Study links oil prices to investor speculation - Yahoo! News:
"'We have clear evidence the fund flow pushed prices up and the fund flow pushed prices down,' said Michael Masters of Masters Capital Management, calling the amount of money moving into oil futures markets by large institutional investors in the early part of the year 'way off the scale.' Masters said its analysis shows investors 'began a massive stampede for the exits' on July 15 and that this caused the price decline. 'These large financial players have become the primary source of the dramatic and damaging volatility seen in oil prices,' concluded the report."

So the rush to open up ANWR and offshore drilling will serve just one purpose: enrich the oil companies even further. And at the same time though, it will WEAKEN our reserve of oil for the future and increase our national security risk.

Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com:
"Propaganda thrives -- predominates -- in our democracy for many reasons, the principal reason being that we don't have the sort of journalist class devoted to exposing it. Anyone who wants to contest that should examine the empirical data above, or more convincingly, just look at what the Bush administration has easily gotten away with over the last eight years -- the systematic deceit, the radicalism, the corruption, the crimes."

I hope to God I am wrong, but I'm afraid this election is over. In 2000 I thought there was no way a smart, thoughtful, kind of annoying person like Al Gore could lose to an obviously unqualified, barely coherent George W. Bush. In 2004 after 4 years of complete and abject disaster, I thought there was no way a smart, intelligent, war veteran like John Kerry could lose to the architect of the disaster. Now comes 2008.

Until McCain announced the choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate, I thought there was no way a smart, intelligent, thoughtful black man like Barack Obama could lose to an unhinged, disaster-in-waiting, sell-out like John McCain. But what I witnessed last Wednesday night and throughout the past few days has me nearly convinced that the Republicans have hit upon the magic formula once again. Do anything and everything to win at all costs. Why? Because it WORKS! They have absolutely NOTHING to run on. So just mock the other side. Say the vacuous magic words ("small town values", "POW", "God Bless America", "faith") over and over again, repeat lie after lie about the other guy endlessly. Sarah Palin is their mystery celebrity with the made to order dysfunctional family that "everyone can relate to". Remember how W was "the guy you'd like to have a beer with" because he wasn't smarter than you? Palin is the gal you'd like to hang out with because she's cute and knows how to hunt wolves from a helicopter. Just like us!

Don't laugh. This stuff works like a charm. Get ready for President McCain.

Alaska Lawmakers to Seek Subpoenas in Palin Inquiry - NYTimes.com:
"“I’m happy to comply, to cooperate,” Ms. Palin told the Anchorage television station KTUU in late July. “I have absolutely nothing to hide, no problem with an independent investigation.”

"In early August she said, “We are very, very open to answering any questions anybody has of me or my administrators.”

"But on Aug. 29, the day that Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, named Ms. Palin to his ticket, her lawyer, Mr. Van Flein, sent a letter to the state-appointed investigator asserting that, though he would cooperate with the Legislature’s inquiry, the accusations should be investigated by the state personnel board.

"According to the letter, obtained by The New York Times, Mr. Van Flein argued that state law made the personnel board “properly vested with primary jurisdiction.”

"Ms. Palin took the extraordinary step Tuesday of filing an ethics complaint against herself, making the matter fall within the bailiwick of the personnel board. Mr. Van Flein then asked the Legislature to drop its inquiry.

"The three members of the personnel board are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Legislature. The proceedings of the board are conducted in secret, in contrast with the public deliberations of the Legislature."

It appears that there is something that the McCain/Palin campaign is trying desperately to hide. This may or may not be it, but the extreme reaction to even the most basic of questions regarding almost any information about Ms. Palin's background is quite surprising to say the least.

In another article about Ms. Palin's religious background: "Maria Comella, a spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign, said Ms. Palin had been baptized Roman Catholic as an infant, but declined to comment further.“We’re not going to get into discussing her religion,” she said."

Oh really? Why is that? Why is Sarah Palin's religion off limits and Barack Obama's isn't? And why is Ms. Palin being shuttled off to Alaska for a while away from national media scrutiny? There's something very strange going on and I am hopeful that journalists are now sufficiently outraged by the horrific police state of the RNC, the sophomoric and mocking tone of the speeches and the constant blaming of "the media" for every fault, to actually find out what is behind it.

Ending Tyranny - John Lewis Gaddis - The American Interest Magazine:
"Suddenly, it seemed, there might be an opportunity to speed up history: The Taliban had collapsed, after all, with only a slight push. So Bush and his advisers began planning to fight a war against terrorism by democratizing the Middle East, the one part of the world where that system had not yet taken root. Toppling a few more tyrants might be all that it would take to get this process going."

Despite being factually inaccurate (the Taliban did not collapse and Bush and his advisers began planning to invade Iraq in early 2001), these statements are so wholly clueless and wholly arrogant and incredibly and cruelly naive as to defy belief. Yes, let's just topple a few more tyrants and get this whole "process" started shall we? It's such a grand game isn't it? My we are such wonderful people!

Bush Lets War Widow Punch His Arm Once | The Onion:
"In an unprecedented gesture of apology, President Bush allowed widow Mary Holt, 32, to punch him once on the left arm Monday as retribution for the death of her husband, Marine Pfc. David Holt, who was killed in a 2007 roadside bomb explosion outside Fallujah."

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)****
On the surface, a breezy, colorful, sexy romp around northeastern Spain by gorgeous, wealthy people. It's also a perceptive character study and rumination on some of the mysteries of the human condition: our need for meaning and how love cannot be that meaning.

Sam Phillips - Don't Do Anything (2008)**
A disappointing trend is afoot. In a vein way too similar to Aimee Mann, Ms. Phillips latest effort sounds WAY to much like her last 3 albums and each song sounds incredibly similar to each other. Now granted, these songs are intelligent, thoughtful, well-written, emotionally powerful but I defy you to listen to them in one sitting! I may bump the rating up a bit once I make it through them all but right now, she's lucky to have 2 stars.

McClatchy Washington Bureau | Rice warns Moscow about its bomber runs off Alaska:
"Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Monday ruled out accelerating Georgia's admission to NATO in response to the Russian invasion. But she warned Moscow that it is playing 'a very dangerous game' by resuming Cold War-era strategic bomber patrols close to the Alaskan coast. 'Russia is a state that is unfortunately using the one tool that it has always used whenever it wishes to deliver a message and that's its military power,' Rice told reporters en route to an emergency meeting of NATO foreign ministers set for Tuesday. 'That's not the way to deal in the 21st century.'"

I can't really believe she said that. That has to be a misquote, huh? Does she have the memory of a goldfish?

"Since the flights resumed in August 2007, U.S. and Canadian fighters have intercepted the Russian bombers and escorted them away from the U.S. coast. U.S. officials have previously attached little real significance to the flights by the turboprop-powered Cold War relics, and defense officials said Monday recent flights did not provoke concerns within the Pentagon."

So who is really trying to make a mountain out of a molehile here? And just to be clear, Georgia invaded South Ossetia. Russia did not seek to "send a message" but was responding to a request for help from the Ossetians. Recall when the US forces repelled Iraq from Kuwait in 1991? They didn't stop at the Iraqi border. What's the difference here?

The Dark Knight (2008)**
Not an enjoyable experience. I admired the cinematography, the stunts, the special effects up to a point. It does get repetitive especially in a 2.5 hour comic book movie. I just think the film takes itself way too seriously and is so unrelentingly dark and grim that the humongous gaping plot holes and ridiculousness gets to be too much to ignore. Plus the moral of the sordid tale is that absolute power must be given to certain individuals in order to protect us, but if they have it too long they will become the villain. And in such a twisted and heavily one-sided tale it makes all kinds of sense. In the real world though, it's poppycock.

Heath Ledger does turn in an interesting and mesmerizing performance, fully deserving of all the accolades. The role is big and juicy of course but he nails it. I am hopeful that Christopher Nolan is over his comic book phase and can get back to his "Memento" roots. I'm afraid with the success of this film though, he may be compelled to make another and complete the trilogy. Ugh.

YouTube - Hearing on Limits of Executive Power: Vincent Bugliosi
It's about time, but watch the whole thing. It appears this hearing is just a going-through-the-motions sort of affair. Nothing will be done about it by this Congress, but they want to be able to say they DID do something. Shameful. Mr. Bugliosi, thanks for trying.

Tom Friedman doesn't understand why America is unpopular in the world - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com:
Mr. Greenwald hits another nail on it's fat head. Well done.

Christopher Lee on Middle Earth
Fascinating 4+ minutes with the great Christopher Lee regarding future plans for The Hobbit film and his potential participation. Lee is one of those actors who I feel should have received much more recognition for the great work he has done in dozens of films. The trouble is he was in so many "B" type movies so even if you are outstanding, because the film is second rate you get dismissed. I would think that if the producers of these films wanted to they could find a way, a la Speed Racer, to "green screen" Mr. Lee and include him in the film from London and not require him to make the arduous journey to New Zealand. (Although since everyone was on the same focus level in Speed Racer it was a much easier thing to splice actors from different sets and designs in to the same frame.)

The Delays - Everything's the Rush (2008)****
Tremendous power pop album with the ballad of the year in "Silence". If you like jangly chords, heavy hooks, throbbing bass, smart lyrics and lots of uptempo, this is a must have.

