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MSNBC’s Al Sharpton on Thursday praised President Joe Biden’s speech on voting rights in Philadelphia the day before. Sharpton described the speech in which Biden likened recent GOP-led voting integrity laws to Jim Crow laws as “monumental.” “I think he made … a monumental speech,” Shapton proclaimed on “Morning Joe.” “For a president to stand there in the shadows of where they signed the Declaration of Independence and attack Jim Crow 21st century was something that I was not expecting. And I also thought the fact that he did not, in any way, shape or form, duck the racial aspect...

Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano reacted to the Harvey Weinstein verdict on “America’s Newsroom” Monday, calling it a "significant victory" for the disgraced movie producer and a "monumental setback" for prosecutors. Weinstein, 67, was convicted of first-degree commission of a criminal sexual act and third-degree rape but was acquitted of two more serious charges of predatory sexual assault, as well as first-degree rape. The charges Weinstein was convicted of carry a total sentence of up to 29 years in prison. “He’s still facing serious time," Napolitano said. "But, these are not the life sentences, the big ones...

Growing Pains actor Kirk Cameron thinks that America is off track. He’s concerned about our country’s future and he believes that we have to look to history to find “the secret sauce” that made our nation so great in the first place. With that in mind, his new documentary Monumental focuses on Cameron’s attempt to retrace our Pilgrim’s journey in order to better understand how our nation came into being. I recently had a chance to talk to Cameron about his new movie and the reasons he made it. Cameron’s reason for making the film is evident even in the...

(And you wonder why Britain is in trouble ....) After just one day of classes at her summer school of choice, Emily Birkenshaw had already learned a crucial lesson: how to "go floppy" when facing arrest. "You're heavier then, so you can't be carried," she said, with the genuine delight of a new recruit. The 24-year-old been practising by linking arms with her classmates and singing loudly at a pretend policeman. "It just felt really empowering," she said. "If that happened [in real life] – and I hope it wouldn't – I'd know how to do it without getting hurt."...

SACRAMENTO, United States (AFP) - Mexican President Vicente Fox called the immigration reform bill passed by the US Senate "a monumental step forward" in a special address to the California legislature. "It is a moment millions of families have waited for, a moment millions of people have been working for," Fox said to applause in a joint session of the California state assembly and senate in the capital city of Sacramento. "Today's historic vote is a monumental step forward, but we realize there is more debate ahead," he said, shortly after the US Senate passed an immigration bill that would...

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 4, 2006 — The beginning of a new year is a time to reflect on the past and look toward the future. Last year was a monumental year. The year began with the successful election of a transitional government, the Iraqi people wrote and ratified a constitution and recently held another successful election. Along the way, more than 15 million Iraqis registered to vote and an increasing number voted in each event, due in part to an increasingly secure environment. A key to the improved security environment was the growth and capability of Iraqi police and army...

8/31/2002 ... I wrote for the first time on Venezuela and Linux, due to an article which appeared in Linux Today entitled Venezuela’s Government shifts to open source software. The article generated a big discussion in Slashdot, most of which was useless as most writers have no idea how inefficient the Venezuelan Government is. 9/01/2002 A scandal broke out because it turned out that two of the three “advisors” to the Minister of Planning happened to have very strong ties to Linux commercial efforts. It was that and not some Microsoft plot that stopped that effort. 9/29/2004 Right after Venezuela...

"Our praises are our wages" Shakespeare's "Winter's Tale" Adulators often appear in countries where total political power is in the hands of a strongman. Longing for approval from the master, adulators will do or say whatever it takes. This has happened in Venezuelan history since Boves and Guzman Blanco walked our geography. The people objects of adulation do not have to be particularly distinguished, as long as they have power. They can be louts like the Monagas brothers or Cipriano Castro or Juan Vicente Gomez or Marcos Perez Jimenez, but this poses no problem for the invertebrate members of the...

Former vice president Al Gore (news - web sites) may be supporting Howard Dean (news - web sites), but retired army general Wesley Clark (news - web sites) has support in his quest for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination from ... Madonna (news - web sites). The Material Girl on Tuesday publicly threw her support behind the retired four-star general, one of nine Democrats seeking to replace George W. Bush in the November 2004 election. "I endorse him because I think he's a great guy," the pop superstar said on CNN Tuesday. "I think he's a natural born leader." Madonna...

Last Updated: Wednesday, 24 September, 2003, 11:09 GMT 12:09 UKMadonna book sells 8,000 copies This was Madonna's first attempt at children's fiction Madonna's children's book The English Roses has sold just over 8,000 copies in its first week in the UK. The book, launched amid a blaze of publicity, made it to number 17 in the national book chart, according to data company Nielsen Bookscan. It was the second bestselling children's book of the week, behind JK Rowling's fifth Harry Potter book. This week the top-selling book in the UK, David Beckham's autobiography My Side, sold 103,508 copies. Madonna's book,...

<p>The middle-aged serial slurper came to Midtown yesterday clad in an early Halloween costume - dowdy tweed suit and bushy hair - to role-play the part of an actual mom.</p> <p>We've seen this gal tied up, beaten down, with cones protruding from her bosom, and naked so frequently, it is to yawn. But Madonna's new, prissy act, unveiled on Fifth Avenue, was downright weird.</p>

Poor Madonna (news - web sites). In her new career as a writer of children's books, lightning has not struck twice. Her first effort, The English Roses, had skeptical critics baying with praise at how effectively she examines the subtle but cruel ways girls exclude those they envy or pity. The book has been translated into 37 languages, and it has been on the USA TODAY Best-Selling Books list since Sept. 22. Its highest rank was No. 7. In the second of Madonna's expected five books, Mr. Peabody's Apples, illustrated by Loren Long, the pop star and mother turns her...

LONDON: "Material Girl" Madonna is said to be gearing up for a fistfight with Warner Bros Records over differences about where her Maverick Records is heading. According to PeopleNews , a reason for the impending parting of the ways may be attributed to a rumour that Time Warner is lining up to sell off the Warner Music Group. Tension seems to be brewing, as renegotiations between the two warring parties is virtually non-existent, sources close to the disgruntled Warner executives, say. Others are even predicting "a nuclear lawsuit," with the big guns of parent company Time Warner lining up for...

Madonna's bestseller November 26, 2003 MADONNA'S second children's book Mr Peabody's Apples is on top of the New York Times best sellers list for children this week. The queen of pop has topped the book chart just eight weeks after her last number one with The English Roses. Children are loving Madonna's tales. As funny as it may sound, Madonna has kept The Cat In The Hat from going number one in the book world. The Cat In The Hat is being propelled by the movie starring Mike Myers, Alec Baldwin and Kelly Preston. Madonna's career as an author couldn't...

Nobody ever says, "Madonna who?" She's part of our culture, an American success story who's maintained a media presence for 20 years now, re-inventing herself with every prevailing wind, while never, ever giving the impression she's doing anything other than what she wants to do. We are by turns impressed, embarrassed, shocked and amazed by Madonna's antics, but we're rarely surprised anymore. Madonna, the dancer from Detroit, set out to become famous and succeeded beyond anybody's but her own wildest dreams. She's 45, and shows no signs of slowing down or relinquishing her place in the spotlight; in fact, she's...

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) --The Material Girl has stepped onto the political stage and endorsed Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark. "I think he has a good handle on foreign policy, I think he's good with people, and I think he has a heart and a consciousness," pop singer Madonna said. "He's interested in spirituality -- I mean, those things mean a lot to me." The singer and children's book author met Clark a few weeks ago for over an hour. In an interview recorded last week with CNN's Denise Quan, Madonna said they discussed his becoming president. The singer told...