Current TV Italia // Current

Degrees of Hank Paulson - The Wheel O' Paulson

An fun interactive and informative guide to the connections of Henry (Hank) Paulson to the Wall Street Masters of the Universe.... more

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Drudge reports Obama plane purge

PURGE: SKEPTICAL REPORTERS TOSSED OFF OBAMA PLANE Fri Oct 31 2008 08:39:55 ET **Exclusive** The Obama campaign has decided... more

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Joe The Plumber Ditches McCain (VIDEO)

Joe The Plumber Ditches McCain (VIDEO) I am starting to think that the contrails we see in the sky are in fact making us hallucinate.

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Audit: Private security in Iraq costs over $6B

Audit: Private security in Iraq costs over $6B WASHINGTON – No one knows for sure, but auditors think the U.S. has... more

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Corporate America's love affair with the GOP

Corporate America's Perverse Love Affair With The GOP Three articles from the Wall Street Journal show the strange myopia... more

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Elizabeth Dole Fakes Opponent's Audio - THERE IS NO GOD

Falling behind in her reelection race, Sen. Elizabeth Dole has uncorked one hell of a charge: The Democrat running against me is... more

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Scientists identify brain's 'hate circuit'

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 29 (HealthDay News) -- British researchers say they've identified a "hate circuit" in the brain.

This hate circuit shares part of the brain associated with aggression, but is distinct from areas related to emotions such as fear, threat, and danger, said researchers Professor Semir Zeki and John Romaya, of University College London's laboratory of neurobiology.

The study was published online Oct. 29 in the journal PLoS One.

"Hate is often considered to be an evil passion that should, in a better world, be tamed, controlled, and eradicated," Zeki said in a journal news release. "Yet to the biologist, hate is a passion that is of equal interest to love. Like love, it is often seemingly irrational and can lead individuals to heroic and evil deeds. How can two opposite sentiments lead to the same behavior?"

In this study, 17 female and male volunteers underwent brain scans while they looked at photos of a person they hated, along with photos of a "neutral" person. Looking at images of hated people triggered activity in an area that includes structures in the cortex and in the sub-cortex as well as components that generate aggressive behavior and translate it into action.

The hate circuit also includes a part of the frontal cortex that's believed to play a major role in predicting the actions of others, likely an important feature when a person is faced with someone they hate, the researchers said.

The sub-cortical activity of the hate circuit involves two structures called the putamen and insula. The putamen plays a role in the perception of contempt and disgust, and may be part of the motor system that's mobilized to take action, the scientists said.

"Significantly, the putamen and insula are also both activated by romantic love. This is not surprising. The putamen could also be involved in the preparation of aggressive acts in a romantic context, as in situations when a rival presents a danger. Previous studies have suggested that the insula may be involved in responses to distressing stimuli, and the viewing of both a loved one and a hated face may contribute such a distressing signal," Zeki said.

He added that activity in parts of the hate circuit matches the strength of the person's declared intensity of hate, "thus allowing the subjective state of hate to be objectively quantified. This finding may have legal implications in criminal cases, for example."

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 29 (HealthDay News) -- British researchers say they've identified a "hate circuit" in the brain. ... more

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1 month ago

With credit crunching Main Street, GOP borrows $5Million

WASHINGTON — The Republican National Committee is taking out a $5 million line of credit to help Senate Republican... more

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15 responses

1 month ago

Joe The Plumber agrees: Obama = Death of Israel

So, Joe The Plumber was out on the trail with John McCain today, apparently giving the thumbs up to someone in the crowd who felt that an Obama Presidency would bring about the end of Israel. From Raw Story:

The Ohio plumber, who has no license and is actually named Samuel Wurzelbacher, spoke at a McCain campaign event in Columbus Monday. A McCain supporter asked if "a vote for Obama is a vote for the death of Israel." JTP hardly batted an eye.

"I'll go ahead and agree with you on that," Wurzelbacher said.

