Eartha Kitt 1927-2008

Eartha Kitt was known as a singer and an actress. To me, she will always be known as Catwoman from the third season of "Batman" in the 1960s.

Rest in peace, Eartha.

Santa visits the Pyramids

I have just seen the following video report arrive here at the Viewpoint newsroom from NORAD.



More updates as we get them, as we continue to track Santa.

Santa over Moscow

Santa, or as he is also known worldwide, Saint Nicholas, is currently flying over Russia. These pictures have just been picked up by the NORAD SantaCams stationed in Moscow.



As we get more pictures in, we'll bring them to you.

Santa visits the International Space Station

Santa has taken a detour from his terrestrial route and gone up into space to visit the Astronauts in the International Space Station in orbit over the Earth.



Santa has sent me a message here at Viewpoint to let all European boys and girls know that they should be in bed, ready for him to visit later. He assures me that he's making good time, and as I write this, he's just arrived in the African continent.

Santa passes through India.

Santa has been in India just recently. We've recieved pictures of him at the Taj Mahal, but I have read reports as well that Santa made a brief stop in Mumbai and has passed on his very best wishes to the relatives of those who lost the lives in the Mumbai attacks.



I've just recieved a report that says Santa is gaining height at the moment, and I expect a report any minute.

Santa spotted over Mount Everest

Our SantaCams have spotted Santa flying over Mount Everest and the rest of Himalayas in Nepal. This report came into us a little earlier on.



More footage coming into the Viewpoint newsroom here and we'll bring it to you shortly.

Santa arrives in China

Santa arrived in China earlier, and made his way into Russia as well. The following pictures were recieved from our cameras tracking him along The Great Wall Of China. Even Santa has to use whatever aids he can for navigation.



More reports on their way into us here at Viewpoint.

Santa passes through Japan like a bullet!

Earlier today, Santa passed through Japan, famous for its bullet trains. We recieved the following video report earlier on from NORAD, who are tracking Santa's progress around the world.



More reports coming into us and we'll bring them here shortly.

Santa goes through Australia

Earlier today, Santa crossed the Tasman Strait and into Australia near Sydney. The following footage was sent to us from NORAD.



There's more footage on its way into the Viewpoint newsroom, and I'll bring it to you shortly.

Santa in New Zealand earlier

Earlier today, NORAD picked up Santa flying over New Zealand. These pictures came into us in the Viewpoint newsroom a short while ago.



More pictures are on their way into our newsroom here at Viewpoint.

Santa Cam at the North Pole.

Earlier today, NORAD picked up radar emissions from Rudolph's nose, and we received the following video report.



More reports coming into us here at Viewpoint and we'll continue to update.

If Bozo The Clown and The Malk Maid are more sensible than you, You're In Trouble!!!

And THAT is exactly what has happened to Fox & Friends' Gretchen Carlson, and "The Mannity" himself, Sean Hannity, or perhaps that should be "The Vannity", on recent Fox News Channel programming. So noticeable was it, that it caught Keith Olbermann's attention and made last Friday's Worst Person In The World.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Special mention as always to the one, the only, the O'Riginal Fox News nutball, Bill O'Reilly, for saving the "War On Christmas!" Only so he can inflict it again on us all next year. Yawn!

Viewpoint Update: TSX technical glitch

BNN is now reporting that the TSX will not trade today due to the computer crash that happened earlier today.

The good thing is, with the Dow and US markets having only slightly moved at this point, Dow down about 36 points, there is little in the way of catch up to do. However, I do expect to see some extra trading tomorrow, or whenever the TSX next opens.

TSX in Toronto closed after computer crash.

BNN in Canada is one of the few online places that is reporting the Toronto Stock Exchange has halted trading after a computer crash. I'm looking out for more information on this, but a lot of other sources are not reporting this story. Fox Business Network seems to be the only one so far, with neither CNBC or Bloomberg seemingly acknowledging the story.

There's currently no information on when the TSX will resume trading, or indeed if it will resume today. The market closes for the day at 4pm EST, same as the NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ. I will keep monitoring this story, but I'm surprised this is not regarded as much of a story in the global business media. The exchange trades around half a billion shares a day, so although it is not a large exchange, it does some serious trading. And all too often, it doesn't get much coverage as it's New York neighbours do.

This is the third time this year that the TSX has halted due to technical issues, and it is a situation I will continue to keep a close eye on.

Sometimes, Less IS more!

In this London Comment from CBS News Up To The Minute, BBC Radio 5 Live's Drive presenter and former ITN reporter Peter Allen tells us all how we could make do, with a little bit less.



Now that's probably the most useful thing I've seen on the internet today!

Nigella winds up PETA. Kudos to her.

Several sources are reporting this story about Nigella Lawson's comments on BBC1's The One Show on Tuesday. The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, Metro, The Daily Star and The Sun, are all amongst the many sites reporting this story.

PETA are widely quoted but PETA and their celebrity endorsers have been shown to be hypocrites before, and no doubt will be again. But it seems their outrage has yet to reach their own website.

On doing a search of their site for Nigella Lawson, it came up with no results at all.
Not only that, but even their front page has nothing relating to this "growing controversy".
This faux outrage of a common-all-garden pressure group is sounding more tired than Rip Van Winkle! So-called Animal Rights supporters have shown their true colours before, by kidnapping people, who are merely just a different breed of animal, and even graverobbing! And these actions only undermine the message and do nothing to help against real animal cruelty. So instead of taking out their outrage on celebrities, perhaps they should be dedicating their time, to supporting the RSPCA in the UK or the ASPCA in the US, who take action against people who REALLY committ cruelty to animals, and help bring real offenders to justice.

I won't hold my breath waiting for them to actually do something useful.

Mumbai Attacks: More media coverage

The story is nearing the 24 hour mark, and whilst the morning papers this morning were in general somewhat lacking the real scale of the story, the big exceptions being The London Times, The Guardian and The Independent, the news channels and the internet have been all over this story.

Whilst the news channels are returning to some kind of normality, the story does still dominate. Only channels like NDTV 24x7 and CNN IBN, which are both based in India, have stayed exclusively with the story. CNN International and Al Jazeera are staying heavily with the story as are BBC News Channel and Sky News.

RTE News has majored on the story, just like other network bulletins. RTE News Six-One, the BBC News at Six and the ITV Evening News were amongst the many network bulletins where they majored on the story.

Mumbai attacks: More media coverage

Unsurprisingly, the continuing developments in Mumbai dominate the news, though most channels currently are covering other stories as well. Even GMTV seems to have taken on a more sombre tone this morning with the story getting more coverage than most international stories do. There is a ticker running this morning with continual information about this one story. I don't see much GMTV normally, but I don't remember GMTV running a ticker normally. I could be wrong.

Not surprisingly NDTV 24x7 and most of India's other major news channels are running the story as continual breaking news. CNNIBN is one that does too, and is currently supplying pictures to sister network CNN International, who continue to cover it as breaking news. Star News seems to be one of the few that has switched away from it.

Al Jazeera is majoring on it, with a lot of breaking news coverage but they do attempt to cover over stories as well. Most channels seem to be on normal schedules with the story dominating the news. Fox News Channel is running normal programmes, but with Fox News Alerts replacing ad breaks in some cases. DW-TV is on normal programmes, but the story dominates.

ITN's online channel also leads with the story but continues on it's roughly normal schedule. Press TV from Iran also leads with the story, but also continues to cover other stories. CNBC is also providing some coverage too, using the resources of CNBC TV 18, their Indian partner.

I'll have more on the media coverage of this story, later on.

Mumbai Attacks: Media Coverage

Whilst the media has been all over this story, there is no real surprise that NDTV 24x7, CNNIBN, Star News, Zee News and Headlines Today, the major news channels in India, are the primary sources for all the world's news channels.

