Madonna: Out of Bondage to Warner

This just in: the provocative performer Madonna is chainsawing her bonds to Warner, the company that launched her and made her famous.

That's right, the chains of love are apparently made only of paper: the kind money is printed on. The buzz says that Madonna will immediately wrap up $120 million in the deal with Live Nation.

Hey, that's a lot faster than getting the bucks dollar by dollar in a g-string.

The hot, hot Madonna deal is, industry pundits say, a warning of things to come. By dumping her steady Freddie Warner, Madonna is signalling entertainment's escape from traditional companies and contracts.

Or so they say. However, there's a flip side to this record-setting deal: Madonna hasn't produced an album since her 2005 Confessions on a Dance Floor. And, she still owes Warner some product.

Has Madonna been pouty and petulant in not producing? Like any break-up, this story has intimate secrets.

But the bottom line is: as Madonna ages, she needs to grab the fastest bucks in town. Not even the lethal weapon bra of Blonde Ambition days can survive gravity's fine points.

First Woman Space Station Commander & Team Launched

Flames danced against the dawning sky as the International Space Station's first woman commander and team mates were launched successfully from Baikonur Cosmodrome.

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, and Russian guest space traveler Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, are on orbit after their Soyuz rocket hurled them into space. Whitson, the incoming Expedition 16 commander, joins NASA's long list of "firsts" for women in space and diversity in space.

Shukor is Malaysia's first space visitor. A doctor, he got his ride as part of a complicated trade involving Malaysia's purchase of Soviet fighter jets. Malenchenko is a space veteran who earlier commanded an expedition.

The spacecraft will dock with the Zarya module about 10:22 a.m. EDT Friday.

Photo: courtesy of NASA

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Sex, Drugs, Politics & Death Threats: Journalists Under Fire in Columbia

Drug cartels, politicians, ego, greed, and unbridled power have created a toxic mix for journalists in Columbia. . The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) cites Columbia as one of the most dangerous places for reporters, photographers, and their support staff.

A Columbian journalist is in hiding after Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez accused him of collaboration with drug lord Pablo Excobar's mistress in publishing a book alleging Uribe has drug ties. Gonzalo Guillen had his security detail reduced as dozens of death threats followed Uribe's attack, according to the CPJ.

Reporters Without Borders earlier this year issued a harrowing report on the 30,000 paramilitaries, called the "Black Eagles" unleashed on journalists by Uribe's government. In June, Javier Dario Arroyave was stabbed to death as the attacks on journalists escalated, according to the International Federation of Journalists.

Journalism is a risky business, especially in areas where power means absolute power, and where a free press is not a right. As recent events in Burma (Myanmar) have shown, truth all too often teeters on the edge of a grave.