WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In an interview never before published, former President Gerald Ford said President Bush and his chief advisers "made a big mistake" with their justifications for the Iraq war.
Ford made the comments in a four-hour interview in 2004 with Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward.
Woodward is famous for being part of the writing duo who exposed the Watergate scandal, which led to Ford becoming president.
The interview was conducted at Ford's home in Beaver Creek, Colorado.
"I don't think, if I had been president -- on the basis of the facts as I saw them publicly -- I don't think I would have ordered the Iraqi war," Ford said in a part of the interview broadcast on CNN's "Larry King Live" Wednesday.
"I would have maximized our efforts through sanctions, through restrictions, whatever, to find another answer," the former president said.
Ford died Tuesday, at age 93, at his home in Rancho Mirage, California. An official cause of death has not been released. (Read the full story)
His body will lie in state in California and Washington before interment January 3. (Watch announcement of Ford's funeral )
Ford replaced former President Richard Nixon, who resigned in 1974 during a scandal surrounding the burglary of Democratic Party offices at the Watergate Hotel in Washington. (Watch how Ford's legacy will remain strong )
Ford was regarded as a man with a quiet style who was not quick to criticize, Woodward and others who worked with him said on "Larry King." (Watch President Bush praise Ford )
Ford requested that Woodward not publish the interview until Woodward had written a planned book about Ford or until the former president died.
"He made it very clear that he did not agree with the reasons President Bush laid out for the war, namely the belief that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq or that there was some obligation that the United States or the president had to expand democracy."
The Washington Post published other excerpts from the interview.
"(Defense Secretary Donald) Rumsfeld and (Vice President Dick) Cheney and the president made a big mistake in justifying going into the war in Iraq," Ford said.
"They put the emphasis on weapons of mass destruction. And now, I've never publicly said I thought they made a mistake, but I felt very strongly it was an error in how they should justify what they were going to do."
Cheney served as President Ford's chief of staff and Rumsfeld was the secretary of defense in the Ford administration.
President Bush has long defended the war in Iraq as part of a larger plan to spread democracy throughout the Middle East.
The 38th president said he disapproves of that strategy.
"I just don't think we should go hellfire damnation around the globe freeing people, unless it is directly related to our own national security," he said.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Vera Wyrick
TOBACCOVILLE - Mrs. Vera Harvell Wyrick, 84, of Tobaccoville passed away at Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home on Sunday, Dec. 24, 2006. She was born in Winston-Salem on March 4, 1922, to John Robert Harvell and Cora May Frye Harvell. Mrs. Wyrick lived in Winston-Salem for most of her life. She was a loving mother and grandmother and was devoted to her family. She was preceded in death by her husband, James R. Wyrick; and a daughter, Jo Ann Mason. Mrs. Wyrick is survived by two daughters, Linda Smith of the home and Elizabeth Wyrick of Winston-Salem; two grandsons, Rowdy Scarlett and Michael Mason, both of Winston-Salem; and three sisters, Thelma Vernon, Louise Wyatt and Juanita Loftis. There will be no service at this time.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Post Christmas
Hope everyone had a good Christmas and enjoyed thier time off (or still are enjoying it, as the case may be). It's been a busy couple of weeks for me. Work is STILL busy and I'm looking forward to the middle of next month when I'm taking a week off. Not sure if I am going anywhere, yet. It would be nice just to hang out and relax. Looks like it's about time for some lunch. Have a great day!
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
I miss the Pizza....
West End Tap Room under new ownership. Changes coming.
A few of you have inquired about what has happened to one of the West End neighborhood bar hangouts. The scoop is that Allison Charpek, owner of the West End Tap Room (473 West End Blvd across from Hanes Park), sold the bar business to a new group of owners in November. Big plans are in store, including remodeling the outside deck, installing new indoor flooring, bar and beverage taps and slapping up new paint. Another new feature: the name, which will be unveiled when the bar reopens sometime this winter —with full ABC permits that means a wide selection of beer, wine and mixed drinks. Stay tuned as we move into the new year for more details
From the Winston Salem Journal
A few of you have inquired about what has happened to one of the West End neighborhood bar hangouts. The scoop is that Allison Charpek, owner of the West End Tap Room (473 West End Blvd across from Hanes Park), sold the bar business to a new group of owners in November. Big plans are in store, including remodeling the outside deck, installing new indoor flooring, bar and beverage taps and slapping up new paint. Another new feature: the name, which will be unveiled when the bar reopens sometime this winter —with full ABC permits that means a wide selection of beer, wine and mixed drinks. Stay tuned as we move into the new year for more details
From the Winston Salem Journal
The New Stadium....
The finance committee of the Winston-Salem City Council voted Monday to recommend incentives of as much as $29 million for the $189,000 mixed-use development project.
