Movie Review: Flightplan

Flightplan is one of those hard to review movies. I can't say much without giving anything away but I'll try. Jodie Foster plays Kyle Pratt, an aeronautical engineer who's husband died in Berlin. She's flying the body back to New York with her daughter Julia. A little bit into the flight Kyle wakes up from a nap to find Julia missing, but how could a 6 year-old go missing on a plane in mid-flight?

So that's the setup, I won't give anything else away. It sounds a lot like Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes, updated from a train to a plane, and it is. They even use a similar plot device. The pacing is good as it keeps progressing from looking in one place after another, believing her, thinking she's crazy, etc.

Foster's performance as a frantic mom is strong. Peter Sarsgaard is also good an air marshall. This film could have done a lot with a small, enclosed, claustrophobic environment. Instead they chose to set it on a new model spacious jumbo jet. The director, Robert Schwentke, hasn't done much else and there's little visual pinache. David Fincher did a much more interesting job in Foster's last film Panic Room. I was annoyed by a stupid shot of the plane which was sideways for no good reason. I've seen this done recently and blocked out what film it was (maybe Ocean's Twelve).

I had a fine time during the film being ahead of Kyle sometimes, behind her at others, believing her sometimes and not on others. In the end, the plot stretches feasibility and I'm sure in a few days I'll forget about it.

Largest Buried Treasure Found

I thought Robinson Crusoe was just an 18th Century novel. It turns out it was based on the true story of Alexander Selkirk. He was a Scotish Sailing Master on the English ship Cinque Ports and had concerns about its seaworthiness and opted to be put ashore on an uninhabited island. The Cinque Ports subsequently sank but he was marooned for over 4 years before being rescued in 1709. His story inspired the book and in 1966 the island (of the coast of Chile) was renamed Robinson Crusoe Island.

Unrelated to Selkirk, in 1715 Spanish navigator Juan Esteban Ubilla y Echeverria hid on the island Incan treasure stolen during the Spanish conquest of Peru. Before he could return to it, it was found by British pirate Cornelius Webb and reburied on another area of the island. It has never been found. Legend has it the booty, weighs 800 tonnes and includes two papal rings and a storied jewel known as the "Rose of the Winds".

Arturito is a robot, named after R2D2 and invented by Chilean salvage company Wagner Technologies. It uses sonar to scan up to 50m underground. In June it found a massive arms cache and in August it found the remains of missing businessman Francisco Yuraszeck. Continuing its streak, this month it seems it found the Robinson Crusoe Island Treasure on Cerro Tres Puntas (Three Peaks Hill). Excavation begins in October which will prove the claim. The treasure could be worth over $10 billion.

And now the lawyers. The site is in a Chilean national monument. One law states that any material of historical value, including ancient treasure, found on government property is archaeological by default and therefore must be returned to the state to allow for historical research on the artifacts found. Another law states that in any discovery where the rightful owners cannot be determined, the finds should be divided equally between the finder and the property owner. Chile's government wants it all, Wagner Technologies wants half (saying it will donate it to 3 Chilean charities) and island Mayor Mark Gonzalez wants the 600 inhabitants to get half the value.

Tom Delay, Indicted, Steps Down as Leader

Tom Delay (R-TX) was indicted on one charge of illegal campaign contributions from Sept 2002. As a result of the indictment, following House rules, Delay as stepped down as Majority Leader. Yay!

They alledge that Delay's PAC accepted $155,000 from several companies (including Sears), put the money in an account and then wrote a check for $190,000 to the RNC for House candidates. As the NY Times puts it: "State law prohibits use of corporate contributions to advocate the election or defeat of state candidates, and prosecutors accuse the DeLay organization of engaging in a complex scheme to circumvent the law."

Think Progress adds a quote from Karl Rove from April: "Tom DeLay is going to continue to be a strong and effective majority leader. ...We strongly support Tom DeLay. He's a good man, a close ally of this administration." And SFGate adds more

O'Reilly falsely claimed he retracts his false claims

You'd think this was an article, but it's not, it's from Media Matters.

The Red Cross

Rhinocrisy has a post about the Red Cross which isn't all that favorable. 91% of the budget is for blood, and they don't do direct medical care or fight fires. They give out money proportionately to what was lost and some might say that's fine, others might say those that can afford it get another helping hand and the poor get shafted. The comments are worth reading, particularly the one by McCormick which give a balanced view.

The end result is probably, just be sure you know what your donating to. Shortly after Katrina I saw some stat that said 75% of donations went to the Red Cross. Sure they were listed first on the FEMA page, but it's not Google, try reading something other than the top entry.

White House Flip-Flops on Energy Conservation and Lies About It

Think Progress has the clips. In 2001 the President believed we didn't need to conserve. On Sep 26 2005, he outlined "important steps that we can take to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy." Now that wouldn't be so bad, some might say finally he got it right. But Scott McClellan went further saying: "This has been a high priority for the President from day one." which is just a blatant lie. Maybe press conferences should be under oath (the oath of office doesn't seem to apply) so we could fire or jail them for this crap.

