Monday, May 31, 2004
SIFF: 05/30/2004
Rugged Rich and the Ona Ona 4/5
This amusing Canadian short showed before Danny Deckchair. It plays with the tension between our fears and our desire to impress people, particularly members of the opposite sex. A good lead in for the feature film.
Danny Deckchair 4/5
I like Miranda Otto. I thought she nailed the role of Eowyn in The Lord of the Rings. I've never seen her in anything else, and this film looked like a good opportunity. That and I overheard some people raving about it while standing in line the day before.
I found Danny Deckchair a delightful comedy about people stuck in a rut and getting a chance to go for something different. It fits well in the romantic comedy genre with all the requisite plot elements, but its quirky, endearing characters make it more than just another "chick flick".
Undead 1/5
An Australian movie with space aliens and zombies and attacking fish heads. The survivalist and the town bad girl were the coolest characters. The cops were like something from an Ed Wood movie. In fact the whole thing... Well, one shouldn't speak ill of the undead.
Haute Tension 2/5
This French slasher film was a relief after Undead. But it was a movie with a twist, and coming the night after A Tale of Two Sisters, it just didn't deliver for me.
This amusing Canadian short showed before Danny Deckchair. It plays with the tension between our fears and our desire to impress people, particularly members of the opposite sex. A good lead in for the feature film.
Danny Deckchair 4/5
I like Miranda Otto. I thought she nailed the role of Eowyn in The Lord of the Rings. I've never seen her in anything else, and this film looked like a good opportunity. That and I overheard some people raving about it while standing in line the day before.
I found Danny Deckchair a delightful comedy about people stuck in a rut and getting a chance to go for something different. It fits well in the romantic comedy genre with all the requisite plot elements, but its quirky, endearing characters make it more than just another "chick flick".
Drive-In Party
So we're off to a triple feature night at the Valley 6 Drive-In in Auburn. Since it's SIFF we have an Australian zombie movie, a French slasher film, and a Japanese samurai flick. The problem with drive ins is that people bring their cars. Late arrivals with headlights on, and of course the folks in front playing with their turn signals and tapping on their breaks. Mix in lots of sugar and pizza that tastes like plastic, and you have the drive-in experience. We stayed for the first to films, but were too tired to go for the third. Too bad because it sounded good.Undead 1/5
An Australian movie with space aliens and zombies and attacking fish heads. The survivalist and the town bad girl were the coolest characters. The cops were like something from an Ed Wood movie. In fact the whole thing... Well, one shouldn't speak ill of the undead.
Haute Tension 2/5
This French slasher film was a relief after Undead. But it was a movie with a twist, and coming the night after A Tale of Two Sisters, it just didn't deliver for me.
SIFF: 05/29/2004
A Tale of Two Sisters 4/5
I'm so glad I decided to stay up for the Saturday midnight show at the Egyptian. I'm becoming a fan of Asian horror movies. I saw The Ring and then watched Ringu and liked it more. I also enjoyed The Eye at last year's SIFF. these movies manage to be scary and shocking without needing a lot of blood and gore. Not that I so much mind blood and gore. I like a good Quentin tarantino film. But so often in the horror genre, the blood and gore is just way over the top.
A Tale of Two Sisters is a movie with a twist. Things aren't as they seem at the beginning. I like movies that mess with my mind like this. What makes a movie like this great for me is the time it takes from becoming aware that there's a twist until I figure out what the twist is. I enjoy a movie like The Sixth Sense, and I have to admit that I was clueless about the twist until it was revealed to us. But then I have to slap my forehead and go "Duh!". Once it's revealed, the twist is obvious. In a good David Lynch film on the other hand, you know there's a twist, but even after the movie you're still trying to tie up loose ends. I like this because it give you something to talk about and debate. In A Tale of Two Sisters I knew something was fundamentally wrong by the middle of the movie, and I figured out some of what it might be, but it took most of the rest of the movie to see the full magnitude of what was going on. And like a good Lynch film, I still have some question. I hope this movie gets a theatrical or at least DVD release in the US.