Aimee Mann @#%&*! Smilers (2008)***
Much like Elvis Costello's 1984 release "Goodbye Cruel World", this is Aimee's worst album of individually good (and some great) material. There are 3 songs I would put up against anything she's ever done: "It's Over", "Freeway", "Thirty One Today". And the rest are well-made, intelligent pop songs. The problem is listening to the album is relentlessly depressing and morose. This was a trend for Aimee ever since 2002's "Lost In Space". She is in a deep rut musically and lyrically. But why do I feel this way? I just said 3 of these songs are tremendous and the rest are merely good. Give it a listen and you tell me.

Obama plan would expand faith-based program - IHT:
"Obama is proposing $500 million per year to provide summer learning for 1 million poor children to help close achievement gaps for students. He proposes elevating the program to the "moral center" of his administration, calling it the Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
...
The plan was met with praise from officials who crafted the Bush administration's proposal, including John DiIulio, who in 2001 served as the director of Bush's office on faith based initiatives. 'Senator Barack Obama has offered a principled, prudent, and problem-solving vision for the future of community-serving partnerships involving religious nonprofit organizations,' DiIulio said in a statement. 'He has focused admirably on those groups that supply vital social services to people and communities in need. His plan reminds me of much that was best in both then-Vice President Al Gore's and then-Texas Governor George W. Bush's respective first speeches on the subject in 1999.'"

And so it continues. Obama's march to the center of NOTHING, his betrayal of his most ardent supporters, this mad rush to prove he is not different at all is continuing proof that he really does have what it takes to be president: he will do and say anything at all to get elected.

I am officially off this bandwagon.

IMAX - Wikipedia
I saw Speed Racer today at an IMAX theatre. My last experience at what I thought was an IMAX theatre turned out to be an OMNIMAX theatre which is very different than current standard IMAX. So I was disappointed to say the least. Not in the film itself, which not only holds up upon repeat viewings, but becomes even better. (John Goodman's performance is very good by the way.) If you have access to a digitally projected film theatre, there is no difference in clarity between that and IMAX. Not to my eyes. Yes, the IMAX screen is taller, but that is not relevant to a conventionally shot movie which is typically wider than it is tall. OMNIMAX is the greatest film experience but for some reason still deemed too expensive to film and there are not nearly enough screens to support such a film if it was to be made. I am hopeful that digital cameras could be cheaply made to support the OMNIMAX format and that digital projection of such "films" would be far cheaper and encourage the building of OMNIMAX screens.

WALL-E (2008)***
I liked the opening of the film and for the first 30 minutes we get a glimpse of what "life" is like for WALL-E the robot, left all alone to take all the mountains of trash in what appears to be NYC and stack it into neat and orderly cubes as tall as skyscrapers. But then EVE comes into the picture and things start to go downhill into ordinary Pixar-land. It's not nearly as profound as it wants to be, but the animation is so perfect and seamless, it never ceases to be interesting...except when it is on the spaceship. If they could have done the whole picture without any humans in it at all it would have possibly been a major work of art. As it is, it's an enjoyable piece of family entertainment.

A real pain in the gas - Folsom:
"“Then, apparently to make sure the way was opened really wide to potential market oil price manipulation, in January 2006, the George W Bush administration’s CFTC permitted the Intercontinental Exchange, the leading operator of electronic energy exchanges, to use its trading terminals in the United States for the trading of U.S. crude oil futures on the exchange in London - called “ICE Futures.”

The editorial takes the position that “how today’s oil prices are really determined is done by a process so opaque only a handful of major oil trading banks, such as Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley, have any idea who is buying and who is selling oil futures or derivative contracts that set physical oil prices in this strange new world of ‘paper oil.’”

Ties exist between Phil Gramm and investors, including Goldman Sachs, who helped move regulation of WTI offshore, with the ICE Futures Europe purchase."

Phil Gramm is John McCain's economic "advisor".

Dana Milbank - It's a Mitzvah - washingtonpost.com:
"A mere 12 hours after claiming the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama appeared before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee yesterday -- and changed himself into an Israel hard-liner.

He promised $30 billion in military assistance for Israel. He declared that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force has 'rightly been labeled a terrorist organization.' He used terms such as 'false prophets of extremism' and 'corrupt' while discussing Palestinians. And he promised that 'Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided.'

Vowing to stop Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon, the newly minted nominee apparent added: 'I will always keep the threat of military action on the table to defend our security and our ally, Israel. Do not be confused.'

I think I'm going to be sick. My only hope is that this is just for the election. Isn't that sad? That you HOPE your candidate is just a cynical anything-to-win pandering asshole? How can he not see that the entire fucking world is resting their hopes on his presidency and to turn around and pull this? This deal with Israel is just like Cuba. It's a small, powerful, moneyed group that influences, almost controls, our government's actions. I think most of us thought Obama would change stuff like that. I guess we were wrong. So friends, it's not going to be this guy but maybe the next one. We have another lesser-of-two-evils election coming up.

U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence:
"“Before taking the country to war, this Administration owed it to the American people to give them a 100 percent accurate picture of the threat we faced. Unfortunately, our Committee has concluded that the Administration made significant claims that were not supported by the intelligence,” Rockefeller said. “In making the case for war, the Administration repeatedly presented intelligence as fact when in reality it was unsubstantiated, contradicted, or even non-existent. As a result, the American people were led to believe that the threat from Iraq was much greater than actually existed.”

“It is my belief that the Bush Administration was fixated on Iraq, and used the 9/11 attacks by al Qa’ida as justification for overthrowing Saddam Hussein. To accomplish this, top Administration officials made repeated statements that falsely linked Iraq and al Qa’ida as a single threat and insinuated that Iraq played a role in 9/11. Sadly, the Bush Administration led the nation into war under false pretenses.

“There is no question we all relied on flawed intelligence. But, there is a fundamental difference between relying on incorrect intelligence and deliberately painting a picture to the American people that you know is not fully accurate."

Um, I'm just a poor ignorant caveman, but doesn't this mean that Bush et al are guilty of war crimes? At the very least, shouldn't there be a trial? Isn't this significant enough evidence to have a fucking trial? How many more investigations, memos, testimonies, tell-all books is it going to take to get this man and his murderous cohorts in jail? You know, this isn't about lying about getting a blow job, lying about a civil lawsuit that was without merit to begin with, this is about lying in order to kill people. Human beings. Doesn't that matter to anyone? Isn't that significant? This needs to be on the front page of every newspaper, the lead story on every newscast, from now until the man is brought to justice. It boggles my mind why this is not the case.

Clinton wins, but Obama closer to nomination - Yahoo! News:
"Clinton's win in Puerto Rico, a territory where residents are not allowed to vote in the November election, gave her more fuel for her argument that she has won more popular votes in the five-month nominating fight and is the best Democrat to face Republican John McCain. But the results pushed Obama closer to the magic number of 2,118 delegates needed to become the nominee, and the Illinois senator already has turned his attention to a general election fight with McCain."

Will someone please tell me just what Ms. Clinton wants? She used to seem to be at least a rational person and at least fairly intelligent. But her behavior the past couple of months borders on idiocy. Each day she stays in this race she hurts her future chances of doing ANYTHING. The ability to understand when further action is HARMFUL not only to you but your allies, friends, compatriots is ESSENTIAL to a president. She has proven over and over again that she does not possess the ability to discern that. What a total moron.

UPDATE: James Fallows suggests an answer here.

Rice says Iraq war was right thing to do - Yahoo! News:
"Speaking at a news conference ahead of an international conference on Iraq, Rice said she had not read the book by former White House press secretary Scott McClellan, but added that removing Saddam was 'the right thing to do.'"

Sure, getting rid of Saddam was a good thing. But the way they did it was, and continues to be, a very, very bad thing. Ms. Rice still can't realize that, because she sees the world from a perspective where human beings are pawns. Listen to what else she had to say:

"Rice said people often did not understand the full implications of events until long after they had happened."

Unbelievable to me that a US Secretary of State can use this as a defense. Essentially she is saying "I am incompetent." Everything that came to pass in Iraq was entirely predictable, and WAS predicted by many competent persons prior to the invasion.

""It was not the United States of America alone that believed that he had weapons of mass destruction that he was hiding," Rice said."

This is a bald faced lie and one that is often repeated especially by Bush. The rest of the world got their "intelligence" concerning Iraq FROM US! IF they believed it, and there was a lot of other countries who did not believe it, it was because WE told them to believe it. The intelligence was proved faulty PRIOR to the invasion. This is documented.

"She added: 'If the world did not believe that at the time, then I would ask why was Iraq under some of the most severe sanctions that the international community has ever imposed?'"

So she truly believes this? She is not only incompetent but naive.

"The U.N. resolutions showed that the world knew Saddam was a threat, she said. 'Why in the world would you allow the Iraqi people to suffer?'"

Unconscionable. 5 years after the so-called liberation, there is still inadequate WATER, power, safety, basic human necessities in most of the country.

Then she joked about going back to Stanford and overseeing dissertations about how the administration handled the war. Is anyone else sick of seeing these war criminals joking around about this?

