenses like education or health.I see a good source of United Nations bureaucrats.
Nanny is really worried about the media's obsession with beauty and good looks.BBC story here. The thing that puzzles me is why it's just the guy in the ad who has to be changed. What about the women? Besides, Rosie O'Donnell could use a gig.
She agonises that ordinary looking mortals, such as you and I, are not given a fair "crack" in this media obsessed age.
Therefore Nanny has decided to intervene in that most image obsessed industry, the drinks industry.
...
Lambrini is the first drinks company to come under attack from Nanny. Watchdogs rejected its latest campaign, because it depicted women flirting with a man who was deemed too attractive.
The poster featured three women "hooking" a slim, young man in a parody of a fairground game scene. Harmless fun to lead its summer campaign, Lambrini argued.
CAP said:"We would advise that the man in the picture should be unattractive, overweight, middle-aged, balding etc...What a bunch of prats!
We consider that the advert is in danger of implying that the drink may bring sexual/social success, because the man in question looks quite attractive and desirable to the girls. If the man was clearly unattractive, we think that this implication would be removed."
A Sony Music promo exec unknowingly sparked Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's major payola investigation when he started hitting on a woman at a poolside bar at a Miami hotel last year.How about fun city? - U.S. shuts consulate in chaotic Mexican border city:
The exec bragged about some of the excesses in his line of business, according to chatter in music industry circles.
The executive must have felt pretty good, as the attentive woman probably hung on his every word. He must have thought he was spinning a Gold Record.
But not so fast.
It turns out the woman who was the object of his affection worked in Spitzer's office.
Ouch!
NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico (Reuters) - The United States is closing temporarily its consulate in this lawless Mexican border city after rival drug gangs clashed with bazookas, hand grenades and heavy machine-gun fire.I guess it must be our fault, too. Somehow.
"A violent battle involving unusually advanced weaponry took place between armed criminal factions last night in Nuevo Laredo," U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza said on Friday.
He said he was ordering the consulate in Nuevo Laredo closed for all of next week and would only reopen it if the security situation improved.
Garza called on Mexico to swiftly bring the situation under control.
Mexico reacted angrily to Garza's words, saying both countries shared a responsibility to fight drug crime.
"Repeated public statements by the U.S. Embassy in Mexico about the border situation in no way help bilateral efforts to end border crime," the Mexican Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Here’s the deal. The Kossacks and Lefties are claiming that the “Air America stole money from poor kids” story is fake. Leading the charge, Barbara O’Brien of Mahablog. At her own blog, at dKos, at the American Street, etc., her post has sprung up.Or a pinhead. Or both. The Radio Equalizer has more here and a roundup here.
...
She couldn’t find the Bronx News through Google? Either she didn’t try very hard, or she’s lying. If you’re looking for an article by “Michael Horowitz” of the “Bronx News,” and you don’t Google those four words and look at the sixth entry, I have to wonder just how hard you wanted to find it.
Barbara, you constantly call Bush a liar. YOU are a liar.
The President of one of the world's biggest advertising agencies has issued a damning state-of-the-nation assessment that describes France as being in steep decline and his countrymen as "narrowed and stunted".Don't be so shy, Maurice! Speak right up!
Maurice Lévy, the head of the media giant Publicis, whose company owns Saatchi and Saatchi and has offices in 100 countries across six continents, said France had failed to get the 2012 Olympics because the world now saw it as a nation of perdants - "losers".
For good measure, he described the 35-hour week as "absurd" and the wails of complaint that followed Paris's loss of the Games to London as "pathetic".
His forthright critique was published in the opinion section on the front page of the respected daily newspaper Le Monde.
...
Mr Lévy, 63, told The Sunday Telegraph that he stood by every word of his criticism and had received scores of messages of support.
"What I wrote was hard, but true. France is not in a crisis, it's worse than that. A crisis is usually sudden and short, while we are in an endemic situation," he said. "I've just had enough and wanted to say what I felt."