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Year: 2008

I See Dead People

Keith Richards, in a recent interview, manages to get his mouth working well enough to claim Mick Jagger is a “power freak” and a “bit vain”. Who knew?

“Mick’s a maniac. He can’t get up in the morning without knowing immediately who he’s going to call,” the 64-year-old Richards said.

“Meanwhile, I just go ‘Thank God I’m awake’ and wait for three or four hours before I do anything. He is a power freak and there’s nothing we can do about it. I don’t want to do anything about it. Let him bugger about. It doesn’t make any difference to what we do.”

Technorati Tags:
Celebrity, Rolling Stones, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger

Obama Lies

…and most other candidates for political office do too. For the past 45+ years, it’s been standard operating procedure also known as ‘doing what it takes to get elected.’

Barack Obama has ratcheted up his attacks on NAFTA, but a senior member of his campaign team told a Canadian official not to take his criticisms seriously, CTV News has learned.

Within the last month, a top staff member for Obama’s campaign telephoned Michael Wilson, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, and warned him that Obama would speak out against NAFTA, according to Canadian sources.

The staff member reassured Wilson that the criticisms would only be campaign rhetoric, and should not be taken at face value.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying lying to get elected is okay. It’s not. But somewhere in the political playbook, this kind of thing isn’t defined as lying. It’s defined as nuance. It’s giving your potential voting constituency a taste of where your head is at. It’s about intentions, not action. The entire Obama campaign is built upon this framework.

So, am I shocked that Obama staffers are calling and warning Canadian officials ahead of time to take the rhetoric with a grain of salt? Not in the least. Obama’s not the first and he won’t be the last. It’s a lesson though to those of us who listen to speeches, political debates, and campaign propaganda. Always apply the proper filter, and count on a certain percentage of disappointed when your candidate is elected.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Politics, NAFTA, Canada, Mexico

Harry At War

Sounds like a royal family driven PR campaign to me.

They’re calling him “Harry the Hero!”

British Royal Prince Harry has been fighting in Afghanistan since late December — and has been directly involved in battle.

Australian magazine NEW IDEA and the German daily BILD have broken world embargoes on the development. CNN has debated internally on the merits of reporting Harry at war.

The prince, a junior officer in the Blues and Royals, and third in line to the throne, has been a “magnificent soldier” and an “inspiration to all of Briton.”

Prince Harry is talking part in a new offensive against the Taliban.

Ministry of Defense and Clarence House refuse all comment. Army chiefs have managed to keep the prince away from media and have encourage fellow soldiers in his squadron to stay quiet.

I have absolutely no problem with Prince Harry wanting to serve his country. I applaud him for that. In fact, I’d bet he’s he type who would rather keep this whole thing quiet. Problem is, he’s surrounded by old people who want to keep the magic of the Windsor Dynasty alive. A quest to manufacture in Harry the kind of reverence found previously in Diana.

Ooops, hold on.

I’m actually blogging about the royal family. My apologies.

Nevermind.

MORE: Queen told him to go | Photos | The Interview | Fighting the Taliban |

Technorati Tags:
Royal Family, Britain, Prince Harry, Afghanistan

Air Force: “All Blogs are Bad!”

That’s not their official position, but for mostly logical reasons, the Air Force has decided to block blogs its troops can read. Blogs that actually have the word “blog” in the web address are a primary target. This move has drawn the ire of many officials who think the whole policy is “utterly stupid”.

Technorati Tags:
Blogging, Air Force, Censorship

Oscar Kisses The Boo Boo

Whoopi’s all better now.

Whoopi Goldberg has accepted an apology from producer Gil Cates for not including her in a montage featuring Oscar hosts during Sunday’s Academy Awards telecast.

Cates called her Tuesday and “talked about the fact that he had made an oversight, pure and simple. He said, `You know I love you,'” Goldberg said Wednesday on ABC daytime talk show “The View.” Goldberg, who called Cates a “great gentleman,” accepted his apology.

She said she has “moved on” since choking up on Monday’s show when her fellow co-hosts discussed how she was left out of the clip.

The 52-year-old actress-comedian hosted the Oscars in 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2002.

