In NSA Spying Scandal, Outrage But Calculation Too

BRUSSELS (AP) — U.S. allies knew that the Americans were spying on them, but they had no idea how much.

As details of National Security Agency spying programs have become public through former contractor Edward Snowden, citizens, activists and politicians in countries from Latin America to Europe have lined up to express shock and outrage at the scope of what Washington may know about them.

But politicians are also using the threat to their citizens' privacy to drum up their numbers at the polls — or to distract attention from their own domestic problems. Some have even downplayed the matter to keep good relations with Washington.

After a Paris newspaper reported the NSA had swept up 70.3 million French telephone records in a 30-day period, the French government called the U.S. ambassador in for an explanation and put the issue of personal data protection on the agenda of the European Union summit that opens Thursday.

But the official French position —that friendly nations should not spy on each another — can't be taken literally, a former French foreign minister says.

"The magnitude of the eavesdropping is what shocked us," Bernard Kouchner said Tuesday in a radio interview. "Let's be honest, we eavesdrop too. Everyone is listening to everyone else. But we don't have the same means as the United States, which makes us jealous. And it's a bit of a game to discover the eavesdropping among intelligence services, even though the services — especially the Americans and the French — work together quite efficiently."

The French government, which until this week had been largely silent in the face of widespread U.S. snooping on its territory, may have had other reasons to speak out. The furor over the NSA managed to draw media attention away from France's controversial expulsion of a Roma family at a time when French President Francois Hollande's popularity is at a historic low. Just 23 percent of French approve of the job he is doing, according to a poll released last weekend.

In Germany, opposition politicians, the media and privacy activists have been vocal in their outrage over reported widescale U.S. eavesdropping — but not Chancellor Angela Merkel. She has worked hard to contain the damage to U.S.-German relations and refrained from saying anything bad about the Americans.

The German leader has expressed surprise at the scope of U.S. data collection efforts but also said her country was "dependent" on cooperation with the American spy agencies. It was thanks to "tips from American sources," she said, that security services were able to foil an Islamic terror plot in 2007 that targeted U.S. soldiers and citizens in Germany with an explosive equivalent to 900 pounds of TNT.

Still, to fend off criticism by the opposition and the media, Merkel raised the electronic eavesdropping issue when President Barack Obama visited Germany in June, demanded answers from the U.S. government, and backed calls for greater data protection at a European level.

Few countries have responded as angrily to U.S. spying than Brazil. President Dilma Rousseff took the extremely rare diplomatic step of canceling a visit to Washington where she had been scheduled to receive a full state dinner this week.

Analysts say the anger is genuine, though also politically profitable for Rousseff, who faces an increasingly competitive re-election campaign next year. Her strong stance against the United States can only help her standing with the more left-wing elements of her ruling Workers Party.

David Fleischer, a political scientist at the University of Brasilia, said since the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S., it was "well known by Brazilian governments" that the Americans had stepped up spying efforts.

"But what the government did not know was that Dilma's office had been hacked as well, and this is what caused the outrage," Fleischer said.

Information the NSA collected in Mexico appears to have largely focused on drug fighting policies or government personnel trends. But the U.S. agency also allegedly spied on the emails of two Mexican presidents, Enrique Pena Nieto, the incumbent, and Felipe Calderon, the former head of state.

The Mexican government has reacted cautiously to those revelations, calling the targeting of the presidents "unacceptable" and "illegitimate" yet its statements haven't been accompanied by any real action. Pena Nieto has demanded an investigation but hasn't cancelled any visits or contacts, a strategy that Mexico's opposition and some analysts see as weak and submissive.

"Other countries, like Brazil, have had responses that are much more resounding than our country," said Sen. Gabriela Cuevas of Mexico's conservative National Action Party.

In part, this is because of Mexico's much-closer economic and political ties to the United States, which the Mexican government apparently does not want to endanger.

"It is true that we depend a lot more on the United States; Brazil is further away," Mexican columnist Guadalupe Loaeza wrote Tuesday.

Beyond politics, the NSA espionage has been greeted with relative equanimity in Mexico, whose people are long used to the government's extremely close intelligence cooperation with the United States in the war against the drug cartels.

"The country we should really be spying on now is New Zealand, to see if we can get enough information so the national team can win a qualifying berth at the World Cup," Loaeza wrote, referring to the Nov. 13 game between the two rivals.

__

Hinnant reported from Paris. AP writers Frank Jordans in Berlin, Stan Lehman in Sao Paulo and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City also contributed.

Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=240213341&ft=1&f=
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Belkin brandishes iPad Air keyboard cases and accessories

You'll likely need a new keyboard case to go with that iPad Air, and Belkin's just revealed some of the very first options. The Qode Ultimate Keyboard Case leads the brand's parade of new accessories, and sports a black or silver aluminum body and an impressive 264 hours of active battery life for ...

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Yo! You There! Call Yourself “Pro-Life” Do You… (Balloon Juice)

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College prices appear to be moderating

WASHINGTON (AP) — There's some good news on college tuition. Yes, the cost has gone up — but not as much in the past.

For in-state students at a four-year public college or university, published tuition and fees increased this year on average $247 to $8,893. That's a 2.9 percent increase — the smallest one-year increase in more than 30 years, the College Board said Wednesday in its annual report on college prices.

Out-of-state prices, as well as the costs to attend public two-year colleges and private institutions rose but they also avoided big spikes, said Sandy Baum, co-author of the report. These more moderate increases could lessen concern that an annual rapid growth is tuition prices in the new normal.

"It does seem that the spiral is moderating. Not turning around, not ending, but moderating," Baum said.

The average published cost for tuition and fees at a private college for the 2013-14 academic year was $30,094 — up $1,105. An out-of-state student at a public college or university faced an annual average price tag of $22,203, which is up $670. The average price tag to for an in-state student to attend a two-year institution was much less at $3,264 — up $110.

Most students don't actually pay that, though. There are grants, tax credits and deductions that help ease the cost of going to college. About two-thirds of full-time students get grants, most from the federal government.

But, in the two years leading up to the 2012-2013 school year, the federal aid per full-time equivalent undergraduate student declined 9 percent, or about $325.

That means students have to foot more of the bill themselves.

"The rapid increases in college prices have slowed, however, student and families are paying more because grant aid is not keeping up," said David Coleman, president of the College Board.

While the average published price for tuition and fees for a private college is $30,094, the net price is $12,460 — up $530 from last year. The net price is what they actually pay after grants. There were years this decade that saw the net price going down, but it has gone up the last two years.

The average published in-state price for tuition and fees at a public four-year school is $8,893, but the average net price is about $3,120.

Molly Corbett Broad, president of the American Council on Education, in a statement called it "troubling" that overall grant aid is not keeping up with prices. Her organization represents the presidents of U.S. colleges and universities.

"Institutions are committed to holding down costs, but it is equally important for state and federal governments to play their part to make college affordable," she said.

The College Board is a not-for-profit membership group that promotes college access and owns the SAT exam.

