Keith Olberman has the latest in White House scandals, from the flurry of subpoenas to bogus claims of executive privilege. And that Rahm Emmanuel amendment to de-fund the Vice President's Office? So close!
PBS hosted a presidential debate for the Democratic candidates. In this clip, Bill Richardson, John Edwards, Barack Obama, and Dennis Kucinich give their views on the issue and share ideas on how to make things better.
On July 21st, 1983, Diana Ross held a concert for 300,000 fans in New York's Central Park, to raise money for a children's playground. The concert was broadcast live worldwide. But 15 minutes into the show, there was a torrential downpour. Diana then announced that she would continue the show the very next day. She kept her word, despite objections from then Mayor Ed Koch, and 500,000 people returned for one of the largest free concerts in the park's history.
This clip is from the end of the first night. Here she sings "Endless Love", while being pelted by rain. You can also see her haggling with concert organizers, refusing to leave the stage, and finally announcing her commitment to come back for a full show.
Here is the opening of day two, July 22nd. Includes a recap of the previous night, as well as performances of "I'm Coming Out" and "Home".
This is her finale from day two, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".
2007 Academy Award Winner for Best Short Film, West Bank Story, retells the Israel/Palestine conflict in musical form, through campy song and dance, ala West Side Story.
Michael Moore has stated that the following two stories, from his old television shows, were the inspiration for his new movie Sicko.
TV Nation - "The Health Care Olympics"
(Moore has said that NBC censored this segment. In the original cut that he submitted to the network, Cuba won. But the network refused to broadcast any claim that Cuba was victorious and re-edited the piece to say that Canada won, instead.)
I give her a ton of credit for taking a stand against her producers. At least there's one person in the corporate media who understands the duty of journalism.
The Jim Lehrer News Hour reports that another Bush administration official has been sentenced to prison. This is the highest ranking official to be sentenced in the Abramoff scandal, to date.
TMPTV has more on the Congressional Subcommittee Hearing on air quality in Manhattan after 9/11. Former Governor (NJ) and Former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman contradicts herself again and again, tries to dodge questions and finally cracks! Wooo! This is sweet...
During an annual meet-and-greet session with this year's high school Presidential Scholars, 50 of them handed Bush a signed formal petition to end torture practices.
By now, you've probably heard all about how that depraved lunatic Ann Coulter insulted Former Senator and Presidential Candidate John Edwards, called for him to be killed by terrorists, made fun of his dead baby, and then got into it with his wife Elizabeth (who's struggling with cancer), on Hardball with Chris Matthews, when Elizabeth called the show and asked her nicely to please stop making fun of her dead baby and wishing death upon her husband..... Yeah. Like, yeah.
Anyway! There's this guy in Texas who wrote a lovely song about Ms. Coulter, got drunk and recorded it for all of us to enjoy. So enjoy!!
On Monday, the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties held a hearing dubbed The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Response to Air Quality Issues Arising from the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001: Were There Substantive Due Process Violations? Former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman, amongst others, testified before the congressional committee.
Here, Congressional Representative for lower Manhattan, and Subcommittee Chairman, Jerrold Nadler gives his opening remarks.
In this clip, Nadler grills Whitman over her claims about the air quality in lower Manhattan in the days and weeks after 9/11.
As we head towards the early primaries, YouTube has been highlighting each of the presidential candidates. Each featured candidate has benefited from the exposure. But the media is only focusing on superficial nonsense, like haircuts and theme songs. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) has chosen to use his time to promote his congressional amendment to bring the troops home now. He is also calling on viewers (YOU) to visit their local representatives to let them know that you support this policy and to share your experiences online. Prove to corporate media that the American people are more interested in the real issues.
UPDATE: Here's a clip from a speech he gave the other day at the ACLU Day of Action to Restore Law and Justice Rally in Washington DC. It gives you a much clearer idea of his stance on the pressing issues of the day.
Ken Silverstein visits the Bill Moyers Journal to share his undercover expose` on how brutal dictatorships are able to successfully lobby Congress for favors, business deals, trade agreements and even US tax dollars. (YOUR tax dollars are being used to support their regimes.)
Keith Olberman spoke with Representative Rahm Emanuel about the Democrat's plan to follow Cheney's logic that he is not part of the executive branch of government, and to therefore defund his office. This would save taxpayers over $4.5 million.
This guy goes by the name Touching You. He's a performance artist, poet, musician and local downtown celebrity. He even ran for mayor of the city. He may seem a little crazy, but he's not at all. He is in fact extremely knowledgeable about NYC government and he's passionately devoted to setting the record straight about Rudy Giuliani. Here are just a few examples of how corrupt Giuliani is.
Giuliani steals funds from 9/11 widows.
