Monday, April 21st, 2008

Time	Event
6:29p	hat tip mosellegreen Downey's Past Troubles Power 'Iron Man' In an interview with the Times, Downey prefers not to talk about his past struggles with drugs or harp on the time be spent behind bars. "It has struck me lately that I don't have to talk about last century at all." But Downey does say that his jail sentence makes him a something of a Hollywood outsider. "I have a really interesting political point of view, and it's not always something I say too loud at dinner tables here, but you can’t go from a $2,000-a-night suite at La Mirage to a penitentiary and really understand it and come out a liberal. You can't. I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone else, but it was very, very, very educational for me and has informed my proclivities and politics every since." I assume that means that they're going to bring in Tony Stark's bouts with alcoholism. Cool. I'm just so glad the movie will likely not be slanted to the left and may just come in neutral. I'm looking forward to this flick more and more. (2 Comments | Comment on this)
6:33p	Private Rain Forests Touted April 21, 2008—After decades of deforestation, conservationists have hit upon an innovative plan to preserve Brazilian rain forests—by encouraging landowners to create private, legally protected nature reserves. Private solutions when government solutions fail? Whatever shall the world think up next? (1 Comment | Comment on this)
6:35p	Carter says Hamas willing to be Israel's neighbor JERUSALEM - Former President Carter said Monday that the Islamic group Hamas was willing to accept the Jewish state as a "neighbor next door," but the militants did not match their upbeat words with concrete steps to halt violence. Hamas, which advocates Israel's destruction, instead recycled previous offers, including a 10-year truce if Israel takes the unlikely step of withdrawing from the West Bank and Jerusalem first. Hamas has repeatedly confounded observers with its conflicting messages. Actions on the ground — seven rockets were fired on Israel from Hamas-ruled Gaza Monday, including one that wounded a 4-year-old boy — contradicted the Islamic militant group's positive words about coexistence and a truce. (1 Comment | Comment on this)
6:37p	Muslim call to adopt Mecca time Muslim scientists and clerics have called for the adoption of Mecca time to replace GMT, arguing that the Saudi city is the true centre of the Earth. A prominent cleric, Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawy, said modern science had at last provided evidence that Mecca was the true centre of the Earth; proof, he said, of the greatness of the Muslim "qibla" - the Arabic word for the direction Muslims turn to when they pray. The meeting in Qatar is part of a popular trend in some Muslim societies of seeking to find Koranic precedents for modern science. It is called "Ijaz al-Koran", which roughly translates as the "miraculous nature of the holy text". The underlying belief is that scientific truths were also revealed in the Muslim holy book, and it is the work of scholars to unearth and publicise the textual evidence. (7 Comments | Comment on this)
11:21p	So, someone on my flist mentioned an anonymous meme going on right now. ... Not a chance in hell. ^_^ Besides, I already know what I'd read. I don't need to see "squee awesome you suck diva whore fundie" over and over again in multiple combinations. However, I think I would like to take the opportunity to ask you guys...any horror flick recs? I've already seen a bunch of scary movies, but I would like to know if you guys know of any I haven't seen. I tend to prefer Asian stuff if only 'cause there seems to be a lack of gore and slasher stuff, but I can handle some bloody stuff, too. Just not torture porn like Saw, Hostel, etc. (Although I think I'm going to add The Haunted Lantern and The Sentinel to this list soon, too.) ( list of flicks I have seen and would recommend ) (17 Comments | Comment on this)
11:51p	Mexico army ops allow crime surge in border city CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexican troops are failing to provide basic security in the violent border city of Ciudad Juarez, residents say, testing support for President Felipe Calderon's army-led assault on drug gangs. Some 2,500 soldiers and federal police swept into Ciudad Juarez over the U.S. border from El Paso, Texas last month with heavy weaponry and helicopters to quell a surge in drug murders as gangs fight over smuggling routes into the United States. Soldiers have taken over many security tasks from the often corrupt city police, making dozens of arrests and seizing arms and narcotics but the fight against common crime has apparently suffered. ( rest of the article ) (Comment on this)

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