Tuesday, October 07, 2003
Bush (practically) admits his failure in Iraq, the 40 hottest music groups in the UK, is Clay Aiken for real and is Wesley Clark a real Democrat?
The NY Times continues to cover Bush's foreign policy failure not only during the Iraq war and the current "reconstruction" but also in the lead-up to the war with articles like this one. "Report Offered Bleak Outlook About Iraq Oil" published yesterday reports that the Bush administration knew it was optimistic to assume that future Iraqi oil production would be able to finance the costs of the reconstruction based on information in a Pentagon-based Task Force report prepared as part of the Iraqi war preparations. As the US taxpayers are about to shoulder billions of dollars in additional financial burdens in Iraq, this is just further proof that Bush misled Congress and US public in order to justify this idiotic war and post-war debacle.
It should come as no surprise that his continued ineptness would come to a head as team Bush also annouces that they are overhauling the Iraq and Afghan Mission (there were defined missions there?? I couldn't tell). Bush has long stated that he is banking his presidency and legacy as leader on the success of war on terrrorism. This "overhaul" is probably about as close as Bush will get to an admission of failure for now (after his inital mini-mea culpa at the UN a couple weeks ago). However, his abject failure so far to find Bin Laden, Hussein and policies and diplomacy that have actually destabilized the Mid-east, encouraged terrorism and alienated former allies who should be sharing the logistical and financial burdens in this war show that his legacy will be one of failure.
And before I leave the Iraq topic for today, I had to post this: bringing democracy and a free press to Iraq? Not according to this piece "Let Us Entertain You" in "The Reading File" column (after clicking the link, scroll down a little to read) of yesterday's NY Times. I don't think any further comment is necessary here.
Had a short debate with my good friend Noam yesterday at brunch re: the sincerity of Wesley Clark's credentials to run as a Democrat. He seemed assured that Clark was true to the cause but the NY Times examines the evidence and leaves the issue far from settled based on reporting on this article. While he's certainly looks like the strong (and electable) candidate on paper that the Dems have been looking for, there still seems to be many questions surrounding who this man really is and what he stand for. Hopefully Clark can pull his candidacy together and deliver on the potential his supporters claim he possesses in the next year.
Not sure I agree with the whole list but here's the 40 hottest current acts in the UK according the The Guardian newspaper in London. David Bowie but no Ms. Dynamite? Hmm, not sure about that but a good general primer for those who want to know what the next sh!t is because Clear Channel and Viacom probably ain't gonna put you up on it (with the exception of MTV2).
As for music industry in the US, is this the future of the music biz and their star-making process here as Time does an interesting profile on American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken and his record label RCA Records as they prepare his album for release. Love him or hate him, this kid seems to have a real good sense of his own artistry and place in the market which leads me to believe he may be around a lot longer than most people would bet with or without the help of American Idol. I give him credit just for being able to stand up to his label boss and A&R guy Clive Davis in a creative battle of wills. No easy task based on what I've heard about this music biz legend.
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It should come as no surprise that his continued ineptness would come to a head as team Bush also annouces that they are overhauling the Iraq and Afghan Mission (there were defined missions there?? I couldn't tell). Bush has long stated that he is banking his presidency and legacy as leader on the success of war on terrrorism. This "overhaul" is probably about as close as Bush will get to an admission of failure for now (after his inital mini-mea culpa at the UN a couple weeks ago). However, his abject failure so far to find Bin Laden, Hussein and policies and diplomacy that have actually destabilized the Mid-east, encouraged terrorism and alienated former allies who should be sharing the logistical and financial burdens in this war show that his legacy will be one of failure.
And before I leave the Iraq topic for today, I had to post this: bringing democracy and a free press to Iraq? Not according to this piece "Let Us Entertain You" in "The Reading File" column (after clicking the link, scroll down a little to read) of yesterday's NY Times. I don't think any further comment is necessary here.
Had a short debate with my good friend Noam yesterday at brunch re: the sincerity of Wesley Clark's credentials to run as a Democrat. He seemed assured that Clark was true to the cause but the NY Times examines the evidence and leaves the issue far from settled based on reporting on this article. While he's certainly looks like the strong (and electable) candidate on paper that the Dems have been looking for, there still seems to be many questions surrounding who this man really is and what he stand for. Hopefully Clark can pull his candidacy together and deliver on the potential his supporters claim he possesses in the next year.
Not sure I agree with the whole list but here's the 40 hottest current acts in the UK according the The Guardian newspaper in London. David Bowie but no Ms. Dynamite? Hmm, not sure about that but a good general primer for those who want to know what the next sh!t is because Clear Channel and Viacom probably ain't gonna put you up on it (with the exception of MTV2).
As for music industry in the US, is this the future of the music biz and their star-making process here as Time does an interesting profile on American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken and his record label RCA Records as they prepare his album for release. Love him or hate him, this kid seems to have a real good sense of his own artistry and place in the market which leads me to believe he may be around a lot longer than most people would bet with or without the help of American Idol. I give him credit just for being able to stand up to his label boss and A&R guy Clive Davis in a creative battle of wills. No easy task based on what I've heard about this music biz legend.
