CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR

'Charlie Wilson's War' (2007) is a movie about a congressman who was behind a covert operation to supply the Afghans with weapons so that they could fight the Soviet invaders in the 1980's. The Soviets finally had to leave and it was the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union. The film is very entertaining and has excellent acting by Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who was nominated to the Oscar. Here's the trailer.



The story exemplifies the saying 'Truth is stranger than fiction.' Charlie Wilson served 24 years in Congress but he seemed more interested in women and Scotch whisky than in politics. However, he managed to secretly channel as much as $750 million a year in weapons to the Afghan rebels. The movie also reflects on the causes of today's problems with Afghanistan, and leaves you wondering what goes on without us citizens knowing. The following clip sums up the story and includes an interview with Mr Wilson.



Read this article in the New York Times about the book on which the movie is based. Also, you can visit this page in biography.com, featuring a video of an interview with the author of the book.

A STAR IS BORN

'A 47-year-old charity worker who says she has never been kissed is now a YouTube sensation after a singing performance that wowed the notoriously harsh talent judge Simon Cowell.' This is the beginning of a CNN article on Susan Boyle, the new Internet sensation. By now you have probably heard about her overnight stardom. Watch this YouTube clip, which has received more than 25 million hits.

As an example of the widespread media coverage, follow this link to CNN, which in turn has threads to other videos and articles (including the one quoted at the beginning).

I find this a very touching story and I wonder how fame is going to affect her. The song is beautiful, too. Read the lyrics here.

FRANK ABAGNALE

You may have seen the film 'Catch Me If You Can' (2002), based on the real story con artist Frank Abagnale. Between the ages of 16 and 21, he successfully posed as an airline pilot, an attorney, a college professor and a pediatrician, in addition to cashing $2.5 million in fraudulent checks in every state and 26 foreign countries. Apprehended by the French police when he was 21 years old, he served time in the French, Swedish and U. S. prison systems. After five years he was released on the condition that he would help the federal government, without remuneration, by teaching and assisting federal law enforcement agencies. After five years he was released on the condition that he would help the federal government, without remuneration, by teaching and assisting federal law enforcement agencies. Here's the movie trailer:



Mr. Abagnale has been associated with the FBI for over 30 years. He lectures extensively at the FBI Academy and for the field offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He is a very entertaining speaker, as this clip shows:


Mr. Abagnale felt the need to make a few clarifications when the film was released. You can read them here.

Frank W. Abagnale is one of the world's most respected authorities on the subjects of forgery, embezzlement and secure documents. Surely it's a good idea to take his advice seriously. Read this piece about cheques and credit cards.