One Canuck's Radio Weblog

  Tuesday, 4 November 2003

.< 11:59:54 PM >
Why America's plutocrats gobble up $1,500 hot dogs

George Bush's America: In the final part of a series, Julian Borger examines the inequality of the Bush era. [Guardian Unlimited] 'The richest 1% of Americans now own well over 40% of their nation's wealth. It is a skewed distribution that sets the US apart from other modern industrialised nations. [snip] The Bush cabinet also stands out for its big money background. Every member is a millionaire and, the Centre for Public Integrity says, its total net worth is more than 10 times that of the Clinton cabinet.'

Dubbya's just a regular guy, right?

< 11:59:04 PM >

World: Pentagon begins recruiting for local draft boards, dredging up painful memories of Vietnam era conscription. [Guardian Unlimited] 'Thirty years have passed since the draft boards last exerted their hold on America, deciding which soldiers would be sent to Vietnam. After Congress ended the draft in 1973, they have become largely dormant.

However, recruitment for the boards suggests that in some parts of the Pentagon all options are being explored in response to concerns that the US military has been stretched too thin in its occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq.'

< 12:41:16 PM >

The  young Canadian lyric soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian follows up her stunning debut album Joyous Light (CBC SMCD 5215) with an exploration of sensuously beguiling music from Spain and Latin America. Azulão features popular songs by the Spanish composers Enrique Granados and Fernando Obradors, as well as arrangements for soprano, piano and cello ensemble of works by Joaquín Rodrigo, Manuel De Falla, Xavier Montsalvatge and Carlos Guastavino. Highlights include Canadian composer Chris Paul Harman[base ']s arrangements of an aria from the Granados opera, Goyescas, and of the traditional Catalan carol The Song of the Birds. Isabel Bayrakdarian won the prestigious Placido Domingo Operalia vocal competition in Los Angeles in 2000 and was also awarded the special Zarzuela Prize. Her warm, clear voice is heard to great effect here, and is especially mesmerising in her interpretation of the popular Bachianas Brasileiras # 5 for soprano and eight cellos by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. The Cello Ensemble is lead by Bryan Epperson and the pianist is James Parker.

.< 12:01:09 PM >
Cheney's hawks 'hijacking policy' - www.smh.com.au

[Daypop Top 40] 'A former Pentagon officer turned whistleblower says a group of hawks in the Bush Administration, including the Vice-President, Dick Cheney, is running a shadow foreign policy, contravening Washington's official line.

"What these people are doing now makes Iran-Contra [a Reagan administration national security scandal] look like amateur hour. . . it's worse than Iran-Contra, worse than what happened in Vietnam," said Karen Kwiatkowski, a former air force lieutenant-colonel.'

< 11:59:33 AM >

[Daypop Top 40] 'The book, which depicts a President who prays each day and believes he is on a direct mission from God, will give ammunition to critics who claim Bush's administration is heavily influenced by extremist Christians.'

Extremists of any flavour are dangerous.

< 11:48:26 AM >

"Windfalls of War - The Center for Public Integrity" [Daypop Top 40] 'More than 70 American companies and individuals have won up to $8 billion in contracts for work in postwar Iraq and Afghanistan over the last two years, according to a new study by the Center for Public Integrity. Those companies donated more money to the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush—a little over $500,000—than to any other politician over the last dozen years, the Center found.'

< 11:45:43 AM >

Institute of Physics Survey (seriously, folks) [The Register]

< 11:45:15 AM >

FileVault to blame this time [The Register]

< 11:44:56 AM >

If global warming occurs as predicted, there will be no easy way to turn the Earth's thermostat back down. [New York Times: Technology]

< 11:39:28 AM >

I was confused when I first noticed that Disk Copy was gone after upgrading to Panther. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that Disk Copy had been merged into Disk Utility. I was overcome with joy when I realized that the core features of Carbon Copy Cloner and NetRestore had been integrated into Disk Utility as well. [macosxhints]

< 12:27:35 AM >

SJ Mercury: Adding style to substance. It used to be that only high-end companies such as Apple Computer or Sony cared about industrial design -- the distinctive look and feel of their products. But in an age when hardware has become a commodity, many more tech companies are coming to realize that aesthetics matter. [Tomalak's Realm]

< 12:17:20 AM >

[Daypop Top 40]

< 12:04:26 AM >

La Scena Musicale November 2003 Issue Download the PDF - articles only (5 Meg)