Thursday, May 23, 2013
Bridge Collapse in Washington State
Interstate 5, Skagit River--some cars and people in the water. Live coverage of rescue attempts by local TV. Collapsed at 7 pm ET. Casualties unknown. Hovercraft above. Officials trying to control water flow with dams. Bridge cited for problems years ago. Photo of one guy on car:
"NYT' Goes Outside for Review of WikiLeaks Fllm
The Times posted its Friday review of Alex Gibney's We Steal Secrets tonight, and it offers a mixed view of the film, praising it for certain things but finding it less than shapely and probably too long. So far not a big shocker. But then I noticed the byline--not one of the paper's usual three or four critics but an outsider: Nicolas Rapold, the senior editor of Film Comment magazine. This is a common move in the Books department when they want to review a new volume by someone who works, or has worked, or is somehow related to the Times--see Brian Stelter's recent book, for example--but I can't recall a similar step for a film, or at least one that was not written or endorsed or stars a Times person.
Apparently the paper feels that its savage critiques of Julian Assange--principally by former editor Bill Keller and top UK and Iraq correspondent John F. Burns--put too much of a taint on how such a review might be viewed. And the paper, of course, was a player in the WikiLeaks media rollout. Hence: Rapold. (My interview with Gibney here.)
Apparently the paper feels that its savage critiques of Julian Assange--principally by former editor Bill Keller and top UK and Iraq correspondent John F. Burns--put too much of a taint on how such a review might be viewed. And the paper, of course, was a player in the WikiLeaks media rollout. Hence: Rapold. (My interview with Gibney here.)
Boy Scouts Vote to Admit Openly Gay Kids
NYT reports just now:
The decision, which followed years of resistance and wrenching internal debate, was widely seen as a milestone for the Boy Scouts, a symbol of traditional America. More than 1,400 volunteer leaders from across the country voted, with 61 percent approving a measure that said no youth may be denied membership “on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone.”
The top national leaders of the Boy Scouts had urged the change in the face of vehement opposition from conservative parents and volunteers, some of whom said they would quit the organization.But still now move on gay adults.
'NYT' Backs Obama Speech
After taking up the drones, Gitmo and civil liberties at some length, they conclude: "There have been times when we wished we could hear the right words from Mr. Obama on issues like these, and times we heard the words but wondered about his commitment. Today was not either of those moments."
Greg Sargent of Wash Post has his own appraisal.
Jeremy Scahill was not impressed:
Alex Gibney on WikiLeaks Fllm
Three years ago today, after a couple of days of online chatting, Adrian Lamo began the process of turning in Bradley Manning. Now Alex Gibney’s much-anticipated film, We Steal Secrets: the Story of WikiLeaks, hits theaters this Friday and already it’s a media
sensation. Gibney summed up the reaction for me last month: “My view, while biased, is: The response from people who’ve
seen the film has been mainly positive and from those who haven’t,
mainly negative.” I understand Lamo, once again, sheds "real" tears in the film.
In the negtive camp are Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, and several key allies, such as writer/filmmaker John Pilger. Just yesterday the official WikiLeaks feed called the film "error-filled" and "trashy" and claimed that a copy of the film had been, what else, leaked to them.
Coverage in the U.S., after the February screening at Sundance, has been mostly good, Gibney observed. “The people who don’t necessarily have an axe to grind are liking it,” he asserted. And he again declared strong support for Bradley Manning. Here's the trailer, and much more below:
When WikiLeaks became a household name three years ago—the release of the “Collateral Murder” video from Iraq came on April 5, 2010—and the material it released caused shock waves around the world, numerous film operatives rushed to buy rights to books and articles. One of them was Zero Dark Thirty screenwriter Mark Boal.
Early this year Assange denounced a Hollywood flick when it started shooting—it focuses on the early days of WikiLeaks and his relationship with Daniel Domscheit-Berg (who left the group in a huff). And he blasted Gibney’s upcoming doc—which he refused to cooperate with—right down to its title.
At Sundance, Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman interviewed Gibney (who won an Oscar for his Taxi to Dark Side and has directed many other fine docs, from Enron to Mea Maxima Culpa). She also solicited a critical response from Assange attorney Jennifer Robinson. Much of the debate was over how the film treats the Swedish legal case and the seriousness of the threat that Assange could end up extradited to the United States. Gibney told The Daily Beast, “I think a lot of this film is deeply sympathetic to Julian and his initial cause. I just think Julian got corrupted.”
