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coords="33,463,192,464,192,491,32,492" href="http://www.connietalk.com/submittopic.html" name="Suggestions"><area shape="RECT" alt="Monkey" coords="55,495,154,646" href="http://www.connietalk.com/monkey.html" name="Monkey"> </map><!-- End of Client Side Image Map --> <script type="text/javascript"> //new fadeshow(IMAGES_ARRAY_NAME, slideshow_width, slideshow_height, borderwidth, delay, pause (0=no, 1=yes), optionalRandomOrder) new fadeshow(fadeimages, 220, 473, 0, 3000, 1, "R") </script> </a> </p></td><!-- Col 1 --> <td class="boxcontents" valign="top" width="556"> <blockquote dir="ltr" style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/jlo125.html"><font face="Verdana" size="2" color="#0000a0"><b>Jennifer Lopez: We forget what she did to make her such a &quot;diva&quot; </b></font></a> <span class="style5"> &nbsp;<img height="25" alt="" src="http://www.connietalk.com/monkeyhead.jpg" width="30" border="0" > <br > </span><font face="Verdana" size="2"><i>Saturday</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, September </i></font></span></span><i>22nd</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, 200</i></font></span></span><em>7</em></font></font></p> <p align="center"><img src="jlodiva.jpg" width="468" height="662"><BR> <font face="Verdana" size="1">J. Lo in London last night</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Whatever it is that she did (we can't quite remember), Jennifer Lopez sure thinks she deserves a lot for it. I know we're all anti-J.Lo these days, but seriously: She sells a clothing line with fur from poor widdle wabbits, her husband says he can't go without a bucket of Kentucky Fried Cruelty after a concert, and now she's making diva demands of her hotels like she's the Queen of England.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">J. Lo is in London this weekend to promote her Spanish album (that's tanking) and her upcoming single, and kept the Dorchester Hotel quite busy. Check out <a href="http://www.connietalk.com/jlo125.html" target="_blank">this latest list</a> her &quot;people&quot; faxed for her recent hotel stay, with her list of <s>diva demands</s> accomodation requests. It is supposed to be a <em><strong>two-day stay</strong></em>. Did she eat all of this? That would sure explain the pregnancy rumors. If not, where did it go? Starving children, I assume? I'll tell you one thing, she ain't &quot;Jenny from the Block&quot; anymore.</font></p> <p><a href="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/837376117" target="_blank"><font face="Verdana" size="3">Tell J. Lo: no more fur!</font></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/jlo125.html#comment" class="style2">Comments</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button BEGIN --> <script type="text/javascript"> addthis_url = "http://www.connietalk.com/jlo125.html"; addthis_title = "Jennifer Lopez: We can't remember what she did to make her such a diva"; addthis_pub = 'connietalk'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/addthis_widget.php?v=12" ></script> <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button END --> </blockquote> <blockquote dir="ltr" style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <p>&nbsp;</p> </blockquote></td> <!-- Col 2 --> <td width="149" valign="top"> <center>&nbsp; <p><font face="Verdana"><img height="1" src="http://www.qksrv.net/image-2385661-10443027" width="1" border="0"><br> </font><br><font face="Verdana" size="2"><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/CTalkFeed.xml" target="_blank"><img height="41" alt="" src="http://www.connietalk.com/rss.gif" width="41" align="absMiddle" border="0"></a>&nbsp; <a href="http://www.connietalk.com/ctalkFeed.xml" target="_blank">RSS Feed</a></font><br> <br><!-- AddThis Bookmark Button BEGIN --> <a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" onClick="addthis_url = location.href; addthis_title = document.title; return addthis_click(this);" target="_blank"><img src="http://s9.addthis.com/button1-bm.gif" width="125" height="16" border="0" alt="AddThis Social Bookmark Button" ></a><br> <script type="text/javascript">var addthis_pub = 'connietalk';</script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://s9.addthis.com/js/widget.php?v=10"></script> <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button END --></p> </center> <script type="text/javascript"> <!-- google_ad_client = "pub-5552416911413941"; google_ad_width = 120; google_ad_height = 900; google_ad_format = "120x600_as"; google_ad_type = "text_image"; google_ad_channel = ""; google_color_border = "FFFFFF"; google_color_bg = "FFFFFF"; google_color_link = "9D1961"; google_color_text = "000000"; google_color_url = "FF6FCF"; //--> </script> <script src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type="text/javascript"> </script></td></tr></tbody></table> <div align="center"> <p> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-5552416911413941"; google_ad_width = 728; google_ad_height = 90; google_ad_format = "728x90_as"; google_ad_type = "text_image"; //2007-09-13: Between Articles google_ad_channel = "4218799347"; google_color_border = "FF6FCF"; google_color_bg = "FFFFFF"; google_color_link = "9D1961"; google_color_text = "000000"; google_color_url = "FF6FCF"; google_ui_features = "rc:6"; //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </p> <table width="802" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" bgcolor="FFFFFF"> <tr> <td><p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/rather123.html"><font