By Nigel (Chief News Junkie)

Miley Cyrus, 15 year old star of Disney franchise Hannah Montana and role model to millions of teenage girls, seems to have trouble keeping her clothes on. Recently she appeared ‘topless’ in Vanity Fair and she has previous with photos of her baring her bra and posing in her panties recently surfacing. The blogosphere is now saying Stop it Miley and you can even join the campaign to save her before she goes fully Britney.

The question obviously remains is: Can Miley Cyrus keep her clothes on until her 16th birthday? The current forecast is that there is a 40% chance that she can but that is a whole 7 months away so this could be a volatile market.

Popularity: 4% [?]

By Tisha (Entertainment editor)

Tricia Walsh-Smith’s self-styled ‘pity me the divorcee’ media bandwagon continues to roll on as we recover from our stupefication at the deranged raving lady, and eagerly anticipate a second installment.

Walsh-Smith, ever the playwright, has found a new way to tell those age-old stories: blonde golddigger marries much older, rich man; new wife battles with old children over inheritance; hurt parties of a divorce lash out and spill nasty intimate details. And here we find ourselves hooked on every juicy intimacy – or, for those loathe to admit it, merely following the story as a socioeconomic study of YouTube’s effect on contemporary divorce proceedings.

For those of you who ARE wondering, Walsh-Smith’s video actually seems to be a mean shade of precedent-setting, legal brilliance: the divorce rant is admissible in court and will only be found to be slander if her allegations are false (and, despite her looniness, who actually believes that Philip Smith doesn’t have a stash of viagra, porn and condoms?). It now rests to see what a judge will make of the freak show, and it is not certain that it will necessarily work against Walsh-Smith. Sure, there is an unabashed element of theatrics and a good deal of crazy oozing out of the video, but isn’t that just an inherent part of legal proceedings anyway? Heather Mills McCartney poured water over the opposing barrister in her divorce proceedings and she still got almost $50 million.

And seriously, when the trophy wife starts talking, what are we expecting her to say? No one believes it when they try the ‘it’s only love, and I only want what’s fair’ line. And when you imagine having to kiss or shag someone like J. Howard Marshall, Paul McCartney or Philip Smith, who is like your dad’s age, you can see that dignity is long gone when your job is that of professional golddigger. Divorce is always going to be somewhat nasty, and Walsh-Smith hasn’t hidden the fact that this is all about the money. While we are slackjawed at her crazy ranting theatrics, we’re not exactly all rooting for the husband and the kids, either. So, I guess there’s not much left to do but sit back and enjoy the show!

Popularity: 4% [?]

By Tisha (Entertainment editor)

American Idol results tonight - there’s seven kids left and it’s time to get excited: Hubdubbers are going to be put to the test as they predict who will be the American Idol winner this year.

Despite Sayesha, Brooke and Kristy Lee being stubborn Hubdub elimination favourites week after week, Michael Johns’ shock exit last week was a stark reminder that the worst singers don’t necessarily go home first (and lots of Hubdollars were lost as a result!). There’s clearly more to calculating the American Idol results than mere talent; let’s explore some of the components of this algorithm:

1. The judges: First and most obvious thing – Paula is mere decoration on this panel, her opinions are clearly irrelevant often because they are usually not opinions at all but vague niceties, cliches of encouragement or agreement with the others’ opinions. However, how do Randy and Simon influence the voter’s opinions? There’s no doubt that Simon has professional respect in the field, but his harsh words sometimes focus on the technical to the point of excluding the charisma factor of the contestants. Randy has to spend too much energy trying to validate his opinions against Simon.

2. The curse of going first: By the time the troupe has finished spinning out their songs, the first performance is long forgotten and in the case of an average performance, has nothing to recommend a vote. This has been considered Johns’ downfall.

3. Song choice: Jason Castro covering Mariah Carey is not an image that is easy to reconcile in one’s mind. However, when the singers perform songs which seem to be out of their depth, they can create memorable performances which will tend to attract the votes.

4. Gender: Girls have won 4 out of six previous idol seasons. However, the girls have been a lacklustre group this year and don’t seem to have the unique characters that this year’s boys do.

5. Sympathy Votes: David Cook’s brother, currently undergoing treatment for cancer, flew in on a specially chartered medical jet to watch his little bro perform last night. Not to undermine the tragedy of Adam Cook’s illness, but this brings into focus the public scrutiny of the entire lives and families of the performers.

The two Davids are currently close favourites on Hubdub to win the title this year. We all have our favourite personalities and singers, but when it comes down to it, there will only be one American Idol and that is the one who knows how to play the entire game. See if you can pick it!

Popularity: 7% [?]

By Ryan (Politics Category Editor)

I’m really tired, I’m worn out and I’m done! Since the end of the Reverend Wright issue last month the Dem. nomination process has taken its toll on me. For weeks all we’ve heard are back and forth arguments between Obama and Clinton. Unfortunately these arguments haven’t been on substantive issues. All they’ve been are petty blame games and tattle tale politics.

