Ian David
Ian David's JournalMonkey business: Is Tarzan's chimp Cheeta a cheater?
Monkey business: Is Tarzan's chimp Cheeta a cheater?
By David Leafe
Last updated at 11:41 PM on 3rd April 2009
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Recent investigations suggest Cheeta cannot be as old as claimed and certainly isn't the chimp who appeared in the early Tarzan films. If this is true, the world's favourite animal film star is an impostor.
The story of Cheeta's life which has been accepted until now relies heavily on the accounts given by his first owner, Hollywood animal trainer Tony Gentry. He claimed to have acquired him as a baby chimpanzee during a visit to Liberia in West Africa in 1932, hiding him under his jacket and smuggling him aboard a Pan Am flight back to America.
<snip>
First there was Tony Gentry's claim about bringing Cheeta back to America on that Pan Am flight in 1932. Rosen's research showed that there were no transatlantic airline services until 1939.
Next was the suggestion that Cheeta had played Chee-Chee in Doctor Dolittle. Although this had been supported by numerous newspaper stories since, Rosen watched a DVD of the movie and was puzzled to see that Chee-Chee was portrayed by a juvenile chimpanzee who was clearly no older than eight.
Since the film was made in 1966, by which time Cheeta would have been at least 34 by Tony Gentry's own account, this could not be the same chimp that starred with Johnny Weissmuller in the Tarzan epics.
More:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1167159/Monkey-business-Is-Tarzans-chimp-Cheeta-cheater.html
GoDaddy withdraws SOPA support in face of massive protests
Internet domain registrar GoDaddy just announced it will no longer support the controversial SOPA legislation after being threatened with a massive boycott from users who oppose the bill. GoDaddy had been an outspoken supporter of SOPA until just now, even saying that it had worked with lawmakers to draft its provisions, but that support ultimately made the company an easy target for SOPA's furious opposition.
A boycott movement started after Cheezburger CEO Ben Huh threatened to move his company's 1,000 domains away from GoDaddy unless the company reversed course, leading to Reddit users planning a December 29th "Leave GoDaddy Day." Faced with concrete impact to its business, it appears GoDaddy did the only sensible thing — fold.
Although the pressure was enough to cause GoDaddy to withdraw its support for now, the company still believes similar reform is ultimately necessary — in a statement, company CEO Warren Adelman said that legislation to fight piracy is important, but that "we can clearly do better... Getting it right is worth the wait."
We'll see how the company decides to act on that thinking in the future, and if it decides to stay involved — the fight over SOPA is just beginning, and ultimately the GoDaddy saga is but a sideshow.
More:
http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/23/2657930/godaddy-withdraws-sopa-support-in-face-of-massive-protests
He was mad over something that turned out to be a hoax.
Exposed: A Spammer Fooled MSM & America with Edited NDAA Video
So this is rather embarrassing.
It turns out that the edited NDAA video of Carl Levin that was inaccurately cited in the mainstream media as proof that Obama wanted to detain US citizens was originally posted by a spammer. As we know, the President did not ask for language giving him the right to detain US citizens, he asked for the opposite. But that story wouldn’t get very many clicks for a spammer…..
Thanks to the hard work of several writers, we now know the truth behind the tin foil hat insanity trip of the edited Levin NDAA video that went viral. Congratulations, mainstream media – you got PWNED by a spammer.
<snip>
Allan at Angry Black Lady followed up by pointing out that viral misinformation has additional consequences. The California Libertarian “constitutional conservative” who called for the assassination of the President and his children did so precisely because he believed this lie, “Jules Manson of Carson, California, an unsuccessful recent candidate for their city council, posted a rant on his Facebook page motivated by the passage of the NDAA.”
More:
http://www.politicususa.com/en/edited-ndaa-video
See also:
http://tinyurl.com/TeaTerror
More TeaTerror
http://tinyurl.com/TeaTerror2
Make your own, virtual, personalized Atheist billboard
This Is Your Personalized Virtual Billboard
Thank you for speaking out for freethought and reason in FFRF's Out of the Closet Campaign.
http://ffrf.org/out/?billboard%2F3864
WoodyAllenJesus, by Tim Minchin
I’m NOT on the Jonathan Ross Show
by Tim 22nd Dec 2011
<snip>
It’s not a particularly original idea, I admit, but it’s quite cute. It’s certainly not very contentious, but even so, compliance people and producers and lawyers all checked my lyrics long before the cameras rolled. As always with these bespoke writing jobs, I was really stressed for about 3 days, and almost chucked it in the bin 5 times, and freaked out that it wasn’t funny and all that boring shit that people like me go through when we’re lucky enough to have with a big audience with high expectations. And if I’m honest, it ain’t a world-changing bit of comedy. Regardless…
On Tuesday night last week, we taped the show. I met Tom (he’s nice and quite laid-back off camera, and not very short) and the divine Downton ladies (swoon) and the lovely Inbetweeners chaps (yay) and I did my song and everyone laughed and Tom said it was great and when it was done I ran off set onto the back of a waiting motorbike, got from South Bank to the Hammersmith Apollo in 13 minutes, walked into the building, straight on to stage to sing White Wine in the Sun with Professor Brian Cox. Rock n roll.
