E.J.

I'm definitely not the dude, but..... Story link

From The Onion: LINK

McCain concedes!!!

click for the videoI HOPE this is a parody.........

For the full story and video, go HERE

More pics from the movie http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20233788,00.html

McDonald?s Caves In To Anti-Gay Group Demands By 365gay Newscenter Staff LINK (New York City) The American Family Association is calling off a boycott of McDonald?s after the fast-food giant agreed to end its support for the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. In addition, a company employee appointed to the chamber?s board of directors has resigned. McDonald?s incurred the wrath of the AFA after it made a $20,000 donation to the chamber, and Richard Ellis, who until last month was vice president of communications for the chain, was named to the chamber?s board of directors. The company at first resisted AFA?s demands that it sever ties with the chamber. In a July response to the conservative group that fights LGBT issues nationwide, McDonald?s Global Chief Diversity Officer Pat Harris said: "We have a well-established and proud heritage of associating with individuals and organizations that share our belief that every person has the right to live and work in their community free of discrimination." But now in an e-mailed memo to franchise holders, the company said it has dropped ties with the chamber. "It is our policy to not be involved in political and social issues. McDonald?s remains neutral on same-sex marriage or any ?homosexual agenda? as defined by the American Family Association." Richard Ellis is no longer with corporate headquarters. He is now with the company?s Canadian operation. The e-mail said that Ellis stepped down from the chamber?s board "voluntarily." "We appreciate the decision by McDonald?s to no longer support political activity by homosexual activist organizations," the AFA said in a statement to its members calling off the boycott. The AFA previously boycotted Disney for several year?s over its support for Gay Days at Disney World, although the company was not an official sponsor of the event. It boycotted Cincinnati-based Proctor and Gamble over the company?s support for the repeal of a city charter amendment that prevented Cincinnati city council from enacting any laws that would recognize gays and lesbians. The group boycotted Kraft for its support of the Chicago Gay Games and threatened to boycott Wal-Mart over its involvement with the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. The boycotts resulted in little impact on the companies. The AFA boycott of Ford was heralded as a success by the organization which noted that it had resulted in a drop in sales and share value. But most financial analysts said that Ford?s problems were really the result of vehicle designs that failed to impress the public. The conservative Christian group launched a nationwide boycott of Ford in 2005 over the automaker?s support for LGBT issues, briefly put it on hold, and then reinstated it. The AFA claimed victory when Ford began pulling its ads from LGBT publications, but industry observers and the company said the ad pullout was part of a downsizing of expenses.

Sally Kern: Homosexuality has killed more Americans than 9/11 Sally Kern repeats her position that gays are biggest threat to nation, behavior killed 100,000 people Staff, On Top Magazine LINK Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern defended earlier statements against gays and lesbians yesterday in a debate with Democratic challenger Ron Marlett. In a heated debated against Marlett Thursday, Kern, who is running for a third term, defended her position against the ?gay agenda,? and repeated her statement that gays represent the biggest threat to the nation. ?While terrorism has killed more than 3,000 people in the continental United States in the last 15 years, homosexual behavior has killed more than 100,000,? the Republican representative said. ?It's a danger to life. It is a danger to health.? Kern drew a firestorm of protest from gay groups in March when she said, ?I honestly think it's [homosexuality] the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam,? at a gathering of Republicans in Oklahoma City. At the 2-hour debate hosted by the Northwest Chamber of Commerce in Bethany, an unidentified man was escorted out of the building by police after asking Kern about the gun she brought into the state Capitol building. The man was referring to two separate Summer incidents where Kern was caught attempting to enter the building with a handgun. Marlett has said he entered the race because of Kern's anti-gay remarks. ?To compare certain members of our community to a cancer that might need to be removed or amputated is chilling to me,? he said. Kern, however, stood her ground even as Marlett's wife stood up and called her a liar. ?Our country is united pretty much against terrorism, but homosexuality is being promoted in schools and by the government,? Kern said. On XM satellite radio's 'The Agenda with Joe Solmonese', Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund President and CEO Chuck Wolfe discussed Kern's anti-gay tirades. ?She in no way apologizes [for her anti-gay rhetoric] ... Regardless of the number of business interests who are upset that she has set the tone that Oklahoma is an unwelcoming state for business. She still revels in it. You just think the Party would start to figure out its going to hurt their tax rolls eventually, but not yet,? Wolfe said. Copyright ? 2008 Page One News Media, Inc.

