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Roseanne Files Papers to Run for President

2012-02-02T18:34:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Roseanne is in. The comedian has filed papers to seek the Green Party's nomination for president, reports TMZ, which says she'll be pushing hard to legalize marijuana. Barr says the run is no joke, and she's looking to capitalize on the Occupy Wall Street sentiment, notes AP. "The Democrats and Republicans have proven that they are servants--bought and paid for by the 1%--who are not doing what's in the best interest of the American people," she said in a statement. Barr joins three other Green Party candidates, and Green Party Watch has bios out there. She first talked about running a while back on Leno.

"Groundhog Day"

2012-02-02T08:31:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Groundhog Day is a 1993 comedy directed by Harold Ramis, starring Bill Murray and Andie Mac Dowell. An all time classic, Murray plays Phil Connors, an egocentric Pittsburgh TV weatherman who, during a hated assignment covering the annual Goundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, finds himself repeating the same day over and over again. After indulging in hedonism and numerous suicide attempts, he beings to re-examine his life and priorities.

In 2006, the film was added to the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."

The shooting location for most of the film was Woodstock Illinois, a far northwest suburb of Chicago about 10 miles from the Wisconsin border. Residents of the city helped in the production by bringing out heaters to warm the cast and crew in cold weather.

The film was released to universal acclaim. It currently garners a 96% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is number 34 on the American Film Institute's list of 100 Funniest Movies. Film critic Roger Ebert acknowledged in his "Great Movies" essay that, like many viewers, he had initially underestimated the film's many virtues and only came to truly appreciate it through repeated viewings.

The phrase "Groundhog Day" had entered common use as a reference to an unpleasant situation that continually repeats, or so it seems. In the military, referring to unpleasant unchanging repetitive situation as "Groundhog Day" was widespread very soon after the movie's release in February 1993.

Punxsutawney Phil Says: More Winter

2012-02-02T08:07:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Punxsutawney Phil made his 126th prediction this morning on Gobbler's Knob, and it looks like you shouldn't break out the flip flops just yet. The groundhog saw his shadow this morning, signaling six more weeks of winter--or depending on where you live, six weeks of winter. The AP notes that the season has brought very little snow and only a few extremely cold days to much of the East. Indeed, New York City hit a high of 63 degrees yesterday.

The Associated Press notes that the whole thing is a bit of a sham. Phil's prediction is actually decided ahead of time by the Inner Circle, a group decked out in top hats and tuxedos that decides in advance whether he'll see his shadow. And he generally does. According to existing records, Phil has now seen his shadow 100 times and hasn't seen it just 16 time since 1886.

Austrian leader compares rightists to 'new Jews,' sparking ire

2012-01-31T18:30:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Far-right Austrian politicians were widely criticized Monday for comparing protests against a fancy ball that attracts extremists to the Nazis' persecution of Jews. Vienna's Jewish community demanded an investigation into the remarks but the Freedom Party insisted no harm was meant.

The comments by Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache and an associate were first reported Sunday on the website of the daily Der Standard, but they drew little attention until Monday. The furor extended the controversy over Friday's far-right ball which attracted guests from the new-Nazi fringe and was held this year the same day the world pays tribute to victims of the Holocaust.

Police recorded only isolated incidents Friday from demonstrators outside the Viennese palace where the ball was being held. But Strache was quoted as saying the violence "was like Kristallnacht," referring to the 1938 anti-Semitic riots across Germany and parts of Austria that left streets strewn with broken glass from the windows of Jewish-owned property and synagogues. Kristallnacht was an ominous sign of the Holocaust to follow.

"We are the new Jews," Strache declared to other ball guests, according to Austrian media.

Strache associate Klaus Nittmann, meanwhile, was quoted as saying, "whoever works for this ball immediately gets a Jewish star pinned on him"--a reference to the yellow stars Jews were forced to wear under Nazi rule.

Austria's Jewish community demanded that the state prosecutor investigate the comments and urged Strache to give up his parliamentary immunity from legal action.

Spice Girls reuniting for Queen's jubilee

2012-01-29T07:45:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

The biggest girl group of the 1990s is making a comeback!

Spice Girls singer Melanie Brown revealed the band will be reuniting this summer during a recent interview on Australian TV--but contrary to reports, it won't be for the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony.

"I think the Queen's Jubilee concert is the event I'd be looking at more closely for that to happen," the 36-year-old said. Realizing she revealed too much, the singer quickly changed the subject.

According to The Sun, Brown told TV crew members backstage: "I am going to be in such strife for saying that. It's all so totally bloody top-secret still."

The "Scary" musician and her bandmates--Victoria "Posh" Beckham, 37, Geri "Ginger" Halliwell,39, Emma "Baby" Bunton, 36, and Melaine "Sporty" Chisholm, 38--last performed together during a reunion tour that kicked off in 2007.

"I'm always down for a Spice Girls reunion," Brown said. "I love the Scary hair and platforms. Any time of day or night I'll be there."

To mark 60 years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign, the Diamond Jubilee will take place on June 4, 2012. The group will perform in front of the royal family, including Prince William and Kate Middleton.

"Cats" is back in Vienna after 20 years

2012-01-29T07:13:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

The world famous Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, "Cats," is back in Austria after 20 years. Some 230,000 tickets went on sale for the production which begins in Vienna in two days and almost half of these have already been sold.

Thought of as one of the most successful musicals of all time, the infamous production based on T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" will be performed in Vienna between January 29 to May 28 2012.

Having appeared in London's West End in 1981, the musical then came to Vienna translated two years later, taking the city by storm. The production was performed for almost seven years and attracted around 2.3 million visitors. "Many people who loved it before now want to come with their kids," explained manager Juan Escandell.

The award winning musical tells the story of Jellicle Cats and the choosing of the cats most deserving of going to the 'Heavy Side Lair" or their version of heaven where they come back to life. Each musical number from Andrew Lloyd Webber tells the tale of a different feline and why they think they are most worthy of making the journey.

"Cats" has captured the hearts of some 65 million theatre goers from around the world in its time and continues to attract audiences with its celebrated music and lively performances. In the last 30 years the musical has been performed in 300 cities around the world with the words of such songs "Memory" becoming iconic for so many.

Israeli film takes top documentary prize at Sundance

2012-01-29T06:58:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

January has been a good month for Israeli filmmakers.

"The Law in These Parts," an Israeli documentary that turns a sharply-focused lens on the IDF's judicial system in the West Bank, took the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize in the documentary category at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in Utah this month.

The accolade comes less than a week after Joseph Cedar's feature film "Footnote" received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Film, the 10th such Israeli Oscar nomination in history.

"The Law in These Parts," directed by Israeli Ra'anan ALexandrowiz also earned the title of Best Documentary at the 2011 Jerusalem Film Festival.

In accepting his prize in Park City, Alexandrowicz said the documentary was the hardest film he had ever made. "This is an amazing moment for me as a filmmaker, but it's a film about a painful and unresolved subject," he said. "What you find out in the film and in other films in this festival, is that upholding law doesn't always lead to justice. It can even be used as a tool against certain segments of society. We have to oppose them and if necessary we have to break them."

When he accepted his award at the Jerusalem Film Festival, Alexandrowicz said, "I dedicate this award to all those who break the rules that divide people and promote ideologies under the guise of the law."

Also at Sundance, a film by Palestinian filmmaker and produced according to its official billing, as a joint effort of "Palestine, Israel and France," took the World Cinema Documentary Directing Award.

Palestinian filmmaker Emad Burnat won the award for his "5 Broken Cameras," which he co-directed with Israeli Guy Davidi. The film chronicles the passionate and often violent protests along the security barrier in Bil'in.

"Elizabeth The Queen"

2012-01-28T18:19:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Book Review

From the moment of her ascension to the throne in 1952 at the age of 25, Queen Elizabeth II has been the object of unparalleled scrutiny. But through the fog of glamour and gossip, how well do we really know the world's most famous monarch? Drawing on numerous interviews and never-before-revealed documents, acclaimed biographer Sally Bedell Smith pulls back the curtain to show in intimate detail the public and private lives of Queen Elizabeth II, who has led her country and Commonwealth through the wars and upheavals of the last 60 years with unparalleled composure, intelligence and grace.

In "Elizabeth The Queen," we meet the young girl who suddenly becomes "heiress presumptive" when her uncle abdicated the throne. We meet the 13-year-old Lilibet as she falls in love with a young navy cadet named Philip and becomes determined to marry him, even though her parents prefer wealthier English aristocrats.

We see the teenage Lilibet repairing army trucks during WWII and standing with Winston Churchill on the balcony of Buckingham Place on V-E Day. We see the young Queen struggling to balance the demands of her job with her role as the mother of two young children. Sally Bedell Smith brings us inside the palace doors and into the QUeen's daily routines--the "red boxes" of documents she reviews each day, the weekly meeting she has had with 12 prime ministers, her physically demanding tours abroad and the constant scrutiny of the press--as well as her personal relationships with Prince Philip, her husband of 64 years and the lover of her life; her children and their often-disastrous marriages; her grandchildren and friends.

Compulsively readable and scrupulously researched, "Elizabeth The Queen" is a close-up view of a woman we've known only from a distance, illuminating the lively personality, sense of humor and canny intelligence with which she meets the most demanding work and family obligations. It is also a fascinating window into life at the center of the last great monarchy.

One in five young Germans have never heard of Auschwitz

2012-01-26T20:22:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

A survey conducted two days ahead of International Holocaust Memorial Day revealed today that 21% of Germans between the ages of 18-29 do no know that Auschwitz was a Nazi death camp, French news agency AFP reported.

Nearly a third of the 1,000 people questioned were unaware that Auschwitz, possibly the most notorious of the Nazi concentration camps was even located in today's Poland.

The poll comes just ahead of the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet troops on January 27 1945. Traditionally, Germany marks this anniversary with official memorial ceremonies for the victims of the Holocaust.

The survey also showed that of people aged 30 and older, 95% had heard of Auschwitz and the atrocities committed there, but fewer than 70% were able to name the country it lies in.

The British Daily Mail also reported that almost half of the Germans polled stated that they had never visited the site of a concentration camp, despite the fact that Germany has turned all the camps on its soil into memorials for the victims.

Azerbaijan foils assassination attempt on Israeli ambassador

2012-01-25T18:14:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Diplomatic Circles Report

Security officials in Azerbaijan arrest three men suspected of being sent by Iranian intelligence officials to assassinate Israeli ambassador Michael Lotem. Some reports say a nearby Chabad house was also targeted. Suspicious letters reportedly sent to several Israeli consulates in the U.S. and Europe.

The suspects allegedly purchased weapons and explosive materials and claimed their aim was to avenge recent assassinations of Iranian scientists. Iran has accused Israel and the West of a string of mysterious explosions in Iran that have killed several nuclear scientists and damaged arms depots in an effort to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions. Israeli officials have neither confirmed nor denied involvement, while Western officials have vehemently denied involvement.

According to some reports about the alleged plot the target was not the embassy but a nearby Chabad house and rabbis who run the Ohr Aner School in Baku. In 2008, an attempt was made to detonate a car bomb near the embassy, reportedly in an effort to avenge the death of Hezbollah mastermind Imad Mughniyeh, who had been killed in a bomb blast in Damascus earlier that year. Hezbollah accused Israel of murdering Mughniyeh. Israel has never admitted responsibility for the incident.

"At this time when our enemies in the north are refraining from offensive activity for fear of harsh retaliation, we are seeing an effort on the part of Hezbollah and other hostile groups to carry out vicious terrorist attacks far from Israel's borders," IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz said today. "I suggest they don't test our resolve."

A senior defense official told "Israel Hayom" today that several factors were behind the recent wave of attempt to attack Israelis abroad, which had included the discovery of a terror cell in Thailand and a failed attempt to attack Israelis in Bulgaria. As well as retaliation for the recent spate of mysterious attacks on Iranian scientists, another motive might be the fourth anniversary of Mughniyeh's death. The official also cited anti-Israeli sentiments stirred by the Arab Spring uprisings as a possible motive for terrorist organizations to attack Israelis. According to the official, there have been other attempts to harm Israelis outside the country that have not yet been publicized.

Meanwhile, the FBI said a suspicious letter containing a white powder was found at the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, similar to letters found at other Israeli consulates during the past two days, according to a report in the Atlanta Journal Constitution today. "There are a lot white-powder letters that are going to Israeli consulates around the country. There may be more out there," FBI spokesman Chris Allen said.

Israeli film 'Footnote' to tread Oscar red carpet

2012-01-25T07:12:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Israeli director Joseph Cedar will make his second trip to the Academy Awards with his movie "Footnote." The nomination marks the 10th time an Israeli film has been up for Best Foreign Language Film. Cedar: "I feel like the luckiest guy."

Four years after stepping on to the red carpet of the Academy Awards for his film "Beaufort," Israeli director Joseph Cedar will be returning this year with his new movie "Footnote." The film was officially nominated in the category of Best Foreign Language FIlm and will compete for a golden statuette at the 84th Academy Awards in Los Angles on Feb. 26.

"Footnote" is a family drama about a father and son who are both Talmudic scholars at the Hebrew University, and involves a rivalry surrounding the acceptance of the Israeli Prize. It stars legendary Israeli comedic actor Shlomo Bar-Aba as the father and Lior Ashkenazi of "Walk on Water" fame as his son. In September, "Footnote" clinched the Ophir Award--the Israeli equivalent of the Oscar--for best picture as well as eight other trophies. The film also won Best Screenplay award at the Cannes International Film Festival in May and was snapped up by Sony Pictures Classics for North American distribution.

Only minutes after it was announced that "Footnote" was nominated for an Oscar contender, a press conference was hurriedly organized in Tel Aviv. Cedar looked bewildered at the sight of the masses of camera crews surrounding him.

