Friday, April 11, 2003

ZAP2IT.COM: The executive producer of a CBS miniseries about Adolf Hitler's rise to power has been fired after giving an interview in which he compared the current mood of Americans to that of the Germans who helped Hitler rise to power. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gernon was fired Sunday (April 6) from Alliance Atlantis, the production company making "Hitler: The Rise of Evil" for CBS. He had worked there 11 years and was head of the firm's long-form programming division. ... "It basically boils down to an entire nation gripped by fear, who ultimately chose to give up their civil rights and plunged the whole nation into war," Gernon said in the interview. "I can't think of a better time to examine this history than now." Da. Ve heff vays of dealing mit dose who question the glory of der Vatterland. [Claire's Web Log] 2:09:58 PM    comment () Iraqi PR man's great future. The Iraqi Minister of Information, whose ability to defy reality has made him something of a cult figure in the West, has had a website dedicated to his pronouncements which is already drawing massive numbers of hits. His ability to work for a doomed cause and show fortitude in the midst of great strain is already triggering commentators to wonder about where his talents may be most usefully employed in future. Here are some of... [Samizdata.net] He should be the new White House Press Secretary! One of the problems the Crusaders have had is their maintain a consistent lie, and this is one area where al-Sahaf is outstanding. 1:41:53 PM    comment () Baghdad descends into chaos. Looters run amok in Baghdad, raiding homes and hospitals undeterred by the presence of US troops. [BBC News | Front Page | UK Edition] Apparently the looters actually are going after private property. It's ridiculous that it took so long for the media to report that--I suppose government "property" is all media types care about. 1:26:47 PM    comment () BBC: "Apple Computer is in discussions to buy Universal Music, one of the world's leading record companies, according to press reports." Wow. [Scripting News] Considering that Apple would have to borrow a huge amount of money to afford it, this would be pretty crazy. On the other hand, Jobs isn't exactly famous for his sanity. 1:12:17 PM    comment () Media Monopolists. Frequent Reason contributor Matt Welch stands up for media competition -- and wonders why so many liberals who say they support a competitive press end up endorsing the opposite. [Hit & Run] 10:06:56 AM    comment () Sars 'is mutant cold virus'. The most authoritative study yet identifies sars as a mutant form of the virus which causes the common cold. [BBC News | Front Page | UK Edition] It's very fortunate that medicine has advanced so much in the last hundred years. Killer mutant viruses and biological weapons have been popular with disaster writers for years, with lots of overblown plots about humanity being wiped out. Now we are seeing what happens when such a plague really occurs. It's bad if you're one of the people who dies, but the world is not coming to an end. 9:40:41 AM    comment () Truth in Trials. Reps. Sam Farr (D-Calif.) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) are introducing the Truth in Trials Act, a bill to "end the federal government's gag on medical marijuana defendants in court." According to the Marijuana Policy Project, "By providing an affirmative defense to federal marijuana charges, this bill would not only ensure that defendants could introduce evidence about the medical aspect of their marijuana-related activity, but would also keep them from being sent to federal prison if it is determined that they were acting in compliance with state medical marijuana laws." The hope is to avoid any reruns of the Ed Rosenthal case, in which a man who was growing medicinal weed with the cooperation of local authorities was nonetheless brought up on federal charges. In the trial that followed, the judge refused to allow any testimony about why and under whose auspices Rosenthal was producing the pot. In an unusual move, several members of the jury subsequently apologized for finding him guilty and requested a new trial. [Hit & Run] This is a tiny step in the right direction, but it really isn't enough to do any good even if by some miracle it passed. To really make a difference a bill is needed to end the Federal government's gag on jury powers. 9:31:44 AM    comment () US moves to tackle looting. The US appeals for public service workers in Baghdad to help them as civil order breaks down in the Iraqi capital. [BBC News | Front Page | UK Edition] What exactly is being looted? All the reports so far have mentioned only government property--and since governments (any government, not just Iraq's) get their property by looting it from the people, there's nothing wrong with the people taking it back. Maybe the looters are also going after private property, but so far I haven't read anything on the subject. 9:10:37 AM    comment ()

© Copyright 2006 Ken Hagler. Last update: 2/15/2006; 1:53:23 PM.