Fox News, Al Jazeera, BBC News Channel, BBC World News, CNN International and France 24 are all over this story, as are MSNBC and CNN US, . In Australia, ABC News Breakfast on ABC2 has been covering the story heavily. Sky News, rather surprisingly, haven't switched to breaking news, despite their Indian sister station Star News being right in the center of the action. They decided to stick with 15 minutes format. After 10pm, they switched to a breaking news format.

BBC News Channel switched at 10pm to the usual BBC News at Ten simulcast with BBC1. After the simulcast, they switched back to breaking news. BBC News Channel and BBC World News are due to simulcast together at 1am UK time, so, dependent on what happens in this story, the simulcast may be a breaking news format rather than the usual bulletin format.

News Roundup: Wednesday 26th November 2008

Plymouth Sound: A lesbian soldier has been given almost £190,000 compensation after being harassed by a male sergeant.

Plymouth Sound: A male escort accusing Boy George of false imprisonment asked to be handcuffed during an erotic photo shoot, a court has heard.

Digital Spy: Trisha Goddard has said that she has won her battle with breast cancer.

Comment: This is good news. Good news so rarely gets covered these days, that it's actually nice to be able to report some. Cancer, in any form, is not a nice thing to have, I've lost family, friends and colleagues to cancer, so I'm pleased that for now, Trisha has beaten hers.

Deutsche Welle: German federal police arrested two men Tuesday, Nov. 25, for operating a radical Islamist website and they are likely to face charges of supporting terrorism, prosecutors said.

Yahoo! 7 News: A Japanese man upset by the death of his pet turned himself in after fatally stabbing a bureaucrat and his wife, Japanese police and media said on Sunday.

Bob Schieffer's Weekly Commentary: James Jones for National Security

Whilst Hillary Clinton may have stolen the headlines and the focus last week as the possible Secretary Of State, Bob Schieffer highlights another possible appointee, this time for National Security Adviser, James L Jones.



Bob Schieffer is usually the commentator of reason in a punditry that seems to be more about noise than accuracy. This is why I continue to highlight his weekly commentaries on Face The Nation, and I will continue to do so.

Lose the phone, but find the pictures on the web!

NBC Washington reports a story out of Fayetteville. An Arkansas man accidentally left his mobile phone in a local MacDonalds, only to discover that the pictures from the phone made their way onto the internet.

The man is now suing MacDonalds, the franchise company that owns the Fayetteville store and the store manager for $3 million in damages for suffering, embarrasment, and the costs of having to move house.

Why so much? The pictures were of his wife, nude!

Hold onto those phones, people!

French Maids are tax deductable in France!

NBC Washington and The London Times is reporting that the French are turning to one of their most enduring and iconic sex symbols for help. No, not Catherine Deneuve, but the French Maid.

Maid services are amongst the services that can be tax deductable in France as part of government policy to generate over 130,000 service jobs.

Hey, if they were to wear the traditional french maid uniform, I might just retire there!!!

The UK pre-budget report:

From 2011, A new 45% income tax rate for people earning over £150,000 a year.

The UK pre-budget report: National Insurance

UK National Insurance will increase by 0.5%, and the starting threshold will be raised to be in line with the income tax starting threshold.

The UK pre-budget report: VAT

The Chancellor has announced that VAT will be cut from 17.5% to 15% from December 1st, and will last for 13 months.

UK pre-budget report: Government borrowing

The Chancellor has announced that borrowing will go up to £78blln this year and £118blln next year with borrowing being back into balance by 2016

UK pre-budget report: MP reprimanded

Tory MP Michael Fabricant has been redprimanded by the speaker of the house for loudly heckling the Chancellor.

UK Pre-budget report: counting down...

We're just minutes away from the UK Chancellor of The Exchequer standing up and releasing his pre-budget report, the most anticipated report for a long time.

We'll update you on all relevant details as they come in

New version of Dominic Glynn Doctor Who Theme

I've discovered a new remix of the 1986 Dominic Glynn version of the Doctor Who theme. It was apparently released in the Trial Of A Time Lord boxset. For those of you who don't know it, here's the original version.



Now, sample the new remixed version.



I have to say, I liked the original version, even though it was a weak theme really, but the new version has improved on it, and does strengthen it somewhat. It still won't top the Delia Derbyshire, Murray Gold or Peter Howell versions, but if it makes it better, then I'm happy with that.

Ageism in Britain, as seen in America!

CBS News produces a programme that airs overnight on CBS stations, called Up To The Minute, and as part of it, contributors from London give commentary on various stories that occur on our side of the big pond. Sort of a reverse "Letter From America".

The "London Comment" has been featured on this blog before. Back in February 08, I discovered that Classic FM presenter and former Radio 1 DJ Simon Bates was a contributor to this feature. Well, I've discovered a few more familiar names and faces who contribute to the London Comment.

Ed Boyle was a former Political Editor for Westcountry News for many years. Now he is one of the regular contributors to the London Comment. In his latest comment, he talks about Ageism in Britain.



I'll have more London Comments from other CBS News Up To The Minute contributors soon.

Former Porn Star now works in school.

There are plenty of news sources reporting this story out of Vineland, New Jersey; NBC Philadelphia and Fox News amongst them.

Whilst there are those in the area who want her fired, but at least Fox News reports that legal experts have advised them that she cannot be fired because of her porn past for two reasons...

"...one, it's not illegal, and two, it's not on school time."

What I say is this. Who cares if she is STILL in porn, or as she claims, gave it up five years ago.As long as she is not engaged in it during the time she is supposed to be doing her school job, then there is no issue and no case to answer.

Lipstick sales going up as economy goes down?

It's an odd concept. When the economy is in decline, sales of lipstick and other cosmetics actually go up. Sounds totally daft. But, as KVAL's Laura Rillos explains, lipstick sales may well be a good economic indicator.

Global News expands overseas

Not sure exactly when this happened, but it had to have been recently. Global News in Canada has expanded its global newsgathering with the addition of bureaus around the world.

Global had always had a bureau in Washington, Eric Sorensen is the bureau chief there. In recent times, they've also had a video-journalist in London, Stuart Greer. Now, former weekend anchor Tara Nelson has become Europe Bureau Chief, based in London, whilst Stuart Greer has become a London-based Foreign Editor.

Jas Johal, who was previously a correspondent based in Vancouver, has become South Asia Correspondent, based in New Delhi, India.

Lauren McNabb, who was a Toronto-based correspondent, is now Middle East Correspondent based in Jerusalem.

Ben O'Hara-Byrne, who was previously an Ottawa-based correspondent, is now based in Beijing and covering the news from Asia.

This is a good move for Global, as it now cements their position as not only a force in Canadian news broadcasting, but a growing force in international news. Global National can be seen worldwide as an on-demand webcast, and podcast. The website is not bad either. There are 3 bulletins produced by Global National. The main half hour bulletin, plus two updates, one 30 seconds in length, and one 60 second update.

Shepard Smith smacks down the "Liberal Media" myth!

Okay, it didn't happen on Fox News Channel, but it did happen on Fox News.com. In a webcast called "The Strategy Room", Fox News Radio host Andrew Napolitano and Fox Report anchor Shepard Smith were part of a discussion that included "Comedian" Nick DiPaolo, who brought up that old republican chestnut of the "liberal media". I was pleasantly surprised to find it smacked down sao quickly and so emphatically by Shep!



Now that IS telling it straight! Good on you, Shepard Smith. Perhaps we'll start hearing other anchors and commentators telling it straight for once.

Okay, maybe that's a little unkind. Bill O'Reilly can tell it straight on some issues and get it right. I would like to see Sean Hannity tell it straight just once, but I don't hold out any hope.

Beyonce Knowles as Wonder Woman?

The Boston Channel reports that Beyonce Knowles has held talks with Warner Brothers and DC Comics about playing Wonder Woman in a movie.

Hey, Warner Brothers gave us a black Catwoman, why not a black Wonder Woman?