I'm so glad I decided to stay up for the Saturday midnight show at the Egyptian. I'm becoming a fan of Asian horror movies. I saw The Ring and then watched Ringu and liked it more. I also enjoyed The Eye at last year's SIFF. these movies manage to be scary and shocking without needing a lot of blood and gore. Not that I so much mind blood and gore. I like a good Quentin tarantino film. But so often in the horror genre, the blood and gore is just way over the top.
A Tale of Two Sisters is a movie with a twist. Things aren't as they seem at the beginning. I like movies that mess with my mind like this. What makes a movie like this great for me is the time it takes from becoming aware that there's a twist until I figure out what the twist is. I enjoy a movie like The Sixth Sense, and I have to admit that I was clueless about the twist until it was revealed to us. But then I have to slap my forehead and go "Duh!". Once it's revealed, the twist is obvious. In a good David Lynch film on the other hand, you know there's a twist, but even after the movie you're still trying to tie up loose ends. I like this because it give you something to talk about and debate. In A Tale of Two Sisters I knew something was fundamentally wrong by the middle of the movie, and I figured out some of what it might be, but it took most of the rest of the movie to see the full magnitude of what was going on. And like a good Lynch film, I still have some question. I hope this movie gets a theatrical or at least DVD release in the US.
Sunday, May 30, 2004
SIFF: Primer
Primer 4/5
This is a geek movie that also messes with your mind. We start out with a group of engineers who spend all their spare time in literally a garage shop trying to come up with something to get them out of their day jobs. Like I said, it's a geek movie. After some technically dense setup, it becomes a time travel story. There are many ways to do this genre wrong, but Primer manages a fresh, mind bending twist.
This film was shot digitally on a low budget, but just like our garage shop heros, it gets a lot of mileage out of that budget. Much fun, but densely packed and a bit confusing at times. It seemed longer than it's 75 minutes, and I mean that in a good way. I'd like to watch it again just to pick up some details.
This is a geek movie that also messes with your mind. We start out with a group of engineers who spend all their spare time in literally a garage shop trying to come up with something to get them out of their day jobs. Like I said, it's a geek movie. After some technically dense setup, it becomes a time travel story. There are many ways to do this genre wrong, but Primer manages a fresh, mind bending twist.
This film was shot digitally on a low budget, but just like our garage shop heros, it gets a lot of mileage out of that budget. Much fun, but densely packed and a bit confusing at times. It seemed longer than it's 75 minutes, and I mean that in a good way. I'd like to watch it again just to pick up some details.
SIFF films: The Corporation
The Corporation 5/5
This documentary traces the history of the corporation from the late eighteenth century to the present. Originally a corporation was chartered for a limited and specific purpose and time. During the industrial revolution, the status of the corporation rose helped along by the US Supreme Court which granted corporations the status of persons under the fourteenth amendment. With interviews with the likes of Michael Moore, Noam Chomskey, Howard Zinn, and Dr. Vandana Shiva, one might expect a large focus on corporate abuses, and indeed the film delivers on this. A particular target is Monsanto.
I was particularly impressed by the interviews with Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface carpets. He talked of his transition from a self described "plunderer" to someone with a vision for a corporate entity that practiced sustainable production. He freely admits that his company isn't anywhere near sustainability yet, but they have established goals and made good progress towards meeting them. This resonates well with my feeling about where corporations need to go. A new social compact of stewardship and sustainability would allolw corporations to deliver benefits not only to the present society but also to future generations.
There's much more that can be said about this two and a half hour movie. I'd highly recommend it to both friends and foes of the modern corporation. There are many good ideas to think about and discuss.
Find out more at http://www.thecorporation.com/. Info on Ray Anderson and links to sustainable manufacturing and waste reduction at http://www.interfaceinc.com/us/company/about/ray_anderson.asp.
