"Curveball" lied.
Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, an Iraqi defector, has admitted to The Guardian newspaper that he lied to U.S. officials about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction program because he wanted to "get rid of" Sadaam Hussein. Codenamed "Curveball," al-Janabi was one of the sources cited by the CIA and others in the Bush Administration as justification for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
None of this comes as any surprise and "Curveball" wasn't the only one making stuff up. Others came forward with little or no proof, too. The Administration was looking for an excuse to go to war. A large percentage of Americans were ready to get revenge for 9/11. Thus ... we got a war. And all the horrific casualties that go along with it.
Speaking of casualties, Lara Logan is the latest high-profile journalist to report suffering beatings and worse covering what amounted to a war zone in Eqypt, the day Mubarek announced he was leaving the Presidency. Anderson Cooper also claimed to have been beaten. Many other journalists were attacked covering the Egyptian tumult, often by government forces intent on getting revenge against the foreign media for just showing up.
It's awful and inexcusable that journalists become victims. But it is also inescapable fact in such situations and Cooper, Logan and the others knew the risks they faced. Were their injuries worth the risk? Was their reporting part of the reason Mubarek left office? I'm guessing they would say it was.
Drew Peterson, accused wife killer, will stay in jail today but his lawyers will be arguing before the 3rd District Court of Appeals that the "hearsay" evidence presented in a hearing several months ago should be ruled inadmissable. At issue is a new Illinois statute permitting the use of hearsay evidence in certain situations. Today's arguments break new ground in that they will be televised live.
I think the Appellate Court will throw out the hearsay evidence and that, eventually, Peterson will be set free.
The risks and realities of the legal system.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
"Chicago Code" No "Shield"
Shawn Ryan set the cop-show bar pretty high with The Shield. Expectations were that his new Chicago Code would be just as gritty and high tension.
If the pilot episode is an example of where Code is headed, it'll be dumped in the river by the fourth or fifth show.
The production values are terrific. Chicago Code looks like a feature film and the city shines. However...
A couple of dum-dum things struck me immediately. A chase scene, wherein the balls-to-the-wall detective instructs his partner to ram their unmarked car into the front of a line of several marked squads chasing the bad guy...is something out of Starsky and Hutch. Pulling up beside the bad guy so the detective can "negotiate" with him was ludicrous; it might have worked with snappier dialogue. "Escorting" the bad guy to see his girlfriend before taking him down . . .would get any real cop fired. Again, had the dialog been better...might have worked. It wasn't and it didn't. It just reminded me of the "Jared" commercial where the football player has tears in his eyes watching the guy propose to his girlfriend.
The main problem with Code...the characters lack motivation and aren't likeable. I have no problem with a female police superintendent...but her sudden desire to establish an anti-corruption squad isn't well enough established in the lame voiceover that opens the show. It's explained, yes, but without heart. The lead detective is so cliche (read cocky and unpleasant), it hurts to watch him struggle through his scenes. McGarrett in Five-O is arrogant, too, but his character is given great dialogue and a cast of equally strong co-stars.
Delroy Lindo, as Code's wicked alderman, has potential. He looks like the Devil in a nice suit. There's a bit at the end of the episode where he instructs his secretary/assistant to "kiss my ear" that's nicely malevolent and tells us a great deal about him.
But when you establish the bad guy as a corrupt politician with life and death power over a city like Chicago, the good guys at least gotta have potential. So far, the rest of the cast gives me no reason to think they have the balls to go up against this guy.
The Shield's pilot hooked me in the opening scenes. Chicago Code has a long way to go.
If the pilot episode is an example of where Code is headed, it'll be dumped in the river by the fourth or fifth show.
The production values are terrific. Chicago Code looks like a feature film and the city shines. However...
A couple of dum-dum things struck me immediately. A chase scene, wherein the balls-to-the-wall detective instructs his partner to ram their unmarked car into the front of a line of several marked squads chasing the bad guy...is something out of Starsky and Hutch. Pulling up beside the bad guy so the detective can "negotiate" with him was ludicrous; it might have worked with snappier dialogue. "Escorting" the bad guy to see his girlfriend before taking him down . . .would get any real cop fired. Again, had the dialog been better...might have worked. It wasn't and it didn't. It just reminded me of the "Jared" commercial where the football player has tears in his eyes watching the guy propose to his girlfriend.
The main problem with Code...the characters lack motivation and aren't likeable. I have no problem with a female police superintendent...but her sudden desire to establish an anti-corruption squad isn't well enough established in the lame voiceover that opens the show. It's explained, yes, but without heart. The lead detective is so cliche (read cocky and unpleasant), it hurts to watch him struggle through his scenes. McGarrett in Five-O is arrogant, too, but his character is given great dialogue and a cast of equally strong co-stars.
Delroy Lindo, as Code's wicked alderman, has potential. He looks like the Devil in a nice suit. There's a bit at the end of the episode where he instructs his secretary/assistant to "kiss my ear" that's nicely malevolent and tells us a great deal about him.
But when you establish the bad guy as a corrupt politician with life and death power over a city like Chicago, the good guys at least gotta have potential. So far, the rest of the cast gives me no reason to think they have the balls to go up against this guy.
The Shield's pilot hooked me in the opening scenes. Chicago Code has a long way to go.
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