The report spells out the large declines in state appropriations given to public institutions in recent years. These cuts have been blamed for rises in college costs. Other causes often cited range from the high cost of health care for employees to the demand by students for flashier campus amenities.

Among the other findings in the report:

— Adding in costs for room and board to live on campus, average annual published costs: At public, four-year universities, $18,391 for in-state students and $31,701 for out-of-state students; $40,917 for private colleges and universities; $10,730 for in-state students at public two year schools.

— The average published tuition and fees at for-profit institutions increased by $70 to $15,130 — an increase of less than 1 percent.

— New Hampshire and Vermont had the highest published in-state tuition and fees at both four-year and two-year institutions. Wyoming and Alaska had the lowest published in-state tuition and fees at a four-year institution, while California and New Mexico had the lowest in-state among two-year schools.

— In 2012-2013, $238.5 billion in financial aid was issued to undergraduate and graduate students in the forms of grants from all sources, Federal Work-Study, federal loans and federal tax credits and deductions. Also, students borrowed about $8.8 billion from private, state and institutional sources.

— About 60 percent of students who earned bachelor's degrees in 2011-2012 graduated with debt, borrowing a total of $26,500 on average.

___

Online: http://www.collegeboard.org/

___

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The Fix: How Jon Stewart became President Obama’s biggest problem (Washington Post)

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FDA reviews 2 promising new drugs for hepatitis C

WASHINGTON (AP) — Doctors may soon have two new drug options for patients with hepatitis C, just as the liver-destroying virus becomes a major public health concern for millions of baby boomers.

The Food and Drug Administration holds a public meeting this week to review two experimental medications from Johnson & Johnson and Gilead Sciences. The new drugs, if approved, could offer a quicker, more effective approach to eliminating hepatitis C, a blood-borne disease blamed for 15,000 deaths in the U.S. this year.

In a review posted online Tuesday, the FDA reported that J&J's drug simeprevir has a slightly higher cure rate than currently available treatments, though it also caused rashes and sunburn in some patients.

On Thursday the FDA will ask a panel of outside experts whether the drug should carry warnings about rashes and sunburn on its label. The agency is not required to follow the panel's advice, though it often does.

The meeting comes at a time when federal health officials are urging baby boomers to get tested for the virus, which can go unnoticed for decades before causing symptoms.

Between 3 million and 4 million Americans are infected with hepatitis C, and people born between 1945 and 1965 are five times more likely to have it than people of other age groups, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Many baby boomers contracted the virus by sharing needles or having sex with an infected person in their youth. The disease was also spread by blood transfusions before 1992, when blood banks began testing for the virus.

"If something is not done soon, all these people who were infected in the 60s and 70s are going to start experiencing the long-term consequences of liver disease," said Gaston Picchio, head of hepatitis drug development for J&J's Janssen Therapeutics unit.

Most people with hepatitis C do not even know they have the virus until after liver damage has occurred, causing abdominal pain, fatigue, itching and dark urine.

For most of the last 20 years, the standard treatment involved a grueling one-year regimen of pills and injections that caused flu-like symptoms and cured less than half of patients. Many patients failed to complete the full treatment cycle. Others delayed starting treatment at all in the hopes that more effective treatments would come along.

Two drugs approved in 2011 kicked off a new effort to treat the disease. Research shows that adding the two new drugs — Vertex Pharmaceuticals' Incivek and Merck & Co.'s Victrelis — to the older drug cocktail can boost cure rates to between 65 and 75 percent.

And the drugs the FDA is reviewing this week have the potential to push cure rates even higher.

J&J's simeprevir cured 80 percent of patients who had not previously been treated for the disease, according to the FDA's review. Additionally, the vast majority of patients were able to cut their treatment time in half to 24 weeks, compared with the usual 52 weeks. The New Brunswick, N.J., company is seeking approval to combine the daily pill with the older treatment regimen for patients with the most common form of the virus. J&J developed the drug with Swedish drugmaker Medivir.

On Friday, the same FDA panel will review another hepatitis C drug from Gilead Sciences Inc. that some analysts say will become the first-choice for treating the disease. The pill, known as sofosbuvir, has been shown to cure up to 90 percent of patients after just 12 weeks of therapy, according to one company study. Additionally, analysts believe the drug will eventually be used without interferon, the injectable medication used in the current drug cocktail that causes nausea, diarrhea and other unpleasant side effects.

Gilead is racing against other drugmakers to develop the first all-pill approach to treating hepatitis C, long viewed as the holy grail by drugmakers. Similar efforts are underway from Abbott Laboratories, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Vertex Pharmaceuticals and others.

Pharmaceutical industry consulting firm Decision Resources estimates the market for hepatitis C drugs will grow to more than $23 billion by 2018. Sales of the drugs are expected to decline to $17.5 billion by 2021 as more patients are cured of the virus.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-10-22-Hepatitis%20Drug-FDA/id-ede688fbad254ff490f37682eb6a377c
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US employers add 148K jobs; rate falls to 7.2 pct.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy added just 148,000 jobs in September, suggesting that employers held back on hiring before a 16-day partial government shutdown began Oct. 1.

Still, hiring last month was enough to lower the unemployment rate. The Labor Department said Tuesday that the rate fell to 7.2 percent from 7.3 percent in August. Unemployment remains historically high but is near a five-year low and is down from 7.9 percent at the start of 2013.

The tepid job growth makes it more likely that the Federal Reserve will maintain its level of bond purchases for the rest of this year. The bond purchases are intended to lower long-term interest rates and boost borrowing and spending.

The release of the September jobs report had been delayed 2½ weeks by the shutdown, which likely further slowed economic growth and hiring. Temporary layoffs of federal workers and government contractors will probably depress October's job gain. That means a clear view of the job market may not emerge until the November jobs report is issued in December.

The report "reinforces the impression that the labor market was losing a little momentum heading in to the shutdown," said Josh Feinman, global chief economist at Deutsche Asset and Wealth Management. "The labor market is continuing to create jobs. ...It's just frustratingly slow."

The economy has added an average of 143,000 jobs a month from July through September, weaker than the 182,000 average gain from April through June.

Stock futures rose after the report was released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, and in early trading the Dow Jones industrial average was up about 40 points.

A tight job market has discouraged many Americans from looking for work. The percentage of Americans working or looking for work remained at a 35-year low last month

The September jobs report showed that some higher-paying industries added jobs at a healthy pace. Construction companies, for example, added 20,000.

Transportation and warehousing gained 23,400 jobs, governments 22,000.

And average hourly pay ticked up 3 cents to $24.09. In the past year, hourly pay has risen 2.1 percent, ahead of the 1.5 percent inflation rate.

The department revised its estimates of job growth in July and August to show a slight net gain of 9,000. It said employers added 193,000 jobs in August, more than the 169,000 previously estimated. But it said just 89,000 were added in July, the fewest in more than a year and below the earlier estimated 104,000.

The deceleration in job growth was a key reason the Fed decided in September to hold off on slowing its $85-billion-a-month in bond purchases. Many economists think the lack of clean data will lead the Fed to put off any decision on the bond purchases until 2014.