Hilary Duff music video banned on US TV

Zoo Today has embed the music video from YouTube. Hilary Duff's latest single sounds remarkably similar to an old Marilyn Manson hit, and there are claims it has been banned from US television because it contains scenes of bondage. I've embed the video here, so you can see what you think.

The "CNN Hologram" - now you know it's a successful

Whether you were watching the US Presidential Election earlier this week or not, you'll know that two big stories came out of it. The first was of course, Barack Obama's victory. The other was "The CNN Hologram". Here it is, as it happened.



There's an old saying, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. This comes from TV3 New Zealand's coverage of the New Zealand General Election just a few days later...



...complete with Star Trek sound effect!

I think it's safe to say that we'll be seeing more "CNN Holograms" appearing on other news networks in the next few years or so.

America Votes 2008: The Final Analysis

Well, it's been a long and eventful night, and yes, an historic one. I'd always hoped Obama would win, and always believed he would, but my cynical side kept rearing it's ugly head, saying the Republicans will find a way to steal it, yet again. Thankfully I was proved wrong.

So in the cols light of day in Washington DC, and across the world, we can look back on the night that came before, and reflect on just how it happened. It's a very long reflection, and it begins when the first polls closed.

0000 GMT / 1900 EST / 1600 PST.

Six states closed their polling stations at 7pm Eastern; Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia. Of those 6 states only Vermont had been a Democratic state, the others all went with the Republicans.

The first state to called in this election was KENTUCKY. The Bluegrass State is politically Red, for Republican, and this year was no exception, they went with John McCain, by a margin of 58.3% to 41.7% when the votes were finally counted. Kentucky is worth 8 votes in the US Electoral College system, so John McCain took 8 Electoral College votes.

Almost immediately following was VERMONT. Historically it has been a Democratic blue state, and once again, this year was no exception, with the projection being for Barack Obama, and with about 95% of precints reporting as I write this, Obama has secured around two thirds of the vote. Vermont is worth only 3 votes in the Electoral College so Obama took just 3 Electoral College votes.

SCOREBOARD at 0000 GMT:
John McCain: 8
Barack Obama: 3

The other four states at this time were to close to call.

0030 GMT / 1930 EST / 1630 PST

3 states closed their polls at 7.30pm Eastern. North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia. None of the states were called at this time. This made a total of 7 states that were too close to call, therefore the scoreboard remained the same.

0053 GMT / 1953 EST / 1653 PST

SOUTH CAROLINA was projected to be another win for John McCain. As I write this now in review 99% of the precincts have reported and McCain has about a 9 percentage point lead over Obama. South Carolina is worth 8 Electoral College votes to John McCain.

SCOREBOARD at 0053 GMT
John McCain: 16
Barack Obama: 3

The remaining 6 states at this time are still too close to call, and the polls are about to close across a third of the country.

0100 GMT / 2000 EST / 1700 PST

16 states closed their polls at 8pm Eastern; Alabama, Connecticut, The District Of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. It meant by this time half the states had closed their polling stations.

PENNSYLVANIA was the big news at this hour. It had been Democratic Blue for the last 4 elections, and it had stayed Democratic, being called for Barack Obama. With 99% of the precincts reporting as I write this, Obama has an 11% lead over McCain, despite having won the vote in only 17 counties, compared to 48 counties for McCain. Mercer County was incredibly tight with McCain beating Obama there by just 2 votes. But it was Barack Obama who claimed the 21 Electoral College votes that Pennsylvania has.

NEW HAMPSHIRE was then called for Barack Obama. It had stayed Democratic and had given Barack Obama another 4 Electoral College Votes.

It was then no surprise at all to find out that ILLINOIS, Barack Obama's home state, was called then for Obama, giving him another 21 Electoral College Votes.

THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA then was also called for Barack Obama, giving him 3 more Electoral College Votes.

The next state to be called was MASSACHUSETTS. Like the 4 states before it, it to was called for Barack Obama. This gave him another 12 Electoral College Votes.

Then DELAWARE was also called for Obama, giving him another 3 Electoral College Votes. When the votes were counted, Obama had 61% of the vote, and had the popular vote in 2 of Delaware's 3 counties. It was a pretty comprehensive victory.

The home state of Country Music, TENNESSEE, had voted Republican every election except in 1996. This year was not to be another exception, with the state being called for John McCain, giving him another 11 Electoral College Votes.

MARYLAND was called for Barack Obama, giving him another 10 Electoral College Votes.

CONNECTICUT was called for Barack Obama, adding another 7 Electoral College Votes to the total.
OKLAHOMA was called for John McCain, giving him another 7 Electoral College Votes.

A total of 13 states had been called leaving 12 too close to call at this stage.

SCOREBOARD at 0100 GMT
John McCain: 34
Barack Obama: 84

It's obvious that in this round of calls, the damage was really done. 8 states had been called for Barack Obama, only 2 for John McCain. However, it was the result in only two states that had at this time effectively sealed John McCain's fate already. Pennsylvania and New Hampshire were targets for John McCain if McCain had any realistic hopes of winning, he had to win in those states. He didn't.

0106 GMT / 2016 EST / 1716 PST

We barely had time to pause for breath before MAINE was called for Obama giving him another 4 Electoral College Votes.

Then NEW JERSEY was also called for Barack Obama giving him another 15 Electoral College Votes.

At this stage 10 states were still officially too close to call.

SCOREBOARD at 0106 GMT
John McCain: 34
Barack Obama: 103

This was already looking like an Obama victory. He had held on to two key battlegrounds, and was already moving ahead of John McCain.

0130 GMT / 2030 EST / 1730 PST

1 state closed their polls at 8.30pm Eastern and that was in Arkansas.

ALABAMA was called for John McCain, giving him another 9 Electoral College Votes.

ARKANSAS was called also for John McCain, adding another 6 Electoral College Votes to his total.

At this point in proceedings, 9 states are still too close to call.

SCOREBOARD at 0130 GMT
John McCain: 49
Barack Obama: 103

McCain may have made up some ground there, but the two states called for him were expected to be Republican. We have yet to see a state switch sides as it were, and when we do, we'll know for certain who is likely to win and lose.

0200 GMT / 2100 EST / 1800 PST

There are 15 states closing their polls. Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming. This brings the total number of states who have closed the polls to 41. Only 9 states are still voting at this stage.

First call this hour is MICHIGAN, called for Barack Obama, adding another 17 Electoral College Votes to his total.

Then came MINNESOTA, also called for Barack Obama. That's 10 more votes to his Electoral College total.

WISCONSIN is also called for Obama, 10 more Electoral College Votes.

NEW YORK unsurprisingly was called for Obama, adding another 31 Electoral College Votes. New York has one of the largest Electoral College Vote allocations available.

NORTH DAKOTA is called for John McCain. It's another state to his growing tally but a measley 3 Electoral College Votes, not enough to really begin to make up the gap with Barack Obama.

KANSAS is called for John McCain giving him 6 more Electoral College Votes.

WYOMING is called for John McCain, but like North Dakota, Wyoming only brings him 3 Electoral College Votes.

RHODE ISLAND is called for Barack Obama, that adds another 4 Electoral College Votes to his total.

16 states at this stage are too close to call.

SCOREBOARD at 0200 GMT
John McCain: 61
Barack Obama: 175

At this point, Obama now only needs 95 more Electoral College Votes to become President-Elect.

0205 GMT / 2105 EST / 1805 PST

Another slight pause to catch our breath before GEORGIA is called for John McCain, which gives him 15 more Electoral College Votes.

15 states, all still too close to call.

SCOREBOARD at 0205 GMT
John McCain: 76
Barack Obama: 175

15 Electoral College Votes is a good pickup for John McCain, but it is almost too little, too late. Remember, New York gave Obama 31 Electoral College Votes. Too much for the small single digit college votes that McCain has mostly picked up tonight. By contrast, Obama has picked up a significant number of double digit college votes.

