wow! excited am I!

I just discovered that one of the novels I read over my holidays, Captain Alatriste, has been made in to a movie (along with several of its sequels) with Viggo Mortensen. Some of the reviews on IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395119/) are not favourable, but I'm not terribly impressed with the specific complaints that are listed. And, having watched one of the trailers, I *am* excited to see the movie! This looks excellent, with lots fo good hisotry and 17th century costume drama and warfare. I *love* the 17th century, so seeing it brought to the screen rather lushly and opulently but fairly well (judging by the preview) will be a real pleasure. I have to wait until December to see it in the theatre, though. :-(

thanks to percyprune

For pointing out this piece by Simon Jenkins in the Guardian. My eye was caught by different bits than his, namely the passage:

The favourite line from the war on terror's military-industrial complex is that in 2001 Osama bin Laden "changed the rules of the game". (Forgotten is that he attacked the same target in 1993, his only error being one of civil engineering.) George Bush repeated the change thesis again on Wednesday in confirming his secret interrogation camps and excusing the five-year delay in bringing al-Qaida suspects to justice. Tony Blair cites the change with every curb on civil liberty. The "new" terrorism requires a new approach to public safety. The security industry cries amen.

Most of this is self-serving drivel. Nervous rulers have colluded with soldiers and businessmen throughout history to cite some ethnic or religious menace when needing more power and higher taxes. Political violence has become more promiscuous with suicide bombing and a consequent rise in kill rate per incident, but - as Matthew Carr shows in his book on terror, Unknown Soldiers - the change is one of degree.

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