But the debate continued. At the New Statesman in early February, Jemima Khan, who had posted bail money for Assange, and went on to become a producer of the Gibney film, wrote a piece claiming that Assange's backers had become “blinkered” to his faults, especially the alleged sexual misconduct.
This led Pilger, a week later, to attack her, and Gibney, at The Guardian, accusing the Assange “haters” of suffering from “arrested devleopment.” As for Assange not cooperating with the Gibney film: He “knew that a film featuring axe grinders and turncoats would be neither ‘nuanced’ nor ‘represent the truth,’ as Khan wrote, and that its very title was a gift to the fabricators of a bogus criminal indictment that could doom him to one of America's hellholes.”
Gibney then responded at the New Statesman,
opening with: “How sad. John Pilger, who once had a claim to the role
of truth-teller, has become a prisoner of his own unquestioning
beliefs.” He said that Pilger had even gotten the title of his film
wrong. “In fact, ‘we steal secrets’ is a quote taken from the
film, uttered by the former CIA director Michael Hayden,” Gibney
revealed. “Thus, the title of the film is intended to be, er ...
ironic.”
Gibney closed:
ON THE PILGER DEBATE: “Pilger’s attack was unfair and unvarnished and not buttressed by the facts, especially since he didn’t see film. Like Assange, he may have a transcript or just saying he has. I doubt it."
THE TITLE OF THE FILM: “It was meant to be provocative. People in Assange’s camp want to take it a certain way. If one sees the film one sees what I’m getting at. We live in a world where everyone thinks they do the right thing, so they are entitled to do the wrong thing. So ends can justify the means. The title is meant to set a context for both leaking and the rather brutal attack on leakers by the Obama administration. They’re trying to try people like Bradley Manning for a capital offense for leaking classified material."
ON THE MEDIA SHOWING MORE SYMPATHY FOR MANNING LATELY: "The larger story is not a change in views about him but how much he’d been ignored. When you see the film you’ll see—and the thing I’m most gratified about—how much we put him at the center of story. Where he should have been but hasn’t been. Part of it was he was just the 'alleged' leaker and now he has pleaded guilty. Finally he’s being noticed, which is a good thing.
"My personal view—he’s the new Pvt. Eddie Slovik [the American soldier our military executed for desertion during World War II.] They picked on Manning because they could. They felt he was weak, he was marginalized. And I think now it’s beginning to surprise the government that public opinion is shifting in his direction [since his statement at his recent hearing]."
ON MEDIA ACCOUNTS ATTRIBUTING MANNING'S LEAKING TO GENDER CONFUSION: "In my film I recognize that Bradley Manning had personal troubles. He made a difference, and I think he thought about trying to make a difference—but he was also different himself.
"The idea of Manning leaking because he wanted to become a woman is a joke. Not at all credible. But I think a reason he turned to [Adrian] Lamo in those chats was he needed someone to talk to.
"I took some criticism at Sundace for saying Manning was 'alienated.' I think it was twisted into me saying he leaked because he was a malcontent. But if he was perfectly in alignment with the military culture he would have never leaked! Sometimes whistleblowers get distanced from the culture and feel they should or must speak out. These issues are important to the story."
WHAT SURPRISED HIM IN MAKING THE FILM? "The Swedish sex charges surprised me. I assumed from the start, especially after doing Client 9 [his film on Eliot Spitzer], that as Michael Moore says in my new film—it was a put-up job, something so suspicious about it, it seemed like a plot. I don’t believe that now....
"Another surprise: I started out thinking it was a story about a machine, a leaking machine—but WikiLeaks’ contribution was not the 'drop box' but an ability to publish on many international sites. The jury is still out on the best way to get secrets from a source—and the best way is probably not a drop box."
Greg Mitchell has written two books on WikiLeaks and Bradley Manning. His latest books are So Wrong for So Long, which probes U.S. media malpractice and Iraq, and Hollywood Bomb, on how Harry Truman and the military censored MGM anti-nuke epic in 1946.
In the negtive camp are Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, and several key allies, such as writer/filmmaker John Pilger. Just yesterday the official WikiLeaks feed called the film "error-filled" and "trashy" and claimed that a copy of the film had been, what else, leaked to them.
Coverage in the U.S., after the February screening at Sundance, has been mostly good, Gibney observed. “The people who don’t necessarily have an axe to grind are liking it,” he asserted. And he again declared strong support for Bradley Manning. Here's the trailer, and much more below:
When WikiLeaks became a household name three years ago—the release of the “Collateral Murder” video from Iraq came on April 5, 2010—and the material it released caused shock waves around the world, numerous film operatives rushed to buy rights to books and articles. One of them was Zero Dark Thirty screenwriter Mark Boal.
