Northern Conviction

Umm, what was that about Alaskan values? Senator Ted Stevens was found guilty on all counts by a Washington, D.C. jury composed of eight women and four men. And despite some jury issues, Stevens, still at large on bail, declared that he will fight the verdict to the bitter end. The verdict comes down just days before the election, and while Sarah "Bolt Action" Palin called it a sad day for Alaska, it may well be a good day for the judicial process.

What are you gonna do?

No word on whether Hubble was running Windows: NYTimes

When the King fights the Authority, the Authority is likely to win: BBC

No Virginia, that's not Santa Claus: Reuters

Why weren't there any takers?: SFGate

Eine Kleine chin musik

All the markets took it on the chin as fears of a recession began to sink in. At current rates of loss, the Dow could have zero value by election day. That's just the beginning. The latest sacrificial lambs led to the Congressional slaughterhouse were former heads of two credit rating agencies. The 'Well Duh!' award of the year went to Frank L. Raiter who summed up the oversight failures at his company thus: “Profits were running the show.” AIG, in order to look more thankful for receiving Congressional largesse, opted not to pass on some of that money to its executives. Oil companies and OPEC are also scoping out their options, trying to figure out what to do as the price of oil continues to drop, paradoxically because people in the evolving recession can no longer afford it. What else is lame duck King George to do but schedule a global financial summit for after the election. While those G20 officials who bother to show up are flapping their gums, everyone else will likely be dealing with a continuing barrage chin music.

The son of the stimulus

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is bringing back economic stimulus as his newest weapon in the latest round of Economic Cloverfield. It seems Team Bush is luke-warming up to the prospect as the worldwide collapse of the market has given it reason to think that maybe the first stimulus didn't quite land on target. Bernake called for focusing a stimulus for that sector of the economy that is weakest, without actually saying where that is or ought to be. The Democrats are calling for $300 billion for infrastructure, unemployment benefits, and other various and sundry items for the not so rich that some formerly on Wall Street are likely to become acquainted with. Oh, and the stimulus should also clear the blocked credit arteries and not make the deficit mushroom. With the monster still at large, this latest weapon in the arsenal is more likely to be deployed, but it's collateral effects are yet to be determined.

Really bad eggs

The pirates of Somalia continued to do brisk business having released a Thai ship after receiving a ransom and taken another South Korean ship. But there is some evidence that the days of taking prizes may be numbered. The Somali pirates may still be holding a Ukrainian vessel. That weapons-laden ship of fools is surrounded by the United States Navy and not going much of any where. The UN has sanctioned a NATO anti-piracy operation off the Somali coast that has the full backing of Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein, something that quite likely would not have happened if the pirates hadn't taken the Ukrainian vessel. Indeed, even India is now responding to the problem and deploying one vessel now with the option of sending more later. For now business is good, but without Jack Sparrow to lead them, it may only a matter of time before the world sinks this production at the box office.

The good, the bad and the general

The General who will never get to be President, thanks to King George, didn't need a presentation to power home the point that he has his differences with Team Bush. Former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former Secretary of State Colin Powell came out in support of Captain Hope on Sunday. This close to the end, and with Barack Obama's Action Rangers announcing that another $150 million was invested in his World of Tomorrow in September, The Gentleman from Arizona was doing his best to put lipstick on this pig by claiming "I love being the underdog." The good news for John McCain is that his choice of 'Bolt Action' Palin best exemplifies why men should not be allowed to decide elections as she has exposed them for the fairly simple and fairly stupid creatures they are. The bad news for John McCain -- with people pointing out his mistakes and facing fights in traditionally conservative states -- is that Sarah Palin's not the one running for president. Of course, with all the problems that lie in store for the next president, one wonders why anyone would want the job.

“Lies” doesn’t measure up

If “Get Smart” was a poke in the eye of those running the Global War on Terror, then Ridley Scott’s “Body of Lies” is a sharp hammer blow to the rib cage. Unfortunately, it’s also a paint by the numbers movie involving religion, politics and plenty of violence. There is little that is new in this movie. The movie does play up a disconnect between the situation on the ground and those viewing the ground by satellite from Langley. And they are both literally and figuratively worlds apart. In this movie the cavalry does arrive at the last minute, but not before Leonardo DiCaprio once again has vital appendages smashed by a hammer. While the film is visually stunning, the story is not equal to cinematography. Golshifteh Farahani is a wonderful find as Aisha and hopefully we’ll see more of her. Unfortunately “Body of Lies” does not measure up to the level of “Black Hawk Down.”

Stop the depression, I want to get off

By now the tune is a little too familiar. The Dow continues its free fall and the sinkhole expanded forcing the IMF to do something, starting with Iceland. GM led the way down the rabbit hole following a prediction that the automotive industry will be wrecked against a concrete economic lane divider and explode in a fireball in 2009. Hope GM's got an airbag. Hope Alan Greenspan's got one too. This episode of Economic Cloverfield is shining new light on the former Fed chair's policies that unleashed the ravenous beast devouring banks and pocketbooks alike. As the descent into the new and improved great depression continues, the same sad tune is being heard on both main street and Wall Street. And all everyone is singing is the blues.

The global financial pandemic

Economic Cloverfield has gone global and King George set out the reassure the markets this morning. The markets responded by tumbling down the rabbit hole as the Dow dropped another 700 points and fell below 10,000. This particular evil is rooted in the reluctance of banks to give out their money. As the Dow went, so went the rest of the world. And the European Union has seized up politically, with nationalism trumping a united front. But the EU isn't even competent to address the financial crisis to begin with, and some members are being hit harder than others. The current crisis may even drive one European nation into the EU. Iceland is being slammed by the current crisis, the krona's value is plunging and Iceland may not be able to bail out its banks. Meanwhile, Richard Fuld, the former head of Lehman Brothers is the first sacrificial lamb to be slaughtered on the Senate floor. While taking full responsibility for Lehman's failure, he also blamed his butchers, the bakers, the candlestick makers and the Soul Train Dancers. A poll shows that more than half of Americans think we're heading for a depression. It's not a stretch to think that King George has failed to reassure anyone.

There is no "Sanctuary"

There are plenty of reasons why the SciFi channel can't broadcast the BBC series "Torchwood." The alternative to doing so is to remake it for an American audience. Unfortunately, the Amanda Tapping vehicle that is "Sanctuary" comes up short. "Torchwood" had a pedigree, of course, but it's premiere was interesting and kept your interest. It was funny and serious and Gwen Cooper was a great window into the reorganized Torchwood Institute. Former FBI investigator Will Zimmerman who is our window into the Sanctuary is nowhere near as interesting. Then there's the crappy special effect weevil that lives in the Sanctuary's shoe. And Tapping's Dr. Helen Magnus, with her indeterminate accent, stands on the top of a building and strikes a Capt. Jack Harkness pose. Tapping's 157-year-old Magnus is in no way equal to John Barrowman's immortal Harkness. "Sanctuary" tries to play on Torchwood's moody rainy streets sensibility and tales of monsters and falls flat. The premiere's storytelling was glacial, plodding, predictable and boring.

Why SciFi would greenlight "Sanctuary" yet let "Caprica" languish in development hell is anyone's guess. It's a sad commentary indeed that the networks are producing better scifi programming than the SciFi channel. If the premiere of "Sanctuary" is any measure of what's to come, this series will deserve to go the way of the SciFi channel's reimagined "Flash Gordon."