Ex-White House spokesman says Bush shaded truth on Iraq - Yahoo! News:
"Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan charges in an explosive new book that President George W. Bush and top aides shaded the truth to make the case for the Iraq war, which he declared unnecessary. McClellan, the first Bush insider to write a book criticizing his former boss and fellow Texan, drew instant fire on Wednesday from former White House colleagues with whom he was once close. They wondered why he stayed on the job if he had those feelings that he never expressed to them."

Wow, so many things in this brief article. Let's start with the big picture here and just say that this is yet another in a long line of ex-administration officials with a "tell-all" book way, WAY after the fact. I agree with his ex-cohorts: Why now? Why didn't you make a big stink BEFORE the invasion? And then to say that "they" are to blame? Scott, I have some news for you: YOU were a very big part of "they". And he calls the decision to invade a "misstep". MISSTEP! Like it was all a big misunderstanding or an accident. NO! This was an extremely premeditated crime.

Then we get this graf from Steve Holland the "journalist" who wrote the piece: "The Iraq war was fought over charges that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, which were never found. Bush began building the case for war in 2002 after the violent upheaval caused by the September 11, 2001, attacks." Wrong, wrong, wrong! Mr. Holland needs to say "Bush CLAIMED the Iraq War was fought over charges of WMD..." And we have plenty of eyewitnesses, insiders, memos, that prove that Bush began "building the case for war" way, WAY before 9/11 ever occurred. Recall former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said the first meeting he attended invading Iraq came up. This was also one of the primary reasons for that secret energy meeting Cheney had with his cronies from the oil companies to develop "energy policy". It is ESSENTIAL that reporters stop spewing the lies of the powerful as if they are fact.

Then there is this wonderful bit from McClellan: "Bush and his top aides did not think through the implications of the conflict..." Oh how lovely! You know, we are not talking about buying a new car or considering some vacation property or deciding what to have for dinner or even your next career move. We are talking about making the decision to destroy a country in the most violent way imaginable, committing hundreds of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of human lives, as well as the reputation and goodwill America used to have, to the garbage. Was it too much to ask to "think this through" a little more?

Speed Racer (2008)****
Stunningly beautiful, fantastically successful merger of cartoon sensibilities with film's inherent weight and realism, this doesn't quite reach the heights it aspires to, but comes tantalizingly close. It's a long film but it never drags, and there is always something to wow at in each and every scene. Smoothly, stylishly directed and an example of a singular vision lifting a flimsy premise (the cartoon/comic book genre) into a work of art. Kids (probably boys mainly) will love it and fans of the original cartoon will not be disappointed. If you're a fan of movies you should see it and in a theater with digital projection.

Measure for Measure - New York Times Blog:
"In many great songs a larger, universal modicum of truth is revealed and resonates on a personal level with the listener, even when the facts make no sense at all. Sometimes especially when the facts make no sense at all. And, if everything goes well, you can also dance to it."

A fascinating blog by Rosanne Cash, Suzanne Vega and others about songwriting. This particular entry, penned by Ms. Cash, informs us that Elvis Costello does indeed have and respond to emails, and that he, her and Kris Kristofferson just recorded a new song together which is sampled at the site. The quote I selected is about songs specifically, but this post could be about life in general and the relationship, or rather supposed/assumed relationship between facts and truth. Personally, I prefer to throw my lot with facts, as far as they can be known. Truth? Can it be known? Must it be known?

Clinton takes Kentucky as Obama claims Oregon:
"His victory was tempered by another late-inning win in Kentucky by his still-hanging-tough competitor, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who bested him by a landslide 35 percentage points. Nonetheless, Obama has won 1,649.5 pledged delegates in the primaries and caucuses, surpassing the 1,627 needed to claim a majority, according to an Associated Press tally."

Because the quality of the "talent" and the writing/editing on television news is so bad, I rarely ever watch it intentionally but sometimes I mistakenly catch a glimpse of the horror. Such was the case last night when I landed upon Nightline for a brief moment after Obama had given his speech in Iowa, and one talking head says to the other "...but Obama supporters have yet another Clinton victory to explain" and the other moron says "Yes, they are having a tough time dealing with that" or some such nonsense. If these guys had any sort of personal understanding about what they are reporting they could offer some sort of perspective for the viewer: Kentucky, West Virginia, these are TINY states with just about 0 electoral importance, especially at this stage of the primary process. Hell, McCain lost to Romney in Utah by 90%! Nobody was running around demanding that McCain supporters explain that or deal with that. It doesn't matter!

And while I'm on the subject, just what the hell is wrong with Hillary Clinton? I never thought she was especially smart or savvy, but I am shocked at just how stupid she wants to be. Apparently she wants to be stupid all the way. Talk about burning bridges. Sheesh.

SFGate: Politics Blog : Schwarzenegger: Maria's Move to Obama was a Surprise:
"The take of the California governor, who has plenty of experience in connecting with an audience: ''When it comes to presidential elections, or any elections, people vote for a lot of things,'' he said. ''Most of them, the person: what does he have to offer, rather than the party...and do I believe him?''

''Now, with the close-ups you have on television, half-shots and three-quarters shots, now you're moving in on the eyes. They see the blinking of the eyes, the swallowing, the nervousness. You say something, they see the color change in the face.''

''They see so much now, and they're very much aware: maybe they cannot articulate the things that they see, but they know that they feel it.''
''And this is why you see, sometimes, changes,'' he said. Shriver's choice shifted, he said, ''because she watched.''"

Interesting insight from The Guvernator, but how does that explain Bush's success? Was there ever a worse candidate than he? He looks like he's lying ordering a cup of coffee! The shifty eyes, the stammering, the head tics... Yikes! Maybe though, it was all so over the top that people felt sorry for the guy? He was so bad he got the sympathy vote.

FRONTLINE: news war | PBS
I just caught the last half of part 3 of this 4 part series last night on PBS and in general it was an interesting look at how we get our news and the continued importance of newspapers to that end. They talked about the LA Times and how it is under pressure to cut costs on a constant basis and they came across this little tidbit that hit me: right now, the LA Times makes a 20% return on costs. TWENTY PERCENT! That is jaw-dropping amazing. And for a minute, the Frontline reporter asks "Well why is the paper under so much pressure then?" The suits tell him why, which is because "investors" demand growth not profits, basically. And then they all moved on! THAT is the story! Profitable businesses are no longer desirable. Isn't that obscene? Everything needs to be bled dry to satisfy someone's insatiable greed. This is the problem with American capitalism today: it is controlled by Wall Street. The tail is wagging the dog and has been for some 40 years.

Anyway they went back to the program and went on talking about how expensive it is to run a paper and how expensive it is to have foreign correspondents and how the LA Times needs to focus on what readers want to read, etc. But the readers HAVE spoken. They DO buy the paper. The paper MAKES MONEY. A LOT of money. What the LA Times are doing is right, smart, perfect. It's the people who want to make money off of the movement of money who are destroying newspapers.

Huckabee quips about gun aimed at Obama:
"Hearing a loud noise and interrupting his speech, Huckabee said: 'That was Barack Obama. He just tripped off a chair. He's getting ready to speak and somebody aimed a gun at him and he — he dove for the floor.'"

Whoa. This is important. The quips and asides and off-the-cuff remarks these people make are usually telling. This should be the end of the career of Mr. Huckabee, but I predict nothing will happen and he may end up as McCain's vp candidate.

Bush says gave up golf in solidarity with Iraq dead - Yahoo! News
"President George W. Bush said on Tuesday he quit playing golf in 2003 out of respect for the families of Americans killed in the war in Iraq. 'I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the Commander-in-Chief playing golf,' Bush said in an interview with Yahoo and Politico.com. 'I feel I owe it to the families to be as -- to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal,' he said."

And for 5 YEARS he has gone without GOLF! Oh the HUMANITY!!! No, this is not from The Onion. Oh, how I wish it were.

Elvis Costello - Momofuku (2008)****
You can't get recorded music any fresher than this. Written mainly in January/February 2008, "The entire record took a week to record and mix" according to Costello. And these are excellent rock and roll songs. "Go Away" is a standout, as well as "No Hiding Place", "Stella Hurt", and the ballads "Flutter & Wow" and "My Three Sons". Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley lends vocal support and the Imposters and in top form as usual.

UPDATE: I don't want to give the impression that because this record was built so quickly the songs are throwaways or off-the-cuff affairs. Give a listen to "Turpentine", as finely constructed and heartfelt as anything EC has done. This is a mini-masterpiece of guilt and regret all wrapped up in a dreamlike narrative of swirling guitars, keyboards and vocals. Stunning. So far, my Album of the Year.

Tim Goodman: Miley Cyrus on skin spin:
"Come on, she's not Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan or Vanessa Hudgens (yet). It reminds us all that we live in a sublime world. Like when President Bush appeared on 'Deal or No Deal.' We're sure that if given the chance, John F. Kennedy or Franklin D. Roosevelt would have jumped at the chance to appear on a big screen next to Howie Mandel.

-- This is now, officially, the most depressing column ever written about our culture - and it didn't even mention Gary Coleman.

-- Oh, wait. Turns out the 'Diff'rent Strokes' star, now 40, will be appearing on 'Divorce Court' Thursday and Friday with his 22-year-old wife. And no, that's not a joke. And neither is the item about President Bush on 'Deal or No Deal.' In fact, it's all real. You may now go outside and fall on the ground and weep."