This documentary traces the history of the corporation from the late eighteenth century to the present. Originally a corporation was chartered for a limited and specific purpose and time. During the industrial revolution, the status of the corporation rose helped along by the US Supreme Court which granted corporations the status of persons under the fourteenth amendment. With interviews with the likes of Michael Moore, Noam Chomskey, Howard Zinn, and Dr. Vandana Shiva, one might expect a large focus on corporate abuses, and indeed the film delivers on this. A particular target is Monsanto.
I was particularly impressed by the interviews with Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface carpets. He talked of his transition from a self described "plunderer" to someone with a vision for a corporate entity that practiced sustainable production. He freely admits that his company isn't anywhere near sustainability yet, but they have established goals and made good progress towards meeting them. This resonates well with my feeling about where corporations need to go. A new social compact of stewardship and sustainability would allolw corporations to deliver benefits not only to the present society but also to future generations.
There's much more that can be said about this two and a half hour movie. I'd highly recommend it to both friends and foes of the modern corporation. There are many good ideas to think about and discuss.
Find out more at http://www.thecorporation.com/. Info on Ray Anderson and links to sustainable manufacturing and waste reduction at http://www.interfaceinc.com/us/company/about/ray_anderson.asp.
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
C.S. Lewis on theocracy
C.S. Lewis on theocracy via slacktivist:
I am a democrat because I believe that no man or group of men is good enough to be trusted with uncontrolled power over others. And the higher the pretensions of such power, the more dangerous I think it both to rulers and to the subjects. Hence Theocracy is the worst of all governments. If we must have a tyrant a robber barron is far better than an inquisitor. The baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity at some point may be sated; and since he dimly knows he is doing wrong he may possibly repent. But the inquisitor who mistakes his own cruelty and lust of power and fear for the voice of Heaven will torment us infinitely more because he torments us with the approval of his own conscience and his better impulses appear to him as temptations.
And since Theocracy is the worst, the nearer any government approaches to Theocracy the worse it will be. A metaphysic held by the rulers with the force of a religion, is a bad sign. It forbids them, like the inquisitor, to admit any grain of truth or good in their opponents, it abrogates the ordinary rules of morality, and it gives a seemingly high, super-personal sanction to all the very ordinary human passions by which, like other men, the rulers will frequently be actuated. In a word, it forbids wholesome doubt. A political programme can never in reality be more than probably right. We never know all the facts about the present and we can only guess the future. To attach to a party programme -- whose highest claim is to reasonable prudence -- the sort of assent which we should reserve for demonstrable theorems, is a kind of intoxication.
I am a democrat because I believe that no man or group of men is good enough to be trusted with uncontrolled power over others. And the higher the pretensions of such power, the more dangerous I think it both to rulers and to the subjects. Hence Theocracy is the worst of all governments. If we must have a tyrant a robber barron is far better than an inquisitor. The baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity at some point may be sated; and since he dimly knows he is doing wrong he may possibly repent. But the inquisitor who mistakes his own cruelty and lust of power and fear for the voice of Heaven will torment us infinitely more because he torments us with the approval of his own conscience and his better impulses appear to him as temptations.
And since Theocracy is the worst, the nearer any government approaches to Theocracy the worse it will be. A metaphysic held by the rulers with the force of a religion, is a bad sign. It forbids them, like the inquisitor, to admit any grain of truth or good in their opponents, it abrogates the ordinary rules of morality, and it gives a seemingly high, super-personal sanction to all the very ordinary human passions by which, like other men, the rulers will frequently be actuated. In a word, it forbids wholesome doubt. A political programme can never in reality be more than probably right. We never know all the facts about the present and we can only guess the future. To attach to a party programme -- whose highest claim is to reasonable prudence -- the sort of assent which we should reserve for demonstrable theorems, is a kind of intoxication.
SIFF Update
So it's hard to work full time AND do the film festival, but next week I'm on vacation! I've only gotten to see one film since my last post.
Cowards Bend the Knee 3/5
What can I say? A b/w silent film with hockey, abortion, hair styling, prostitution, betrayal, ghosts, disembodied hands, Oedipal issues, wax museums, cold war rivalry. Those Canadians sure make interesting movies. Also showed with the short film The Phantom Museum. Read V by Thomas Pynchon to get a feel for what these two films are about.
