Re: my mini review
I watched it twice while I was in the States. Comments within. Bryon Daly wrote: I just got back from seeing Return of the King (played hookey from work!), and seeing no one's commented on it yet, I thought I'd post some of my thoughts. I'll try to keep spoilers segregated to a separate section at the bottom for those who are concerned about that. Capsule summary: Awesome. I'm still digesting it, but I'm thinking this was the best of the three. The three LOTR-heads I saw it with felt that even more strongly than I did. There were again some deviations from the book, but they weren't as jarring as those in TTT, and for sure two of the biggest missing pieces were filmed and are certain to be included on the extended edition. Awesome is a good word, but may not be sufficient. Tolkien lovers can forget the minor deviations from the book, this final chapter is something to behold. Random thoughts: -While the beginning of the movie has a slower pace, once it gets going, it just rips along. It didn't feel like a 3 hour and 20 minute movie at all. Concur! This is a short movie. - I heard a rumor that the version of ROTK originally submitted to the MPAA was 4:40 long. That suggests a *lot* of stuff was filmed, but cut for time. Hopefully it will all show up in the extended edition. I truly hope for the entire thing to come out in the extended edition, and SOON. - The special effects were extremely impressive, and better-looking that FOTR and TTT. Some of the Minas Tirith shots that *had* to be models or matte shots looked totally real. The Battle of the Pelennor was very impressive. The battle scenes in TTT were very good, but almost pale in comparison with those in this movie. Shelob is real! - If you enjoyed Legolas' acrobatics in the last two films, he has a very cool scene in this one, less silly than the sliding-down-the-stairs-on-a-shield one at Helm's Deep. Overall, though, there seems to be less screen time for Legolas, and for Gimli as well. - Fortunately, while Gimli has some funny lines, he doesn't come across as slapstick as he did in TTT. And, blessedly, no dwarf-tossing references this time. Gimli has one tremendous line that brings an eruption of laughter during a very tense battle scene. - Bring a hanky with you. There are some very emotional scenes. Grown men can and do shed a tear. My wife and my mother (who didn't see the first two movies) were both moved to tears as well. - I just got a chill recalling the beacon-lighting scene. The cinematography is simply amazing. I simply must visit New Zealand. --- Possible spoliers below: - The Saruman scene was cut, but was filmed and PJ has stated it woul be on the EE. In the movie, Pippin still does find the palantir, gets into trouble with it, and has to leave with Gandalf, so the major course of events remains the same. - The House of Healing scene(s) was cut, but was filmed and PJ has stated it also would be on the EE. - The Scouring of the Shire was cut, and was not filmed. The Shire is in fine shape when they arrive. Despite that, the ending does not feel truncated. The movie continues for about 20 minutes past the destruction of the ring, with Aragorn's coronation, and the some Shire scenes, including Frodo and Gandalf's departure at the Grey Havens 4 years later. Even though I miss the scouring, it's a satisfying ending. I was originally upset when I heard the Scouring was not only not in the movie, but not even filmed. That part of the books is one of my very favorites. However, they did the ending (endings) well. The loose threads are tidied up nicely. You leave feeling you watched the end of the Third Age. - The Paths of the Dead are still in it, but changed a fair bit. The changes are somewhat for the worse, but not in a way that significantly changes the eventual outcome. - Some of Sam's adventure rescuing Frodo is cut out. From the way it is edited, I'm guessing a lot of it was filmed but cut for time. Sam's role as Frodo's protector is highlighted, and very touching at times. I was very gratified to see it wasn't minimized at all. One thing I got out of this, even more than in the book, was the moral strength of Sam. He really does save the day. - Gandalf's stand-off with the Witch-King at the gate of Minas Tirith is (inexplicably) cut out. My friend says he actually saw the scene in one of the previews, so it was filmed and will most likely show up in the EE. - The pukel-men are cut out. I have no idea if any of that was filmed. - If you are worried (as I was, as it's a favorite scene of mine) about Eowyn and Merry's confrontation with the Witch-King, don't be. It follows the book closely. - We get to see the whole Smeagol/Deagol ring-finding scene, with Andy Serkis (who does Gollum's voice) playing the pre-gollum Smeagol. Very cool. - The oliphants look awesome - The terrorizing
Re: Social values Survey
Robert Seeberger wrote: http://makeashorterlink.com/?C5CB22435 I fall into the Idealism and Autonomy quadrant on the graph. Me too. George A ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Another Social Values Survey
Robert Seeberger wrote: http://3sc.environics.net/surveys/3sc/main/3sc.asp I'm an Autonomous Rebel, and show a similarity to Disengaged Darwinists Reverse it for me. George A ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