Early this year Assange denounced a Hollywood flick when it started shooting—it focuses on the early days of WikiLeaks and his relationship with Daniel Domscheit-Berg (who left the group in a huff). And he blasted Gibney’s upcoming doc—which he refused to cooperate with—right down to its title.
At Sundance, Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman interviewed Gibney (who won an Oscar for his Taxi to Dark Side and has directed many other fine docs, from Enron to Mea Maxima Culpa). She also solicited a critical response from Assange attorney Jennifer Robinson. Much of the debate was over how the film treats the Swedish legal case and the seriousness of the threat that Assange could end up extradited to the United States. Gibney told The Daily Beast, “I think a lot of this film is deeply sympathetic to Julian and his initial cause. I just think Julian got corrupted.”
But the debate continued. At the New Statesman in early February, Jemima Khan, who had posted bail money for Assange, and went on to become a producer of the Gibney film, wrote a piece claiming that Assange's backers had become “blinkered” to his faults, especially the alleged sexual misconduct.
This led Pilger, a week later, to attack her, and Gibney, at The Guardian, accusing the Assange “haters” of suffering from “arrested devleopment.” As for Assange not cooperating with the Gibney film: He “knew that a film featuring axe grinders and turncoats would be neither ‘nuanced’ nor ‘represent the truth,’ as Khan wrote, and that its very title was a gift to the fabricators of a bogus criminal indictment that could doom him to one of America's hellholes.”
Gibney closed:
There are many people, including me, who admire the original mission of WikiLeaks. But those supporters should not have to stand silently by as WikiLeaks’s original truth-seeking principles are undermined by a man who doesn’t want to be held to account for accusations about his personal behaviour. To paraphrase Monty Python’s Life of Brian, Julian Assange is not the Messiah; and he may be a very naughty boy.Wanting to catch up with his current views on the pre-release controversy, I interviewed Gibney in April. Count me as another who, for now, has not seen the film. Some highlights:
ON THE PILGER DEBATE: “Pilger’s attack was unfair and unvarnished and not buttressed by the facts, especially since he didn’t see film. Like Assange, he may have a transcript or just saying he has. I doubt it."
THE TITLE OF THE FILM: “It was meant to be provocative. People in Assange’s camp want to take it a certain way. If one sees the film one sees what I’m getting at. We live in a world where everyone thinks they do the right thing, so they are entitled to do the wrong thing. So ends can justify the means. The title is meant to set a context for both leaking and the rather brutal attack on leakers by the Obama administration. They’re trying to try people like Bradley Manning for a capital offense for leaking classified material."
ON THE MEDIA SHOWING MORE SYMPATHY FOR MANNING LATELY: "The larger story is not a change in views about him but how much he’d been ignored. When you see the film you’ll see—and the thing I’m most gratified about—how much we put him at the center of story. Where he should have been but hasn’t been. Part of it was he was just the 'alleged' leaker and now he has pleaded guilty. Finally he’s being noticed, which is a good thing.
"My personal view—he’s the new Pvt. Eddie Slovik [the American soldier our military executed for desertion during World War II.] They picked on Manning because they could. They felt he was weak, he was marginalized. And I think now it’s beginning to surprise the government that public opinion is shifting in his direction [since his statement at his recent hearing]."
ON MEDIA ACCOUNTS ATTRIBUTING MANNING'S LEAKING TO GENDER CONFUSION: "In my film I recognize that Bradley Manning had personal troubles. He made a difference, and I think he thought about trying to make a difference—but he was also different himself.
"The idea of Manning leaking because he wanted to become a woman is a joke. Not at all credible. But I think a reason he turned to [Adrian] Lamo in those chats was he needed someone to talk to.
"I took some criticism at Sundace for saying Manning was 'alienated.' I think it was twisted into me saying he leaked because he was a malcontent. But if he was perfectly in alignment with the military culture he would have never leaked! Sometimes whistleblowers get distanced from the culture and feel they should or must speak out. These issues are important to the story."
WHAT SURPRISED HIM IN MAKING THE FILM? "The Swedish sex charges surprised me. I assumed from the start, especially after doing Client 9 [his film on Eliot Spitzer], that as Michael Moore says in my new film—it was a put-up job, something so suspicious about it, it seemed like a plot. I don’t believe that now....