Now, it's fully expected that McCain will pick up Texas, giving him another 34 college votes, but that can be countered if Obama captures California, which will give him 55 Electoral College Votes, the largest number of votes available in this electoral system.

Still at this point some of the key battleground states have yet to be called. Florida, Ohio and Indiana for example...

0224 GMT / 2124 EST / 1824 PST

OHIO is called for Barack Obama, the first state of the night to politically change hands, having previously been Republican. 20 Electoral College Votes get added to Obama's total.

14 states remain too close to call.

SCOREBOARD at 0224 GMT
John McCain: 76
Barack Obama: 195

Oh dear! A battleground state just changed hands. Obama needs just 75 Electoral College Votes to put him over the winning line of 270. McCain must now have realised that his chances have evaporated. Despite the fact that Barack Obama isn't over the winning line yet, the gulf that separates Obama and McCain must be obvious to everyone. It's not a matter of if, just when.

0230 GMT / 2130 EST / 1830 PST

WEST VIRGINIA is called for John McCain, but like rather too many states in this election, it gives him just 5 votes in the Electoral College, another single digit haul, rather than the double digit hauls that Obama has mostly taken.

LOUISIANA is also called for John McCain, giving him 9 more Electoral College Votes. Better, but still not enough.

12 states are still currently too close to call.

SCOREBOARD at 0230 GMT
John McCain: 90
Barack Obama: 195

Okay, so we've had one battleground state change hands. But there are still more to come, and some are considered rock solid Republican territory, like New Mexico...

0238 GMT / 2138 EST / 1838 PST

NEW MEXICO, a usually rock-solid Republican state, is called for Barack Obama! This adds 5 more Electoral College Votes to his total.

TEXAS, another rock-solid Republican state, and this stays Republican, giving John McCain 34 Electoral College Votes. Nice, but Obama still has California to come.

10 states are still too close to call.

SCOREBOARD at 0238 GMT
John McCain: 124
Barack Obama: 200

Surely now, despite the Texas votes, the loss of New Mexico, which wasn't even considered a battleground, has surely done it for John McCain. Can he avoid losing any more states to Barack Obama? Somehow, it doesn't seem likely. Florida still has yet to be called. Don't tell me that won't be called tonight? Still, Obama only needs 7 more Electoral College Votes. California and Florida between them could effectively end it.

0257 GMT / 2157 EST / 1857 PST

Just as we're counting down to the polls closing in 4 states, MISSISSIPPI is called for John McCain, giving him 6 more Electoral College Votes.

9 states are still too close to call.

SCOREBOARD at 0257 GMT
John McCain: 130
Barack Obama: 200

0300 GMT / 2200 EST / 1900 PST

4 states close their polls at this time. Iowa, Montana, Nevada and Utah. All are usually Republican, and if McCain has any hopes left, then he has to hold on to all these states. There may only be 20 Electoral College Votes available between them, but for symbolic reasons, McCain MUST hold them all. Any states taken by Obama would be more symbolically damaging to McCain than it would be in terms of lost Electoral College Votes.

IOWA is the first state to be called, regarded as a battleground in this election, it is called... for Barack Obama! He takes 7 Electoral College Votes from the state.

UTAH is called for John McCain, he gains another 5 Electoral College Votes.

SCOREBOARD at 0300 GMT
John McCain: 135
Barack Obama: 207

4 states that McCain needed to hold onto and he couldn't hold Iowa. Obama needs just 63 Electoral College votes to win.

0330 GMT / 2230 EST / 1930 PST

NEBRASKA calls for McCain, but only awards 3 out of the 5 available votes to him. Only Nebraska and Maine do not have a "winner takes all" policy when it comes to Electoral College Votes.

McCain: 138
Obama: 207

0341 GMT / 2241 EST /1941 PST

SOUTH DAKOTA is called for McCain. Another measley 3 Electoral College Votes. Not really enough.

McCain: 141
Obama: 207

0400 GMT / 2300 EST / 2000 PST

5 states close their polls at 11pm Eastern. California, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. With 55 Electoral College Votes for California, Obama should make it over the winning line.

CALIFORNIA was the first state to be called this hour, and it was called for Obama. No surprise here, 55 Electoral College Votes get added to his total.

McCain: 141
Obama: 262

Obama needs just 8 more Electoral College Votes.

WASHINGTON is the next state to be called, and this too, is called for Barack Obama, giving him another 11 Electoral College Votes

Barack Obama is to be the next President of the United States Of America.

McCain: 141
Obama: 273

Cue many scenes of jubilation across America, the concession speech from John McCain and the victory speech from President-Elect Barack Obama. By just before 1am Eastern, 6am GMT, Obama had 338 Electoral College Votes, whilst McCain had only 155.

Congratulations, Barack Obama. Now, the hard work begins.

Russell Brand, BBC Radio 2 and a Satanic Slut... equals boredom!

I'll be honest with you, I didn't hear the so called "offensive" material go out on air, so I can't comment on the incident. I find Russell Brand boring anyway. Fame has gone to his head and he just literally is about as interesting as a freshly painted wall. And when it comes to Jonathan Ross, I didn't listen to him either and I find him boring too. Though I do respect his longevity in the industry, I just find him to be a one-trick pony, maybe two tricks at best, but that's it.

So, this story, about Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross leaving phone messages on the answerphone of Andrew Sachs, who was Manuel in Fawlty Towers, had all the components of a total sleepfest for me. It took the "high and mighty" Conservative press A WEEK to get their act together with their fake offence which was pushed along by the attention seeking of Georgina Baillie, aka Satanic Slut Voluptua. Before the story broke, the BBC had received a whole 2 complaints about the show. Since the story broke, that has gone up to 30,000 complaints. That means a whole 29,998 complaints were generated not by the broadcast, but by the fake offence of the Conservative press. That's an increase of... wait for it... 1,500,000%.

That's an awful lotta sheep!

I find it sad that the Conservative press can have this kind of negative effect on people. But wait, it gets worse...

Now, the News of the World has a story about Brand and a threesome when the story broke, a so called fat cat scandal at the BBC, and Georgina Baillie starring in a hardcore porn film. Here's where the sleepfest hits maximum, complete with snoring!

Add to this the Daily Star Sunday's story about Georgina's porn film also featuring women dressed in Nazi outfits, and to be honest, I'm having trouble holding my eyes open.

I checked this story out a week ago, and discovered most everything that has been published today already. It didn't strike me as interesting, and it doesn't now, but the press doesn't have love flogging a story until it's not just dead, but into an advanced state of rigor mortis!

This story has more than run its course and done more than enough damage already. Let it go already! We're falling asleep here cos we're sooo interested... NOT!

The Sarah Palin fashion row

Okay, so the Republican National Committee has spent around $150,000 on a new wardrobe for Sarah Palin. And she claims that the row concerning this is sexist, saying that men in her position don't face such scrutiny.

Okay, I'll grant her that. Joe Biden certainly hasn't had that kind of scrutiny, but in all honesty this row isn't about her as a woman, it's about the Republican Party spending serious money on her outfits, the kind of money that some of us can only earn in the space of 10 years or more.

Add to that that most of us in the western world are experiencing a recession and a credit crunch, and the fact that it goes against campaign finance law, and you have all the REAL reasons why this is a story.

I wish I had $150,000 to spend, never mind the ability to spend it on clothes. Mind you, I probably wouldn't spend that much on clothes anyway. I'm just too cash-conscious.

Glenn Beck leaves Headline Prime for Fox News sub prime!

Am I the only one here who thinks that Glenn Beck is making a big mistake?

I can honestly say I dislike the guy's views on a lot of things, but I got a gut feeling in the pit of my stomach that says Glenn Beck just made the biggest mistake in his media career.

Basically,the story is that Glenn Beck is leaving his show on Headline News and going to a new show on Fox News. This story has been reported by my usual sources for US media news, ICN and TV Newser.