Tim Goodman is my favorite TV columnist/critic, and he touches on that supremely surreal Bush appearance on "Deal" and fails to also include his appearance on "Idol" in the same week! I half expected him to start The Siege of Iran last Friday just to see if his approval ratings could get any lower. Instead he moves yet another aircraft carrier into the gulf as "a warning". This is going to happen and nobody is going to lift a finger to stop him. Still! After 8 YEARS of this shit! We're more concerned about Miley's naked back! Sublime world indeed, Tim.

Clinton moves on after Pennsylvania win - Yahoo! News:
"Hillary Clinton beat Democratic rival Barack Obama in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, prolonging an increasingly negative presidential nominating fight and keeping alive her slim White House hopes. Clinton's 10-point win paid immediate dividends in fund-raising for the cash-strapped New York senator and shaved off some of Obama's lead in popular votes and in delegates who select the Democratic nominee at the August convention. Both candidates immediately looked to the next round of contests on May 6 in North Carolina, where Obama is favored, and Indiana, which is considered a toss-up."

ENOUGH! I'm done! I will ignore the entire enterprise until late October. I can't stand it any more.

Praying passenger is removed from San Francisco-bound flight:
"'He doesn't respond to them, but his friends explain that once you start praying you can't stop,' said Brafman, who was seated three rows away.
When the man finally stopped praying, he explained that he couldn't interrupt his religious ritual and wasn't trying to be rude. But the attendants summoned a guard to remove him, said Brafman, a writer who had been visiting New York to talk to publishers."

I wonder if his friends could explain why he has to stand near the lavatories to pray? Why he couldn't have prayed BEFORE boarding? Why he couldn't have gone INTO the lavatory?

Rowling says fan's book could endanger other authors - Yahoo! News:
"'Are we, or are we not, the owners of our own work?' said the author of the seven Harry Potter books that have sold about 400 million copies."

NOW we get to the heart of the matter. And I'm afraid I would have to answer to Ms. Rowling, no, you are not the owner of your work once it has been set free into society. Rowling did not sell 400 million copies to herself. Yes, this new book builds on her work. But that's how culture evolves. Copyright was never intended to stifle that. It was intended to allow authors to earn a living from their work, to encourage them to create. It was society's method of funding and rewarding creativity. It has now been perverted to reward corporations and businesses for precisely STIFLING creativity. In the age of zero cost distribution, copyright must be re-considered as a means to promote creativity. I mean, who profits when a book is copyrighted for 75 years after the authors death? Society doesn't. No, J. K. You want to sell your book to the public? Then you need to allow the public to build on your work as it sees fit. There are other ways to "protect" Harry Potter from errors and mis-interpretations. Everyone knows your name on a book is the official word. YOU are the brand not Harry Potter.

Rowling tells court she's stopped working - Yahoo! News:
"'This is very personal to me,' said Rowling, who wrote the first Potter book as a poverty-stricken single mother and is now estimated by The Sunday Times to be worth about $1 billion. 'I am an author -- 17-years of my work is being exploited here. This is not about money.' Rowling has said she plans to write her own Harry Potter encyclopedia, which would include material that did not make it into the novels, and donate the proceeds to charity."

Now for all intents and purposes, Ms. Rowling appears to be an intelligent and business-savvy woman. But she is missing the point here. Third-party products don't ruin the core product, they enhance it. They cause it to become essential. Yes you could say it "exploits" it but that's technical. Besides, this lexicon is based on a fan site. You do not want to alienate your fans. She needs to relax, take a week off in one of her dozens of posh homes all over the world, have a mojito or two and just chill out.

REM - Accelerate (2008)****
This release reminds me of Bruce Springsteen's latest in that both seem upon first listen to be composed of songs that consciously sound like past successes. But as you keep listening to the songs themselves they reveal themselves to be actually pretty darn good without all the context.

53 million gallons in danger of leaking:
"'We could not tell you that there are no leaks happening today based on the monitoring they have,' said Jane Hedges, the nuclear waste manager for the state Ecology Department, which is responsible for making sure the cleanup is done right....The department believes that current engineering data show that the tanks 'structurally are sound and not in danger of any near-term collapse or failures,' Noyes said."

If they are unable to tell if the tanks are leaking, how do they know they are structurally sound? If it is still standing it is considered sound? WTF is going on here!?

Bush says if younger, he would work in Afghanistan | Politics | Reuters:
"'I must say, I'm a little envious,' Bush said. 'If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed. It must be exciting for you ... in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks,' Bush said."

Too bad he didn't consider Vietnam very romantic when he was younger. He could have easily, you know, confronted danger, made history, had a fantastic experience.

This is a sick, sick individual.

Stop Hyperventilating: Fallon Fired but Iran War Not Back On - The Washington Note:
"Rumors are running rampant now in the aftermath of Fallon's resignation today that Bush called a war room gathering on Saturday this past weekend -- and launched plans to hatch a strike of some sort on Iran this spring. Internet bulletin boards, listserves, and chatter among many on the left and the right are hyperventilating (and some excited) about the prospects of a hot conflict with Iran. My sources in the intelligence arena, in various command staff operations, near Defense Secretary Gates, and even in the White House tell me that nothing structural has changed in America's stance towards Iran. The US is still engaged in an effort to get Iran to the negotiating table if it stops its nuclear enrichment activities. It is continuing to apply UN sanctions pressure via unanimous consent of the UN Security Council to bring Iran into compliance with international obligations. And as Bush, Gates and others have said -- other options can be on the table."

Someone HAS to stop these people! "Launched plans to hatch a strike of some sort"???? This is mind boggling. You think you've heard it all, you think they can't go any further and they just keep right on going! Isn't anyone of any consequence a little nervous about this? Is there anyone in Washington with at least a modicum of statesmanship? And not the phony "patriotism" crap? I'm afraid to say this is a low point for my country because I now know it can get lower. And fast!

Dean Baker | Media Overlook Fed Bailout In Plain View:
"In response to this situation the Fed today announced that it would lend $200 billion to banks and other financial firms, accepting mortgage backed securities as collateral. This is effectively the same as saying that the Fed is going to lend money to banks and accept the counterfeit currency as collateral, treating it just as though it were real money.

The intended effect of this policy is to convince other investors that the counterfeit currency is in fact real currency, or at the very least that there is a really huge sucker out there (the Fed) which is prepared to treat the counterfeit currency as real currency.

So how does this story play out? Well, insofar as the Fed is successful, the counterfeit currency retains its value for a while longer. This allows Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Bears Stearns and the rest of the big boys more time to dump their counterfeit currency on suckers who haven’t figured out how the game is played."

Yep, there is absolutely no way we can afford single payor health coverage for all, nor to "save" Social Security, yet we can throw hundreds of billions at Iraq and we're ready to bail out our rich friends whenever they want it.

The Happiness Project: Why Alicia Silverstone’s “Dumbest Celeb Quote” actually gives profound insight into the nature of happiness.
"One mystery of happiness is why some people choose to be unhappy. One answer: It is easy to be heavy; hard to be light. And you don’t get credit for being light. It looks easy and effortless. No one thinks much about you or tries to accommodate you. You get taken for granted."

I think Ms. Rubin is missing the true nature of happiness. It's not something you choose, or something you strive for. In the words of Robertson Davies: "Happiness is always a by-product. It is probably a matter of temperament, and for anything I know it may be glandular. But it is not something that can be demanded from life, and if you are not happy you had better stop worrying about it and see what treasures you can pluck from your own brand of unhappiness."

IntLawGrrls: Justice Antonin Scalia on "so-called torture" and rights, if any, of Guantánamo detainees:
"BBC: If you look at countries with a common law tradition, of which we are one, and you are another, but also, lots of other countries around the world, and in the developing world – if they look at decision of the Supreme Court which affirm the death penalty, and which perhaps affirm torture, although that hasn’t happened yet, does that not set a moral tone?
SCALIA: Well, I urge them not to do that. I don’t look to their law. Why should they look to mine? I don’t purport to be prescribing some universal moral law. I am interpreting the meaning of the text of my Constitution, which was adopted at a certain time by my people, and had a meaning to those people at the time. That’s all I’m doing. I’m not charged with, with figuring out the content of the natural law. If you want to look at our decisions, what you could derive from it is what a wonderful Constitution we have. Or, if you don’t like it, you can say what a terrible Constitution we have. But we don’t pretend to be moral, you know, some Western mullahs, who what decide what is right and wrong for the whole world."

So if morality, what is right, what is wrong, has no part in this Supreme Court justice's decisions, and it is only deciding if a certain legal ruling or piece of legislation is in accord with the literal text of a 200+ year old document, does "justice" have any meaning relevant to our lives in the real world? I really do not understand the incredibly smug mindset of people like this. And even worse than Scalia is Thomas. They say these words had a meaning to "those people at the time". But those people who wrote the Constitution had an understanding that natural law, common law, was "self-evident". Scalia is correct, morality is not mentioned specifically in the Constitution. But the writers DIDN'T THINK THEY NEEDED TO! It was SELF-EVIDENT!

Too bad for us that they wrote those words "self evident" down in another document, the Declaration of Independence, which is NOT a part of our Constitution. For justices Scalia and Thomas and many more like them, they have no bearing on anything at all.