"Another surprise: I started out thinking it was a story about a machine, a leaking machine—but WikiLeaks’ contribution was not the 'drop box' but an ability to publish on many international sites. The jury is still out on the best way to get secrets from a source—and the best way is probably not a drop box."
Greg Mitchell has written two books on WikiLeaks and Bradley Manning. His latest books are So Wrong for So Long, which probes U.S. media malpractice and Iraq, and Hollywood Bomb, on how Harry Truman and the military censored MGM anti-nuke epic in 1946.
Roll Over, Beethoven: New Edition of Book--And Movie Premiere!
Just out today in print and e-book editions (for Kindle, iPad etc. and the Nook): An expanded new edition of Journeys With Beethoven: Following the Ninth, and Beyond, which I wrote with film director Kerry Candaele, published by Sinclair Books. It's just $3.99 for the e-book and $11.99 for print. It includes an exciting new chapter on the role Beethoven played when the Berlin Wall fell (with Leonard Bernstein in a key role). Kerry has a great documentary Following the Ninth, which I helped a little on --and earned some kind of producing credit--premiering in a cool theater in Santa Barbara on June 4 (see trailer below). Both the book and the film follow the Ninth Symphony and it's enormous cultural and political influence around the world today. So they take us from Chile to China and Japan and Germany, plus a stop in London for a full chapter with Billy Bragg, and then back in the USA.
In the "Beyond" section of the book I explore my own obsessive "travels" with Ludwig, as a longtime rock 'n roller, in recent years, via concerts and movies and CDs -- but also through new "Beethoven delivery systems" (YouTube, web forums, Twitter, etc.) I also interview at length pianist Jeremy Denk.
Those who know me from my infamous Crawdaddy and Springsteen days might be a bit...surprised? Maybe it's now, "Roll Over, Chuck Berry." In any case, it's a totally unique book on Beethoven--a Beethoven for our time, at last. Again, e-book here and print here. And here's Kerry's trailer:
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Joni Mitchell's Valentine for Beethoven
Perhaps her greatest love song? Certainly, at that moment, and perhaps others, her immortal beloved. Note: New, expanded, edition of my Beethoven book out this week.
Doctoring the Beatles
If, like me, you consider Dr. Strangelove your favorite film--or even if you don't--this might be one of the greatest things ever. Peter Sellers became fast friends with the Beatles via George Martin in the mid-1960s and recorded a version of "She Loves You" using the voice of...Dr. Strangelove (or was that Henry Kissinger?). The results below. Thanks to Jake McIntyre for comment: "Mein Fuhrer, I can rock!"
Take Me Out to the...Met?
Soldier Hacked to Death in London: Terror Attack
By now you have probably heard about Brtit soldier attacked in London and hacked to death while alleged killers stood by and awaited--now deemed by some in high office as terror attack by Muslims. Photo below, from an ITV clip, of one of alleged attackers with knife and cleaver--and victim behind him. Two attackers shot and in hospitals. Go here for video of the man explaining why he did it--because his people abroad witness this every day. Video then shows aftermath, as he and colleague lay shot. Some Brits calling for expulsion of all Muslim and/or killing Muslim babies.
'War on Whistleblowers' Now 'War on the Press'
My new piece at The Nation on how the media finally realize it's Mainly About Them.
Brutal Drug Murders and Tamerlan
UPDATE #2 Local officials tell ABC that, yes, they are now probing Tamerlan's possible connection to this case.
UPDATE #1 Two days ago I may have been the first to follow-up the little nuggest in the Globe story on Tamerlan's possible ties to grisly recent triple-murder of his "best friend" (photo left). Buzzfeed has lengthy piece now which offers no hard evidence but reports suspicions of friends, going back to Tamerlan oddly not showing up at wake or funeral, being spotted with dead man day before death, and the fact that there was no forced entry on night of killings.
Earlier: Lengthy Boston Globe piece on the two suspect brothers has many fresh details, including Tamerlan's sudden and rude re-appearance at this old boxing gym this week, but this one is kind of a biggy: "Gym owner Allan said that Tamerlan had once introduced him to an American, Brendan Mess (photo left), whom Tamerlan described as his best friend. Two years ago, Mess and two other men were brutally killed in a Waltham apartment where they were found by police with their throats slit and their bodies covered with marijuana. The murders remain unsolved."
Here's a story on the case. And an earlier one. The apartment was Mess's but not known if he was chief target. Rather odd "tribute" video below. See if you can find Tamerlan in party crowd. Below that another video in his honor.