But here's the part I don't get.

Glenn Beck has a quite successful show on Headline Prime at 7pm ET and 9pm ET. He stands out amongst the other shows and whilst I often find myself disagreeing with him on a lot of things, he does appear as a stand-out amongst the rest of the Headline Prime output.

Now, put him in the 5pm ET slot that we understand he is to fill at Fox News.

First of all, it's not even a prime time slot, as referenced by the ratings that TV Newser reports. You might call it a sub-prime slot, just like the slots on either side.

Second, you look at the class of anchors and presenters that are going to be all around him. He said it himself...

..."I am thrilled and profoundly humbled to have the chance to bring my program to FOX News. Expanding my audience is exciting, but I'm really looking forward to joining Mr. Ailes and his world-class team."...

It is a world class team, with tons of experience.

Neil Cavuto, Shepherd Smith, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Alan Colmes, Greta Van Susteren. None of these people are broadcast novices. All have years and years of experience not just in broadcasting, but specifically in TV. By contrast, Glenn's TV experience dates back to 2006. And he's not the best host you'll ever watch. Then again in my book, neither is Bill O'Reilly, but the difference there is O'Reilly has worked in the industry for a long time, and has perfected his on-air persona, to such a degree that I have to respect the work that has got him there, even if his views are sometimes if not mostly wrong.

Glenn Beck is going to look like a rank amateur amongst these pros. He's leaving a slot that has seen over 200% growth in his time there, and prime time slots yet, to go to a sub-prime slot where he's gonna look like a rank amateur. His show is going to look like what it is, a bad copy of the work that Bill O'Reilly has done over 12 years.

Professionally, I wish him well in his future endeavours, but I can't help but wonder whether this move to Fox News will end up being a career killer for him, at least when it comes to TV.

Britney has a new video... and she's naked... again!

Well, she has been true to form.

In a previous post, I pointed out that the Daily Star's definition of "new look" was off by quite some margin, and lo and behold, the video for Womanizer has been posted on her official website, and several NBC affiliates, including WNBC New York, have picked up on the fact she is naked throughout most of the video.

Big deal! She was naked before in Everytime, though not for the whole video. This is just Britney following the same path she was before her "meltdown". And whilst the video might appeal on certain levels, the track is quite honestly one of the most awful tracks she has ever done, and she has done some real turkeys before, such as I'm a slave 4 U.

This might be a return to form on some levels, but not on the important one. She needs better tracks than this one before we can really say she's back on form, not just true to form.

If you want to see it, the video is here, as for some daft reason they don't want it embedded. I wonder why...

New Britney Spears photos... back from the brink?

There has been much talk in the tabloids and the entertainment press about Britney Spears since her "meltdown". Much of the talk is just that. Talk. Rumour and suspicion, rather than fact and truth. But now, we have some pictures of Britney, courtesy of The Daily Star, in which they describe her "...horny new look."

Oh please! It's the same as her previous one.

She's wearing PVC clothes, which she did back in Oops! I Did It Again. She's wearing different wigs and outfits, which she did in Toxic, and she's playing a dominant character, as she's done in a lot of her videos.

"...horny new look"? More like business as usual.

Muslim Preacher's Daughter a Pole Dancer!

Here we go again, the so called conservative press showing their so called self righteousness at the daughter of deported muslim cleric Omar Bakri being revealed by The Sun as a pole dancer.

The Daily Mail is also all over this story like a bad rash, but they correctly credit the story to The Sun, almost trying to distance themselves from the story.

The Sun further reports that Bakri paid for the operation whilst living on benefits. All I can say I'm glad the money didn't go on drugs or weapons.

But to be honest, I don't care if she is a pole dancer. She's entitled to make off her life what she wants. She chose to reject her father's extreme interpretation of Islam, she has her own life, leave her be.

Victoria Beckham's gravity defying PVC thigh boots?

Victoria Beckham is known to have worn some quite fetish orientated outfits before, but this one is a different level entirely. According to the Daily Mail, she's wearing PVC thigh boots that are without heels. True, the boots have no heels, but on closer inspection, they do not look like PVC to me. PVC is never that dull, nor that tightly fitted. These are latex pony boots. Latex is similar to PVC or Vinyl in that it can be very shiny, but without care and attention, latex can turn very dull. And pony boots are simply boots without heels.

I never expect the Daily Mail to get it right, but they do seem to have a penchant for picking out the fetish type outfits that some celebrities wear. I wonder why...

Goodbye Yankee Stadium.

So, for the final time tonight, the Cathedral that is Yankee Stadium will host it's final regular season game, and in all likelyhood, given the fact that the Yankees are 9 games back on the AL East leading Tampa Bay Devil Rays, this could well be the LAST EVER game at Yankee Stadium.

In the UK, Channel 5 will have coverage of this amazing night. The New York Yankees official website has tons of material relating to Yankee Stadium, and the end of 85 years of Yankee history. I for one will be taping tonight's broadcast. It'll be fascinating to watch.

David Duchovny enters rehab for sex addiction

ABC News in the US is reporting that actor and star of Californication David Duchovny has voluntarly entered rehab for "sex addiction". The former X-Files and Red Shoe Diaries star is married to actress Tea Leoni, who has starred in A League Of Their Own, Jurassic Park 3 and Fun With Dick And Jane, and has two kids.

Usually, these kinds of moves are a pre-emptive strike against a bad story coming out in the press. However, this could simply be a case of life imitating art, as in Californication, Duchovny plays a sex-mad writer. Perhaps he's having difficulty getting out of character. Either way, we'll have to wait and see what news breaks on this front.

Can't say I'm overly interested in the story though. However it is interesting, because David Duchovny has not had a major history of entering rehab, unlike some Hollywood starlets that could be mentioned.

Decision 2008: The polling so far

It's interesting to note that in recent polling, despite the overall lack of coverage for his candidacy and his party, former Republican and current Libertarian Presidential Candidate Bob Barr is appearing on the political radar.

It's notable that Fox News and talk radio doesn't talk about Barr, because they know that Barr will and does take voters away from McCain.  So, even talking about him to disparage him in the way they do Obama, even that is a no-no, because Barr has some latent support from his time in Congress.

I think Republicans could do worse than vote for Bob Barr, as a protest against the neo-con takeover of the Republican Party.

President Bush bites the hand that feeds him.

It's not often that a politician unknowingly bites the hand that feeds him but this is a proud moment for me.  Not only does a politician do it, but the hand belongs to mega media tycoon and mega conservative Rupert Murdoch.

President Bush, whilst in the UK, gave an exclusive interview to Sky News Political Editor Adam Boulton.  Now, Sky News is part of British Sky Broadcasting, which is owned in part by News International, which is a subsidiary of News Corporation, and owned and run by Rupert Murdoch, who also owns Fox News Channel, who have been the most vociferous supporters of President Bush.

He bit Murdoch's hand when he accused Boulton of slandering America when Boulton referenced Guantanamo Bay and Abu Gharib.  The full interview is embedded below.

Conservative chairman facing standards inquiry

BBC News is repoting that UK Conservative Party chairman Caroline Spelman is to face an inquiry from the UK's Parliamentary Standards Commissioner into her use of MP's expenses to pay her nanny.

If the inquiry proves she misused her expenses, it will be another nail against the leadership of David Cameron.  The Conservative leader has been blessed with the same kind of media in-attention that John McCain has been blessed with.   Whilst in the US, that is a mix of conservative talk radio and newspapers, as well as the moderately conservative ABC News and the rather more extreme conservative Fox News Channel, over here in the UK, there are far less sources of conservative media, mostly the newspapers, although Sky News seems to have taken a slight conservative bias recently, but nowhere near as much as the conservative press. 

