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True, but how does that explain his 3-star reviews of SPEED 2 and CONGO?

Ebert also gave Ep. I 3.5 stars saying that it does a good job at setting up the story for the other movies in the prequel trilogy. For some kicks, check out the Ep. I review here. So while I think Ep. III will be a good movie, I would take his reviews with a grain of salt.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/graphics/roger_home .jpg

Who does he think he's kidding?

He gave it Three and a Half Stars.
Phantom Menace also got Three and a Half.

I like and respect Ebert's reviews and opinions, but with any movie that is based primarily on visuals you have to take his comments with a grain of salt. When a movie is visually stunning he tends to rate it high even when nothing else about the movie is good. Take for example his review of the terrible Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Notice that he also gave it 3 and a half stars.

I personally don't feel amazing visual effects trumps a poor acting/writing/directing job, although it's clear in many cases that Ebert does.

I mean, come on, he gave a great review to the universally panned Phantom Menace, and an equally good review to the moldy cheese production of Anaconda. I like Ebert but this guy is not a barometer to a film's quality. Leave that to Rotten Tomatoes (which looks to be positive so far).

I mean, come on, he gave a great review to the universally panned Phantom Menace, and an equally good review to the moldy cheese production of Anaconda. I like Ebert but this guy is not a barometer to a film's quality. Leave that to Rotten Tomatoes (which looks to be positive so far).

Same as he gave The Phantom Menace. Make of it what you will.

Also, the Ebert & Roeper review (mp3) is pretty good.

Now, about the picture on the review - is Tion Medon The Mouth of Sauron demasked?

But clicking on the submitted link is worth it just for the headline picture and the funny caption.

Use your Google Toolbar to help Folding@HOME

They were other examples where they left in the setup for the jokes but cut out the punchlines.

There's a reason why Ford is loading up on beer and peanuts at the pub in the last few minutes for earth. He tells Arthur to dig in but never says why. (AIRC, you need to be hydrated to for beaming up to the ship.)

At the end they have Slartibartfast repeatedly saying, "Do you need anything else?" to seemingly, no one. The mice are supposed to answer each time, "That will be ALL, Slartibartfast!" telling us who placed the order. Never happens in the movie.

I had the strong feeling we could see the hand of the Disney suits telling them to keep up the pace and make sure the movie doesn't run more than the exhibitor-friendly 1:50.

I agree with Ebert and Roeper that they could have used more of the perspective of those who hadn't immersed themselves in Adams' world so it would be a bit clearer to mere civilians. That said, I took the GF to the movie after giving her a quick briefing and showing her Marvin on the movie site. She laughed out loud at Marvin. She loved the movie and said she wasn't lost.

They were obviously setting up for the "Restaurant at the End of the Universe" sequel. Let's hope the movie makes enough so the sequel happens.

People with good memories for the book might find the movie funny because their minds fill in the missing dialogue. But as Ebert says, to someone who doesn't already know the book, its not funny.
Whats interesting is that the movie does have some of the funniest scenes from the book, but those scenes just don't work. Partly because the persectives are different. Being inside the head of a newly born whale as it plummets to earth is funny, but watching a graphic of it hit the ground isn't funny.

Other things were just poorly done, for example, the babble fish. They actually do cut to the Guide to explain what a babblefish does, but totally skip the part about God disappearing in a puff of logic. So the scene is not funny at all save maybe a little slapstick about putting a fish in Authur's ear.

Sadly, this movie is exactly what you expect from Hollywood doing a foriegn movie, dumbed down to the point of irrelevance.

Two words. Vieux Boulogne

CPUs have stalled out at about 4ghz overall clocking, cutting edge transistors seem to be hitting a wall at about 500-600ghz.

Now granted faster gate transitions make for faster CPUs, but multiple gate operations are necessary for each state change, add signaling and propagation delay and who knows what you can really clock the CPU at (I am not an Electrical Engineer).

Here is a page link claiming a record 562ghz transistor switching in Oct. 2002 article

here is another claimed record of 509ghz, Nov, 2003 article
Obviously at odds with the 2002 anoucment. Undoubtedly it should narrow its claim for a specific transistor type.

Here is a U of I annoucment calming a record 382 ghz Jan. 30, 2003 article
But expects 700ghz by early 2004 (I'm guessing they didn't make it).

