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Arthur Rankin Jr., animator, director, and producer of perennial television holiday hits like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, has died at the age of 89, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Credited with involvement in over 1,000 television programs, Rankin and his partner Jules Bass (Bass is 78) were pioneers in the field of stop-motion animation at their production company Videocraft International (now called Rankin/Bass Productions). The painstaking process of shooting single cells of objects, which are moved incrementally to create the illusion of motion, allowed them to create classic animated features that also included The Little Drummer Boy (1968) and Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (1970).
Rankin also produced the 1980's animated series Thundercats, the Jackson 5ive animated series in 1971-72, as well as directing the animated version of The Hobbit (1977) which premiered on NBC.
However, audiences knew Rankin/Bass best for 1964's Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which is the longest running Christmas special on television, and Frosty the Snowman, which premiered in 1969. Both shows were re-broadcast by CBS this past December and were the two highest-rated programs of the evening.
Mr. Rankin died Thursday at his home by Harrington Sound in Bermuda, and is survived by his wife Olga and sons Todd and Gardner.
Industrial band Skinny Puppy has presented an invoice the U.S. government for using its music to torment inmates at a prison camp for terrorist suspects.
"We heard through a reliable grapevine that our music was being used in Guantanamo Bay prison camps to musically stun or torture people," founder cEvin Key told the Phoenix New Times. "We heard that our music was used on at least four occasions."
While the Canadian group tackles transgressive themes in a harsh musical style, Key said the thought that his music was used to torture prisoners made him feel "not too good."
"We never supported those types of scenarios," Key said. "It's kind of typical that we thought this would end up happening, in a weird way, because we make unsettling music, we can see it being used in a weird way. But it doesn't sit right with us."
The group, founded in 1982, labored for several years over its latest album, which Key said was a direct response to the government's use of their earlier recordings.
"We thought it would be a good idea to make an invoice to the U.S. government for musical services, thus the concept of the record title, 'Weapon,'" he said.
Key said the group ultimately decided to present the album as its invoice.
"We never sent it," he said. "The album cover is the invoice. The original impetus of recording the album was those two concepts: the torture and the invoice."
Watch this (NSFW) video from Skinny Puppy's latest album posted online by Jenek Artemov:
Dissident Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez said she plans to launch a digital newspaper in her homeland later this year, hoping it will strike a blow for press freedom on the Communist island.
The prominent critic of Cuba's rulers, famed for her "Generacion Y" blog, said she wanted her new project to "raise awareness of information."
"It's not an anti-Castro media, it's a media grounded in reality with basic information," she said of the future newspaper.
Cuba tightly regulates all media and regularly ranks near the bottom of the annual Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders each year.
Sanchez, speaking during a visit to the Hay Festival in the Colombian port city of Cartagena, acknowledged that any attempt to launch an unofficial newspaper would likely meet with resistance.
"They could arrive on the first day, kick in the door, take everything away and block our access to the Internet," she said. "But maybe we would be sowing the seeds of a free press."
Sanchez was barred from traveling outside the island nation for many years by Cuban authorities. However, a change in the law last year allowed her to tour 13 countries in Europe and the Americas.
With close to half a million followers on Twitter and a blog translated into 15 languages, Sanchez was ranked among the 100 most influential women in the world by Time magazine in 2008.
[Image via Agence France-Presse]
The National Review magazine, longstanding house news organ of the establishment right, is facing a lawsuit that could shutter the publication permanently. According to The Week, a suit by a climate scientist threatens to bankrupt the already financially shaky publication and its website, the National Review Online (NRO).
Scientist Michael Mann is suing the Review over statements made by Canadian right-wing polemicist and occasional radio stand-in for Rush Limbaugh, Mark Steyn. Steyn was writing on the topic of climate change when he accused Mann of falsifying data and perpetuating intellectual fraud through his research.
Steyn went on to quote paid anti-climate science operative Rand Simberg -- an employee of the right-wing think tank the Competitive Enterprise Institute -- who compared Mann to Penn State's convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky.
Mann, Simberg said, is "the Jerry Sandusky of climate science, except that instead of molesting children, he has molested and tortured data."
Mann sued for defamation. Steyn and the Review vowed to fight the suit, given that defamation is notoriously difficult to prove in court.
"My advice to poor Michael is to go away and bother someone else," said Review editor Rich Lowry. "If he doesn’t have the good sense to do that, we look forward to teaching him a thing or two about the law and about how free debate works in a free country."
As the case has played out, however, Lowry's hubris has proven to be unwarranted.