For these passing weeks all I’ve seen on the politics pundit roundup are commentators regurgitating the same thing they said a day ago. The news cycle has become so bland that turning on the TV gives me a headache. My mind now swirls in a swath of punditry gone bonkers. The reason? There exists a lack of political events to report on, which in a way is a good thing.

Americans can take a break from the polarizing campaigns to worry about more pressing issues like the dwindling economy, a bad war gone badder or hefty fuel prices. Sadly for someone like me and many other political hooligans we are addicted to the game of politics. So even though no actual events like a primary or debate have occurred a need still exists to stay in touch with election politics.

But this treachery must stop! I’m going nuts with all the useless political commentary from moderates, liberal and conservatives. Can’t we just take a break?

There is no need for much more than a whisper of punditry or commentary. All I want is to just get to Pennsylvania already. It’s been a long and agonizing wait and Pa. is only a week away now. There’s no need for any commentary. All we have are “if she wins” or “if she loses” or even more dreadful “if she wins by less that 5%.” It’s just gotten boring, we won’t know anything until the Pennsylvania primary on the 22^nd, because everything depends on that date. We can’t say “if she wins Indiana” until the judgment of the Pennsylvania electorate. So if your like me and you’ve just gotten a little sick of it all, just relax. Go watch some Battlestar Galactica for a good political melodrama or discuss something important like the rising price of rice. But for gods sake don’t watch, read or listen to the replicated nonsense of pundits until after Pennsylvania!

Things to do until Pennsylvania:

Predict who will win the Pa. primary?

Predict who will be the Dem. Nominee?

Predict who will be the next President?

Predict which Dem. candidate will win the female vote in Pa.?

Or my personal favorite, predict who’ll last longer, Robert Mugabe or Hillary Clinton?

Popularity: 10% [?]

By Tisha (Entertainment editor)

Britney Spears this week starred in sitcom ‘How I Met Your Mother’, giving the show its highest ratings since its debut. This is little surprise, as avid tabloid watchers will vouch they have well been in withdrawal since the most recent lame tidbits of Britney news: daddy still has the estate, Heidi’s wholesome nuclear home is still Britney-free, Adnan has not proposed, and there have been no signs of another imminent mental collapse.

Britney’s portrayal of a flirty tattoo parlour receptionist on the show was described as bringing back the old Britney Spears. The Britney Spears that hadn’t had two marriages, two kids and two divorces. The pre-vag-flashing, Madonna-pashing Britney. Yes, cast your minds back to the 17-year old, blonde and provocative but virginal schoolgirl.

When tracing the transition from American sweetheart to white trash, it is clear that this is a girl who has had her life intertwined with her art for so long that the public that they each seem an appropriation of the other. ‘Piece of Me’ is Britney’s parody of the paparazzi’s portrayal of Britney’s paparazzi-created lifestyle, as she sings

“I’m Mrs. ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous’
I’m Mrs. ‘Oh My God That Britney’s Shameless’”

Yet at the same time, the public is clearly not ready for certain realities: while performing ‘Gimme More’ at the 2007 MTV awards, a black bikini donning Britney was jeered and taunted for sporting a very real, post-pregnancy body after having recently given birth to her second child. The illusion of the highly sexualised star and the reality of motherhood could not comfortably be fused by the media, and so came Britney’s fall from grace into tabloid hell.

Britney Spears is a media-created mirage as fleeting as her songs, dressed up to catch a cynical public’s momentary interest before fading into oblivion down the charts. So Will Britney have a top ten single in 2008? I hope so.

Popularity: 5% [?]

By Tisha (Entertainment editor)

It’s good to hear that American Idol has taken the high road in the salacious bit of news uncovered this week that contestant David Hernandez used to work as a stripper. In return for the priceless publicity American Idol has received as a result of the scandal, the directors have allowed Hernandez to continue on the show, giving him the possibility of being one of the last men standing on the show.

The show has obviously smartened up since it disqualified Frenchie Davis in 2003 for having had topless photos published on the internet. The producers seem to have realised that opening up such a competition to millions of hopefuls every year is bound to uncover some sex skeletons. More to the point, though, is the double standard encountered with Davis: after all, isn’t Simon Cowell just a rich pimp with a big band? The show tempts plucky youngsters with meteoric (if brief) superstardom, but in return exposes them in front of millions to criticise their talents, appearance and personalities while making big bucks in the process. Given the option, I think I would rather go back to giving ‘full-frontal lap dances’…

Anyway, despite Idol management’s decision and my opinion, what really matters are the phones of the teenage girls who I assume make up the paying, voting public of the show…Will they choose to back the reformed Hernandez? Here’s a sneak peek of what our viewers predict will be the outcome:
What will be the result of American Idol’s scandal with David Hernandez?

Popularity: 100% [?]