"It reinforces their hesitancy," Feinman said of the September jobs report. "It's more validation for their hesitancy to taper in September."

Many economists say the shutdown cut $25 billion out of the economy and slowed growth to about a 2 percent annual rate in the October-December quarter. That's down from estimates before the shutdown that the economy would expand at a 2.5 percent annual rate.

But growth will likely be a bit higher in the first three months of next year, as consumers and businesses make purchases and investments that were delayed during the shutdown.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-employers-add-148k-jobs-rate-falls-7-123141392--finance.html
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Gun-toting robots may fight alongside soldiers in future battles

American soldiers may soon be joined on the battlefield by machine gun-toting robots on wheels, according to U.S. Army officials.

Earlier this month, military leaders attended a technology demonstration at Fort Benning, Ga., where robotics companies exhibited their most advanced weaponized creations, reported ComputerWorld.com. The display was designed to show the potential ways robots could support troops in combat.

Army leaders watched a human controller command a wheeled robot, positioned more than 300 feet (90 meters) away, open fire with an M240 machine gun. The robot, which also uses thermal-imaging technology to spot concealed enemies, could protect soldiers from potentially dangerous assaults.

Humanoid robots fighting alongside troops on the battlefield may be some time off, the current wheel-bound creations already show strong promise, according to the Army. [Humanoid Robots to Flying Cars: 10 Coolest DARPA Projects]

"We were hoping to see how they remotely control lethal weapons," Lt. Col. Willie Smith, chief of unmanned ground vehicles at Fort Benning, told ComputerWorld of the technology demonstration. "We were pleased with what we saw here. The technology is getting to be where it needs to be. It's a start."

While gun-toting robots are not yet officially used by the military in combat, the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marines have experimented with prototype machines.

Smith said he is unsure how soon armed robots may join the Army's ranks, but he hopes the military will begin introducing these types of robots into battlefield settings within five years. "They're not just tools, but members of the squad. That's the goal," Smith told ComputerWorld.

Northrop Grumman, iRobot Corp, HDT Robotics and QinetiQ were among the commercial companies demonstrating their hardware for the military, reported ComputerWorld. The robots can be equipped with a variety of weapons, and are capable of performing a range of tasks.

Northrop Grumman's robot, the Carry-all Mechanized Equipment Landrover or CaMEL, uses a telescope and thermal-imaging technology to identify enemies up to 2 miles (3.5 kilometers) away. The robot can operate for more than 20 hours on 3.5 gallons of fuel, according to Northrop Grumman. The CaMEL is also capable of wielding a number of lethal weapons, including a grenade launcher, an automatic weapon and anti-tank missiles.

The robots, which can be operated through satellite communications, ensure that human soldiers can remain safely out of harms way, in some cases hundreds of miles away from the battlefield.

Executives from the robotics companies say the robots can be air-dropped into a war zone from a helicopter or plane, or may rove alongside the troops on patrol, reported ComputerWorld.

Still, don't expect these mechanized warriors to take over completely for human soldiers. At least not yet, said Tollie Strode Jr., a senior project officer with the Maneuver Battle Lab at Fort Benning.

"The robot may acquire an enemy target, but it will still always ask a human for permission to fire," Strode told ComputerWorld. "I think the ability for a robot to acquire and assess a target and ID it as a threat and fire is probably five or 10 years out. However, even if that capability exists … we'll have a human in the process of deciding what to do."

Follow Denise Chow on Twitter @denisechow. Follow LiveScience @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gun-toting-robots-may-fight-alongside-soldiers-future-225612827.html
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Revolt TV CEO on Sean Combs' Plan to Conquer Cable

Sean Combs is betting big on Revolt TV.

At 5 p.m. EST Monday, the all music channel goes live in the homes of about 22 million Comcast subscribers and 12 million Time Warner Cable customers, marking one of the biggest launches of a cable channel in years.

Revolt TV is the latest brainchild of Combs (aka Diddy, P. Diddy, Puff Daddy), a serial entrepreneur who has found success in music as an executive and hip hop artist as well as in fashion, liquor, marketing and more, helping him accumulate a fortune that Forbes estimated in 2012 at $550 million.

Now, seven years after he first conceived a new kind of all music channel, Combs is pouring tens of millions of that into launching a service aimed at 18 to 34 year olds – members of the Millennial generation – who consume more music than ever but not necessarily in traditional ways like listening to the radio or watching cable TV. In fact, they are the generation often described as “cord cutters,” because they haven’t rushed to subscribe to cable and often are more likely to view TV on a mobile phone or tablet computer than on the living room flat screen.

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Combs has chosen Keith Clinkscales, who helped Quincy Jones launch Vibe magazine and spent years doing content development for ESPN, to be CEO of Revolt TV. He hired former MTV programming chief Andy Schuon as president. They have been working with a team of more than 100 other hires, mostly at Los Angeles headquarters and in New York City, to figure out how to make the all music formula work on TV.

Clinkscales says it's a good time to launch because music and digital consumption are both up.

"You have more and more bands and artists going across the whole eco system. Music is very healthy," Clinkscales tells The Hollywood Reporter. "To have a place that can be the center of that—we would like to earn that position by reaching our fans well. We have to have good access and engage with the artists and be able to go ahead and provide sponsors, advertisers, and record companies a place we can meet."

Two decades after he founded Bad Boy Records, Combs at 44 seems confident he can reach the younger generation and build a significant business by reaching his audience on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media as a way to lure them to watch his cable channel. He calls it the first launch in the era of social media.

His pitch is simple. It will be fresh, new and unlike what you have seen before. “I said it twice,” he recently tweeted, “and imma say it again. No Rules. Anything can happen. @RevoltTV.”

PHOTOS: 20 Best and Worst Music to Movie Crossovers

Combs has crisscrossed the country in the last year meeting with brands and advertisers, talking up his channel vision to advertisers, media and some private investors who have joined his latest venture as minority investors.

He seems confident even though there are lots of challenges for a music channel. Consider that MTV started with a business plan similar to what Combs has in mind – get lots of videos at little cost from record companies and artists, present them with exciting young personalities, fill in airtime with music oriented news and attract advertisers who are hip to the value of this audience.

What happened, however, was that over time MTV couldn’t generate high enough ratings with that formula. So it shifted its focus to individual shows, first with reality and then scripted, pushing the music to MTV 2, until that too became more series oriented.

There is also Fuse, a music channel owned by The Madison Square Garden Company, Mark Cuban’s AXS pay channel, and of course Viacom’s VH-1, which programs music and series but for a somewhat older crowd. All have struggled to build their own viewership to a significant level. 

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Revolt TV is one of about ten channels chosen by Comcast for carriage in fulfillment of a 2011 agreement when the big cable company bought NBCUniversal to provide more diversity across the dial. Combs was one of those who sought such carriage and he won that lottery; but now he has to prove his formula will really draw Millennials.