Lets assume 562ghz in 2002, so we - drum roll please --- 7.5% increase in speed in 2 ½ years!

This is not going to keep Moore's Law humming along.

Even stranger, here are claims of TerraHertz transistors at Intel in 2002 article

Ironically, while googling for transistor or gate speed will show hundreds of hits, you can't actually find the switching speed for individual gates in a P4 or AMD chip. This stuff seems to be super secret stuff, and only the overall CPU clock it published. I wouldn't be surprised if the individual gates and transistors are transitioning at several dozens of ghz if not a couple of hundred or more. While Moore's Law death claims may have been premature 10 and 20 years ago, they may not be now.

I hope I'm wrong, I want my Holodeck Playstation 5 in 2015.

Yeah, things look great:

http://www.suntimes.com/output/steyn/cst-edt-steyn 27.html

"For what it's worth, I incline to the latter position. Europe's problems -- its unaffordable social programs, its deathbed demographics, its dependence on immigration numbers that no stable nation (not even America in the Ellis Island era) has ever successfully absorbed -- are all of Europe's making. By some projections, the EU's population will be 40 percent Muslim by 2025. Already, more people each week attend Friday prayers at British mosques than Sunday service at Christian churches -- and in a country where Anglican bishops have permanent seats in the national legislature.

Some of us think an Islamic Europe will be easier for America to deal with than the present Europe of cynical, wily, duplicitous pseudo-allies. But getting there is certain to be messy, and violent.

Until the shape of the new Europe begins to emerge, there's no point picking fights with the terminally ill. The old Europe is dying, and Mr. Bush did the diplomatic equivalent of the Oscar night lifetime-achievement tribute at which the current stars salute a once glamorous old-timer whose fading aura is no threat to them. The 21st century is being built elsewhere."

are there any places where it's being offered for free like their music service in some colleges http://www.suntimes.com/output/tech/cst-nws-dorm03 .html

I found it here, Roger Ebert's review of "Aliens of the Deep".

The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, which supposedly didn't want to show "Volcanoes of the Deep Sea", is showing Aliens of the Deep.

The Charleston Science Museum is also showing Aliens of the Deep.

"Cosmic Voyage" is from 1996. It's perhaps the biggest zoom shot of all time, starting from the quark level and zooming out to the entire universe over 35 minutes. It wasn't controversial at the time, and it doesn't seem to be that controversial now. Just dated. It's basically a remake of Powers of Ten, by Charles and Ray Eames.

Galapagos is playing at the IMAX in Fort Lauderdale, FL, along with two other IMAX theaters in the US. It's from 1999. Nobody seems to be that wound up about it.

It looks like some casual comment by the marketing guy for the museum in Fort Worth has been blown up out of proportion.

The big problem with "Volcanoes of the Deep Ocean" may be that it's "too educational". There's a teacher's guide, with quizzes and homework assignments. And really, there's a glut of undersea IMAX movies.

That's interesting that you should mention that, in light of this recent news:

The obesity epidemic is on the verge of causing a stunning reversal in life expectancy, a new study predicts.

If trans fats were all that bad, we'd have noticed many decades ago.

A fair point, and I'm not the one to say that trans fats are the reason for the above ( even assuming it is credible). But certainly obesity is a big (no pun intended) public health problem in the US, and "hidden" trans fats may well be part of that.

At least, it might be good to consider how much longer our potentional life spans might be if we could properly manage our intake of trans fats. I tend to believe that people in general oversimplify things: fat is not "bad", rather it's a necessary part of the diet; same for carbohydrates, sugars, etc. Even cholesterol probably belongs in this category. Moderation, IMHO, is key. It's just hard to moderate what you can't monitor. It's also hard enough to deal with obesity without being hobbled by a complete ignorance of an important contrary factor.

Of course, being very moderate about Oreo cookies is probably a wise choice in any event. :O)

I think the custom sections need more options.

It currently allows you to narrow your search down to one existing section. It would be nice to be able to select multiple sections to search from; for example, I created an "Apple" section, and I would like to be able to pull the results from both "sci/tech" and "business". Instead I'm stuck putting it in "All Sections", and the number one story is "Golden Apple Wows Teacher".