The full council could vote on the issue as early as Jan. 3.
Plans call for the project to be built in two phases, with the stadium coming first, followed by the buildings to hold the residential, retail and theater space.
To get the stadium ready for the 2008 season, construction will need to start this spring and go smoothly.
Because of the tight deadline, obstacles or problems could quickly affect the timetable.
"They have a very aggressive construction schedule," Huff said.
The tract will have to be rezoned to accommodate the development, said Mayor Allen Joines, who has been intricately involved in the stadium project.
He said he expects the issue to go before the planning board for approval in February and before the city council in March.
As a part of the rezoning process, the developers will have to submit a site plan. They will also have to submit a separate study or a plan - or both- for managing the amount of storm water headed underneath the roadway, Huff said.
Huff's staff will review the storm-water plans to make sure they are adequate.
Because the sharply sloping tract will be intensively developed, with large swaths of impermeable surfaces such as roofs and parking lots, the amount of runoff coursing through the site could be substantial.
Plans call for the stadium to be situated in the bowl in the southwestern and lowest corner of the site. The storm-water control pipes, culverts and retention devices under and around the stadium will be built first and will also need to handle eventual runoff from development planned on the rest of the site.
"They definitely want to account for the build-out conditions," Huff said.
To break ground, developers normally get grading approval, and the erosion-control permits that go with it, from the city.
However, Greg Turner, the assistant city manager in charge of public works, said that in this case those permits might have to be issued by the state for the city to avoid any conflict of interest.
Turner also said that although he has yet to see specific site and grading plans he expects contractors to move soil around the sloped site in an extensive effort to avoid bringing in much fill material.
Turner said that it's common practice for contractors to carefully calculate and balance the amount of soil on the site to avoid the costs of either disposing of it or buying more.
"Buying dirt is absolutely the last thing they want to do," Turner said.
The full council could vote on the issue as early as Jan. 3.
Plans call for the project to be built in two phases, with the stadium coming first, followed by the buildings to hold the residential, retail and theater space.
To get the stadium ready for the 2008 season, construction will need to start this spring and go smoothly.
Because of the tight deadline, obstacles or problems could quickly affect the timetable.
"They have a very aggressive construction schedule," Huff said.
The tract will have to be rezoned to accommodate the development, said Mayor Allen Joines, who has been intricately involved in the stadium project.
He said he expects the issue to go before the planning board for approval in February and before the city council in March.
As a part of the rezoning process, the developers will have to submit a site plan. They will also have to submit a separate study or a plan - or both- for managing the amount of storm water headed underneath the roadway, Huff said.
Huff's staff will review the storm-water plans to make sure they are adequate.
Because the sharply sloping tract will be intensively developed, with large swaths of impermeable surfaces such as roofs and parking lots, the amount of runoff coursing through the site could be substantial.
Plans call for the stadium to be situated in the bowl in the southwestern and lowest corner of the site. The storm-water control pipes, culverts and retention devices under and around the stadium will be built first and will also need to handle eventual runoff from development planned on the rest of the site.
"They definitely want to account for the build-out conditions," Huff said.
To break ground, developers normally get grading approval, and the erosion-control permits that go with it, from the city.
However, Greg Turner, the assistant city manager in charge of public works, said that in this case those permits might have to be issued by the state for the city to avoid any conflict of interest.
Turner also said that although he has yet to see specific site and grading plans he expects contractors to move soil around the sloped site in an extensive effort to avoid bringing in much fill material.
Turner said that it's common practice for contractors to carefully calculate and balance the amount of soil on the site to avoid the costs of either disposing of it or buying more.
"Buying dirt is absolutely the last thing they want to do," Turner said.
From the Gulf News.....
US and allies are losing the war in Afghanistan
By Patrick Seale
A few days ago, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan wept openly on national television. His tears were for Afghan children killed in America's war against the Taliban and for his inability to protect them. The mounting civilian death toll is rapidly eroding his popular support.
Karzai puts the blame squarely on neighbouring Pakistan, which he accuses of supporting the Taliban. "Pakistan wants to make slaves of us," he declared, "but we will not surrender!"
Clearly, the reconciliation between Karzai and Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf, which President George W. Bush tried to bring about at a White House dinner last September, is now a thing of the past.
Western intelligence agencies confirm that Pakistan continues to provide sanctuary for Taliban fighters in the tribal agencies flanking the Afghan border. Pakistan's military intelligence service, the ISI, is said to funnel money to the Taliban and to the tribal agencies to keep them under a semblance of control. Pakistan has also not been particularly active against Al Qaida.
Chance to regroup
The agreement which the Pakistan government signed with the rebels of North Waziristan on September 5 seems to have made the situation worse, because it limits the government's ability to deploy troops in the tribal areas and gives the rebels a chance to regroup and rearm, before crossing the border to attack Afghan, US and Nato troops.