Chaos In Food Webs: The Balance Of Nature Concept Takes A Beating | Scientific Blogging:
"The traditional idea of the balance of nature gets quite a beating by a study that appears in the current issue of Nature. Using a long-term laboratory experiment, the authors conclude that, even under constant conditions, all species in a food web continued to fluctuate in a chaotic fashion. Chaos makes long-term prediction of species abundances impossible. Theoretical ecologists already argued in the 1970s that populations of plants and animals might fluctuate in an unpredictable manner, even without external influences. These predictions, derived from chaos theory, attracted a lot of debate. However, only few scientists believed that species in real ecosystems would truly fluctuate in a chaotic fashion. The common perception was that species fluctuations result from changes in external conditions, driven by climate change or other disturbances of the balance of nature. This classic perspective has been radically changed by new findings of graduate student Elisa Beninc�and Professor Jef Huisman of the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics of the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in collaboration with colleagues from Wageningen University (The Netherlands), the University of Rostock (Germany), and Cornell University (USA)."

Since the study was done on very small organisms, perhaps as the organism becomes larger and more complex the effect of chaos becomes less powerful because the organisms are more adaptable? And isn't it essential for evolutionary theory that chaos be not just possible but likely?

Vampire Weekend (2008)****
Highly entertaining, smart sounding lyrics, precise production, hook-y melodies and bass lines. At times they sound like a mashup of The Police, The Strokes and Graceland-era Paul Simon but they make it all fit together in unpretentious-sized pop songs.

Tech.view | Hacking the vote | Economist.com:
"Bruce Schneier, a blogger on security technology, argues that the failure of electronic voting stems from the way technology invariably increases the number of steps in any process—with each step bringing yet more scope for errors.

Optical scanners, for instance, have twice as many steps as manual counting, making them at least twice as unreliable. First, the voter reads the ballot paper and fills in the ovals, the optical reader senses the blackened ovals, the scanner passes the vote to a tabulator, the tabulator collects all votes from that machine and then transmits the score to a central totaliser. Each step can have an error of a percentage point or two, giving the system as a whole something like a 5% error. That means one in 20 people using a DRE machine will have his or her vote counted incorrectly."

The article also mentions the New Hampshire primary where 80% of the vote relied on optical scanners and coincidentally had the exact reverse percentage for Obama and Clinton of the votes counted by hand, a HUGE red flag. Stupidly, Newsweek chided Kucinich, who got 2% of the vote, for suing for a recount under the mistaken assumption that Kucinich thought he would benefit from the recount. I guess it never occurred to Newsweek that someone would sue for a principal rather than personal gain. Remember the groundswell of support for Obama following Iowa? And he had a clear lead in the polls in NH. Then the stunning comeback by Clinton. Or was it? I don't think the Clinton campaign was guilty of fraud in this case. But someone wants her to win the nomination very badly. And I think those very same people are kind of leery of Obama. And I think there was some very serious voting fraud perpetrated in NH. And nobody cares, and nobody is going to do anything about it.

49ers hire Mike Martz as offensive coordinator / Can ex-Rams coach work Magic:
"While admitting he wants to be a head coach again, Martz said of his new role in San Francisco, 'I just love what I'm doing. To come into a situation like this, to put this thing together, is a thrill for me. I really do enjoy, particularly the quarterbacks, helping them achieve something they didn't think they could do.'"

Very, very exciting news for those of us in NorCal. We will finally have an interesting NFL team to watch each Sunday. The only downside will be the incessant and relentless sports pundits who will drone on and on about Martz's "huge ego" and nit pick every play call each and every Sunday. Head coach Mike Nolan and Mike Martz coached together under Norv Turner in Washington. Interesting that Nolan was able to hire his former head coach as OC and now Martz. Nolan is an interesting case. A very confident man, very secure in himself, very smart. He knows if Martz does indeed turn the offense around, he has a great chance of winning the division next year and securing his position as head coach. The main problem with the 49ers offense is the quarterback position and there is no doubt that Martz can make something happen there. I would wager that Shaun Hill will be the starter next year unless some free agent is signed. I just don't see Alex Smith working to learn a 200+ item playbook and submitting himself to Martz's often harsh criticisms. Welcome to San Franciso, Mike!

collision detection: Why audiophiles are dying out:
"In fact, I've come to believe that crappy technology -- lousy studios, horrible playback devices -- is a boon to pop music. Because when you strip out the superhigh and superlow frequencies that send audiophiles -- planted with geometric triangulation betwixt their $325,000 Acapella speakers (pictured above!) -- into such supposedly quivering raptures, you're forced to reckon with a music simpler question, which is: Is the song any good? A really terrific pop song can survive almost any acoustic mangling and still be delightful. A mediocre one can't. A mediocre song needs a doubleplusgood sound-system to bring out its half-baked appeal; a truly excellent tune is catchy even when played on a kazoo."

Serious Eats: Michael Pollan's Twelve Commandments for Serious Eaters: Can You Live By Them?:
"7. 'Pay more, eat less.' Easy for him—or anybody else with enough discretionary spending power—to say. Not so easy for the working poor or even middle class folks who have very little extra money for anything.
8. "Eat a wide variety of species." But can't I eat heritage pork products more often than others?
9. "Eat food from animals that eat grass." As long as these animals can occasionally be finished on corn. Sorry, Michael: Beef from cows that eat grass and then corn taste better. "

A fairly snarky post at Serious Eats about Micheal Pollan's latest book. I haven't read the book so I can't comment on how forceful Pollan posits these "commandments" or even if he calls them that. But I think the point of #7 is to rearrange our priorities and change our perception regarding the true cost of our food. We have had artificially cheap food for decades and have gotten to expect it to stay that way forever. You can pay more simply by buying conventional produce rather than processed foods. You don't HAVE to buy organic, hand grown heritage stuff to make a difference. #9's comment that corn fed beef tastes better is ludicrous. Of course it is a matter of personal taste, but grass fed beef is WAY more flavorful than even prime corn fed beef for my money. The #8 comment as well as many others in the article, have to be considered as jokes taking Pollans' words way too literally and seriously. He's not after absolutes here. But much like Jesus' Golden Rule ("do unto others...") that "sums up The Law and The Prophets", Pollan HAS offered a succinct summary of his work: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

Tiger attack at SF Zoo latest blow - Yahoo! News:
"The deadly tiger escape at the San Francisco Zoo could prove to be a costly blow to an institution that has come under fire repeatedly in just the past few years over the deaths of two elephants and the mauling of a zookeeper. The zoo could face heavy fines from regulators. It could be stripped of its exhibitor license. Its accreditation could be at risk. It could be hit with a huge lawsuit by the victims or their families. It could even face criminal charges, depending on what the investigation finds.

'All this legal action is likely to impact the financial viability of the zoo,' said Rory Little, a professor at the University of California's Hastings College of the Law. 'Whether the zoo can stay open is a big question.'"

I have become somewhat ambivalent about zoos. As a kid, I loved them and spent lots of time at the St. Louis Zoo, one of the better zoos in the world. I have been going to the SF Zoo for about 10 years or so. One of the best locations for a zoo, a stone's throw from the Pacific Ocean, mild climate, foggy on Summer mornings, wonderful fauna and flora. But precious few animals! It had recently begun a major renovation effort and, while beautifully done, it was not so good for animal watchers. More space, less animals. And come on, I like lemurs as much as the next guy but do we really need one more California zoo to house lemurs? At any rate, should this zoo close I would not be surprised. It is very popular with families, no question about it, but if you want to see animals, exotic animals, go somewhere else.

2007 In Review: Movies:

**** no country for old men
**** darjeeling limited
*** sweeney todd
*** paris, je t'aime
*** ratatouille
** harry potter and the order of the phoenix
** transformers

Yes, I know it's only 7 films; that is all I saw in a theater this year. The films I saw on DVD were not from 2007 so I ignored them. Far and away, I though NCFOM was the best film. Possibly the best film of the 00's. Every scene, every detail, was exquisite. And for such a bleak, relentless subject matter, what a beautiful film. It's like "The Denial of Death" made into a movie. Essential.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)***
Enjoyable, with fine lead performances by Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. I just wasn't emotionally engaged in the film. I also found the washed out colors and ultra-dark lighting very distracting. Perhaps that was the theatre's fault but it was in a digitally projected cinema which usually means clear, crisp images.

Quietly, the Polish-German border dissolves - International Herald Tribune:
"Notably absent from the discussion is the long-expressed fear that Poles will come and take German jobs. When Poland joined the European Union in 2004, Germany left significant legal hurdles in place to prevent their neighbors from coming to work. Instead ambitious, highly mobile Polish workers moved in droves to more welcoming parts of Western Europe, Britain and Ireland in particular, where they have been credited with fueling economic growth, passing Germany by - and especially its poorer, depopulating East - on the way."

Hopefully, some day, the US-Mexican and US-Canadian borders can quietly dissolve.

No Country for Old Men (2007)****
Whoa! Much like last year's Children of Men and Pan's Labyrinth this is a brutal, harsh, uncompromising look at reality. Expertly directed, wonderfully acted, beautifully, sparingly written. The use of sound is superb as well. The best film of 2007 and maybe the best of the decade.