Cowards Bend the Knee 3/5
What can I say? A b/w silent film with hockey, abortion, hair styling, prostitution, betrayal, ghosts, disembodied hands, Oedipal issues, wax museums, cold war rivalry. Those Canadians sure make interesting movies. Also showed with the short film The Phantom Museum. Read V by Thomas Pynchon to get a feel for what these two films are about.
Monday, May 24, 2004
Baghdad Burning
Baghdad Burning: "Girl Blog from Iraq... let's talk war, politics and occupation."
I've been trying to read through all of this but haven't got any earlier than March. Highly recommended. The view from Baghdad by an intelligent female Iraqi.
I've been trying to read through all of this but haven't got any earlier than March. Highly recommended. The view from Baghdad by an intelligent female Iraqi.
Moore Film Is Held Up by Questions About Rights
The New York Times reports: "Tense relations between Disney and Miramax are complicating a deal to find a distributor for Michael Moore's anti-Bush documentary movie 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' which is still without American representation two days after winning the Palme d'Or at the Cannes International Film Festival."
Am I going to have to go to Vancouver to see this film?
Am I going to have to go to Vancouver to see this film?
Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" Wins Palme d'Or
Backstage.com: "Jury president Quentin Tarantino said the jury 'was proud to announce' Moore's victory, which prompted a standing ovation from the closing night gala audience."
Saturday, May 22, 2004
Seattle International Film Festival
I saw these film on Frifay night, may 21, 2004. I rated these films on a scaled of 1 - 5, where 5 is the best score.
Red Lights (Feux Rouges) 3/5
I'm not really sure what to think of this one. To begin with we have some sympathy for the husband waiting for his wife who is perpetually "on her way". And when she finally arrives, we get just a hint she may be having an affair. But once they finally hit the road, and as his alcohol consumption becomes boundless, the husband becomes thoroughly unlikable. They eventually go their own ways, and a mutual descent into hell ensues. I was finding this all a bit too tedious, but then the film brings them back together in an ironic and some may feel unlikely way. The characters are forced to confront themselves and their relationship. Have they learned enough to go forward together or have they sowed the seed of their own destruction. I guess this is the question we all face in life.
Carandiru 5/5
I heard a story on NPR earlier this month about this film. I went in with high expectations and was not disappointed. Based on the prison revolt and subsequent massacre at the Carandiru prison in Sao Paolo, Brazil, the film follows the story of a doctor diagnosing and treating AIDS patients in the prison. Initially repulsed by the prison reality, the doctor begins to connect with the inmates and hear their stories. These are men who without a doubt are guilty of the crimes for which they are charged, but nonetheless are also human beings. I’m not sure how realistic the film is, but it portrays a far more open attitude toward conjugal visits and prison homosexuality than we see in America. In the end, though, when a prison riot breaks out, the response is brutal and overwhelming. Despite the attempts of the prison warden to defuse the crisis, the riot police storm the prison and massacre inmates who are merely trying to return to their cells. Watching these scenes I couldn’t help but think of the recent news from Abu Gharib in Iraq. Politicians respond to a crisis by dehumanizing the “enemy”, and the troops responsible respond in a brutal way. No one disputes that the inmates in Carandiru deserved to be incarcerated. They were murderers and thieves. But the quelling of the prison revolt had more to do with politicians seeking to score campaign points than with an understanding of the level of force needed to control the situation. In the end we see the demolition of an emptied Carandiru. We can only hope that some day the images from Abu Gharib will be of it collapsing into the desert.
Red Lights (Feux Rouges) 3/5
I'm not really sure what to think of this one. To begin with we have some sympathy for the husband waiting for his wife who is perpetually "on her way". And when she finally arrives, we get just a hint she may be having an affair. But once they finally hit the road, and as his alcohol consumption becomes boundless, the husband becomes thoroughly unlikable. They eventually go their own ways, and a mutual descent into hell ensues. I was finding this all a bit too tedious, but then the film brings them back together in an ironic and some may feel unlikely way. The characters are forced to confront themselves and their relationship. Have they learned enough to go forward together or have they sowed the seed of their own destruction. I guess this is the question we all face in life.