"In July," wrote The Week's Damon Linker, "Judge Natalia Combs Greene rejected a motion to dismiss the suit. The defendants appealed, and last week D.C. Superior Court Judge Frederick Weisberg rejected the motion again, opening the door for the discovery phase of the lawsuit to begin."
The Review, which has run at a loss since it was founded on money inherited by William F. Buckley, Jr. in 1955, appealed to readers and supporters for help paying its rapidly mounting legal bills.
Lowry wrote:
As many of you know, National Review is not a non-profit -- we are just not profitable. A lawsuit is not something we can fund with money we don’t have. Of course, we’ll do whatever we have to do to find ourselves victorious in court and Professor Mann thoroughly defeated, as he so richly deserves to be. Meanwhile, we have to hire attorneys, which ain’t cheap.The bills are already mounting.
This is our fight, legally. But with the global-warming extremists going all-out to silence critics, it’s your fight too, morally. When we were sued, we heard from many of you who expressed a desire to help underwrite our legal defense. We deeply appreciated the outpouring of promised help.
Now we really need it.
Then, at Christmastime, Steyn abruptly fired the legal team representing him and the magazine, white shoe firm Steptoe and Johnson, after an argument over a highly inflammatory -- and appallingly typed -- NRO post about Judge Combs Greene. Steyn accused her of "staggering incompetence," called her stupid, and accused her of deliberate obtuseness regarding the Mann suit.
Now, Steyn is representing himself against Mann and he and the Review have parted ways.
Steyn wrote to Mother Jones, saying that he was simply no longer able to contain his sense of disdain for the federal judge and her decision not to dismiss Mann's suit.
“I spent the first months attempting to conceal my contempt for Judge Combs Greene’s court,” said Steyn. “But really, it’s not worth the effort.”
On his personal blog, Steyn wrote, "As readers may have deduced from my absence at National Review Online and my termination of our joint representation, there have been a few differences between me and the rest of the team.”
Now, as the suit grinds onward, the Review faces fairly dismal prospects. The suit could eventually be dismissed, but that is looking less likely. What's looking more likely is that Mann could win a substantial judgment in court or the magazine could settle out of court.
The Week doubts that the publication could financially survive either of those outcomes. In 2005, before his death, Buckley estimated that the Review had lost more than $25 million in its 50 years of operation. It has never enjoyed a single moment of robust financial health competing in the "free market of ideas," but has relied on reader contributions and bailouts from wealthy donors for the entirety of its history.
Conservatives like to point Buckley's legacy and the Review as the reasonable, moderate edge of an regressive, reactionary party. In its history, the magazine has consistently staked out far-right positions that favor whites over nonwhites and plutocrats over the middle and working classes.
National Review authors have railed against racial integration, called Hitler a left-wing radical, and argued with a straight face that African-Americans are inherently more violent and less civilized than whites.
Lowry himself famously declared "We're winning" the War in Iraq just before catastrophic waves of sectarian violence engulfed the country and permanently scuttled the American-led reconstruction effort.
Lately contributor Mona Charen has authored a series of wildly LGBT-phobic articles, lamenting the mainstreaming of "unusual sexual identities" and accusing parents who allow their transgender children to be themselves of "child abuse."
[image of William F. Buckley Jr. via Wikipedia.com]
Toronto's bad boy mayor Rob Ford on Thursday defended troubled pop star Justin Bieber after police in Canada's largest city charged the teenager with assault, his second arrest in a week.
"He's a young guy, 19 years old. I wish I was as successful as he was," Ford told a Washington radio show, urging listeners to "think back" to when they were teenagers.
Bieber was charged Wednesday with assaulting a limousine driver in Toronto last month.
Toronto police accused Bieber of hitting the driver "several times" over the back of the head. The car had picked him and five others up from a nightclub in the city in the early hours of December 30.
The misdemeanor charges in Canada follow his arrest in Miami Beach on January 23 for driving under the influence and resisting arrest during a street drag racing incident.
Through his lawyers, Bieber told AFP he is innocent of the Toronto charges, and he has pleaded not guilty to the charges filed in Miami Beach.
In recent weeks, Bieber's Los Angeles mansion was searched over accusations he hurled eggs at a neighbor's house, and illegal drugs were found at his home. One of his associates was arrested.
The singer has also gotten in trouble with the authorities in Australia for spraying graffiti. And in Brazil, Bieber was photographed emerging under a blanket from a notorious Rio brothel.
The White House has been asked to weigh in on Bieber's bad behavior after it received a petition with more than 150,000 signatures calling for his deportation.
Ford himself has been mired in scandal for months, after admissions of crack smoking and binge drinking.