face="Verdana" size="2" color="#0000a0"><b>Dan Rather discusses CBS lawsuit, says &quot;Democracy cannot survive&quot;: &nbsp;Why you should care </b></font></a> <span class="style5"> &nbsp;<img height="25" alt="" src="http://www.connietalk.com/monkeyhead.jpg" width="30" border="0" > <br > </span><font face="Verdana" size="2"><i>Saturday</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, September </i></font></span></span><i>22nd</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, 200</i></font></span></span><em>7</em></font></font> </p> <p align="center"><img src="danrather.jpg" width="420" height="290"><BR> <font face="Verdana" size="1">Dan Rather was the anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 24 years</font> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">You may have heard the rumblings about Dan Rather's $70 million lawsuit against CBS and Viacom. His career as CBS evening news anchor ended a little over a year ago, and this week The New York Times published news that Rather is suing the network, its corporate parent, and three of his former superiors. Rather, 75, a household name that gave us &quot;60 Minutes&quot; for 24 years, says that CBS violated his contract by giving him insufficient airtime and forcing him to resign, after interfering with his report on President Bush's &quot;missing&quot; military record.</font> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">The battle between Rather and CBS can be boiled down to this: Rather is an individual; CBS is a huge corporate media outlet. Regardless of who was right about Bush's military record, Rather is bringing up a point that all of us know, and none of us know what to do about. On Larry King Live Thursday, Rather told Larry, &quot;Somebody, sometime has got to take a stand and say democracy cannot survive, much less thrive with the level of big corporate and big government interference and intimidation in news.&quot;</font> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Rather claims that the bigwigs at Viacom and CBS terminated him and four other journalists to get the Bush administration off their backs.</font> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot;They sacrificed support for independent journalism for corporate financial gain, and in so doing, I think they undermined a lot at CBS News,&quot; Rather continued.</font> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">So why should we care? Well, for a nation that takes ethnic, racial, religious, and gender bias and discrimination so seriously, we somehow let corporate bias slip through the cracks. Why? Because we think they're bigger than us. Way bigger. But when advertising and politics gets in the way of our right as citizens to know what's really going on in the world today, it is a problem. That is when we need to realize that just because their purse strings may dwarf ours as an individual, in the end, anything we as a people collectively decide - is bigger than them. That is theory of democracy, to emphasize the importance of the individual, and that is what Dan Rather is trying to address.</font> <p><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/rather123.html#comment" class="style2">Comments</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button BEGIN --> <script type="text/javascript"> addthis_url = "http://www.connietalk.com/rather123.html"; addthis_title = "Dan Rather discusses CBS lawsuit, says Democracy cannot survive and why"; addthis_pub = 'connietalk'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/addthis_widget.php?v=12" ></script> <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button END --></p></td> </tr> </table> <BR> <table width="802" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"><p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/lockup123.html"><font face="Verdana" size="2" color="#0000a0"><b>MSNBC's &quot;The Lockup&quot; Series: Inspiring faith in the criminal justice system </b></font></a> <span class="style5"> &nbsp;<img height="25" alt="" src="http://www.connietalk.com/monkeyhead.jpg" width="30" border="0" > <br > </span><font face="Verdana" size="2"><i>Saturday</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, September </i></font></span></span><i>21st</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, 200</i></font></span></span><em>7</em></font></font></p> <p align="center"><img src="lockup.jpg" width="410" height="273"><BR> <font face="Verdana" size="1">Getty Images file</font></p> <font face="Verdana" size="2">&nbsp; </font> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">MSNBC's <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20642812/" target="_blank">"The Lockup" Series</a> sheds light on something we often take for granted: the criminal justice system. It has it's flaws, like everything else, but by and large it is serving it's purpose: to remove from society those who are a danger to others. In the documentary series, viewers get a glimpse into the life of prisoners in many of America's maximum-security prisons. It is very interesting, and touching, and you feel sorry for the prisoners, but at the same time realize they absolutely belong there.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Take, for example, Angel, who on last night's episode &quot;Lockup San Quentin: Extended Stay,&quot; was talking about his girlfriend. The episode was a special on the conjugal visits allowed for certain prisoners (less than 25% of the inmate population): Angel was permitted visits, but only through a glass wall and intercom system. He is serving a 10 year sentence, and just as you begin to feel sorry for the estrangement of his relationship, he starts talking about why he's there.