"It must be a slow news day," the director said with a smile. "I feel like a lucky guy. There's is no other way to say it. Despite expectations to the contrary, the film was able to garner fans and that is a major source of satisfaction. We were aware that initial screenings had been warmly received, but still we were very surprised," Cedar said.

"Higher Ground" (2011)

2012-01-24T21:24:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

The same intelligence, wit and mature spirit that actress Vera Farmiga ("Up in the Air") brings to her performances is richly apparent in her directorial debut as well, the inquisitive spiritual drama "Higher Ground."

Based on Carolyn Briggs' memoir "This Dark World," and adapted by Farmiga with Briggs and Tim Metcalfe, the film depicts the journey of Midwesterner Corinne from godly wonderment to roiling dissatisfaction. As a teenager, literary-minded, curious Corinne (played in these scenes by Farmiga's youngest sister, Taissa), bristles at the disintegrating union of her mother and father.

When her own blissful romance with a long-haired rock guitarist named Ethan quickly settles into a workaday marriage, young parenthood and near-tragedy, the pair double down on their bond by turning to the Bible as a way to make sense of their changing lives.

Farmiga and Joshua Leonard pick up the roles of Corinne and Ethan as adults, when they've settled into a tightly knit, rural evangelical Christian community marked by hippie-ish conventions (folk-tined song circles, sexual happiness chatter) and ultra-conservative attitudes about gender roles. So while Ethan can find fulfillment as a musician for Jesus, Corinne's attempt at self-expression in church is reprimanded as "preaching to men."

As doubt creeps in Corinne's mind with each twist of life, Farmiga's beatific features tighten ever so slightly, her character discovering the importance of self-determined strength in a world where dogma and uncertainty don't easily mix.

At a time when the country seems willfully divided into camps of believers and nonbelievers, "Higher Ground" treads an in-between area with admirable compassion and insight.

The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

2012-01-24T21:00:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

"The Life of Emile Zola" is a biographical film about French author Emile Zola. Set in the mid through late 19th century, it depicts his friendship with noted painter Paul Cezanne, and his rise to fame through his prolific writing, with particular focus on his involvement in the Dreyfus affair. The film had its premiere in Los Angeles and was a great success both critically and financially, contemporary reviews cited it as the best biographical film made up to that time. It is still held in high regard by many critics. It also won the Oscar for Best Picture.

Struggling write Emile Zola (Paul Muni) shares a drafty Paris attic with his friend, painter Paul Cezanne. A chance encounter with a street prostitute hiding from a police raid leads to his first bestseller, "Nana," an expose of the steamy underside of Parisian life.

Other successful books follow. Zola becomes rich and famous, he marries ALexandrine and settles down to a comfortable life in his mansion. One day his old friend Cezanne still poor and unknown, visits him before leaving the city. He tells Zola that he has become complacent, a far cry from the zealous reformer of his youth.

Meanwhile, a French secret agent steals a letter addressed to a military officer in the German embassy. The letter confirms there is a spy within the top French army staff. With little thought, the army commanders decide that Jewish Captain Alfred Dreyfus is the traitor. He is courtmartialed and imprisoned on Devil's Island in French Guyana.

Later, Colonel Picquart, the new chief of intelligence, discovers evidence implicating Major Esterhazy as the spy, but he is ordered by his superiors to remain silent, as this revelation would embarrass them. He is quickly reassigned to a distant post.

Years go by. Finally, Dreyfu's loyal wife Lucie pleads with Zola to take up her husband's cause. Zola is reluctant to give up his comfortable life, but the evidence she has brought him piques his curiosity. He publishes a letter in the newspaper accusing the army of covering up a monstrous injustice. Zola barely escapes from an angry mob incited by agents provocateurs employed by the military.

As he had expected, he is brought to trial for libel. His attorney does his best but the presiding judge refuses to allow him to bring up the Dreyfus affair and the military witnesses all commit perjury with exception of Picquart. Zola is found guilty and sentenced to a year is prison. He reluctantly accepts the advice of his friends and flees to England, where he continues to write on behalf of Dreyfus.

A new administration finally admits that Dreyfus is innocent those responsible for the coverup are forced to resign or are dismissed and Esterhazy flees the country. However, Zola dies of carbon monoxide poisoning due to a faulty stove the night before the public ceremony in which Dreyfus is exonerated.

The film won three Academy Awards and was nominated in another seven categories.

One in five Germans still harbors anti-Semitic feelings, a new study shows

2012-01-24T20:30:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Report commissioned by German parliament says anti-Semitism still rooted in German society. Many Germans agree with anti-Semitic statements such as "Jews have too much power in business."

More than 60 years after the end of WWII, anti-Semitism is still rampant in Germany, a new study by an independent committee of experts appointed by the German parliament has revealed. The study, released Monday, ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan 27, shows that 20% of Germans harbor "latent" anti-Semitic feelings.

The study--which draws on several different surveys and other research--puts Germans in the middle of the pack in Europe, with a German university survey showing more latent anti-Semitism in countries such as Poland, Hungary and Portugal and less in Italy, Britain, the Netherlands and France.

"Anti-Semitism in our society is based on widespread prejudices, deeply rooted cliches and on sheer ignorance about Jews and Judaism," one of the author, London-based German history professor Peter Longerich told reporters at a press conference to unveil the report in Berlin.

The study shows that about one-fifth of Germans agree with anti Semitic statements such as "Jews have too much power in business." It also shows that anti-Semitism runs deep in mainstream society, citing children's frequent use of the word "Jew" as an insult in playgrounds. The report also cited chants from crowds at soccer matches where Jewish teams play shouting "Jews to the gas chamber," or "Bring back Auschwitz."

The rise of the internet has made this a particularly volatile problem, the study's author's add, because it provides a platform for extremists to spread their hateful messages. The report did say, however, that the vast majority of anti-Semitic crimes are committed by right-wing extremists who number only about 26,000 of Germany's more than 80 million residents.

Germany Marks Anniversary of Wannsee Conference

2012-01-20T10:27:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Germany somberly marked the 70th anniversary of the infamous Wannsee Conference today with the country's president saying the meeting that laid out plans for the Holocaust still caused "anger and shame."

At the same villa on the shore of Berlin's Wannsee lake where the original meeting took place, now a museum, President Christian Wulff told an audience that even though many years have passed, Germany should never be allowed to forget its responsibility for the genocide of some 6 million European Jews. "Therefore it is important and a national task to keep the memory alive," he said.

On January 20,1942, high-level members of the Nazi party and other bureaucrats met at the villa to orchestrate large-scale plans for the extermination of Jews. At the time, hundreds of thousands of Jews had already been murdered, but many historians believe that the conference was the point at which Adolf Hitler's plans for their industrialized killing were laid out explicitly for his top officials.

These men included Nazi party members and members of the Ss, the party's military force, which was to oversee the plans.

"This place and the name 'Wannsee' has become a symbol for the bureaucratically organized decision between life worth living and life not worth living, for state organized extermination, for the planned and official systematic killing of Europe's Jews," Wulff said.

Rent Hitler's 'Wolf's Lair'

2012-01-18T18:19:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Looking for a secluded vacation spot? For $139,000 a year you can rent the bunker complex used by Hitler during WWII, reports the Telegraph. Known as the "Wolf's Lair," the 32-acre site was built in a Polish forest and became the central headquarters of the Nazi dictator from 1941 to 1944. Drawback: German forces destroyed much of it as they fled.

The Wolf's Lair was big enough to accommodate 2,000 Nazi staff and personnel. It was also the setting for a failed assassination attempt on Hitler in July 1944, popularized in the Tom Cruise movie "Valkyrie." The Polish Forestry Service acquired the site after the war and it now draws 180,000 tourists each year. Forest officials hope an investor will make it even more accessible to tourists, notes the Daily Mail.

Plans to make 'Mein Kampf' available in German could be illegal

2012-01-17T18:25:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Plans by a British publisher to make segments of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" available in the German language may run into legal trouble.

Publisher Peter McGee said he plans to publish three annotated excerpts of the text, which remains under copyright protection, in Germany until 2015, 70 years after Hitler's death, according to the Associated Press. The Bavarian Finance Ministry, which holds the copyright, told AP today that plans to print excerpts in Germany before then may violate the law.

While a U.S.-based Holocaust survivor's organization opposes McGee's move, Dieter Graumann, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told Der Spiegel that he would not object to the annotated publication of the text in Germany. Hitler wrote his anti-Semitic diatribe in 1924 while in prison in Landsberg. He later left the printing rights to the state of Bavaria, which has banned publication in Germany, and tried to prevent it elsewhere.

In 2010, the Munich-based Institute for Contemporary History was granted permission to reprint the work after the copyright lapses. Historians there are working on an annotated edition.

Bavarian authorities have reiterated frequently that they would not lift the ban prematurely in Germany out of concern that right-wingers could legally use it. But Steven Kramer general secretary of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told reporters in 2009 that it made sense to publish the book "to prevent neo-Nazis from profiting from it" and to "remove many of its false, persistent myths."

The book is available to researchers in libraries, but it is currently not legal to publish it in Germany. However, translations of the book are available abroad and sometimes make their way into Germany. In addition, unauthorized versions are available on far-right and Islamic extremist websites based outside of Germany. Germany bans public displays of Nazi symbols and hate material, including on the internet.

In Heaven Underground: The Weissensee Jewish Cemetary

2012-01-13T19:42:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Movie Review

In an area of northeast Berlin, Weissensee Jewish Cemetery is a quiet, peaceful 100-acre retreat that holds the graves of 115,000 people and houses a remarkable archive with a wealth of family histories and other information that dates back 130 years to the very establishment of the burial ground during the 1850s. It has, since its gates were opened, withstood all of the warfare and social unrest that swept over Europe during the ensuing decades, remaining intact up the present day. Weissensee is the oldest Jewish cemetery still in use in Europe. In fact, it has never closed never interrupted its operation, never ceased to serve the Jewish community--not even during the years of Nazi domination of Germany and the heinous discrimination against, transportation and murder of Jews.

It seems a miracle that the Nazis did not seize, loot and destroy this cemetery as they did other centers of Jewish tradition and culture. Some say it is because the Nazis were extremely superstitious and feared ghosts. Never-the-less the cemetery remained undisturbed and other than the natural evolutions that occur with time, as it was meant to be" a peaceful resting place for all those interred within its walls. Every gravestone is still in place and each now stands as an historical monument. Each is a holocaust survivor.

Showing tremendous empathy and understanding, filmmaker Britta Wauer interviews various people who are affiliated in some way with the cemetery, or who have journeyed from the far reaches of the world to visit it. Wauer's subjects are an appealing lot. She follows tourists, mourners, a third-generation grave digger, a world-wise rabbi, a family who actually lives at the cemetery and a bird watcher who is studying birds of prey. All of their stories, illustrated with archival footage and home photos, are interwoven and contribute greatly to the film's overall appeal and meaning.

But, really, the film's lead character is Weissensee Jewish Cemetery itself, a place that houses the dead, but has survived to become a symbol of human resilience, and of the importance of recognizing and respecting tradition. For many it has became a place for deep contemplation of the meaning of life and death.

Ricky Gervais: Controversy "irrelevant to me"

2012-01-13T19:31:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Ricky Gervais said on Friday he has already come up with jokes against "specific targets" for his weekend Golden Globes Award hosting gig--and that he will stand by every gag.

But the comedian said he had felt no enmity with any of the A-list Hollywood stars who will be attending Sunday's televised awards dinner and ceremony, and knew no-one who was upset by his acerbic comments last year.

"I know what I'm going to say outside the odd ad lib. I can justify it. I stand by it as I do every joke I did last year," Gervais told reporters.

But he kept mum about which celebrities would feel his acid tongue on his third stint at hosting the Golden Globes. Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Meryl Streep are among the nominees and are expected to attend.

Saudi hacker publishes new details of Israeli credit cards in second assault

2012-01-09T19:45:00.001-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

The young Saudi who goes under the alias, Ox Omar, who hacked Israeli accounts and published details of 18,000 credit cards on Tuesday, released a new list of 11,000 Israeli credit cards on Saturday according to Al Arabiya and Reuters.

In an interview with the Israeli newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, the hacker Omar said the newly released information includes names, telephone numbers and addresses of credit card holders and he promised to expose another back of 80,000 credit cards.

Omar said that he is determined to financially and socially hurt Israel.

"This is only the beginning and you will see that I will leak information of other credit cards that contain detailed information of Israelis, in addition to military and technical documents," the hacker who is only 19-years-old told the newspaper.

"Israel attacks and kills innocent Palestinians and commits genocide against them in addition to the international law violation," he added.

Asked to comment on whether he thought he was hurting Israeli Arabs, he dismissed the notion that Arabs live in Israel adding that "Arabs live in occupied Palestine and Israel is a just part of the Palestinian occupied state...Arabs is Israel should help in getting rid of the occupation."

The young hacker told the newspaper that he has purchased items totaling $200,000 from the credit cards he has hacked into over the last two years. The Bank of Israel was looking into the incident a spokesman said.

Israel on alert

Israeli officials said on Friday they were concerned the country may be under cyber attack after a wave of credit card code thefts, Reuters reported.

Israeli officials say the hacker has also released e mail addresses and passwords but have yet to confirm where he is based. "This incident should be treated as a cyber attack," Justice Ministry Official Yoram Hacohen told the Ma'ariv daily.

The data theft was one of the worst that Israel has said it has faced and while the financial damage was reportedly minimal, the breaches have heightened concerns about the potential use of stolen information by Israel's enemies.

"These matters are worrisome," Science and Technology Minister Dan Herskowitz told Israel Radio, calling the incident a "sample of the great danger out in cyberspace."