I would also like to be able to filter out stories with certain keywords. I created a "Music" section, and I would like to get rid of stories that contain the phrase "face the music" (most of them not being music-related). Even when the search is narrowed down to the entertainment section, I'm still seeing results about Dan Rather. And I wouldn't mind being able to get rid of the Michael Jackson stories.

I'm not concerned about the legislation at all. Any wireless network will not be operated by the City. It will go to a city contractor--like everything else here in Chicago. You have to remember that Chicago is a city where you have contractors that do nothing but sit in trucks.

I am also not worried about the telco's blocking a city-wide network. If Daley can completely ignore the FAA, I think he can handle the telco's and the FCC.

He died in jail.

Just FYI - he recut the movie and supposedly improved it quite a bit. Link to Ebert's review of the re-cut version.
"Make no mistake: The Cannes version was a bad film, but now Gallo's editing has set free the good film inside. "

Actually, the wooshing sound was probably from Judge Donald Thomson's court in nearby Chicago...

I suggest you take a look at this site Operation Self Defense that is collecting published news stories of individuals who have used a firearm to defend themselves. You may be quite surprised by the number of stories present and the fact that they are only from the last SIX months. And as stated that's the number of published stories, there are and estimated average of 100,000 to 2.5 million Defensive Gun uses in the US every year as sited by 13 different studies and lets not forget the latest study by the National Academy of Sciences. Compare that to the Brady Campaign's claim of an average of 30,000 deaths a year in the US that involved a firearm and that over 50% of those are suicides and only 3% are considered accidental leaving less than 15,000 deaths a year. Even using the lowest estimates there are almost 7 times the number of people saved from injury or death than killed by firearms every year and only 1 in seven of those defensive uses results in the defender actually firing the gun!

So, please, before making such statements as you have you should review the data and understand that beliefs are completely irrational and unfounded. Instead you should look into taking a firearms training course and learning to defend yourself so that if, God forbid, you should ever be faced with such an occurrence you are capable of defending your life and the lives of those around you instead of being a victim at the hands of those that wish to cause you harm.

"Instead of paying one star 20 million for a picture why not pay 200 actors 100,000 for several movies? Duh cuz that would make sense...[well not for the self-centered power-tripping millionaire fake people]."

There are tons of excellent, low-budget indie films released every year. Ebert's best of the year list serves as a good example of the indie fare taht's out there. If you don't like the blockbuster stars and their $20MM paychecks, don't patronize their movies -- I generally don't, and it works just fine for me.

Problem is, film companies are in business to stay in business and there are a lot of people out there who like those blockbusters with $20MM stars. Titanic was a pretty lame film but it made a squillion bucks.

You.

Watch Grave of the Fireflies .

I challenge you or anyone else to say that because that movie is animated, it is in any way "for children". Here, I'll even get you started. It's an older movie, but the same studio.

of downstate Illinois is actually Red. Cook county from which "Hot" Rod Blago is a Democratic Machine product, does not represent in any meaningful way, the rest of the state. Yes, there are some isolated "Blue" areas around the University towns and the St. Louis Metro East, but look at the map below. See this article in the Chicago Sun Times. See also the 3-D map.

Blagojevich's main interest here appears be to position himself for national office. He ran on a platform of "It won't be business as usual." He was right. It's worse! Downstate state workers are being laid off while others are being hired in Chicago. Family and friends make up a large proportion of the higher paying jobs and appointments being handed out. It's a blatant power grab by the "Chicago Democratic Machine". The mayor's office in the capital, Springfield, was won by a Democrat with a large war chest provided by Chicago interests. And so it goes.

"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain

Go on. Download a movie. "It's a Wonderful Life" is a nice movie, and one of the few productions that has fallen into the public domain as originally intended. Download it if you can find it -- it's squeaky-clean legal.

So getting the UN to fix or drop OFF would have terminated Hussein

I have no doubt, I've never had any doubt -- and I've said this publicly -- about our ability to be successful in Afghanistan. We are and we will be. The larger issue, John, is what happens afterwards. How do we now turn attention ultimately to Saddam Hussein? How do we deal with the larger Muslim world? What is our foreign policy going to be to drain the swamp of terrorism on a global basis?