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">He was high on meth and pushing a stroller with his son in it, walking down the street with his girlfriend. They then get into an argument. Angel proceeds to drop the baby in the stroller off behind a house with some neighborhood youngsters, in order to resume the argument with his lover, all of which is going on <em>in front of a parole office. </em>They get into a pushing and shouting match, the child ends up being abandoned by the neighborhood kids (child endangerment), he is on a meth rage and has his pocket full of more drugs, and then when the police come out, he (of course) runs.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">So, he says that he is there for a parole violation, child endangerment, attempted domestic battery, and drug-related charges. And his is actually one of the more timid of the stories of crimes committed by the inmates. Some talk about getting in an argument with a random person on the street, and then shooting them to death. Others brag about violence both outside - and within the walls - of the prison.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">The show gives us a little bit of hope for the betterment of society, because at least we are doing a pretty good job of weeding out obvious threats amongst our citizens. Now we'd just like to see better attempts at reform and rehabilitation! Come on, MSNBC...bring some prison pets in there! They have great results! </font></p> <p><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/lockup123.html#comment" class="style2">Comments</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button BEGIN --> <script type="text/javascript"> addthis_url = "http://www.connietalk.com/lockup123.html"; addthis_title = "MSNBC's The Lockup Series: Inspiring faith in the criminal justice system"; addthis_pub = 'connietalk'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/addthis_widget.php?v=12" ></script> <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button END --> </p></td> </tr> </table> <br> <table width="802" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"><p> <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button END --> <font size="2" face="Verdana"><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/budweiser123.html"><font color="#0000a0"><b>Why Budweiser's got class: 9/11 tribute </b></font></a> <span class="style5"></span><span class="style5"><img height="25" alt="" src="http://www.connietalk.com/monkeyhead.jpg" width="30" border="0" ></span><BR> <font face="Verdana" size="2"><i>Friday</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, September </i></font></span></span><i>21st</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, 200</i></font></span></span><em>7</em></font></font></p> <p align="center"> <embed width="430" height="389" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/flash/player.swf?file=http://vid166.photobucket.com/albums/u90/snopesbinary/Commercials/Budweiser.flv"></embed> </p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">It gave us goosebumps. At some point since it aired in February of 2002, you may have gotten an e-mail forward with this commercial from Budweiser. Since this month is the anniversary of September 11th, we are posting the commercial in case you never saw it, and because we will never forget!</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">It is true that this commercial was aired by Budweiser only one time, a gesture they did so as not to try and benefit financially from it. As the forward says, &quot;This is so consistent with a company who always does things with a ton of class!&quot; The cost must have been considerable, as it was aired during Super Bowl XXXVIl, where 30-second commercial spots go for up to $2.5 million.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Anheuser-Busch has acknowledged that the commercial was only broadcast once:</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot;We truly appreciate your interest in one of our Super Bowl 2002 commercials, 'Clydesdale Respect,'&quot; they wrote. &quot;As you have heard, this commercial aired only once. However, we continue to be overwhelmed by the positive response. Anheuser-Busch is proud to be an American beer company and we wanted to express ourselves in respectfully honoring those affected by the events of September 11th. We are pleased that the Budweiser Clydesdales were able to deliver our sentiments in a way that has resonated with Americans.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot;At this time, we have no plans to air this commercial again. Although it was available for a period of one year on our website, we have since chosen to update the site with fresher ads.&quot;</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">We love American companies and we love the rare incidences when people do things for something meaningful and other than for profit!! Now I just wish I could like beer.