Giuliani's best buddy covered up molestation cases in the Catholic church.
Investigative reporter Greg Palast visited Air America's Randi Rhodes Show to talk about how Bush's buddies are stealing millions of dollars from the charitable funds that were donated by Congress for AIDS relief in Africa. And Bush knows about it and hasn't done a damn thing to stop it. This will just make you sick with rage...
The good people at TMPTV have sorted through all the Sunday political chat shows and picked out just the bits you need to know. It's everything from Cheney's constitutional crisis, to Rudy Giuliani's temper tantrums, from Pat Buchanan's ludicrous claims about immigration to republicans preparing to jump ship on Iraq.
This clip, from a BBC documentary on time relativity, is about a man named Clive Wearing. He has the worst recorded case of amnesia in history.
After contracting viral encephalitis, Clive developed anterograde amnesia, a condition which does not allow new memories to become long-term memories. Repeatedly, throughout every day, Clive has the experience of waking up for the very first time in his life, as if he is just coming into consciousness that very instant. The only person he remembers is his wife, and every time he sees her, it is as if he hasn't seen her in years.
This is an extraordinary story, and if you're as fascinated as I am, check out some deeper studies of Clive's case. There are two BBC documentaries available here.
As you probably know by now, CNN & YouTube have teamed up for the next Democratic debate. They are seeking questions from you (yes, you!) for the candidates. To get things rolling, Jackie & Dunlap from Red State Update have posted a bunch of questions already. Here are some of my favorites.
BBC documentary about British football hooligans who started riots throughout Germany during the 2006 World Cup Tournament, and caused a national disgrace. Features undercover footage from inside street mobs and confessions from fight organizers and thugs.
Short film about Stephen Benjamin, a soldier, fluent in Arabic, who was discharged from the military for being gay.
Why are we the least civilized western nation? I mean, seriously!
Tell your representatives to support HR-1246, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, that would repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy currently in place.
Local New Hampshire news report on Democratic Presidential Candidate Senator Barack Obama's recent speech, where he promised lobbying reform and pledged to not accept any campaign contributions from political action committees.
Below is a fuller version of the same speech, to give his words more context.
MySpace has developed a network for Minisodes. They're shortened episodes of some of the crappiest, cheesiest TV shows ever made. --------------------------------------------------------------
What's Happening? - THE TICKETS In this episode, Mama gives Raj two tickets to see Stevie Wonder. Who will Raj choose to take with him?
The other day, Michael Moore hosted a free screening of his film Sicko for DC healthcare and insurance lobbyists. This is the Q&A session before the film.
Unbelievable amateur video of a showdown, between lions, crocodiles & water buffalo, at a watering hole in South Africa's Kruger National Park. This is so amazing. (For those who are squeamish, I promise you a satisfying ending.)
This vacation video features an elephant named Mara who likes to fuck with tourists.
I can't stop laughing at the poor girl who shot this clip of a cheetah, in the Masai Mara region of Kenya.
Okay, now this clip comes from a National Geographic program, and it tells the story of a baboon and a leopard. Problem is, it's in like Danish or Turkish, or something. But you don't need to know the language at all to know what's going on. And this will just slay you. It's so beautiful. (There's a version of this available in English, but it's incomplete.)
If you didn't totally lose it after the last one, here is the ultimate tear-jerker: "Baby of Mine" from Dumbo. (Get the Kleenex!)
Tonight Keith Olberman reported that back in 2002 "Vice President" Dick Cheney claimed that his office is not part of the executive branch of government and, therefore, not subject to oversight. So, the dude has gone unchecked and unrecorded for the last five years...
James Connaughton is the piece of shit that's responsible for the EPA telling New Yorkers that the air was safe in lower Manhattan after 9/11. This clip from TMPTV features the highlights of his senate testimony, wherein he tries his damnedest to squirm out of taking any responsibility whatsoever.
As a resident of lower Manhattan, I can tell you that a toxic cloud of smoke and dust and ash hung over this portion of the city for a full TWO MONTHS, after 9/11. The fire raged deep within the rubble the entire time, and the air reeked of toxic fumes, from here to midtown.
Promise me that if you ever see this human maggot on the street, you will punch him in his big fat shiny lying face, m'kay?
Keith Olberman takes on Bill O'Reilly's claims that reporting the truth about the war is "meaningless", and highlights exactly what Bill-O deems newsworthy.
Want to hear the new Beastie Boys album The Mix Up? Head on over to Brooklyn Vegan. They've got the whole thing streaming on their site right now. And it's pretty freakin' fly.
The CD is due in stores next week, on June 26th. And I CANNOT WAIT!
I gotta give it to her. This ad was pretty clever. And it did get a ton of media attention. (And Johnny Sachs is in it!)