WWW Inventor Knighted
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=477114 Tim Berners-Lee, the publicity-shy physicist who invented the world wide web, has been awarded a knighthood. An unsung hero of the modern age, Mr Berners-Lee is named in today's New Year's Honours List for services to the internet - creating the system that has revolutionised computer use across the globe. The system, which he devised in his spare time in 1991 while working as a researcher at the European particle research laboratory Cern, features billions of web pages used by hundreds of millions of people every day. Crucially, Mr Berners-Lee gave his invention away rather than trying to patent or restrict its use, making it possible for the web to grow at a rate never seen. Without his creation, there would be no www computer addresses, and the internet might still be the exclusive domain of a handful of computer experts. In typically modest fashion, the 48-year-old Briton was at pains yesterday to point out that he did not invent the internet itself, but instead devised a method for more easily accessing what was there. I'm very honoured, although it still feels strange. I feel like quite an ordinary person and so the good news is that it does happen to ordinary people who work on things that happen to work out, like the web, he said. Mr Berners-Lee is one of the least glitzy names in an honours list shot through with New Labour's characteristic emphasis on pop, sport and celebrity. There are CBEs for Ray Davies of The Kinks; Stephen Daldry, the director of Billy Elliot; the rock star Eric Clapton; and the best-selling children's author Philip Pullman. As in recent years, there is a strong political emphasis on public services, with knighthoods for teachers who turned around failing schools, and CBEs for nurses, cancer specialists and others in the NHS. An MBE was given to Inspector Paul Cahill, the chairman of the Gay Police Association, for helping to modernise attitudes within the police force. The entire England rugby team is honoured for its World Cup victory, with a knighthood for Clive Woodward, the head coach. Martin Johnson, the captain, is made a CBE and Jonny Wilkinson an OBE. Among the foreign and diplomatic list, one of the most interesting awards is a CMG to Alastair Crooke, the MI6 agent who acted as a link man between militant Palestinians and the Israeli Government. Harold Evans, a former editor of The Times, is knighted. The list comprises 981 names, of which 480 or 47 per cent are nominated by members of the public, slightly down on last year. Services to the community, including police and local councils, make up 30 per cent of the total, by far the biggest proportion. Business and science make up 20 per cent, education and health 10 per cent each, the arts 8 per cent and sport 7 per cent. This year's list has attracted unprecedented attention because of leaked Cabinet Office documents revealing how honours are awarded. As predicted, Tim Henman, who civil servants said would add interest to the list, is granted an OBE. Similarly, Simon Jenkins, The Times columnist whom officials said would add gravitas, is knighted. Colin Blakemore, the neuroscientist who was considered too controversial for an honour, is not included. The leaks also showed how many people in public life had rejected honours they deemed old fashioned and linked to the former British empire. Among those who turned down awards were David Bowie, Nigella Lawson and David Hockney. A review of the system is under way to overhaul the secrecy and selection methods of those suitable for awards. Tony Blair's spokeswoman said: It is important to achieve greater transparency and a greater independent input. The knighthood for Mr Berners-Lee will help to restore the credibility of the system. Although he could have made a personal fortune in the private sector, he earns an academic salary as the head of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. To a certain extent it's an acknowledgement of the profession as well, that it's useful and creditable and not a passing trend. There was a time when people felt the internet was another world, but now people realise it's a tool that we use in this world, Mr Berners-Lee said yesterday. xponent Exalted Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: WWW Inventor Knighted
On 31 Dec 2003, at 11:36 am, Robert Seeberger wrote: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=477114 Tim Berners-Lee, the publicity-shy physicist who invented the world wide web, has been awarded a knighthood. An unsung hero of the modern age, Mr Berners-Lee is named in today's New Year's Honours List for services to the internet - creating the system that has revolutionised computer use across the globe. The system, which he devised in his spare time in 1991 while working as a researcher at the European particle research laboratory Cern, features billions of web pages used by hundreds of millions of people every day. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3306767.stm Tim reunited with the computer he used to develop the www software. A NeXT cube from that nice Mr Jobs. He calls them Macs now... -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ One of the main causes of the fall of the Roman Empire was that, lacking zero, they had no way to indicate successful termination of their C programs. -- Robert Firth ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: A nail in the coffin