</font></p> <p align="center"><img src="budweiservintage.jpg" width="412" height="424"></p> <p><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/budweiser123.html#comment" class="style2">Comments</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button BEGIN --> <script type="text/javascript"> addthis_url = "http://www.connietalk.com/budweiser123.html"; addthis_title = "Why Budweiser's got class"; addthis_pub = 'connietalk'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/addthis_widget.php?v=12" ></script> <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button END --></td> </tr> </table> <BR> <table width="802" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" bgcolor="FFFFFF"><tr><td><font size="2" face="Verdana"><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/flipflops123.html"><font color="#0000a0"><b>Wall Street Journal editor accused of flip-flopping flip flops at Kmart </b></font></a> <span class="style5"></span><span class="style5"><img height="25" alt="" src="http://www.connietalk.com/monkeyhead.jpg" width="30" border="0" ></span><BR><font face="Verdana" size="2"><i>Friday</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, September </i></font></span></span><i>21st</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, 200</i></font></span></span><em>7</em></font></font></p> <p align="center"><img height="300" src="goofysandals.jpg" width="300"></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Laura Landro, the assistant managing editor at <em>The Wall Street Journal</em>, was detained by security at Kmart after being suspected of switching a pair of shoes into a box with a cheaper price tag. She wrote:</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">"As soon as we stepped outside the store, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to face a serious-faced young man who identified himself as store security and asked me to step back inside. When he said the shoes I'd purchased were in the wrong box, I followed him inside, promising my family I'd be right back.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">"Instead, I was led to a windowless security room in the back of the store, detained for an hour and accused of deliberately switching a more expensive item into a cheaper box. The adult flip-flops, it turned out, where $24.50, and the box had been for a child's size nine, with a $16.50 price. My stunned protestations and explanations were summarily dismissed. My driver's license and credit card were temporarily confiscated, I was told to expect a civil notice of a fine by mail, and finally, I was advised never to return to the store."</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Well, I'm sure she wouldn't have published this had she been lying, especially considering she would have no idea what could have been captured on store cameras if she'd really flipped the flops. The question is: why are Kmart flip flops $24.50 at the end of September? They must open beer or something, right?</font></p> <p align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><img height="308" src="flipflopsbeer.jpg" width="465"></font></p> <p><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/flipflops123.html#comment" class="style2">Comments</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button BEGIN --> <script type="text/javascript"> addthis_url = "http://www.connietalk.com/flipflops123.html"; addthis_title = "Wall Street Journal Editor accused of flip-flopping flip flops at Kmart"; addthis_pub = 'connietalk'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/addthis_widget.php?v=12" ></script> <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button END --></td></tr></table> <BR> <table width="802" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10"> <tr> <td width="903" bgcolor="#ffffff"><p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/pariscard123.html"><font color="#0000a0"><b>Have we mentioned we love the Gallery of the Absurd? </b></font></a> <span class="style5"> &nbsp;<img height="25" alt="" src="http://www.connietalk.com/monkeyhead.jpg" width="30" border="0" > <br > </span><font face="Verdana" size="2"><i>Friday</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, September </i></font></span></span><i>21st</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, 200</i></font></span></span><em>7</em></font></font></p> <p align="center"><img height="478" src="pariscard1.jpg" width="299"></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">'Cause we totally do. Here they poke fun at Paris's recent <a href="http://www.connietalk.com/pariscard123.html" target="_blank">Hallmark lawsuit</a> with a <a href="http://galleryoftheabsurd.typepad.com/14/2007/09/post.html" target="_blank">series</a> of new greeting card ideas she could sue over. In her latest attempt to look like a changed woman, by the way, she made this idiotic remark about her wardrobe: "I have, like, a million clothes and more than 500 pairs of shoes, so I'm going to give a bunch of them to orphanages and childrens' hospitals. I never wear something twice."</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Not only has she not yet made good on that promise, but, like, she wears that ugly mug every day.