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Sunday, Feb 17, 2002

shine a light

"In conclusion, Douglas, I want to make it clear: You are still my friend. And I do not hate you. Though, frankly, deep down, I find myself pitying you."

the good guys

"The company is a leading private contractor of the American global police state, a beneficiary of the "war on drugs," the "war on terrorism" and corporate globalization itself. Like Enron and other multinational corporations, DynCorp enjoys a special relationship with the US government leadership, doing "unsavory" work in hot spots around the world. The US government has "plausible deniability" when things go wrong (for instance, when people get killed). DynCorp gets big government contracts."

laser sharp accuracy

"The next generation gunship, codenamed AC-X and nicknamed 'Son of Spectre' by US defence officials, will carry all the weaponry already used on the AC-130, including twin 20mm Vulcan cannon (capable of firing 2,500 rounds per minute), 40mm Bofor cannon (100 rounds per minute) and a 105mm Howitzer. Its 21st-century addition, however, will be its biggest punch: a chemical oxygen iodine laser (Coil), capable of carrying out lethal and non-lethal attacks."

little drummer boy

"I pass all of this on as straightforwardly as I can, without hype or unrealistic hopes. What was intriguing to me about the crown prince's remarks was not just his ideas � which, if delivered, would be quite an advance on anything the Arab League has proposed before � but the fact that they came up in the middle of a long, off-the-record conversation. I suggested to the crown Prince that if he felt so strongly about this idea, even in draft form, why not put it on the record � only then would anyone take it seriously. He said he would think about it. The next day his office called, reviewed the crown prince's quotations and said, Go ahead, put them on the record. So here they are."

Friday, Feb 15, 2002

fixer-up job

"SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The Canadian figure skating pair was awarded a gold medal Friday in an attempt to resolve a judging controversy that has dominated the Winter Games, two Olympic sources told The Associated Press."

back log

miserable melodies
crooked e
roadfood

kappa tau

"Yet more than Dingell, Tauzin is a perverse kind of consumer advocate�one for whom the theater is much more important than the substance. Tauzin, a former amateur actor, calls his Enron hearings "the show," and that is clearly how he thinks of them. He aims at little more than creating drama and embarrassing the parties he summons before him. As BusinessWeek pointed out recently, Tauzin's consumer investigations have produced almost nothing in the way of legislation or substantive change�a few extra dollars for highway safety, no alteration in TV election coverage, no intervention in the California energy crisis. The embarrassed Red Cross did agree to give more cash to 9/11 victims. You can already predict what Enron- or Andersen-related legislation will emerge from Tauzin's committee: not much."

unilateral pass

"Those who have argued that America's war on terror would fail to defeat terrorism have, it turns out, been barking up the wrong tree. Ever since President Bush announced his $45bn increase in military spending and gave notice to Iraq, Iran and North Korea that they had "better get their house in order" or face what he called the "justice of this nation", it has become ever clearer that the US is not now primarily engaged in a war against terrorism at all."

barnyards

"tv barns new tv documentary page"

pass the hat

"Campaign Inflation Industry pumped in a record 696 million dollars to elect George W. Bush and a GOP Congress. The Mother Jones 400 reveals the nation's top contributors -- and what they expect in return."

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