Leopold Hawelka, luminary of Viennese cafe culture, dies aged 100

2011-12-29T19:11:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Andy Warhol stopped by for a coffee. So did princes, paupers, playwrights, poets and untold thousands for whom a visit to Vienna was unthinkable without a cup served by the bow-tied little man with the perpetual dancing smile.

In this city of more than 1,900 cafes, Leopold Hawelka was an icon, as much part of Cafe Hawelka as its tables--scarred by burned-out cigarettes, their marble tops worn smooth by the elbows of four generations. He served tourists, the rich and the famous, and the neediest of the needy--the ragged Viennese masses who crowded his establishment over a free glass of water to escape the cold of their bombed-out city after the second world war.

Hawelka's daughter, Herta, said he died in his sleep and "without pain" on Thursday aged 100, leaving behind a legacy as intimately linked with the city as any of its palaces or art collections.

Today--as it was generations ago--tuxedoed waiters flit around tables, precariously balancing countless Viennese coffee varieties and trademark yeast dumpling on silver trays. Even the ashtrays survived Vienna's no-smoking laws, though the staff put them out in recent years only when ordered to do so by Hawelka, keeping a sharp eye on things from a stuffed brocade couch in the back of his establishment.

Though his visits grew increasingly rare as he neared 100, Hawelka left no doubt who was in charge when he did drop by.

"He remains our director-general," said grandson Michael Hawelka earlier this year. "Whenever he is here, he's the boss."

The war on the Christmas tree

2011-12-29T17:20:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

German settlers decorated Christmas trees in Pennsylvania in the early 18th century, but it took time for the custom to catch on in the rest of the country, where the tree was seen as a symbol of pagan idolatry.

In Ohio, it was not until 1851, that a German pastor, the Rev. Heinrich Christian Schwan, dared to put a decorated tree inside his Cleveland church. His act was met with local outrage. The tree, said one newspaper, was a "nonsensical, asinine, moronic, absurdity."

The editors castigated Lutherans for "groveling before a shrub." Schwan was forced to take it down, but the following year he convinced community leaders to relent by arguing that the Christmas tree was a long-held Christian tradition, in his native country.

Yet the concerns he encountered persisted among some Christians well into the 20th century. They point to Jeremiah 10:1-4, which condemns the "vanity" of cutting down a "tree from the forest" and decorating it with silver and gold. In 1991, theologian Dr. Ernest L. Martin wrote, "The modern Christmas tree is a prime example in our day of what the heathen were doing in the time of Jeremiah."

"The Garden of the Finzi-Continis" (1970)

2011-12-27T19:01:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

"The Garden of the Finzi-Continis" is an Italian film based on the novel of the same name.

In the late 1930s, in Ferrara, Italy, a group of young friends get together for afternoon of tennis and happy times. Some of them are Jewish and a rising tide of Fascism has imposed increasingly anti-Semitic restrictions in their lives.

Barred from regular tennis clubs, they go to play at the grand, walled estate owned by the Finzi-Contini, a wealthy, intellectual and sophisticated Jewish family. The two young Finzi-Contini, Alberto and his sister Micol, have organized a tennis tournament. Oblivious to the threats around them, life still seems to be sunny at the large Finzi-Contini estate, keeping the rest of the world at bay.

Into the circle steps Giorgio, a Jew from the middle class who falls in love with Micol. She seems to toy with him and even makes love to one of his pals while she knows Giorgio is watching. While his love cannot seem to break through to her to draw her out of her garden idyll, the forces of politics close in.

By 1943, all the young Jews who used to visit the Garden of the Finzi-Continis have been arrested.

The "Garden of the Finzi-Continis" won the Academy Award for Best Foreign language Film and won the Golden Bear at the 21st Berlin International Film Festival in 1971.

Declaw Your Cat in Israel, Spend a Year in Prison

2011-12-08T17:46:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Israel, land of shredded couch corners? Maybe. At the end of November, the country passed a bill that bans the declawing of cats--with some seriously stiff penalties. Those convicted of the crime will face up to a year in prison and a $20,000 fine reports Discover. If the idea of banning the practice shocks you, you're probably American. About 25% of cats here are believed to be declawed, but doing so is illegal in Europe, Australia, Brazil and beyond.

"The Bicycle Thief" (1948)

2011-12-08T17:17:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

"The Bicycle Thief" tells the story of a poor man searching the streets of Rome for his stolen bike which he needs to be able to work. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Luigi Bartolini and stars Lamberto Maggiorani as the poor man searching for his lost bike and Enzo Staiola as his cherubic loyal son.

It was given an Honorary Academy Award in 1950 and just four years after its release, was deemed the greatest film of all time by the magazine "Sight and Sound's" poll of filmmakers and critics in 1952.

Antonio Ricci is an unemployed man in the depressed post World War II economy of Italy. With a wife and two children to support, he is desperate for work. He is delighted to at least get a good job pasting up posters, but he must have a bicycle. He is told unequivocally, "No bike, no job."

His wife Maria pawns their bedsheets in order to get money to redeem his bike from the pawnbroker. On his first day of work, Antonio's bike is stolen by a young thief who snatches it when he is putting up a poster. From there we see Antonio and his young son Bruno searching all over Rome for the missing bicycle.

One heartbreaking scene--during a rare treat of a meal in a fine Italian restaurant, Antonio and his son ask for a pizza but are told by the snobby waiter that "this isn't a pizzaria." So they order a simple sandwich of melted Mozzerella on bread and while they eat with their hands, a snooty well-nourished and well dressed Italian boy (the same age as Bruno), dines on a sumptuous lunch buffet, giving Bruno condescending looks as he twirls his pasta on fine silverware.

The look on poor Bruno's face tells it all...he is dirt poor and must rely on his father to survive. To survive the father tells him he needs a bike. Sitting on the curb outside a packed football stadium, Antonio sees hundreds and hundreds of parked bicycles. As he cradles his head in despair, a fleet of bicycles speed past him. After vacillating for some time, he tries to steal one outside an apartment. However, he is caught by a crowd of angry men who slap and humiliate him in front of his son. The bicycle owner sees how upset Bruno is and mercifully declines to press charges. Antonio and his son walk away, dejected into the dirty streets of Rome.

"M" Murderers Among Us (1931)

2011-12-08T09:20:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

German American director Fritz Lang presents his first "talkie"--and cinema's first serial killer--in this 1931 classic whose central villain was later used in Nazi propaganda films to illustrate the evils of sexual deviance.

Propelled by a compulsion he can't control, plump pedophile Hans Becker (Peter Lorre in a winning performance), escapes the eye of the law--but not the wrath of the Berlin underworld being blamed for his crimes. Otto Wernicke co-stars.

Now on Twitter: Joseph von Nazareth

2011-12-07T07:25:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

There might not be room at the inn, but you can always squeeze 140 characters onto Twitter.

Joseph of Nazareth, aka Joseph von Nazareth because he tweets in German, has taken to the Twitterverse to broadcast his tiny family's tribulations this CHristmas reports Der Spiegel.

"Do you have any carpenter's work in Jerusalem? If so, I'm the man for the job," he recently tweeted. "Please note that currently I can only take orders in Nazareth and the surrounding area."

The anonymous tweeter--a self described third generation carpenter from Nazareth--started posting in Joseph's voice the first day of December and plans to continue through the Big Day. Just now he's a bit upset that Mary is pregnant. He's certain the baby isn't his.

The 10 Best Cities to Live

2011-12-03T08:20:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

If you're looking for the world's top quality of living, get thee to Vienna, the elegant European capital that tops the list of best cities to live, reports Reuters. The other end of the spectrum is found, perhaps unsurprisingly in Baghdad. The rankings are compiled by consulting group Mercer, which evaluated cities based on public safety, housing, local economy, recreation and a bevy of other quality-of-life indicators. The top 10"

1. Vienna, Austria

2. Zurich, Switzerland

3. Auckland, New Zealand

4. Munich, Germany

5. Dusseldorf, Germany

6. Vancouver, Canada

7. Frankfurt, Germany

8. Geneva, Switzerland

9. Tie: Copenhagen, Denmark and Bern, Switzerland

Primo Levi: Tragedy of an Optimist

2011-11-24T16:46:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Book Review

The writer Primo Levi (1919-87) once said that "No one can say what his past would have been like 'if.'" If it had not been for what happened to Levi at the age of 24, this unassuming Italian chemist might have lived and died unknown to all but his family and friends. The Holocaust changed his life and gave him an intense need to testify.

Until now, the world's representation of Primo Levi came almost entirely through his own writings. His public self--shy, intelligent, diffident--in some respects disguised the man within. This first bio delves deeply into the life and mind of a controversial writer, one who was really a philosophical student of life itself.

"Primo Levi" explores the complex nature of a man who was both a strong and spirited survivor as well as a man prone to severe depression, a man who felt misunderstood and certain that future generations would forget and deny what many would call the central informing disaster of the century.

Primo Levi was born in Turin in 1919, the son of an educated middle-class Jewish family. In 1941, he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in chemistry. Even with honors, as a Jew he could not get a job until he was finally hired to work under a false name at a nickel mine in the mountains near Turin. In 1942 he transferred to a pharmaceutical firm in Milan. Within a year the Nazis had arrived and Levi joined a group of partisans in the Val d'Aosta. In December 1943 he was captured by the Fascist militia and deported to Auschwitz in a convoy of 650 "items" of whom 525 went directly to the gas chambers, the rest to the labor camps. Levi and a few others survived.

After his liberation Levi returned to his native village with one ambition: to bear witness to all that he had seen. "I had a torrent of urgent things to tell the civilized world. I felt the tattooed number on my arm burning like a sore."

His testimony is conveyed in a series of extraordinary books, the first of which "If This is a Man" (1947) bears crucial witness to the horrors of the Holocaust while at the same time asserting through calm, almost serene prose the triumph of dignity and reason over brutality and baseness. It is as Philip Toynbee wrote, " a great book because this man was able to match his experiences both with his character and with his words."

On April 11, 1987, Primo Levi fell to the bottom of the staircase of the building in which he was born, widely believed a suicide.

412 pages

'South Park' is set into 2016

2011-11-17T18:02:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Right on! "South Park" is going to be around for a long time.

Comedy Central has reached a new deal with Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of the controversial animated series, that will extend the comedy into 2016, sending "South Park" into a milestone 20th season.

Parker and Stone, who are also key forces behind the smash Broadway hit "The Book of Mormon," will continue to write, direct and edit each episode as they have since the show's 1997 premiere.

"It Is No Dream: The Life of Theodor Herzl" (2012)

2011-11-17T16:06:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson
Movie Review

The latest production of Moriah Films is "It Is No Dream: The Life of Theodor Herzl" exploring the life and times of Theodor Herzl, father of the modern state of Israel.

Narrated by Academy Award winner, Sir Ben Kingsley and starring Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz as the voice of Herzl, the film examines how Herzl, a well known journalist and playwright, an assimilated, Budapest born Jew, horrified by the Dreyfus trial in Paris and the anti-Semitisim he saw spreading across Europe, took upon himself the task of attempting to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine against all odds.

Over the span of 8 years, Herzl organized and led a worldwide political movement that within 50 years led to the establishment of the state of Israel. The film follows Herzl as he meets with Kings, Prime Ministers, Ambassadors, a Sultan, a Pope and government ministers from Constantinople to St. Petersburg from Paris to Berlin, from Vienna to Vilna in his quest to build a Jewish nation.

"The Blue Angel" (1930)

2011-11-16T17:33:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Movie Review

Arguably one of the best German movies ever made, "The Blue Angel" is a film directed by Josef von Sternberg in 1930 and based on Heinrich Mann's novel "Professor Unrat." The film is considered to be the first major German sound movie and it brought world fame to actress Marlene Dietrich.

"The Blue Angel" follows Immanuel Rath (Emil Jannings) through a transformation from highly esteemed educator at the local college to a cabaret clown in Weimar Germany. Rath's descent begins when he punishes several of his students for circulating photos of the beautiful Lola Lola (Dietrich) the headliner for the local cabaret, The Blue Angel. Hoping to catch the boys at the club, Professor Rath goes there later that evening and meets Lola in person.

Consumed with desire and determined to remain at Lola's side, Rath returns to the night club the following evening (to return a pair of panties that were smuggled into his coat by one of his students) and stays the night with the blond temptress. The next morning reeling from his night of passion, Rath arrives late to school to find his classroom in chaos and the principal furious with his behavior.

Rath subsequently resigns his position at the academy to marry Lola, but their happiness is short-lived as they soon fritter away the teacher's meager savings and Rath is forced to take a position as a clown in Lola's cabaret troupe to pay the bills. His growing insecurities about Lola's profession as a "shared woman" eventually reduce him to a mere shell of the man he used to be, consumed by his lust and jealousy.

The troupe returns to his hometown where he is ridiculed and berated by the Blue Angel patrons, the very people he himself used to deride. As Rath performs his last act, he witness his wife embrace and kiss the strongman Mazeppa, her new love interest and Rath is enraged to the point of insanity. He attempts to strangle Lola, but is beaten down by the other members of the troupe and locked in a straightjacket.

Later that night, Rath is freed and makes his way towards his old classroom. Rejected, humiliated and destitute, he dies in remorse, clenching the desk at which once taught.

Von Sternberg called the story "the downfall of an enamored man" and called Rath "a figure of self satisfied dignity brought low." Some critics saw the film as an allegory for pre-war Germany, but von Sternberg was very clear that he did not intend to make a political stand: "The year was 1929, Germany was undivided although the real Germany its schools and other places pictured in the film were not German and reality failed to interest me."