</font></p> <p><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/pariscard123.html#comment" class="style2">Comments</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button BEGIN --> <script type="text/javascript"> addthis_url = "http://www.connietalk.com/pariscard123.html"; addthis_title = "Have we mentioned we love the Gallery of the Absurd?"; addthis_pub = 'connietalk'; </script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/addthis_widget.php?v=12" ></script> <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button END --></p></td></tr></table><br> <table width="923" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10"> <tr> <td width="903" bgcolor="#ffffff"><p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/dollarvloon123.html"><font color="#0000a0"><b>The Canadian dollar and the U.S. dollar are now worth the same </b></font></a> <span class="style5"> &nbsp;<img height="25" alt="" src="http://www.connietalk.com/monkeyhead.jpg" width="30" border="0" > <br > </span><font face="Verdana" size="2"><i>Friday</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, September </i></font></span></span><i>21st</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, 200</i></font></span></span><em>7</em></font></font></p> <p><img height="250" src="philip.gif" width="300"><img height="387" src="dollarloonie.jpg" width="300"><img height="250" src="terence.gif" width="300"></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Well, we saw this one coming a mile away. Canadian currency has been gaining on us for a while, and as of yesterday, the Canadian loonie and the U.S. dollar are worth the same for the first time since 1976. Over are the days when you feel rich exchanging your moolah at Casino Niagara. While the U.S. has been suffering a declining housing market and credit problems, Canada has been benefiting from crude oil prices, demand for natural resources like coal, chemical, and grain, and stable interest rates through The Bank of Canada.</font></p> <p><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/dollarvloon123.html#comment" class="style2">Comments</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button BEGIN --> <script type="text/javascript"> addthis_url = "http://www.connietalk.com/dollarvloon123.html"; addthis_title = "Canadian dollar and U.S. dollar are now worth the same"; addthis_pub = 'connietalk'; </script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/addthis_widget.php?v=12" ></script> <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button END --></p></td> </tr> </table> <br> <table width="802" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"><p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/aliciabanned123.html"><font color="#0000a0"><b>Alicia Silverstone's ad gets pulled in Texas for being too racy </b></font></a> <span class="style5"> &nbsp;<img height="25" alt="" src="http://www.connietalk.com/monkeyhead.jpg" width="30" border="0" > <br > </span><font face="Verdana" size="2"><i>Friday</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, September </i></font></span></span><i>21st</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, 200</i></font></span></span><em>7</em></font></font></p> <p align="center"><img height="343" src="aliciabanned.jpg" width="500"></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Remember <a href="http://www.connietalk.com/aliciasilverstone123.html" target="_blank">this commercial</a> we showed you of Alicia Silverstone going nude for PETA's GoVeg campaign? Not that you could see anything in it, but the pro-veggie ad was pulled from the airwaves in Houston this week for being too racy for viewers. PETA says they chose Houston, Texas to debut the ad because it ranks high on the list of cities with the worst eating habits. But Comcast pulled the commercial, citing nudity as the reason to cancel the campaign.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Yet the PETA ads will run on commercials in Dallas. Does that make any sense? I'm telling you, you go to Europe and they show totally nude chicks lathering up for soap commercials. Then again, vegetarianism and nudity don't really go hand in hand, and PETA kinda just did that for attention, but still. Why is everyone so ashamed of the human body in this country?</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><img src="http://www.connietalk.com/difference.jpg" width="293" height="31"></font></p> <p><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/censorship.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.connietalk.com/censorblo.jpg" width="257" height="183" border="0"></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/aliciabanned123.html#comment" class="style2">Comments</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button BEGIN --> <script type="text/javascript"> addthis_url = "http://www.connietalk.com/aliciabanned123.html"; addthis_title = "Alicia Silverstone ad banned for being too racy"; addthis_pub = 'connietalk'; </script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/addthis_widget.php?v=12" ></script> <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button END --></p></td> </tr> </table><br> <table width="802" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"><p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/bushmandela123.html"><font color="#0000a0"><b>Bush thinks Nelson Mandela is dead </b></font></a> <span class="style5"> &nbsp;<img height="25" alt="" src="http://www.connietalk.com/monkeyhead.jpg" width="30" border="0" > <br > </span><font face="Verdana" size="2"><i>Friday</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, September </i></font></span></span><i>21st</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, 200</i></font></span></span><em>7</em></font></font></p> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"> <div id="flvmandelabush232024016381"> <img src="http://video.thinkprogress.org/2007/09/mandelabush2.320.240.jpg" width="320" height="240" title="To watch this clip, install Flash Player and enable JavaScript in your browser" alt="Screenshot" > </div> <script type="text/javascript"> var flvmandelabush232024016381 = newSWFObject('/wp-content/plugins/flvplayer.swf?file=http://video.thinkprogress.org/2007/09/mandelabush2.320.240.flv&amp;autoStart=false', 'em-flvmandelabush232024016381', '320', '260', '6', '#ffffff'); flvmandelabush232024016381.addParam('quality', 'high'); flvmandelabush232024016381.addParam('wmode', 'transparent'); flvmandelabush232024016381.write('flvmandelabush232024016381'); </script></div> <font face="Verdana" size="2"><p>I can't believe we missed this one. We gave you another clip of the Bush press conference from yesterday, but this little comment slipped right by us. Bush says, "I thought an interesting comment was made - somebody said to me, I heard somebody say, 'Now where's Mandela?' Well, Mandela's dead because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas."