The Conservatives vs The Clintons

The Clintons

HILLARY Clinton has denounced a lurid new book that brands her a serial liar and which Republicans hope will derail her White House ambitions.The book directly challenges Mrs Clinton's account of the Monica Lewinsky affair and is littered with claims about the former first lady's relationship with her husband, her sexuality and her ruthless quest for the Oval Office. Mrs Clinton's officials said the book, published yesterday, was "full of blatant and vicious fabrications, contrived by someone who writes trash for cash".
The book is by Edward Klein, formerly a senior journalist with Newsweek and The New York Times, who makes no secret of his dislike for the Clintons.
It is already being embraced by conservatives mobilising against the New York senator's seemingly inevitable run for the presidency in 2008.
The provocatively titled book - The Truth About Hillary: What She Knew, When She Knew It and How Far She'll Go to Become President - provides Democrats with a foretaste of the scrutiny, muck-raking or otherwise, to which Mrs Clinton will be subjected if she wins the party's nomination.
(news.com.au)

This is really disappointing and disconcerting news. The last line is exactly right: this is only a sign of what is to come. I realise I'm not an American and do not live there, but I feel quite strongly about the things that go on in Washington, particularly considering the immense power that US politicians hold and the global infuence they possess. It's worth noting that the book is already being criticised for its unnamed sources. Hopefully, this sort of pathetic desperation from the Clinton-haters will only motivate Hillary Clinton even more to run for the presidency with everything she's got.

Mr. Edward Klein, the author, "makes no secret of his dislike for the Clintons". So really, this book shouldn't surprise anyone... or convince anyone.

The Queen and Prince William (June 23, 2005)

I was interested to see that Prince William has graduated from St. Andrew's University, Scotland, with a Master Of Arts (Honours) Degree in Geography. The Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and the new Duchess of Cornwall (Camilla) attended the graduation ceremony. It'll be interesting to see what the future king does now.

If you have the opportunity to download it, I recommend Life on Mars? by David Bowie. It's an unusual song, but I've been listening to it over and over again lately. And it has the best lyrics. I have found that I like a lot of his music.

I am relishing this cold weather. Give me this over the summer heat any day.

...I am sitting here, trying to think of something political to type... There is nothing in the news grabbing too much of my attention at the moment.

The May hailstorm in Brisbane affected some areas more than others, and St. Lucia was one of them. It looked exactly like snow, and the dramatic and sudden drop in temperature was incredible. So we went to this corner in our street and took a few snaps.

Luke and I. Notice Luke is wearing shorts! And he had no shoes on either. And it was freezing.

Me...it's rather dark, this snap. But you can still see the hail on the ground...

Luke in the ice...the dense, cold ice.....

Legends to be re-united?

Robert DeNiro & Meryl Streep (2005)

There's a report going around that DeNiro and Streep are to co-star in a new film called First Man. Apparently, DeNiro is to play a media mogul whose life and career is shaken up when his wife (Streep) becomes the first female US President. I can only hope the report is accurate!!

The Verdict = very good news

Really fantastic news today about Michael Jackson being found not guilty.

The lead-up to the verdict seemed to take forever. This morning, when I got out of bed, I actually thought to myself, 'I wish they'd get on with the verdict'. I had been frustrated how every single news report I saw, read or heard never actually gave any indication as to when a verdict might be delivered. Maybe I kept missing it, but I never had any idea as to whether it was due in two days, two weeks or two months. Anyway, the verdict has now been handed down, and I am really happy about it. I had a feeling all along that he would be found not guilty. Evidently, the prosecution team's case was getting dodgier and dodgier with time. And apparently, Jackson's small army of lawyers were very effective in painting the accusers as con-artists and money-seekers.

Yes indeed, Michael Jackson is odd. But so what? I'm odd. Go into the city and every third person you encounter is odd. Place hidden cameras in the homes of the journalists who brand Michael Jackson as 'wacko' and I am almost certain that you would discover their various oddities as well. And how many of the odd and weird amongst us can produce the sort of music that Jackson does, or move the way he does, or create global goodness the way he does? People have had more-than-enough time to chuck crap at Michael Jackson.