More:
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Tuesday Night Music Pick: Beatles and LvB
To mark publication tonight of new expanded edition of my (with Kerry Candaele) book, Journeys With Beethoven, a vintage live recording of The Beatles, featuring George on vocal and rocking guitar.
The French Have a Word for it
A noted far-right French historian shot and killed himself today in Paris--in the Cathedral of Notre Dame--next to the altar--in protest of moves in that country toward gay marriage.
Dominique Venner, 78, a former member of the nationalist terrorist movement, OAS, placed a pistol in his mouth and shot himself dead in front of scores of tourists inside the most visited building in France.
Mr Venner, a presenter on a Catholic-traditionalust radio station and controversial historian and essayist, posted an essay on his website earlier in the day calling for "new, spectacular and symbolic actions to shake us out of our sleep, to jolt anaesthetised minds and to reawaken memory of our origins".
His long essay was a tirade against gay marriage but also a warning that the "population of France and Europe" was going to be "replaced" and brought under "Islamist control" and "sharia law".
Dog Saved in Oklahoma
Amazing vid of woman in Oklahoma, whose home and neighborhood destroyed--as she's interviewed by CBS, lamenting loss of dog, no doubt dead under the rubble--he suddenly pokes his head out of the mess.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Gimme Shelter
Dramatic, horrifying short vid from family climbing out of storm shelter in Oklahoma. At least 51 dead.
Door Shuts
Ray Manzarek, keyboard player and co-founder of The Door, has died. I have a good story about meeting him--with Roy Orbison--in Chicago, but another time. For me The Doors peaked with thei first album and it was all downhill from there.But Ray helped them Break on Through.
The Kid Plays in the Picture
Amazing little vid--as a Chelsea footballer gives farewell speech, cute son of the goaltender quietly advances on goal. Crowd spots it and cheers him on and then watch the kids reaction when he scores...
PBS's Koch Problem
Don't miss Jane Mayer feature at The New Yorker just posted on little-known story of how PBS's WNET in New York reacted in showing Alex Gibney doc “Park Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream.” The film did air but see what surrounded it. Problem: It partly focused on the Koch Brothers, with David a major WNET funders.
Gibney: “They tried to undercut the credibility of the film, and I had no opportunity to defend it...Why is WNET offering Mr. Koch special favors? And why did the station allow Koch to offer a critique of a film he hadn’t even seen? Money. Money talks.” And then another documentary, Citizen Koch, ran into trouble and lost funding. But conclusion: "In the end, the various attempts to assuage David Koch were apparently insufficient. On Thursday, May 16th, WNET’s board of directors quietly accepted his resignation. It was the result, an insider said, of his unwillingness to back a media organization that had so unsparingly covered its sponsor."
Trailer for 740 Park, inspired by Michael Gross's book of that title:
Gibney: “They tried to undercut the credibility of the film, and I had no opportunity to defend it...Why is WNET offering Mr. Koch special favors? And why did the station allow Koch to offer a critique of a film he hadn’t even seen? Money. Money talks.” And then another documentary, Citizen Koch, ran into trouble and lost funding. But conclusion: "In the end, the various attempts to assuage David Koch were apparently insufficient. On Thursday, May 16th, WNET’s board of directors quietly accepted his resignation. It was the result, an insider said, of his unwillingness to back a media organization that had so unsparingly covered its sponsor."
Trailer for 740 Park, inspired by Michael Gross's book of that title:
'Mad Men' in Three Minutes
Mood and drug craziness (inspired by real-life man known as Dr. Feelgood) of last night's episode captured by my favorite pub-rock '70s band named, uh, Dr. Feelgood.
Updated: After Stonewall, Hate Crime, Murder
UPDATE Suspect arrested--cops find assault weapon in his home (he had served ten years in prison).
Earlier: Now labeled "hate crime"--man shouts gay slurs, kills man--near the Stonewall in Greenwich Village. Updated here. It was a chaotic scene that involved a suspect who had seemingly been out looking for trouble, two unsuspecting men who had the misfortune of encountering him and a wild police chase that ended with the suspect being taken into custody on the corner of West Third and MacDougal Streets as scores of clubgoers and bar hoppers looked on in shock."
Earlier: Now labeled "hate crime"--man shouts gay slurs, kills man--near the Stonewall in Greenwich Village. Updated here. It was a chaotic scene that involved a suspect who had seemingly been out looking for trouble, two unsuspecting men who had the misfortune of encountering him and a wild police chase that ended with the suspect being taken into custody on the corner of West Third and MacDougal Streets as scores of clubgoers and bar hoppers looked on in shock."