Some 4,000 people have died in Afghanistan this year - four times more than in 2005. They have included Taliban insurgents, Afghan soldiers and policemen, 189 foreign troops and the victims of about one hundred suicide bombings. The figure also includes 1,000 civilians - "collateral" damage of America's dependence on air power, which is inevitably a blunt instrument when seeking to destroy rebels deeply embedded in the civilian population.
The harsh truth of counter-insurgency operations is that, if you rely on air power rather than on ground troops, you cannot attack and kill insurgents without killing women and children as well. This was amply demonstrated by Israel's war in Lebanon last summer, when Lebanese civilian casualties numbered at least 1,300.
In Afghanistan, the numerous incidents of civilians killed by poorly-targeted air strikes are a major reason for the United States and its allies losing the battle for Afghan "hearts and minds" and why the Taliban are making steady gains.
According to Pentagon figures quoted in the Financial Times of December 17, the US air force dropped nearly 1,000 bombs on Afghanistan in the past six months, more than in the first three years of the campaign against the Taliban. US aircraft also fired 150,000 cannon rounds in support of Nato allies fighting in the south of Afghanistan.
More battalions
One of America's best military analysts, Dr Anthony Cordesman of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, who has recently visited Afghanistan, believes the United States will lose the war unless it greatly increases reconstruction aid - from $2 billion at present to $6 billion - and sends in at least two more infantry battalions and more Special Forces ("One battle the West can still win, Gulf News, Opinion, December 14).
In a briefing to the press in Washington on December 13, Cordesman declared: "To put it bluntly, we cannot afford to lose two wars." He was referring to the disaster the US is already facing in Iraq. "I think that is the path that we are headed on without urgent action," he added.
The United States is losing control of the Afghan countryside to the Taliban. Next spring it may lose control of key cities as well, because it does not seem ready to repulse the Taliban's widely-predicted New Year offensive. This Afghan situation may be taken as an example of the dramatic deterioration of America's standing throughout the 'Greater Middle East.' Its destruction of Iraq, its blind support for Israel, its indifference for the suffering of Lebanese and Palestinians, its failure to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict - all these have led to an unprecedented surge of anti-American sentiment across the region.
Yet Bush hesitates to act. In Iraq, in Afghanistan and in the Arab-Israeli arena, he and his advisers seem paralysed by fear, prejudice and indecision. In the meantime, Afghan and Palestinian children will continue to die.
Patrick Seale is a commentator and author of several books on Middle East affairs.
By Patrick Seale
A few days ago, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan wept openly on national television. His tears were for Afghan children killed in America's war against the Taliban and for his inability to protect them. The mounting civilian death toll is rapidly eroding his popular support.
Karzai puts the blame squarely on neighbouring Pakistan, which he accuses of supporting the Taliban. "Pakistan wants to make slaves of us," he declared, "but we will not surrender!"
Clearly, the reconciliation between Karzai and Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf, which President George W. Bush tried to bring about at a White House dinner last September, is now a thing of the past.
Western intelligence agencies confirm that Pakistan continues to provide sanctuary for Taliban fighters in the tribal agencies flanking the Afghan border. Pakistan's military intelligence service, the ISI, is said to funnel money to the Taliban and to the tribal agencies to keep them under a semblance of control. Pakistan has also not been particularly active against Al Qaida.
Chance to regroup
The agreement which the Pakistan government signed with the rebels of North Waziristan on September 5 seems to have made the situation worse, because it limits the government's ability to deploy troops in the tribal areas and gives the rebels a chance to regroup and rearm, before crossing the border to attack Afghan, US and Nato troops.
Some 4,000 people have died in Afghanistan this year - four times more than in 2005. They have included Taliban insurgents, Afghan soldiers and policemen, 189 foreign troops and the victims of about one hundred suicide bombings. The figure also includes 1,000 civilians - "collateral" damage of America's dependence on air power, which is inevitably a blunt instrument when seeking to destroy rebels deeply embedded in the civilian population.
The harsh truth of counter-insurgency operations is that, if you rely on air power rather than on ground troops, you cannot attack and kill insurgents without killing women and children as well. This was amply demonstrated by Israel's war in Lebanon last summer, when Lebanese civilian casualties numbered at least 1,300.
In Afghanistan, the numerous incidents of civilians killed by poorly-targeted air strikes are a major reason for the United States and its allies losing the battle for Afghan "hearts and minds" and why the Taliban are making steady gains.
According to Pentagon figures quoted in the Financial Times of December 17, the US air force dropped nearly 1,000 bombs on Afghanistan in the past six months, more than in the first three years of the campaign against the Taliban. US aircraft also fired 150,000 cannon rounds in support of Nato allies fighting in the south of Afghanistan.