Subsequently, Suzi and her team edited the show and everybody was happy. Suzi felt it had a nice balance of big-ticket celeb action, local talent, and a nice bit of that cheeky, iconoclastic spirit for which Jonathan is known and widely loved.
And then someone got nervous and sent the tape to ITV’s director of television, Peter Fincham.
And Peter Fincham demanded that I be cut from the show.
More:
http://www.timminchin.com/2011/12/22/im-not-on-the-jonathan-ross-show/
Study Up On Your Dinner Table Talking Points
President Barack Obama
Claim: “The President hasn’t done enough to support Israel…”
Claim: “We left Iraq before the job was done…”
Claim: “He hasn’t done enough to boost the economy…”
Claim: “The President hasn’t done enough for the environment…”
Claim: “The President hasn’t reduced our dependence on foreign oil…”
Claim: “The President hasn’t done enough to fight for women’s rights…”
Claim: “The President’s healthcare bill is a government takeover…”
More:
http://www.massdems.org/2011/12/19/dinner-table-talking-points/
On-air anti-trans bigotry from 98.5FM Boston
On-air #trans bigotry from 98.5FM Listen here (starts at 3:15 on the Wednesday show) http://ow.ly/86yUw
Email mike.thomas@cbsradio.com to complain
Via the MassEquality Twitter feed: http://tinyurl.com/88rh5of
99% Carol
&feature=shareTidings of (small) Comfort and Joy
(to the tune of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen sung con fuoco (with fire))
We bid you peace and blessings on this cold and wintry day,
With thoughts of friends and kinfolks who are often far away.
The sentiment we feel is love, but also some dismay...
Will you join us in seeking a new way, a new way?
Will you join us in seeking a new way?
The "ninety-nine percenters" are just folks like me and you
The message is a simple one that's long past overdue:
Our government's been sold off to the wealthy and the few...
Will you join us in seeking a new way, a new way?
Will you join us in seeking a new way?
Corruption seems like kudzu, with its deep and spreading roots,
The bankers, politicians, and the rich are in cahoots.
While we do all the labor, "one-percenters" reap the fruits...
Will you join us in seeking a new way, a new way?
Will you join us in seeking a new way?
They tell us we've no money for the old or for our schools.
They hire their workers overseas and think that we are fools;
They're counting on our silence and to just obey their rules...
Will you join us in seeking a new way, a new way?
Will you join us in seeking a new way?
From Austin, Oakland, Ithaca, Seattle, and Duluth,
Let newspapers and networks know we'd like to hear the truth.
Demand to get the money out of every voting booth...
Will you join us in seeking a new way, a new way?
Will you join us in seeking a new way?
They ridicule the Common Good, and say that we're to blame
For making life so difficult ... they really have no shame.
Is this the season's message, just a profit-driven game?
Will you join us in seeking a new way, a new way?
Will you join us in seeking a new way?
"It's Not Who We Are" Standing Up for New Hampshire Families
Standing Up for New Hampshire Families, a bi-partisan, grassroots group comprised of residents and a leadership council of more than 200 civic, business, academic and political leaders, launched its first statewide TV ad buy urging legislators to reject the bill that would overturn New Hampshire's popular marriage law.
Among those featured in the ad are Craig Stowell and his wife Berta. Craig, a former Marine who served in Iraq, is a life-long Claremont resident and conservative Republican who co-chairs Standing Up for NH Families.
"We know the people of NH support individual rights," said Stowell. "And polls show voters strongly oppose repealing the current marriage law, across every demographic and geographic measure. This effort to repeal or undermine the freedom to marry in New Hampshire does not represent our core New Hampshire values. We hope our ad reminds lawmakers that they need to listen to the people."
Also appearing in the spot are Maxine Morse of Portsmouth, a longtime Republican activist and Dan Calegari of Manchester, a Democrat and former small business owner. The ad was produced by the Manchester-based Merrimack and Potomac Group.
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