"The Blue Angel" is famous for introducing the world to Sternberg's ingenue, Marlene Dietrich. Her radiant sensuality might be blamed for censorship the film faced in Pasadena California. The film was banned in Nazi Germany in 1933 as were all of the works of Heinrich Mann. Yet it is known that Hitler often viewed the film in his private cinema and was mortified when Dietrich crossed the Rhine in American Army uniform a few days before his suicide.

Dietrich's portrayal of a liberated night club performer not only cemented her stardom, but also established a modern embodiment of a vixen. Lola's lusty songs slither their way into Rath's heart, entrapping him and sealing his fate.

Lola's nightclub act has been parodied on film by Danny Kaye in drag as Fralein Lilli in "On the Double," Madeline Kahn as Lili von Schtupp in "Blazing Saddles" and Helmut Berger in Luchino Visconti's The Damned.

"Paulene Kael: A Life in the Dark"

2011-11-12T09:23:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Book Review

In her nearly quarter-century tenure (1968-1991) reviewing films at The New Yorker, Paulene Kael became the most widely read, the most influential the most powerful and often enough, the most provocative critic in America.

Her sucess was, in part, a matter of timing, for she was fortunate to have come of age during a great, fertile period of filmmaking. But it was her passionate engagement with the work of a new generation of artists--and her ability to share her enthusiasm with a fresh, vernacular and confrontational style--that changed the face of film criticism.

On the 10th anniversary of her death comes the first full-scale biography of the critic. Brian Kellow has interviewed family members, friends, colleagues, and adversaries and written a richly detailed portrait of this remarkable, often relentlessly driven woman, from her youth in rural California to her early struggles to establish her writing career to her peak years at The New Yorker, where she often found herself at odds with its legendary editor, William Shawn, who considered her brashness an almost perverse affront. It was there that Kael became the aribiter of taste for a devoted readership of movie lovers and a career maker or breaker, for directors, actors and critic working in one of the most astonishing bursts of creativity in film history.

Kellow examines the controversy Kael generated by overstepping what many considered the boundaries of critical propriety. He follows her successes as well as her battles, her fights with fellow critics and her abortive attempt to launch a careers a Hollywood producer in 1979. The book includes a large supporting cast of filmmakers with whom Kael interacted including Jean Renoir, Robert Altman, Warren Beatty and James Toback.

For anyone who loves film or is concerned about the role of criticism in the arts, Pauline Kael A life in the Dark is a revelatory biography of one of the most influential women of the past half century.

SHARON: The Life of a Leader by Gilad Sharon

2011-11-04T23:19:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

By the son and intimate confidant of former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon comes an unparalleled look at the life and work of one of the world's most powerful leaders.

"My father was very popular among the women," laughs Gilad Sharon in an interview at the University of Judaism. "He received lots of love letters that I discovered. Even his personal secretary was infatuated with him."

From his youth as a soldier to his service in government, Ariel Sharon has personified Israel's unyielding drive for security. He revolutionized the Israel Defense Forces and established the anti-terror commando Unit 101. His leadership during the Six-Day and Yom Kippur wars made him a national hero and propelled him into the political arena. As terror grew throughout the Middle East at the end of the 20th century, Sharon's commitment to protect and bring peace to his people underscored his election to prime minister in 2001. But within months of taking office, the 9/11 attacks shook the Western work--thrusting the controversial statesman into the center of international affairs.

"My father entered civilian life, thoughts about politics not far from his mind. The founding of the Likud party which was composed of Herut and Liberal Party members was what made the 1977 change in government possible. My father's contribution helped give practical meaning to Israeli democracy: without the Likud, Labor would never have been ousted from office and Menachem Begin would never have assembled a government. The founding of Likud was my father's idea. He pulled it off and in the process received an eye-opening lesson in the workings of Israeli politics."

Gilad Sharon, the prime minister's youngest son and close confidant, has combed through his father's vast archive--conversations, personal notes, diaries, daybooks, military directives, correspondence and thousands of other documents--to offer a rare, intimate and compelling look at one man's evolution into one of the world's most powerful and influential figures.

"Without the Palestinian terror that was growing, his life would have taken a different direction. Perhaps he otherwise would have become a journalist or a writer, a good outlet for his rich imagination and creativity. Or perhaps a lawyer, channeling his overflowing energy and profound empathy into that profession.

Filled with news-making revelations, Sharon provides a rare view of global politics in action as well as a window onto the day-to-day life of a prime minister. A dazzling portrait of a legendary elder statesman and the nation he helped to build here is a masterful biography and an illuminating analysis of modern Middle Eastern politics and the forces that have shaped this volatile region.

'Paranormal Activity 3' scares up $54 million debut

2011-10-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Weekend Box Office

1. "Paranormal Activity 3" $54 million

2. "Real Steel" $11.3 million

3. "Footloose" $10.85 million

4. "The Three Muskateers" $8.8 million

5. "The Ides of March" $4.9 million

6. "Dolphin Tale" $4.2 million

7. "Moneyball" $4.05 million

8. "Johnny English" $3.8 million

9. "The Thing" $3.1 million

10. "50/50" $2.8 million

Germany Reopens Hundreds of Nazi Investigations

2011-10-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Now that John Demjanjuk has been convicted of war crimes, Germany has reopened investigations into hundreds of other former Nazi death camp guards, looking for ones who might share his profile. Demjanjuk's conviction sets a precedent that could allow others to be charged, prosecutors say, although they are waiting until his appeals process finishes to actually file charges. The investigations, however, have already begun, and the Simon Wiesenthal Center's head Nazi hunter will start tracking down war criminals in the next two months, the Guardian reports.

Demjanjuk became the first person to be convicted in a Nazi-era case without direct evidence he took part in a specific murder--prosecutors argued that proving he was a guard at a camp whose sole purpose was killing people was enough. Even the very narrowest scenario--estimating that of about 4,000 possible suspects, 2% are still alive and 50% of those people are healthy enough to stand trail--still allows for an estimated 40 people to be prosecuted, says the head of the Nazi war crimes division of the German prosecutor's office "so there is incredible potenital."

Hitler Jewish Hate Letter Bared in L.A. Exhibit

2011-10-04T04:28:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

A Jewish "hate letter" written by Adolph Hitler will go on public display for the first time ever in a Los Angeles museum. The four-page typed letter, written years before Hitler came to power and believed to be his first significant writing about Jews, expresses his disdain for Jews and warns of the "uncompromising removal of the Jews altogether," reports the Los Angeles Times.

Such a goal can only be accomplished he wrote, " under a government of National strength and never under a government of national impotence."

What began as a private letter, one man's opinion, 22 years later became the 'Magna Carta' of an entire nation and led to the nearly total extinction of the Jewish people," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Simon Wisenthal Center, which acquired the letter last spring.

"The Dictator" set for May 11, 2012 release

2011-10-03T17:26:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Last I heard, Sacha Baron Cohen was teaming up with Borat and Bruno director Larry Charles on a new film called "The Dictator," and every studio in town was vying for the project. Well, Paramount ultimately snatched it up and now has set a release date.

The plot is as follows: The film tells the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed. It is inspired by the best selling novel" Zabibah and The King by Saddam Hussein."

Paramount announced that the film will be released worldwide on May 11, 2012.

The actor has been seen shooting scenes for the film in New York City, wearing a Stars and Stripes tracksuit, but his look as The Dictator has been shrouded in secrecy.

Funny girl Anna Faris "Scary Movie" and "What's Your Number?" 34, will play the organic enthusiast who shows him the possibilities of a new life.

Lion King Keeps Crown, Beats Moneyball

2011-09-26T07:31:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Moneyball may have scored a homerun with critics, but at the end of the weekend the only number that mattered was 3D, as Disney's souped-up re-release of its 17-year-old Lion King topped the box office for the second weekend in a row. "The Lion King" earned another $22.1 million over the weekend, thanks to strong matinees and a rainy Friday, bringing its release revenues to $61.6 million.

Neck-and-neck for Nos 2 and 3 were Moneyball with $20.6 million and Morgan Freeman's Dolphin Tale with $20.3 million. Moneyball may not have landed in the top spot, but it is the biggest opening ever for a baseball movie, according to Deadline.

Pope meets with German Jewish leaders in Berlin

2011-09-23T06:59:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Pope Benedict XVI met with leaders of Germany's Jewish community while on a visit to his homeland.

Benedict, who arrived Thursday in Berlin to visit his native Germany for the third time since becoming pope, met the Jewish leaders in a closed-door meeting in the Reichstag after addressing the German parliament. The meeting lasted about 25 minutes.

Benedict was forced to join the Hitler Youth as a teenager. He has come under fire from the Jewish community for his work to beatify Pope Pius XII, the wartime pope who many accuse of not defending the Jews against the Nazis.

Next Up in the Remake Dept: Scarface

2011-09-22T12:58:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Say hello to my little friend...again. Sort of. Universal Pictures is preparing to make (but not remake) a third "Scarface," which it says will not be a rehashing of or sequel to either the 1932 or 1983 films, but a new version, reports Deadline.

It'll share the same premise (outsider busts his way into the criminal underworld in a bid to achieve the ahem, American dream; violence is involved). No word on ethnicity or geography (Italian, Chicago, Cuban/Miami played big in the first two versions, Deadline reminds us). Former Universal head Marc Shmuger will produce, along with Martin Bregman, who produced the Al Pacino version.

Jail term for praising Hitler

2011-09-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

A man from Lower Austria has been sentenced to prison for glorifying the Third Reich.

The 54-year-old was found guilty of breaching Austria's anti-Nazi propaganda law. He was ordered to spend six months behind bars with another 12 months on suspension. The verdict--issued by a court in Vienna Tuesday--is not yet legally binding as the state prosecutor is yet to make his final statement. The defendant did not appeal.

The man--who co-founded and once headed the banned Austrian Nationalist Party--denied all charges under Austria's anti-Nazi mindset act. He only admitted having possessed a non-registered weapon. Prosecutors accused him of celebrating the late Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler's birthday between 2007 and 2009. They also said in court the man gave the Nazi salute and praised banned symbols like the swastika as well as Hitler himself. Investigators discovered data on his computer confirming his neo-Nazi attitude.

The trail took place shortly after a Holocaust awareness group reported a confectioner to the police and prosecutors for offering cakes showing prohibited Nazi symbols. The Austrian Mauthausen Committee explained it was informed by customers spotting images of the products in a catalogue on display at the shop near Vienna showing previously made products. The disputed images show a cake with a swastika icing and a pie on which a uniformed arm bursts through to give the Hitler salute.

It is not clear whether the confectioner--who received death threats when the story broke--will be prosecuted. He said: "People are calling me a Nazi swine on the phone. I'm not a fan of Hitler. I made these cakes eight years ago. I don't know what's so special about fulfilling extraordinary requests by customers."

Spreading and backing the Nazis' ideas and neo-Nazi propaganda is a breach of law in Austria. The country's juridical framework also prohibits the possession and trade of any kind of objects depicting symbols associated with Nazi Germany.

Tony Bennett apologizes for 9/11 remarks

2011-09-21T07:21:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Tony Bennett triggered a tsunami of controversy Tuesday by appearing on the Howard Stern show and announcing that Americans were to blame for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"They flew the plane in, but we caused it," was part of what the singer said. "Because we were bombing them and they told us to stop." After a few moments of contemplative silence, Stern agreed that his guest had made "some good points."

Now, Bennett--who just celebrated his 85th birthday--has issued an apology.

"There is simply no excuse for terrorism and the murder of nearly 3,000 innocent victims of the 9/11 attacks on our country," he said.

"I am sorry if my statements suggested anything other than an expression of my love for my country, my hope for humanity and my desire for peace through out the world."

Film set in Lebanon wins fans' prize at Toronto film fest

2011-09-19T06:33:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

"Where Do We Go Now?" a bittersweet comedy set in war-torn Lebanon, bested two well-received entries starring George Clooney to win the people's choice award Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The Cadillac People's Choice award is voted on by festival audiences and has typically been regarded as a bellwether for Oscar success.

Lebanese-Canadian director-actress Nadine Labaki's feminist film about village women bent on keeping their hotheaded men out of a religious war was chosen earlier this month as Lebanon's 2011 entry in the best foreign language film category for the Academy Awards.

Last year's fans' pick, "The King's Speech," went on to take four Oscars, including best picture and the 2008 people's choice winner, "Slumdog Millionaire," took best picture and seven other Oscars.

The best first Canadian feature awards, which includes a $15,000 prize, went to director Nathan Morland's period piece "Edwin Boyd," starring Scott Speedman as the notorious Canadian bank robber.

Robert Davi Sings Sinatra Classics

2011-09-15T23:06:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

I'm going to see actor/singer Robert Davi croon Sinatra classics at "Vibrato's" this Tuesday night in Bel Air.

Davi has played such roles as Vietnam veteran and Special Agent Johnson in "Die Hard," the villainous Jake Fratelli in "The Goonies" and Al Torres in "Showgirls." However, Davi is perhaps best known for playing drug lord Franz Sanchez in the 1989 James Bond film "Licence to Kill" as well as Agent Baily Malone in the NBC TV series Profiler.

Davi also appeared alongside Val Kilmer and Christopher Walken in the gangster movie "Kill the Irishman." The film, in which Davi played Mafia hitman Ray Ferritto, is a biopic of Danny Greene, an Irish-American mob boss who warred with the Cleveland crime family during the 1970s. Currently, Davi can be seen in "Game of Death" with Wesley Snipes.

But what most people don't know is that Davi is a classically trained singer. Even as far back as high school, Davi received acclaim for his singing, being awarded first place in the prestigious New York State School Music Association's Solo Competition, singing Vincent Youmans' "Without A Song." As a young man, Davi studied classically under several of the top vocal teachers, Samuel Margolis and Danial Ferro of Julliard and later, opera great Tito Gobbi. Davi did in fact damage his voice, claiming he was baritone with heart of a tenor and had pushed too hard, too early.