Make-Believe Maverick A closer look at the life and career of John McCain reveals a disturbing record of recklessness and dishonesty TIM DICKINSON, Rollingstone.com At Fort McNair, an army base located along the Potomac River in the nation's capital, a chance reunion takes place one day between two former POWs. It's the spring of 1974, and Navy commander John Sidney McCain III has returned home from the experience in Hanoi that, according to legend, transformed him from a callow and reckless youth into a serious man of patriotism and purpose. Walking along the grounds at Fort McNair, McCain runs into John Dramesi, an Air Force lieutenant colonel who was also imprisoned and tortured in Vietnam. McCain is studying at the National War College, a prestigious graduate program he had to pull strings with the Secretary of the Navy to get into. Dramesi is enrolled, on his own merit, at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in the building next door. There's a distance between the two men that belies their shared experience in North Vietnam ? call it an honor gap. Like many American POWs, McCain broke down under torture and offered a "confession" to his North Vietnamese captors. Dramesi, in contrast, attempted two daring escapes. For the second he was brutalized for a month with daily torture sessions that nearly killed him. His partner in the escape, Lt. Col. Ed Atterberry, didn't survive the mistreatment. But Dramesi never said a disloyal word, and for his heroism was awarded two Air Force Crosses, one of the service's highest distinctions. McCain would later hail him as "one of the toughest guys I've ever met." On the grounds between the two brick colleges, the chitchat between the scion of four-star admirals and the son of a prizefighter turns to their academic travels; both colleges sponsor a trip abroad for young officers to network with military and political leaders in a distant corner of the globe. "I'm going to the Middle East," Dramesi says. "Turkey, Kuwait, Lebanon, Iran." "Why are you going to the Middle East?" McCain asks, dismissively. "It's a place we're probably going to have some problems," Dramesi says. "Why? Where are you going to, John?" "Oh, I'm going to Rio." "What the hell are you going to Rio for?" McCain, a married father of three, shrugs. "I got a better chance of getting laid." Dramesi, who went on to serve as chief war planner for U.S. Air Forces in Europe and commander of a wing of the Strategic Air Command, was not surprised. "McCain says his life changed while he was in Vietnam, and he is now a different man," Dramesi says today. "But he's still the undisciplined, spoiled brat that he was when he went in." Read the rest of this REALLY long story HERE

The first story was rushed out just moments after Newman's death. A corrected and more complete version is available HERE

Legendary actor Paul Newman dies at age 83 LINK WESTPORT, Conn. (AP) - Paul Newman, the Academy-Award winning superstar who personified cool as an activist, race car driver, popcorn impresario and the anti-hero of such films as "Hud,""Cool Hand Luke" and "The Color of Money," has died, a spokeswoman said Saturday. He was 93. Newman died Friday of cancer, spokeswoman Marni Tomljanovic said. No other details were immediately available. In May, Newman he had dropped plans to direct a fall production of "Of Mice and Men," citing unspecified health issues. He got his start in theater and on television during the 1950s, and went on to become one of the world's most enduring and popular film stars, a legend held in awe by his peers. He was nominated for Oscars 10 times, winning one regular award and two honorary ones, and had major roles in more than 50 motion pictures, including "Exodus,""Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,""The Verdict,""The Sting" and "Absence of Malice." Newman worked with some of the greatest directors of the past half century, from Alfred Hitchcock and John Huston to Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese and the Coen brothers. His co-stars included Elizabeth Taylor, Lauren Bacall, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks and, most famously, Robert Redford, his sidekick in "Butch Cassidy" and "The Sting." He sometimes teamed with his wife and fellow Oscar winner, Joanne Woodward, with whom he had one of Hollywood's rare long-term marriages. "I have steak at home, why go out for hamburger?" Newman told Playboy magazine when asked if he was tempted to stray. They wed in 1958, around the same time they both appeared in "The Long Hot Summer," and Newman directed her in several films, including "Rachel, Rachel" and "The Glass Menagerie." Copyright 2008 Associated Press

I understood the term "pharcist" to be a fascist pharmacist and would be referring to the pharmacists mentioned in EleCivil's post, not EleCivil himself. just my take....... or it could just be a typo

