The edgiest of young New York comics have abandoned Seinfeldian observational humour and are moving in whatever direction their abrasive little minds will take them. As one said: "You're paying five bucks. We can take some chances." :)

John Gushue, from his Dot Dot Dot cyberperch on the Rock, noted yesterday that John Crosbie turned 75.

Some remarks of his I remember from the election 2006 coverage of NTV:

Crosbie said of the Liberals: "Power corrupts, and fear of losing power corrupts absolutely."

His Liberal foil, Sen. George Baker -- and a man of considerably sharp wit himself -- tried to turn chicken droppings into chicken salad by saying that voter turnout was up, even in the prisons.

"I think George is inferring there's a lot of Liberals in the prisons," Crosbie said (use an imagined Newfoundland accent in your mind when you read that).

In a 2004 appearance on CTV Newsnet, Baker joked about perhaps sitting too close to Crosbie, saying with a chuckle, "He might bite me."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry, George," replied Crosbie, who added, "You're not that invitin' to bite." :)

I forget the context, but Mike Duffy asked him about an award or some such thing, and Crosbie retorted that: "We should give you an award -- for shiniest head."

The Duffster laughed. He even had Crosbie on with Sheila Copps  (of "Pass the tequila, Sheila" fame) that campaign, and the two got on pretty well.

Barring irredeemable character flaws of an evil type, I'm always willing to extend good wishes to those who add some verbal spice to life, and so I'll do so to Mr. Crosbie!

The Onion after five years in the Big Apple.

A natural follow to the NYT story from Saturday, although it's interesting to note the complaining lawmaker is a Republican.

Is mixing Jack Daniels with Coke a sin?

It would be taboo to do that to a fine single-malt scotch, but is there a general prohibition with JD or any of the bourbons?

As I'm roaring under east Toronto on my way home from work tonight with my co-worker Tyrone, the train stops at a subway station and the doors open, which is typical.

There are two young women standing in front of the doors, even perfectly framed by them, which again is not unusual.

One even has a small, rust-coloured, poodle-ish-looking dog with her on a leash -- which also isn't an Spidey-sense-triggering anomaly.

And with the two young women beaming over their furry little darling and looking down towards it, the poodle picks this time to hunch, squat, shudder, grimace and finally squeeze out three little logs of dog feces onto the platform.

This is not typical.

However, the dog did stretch and look much more relaxed afterwards, which I would argue is not only typical, it even crosses boundaries between species.

Anyway, the two girls share a commiseratory chuckle over this act, but there was no immediate action to bend over and scoop.

As the train pulled away, I saw one woman passing some folded paper to her pal holding the leash, but I don't know if they cleaned up the results of the mutt's ablutions.

It would be a gross violation of basic transit passenger civility if they didn't, but so would taking a pee in front of other people on a transit platform, and people do that.

Editor and Publisher also noticed the prominent play given to two climate change stories by the Washington Post and the NYT:

Two Top Papers Ask: Is the Earth Heading for Doom--With an Assist from the White House?

While most Americans remain preoccupied with war, terrorism, high gas prices--or the coming Pitt-Jolie baby--an issue that may dwarf all of those concerns receives major attention on the front page of the Sunday editions of The New York Times and The Washington Post.

One story raises a nightmare global warming scenario for the end of the world, at least as we know it, while the other suggests that the Bush administration doesn't want anyone to know about that.

In a (firewall-protected) NYT op-ed piece, Ted Koppel, late of ABC News, lambastes U.S. television news.

An NYT piece has the following recommendations about 'za in the land that gave birth to the world's most perfect form of food:

Going to Naples without eating pizza, its best-known culinary invention, is heresy. Pizza is a religion there, and the Neapolitans have solved its most common challenge with the quattro stagioni, which is divided into four sections, each with a different topping. Da Michele, (4) Via Cesare Sersale 1/3, (39-081) 5539204, www.damichele.net, is perhaps the city's most revered pizzeria. Those not in the mood for crowds - or a margherita or marinara pizza, its only offerings, at $4.50 to $5.70 - should head for another, more comfortable Da Michele, with a different (and distantly related) owner, (5) at Via Giuseppe Martucci 61, (39-081) 19576887; closed Monday. Its huge $8.25 quattro stagioni is topped with ham, artichokes, mozzarella and mushroom.