On 17 Dec 2003, at 3:32 am, William T Goodall wrote: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3325573.stm ...of religion French President Jacques Chirac is expected to express his support for a law that would ban pupils wearing Islamic headscarves in schools. In a speech to the nation on Wednesday, he is due to give his reaction to last week's report which proposed a ban on conspicuous religious signs in schools. The study by an expert commission examined a range of issues relating to religion and the state in France. Religious leaders say the ban would be seen as discriminatory. As well as headscarves, the ban would include Jewish skull-caps and large Christian crosses. Discreet medallions and pendants which merely confirm a person's religious faith would be allowed. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/12/31/ wscarf31.xml Grand Mufti condones French headscarf ban By Henry Samuel in Paris (Filed: 31/12/2003) The head of the biggest university in Islam yesterday backed France's drive to ban the Muslim headscarf in its schools, despite it being condemned by the Arab world. Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, the Grand Mufti of the al-Azhar mosque in Cairo and the foremost authority in Sunni Islam, said France had the right to pass a law banning all conspicuous religious symbols in state schools and institutions. Wearing the headscarf was a divine obligation for all Muslim women that no governing Muslim could deny, he said in a joint press conference with Nicolas Sarkozy, France's interior minister. But, he added, that obligation only applied if the woman lives in a Muslim country. He quoted verses from the Koran stipulating that any Muslim who conforms to the laws of a non-Muslim country need not fear divine punishment. Until yesterday the sheikh had remained silent over the issue, describing it as an internal French affair. -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my telephone. My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone. - Bjarne Stroustrup -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my telephone. My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone. - Bjarne Stroustrup ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Happy New Year
2004 ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: gnat cams!
Responding to my own post 8^P d.brin wrote: So much for a prop beloved of sci-fi authors such as Neal Stephenson (in 'The Diamond Age') and David Brin (in 'Kil'n People') (:-)} And Greg Egan in Quarantine. But I wouldn't give up hope quite yet. I'll bet the thing didn't have an on board microprocessor... I completely forgot about Banks - he uses them in CP and probably elsewhere. -- Doug ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Happy New Year
Ray wrote: 2004 Well, Happy New Year to you in another 15 hours or so. 8^) -- Doug Rou Regime Change! ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Happy New Year
In a message dated 12/31/2003 10:03:53 AM US Mountain Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Ray wrote: 2004 Well, Happy New Year to you in another 15 hours or so. 8^) -- Doug Quick, somebody on the list move to New Zealand by next Dec 31st to deflate Ray's pride of being first. Vilyehm ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
That book collection may be hazardous to your health . . .
Man trapped under mountain of books, papers NEW YORK (AP) --A man who says he sells books and magazines on the street was rescued after being trapped for two days under a mountain of reading material in his apartment. Patrice Moore, 43, had apparently been standing up when the books, catalogs, mail and newspapers swamped him on Saturday. Firefighters and neighbors rescued Moore on Monday afternoon and he was hospitalized in stable condition Tuesday morning with leg injuries. I didn't think I was gonna get out, Moore told the New York Post, adding that he called for help repeatedly. His landlord discovered him Monday after coming to the apartment to give Moore a small loan and heard a strange voice inside. The landlord pried the door open with a crowbar, found Moore trapped and alerted the fire department. The apartment was stuffed from wall to wall and floor to ceiling with stacks of paper. Emergency workers and neighbors dug through the debris to reach Moore, filling 50 garbage bags with paper. He was freed about a half hour later, said Fire Department spokesman Paul Iannizzotto. Moore, a former mailroom clerk now receiving public assistance, said he collected books and magazines for more than 10 years and earned money by selling them on the street. The incident recalled the legendary case of the Collyer brothers, who in 1947 were discovered dead in their house in Harlem after one of them became trapped under a pile of papers and the other died of starvation. Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Northeast/12/30/man.trapped.ap/index.html ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
SCOUTED: PowerPoint Is Evil And Must Be Destroyed . . .
