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Her stepbrother served a tour of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan before coming back to America and dying in a tragic rooftop accident. And now Heidi Montag wants to visit the Middle East and honor his memory by performing for the US troops.
The Hills babe told press, “My brother was an airborne ranger in Afghanistan and Iraq. It’s very important to me and important to Spencer to support the troops and go over there.”
A judicial panel in Iraq has dismissed all charges against Bilal Hussein, the AP photographer who has been held by the US military for two years on vague, unsubstantiated charges of working with terrorists. The panel has ordered Hussein to be freed, presumably bringing his ordeal to an end. [Earlier]
An update: This was, I must confess, the worst post in the history of Gawker. I said several things I don't really believe, and I said other things I do believe in the worst manner possible. Usually Gawker has an unofficial "don't let them see you bleed" attitude, but my post was such a failure that loyal readers of the site — many of them — wrote in to say they'd never read it again. I do in fact think killing puppies is a horrible and reprehensible thing. I admittedly hold a certain callousness toward the story not shared by the vast majority of readers. I also failed to properly communicate my point: That this one atrocity was being publicized far beyond its relevant meaning, and that given the pillorying of the suspected killer, it seemed wrong that killers of civilians had not been all the more harassed and destroyed. (That, and not "for the pageviews," is why I wrote the piece.) I will now return to my usual role as Gawker's worst writer. The original post still follows.
Radar Online has a "harsh video warning" for this clip of an American soldier in Iraq throwing a puppy off a cliff. Sure, the idea's sick, but the video is as worksafe as a Bugs Bunny cartoon. By the time the puppy lands, the little thing is too far out of sight to see in the grainy YouTube clip. But as Radar reports, a blog has already accused U.S. Marine David Matari as the perp of this heinous, terrible, loathsome act. Where could he have learned such violence and carelessness toward life? Oh yeah. Watch the clip (oh come on, grow a pair) and argue whether killing a puppy is still sad if it happens in the middle of a war.
See? A cruel thing to do, but not a human rights violation. At least when my vile middle-school classmate tortured frogs, he made them suffer. The puppy surely died on impact. It has the trappings of sadness, but how does that make it much worse than a euthanization?
Media blogger Rex Sorgatz explains viewer angst:
Logically, we know this soldier has possibly killed people in Iraq, so it feels misplaced to vent about a puppy in a war zone; emotionally, we find hurting a helpless puppy beyond reproach. If the video weren't shot in Iraq (if it were, say, some tweens torturing a dog in a backyard -- you'll find plenty of this on YouTube), the tension wouldn't be there, and it wouldn't be today's viral hit. The contradiction -- people vs. puppies; war vs. peace-keeping -- will probably catapult this thing to network nightly news.
As a follow up to the Gossip Girls article covering Angelina Jolie’s international departure from LAX earlier this week, we’re glad to report that she’s been spending time with our troops in Iraq.
The “Tomb Raider” actress visited a US military base located in the Green Zone in the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad, stopped at the canteen for lunch and had a sit down with General Petraeus.
Top: Sandi Garcia and her Golden Retriever Holly play at Commons Park in Denver, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2007. Just before dinner on Garcia's first holiday with Holly, the Golden Retriever threw up an entire turkey dinner that Garcia had given the dog minutes before, in front of Garcia's dinner guests. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey) Bottom: A man walks past human remains laid out in a morgue in Baqouba, Iraq, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2007. The remains of 17 unidentified bodies were found by the Iraqi army on the outskirts of Baqouba Saturday. (AP Photo)
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, right, is confronted by CodePink member Desiree Fairooz, her hands painted red, as she arrives to testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007, before the House Foreign Relations Committee hearing regarding US policy in the Middle East ,where she spoke about Iraq, Iran, and the Israel Palestinian conflict. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
"Mourners gather around the bodies of several people killed in an airstrike by U.S. troops in Samarra, Iraq, 95 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007. A U.S. helicopter opened fire on a group of men as they were planting roadside bombs in a Sunni stronghold north of Baghdad, then chased them into a nearby house on Tuesday, killing 11 Iraqis, including five women and one child, the military said. (AP Photo/Mohammed Khalil)"
Angelina Jolie spent Tuesday visiting Iraqi refugees and US troops stationed in Iraq while acting as a United Nation’s Goodwill Ambassador. Angelina has a long history of supporting the United Nations humanitarian programs, and it appears she felt the need to get a first hand look at the current situation in the war-torn country.
The Beowulf actress flew into the region yesterday, with her first stop being Syria and then continuing on to Iraq. While in Syria, Angelina met with Iraqi refugees as well as witnessed additional refugees crossing the border.