Tuesday, September 16, 2003

Mediaburn DVD Recommendation - 'War Games' (MGM 1983,1998) 1998 DVD of the 1983 MGM movie "War Games." Highly recommended is the audio commentary (special DVD feature) by Director John Badham and Screenwriters Lawrence Lasker and Walter E. Parkes. The creators take a look at "War Games" 15 years after it was produced. Their comments on 1983 computer and network technology, as well as national defense issues are absolutely incredible in the context of 2003. The movie has a few conceptual flaws, but the big picture works quite well and gives many valuable insights. - Gary Santoro 8:04:05 PM

Wesley Clark Enters The Crowded Race I like Wesley Clark, but where was he three months ago, when we needed a strong voice against Bush? It was Howard Dean who picked up the football. Dean is not an ideal candidate in my view, but he was the first to stand up against Bush. In doing so, Dean struck gold. Now many other candidates have adopted Dean's critical stance. The Dean campaign continues to receive my support. 2:29:42 PM

Another Victory - MoveOn.org Dear MoveOn member, I wanted you to be among the first to know: today at 11:30am EDT, the Senate voted 55-40 to roll back the entire FCC rule change. We're on a roll, and you've been instrumental in making it happen. When our friends at Free Press and the Consumer's Union delivered your petition comments to Senators' offices on Thursday, they were impressed and shocked. We know your signatures contributed to the big win today. Special thanks to those of you who made calls -- over 10,000 of them in the last week -- which played a critical role. Your petition comments were also prominently featured in a press conference with Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Trent Lott (R-MS) on Thursday. For a photo of part of the petition (just part!) and the two Senators, go to: http://www.moveon.org/images/dorganlott-big.jpg Of course, this is still an uphill battle. Media lobbyists will be working around the clock to ensure that the new rules stay in place. We'll keep you posted on what you can do to make sure the final appropriations vote goes our way. But with each winning vote, we move closer to a decisive defeat of massive media consolidation and the FCC rule change. You're making our country a better place. With many thanks, --Eli Pariser MoveOn.org September 16th, 2003 P.S. Our press release on the vote is online at: http://www.moveon.org/FCC0916release.htm P.P.S. For more on the vote, check out the Washington Post's coverage: SENATE APPROVES MEASURE TO UNDO FCC RULES By Frank Ahrens Tuesday, September 16, 2003 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18674-2003Sep16.html 2:11:28 PM

Blandish Arizona Wine Not as bad as I was expecting, this blandish and grapey red wine was so pale - it's almost a blush. Warmth: 1.27, Brightness: 141. [101-365] 1:16:50 PM

Serious Pulp Rhodan. American Perry Rhodan paperback covers. Interesting. Link via things magazine. [The Cartoonist] 1:12:21 PM

More Vacuous Things I've commented on Mediaburn that "vacuous" has been fashionable for many years. I wasn't thinking about Arnold when I wrote it, but I think it fits. What is he bringing to the table? What's the plan, Stan??? Obviously California is in trouble, but his campaign boils down to, "Sacramento is bad. I'm a movie star. Vote for me." :oP --- McClintock's challenge loomed large in Schwarzegger's otherwise vacuous 10-minute speech. While trying to be Reaganesque, making big promises and evoking sunny memories of California's golden years, Schwarzenegger managed to sound more like James Brown singing "Please, Please, Please" than the breezily confident Reagan. He virtually begged undecided voters and his legion of young fans to show up at the polls for him. "If you're Democrats, independents, or Republicans, I need your help," he pleaded. "If you've never voted before, register. I need your help. Go out and vote. I need your help!" --- California GOP -- slow-mo implosion. Purists say Schwarzenegger is too liberal. Moderates say a conservative can't win. It's meltdown time for the Republican Party. [Salon.com] 1:38:50 AM

Great, Big, Huge, Neo-Con Whoppers --- Were there, as Rumsfeld now maintains, unrealistic expectations about finding WMDs? During the first week of the war--before he made the comment quoted in the question at the luncheon--Rumsfeld himself declared, "We're there to eliminate the weapons of mass destruction in that country." Didn't that suggest the U.S. military was hell-bent on finding them ASAP? And when he said on March 30--after a weak of fighting--that the administration knew where to find the WMDs, that was yet another signal from the administration that there was no question about the reason for going to war. Before the war, the administration peddled suspicion as fact. Bush and his aides did not say, we think Hussein has weapons. They repeatedly asserted they knew it for a fact. Rumsfeld's March 30th remark was fully in keeping with the truth-defying rhetoric of the administration, not a verbal slip. --- Capital Games: The Latest Bush Gang Whoppers. Cheney misleads, Rumsfeld overstates, Wolfowitz retreats (sort of). [The Nation Weblogs] 1:16:25 AM

$166 Billion and Counting Daily Outrage: $166 Billion and Counting. This war has already cost us twenty-five times what we paid for the '91 Gulf War. [The Nation Weblogs] 1:02:03 AM

Generation Dean Event in Atlanta, Pics Photos from the Road: Alabama and Georgia. Kate mentioned that she took some pictures today -- here they are: Gov. Dean speaking at the Generation Dean event in Atlanta, Georgia [Blog for America] 12:46:07 AM

Nanorod Solar Cells Economist update on Nanosys nanorod solar cells:  "Japan's leading maker of building materials, Matsushita Electric Works in Osaka. MEW, which is famous for its resin moulding and processing technology, has joined forces with Nanosys, a start-up co-founded by Dr Alivisatos in Palo Alto, California. The partners plan to develop nanorod composite cells for the construction materials industry in Asia. Nanosys and MEW (a subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial, the world's largest consumer electronics maker) hope to release commercial versions of the new solar cells by 2007. The plan is to incorporate the composite solar cells into decorative roofing tiles or sidings, says Stephen Empedocles, a co-founder and director of business development at Nanosys. .. Dr Alivisatos thinks that if he can get the nanorods to point in a single direction, rather than randomly, he can boost the composite's energy efficiency. If that can be increased to 10%, Nanosys will have the basics for producing solar cells that are easy to work with and cheap to make. In June, the National Science Foundation awarded Nanosys a research grant worth $850,000 to develop the nanocomposite solar cell further. " [Ken Novak: Future energy] 12:09:49 AM