That is, you won't regret it if you enjoy a good fantasy film. If you don't enjoy unlocking the symbolism behind a fable, then you won't appreciate this movie. And I don't have the foggiest notion as to whether the film adaptation lives up to the book upon which it is based (Northern Lights, by Philip Pullman), because I haven't read the book. For me, The Golden Compass is just a darn good fantasy film, and a perceptive socio-historical critique as well.
In a predictable roll out of yet another Republican big lie, John McCain, John Bolton, and Tony Snow today all simultaneously tried to blame President Bill Clinton for the fact that North Korea has been able to develop a nuclear weapon. And so another set of Republican talking points makes its debut....
Next week when the Republicans are all over the airwaves blaming Bill Clinton and the Democrats for the North Korean nuclear test debacle, remember that William Perry -- Bill Clinton's secretary of defense -- warned George Bush against appeasing the North Koreans.
In October of 2004, John Ashcroft published an article called The Patriot Act: Wise Beyond its Years. The article was a defense of the Patriot Act and a retrospective of the first three years of its use by law enforcement. One of the salient points that Ashcroft made in the piece was that the Patriot Act had applications in other facets of criminal law, apart from its use in terrorism cases. In particular, he cited the usefulness of the Act in sexual abuse cases involving children.
I've been reading the transcript of the obscene IMs that Representative Foley sent to a 16 year old boy over at the ABC News site (damn, there goes my boycott of ABC!). One thing that jumped out at me is that Foley was in a hotel in Pensacola, Florida when he wrote these particular IMs. Therefore, he is subject to the laws of the State of Florida in this matter.
The Federal Communications Commission has initiated an investigation into whether or not DSL carrier Verizon Communications has violated federal truth-in-billing laws.
The FCC confirmed Friday that an eight page letter of inquiry had been mailed to Verizon seeking information about a new DSL user surcharge that the company plans to levy.
BellSouth had been planning to impose a similar fee on DSL subscribers, but they dropped the idea after they learned that federal regulators were investigating Verizon's new DSL fee structure.
The Transportation Security Administration has announced a new program to screen frequent air passengers by asking them to voluntarily obtain a new form of identification called a Registered Traveller card. Holders of this card will merit expedited passage through TSA airport checkpoints, but they will be required to consent to an intrusive background check in order to get it.
Five weeks after the landfall of Hurricane Katrina, the bodies of over 1,200 storm casualties have been recovered. Here's the breakdown of the number of confirmed dead by state:
For the second day in a row, Diebold shares have been taking a beating on Wall Street, after falling 16% on Wednesday, September 21st. Diebold shares have suffered a total drop of about 35% since the beginning of 2005, driving the share price to a new annual low. This has prompted several stock analysts to cut their ratings on Diebold stock.
This is being reported by the Hindustan Times, the People's Daily, and the Times of India. The American press is either not reporting on this, or if they do, they seem to be reporting only the (lower) breakout of numbers from Louisiana.
By now it is clear to one and all that George Bush, the Department of Homeland Security, and FEMA didn't give damn about saving lives in New Orleans during the Great Flood. These days the whole Vast Right Wing Conspiracy is spinning like a hurricane trying to convice y'all that you shouldn't give a damn about what happened in New Orleans as well. However, I would like to ask: What About the Embryos? Didn't anyone on the Christian right consider that FEMA footdragging would endanger thousands of unborn embryos at fertility clinics across the New Orleans area?
According to information obtained by Knight Ridder Newspapers, and published in an article titled "Failure at Every Turn", federal officials in New Orleans and Vicksburg knew at 6PM on the night of Monday, August 29th, that at least one levee had failed in New Orleans and that the city was in the process of flooding. Yet, armed with this critical life-saving knowledge, officials did nothing to warn the public of the impending deluge.
