Update: Erin submits that this obit from Matt Taibbi, published in Rollingstone, gives a more spot-on assessment of the man.

Andrew Breitbart, 1969-2012
by David Frum
The Daily Beast
March 1, 2012

“Of the dead, speak nothing but what is good.”

It’s an ancient rule and a wise one, but one that does not do justice to the life and career of Andrew Breitbart, dead today aged 43.

It is impossible to speak nothing of a man who traced such a spectacular course through the contemporary media.

But to speak only “good” of Andrew Breitbart would be to miss the story and indeed to misunderstand the man.

Video: Breitbart spews hatred at Occupy Wall Street protestors

Watch more controversial Breitbart video moments here.

Obit continues. (more…)

Sacha Baron Cohen’s Admiral General Aladeen Spills Kim Jong-Il’s Ashes On Ryan Seacrest [UPDATE]
news.moviefone.com
February 26, 2012

After days of back and forth about whether or not Sacha Baron Cohen would be allowed to show up on the Oscars red carpet dressed as his character from “The Dictator,” the comic appeared at the 84th annual Academy Awards in full dictatorial regalia — and proceeded to prank E! red carpet host Ryan Seacrest.

Cohen — who plays Admiral General Aladeen, a deposed North African dictator who comes to America, in the upcoming comedy — walked the red carpet with two statuesque models before stopping to talk with Seacrest.

“I’m wearing John Galliano, but the socks are from K-Mart,” Cohen quipped; he said he was holding an urn of “Kim Jong-Il’s ashes.” He then spilled the urn on a shocked Seacrest, before being whisked away by security.

As Seacrest told Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith after the Cohen interview, the urn was likely filled with powdered pancake mix.

Holes Of Happiness is a short documentary by Steve Wheem looking at the reactions of the public to some pothole gardens that have been popping up around East London. See more at http://www.thepotholegardener.com

Sacha Baron Cohen Oscar Ban: Admiral General Aladeen Responds After Academy Award Tickets Revoked
Huffington Post
February 24, 2012

How many pun-filled dictator jokes can Sacha Baron Cohen fit in a minute-and-a-half video? A lot, apparently.

After rumors surfaced that Cohen was banned from walking this year’s Oscars red carpet dressed as Admiral General Aladeen — the satirical despotic character from his upcoming movie “The Dictator” — the Academy Awards released a statement claiming that no such decision had been made regarding the star’s tickets. (He is — was? — originally coming to this year’s show in support of his role in Best Picture nominee “Hugo.”)

(more…)

Is There a Right to Lie?
By William Bennett Turner, Op-Ed Contributor
The New York Times
February 19, 2012

Berkeley, Calif. Xavier Alvarez is a liar. Even the brief filed on his behalf in the United States Supreme Court says as much: “Xavier Alvarez lied.” It informs us that he has told tall tales about playing hockey for the Detroit Red Wings, being married to a Mexican starlet and rescuing the American ambassador during the Iranian hostage crisis. But as the brief reminds us, “none of those lies were crimes.”

Another of his falsehoods, however, did violate the law. In 2007, while introducing himself at a meeting of a California water board, he said that he was a retired Marine who had been awarded the Medal of Honor (both lies). He was quickly exposed as a phony and pilloried in the community and press as an “idiot” and the “ultimate slime.”

But his censure did not end there. The federal government prosecuted him under the Stolen Valor Act, which prohibits falsely claiming to have been awarded a military medal, with an enhanced penalty (up to a year in prison) for claiming to have received the Medal of Honor. Mr. Alvarez was convicted but appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which held that the act violated the First Amendment.

(more…)

‘Ben Hurt’: Portland bike warriors smash and crash
by Nigel Duara & Terrence Petty
Newsday/AP
February 21, 2012

Portland, Ore. — Looking like punk gladiators, teams of young adults on junk bikes pulling chariots made of junk parts frenetically chased each other around a makeshift arena, slamming each other and swinging away with foam clubs.

Spectators tossed beer cans, flour and smoke grenades. Firecrackers popped and obscenities flew during the battle, called the “Ben Hurt Chariot Wars.”

And then, toward sundown, the grown-ups arrived. Seven police cars pulled up and told all 400 or so people they had to leave because they were trespassing on railroad property. They complied. But the contest was over anyway.

Victors had already emerged: Jon Penfold and his teammate Nick Schlabach. Falls, collisions and smashed wheels eliminated the other teams. Penfold’s and Schlabach’s chariot, armored with a bubble-shaped metallic cage, was the last one still able to maneuver.

“You attack, and then run. Attack, and then run,” said Penfold, 29. “It’s a war of attrition.”