Carandiru 5/5
I heard a story on NPR earlier this month about this film. I went in with high expectations and was not disappointed. Based on the prison revolt and subsequent massacre at the Carandiru prison in Sao Paolo, Brazil, the film follows the story of a doctor diagnosing and treating AIDS patients in the prison. Initially repulsed by the prison reality, the doctor begins to connect with the inmates and hear their stories. These are men who without a doubt are guilty of the crimes for which they are charged, but nonetheless are also human beings. I’m not sure how realistic the film is, but it portrays a far more open attitude toward conjugal visits and prison homosexuality than we see in America. In the end, though, when a prison riot breaks out, the response is brutal and overwhelming. Despite the attempts of the prison warden to defuse the crisis, the riot police storm the prison and massacre inmates who are merely trying to return to their cells. Watching these scenes I couldn’t help but think of the recent news from Abu Gharib in Iraq. Politicians respond to a crisis by dehumanizing the “enemy”, and the troops responsible respond in a brutal way. No one disputes that the inmates in Carandiru deserved to be incarcerated. They were murderers and thieves. But the quelling of the prison revolt had more to do with politicians seeking to score campaign points than with an understanding of the level of force needed to control the situation. In the end we see the demolition of an emptied Carandiru. We can only hope that some day the images from Abu Gharib will be of it collapsing into the desert.
Thursday, May 20, 2004
"Broken Engagement" by Gen. Wesley Clark
The strategy that won the Cold War could help bring democracy to the Middle East-- if only the Bush hawks understood it.
Gen. Clark gives an excellent critique of why the Bush policy has failed in Iraq and offers some pratical alternatives that might succeed in spreading democracy in the future. It will require patience, tolerance, and understanding of other people's realities. These qualities seem in short supply in the current administration. If John Kerry succeeds in ending the Bush regime, I hope Clark will play a role in fashioning a new and more enlightened foreign policy.
Gen. Clark gives an excellent critique of why the Bush policy has failed in Iraq and offers some pratical alternatives that might succeed in spreading democracy in the future. It will require patience, tolerance, and understanding of other people's realities. These qualities seem in short supply in the current administration. If John Kerry succeeds in ending the Bush regime, I hope Clark will play a role in fashioning a new and more enlightened foreign policy.
Outsourcing by Contest
Eric Sink has an interesting approach to outsourcing web design: HTML Design Guru Bake-Off. Hey Jens, maybe you should go for it.
I Feel So Old...
I just got an email from Ticketmaster about upcoming concerts. My first reaction this picture was "who is that old guy?"...
Eric Clapton. I feel so old.
Eric Clapton. I feel so old.
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Salon.com Technology | Safe and insecure: "I opened up my wireless home network to the world, and I've never felt more comfortable."
Micah Joel raises an interesting issue here. Last month Comcast sent letters to some subscribers claiming that their IP addresses had been used to download copyrighted movies. Joel says:
It will be interesting when and if this argument gets tested in court.
Micah Joel raises an interesting issue here. Last month Comcast sent letters to some subscribers claiming that their IP addresses had been used to download copyrighted movies. Joel says:
I've already composed my reply in case I receive one of these letters someday. "Dear Comcast, I am so sorry. I had no idea that copyrighted works were being downloaded via my IP address; I have a wireless router at home and it's possible that someone may have been using my connection at the time. I will do my best to secure this notoriously vulnerable technology, but I can make no guarantee that hackers will not exploit my network in the future."
If it ever comes down to a lawsuit, who can be certain that I was the offender? And can the victim of hacking be held responsible for the hacker's crimes? If that were the case, we'd all be liable for the Blaster worm's denial of service attacks against Microsoft last year.
It will be interesting when and if this argument gets tested in court.
Monday, May 17, 2004
Cheney: Hypocrite? Or Maybe He Just Likes Pretty Things. . .