Only time will tell if his reputation/career has been irreversibly damaged.
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This exam period is depressing. This is the first time all semester that I have been struggling to motivate myself to work. I have an exam tomorrow and on Thursday, and I have hardly studied. It's really terrible. I am not going to do well.

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I can now spot an American a mile off. There are so many here at Uni. I'm in one of the computer zones, and I just had two American girls sitting next to me discussing birth control. I now play pick-the-yank with myself. The Americans - particularly the girls - are distinct in their appearance. When I left home this morning, for example, there were two girls walking in the opposite direction towards me. Both were tanned (albeit fake-tanned). One had her hair tied up high, reminiscent of Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous (but not quite that high). One wore a bright yellow top, the other bright pink. Both quite short. But other than that, they have an aura about them. Very hard to explain. As they approached, I listened for the accent... And there it was. There are a lot of them here.

Images: Franco-Anglo trip, July 2003

I've posted a few photos from my July 2003 trip to France and England. Click on the images for enlargement. I will post some more recent photos next week.

During the seven-hour wait at Osaka Airport, Japan. This was the stopover on the way home.  

Outside one of the many entrances to the grounds of Windsor Castle.  

Trafalgar Square, London. Look closely and you can see Big Ben in the distance.  

Across the road from the Moulin Rouge. I'm very much in the shadows here.  

At the start of the famous Champs Elys�es in Paris. 

At the Dune de Pyla: the largest sand dune in Europe. This is just south-west of Bordeaux. The ocean is the Atlantic.  

L'hiver est ici avec nous

Now, if summer could just stay away forever, I would be happy. But sadly, I know it will eventually return with a vengeance. For now, I intend to enjoy the pleasures of winter, which is unfortunately rather mild in this part of the world.

SWATVAC this week. Or, in other words, 'revision period'. What a lovely description. Of course, most of us don't take it literally. It is commonly interpreted as 'Do-anything-except-study period'. But seriously, I really should be studying. I have a take-home examination for Continental Philosophy, in addition to the exams for the other three subjects. I have been working on the philosophy exam, which is proving so difficult and so complex. It requires so much deep, yet abstract thought. I don't know how I'll get it done, because I don't entirely understand the actual question that's being asked.

My plans for Saturday night did not work the way I had planned. And Sunday was a nothing-day for me. So all-in-all, my weekend was not the most exciting. I have, however, over the last couple of days, watched two more Meryl films: The River Wild and The Bridges of Madison County.

'The River Wild' is an adventure film. I was surprised, because I didn't know that Meryl Streep was in any films like this. It involves a lot of whitewater rafting, all of which she did herself (except down the big falls, when a stunt double had to take over). It was thoroughly enjoyable and very suspenseful.

'The Bridges of Madison County' was wonderful. Meryl co-stars with Clint Eastwood, who also directs this picture. This film further confirms Meryl's widely-accepted status as one of the greats. She plays an Iowa housewife from Italy. The accent is pure brilliance!

I had Bailey's in my coffee late on Saturday night. I was at home and felt in desperate need of a drink. I was going to have straight Bailey's, but noticed that the bottle recommended having it with coffee. I'm very glad I took that recommendation. Yum! Devine.

I am at Uni currently. And am very hungry, having not yet had dinner. And believe it or not, no one has sneezed! But it still happens, very regularly. In fact, immediately after I typed the entry that dealt with the sneezing matter, the person on the other side of me sneezed as well!!! And after sneezing, he immediately apologised to me. Rather profusely too, which I found quite funny. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, refer to 'Warning: bitching session'.)

HILLARY FOR PRESIDENT!

Interview on NBC 'Today': The Manchurian Candidate
(l-r) Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Jonathan Demme

This interview was a while ago now (July, 2004). American NBC's Katie Couric interviewed Washington, Streep, and Demme (the director) about their film, The Manchurian Candidate. I found a certain section of the interview transcript particularly interesting. Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep seem to clash to some degree when politics arises in the conversation. It surprised me, because given the fact that so many in Hollywood are Democrats (anti-Bush), I had naturally assumed that Denzel Washington was one of them. I don't know. Maybe he is. But he seems to go on the defensive here. Anyway, I always enjoy reading about the views and political ideas of the famous.



...But lately, it seems the worlds of Hollywood and politics have collided, due in large part to Michael Moore's controversial "Fahrenheit 9/11" and the lengthy list of luminaries who attended that recent fundraiser for Senator John Kerry.

