Why 12 Oscars? Why?
The Village Voice opens its review of Gladiator by comparing it to Titanic. And like Titanic, it urgently raises the question: why the hell is this thing nominated for 12 Oscars?
Mir Crashes Into Pacific, Misses Taco Bell Target
Salon.com News | Mir makes fiery plunge into Pacific, causing a spectacular show for residents of Fiji. Sadly, I will not get my free taco from Taco Bell.
Victory: Abortion Legalized in Switzerland
Excellent news from Switzerland, as the Swiss Parliament has legalized abortion. The Swiss are notorious laggards when it comes to women’s rights issues: that whole women’s suffrage
thing didn’t go through until 1971, but this is an encouraging sign. Unfortunately the Christian People’s Party may be able to hold up decriminalization for a few years by forcing a referendum before the new law is enacted. I do applaud CPP for their honesty about the fundamentally obstructionist, anti-choice, anti-woman nature of their stance: the Party President, Adalbert Durrer, summed it up by saying that The question of abortion should not be considered by the woman alone.
[She needs a big strong white-coated man in there to overcome her feminine irrationality!]
ACLU Opposes McCain-Feingold With Concerns About Restrictions on Political Speech
The ACLU has put out an important Press Release: 03-01-01 — Limits, Limits and More Limits: Why McCain-Feingold is Wrong for America. Whether McCain-Feingold represents a double-barreled attack on political freedom in America
or not is open to question, but the ACLU certainly articulates some really important concerns about the restrictions on publishing information about candidates. As I said earlier, I really wouldn’t mind seeing the fund-raising activities and 30-second ads of citizens’ groups — or corporate interest groups — die in favor of their get-out-the-vote organization and personal contact with legislators. However, if the act comes through in such a way as to prevent all distribution of issue-based advocacy near elections, then it will be a stranglehold on outsider activism and become what Rush Limbaugh has dubbed it, the Incumbent Protection Act.
(It’s a strange, sad day when I find myself quoting Rush Limbaugh).
Salon Announces Death of Free Content on the Web, Introduces For-Pay Premium Servce
Salon.com is announcing a for-pay premium service, proving that free content on the web is officially dead. Jakob Nielsen ought to jump all over this as proof of the need for micropayments, and I would heartily agree. But, in the meantime, I would advise subscribing if you’re an avid Salon reader, unless you really look forward to more !@#$ing pop up flash ads…