More battalions
One of America's best military analysts, Dr Anthony Cordesman of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, who has recently visited Afghanistan, believes the United States will lose the war unless it greatly increases reconstruction aid - from $2 billion at present to $6 billion - and sends in at least two more infantry battalions and more Special Forces ("One battle the West can still win, Gulf News, Opinion, December 14).
In a briefing to the press in Washington on December 13, Cordesman declared: "To put it bluntly, we cannot afford to lose two wars." He was referring to the disaster the US is already facing in Iraq. "I think that is the path that we are headed on without urgent action," he added.
The United States is losing control of the Afghan countryside to the Taliban. Next spring it may lose control of key cities as well, because it does not seem ready to repulse the Taliban's widely-predicted New Year offensive. This Afghan situation may be taken as an example of the dramatic deterioration of America's standing throughout the 'Greater Middle East.' Its destruction of Iraq, its blind support for Israel, its indifference for the suffering of Lebanese and Palestinians, its failure to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict - all these have led to an unprecedented surge of anti-American sentiment across the region.
Yet Bush hesitates to act. In Iraq, in Afghanistan and in the Arab-Israeli arena, he and his advisers seem paralysed by fear, prejudice and indecision. In the meantime, Afghan and Palestinian children will continue to die.
Patrick Seale is a commentator and author of several books on Middle East affairs.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Friday, December 15, 2006
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Dems gain Another seat....in Texas!
Democrats claimed another seat in the House of Representatives on Tuesday in a runoff election that pitted two Latinos against each other, capping the party's recapture of Congress last month.
Seven-term Republican incumbent Henry Bonilla lost to former U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (news, bio, voting record) in a race that had angered some as it was held on December 12, which marks Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of the most important dates in the Mexican calendar.
That was seen by some as a Republican ploy to depress the Hispanic vote in a bid to benefit the conservative Bonilla, a strong supporter of President George W. Bush.
But with 95 percent of the vote counted in the sprawling district, Rodriguez held a surprisingly strong 55 percent to 45 percent lead.
A spokesman for Bonilla said the conservative incumbent had been "caught up in a tsunami of change" sweeping the country.
Rodriguez has embraced many of the liberal policies associated with the Democrats, who regained control of both houses of Congress in last month's midterm election amid voter anger over issues such as the war in Iraq and graft.
"This election is about doing the right thing and turning around this country on issues like Iraq and raising the minimum wage," Rodriguez told hundreds of supporters chanting "Ciro! Ciro! Ciro!"
Seven-term Republican incumbent Henry Bonilla lost to former U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (news, bio, voting record) in a race that had angered some as it was held on December 12, which marks Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of the most important dates in the Mexican calendar.
That was seen by some as a Republican ploy to depress the Hispanic vote in a bid to benefit the conservative Bonilla, a strong supporter of President George W. Bush.
But with 95 percent of the vote counted in the sprawling district, Rodriguez held a surprisingly strong 55 percent to 45 percent lead.
A spokesman for Bonilla said the conservative incumbent had been "caught up in a tsunami of change" sweeping the country.
Rodriguez has embraced many of the liberal policies associated with the Democrats, who regained control of both houses of Congress in last month's midterm election amid voter anger over issues such as the war in Iraq and graft.
"This election is about doing the right thing and turning around this country on issues like Iraq and raising the minimum wage," Rodriguez told hundreds of supporters chanting "Ciro! Ciro! Ciro!"
Sunday, December 10, 2006
New Stadium In Winston
The city of Winston-Salem and Winston-Salem Warthogs owners Billy Prim and Flip Filipowski have reached agreements that mean a new stadium for the team could be open by the spring of 2008.
Lee Garrity, Winston-Salem's city manager, said a finance package will go to the city's finance committee on Dec. 11. If approved, it would then head to city council on Jan. 3, and demolition and site work could begin soon after that.
The $22.6 million stadium and 30 acres of office, retail, residential and restaurant space, as well as a movie theater, are expected to generate about $170 million in public and private investment, Garrity said.
The city is proposing an $11 million investment, with $10 million of that being borrowed and paid back over 20 years, Garrity said. The city will pay back the money through what it receives from Warthogs ticket surcharges, by selling Ernie Shore Field to Wake Forest University and through taxes on the land and stadium.
"The way (the deal) is structured, all the city's costs are covered by the funds from the surcharge guarantee and the sale of Ernie Shore Field," Garrity said.
The stadium will be located on the western edge of downtown, bordered by Broad and First streets, Peters Creek Parkway and Business 40. The city will end up owning the stadium as part of the deal.
In terms of private investment, Prim and Filipowski, working as Sports Menagerie, will chip in $11.6 million toward the stadium, with $1 million coming from the Millennium Fund and $2 million from a federal transportation grant.
