Extra! Extra!

In his ongoing column, VOX’s Barry Langer has handpicked five important pieces of news that should matter to teens, and explains why.

• Fourteen board members at the Atlanta-based Carter Center quit because of the content of former President Jimmy Carter’s new book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” Led by Steve Berman (who happened to have founded my Jewish school, The Weber School), the group left the board due to the fact that Carter’s book “portrays the conflict between Israel and her neighbors as a purely one-sided affair with Israel holding all the responsibility for resolving the conflict.” I must admit that I haven’t read the book yet, but the title’s comparing of Israel to South Africa’s apartheid regime — where a small group of non-native whites ruled over the native blacks — sends up red flags for me big time.

• I mentioned the political steamroller that is Barack Obama in the last issue of VOX. Recently Sen. Obama (D-Ill.) announced that he’s forming an “exploratory committee” to decide whether he’s going to run for the U.S. presidency in 2008. The Democratic Party seems excited to pit him against Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), mainly because Obama doesn’t appear to have many skeletons in his closet. He’s also a breath of fresh air who could, for once, represent this nation’s diversity. The son of a black man and a white woman, Obama has made his mark as a dynamic speaker and diplomat. The only downside I see at this point for his candidacy is that he’s only served two years in Congress. The Republicans obviously already see Obama as a threat because they’re attempting to dig up dirt on him and link him to radical Islam — Obama lived in Indonesia and reportedly attended a Muslim school — even though he’s a devout Christian.

• I’m somewhat embarrassed that I have a beef with the Golden Globe Awards that took place on Jan. 15 — kicking off what I’m sure will be another year-long string of shows where they’ll give out awards to just about anybody. After all, these big- and small-screen awards are doled out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which seems like an oxymoron to me. In any case, in the category of Best Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy, “Dreamgirls” — the only musical nominated in the category — beat out “Thank You for Smoking,” in my opinion one of the best films period last year. I just don’t understand how you can compare the two, let alone how “Thank You for Smoking” lost. Meanwhile, Best Television Series: Drama went to “Grey’s Anatomy,” which is essentially a glorified soap opera that deals with young doctors playing, well, doctor with one another and giving each other nicknames like McHe’sSoGoodLooking or McWhatAHotGuy. Considering that it went up against ground-breaking shows like “24” and “Lost,” I’m just flabbergasted. I’ll just pretend Jack Bauer of “24” beat up all those pretty-boy doctors after the awards show. Also cheated in my opinion were actress Edie Falco from “The Sopranos” and actor Zach Braff from “Scrubs.” Next year I’m figuring out how to become a member of the HFPA. Maybe all it takes is a British accent.

• Apple Computers has introduced some pretty awesome products over the past few years, but at this year’s Macworld conference, CEO Steve Jobs unveiled two revolutionary devices that could forever enslave our country’s youth to the company. The most important was the iPhone, an amalgam of iPod, Web browser, e-mailer, camera and cell phone all in one small, cool-looking package. To top it off, the iPhone is operated solely by a slick touch screen, meaning it has no physical buttons. It’ll be available this summer for $500, and I may have to get a couple extra jobs just so I can be among the first to get one. Perhaps to outdo itself, Apple also announced Apple TV, which connects your iTunes content — including movies, TV shows and music — from your iPod or computer directly to your TV. Shhhh... is that the sound of the end of the DVD I hear coming? The Apple TV is available now for $299 at Apple stores and www.apple.com.

• The last Extra! Extra! is short, sweet, and requires no zingers on my part. Miss New Jersey 2006 has renounced her title and will not be competing in the Miss USA contest come March because she violated one cardinal rule of the pageant — she got pregnant. I can’t even make this stuff up. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)