02/19/2008
News: GQ France, Breakdancing Beckham, Atlantis, Jason Statham
One of the judicial nominees Bush has been threatening a recess appointment for was recently arrested for DUI wearing a little black dress, fishnet stockings and stilletto heels: "Apparently, Federal Judge Robert Somma, rear-ended another motorist in his Mercedes-Benz after tying one on in a local gay bar. He had difficulty locating his drivers license in his purse. His wife, Wendy, says he's not interested in talking to the press right now."
Spice Girls shocked by baby breakdancing Beckham.
Wisconsin gay rights group utilizes election to raise awareness of upcoming court vacancies.
British BMW salesman forced from job by homophobic co-workers: "Ben Hamilton, 26, claims he was branded 'the nice poof', 'faggot' and 'bender Ben' by workmates at a BMW showroom. He told the hearing he was banned from wearing pink clothing and was made to change. And when he grew a beard he claimed colleagues walking past him would jeer the phrase 'Deal or No Deal?' at him after gameshow host Noel Edmonds up to 30 times a day. Mr Hamilton said a manager told him: 'It must be great to be gay. Does it mean you and your fella can go out, have a few beers, have a curry, beat each other up and still get laid?'"
Space Shuttle Atlantis heads home from International Space Station in preparation for Navy shootdown of errant spy satellite.
Student: Goldfish aren't the peabrains you think they are.
Excavated remains identified as Sir Hugh Despenser the Younger, lover of King Edward II: "Despenser died a gruesome death, being publicly hung, drawn, quartered and disembowelled for treason in 1326 following Edward's fall. The remains, found in the 1970s on Despenser's brother-in-law's estate at Hulton Abbey, Staffordshire, bear such hallmarks, anthropologist Mary Lewis says. Lewis, from Reading University, made the link by drawing on the manner of execution, carbon-dating of the bones and the absence of several parts of the body. The skull, part of the vertebra and one leg are buried on the family estate at Tewkesbury Abbey. 'Research on the bones shows he was stabbed in the throat and probably stabbed in the stomach, but we would not have any evidence to disembowelment unless the knife had hit any bones,' Lewis said."
Writer Andrew Holleran pays a visit to Fort Lauderdale.
Ben & Jerry endorse Obama, scoop "Cherries for Change" ice cream. "Barack is showing that when you lead with your values and follow what you have inside that good things will happen. What we saw is that when you want real change it's not a marketing slogan. You have to do things differently. And that is not going to be done by someone who's been involved in the system for years and years. It needs to come from inside and Barack Obama has it."
Winehouse likes her chicken fried.
Jason Statham drops the big burly half of himself.
Japan's top court rules Mapplethorpe photos not obscene: "The verdict was hailed as a victory for artistic freedom by a Japanese publisher who filed the lawsuit. His copy of a Mapplethorpe book was seized in 1999 when he tried to bring it from the United States for personal use. Reversing a lower court ruling, the Supreme Court ordered customs to lift its ban on bringing in the book of photographs, entitled 'Robert Mapplethorpe.' In the 2003 ruling, the Tokyo High Court ruled that the book, which included images of male genitals, went 'against good sexual morality.' But Kohei Nasu, the presiding judge, said at the Supreme Court: 'The book and pictures do not fall into a category that would disturb the public,' as quoted by Jiji Press."
UK father-to-be charged in "cowardly, disgraceful" attack on homophobe mistaken for gay man: "John Edwards, prosecuting, told York Crown Court yesterday the assault happened last July when Mr Sandey was returning home along St Mary's by the riverside in York after a night out. He said the area was known to be frequented in the evening by homosexual men, and a passer-by heard one of the group shouting homophobic insults. 'When the defendant pleaded guilty he did so, acknowledging this was aggravated by homophobia. The target of their violence, quite randomly it would seem, was this complainant,' he said. A woman who saw the attackers, including Walls, described seeing Mr Sandey on the ground. The men were punching him before one - it is not known who - jumped on his leg as they shouted 'he is a pervert'. Afterwards Walls spoke to the witness, telling her his name. Forensic experts later found blood on him."
