Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
1. Annie Lennox and Rosanne Barr Play Diplomats
2. Barack Obama Brings Back 'The Dead'
3. Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey in Row on 'Rock'
4. Brad Pitt and Jimmy Carter’s Chosen Charity in Legal Snafu
5. Inauguration, Hollywood Style
1. Annie Lennox and Rosanne Barr Play Diplomats
They’re not just entertainers.
Annie Lennox and Rosanne Barr are now commentators on the Middle East crisis.
Lennox has demanded that the Israeli military strikes end and calls the strikes a “slaughter and systematic murder” of Gaza Arabs. And Barr has dubbed Israel a “Nazi state.”
Lennox told the press that she was “shaken to the core” by the recent Israeli military actions and said, “I was thinking as a mother and as a human being — how was this going to be a solution to peace? How are we going to find the answer in this way?”
The singer also said that the reason she’s speaking out is “to encourage people to get together and protest against this means of ‘conflict resolution’ which will never work.”
Barr wrote in her blog that “the destruction of the Jews in Israel has been assured with this inhuman attack on civilians in Gaza.”
The comedienne compared what Israel is doing today to what the Nazis did to the Jewish people during Hitler’s reign of terror, writing that “Israel now bombs innocent civilians who have been imprisoned in concentration camps in Gaza!”
According to Barr, “The Zionists look German! The Palestinians look like the Jews of Poland!”
Barr also determined that American Christians are the ones to blame for the crisis.
She concluded, “This is what the pro-life, right wing, neo con, evangelical, Zionist, Bible-banging Americans really mean when they say America is a Christian nation, or when they say Israel must defend itself, or when they say the Bible is the Word of God.”
2. Barack Obama Brings Back 'The Dead'
The remaining members of legendary jam band the Grateful Dead were not getting along very well.
Fans of the group, who are known as “Deadheads,” were concerned that they would never again be able to sit cross-legged on a concert floor as their favorite San Fran group let loose with one of their trademark hour-long tunes.
But now, no doubt to the Deadheads’ delight, Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir and Bill Kreutzmann, the original members of the Grateful Dead, have announced that they will do a tour in April 2009.
These days the group is simply known as “The Dead.” Interestingly, members haven’t toured together for four years.
Why the reconciliation? Barack Obama, of course.
The four rockers got together in October 2008 to perform at Penn State for an Obama fundraiser.
Three of the band members played an earlier Obama money generator in February 2008.
Hart told Rolling Stone that the Obama fest “broke the ice,” adding, “We were able to let some of these skeletons in our closet just fall away.”
3. Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey in Row on 'Rock'
The success of NBC’s Golden Globe-nominated hit TV show “30 Rock” depends in large part on its two main stars getting along.
Judging by the public behavior of Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey, though, the Peacock may have something to fret about.
At a recent photo shoot for the show, Baldwin reportedly cracked to a photographer, “Get ready to do a lot of airbrushing,” an apparent reference to a scar from childhood that remains on Fey’s cheek.
Fey shot back, “Something wrong with my face?” to which Baldwin remarked that it was her entire body that was the problem.
According to a source at the purported row, Fey then said that the comment “was coming from a guy with a double chin who thinks Sarah Palin is hot.”
It could be that Alec is frustrated because as creator and star of “30 Rock” Tina is the boss. On the other hand, Fey may be miffed that Alec heaped praise on the real Sarah Palin.
Regardless of the reasons, NBC execs need to maintain the peace if they want the Rock to keep on rollin’.
4. Brad Pitt and Jimmy Carter’s Chosen Charity in Legal Snafu
With hopes of providing houses to the homeless, Hollywood celebrities bankrolled a project by the name of Fairway Oaks with Jimmy Carter.
But it appears now that a lawsuit may be brought, and the potential litigation could harm the reputation of the respected charity, Habitat for Humanity, which is closely aligned with the ex-prez.
The housing project is located in northern Florida and consists of 85 homes. It was built approximately eight years ago over a 17-day period by 10,000 volunteers, including Carter.
Habitat for Humanity is a favorite charity of Tinseltown A-listers including Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, and Colin Firth.
A group of the homeowners has hired April Charney, a lawyer who, on her client’s behalf, alleges that the charity failed to disclose that part of the project was built on a garbage dump.
Homeowners have reported having problems with issues that include cracking walls, deteriorating door frames, skin rashes, mildew, rats, and ants.
A court case may prove embarrassing for the charity if the practice of using amateur volunteers to construct homes proves to be a factor in the case.
Hopefully, Habitat for Humanity won’t be hammered too hard or else Jimmy Carter may have more time on his hands to dole out foreign policy advice.
5. Inauguration, Hollywood Style
The Creative Coalition, a self-described “public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community,” is putting together a Hollywood inauguration bash to celebrate the election of Barack Obama.
The Creative Coalition 2009 Inaugural Ball will be sponsored by Pepsi.
Entertainment for the evening will include musical performances by Sting, Elvis Costello and Sam Moore of Sam and Dave fame.
A slew of celebrities are slated to host the event, illustrating the left coast’s enormous adulation of Obama.
Hollywood hosts include Anne Hathaway, Ron Howard, Marcia Cross, Spike Lee, Kate Walsh, Susan Sarandon, Ashley Judd, Tim Daly, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dana Delany, Ellen Burstyn, Jane Krakowski, Blair Underwood, Wendie Malick, Adrian Grenier, Kerry Washington, Alan Cumming, Barry Levinson, Alfre Woodard, Josh Lucas, Matthew Modine, Richard Schiff, Connie Britton, Maura Tierney, Sue Kramer, Rachael Leigh Cook, Gloria Reuben, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Phillip Bloch, Tom Cavanagh, Bradley Cooper, Hill Harper and Peter Sarsgaard.
So many left coasters are expected to be in D.C. come Inauguration Day, the paparazzi will be taking pictures of each other.
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