"This is much more than building a ballpark," Prim said in a press release. "It is a major redevelopment project that brings together public and private investment in a way that will reshape downtown Winston-Salem."
The deal has been in the works for years, but had hit a sticking point in November when the city and Prim could not agree on the ticket-surcharge issue. The city wanted guarantees on the amount of revenue it would receive annually from the surcharge, even if a lower number of tickets than expected were sold.
Brookstown Development Partnership, which includes Prim and Samet Corp. President Arthur Samet, will develop the retail, office and residential space. Samet also built First Horizon Park in Greensboro, home of the Greensboro Grasshoppers.
Lee Garrity, Winston-Salem's city manager, said a finance package will go to the city's finance committee on Dec. 11. If approved, it would then head to city council on Jan. 3, and demolition and site work could begin soon after that.
The $22.6 million stadium and 30 acres of office, retail, residential and restaurant space, as well as a movie theater, are expected to generate about $170 million in public and private investment, Garrity said.
The city is proposing an $11 million investment, with $10 million of that being borrowed and paid back over 20 years, Garrity said. The city will pay back the money through what it receives from Warthogs ticket surcharges, by selling Ernie Shore Field to Wake Forest University and through taxes on the land and stadium.
"The way (the deal) is structured, all the city's costs are covered by the funds from the surcharge guarantee and the sale of Ernie Shore Field," Garrity said.
The stadium will be located on the western edge of downtown, bordered by Broad and First streets, Peters Creek Parkway and Business 40. The city will end up owning the stadium as part of the deal.
In terms of private investment, Prim and Filipowski, working as Sports Menagerie, will chip in $11.6 million toward the stadium, with $1 million coming from the Millennium Fund and $2 million from a federal transportation grant.
"This is much more than building a ballpark," Prim said in a press release. "It is a major redevelopment project that brings together public and private investment in a way that will reshape downtown Winston-Salem."
The deal has been in the works for years, but had hit a sticking point in November when the city and Prim could not agree on the ticket-surcharge issue. The city wanted guarantees on the amount of revenue it would receive annually from the surcharge, even if a lower number of tickets than expected were sold.
Brookstown Development Partnership, which includes Prim and Samet Corp. President Arthur Samet, will develop the retail, office and residential space. Samet also built First Horizon Park in Greensboro, home of the Greensboro Grasshoppers.
Firefly News....
Like Capt. Mal Reynolds stumbling in after a bar fight, the short-lived but much beloved sci-fi series Firefly will soon make an unexpected return, not as a TV show, but as a massively multiplayer online game.
Now that's shiny.
Multiverse, maker of a free MMO-creation platform, plans to announce Friday morning that it's struck a deal with Fox Licensing to turn the show into an MMORPG in the fashion of Star Wars Galaxies or Eve Online.
The "Browncoats," as Firefly's most devoted fans are known, have been campaigning to bring the show back almost since the moment it was canceled in late 2002. Now they'll get their wish, albeit in a new form.
"We see virtual worlds as an extraordinarily promising new entertainment medium," said Adam Kline, Fox Licensing's vice president of media enterprises in an e-mail. "We believe Multiverse can deliver an experience that will remain true to the original series, while enabling a whole new level of personal involvement for fans."
Canceled in the United States after only 11 episodes, Firefly has become the Star Trek of 21st-century sci-fi fandom: a show that seemed to remake the genre even as it stayed faithful to the conventions of "hard" science fiction, like engine room problems and menacing hordes lurking on the edge of known space.
What made the show special was the wry, often self-deprecating humor of its characters, from the captain with the checkered past to the unwittingly sexy engineer, the dull hunk of a mercenary with a girl's name, and the mysterious young woman passenger with special gifts.
The online version will move away from those central characters -- after all, there's only one Mal Reynolds. In an MMORPG, "everybody has to have their own story," says Multiverse co-founder and executive producer Corey Bridges.
"Television series can be really good properties to turn into MMOs, because when you make a TV series, not only do you need great characters, but you need to create a full, rich, compelling place," Bridges says. "If you're doing science fiction, you have to really think it out and create an incredibly rich environment that is compelling in its own right, and worth exploring and going back to week after week. That's what Joss Whedon did with Firefly."
The universe of Firefly and its spinoff film, Serenity, featured everything from Old West-style towns to futuristic urban environments, gritty spaceships and pastoral retreats -- freedom fighters, oppressive government agents, smugglers, outlaws, mercenaries, trader, townsfolk, futuristic geishas and a race of corrupted humans known as the Reavers.
Bringing those environments and character types to life as an online game will be a challenge: Multiverse is not a game developer, but rather a platform provider whose product is still in beta. Instead of making the game itself, the company will hire a development team that will craft the virtual galaxy using Multiverse tools.
"We want to find someone who wants to do something unique and fun and interesting, not just a re-skin of World of Warcraft or Star Wars Galaxies," Bridges says.