Clinkscales says that both Comcast and Time Warner Cable, which is also a charter carrier of Revolt TV, see this as a way to turn those cable cutters into cable consumers. The two cable giants are distributing but are not investors in Revolt TV.

“The leadership opportunity for them was to recognize what were trying to do is reach a new generation of people that are going to be watching cable in the future,” says Clinkscales. “When I came out of college getting cable was an extremely important thing in my life. For the generation currently coming out of college and going into the workforce that challenge is something cable operators have to address. We’re hoping to develop the kind of product that can help them meet that challenge.”

Clinkscales says that they believe the combination of social media, an online presence (but not a full stream of the channel) and smart programming carefully targeted at their Millennial audience will draw in viewers, who then will return because of the environment of music, culture, fashion and insider insights that they will create.

“This won’t be just a channel,” says Clinkscales. “The main thing were going to do is be a place where you can get news and information about music. We want to make sure when you come to Revolt, you’re getting a full picture of what is happing in the world of music.”

PHOTOS: 10 Highly Paid Entertainment CEOs

In September, Revolt TV hired Bruce Perlmutter, the former editor of E! News and E! Online, to head the news operation. Clinkscales says they will have reports not only about music newsmakers, but also behind the scenes at concerts, music festivals and related events.

The shows being planned are being designed both to attract Millennials and to interact with them. One called Power To The People is supposed to reflect content based on feedback from the audience.

Combs' presence suggests that music and the related news will be mostly urban, hip-hop and possibly R&B-related, but Combs has said (and Clinkscales is adamant) it will program beyond that.

“We are working hard from the launch to be not just an urban channel but a channel that covers all music from alternative to rock and roll to hip-hop and down the line.”

Even country? “If young people bang it,” promises Clinkscales, “we’ll cover it. If the target audience we are after likes electronic dance music, we’re going to be there.”

They don’t plan to sign a lot of artists to exclusive music and video breaks, at least not initially. And Clinkscales insist that it will be one of the few places to discover emerging artists – whom it plans to identify early on and bring to the market.

“We want artists to be more vulnerable & say what they really feel,” read a recent Revolt TV tweet, “even introduce us into their private lives. Don't be upset when they do.”

“We're out here on a mission,” read another tweet, “to use music as an influence to make your OWN rules. Get it ? No Rules.”

Revolt TV also has a movie division, Revolt Film, which to date has one picture and one documentary under its belt. The movie, Lawless, starring Shia LaBeouf and Jessica Chastain, was released in Aug. 2012 and grossed about $51 million worldwide. Revolt Film came on board Lawless as a financier after it's premiere at the Cannes International Film Festival.

So will Combs rule as he has in hip-hop, fashion and as a vodka salesman? He has said he is ready to do and spend what it takes for as long as it takes.

“You can feel music now bringing back the excitement and emotion of the timeless years,” read another Revolt TV tweet. “It's a marathon, not a sprint.”

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Inside 'Murdoch's World': A Peek Into A Media Empire

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch's vast empire encompasses everything from newspapers to television networks to tabloids. Steve Inskeep talks with NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik about his new book, Murdoch's World: The Last of the Old Media Empires.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/21/238899506/inside-murdochs-world-a-peek-into-a-media-empire?ft=1&f=1008
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Lost for Words: Film Review

An American ex-Marine and a Chinese ballerina find love, if not much of anything else interesting, in Stanley J. Orzel’s romantic drama. While Lost for Words, the title of which burdens the film with an unfortunate comparison to the similarly cross-culturally themed Lost in Translation, serves as a picturesque travelogue of Hong Kong, its glacial pacing and blandly drawn central characters make it heavy going.

After a portentous opening in which we see Michael (Sean Faris) in prison for an unspecified crime, the action flashes back to several months earlier, when the former soldier arrived in the cosmopolitan city to do IT work for a corporation. He soon runs across -- literally, as they meet while jogging in a park -- Anna (Grace Huang), a dancer being groomed for a showcase solo in a new piece by a modern dance company. The two immediately seem perfect for each other, if only for their similar degree of gorgeousness. But they struggle with a language barrier, each knowing only a smattering of the other's native tongue. Mutually exploring the city's photogenic environs, their relationship deepens as they give each other language lessons.

Personal issues rise to the fore as well. Michael is still reeling from the Dear John video he received from his former girlfriend upon arriving in the city. And the chaste Anna is reluctant to take the relationship to a physical level, despite the entreaties of her freewheeling dancer friend Mei Mei (Joman Chiang).

From the officious dance company captain (Terence Yin) who harbors a not-so-secret yen for Anna to the Michael being haunted by his tour of duty in Afghanistan, the film traffics in overly familiar elements. The dramatic tension rises only towards the end, when Anna takes Michael home for the Chinese New Year. There he has a resonant encounter with her grandfather, who fought in the Korean War opposite Michael’s grandfather in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, and gets into trouble with the authorities during a raid of the secret Catholic Church service the family attends.

Even taking the language gap into consideration, the lead characters rarely say anything particularly interesting, making our involvement in their burgeoning relationship tenuous at best. While the filmmaker’s reluctance to indulge in cheap melodrama is admirable, the resolutely old-fashioned Lost for Words lacks the necessary dramatic texture to compensate for its banal storyline.

Opened Oct. 18 (Studio Strada)
Cast: Sean Faris, Grace Huang, Will Yun Lee, Terence Yin, Joman Chiang
Director: Stanley J. Orzel
Screenwriters: Stanely J. Orzel, C. Joseph Bendy
Producer: Maria Lo Orzel
Executive producers: Richard J. Siemens, Sean Faris, Dino May
Director of photography: Jimmy Wong
Editor: Darren Richter
Production designer: Siu-Hong Cheung
Composer: Andre Matthias
Not rated, 107 min. 

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Category: steve bartman   Krokodil   Shannon Sharpe   Mary Lambert   Olivia Nuzzi  

Here’s Everything We Expect From Apple’s Big iPad Event

Apple is holding a second fall media event Tuesday, and we're expecting a boatload of new products and announcements. The company even admitted as much in its "We still have a lot to cover" invite. Here's what we know -- ...

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Official BBM how-to videos show the ropes to new users

Got BBM on Android? Here are the basics.

BBM is starting to get (kinda-sorta) rolled out today on Android, and to get folks acclimatized, BlackBerry has posted a few how-to videos on their YouTube channel. Videos show how to manage groups, how read/delivered receipts work, handling multi-person chat, checking status updates, sharing files, and adding contacts.

read more

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Redskins' Meriweather suspended 2 games for hits

Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte (22) drags Washington Redskins strong safety Brandon Meriweather, center, and inside linebacker London Fletcher, right, into the end zone for a touchdown during the second half of a NFL football game in Landover, Md., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte (22) drags Washington Redskins strong safety Brandon Meriweather, center, and inside linebacker London Fletcher, right, into the end zone for a touchdown during the second half of a NFL football game in Landover, Md., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Washington Redskins free safety Brandon Meriweather's dangerous habit of leading with his helmet will cost him two games, the latest sanction from a league determined to make the game safer by discouraging blows to the head.