However it isn't until recently that he has become successful as a singer. With a 30-piece orchestra, Davi recorded his first album at the famous Capitol Records Building in Hollywood (where Frank Sinatra recorded on many occasions). The album contains all new arrangements by composer Nic. tenBroek. The album "Davi Sings Sinatra--On The Road to Romance," will be released in the late spring of 2011.

Lost 5 Years, a Colorado Cat Finds Her Way to Manhattan

2011-09-15T06:21:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

A calico cat named Willow, who disappeared from a home near the Rocky Mountains five years ago, was found on Wednesday on a Manhattan street and will soon be returned to her family, where two of the three children and one of the two dogs may remember her.

How she got to New York, more than 1,800 miles away and the kind of life she lived in the city are mysteries.

But thanks to a microchip that was implanted when she was a kitten, Willow will be reunited in Boulder, Colorado with her owners, the Squireses who had long ago give up hope.

"There are tons of coyotes around here and owls," Jamie Squires said. "We put out the 'lost cat' posters and the Craigslist thing, but we actually thought she'd been eaten by coyotes."

Ms. Squires said she and her husband, Chris, were shocked when they received a call about Willow on Wednesday from Animal Care and Control, which runs New York City's animal rescue and shelter system. Ms. Squires said that when they saw a picture of the cat, they knew it was Willow.

Willow was found on East 20th Street by a man who took her to a shelter and Julie Bank, exec director of Animal Care said the microchip led the Squires family.

"All our pets are microchipped," Ms. Squires said. "If I could microchip my kids, I would."

"History of the World, Part I"

2011-09-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

"History of the World, Part I" is a 1981 comedy film written, produced and directed by Mel Brooks.

As he does in many of his other films, Brooks gives himself a great deal of time in front of the camera, this time playing five roles: Moses, Comicus the stand-up philosopher, Tomas de Torquemada, King Louis XVI and Jacques "Le Garcon de Pisse." The large ensemble cast also features Sid Caesar, Shecky Greene, Gregory Hines, Charlie Callas and Brooks regulars Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman and Cloris Leachman.

The film also has cameo appearances by Bea Arthur, Hugh Hefner, John Hurt (as Jesus Christ), Barry Levinson, Jackie Mason, Paul Mazursky and Henny Youngman, among others. Orson Welles narrates each story.

The film is a parody of the "historical spectacular" film genre including the "sword-and-sandal epic" and the "period costume drama" sub-genres. The four main segments consist of stories set during the Dawn of Man, the Roman Empire, the Spanish Inquisition and the French Revolution. Other intermediate skits include reenactments of the giving of the Ten Commandments and the Last Supper.

Legacy: The catchphrase "It's good to be the king," which entered into popular culture, originates in this film, being used repeatedly during the French Revolution segment of the film. Brooks as Louis XVI says this into the camera in three different scenes, breaking the fourth wall as if to justify the king's wanton behavior.

Brooks also portrays "Le Garcon de Pisse," the "lowly pissboy" who carries a bucket for royalty to urinate into and later impersonates the king. Brooks as the piss boy delivers the same line with a sense of surprise when he is able to sample the king's luxurious lifestyle for the first time.

"Marathon Man" (1976)

2011-09-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

John Schlesinger (Midnight Cowboy), directed this gripping entertaining 1976 thriller that centers on graduate student Dustin Hoffman. Hoffman plays a sullen and cowardly loner haunted by the suicide of his father, a suspected communist.

He is drawn into a murky web of international intrigue when his brother, CIA agent Doc Levy, played by Roy Scheider (Jaws, The French Connection), is murdered by a former Nazi (Lawrence Olivier) who has come to the United States to reclaim a valuable stash of diamonds. Babe, (Hoffman) must confront his fears of the past as he runs for his life and tries to avenge his brother's death at the same time.

Featuring a classic torture sequence and a terrific cast that includes William Devane and Marthe Keller, this film written by William Goldman (All the President's Men), stands as great entertainment and as one of the seminal films of the 1970s.

Defintely one of the best Nazi thrillers ever made, (along with The Boys from Brazil by Ira Levin). Remains a high watermark of it's genre.

"The Jazz Singer" (1952)

2011-09-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Just watched the 1952 version of "The Jazz Singer" on Tuner Classic Movies last night and it was fantastic. Out of the three versions of The Jazz Singer, this one with Danny Thomas is my favorite. If you love music and especially old standards, then you will love this movie. Danny Thomas gives a surprisingly fine performance and had a voice that I think few people even knew about it, let alone recognized in him.

Peggy Lee also out does herself in her role as a Broadway artist and recording star, The film follows about the same storyline as the version starring Al Jolson.

As Jerry Golding scales the heights of show business, he breaks the heart of his father, who had hoped that Jerry would follow in his footsteps. Sorrowfully, Cantor David Golding reads the Kaddish service, indicating that, so far as he is concerned, his son is dead. A tearful reconciliation occurs when Jerry dutifully returns to sing the "Kol Nidre" in his ailing father's absence.

Interestingly, Thomas who was Lebanese, played the role of the Jewish son. Born Muzyad Yakhoob, in Deerfield, Michigan, he began his show biz career in 1932 as a singer at a Detroit radio station; he began performing as an MC-comedian in nightclubs in 1938 and gradually gained popularity and national recognition over the next decade. He was very successful in TV, starring in the long-running sitcom "Make Room for Daddy (later re-named the Danny Thomas Show); he also starred in a number os specials and made guest appearances on variety shows.

In the late 50's Thomas began producing for TV forming a partnership with Sheldon Leonard and later Aaron Spelling; he produced such series as The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Gomer Pile and The Mod Squad. He founded the St. Jude's Research Hospital which is dedicated to finding cures for catastrophic children's diseases. He was also the father of actress Marlo Thomas and authorized an autobiography, "Make Room for Danny" in 1990.

Mel Gibson: I Don't Have a Jewish Problem

2011-09-11T01:53:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

So why should Mel Gibson decide to produce a movie about a famed Jewish warrior given his, er Jewish problem?

Easy, explains TMZ. Gibson didn't think he had a Jewish problem. It quotes sources "very close" to Gibson as insisting that he doesn't hate Jews and that, wait for it, he has many Jewish friends and business associates. Gibson feels that he's made enough mea culpas for his infamous anti-Semitic rant in 2006 and that the movie should not be seen as a bid to mend ties because none need mending. Jewish groups beg to differ.

"I think it's quite preposterous," a rabbi with the Simon Weisenthal Center tells CNN. "Judah Maccabee is one of the greatest heros in Jewish history. Mel Gibson is an anti-Semite. I don't know if Warner Brothers was thinking." The Washington Post rounds up similar sentiments. ("Judah Maccabee deserves better") from the ADL and other groups.

Oy Vey! Mel's Next Film's About Jewish Warrior

2011-09-09T08:14:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Five years after Mel Gibson derailed his career with a DUI arrest and infamous anti-Semitic rant, the actor's attempt at returning to the Hollywood pantheon has taken a rather ironic turn: Gibson will produce a movie about one of the greatest Jewish warriors of all time, Judah Maccabee, reports "Deadline."

From a script by Basic Instinct scribe Joe Eszterhas, the Warner Brothers movie will tell the story of the man who led the famous revold in the second century BCE against the Seleucid Empire, giving us Hanukkah.

"A Dangerous Method"

2011-09-08T06:41:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

"A Dangerous Method" is an upcoming historical film directed by David Cronenberg and starring Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley and Vincent Cassel.

Set on the eve of World War I, "A Dangerous Method" is based on the turbulent relationships between fledgling psychiatrist Carl Jung and his mentor Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein, the troubled but beautiful young woman who comes between them.

Christoph Waltz was initially cast as Sigmund Freud but was replaced by Viggo Mortensen due to a scheduling conflict. Filming began in 2010 in Vienna, Zurich, Cologne and Berlin.

The movie hinges on an unorthodox experiment Jung undertook with Sabina Spielrein, a Russian Jewish woman whom he treated for hysteria and who later became a significant psychoanalyst in her own right.

Precision defines every aspect of the production, from the immaculate lensing and editing to the production design, which fastidiously re-creates everything from the specific minutiae of Freud's office to the intricate instruments Jung uses during a word-association experiment. Scenic shots of Vienna and Germany's Lake Constance add further luster to the film's look.

Universal Pictures will release the film in German-speaking territories while Lionsgate took rights to the United Kingdom. The film is scheduled for a European release in November 2011 after its world premiere at the 68th Venice Film Festival. It made its U.S. premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado on Labor Day Weekend.

Gumby calls it a robbery, clerk thinks it's a joke

2011-09-08T06:27:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

This sounds like a skit straight out of Saturday Night Live. San Diego police say surveillance tape shows a person dressed like Gumby telling a convenience store clerk he is being robbed, fumbling inside the costume as if to pull out a gun, dropping 27 cents and leaving.

Police say the attempted robbery took place Monday at a 7-Eleven in Rancho Penasquitos.

Detective Gary Hassen tells San Diego's 10News the clerk never heard of Gumby. He described the character as a green Sponge Bob SquarePants.

After being told it was a robbery, the clerk told the man in costume not to waste his time. The clerk didn't report the encounter, but his boss called police after seeing the tape. Hassen says police are taking it seriously and looking for the suspect. A $1,000 reward is being offered.

Vienna among most liveable cities in the world

2011-09-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Vienna has been found to be one of the most liveable cities in the world.

The Austrian capital came second in the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) latest check on around 140 cities in the world. Melbourne in Australia topped the list. Three Canadian cities--Vancouver, Tornonto and Calgary--took the places behind Vienna.

The EIU is a think tank funded by British business magazine "The Economist." Aspects like the quality of healthcare, political stability, crime rates and education matters were taken into account, the think tank explained Wednesday.

The EIU updates its global quality of living ranking twice a year. Vienna was rated the third-best place to live by the Economist's in-house research unit.

Around 1.7 million people live in Vienna which is governed by a coalition of Mayor Michael Haupl's Social Democrats (SPO), and the left-wing Green Party. Vienna is also one of the Austrian tourism industry's most valuable assets. Around 10.86 million overnight stays were registered in the city last year--more than ever before. The number of beds available in hotels and guesthouses in Vienna is to soar to around 4,500 to more than 31,000 in the coming years as a string of expansion and construction projects are in the pipeline.

Jesus Page Attracts 'Divine' Facebook Traffic

2011-09-06T09:23:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Move over Justin Bieber, Jesus Christ is here. The New York Times reports that a Facebook page called "Jesus Daily" is generating more "Likes" and comments than Bieber's page simply by posting the words of Jesus four or five times a day. Last week it racked up 3.4 million interactions to Bieber's 630,000 but who's counting.

The man behind it, North Carolina doctor Aaron Tabor, says he only started it as a hobby about two years ago. "I wanted to provide people with encouragement," he says.

And "Jesus Daily" is not alone. Facebook's top-20 traffic pages include Joyce Meyer Ministries, another Jesus Page and Dios Es Bueno (or "God is Great"). What's more, a reverend and a rabbi tell the Times that Facebook is helping houses of worship attract more congregants and online whorshipers.

Neo-Nazi Town Home of 'Happy Holocaust' BBQ

2011-09-06T09:05:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

No one's laughing if it's "a joke." A VBS TV reporter out to discover how crazily right wing a new-Nazi German town is stumbled upon an outdoor cooking grill emblazoned with the words "Happy Holocaust."

The small town of Jamel in northeastern Germany is known as a place where Hitler salutes are sometime spotted, where outsiders are chased away and where strange shooting practices take place in the woods. At least 50% of the population supports neo-Nazis or the National Democratic Party.

The grill was spotted in the yard of the NDP office building. A local party politician said he hadn't noticed the words, reports "Der Spiegel." "Maybe someone is making fun of the political class because of how they repress open discussion," he explained.

"After-all, if someone has an opinion about the Holocaust, they should be able to express it. It must belong to someone in the building, but to me that matter is unimportant."

The TV journalist said she was "shocked" by the words. "I couldn't believe what I saw," she added. "It was like in a bad American movie that tries to come up with the most ridiculous idea for how to make Nazis look really terrible."

FBI Leak Reveals US Spying on Israeli Embassy in D.C.

2011-09-06T07:15:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

When FBI translator Shamai Leibowitz pleaded guilty last year to divulging classified information, the nature of that info was kept secret even from the judge. Now we know why: Leibowitz was passing on transcripts of US wiretaps on the Israeli embassy in D.C., the blogger he leaked them to tells the New York Times. That blogger, Richard Silverstein, says he burned the documents once Leibowitz came under investigation, but recalled that they detailed Israeli plans to influence members of Congress and the American public.

In court, Leibowitz said the transcripts contained "things which I considered were violation of the law," though Silverstein doesn't think anything strayed outside of normal lobbying. He says Leibowitz was appalled by the attempts to lean on Congress and worried Israel would launch a disastrous military strike on Iran and hoped the leak would prevent it. The leak was likely considered so sensitive because it involved the US spying on an ally, though intelligence experts say such eavesdropping is an open secret. In one transcript, the Israelis commented that someone could be listening.

Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again

2011-09-03T19:20:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Having made some memorable appearances on Cavett's 1970s ABC talk show, Brooks is in fine, relaxed, nostalgic form during this conversation taped in December in front of an LA theater audience.

If you've never been witness to Brooks doing his "2000 Year Old Man" routine, telling ribald tales of the making of Blazing Saddles and mimicking Alfred Hitchcock's eating habits, you'll laugh at this.

