drat fink

are you ready for some football?

"SEOUL, South Korea -- Two French-made, portable land-to-air missiles will be deployed outside South Korean stadiums during World Cup games to prevent possible terror attacks.

Military jets will patrol the skies over the stadiums during the tournament, Air Force spokesman 1st Lt. Kim Ki-ho said Monday. The Air Force will make sure jets noise does not affect matches, he said.

The security plans are the latest in a series of measures being planned by South Korea officials to safeguard their portion of the tournament, to be played from May 31 to June 30.

Five French special police force members arrived in Seoul on Monday for five days of joint training with their South Korean counterparts that will include hostage rescue operations.

South Korean police will make a return visit to the French special police forces headquarters near Paris next month. France was host to the 1998 World Cup.

The U.S. team will play its three first-round matches in South Korea. South Korea has set up an anti-terrorism unit and imposed no-fly zones for non-Air Force planes over World Cup stadiums and nuclear power plants during the tournament."

the company line

"Tim then asked Condi about VP Cheney's mission to twelve Middle East and Arab countries. Condi admitted that Iraq will be a major topic of conversation -- and claimed that President Bush has made no decisions about Iraq before launching into a tirade about Iraq's unacceptable behavior.

With the Middle East on fire, said Tim, it's not plausible to mount an attack on Iraq anyway. Condi claimed that the Israel-Palestine dynamic is independent, and the status quo in Iraq is unacceptable."

"1. Reject any linkage between the present Arab war on Israel and the coming American war on Iraq's dictator. Saddam Hussein's game is to get pan-Arab support by embracing Palestinian terrorists; he has awarded over 60 "martyrdom" checks of about $10,000 each to the families of suicide bombers."

coke adds life

"All this leaves Coke a bit dazed. The old corporate strategy -- Here's your Coke. Now drink up!'' -- is no longer viable. When Douglas Daft took over as C.E.O. from Ivester two years ago, he understood that they couldn't put their feet up in Atlanta anymore and watch as Coke Classic romped across the globe. The new approach is something more akin to ''How may we surround you with a broad range of products, one of which may happen to catch your fancy?''

and by 'we' i mean 'someone else'

"House Majority Whip Tom DeLay is unfazed by negative remarks Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, made about him and Senate Republican leader Trent Lott, after they criticized Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle for his complaints and questions about the war on terrorism.

Mr. Kerry, a prospective presidential candidate, said of the two Republican leaders: "One of the lessions I learned in Vietnam, a war they did not have to endure, those who try to stifle the vibrancy of our democracy and shield policies from scrutiny behind a false cloak of patriotism miss the real value of what our troops defend and how we best defend our troops. We will ask questions, and we will defend our democracy."

In an interview on CNN's "Saturday Edition with Jonathan Karl," Mr. DeLay, Texas Republican, said: "The last I remember, Sen. John Kerry was against the war in Vietnam, even though he served in it, and went around the country undermining the military overseas in trying to fight this war and giving aid to those that were trying to run the war from Washington, D.C."

Mr. DeLay added: "If we had had the leadership of a George W. Bush back in the Vietnam War days, we probably would not have lost that war. We would have gone in and won it. We would have given our soldiers the kinds of weapons that they needed. We would not have the rules of engagement that the liberals put on them. We would have allowed them to win the war."

eye in the sky

"The nation's cell phone service providers will soon know exactly where every one of their customers is, at all times, and privacy rights groups are asking what they plan to do with the information."

back of the line

"Why Disney went after Letterman and snubbed Koppel: Inside the tizzy over the future of TV news"

watered down beers

"If they are angry, as millions clearly are, it's because they have seen those promises betrayed by U.S. policy. Despite President Bush's insistence that America's enemies resent its liberties, most critics of the U.S. don't actually object to America's stated values. Instead, they point to U.S. unilateralism in the face of international laws, widening wealth disparities, crackdowns on immigrants and human rights violations--most recently in Guantanamo Bay. The anger comes not only from the facts of each case but also from a clear perception of false advertising. In other words, America's problem is not with its brand--which could scarcely be stronger--but with its product."

marked green

"Back then some Greens said, "there's no difference between Democrats and Republicans." This was campaign rhetoric -- broadstroked political shorthand. It meant that the Democratic Leadership Committee/Brothel had compromised the former party of the people into an almost unrecognizable shambles. But most Naderites understood that the Democrats were the far lesser of two evils. We knew that Gore would appoint better judges and less insane cabinet members. We knew that Gore would at least maintain a casual relationship with the Bill of Rights."

a real american hero

"Eventually, I somehow became typed as a variety show writer and wrote many a special or series in that dying genre, thereby hastening its demise. Most of them were for the legendary Sid and Marty Krofft and included the infamous Pink Lady and Jeff, which toplined two Japanese ladies who spoke almost no English, and a series with the Bay City Rollers, who spoke English but were no more intelligible.

I also started writing cartoon shows: Scooby Doo, Plastic Man, Thundarr the Barbarian, The Trollkins, ABC Weekend Special, CBS Storybreak, Rickety Rocket, Superman: The Animated Series and many others. I story-edited Richie Rich for a couple of years, wrote the pilots for Dungeons & Dragons, The Wuzzles and a few series from which I removed my name. Somewhere in there, I wrote That's Incredible! for three years and a whole lotta material for stand-up comedians."

alternetting a profit

"I have never been enthusiastic about Alternet's charging of a usurious 50 percent fee for the articles it resells. But until now, Alternet has been the only game in town. It has had near monopoly status as a syndication agency for a particular niche of "alternative" news. But, as with other monopolies, Alternet has grown fat in abusing its position in a manner that now causes more harm than good."