Even though there's not a shred of sense in it, this was very popular in the blogosphere about a week ago, according to Daypop which tracks these things.

Certainly the war on drugs has its profiteers and mercenaries, but jails take years to build. It's easy to make money on a sustained growth in the prisoner population; it's hard to make money on a sudden growth in what is essentially petty crime.

There is also the ability to force an unjust government to face uncomfortable political realities. Who wants to first on the boat back to mother England with the news the practitioners of violent uncivil disobedience aren't being prosecuted because judges have 100s of cases of 'possession of salt with intent to season'?

Likewise, how many politicians will run on the 'I let a serial rapist go free to make room for johnny pot-smoker' platform? Not many. You can clog up the courts with petty criminals and force politicians to choose between pot smokers and violent criminals. Witness the current debate in Chicago. I don't see legalization around the corner, but I do see more localities coming to the realization pot smokers are not public enemy # 1 and just cost too damn much to prosecute.

To many, the benefit of the war on drugs is money. But for those who have allowed this war to escalate, and have the power to stop it, the benefit is political clout. Force the hand of the police with what is essentially a DoS attack on the court system, and the politicians will have some 'splaining to do.

check this out, ran a simple google search, this is the latest top news story, 38% of chicago public school teachers send their children to private schools. The article goes on to comment on the national trend, urban areas in particular are getting pretty high with similar actions. The teachers themselves are voting with their own money and action, taking their children out of the schools they supposedly support. Very telling in a variety of ways. I would agree that part of the reason is that the "elite" tend to go for the perpetuation of the "elite" class, but in other areas, I think it's just because a lot of local public schools have turned into anarchial mis managed dumping grounds, glorified daytime baby sitters.

I wonder if that's why Gwynneth's child is named Apple.

Mac fan Roger Ebert asked in this interview (last 2 paragraphs). Evidently just a coincidence.

"You should find a way to suggest this idea to the show's creator/writers. It'd make for an amusing episode to it reconfigure or even not reconfigure and everyone is totally confused and can't find their way around. lol"

Sort of like a Simpsons version of Dark City eh?

It seems like under the current laws, the mob is most likely to benefit from gambling being illegal. Especially if they have cooperation from corrupt individuals in government. Laws against gambling are no different than 1920s prohibition of alcohol. People will do it anyway, it's just a matter of who gets the profits.

And see, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Forget the truth, just bash the other side and hope that it sticks. Democrats are loathe to attack the substance of what the Swift Vets have to say. There are numerous, specific charges that Kerry could easily refute, if they were untrue.

However, it seems that the more that is revealed about Kerry's time in Vietnam, the more questions it produces.

OK, so the Daily Show showed that most of the funding for the Swift Vets came from Republicans... did you honestly think that Democrats were going to fund them? That still doesn't have any bearing on the substance of the attacks which, again, could be easily refuted if they were false. Turn your brain on.

And probably another little bit of truth that wasn't revealed on the Daily Show... did you know that John O'Neill, the author of Unfit for Command, voted for Al Gore in 2000 because he thought that George Bush was just an "empty suit"?

He has said repeatedly that the Swift Vets would still be doing what they're doing, even if Kerry were running on the Republican ticket. He's not pro-Bush, he's just anti-Kerry.

And see, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Forget the truth, just bash the other side and hope that it sticks. Democrats are loathe to attack the substance of what the Swift Vets have to say. There are numerous, specific charges that Kerry could easily refute, if they were untrue.

However, it seems that the more that is revealed about Kerry's time in Vietnam, the more questions it produces.

OK, so the Daily Show showed that most of the funding for the Swift Vets came from Republicans... did you honestly think that Democrats were going to fund them? That still doesn't have any bearing on the substance of the attacks which, again, could be easily refuted if they were false. Turn your brain on.

And probably another little bit of truth that wasn't revealed on the Daily Show... did you know that John O'Neill, the author of Unfit for Command, voted for Al Gore in 2000 because he thought that George Bush was just an "empty suit"?

He has said repeatedly that the Swift Vets would still be doing what they're doing, even if Kerry were running on the Republican ticket. He's not pro-Bush, he's just anti-Kerry.

And see, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Forget the truth, just bash the other side and hope that it sticks. Democrats are loathe to attack the substance of what the Swift Vets have to say. There are numerous, specific charges that Kerry could easily refute, if they were untrue.

