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Saturday, November 22, 2003

Neocons Leak Bad Intelligence. "The leak of a secret memorandum written by a senior Pentagon official reveals less about the connection between Saddam and al Qaeda than the growing desperation of neo-conservative hawks in the Bush administration... The leak, whatever its sources, appears to have worked against the administration. Not only does the intelligence contained in the article fall embarrassingly short of "closing the case" on the Iraq-al Qaeda connection, but by revealing highly classified material, the neo-conservatives, if they were indeed the source, appear willing to sacrifice the country's secrets to retain power. "It's obvious that if you cared about the real national security interests of this country, you wouldn't reveal an asset," said Goodman. "That shows this is a venal and desperate group who are not considering the real national-security interests of this country." " —Jim Lobe, AlterNet [Follow Me Here...] 10:23:02 AM  Permalink  comment []

Hey, remember when that dope fiend on the radio got all over Clinton for a $200 haircut? What followed was what one protester, Jane Harmason, 37, from nearby Bishop Auckland, called: "Another painstakingly choreographed picture opportunity for American television audiences, culminating in a £1m lunch. All that was missing was Inspector Morse stepping out of his red Jaguar to share a very English pint." [Playing with my food, and other things...] 9:41:26 AM  Permalink  comment []

I recommend Master & Commander: The Far Side the World. It has great acting, great action, wonderful special effects. Peter Weir really puts you on that ship and makes it real to you. Crowe's performance is wonderfully nuanced, deep. The script lags a bit in the middle; though that material is really interesting, and it makes the characters real and shows their relationships, its pacing is out of step with the rest of the movie. See it in a digial theatre; the sound is fantastic, and really helps put on the ship. Funny, the whole movie reminds you of nothing so much as an episode of Start Trek Classic; you expect to hear Crowe call his friend and foil the ship's doctor "Bones." 9:23:24 AM  Permalink  comment []

California to Require Paper Voter Receipt [Slashdot] But the same machine that you voted on shouldn't be the same machine that prints the paper receipt. And see this Dan Gilmour piece on the issue. 9:16:00 AM  Permalink  comment []

© Copyright 2004 Steve Michel.