The NFL announced Monday that Meriweather will be suspended for this week's game against the Denver Broncos and the following game against the San Diego Chargers, a severe blow to a struggling defense as the Redskins try to recover from their poor start to the season.

Meriweather has the right to appeal. If he does, an expedited hearing will be held this week and a ruling issued before the Broncos game.

He was flagged twice for hits on defenseless receivers in Sunday's 45-41 win over the Chicago Bears, in the third quarter for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Alshon Jeffery in the fourth quarter for a helmet-first hit to the head and neck area of Brandon Marshall.

In announcing the suspension, the league cited Meriweather's status as a repeat offender. He was fined $42,000 for a helmet-first hit on Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy in Week 2, forcing Lacy out of the game with a concussion. Later in that same game, another helmet-first hit left Meriweather with a concussion, knocking him out of the game.

The two-game suspension will cost Meriweather $141,176 in salary. He will not be allowed to participate in any football activities with the team during the suspension.

Meriweather said after Sunday's game that he thought both hits against the Bears were legal. He said he's tried to change his game to suit the NFL's tackling rules.

"I wasn't trying to be dirty. I wasn't trying to hurt nobody," he said. "I didn't lead with my, didn't launch with my head. I used my shoulder like they told me to do."

Coach Mike Shanahan said earlier Monday that he didn't think Meriweather would be suspended.

"I think he knows exactly what he has to do," Shanahan said. "And sometimes the intent — there's no intent there — sometimes you hit a guy a little bit higher than anticipated. Even the last one, he came to the sideline and says, 'Hey, one guy told me it was a good hit and the other official told me he saw it differently.' So there's a lot of different interpretations of it, and at the end of the day we'll find out."

The suspension could leave the Redskins without their two starting safeties when they face Peyton Manning and the Broncos. Strong safety Reed Doughty suffered a concussion Sunday when the Bears attempted an onside kick in the fourth quarter. He will have to pass the league's required tests before he can be cleared to play next week at Denver.

The Redskins are already thin at safety. Rookie Phillip Thomas was lost for the season with an injury during training camp, and rookie Bacarri Rambo lost his starting job after struggling in the first two games.

The only other safeties on the roster are Jose Gumbs, who has played in two NFL games, and Trenton Robinson, who was signed last week.

Washington is ranked 24th in the NFL against the pass and gave up 24 second-half points Sunday against a backup quarterback.

Shanahan was asked how he would manage if he doesn't have Meriweather and Doughty.

"Not a whole lot you can do about it," Shanahan said, "except prepare the best way you can."

___

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org

___

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Chinese Regulators Restrict Imports of TV Formats

China's media watchdog has cut back the number of foreign TV formats allowed to be broadcast in the country, with satellite broadcasters restricted to airing one per year beginning in 2014. The move is part of a broader crackdown on what the government sees as vulgarity in broadcasting, as well as an effort to promote local content -- especially education programming and that which "builds morality."

The rules are bad news for Hollywood and overseas TV companies seeking a foothold in China. They step up a raft of regulations introduced in February, which capped the broadcast of foreign television series to 50 episodes, and will result in fewer foreign series being aired in China.

PHOTOS: Inside Hollywood's Surprise Trip to 'China's Oscars'

This is expected to result in more TV viewers abandoning the traditional TV format and watching on other platforms, such as computers, tablets and mobile devices.

Chinese audiences have warmly embraced overseas formats like China’s Got Talent and The Voice, but now the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television says satellite broadcasters will be allowed to buy only one format per year.

China's broadcasting landscape is dominated by CCTV, the state-run TV colossus, but provincial satellite channels are becoming more and more influential. Hunan Satellite Television, in the central province of Hunan, is the second most-watched channel in China, is widely available around the country, and has scored some major successes over the years with programs like the American Idol-style Super Girl and it also owns the X-Factor franchise in China.

Meanwhile, The Voice of China, which shows on Zhejiang Satellite TV (ZJTV), has topped the ratings for two consecutive years.

The Chinese government regularly bemoans what it sees as the rising level of vulgarity in domestic TV programming, while trying to keep overseas shows to a minimum.

Overseas formats cannot be aired during prime time from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. within the year they are imported. And only one domestic musical talent show will be approved every three months by the administration to be aired during prime time, according to the new guidelines. 

STORY: Business Group Vice-Chaired by Bob Iger Views China With 'Tempered Optimism'

The new order is aimed at pushing domestically-produced and "morality-building programs," the state-backed People's Daily reported. The vacated slots will have to be filled with news, education programs and service shows, according to the state directive.

The government watchdog has ordered broadcasters to air at least 30 minutes of domestically made documentaries between 6 a.m. to 1 a.m., and 30 minutes of children’s programs or cartoons between 8 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. every day.

"It is really a headache on how we can make up for the seven and a half hours of time. Many TV stations are used to airing TV dramas, shows and films," one TV station staffer told China's Southern Metropolis Daily.

The People's Daily quoted Liu Yuan, deputy director of the chief editing office with Jiangsu Satellite TV, as admitting that the new regulations would make it tougher for them, while Wu Chaoyang, publicity director of Shanghai’s Dragon TV, told the newspaper the television station has always tried to localize overseas programs and already has four and a half hours of news programs daily.

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Martin Sheen to Be Honored at Dubai Film Fest

Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

Martin Sheen

LONDON -- Martin Sheen will receive a lifetime achievement award for his work in the film industry during the opening ceremony of this year's Dubai International Film Festival.

Sheen's acting career spans film and television and includes star turns in classic films such as Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, Badlands, Wall Street and The Departed.

PHOTOS: Charlie Sheen Roast: THR's Red Carpet Interviews

His TV work includes his SAG-winning outing as fictional U.S. president Josiah Bartlet in The West Wing.

Sheen said he was "honored by the exciting news" of being chosen for the Dubai plaudit.

"This esteemed recognition inspires me to continue doing what I love most: telling stories through the art of cinema," Sheen said. "I am very much looking forward to visiting Dubai in December and being immersed in the region's blossoming film industry."

Sheen will also take part in a public 'In Conversation with Martin Sheen' Q&A event, which will be held during the course of the festival.

DIFF chairman Abdulhamid Juma described Sheen as "a cinematic legend whose remarkable career has spanned five decades."

Said Juma: "In that time, he has brought to life a huge variety of compelling, intelligent and wonderfully engaging characters on the big and small screens. We are honored to present Martin Sheen with the DIFF lifetime achievement award, and we look forward to welcoming him to Dubai."

Previous DIFF lifetime achievement honorees include Omar Sharif, Sean Penn, Oliver Stone, Danny Glover, Terry Gilliam, Michael Apted and Mahmoud Abdel Aziz.

The 10th edition of the festival runs Dec. 6-14.

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Comedy Central U.K. Hires BBC Executive as VP of Programming

LONDON – Viacom's Comedy Central U.K. has hired BBC executive Louise Holmes as vp of programming.

Holmes most recently served as head of marketing for the BBC Two, BBC Three and BBC Four channel.

