drat fink
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common ground
"A great untold story of our time is the staggering privatization and abuse of dozens of resources that we collectively own. The plunder is widespread,affecting public lands, the broadcast airwaves, the Internet, the public domain of knowledge and creativity, publicly funded medicines, and even our genes. As companies quietly seize our common wealth, however, our government often fails to protect us, sometimes actually giving away our common assets."
com con
as the worldcom turns: A blog about WorldCom
girls with curls
somehow missed the rondelles. kind of a cuddlier new-wavy sleater-kinney.
far far away
my favorite music file sharing agent, audio galaxy, has succumbed to rectitude no doubt under threat of lawsuit.
dhailiwood
"Well, having met the new face of global news, it seems to me that, in TV at least, the first path is the more likely. I tried so hard to like Daljit Dhaliwal, the British presenter who has just signed a mega-contract with CNN, because, apart from anything, I really don't want to be enemy number one with the net nerds for whom she is the sexiest thing since Rosie Millard. But, boy, was she uptight. When I arrived at the station's London HQ, a press officer confided to me that she was worried the interview room was on the chilly side. Actually, the temperature was fine until Dhaliwal walked in and started treating even the most innocuous questions as personal insults."
a real kick in the pants
if only we could
rewind the clock
for with each tick
it only mocks
like drops
upon the windowpane
it rolls on down
unless in spain
but lets be plain
you cant decamp
there is a flame
but no magic lamp
or faeries wand
to fend off decay
just anarrowed sign
that reads "one way"
vietnumb
"A team of scientists is providing new evidence confirming the devastating legacy of America's chemical weapons program in Vietnam -- a legacy which officials in Washington continue to question."
woodenward
"Maybe it was inevitable that time, fame, and money would tame the aggressive reporter who broke Watergate--transforming him into a stenographer of the Washington establishment who breaks only the news the reigning powers want broken. And, to be sure, there is some value to Woodward's current role. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't call Bob Woodward's reportage what it really is. "When [the public] hear[s] ... Bob Woodward say, 'Well, according to informed sources,' what should they know about those informed sources--not the identity, but the quality of the information, the agenda or lack of agenda of the leaker?" Russert asked Woodward on Sunday. "Well, only when the opposition has a story is it called a leak," Woodward responded. "When we have a story, it's called aggressive and thorough journalism." That may have been the case thirty years ago. But with Woodward these days, it's definitely a leak."
your anchor banker
"Second, there is the Sunday Talk Show Anchor. These Sunday shows have evolved into crucial rituals of democracy in which elected and appointed officials expose themselves publicly to whatever form of humiliation the anchor and a couple of colleagues may devise. (Verbal humiliation only, so far—although CBS is said to be working on an interesting variant.) The Sunday Anchor must embody all the nation's conflicting feelings about those who exercise power over us. Contempt, deference, and bonhomie must all be on display simultaneously. NBC Meet the Press anchor Tim Russert's gift for saying, in effect, "With all due respect, Senator, you're a lying bastard. Bowling next Tuesday?"—and not any physical resemblance, which is slight at best—is why so many Americans compare his role in our national life to that of Britain's late queen mother."
word count
"That's what the offer of a "state" with no defined borders, powers, or timetable (and no right to be represented by its present leadership) is. It isn't even a bone thrown to the Palestinians. It's a picture of a bone. Bush's father was notorious for confusing the photo op of a thing ("Message: I care") with the thing itself. The son, too, seems to think that his words are equal to deeds. A month ago, when he was asked about progress in the Middle East, he noted with pride, "I gave a speech right here in the Rose Garden on April the 4th that said parties have responsibilities. … I've talked about a vision of two states." Congratulations, Mr. President. You've done it again."