Bill Clinton brings home journalists, what did North Korea gain from the deal?

The families of Laura and Euna at Santa Monica Vigil

Current TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee are returning home to Los Angeles after being detained in North Korea for nearly five months. The plight of the two journalists began on March 17th 2009 when they were detained by soldiers near North Korea’s border with China. Laura and Euna were reporting for Al Gore’s venture, Current TV, researching an important story of human trafficking along the border, women and children used in the sex trade. After a harrowing ordeal, former US President Bill Clinton embarked on a private mission to negotiate the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee. Analyst are foaming at the mouth at the implications this may have on future dealings with North Korea.

What did North Korea really gain?

North Korea saved face and got exactly what they wanted; publicity and a seemingly humanitarian gesture they think may show the world they are not what the US portrays them to be. The world knows the truth about North Korea and their antics. The only thing North Korea will get out of this is internal propaganda they can use to further repress their people. Why is this important to them? With Kim Jong Il’s ailing health he needs a way to set up one of his sons as his successor. A meeting with a former U.S. president is a good start. Kim Jon Il may be vicious, but he’s not a dummy, he’s a very cunning dictator.

The North Korean regime will not give up their nukes as long as they fear their existence in the world community. This was a well calculated PR campaign to outlast the United States in a quick release of Laura and Euna. There is not much that can be done to force the North Koreans to give up their nukes except to make a more peaceful framework to open talks. As an optimist, I hope this can open a door to begin that process.

This story is far from over, and I’ll be paying close attention to the details as they start to come out. For now, we won, our girls are coming home. Bill Clinton did the right thing and we should thank him.

‘The Cove’ covert, gorilla filmmaking

The Cove begins in Taji, Japan where we first meet former dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry. O’Barry was the man responsible for capturing and training the five dolphins that played Flipper in the international TV sensation. When the cast and crew went away, it was O’Barry who remained on the set, he lived in the famous house on the lake with the dolphins until the shows end. It was here he learned how sensitive, self-aware, and highly intelligent these creatures are, and more importantly how harmful it was to keep them in captivity. One fateful day his dolphin Katherine, committed suicide in his arms. Every breath a dolphin takes is an intentional, conscience effort, Katherine laid in his arms, took one breath and went under forever. This was the catalyst for Ric O’Barry’s journey, to undue what he created, to stop the capture and captivity of dolphins world wide. Sound like a typical “save the whales” boring documentary? This is not your granddaddy’s documentary! The Cove unfolds more like a spy thriller than a hug the trees documentary, think James Bond meets Jacques Cousteau .

Ground Zero is Taji, Japan. From the outside the town seems to be devoted to the majestic creatures swimming off it’s shores. Statues are erected, boats designed to look like dolphins cruise the shore, and a whale museum is the pinnacle of the town. But in a remote area we find a cove surrounded by barbed wire, keep out signs and security, it is here that the town’s dark secret lies. Every year from September to March, fisherman motivated by the multi billion dollar dolphin trading industry and an underground market for mercury-tainted dolphin meat, gather in this cove for the hunt. How this hunt is conducted is so grossly inhumane and dangerous to human health, that the fishermen go to great lengths, even murder, to keep anyone from seeing it. Ric O’Barry needed someone who could put together a team to infiltrate the cove. In walks filmmaker Louis Psihoyos and the Ocean Preservation Society. With the local authorities tipped off to the project, the filmmakers put together an Oceans11 style team. The cast of characters include a Hollywood special effects artist, two world champion free divers, an adrenaline junkie, and an electronic expert from the Canadian Air Force. Their mission: to plant and recover the HD cameras on the cove and under water. To get past guards and police they conducted missions in the middle of the night using diversionary techniques and military grade high definition cameras that picked up on body heat. The husband and wife free diving team placed the cameras under water while the adrenaline junkies scaled the rocky face of the cove to plant the cameras in fake rocks. Several times we see the team seconds away from being caught. Their efforts paid off in a big way, the audience is taken into the cove to see first hand the horrors that happen there. The footage is some of the most powerful imagery I have seen.

This gorilla journalism style of filmmaking may be what we need to spark the interest of the new generation. I believe this documentary may spawn a new uprising in the “save the whale” movement, starting with shutting down the cove in Taji, Japan. The Cove infiltrated my dreams the night I saw it, that never happens to this jaded Angelino. This film will stay with you and it will make you want to help the cause. 23,000 dolphins are due to be hunted and executed starting in September, what will you do to stop it?

The Cove opens in select cities August 7th.

For more information visit: http://thecovemovie.com/

Lucha VaVoom’s Girlie Girl Catfight Show, a sexy good time!