She will report to Jill Offman, managing director of Comedy Central UK and senior vp, international content, Comedy Central.

Holmes will be responsible for expanding on Comedy Central’s show acquisitions and original programming push. The U.K. network's originals include Big Bad World, with The Inbetweeners star Blake Harrison as the lead, Seann Walsh World, a look at online clips presented by the British stand-up the show is named after, and Mummy’s Boys, about a pair of adult brothers who must raise their young sibling when their mother unexpectedly dies, its first move into  multi-camera comedy.

Holmes previously worked for Discovery Networks Italy as channel director.

"I am looking forward to building on the success of recent U.K. originations, such as Big Bad World and Seann Walsh World, and to strengthening the already rich acquisitions portfolio over the coming months to give audiences more of what they have come to love and expect from Comedy Central," Holmes said.

Offman said her experience would be "invaluable as we continue to grow Comedy Central, delivering the best and most innovative content to our 16-34 audience."

E-mail: Georg.Szalai@THR.com
Twitter: @georgszalai

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Category: oarfish   bart   Kwame Kilpatrick   mark sanchez   jessica biel  

Play Ball: Do Fans Have Amnesia Over Steroid Scandal?

Copyright © 2013 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Now it's time for our weekly visit to the Barbershop where the guys talk about what's in the news and what's on their minds. Sitting in the chairs for a shape-up this week are writer Jimi Izrael with us from Cleveland. But in Washington, D.C., I have Dave Zirin, sports editor at the progressive magazine The Nation, Paul Butler, law professor at Georgetown University, and what do you know, NPR editor Ammad Omar sticking around. Take it away, Jimi.

JIMI IZRAEL: Thank you, Michel. Hey, fellas.

PAUL BUTLER: What's up?

DAVE ZIRIN: Jimi.

IZRAEL: Welcome to the shop. How we doin'?

BUTLER: All right.

AMMAD OMAR, BYLINE: Hey.

IZRAEL: Wow. OK. Well, you know what, Ammad, you know, we can't go much further without mentioning that the Detroit Tigers lost to the Boston Red Sox last night in game five of the playoffs. You mad, bro? You doing OK?

OMAR: You're starting just like that, huh?

IZRAEL: Just like that, bro. This is the Barbershop. That's how we get down.

OMAR: Yeah. No, me and sports are not having a good relationship right now. I saw Michigan lose to Penn State about seven times on Saturday in one game, and now this. I think I might take up knitting or something. I hear it's good for the circulation.

MARTIN: It is good for the circulation. Yoga.

OMAR: So that's - although, I'm still kind of sucked in 'cause the Tigers they got Max Scherzer, who's probably going to win the Cy Young this year, and Justin Verlander, who won it last year, for the last two games. So they got a shot. If not, knitting.

ZIRIN: And starting pitching makes geniuses of every manager. That's I think the story of these playoffs. I mean, you look at John Farrell, manager of the Red Sox. Last year, he's a bum managing Toronto. This year he's on Boston. He's got good starting pitching, all of a sudden he's a genius. Don Mattingly looked like he was going to be fired half way through the year. People are criticizing him in this Cardinal series, now he's got Zack Greinke - just won. He's got Clayton Kershaw coming up. And so all of a sudden he's going to look a lot smarter, too. It's all about the pitching, fellas.

IZRAEL: Dave Zirin, while you've got the mic, it seems like the whole summer steroid debacle is old news now. Has baseball made a comeback in your opinion?

ZIRIN: No, baseball hasn't made a comeback. Baseball will need a time machine to make a comeback, that's part of the problem. But I do think that the steroid issue is always going to be cyclical. The next scandal takes place, that's going to be the topic here on barbershops all across the country. Alex Rodriguez is going to be in, quote-unquote, trial for is baseball life, in the weeks ahead, we'll be talking about it then. It's one of those things, it flares up, it goes down. It flares up, it goes down. It's like a terrible disease you don't want to mention.

IZRAEL: OK. Yeah, I mean, is there a good disease you do want to mention?

ZIRIN: No, that's a good one.

IZRAEL: All right. All right, hike. Let's kick it over to the football field. Paul Butler - PB - Prince Paul.

BUTLER: What's up?

IZRAEL: Most of the buzz about Washington's team this season is about whether the name needs to be retired, even President Obama recently weighed, but many people weren't happy when NBC's sports commentator - sports commentator Bob Costas gave his two cents during halftime last Sunday. Drop that clip.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)

BOB COSTAS: Think for a moment about the term Redskins. Ask yourself what the equivalent would be if directed toward African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians or members of any other ethnic group. When considered that way, Redskins can't possibly honor a heritage or a noble character trait, nor can it possibly be considered a neutral term. It's an insult, a slur no matter how benign the present day intent.

IZRAEL: Thank you for that. You know what? Dave Zirin, my whole thing is, look, now Bob Costas, that's my dude. He's a professional commentator, so he can say what he wants anytime he wants. But this hasn't been his cause, and he looks like a bandwagon hopper. He looks like he's doing what the kids are calling nowadays concern trolling. You know, he's just mentioning something so that people will come over to his fire and hear what he has to say about it. This has not been his topic of discussion, not really been his cause. But if it was his cause, he'd be a powerful voice. You know, you wrote a piece applauding his comments. Tell us why.

ZIRIN: Absolutely. Well, first of all, it's not like Bob Costas took the mic and opined on Syria or the government shutdown. I mean, the Washington football team was playing at that moment and this has been a story of the season. I mean, when you have some of the most famous writers in America - sportswriters - Peter King, Christine Brennan, who's a former beat writer for the Washington football team - all of a sudden saying they're not going to say the name anymore. When you have Oneida Nation coming out, when you have conservative politicians, like Tom Cole from Oklahoma, one of two Native American congresspeople, when you have Charles Krauthammer, for goodness sakes, saying that the name should change, then this is an issue that speaks to what's happening in the NFL right now, and it's also a much broader issue. And I think Bob Costas has more than earned the right to opine.

MARTIN: Do you care about Jimi's point about jumping on the bandwagon a little late...

ZIRIN: No.

MARTIN: ...Kind of aspect of it?

ZIRIN: I think that's a beautiful thing.

MARTIN: Really?

ZIRIN: I think that that shows that the movement is working. That's how you know a movement is working when people say hey, this train is moving, I better jump on board.

MARTIN: Interesting. Paul, what do you think?

IZRAEL: You know what?

MARTIN: Go ahead.

IZRAEL: I liked it the first time it happened, when it happened in Cleveland with the Cleveland Indians, who are still - not for nothing - the Cleveland Indians. Paul Butler.

BUTLER: I mean, even just to say the name, you make a political statement. What if they called D.C.'s hockey team, the Capitals, the Washington White Boys, and every weekend the sports anchor would be how the White Boys do today? The White Boys are going to kick some butt tonight. Everyone would see that as really strange. Just because we're used to thinking of Native Americans as mascots, that doesn't make it right.