It's all a part of Joe the Plumber's "Maybe I'm A Foreign Policy Expert, But Anyway, You Should Go Out And Get Your Own Opinions On Things Instead Of Listening To Mine, Even Though I'm Going To Keep Opining If You Give Me Half A Chance, And Anyway, I Don't Even Really Know What John McCain's Position Is On Anything Anyway, And Probably I Should Be Snaking A Sink Trap Or Something, Instead Of Dragging Myself All Over The Country Making Statements Which I Then Sort Of Disavow A Few Minutes Later Anyway, Who Knows?" Tour of 2008!

Honestly, it's like the 24 Hour News has finally reached the 25th Hour or something.

Anyway, five minutes with Joe The Plumber had Shepard Smith so frustrated that the Fox anchor felt compelled to issue a disclaimer, immediately following the segment, pushing back on any notion that Obama would mean the "death of Israel," saying: "I just want to make this 100 percent perfectly clear -- Barack Obama has said repeatedly and demonstrated repeatedly that Israel will always be a friend of the United States, no matter what happens once he becomes President of the United States. His words." Smith later added, "The rest of it -- man...some things -- it just gets frightening sometimes. We'll be right back." I haven't seen Shep this broken up about the state of the world since Katrina.

Meanwhile, let's remember that after a year of trying to figure out what their campaign is about, the McCain camp has basically pinned all their hopes to the avatar of Joe The Plumber, a random dude who says, "I know just enough about foreign policy to probably be dangerous...I have no idea where John McCain's position is...I honestly want people to go out and find their own reasons. I tell people not to listen to everyone else's opinion. I'm not going to have them start listening to mine." His words. Such as they are.

Go to the Link...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/28/foxs-shepard-smith-forced_n_138674.html

To see Fox's Shepard Smith interview JTP!

So, Joe The Plumber was out on the trail with John McCain today, apparently giving the thumbs up to someone in the crowd who felt... more

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1 month ago

Milk: Sean Penn's new gay drama avoiding publicity

The opening of "Milk," director Gus Van Sant's account of California's first openly gay politician, is four weeks away. Yet you wouldn't know it.

Unlike the hoopla over Focus Features' previous gay-themed awards magnet, "Brokeback Mountain," which was drawing calls of agenda-pushing from right-wingers months before it opened in 2005, there's been hardly a peep in editorial pages or on talk radio.

Admittedly, the election is a major distraction. But Focus also is doing something deliberate: It's eschewing publicity for the Sean Penn vehicle, keeping it out of the high-profile fall film festivals and heavily restricting media screenings.

"The best way to help this film win over a mainstream audience is to avoid partisanship, and the best way to avoid partisanship is to let people find out about the film from the film itself," said one person involved with the film.

Giving up word-of-mouth to avoid hot air is not a typical trade-off -- notice how Lionsgate effectively flogged politically charged movies like Oliver Stone's George W. Bush biopic "W." and the Bill Maher documentary "Religulous" -- but it's one Focus is willing to make.

Not that it will last. The political football will be kicked off when the movie premieres Tuesday night in San Francisco and then put in play after the November 4 election. And when that happens, the studio will face a marketing dilemma: how to accommodate the gay-rights angle the core audience expects while appealing to mainstream filmgoers who might not be immediately moved to see a movie about the subject.

One example of those filmgoers: At a recent Vegas test-screening for a middle-class, straight audience, several senior citizens tried to leave after a gay love scene in the early moments but couldn't because they were trapped in the middle of a row (near Focus production chief John Lyons, in fact). The seniors eventually said they were happy that they stayed, but, like independent voters in an election contest, these are the viewers Focus must woo.

Like its initial phase of playing keep-away from cable news, the post-election phase will also involve staying above politics. Focus plans on selling "Milk" in part as a story of hope and change (Harvey Milk, a member of San Francisco's Board of Superviors until his assassination in 1978, won equal-rights battles against great odds), just as it sold "Brokeback" as a love story.

The ploy was logical with "Brokeback." It's less so here.

