The Return of the King

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Sun, 21 Dec 2003 13:00:00 GMT
From kaba:
Political "moderate" is a liberal code word for a slower walk to tyranny. -- Dan Belcher

Saw The Return of the King yesterday. Long (3.5 hours), but kept my attention well enough that I felt no need to leave my seat. The battle of Minas Tirith was especially well done, especially the killing of the elephants and the chief Nazgul and the arrival of the dead. And of course, Frodo and Samwise continued as the stars of the show. I missed the Scouring of the Shire, but, as Claire Wolfe said, the story worked without it, and it would have added another 20 minutes to an already long movie. Still unfortunate, though, given how many people will see only the movie version of the story. The Scouring [poetic retelling, not Tolkien's writing] brings it home. Incredible use of light in the cinematography.

bob lonsberry - In Case You Are a Mary Or a John - a heart-felt recommendation, from one who knows from personal experience, to avoid divorce, even at great cost.

Sherman H. Skolnick and Lenny Bloom at Rense.com - Wal-Mart Is Big Brother - as usual with Mr. Skolnick's writings, take with a large grain of salt. [whatreallyhappened]

Sooner or later, any software/computer can be hacked into. Super types with the American CIA, have gotten into Big Brother Mart's computers, through a "trap door" installed by the maker. To harass FBI/ Big Brother Mart, the CIA planted a bug that causes an intentional occasional glitch. Across the U.S., for example, some wide-awake folks are shocked by noticing their name printed on the sales slip. How did THAT get there? They had given no credit card or such. Retired CIA "spooks" are laughing at spooking Wal-Mart.

Tommy Nguyen at The Christian Science Monitor - School recruiters meet resistance - military recruiters are abusing the lists of high school students they have no right to have. Some schools are making it harder for them to get these lists. Good. [whatreallyhappened]

Gene Healy at The Cato Institute - Deployed in the U.S.A.: The Creeping Militarization of the Home Front - a 22-page investigation of the Posse Comitatus Act, moves to eliminate it, and why eliminating it is a really bad idea. I only read the summary (on the link page) and the first seven pages (in a linked PDF file). [whatreallyhappened]

The historical record of military involvement in domestic affairs cautions against a more active military presence in the American homeland. If Congress weakens the legal barriers to using soldiers as cops, substantial collateral damage to civilian life and liberty will likely ensue.

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