"A Wonkette operative alerted us to an interesting aside in a Reuters piece on White House financial disclosures:
"Ah. We're getting a little curious about exactly what goes on in that undisclosed location. . ."
"A Wonkette operative alerted us to an interesting aside in a Reuters piece on White House financial disclosures:
'The vice president received $6,345 in gifts, including a set of designer earrings and necklace valued at $1,475.'
"Ah. We're getting a little curious about exactly what goes on in that undisclosed location. . ."
[via Wonkette]
Sunday, May 16, 2004
USNews.com: Washington Whispers (5/17/04):
"The Google Terrrorist
It was the lead item on the government's daily threat matrix one day last April. Don Emilio Fulci described by an FBI tipster as a reclusive but evil millionaire, had formed a terrorist group that was planning chemical attacks against London and Washington, D.C. That day even FBI director Robert Mueller was briefed on the Fulci matter. But as the day went on without incident, a White House staffer had a brainstorm: He Googled Fulci. His findings: Fulci is the crime boss in the popular video game Headhunter. 'Stand down,' came the order from embarrassed national security types."
"The Google Terrrorist
It was the lead item on the government's daily threat matrix one day last April. Don Emilio Fulci described by an FBI tipster as a reclusive but evil millionaire, had formed a terrorist group that was planning chemical attacks against London and Washington, D.C. That day even FBI director Robert Mueller was briefed on the Fulci matter. But as the day went on without incident, a White House staffer had a brainstorm: He Googled Fulci. His findings: Fulci is the crime boss in the popular video game Headhunter. 'Stand down,' came the order from embarrassed national security types."
Saturday, May 15, 2004
Found this quote on atheistnetwork.com:
"If there is no God, then it would be ludicrous to oppose homosexual behavior or abortion." -Randall Terry, May 2004
"If there is no God, then it would be ludicrous to oppose homosexual behavior or abortion." -Randall Terry, May 2004
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Media Matters for America: "Media Matters for America today launched an aggressive television ad campaign spotlighting highly controversial comments on the torture of Iraqi prisoners made by Rush Limbaugh, the political commentator with the largest radio listenership in the U.S. The 30-second ad contrasts the Bush Administration's denunciation of Iraqi prisoner torture with Limbaugh's May 4th statements comparing the torture to a college fraternity prank and people 'having a good time.'"
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Manson to play Christ - Film - www.theage.com.au: "Ghoulish rocker Marilyn Manson is in talks to play Jesus Christ in an upcoming film, reports MSNBC.com."
My favorite alternatives to The Passion of the Christ:
Monty Python's Life of Brian
The Last Temptation of Christ
Greaser's Palace (a truly bizarre film by Robert Downey Sr.)
My favorite alternatives to The Passion of the Christ:
The Last Temptation of Christ
Greaser's Palace (a truly bizarre film by Robert Downey Sr.)
Okay, I think... Okay, I think the wheels are now officially off this car. The Baltimore Sun quotes Colin Powell as saying that "we kept the president informed of the concerns that were raised by the ICRC and other international organizations as part...
'Matrix' co-creator ready to be whole new woman
Bound has always been my favorite film by the Wachowski siblings.
Bound has always been my favorite film by the Wachowski siblings.
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Karl Rove on grrrl power (washingtonpost.com):
"At the age of 9, I put a Nixon bumper sticker on the wire basket in the front of my bicycle. Unfortunately, the little Catholic girl down the street was a couple years and about 20 pounds on me. She was for Kennedy.
"When she saw me on my bike with my bumper sticker for Nixon, she put me on the ground, flattened me out and gave me a bloody nose."
"At the age of 9, I put a Nixon bumper sticker on the wire basket in the front of my bicycle. Unfortunately, the little Catholic girl down the street was a couple years and about 20 pounds on me. She was for Kennedy.
"When she saw me on my bike with my bumper sticker for Nixon, she put me on the ground, flattened me out and gave me a bloody nose."
Monday, May 10, 2004
African frogs threaten San Francisco area
[via Salon.com]
California biologists are alarmed over the latest invasive species to take up residence in this city: African clawed frogs, which eat just about anything and tend to breed like crazy.