Martz: Pats are new ‘Greatest Show on Turf’ - EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA

"The Patriots have shown that having an explosive offense can take pressure off a defense. It's like you are playing to win the game on every snap, being aggressive, attacking. ... I love it. The whole purpose is to set the pace for the game. Football is a game of speed and attitude. I'm not surprised at the Patriots' success. I knew it could happen."

I expected great things from the Lions this year with Martz having 4 high quality receivers. I overestimated Kitna's abilities. And perhaps I overlooked Martz' tendencies within the red zone to become a bit too cute when he doesn't have a power runner. The Patriots don't either but with Moss they don't need to.

New Humanist: The New Atheists are responding to provocation, not mounting an arbitrary attack
"What Mr Dalrymple does not see is that the so-called New Atheists are responding to a provocation, not mounting an arbitrary and uncalled-for attack. Instead of turning a politely blind eye to religion as we all did until recently (when those with religion had the good taste, mainly, to keep quiet about them in return), we have chosen to speak out against the absurdities, distortions and even dangers that the presence of religion in our societies cause. For nearly twenty centuries the religionists have had it their way: what a squealing they put up now that half a dozen "New Atheists" have argued back!

In that squealing I hear hope for the world. It has the sound of desperation, of defeat, of retreat and lost arguments. No doubt the conflict will be long and bloody; look at the historical precedent provided by the Roman Catholic Church when it lost its hegemony over the mind of Europe, and sponsored a century of bitterest war in the struggle to hang on – the Thirty Years War and the preceding Wars of Religion, devouring human beings in their maw from the mid-sixteenth to the mid-seventeenth centuries."

2007 In Review: Music:

**** apples in stereo - new magnetic wonder
**** bruce springsteen - magic
**** field music - tones of town
**** fountains of wayne - traffic and weather
**** future clouds and radar
**** kt tunstall - drastic fantastic
**** mitch easter - dynamico
**** rilo kiley - under the blacklight
**** shalini - the surface and the shine
**** suzanne vega - beauty & crime
**** the new pornographers - challengers
**** the shins - wincing the night away
**** they might be giants - the else
**** walker kong - deliver us from people
*** siouxsie - mantaray
*** son volt - the search
*** spoon - ga ga ga ga ga
*** paul mccartney - memory almost full
*** peter bjorn john - writer's block
*** plasticines - lp1
*** of montreal - hissing fauna are you the destroyer
*** laura veirs - saltbreakers
*** imperial teen - the hair the tv the baby and the band
*** crowded house - time on earth
*** The Broken West - I Can't Go On, I'll Go On
** travis - the boy with no name
** the national - boxer
** the pipettes - we are the pipettes
** the polyphonic spree - fragile army
** tegan and sara - the con
** st. vincent - marry me
** maria taylor - lynn teeter flower
** mary weiss - dangerous game
** great northern - trading twilight for daylight
** georgie james - places
** feist - the reminder
** deborah harry - necessary evil
** brian ferry - dylanesque
** air - pocket symphony
* wilco - blue sky
* the clientele - god save the clientele
* rogue wave - asleep at heaven's gate
* mary timony - the shapes we make
* lucinda williams - west

CEPR - Bat Boy Lives! As Do Myths About Social Security:
"The fact that a major Democratic presidential candidate could attack the front-runner in 2007, for not proposing a solution to a problem that is so relatively small and uncertain and nearly four decades away, is testimony to the power and durability of well-financed right-wing propaganda -- especially when there is no matching effort on the other side. The right spent more than two decades, and millions of dollars, discrediting Social Security with nothing more than verbal and accounting tricks - they never even bothered to make their own projections to compete with Social Security's Trustees. Some of the money that altered public opinion came straight from Wall Street financial firms who stood to make a fortune from privatization. These efforts should be regarded as one of the most successful disinformation campaigns in modern history. "

I had a previous link regarding Obama's Social Security errors but Mark Weisbrot makes it clear. This has been a thorn in the Heritage Foundation and Federalist Society's sides for decades. They had near complete control of government and were going to make sure SS was killed. This is why the trillions being spent on the war and the billions of dollars in tax cuts don't matter to them: they want government destroyed. They want it bankrupt.

Dickey: The Real Cost of Iraq | Newsweek Voices - Christopher Dickey | Newsweek.com:
"It's been three years since President George W. Bush experienced what he called his 'accountability moment,' i.e., his re-election. And it's a year now since American voters sent a Democratic majority to the House and Senate on the delusional assumption they'd hold this administration responsible for what it's done to the United States and the world. We know how that hasn't happened. So why would the folks in the Bush White House be the least bit perturbed by publicity about the mind-boggling long-term costs of the war in Iraq that they rushed to wage? I don't think they are, and I wouldn't expect them to be. This is an administration that admits no guilt and knows no shame, and in that it is a perfect reflection of what America and Americans look like to the rest of the world."

Christopher Dickey articulates my feelings perfectly in a nicely written piece. They wanted to trash the government and they succeeded beyond measure. This is not funny.

Yochai Benkler: The Wealth of Networks:
"The critical shift represented by the networked information economy is that on the order of a billion people on the planet have the physical capacity to produce and communicate information, knowledge, and culture. This means, in the case of writing, millions or tens of millions of people, rather than a few thousand, get to write in ways that are publicly visible. Of necessity, there will be a wide range.

The probability that any newspaper, however well-heeled, will be able to put together the kind of legal analytic brainpower that my friend Jack Balkin has put together on his blog, Balkinization, is zero. They can't afford it. On the other hand, even the Weekly World News is tame and mainstream by comparison to the quirkiness or plain stupidity some people can exhibit. The range is simply larger. That's what it means to have a truly diverse public sphere.

If you want to find evidence of nonsense, as of course it is important to people whose sense of self-worth depends on the special role traditional mass media play in the public sphere, you will easily find it. If you want to find the opposite, that too is simple. What's left is to wait and see over time whether one overwhelms the other. As I wrote in the book, I do not think we are intellectual lemmings. I don't think we jump over the abyss of drivel, but rather that in this environment of plenty we learn to develop our own sense of which is which, and where to find what. Perfect information about all the good things, we won't have. But we don't have it now either. Instead we have new patterns of linking, filtering, recommendation, that allow us to do reasonably well in navigating a much more diverse and interesting information environment than mass media was able to deliver."

This is what scares the crap out of the current gatekeepers to information. A big big change is happening and they have no idea how to control it and monetize it. Because they can't.

via Kottke

A Real Nanopod: World's Smallest Radio From A Single Carbon Nanotube | Scientific Blogging: "
“The entire radio would easily fit inside a living cell, and this small size allows it to safely interact with biological systems,” Zettl said. “One can envision interfaces with brain or muscle functions, or radio-controlled devices moving through the bloodstream.”"

via Robot Wisdom

'NYT': Extra Hour of Daylight for Halloween Due to Candy Lobby?:
"But it gets even stranger than that. The candy lobby also played a significant role in pushing Halloween into daylight saving time, believing that extra hour of trick-or-treating in daylight would spur more candy sales but arguing that it would decrease deaths, according to Michael Downing, the author of 'Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time,' an amusing book about the myths and realities behind daylight saving time. "

But who goes trick-or-treating in daylight? All the kids/families I know of wait until dark to begin their rounds. Extending DST just makes them have to start an hour later than otherwise. It's more inconvenient.

via Robot Wisdom

The Darjeeling Limited (2007)****
Superb Wes Anderson film. It seems modest, it seems merely charming, but it's probably his best and most thoughtful film. And thats saying a lot. Remember, a director's style, signature hallmarks, etc. are not there for their own sake. This is a well structured movie.

Reaganomics Finally Trickles Down To Area Man | The Onion - America's Finest News Source:
"Kellener, who has cared for his schizophrenic sister ever since her federally funded mental institution was closed in 1984, said that he plans to donate the full $10 to the Republican presidential candidate who best embodies Reagan's legacy."

Yes, yes, we all know The Onion and it is usually spot on and hilarious but this bit seemed to me to hit all the right points. And the last one is the kicker: why do people who are left out of the "conservative" agenda, continue to support it?

via kottke.org

SHALINI - The Surface and the Shine (2007)****
Sort of a companion piece to Dynamico (3 songs were written by or with Mitch Easter), this record doesn't quite achieve those lofty heights. But this is a great CD, much better, more consistent than "Metal Corner" from 2004. Classic, heavy power pop with tons of hooks, riffs and harmonies. "Gloria" is...well glorious!

The Time Machine (1960)****
Apparently this is a guy flick. Well then since I'm a guy, I loved it! George Pal's crowning achievement, it's underlying intelligence and imaginative art direction (of which Mr. Pal was a crucial, yet uncredited, component) plus sincere performances and excellent script make this the classic that it is. Yes there are blue, hairy cannibalistic beings preying on docile, almost albino humans, plenty of borderline cheesy special effects, but there is a sincerity and attention to story that is a cut above the standard "B" movie. Rod Taylor is in fine form as well. And it all comes in at an economical 103 minutes!

Scientists get first look at nanotubes inside living animals:
"'Carbon nanotubes are much smaller than living cells, and they give off fluorescent light in a way that researchers hope to harness to detect diseases earlier than currently possible,' said research co-author Bruce Weisman, professor of chemistry. 'In order to do that, we need to learn how to detect and monitor nanotubes inside living tissues, and we must also determine whether they pose any hazards to organisms.'"

