We saw Control Room -- a documentary about controversial Arab TV network Aljazeera -- last night. It was quite excellent, and I highly recommend it. There is a fascinating range of opinions and perspectives portrayed, from the self-described Arab nationalist journalist Hassan Ibrahim (who was invited to bring his thoughtful, level-headed commentary to the Daily Show not long ago) to veteran CNN correspondent Tom Mintier to US Central Command press officer Lieutenant Josh Rushing. The director does an excellent job of giving everyone time to speak without subtracting from the essence of what makes Aljazeera unique and essential in global media during the Iraq war.

The film has many great moments, but the most compelling for me comes quite early in the film, when Ibrahim, chatting with Iraqis at the onset of the war, responds to their gloomy demand of "who will stop the United States [and their imperialist ventures]?" by saying: "The United States will stop the United States. I have absolute faith in the Constitution of the United States, and absolute faith in the people of the United States."

If ever there were a gauntlet thrown down to democracy and peace-loving Americans to stand up and do the right thing, this is it.

Boeing and Bush

As I browsed the Aljazeera website (for the first time, I'm sad to say), I found a very intriguing article about European company Airbus and the subsidies it receives from European governments.

President Bush has told US Trade Representative Rob Zoellick to "pursue all options to end these subsidies." Why? Because they create an uneven playing field for US aerospace megacorporation Boeing! Sure, Boeing received over $17 billion in defense contracts during 2002 alone, and earlier this year won a $189 million contract for a space-based surveillance system (heaven knows how badly we need that) -- but still, Boeing just can't compete with the Europeans. (Gee, you'd kinda think that people who keep hollering about "free trade" wouldn't want any subsidies going to anyone!)

So what about the fact that the US military and space programs funnel billions to Boeing every year? Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) -- who accuses European subsidies of stealing US aerospace jobs -- says "it's a red herring," because the US spends more on its military than Europe does. And what about recent findings by the State University of New York-Buffalo which shows that Boeing's 7E7 deal with the state of Washington is in violation of World Trade Organization rules? "I don't see that as an issue at all," she said.

Amazing!


Random

Check out this incredible collection of aerial photographs. Thanks, MoFi.

So this rabbit got set on fire at a British cricket club (the sport, not the insect) but it got its revenge by running into a hut and burning $110,000 worth of equipment. TPCQ: That's no ordinary rabbit! It has big huge pointy teeth!

Meanwhile, Italy's culture ministry wants to give Robert De Niro an honorary Italian citizenship; but some Italian Americans object due to his frequent willingness to fulfill Italian mobster stereotypes. (In the upcoming DreamWorks animated epic Shark Tale, De Niro plays a shark with an Italian name who is in the underwater mafia.)

Item: Guy tries to escape police, drives into backyard pond, begins smoking crack.

And finally -- Chuck D, Davey D and other hip-hop progressives have launched Slam Bush, a mixture of rap music and political activism-making that seeks to mobilize hip-hoppers around the nation against Bush and his policies. The video is pretty well-edited, even if Wordsworth's lyrics aren't the best political lines ever penned.

TimeWaster™

Waste some time with Escapa! Click and hold the red box; drag it around without touching the walls or the moving boxes for as long as you can. My record: 32 seconds.

Today I'm listening to: Digitally Imported Goa/Psy!