Cavett plays WASP-coy to Brooks' Jewish tummler and wedges in his own stories of limo rides 1with Fred Astaire and elevator rides with Jack Benny. Bonus points for using HBO's language freedoms to recount a dirty Marx Brothers anecdote. Not much new here to me, but hey, it's only nostalgia if you haven't heard it before.

9-10PM Friday September 9. HBO

Eva Peron Helped Nazis, Hid Jewish Treasure Book

2011-09-03T18:46:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

A new book is giving Argentina a reason not to cry for Eva Person: She helped a number of Nazis who fled Europe after World War II, and was rumored to have harbored treasures taken from their Jewish victims.

The accusations come from "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Latin America," a controversial new book that aims to dredge up dirt on the region's most beloved leftist leaders, the Telegraph reports.

Among those are Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele.

"Berlin 36"

2011-09-03T18:16:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson
Movie review

In the days leading up the 1936 Olympics, the fate of high jumper Gretel Bergmann hangs in the balance as it is decided whether or not a Jewish athlete can be a part of the German Olympic Team. The film is based on a true story.

The plot centers around Gretel Bergmann who wins the high jump championships in the United Kingdom. The Nazi racial laws at the time, prevented her from continuing her training in Germany. Being a Jew, her father had sent her to England, where she could live more safely and continue her sporting career.

At the Berlin Olympics in 1936, the Americans and the IOC demand that Jewish athletes are not to be excluded from the event, especially the high jumper Gretel Bergmann of international fame, thus putting the Nazi Olympic Committee in great difficulty. A victory by a Jewish athlete would seriously humiliate the Nazi party. When her family in Germany is threatened, Gretel returns to Germany. She is included in the German Olympic high jump team, seemingly with the same rights as the other athletes in the training camp.

Hans Waldmann, the coach of the team, is excited about the skills and discipline of Gretel and reveals an impartial personality to sports. However, Waldmann is dismissed by order of the Nazi party officials. He is replaced by coach Sigfrid Kulbach, loyal to the Nazi party. He attempts, instead, by all means to discourage the young athlete and beat her self esteem.

Her room-mate and sole competitor in skills is Marie Ketteler. Marie, however, is really a man, by whom the Nazis want to get the gold medal in high jump.

Despite being the most promising athlete in high jump training, Gretel is suddenly excluded from competition under false pretenses, a few days before the games. She is replaced by Marie, the second best athlete.

"Berlin 36" premiered in 2009 in Berlin, Germany. The film received generally positive reviews and was called "interesting" by "Der Spiegel."

"In the Garden of Beasts"

2011-08-30T19:14:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson
Book Review

Erik Larson has been widely acclaimed as a master of narrative nonfiction and in his new book, the bestselling author of "The Devil in the White City," turns his hand to a remarkable story set during Hitler's rise to power.

The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America's first ambassador to Hitler's Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history.

A mild-mannered professor from Chicago, Dodd brings along his wife, son and flamboyant daughter Martha. At first Martha is entranced by the parties and pomp, and the handsome young men of the Third Reich with their infectious enthusiasm for restoring Germany to a position of world prominence.

Enamored of the "New Germany," she has one affair after another, including with the surprisingly honorable first chief o the Gestapo, Rudolf Diels. But as evidence of Jewish persecution mounts, confirmed by chilling first-person testimony, her father telegraphs his concerns to a largely indifferent State Department back home.

Dodd watches with alarm as Jews are attacked, the press is censored and drafts of frightening new laws begin to circulate. As that first year unfolds and the shadows deepen, the Dodds experience days full of excitement, intrigue, romance-- and ultimately horror, when a climactic spasm of violence and murder unmasks Hitler's true character and ruthless ambition.

Suffused with the tense atmosphere of the period, and with unforgettable portraits of the bizarre Goring and the expectedly charming--yet wholly sinister--Goebbels, "In the Garden of Beasts" lends a stunning eyewintess perspective on events as they unfold in real time, revealing an ear of surprising nuance and complexity. The result is a dazzling, addictively readable work that speaks volumes about why the world did not recognize the grave threat posed by Hitler until Berlin, and Europe were awash in blood and terror.

"The Secrets of the FBI"

2011-08-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson
Book Review

The FBI is involved in almost every aspect of American life. From Watergate to Waco, from congressional scandals to the take-down of Osama bin Laden, from Vince Foster's death to the swap of Russian spies, "The Secrets of the FBI" presents headline-making disclosures about the most important figures and events of our time.

Based on his unparalleled access to hundreds of current and former FBI agents, award-winning journalist Ronald Kessler delivers a treasure trove of revelations in this page-turner.

He discloses J. Edgar Hoover's sexual orientation, what triggered Vince Foster's suicide, what preceded Marilyn Monroe's death and the real story of how the FBI caught spy Robert Hanssen in its midst and much more.

Kessler goes behind the scenes at the FBI laboratory and training center. For the first time, he reveals how agents break into homes, offices, mob dens and embassies to plant bugging devices without getting caught or being shot as burglars. The narrative culminates with the inside story of the FBI's involvement in the raid on bin Laden's compound.

When it comes to developing access to top players, uncovering secrets and writing a vivid tale, Ronald Kessler is without peer. As he did with "In the President's Secret Service," in "The Secrets of the FBI" Kessler penetrates a wall of secrecy to write a book that is powerful and compelling.

"An Anatomy of Addiction- Sigmund Freud, William Halsted and the Miracle Drug Cocaine"

2011-08-30T08:19:00.001-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson
Book Review

"On a June morning in 1884, Sigmund Freud took his usual seat on a richly upholstered banquette at the "Cafe Landtmann," a pugently academic restaurant situated on Vienna's Ringestrasse, then at its imperial peak. Here as in many Viennese kaffeehauses, physicians congregated and pontificated with artists, philosophers, painters, playwrights, scientists and poets about the latest discoveries and controversies arising in the world of ideas they inhabited.

The atmosphere was thick with the exhaust of cigarettes, cigars and inspired minds. This particular morning, however, Sigmund Freud seemed oblivious to the chatty guests as he stroked his busy beard and rubbed a wet, reddened nose that was the direct result of consuming too much cocaine."

From acclaimed medical historian Howard Markel, the astonishing account of the years-long cocaine use of Sigmund Freud, young ambitious neurologist and William Halsted, the equally young, pathfinding surgeon. Market writes of the physical and emotional damage caused by the then-heralded wonder drug and how each man ultimately changed the world in spite of it or because of it. One became the father of psychoanalysis, the other, of modern surgery.

Both men were practicing medicine at the same time in the 1880s; Freud at the Vienna General Hospital. Markel writes that Freud began to experiment with cocaine as a way of studying its therapeutic uses--as an antidote for the over prescribed morphine, which had made addicts of so many and as a treatment for depression.

Halsted, an acclaimed surgeon even then, was curious about cocaine's effectiveness as an anesethetic and injected the drug into his arm to prove this theory. Neither Freud nor Halsted, nor their colleagues, had any idea of the drug's potential to dominate and endanger their lives. Addiction as a bona fide medical diagnosis didn't event exist in the elite medical circles they inhabited.

"In "An Anatomy of Addiction," Markel writes about the life and work of each man, showing how each came to know about cocaine, how Freud found that the drug cured his indigestion, dulled his aches and relieved his depression. The author writes that Freud, after a few months of taking the magical drug, published a treatise on it, "Uber Coca," in which he described his "most gorgeous excitement." The paper marked a major shift in Freud's work: he turned from studying the anatomy of the brain to exploring the human psyche.

Halsted invented modern surgery as we know it today: devising new ways to safely invade the body in search of cures and pioneering modern surgical techniques that controlled bleeding and promoted healing. He insisted on thorough hand washing, on scrub-downs and whites for doctor and nurses, on sterility in the operating room--even inventing the surgical glove, which he designed and had the Goodyear Rubber Company make for him--accomplishing all of this as he struggled to conquer his unyielding desire for cocaine.

This book tells the tragic and heroic story of each man, accidentally struck down in his prime by an insidious malady: tragic because of the time, relationships, and health cocaine forced each to squander; heroic in the intense battle each man waged to overcome his affliction as he conquered his own work with his visionary healing gifts. Here is the full story, long overlooked, told in its rich historical context.

Knesset's oldest guard dog retires

2011-08-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Knesset's oldest guard dog has retired.

Kai, a 7-year-old Labrador Retriever was forced to leave his position after failing a fitness test, Ynet reported.

The dog had participated in a variety of security missions, including sniffing for bombs. He has lived in the Knesset Guard's Kennel since he was a puppy.

The Knesset found the dog a home with a family in Rehovot.

Jihadist Demands Revenge on David Letterman

2011-08-18T08:38:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Add this to the Top 10 list of reasons not to make fun of al-Qaeda: a Jihadist is calling for the assassination of David Letterman after he joked about the death of terrorist IIyas Kashmiri, on his show. The radical made his comments on the Shumukh al-Islam web forum and wants others to "cut the tongue of the lowly Jew," apparently unaware that Letterman is Presbyterian, reports the New York Daily News.

"I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears, one of the lowlifes of the Jews and one of their pigs, mocking one of the leaders of the Mujahedeen," he wrote. The Late Show is on summer hiatus and a spokesman declined comment. A former agent with the FBI-NYPD joint terrorism task force says these types of threats shouldn't be taken lightly. "If I am the guy targeted in one of those things, I would be taking it seriously and hunker down."

New Bio Claims Coco Chanel Spied for Nazis

2011-08-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Fashion maven Coco Chanel was an anti-Semitic Nazi spy who recruited agents with her then boyfriend, a German officer, according to a new bio, "Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War" charts her alleged espionage career with her lover Hans Gunther von Dincklage and draws on international archives to support claims that the pair went on secret missions in Berlin and Madrid Reuters reports.

The Chanel fashion house, however, seems unconvinced. "What's certain is that she had a relationship with a German aristocrat during the war," says a rep. The Chanel house also dismissed allegations of anti-Semitism saying the French fashion icon had Jewish friends and business ties to the Rothschild family.

"Russian Dolls"

2011-07-26T06:16:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Watch out "Jersey Shore." There's some new competition in town called "Russian Dolls," that's already generating wide public interest in the entertainment industry.

With unprecedented access to one of the most intriguing and mysterious communities in the United States, Lifetime has announced an August 11 launch date for "Russian Dolls," (formerly Brighton Beach"), it's all new reality series following the fast-paced coming and goings of eight larger-than-life men and women who live fully, love passionately and work hard as only they can in Brooklyn's historic Russian-American neighborhood.

"Russian Dolls" will premiere on Thursday August 11 at 10:30 p.m. Over the course of 12 half-hour episodes, "Russian Dolls" will provide a rare and enticing look at Brighton Beach's colorful multi-generational families whose dramas and dreams contend with their Russian heritage while living in this famous, alluring, vibrant and highly protective community.

Created by Banks Tarven and Ken Druckerman ("Mob Wives", "Kimora Lee: Life in the Fab Lane"), "Russian Dolls" is a new take on the whole dysfunctional lives of those who are looking to party and have fun.

"The Conversation" (1974)

2011-07-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Gene Hackman turns in one of his best performances in this haunting low-budget drama. Francis Ford Coppola made it after "The Godfather," which propelled him to super-director status. He also wrote the screenplay.

Something of a homage to Micheleangelo Antonioni, Coppola uses the continuing themes of privacy and its invasion to create an intriguing psychological thriller. The fine supporting cast includes Terry Garr and Robert Duvall in a cameo and a young Harrison Ford who does a lot with a small role.

The whole underworld of private investigating is pretty fascinating as well. In light of the recent tabloid hacking scandal, this is a timely picture as well.

"The Lost Weekend" (1945)

2011-07-17T02:30:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

A grim but compelling study of alcoholism, "The Lost Weekend" shocked on its release and still packs a knowing and disturbing punch. Stunning in its intensity and unrelenting focus, "The Lost Weekend" is far from an enjoyable experience even if you're not drinking. In the capable hands of Billy Wilder, both the vicious spiral that ensnares Don (Ray Milland), and the reason for his addiction are clearly portrayed.

In candid detail, Wilder shows how Don sees himself, how others see him and what he's really like; it's not a pretty sight. There's no degradation that Don will not endure in order to imbibe, fearing the horrors that come with sobriety. They key to this slow build-up, which reaps an unbearable reward, is Wilder's quiet inclusion of the markers of consumption.

Wet glass rings multiply on a bar surface, unsold bottles frame Don's face like prison bars, the distorted shadow of a forgotten resource brings light to his eyes. All around lie the traces of his obsession, artfully ignored in public and endlessly gossiped over in private; in sum the signs of a roller coaster ride which only one man can halt. The catch is that unless Don wants to be helped, no one can force it upon him.

Present in almost every scene, Milland is the motor that drives "The Lost Weekend." It's up to him to be convincing and with every fibre of his body, he achieves this with frightening effectiveness. By looking deep into his eyes, a private hell of lost faith, selfishness and utter craving can be glimpsed.

When sober, Don is an ashamed mess of self-hate and total honesty. Milland's performance here is so powerful and unsettling it sends shivers along your spine. Trying to save him with devotion, both Wyman and Terry are fine, each certain that there is a decent core within.

The whole idea of booze conferring feelings of superiority, clarity and creativity, is familiar to many, as is the transience of such emotions. "The Lost Weekend" is a timeless study of the chains of addiction, excellent in all departments and horrifying at every turn.

"Sarah's Key"

2011-07-16T22:01:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

"Sarah's Key" is a French drama starring Kristin Scott Thomas and follows her journalist's present day investigation into the Vel d'Hiv Roundup, and a story of a young girl's experiences during the Nazi occupation of France. It is an adaptation of the novel "Elle s'appelait Sarah" and has been critically well-received, currently holding an 88% fresh rating on the film review site Rotten Tomatoes.

