Nancy Reagan refused to help Rock Hudson get pioneering AIDS treatment

Nancy Reagan refused to help dying Hollywood star Rock Hudson get a bed at a French hospital at the forefront of experimental treatment for AIDS, it has been claimed. Then First Lady Mrs Reagan turned down a request from Hudson's publicist for help getting the actor transferred to a French military hospital where he could be seen by Dr Dominique Dormant.

Dr Dormant, who had treated Hudson for AIDS months earlier, was at the time working on an early experimental drug that promised to help bolster the immune systems of AIDS sufferers. Hudson, who had kept secret his homosexuality and his AIDS, was eventually given a bed at the Percy Military Hospital in Clamart - thanks to strings pulled with French officials. But in the end it transpired that his condition had deteriorated so badly that even Dr Dormant's experimental HPA-23 treatments could not help him. He chose to return to Los Angeles and died just two months later, in October 1985.

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Hollywood Studios Blacklist Penelope Cruz over Gaza Letter Accusing Israel of 'Genocide'

Actress Penelope Cruz and her husband Javier Bardem have roused the fury of Hollywood producers, with pledges made to snub the Spanish couple. Oscar-winner Bardem and Cruz signed an open letter speaking against "the genocide perpetrated by the Israeli occupation army".

The letter accused Israel of "advancing on Palestinian territories instead of withdrawing to the 1967 borders. "Gaza is living through horror… while the international community does nothing." The Spanish letter was signed by 100 leading figures in the film industry, including director Pedro Almodovar.

One top producer who has worked with Cruz says he privately has vowed not to hire her again, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Another top Hollywood executive also privately expressed his disapproval, saying he's "furious at Javier and Penelope" and wasn't sure about working with the Spanish couple again. Relativity Media chief executive Ryan Kavanaugh was the only studio head willing to go public with his views: "As the grandson of Holocaust survivors, I know that anyone calling what's going on in Israel 'genocide' vs. self-defense is either ignorant and shouldn't be commenting or is truly anti-Semitic."

International Business Times

Zero Dark Thirty, Manhunt and Obama Admin. Justify Use of Torture

Recent films and Obama's lack of prosecution of CIA and Bush Cheney for torture is creating conditions for its public acceptance.
Watch full multipart The Ratner Report.

The Real News

Heated Interview about Christians and Jews

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The 'Unfashionable' Matt Damon, Mensch of the Year

It's rare when a Hollywood superstar earns the respect of hard-working activists and progressives leaders alike. Usually stars dabble in activism for the publicity, and associate themselves with safe issues, so as not to rock the boat.

But not Matt Damon. Like many other progressives, Damon has grown weary of Democrats looking for phony centrism instead of standing up to a shockingly far-right Republican party. Against this backdrop, Damon’s principled and public stands do indeed make us sit up and pay attention.

Progressive star Michael Moore went so far as to suggest that Damon run for president in an online townhall with the blog, FireDogLake.  Moore wants Damon because Moore is unhappy that President Obama has continually tracked to the right with conservative narratives about taxes, spending and the role of government, saying that debt is the “greatest threat” facing the United States today. That's right, not military spending, the banks, corporate excess and corruption, poverty, and a few other pressing problems. Yes, Obama has a tough job dealing with the rigid, ransom-seeking right-wing. But seriously, Mr. President. Get on message. We need to be spending money, not cutting jobs

See AlterNet for the full story – Also see The Guardian