The DailyKos goes further and points out that Bush is now flying around for various photo ops and perhaps he could start by conserving jet fuel.

Project Censored

Censored 2006 from Seven Stories Press features the 25 most important news stories not covered by the corporate media in 2004-05. It's a scary list and well worth following the link to see the details.

1. Bush Administration Moves to Eliminate Open Government
2. Media Coverage Fails on Iraq: Fallujah and the Civilian Deathtoll
3. Another Year of Distorted Election Coverage
4. Surveillance Society Quietly Moves In
5. U.S. Uses Tsunami to Military Advantage in Southeast Asia
6. The Real Oil for Food Scam
7. Journalists Face Unprecedented Dangers to Life and Livelihood
8. Iraqi Farmers Threatened By Bremer's Mandates
9. Iran's New Oil Trade System Challenges U.S. Currency
10. Mountaintop Removal Threatens Ecosystem and Economy
11. Universal Mental Screening Program Usurps Parental Rights
12. Military in Iraq Contracts Human Rights Violators
13. Rich Countries Fail to Live up to Global Pledges
14. Corporations Win Big on Tort Reform, Justice Suffers
15. Conservative Plan to Override Academic Freedom in the Classroom
16. U.S. Plans for Hemispheric Integration Include Canada
17. U.S. Uses South American Military Bases to Expand Control of the Region
18. Little Known Stock Fraud Could Weaken U.S. Economy
19. Child Wards of the State Used in AIDS Experiments
20. American Indians Sue for Resources; Compensation Provided to Others
21. New Immigration Plan Favors Business Over People
22. Nanotechnology Offers Exciting Possibilities But Health Effects Need Scrutiny
23. Plight of Palestinian Child Detainees Highlights Global Problem
24. Ethiopian Indigenous Victims of Corporate and Government Resource Aspirations
25. Homeland Security Was Designed to Fail

Buy Dockers Get a Free Tivo

No really it's true until Wednesday.

Congress and Bush Waste $464 Million

I knew before that the Transportation Bill included $464 million for some bridges in Alaska that even the residents don't want. Really, how isn't wasting taxpayers money like this illegal? Now to add insult to injury people suggest that the money could be better spent on Katrina (and Rita) reconstruction and Don Young (R-AK) says "They can kiss my ear!". This would be funny if it weren't so unbelievable.

Quotes on George Bush

On Real Time with Bill Maher on Sept 9th, Kurt Vonnegut said this about George Bush:

I'm not only from the richest country in the world but the dumbest country in the world. Our president, a tragic figure perhaps, but he doesn't know diddly-squat about economics or history or science or even how to speak well.

Bill Maher ended the show saying:

"Mr. President, this job can't be fun for you any more. There's no more money to spend--you used up all of that. You can't start another war because you also used up the army. And now, darn the luck, the rest of your term has become the Bush family nightmare: helping poor people. Listen to your Mom. The cupboard's bare, the credit cards maxed out and no one's speaking to you. Mission accomplished.

"Now it's time to do what you've always done best: lose interest and walk away. Like you did with your military service and the oil company and the baseball team. It's time. Time to move on and try the next fantasy job. How about cowboy or space man? Now I know what you're saying: there's so many other things that you as President could involve yourself in. Please don't. I know, I know. There's a lot left to do. There's a war with Venezuela and eliminating the sales tax on yachts. Turning the space program over to the church. And Social Security to Fannie Mae. Giving embryos the vote.

"But, Sir, none of that is going to happen now. Why? Because you govern like Billy Joel drives. You've performed so poorly I'm surprised that you haven't given yourself a medal. You're a catastrophe that walks like a man. Herbert Hoover was a shitty president, but even he never conceded an entire metropolis to rising water and snakes.

"On your watch, we've lost almost all of our allies, the surplus, four airliners, two trade centers, a piece of the Pentagon and the City of New Orleans. Maybe you're just not lucky. I'm not saying you don't love this country. I'm just wondering how much worse it could be if you were on the other side. "So, yes, God does speak to you. What he is saying is: 'Take a hint.'"

Guilty verdict for head of Spanish Al-Qaeda cell

A Spanish court today handed Syrian Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, alias Abu Dahdah, a 27-year jail sentence for 'conspiracy' in the organisation of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US as verdicts fell in Europe's biggest Al-Qaeda trial to date. And our media is so US centric it isn't even reported in the US press.

Wow, what an idea, trials for Al-Qaeda suspects. In the 4 years since 9/11 we've had one and it would still be going on if he hadn't pleaded guilty on April 22nd. Instead we just put people in prison in Cuba or send them to another country to be tortured.

I'm Back

While on vacation this blog averaged 10 visitors a day, without even posting. Glad you all had fun on the speculations. I recognize Andy's and Ed's Top 10 Lists, but am not sure about one of the anonymous posters. Here's mine.