Led Zeppelin classic 'too racy' for Olympics It has been delighting fans for almost 40 years but Led Zeppelin's rock classic "Whole Lotta Love" has been deemed too racy by Olympics organisers. By David Bond in Beijing and John Bingham LINK After choosing the song for the closing ceremony on Sunday they decided that some of the lyrics would have to be omitted or re-written amid concerns that they could cause offence. The song was chosen as the centrepiece of an eight-minute ?2.5million British segment at the event in Beijing at which the Olympic flag will be officially passed to the London Mayor Boris Johnson. Organisers of the London 2012 Games commissioned the band's guitarist Jimmy Page to record a new version of the song to be performed on top of a special red double-decker bus accompanied by Leona Lewis, winner of the ITV reality television show The X Factor, with David Beckham looking on. But, according to London 2012 officials, Lewis - who grew up in east London close to the Olympic site - requested a change to the song's second verse because she was worried they would not make sense for a female singer. In the original, recorded in 1969, frontman Robert Plant sings, "I'm gonna give you every inch of my love". But in the version that will be sung tomorrow, however, Lewis changes the words to "every bit" of my love. The band also agreed to a request from organisers to drop the third verse, which includes similar sexual innuendoes, to fit in to the eight-minute performance. With an estimated two billion around the world expected to tune in for the closing ceremony, the British segment will throw the spotlight firmly on preparations for the London Games in four years time. Celebrations are being planned at 30 sites across Britain to celebrate the handover. Tens of thousands of people are expected to gather in the Mall as the skies above Buckingham Palace are turned the colours of the Union Flag by the Red Arrows display team. The events, seven time-zones apart, will focus the eyes of the world on Britain's Olympic efforts at the end of the most success Games for 100 years. Last night the British gold medal tally stood at 18 with hopes for more success today. In contrast to the Beijing organisers, who have been accused of creating a Games lacking in fun and Olympic spirit, London's creative team say they want the show to reflect Britain's deep cultural heritage and party spirit. As the Beijing mayor Guo Jinlong passes the flag to Boris Johnson, the Greenwich pips will herald the start of the London section of the show followed quickly by a rendition of the national anthem - including, unusually, its second verse, performed by 25 children from the National Youth Theatre. A London bus will then be driven into the arena, chased by Britain's Olympic gold medal winning cyclists Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton. Shanaze Reade, the BMX cyclist who was set to win a silver medal in yesterday's competition before a spectacular fall, will have a scan on a wrist injury before deciding whether she can take part. The top section of the vehicle will open up like a "lotus flower" to reveal a stage from which elevated platforms will lift Lewis and Page. A further platform will rise up to reveal former England captain Beckham, flanked by a violinist and a cellist dressed in Britain's official Olympic kit. Beckham, who featured in England's disappointing 2-2 draw against the Czech Republic at Wembley on Wednesday night, will then kick a football into a crowd of athletes in the centre of the arena. Tayyiba Dudhwala, a 10-year-old girl from east London, will appear alongside Beckham after winning a competition on the children's programme Blue Peter. London officials explained they chose the Led Zeppelin number for its instantly recognisable guitar riff and because it would sum up London's desire to turn the 2012 Olympics into 'one big party'. Dancers from the Royal Opera House, a hip hop dance troupe from South London called ZooNation and CandoCo, a group made up of able bodied and disabled dancers, have spent the last two weeks with other performers preparing for the show at an airfield an hour and a half outside Beijing. Bill Morris, London 2012 director of culture, ceremonies and education, said: "This is not a distilled version of our opening ceremony four years from now. "We wanted to keep it simple, make it youthful and diverse. It's entertaining and fun and it's UK and London, loud and proud." ? Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2008

reality is slightly different chair pic

According to IMDb:

Doing the Time Warp: Rocky Horror film to be remade Sky Movies to co-finance remake of cult 1975 musical in bid to extend prodigious fan base Owen Gibson, media correspondent, The Guardian More than 30 years after they introduced the public to a "sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania", the makers of The Rocky Horror Picture Show have reunited to do the time warp one more time. Sky Movies yesterday confirmed it would co-finance a remake of the cult 1975 musical starring Tim Curry that still draws a full house of fans dressed as characters from the film to late night screenings. The original kitsch parody of science fiction and horror, which cost $1.2m (?630,000) to make and has taken more than $140m at the box office, is the longest running cinematic theatrical release of all time. The new version, financed by Sky and MTV in the US, will be overseen by the original film's executive producer, Lou Adler. Adler said: "Our hope has always been that each new endeavour will expose new audiences to Rocky Horror and expand its fan base, so here we go again, with a new cast, believing that the remake will add to the phenomenon." Richard O'Brien, who wrote the original stage show on which the film was based and starred in the movie, will co-produce the remake. The project is the first time that Sky Movies has directly financed a feature film. In return, it will premiere the film on its own channels. Ian Lewis, director at Sky Movies, said that the film would retain elements of the original while "updating it for the 21st century". The director and cast have yet to be decided. Remakes of cult favourites have become common in Hollywood in recent years but the hit rate has been patchy. guardian.co.uk ? Guardian News and Media Limited 2008

Assuming for a moment you were serious (it's possible right). The cute things protect his wrists when he does something like this.... by the way, he is doing a handstand on the edge of the 10 meter platform. that's over 30 feet above the water. the whole gallery is on NBC's Olympic web site.

just for you.....