MARTIN: You know, it is interesting when people do draw the analogy to what would give offense. They generally don't draw analogies that involve white people or groups that are traditionally considered white Europeans. You know what I mean? They generally use other minority groups and I'm curious about why that is, you know.

BUTLER: Well, even Costa said, well, you know, what if it were blacks or Asians or Latinos? He didn't say whites. Again, we just think of those other people as the others.

ZIRIN: That's exactly right, Paul, and that's because I think perspectives on race and racism in this country, it always privileges the white perspective, except when Native Americans talk about this. Like, there was a team in the Dakotas and in protest of Native American mascotting, they named their club team the Fighting Whities. And they were threatened with being kicked out of their league for calling themselves the Fighting Whities, and that just tells you something about how sensitive that Caucasians can be.

MARTIN: Go ahead, Ammad.

OMAR: People do, in defense of the Redskins name, bring up the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. That's kind of their...

BUTLER: Well...

OMAR: ...One, you know - their one thing they bring up and say hey, this is not offensive.

ZIRIN: The thing about the Irish...

MARTIN: That's interesting. What about that, Dave?

ZIRIN: Oh, sure. I mean, the thing about the Fighting Irish though is that you have decades of an Irish-American power structure at Notre Dame. One would think that if it was offensive, they would have said something. There's no record whatsoever of any sort of Native American power structure in the Washington football team.

MARTIN: I have never heard anybody else object to the name the Fighting Irish, but - I've never heard anybody object to the name Fighting Irish. Maybe people...

ZIRIN: People raise it rhetorically in the debate all the time.

MARTIN: But it does seem - and I note that the owner of the Washington team said that there are Native Americans who do agree - who don't find it offensive. But I just - you know, I question that. I mean, I find that when you have people who are willing to - as the Oneida Indian Nation has done - put, you know, some resources behind making their case to the public. And what also strikes me is just how viciously people attack them...

ZIRIN: Oh, it's amazing.

MARTIN: ...For advancing their argument. I mean, what they have done is, they've gone to games. They've stood in protest. They've said, I'd like you to listen to my perspective on this. They've never engaged in violence. They've never, like, thrown blood on anybody or done anything of that - you see my point?

ZIRIN: Right.

MARTIN: They've merely asked people to listen to their point of view. And for that, people have viciously attacked them. And I just find that - I don't know. I don't know what that says. But clearly, this is going to - clearly, this is going to continue, right.

ZIRIN: Yeah.

MARTIN: So we're having our weekly Barbershop roundtable. We're joined by writer Jimi Izrael, sports editor Dave Zirin, law professor Paul Butler, TELL ME MORE editor Ammad Omar. Back to you, Jimi.

IZRAEL: Thank you, Michel. Racism as nostalgia, welcome to America everyone.

MARTIN: OK.

IZRAEL: Well, Saturday Night Live - Saturday Night Live, they're still on? Really? They recently announced new cast members, and again, for the sixth season in a row, they don't have any black female comedians, Michel.

MARTIN: Well, not only that but the six new cast members are all Caucasian or European-American...

IZRAEL: (Gasping) My God.

MARTIN: ...Or white if you want to say. I mean, there just isn't a lot of diversity in this cast now. And Kenan Thompson, one of the two current black cast members - both males - said in an interview it's because the show can't, quote, find ones that are ready. And I think this is really interesting, though, that Jay Pharoah, his colleague, did say that he felt that the show needed to pay more attention to diversity, but somehow his comments aren't getting this kind of attention. I did want to - since Jimi alluded to the fact that perhaps everyone is not watching this program anymore. I will just give you a short clip of Thompson in the SNL skit "The Ol' Barbershop."

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE")

KENAN THOMPSON: Do you remember (unintelligible) hair?

JAY PHAROAH: Oh, yes. I swear the Lord. I swear the Lord. I swear...

THOMPSON: Man, that boy had a 'fro so high, a bird could fly into it and come out two weeks later with another bird and a dozen eggs.

PHAROAH: A dozen eggs.

IZRAEL: Oh, Lord.

ZIRIN: Wow.

IZRAEL: Thank you, Michel. You know, in the past, Kenan has played black women on the show. This year, he says no more drag. God bless you, brother. But about black comedians, you know, I think you made a point worth making - and don't taze me, bro - but what I hear...

MARTIN: Or sis.

IZRAEL: ...Or sis, excuse me. Excuse me, sis. But a lot of - seriously, but a lot of black humor isn't topical and brokers in the absurdity of our own shared experience. Also, black comedians aren't necessarily self-deprecating or willing always to make fun of other black women, not really since Kim Wayans in "Living Color" have we seen black women do characters on other black women. Of course, Maya Rudolph - not for nothing - she did her share of takes on, I believe, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and other characters...

ZIRIN: Beyonce.

IZRAEL: ...Beyonce - on SNL. So that's not a hard and fast rule. But I also think sketch comedy is its own - it's its own set of skills that not everybody has. So, you know, there might not be a lot of black comedians who are ready. PB - Paul Butler, what do you think?

BUTLER: Well, first of all, Kenan Thompson is not funny. So he has a lot of nerve talking about black women not being funny. You know, he's just a peon anyway. So we ought to be insulted by the fact that with this huge cast, SNL can't find one black woman who was worthy. It's just as ridiculous as other organizations that say, we'd like to have more qualified minorities but there are just none out there. That's always a big fat lie. So, Jimi, how would you even know what black women comedians are doing because they're just not getting the media space to do their thing?

ZIRIN: And can I just point out, too...

IZRAEL: I get out the house. I get out the house, bro. But it's like this also - I mean, so do you disagree that sketch comedy is its own really specific skill set, that not every comedian will have?

ZIRIN: Well...

BUTLER: Yeah, but I think there are a whole lot of black women out there. I'm sorry.

MARTIN: Go ahead, Dave. Go ahead, Dave.

ZIRIN: No, just to - well, a couple points. First of all, people should look up who Issa Rae is. I-S-S-A Rae. She did the "Awkward Black Girl" series on YouTube. And that to me says something in it of itself that she had to go to YouTube to get her HBO deal 'cause the opportunities just are not there. So she went a different direction altogether. The second point I would make is that Kenan Thompson and Jay Pharoah are two interesting people, in that they come from very different experiences. Jay Pharoah comes from, like, the real standup tradition, so he actually knows African-American women who are funny 'cause he was on that same circuit. Kenan Thompson comes from the Nickelodeon trajectory - child star, Hollywood, the whole thing - to Saturday Night Live. So I think Kenan Thompson has a very blinkered experience as far as who's funny and who's not.

MARTIN: Ammad?

IZRAEL: Yeah, that's really...

OMAR: Right. When I first heard these comments, it kind of sounded like he was - Kenan was stuck between kind of a rock and a hard place. Someone's basically asking you if your boss, who made you famous, is a racist. You know, I can see how he could be like, oh, no, it's just, you know, they're not ready yet. But I do think that it kind of smacks of not being completely honest. Before I came here I was in Chicago. And Chicago kind of prides itself for sending people to Saturday Night Live. And a lot of these folks go through the Second City comedy group over there. In fact, last year, there were three new cast members on SNL, and they all came through Second City in Chicago.