Top 10 Surprising Things About My Vacation

10. Didn't Blog at all
9. Had only one rainy day
8. Only saw one sunset
7. Didn't get a sunburn (did get tan)
6. Did get three massages
5. Saw a lot of the Roberts Confirmation Hearing
4. Watched all of Firefly again
3. Fell asleep early most nights
2. Spent over a week with 2 (sometimes 3) small children
1. Thought Absolut Raspberri was only ok

2 Week Hiatus

I'm going on vacation and probably won't have net access for the next 2 weeks. Be back end of September.

Crappy Maps

Anyone else notice how bad the maps of the Katrina area are on TV? I'm looking at one now on CNN showing Baton Rouge. It has green land and blue water and a blinking red dot labeled Baton Rouge, LA. Nothing else. They don't show where New Orleans is for reference. They don't color the areas affected by the storm (what kind of damage did Baton Rouge have?). There's no scale. In fact I haven't seen a scale on any map and was amazed at today's Boston Globe which showed the same flooded area around New Orleans I've seen for days, but superimposed on a Boston map and showed it stretching out to Framingham (that's about 25 miles west from the water). It did have a scale on it but the online version doesn't! We can do amazing things with digital images and flashy graphics, I just people would make them useful as well.

Hurricane Katrina - First Hand Experiences

Here are first hand experiences of Katrina. it's worth reading the whole thing. It answers some questions I had about why more people didn't walk out of the city or cross the Mississippi River. Absolutely appalling.

You know when you're stuck at an airport and you know the info they give you is a lie? This was the same thing only far worse. Why does this happen? Jack Nicholson doesn't apply in these situations, we can handle the truth.

Aftermath Photos

Great photos from Radar Online.

Will the Dems Ever Learn?

I have to aggre with Arianna Huffington that the Democrats are blowing it again. By sitting around and letting Bush implode (which he seems to be doing nicely) without offering any significant difference they're not going to win anyone over. Anyone can easily say "oh yeah, where were you?"

Project Censored

Project Censored presents the 10 biggest stories the mainstream media ignored over the past year.

Katrina Update

Jamie has another good horror update with volunteer firefighters assigned to community-relations, sexual harrassment classes, and to stand next to Bush on his visit. Bush wants to know what didn't go right? And volunteers setting up an information radio station in the Astrodome is blocked.

Katrina Timeline

Think Progress has put together a Katrina Timeline. Bush can't be happy.

Karl Rove: Illegal Voter Registration?

Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sent a complaint to Texas state Director of Elections, Ann McGeehan, urging an investigation into whether Karl Rove, Deputy Chief of Staff to President Bush, violated Texas state law by illegally registering as a voter in Kerr County, Texas.

Seems like a technicality, but I don't care.

Top FEMA Deputies Make Brown Look Qualified

Think Progress has a post, who's title says it all: Top FEMA Deputies Make Brown Look Qualified

Movie Review: The 40 Year Old Virgin

There isn't much that needs to be said about The 40 Year Old Virgin except it's very funny and you should go see it.

Steve Carell plays Andy, who watches Survior with his elderly neighbors and rides his bike to work at an electronics store. His coworkers think he's a little odd, one suspects he might be a serial killer. But it's just that he never managed to get lucky, he respects women so much he avoids them. His new friends find out about this and vow to help him get some. What follows is a constant stream of laugh out loud bits. It doesn't really hold back but it doesn't go as far as a Farrelly Brothers film. The waxing scene you've already seen on TV will make you cringe. A urine joke will have half the audience ask "can that really happen?". But what sets this film apart is that it's not just a stupid comedy. The relationship that builds between Andy and Trish (Catherine Keener) is worthy of any good chick flick. The film manages to get you rooting for all the characters to connect with someone. It's probably the best comedy of the year.

Barbara Bush Thinks Katrina Helped the Poor

Wow, here's what not say after a national disaster. While touring Houston today she found so many evacuees (better not call them refugees) were grateful at the hospitality and wanted to stay in Texas (I guess vs going back to a disaster zone) she says: "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this [she chuckles slightly] is working very well for them."

Compassionate Conservative my ass.

Cheney's Still on Vacation!

So it's easy to complain about the President's slow response to Katrina, or that Secretary of State Condi Rice was buying several thousand dollars' worth of shoes and seeing Spamalot! in NY on Wed. But really it seems now that aid is getting there and everyone is working. I saw the Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao on TV today saying the president had a a cabinet meeting and made it very clear that every department was to be concentrating on Katrina recovery. Even stone cold Donald Rumsfeld has been to the area.

So where the fuck is Cheney? As far as I know he's still on vacation in Wyoming and we know he isn't going to Canada this week. There's not so much as a press release from his office since Aug 18th. He couldn't take the time to even offer a few words of condolences. He really is Darth Vader.