However, it seems that the more that is revealed about Kerry's time in Vietnam, the more questions it produces.

OK, so the Daily Show showed that most of the funding for the Swift Vets came from Republicans... did you honestly think that Democrats were going to fund them? That still doesn't have any bearing on the substance of the attacks which, again, could be easily refuted if they were false. Turn your brain on.

And probably another little bit of truth that wasn't revealed on the Daily Show... did you know that John O'Neill, the author of Unfit for Command, voted for Al Gore in 2000 because he thought that George Bush was just an "empty suit"?

He has said repeatedly that the Swift Vets would still be doing what they're doing, even if Kerry were running on the Republican ticket. He's not pro-Bush, he's just anti-Kerry.

I really couldn't care less whether the documents are fake (which the preponderance of evidence seems to show). The point is that it doesn't matter anymore. This election is not about Vietnam, yet that's all Kerry can seem to talk about.

But if it's going to be about Vietnam, because that's where Kerry's people are going to put it, then so be it. Questions about Kerry's service are par for the course. And his own stories do not match up. The truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Fact: Lehman didn't write nor authorize Kerry's amended award. Here's the article.

Fact: The Department of the Navy is investigating whether Kerry wore an inappropriate device on his Sliver Star. This is a separate issue from the Swift Vets, brought by a different group. Here's the Press Release. The mere accusation of wearing an inappropriate device led Adm. Boorda to commit suicide. It's not a light matter.

Of course the motive for this is not hard to see, they think that if they can muddy the waters then people will become confused about which one went to Vietnam and was awarded three purple hearts and which went AWOL from the national guard and lied about it afterwards.

And as I said, it doesn't make a difference to me. I'm not going to accuse Bush of being AWOL. I'm not going to criticize what Kerry did in Vietnam. I'm not going to look to see if his wounds were self-inflicted. It doesn't matter.

Your leader is caught in a lie sir, a dirty dishonorable lie.

Keep repeating it, maybe it'll stick. More likely, you'll sound like a narrow-minded fool.

I don't care. I don't support Bush because of what he did thirty years ago. Why would I support Kerry for what he did thirty years ago?

I voted against Bush in 2000, and my support for him now is based solely on what he's done in office. Kerry, on the other hand, has no principles. And his voting record shows him to be on the wrong side of history time and again. Voted against many weapons systems. Voted against Gulf War I. Supported a nuclear freeze. Supported the Sandinistas. I could go on and on.

What about things that are out of copyright? What if I want to keep my recorded copy of "Wonderful Life" forever, and show it every year during the holidays? The equipment won't let me, even though it is clearly permissible? What if I want to keep that 30-second news bit where one of my relatives was interviewed? As only an excerpt of the program and for non-commercial use, won't that fall under fair use?

These companies shouldn't cave in to pressure to restrict the functionality of equipment in such a way that it will hinder completely legitimate uses.

So far, every attempt at refuting the proof of forgery has fallen flat on its face - look at the link to an authentic page of Bush's record claiming the font is "identical" to CBS's PDFs - except the linked record is monospaced using "open" 4s, the CBS memos are proportionally-spaced using closed 4s.

There is a very simple way to end all this, all Bush needs to do is to allow access to his military record, something he has refused to do so far. The only documents that have been allowed out have been edited by the WH and its supporters.

There are plenty of pages out there - and it seems Kerry has released no more than 6% (4th paragraph from the bottom) of his own. There is, however, a simple way to end this controversy: CBS can produce the originals, and/or produce their anonymous "document expert" who allegedly authenticated these documents yet disagrees utterly with the leading authority in the field.

The document's already been compared to one authentic page of Bush's record - and isn't even similar. Why would the microfiche copy show anything different?

Bush refused a direct order to take a medical shortly after random drug testing for pilots was introduced. Those are the facts, deal with them.

Actually the fact is that cocaine testing was introduced by the military in 1980 ("By July 1980 methaqualone was dropped and cocaine was added to the test panel"), and wouldn't be done as part of your annual physical anyway (that would be stupid: give everyone a year's notice of their next drugs test?!). This rather bursts the whole "Bush was avoiding a drugs test" theory.