I didn’t see the show (ahem, I don’t ‘The View’) so I don’t know about the whole tearing up thing. I dunno – I guess I never pegged Whoopi Goldberg to be that fragile.

Maybe she was left out because her hosting performances haven’t really been memorable? I mean memorable like Billy Crystal memorable. Or even Johnny Carson memorable. I mean, for the life of me, I can’t think of one stand out thing Whoopi did during her stint as Oscar host.

Oh well, for whatever it’s worth, she’s whole again.

Technorati Tags:
Whoopi Goldberg, Academy Awards, Oscars, The View

Clemens Gets What He Asked For

Roger Clemens asked to appear before a Congressional committee to give personal testimony in his challenge of the Mitchell report. Well, he had his moment, and now he’ll face the music. The same Congressional committee has now asked federal law enforcement authorities to investigate whether Clemens lied under oath.

In a letter sent to Attorney General Michael Mukasey on Wednesday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said it could not conclusively say whether Clemens lied under oath as part of the committee’s investigation into Clemens’s challenge to the Mitchell report but believed that the Department of Justice should look into the matter.

“We believe that his testimony in a sworn deposition on February 5, 2008, and at a hearing on February 13, 2008, that he never used anabolic steroids or human growth hormone warrants further investigation,” the letter, which was signed by committee Chairman Henry Waxman, Democrat of California, and the ranking minority member Tom Davis, Republican of Virginia.

Clemens should have listened to reason and kept his mouth shut. Unfortunately, he listened to his ego instead. As a result, his life, and more importantly, his family life, has been destroyed. His record is tarnished. Put his picture next to Pete Rose.

Technorati Tags:
Roger Clemens, Baseball, Steroids, Pete Rose

Rumors of Her Demise

Stuff is floating around out there on the internets today. The latest? Hillary’s internal polling is soooo bad in Texas and Ohio that she’s considering dropping out of the race on Friday rather than wither a shellacking this Tuesday.

Again, just a rumor at this point.

I doubt the reality of this, for sure, but hey – gotta put it out there as a possibility.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Hillary Clinton

William F. Buckley Jr. Dead at 82

The master of conservative orthodoxy passed away overnight in Stamford, Connecticut. There are many obits around the web today (and tributes too – Rush Limbaugh opened his show and has been talking about Bill for nearly 15 minutes now).

The man was respected by many. He singlehandedly imprinted conservative thought onto the brains of millions (mine included).

Favorite Buckley quote? “I asked myself the other day, `Who else, on so many issues, has been so right so much of the time?’ I couldn’t think of anyone.”

RIP.

MORE: The President comments on WFB.

Technorati Tags:
Conservatism, William F. Buckley, National Review

Tonight’s the Night

Hillary has to perform tonight. In fact, she has to perform so well that she simultaneously wins over a majority of voters in Texas AND Ohio. And she doesn’t just have to win them over, she has to somehow convinced them to come to the polls on March 4 and vote for her, enthusiastically, so she wins a HUGE majority of the vote. Only this miracle will keep her in the race.

And so that’s what she’s up against this evening. And what with the craziness that’s happened since the weekend, she’s liable to take a swing at Barack Obama, on live TV, then when he’s lying on the ground, pick him up by his big ol’ Dumbo ears and parade him around the stage screaming, “Is this really what you want America? WHAT? WHAT? Come on Mr. Deity, command the lighting boy, command, I say!!!”

I doubt she’ll do that though.

I’ll be watching, nonetheless.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Ohio, Texas, Debate

Say Goodbye to Neverland

Since he doesn’t seem to have $24,525,906.61 laying around his hotel room, Michael Jackson will watch as his beloved Neverland Ranch is auctioned off to the highest bidder. So, what do you get if you’re the winning bidder? You get the house, plus all the freaky stuff – all Jackson’s personal property inside (what’s left of it), all fixtures, appliances, furniture, and all the kids merry-go-round crap outside too. In other words, every stinkin’ thing is up for grabs.

Here’s the official notice of sale (PDF).

Have fun kiddies.

Technorati Tags:
Celebrity, Michael Jackson, Neverland, Peter Pan