Cameron has largely been given a free-pass by most of the media, and it's a pass he's undeserving of.  Labour has been targetted many times by the conservative press, and not all of them have been justified.  It's about time David Cameron took some heat for things his party has done wrong.

After Tim Russert: Meet The Press with...?

So, the speculation has begun, as to who will replace Tim Russert, both as Moderator of Meet The Press, and as Washington Bureau Chief.  Much like Spud over at Inside Cable News, I think the roles will go to two different people.

I will concentrate on the on-air role of Meet The Press host, rather than the Washington Bureau Chief role.  So who do I think might be the next host?

Brit Hume - Host of Special Report on Fox News Channel and panelist on Fox News Sunday.  Also Washington Managing Editor for Fox News.  More likely for Washington Bureau Chief, but an outside chance for Meet The Press.

Bob Schieffer - Chief Washington Correspondent for CBS News and Anchor of Face The Nation.  Has just signed a new long term deal, so unlikely to move from CBS.

George Stephanopolus - ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent.  Not considered a likely successor. 

Gwen Ifill - Senior Correspondent at PBS Newshour and moderator of Washington Week on PBS.  She spent 5 years at NBC before moving to PBS.  She could be one of the dark horses who actually might be a great choice.

Gordon Peterson - Anchor at WJLA and host of Inside Washington.  Another dark horse who could do a very good job.

Andrea Mitchell - A senior Washington correspondent at NBC News and looks the favourite to my eyes.  Would be as big a story as Katie Couric anchoring the CBS Evening News.

David Gregory - Senior White House Correspondent for NBC News.  Another favourite in the eyes of the media, though has his own MSNBC show and no immediate replacement seems likely.

Joe Scarborough - Host of MSNBC's Morning Joe.  Longtime host on MSNBC, perhaps a little too opinionated for Meet The Press.  Outside shot.

Chris Matthews - Host of Hardball on MSNBC.  Has long been seen as natural successor, but could be too opinionated and loud for Meet The Press.  Other factors against include talk of a possible run for the Senate in 2010.

Keith Olbermann - Host and Managing Editor of Countdown on MSNBC.  Can't see him moving across to Washington.  Also, too opinionated.  Factor in his favour though is he is seen as ratings gold currerntly on Countdown.  Still an outside shot for the show.

Tom Brokaw - Special Correspondent for NBC News and former anchor of NBC Nightly News.  Anchored the special edition of Meet The Press paying tribute to Tim Russert.  Has the style and gravitas to make the show work, but not certain whether he would want to commit to a regular weekly show.  Still, a good each way bet.

Chuck Todd - Political Director at NBC News.  Has only recently become more of a presence in front of the camera, mostly works behind the scenes.  More likely for Washington Bureau Chief than Meet The Press.

So, to summarise, I think it will either be Andrea Mitchell, Gwen Ifill or Gordon Peterson who will host, with Tom Brokaw as a good each way bet.  Certainly there are other possibilities, such as Judy Woodroffe, longtime CNN anchor and now spreads her time between the PBS Newshour and Bloomberg, or Dan Rather, who was famously sacked from the CBS Evening News, and now hosts Dan Rather Reports on HDNet, but none of these people or the tons of others I could list, seem to be a good fit for Meet The Press.

I look forward to finding out who will become Moderator on Meet The Press.  And as Tim used to say, "If it's Sunday, it's Meet The Press."

Tim Russert: 1950-2008

My first media encounter with Tim Russert was when NBC Super Channel arrived onto Astra 1 in 1995.  At the time, I knew nothing about what an American television network did.  So, NBC Super Channel was my first introduction to the world of American television networks. 

Meet The Press was something new to me.  A Sunday morning "Public Affairs" programme.  We had had Sunday morning political shows in the UK, but the term "Public Affairs" was new and confusing.  And whilst that confusion has lifted, I gained a respect for Tim and his love of politics.

For me, it has always been Meet The Press with Tim Russert, from NBC Super Channel to CNBC Europe, and then later to a downloadable podcast.  Meet The Press with Tim Russert was always a regular appointment.

The news of his death, is, quite understandably, a shock.  He was a consumate professional, a brilliant interviewer, and a wealth of knowledge and experience, almost encyclopedic, of the Washington political scene.

But more than that, Tim Russert shared his roots, his background with all of us, and you saw and felt just where he came from.  He was an "everyman" with the razor sharp lawyer's intellect. and the insights of someone who worked inside the Washington political machine, but never lost his grounding in what was real, what mattered outside the bubble of Washington politics.

As a journalist, he's an inspiration.  As a person, he couldn't have been more balanced.  Journalism has lost a real pro, and humanity has lost an everyman.  Tim Russert was just 58.

Campaign to boycott MSNBC over Clinton... from Canada???

Inside Cable News is reporting a story about a website set up to promote a boycott of MSNBC, the cable network, and NBC News over what they see as the unfair treatment that NBC and MSNBC gave New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton during the race for the Democratic Party nomination, a nomination that Barack Obama won.

But a little trip to Whois.net is very revealing, in a strange kind of way.  The site is registered via a company that specialises in hiding the identities of those who register with them.  This leads me to believe that this site is a hit job, put together by someone who has something to hide.

Perhaps it's a hit job by Clinton supporters who dislike Obama, or by Republicans trying to damage Obama by association, or perhaps it was a Fox News or other similar Murdoch organ attacking GE through it's NBC subsidiary and also attacking Keith Olbermann through MSNBC.  Remember there were reports about high level meetings between top brass at Fox News and GE, over the whole Keith Olbermann vs Bill O'Reilly feud.

Whatever it is, the company that it is registered with, called Domain Privacy Group Inc., is based in... Toronto, Ontario, Canada!!! And according to Whois.net, the domain was registered on Super Tuesday, February 5 2008.  The first allegations of bias against Clinton at NBC and MSNBC came on February 7th, two days later!  I smell a rat.  This seems to be a pre-determined plan, which was designed to try and overturn the positive sentiment towards Obama, not just in the media, but in the country.  So far, that campaign, mostly by the likes of Rush Limburger Limbaugh, has failed.

Whoever is behind this, they should do the honourable and decent thing and come clean about it.  Own up to this website.  But I seriously doubt anybody will, cos their motive will be revealed to be dishonourable and malevolent.  This kind of sniping, whether it relates to Obama or the media, in unnecessary, unwarranted, and most of all, a blatant, out and out lie! 

They want you to...

"...FIGHT BACK against the completely unacceptable, unprofessional, reprehensible, over-the-top actions, attitudes and behaviors of MSNBC/NBC and their on-air employees and talking head pundits..."

Take out MSNBC/NBC and replace it with Fox News Channel, and you'd be nearer the mark. 

This kind of hit job is unacceptable, reprehensible, over the top and completely shameless.  It does nothing for political discourse and as for attacking the media, well, what an easy target for you to pick.  Your candidate, Hillary Clinton, was behaving in a manner that was more like a Republican, than a Democrat.  And whoever you are behind this website, if you consider yourself to be a Democratic Party supporter, I urge you to pull your website now.  It does nothing for party unity, and even less for your country.

Toronto Dominatrix challanges criminalising prostitution

Toronto's all news radio station 680 News reports that a Toronto dominatrix who was raided back in 1994, is pushing for a review into the criminalisation of prostitutionm in Canada.  She talks about her time as a streetwalker and as a dominatrix, and how she felt safer working out of her "bondage bungalow"

Whilst I certainly don't feel prostitution should be promoted, I feel that the women caught up in prostitution are sometimes victims and should not be criminalised.  Those who force women into prostitution however, should face the full weight of the law and justice on their shoulders.

The world of the Dominatrix is different again.  These women are providing a diferent kind of service, which by the way does not involve sex usually.  These are people who are in control of their lives and are not engaging in criminal activity.  I see no reason to attempt to criminalise them at all.