Though he defended his fellow Canadian, Ford said he is not a fan of Bieber's music, preferring to listen to Led Zeppelin, the Eagles and the Rolling Stones.
The United States on Thursday rebuked China over its treatment of foreign media following the departure of a New York Times reporter after authorities did not renew his visa.
A White House statement said the United States was "very disappointed" that reporter Austin Ramzy was obliged to leave China and that Beijing's actions "stand in stark contrast with US treatment of Chinese and other foreign journalists."
"The United States is deeply concerned that foreign journalists in China continue to face restrictions that impede their ability to do their jobs, including extended delays in processing journalist visas, restrictions on travel to certain locations deemed 'sensitive' by Chinese authorities and, in some cases, violence at the hands of local authorities," it said.
"We urge China to commit to timely visa and credentialing decisions for foreign journalists, unblock US media websites and eliminate other restrictions that impede the ability of journalists to practice their profession," it said.
US Vice President Joe Biden had personally raised the issue of China's treatment of foreign journalists during a visit to Beijing last month.
China has blocked the websites of both The New York Times and Bloomberg News after they published investigations in 2012 into the family wealth of former premier Wen Jiabao and President Xi Jinping, respectively.
Madonna will share a stage with the freed members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot at a concert in New York next month, the US pop star said.
The singer will appear with Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina as part of an Amnesty International concert on February 5, with a star-studded lineup including Bob Geldof, Blondie and Yoko Ono.
"I am honoured to introduce my fellow freedom fighters Nadya and Masha," Madonna said in a statement late Wednesday, using diminutive names for the women, who were released two months early from prison camps in December.
"I have admired their courage and have long supported their commitment and the sacrifices they have made in the name of freedom of expression and human rights," said Madonna ahead of the "Bringing Human Rights Home" concert.
In a message on Twitter, Tolokonnikova confirmed they would see Madonna in New York.
Tolokonnikova's husband, Pyotr Verzilov, who acts as a spokesman for the women, told AFP that Madonna came up with the idea.
"Madonna stepped forward to suggest that on stage she will introduce Nadya and Masha," he said in an e-mail.
Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina will not perform a song however, he added.
"They won't be singing but will read a speech at the concert and talk about the Russian political situation and human rights."
Madonna backed the women at a concert in Moscow during their trial in August 2012, stripping to reveal "Pussy Riot" written on her back and saying she had prayed for their release.
"We, more than anyone, understand how important Amnesty?s work is in connecting activists to prisoners," 24-year-old Tolokonnikova and 25-year-old Alyokhina said in a statement released by the group this month.
The two women were freed in December two months early as part of an amnesty announced by President Vladimir Putin ahead of next month's Winter Olympics.
The women, who have young children, were serving two-year sentences in penal colonies after being convicted on a charge of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred for their anti-Putin song in a Moscow cathedral.
Pussy Riot performed a series of unannounced public concerts from autumn 2011 to February 2012, including one in Moscow's iconic Red Square, with members dressed in colourful homemade balaclavas and holding lighted flares.
They have vowed to use their freedom to fight for better prison conditions and both have spoken out on abuses they experienced in jail.
The two women this month travelled to Singapore where the video of their Punk Prayer protest was shortlisted for a major art prize, although it did not win.
Troubled heartthrob pop star Justin Bieber was charged with assaulting a limousine driver, Canadian police said, after the 19-year-old turned himself in with a crowd of female fans screaming their support.
The charges are the latest run-in with the law for the teen singer after his arrest in Miami Beach on January 23 for drag racing and impaired driving, and after his Los Angeles mansion was searched because he allegedly hurled eggs at a neighbor's house.
Bieber will appear in court on March 10, Toronto police said in a statement, just over two hours after he sparked scenes of chaos as he arrived to turn himself in a black all-terrain vehicle.
Social media lit up as word spread that Bieber had surrendered and adolescent fans, most of them female, thronged the police station.
"On Wednesday, January 29, 2014, Justin Bieber, 19, of Calabasas, California, surrendered to police at 52 Division," the Toronto police statement said, adding the troubled star will go before court at Toronto's Old City Hall.
Bieber is charged with hitting a limousine driver "several times" over the back of the head. The car had picked him and five others up from a nightclub in the city in the early hours of December 30.
Earlier, before going to the club, Bieber had been to a hockey game.
"While driving the group to a hotel, an altercation occurred between one of the passengers and the driver of the limousine," the statement said.
"In the course of the altercation, a man struck the limousine driver on the back of the head several times.
"The driver stopped the limousine, exited the vehicle and called police.
"The man who struck him left the scene before police arrived."