The song she ended up choosing, though... Barf! It's freakin' Celine Dion... I think that officially lost my vote, right there. She'd have been better off using the Journey song.
Hillary, what were you thinking?!?!?!?!
UPDATE: Jon Stewart has his own take on Hillary's ad.
Short documentary of Greenwich Village, Manhattan in September, 1960.
When I moved to the Village 15 years ago, it was still very much like this. Washington Square Park was still filled daily with artists and musicians and students and chess players - all the local characters. Then Rudy Giuliani took over NYC and it all went to shit. He sent "Green Rangers" into the park to keep out the so-called bad elements. The artists disappeared. The musicians scattered. The street performances became less and less frequent. And the heart of the Village shriveled up and died. Now it is a sterile pathway for NYU students and a dog run for its wealthy neighbors. Before, you could lose whole days to the spontaneous delights of the park. But now, there is little reason to linger.
Okay, so crazy loony tunes, radio talk show host Mike Savage won some award and instead of showing up to make his acceptance speech, he sent in a video. So, C-SPAN's programming department decided not to show it, cause it wasn't live, it was just a dinky little DVD... Well, now Savage is all offended that they didn't show the speech (that even he didn't make the time to formally give), and he's called on his listeners to harass C-SPAN.
So, on C-SPAN's Washington Journal, host Brian Lamb read some of the emails that he's received and responded to their false claims, point by point. Crooks & Liars has the highlights and it's really kind of great.
Is it wrong that hearing Brian Lamb say "dickhead" on TV made me laugh out loud?
Keith Olberman & David Schuster discuss the White House email purge. Basically, the White House has - yet again! - been caught breaking US laws. But this time, it maybe worse than originally suspected. You can safely regard this scandal as worse (WAY WORSE!) than Nixon's deleted 18 minutes.
Full episode available, featuring guest voice-overs by George Lucas, Mark Hamill, Seth McFarlane, Conan O'Brien, Hulk Hogan, Malcolm McDowell, & Robert Smigel.
This is, unfortunately, only part of (or at least most of) Gil Scott Heron's brilliant song "B Movie". This is a live performance from his 1982 film Black Wax. The lyrics are just as relevant today.
I just finished watching a bootleg copy of Moore's new film Sicko. I would love to link to it, but I don't want it to get taken down just yet. I STRONGLY advise you to seek it out, though.
The film is fantastic! I laughed. I bawled my eyes out. And now I want to storm the Capitol. When you see the film, you'll want to join me.
I don't want to spoil anything for you, so I will just say that it could very well be Michael Moore's best work ever.
YOU (and everybody you know) NEED TO SEE THIS MOVIE!!
According to an interview with Marie Claire Magazine, Republican Presidential Candidate Governor Mike Huckabee believes that women who wear mini-skirts are asking for the wrong kind of attention. That's right - asking for it...
Jon Stewart discusses the websites and internet media produced by the 2008 presidential candidates.
This is the Mike Gravel video, called "Rock", featured in the Daily Show clip.
There is also this internet video available from the Gravel campaign, entitled "Fire", which basically just shows him building a fire, and then a close up of the fire burning for about 6 minutes.
I'd rather watch this than some boob tryin' to lie to me...
Performed live on Soul Train on April 14th, 1973. This is some funky funky Aretha!
I found this clip on my new favorite blog, Mr. Dante Fontana's Visual Guidance Ltd. I wish I could lock myself up for the next 6 months straight and go through each and every one of the incredible videos he's posted. His collection is unreal!
This is a video I took of a band playing in Union Square in Manhattan, on the last night of the RNC invasion in 2004. It pretty well sums up my sentiments.
And, no, I do not feel bad for the yuppies who have built their million dollar condos on a toxic waste dump. Fuck 'em all. Get the hell out of New York, you pieces of shit.
The Godmother of Salsa, live in front of 80,000 fans in Zaire in 1974, in conjunction with the Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between Muhammed Ali and George Foreman.
Still one of my all-time favorite vlogs. It so clearly illustrates what those early days were like. And it's such a treat to see all those old friends & those great videos all together. This fantastic video was created by Kevin at Limeblog.
Two great performances in this clip from 1972. The first is Willie Colon & Hector Lavoe with their influential salsa hit "Che Che Cole". The second features Graciela Machito & the Machito Orchestra singing a beautiful Afro-Cuban Jazz love song.
Fans of The Office may recognize the guy in the striped sweater as Creed Bratton (AKA the hysterically freaky guy who sits in the back). This clip is from a show called The Hollywood Palace, hosted by Jimmy Durante, which aired on December 5th, 1967.
Okay, I gotta dedicate this one to Chris and Stephen, for getting me interested in MMA. Thanks to you both for indulging my weakness for half-naked, sweaty men.