Does PowerPoint make us stupid? Rock star David Byrne turns PowerPoint into art SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) --David Byrne, an accomplished composer, photographer and lead singer of Talking Heads, has evolved -- some would say devolved -- into an unlikely artistic medium: PowerPoint. Best known for vocals in Psycho Killer and Burning Down the House, Byrne originally intended to spoof the ubiquitous software as a dumbed-down form of expression between communication-addled business executives. But after spending several hours designing a mock slide show, Byrne became intrigued. He decided to experiment with PowerPoint as an artistic medium -- and ponder whether it shapes how we talk and think. In his book and DVD compilation, Envisioning Emotional Epistemological Information, Byrne twists PowerPoint from a marketing tool into a multimedia canvas, pontificating that the software's charts, graphs, bullet points and arrows have changed communication styles. I just got carried away and started making stuff, Byrne said. It communicates within certain limited parameters really well and very easily. The genius of it is that it was designed for any idiot to use. I learned it in a few hours, and that's the idea. The 96-page compilation, which debuted in September for $80, is best described as a coffee table book for nerds. The initial printing run of 1,500 copies sold out by mid-December. The book includes mostly lucid musings on how PowerPoint has ushered in the end of reason, with pictures of bar charts gone hideously astray, fields of curved arrows that point at nothing, disturbing close-ups of wax hands and eyebrows, and a photo of Dolly the cloned sheep enclosed by punctuation brackets. The 20-minute DVD, encased in the navy blue hardback cover, features the same abstractions in motion. Byrne wrote most of the music. Byrne, 51, who was born in Scotland but has spent most of his adulthood in New York, said the compilation wasn't meant as a serious statement about anything. But by fixating on PowerPoint, Byrne -- idolized by millions as a rock star for intellectuals -- has stoked a fierce debate. Visual artists say Microsoft Corp.'s popular slideware -- which makes it easy to incorporate animated graphics and other entertainment into presentations -- lulls people into accepting pablum over ideas. Foes say PowerPoint's ubiquity perverts everything from elementary school reports to NASA's scientific theses into sales pitches with bullet points and stock art. One of the Internet's inventors, Vint Cerf, gets laughs from audiences by quipping, Power corrupts and PowerPoint corrupts absolutely. Cerf, now an MCI executive and chairman of the Internet's key oversight body, doesn't shun PowerPoint completely, but said avoiding it actually improves communication because people have to listen rather than being distracted by fancy PowerPoint charts. Edward R. Tufte, a Yale University professor and author of graphic design book Envisioning Information, is perhaps the most vocal PowerPoint hater. He believes PowerPoint's emphasis on format over content commercializes and trivializes subjects. In a Wired magazine editorial in September titled PowerPoint Is Evil, Tufte compared PowerPoint presentations to a school play: very loud, very slow, and very simple. Peter Norvig, 46, engineering director at Google Inc., is generally credited with creating the first PowerPoint parody in 1999, when he published an online slideshow of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. The spoof, which by Norvig's estimate has been viewed by at least 500,000 people, includes bullet points such as unfinished work (great tasks), new birth of freedom and government not perish. Norvig, who recently ordered a copy of Byrne's compilation for himself, said Byrne is wading in treacherous waters. People are asking whether, ultimately, PowerPoint makes us all stupid, or does it help us streamline our thoughts? said Norvig, who first saw Talking Heads in the late '70s. My belief is that PowerPoint doesn't kill meetings. People kill meetings. But using PowerPoint is like having a loaded AK-47 on the table: You can do very bad things with it. Microsoft spokesman Simon Marks wouldn't comment on whether PowerPoint has debased society but said in an e-mail, PowerPoint continues to evolve to make it easier for customers to present their information in the style that best suits the content and the audience. Byrne, a Tufte admirer who attended the Rhode Island School of Design, writes that PowerPoint's subtle sets of biases indoctrinate users to speak -- and think -- simply. But the overall tone of this compilation is somewhat like a sales pitch -- whimsical and upbeat. Byrne is unapologetic about liking PowerPoint. Software constraints are only confining if you use them for what they're intended to be used for, Byrne said in a phone interview. PowerPoint may not be of any use for you in a
Re: He was the train we did not catch