Earlier, wearing a baseball cap turned backwards and a black hooded winter coat, the singer entered the station in Toronto, escorted by officers who rushed him through a large crowd of screaming fans and journalists.
"Move back, don't push! Don't push!" a police officer barked as girls shrieked at the sight of Bieber's large black limousine. CTV television said the pop star pulled up around 7:30 pm (0030 GMT Thursday).
Fans rushed in holding up smartphones hoping to get a picture of the clean-cut, baby-faced young star turned tattooed, barely adult bad boy.
A girl screamed "I love you, Justin, I love you!" as dozens of cameras flashed to light up the night.
Woes mount for star
The singer has also gotten in trouble with the authorities in Australia and Brazil for spraying graffiti. In Brazil, Bieber was photographed emerging under a blanket from a notorious Rio brothel and later tried in vain to bring prostitutes into the posh Copacabana Palace.
Bieber said he was not guilty of the charges filed against him in Florida last week -- including drunk driving, resisting arrest and driving with an expired license.
In a filing by the pop star's attorneys to a Miami court, Bieber formally rejected the charges.
The White House, meanwhile, was asked to weigh in on Bieber's bad behavior after it received a petition with more than 100,000 signatures calling for the Canadian-born signer to be deported.
By 9:00 pm Wednesday (0200 GMT Thursday), a petition on the White House website calling for the deportation of the Canadian teen idol had garnered more than 155,300 names -- easily surpassing the threshold of 100,000 signatures required for presidential consideration.
"We the people of the United States feel that we are being wrongly represented in the world of pop culture," says the petition, created by one "J.A." in Detroit the day Bieber was busted in Miami Beach.
"We would like to see the dangerous, reckless, destructive and drug-abusing Justin Bieber deported and his green card revoked. He is not only threatening the safety of our people but he is also a terrible influence on our nation's youth. We the people would like to remove Justin Bieber from our society."
Bieber is understood to be living and working in the United States under a renewable O-1 visa for entertainers, rather than a green card for permanent resident status.
It remains unclear whether Bieber's visa to stay in the United States would be affected by his legal issues.
Actress Scarlett Johansson will relinquish her role as global ambassador for Oxfam after the aid group deemed her service "incompatible" with advertisements she did for an Israeli firm that has a factory in the occupied West Bank.
Johansson, 29, appears in an ad for the homemade carbonated drinks product SodaStream that is due to air during the high-profile Super Bowl on Sunday.
"Like most actors, my real job is saving the world," Johansson says in the advertisement, which has already been seen more than 4.5 million times on YouTube.
The Hollywood movie star has worked for Oxfam since 2005 but the British-based aid agency said she had stepped down due to her collaborations with SodaStream.
Sodastream employs both Palestinian and Israeli workers and says its plant offers a model of peaceful cooperation. But the settlements are illegal under international law and have been condemned by Oxfam, which has a large operation in the region.
"Oxfam has accepted Scarlett Johansson's decision to step down after eight years as a global ambassador and we are grateful for her many contributions," the charity said in a statement.
"While Oxfam respects the independence of our ambassadors, Ms Johansson's role promoting the company SodaStream is incompatible with her role as an Oxfam global ambassador," the statement said.
It continued: "Oxfam believes that businesses such as SodaStream, that operate in settlements, further the ongoing poverty and denial of rights of the Palestinian communities that we work to support."
"Oxfam is opposed to all trade from Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law," it added.
Johansson's spokesman said in a statement to U.S. media that "she and Oxfam have a fundamental difference of opinion in regards to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement" in the West Bank.
Watch the ad posted online by SodaStreamGuru:
Oscars organizers have withdrawn a best song nomination from a composer because he emailed voting members to highlight his candidacy, which is strictly banned for Academy executives.
"Alone Yet Not Alone," from the film of the same name, was something of a surprise inclusion in the five-strong shortlist for best original song unveiled by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on January 16.
But the Academy decided Tuesday night to rescind the nomination after finding that the song's composer, Bruce Broughton, had emailed voting members "to make them aware of his submission during the nominations voting period."
Broughton, who wrote the song with lyricist Dennis Spiegel, is a former Academy governor and current member of its music branch executive committee.
"No matter how well-intentioned the communication, using one's position as a former governor and current executive committee member to personally promote one's own Oscar submission creates the appearance of an unfair advantage," said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs in a statement Wednesday.
The song was up against nominees from four far more high-profile movies: "Happy" from "Despicable Me 2;" "Let It Go" from "Frozen;" "The Moon Song" from "Her;" and "Ordinary Love," by U2, from "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom."
The Oscars, the climax of Hollywood's annual awards season, will be held on March 2.
[Image via Agence France-Presse]
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