LOS ANGELES – For the second time this year Lucha VaVoom presented the Girlie Girl Catfight Show at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on July 25th. The theme: Sexy 60’s Spies! For those of you not familiar with this new underground wrestling revolution; the Girlie Girl Catfight Show is a spinoff of the famed Masked Mexican Wrestling styled show Lucha VaVoom. This new show touts itself as the very first of its kind featuring some sexy ladies wrestling like pros with a burlesque style theme. They have dance fights, contortionists, pole dancers, variety shows, martial arts, strip tease and even a naughty sing-a-long! Don’t let your head fall in the gutter, this Girl vs Girl show is not some gross female, mud flinging, porn style knock out, tacky leotard wearing wrestling match. No, no folks, this show is an anything goes good-time!

The show was underscored by a fun, kitschy 60’s spy theme, even some of the audience members dressed accordingly. Don’t let all the kitsch fool you though, these girls are amazing athletes and really put on a stellar performance for their El Rey spectators. The main players of the night included WWE wrestler Shelly Martinez as the surly referee; super power duo Poubelle Twins taking on security guards with blow up dolls; Zepha Zoe’s thrilling strip tease; and my favorite; Leigh Acosta performing her jaw dropping pole dance routine. Of course the main event everyone comes to see is the girl vs girl wrestling matches throughout the evening. One highlight was a match between Jujitsu blue belt, Francesca Zappitelli in her catsuit taking on Christie Ricci. That catsuit didn’t stay on long, much to the delight of the entire audience and I’m pretty sure no one remembers who won that one. The fight of the evening was Lucy Fur vs Audrey Deluxe vs former G.L.O.W. wrestler, Fire. (yes! The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling!!!!). Awesome! That match was a serious, balls out, drop kickin throw down wrestling fight between some serious pro fighters!

Both girls and boys will love this risqué production with its provocative theatrics and thrilling wrestling matches. The Girlie Girl Catfight show is a Los Angeles Nightlife must do!

For more information and to sign up on the mailing list visit: http://www.girliegirlcatfightshow.com

More photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/natashabishop/

My One Minute of Fame on the D-List!

Politicians Gone Wild: Korean Parliament Edition

Have we forgotten why journalism is important?

Lisa Ling talks to reporters

LOS ANGELES – I started following the plight of Current TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee as soon as I heard about their detainment in North Korea 120 days ago. Laura Ling is the sister of a journalist I deeply admire, Lisa Ling. Lisa taught me the importance of showing people the images of stories that mattered to me, she showed me that by doing this my camera and I could make a difference and give someone a voice that hadn’t before. This is the true power of journalism.

On June 3rd I headed to Santa Monica to attend a vigil for Laura Ling and Euna Lee, it was the eve of their sentencing in North Korea. I of course took my camera down there and posted a report. The report and images ended up on CNN and has been viewed more than 26,000 times. After the announcement of their 12 year sentencing, I ended up doing two more on the current state of North Korea and why we need to get these girls back. What I found was a violent backlash of comments coming from the general public regarding the two journalists. People began stating that these two journalists should have to “pay the price”, the American government should not get involved in securing their freedom, they made “poor decisions for 15 minutes of fame” and “should face the consequences”, I could go on. I’m a strong believer in freedom of speech, it’s one of the things I love most about my country. I don’t censor opinions on my blog or in any articles I write, however, these comments blew my mind! To me the job of a journalist is so incredibly important to a free society. Journalists take on life threatening assignments to report the stories we need to hear about. Laura Ling and Euna Lee were on the border of North Korea to report an important story about human trafficking in that region. When you get to certain geographical areas along the Chinese/NoKo border it’s very hard to distinguish between what side you are on. There is also the possibility that in an unfortunate twist of fate, they could have been trafficked themselves by their guide. They also could have intentionally crossed the border to gain more information. We don’t know the full details of their capture and arrest. The few calls the families have received from the girls have been monitored by the North Koreans, the truth can be blurred in that instance. So why this incredibly harsh judgment on these journalists if we have so few details?

I started to look into all recent cases of journalists captured and detained in the countries they were reporting. Recently released Rozana Saberi, the Iranian-American journalist imprisoned in Iran for working as a reporter without press credentials, still imprisoned Maziar Bahari, the Canadian-Iranian journalist reporting for Newsweek arrested without charge during the 2009 Iranian Presidential elections and of course Laura ling and Euna Lee the two American journalists detained in North Korea. Aside from these three well publicized cases there are scores of journalists imprisoned all over the world, as of Dec 2008 that number was 125, which I can only assume has increased since. Does the general population care if our media is being detained, cut off, threatened, and even murdered trying to shed light on important issues around the world? I’m beginning to think that answer is a very cold and unfortunate “No”.

