Sunday, December 08, 2002

Oh, one last thing - every day, at least one person ends up here from one of two queries that I just don't get: "rape porn" or "prince harry shirtless". Have I ever talked about EITHER subject? I can't remember having done so - anyone else?
10:35:02 PM p e r m a l i n k trackback [] say something []

And I've been loving the hourly updates on where the Iraqi weapons report is RIGHT NOW! that CNN.com's had. We've seen the airplane taxing to the gate at JFK (Lufthansa! See, those Germans are just HELPING HIM OUT!), currently there's a guy carrying a couple suitcases, which I assume hold the report. Geez. All this effort for something so ridiculously unimportant. And it is. Let's not kid ourselves. No one really cares what's in there. Saddam's throwing tons of numbers and erstwhile facts in there to make him look good in the court of public opinion - and to give Bush's opponents in Europe a little ammunition. But it won't make a difference, really. Bush has his heart set on going to war, and he'll do it. Saddam's not going to admit to having weapons of mass destruction, of course, but we all know he has them. I mean, c'mon, I'm a total Bush Junta skeptic and anti-war advocate, but even *I* acknowledge the near certainty that this monster has chemical weapons, at the least. While I deride the Bush administration's refusal to share their evidence of Saddam's WMDs with us, I'm sure that there actually is some evidence to back up what they're saying - far flimsier and more limited than they're implying, but evidence nonetheless. And we'll see some of it soon - the war's got a schedule on it. I'm betting on January 15 - twelve years to the day after Daddy's war started. Gives W. the same amount of time from war starting to election finishing that Daddy bungled - maybe W. wants to trump Daddy, do the same thing he did but do it BETTER. I wouldn't be shocked - we're talking about a son who pretty much served as an abject failure until his dad's friends bought him Texas, I'm sure he's got some nasty inferiority complexes. Anyway - all this fuss, is it about anything real? We're covering this like it's news, like it matters? Damn. Where are the journalists? Are there any left in broadcast news? Argh - that's another rant entirely. I'm tired - been up a long time and done nothing all day, a perfect formula for exhaustion. Off to do some reading and listen to the BBC give me actual news with quality reporters. Screw CNN.

10:32:36 PM p e r m a l i n k trackback [] say something []

Well, *that* was an interesting Sopranos season finale. Definitely not the direction I expected them to go - but it makes perfect sense, and it's about damned time. And they showed a teaser for the next (and last!) season of Oz - Beecher has short hair! Like buzz-cut short! Is that LEGAL?!? He's supposed to have his foppish hair, not SHORT hair! My world is thrown off its axis! OK, not really, but still - four week suntil we get the beginning of the end. I'm sad it'll end - but looking forward to seeing who lives.

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Fay Gillis Wells, 94, Aviator and Journalist, Is Dead. Fay Gillis Wells, a pioneer aviator, a White House correspondent and a writer who covered Hollywood accompanied by her pet leopard, Snooks, died Dec. 2. By Douglas Martin. [New York Times: Business] No, seriously. She did all that, and a hell of a lot of other weird, weird stuff. Wow.
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The Patriot Act: Protecting America From Photographers. Plastic::Politics::Politics:1st Amend: Does photographing a hotel used by VP Dick Cheney make you a threat to national security? Welcome to post-PATRIOT Act America. [Plastic: Most Recent] I've seen this story a number of times - does anyone know if there's any actual truth behind it? Or is this just an urban legend? Frankly, I'm hoping it's just an urban legend - I don't much like the idea of there being this kind of thing happening in reality. It's too damned scary.

8:20:55 PM p e r m a l i n k trackback [] say something []

Serbian poll 'invalid' again [BBC World] They just can't seem to get it right - this is the 3rd time they've tried to elect a president, and the third time they've gotten less than 50% of the electorate to show up and vote. What, are these guys already picking up on American lessons in participatory democracy...?
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A quick and tragic political comment. No, this is not a political blog, this will never be a political blog, but sometimes I have to share. This week I spoke to an acquaintance about ‘what I’m doing now’. Disregarding the unimportant things – such as my paying job – I told them about Virtual Occoquan. I mentioned that we were running a number of political pieces, specifically mentioning Robert Crook’s fine article ‘The Line Blurs’, about the similarities between George Bush and Saddam Hussein. After a short stunned silence, these were the words. “You’d better be careful.” Feigning naiveté, I replied, “Be careful? About what? We have the first amendment.” Pause. “You don’t want to get yourself in trouble. Just be careful.” And they were probably right. Heaven help us. [Fried Green al-Qaedas] This often IS a political blog (no, really?!?) so I'm just going to say this: so what? Seriously, if someone out there is reading our anti-Bush invective and plotting against us, fuck 'em. Don't be careful, be ANGRY. Not that I'm saying Mark's going to be careful, I'm just pissed that somehow America became a country where people are worried about sounding like dissidents. Fuck THAT.

9:03:57 AM p e r m a l i n k trackback [] say something []

Philip Berrigan Obit - Prrotest obsolete?. Peace Activist Philip Berrigan Dead at 79 Yes, I know, obituaries are depressing. But this man was one of my very few heros. He fought a good fight, but in this age of corporate sponsored and government promoted dimunation of conscience can a single person "bearing witness" to the immoral actions that go on in this world really make a difference? Or is the idea of citizen protest just a quaint vestige of another era? [NYT link] [MetaFilter] The Berrigan brothers amaze me with their dedication and perseverence. They've both made lives out of trying to make the world a better place through any peaceful means, no matter the personal sacrifices. Can a single person make a difference? Maybe not on his/her own, but a single person can influence ten other people. Those ten people can each influence another ten people, etc...the point is not to change everything on your own. It's to show others what needs to be changed, and to get their help in doing so. The Berrigans did just that, for decades. Rest well, Philip.

8:53:46 AM p e r m a l i n k trackback [] say something []

One of these days, I'll actually write something worth putting in Virtual Occoquan. 'til then, I'll just read it. You should to - good, good stuff, and continuing proof that we've really created something interesting here at Salon blogs...Oh, and further evidence that Mark Hoback is a persistent bugger.
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