If all the records have been released they why does he still refuse to sign FORM 180?

What about the December spot reports? (Cambodia)

What about the January '69 spot reports? (Sampan incident)

DD214 is for only 3mos 27day?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A401 10-2004Aug27.html

"The Kerry campaign has refused to release Kerry's personal Vietnam archive, including his journals and letters, saying that the senator is contractually bound to grant Brinkley exclusive access to the material. But Brinkley said this week the papers are the property of the senator and in his full control.

"I don't mind if John Kerry shows anybody anything," he said. "If he wants to let anybody in, that's his business. Go bug John Kerry, and leave me alone." The exclusivity agreement, he said, simply requires "that anybody quoting any of the material needs to cite my book."

By Ann Gerhart Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, August 28, 2004; Page C01

http://www.suntimes.com/output/elect/cst-nws-lips2 7.html

But the official records on Kerry's Web site only add to the confusion. The DD214 form, an official Defense Department document summarizing Kerry's military career posted on johnkerry.com, includes a "Silver Star with combat V."

But according to a U.S. Navy spokesman, "Kerry's record is incorrect. The Navy has never issued a 'combat V' to anyone for a Silver Star."

Naval regulations do not allow for the use of a "combat V" for the Silver Star, the third-highest decoration the Navy awards. None of the other services has ever granted a Silver Star "combat V," either.

*skip*
94 pages of records unreleased?

Reporting by the Washington Post's Michael Dobbs points out that although the Kerry campaign insists that it has released Kerry's full military records, the Post was only able to get six pages of records under its Freedom of Information Act request out of the "at least a hundred pages" a Naval Personnel Office spokesman called the "full file."

What could that more than 100 pages contain? Questions have been raised about President Bush's drill attendance in the reserves, but Bush received his honorable discharge on schedule. Kerry, who should have been discharged from the Navy about the same time -- July 1, 1972 -- wasn't given the discharge he has on his campaign Web site until July 13, 1978. What delayed the discharge for six years? This raises serious questions about Kerry's performance while in the reserves that are far more potentially damaging than those raised against Bush.

---000---

More: Chicago Sun Times

American Times

Read them.

Make your own decision.

Think for yourself.

I strongly suggest you take a moment to read Salon, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, or The Washington Post.

Ah, yes. Salon is a great source of unbiased news. The others aren't nearly as biased as Salon, but they aren't exactly fair and impartial either. Incidentally, I've read most of the articles in the Washington Post and New York Times and their "debunking" of the Swift Boat Veterans claims isn't exactly convincing.

Indeed, Thurlow won a Bronze Star for his actions in rescuing a comrade under enemy fire.

Why don't you go to the source on this one and check out Thurlow's response. In all likelihood the language from his citation came directly from John Kerry's after action report since Kerry seems to be the only one that filed a report describing the incident.

Also, Kerry's citation claims that they were under constant small arms and automatic weapons fire for 5000 meters while they fled the scene. I'm sorry, but if that were true they would probably all be dead. Also, how did they rescue and repair the damaged PCF-3 boat if they were under constant fire?

-- Why won't he (kerry) release all his medical and other service records?

He has. The only records he has not released are his review papers.

Um, no he hasn't. Look for "Standard Form 180" and "FOIA"; the Washington Post only received six of about 100 pages. And "review papers" seem to be pretty important if we're trying to figure out if this guy deserves to be President.

Was Kerry in Cambodia? Almost certainly - Larry Thurlow, one of his chief accusers, was recorded telling Nixon that he (Thurlow) had been in Cambodia.

It was actually John O'Neill, not Thurlow, that was recorded speaking to Nixon. Also, O'Neill, unlike Kerry, does a pretty good job of clarifying the recording. Keep in mind that we don't get to hear the entire conversation from the recording.

Also, the statements you provided are both 1) nothing like what Kerry has said about Cambodia, and 2) don't address Kerry's lies about Cambodia. This isn't just a small, little claim. This is something that Kerry says was "seared -- seared -- in [him]." He has repeated this story many times for over 15 years at least, and now that it has been proven to be a total fabrication, he has been forced to change it.

First, you are stretching the term "served with him". You mean "were also in Vietnam during the war".

