glenn greenwald: Just in the first three months of 2008, recent lobbyist disclosure statements reveal that AT&T spent $5.2 million in lobbyist fees (putting it well ahead of its 2007 pace, when it spent just over $17 million). In the first quarter of 2008, Verizon spent $4.8 million on lobbyist fees, while Comcast spent $2.6 [...]
Almost. Orangutan escapes pen at US zoo – Zoo officials say the animal was easily sedated and captured.
Catastrophes are like a political x-ray machine. They reveal the true condition of civic institutions. Following the earthquake in Sichuan, China: Among the developments to watch in coming days is growing public anger over the shoddy construction of schools in rural China. Among the dead are a massive number of children. Many parents are already [...]
Military columnist Joe Galloway as quoted by Glenn Greenwald: …Marine Gen. Paul Van Riper had walked out of an Iran scenario war game where he was commander of the opposing forces when he outfoxed the U.S. Navy & Marine attacking forces, sunk over a dozen major American ships and killed over 10,000 U.S. sailors and [...]
Great tits cope well with warming update. it’s a thing of elegance, indeed. two days after noting the above, the headline – just the headline – was on BoingBoing.net. the story – rather, the headline – stayed in BBC News’ site most e-mailed category for at least a week.
Newsweek via Schneier on Security: Sir David Omand, who used to head Britain’s version of the National Security Agency and oversaw its entire intelligence establishment from the Cabinet Office earlier this decade, described terrorism as “one corner” of the global security threat posed by weapons proliferation and political instability. That in turn is only one [...]
There is only a single scene in Iron Man where the movie threatens to become a lie about advanced American firepower and the power (right?) it grants us to police the world. Luckily, the scene is short and bittersweet. The rest of the movie is like watching an excellent – detached, methodical – surgeon performing [...]
Last night I wrote: I wish more comedies – including this one – would sustain absurdity for longer intervals. This morning I discovered The Mighty Boosh. It’s like a waking dream: my wishes have come true.
Two weeks after watching the final season of The Wire, I believe it does mark a turning point in my understanding of television – as it has for so many. A few days ago, I had the privilege of reading a script for a pilot by a friend and my only serious suggestion was, more [...]
The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen), like Schindler’s List, succeeds in making history personal. Like the Spielberg film, it brings the viewer into a world turned upside down by a political catastrophe, and affirms both hope and the possibility of redemption by celebrating a man who makes a right turn from a wrong [...]
Douchebag: The great divide in this country is not by race or even income, it’s by those who think they are better than everyone else and think they should play by a different set of rules,” he said. “In West Virginia and Arkansas, we know that when we see it.