Oh, these suspects have very important information…they’re just not allowed to tell it. As the Ashcroft Justice Department leaps at the chance to try out their newly validated surveillance powers, the Post examines their contortion of a 1984 material witness statute to keep terrorist suspects locked up indefinitely. Very sneaky…but how far can you bend a law before it breaks?
Month: November 2002
Only a Pawn in their Game.
The NYT surveys politicans’ constant appropriation of Dylan lyrics, including several ridiculous uses of “The Times-They-Are-A-Changin'” and Gore‘s campaign-threatening use of “My Back Pages” last week. (Kindly sent along by All About George.) Well, Al, I got one for you: “You got a lotta nerve to say you got a helping hand to lend, You just want to be on the side that’s winning…Yes, I wish that for just one time, you could stand inside my shoes. You’d know what a drag it is to see you.”
Buh-bye…
and good riddance. There are other virtues in this world besides longevity, and these three spent most if not all their careers fighting them. At least in this corner, they will not be missed.
Tintin en Amerique.
With Indy 4 also on the horizon, will Spielberg’s next project be…Tintin!? Just so long as we don’t get Leo or Haley Jo as the journalist in question, I’ll probably be there on the first day. I wonder which book they’ll do…
Mind-Reading Mutts.
Take that, cat lovers. Scientists delve deeper into the inextricable links between humans and dogs. But, if this is true, why can’t I convince Berkeley to stop chewing the comforter?
Bellesiles Misfires.
What’s worse than stealing other people’s sources? Making them up in the first place. Historian Michael Bellesiles is forced to resign from Emory after a commission finds he falsified materials in his Bancroft Award-winning Arming America.
Thief! Baggins! We hates it forever!
Tickets for The Two Towers seemed to have gone on sale today…everywhere but Manhattan. Grrr… As recompense, though, “Gollum‘s Song,” the very Bjork-like coda to the film (much like Enya’s “May it Be” for Fellowship), is now available for download here. And as for the rest of the soundtrack…well, I really have no recollection of downloading it from Kazaa, but I suppose I might have…(Don’t worry, I’ll buy it also.)
Pulling back the Curtain.
Meant to blog this a few days ago but didn’t. Boston University historian Robert Dallek discusses new information on JFK’s health in the Atlantic. As with FDR, one wonders if Kennedy would have gotten anywhere near the White House with this medical record in our present age.
Best…link…ever.
“Oh, Aquaman, you can’t marry a woman without gills!” Speaking of the fanboy nation, can we just stop for a moment and give big ups to our patron saint, Comic Book Guy? (Via Footprints.)
We are Farscape.
Although the initial flurry of activity may have dimmed considerably, the quest to save Farscape continues across the fanboy/fangirl nation. Next week, this fan produced ad will start appearing in 24 major media markets…it looks a bit rough but hopefully will spark some media coverage. Meanwhile, here in NYC I’ve taken to postering all the bus ads for Sci-Fi’s upcoming Taken around campus with BOYCOTT SCI-FI signs. Somebody keeps ripping them down, but hey…it adds structure to my walks with Berkeley.