November 2006

Well folks, you knew it was coming sooner or later — the first legal shots have been fired against Sacha Baron Cohen by those drunken frat guys in that RV ”to protect themselves from any additional and unnecessary embarrassment.” The Associated Press: The lawsuit claims that in October 2005, a production crew took the students to a bar to drink and ”loosen up” before participating in what they were told would be a documentary to be shown outside of the…

Here’s the full list, via Daily Kos. Yes, and Mr. Seven-term Pombo (R-CA) from the 11th Congressional District of California lost! And the Macaca race is still up in the air, but Webb is barely ahead for now. And finally, in the most meaningless ballot measure of the night: San Francisco was one of two Bay Area cities in which voters could call for Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney to be impeached. Neither San Francisco voters nor their counterparts…

Rolling Stone: Ben Karlin, Stewart’s thirty-five-year-old production partner who oversees both The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, says that “the biggest mistake people make is thinking that Jon and Stephen sit down before every show and say, ‘OK, how are we going to change the world?’ or any bullshit like that. They both really just want to get a laugh.” Though the shows clearly have a liberal bent, Stewart claims that they are emotional but apolitical. He does not,…

My new favorite hip-hop group Blue Scholars are rockin’ the house at the Poleng Lounge ($8) in San Francisco on Thursday, November 30. My old favorite neo-swing band, Royal Crown Revue will be swingin’ like there’s no tomorrow at The Viper Room ($20) in Los Angeles on Friday, November 24. For Bay Area RCR fans, they’re also doing a show at the Red Devil Lounge on December 28, which I sadly won’t be able to make — but I’ll be…

Reuters: Saddam, 69, initially refused to stand when brought in to hear the verdict from Kurdish chief judge Raouf Abdul Rahman, at a quickfire, 45-minute hearing. When he did, shakily, with clear emotion, he yelled the defiant Arab battle cry “Allahu Akbar!” (God is Greatest) and “Long live Iraq” as the judgment was read. “The court has decided to sentence Saddam Hussein al-Majid to be hanged until he is dead for crimes against humanity,” Abdul Rahman said, ignoring Saddam’s earlier…

Slate decided that four Borat-related articles wasn’t quite enough, so here’s (no joke), No. 5: “The Real Kazakhstan: What does Borat get right and wrong about his native land?” Best line? Borat claims that traditional Kazakh wine is made from fermented horse urine. I have tried Kazakh wine, and I can tell you it is definitely not made from fermented horse urine. It just tastes that way.

I love how Slate has not one, but FOUR articles about Borat up right now. “Borat Owes Me 97 Dollars: How Sacha Baron Cohen is Jewish vaudeville.” “Not Very Nice: The Borat movie: They botched the joke.” “America Undercover: Sacha Baron Cohen’s disturbing, ingenious Borat.” “Searching for Borat: Journalists descend upon Kazakhstan; hunt for mustaches, sexism.” Also, from the archives: “Borat Tricked Me! Can’t I sue him or something?” “Respek! How does Ali G keep conning famous guests?” “Cohen Brother:…

So that’s why this man is laughing, huh? Yes, former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami just did a big interview with the Beeb. Yeah, he said some pretty predictable stuff, but here’s the part that caught my attention: During the speech he also urged British Muslims to obey UK law, saying they are “British first”. He said that the wearing of the scarf or veil was a woman’s personal choice, and she should not be obliged to do so. Now that’s…