Thanks again to Robot Wisdom, what freaked me out about this was the fact that we are capable of creating things "much smaller than living cells"! These things can be placed inside us and we wouldn't have the slightest idea they were there. Nano-technology is not sci-fi and not a dream. It is reality. Incredible.

ABC News: Obama Floats Social Security Tax Hike:
"'If we kept the payroll tax rate exactly the same but applied it to all earnings and not just the first $97,000,' Obama wrote this week in an Iowa newspaper, 'we could eliminate the entire Social Security shortfall.'"

Again, there is NO Social Security shortfall projected until 2046. Repeat: 2046! There has never been a time in the history of the Social Security program that it was in such good financial shape. For a major party candidate to not only say such a thing but to actually believe it to be true is mind-boggling to me. I had considered supporting Mr. Obama but if he can't understand this concept, nor hire a consultant who understands this concept, then how can he run the country?

JewishJournal.com:Q & A with investigative journalist Seymour Hersh:
" JJ: That's all they are? Marginal? SH: With these stories, if they slow down or make people take a deep breath before they bomb Iran, that is a plus. But they are not going to stop anybody. This is a government that is unreachable by us, and that is very depressing. In terms of adding to the public debate, the stories are important. But not in terms of changing policy. I have no delusions about that."

Via Robot Wisdom, Seymour Hersh articulates our present predicament: we have a government that is unreachable by us. Exactly how I feel, and exactly why when I stop and think I get depressed.

Murder on the Orient Express (1974)****
Nothing Earth shattering here except a finely crafted and executed whodunit featuring an exceptional performance by Albert Finney in the lead role. He is on screen almost the entire time and never ceases to be interesting or entertaining. A great actor in a great role.

The Passenger (1975)***
Michaelangelo Antonioni is a gifted director with a wonderful visual sense and assured abilities with a camera, but as a screenwriter he leaves a lot to be desired. Some interesting ideas but you have to strain to get a hint of them. Still, an interesting and thoughtful work.

The Black Hole (1979)*
An embarrassment for all concerned. The story makes little sense even within its limited and scientifically inaccurate universe. Clearly an attempt to re-work "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" into an "outer space" environment, it succeeds at absolutely nothing. A complete failure.

Greenspan Concedes Mortgage Dilemma:
"'While I was aware a lot of these practices were going on, I had no notion of how significant they had become until very late,' he said in a CBS '60 Minutes' interview to be broadcast Sunday. 'I really didn't get it until very late in 2005 and 2006,' Greenspan said."

But, but you're Maestro! You knew EVERYTHING! Think about this for a minute: he was aware that dangerous, questionable, extremely risky lending practices were not only happening but causing the run-up in housing prices thereby creating an unsustainable market bubble, AND HE DIDN'T GET IT!

I think he is a liar. He could NOT have been that stupid. I think his banker friends wanted him to look the other way and he complied. They got theirs. And now, unfortunately, the rest of the country will get ours.

Doctor Dolittle (1967)**
Here is one flick that could do with a Tim Burton directed remake. Johnny Depp would be great as the lead. And I'm sure Mr. Burton could bring it all in at around 100 minutes or so and not the incredible 152 minutes this film takes! And that doesn't include the intermission. So yes, my regular rant about the length of the film is warranted here. And there are about 6-7 songs too many. Mr. Harrison's talk/sing style gets wearisome too, although he does a nice job overall. Anthony Newley is tough to take though.

Britney Spears earns scorn for MTV performance - Yahoo! News:
"The 25-year-old singer, whose professional achievements have been overshadowed by her personal crises in recent years, performed 'Gimme More' in a black sequined bikini and knee-high boots. No longer boasting the buff body that helped drive her to international superstardom almost a decade ago, the mother of two moved sluggishly around the stage at the Palms casino, often with the support of a troupe of dancers. At one point, the camera panned to rapper 50 Cent, sitting in the audience, who looked bewildered by the action on stage. 'She blew it,' gossip columnist Perez Hilton told Reuters. 'Everybody knows Britney lip-syncs, but that's because she dances so much. She barely even danced in this. It was so bad. It was painful. It was embarrassing. And I loved it!'"

Talk about high expectations! You'd think Ms. Spears was supposed to be doing an excerpt from King Lear or something. Come on, LIGHTEN UP! I thought she looked pretty damn good. Just how "buff" do we want women to be for heaven's sake? I'm not a big fan of her music but the song, "Gimme More", was a "danceable ode" as Sir Paul might say, perfectly acceptable at the disco and to my dirty-old-man eyes she seemed to give it the attention it deserved and seemed to move around the stage appropriately. It wasn't a transcendent performance but this was the MTV awards for crying out loud! I think it's just a fashionable thing to berate Ms. Spears and that sort of thing just irritates the hell out of me. You want to punish her for her behavior? Ignore her. If you can.

Bush: No Interest In How Iraqi Military Got Disbanded; No Effort To Reverse Decision?:
"Mr. Bush acknowledged one major failing of the early occupation of Iraq when he said of disbanding the Saddam Hussein-era military, 'The policy was to keep the army intact; didn't happen.' But when Mr. Draper pointed out that Mr. Bush's former Iraq administrator, L. Paul Bremer III, had gone ahead and forced the army's dissolution and then asked Mr. Bush how he reacted to that, Mr. Bush said, 'Yeah, I can't remember, I'm sure I said, 'This is the policy, what happened?'' But, he added, 'Again, Hadley's got notes on all of this stuff,' referring to Stephen J. Hadley, his national security adviser."

Do any Congressional Democrats get The New York Times? Do they read the front page? Just asking.

Coming months vital for U.S. Iraq strategy - Yahoo! News:
"U.S. President George W. Bush, on a surprise visit to Iraq, raised the prospect of troop cuts after meeting top commanders at a desert air base in western Anbar province on Monday. 'I think the next three to four months is critical,' said Odierno, head of day-to-day U.S. military operations in Iraq."

I had to do a double take when I saw that headline. I thought I had stumbled upon The Onion instead of Yahoo! News. Can these people even hear themselves speak? Ever since July 2003 some "senior official" has been saying "the next 3-4 months are critical". What a joke. Oh and how very brave of Mr. Bush to visit Iraq. It's always a surprise too. That's a nice touch. I miss the flight jacket though.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)**
Yet another flick that is WAY too long. 2 hours and 12 minutes! It is a full 37 minutes before we get into the volcano! I wonder if I am just getting more used to the tempo of action flicks of today. This film is from 1959. There is a HUGE amount of set up in the first 37 minutes which I doubt would be tolerated today. James Mason is, of course, solid, Pat Boone manages to be not too embarrassing, Bernard Herrmann's score is tremendous and the cave settings are spectacular. A fine family film.

On the occasion of the anniversary of my birth:

Ever since my Father died in 1975 at the age of 50 (well, actually one day short of 50) I have had this notion that I, too, will shuffle off this mortal coil when I turn 50. Well, as of today I have 2 years left. And I kind of like this idea. I think everyone should set a date for their demise and live accordingly. I like to think I am less attached to things. I like to think I savor the moment more knowing I have less time than most. I don't know if I am truly successful. But I think it helps to have this perspective on life. Ephemera. Detachment. Distance. It suits my personality. I'm sorry to all those who it does not suit. I meant nothing personal. If I got too attached to you, life would become unbearable to me. I know this now. I wish I knew this then, but such is life.

Happy birthday!

Rilo Kiley - Under the Blacklight (2007)****
It all sounds like a pastiche of 70's riffs, beats and harmonies used to great effect on 11 strong tracks. Plenty of hooks, plenty of punch, less quirky than previous recordings. Jennie Lewis is in fine form. Their best so far.

sp!ked review of books | Towards an age of abundance:
"Imagine an egalitarian world in which all food is organic and local, the air is free of industrial pollution, and vigorous physical exertion is guaranteed. Sound idyllic? But hold on… Life expectancy is 30 at most; many children die at or soon after birth; life is constantly lived on the edge of starvation; there are no doctors or dentists or modern toilets. If it is egalitarian it is because everyone is dirt poor, and there is no industrial pollution because there are no factories. Food is organic because there are no pesticides or high technology farming methods. As a result, producing food means long hours of back-breaking physical work which may end up yielding little. There is – or at least was – such a place. It is called the past. And few of us, it seems, recognise the enormous benefits to humanity of escaping from it. On the contrary, there is a pervasive culture of complaint about the perils of affluence and a common tendency to romanticise the simple life."

Yes, there are extremes on all sides of every issue. Setting up straw men does nobody any good. There is plenty of room for reasonable middle ground. All I really want is for there to be some sort of oversight on the food markets to encourage reasonable growth, strive for sustainability and to try to reduce the use of industrial chemicals, recycled bio-mass and the like . I don't think that is an unreasonable, nor unprofitable idea. I want greed and profit to not be the be all and end all of food production.