Harper Lee, the very private author of To Kill A Mockingbird, made an appearance at a luncheon celebrating an essay contest about the book for Alabama high school students.

Werner Herzog's Grizzly Man isn't on the Academy Awards shortlist. This NYT story explains why.

The kaboom that wiped out some al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan (along with some collateral damage) is about to become more frequent, reports this LA Times story.

NYT: Climate change expert says NASA tried to silence him

Washington Post: Debate on climate change shifts to issue of irreparable damage

Paul Klebnikov went to Russia in 2004 to edit the Russian-language version of Forbes magazine. On July 9 of that year, he was gunned down in a contract-style killing.

Two Chechens and a Moscow lawyer have been charged in connection with his death and some other crimes, but Klebnikov's dying words were that his killer looked Russian. Maybe the trial will get to the bottom of this, but it's being held behind closed doors.

This item from The Observer might help explain why the U.S. is having a few problems in rounding up its top suspects in the war on terror:

From the BBC:

Hamas win sets world a conundrum

Hamas win sparks soul-searching

Palestinians to face economic pressure

From the NYT:

How Hamas rose from wild card to power

A little democracy or a genie unbottled

In Hamas's overt hatred, Israelis see hope

From The Observer:

Now the real test for Hamas

From the Washington Post:

Some Palestinians see end of secular dream

U.S. policy seen as big loser in Palestinian vote

From the Los Angeles Times:

Israel assesses a new reality

From Salon:

How do you like your democracy now, Mr. Bush? (free with a daypass)

Finding a good dog meat restaurant in Beijing is more difficult than it used to be, claims BBC corro Rupert Wingfield-Hayes.

This BBC story looks at a recently declassified Pentagon plan for conducting various types of "information operations."

In 1956, Hungary tried and failed to overthrow its Soviet occupiers. Now, as they are about to mark the 50th anniversary of the rebellion, some politicians who weren't even born then are trying to lay ...   more »

The "Masked Avengers" -- Marc-Antoine Audette and Sebastien Trudel of Montreal's CKOI Radio -- managed to get ahold of President Jacques Chirac of France and make Chirac think he was talking to prime minister-designate Stephen Harper.

Steven Spielberg's Munich opened in Israel Thursday night. The film did not get good advance press for its portrayal of Mossad agents carrying out the state's revenge for the 1972 massacre at the Munich Olympics.

In the past few days, two U.S. newspapers have run articles by female staffers who have been to Iraq, each at least vaguely tying into the Jill Carroll story.

This is from the L.A. Times' Alissa Rubin:

Abduction Forces a Grim Look at What a Story Is Worth

Risks are a given in a war zone, where the odds of death are calculated daily. But the kidnapping of Jill Carroll compels a reporter to reevaluate limits and responsibilities.

And this one is from the Washington Post's Jackie Spinner:

The Other Beat Of Her Heart

In Iraq, the Reporter Learns You Go Into Battle Alone

I like the LAT story better, although I found it somewhat auto-melodramatic in places. The WaPo story is about a green reporter in Iraq and her relationship with her twin sister.

Werner Herzog released a brilliant documentary this summer: Grizzly Man, about the life and death of troubled bear-lover Timothy Treadwell, who spent 13 summers among the grizzly bears of Alaska.

If you've seen it, you may wish to check out Grizzly Bear Man, a spoof by the comic duo of Travis and Jonathan. It's an eight-minute-long movie, so give it some time to load, but it's got some yucks. :)

Yep. Close access to Helsinki (close enough for same-day booze cruises), European Union membership and cheap flights have livened up the Soviet-era backwater.

Attentive readers of this blog will remember that I found a Gemini Award in late November.

In that posting, I said I knew what the owner looked like, and that next time I saw him, I'd ask him if he wanted it back.

The big moment arrived minutes ago. I was standing on College Street, waiting to cross the street, when the shit-disturbing auteur came strolling eastward with some other fellow.

"Excuse me, are you (name of auteur)?" I said. He acknowledged that he was, parted company with his companion, and asked me my name. I gave it, shaking hands with him in the process. Then I popped the question:

"I've got a Gemini Award of yours. Do you want it back?"

He giggled at what I presume was an unexpected question and jerked his head in a classic WTF movement, but said no, that was okay.

