Author: Gareth

In an article in the New Yorker, Symour Hersh reveals the fact that the Bush Administration had been urging Israel to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon even before the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers that ostensibly was the reason for the invasion. The attack, they argued, could ease Israel’s security concerns and also serve as a prelude to a potential American preëmptive attack to destroy Iran’s nuclear installations.

Even more frightening that that, though, is the fact that one of the architects of this plan is Elliot Abrams, who is Deputy National Security Advisor.

You might not have heard of him…the Deputy National Security advisor never gets much press, after all….but he does have access to the President, and influence in policy-making. For some of you, though, the name might be familiar.

You see, Elliot Abrams, our current Deputy National Security Advisor, was part of the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan administration, and was facing jail time for lying to Congress….before being pardoned by George the First.

Pay attention, people. When I say that the current adminstration are a bunch of criminals, I’m not just engaging in “liberal moonbat” hyperbole.

Earlier this week, I caught Everybody Stares: The Police Inside Out, Stewart Copeland’s 2006 Sundance documentary about the band, made from his 8mm home movie recordings from the late 70s and early 80s. Very cool — I recommend it to anybody who was a fan of the band, of Sting, or just of the New Wave period.

Lots of behind-the-scenes film, including concert footage (Copeland would set up the camera on a tripod behind his drums, and film during shows) and studio work (lots of shots of them working out arrangements of songs). My favorite part was their return to England after touring the US in late 1978, to discover that they had become famous while they were gone….Copeland catches it all on film, as they are mobbed leaving the airport. The first time they’ve ever had to deal with fan frenzy…filmed POV with a hand-held camera, simultaneously thrilling, funny and a little bit disturbing.

It reminded me how huge a fan of The Police I was at the time….and still am. It reminded me that I hadn’t listened to my Police collection because I hadn’t converted it to MP3. I remedied that situation. I now have it all on my hard drive.

Here’s a special “Tuesday Music” bonus: My favorite track by the Police–my true favorite, which, sadly, I had totally forgotten about when I answered that music meme a bit ago. This track was based on an extended instrumental break which the band would insert into concert performances of “Can’t Stand Losing You” — and won them a Grammy in 1979 for Best Rock Instrumental. The title track from their second album: The Police: “Reggatta de Blanc.”

Cancelled my tooth extraction today.

My reasoning: I’ve been pain-free for a couple of weeks now, and if I can maintain for another two months, I’ll be on ‘s insurance, and can afford to have a root canal, saving the tooth. I don’t want to lose the tooth if I don’t have to, especially for a reason as stupid as money.

I’ll be keeping on top of things, obviously. First sign of any major problem, that sucker’s coming out. But if I can save it, I will.