Topaz (1969)**
Mediocre Hitchcock overall with some exceptional sequences in the early going. When the locale switched to Cuba, though, it comes off as an extended episode of "Mission Impossible". Some severe editing was called for here. It's obvious this was a studio job for Hitch and not a picture he felt strongly about. Still the acting is good, there are many noteworthy shots and scenes. It just goes on too long and there is an uncharacteristically bad use of music in this film. It's quite jarring and distracting in several sequences. Disappointing.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | French star sued for hero comment:
"Ardant said she admired the founder of the Red Brigades group, Renato Curcio, because he had never abandoned his leftist ideals, adding she 'considered the Red Brigades phenomenon to be very moving and passionate'."

Fanny, Fanny, Fanny! Say it ain't so! Ah well, she is still a stunning beauty and a fine actress. So sometimes her ideals get the better of her and she says something foolish and stupid. Is that a crime? Um...well yes actually in Italy it IS a crime. Stay home in Paris, dear.

Solaris (2002)****
One of the more romantic sci-fi films ever and one of Soderbergh's best efforts. Clooney just seems to click with Soderbergh as he turns in another fine performance for him. It bugs me a little when I read reviews that knock a film because it is not slavishly "faithful" to the source material. A filmmaker gets his inspiration from many sources and if it happens to be a book so what? He may like just one layer of the book or one plot twist or one character and want to explore that visually. The problem is when you find your inspiration from a popular or revered work. Hitchcock's best pictures came from relatively unknown books or stories that he changed dramatically. We're making movies here, not filmed reading material.

Forbidden Planet (1956)**
The obvious prototype for classic Trek. An amazingly talky film, but what's shocking is the lack of imagination on the part of the set and production design. Laughingly dated script as well.

20000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954)**
The film is way too long and poorly paced. For the time, the script is intelligent and thoughtful, the acting is very good. James Mason in particular is a revelation. One of the few roles in which he is able to be a muscular, athletic, macho-type guy while at the same time being literate and intellectual. I thought Mason was perfect for the role of Captain Nemo.

HERETICAL THOUGHTS ABOUT SCIENCE AND SOCIETY by Freemon Dyson
" The sharpest conflict between naturalist and humanist ethics arises in the regulation of genetic engineering. The naturalist ethic condemns genetically modified food-crops and all other genetic engineering projects that might upset the natural ecology. The humanist ethic looks forward to a time not far distant, when genetically engineered food-crops and energy-crops will bring wealth to poor people in tropical countries, and incidentally give us tools to control the growth of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere."

Mr. Dyson lost me at this point. While I agree that humans are THE most important animals on the planet Earth right now and our survival is paramount, I hardly think genetic engineering of plant life will be our savior! We all know the infamous human capacity for error ALONE will prohibit reliance on genetic engineering for a benefit to humanity. I do accept that an increase in the global temperature has been recorded and predicted. I am not certain as to what it means, what has caused it and what needs to be done about it. I agree with Mr. Dyson that a reliance on computer models is to be taken with a great deal of skepticism. But our agreement ends there.

Becket (1964)**
This might be a case of high expectations and/or seeing a film in hindsight. I thought the screenplay was a bit too simplistic. I thought Burton was sleepwalking and O'Toole over the top. We are supposed to feel that those 2 have some sort of chemistry together, that they really do love each other as friends and indeed in real life they did. But on the screen in this picture, I didn't get that at all. It is a beautiful picture, well shot, very colorful, well designed. And maybe I am just incapable of enjoying a film with ham-fisted use of music but I thought that was exceedingly bad here. I know it was the style at the time but Hitchcock was able to make films with virtually NO music (The Birds, eg.), and I like a number of films that use music very effectively such as nearly all of Kubrick's work, To Kill A Mockingbird, to name but a few.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)**
I am a fan of the series but have never read any of the books. I did enjoy the film once Alan Rickman shows up which is late in the picture unfortunately. The the film takes off and eventually reaches a satisfying and emotional conclusion. I like the English-ness of the films, the art direction, the CGI which is always top-notch, and the fine cast of supporting actors. Newcomer Evanna Lynch makes a mesmerizing debut. I thought the direction was a bit heavy-handed. Granted, this might have been the least cinematic of the books, but just pumping up the volume of the music doesn't make things exciting just annoying.

Suzanne Vega - Beauty & Crime (2007)****
A multi-layered collection of songs that never fail to entertain and enlighten. Might be her most consistent album ever. Adventurous yet true to herself, fine melodies, well-crafted production.

Sick and Twisted
In a New Yorker commentary lauding Michael Moore's "Sicko" because it successfully keeps the issues of healthcare in the public mind, Atul Gawande states:


"The cheapest proposals [for universal single-payer coverage] circulating would still require more than a hundred billion dollars a year in public funds—around a thousand dollars per American household. Taxing millionaires or cutting 'waste, fraud, and abuse' won’t pay for that."

No, but for $84/month I would be very happy to pay for that coverage instead of the $850/month I currently pay for Blue Cross with a $1,500 deductible per person. Yes, ANY health plan will cost money. But you can't just say that without also stating the enormous savings that will result. The simplest and best approach is to simply extend Medicare coverage to all citizens. Let's do that first, give some REAL competition to the private insurance industry for once, and then start to tinker with it. This will work. It will have its difficulties at first. But it will be cheaper than the Iraq War that's for damn sure and we somehow find a way to pay for that.

Transformers (2007)**
A CGI achievement in film so it gets the 2 stars. Might have been a better movie movie if about an hour had been trimmed starting with the horrific war/military angle. That aspect just didn't seem right in the middle of one of the worst military disasters in our nation's history. Shia LeBeouf does a fine job and Megan Fox looks very good.

Ratatouille (2007)***
I have to say I was disappointed with this picture. It is a superb example of craftsmanship, technological wizardry, art direction, set design, lighting and on and on. Everything is perfect except the script. Seriously flawed. Never soars to the heights of "The Incredibles" nor even "Cars". I think the problem is it never really trusts itself. There is NO WAY to manipulate a person by pulling his hair. It would have actually made more sense to have Linguini and only Linguini be able to understand Remy's speech. And the pre-climatic change of heart by Remy was totally unbelievable. I could not imagine his character EVER turning his back on the restaurant or Linguini. It made no sense within it's own context. After that everything was a series of soaring strings and clichéd plot turns. I don't know for sure, but I suspect this one had more of Brad Bird's stamp on it than "The Incredibles" where he was overruled several times on key plot points. This is closer to "Iron Giant", another wonder technically, yet a big disappointment story-wise. Again though, if you see it in a theatre, demand a digital projection. Absolutely beautiful.

A President Besieged and Isolated, Yet at Ease

"Still, that trip demonstrated that Bush cannot escape his burdens. King, the GOP congressman, introduced him backstage to a soldier injured in one eye. Bush teared up and asked the young man to take off his dark glasses so he could see the wound, King recalled. 'Human instinct is when someone has a serious injury to look the other way,' King said. 'He actually asked him to take them off. He actually touched the eye a little. It was almost as if he felt he had to confront it.'"

Is it just me or is this not one of the more perverted things this president has done? This is alongside his bald head fetish in creepiness. I think he actually thinks he has messianic powers, healing powers. And no, this article is not from The Onion, but the Washington Post! What an absolute idiot this man is.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)***
I was more familiar with the 1956 version (which I find superior) but this one has its charms also. It's an amazingly fresh script with complex characters, a lot of humor and an exceptional shootout that seems very uncharacteristic for a Hitchcock picture. Some interesting, memorable shots and sequences, along with some laughable ones. This was the work of a genius on a shoestring budget. The later version was more assured, the sequences more masterful.

Finding Neverland (2004)*
One of the more depressing films I have ever seen. I couldn't find one character that showed any true emotion to latch on to. A pall of death and bitterness hangs over every scene. I can't imagine this as a play at all. The film even makes Julie Christie look bad.

The New Pornographers - Challengers (2007)****
From the Fleetwood Mac of 21st century power pop, another amazingly similar yet different collection of a dozen intense tunes. "Failsafe" is my favorite so far, propelled by a tremelo guitar and a driving beat. But they are all excellent, with atmospheric lyrics, intricate melodies, wonderful harmonies, the awesome Neko Case on the title track in particular, and a trio of some of Dan Bejar's best.

Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full (2007)***
Paul McCartney has written some stunning songs in his career. So we do know he is a more than capable songwriter, musician, lyricist. What's so frustrating is not that he has missteps, or reaches too far, lots of folks do that. It's that half of his songs just sound like he didn't really care. On this record, the half that are good are actually pretty good. "Ever Present Past" has a nice hook to it and meaningful and clever lyrics, likewise with "Vintage Clothes" and "That Was Me" (probably the best track). "Mister Bellamy" is an enjoyable ditty with some nifty production, "You Tell Me" is a somber, sober reflection on a lost love. "Dance Tonight" is enjoyable enough but it is sorely lacking in the lyric department. On "House of Wax" he tries real hard, too hard actually, for something meaningful and just ends up with something unlistenable. The others are pretty bad. I really wish he always had a collaborator with him, someone to tell him "You know, this song might be good if we just WORKED at it a bit more" or "This thing stinks!"

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)****
A film that slowly grabs you and doesn't let go until the brutally honest and truthful end. My only quarrel with it is I could have done without the scene of the Captain "fixing" the cut on his cheek. We already knew he was a sado-masochistic monster. Uncompromising film making of high rank.