Have we forgotten why journalism is important? Let’s try to remember a time before we relied on twitter for news, before the sound bite was king, and text messaging was used to communicate with our loved ones. Let’s go all the way back to the 1960’s when our civil rights movement was reaching it’s peak. Journalism mattered, journalists were in the middle of the riots, sharing their images on the covers of newspapers and broadcasting live images and sounds on TV’s around the country. Without journalism and the ability to exercise free press, few human and civil rights could have been attained. How easy would it have been to hide the beatings and murders without freedom of press? Fast forward to November 4th, 2008, California, where another human rights movement was taking place. I’m talking about the passing of Proposition 8 banning gays from marring in the state, and potentially voiding over 18,000 marriages that had already taken place. The coverage of the rallies that followed spread nationwide and spurred support and rallies in other states. If it wasn’t for the journalists down there, writing stories and taking photos, it could have been very easy for those 18,000 marriages to be voided. Instead the movement is spreading throughout the state and country and gaining supporters along the way.

Freedom of press encourages the growth of our society, it promotes social and political development. There are countries out there that do not have it as good as we do, they suffer under repressive regimes, civil wars and lack of democracy. Journalists have the ability and talent to go to these countries and show the world what is going on there, they give those citizens a voice. That is an immensely important job and should be respected amongst our society. Yes, mainstream media certainly does not always do right, they seem to have their own agenda more than not. The job of a journalist though is to deliver these images and stories to us, to decide and possibly dig deeper ourselves.

When I hear people making nasty comments on the girls held in North Korea it makes me cringe. I worry that our society has forgotten what journalists have given us and the sacrifices and violence they have faced to give someone a voice for us to hear.

To find out how you can help Euna Lee and Laura Ling go to: http://www.lauraandeuna.com

An Englishman In New York

LOS ANGELES – In 1975 John Hurt portrayed Quentin Crisp in the groundbreaking TV film The Naked Civil Servant. The film centered around Crisp’s life as a flamboyant gay man in Great Britain between the 1920’s and 1960’s. The Naked Civil Servant launched Quentin Crisp into the spotlight and he devised a one-man show touring the country. Crisp was then asked to take his show to New York in the early 1980’s. 34 years later John Hurt reprises his role as Quentin Crisp in An Englishman In New York, and shows us what happened when Crisp landed in Manhattan.

An Englishman in New York is a very unique opportunity to experience an actor revisiting a character more than 30 years after his original portrayal. John Hurt’s classic depiction of “Britain’s most famous homosexual” in 1975 comes to life again in 2009. He delivers another stellar performance, seamlessly becoming Quentin Crisp on the silver screen, it’s almost as if Crisp is back with us for those 74 minutes.

The film picks up shortly after The Naked Civil Servant has aired on U.K. TV and Quentin Crisp accepts an offer to take his one-man show to New York. He soon meets talent agent Connie Clausen (Swoosie Kurtz), who sees him as different and interesting enough to rep him in the States. Already in his 70’s, Crisp convinces US immigration to grant him resident alien status on account of “nobody else can do my job”. 1981 brings Crisp cult status with his one-man show, How To Be Happy, though yet again, his Achilles’ heel comes into play as he seemingly alienates gays by claiming “same-sex love is impossible”, the gays claim Crisp is “playing to the straights” and his show falls. Clausen once again swoops in to save Crisp from Crisp and lands him a job at the Village Voice reviewing films. Publisher, Phillip Steele (Denis O’Hare), already a fan, forms the start of a life-long friendship with Crisp, adding some incredibly endearing moments to this film. As the film moves on, Crisp starts to become more and more displaced from the gay community as they become more ingrained and accepted in the social fabric. He sinks his own career by proclaiming “AIDS is a fad, nothing more” and refuses to retract his statement claiming “It is my policy never to lie, never to defend”. The last half hour of the film delivers the most poignant scenes as Steele devotes himself to looking after a failing Crisp and we see the last come-back during the Clinton era when he meets Penny Arcade (Cynthia Nixon). It is in these scenes where we see Crisp drop his guard an express love and gratitude towards Steele, his life-long friend.

After seeing this film at Outfest over the weekend, I fell head over heels in love with Quentin Crisp and will be adding his autobiography to my summer reading list. He was an incredibly brave human being who paved the way, early on, for gay men to be who they are. I would certainly recommend you try and catch this film, perhaps rent The Naked Civil Servant first.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0997057/

Worth watching: The Naked Civil Servant
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073438/

Opening Night of Outfest 2009

LOS ANGELES – The 27th annual Outfest kicked off in solid form with the screening La Mission, produced by Peter Bratt, starring his brother Benjamin Bratt. I have always had a great time at this film festival, always quality films and great parties! This year, no exception.