A form of legal prostitution should be considered, one that keeps both the workers and the clients safe from prying eyes of the more unscrupulous parts of the media and away from unwanted prying eyes of other kinds.  It also needs to keep the workers out of the hands of pimps who seek to profit from the workers and keep them poor. 

It's a complex matter, and has to be handled delicately, not with the usual political mentality of a bull in a china shop.  Whilst I support her aims, I fear that the usual political point scoring mentality will prevent a real solution to the problem emerging.  I have been wrong before, and I would love to be proved wrong this time, but I won't hold my breath waiting...

Worst Person In The World: Rupert Murdoch

The Fox-ifier in Chief, Rupert Murdoch, gets the Friday award for confirming an old rumour.  Now you're wondering if Keith Olbermann has finally flipped his wig.  Well not really, since it concerned Keith in the first place...

 

 

Dishonourable mention to Michelle Malkin, who was all over Rachael Ray wearing what looked like "jihadi chic" to Michelle, but has so far said nothing about a similar scarf that Megan McCain, Senator John McCain's daughter has been seen wearing.  Two words.  Double standards.

Worst Person In The World: Dunkin' Donuts

Dunkin Donuts was the winner on Wednesday for giving in to the right wing blogosphere and especially Michelle Malkin.

 

 

DIshonourable mention to Bill O'Reilly who continues to attack NBC News when really he should be going direct - up against Keith Olbermann.  We all know that is his real target, but he keeps missing.

Worst Person In The World: Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT)

Tuesday's Worst Person In The World is Republican Independent Senator Joe Lieberman, who has been seen working with Republican presidential candidate John McBush McCain. 

 

 

Dishonourable mention to ex-Factor fox and lunatic fringe right wing blogger Michelle Malkin for going overboard on a Dunkin' Donuts ad showing Rachael Ray wearing a scarf which the right wing accuse of being "Jihadi chic".  It's not, though.  It's just a scarf.  Lighten up, Michelle. 

Veteran model makes rookie mistake.

I never cease to be stunned by the fact that someone who should know better makes statements like this and sound like complete jerks.  Take veteran model Lauren Hutton.  Digital Spy reports she has criticised the HBO hit show, and new movie "Sex In The City" for portraying single women as sluts, without having ever seen an episode!

Perhaps if she'd seen it, she wouldn't have made that comment.  Why comment you've never seen?  I will at least try and watch a show if I'm going to comment on it.  I did actually watch SATC and I enjoyed it.  I don't believe for one micro-second that it portrayed single women as sluts, rather that it showed the problems that we all experience when dating, both men and women.

Lauren, I have no doubt that you will never read this blog post, but if you did, I would say this; don't make a mistake like that one again.  Don't comment on something without watching it first.  It sounds unprofessional.

UK Viewpoint on the DNC meeting.

I have written my first Daily Kos diary entry, with the same title as you see here.  You can read the full piece here, but here is the introduction to the diary entry.

For those of you who do not know me from the Viewpoint blog, where I talk about Life, The Universe and other strangeness, I am a UK citizen, an observer of events, looking for truth and sense in a world, both regular and political, that often seems senseless.  Hence my viewpoint being a UK one.

Now, to someone who participates in a one member one vote system like the UK's, I find the whole US system of primaries and caucuses before we even get to the election itself to be far too long, cumbersome and difficult to understand.  But out of all the campaigns I have followed since 1984, this one has gone on far longer than any other, like watching all six Star Wars films in one sitting, or all 3 extended cuts of Lord Of The Rings in one go, with more holes and caveats than a badly-plotted B-movie.

So this weekend's DNC meeting to decide the fate of the delegates of Florida and Michigan, is just another one of those holes that, towards the end of the film, has to be filled.  But at the moment, there seems to be no solution that would satsify all parties.  Nothing unusual there then!  The question though, that will be on the minds of the DNC Rules Committee will be, Is there a solution to this whole issue of Florida and Michigan's Democratic Party primaries, and if not, what can be done to avoid this whole debacle happening again?

Sienna Miller in leather as The Baroness

The Daily Mail has pictures of a dark-haired Sienna Miller, dressed in head to toe leather for her role as The Baroness, in Paramount's GI Joe movie, which is due for release in 2009.

She looks hot in leather and obviously seems to be enjoying herself.  If you don't know, The Baroness is a villainess who works for COBRA, GI Joe's enemies.  Former Doctor Who Christopher Ecclestone is playing Destro, whilst Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Brendan Fraser, Rachel Nichols, Dennis Quaid, Ray Park, Marlon Wayans and Jonathan Pryce also star.

Ordinarily I probably wouldn't have looked at this movie, as I wasn't originally a big fan of the animated series.  After these pictures however, I think I might just take a peek.

Dick Martin 1922-2008

Not many double acts that launch on the comedy circuit actually last.  Some of the most successful have been Eric Morcambe and Ernie Wise, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, and then there was Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.

They'd started in the 1950s as a double act on the circuit, and had managed to last, despite a failed attempt at a Hollywood movie in 1958.  Then NBC tapped the duo to act as hosts for a summer replacement show in 1966, replacing temporarily "The Dean Martin Show", which by the way continued until 1974.  As a result of that summer replacement, came in 1968 what is regarded as a legendary American comedy show.  "Rowan & Martin's Laugh In"

Through 6 seasons, Rowan & Martin, and their ensemble cast, including announcer Gary Owens, and actresses Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin, laughed and smiled there way through many different types of sketches, including The Flying Fickle Finger of Fate Award, The Mod Mod World, The Farkel Family, and Laugh In's Look At The News, which somehow, and don't ask me how, managed to correctly predict that Ronald Reagan would be president in 1988, and that the Berlin Wall would be destroyed in 1989!!!

Laugh In's 6 season run ended in 1973 when the show was axed.  But the show had made a star of Goldie Hawn and when it was revived as a series of specials in 1977, made another star in Robin Williams who went on the next year to star in "Mork And Mindy"  It also paved the way for "Hee Haw", "You Can't Do That On Television" and "Saturday Night Live".

So, to round off the tribute, I'll present, courtesy of YouTube, some highlights from the show.

Say good night, Dick!

Bob Schieffer's Weekly Commentary: Remembering a fighter.

Bob Schieffer remembers a friend and an advocate for cancer awareness, who fought some tough battles as Chief Of Staff for President Jimmy Carter, but his toughest battles were fought outside Washington and were his most personal.

Read it here.

Lindsay Lohan a lesbian?

Once again, I touch back into the territory of celebrity "news" and gossip-mongering to slap it back down all over again.

This time, reports surfacing on Fox News, People.com and E! Online that Lindsay Lohan, part time actress, sometime party girl and full time attention seeker, apparently was inseparable from deejay Samantha Ronson, on a private yacht in Cannes, France.

I've said this before and I'll say it again.  WHO CARES?

The fascination of the celeb-obsessed side of the media with every little detail of a celebrity's life, and especially the likes of Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson and co, is something I can't understand.  This stuff bores the hell out of me, and I'm sure many others too.  We don't need this kind of information.  I'm sure Lindsay Lohan and he so-called "girlfriend" don't want that kind of attention.  They just want to live their lives, so let them.

Keith Olbermann Special Comment: Hillary Clinton, you invoked a political nightmare?

This is the third Special Comment from Keith Olbermann in two weeks.  He rarely does quite so many in that shorter space of time, but whilst the first two railed against President George W Bush, this one railed against Senator Hillary Clinton for invoking the memory of the death of Robert F Kennedy during the 1968 primary election process.

 

 

WIth so much American political history steeped in assassinations and attempted assassinations, even as recently as 1981, I have to agree with Keith, invoking even the word assassination during any election process is practically criminal.

Worst Person In The World: Rear Admiral Mark Buzby

This is another one of those "who?" moments, but the Friday fools gold medal goes to Rear Admiral Mark Buzby.  Who?  He's the Commander of the Joint Task Force at Guantanamo Bay.