No, I mean served WITH him. Like on his boat, next to his boat during combat, and as his commanding officers. While not all of the Swift Boat Veterans served as closely with Kerry, I'm addressing and talking about those that did. These guys (the vocal ones of the SBVT) were eye witnesses to Kerry and their accounts should be heard.

Kerry's campaign has been forced to backtrack on his fraudulent Christmas in Cambodia story and they have now been forced to backtrack on his first Purple Heart, admitting that his wound may have been self-inflicted. From what I've seen the Swift Boat Vets have been solid in their claims and have forced Kerry to backtrack. This goes to show that there is at least some tr

If you are going to watch this movie I do recommend that you know this. It is not a feel good movie. The most important mistake you can make is to see it as important wich side the kids are on. It is easy to shrug off their suffering as the result of japans own actions. It is an absolute fact that japan has only the historians to thank for the fact that most of their war crimes are forgotten. They were in no ways less then those commited by the germans/austrians. In my personal opion in fact worse. The germans just gassed childeren. They didn't rape them time and time again in pleasure houses for their soldiers. The germans also have paid billions in damages. The japanese haven't even admitted that raping childeren is bad.

It is al to easy to go into this movie with the feelings that japan deserved to be bombed. It did. But these kids were not part of it. They had no more choice then the kids being raped by japanese soldiers. They are ultimately the victims of things outside their controle.

Just as the movie Tora Tora Tora shows how a series of events leads to the start of the pacific war, a series of events where at any time someone might have stopped it all from happening. Grave of the fireflies shows a series of events where two childeren end up dead. Not because of evil actions but because at several steps no-one took action.

Others are angry that the boy took not better care. This boy is not a movie hero, he is based on the author of the story. His owned sister died of starvation because he would when searching for food would feed himself first. He survived. She died. Just as he might have been able to save his sister in real life if he had been a better human being the movie brother might have made smarter choices. What I do think is missing in the movie is the emphasis that there simply wasn't any food to buy. Rice is not enough.

Ultimatly I think this is a road movie. You know from the beginning how it is going to end. What you watch the movie for is the journey. Do not judge the travellers. If you want to do that you better be 100% sure that you are a better human being then the characters. It is easy to blame someone in this story. That takes the guilt away from us. Because the real guilt is that this story is happening all around us today.

This is not an anti-war movie. That is to simple. It is a "this is what war is really like" movie.

If you have read the reviews and still go "but it is a cartoon" then you are one hell of shallow thing.

Wow, it makes Roujin Z sound prophetic, doesn't it?

John Kerry campaign spokesman says the book Unfit for Command, because it contains "proven falsehoods" about the candidate's Vietnam War record, should be removed from bookstore shelves.

Here's your source, now STFU.

Or are you now, pedantically like a limp-wristed liberal (or a Doublespeak pusher), claim that "asking to remove books from bookstore shelves" != banning.

Get stuffed; your candidate sux.

The fact is, only 20% of the country is like that. In other words, 4 out of 5 people live peacefully, free of an evil dictator. I'd surely prefer this 80% area. And if for some reason I couldn't get to those areas, I'd do my best to improve my surroundings. Because if little boys like Steve-O can do it, grown men should as well.

Apparently the grand champions of this game take it a little too seriously to be happy, but I suppose the same can be said of a lot of endevours.

quoted from Ebert's review of "The Corporation"
*** BEGIN QUOTE ...***
"...a corporation is not a thing but a person. The U.S. Supreme Court so ruled... ...what kind of people are they?

The movie asks Robert Hare, a consultant who helps the FBI profile its suspects. His diagnosis: Corporations by definition have a personality disorder and can be categorized as psychopathic. That is because they single-mindedly pursue their own wills and desires without any consideration for other people (or corporations) and without reference to conventional morality. They don't act that way to be evil; it's just, as the scorpion explained to the frog, that it's in their nature."
*** END QUOTE ***

SO... The ENTERTAINMENT industry -that one central irreplacable sine qua non ("without which nothing") of life, human existance, human society, and indeed the physical exitance of the universe itself- wants its interests to be a central issue in all decisions regarding equipment that is basic to life in a technological society. Apparently, the Psychopaths are making their bids for control of the Asylum... through the appropriate channels and with the full assent of the properly constituted authorities!

Are we really That far gone?