The evening started with Chaz Bono giving opening remarks, stating that films like Southern Comfort, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Boy Named Sue gave him the courage to make his well-publicized transition. I was fortunate enough to speak briefly with Chaz at the pre-party and was able to convey my support for his transition and let him know how much of a difference his openness will hopefully make in the transgender community. Chaz was followed by Christina Ricci and Lisa Kudrow presenting Don Roos with the 13th Annual Outfest Achievement Award.

If you do not know Don Roos by name, you surely know his work! He wrote “Single White Female”, “Boys on the Side”, “Love Field” and made his directorial debut with “The Opposite of Sex”, and that is just the tip of the iceberg. His speech was great, adding “it is no longer enough to make gay movies, they now need to be good.” A very telling statement regarding the evolution of GBLT filmmaking.

The festival’s opening film, La Mission, starring Benjamin Bratt and Jeremy Valdez echoed statements made by Outfest Executive Director, Kirsten Schaffer, “films representing members of a community in truthful and empowering ways create cultural change that is the force behind political change.” The film delivers a powerful message of a culture most of us in the audience has never seen, the struggles of being gay in a traditional Latino and Native American community and the power of acceptance and tolerance against all odds. This film is honest, brave and spreads an important message to those coming out under similar circumstances and those who are struggling with a loved one coming out.

Official Outfest Website: http://www.outfest.org/

Pictures: me w/ Chaz Bono, Christina Ricci, Lisa Kudrow

Fiery Sunset in Los Angeles + Request

Los Angeles smelled like an ashtray, but it sure looked beautiful! Above are images I took of the sunset this evening as the areas around the Getty Center burned.

I also have a small request this evening. Laura Ling and Euna Lee are going on their 17th week detained in North Korea, their families are gathering postcards to be sent to the Swedish ambassador and on to them. Since they are both from Southern California, I wanted to make a postcard out of one of these images to send to each of them. Just so they have a sunset to look at every night.

If you could let me know which one you think i should make the postcards out of, that would be a huge help! Just list below 1, 2, 3 etc. Or, if you do not have an iReport account, twit me your favorite here: http://www.twitter.com/natashabishop

Better yet, send a postcard! Here is the info:

Let Laura and Euna know they are not forgotten. Because of the difficulty in sending mail to North Korea, please send postcards only. Unfortunately, we cannot accept letters or packages on their behalf. Postcards can be sent to them care of their families, who will then forward them through the Swedish ambassador to North Korea.

Send your notes of encouragement to:

P.O. Box 2174
Toluca Lake, CA 91610
USA

Website: http://www.lauraandeuna.com

Hypnotherapy Worked For Me!

LOS ANGELES – I was in college, I was stressed, and needed something with my coffee in the morning and beer at night, that’s when I started a ten year habit of smoking the cancer stick. Thinking about it now makes my stomach turn, oh the things we did when we were young! Upon graduating college I decided enough was enough and tried unsuccessfully for the next six years to quit. Gums, patches, herbal medicines, you name it, I did it, and it didn’t work! Then I decided to take a cue from my policeman father who used to hypnotize witnesses of crimes and called my local hypnotherapist. I live in Los Angeles, there is one on every block!

My initial phone conversation with the lady hypnotherapist was to discuss why I wanted to quit smoking, how long I have been smoking and some steps to take before our first session. The first thing I had to do was get rid of my cigarette paraphernalia. That’s easy! The next step was to bring my last pack of cigarettes with me, smoke one before the session and have a break up conversation with it. I thought, “What the hell! It won’t be the first time strangers saw me talking to inanimate objects!” So I smoked it up outside the office and when I was done I held the cigarette in my right hand (the smoking hand with the tobacco stain on it) and said; “Look, we had some great times together, and a lot of fun, but now I feel we are moving in different directions and I need to end this relationship”. With that I ashed it out and threw away my last pack.

When I got to her office she sat me down in a chair and put me “under”. She had me visualize myself ten years from now as a smoker. I saw this sorry, wrinkly old hag coughing up a lung. Gross! Then she had me visualize myself ten years from now as a non smoker. Oh boy! I saw this stunning, blonde beauty with her hair blowing in the wind. It was like something out of a rad 80’s music video! The hypnotherapist told me from now on when I see red it will stop me from craving cigarettes. Then she brought me back and gave me a CD to listen to every night before bed. She scheduled a follow up appointment in two weeks to cement the deal.

As I left her office I started noticing everything red! Tail lights, street lights, a red scarf hanging from a balcony, you would be surprised how much red is in this world. Generally I would need a ciggy after something like that, but I didn’t crave one. I haven’t smoked since! My teeth are white again, I run a few miles a day, I have more energy at 30 than I did at 25!

This was by far the best $150 I have ever spent! I highly recommend hypnosis for all of you “trying to quit” smokers out there!