Dishonourable mention to CNN's Lou Dobbs, who obviously hasn't learned from the likes of Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Brian Maloney and Michael Savage, that by rejecting Media Matters or going up against them, you are going into a fight against yourself and your own words!  Heck, I don't think there's a conservative around who's learned that yet!

Michael Savage and Brian Maloney try to tag team Media Matters and lose!

Michael Savage is another of these D-list conservative talk show hosts who aspire to the level of a Sean Hannity or a Rush Limbaugh or a Bill O'Reilly.  Unfortunately, the level they aspire to is 4 levels below sanity, which is still at least 3 levels above them!!!

Savage demonstrated that twice this week, in spades!  On May 20th 2008, he basically mocked Ted Kennedy despite claiming he was doing otherwise.

Of course, Media Matters reported this, and then the next day, the Savage decided to fire away at Media Matters.  Too bad he forgot to bring any ammunition!!!

And then, uber-conservative radio commentator, Brian Maloney, on his blog which he calls "The Radio Equalizer", which is about as equalised as a badly tuned radio, accepted the tag from Michael Savage to fire off at Media Matters, only he too had forgotten to load any ammunition.

It doesn't matter how many times these people try and claim that Media Matters is funded directly by George Soros, Bill O'Reilly had already undone them, on his Fox News Channel show, which showed that George Soros does not fund Media Matters directly.  The equivalent would be Bill O'Reilly giving money to an organisation, and then that organisation then decides that with the money they've fundraised, including Bill O'Reilly's, that they would fund the Media Research Center, and then Keith Olbermann coming on his MSNBC show and saying "Bill O'Reilly is directly funding the Media Research Center.  It simply would not be provable, and this George Soros directly funding Media Matters claim isn't provable.

It doesn't matter if you tell a lie once, twice, ten times, a thousand times or a million times, a lie is a lie is a lie!

But back to Michael Savage, whose mocking of Ted Kennedy not only overstepped lines of taste and decency, but pushed him down another 10 levels of sanity in one go.  I would not defend this guy at a sanity board hearing, even if offered $1 million.  He has little sense that now is not the time, if there ever will be another time, to discuss what conservatives feel Ted Kennedy did wrong.  That is like kicking a man when he is down, and caving his chest cavity as a result.

Perhaps Michael Savage should look at filling his cranial cavity with a few essentials.  Like rules of taste and decency.  Like rules on how to behave.  Perhaps he might even spare the time to put a few facts in there instead of the usual Republican spin-doctrination that usually seems to come out of his mouth.  I'll not hold my breath waiting... and as for you, "Maloney Baloney", you need to re-equalise.  Too much treble, not enough bass.  Too often spouting nothing more than right wing talking points.  It's time you got acquainted with some facts.  You know, facts.  Hard, strong, undeniable facts.  Not flimsy, weak, unprovable spin and propaganda.

Worst Person In The World: Oliver North

Oliver North picked up his second gold medal of the week, which must be a record for him, for criticising a translator at Gitmo for saying that detainees had charged that the Koran had been desecrated in prison there.

 

 

Dishonourable mention to Comcast who fired Bill O'Reilly's competitor from his Inside Edition days, for criticising Bill O'Reilly!  Hmm, Comcast getting a little bit FOXed these days???

Laura Ingraham's Talking Points Memo: Obama wants you to give up your SUV?

Laura Ingraham again subbed for Bill O'Reilly on Wednesday night, but this time, she was actually allowed to deliver a Talking Points Memo. 

I guess this was to prove that Talking Points and Bill O'Reilly are not one and the same.  Even if that is the case, Laura went so far over the top and over the edge of the cliff that she started the show as a laughing stock!  Obama said that the US cannot expect the world to look at them driving their gas-guzzling SUVs and sticking two fingers up to the rest of the world, and like it.  Laura accused him of wanting the US to give up it's sovereignty and hand over its liberties.  She also said that he wanted the US to ask permission of the European Union before they did anything that might be considered to be environmentally unfriendly.

She then spouts off about liberals wanting to outlaw the American way of life!  Greed is the American way of life???  I think you've been watching too much Gordon Gecko!

And as if that was enough, she then said that liberal climate change policies are designed to subjugate the American people into a way of life that is decided overseas.  Way to go, combining climate change with xenophobia!!!  That's a link a sane person wouldn't make!

Laura, is it any wonder that you're a D-List conservative talk show host, with opinions that constantly get a failing grade?  I find it hard to believe that Bill O'Reilly would have made this Talking Point, even though he's said some ridiculous things in the past.  Climate change policies are about ensuring this world's survival for future generations, about keeping it liveable for humans.  Your idea of what climate change is, is about as far away from anything factual, as Pluto is from the Sun!  You desperately need a re-education in the subject, Laura, before you make comments like that one again.

Worst Person In The World: Hugh Hewitt

Hugh Hewitt was Wednesday's winner of the "coveted" award.  Now, some of you may be wondering "Who is Hugh Hewitt?"  Well, he is a blogger on TownHall.com and host of a D-list conservative radio talk show, on the Salem Radio Network.  How appropriate is that?  Salem, as in witchhunts.

 

Dishonourable mention to former Governor and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney for trying to do a political hit on Obama, and just making himself look stupid, especially becuase, at least officially, Putin is a former president of Russia now.

McCain goes off the deep end!

It seems to be a little early in the election campaign to be ranting like this!  Marc Ambinder reports that John McCain basically told Obama not to be a demagogue!  Well according to the Free Dictionary, a demagogue is...

"...A leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace..."

Erm, isn't that what President Bush did?  And isn't that what McCain is trying to do in this election?

Karl Rove Subpoenaed!

Crooks and Liars is reporting that House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers has issued a Subpoena to former White House Deputy Chief Of Staff and current Fox News Channel contributor and analyst Karl Rove.

Rove seems very happy to talk in the public arena of cable news and in the print media, but he is unwilling to discuss it with the people who really matter.  He can always plead the fifth amendment, but that will convict him in the public arena as surely as his words will.

Obama is almost the nominee, so why is Clinton still running?

According to the figures on the MSNBC website, Barack Obama needs just 65 delegates to achieve the Democratic Party nomination.

Barack Obama	1,961 delegates
Hillary Clinton	1,784 delegates

The target is 2,026 delegates.  Obama is so close to the nomination.  There's only 3 Democratic primaries to go.  Puerto Rico on June 1 and both Montana and South Dakota on June 3.  Puerto Rico has 55 delegates available whilst Montana has 15 and South Dakota has 16.  That totals 87 delegates.  Whilst Obama is not expected to win 65 out of those 87 delegates, it does appear that the remaining Super Delegates will push Obama over the line.

Pollster.com reports that according to the polls, in Puerto Rico, Clinton holds a 13 point lead, 50% to 37%, with 13% undecided.  That poll however was released back in April, so we have no current polling to tell us what the current situation is.

The last poll done in Montana was pre-2008. and that showed Clinton in a 112 point lead, but only 29% to 17%.  We need more information.

In South Dakota, in a poll released back in April, Obama had the 12 point lead, 46% to 34%, with 10% claiming undecided.

Nationally, Obama has at least a 16 point lead over Hillary Clinton according to the two latest polls.  Gallup puts it at 55% to 39% whilst Zogby puts it at 59% to 33%, a massive 26 point lead.  It seems pretty certain to me.  Barack Obama will be the nominee, and it seems pointless for Hillary Clinton to even try to continue.

Yet, she shows no signs of coming close to admitting defeat.  She almost seems to be in denial.  The trouble is, when a Democratic Party candidate starts acting and sounding like a Republican candidate, then it's time to stop.  Hillary, you started sounding like a Republican about 2-3 weeks ago.  You started acting like a Republican, when you failed to deal with Geraldine Ferraro.

It's time you left the campaign trail behind for 2008, and throw your weight and political influence behind Obama.   Do it for the party, if you can't do it for yourself.