And if you've ever been to Second City, it's up in Old Town, which is on the North Side. It's a very white neighborhood in a very segregated town, which is far, far away from some of the really happening black comedy scenes in Chicago, which are generally happening on the South Side - Bronzeville, places like that. And the other thing is, for Second City these days, since it's so famous, you actually have to pay them for the honor of joining their training courses. And then hopefully, eventually get promoted onto the main stage.

ZIRIN: Wow.

OMAR: So a lot of black comedians are doing a lot of great things in places like Chicago, but they're not doing it through Second City. And the SNL folks, if you can't find any talented black women, I suggest maybe hop on the bus or the Red Line, go down to Brownsville, or even come out here to D.C. There are a lot of black women who are doing amazing things in comedy right here. So I don't buy it.

MARTIN: That's interesting. I didn't know you had to, like, pay them to work. That's the old intern phenomenon.

OMAR: It's the new hustle.

MARTIN: The new hustle.

ZIRIN: The new hustle.

MARTIN: Just by way of interest - if those are interested - in the 38 years that SNL has been on the air, the series has had only four black female cast members - Yvonne Hudson, Denitra Vance, Ellen Cleghorne and Maya Rudolph, who is biracial and also is the daughter of the famous Minnie Riperton. I mean, I do note that I think it's also a question of who's in the writer's room and who's writing for these people, too.

BUTLER: Definitely.

MARTIN: Because I find that a lot of times they're sketches are not about an inside-out perspective on what people of color think of themselves or about what other people think of people of color. And I think that's not a very appealing place for people to be. I mean, I do note that when Maya Rudolph went back to host the show, that her opening monologue was about how she had slept with everybody on the staff including all of the interns.

BUTLER: Wow.

MARTIN: So I have to ask, you know, who wrote that?

BUTLER: Right.

MARTIN: And who wrote that?

IZRAEL: She didn't.

MARTIN: Did she write that?

ZIRIN: And also, only one Asian woman has ever hosted the show...

MARTIN: That's right.

ZIRIN: ...Lucy Liu. One Asian man, Jackie Chan. So we're not exactly talking about a flourishing multiculturalism at Saturday Night Live.

MARTIN: All right, I'm going to ask you this, Dave since you just happen to have the mic. Why do we care? 'Cause I can imagine where some people are listening to this conversation and they're saying, you know what, I have more important things to worry about than who's on a comedy show. So what?

ZIRIN: Oh, I think we care 'cause our culture reflects our society. And it tells - it sends messages about who gets in and who gets out and who actually gets to express what's happening in our world.

MARTIN: Paul?

BUTLER: And we care because diversity works. It makes organizations better to let - Saturday Night Live is not funny anymore.

MARTIN: OK.

BUTLER: Maybe if they got black women, they'd be funny.

MARTIN: OK. Well, other people - Latino women, too. I want to hear some of them. And Asian women, too - other people, too. Ammad?

ZIRIN: Just funnier people.

OMAR: Yeah, I mean, I'm with you.

MARTIN: OK.

OMAR: I don't remember the last time I, like, sat down and had to watch Saturday Night Live. I think it was during the Al Gore lockbox deal. And, you know, it's just not must-watch television anymore. They might as try to switch things up.

MARTIN: I do watch it.

ZIRIN: I think they show it in Guantanamo now as an instrument to make people talk.

MARTIN: No, I do watch it. I do watch it because I do think that a lot of their sort of - I think, you know, I think you would've missed something if you didn't see Tina Fey's impression of Sarah Palin and some of the work that they do during...

ZIRIN: Yeah.

MARTIN: ...Campaign years is very interesting.

ZIRIN: Exactly.

OMAR: You catch that on YouTube for the 10 minutes.

ZIRIN: Jay Pharoah dropping the mic after - as Obama, after one of the Romney debates. That was pretty classic actually.

MARTIN: OK. Well, one more casting controversy. The hugely popular romance novel "Fifty Shades of Grey" - they're all acting like they have no idea what I'm talking about, like - it's being made into a movie. The actor Charlie Hunnam who was set to play the leading role of Christian Grey bailed on the film. So, Paul Butler, I understand you have a few ideas about who should play the role, and I appreciate you stepping up because all of my other brothers out here are acting like, I have no idea what you're talking about. "Fifty Shades of Grey," what's that?

OMAR: What kind of Barbershop is this?

BUTLER: So Christian Grey should be played by Kanye West. He's charismatic and brooding and I would imagine a little freaky in bed.

MARTIN: OK.

BUTLER: You know, if it has to be an actor, I'd say Idris Elba. I'd just like to see a brother in the role. We can be action heroes or slaves trying to escape - how about more romantic leads.

ZIRIN: Wow.

MARTIN: Is that romance? Is that romance what that's about? I'm just wondering. OK. Jimi, you have any thoughts about this? You're our film guy.

IZRAEL: Well, I want one of my brown brothers to be Christian Grey. I'm thinking about Danny Trejo as Christian Grey because nobody, nobody does sadism like Machete.

ZIRIN: What about Louis CK?

OMAR: There you go.

ZIRIN: I mean, just go a completely different direction.

OMAR: I know nothing about this book. I will full disclosure. But I know there's some sort of freakiness involved, and if you guys want a brown person, I think I got to go with Dennis Rodman. He's got some of the...

ZIRIN: Oh, good gracious.

OMAR: ...Freaky involved, and then you got the coveted North Korea market, you know.

MARTIN: Did you weigh in on this or are you just trying to pretend you're not here?

ZIRIN: I thought Louis CK.

MARTIN: Louis CK was you? OK.

ZIRIN: Louis CK would be nice. And also, you know, just a shout out to Charlie Hunnam who plays Jax Teller on "Sons of Anarchy," one of my favorite shows. I can't imagine Jax Teller playing Christian Grey or Grey Christian or whatever this guy's name is. But I don't know. How about Woody Allen?

MARTIN: OK.

ZIRIN: We'll do Jewish Grey.

MARTIN: All right. I'll put it on the record, I've never read one of these books and I do not intend to. And I will say this - I'll quote a friend of mine who's a pastor - I don't think we'll be marching over this one. All right, Jimi Izrael's a writer and adjunct professor of film and social media at Cuyahoga Community College with us from NPR member station WCPN in Cleveland. Dave Zirin's a sports editor for The Nation and host of SiriusXM Radio's Edge of Sports Radio. Ammad Omar is our editor here at TELL ME MORE. Paul Butler's a law professor at Georgetown University. They were all here in our Washington, D.C. studios, except for Jimi. Thank you all so much.

ZIRIN: Bye-bye.

OMAR: Thank you.

IZRAEL: Yepp.

MARTIN: And remember, if you can't get enough Barbershop buzz on the radio, look for our Barbershop podcast. That's in the iTunes store or at NPR.org. That's our program for today. I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE for NPR News and the African-American Public Radio Consortium. Tune in for more talk on Monday.

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