Posted 1:46 PM EST by Andy in Amy Winehouse, Barack Obama, Crime, David Beckham, Discrimination, France, George W. Bush, Great Britain, Japan, Jason Statham, Magazines, News, Robert Mapplethorpe, Royalty, Space, Wisconsin | Permalink
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After the fiasco of the 2000 election (remember Ben & Jerry's big and ultimately disasterous support of Ralph Nader), I think ice cream moguls should remain anonymous in their presidential campaign contributions.
Posted by: jj | Feb 19, 2008 2:13:05 PM
Not that it's a newsflash, but Bush is out of his ever-loving mind, shooting down that satellite.
Posted by: Jeff | Feb 19, 2008 2:38:01 PM
the story about the Bush appointee... oh my God! Too funny! Just the way it's written "... he couldn't find his license in his purse..." and "...his wife Wendy says he doesn't want to speak with the press..." oh my God! First, I've always found the name Wendy comical by itslef, but to put it in this context, well, I'm sitting here snorting because I'm laughing so hard!
Posted by: Wayne | Feb 19, 2008 3:15:04 PM
Yeah, that whole Nader thing really showed the depth of Ben & Jerry's intellectual/political wisdom didn't it? Emphasis on depth.
Instead of a "Cherries for Change" flavor, how about "Lychee Nut Lies" [it's probably too late, but MSM is finally catching up with Obama whoppers like claiming he passed nuclear industry regulation legislation in Illinois when the bill died before being voted on] or "Plagiarist Plum" [his supporter MA Gov. Deval may have given Obama retroactive permission to steal long passages from Deval's 2006 speech and present them as his own but Deval's turning the other cheek doesn't erase Obama's "I'm the Dali Obama. I can get away with anything" cheek]. Or maybe, "Insatiable Ambition Apple" given Obama pledged publicly at least twice that he would not run for Prez until after having completed his first US Senate six-year term? He kept that promise for three years.
Maybe “Bonehead Berry”—Obama himself called his personal financial dealings with a fundraiser now facing a federal indictment “boneheaded,” i.e., that is, after a Chicago reporter finally exposed it. Perhaps, “Slumlord Strawberry.”
How about “Treehouse Tangerine”—that would be named for the company that is a major supplier to Wal-Mart, whom Obama dissed Sen. Clinton in a debate for having once been on their board even tho Michelle Obama had been on the board at Treehouse Foods until others looking behind her husband’s curtain of fake but pious purity exposed his hypocrisy and she resigned. And don’t get me started on her job as vice president for the “non-profit” Catholic hospital that clears a over a hundred million dollars a year while marking up its patient medications a staggering-even-by-greedy-industry-standards 537% while her husband’s speeches contain promises to eliminate such vampirish practices.
How about “Cheeries for Change Except When It Affects Anyone Around Me”?
Posted by: Michael Bedwell | Feb 19, 2008 3:24:52 PM
Could someone explain to me how the guy who got beat up is a homophobe?
Andy writes / quotes, "UK father-to-be charged in 'cowardly, disgraceful' attack on homophobe mistaken for gay man..."
Nothing in the article I could find said the victim was a homophobe.
Frankly, the article was written very poorly.
Posted by: tjc | Feb 19, 2008 3:41:36 PM
does jason statham even know how to pick decent scripts? his name attached to a movie generally, for me, means "keep away."
Posted by: alguien | Feb 19, 2008 4:11:16 PM
I wondered the same thing, TJC. The headline is confusing since nothing in the article suggests anything about the attacked man`s attitudes or actions toward gays.
Posted by: GV | Feb 19, 2008 8:04:33 PM
At least he wasn't one of those activist liberal judges.
Posted by: z | Feb 19, 2008 9:14:17 PM
Re: Despenser--Geez, talk about your cold case...
Posted by: Gianpiero | Feb 19, 2008 10:11:14 PM