Like "Brokeback," "Milk" features a gay romance. But unlike "Brokeback," "Milk" is made by gay filmmakers, features the polarizing Penn and puts itself squarely in a political context. Milk's fight against California's anti-gay-rights Proposition 6 -- a drama the movie deals with in great detail -- spookily parallels the current California fight over Proposition 8, a measure that would ban gay marriage.

Neil Giuliano, president of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, said that "since this movie is about a beloved politician who was killed, it won't be easy for our adversaries to fight us on it." Focus and its Oscar handlers should get the weaponry ready anyway.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
The opening of "Milk," director Gus Van Sant's account of California's first openly gay politician, is four... more

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1 month ago

Richard Dreyfuss Slams "W" Movie, Calls Stone A Fascist (VIDEO)

Richard Dreyfuss appeared on "The View" to publicize "W.," in which he plays Dick Cheney, but ended up... more

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34 responses

1 month ago

Forget the national polls!

If you've been living and dying by the national polling, here's a piece of advice: stop looking at just the national... more

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40 responses

1 month ago

College Republicans quickly distance from hoax attack

The national committee of the College Republicans went into damage control mode Friday afternoon after a college-aged McCain... more

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93 responses

1 month ago

After Joe the Plumber, Joe the Hothead?

WASHINGTON – First there was Joe the Plumber. Is Joe the Hothead next? Joe McCain said Friday he'll withdraw from... more

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29 responses

1 month ago

Stocks dive on belief global recession is at hand

NEW YORK – Wall Street joined world stock markets in a precipitous plunge Friday, with the Dow Jones industrials dropping... more

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24 responses

1 month ago

Former Bush flack McClellan endorses Obama

NEW YORK – Scott McClellan, President Bush's former press secretary who angered old colleagues with a tell-all book... more

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37 responses

1 month ago

John McCain POW Footage Released

Footage of John McCain being interviewed as a bedridden prisoner during the Vietnam War has been released by the French national... more

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10 responses

1 month ago

Stylists: Palin's fashion buys worth it

Jane the Plumber probably can’t afford a $150,000 shopping spree at Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Barneys and Bloomingdale’s, but professional stylists and image consultants say it’s money well spent for Sarah Palin.

Politico reported Tuesday that the Republican National Committee has popped for more than $150,000 worth of clothes and accessories for Palin and her family since John McCain tapped her as his VP pick in late August.

It’s a huge number — more than Palin's $108,000 annual salary as Alaska's governor — and news of it has brought a firestorm of criticism from Democrats who say it exposes Palin as a fraud, Republicans who wonder why their campaign contributions went for fashion, pundits who wring their hands about Neiman Marcus tastes in a Wal-Mart economy and legal experts who say the clothes might be treated as taxable income when the Palins file their next 1040.

The only ones not complaining: people who do this sort of thing for a living.

“She is dressing appropriately for the job she is going after,” said Lauren Rothman, a Washington stylist and the principal in the fashion consulting firm Styleauteur.

Palin — and those responsible for her image — faced a unique challenge in the early days of the McCain-Palin ticket: How do you introduce a virtual unknown — a self-proclaimed “hockey mom” — as both a down-to-earth girl next door and a “maverick” prepared to become the leader of the free world?

Betsy Fisher, the owner of the eponymous clothing store in Dupont Circle, says Palin and her people managed to straddle the line. “She does not look like she is wearing particularly expensive clothes,” Fisher said. “She looks like you could be her, too.”

Los Angeles-based image consultant Patsy Cisneros, a part owner of Political Icon, which works with candidates running for higher office, said Palin’s transformation was done well on a short timeline.

“She did come on the scene as governor for Alaska and looked appropriate as governor,” Cisneros said. Now, as the election nears and the possibility of the vice presidency looms, “She is being seen not just locally but globally, and she needs to represent our country. She has to look appropriate for that.”

And as for the Palin family makeover being charged to the campaign, Cisneros said it isn’t unusual. “We’ve worked with candidates before who have money to spend — some of it was their own, and some of it was from the party. It was put in under so many different ways. You would be surprised what money gets spent.”

Read The Rest at Link...Jane the Plumber probably can’t afford a $150,000 shopping spree at Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Barneys and... more