Monday, February 16, 2004

Yellow "journalist" Matt Drudge Asshole of the Week Editors's note: Today I resurrect a feature that I used to do, Asshole of the Week. With the war to end the Bush regime's hostile occupation of the White House on, there should be no shortage of assholes for months to come. Right-wing Internet slime slinger Matt Drudge is the Asshole of the Week for publishing on his sleazy Web site wholly unsubstantiated charges -- "supported" by wholly unnamed "sources" -- that Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry had an extramarital affair with a young woman. Drudge's intent was to torpedo Kerry's campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination and, I suspect, to further ingratiate himself with his fellow right-wing nutjobs. The 27-year-old woman, Alexandra Polier, told The Associated Press today in a statement: "I have never had a relationship with Senator Kerry, and the rumors in the press are completely false." The AP reports today that "Polier's statement was released to the AP in Nairobi, where the 27-year-old freelance journalist is visiting the parents of her fiance, Yaron Schwartzman, an Israeli who was raised in Kenya." On Thursday Drudge falsely reported on his Web site that Polier "recently fled the country [to Africa], reportedly at the prodding of Kerry!" because the two had had a sexual relationship, the news of which could cripple the Kerry campaign.  The Associated Press reports further today:  "Whoever is spreading these rumors and allegations does not know me," Polier said, appealing to the media to respect her privacy and the privacy of her fiance and his family. Polier also took issue with reports that referred to her as a former Kerry intern. "I never interned or worked for John Kerry," she told AP over the phone. In a separate statement, Polier's parents, Terry and Donna Polier of Malvern, Pa., dismissed the "completely false and unsubstantiated" allegations about their daughter. "We love and support her 100 percent and these unfounded rumors are hurtful to our entire family," the statement said. "We appreciate the way Senator Kerry has handled the situation, and intend on voting for him for president of the United States." The statement did not address purported quotes by Polier's parents in the British tabloid The Sun that were harshly critical of Kerry. [That sleazy, highly questionable article -- again, The Sun is a tabloid -- is here.]  Kerry has won 14 of 16 Democratic primaries and caucuses, and is expected to be the Democratic challenger to President Bush in November. Rumors of a relationship between Kerry and Polier first appeared Thursday on the Internet and were picked up by newspapers in several countries outside the United States. Few U.S. publications printed [Polier's] name, however. Asked Friday about the reports, Kerry told reporters: "I just deny it categorically. It's rumor. It's untrue. And that's the last time I intend" to respond to questions about it. Regarding her silence until now, Polier said, "Because these stories were false, I assumed the media would ignore them. It seems that efforts to peddle these lies continue, so I feel compelled to address them." By [today], reporters and photographers were camped outside the Schwartzmans' Nairobi home, and at one point pursued the car of Yaron's mother, Hannah Schwartzman, as she left the walled compound. Polier and Yaron Schwartzman met at Columbia University. They arrived in Kenya last October. Polier graduated from Clark University in Worcester, Mass., in 1999. She received her master's in journalism from Columbia in 2003. Drudge's claim to infamy is breaking the news of the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky affair. With a Kerry sex scandal Drudge wanted another reputation-destroying scoop, but he must be bitterly disappointed. Drudge's modus operandi is to publish enough rumors and innuendoes that over time, by the law of averages, once in a great while he'll be at least partially correct about some piece of slimy, damaging news. Why someone hasn't sued the holy living shit out of him for libel (that I'm aware of, anyway) escapes me.  11:39:35 AM    Comments []

Film review Rub-a-dub dud: Louis Garrel (right) plays the stereotypically bitter young French man Theo; Eva Green (middle) plays his spunky sister Isabelle; and Michael Pitt (left) plays the beleaguered, puppy-faced American student Matthew in Bernardo Bertolucci's disappointing film "The Dreamers." Despite its NC-17 rating, the film shows nothing that we haven't seen in R-rated films. The Dreamers Bernardo Bertolucci's disappointing film "The Dreamers" opens several possibilities but fulfills none of them. The angst-ridden young characters' discussion of politics and philosophy doesn't rise much (if any) above that overheard at a typical Starbucks. The creepily dysfunctional, quasi-sexual bond between a brother and sister with matching tattoos was done much better in HBO's series "Six Feet Under." "The Dreamers" doesn't even fulfill the promise of being softcore porn, as its NC-17 rating suggests that it is. It shows no more nudity or sexual activity than I've seen in an R-rated film, so its NC-17 rating baffles me. Nor does the film actually deliver on what its ads suggest will be depictions of gay or bisexual sex, incestual sex or even a three-way. It only teases us and portrays only heterosexual sex between two people (yaaaaaawn) -- and even then they use the missionary position. (For those who really want to know, we see a lot of the French sister Isabelle [played by Eva Green] nude; my gay friend Estevan, who sat next to me during the movie, groaned frequently. There is one prolonged shot of the American student Matthew's [Michael Pitt's] flaccid but substantial family jewels, and we get only glimpses of the French brother Theo's [Louis Garrel's] goods, over which Estevan and I both were bitterly disappointed. In the scenes in which Theo masturbates to orgasm in front of Matthew and Isabelle and Isabelle and Matthew have intercourse, we see no erection and no penetration. If you want to see porn, you'll have to go get yourself some porn.)    Oh, yeah, the plot: "The Dreamers" is about a spoiled French brother and sister who mess with the heart and mind and penis of an American student (well, as I indicated, only the sister messes with his penis) who is living in Paris in 1968, avoiding, like "President" Bush, having to fight in the Vietnam War. The American student spends most of his time watching old movies at a movie theater, where he meets the brother and sister, who suck him into their sick relationship. While the brother and sister's parents are away, the three play mind and sex games while civil unrest unfolds in the streets below them. There isn't much more to tell than that. "The Dreamers" has a few good scenes, such as the scene in which Matthew finally confronts Theo and Isabelle about their dysfunctional relationship and how they abuse him to make themselves feel better about it. The three young actors turn in good performances, but with an unfocused script, which includes a disappointing ending, their efforts don't add up to much -- not even to good softcore porn. About all I left the theater with was the question in my mind: Is every young French man sullen and irritable? My grade: C+ 10:28:03 AM    Comments []