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], William T Goodall [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 30 Dec 2003, at 10:06 pm, Jan Coffey wrote: --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], William T Goodall [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: http://www.scifi.com/sfw/current/excess.html He missed the train. So did we. He was the train we did not catch. I have no idea if this will get to anyone on the list. I am back, as it were, but I am hopeing I can participate through yahoo. Let's see So where were we? He missed the train. So did we. He was the train we did not catch. Oh no, he and others made the train, pixle by pixle, if not all at once. We didn't miss the train, we just got off here at this station. But there will be another soon, if you want. Why not get on that one, and ride it down the line? The future has not yet arived, you still have time to make it. The conductor is allways calling, all you have to do is step aboard. Ah, but that was the *wrong* train... Clute's point was that Heinlein's best writing years were spent under censorship, and by the time he came out from under that he was a spent force. Of course he wrote some great genre SF during the censored years - _Citizen of the Galaxy_ , _Tunnel in the Sky_ and such - but those were juveniles. If he could have written to that standard with the adult themes he managed to bring in in the 70's he would have created some truly impressive work. Like John Varley 30 years early or something :) I'n0 but what I ment was that Clute's point is only a choice we now make. We can pick up there and move forward down that line if we want to. There is nothing stoping us. True, Heinlein will not be the conductor, but that doesn't mean we can't take the same train. We didn't miss it, we just got off. Besides, it's not like the influence wasn't there. It just wasn't ever available in paperback. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Earth Travel Time on Schedule - clocks and relativity
Atomic-based Coordinated Universal Time was implemented in 1972, superseding the astronomically determined Greenwich Mean Time. This reminds me of a neat book I read recently Einstein's Clocks and Poincare's Maps by Peter Galison. He places the discovery of relativity within an historical context that I had never heard about: The late 19th century international effort to define precisely and unify time for all users. Galison discusses the political struggles over how time would be unified in particular with reference to france england and the US. The need for uniform time was mostly to keep railroad schedules accurate so that trains did not collide but time precision and unification became something of a fad. Poincare was the ultimate insider heavily involved in french naitonal efforts to unify time in a way that paid due credit to his country. He was mainstay of the french rationalist tradition that had successfully instituted the uniform measures of the metric system. He had been involved in the bureau of mines. He was the french ideal of polytechnician - an engineer mentality that sought solutions to concrete problems. But of course he was also one of the greatest mathematicians physicians and philosophers science of the 19th century. He came to relativity from both a practical and theoretical position that enabled him to solve the problem but only within the context of traditional science which he did not seek to overthrow. So he kept the either and he kept the concept of an absolute time but they were without consequence. Like Einstein he dealt with and solved the problem of simultaneity by making all measurements relative to each other. Einstein was the ultimate outsider. He was seeking to overthrow the old. But like Poincare he was encased in a culture that was obsessed with time. Einstein was a file clerk in the patent office of Bern. This is usually described as lowly and I had always assumed that this was a beurocratic position. Not according to Galison. The file clerks were all well trained physicists who reviewed the patents with a very critical eye. Einstein's boss taught him how to look for every assumption. Much of the work of the patent office had to do with clocks so Einstein was emmersed in time at work as well as in his thoughts. I do not do justice to the book (although he does spend more time than I needed on railway time measurement). A very neat perspective ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Scouted: Only those who sacrificed...
http://www.workingforchange.com/comic.cfm?itemid=16205 Tom Beck www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed I'd see the last. - Dr Jerry Pournelle ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Mexican Diplomat Charged With Helping Smuggle Arabs Into U.S.
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=2716 The real life horror story that began eighteen months ago when an Arab illegal alien named Youseff Balaghi showed up at a San Diego hospital, dying from what the Border Patrol initiallyand erroneouslyfeared was radiation sickness, has now reached high into Mexico's foreign service. On Sept. 11, 2001, Imelda Ortiz Abdala was Mexico's consul in Lebanon. On Nov. 12, 2003, Mexican authorities arrested her, according to the Associated Press, on charges of helping a smuggling ring move Arab migrants into the United States from Mexico. The AP said Mexico had also arrested alleged ring leader Salim Boughader Mucharafille. Boughader earlier pleaded guilty in the U.S. to the smuggling incident that resulted in Balaghi's death. Unfortunately, this story is not over. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Skerlos prosecuted Boughader. This week, citing Ortiz's arrest, I asked him if there were other rings still bringing Middle Easterners in from Mexico. Yes, he said. Another Front Far from Iraq, there's another front where the terror war's not over. It's on our own borderand, here, the key enemies are the smugglers who bring people such as Balaghi into California, and who collaborate with allegedly corrupt officials such as Ortiz. In congressional testimony in 2002, then-Assistant Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Joseph Greene said: Information available to the INS indicates terrorist organizations often use human smuggling operations to move around the globe. According to a Library of Congress study, Organized Crime and Terrorist Activity in Mexico, 1999-2002, former Mexican national security adviser Adolfo Aguilar Zinser said in May 2001: Spanish and Islamic terrorist groups are using Mexico as a refuge. How is the U.S. countering the threat of terrorists using human smuggling operations and finding refuge in Mexico? Rather than securing our border generally, the government tolerates large-scale illegal immigration, while trying to selectively stop the smuggling operations most likely to move terrorists. The administration, Greene told Congress, has put in place an enforcement initiative aimed at targeting alien smuggling organizations specializing in the movement of U.S.-bound aliens from countries that are of interest to the national security of the United States. Balaghi was from Lebanon. On June 5, 2002, he showed up, vomiting blood, at Scripps Memorial Hospital-Chula Vista. He quickly died. When the Border Patrol heard his symptoms, they feared radiation sicknessand dispatched an agent with a detector to check his remains. Balaghi was clean. But he was far from the only Middle Easterner Boughader's ring had smuggled. In an affidavit, Border Patrol Agent John R. Korkin said an investigation positively identified at least 80 Lebanese nationals that have been, or were intercepted in the process of being, smuggled into the U.S. by the ring. Boughader admitted in court to smuggling more than 100. He was sentenced to one year in prison, and deported to Mexico in November. Almost immediately, Mexican authorities arrested him in their own anti-smuggling case. A few days later, they arrested Ortiz. She had worked in Mexico's foreign service for 25 years. From 1998 to October 2001, AP reported, she was Mexico's consul in Lebanon. She later directed the consular office in Mexico City. She was fired in May, AP said, after 150 Mexican passports were stolen and two others were found to have been issued irregularly. Jose Santiago Vasconcelos, Mexico's assistant attorney general, told Notimex that Boughader's ring moved a great number of Arabs into the United States. El Occidental, a Mexican newspaper, said it was at least 200. I asked Skerlos to compare that number to the at least 80 Lebanese nationals cited in Korkin's affidavit I think it is fair to say that the numbers we included in our affidavit were conservative, he said. Almost a month after Ortiz was arrested, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said: The bottom line is, as a country we have to come to grips with the presence of 8 to 12 million illegals, afford them some kind of legal status some way, but also as a country decide what our immigration policy is and then enforce it. No, Mr. Secretary. We already have immigration laws. It's your duty to enforce them. If the arrest of a Mexican diplomat for helping to smuggle Arabs into the U.S. can't convince you of the need for that, what will? xponent Gone South Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: my mini review
In a message dated 12/31/2003 6:07:05 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: The Scouring of the Shire was cut, and was not filmed. The Shire is in fine shape when they arrive. Despite that, the ending does not feel truncated. The movie continues for about 20 minutes past the destruction of the ring, with Aragorn's coronation, and the some Shire scenes, including Frodo and Gandalf's departure at the Grey Havens 4 years later. Even though I miss the scouring, it's a satisfying ending. I was originally upset when I heard the Scouring was not only not in the movie, but not even filmed. That part of the books is one of my very favorites I am glad they removed the scouring. I thought it was a stupid anti-climax in the book. Hell they have beaten Sauron and the hobbits are the heroes of middle earth. How could they not get rid of Saurimon and his henchmen? It is also an incredibly heavy handed anti-industrial screed. I know that this is the subtext of the book but it can be ignored if one chooses to. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Weekly Chat Reminder
This is just a quick reminder that the Wednesday Brin-L chat is scheduled for 3 PM Eastern/2 PM Central time in the US, or 7 PM Greenwich time, about five-and-a-half hours ago. There will probably be somebody there to talk to for at least eight hours after the start time. See my instruction page for help getting there: http://www.brin-l.org/brinmud.html __ Steve Sloan . Huntsville, Alabama = [EMAIL PROTECTED] Brin-L list pages .. http://www.brin-l.org Chmeee's 3D Objects http://www.sloan3d.com/chmeee 3D and Drawing Galleries .. http://www.sloansteady.com Software Science Fiction, Science, and Computer Links Science fiction scans . http://www.sloan3d.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Science Fiction In General
From: Travis Edmunds [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Calculating God (Robert J Sawyer/Anyone heard of him or the book?/He has won a Nebula) This is sitting on my pile of to-be-read books. I thought my pile was large, with about 40 or so sitting on the shelf, but it's dwarfed by Julia's pile. (Julia - where do you store all of them?) _ Worried about inbox overload? Get MSN Extra Storage now! http://join.msn.com/?PAGE=features/es ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: my mini review
