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November 2006

Jack Palance 1919-2006

With the passing of Jack Palance at the age of 87 on Friday, I thought it might be worthwhile to compile a list of my favourite Jack Palance performances on film (with the help of IMDb to jog my memory):

  • Shane (1953) memorable western villain
  • I Died A Thousand Times (1955) Great villain from that sub-genre of film noir called "Shelley Winters gets murdered again"
  • I Mongoli (1962) Hamming it to the hilt as a warlord of Genghis Khan, dubbed into Italian and subtitled back into English

American decisions

In Seattle, 63% of voters have opposed changes to strip club regulations, while 74% of them have supported an initiative to ban taxpayer-funded subsidies for professional sporting teams. The Supersonics are threatening to take their basketball and dribble somewhere else.

In San Francisco, 59% of voters have called for the impeachment of George W Bush and Dick Cheney. In the City of Berkeley, the impeachment vote was 69%.

An unknown known becomes known

Goodbye Rummy.

"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones."

- Donald Rumsfeld, Pentagon press conference, 12.2.02

The tide turneth?

If the 1994 mid-term election represented the start of the right-wing chill in the US, we can only hope that the 2006 election represents its end. The Democrats have taken control of the House of Reps. Maybe, just maybe, they may yet grab control of the Senate.

Bush 43's response at a Wednesday afternoon presser will be interesting. Is Rumsfeld's sword ready to be fallen upon?

Special mention to the squirrel in Oklahoma that ate through some cables and blacked out polling booths for a couple of hours. Honourable mention also to those thousands of fine, upstanding, computer-illiterate volunteers who muddled through manning the booths in the World's Greatest Democracy.

Howard rejects audience with Bono

"Dear Mr Bono, Jeanette and I would be delighted to meet your good self and Cher on your next visit to Sydney." - the joke I didn't get to use after all.

There are, however, reports that Little Johnny said, after being told that his U2ness would be at Telstra Stadium this Saturday night, "I didn't know there was a footy game at Telstra Stadium this Saturday. Who's playing?"

Woman bitten by snake at church dies

"And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;

They will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

- Mark 16:17-18 (NIV), quote attributed to Jesus following His resurrection

A 48 year-old woman died on Sunday after being bitten by a timber rattlesnake during a church service in London, Kentucky. Despite reptile-handling in churches being illegal in Kentucky, this is the seventh such liturgial fatality in that state since 1980.

The real US election

Seattle residents are voting today on, among other things, "City of Seattle Referendum No.1: Adult Entertainment". It aims to define regulatory standards for the city's strip clubs.

There's stringent lighting standards, elevation standards for railings around stages, and, biggest shock horror, lap dancers will not be allowed within four feet of the patrons. (One wonders how the legislators arrived at that dimension.)

The Seattle Times and the Washington Post take up the story. The complete (and at times explicit) text of the ordinance being put forward at today's election is here.

Let's meddle in US politics

The United States of America has more than a century and a half of experience in meddling in the sovereignty of foreign nations, and with that in mind I'm going to make some endorsements in Tuesday's US congressional and gubernatorial elections.

My short answer is to vote Democrat in both houses and remove Republican control of congress. That way, the gang at White House Halliburton will have to work harder at bypassing the US Constitution for their own corporate ends.

An even shorter answer: In the state Governors races, vote for candidates from the Green Party of the United States.

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