Since the Euro has just launched as a physical currency, I’ve looked at some of the web sites for pictures of the coins (and not finding them; neither the Guardian nor the official Euro site has photos I can find of any coin other than the 1 Euro). This got me thinking about the denominations the choose to make, and how they differ from ours in the US.
Tag: Rant
Erosion of Civil Liberties
Have you seen what they have done? There’s a presidential directive authorizing the trial of terrorist suspects by secret military tribunals, with no accountability and no review. Continue reading Erosion of Civil Liberties
The Matrix
The Matrix is, I’m given to understand, one of the best SF films that Hollywood has produced. Many of my film-going friends tell me this. It was up for the Hugo award for best science fiction dramatic presentation in 2000 (it was beaten by Galaxy Quest, in what is said to be a rather strong field). It’s currently (19-Aug-2001) #31 in the IMDB Top 250, with a rating of 8.5 out of 10.
Dull States
States have personalities. My perceptions of those personalities are probably as accurate as most people’s perceptions of the personalities of politicians and celebrities, i.e. pretty distantly related to reality. But it’s fun to play with.
The War On Some Drugs
“The war on some drugs” is one of the common names for the phenomenon. “Some drugs” refers to the fact that alcohol and caffeine are untouchable. Nicotine seems to be falling, but even it isn’t getting hit by the drug warriors, it’s dying a different death. Politicians tend to call it just “the war on drugs”. I’ve also heard it called “the war on civil rights”, for reasons which should be pretty obvious.