Asked later on how he felt after winning, the 26-year-old Schlabach said: “I wanted to puke.”

Read the rest of this article here.

Maya Rudolph channels Maya Angelou who channels Betty White’s inner prankster in “Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Laughs,” on Saturday Night Live, February 18, 2012:

Joey Skaggs is currently in Oakland for the open space Whistleblowers conference, February 17-19, 2012. Admission is free and open to the public.

If you can’t attend, the conference is being streamed live by ustream.tv:

Streaming Live by Ustream

From Deborah:

NOT SEEN ON THE TV BROADCAST – During a commercial break at the 2012 Grammy Awards, pop singer Adele sings a new version of her Grammy-winning hit “Someone Like You” trashing Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich.

EXCLUSIVE – Adele Trashes Newt Gingrich at the Grammys!

Produced by Venga Productions

Putin fake arrest video resonates with Russians
by Elizabeth Flock
Washington Post
February 17, 2012

The prime minister of Russia stood in handcuffs inside a cage, looking downcast, as a judge questioned him.

Watch Vladi­mir Putin in “jail”. Click on “cc” for English subtitles

The video showing Vladimir Putin on trial for corruption and terrorism was clearly a fake, but it went viral anyway — attracting millions of viewers since it was posted on YouTube several days ago, the Associated Press reports.

Called “The Arrest of Vladimir Putin,” the video comes a week after thousands of Russians protested in Moscow against the prime minister, who will run for a third term as president March 4. Putin was president from 2000 to 2008, and has been prime minister ever since. He is widely expected to win the presidential election, despite the public’s discontent, which peaked with widespread protests in December.

(more…)

Italy confiscates $6 trillion in fake US bonds
Washington Post
February 17, 2012

Milan – Swiss authorities have confiscated $6 trillion in counterfeit U.S. bonds at the request of Italian prosecutors, authorities in Italy said Friday.

Eight people were arrested in Italy and placed under investigation for fraud and other crimes.

The bonds, carrying the false date of issue of 1934, had been transported in 2007 from Hong Kong to Zurich, where they were transferred to a Swiss trust, according to prosecutors in the southern Italian city of Potenza.

Watch the newscast:

(more…)

From Erin:

Here’s a sampling of 106 of the most beloved Street Art Photos–Year 2011. For attributions and to see more, visit StreetArtUtopia.com.

(more…)

The Secret, Corporate-Funded Plan To Teach Children That Climate Change Is A Hoax
by Brad Johnson
thinkprogress.org
February 14, 2012

The first in a series of posts about the Heartland Institute’s inner workings, from internal documents acquired by ThinkProgress Green.

Internal documents acquired by ThinkProgress Green reveal that the Heartland Institute, a right-wing think tank funded by the Koch brothers, Microsoft, and other top corporations, is planning to develop a “global warming curriculum” for elementary schoolchildren that presents climate science as “a major scientific controversy.” This effort, at a cost of $100,000 a year, will be developed by Dr. David E. Wojick, a coal-industry consultant.

“Principals and teachers are heavily biased toward the alarmist perspective,” Heartland’s confidential 2012 fundraising document bemoans. The group believes that Wojick’s project has “potential for great success,” because he has “contacts at virtually all the national organizations involved in producing, certifying, and promoting scientific curricula.” The document explains that Wojick will produce “modules” that promote the conspiratorial claim that climate change is “controversial”:

(more…)

Woolly Mammoth Video From Siberia Faces Credibility Issues
Huffington Post
February 9, 2012

A woolly mammoth has reportedly been seen and videotaped in Siberia, offering irrefutable proof that the giant hairy prehistoric elephants — believed to have gone extinct thousands of years ago — still exist.

That is, of course, if this new video shows an actual mammoth crossing a Siberian river. According to The Sun, a government engineer, conducting a survey for a potential new road last summer, saw the beast in question in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug region of Siberia.

He supposedly filmed the creature. And here is where so many questions come to mind: (more…)

Mrs. Lincoln, I Presume? Well, as It Turns Out …
by Patricia Cohen
The New York Times
February 11, 2012

For 32 years, a portrait of a serene Mary Todd Lincoln hung in the governor’s mansion in Springfield, Ill., signed by Francis Bicknell Carpenter, a celebrated painter who lived at the White House for six months in 1864.

The story behind the picture was compelling: Mrs. Lincoln had Mr. Carpenter secretly paint her portrait as a surprise for the president, but he was assassinated before she had a chance to present it to him.

Now it turns out that both the portrait and the touching tale accompanying it are false.

(more…)