The movie gathers momentum with a steady, assured pace, accumulating incidents, secrets and lies until the rush of events is absolutely transfixing. It's a kind of detective story delving into the darkest pages of 20th century French history. The film should enjoy considerable success throughout Europe. The film's smash Toronto debut in September certainly justifies the Weinstein Company's acquisition of the film at the festival.

Perhaps the movie closest to this is "Sophie's Choice," where the ghosts of the Holocaust haunt survivors long after the war. This is a poignant tale of two females confronted by the madness of history and should garner some early Oscar buzz.

Europe Bids Farewell to Last von Habsburg Heir

2011-07-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J.Rubinson

European royals are gathering in Vienna for the funeral of Otto von Habsburg, the son of Austria's last emperor, and his wife. Among the guests expected are Sweden's king and queen, the ruling grand duke and grand duchess of Luxembourg, Liechtenstein's ruling duke and duchess and the former kings of Romania and Bulgaria. Royalty from Britain, Belgium and Spain should also be there.

Adding color to today's pomp-filled ceremony will be hundreds of men and women dressed in traditional uniforms that date back to Austro-Hungarian empire. Habsburg died July 4 at age 98 in southern Germany. His wife, Regina, died last year. The dynasty ruled for more than seven centuries until the end of World War I.

"The Debt"

2011-07-14T09:29:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

In this gritty spy thriller, Helen Mirren plays a retired Mossad agent named Rachel. Once upon a time, Rachel was part of a celebrated trio of secret agents who tracked down a Nazi war criminal in East Berlin in 1966--an incident so applauded in history, that now, three decades later, her own daughter has just published a book about the exploits.

But one of Rachel's former partners in espionage, David (Ciran Hinds), seems less than reverent about his memory of the time and he proves his feelings with a decision that sends Rachel and her former partner Stefan on a forced revisit through time. For 30 years, Rachel has been living one truth, but now, as the past collides with the present, a new and deadly story beings to emerge.

August 31, 2011

"Gilligan, Brady Bunch" Creator Sherwood Schwartz Dead

2011-07-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Don't even pretend you don't know the words: Sherwood Schwartz, the man who created "Gilligan's Island" and the "Brady Bunch"--and wrote both theme songs--is dead at 94, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Schwartz already had a successful career as a TV comedy writer when he created "Gilligan's Island" which ran from 1964 to 1967. (It was "my version of a social microcosm, where seven people from various backrounds had to learn to live together," he once said.) A few years later came his show about a "lovely lady" and a "man named Brady."

Arnold Schwarzenegger to Star in Western

2011-07-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Can a post-scandal Arnold Schwarzenegger still fill a multiplex? Lionsgate is about to find out. According to Nikki Finke's "Deadline Hollywood," the studio has signed the former Governator to star in "Last Stand," a western that's long languished in development. The damaged Schwarzenegger will reportedly make a whole lot less than he was offered for "Cry Macho," which has been pushed back to at least Feb 2010 thanks to the scandal.

"Last Stand" should begin shooting in September, with director Kim-ji-Woon at the helm. It'll be Kim's first English-language film. "It's a property which a zillion directors fell in love with: the good, the bad, the weird," one Lionsgate exec said. "It's an old-fashioned Western specifically designed for a 63-year-old broken-down guy."

Asked whether Arnold can still helm a movie, another exec replied, "I can tell you from The Expendables it was electrifying when Arnold came on. He is still a big piece of news.

"The Help"

2011-07-08T16:27:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Based on one of the most talked about books in years and a #1 New York Times best-selling phenom, "The Help" stars Emma Stone ("Easy A") as Skeeter, Academy Award nominated Viola Davis ("Doubt") as Aibileen and Octavia Spencer as Minny--three very different, extraordinary women in Mississippi during the 1960's, who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk.

From their improbable alliance a remarkable sisterhood emerges, instilling all of them with the courage to transcend the lines that define them and the realization that sometimes those lines are made to be crossed--even if it means bringing everyone in town face-to-face with the changing times.

Deeply moving, filled with poignancy, humor and hope, "The Help" is a timeless and universal story about the ability to create change.

Early Oscar Buzz!

2011-06-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Most of these movies aren't even out yet. But that hasn't stopped Academy voters from already talking Best Picture.

J. Edgar: Clint Eastwood's last four films failed to make the Best Picture cut. But there's no genre that's more Oscar friendly than the biopic.

(December 14)

The Iron Lady: Meryl Streep's turn as British prime minister Margaret Thatcher is said to be a career highlight for the Academy favorite.

(December 16)

The Artist: The delightful black-and-white silent film was the crowd-pleasing sensation of Cannes.

(November 23)

We Bought a Zoo: Cameron Crowe and Matt Damon's true-life tale of a family man who, yes, buys a zoo could be one of the holiday season's breakout hits.

(December 23)

War Horse: Steven Spielberg's helming a period piece set during a time of war? On paper, this adaptation of the acclaimed stage production seems like a slam dunk.

(December 28)

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: Stephen Daldry (The Reader), has earned Best Director nods for all three of his films so far. This time he's got acting winners Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock on board.

(December)

Cat Burglar Is.....Actual Cat!

2011-06-24T20:03:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

A prolific cat burglar has stolen precious possessions from homes near San Francisco. But police are staying off the case--the burglar really is a cat. Dusty, a 5-year-old feline from San Mateo, has taken hundreds of items during his nearly nightly heists. Dusty's owner tells the San Francisco Chronicle he has pilfered gloves, towels, Crocs, grocery bags and more since she adopted him from the Humane Society four years ago--more than 600 items total.

His owner, who started keeping a record of his haul, says he tends to snag three or four items a night, his record is 11 within 24 hours. Dusty has a special love for swimsuits. A neighbor says he stole her bikini--on two separate trips. Experts say Dusty's predatory instincts have gone astray, leaving him hunting for people's stuff. The cat's thieving has made him a minor celebrity, he has appeared on "Letterman" and "Animal Planet."

"The Tree of Life"

2011-06-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

"The Tree of Life" chronicles the origins and meaning of life, through the eyes of a 1950s Texas family, while also featuring some Stanley Kubrick like sci-fi and surrealist themes and imagery through space and the birth of life on Earth.

Directed by Terrence Malick, the film premiered in competition a the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and won the Palme d'Or, after being in development by Malick for decades.

The film opens with a quotation from the Book of Job, when God asks, "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation...while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" A mysterious wavering light that resembles a flame emerges. The film cuts to Mrs. O'Brien (Jessica Chastain) as she receives a telegram informing her of her son's death at age 19. Mr. O'Brien (Brad Pitt in a winning performance), is notified by telephone. The family is thrown into a world of grief as they try to cope in their tidy suburban Texas home.

Jack O'Brien (Sean Penn) is adrift in his modern life as an architect. On the phone with his father, he confesses that he thinks about his dead brother every day. The film then cuts to a dramatization of the Big Bang. As the galaxies expand and planets are formed, Jack's voice is heard asking various existential questions. At other points in the film, these questions and observations are voiced by other members of his family as well as his younger self.

On the newly formed Earth volcanoes erupt and microbes begin to form. The film's surreal style reminds one of director Stanley Kubrick's famous 70's sci-fi film "2001 Space Odyssey."

I found the film enthralling, while others in the theater shrugged and didn't know what to make of it, yet I highly recommend it.

"The Devil's Double"

2011-06-24T19:06:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

A chilling vision of the House of Saddam Hussein comes to life through the eyes of the man who was forced to become the double of Hussein's sadistic son Uday.

A film loosely based on the real-life events of Latif Yahia, "The Devil's Double" explores a story of corruption, drugs, scandal, rape and utter lunacy. This Lionsgate flick takes a white-knuckle ride deep into the lawless playground of excess and violence known as Bagdad 1987.

Yahia spent years as the double of Saddam Hussein's sadistic son Uday Hussein--a man described as completely psychotic. The film does an amazing job of capturing this utter chaos with precision and in horrific detail.

Many parts of the film have been dramatized and exaggerated for Hollywood purposes, but the main ideas and many of the actual events are from Yahi's own page-turner book "The Devil's Double."

Featuring a riveting double performance by Dominic Cooper (An Education and Mama Mia), in the roles of Latif, "The Devil's Double" is a dynamic ride into the viper's pit of corruption and brutality.

In theaters July 29, 2011.

"The Third Man"

2011-06-16T23:24:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

In "The Third Man"--probably the greatest British thriller of the postwar era--director Carol Reed and screenwriter Graham Greene set a fable of moral corruption in a world of near-Byzantine visual complexity: the streets and ruins of occupied Vienna. It is a Vienna far removed from the rollicking erotics of Ernst Lubitsch or the wistful elegance and melancholy beauty of Max Ophuls.

Decadence and rot have seeped into the city's very world, poisoned it, left almost nothing unstained. This Vienna is a movie milieu as densely evocative and haunting as "Casablanca" or "Morocco"--yet unlike them, it is primarily the real Vienna, the real streets, the real rubble: shot by Reed in such a striking style that it takes on a patina of nightmare.

The tale unwinds with a naive and foolishly romantic American novelist, Holly Martins, who pursues the murderers of his best friend, Harry Lime; spars with the cynical British police major, Calloway; hunts for the mysterious "third man" who witnessed Harry's death and falls hopelessly and unrequitedly in love with Harry's mistress, Anna. Finally, in two symbolic settings-- a ferris wheel towering above the city and the shadowy chaos of the sewers--Holly comes face to face with the supreme evil, the supreme betrayal: both Harry's and his own.

"The Third Man" is one of those rare films that captured its audience immediately and was regarded as a classic almost from it's first release. Graham Greene's script based on his novel, is a brilliant evocation of the urban battleground of good and evil, with just the right proportions of drama, atmosphere, action, rich character and tense construction.

Because the two great set pieces in "The Third Man"--the ferris wheel confrontation and the chase through the sewers of Vienna--both revolve around Orson Welles. Reed the director, is the hero and dominating influence--insisting that it be shot in Vienna, insisting that Welles play Harry Lime, discovering Anton Karas and his zither in a tiny beer and sausage restaurant and finally rejecting even Graham Greene's suggestion of a climatic rapprochement between Anna and Holly.

Reed assembled and marshaled a brilliantly talented company as by the power of his own vision. Together he and Greene and Welles, Cotten, Karas, Krasker, Korda and all the others--created a portrait of postwar corruption and the death of idealism that has lodged ever since in our collective consciousness. Together they made a rich, moody masterpiece of guilt, love and ambivalent redemption.

Schwarzenegger heading back to Austria

2011-06-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Austrian born actor turned politician Arnold Schwarzenegger looks set to be in Vienna this month at a conference organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

The topic of the conference is green energy in Vienna and Schwarzenegger is expected to make the opening address.

Schwarzenegger is expected to arrive on June 21 for the "Vienna Energy Forum" that is expected to last until June 23.

Also on the agenda is a meeting between Arnie and Ex-presidents from Brazil and Nigeria Fernando Henrique Caroso and Olusegun Obsanjo as well as Austrian President Heinz Fischer.

But according to local media any meetings with the press and private questions have been verboten!

'Hangover' helps break records

2011-05-31T17:24:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Hollywood has hustled up a hangover for the record books.

"The Hangover Part II" set a new high for comedy debuts with $105.8 million over the long Memorial Day weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The blockbuster sequel also led Hollywood to a new revenue record of around $280 million for the holiday weekend, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com

"If you can enjoy a Hangover, this is one to enjoy," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., which releases "The Hangover" flicks.

Opening at No. 2 behind "The Hangover" was another sequel, DreamWorks Animation's "Kung Fu Panda 2" with $62.2 million. In barely a month, Hollywood has hurtled out of a box office slide that lingered all winter, when revenues were down as much as 23 percent compared to the previous year's.

"Hollywood is back with a vengeance," said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarbedian. "We always knew there were big movies on the horizon coming to save the day and it looks like that's what's happening so far this summer."

1. "The Hangover Part II" $105.8 million
2. "Kung Fu Panda 2" $62.2 million
3. "Pirates of the Caribbean" $50.4 million
4. "Bridesmaids" $21 million
5. "Thor" $12 million
6. "Fast Five" $8.2 million
7. "Midnight in Paris" $2.6 million
8. "Rio" $2.4 million
9. "Jumping the Broom" $2.35 million
10. "Something Borrowed" $2.3 million

"Midnight in Paris"

2011-05-31T17:08:00.001-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

"Midnight in Paris" is more than just Woody Allen's "best film in more than a decade," said David Edelstein in New York. It's "the only one that manages to rise above its tidy parable structure and be easy, graceful and glancingly funning."

Owen Wilson is brilliant as Gil Pender, a hack screenwriter who, during a trip to Paris with his vapid fiancee, finds himself transported each night back to the 1920s--when the French capital teemed with artists and writers. There, he meets Picasso, Hemingway and a "hilarious" Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates), said Joe Morgenstern in The Wall Street Journal. He also meets a woman (Marion Cotillard) who is "everything his fiancee isn't." Allen seems to be asking: "When was the golden age and why didn't we get to live it?"

Mercifully, he doesn't appear to take the question too seriously, said David Denby in "The New Yorker." Mostly he simply delights in the travails of a "contemporary neurotic" who's been plunged into the company of "artists with seemingly dauntless strength."

Austrian Ambassador to London plans to invite the royal couple to Vienna next year

2011-05-25T17:57:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Emil Brix, the Austrian ambassador to London, recently revealed plans to invite Prince William and Kate Middleton to next year's Vienna Opera Ball and the upcoming New Year's concert by the Vienna Philharmonic.

The Vienna Opera Ball is an annual Austrian society event which takes place in the building of the Vienna State Opera. Together with the New Year's concert, the Opera Ball is one of the highlights of the Viennese carnival season.

