I got my wish: Anderson and George on screen together!!!!

I should have blown up in a fiery ball of .... no clue what to put there. But, gratification is mine! (BTW, screencap from All Things Anderson. .. he looks just like how I feel: numb, silenced, weak... maybe not weak.... whatever.... Thanks ATA! When I can find a screen cap from the interview, I'll post that.)

A little while back, CNN advertised that Anderson Cooper would chat with George Clooney about Darfur. Clooney travelled there earlier this year with his father, Nick. I saw denied the happiness of seeing them together (CNN lied!!! John Roberts interviewed him instead as Coop was in Afghanistan... I think) The Clooneys saw the state the the beliguered war and genocide ravaged country is in. Its heartwrenching. In fact, this week, Anderon Cooper and his motley crew of journalists will be reporting on the state of things in Africa. If you aren't aware of things in Africa, their bad. For several years there's been a bloody conflict there involving something like eight nations. We've heard precious little because the world does not care about a world war in Africa. All anyone cares about is the natural resources that remain to be pillaged from these impovershed lands such as gold in the Congo which we need for our precious computers. Its difficult to fully comrehend the suffering on such a massive scale and the fact that is largely ignored should stir some serious emotions.

They have in people such as George Clooney who spoke about this at the UN last month. For the 360 staff, they are doing their part as journaists to shed some light on the subject. They will stay there for the remainder of the week and hopefully, something will come of it. Maybe a serious project to build some god damned roads will start to take shape. Maybe the pharmaceuticals will finally send vaccines and medications to countries that need them so badly. Maybe the UN will write some stronger fucking language so that Resolution 1706 isn't just toilet paper (likely Scott's brand at that). Maybe the world will wake up and see that Africa is miserable and forgotten. Maybe...

When Cooper asked Clooney (love that bit) if he was optimistic, he said no. How could he be? What evidence is there that it will get any better? I have to agree. I want to weep... but unfortunately, the air raid sirens are sounding here. So, I have to flee for my own safety.

Pray for the Amish in Lancaster County. Pray for Africa. Pray for me!!!!

Anderson Cooper + George Clooney = Explosion of a female news junkie

When turning on CNN this morning, I was impressed by the fact that it must be a slow news day. They aren't reporting about a lot of different things. They did another instalment of Genius Reports. These are items about genius that are supposed to entice us to watch Neurologist and CNN medical contributor, Sanjay Gupta, and his special report this Sunday on Geniuses. All this does is make me depressed. I'm a smart gal but I never got the oppurtunity to learn in a way that suited my abilities better. Islugged it out for years in relative misery.

But beyond my own self-disparaging, CNN is just not doing a great job today. They did a report on NASA unfurling the solar array for the International Space station. However, it was slowed down by a computer glitch. First bolts, now glitches. NASA can't expect to have a robust recruiting program.

The Montreal shooter was named Kimveer Gill. He was also known as the Angel of Death. He was a 25-year-old from the Montreal suburb. Laval. He fit the dark, sulky loner type that is often the perpetrator of sucha cts at schools like the Columbine massacre. He even wore atrench coat and dark clothes. The gunmen hated authority figures and "jocks".

Like Lysistrata, Women are forgoing sex to protest violence. In the classic Greek play by Aristophanes, the women of Athens withhold sexual acts from their men until they end their war. Women in cities in present day Columbia that are the wives and girlfriends of gang members are holding a "Strike of Crossed Legs". Go Girls! The mayor of one of the most violent cities, Pereira, also backed the strike. The women are asking the men to disarm forgo gang violence.

Claudia Mitchell, ex-Marine and Motorcycle rider, received a bionic arm recently. She and Jessie Sullivan, the first recipient of such an appendage, showed off the devices at a press conference in Washington, D.C. today. Mitchell lost hers in motorcycle accident two years ago and Sullivan lost both arms in an industrial accident. The two can move their respective arms with a though since nerves in the brain are connected to electronics that mobilize the bionic arms.

Now, I will explain my headline. Anderson Cooper, CNN's hot prematurely grey news anchor will have actor/director George Clooney on his show 360 tonight. Clooney will be discussing the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan after speaking at theUN on the subject. These two men are at the top of my list of suave, sexy, intelligent men. I will be watching every second of this program, trying not to drool.

Crikey!

