Episode 22 - Fireworks in Cairo

Mubarak Bows Out, Facebook Not Big in Japan, Yann Martel Gets a Response, Bullies Exposed, Tommy James' Mob Connections, A Valentine's Day Investment, Will the NHL Return to Quebec?


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Mubarak has left Cairo.

After twice addressing the nation and indicating he would remain President until elections are held, Hosni Mubarak finally stepped down and relegated his authority to Omar Suleiman, his Vice President.

Cairo erupted. Mubarak got out of town.

He hailed a chopper to his summer retreat, but it's unclear what will happen to him next.

Will he be allowed "to die on Egypt's soil" as he vowed on Thursday night before an enraged and determined audience? Did the appointment of Omar Suleiman buy Mubarak time?

Or is Mubarak's next helicopter ride a journey into exile? And if so, who will take the 82 year old former dictator?

Thumbnail image for yann_publish.jpgLast week Yann Martel told us he's finished goading the Prime Minister of Canada. He'd been sending Mr. Harper a book every two weeks and he never got a reply.

Well, we got lots of response from Yann's appearance on Day 6. You can see for yourself right here.

And one of the funniest ripostes came from Jim Armour who's put some hours in working for the Prime Minister.  He doesn't think Yann Martel has a handle on the kind of  guy Stephen Harper really is.

You gotta hear Jim Armour's open letter to Yann Martel.

Thumbnail image for leo_publish.jpgOur Oscar pool is in its third week.

And Melissa Leo might not care if she gets your vote but she sure wants the academy to back her.

Leo is in the running for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Fighter.

This week she took out trade ads which she paid for herself offering herself up "for consideration".

She's been the front runner for the award all along, but there's something about her brazen self promotion that rubbed Hollywood the wrong way.

Uh, you mean Hollywood doesn't like promotion? Hollywood??! Sigh!

Now we're wondering: Did Melissa Leo seal her own fate?

FB Japon_publish.jpgFacebook isn't big in Japan.

The social networking site hasn't been able to crack the Japanese online community. And it seems even if Facebook makes major privacy adjustments, it won't appeal to the Japanese.

Japanese netizens try not to be too transparent online. Our guest says with the guarantee of anonymity, Japanese people are more likely to engage in social criticism or just be publicly vocal.  

Facebook won't operate with avatars.

So it's likely the Japanese will stick with their homegrown and flourishing sites, like Mixi. 

Thumbnail image for arena_publish.jpgIt wasn't a great week to be a Conservative MP in Quebec.

Or a Winnipeg Jets fan.

The Ville de Quebec and the province put together a deal to fund a new arena which froze out the federal government as a partner. And the feds had been tying themselves into pretzels trying to find a way to buy in without enraging the rest of Canada.

Now a state-of-the-art NHL-ready arena is on the way. But is the NHL ready to return to Quebec?

bullies_fix_publish.jpgBullies are among the second most popular kids in school. That's according to a new study. Wait, do we really need a study for this?

Think about it: if you're the most popular kid in the school you wouldn't need to bully anyone because you're already at the top. And it would be a PR disaster for you to be seen threatening the weak and the near-sighted.

No, the bullies are seldom the most popular kids. So now let's look down one rung at the almost popular.

Bingo! There's blood on those little hands for sure.

Kathleen Phillips can't believe they hired experts for this.

Thumbnail image for tommy james_publish.jpgTommy James, with his band the Shondells, sold about 200 million records, starting with a disc he recorded back in 1964 called Hanky Panky

Most of those records were pushed out by a New York City outfit called Roulette Records.  It was a front for one of the leading crime families of New York. Tommy James was working for the mob.

While his music was making him a worldwide star, his manager Morris Levy was stealing his money. Levy sat on all his royalties eventually costing Tommy 30 or 40 million dollars.

Tommy was afraid to leave.

His new book Me, the Mob and the Music explains how Levy terrorized his artists and ran circles around the IRS. And Tommy tells how he came to write such classic songs as Crystal Blue Persuasion and Crimson and Clover.

Listen to the show to find out how you can win a copy of the book. And wait til you hear the part about the baseball bats.

Thumbnail image for valentines_publish.jpgSo Monday is Valentine's Day.

And we have a great story about enduring love, taking chances, and how you can have it all for nine bucks.

Nine Bucks!

There isn't much you can do for nine bucks in today's world.

But if you do Valentine's Day right it can almost remind you that love is free. Almost. 

Happy Weekend.

Brent Bambury @CBCDay6

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