October 2, 2008
Oh goody. I really needed to wake up to this news today. Its bad enough that work is sparse right now — on top of it all, the Screen Actors Guild (the film actors union) is preparing to vote on October 18th regarding whether or not the union should go on strike. It would be the second such strike this year in my industry, a strike which has been looming for many months as talks continue to break down with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
The studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, said the economy is in trouble and urged actors not to strike.
“It is unrealistic for SAG negotiators now to expect even better terms during this grim financial climate,” the AMPTP said in a statement. “This is the harsh economic reality, and no strike will change that reality.”
The SAG’s national board, a 71-member body, is scheduled to meet Oct. 18. A simple majority is needed to approve the call for a strike vote.
On the flip side, can I really blame the union for wanting to strike? The AMPTP is now attempting to pressure the union, using the economic crisis as a reason not to re-negotiate their terms. Um, okay, so…what about your other contract agreements? Are you saying that you won’t be able to honor them because the economy is in trouble?
The guild wants union coverage of all shows made for the Internet, regardless of budget, and residual payments for actors on made-for-Internet shows that are reused on the Internet. It also demands protections for actors during work stoppages.
The alliance has stuck by a final offer it made June 30, which it said mirrored deals accepted by directors, a smaller actors union called the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and writers following their strike.
Oh okay. So, AFTRA gets theirs, and DGA members (directors) get theirs, but actors don’t? That’s great for me, but not so great for our actors. I’m sorry but um…that dog won’t hunt.
I support the union in their negotiating position & hope a strike will be averted. If not, it’s going to be a bumpy autumn.
The Associated Press: Actors union moves closer to strike vote.
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September 19, 2008
A Midgett armed boarding party quickly climbed aboard the sub and found 195 bales of cocaine in a large forward compartment, authorities said.
Coast Guard cutter stops cocaine-laden submarine.
I always say, there’s nothing like an armed boarding party of Midgetts riding a submarine filled with cocaine. (HT: goldenfiddle.com)
UPDATE:
The first seizure occurred September 12…
Cocaine smugglers turn to submarines, feds say
If I had that much cocaine, my first seizure would have occurred before the submarine left.
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September 18, 2008
A couple of days ago, word came around that Governor Sarah Palin’s personal email at Yahoo! had been infiltrated by hackers who post on the internet website 4chan. Through some methodology, they had been able to compromise her email, take screenshots, and then post them before a conscientious objector to the activity changed the password back.
The invasion of the Governor’s privacy has raised a number of questions about the privacy & security of public email providers, furthering concern and speculation that such use by government officials to conduct official government business would fall outside the realms of disclosure.
Months ago, Governor Palin admitted openly to routinely having used public email, even prided herself on the choice. Now that the email has been compromised, people on all sides were given a clear, if momentary, glimpse into what amounts to, essentially, very little: nothing untoward was revealed whatsoever. Quite the contrary: it bolstered confidences of people who supported Governor Palin, both sympathetically and contextually, for using public email in her practice as governor of Alaska.
Meanwhile, the CIA and the FBI appear to have become directly involved in tracking down the people (or persons) who infiltrated the governor’s privacy, a completely appropriate action in light of who, and what, was being tampered with. Blame has been placed on someone who, in the eyes of some, must clearly be an Obama supporter — someone who wanted to blow the whistle on some form of corruption. It has stimulated response from both Republicans and Democrats, denouncing the fiendish motivations behind such actions, creating increased finger-pointing by people who were already looking for reasons to chastise one side or the other.
The media has wondered, publicly, how such an attack could have occurred. But in the media’s coverage of this debacle, a series of critical reasoning flaws and motives have been overlooked.
Chief among these logic problems, to this writer, seems simple: what if it was merely an “inside job” by the McCain camp meant to discredit Obama supporters and create a firestorm of controversy?
Continue Reading »
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September 12, 2008
Senator Barack Obama stopped in Dover, New Hampshire today to hold a forum on what his tax plan would be as President of the United States. Responding to a question from an audience member at his “Discussion on Tax Relief for the Middle Class” regarding his tendency not to engage the Republican attack ads, Obama answered by explaining, “My philosophy…is that I’m going to tell the truth.” Expressing his viewpoint, Obama invoked a sentiment that people often use, telling the audience member in no uncertain terms that he would continue to respond to false or misleading attacks by the McCain camp with a simple retort: telling the truth about who they are and what they stand for. “If you don’t stop lying about me,” Obama said, “I’m going to have to start telling the truth about YOU.”
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September 11, 2008
photo credit: Eric Paul Owens
Look: I’m not a politician. I’m just an American looking at the world through a dirty set of glasses, muddied by 8 years of waste. I’m scared that the Republican party is going to pull the same dirty trick they pulled in the 2000 election, a time when the Republicans capitalized on Al Gore’s intellect going over people’s heads, thereby alluring them to the clearly-failed policies that George Bush, Jr. would come to unleash on the American people.