Because the underlying technology is already in place, "I feel confident that we'll see something the public can play sometime in 2008," he adds.
Founded by several early Netscape employees, Multiverse hopes to do for virtual worlds what Netscape did for web pages: provide a universal browser that lets users access any world built on the Multiverse platform using the same client software.
Already, some 7,000 development teams have registered for the Multiverse beta, according to Bridges, and more than 150 are making MMOs and non-game virtual worlds on a full-time basis. The tools are provided for free, with Multiverse taking a cut of revenue only if developers charge for their games, or for virtual items available within their worlds.
Landing Firefly on the Multiverse platform would seem to be a sure-fire promotional move. But satisfying the show's committed fans will not be easy. Online communities like FireflyFans.net, the show's premier fan site, have generated an endless stream of fan fiction, art, blogs, pod casts, meet-ups and even a fan-produced documentary, Done the Impossible, which briefly broke into the top 1,000 in DVD sales on Amazon.com.
The announcement comes just in time for this weekend's second annual gathering of Firefly fans at the Hilton hotel in Burbank, California. The "Flanvention" has already sold out, with 500 prepaid attendees signed up.
Bridges shrugs off the pressure; he just wants to make "something worthy of the show," he says. "This all springs from the genius that is Joss Whedon. It's rewarding beyond words to be able to hopefully be a footnote in the history of Firefly."
Now that's shiny.
Multiverse, maker of a free MMO-creation platform, plans to announce Friday morning that it's struck a deal with Fox Licensing to turn the show into an MMORPG in the fashion of Star Wars Galaxies or Eve Online.
The "Browncoats," as Firefly's most devoted fans are known, have been campaigning to bring the show back almost since the moment it was canceled in late 2002. Now they'll get their wish, albeit in a new form.
"We see virtual worlds as an extraordinarily promising new entertainment medium," said Adam Kline, Fox Licensing's vice president of media enterprises in an e-mail. "We believe Multiverse can deliver an experience that will remain true to the original series, while enabling a whole new level of personal involvement for fans."
Canceled in the United States after only 11 episodes, Firefly has become the Star Trek of 21st-century sci-fi fandom: a show that seemed to remake the genre even as it stayed faithful to the conventions of "hard" science fiction, like engine room problems and menacing hordes lurking on the edge of known space.
What made the show special was the wry, often self-deprecating humor of its characters, from the captain with the checkered past to the unwittingly sexy engineer, the dull hunk of a mercenary with a girl's name, and the mysterious young woman passenger with special gifts.
The online version will move away from those central characters -- after all, there's only one Mal Reynolds. In an MMORPG, "everybody has to have their own story," says Multiverse co-founder and executive producer Corey Bridges.
"Television series can be really good properties to turn into MMOs, because when you make a TV series, not only do you need great characters, but you need to create a full, rich, compelling place," Bridges says. "If you're doing science fiction, you have to really think it out and create an incredibly rich environment that is compelling in its own right, and worth exploring and going back to week after week. That's what Joss Whedon did with Firefly."
The universe of Firefly and its spinoff film, Serenity, featured everything from Old West-style towns to futuristic urban environments, gritty spaceships and pastoral retreats -- freedom fighters, oppressive government agents, smugglers, outlaws, mercenaries, trader, townsfolk, futuristic geishas and a race of corrupted humans known as the Reavers.
Bringing those environments and character types to life as an online game will be a challenge: Multiverse is not a game developer, but rather a platform provider whose product is still in beta. Instead of making the game itself, the company will hire a development team that will craft the virtual galaxy using Multiverse tools.
"We want to find someone who wants to do something unique and fun and interesting, not just a re-skin of World of Warcraft or Star Wars Galaxies," Bridges says.
Because the underlying technology is already in place, "I feel confident that we'll see something the public can play sometime in 2008," he adds.
Founded by several early Netscape employees, Multiverse hopes to do for virtual worlds what Netscape did for web pages: provide a universal browser that lets users access any world built on the Multiverse platform using the same client software.
Already, some 7,000 development teams have registered for the Multiverse beta, according to Bridges, and more than 150 are making MMOs and non-game virtual worlds on a full-time basis. The tools are provided for free, with Multiverse taking a cut of revenue only if developers charge for their games, or for virtual items available within their worlds.
Landing Firefly on the Multiverse platform would seem to be a sure-fire promotional move. But satisfying the show's committed fans will not be easy. Online communities like FireflyFans.net, the show's premier fan site, have generated an endless stream of fan fiction, art, blogs, pod casts, meet-ups and even a fan-produced documentary, Done the Impossible, which briefly broke into the top 1,000 in DVD sales on Amazon.com.