The dress code is evening dress, white tie and tails for men, floor-length ball-gowns for women.

The Opera Ball was first held in 1935, but was suspended during WWII. It was revived after the war and has been held annually ever since, with the exception of 1991, when it was cancelled due to the Persian Gulf War.

"Real Housewives of New Jersey"...They really tawk like dat!

2011-05-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Bravo may have canceled the "The Real Housewives of D.C.," due to low ratings, but the franchise is far from played out.

The third-season premiere of "New Jersey" last week delivered record ratings for the network, easing the pain of cancellation a few months ago of "D.C."

"Jersey" and it's tough talking Italian broads, averaged 2.02 million adults 18-49 for last Monday's 90-minute season premiere, airing at 9p.m. becoming the highest-rated series debut in the network's history.

The show got a big boost from the cast turnover during the off-season. Danielle Staub, the show's outspoken villain, left amid great fanfare, after getting into a physical altercation with fellow "Housewife" Teresa Giudice during the second season reunion.

Last week the "Housewives" stole the spotlight right back with their outrageous antics during the season premiere, as a brawl broke out during the christening of a Giudie's nephew, the son of new cast member Melissa Gorga. That's right...a BRAWL at a christening. Have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous?

That's the type of over-the-top drama that was missing from the "D.C." franchise and it suggests that as long as the Housewives continue misbehaving, there's room for more incarnations.

"Midnight in Paris"

2011-05-23T15:54:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

"Midnight in Paris" packed with Angelenos and New Yorkers, scored the best limited-release opening ever for a Woody Allen film as it opened in two cities.

Riding a wave of good reviews and publicity from the Cannes Film Festival, Allen's new film, starring Owen Wilson as a writer drawn to the City of Light, opened to $578,805, according to an estimate from distributor Sony Pictures Classic.

The fantastic start demonstrates that the 75-year-old Allen can still pack auditoriums for movies with the right publicity and buzz. It remains to be seen whether "Midnight in Paris" will appear to a broader audience as it expands to more cities, including San Diego, San Fransico, Chicago, Boston, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Washington D.C. on Friday.

'Thor' hammers 'Bridesmaids' at box office

2011-05-15T21:34:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

"Thor" nailed down the No 1 spot at the box office again.

Paramount's 3-D superhero film starring Chris Hemsworth as Marvel's hammer-toting god of thunder earned $34.5 million in it's 2nd weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Universal's "Bridesmaids," the raunchy comedy starring Kristin Wiig as a down-on-her-luck maid of honor, debuted above expectations in second place with $24.4 million. Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal, attributed the movie's good reviews and word of mouth to wide audience appeal: 67% of the audience was female, 33% male.

"That's pretty good considering this is a picture titled "Bridesmaids" said Rocco.

Universal's car-racing sequel "Fast Five" with Dwayne Johnson shifted to the third position with $19.5 million in it's third weekend in theaters.

"Priest" opened in 4th place with $14.5 million, while Fox's animated bird tale "Rio" landed at fifth place with $8 million in it's fifth weekend in theaters.

"Mob Wives"

2011-05-06T11:58:00.001-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

"Mob Wives" is like watching a cross between "The Sopranos" and "The Real Housewives of New Jersey."

I love the opening shot where we see four tough looking Italian women in mink coats, strolling down a Staten Island boardwalk. Catchy jazz music blares in the backround.

It's vulgar, gaudy and low class, yet also highly addicting. These are truly mob spouses. Karen Gravano is the daughter of Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, Renee Graziano is the daughter of Anthony Graziano, said to be a high-ranking member of the Cosa Nostra. The four main "wives" have either husbands or fathers who have served or are serving time in jail and the women are tough, issuing blithe declarations such as "Ya never rat no matter what" and "I beat up a lotta f---in people."

Renee, Carla Facciolo and Drita D'avanzo are all pals from Staten Island, but Karen has spent the past 10 years in Arizona as part of the witness protection program.

By turns funny, appalling and vulgar, Mob Wives is swiftly paced, reality TV at its most dismaying.

It'll be a royal summer in California

2011-05-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

They could visit a movie set, grab a surfboard and shoot the curl at Malibu, sample a winery or two, even take in a baseball game at Dodger Stadium.

Maybe Prince William and his new bride, the former Kate Middleton, could buy the team afterward. There is also a rumor it might soon be up for sale.

The point is, there will be plenty to do when Britain's new hot young royal couple arrives in California on July 8. And, if the titters of excitement already emanating across the state are an indication, they will be welcome with open arms by throngs of people. Not that there won't be a downside in that as well.

If the prince and his bride, aka, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have decided where they want to go during their three-day stay, they haven't told the British consulate in Los Angeles said Katherine Keith, a consulate spokeswoman. It will be Kate's first visit to the U.S. and William's first official visit.

Their wedding last month at London's Westminster Abbey created a flurry of excitement in the United States. "No matter where they venture in California the royal visit will create a global postcard for the Golden State," Caroline Beteta, president of the California Travel and Tourism Commission, said.

Larry the No 10 cat catches first mouse...finally!

2011-04-26T10:23:00.001-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

After two months on the job, Downing Street's "Chief Mouser" as cats who catch government rats are called--finally snared his first prey.

On Good Friday, Larry appeared through a window from the Downing Street garden with a mouse in his mouth. He is believed to have dropped his swag at the feet of the prime minster's secretaries.

Recruited to deal with a rodent problem--black rats have been seen bolting across the Downing Street lawn--Larry has preferred hanging out in the corridors of power to stalking in the grass.

Announcing his new hire, the prime minster's spokesman said Larry had been "highly recommended."

According to Prime Minster David Cameron's spokesman, Larry possesses a "very strong predatory drive and high chase drive and hunting instinct."

Group wants shop charged for Nazi cakes

2011-04-06T08:57:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Owners of an Austrian pastry shop that showcases cakes decorated with Nazi themes should be prosecuted, a Holocaust awareness group urged Tuesday.

The bakery, located in the village of Maria Enzersdorf, near the Austrian capital Vienna, features photos of cakes that are adorned with swastikas and other Nazi era symbols, including an arm raised in a Hitler salute, the Mauthasuen Committee said.

Austrian law bans the glorification of the Nazi era and any attempt to diminish, deny or justify the Holocaust.

Arnold returns to acting in 'Governator'

2011-03-31T07:44:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

With his years as governor behind him, Arnold Schwarzenegger will soon return to his acting career with a new animated TV series.

The planned action-comedy cartoon is called "The Governator," according to a A Squared Entertainment, a partner in the venture. It will focus on a superhero living a double life as an ordinary family man. Schwarzenegger will provide the voice of the title character.

The series is planned as the first stage of a franchise that could also include comics and films.

Prince William Parties at Secret Bachelor Bash

2011-03-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

The palace confirms that Prince William had his bachelor party this weekend but anyone who expected him to go wildly cavorting around London's nightclubs is about to be disappointed. Wills is believed to have spent the weekend at a friend's country estate. The private party was attended by about 20 close friends, all of whom were sworn to secrecy regarding the details of what went on, the Telegraph reports.

Ghandi loved Jewish bodybuilder, bio says

2011-03-28T18:15:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi left his wife for a German-Jewish architect and bodybuilder, a new bio says.

The new book, "Great Soul: Mahtma Gandhi and his struggle with India," reports that Gandhi was in love with Hermann Kallenback, for whom he left his wife in 1908.

Kallenback was born in Germany but moved to South Africa, where he became a busy architect. He reportedly lived with Gandhi for two years in a house built in South Africa according to the Daily Mail. The men remained in touch by letters after Gandhi returned to India in 1914 and Kallenback was denied entry.

The book says that Gandhi wrote to Kallenback "How completely you have taken possession of my body. This is slavery with a vengeance."

Japan Was Warned About Nuke Safety in '08

2011-03-16T17:17:00.000-07:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

The Japanese government was warned in 2008 that a strong earthquake would be a "serious problem" for the country's nuclear power stations, WikiLeaks cables reveal. An International Atomic Agency official declared twin concerns at a meeting of the G8's Nuclear Safety and Security Group: that safety rules relating to earthquakes had only been updated three times in 35 years and that an earthquake could exceed "the design basis for some nuclear plants." The government did respond, by building an emergency response center at the Fukushima plant but that center was built to withstand quakes up to 7.0 not Friday's 9.0 temblor, the Telegraph reports.

And there's more: Another cable reveals that the government opposed a court order to shut down a plant over concerns that it would not withstand an earthquake above a magnitude of 6.5 and could expose local residents to radiation. Japan's nuclear safety agency disagreed and the ruling was overturned in 2009. Two more cables go further, documenting concerns that a new generation of stations were "jeopardizing safety" and allegations that the government was "covering up nuclear accidents." Meanwhile the New York Times points out that concerns over Mark 1 nuclear reactors, the type used at the Fukushima plant, have been raised as long ago as 1972. Mark 1 reactors are not as strong as other types and are thought to be at higher risk of failing in an emergency.

Spielberg purchases screen rights to Wiki Leaks

2011-03-02T17:33:00.000-08:00

Director Steven Spielberg has purchased the screen rights to the WikiLeaks story.

Spielberg bought the rights to "Wiki Leaks: Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy," written by Guardian journalist David Leigh and Luke Harding, the Guardian reported today.

Dreamworks will produce the movie, according to the Guardian and also purchase the rights to a book by Assange's former colleague Daniel Berg titled "Inside WikiLeaks."

The movie is being conceived of as an investigative thriller, according to the Guardian.

JTA

Mama Mia! The "Jersey Shore" Cast Heads to Italy

2011-03-01T20:26:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

How do you say "gym, tan, laundry" in Italian?

The cast of "Jersey Shore" is heading to Italy for season 4 of MTV's hit show, the network announced recently.

"While the stateside Jersey Shore locales have become iconic for our audience...Europe is a fresh spin on a show that continues to reach new heights for us," MTV's Chris Linn said in a statement. "The cast is headed to the birthplace of the culture they love and live by. We can't wait to see what erupts as a result."

Amid their inevitable shenanigans, the gang will leave "the boardwalk behind for the piazzas," "trade gorillas for Italian stallions" and according to the statement, drop in on Vinny's Italian relatives for a famous Guadagnino family dinner.

"Ohh! I love Italy This Time A Yeahhh," Pauly D tweeted.
Adds Snooki: "Just heard the most amazing news!"

With a whole new country before them where they can create embarrassing moments, one thing we'd love to see is how "The Situation's" abs stack up compared to the classic competition of Michaelangelo's statue of David on display in Florence.

Sheen to Jewish Group: You Apologize to Me

2011-03-01T20:12:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

The Anti-Defamation League accused Charlie Sheen of "boderline anti-Semitism" when he called "Two and a Half Men" creator Chuck Lorre by his Hebrew name, Chaim Levine. But Sheen, via a letter from his lawyer, obtained by TMZ, says that's not fair--and demands that the ADL issue a retraction. His lawyer also noted that Lorre has referred to himself as Chaim Levine and has referred to Judaism as "bullshit," so the ADL should denounce Lorre, not Sheen, for his "disdain for the Jewish religion."

Cables Reveal Saudi Royals' Money Grabs

2011-03-01T18:14:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

The handouts Saudi King Abdullah is granting to his people are nothing compared to the handouts his family's thousands of princes and princesses have received over the past two decades. American diplomatic cables recently released by WikiLeaks detail the royal welfare program, which has cost the country an estimated $2 billion per year and has angered many Saudis. The royal patronage system doled out, in the mid-1990s, $800 per month even to "the lowliest member of the most remote branch of the family," according to the documents. Sons of modern Saudi Arabia's founder, on the other hand, received up to $270.000 per month, Reuters reports.

The monthly stipends being at birth with bonus payments available for marriage or palace building. But they are apparently not enough for some royals: The cables also detail royal money-grabbing schemes, from the complex to the simple (borrowing money from the banks and never repaying it). Despite all this, the cable notes, there are few "super rich" Saudi princes as they are "more adept at squandering than accumulating wealth." Resentment has already pushed King Abdullah to institute some reforms--like no longer paying for the cell phones of thousands of princes and princesses.

Egypt's revolt alarms Israel

2011-02-04T15:21:00.000-08:00

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

The teetering of Egypt's regime caused widespread alarm in neighboring Israel this week. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was watching events unfold with "vigilance and worry." He said he feared radical Islamists could take power and cancel the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, the cornerstone of Israel's security. "Peace between Israel and Egypt has endured for over three decades," Netanyahu said, "and our goal is to ensure these relations continue."

Israelis "want to rejoice" for Egyptians as they get a taste of real freedom, said Yossi Klein Halevi in "The New York Times." But our "grim assumption is that it is just a matter of time before the only real opposition group in Egypt, the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, takes power." We've already seen the rise of Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas--an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood--controls Gaza. Add a hostile Egypt, fully armed with advanced American weaponry, and you get the "ultimate Israeli nightmare" of being surrounded by enemies.

If President Hosni Mubarak falls, Israel faces some tough choices said Aluf Benn in Israel's Ha'aretz. Peace with Egypt "saved Israel enormous resources" and let it "focus militarily on Syria, Lebanon and Iran." If Egypt now goes Islamist, Israel could reverse that situation by cementing peace with the Palestinians and Syria and withdrawing from the West Bank and the Golan Heights. "Netanyahu will have to decide between holing up in a citadel and signing peace accords."

Stability is possible, said "The Jerusalem Post" in an editorial. A power transfer from Mubarak to intelligence chief Omar Suleiman looks "more likely than the toppling of the present military regime." Unlike Islamists or pro-democracy protesters, a transitional government including old-regime elements could ensure "basic human rights, freedoms and greater economic opportunities" while maintaining Egypt's security pacts. That "would be better not just for Israel, but for the Egyptian people as well."