The Sony Reader was introduced LAST September. Find a review HERE and a review of the Kindle HERE.

Rabies from bats suspected in Venezuela deaths By IAN JAMES (Associated Press Writer) From Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela - At least 38 Warao Indians have died in remote villages in Venezuela, and medical experts suspect an outbreak of rabies spread by bites from vampire bats. Laboratory investigations have yet to confirm the cause, but the symptoms point to rabies, according to two researchers from the University of California at Berkeley and other medical experts. The two UC Berkeley researchers - the husband-and-wife team of anthropologist Charles Briggs and public health specialist Dr. Clara Mantini-Briggs - said the symptoms include fever, body pains, tingling in the feet followed by progressive paralysis, and an extreme fear of water. Victims tend to have convulsions and grow rigid before death. Dr. Charles Rupprecht, chief of the rabies program at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, agreed with their preliminary diagnosis. "The history and clinical signs are compatible with rabies," Rupprecht told The Associated Press on Friday. "Prevention is straightforward: Prevent bites and vaccinate those at risk of bites." Venezuelan health officials are investigating the outbreak and plan to distribute mosquito nets to prevent bat bites and send a medical boat to provide treatment in remote villages on the Orinoco River delta, Indigenous Peoples Minister Nicia Maldonado told the state-run Bolivarian News Agency on Thursday. Outbreaks of rabies spread by vampire bats are a problem in various tropical areas of South America, including Brazil and Peru, Rupprecht said. He said researchers suspect that in some cases environmental degradation - including mining, logging or dam construction projects - may also be contributing to rabies outbreaks. "Vampire bats are very adaptable," Rupprecht said. And when their roosts are disrupted or their normal prey grow scarce, "Homo sapiens is a pretty easy meal." More study is needed to confirm through blood or other samples from victims that it is the rabies virus in Venezuela, researchers say. At least 38 Warao Indians have died since June 2007, and at least 16 have died since the start of June 2008, according to a report the Berkeley researchers and indigenous leaders provided to Venezuelan officials this week. All victims died within two to seven days from the onset of symptoms, Briggs said. One village, Mukuboina, lost eight of its roughly 80 inhabitants - all of them children, he said. During a study trip Briggs and Mantini-Briggs made through 30 villages in the river delta, relatives said the victims had been bitten by bats. The couple have worked among the Warao in Delta Amacuro state for years and were invited by indigenous leaders to study the outbreak. "It's a monster illness," said Tirso Gomez, a Warao traditional healer who said the indigenous group of more than 35,000 people has never experienced anything similar. Another tropical medicine expert, Dr. Daniel Bausch of Tulane University in New Orleans, agreed the symptoms and accounts suggest rabies transmitted by bats, and if confirmed, "probably a vaccination campaign would be in order." The common vampire bat, which feeds on mammals' blood, swoops down and generally approaches its sleeping prey on the ground. The bat then makes a small incision with its teeth, and an anticoagulant in its saliva keeps the blood flowing while it laps up its meal with its tongue. The researchers in Venezuela have begun taking precautions. Mantini-Briggs, a Venezuelan former health official, said she started to wonder about her own health Friday while talking with biologist Omar Linares, a bat expert at Caracas' Simon Bolivar University. She remembered there was blood on her sheet after sleeping in a hammock in a village two weeks ago. Initially she dismissed it as nothing important, but she also remembered her finger hurt that morning and that she saw two small red dots there. Linares suggested she get rabies shots immediately. "They're vaccinating me," Mantini-Briggs said. "I'm sure a bat bit me." Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

Church lobbies city to rename Gay Boulevard by PageOneQ A Texas city insists that there's no anti-gay intent in plans to rename nearby Gay Boulevard after a nearby church. San Antonio's Second Baptist Church has been near what is currently the corner of East Commerce St. and Gay Blvd., on the city's east side, since the 1890s. City officials plan on Thursday to change the name of the four-block stretch to "Second Baptist Way," WOAI reported Tuesday, insisting that the only intent was to "boost the profile of Second Baptist Church." The church initiated and funded the effort. It is unclear how Gay Boulevard, which the city says has "no significant historical connection" to San Antonio, got its name. Copyright ? 2007 Page One News Media, Inc.

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/ea0b05d406

see stories HERE, HERE or HERE

http://www.crvboy.org/forum/index.php?PHPS...36.msg16800#new

In the U.S. it is up to the individual states to determine how electors are chosen in the presidential election. There is nothing in the constitution that mandates that the popular vote be used, though all states now use that method. During the 1800s in many states the electors were chosen by the state legislators.