And The Oscar Goes To.....

Well faithful readers of this blog, it is that time of year again!  The Academy Awards will take place in 26 hours and the red carpet is being prepared as we speak.  It promises to be a spectacular night with James Franco and Anne Hathaway hosting tomorrow night.

As has been tradition for several years, The Shadow will list his predictions for tomorrow night in the major categories.  They are as follows:

• Best Picture - The King's Speech
• Best Director - Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
• Best Actor - Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
• Best Actress - Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
• Best Supporting Actor - Christian Bale (The Fighter)
• Best Supporting Actress - Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
• Original Screenplay - The King's Speech
• Adopted Screenplay - The Social Network
• Animated Feature - Toy Story 3
• Cinematography - Inception
• Original Score - Alexandre Desplot (The King's Speech)
• Original Song - "Coming Home" (Country Strong)

Come back after the awards ceremony when we will post the actual winners.  Good night and good luck.

The Shadow Comments on the Crisis in Egypt

It has been awhile since we have come to you and we had not anticipated coming to you before the Academy Awards later this month.

Unfortunately, events call for us to come to you tonight.

As all of you are aware at this point, Egypt is in the midst of a revolution (there is no other way of putting this).  Following the protests that have led to the downfall of the president of Tunisia, Egyptian citizens have been taking to the streets to demand the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Musbarek.  We will not recap the events of the last 9 days as it has been in the news constantly, but it is important that we make a statement here now that the President of the United States has spoken.

Earlier today, a CNN crew led by respected journalist Anderson Cooper was assaulted by crowds in Cairo.  The video, courtesy of CNN.com is below:





There was no reason whatsoever for this to occur.  We can report that Anderson Cooper and his crew are fine and did broadcast his show tonight hidden somewhere in Cairo.

The U.S. State has told Americans still in Egypt to get to the airport immediately.  CNN's Anderson Cooper is reporting that the State Department is not guaranteeing any evacuation flights for Americans after Thursday.  If you are reading this from Egypt, please GET TO AN AIRPORT IMMEDIATELY.

The Shadow is also issuing this statement to President Hosni Mubarek:

We think that it is admirable that you have given in to protesters demands and will not stand for re-election in September, we are calling for you to step down immediately and transfer power to Vice President Omar Soliman.  The lives and livelihood of all Egyptians is in danger because of your decision to not step down.

Thus to summarize so that we are clear:  The Shadow is calling for the immediate resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek and immediate transfer of power to Vice President Omar Soliman.  We will not back down on this request.

We will continue to update you on this situation through our Twitter feed.  Follow us at @TheShadowSF.

Good night and good luck.