The announcement comes just in time for this weekend's second annual gathering of Firefly fans at the Hilton hotel in Burbank, California. The "Flanvention" has already sold out, with 500 prepaid attendees signed up.
Bridges shrugs off the pressure; he just wants to make "something worthy of the show," he says. "This all springs from the genius that is Joss Whedon. It's rewarding beyond words to be able to hopefully be a footnote in the history of Firefly."
And the Word of the Year is......
SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts (AP) -- After 12 months of naked partisanship on Capitol Hill, on cable TV and in the blogosphere, the word of the year for 2006 is ... "truthiness."
The word -- if one can call it that -- best summed up 2006, according to an online survey by dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster.
"Truthiness" was credited to Comedy Central satirist Stephen Colbert, who defined it as "truth that comes from the gut, not books."
"We're at a point where what constitutes truth is a question on a lot of people's minds, and truth has become up for grabs," said Merriam-Webster president John Morse. "'Truthiness' is a playful way for us to think about a very important issue."
Other Top 10 finishers included "war," "insurgent," "sectarian" and "corruption." But "truthiness" won 5-to-1, Morse said.
Colbert -- who once derided the folks at Springfield-based Merriam-Webster as the "word police" and a bunch of "wordinistas" -- was pleased.
"Though I'm no fan of reference books and their fact-based agendas, I am a fan of anyone who chooses to honor me," he said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
"And what an honor," he said. "Truthiness now joins the lexicographical pantheon with words like 'squash,' 'merry,' 'crumpet,' 'the,' 'xylophone,' 'circuitous,' 'others' and others."
Colbert first uttered "truthiness" during an October 2005 broadcast of "The Colbert Report," his parody of combative, conservative talk shows.
The word -- if one can call it that -- best summed up 2006, according to an online survey by dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster.
"Truthiness" was credited to Comedy Central satirist Stephen Colbert, who defined it as "truth that comes from the gut, not books."
"We're at a point where what constitutes truth is a question on a lot of people's minds, and truth has become up for grabs," said Merriam-Webster president John Morse. "'Truthiness' is a playful way for us to think about a very important issue."
Other Top 10 finishers included "war," "insurgent," "sectarian" and "corruption." But "truthiness" won 5-to-1, Morse said.
Colbert -- who once derided the folks at Springfield-based Merriam-Webster as the "word police" and a bunch of "wordinistas" -- was pleased.
"Though I'm no fan of reference books and their fact-based agendas, I am a fan of anyone who chooses to honor me," he said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
"And what an honor," he said. "Truthiness now joins the lexicographical pantheon with words like 'squash,' 'merry,' 'crumpet,' 'the,' 'xylophone,' 'circuitous,' 'others' and others."
Colbert first uttered "truthiness" during an October 2005 broadcast of "The Colbert Report," his parody of combative, conservative talk shows.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
The Old Harris Seat
Republican Vern Buchanan might be the official winner in a messy Sarasota-area congressional race, but Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean says the Democratic-controlled Congress should not seat Buchanan without another election.
"Absolutely not," Dean said in a taped Political Connections interview scheduled to air Sunday on Bay News 9. "You cannot seat someone if you don't have an election that's valid.
"This election is not valid. There are 18,000 people who may have voted, and we don't know what happened to their votes," Dean said. "You can bet that if the Republicans were 500 votes short they'd be calling for a new election, and they'd be right."
On Wednesday, Democrat Christine Jennings said she will ask the U.S. House to take the extreme measure of conducting its own investigation into the election.
Though Jennings has filed a lawsuit asking for a revote, a little-known provision in the U.S. Constitution gives the House the final decision on who sits in its chamber.
Her decision could set the stage for a volatile political showdown at the start of the new Democrat-led Congress. Though Democratic leaders, include incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, say all options are on the table, others privately say they hope to avoid the partisan warfare.
"She's monitoring the situation very closely," Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said. "... We'll certainly be evaluating our options."
Ironically, this is Katherine Harris' old seat. I totally agree with Dean. A new vote should be set up.
"Absolutely not," Dean said in a taped Political Connections interview scheduled to air Sunday on Bay News 9. "You cannot seat someone if you don't have an election that's valid.
"This election is not valid. There are 18,000 people who may have voted, and we don't know what happened to their votes," Dean said. "You can bet that if the Republicans were 500 votes short they'd be calling for a new election, and they'd be right."
On Wednesday, Democrat Christine Jennings said she will ask the U.S. House to take the extreme measure of conducting its own investigation into the election.
Though Jennings has filed a lawsuit asking for a revote, a little-known provision in the U.S. Constitution gives the House the final decision on who sits in its chamber.
Her decision could set the stage for a volatile political showdown at the start of the new Democrat-led Congress. Though Democratic leaders, include incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, say all options are on the table, others privately say they hope to avoid the partisan warfare.
