Kudos to seven Board members for persisting in their efforts to protect the rights of people to open access of public records. From Reaching the Stars blog. Also links to the full story on the Chicago Tribune website.

By Julian Sanchez, The Nation... Thanks to behind-the-scenes maneuvering by the Obama administration, a bipartisan majority has approved legislation that seems to abandon hope of reining in the Patriot Act.

This isn't Beatrix Potter here. It's more like "Dangerous Liaisons" by way of Quentin Tarantino. With tents, sand, and sheep. It's true what they say. Sometimes, a picture really is worth a thousand words, especially when those words come from the Bible.

Los Angeles - South African-born actress Charlize Theron auctioned off a kiss for 140,000 dollars, and the winning bidder was a woman, US magazine reported Friday. "My boyfriend is not here tonight," she joked before a smooch that lasted 20 seconds. WOW!?

In the first, second and third world we might well help produce one world where we can live together in peace and mutual respect and understanding...Anything is possible?...Politics and personal dogma be damned, It's up to YOU!

Hundreds of thousands of people die every year as a result of armed violence and consequences of irresponsible arms transfers. The diplomats meeting at the UN tomorrow owe it to them, their families and communities, to take the next big step, a treaty.

After three days of encounters with America-bashing Pakistanis -- who rejected her contention that the U.S. and Pakistan face a common enemy -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday that "we're not getting through."...Hillary is delirious???

The UN Goldstone report is a well-researched, fair-minded report. Israel and Hamas must conduct credible, independent investigations on war crimes and possible crimes against humanity or face the International Criminal Court. We demand accountability!

The government's lies about drugs have one big upside: they teach our children to be suspicious of power. Lying to everyone is what politics is all about, that's the lesson we have all been learning in recent times. Leaders, no. Misleaders, yes.

Anthony Hopkins stars in The World's Fastest Indian a feel-good biopic about a New Zealand senior citizen who customized a 1920 Indian motorcycle and rode it in speed competitions in the 1960s. He creates one of the most loveable coots I can recall.