Streep: "Oh, I was there."
Couric: "I know you were there. And in fact, I read your quote. You said -- you talked about President Bush and his invocation of religion and you said—"
Streep: "No, of Jesus."
Couric: "Of Jesus, sorry. ‘Through the shock and awe, I wondered which of the megaton bombs Jesus, our president's personal savior, would have personally dropped on the sleeping families in Baghdad.’"
Streep: "It was a question about when you put Jesus on the campaign bus to stump for you, you have to really listen to what he says, because he says, ‘If a man smite thee on the cheek, let you turn the other that he may smite it also.’ And he says, ‘He who lives by the sword dies by the sword.’ And he says, ‘Love thine enemy.’ Jesus could have raised an army against the people that persecuted him. He didn't. So that's what I was pointing out in my speech, and I couldn't really imagine Jesus, like I couldn't imagine how Jesus would vote. Jesus was the Prince of Peace. Would the Prince of Peace vote for a war President?"
Washington: "And it's open to interpretation. Jesus also went into the temple and kicked everybody out."
Streep: "That's kicking the money-changers out of the temple."
Washington: "Well, you're right. So—"
Streep: "The money-changers should get out of Congress, I agree. And I agree, but he didn't—"
Washington: "He didn't. He didn't only say turn the other cheek though. You’ve got to read the whole book. That's not what all he said."
Streep: "Oh, I do read the whole book."
Washington: "I do too. And that's not all he said."
Streep: "What does he say that said 'pick up a stick and kill somebody?'"
Washington: "Like I said, he did go into the temple and cleared the place well—"
Streep: "Of money, yeah."

Empire Magazine: 10 best directors

I was interested to read of a poll conducted with 10,000 Empire Magazine readers to reveal the ten best film directors of all time. The final list, as a result of the poll, is as follows:

1. Steven Spielberg
2. Alfred Hitchcock
3. Martin Scorsese
4. Stanley Kubrick
5. Sir Ridley Scott
6. Akira Kurosawa
7. Peter Jackson
8. Quentin Tarantino
9. Orson Welles
10. Woody Allen

Interesting results. By the way, no. 6 is Japanese and I haven't heard of him either. I am relieved that Kubrick made it to the top ten. He should have been number 1, but anyway... Also fantastic that Woody Allen is there. I'm going to see his new film, Melinda & Melinda on Saturday night. And I look forward to Match Point too.

Warning: bitching session

I am looking forward to the semester ending. It has, overall, been an enjoyable semester, although I cannot say that I have been entirely happy with all my results. I have been thinking about whether political science is really the right field to be pursuing. And as a consequence of those thoughts, I have become almost completely convinced that I am unable to commit myself to something for long periods of time. Maybe my interest in politics is superficial? The political knowledge of others in my classes makes me feel about six years old. The same goes with my philosophy classes, though I must say I was happy with the results for my latest assignment in that. That was a surprise. As well, I have been so upset to realise that making new friends is set to be a major struggle for me for the rest of my life.

What have I been doing lately, you're asking (not)? I had the most appallingly boring weekend because the people at work don't give a damn about the fact that I need to be paid. With twenty-four dollars in the bank over the weekend and into Monday, social activity was out of the question. And still is, because they still haven't paid me. I got my youth allowance today, but that will diminish as soon as I pay the rent on Thursday. And since I'm taking this opportunity to bitch about life, can I put on the record, here and now, that EVERYWHERE I go, the person closest to me sneezes. In lectures, in tutorials, on buses, walking in the street, and here in the E-Zone. The guy next to me, who has disappeared for now, sneezed only a few minutes ago, adding himself to the list. Every time someone within earshot sneezes, I picture thousands of germ-infected particles floating in the air towards me. Paranoid? Yes.

I received an assignment back today, on which the marker has, twice, spelt my surname incorrectly. My surname ends with a 't'. Not a farking 'd'. I have written my name, very clearly, on the front of the assignment. 'T' does not look like 'D'. This happens so often. Even Buckingham Palace got it wrong once.

Would anyone like to get drunk with me on the night of the 22nd? If so, let me know.

P.S. This bitching session was therapeutic for me, and I promise my next entry will be much brighter.