In 2008, the Republicans are turning to a pinch hitter to allure people into believing that the failed policies of the Bush administration are worth hanging on to for another four years. We’ve gotten exactly what was promised, a pitbull with lipstick, one who is tough and resourceful and, to a large degree, extremely frightening.
As much as I dislike what she stands for and who she is, Sarah Palin is an ideal weapon for the Republican party to use as a boost to the unsexy, often unpalatable personality of their Presidential candidate, John McCain. She represents a smokescreen for the policies and ideals that the party stands for. She lacks a real and clear understanding of what she would be inheriting should she become President, evidenced by her first televised interview on ABC News tonight.
When I listen to her talk, I do not hear conversation about issues. I hear a confident, sexy, organized, tough opponent in her voice. I hear the desire to improve. I hear the wish to be capable of seeing through the past eight years of monstrous excess, failure, loss of life and economic turmoil. But it’s clear to me, in spite of my respect for her dynamic personality and her go-get-em attitude: she’s wrong for America in so many ways, I’d have to take off your shoes and mine to help me count them all.
The question of “The Bush Doctrine” came up in the interview and Sarah Palin was clearly unprepared to clearly state her position. She demonstrated something very important to recognize in that interview, something very telling: Sarah Palin is exceptionally smart, but more importantly, she knows how to “work it” when she gets stuck. Sarah Palin’s greatest asset, from the perspective of a viewer who (like you) was unfamiliar with her three weeks ago, is her ability to be resourceful in using her charm to manipulate a conversation to her advantage when the answers to questions are not handy. My father used to mention an old saying to me to describe situations like this — “If you can’t beat them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.”
Does this sound like anyone in our current White House?
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May 21, 2007
February 16, 2006
I’m reading through all of the top news stories right now, and I’m depressed. I don’t just mean regular “oh I’m feeling blah”, I’m seriously depressed about the state of things in the world. I know I’m not alone, I know I’m just some guy who writes on the internet for you, and I know I’m in no position to change many of the things I’m reading.
Ready to get low? Here we go. First is the NASA scientist who was told by the NASA public affairs team a few weeks ago - a team “staffed by political appointees from the Bush administration” - that he was not to speak to the media regarding the rapid melting of the Greenland ice cap and the effect it will have on sustainable sources of energy. We’re not talking a little bit of melting here, we’re talking about ice caps melting at rates dramatic enough to cause serious alarm to everyone. We didn’t listen, did we, when we were asked to find renewable sources of energy that did not burn carbon? Well, as of right now, it may be too late and it is too early to detect just how horrible of an impact this has on our planet and the life each of us enjoys on it.
Then there’s the half-empty city of New Orleans preparing to celebrate Mardi Gras — and an annual parade was cancelled because they could not get insurance.
Our Vice-President has bad aim, our President has all but destroyed our reputation in the world while we sat around and took it, we’re still at war and don’t know when we will be out, and there are no clear frontrunners for the 2008 Presidential race who can fix all the shit these men and their ilk have done to us.
What will it take to fight a pandemic that could kill as many as 142 million people? What will it take to stop the insane antics of Iran without creating more upset throughout the Muslim world? What will it take to put income and jobs back in the United States, to stop taking for granted that we are the greatest country in the world and behaving with anything resembling a graciousness that comes with the title?
Then there is my own city. Is the best thing we can do with the Pyramid to turn it into the world’s largest Bass Pro Shop? Will anyone be able to book an event in this city without being passed up by the FedEx Forum first? Is everyone so self-involved that they can’t come out to support local music anymore, or is it that everyone is just so fucking broke all the time?
Then I asked myself if I will ever be able to go an entire year without having to turn to friends for help paying my bills, to government assistance or charity to simply survive? Will I ever be able to afford health insurance? Dental insurance?
I need a glimmer of hope to come shining through all these thoughts about the world I’m living in right now. I’m encumbered with the thoughts of my own humanity, and I’m struggling with my place in all of it. But I’m trying. As the warm weather of the day turns into sleet, thunderstorms, and freezing cold, I’m perplexed and vexed about so many things. I am so small here, in the quiet of my apartment bedroom, tinkering with ways to make the lives of those around me better.
I have no answers, but I am filled with questions and respect for how tiny I must be. Bode Miller, frequently crapped on by people for his Bohemian lifestyle, said something in the wake of his disqualification in the Olympics that just rang true with me, though I don’t think it applies to me. “Fame is like a poison. I don’t care for it. I used to have a better life when I was nobody.”
But I’m going to keep it together. You do what you have to do, too.
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