Jon Karl: 'Played'--or a Willing Patsy?
UPDATE Rosen notes ABC has "corrected" the original Karl report but claims it still stands. Karl did the same on Sunday. But Rosen says they should retract the whole faked story.
Earlier: Important Jay Rosen piece on ABC's hack Jon Karl getting "played" hy GOP hacks on the Benghazi email and now refusing to fess up, despite hits from his peers. But ABC also now taking action. "Jon Karl has dragged the entire news division at ABC (and now George Stephanopoulos) into his self-dug pit. He got played. His colleagues at other news organizations know it. His friends at the network, were they real friends, would try to talk him out of this disastrous state of denial." FAIR feels Karl was more willing patsy than just getting played.
Earlier: Important Jay Rosen piece on ABC's hack Jon Karl getting "played" hy GOP hacks on the Benghazi email and now refusing to fess up, despite hits from his peers. But ABC also now taking action. "Jon Karl has dragged the entire news division at ABC (and now George Stephanopoulos) into his self-dug pit. He got played. His colleagues at other news organizations know it. His friends at the network, were they real friends, would try to talk him out of this disastrous state of denial." FAIR feels Karl was more willing patsy than just getting played.
Postively 'Go Forth' Street: New Coen Flick Finally Arriving
UPDATE Film debuts at Cannes and NYT gives it glowing, feel-good review.
Earlier: Feels like I've been writing about the Coens' Inside Llewyn Davis film for years (and I have), going back to when they were filming in the Village near where I lived for so long. Now it's debuting at Cannes although, alas, not in theaters here until "fall." This is the folkie era flick with Carey Mulligan, Omar Isaac, Justin Timberlake etc. Here's the brand new trailer, with early Dylan soundtrack.
Earlier: Feels like I've been writing about the Coens' Inside Llewyn Davis film for years (and I have), going back to when they were filming in the Village near where I lived for so long. Now it's debuting at Cannes although, alas, not in theaters here until "fall." This is the folkie era flick with Carey Mulligan, Omar Isaac, Justin Timberlake etc. Here's the brand new trailer, with early Dylan soundtrack.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Letter of the Week
Tim Weiner to The New Yorker. Can't resist printing whole thing:
Steve Coll, in his article on drone warfare, cites my history of the C.I.A., “Legacy of Ashes,” in noting that American Presidents from Eisenhower to Nixon used the C.I.A. to oust foreign leaders (“Remote Control,” May 6th). Not one of the C.I.A.’s assassination plots against a foreign leader succeeded. Since then, President Bush and President Obama have made the C.I.A. a killing machine for counter-terrorists. Murder, however, is not the role of an intelligence agency in a democracy. Its role is to conduct espionage in order to know our enemy’s thinking, intentions, and capabilities. The C.I.A. should give the Pentagon back its missiles under the laws of war and return to its true mission. Know your enemy: that’s intelligence. The C.I.A. failed in that mission in Iraq and in Afghanistan. If it now botches its mission in Syria, no sniper’s rifle will save us from our inability to harmonize our military, diplomatic, and intelligence instruments of war. If we go to war in Syria, the goal will have to be the death of President Assad. Killing foreign leaders is a bad business; so said Richard Helms, who ran the C.I.A. under Johnson and Nixon. If you try to kill theirs, he said, why shouldn’t they try to kill yours?
Tim WeinerNew York City
Rummy Ruled
Great Marketplace radio interview with Donald Rumsfeld as he flacks new book. Takes no prisoners. Just six minutes. Even asks Rummy to apologize for Iraq.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Friday Night Music Picks--Request Night!
Perhaps crazily I have offered to take requests this week for this regular feature. First up, someone wanted to hear some Bruce Cockburn, and as it happens, he recorded one of the great albums of the 1990s, Charity of Night, here's the kickoff track. Poetic, plus Rob Wasserman on bass. Below that, Wall of Voodoo does "Ring of Fire" live 1982. Below that, Taj Mahal, who turned 71 today, does some Leadbelly, still topical. Then we find Joe "King" Carrasco doing "Buena." Below that, Richard and Linda Thompson from 1975 with their great "A Heart Needs a Home." Then "Miss Sarajevo" live with U2, Eno, Pavarotti. And Paul Robeson with "Ol Man River," from the movie.
And It's All True, Man
Alternet featuring wild excerpt from my new book Hollywood Bomb today. Which U.S. president got actor playing him fired from big-budget film>
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