</p></font> <p><font face="Verdana" size="2">For the record , Mandela is alive and well, and Saddam is dead. This is what happens when Bush speaks off the cuff instead of listening to his earpiece. He needs to go hang out with Keenyah from America's Next Top Model, Cycle 4. (She was crying about Nelson Mandela and then it was revealed she knew nothing about him - I know you saw that season, it was the one where Tyra had her famous screaming fit that inspired <a href="http://www.connietalk.com/tyravbrit123.html" target="_blank">this</a>).</font> <br> <br> <a href="http://www.connietalk.com/bushmandela123.html#comment" class="style2">Comments</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button BEGIN --> <script type="text/javascript"> addthis_url = "http://www.connietalk.com/bushmandela123.html"; addthis_title = "Bush thinks Nelson Mandela is dead"; addthis_pub = 'connietalk'; </script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/addthis_widget.php?v=12" ></script> <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button END --></p> <p></p></td> </tr> </table><br> <table width="802" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"><p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/peaceday123.html"><font face="Verdana" size="2" color="#0000a0"><b>Today is International Peace Day </b></font></a> <span class="style5"> &nbsp;<img height="25" alt="" src="http://www.connietalk.com/monkeyhead.jpg" width="30" border="0" > <br > </span><font face="Verdana" size="2"><i>Friday</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, September </i></font></span></span><i>21st</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, 200</i></font></span></span><em>7</em></font></font></p> <p align="center"><img height="300" src="world-peace.jpg" width="400"></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">That's right: across the entire globe today (round or flat, whichever), it is International Peace Day. In 1981, the United Nations passed resolution declaring September 21 an International Day of Peace, and adopted the following resolution: "Declares that the International Day of Peace shall henceforth be observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, an invitation to all nations and people to honor a cessation of hostilities for the duration of the day."</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Sadly, the code has already been broken. The AFP is <a href="http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h6vacw7lDRK5pnAXrzFFmTxDE-0Q" target="_blank">reporting</a> that a French soldier was killed by a suicide attacker in Kabul, and 40 Taliban rebels killed elsewhere in Afghanistan today.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">"One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means." -Martin Luther King, Jr. </font></p> <p><img src="http://www.connietalk.com/difference.jpg" width="293" height="31"></p> <p><font face="Verdana" size="2">Visit <a href="http://www.unitedforpeace.org" target="_blank">UnitedforPeace.org</a> today to find out what you can do to promote peace.</font></p> <p><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/peaceday123.html#comment" class="style2">Comments</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button BEGIN --> <script type="text/javascript"> addthis_url = "http://www.connietalk.com/peaceday123.html"; addthis_title = "Today is International Peace Day"; addthis_pub = 'connietalk'; </script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/addthis_widget.php?v=12" ></script> <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button END --></p></td> </tr> </table><br> <table width="802" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"><p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/brangelina123.html"><font face="Verdana" size="2" color="#0000a0"><b>Brangelina go to the U.N. screening of Darfur Now documentary </b></font></a> <span class="style5"> &nbsp;<img height="25" alt="" src="http://www.connietalk.com/monkeyhead.jpg" width="30" border="0" > <br > </span><font face="Verdana" size="2"><i>Friday</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, September </i></font></span></span><i>21st</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, 200</i></font></span></span><em>7</em></font></font></p> <p align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><img height="363" src="brangelina.jpg" width="550"><br>Pics from <a href="http://www.popsugar.com" target="_blank">PopSugar.com</a><br><img src="brangelina2.jpg"> </font></p> <font face="Verdana" size="2">&nbsp; </font> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Yeah, yeah, here's your weekly Brangelina fix, you fiends. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were at the United Nations' screening of the documentary "Darfur Now" in New York City last night. The film followed six people as they tried to help stop the violence that is occurring in Darfur, Sudan. It hits theaters in October.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Brad said in <em>Details</em> magazine that their humanitarian work in Darfur is a bond between them. "It's something that brought Angie and I together certainly - she's absolute evidence for me of someone facilitating changes for the better."</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Seeing as how we're relying on the likes of Brangelina to save the world these days, what happened to their mission with the Iraq War? Angelina was in Iraq recently, and we were expecting lots of quotes and hubbub about that, but haven't heard a thing.</font></p> <p><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/brangelina123.html#comment" class="style2">Comments</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button BEGIN --> <script type="text/javascript"> addthis_url = "http://www.connietalk.com/brangelina123.html"; addthis_title = "Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie attend the NYC screening of Darfur Now"; addthis_pub = 'connietalk'; </script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/addthis_widget.php?v=12" ></script> <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button END --></p></td> </tr> </table><br> <table width="802" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"><p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/alex123.html"><font face="Verdana" size="2" color="#0000a0"><b>Smartest parrot in the world, Alex, dies at age 31 </b></font></a> <span class="style5"> &nbsp;<img height="25" alt="" src="http://www.connietalk.com/monkeyhead.jpg" width="30" border="0" > <br > </span><font face="Verdana" size="2"><i>Friday</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, September </i></font></span></span><i>21st</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, 200</i></font></span></span><em>7</em></font></font></p> <p align="center"><img height="372" src="Alex_the_Parrot.jpg" width="496"><br><br><img height="330" src="parrotalex.jpg" width="400"><br><font face="Verdana" size="1">Alex counting for Carol from Avian Adventures</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Alex was an African grey parrot with the intelligence of a five-year old child. He was a research subject for 30 years to scientists at Harvard University, and was considered the smartest parrot in the world. He was bought by Dr. Irene Pepperberg from a pet store in Chicago in 1977, when Alex was a year old. They formed a very close relationship. Alex could count, knew more than 100 words, expressed emotion and frustration, and could identify colors and shapes. When other parrots in the lab didn't speak clearly, Alex would tell them to "talk better."</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">He was on educational shows, including appearances on BBC and PBS, and a scene with Alan Alda on "Look Who's Talking." Alex died last Thursday night, of unknown causes - the average lifespan of an African grey is 50 years. The <a href="http://www.alexfoundation.org/index.htm" target="_blank">Alex Foundation</a> has been set up in his name to fund future research on the intelligence of his species - and when we say research, their caretakers are very loving! They work with the birds on elementary skills, reward them with grapes, and keep track of their favorite items for playtime. It's so cute, they listed Alex's "likes" as "cardboard boxes, keychains, and corks." </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">This part will almost make you cry: Alex's last words were "You be good, see you tomorrow. I love you." All together now: awwwww!</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Here's a look back on Alex interacting with his trainer, Dr. Pepperberg, narrated by Diane Sawyer. See, I told you, famous parrot!</font></p> <p align="center"> <object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sYk-wE18BTo"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sYk-wE18BTo" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></p> <p><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/alex123.html#comment" class="style2">Comments</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button BEGIN --> <script type="text/javascript"> addthis_url = "http://www.connietalk.com/alex123.html"; addthis_title = "Smartest parrot in the world, Alex, dies at age 31"; addthis_pub = 'connietalk'; </script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/addthis_widget.php?v=12" ></script> <!-- AddThis Bookmark Button END --></p></td> </tr> </table> <br><table width="802" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"><p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><a href="http://www.connietalk.com/jlo123.html"><font face="Verdana" size="2" color="#0000a0"><b>J. Lo: Shame on you! You're never too good for your mother! </b></font></a> <span class="style5"> &nbsp;<img height="25" alt="" src="http://www.connietalk.com/monkeyhead.jpg" width="30" border="0" > <br > </span><font face="Verdana" size="2"><i>Friday</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, September </i></font></span></span><i>21st</i><span class="style5"><span class="style1"><font size="2"><i>, 200</i></font></span></span><em>7</em></font></font> <p align="center"><img height="546" src="jlonotsosweet.jpg" width="375"> <p><font size="2" face="Verdan