We didn't chat long, but I told him I found it abandoned in a patch of grass just up from my place the afternoon after this fall's Gemini broadcast.

It turns out he doesn't even live on my street, and has no more idea than I do about how the statuette ended up there. But he seemed to take some amusement value from the situation.

"Do you have it in a nice place?" he asked. I nodded yes (it sits in front of my living room window and reflects a lot of the apartment's light when the living room is dark, really making it stand out -- glint, even).

"Well, keep it there," he said, adding, "We'll hook up later and figure out what to do," before heading off to do his business.

I can say I tried to do the right thing. I will update if and when the next development occurs.

This Salon piece says the big problem stemming from Iran's nuclear ambitions is the arms race it will trigger in the Mideast. And with the Iraq WMD debacle, no one is going to take the president of the United States' word about a possible threat.

As Oprah lays into James Frey for his fictional memoir of drug addiction, the LA Weekly puts forth the case that another celebrated memoirist, a purported Navajo Indian, may actually be a white writer of gay sadomasochistic erotica. Folks, this is one bizarre story!

I was hankering to listen to some Internet radio as I peacefully sat here in my living room updating my blog. But finding an interesting station proved to be problematic.

This Washington Post story looks at whether the Bush administration is walking the walk on spreading democracy.

One thing different about the Iraq conflict is that soldiers are now surviving wounds that would have surely killed them in the past. Helping these men and women recover will cost billions over the next 20 years.

I posted below about Ali Fadhil. This Democracy Now! segment talks about his award-winning documentary on the aftermath of the Battle for Fallujah -- and why he gave up being a doctor to become a journalist:

An excerpt:

AMY GOODMAN: We only have 30 seconds. But you're a general practitioner. You were a doctor in Iraq. Why did you put that down to pick up a camera?

ALI FADHIL: The main reason is because, while I'm sitting in 2003, I returned back to Iraq. I was in exile in Yemen, practicing also medicine. When I returned back, I found myself just writing death certificates and doing nothing to my patients. So I decided to – I mean, I was in a total despair, so I was ready to do anything. When I was visited by a Guardian reporter, he asked me to work as a translator with him. When I started that, I found that the media is much, much stronger than medicine.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, Ali Fadhil, I want to thank you for being with us. Now coming to the United States to go to journalism school at New York University with your family. Welcome to the United States.

ALI FADHIL: Thank you.

Iraqi journalist Ali Fadhil talks to Democracy Now! about a U.S. raid on his home that involved firing bullets in his bedroom -- and the seizure of some videotapes containing material for a documentary about the U.S. and British governments' misuse of Iraqi funds. However, he believes it's a case of mistaken identity.

This is the first article by Salon writer Andrew Leonard on globalization, his new beat for the online magazine. He examines the pessimistic thoughts of Jeff Faux, author of The Global Class War.

An excerpt:...   more »

Search giant Google has decided it's better to be inside the China tent making money than not playing by the government's censorship rules in the market of 1.3 billion people.

From Media Guardian: (reg. req'd)

The (British) National Union of Journalists has launched a code of practice for so-called "citizen journalists" amid concern about standards.

The union said the witness contributors' code of practice was aimed at maintaining "the highest professional and ethical standards in the new media environment" and would cover concerns about accuracy and checking sources.

Improvements in technology have enabled media organisations to rely increasingly on members of the public to provide images and first-hand accounts of major news events.

But at a MediaGuardian/NUJ debate on the issue yesterday, concerns were raised about the implications for journalism.

The new code will also address issues such as payments for contributors, copyright and moral and legal rights.

To read the code of practice: Code of practice.doc

The Beastie Boys tried some citizen camerawork for a new concert film. They bought 50 cameras, handed them out to people at their Oct. 9, 2004 Madison Square Gardens show in their native New York.

A professional crew did the rest. The result is Awesome: I fuckin' shot that!

Come tour the structure that seven U.S. bunker-buster bombs and 20 cruise missiles couldn't touch! :)

Dick Marty, the Swiss senator investigating the CIA secret prisons/renditioning case for the Council of Europe, says he can't be certain that the U.S. used secret prisons in Europe to interrogate prison suspects.

However, he's continuing his investigation.

The anti-Davos is underway.