"She's monitoring the situation very closely," Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said. "... We'll certainly be evaluating our options."
Ironically, this is Katherine Harris' old seat. I totally agree with Dean. A new vote should be set up.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Bolton is outta here!
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Unable to win Senate confirmation, U.N. Ambassador John Bolton will step down when his temporary appointment expires within weeks, the White House said Monday.
Bolton's nomination has languished in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for more than a year, blocked by Democrats and several Republicans. Sen. Lincoln Chafee, a moderate Republican who lost in the midterm elections November 7 that swept Democrats to power in both houses of Congress, was adamantly opposed to Bolton.
Critics have questioned Bolton's brusque style and whether he could be an effective bureaucrat who could force reform at the U.N.
President Bush gave Bolton the job temporarily in August 2005, while Congress was in recess. Under that process, the appointment expires when Congress formally adjourns, no later than early January.
President stood by Bolton despite opposition
The White House resubmitted Bolton's nomination last month. But with Democrats capturing control of the next Congress, his chances of winning confirmation appeared slight. The incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democratic Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, said he saw "no point in considering Mr. Bolton's nomination again."
While Bush could not give Bolton another recess appointment, the White House was believed to be exploring other ways of keeping him in the job, perhaps by giving him a title other than ambassador. But Bolton informed the White House he intended to leave when his current appointment expires, White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said.
Bush planned to meet with Bolton and his wife later Monday in the Oval Office.
As late as last month, Bush, through his top aides, said he would not relent in his defense of Bolton, despite unwavering opposition from Democrats who view Bolton as too combative for international diplomacy.
Perino said that among Bolton's accomplishments, he assembled coalitions addressing North Korea's nuclear activity, Iran's uranium enrichment and reprocessing work and the horrific violence in Darfur. She said he also made reform at the United Nations a top issue because the United States is searching for a more "credible" and more "effective."
"Ambassador Bolton served his country with distinction and he achieve a great deal at the United Nations," Perino said.
"Despite the support of a strong bipartisan majority of senators, Ambassador Bolton's confirmation was blocked by a Democratic filibuster, and this is a clear example of the breakdown in the Senate confirmation process," she said. "Nominees deserve the opportunity for a clean up or down vote. Ambassador Bolton was never given that opportunity."
Perino said Bush had reluctantly accepted Bolton's decision to leave when his current appointment expired.
From CNN.com
Another win for freedom and liberty, another defeat for Bush.
Bolton's nomination has languished in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for more than a year, blocked by Democrats and several Republicans. Sen. Lincoln Chafee, a moderate Republican who lost in the midterm elections November 7 that swept Democrats to power in both houses of Congress, was adamantly opposed to Bolton.
Critics have questioned Bolton's brusque style and whether he could be an effective bureaucrat who could force reform at the U.N.
President Bush gave Bolton the job temporarily in August 2005, while Congress was in recess. Under that process, the appointment expires when Congress formally adjourns, no later than early January.
President stood by Bolton despite opposition
The White House resubmitted Bolton's nomination last month. But with Democrats capturing control of the next Congress, his chances of winning confirmation appeared slight. The incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democratic Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, said he saw "no point in considering Mr. Bolton's nomination again."
While Bush could not give Bolton another recess appointment, the White House was believed to be exploring other ways of keeping him in the job, perhaps by giving him a title other than ambassador. But Bolton informed the White House he intended to leave when his current appointment expires, White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said.
Bush planned to meet with Bolton and his wife later Monday in the Oval Office.
As late as last month, Bush, through his top aides, said he would not relent in his defense of Bolton, despite unwavering opposition from Democrats who view Bolton as too combative for international diplomacy.
Perino said that among Bolton's accomplishments, he assembled coalitions addressing North Korea's nuclear activity, Iran's uranium enrichment and reprocessing work and the horrific violence in Darfur. She said he also made reform at the United Nations a top issue because the United States is searching for a more "credible" and more "effective."
"Ambassador Bolton served his country with distinction and he achieve a great deal at the United Nations," Perino said.
"Despite the support of a strong bipartisan majority of senators, Ambassador Bolton's confirmation was blocked by a Democratic filibuster, and this is a clear example of the breakdown in the Senate confirmation process," she said. "Nominees deserve the opportunity for a clean up or down vote. Ambassador Bolton was never given that opportunity."
Perino said Bush had reluctantly accepted Bolton's decision to leave when his current appointment expired.
From CNN.com
Another win for freedom and liberty, another defeat for Bush.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Late Night
"A new poll finds that 60 percent of Americans think George W. Bush is a worse president than his father. However, President Bush's advisers cheered him up by telling him he's the second best George Bush who's ever been president." --Conan O'Brien
Countdown 12/2/06
An "on/off button" to free speech. How anyone can support these wackos is beyond me.
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