Even worse, they're kind of cute -- and thus more likely to be whisked away by children and dumped into other ponds, where they spread even more.
Sunday, May 09, 2004
Newsday.com - National News:
"'We're functioning ... in the Information Age, where people are running around with digital cameras and taking these unbelievable photographs and then passing them off, against the law, to the media, to our surprise, when they had not even arrived in the Pentagon,' Rumsfeld said."
Welcome to the future Don.
"'We're functioning ... in the Information Age, where people are running around with digital cameras and taking these unbelievable photographs and then passing them off, against the law, to the media, to our surprise, when they had not even arrived in the Pentagon,' Rumsfeld said."
Welcome to the future Don.
Fareed Zakaria writes:
"Leave process aside: the results are plain. On almost every issue involving postwar Iraq - troop strength, international support, the credibility of exiles, de-Baathification, handling Ayatollah Ali Sistani - Washington's assumptions and policies have been wrong. By now most have been reversed, often too late to have much effect. This strange combination of arrogance and incompetence has not only destroyed the hopes for a new Iraq. It has had the much broader effect of turning the United States into an international outlaw in the eyes of much of the world.
Whether he wins or loses in November, George W. Bush's legacy is now clear: the creation of a poisonous atmosphere of anti-Americanism around the globe. I'm sure he takes full responsibility."
"Leave process aside: the results are plain. On almost every issue involving postwar Iraq - troop strength, international support, the credibility of exiles, de-Baathification, handling Ayatollah Ali Sistani - Washington's assumptions and policies have been wrong. By now most have been reversed, often too late to have much effect. This strange combination of arrogance and incompetence has not only destroyed the hopes for a new Iraq. It has had the much broader effect of turning the United States into an international outlaw in the eyes of much of the world.
Whether he wins or loses in November, George W. Bush's legacy is now clear: the creation of a poisonous atmosphere of anti-Americanism around the globe. I'm sure he takes full responsibility."
Thursday, May 06, 2004
MSNBC - Rumsfeld's job could be at stake in new hearings:
"Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told NBC News that 'there's great dissatisfaction here in the Senate and in the House that we were not kept informed of this issue much earlier.'
McCain said on CBS that the Abu Ghraib prison should be razed because it was a symbol of torture and mistreatment 'both from the Saddam Hussein regime and this one.'"
"Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told NBC News that 'there's great dissatisfaction here in the Senate and in the House that we were not kept informed of this issue much earlier.'
McCain said on CBS that the Abu Ghraib prison should be razed because it was a symbol of torture and mistreatment 'both from the Saddam Hussein regime and this one.'"
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Taennyn observes:
"The English language does not borrow from other languages.
It follows them down dark alleys, knocks them over,
and goes through their pockets looking for loose grammar."
It follows them down dark alleys, knocks them over,
and goes through their pockets looking for loose grammar."
Kevin Drum discusses "OUR CEO PRESIDENT"
Disney Forbidding Distribution of Film That Criticizes Bush
"The Walt Disney Company is blocking its Miramax division from distributing a new documentary by Michael Moore that harshly criticizes President Bush, executives at both Disney and Miramax said Tuesday. The film, "Fahrenheit 911," links Mr. Bush and prominent Saudis — including the family of Osama bin Laden — and criticizes Mr. Bush's actions before and after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks."
UPDATE: Disney is apparently concerned about tax breaks it gets on its properties in Florida where Jeb Bush is governor. Once again freedom of the press only applies to those who own the presses.
"The Walt Disney Company is blocking its Miramax division from distributing a new documentary by Michael Moore that harshly criticizes President Bush, executives at both Disney and Miramax said Tuesday. The film, "Fahrenheit 911," links Mr. Bush and prominent Saudis — including the family of Osama bin Laden — and criticizes Mr. Bush's actions before and after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks."
UPDATE: Disney is apparently concerned about tax breaks it gets on its properties in Florida where Jeb Bush is governor. Once again freedom of the press only applies to those who own the presses.