Convert now or forever hold your sins. A man calling himself Assam the American called on the US and many non-muslims to convert. As long as Americans are ignorant to Islam, they will accept and even applaud wars and conflicts in Palestine and Lebanon by Israel, according to Assam. He also stated "To Americans and the rest of Christendom we say, either repent [your] misguided ways and enter into the light of truth or keep your poison to yourself", according to the BBC. Assam the Americans' real name is believed to be Adam Gadahn and he is wanted by the FBI for questioning.

Not only does Sudan reject the UN resolution to put Peacekeeping troops on the ground, it also told the African Union, which does have troops there, to leave. Since 2003, fighting between the pro-government military and rebel factions has caused thousands to die, millions to go homeless and suffer hellish conditions. This may indicate that Sudan plans to handle the rebels with military strikes. The AU has reported that rebel held villages in Darfur are already being attacked by troops. Sudan has given the 7,000 strong AU troops till the end of September to leave.

Qatar is sending up to 300 troops to help in Lebanon.

Fresh fighting in the Philippines between Abu Sayyaf rebels and Filipino troops, has claimed five Filipino soldiers and several rebels. The Abu Sayyaf are a militant Muslim terrorists with alleged links to al-Qaeda. According to the BBC, "Troops have been fighting Abu Sayyaf rebels on the remote southern island of Jolo since late July in a bid to flush out leader Khadaffy Janjalani."

India is dealing with floods in two of the strangest places: Rajasthan and Kashmir. Neither know floods intimately. Rajasthan is the Thar Desert, in fact, and usually knows drought. But it was recently flooded by immense monsoon rains and 135 people lost their lives. In Kashmir, 1 person has died after being swept away while 200,000 are effected by the flooding. As many as 200 villages have been "marooned". Villagers are reluctant to leave their homes despite the water. Southern Kashmir and Jammu are the worst effected.

A fire at a chemical plant in the Galicia region in Spain last week, resulted in a highly toxic petroleum spill that is slowy creeping down the Umia river to the Atlantic ocean. Water supplies to residents have been cut off form the river and shell fishing industries have been closed for the interim. In the meantime, the government is trying to prevent the pollution of the Ocean by rigging dams to stop the spill.

Sri Lankan troops have taken control of an area near Trincomalee, a town held by Tamil Tiger rebels. A cease-fire had been declared in 2002 but conflict was sparked earlier this year and continues to excalate.

Two hostages have been taken by inmates in a Russian prison in Moscow. The prison is a pre-trial center. The head of the center is believed to be one of the hostages. The inmates have not made any demands yet

A bomb has gone off at a bar in Bujumbura, Burundi, on the eve of talks reconvening. The National Liberation Forces (FNL) has not signed the peace deal and is the last group. Four people were killed and twelve injured in the explosion.

In Somalia, the provisional government took control of the Baidoa from clan militias. The clans were exacting taxes of $20 on every passenger and $100 on every plane using the airport. After some policement were trying to leave for Kenya for training, conflict broke out. Six died while seven more were left wounded.

In Hyderabad, India, a 60-year-old woman was allegedly killed by her daughter-in-law. Laxmi, the daughter-in-law, supposedly smashed H. Ramabai, the mother-in-law, in the head with a boulder while she slapt. The woman admitted to the Saroornagar police that she had done the deed over criticism on trivial matters. There may have been another motive. Laxmi apparently was having an affair and the older woman discovered it. Desperate Housewives: India?

Gene Therpay has cured two men of skin cancer and may be a highly feasible method of conquering cancer. The method uses T-cells from patients, modifies them and retransfuses them. The cells attack tumor cells rather than ignore them.

Today, Steve Irwin, better known as the Crocodile Hunter, died after being stung by a Sting ray in the shallow waters off Port Douglas, Australia. Reportedly, a barb from the sting ray punctured his heart. Paramedics rushed to the scene but were unable to do anything for the wildlife enthusiast. He is survived by his wife Terri and their two children, Bindi Sue and Robert "Bob" Clarence. He was 44.

On this day back in 1781, Los Angeles was founded by the Spanish.

On this day in 1888, George Eastman registered his Kodak camera that used rolls. It would be 100 years and then some before the next big innovation in cameras: Digital.

34 years ago, Mark Spitz won his seventh gold medal in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. He set a record that still stands today. Many a male swimmer contends to break this record. In 2008, will it be Phelps or Thorpe?