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In a message dated 12/31/2003 6:07:05 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I was originally upset when I heard the Scouring was not only not in the movie, but not even filmed. That part of the books is one of my very favorites I am glad they removed the scouring. I thought it was a stupid anti-climax in the book. Hell they have beaten Sauron and the hobbits are the heroes of middle earth. How could they not get rid of Saurimon and his henchmen? It is also an incredibly heavy handed anti-industrial screed. I know that this is the subtext of the book but it can be ignored if one chooses to. I'm with George - I like the scouring a lot and don't find it anti-climactic. To me, the SotS does two cool things: 1) It really highlights how much Frodo pals have changed over the course of the story. They are not even close to being the same people they were before they left. 2) They solve the problem themselves, using their own leadership and courage, and facing down their enemy. That's the crux of it. They could *easily* have withdrawn, gotten word to Gandalf, Elrond, Aragorn or even Eomer and had a large army ride in to get rid of the bad guys (or maybe Gandalf himself do it). Heck, those guys would be *obligated* to provide that kind of help if asked for it, given the hobbit's contributions! Instead, they choose to handle it themselves, despite the very real danger: while they *are* the heroes of middle earth, no one in the Shire really knew/cared about that, and that fact alone certainly wouldn't solve the problem for them, or prevent Saruman's much-larger men from trying to kill them. To me, the hobbits prove themselves and how far they've grown, by making this choice. The anti-industrial angle doesn't bother me at all. It's a running theme that Saruman is a spoiler of nature, so it's no surprise he'd do the same to the Shire. But then, The Lorax is one of my favorite stories, so maybe that disqualifies me from judgement on this. -bryon Maybe Saruman was manufacturing thneeds in the Shire? Maru _ Take advantage of our limited-time introductory offer for dial-up Internet access. http://join.msn.com/?page=dept/dialup ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Victorian Gollum
In answer to zMUD question of ever having seen Andy Sirkis, Gollum/Smeagol, in anything else, he was in Topsy-Turvy as the chicken walking Choregrapher. Something I would have never realized without IMDB. William Taylor - Off for a libation at the Coal Hole. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
A Chink in the Armor
http://www.forbes.com/technology/newswire/2003/12/31/rtr1195252.html Apple users threaten to sue over iBook, iPod The difficulties stem from the iBook's logic board, or motherboard, users say in discussion forums and on message boards -- including boards on Apple's own Web site. Many users report replacement units have the same problems with display and video output. and Meanwhile, a video making the rounds of the Internet shows a man spray-painting the message IPod's unreplaceable battery lasts only 18 months on iPod posters. The filmmaker, Casey Neistat, said in a note on his Web site, ipodsdirtysecret.com, that he decided to make the film after his unit essentially died in September and he was told the battery could not be replaced. Subsequently, Apple has begun offering a $99 battery replacement service. -- Doug ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Happy New Year, All
Unless you are west of here . . . -- Ronn in Birmingham, AL :) ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: my mini review
Bryon wrote: The anti-industrial angle doesn't bother me at all. It's a running theme that Saruman is a spoiler of nature, so it's no surprise he'd do the same to the Shire. But then, The Lorax is one of my favorite stories, so maybe that disqualifies me from judgement on this. I don't really see it as ant-industrial. First of all, Sharky's regime is a brutal dictatorship run by a collection of the worst of the Shire and mercenaries from elsewhere, so it's really anti authoritarian. Secondly, the excesses taken in industrial arena are well beyond the pale - they arent just building a manufacturing capability, they are raping the land, so its really anti _irresponsible_ industry. Do we think that if Tolkien had his way there would be no mill at all, or would there be a mill that operated in such a manner that it did not sully the landscape and pollute the stream? I'd argue the latter. -- Doug ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Science Fiction In Music
Jim wrote: Personally, I'm Going for the One. But that's just me. Great, now I'll have that song going through my head for weeks. :-) By the way, studio version or the version from YesShows? Reggie Bautista Get in the way as the tons of water Racing with you crashing thru the rudder Once at the start can you gamble That you really surely really mean to finish After seeing all your sense of fear diminish As you treat danger a pure collection As you throw away misconceptions Going for the one Going for the one ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Happy New Year, All
On Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:18:17 -0600, Ronn!Blankenship [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Unless you are west of here . . . I imagine us'ns out here on the left coast will be the last to celebrate, unless we have someone in Hawaii or Alaska. It's still an hour and fifteen minutes away here. -- Doug GCU Or American Samoa, I Guess ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
