Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Dec 7, 2011

Today:

It's Pearl Harbor Day. Know who your friends really are at 7:55 am. Today marks 70 years since the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941... "a day which will live in infamy" as then-President Roosevelt called it. The attack killed 24-hundred people and wounded another 12-hundred, while destroying eight of the battleships and a bunch of the cruisers in the Pacific fleet. Tonight at eight, the History Channel has a special on what happened following the attack, if you're interested.
   Nowadays, Japanese products account for 6.3 percent of overall U.S. imports (in 2009, the latest year you can get the data for), or around $117 billion worth. We sell them around $61 billion bucks worth of products --they are now our fourth largest trading partner. As for Pearl Harbor, the oil is still bubbling out of the hull of the USS Arizona. More than one million people still visit the memorial annually, and the 45-hundred tickets available each day through the US National Park Service are often gone by mid-morning, so if you're headed out there, make sure you buy 'em early.

Your tax dollars at work:

If you have a public Twitter account, some of your tweets might be heading to the Library of Congress. Washington's Federal News Radio reports that the library and Twitter have signed an agreement that will set up an archive of every public Tweet ever sent.
Twitter is now in the process of moving millions of tweets from its archives to the library. (Pacelli)

Naked Models!:

The most sought-after, exclusive, snooty nudie model calendar is out. The 2012 Pirelli Calendar made its debut yesterday. Fashionista.com describes it as “classiest pin-up girly calendar ever.” It features naked portraits of some of today’s super-i-est supermodels... KATE MOSS, MILLA JOVOVICH, JOAN SMALLS, ISABELI FONTANA and LARA STONE are among the tastefully-shot nudes shot by renowned photographer MARIO SORRENTI. The calendar features 25 portraits: 18 black-and-white, seven full-color and all of them completely naked. But you won’t be able to pick it up at your neighborhood bookstore. It’s an industry trade calendar published by an Italian tire company, and is only given to other C-E-O types at other companies as a gift.
FYI: But with this handy internet thing, you can ogle the naked models here. You're welcome.(Bartha)

Stars and their movies:

Hey, guys: there's still time to ante up for a date with SCARLETT JOHANSSON, and you don't even have to be as good looking as RYAN REYNOLDS to do it! Scarlett is auctioning off a chance to meet with her on the red carpet as a promotion for her newest flick, "We Bought A Zoo," which opens with the NYC premiere next Monday night.
So pony up the dough! The money will go to a non-profit that provides meals for more than 55-thousand kids in more than 318 schools --it's called Blessings in a Backpack.
Current bid for the "date" with Scarlett --$65-hundred bucks. Head over to CharityBuzz.com to place your bid!

Grace notes:

BARBARA ORBISON, widow of rock 'n' roll legend ROY ORBISON died on the 23rd anniversary of Roy's death. She was 60 years old and had pancreatic cancer. Barbara kept Roy's legacy alive long after he passed away, making sure the world knew his place in music history. Roy died in 1988 at the age of 52, just as he was making a huge comeback as part of the supergroup, the TRAVELIN' WILBURYS with BOB DYLAN, GEORGE HARRISON, TOM PETTY and JEFF LYNNE. (Marino)

Singer DOBIE GRAY has died. His website said he passed away last night at age 71. His first big hit was "The In Crowd" in 1965, and then Dobie scored a top-five smash in 1973 with "Drift Away." 30 years later, he was featured on a remake of that song by UNCLE KRACKER. Dobie owned his own recording studio in Nashville, and recorded three albums there in the 1970's.
FYI: Useless Trivia: "Drift Away" was the last single ever released on the Decca label, which soon became MCA Records. (Marino)