On the eve of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 60th birthday, NWN is
pleased to present what all can agree is the definitive video.
I’m noticing a fair amount of dust in the air, perhaps from China, as Steve Westly pointed out a few weeks ago, and decided to rinse off the car this morning. This occasioned the need to dry it, and air drying, of course, is my preference. But while out on the freeway, I was only able to get the car up to 115 before running into traffic.
This congestion is really an intolerable situation. Undoubtedly due to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s failure to get moving on California’s infrastructure investment deficit in 2005. Or to state Senate Republicans holding up the current budget. Or, yes, to Jerry Brown’s failure as governor to build 20-lane freeways. If we had those freeways, I could have done a proper job of drying off the car at the more appropriate 130 or 140. And it would actually save fuel and be better for the environment. Since the drying goes so much faster than when one is driving 65 or 70 …
Well, enough seriousness for today. Governor Schwarzenegger, whose 60th birthday is tomorrow — and aren’t we sure that he’s thrilled about that? — has another hit on his hands.
No, I’m not referring to his accolades on fighting climate change. Or to the Senate Republican budget stall or the federal judges threatening to release prison inmates or pending referenda against his casino compacts or the threat to California’s voting systems or … No, wait, those aren’t pluses.
Schwarzenegger, incidentally, will work this week on resolving the state budget impasse. Talk about a birthday present. But it will undoubtedly make him feel quite young.
Oh, yes, the big hit. Here it is:
** ANOTHER HIT FOR ARNOLD: THE SIMPSONS MOVIE. Though he appears not as a performer but as a character — more specifically, as “President Arnold Schwarzenegger” — the former action superstar is a current comedy superstar. The Simpsons Movie had a much bigger opening than most Hollywood experts expected, grossing a whopping $71.9 million at the domestic box office from Friday through today. That’s an exhibitors’ estimate, of course. The final numbers will be out tomorrow.
As you can see in the video clip in yesterday’s NWN, Schwarzenegger is played for humor in the movie, not as an action hero. But it’s all in good fun.
Tomorrow, incidentally, I’ll tell you the backstory behind the portrayal of Schwarzenegger. After all, it’s his birthday tomorrow.
** GORDON BROWN TO SUMMIT WITH BUSH. New British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is coming to America. The new leader of American’s number one ally in the world, who replaced Tony Blair on June 27th, have dinner tonight with President George W. Bush at Camp David. There they will discuss the various Middle East crises and climate change. Before leaving London, Brown said: “The relationship between an American president and a British prime minister will always be strong.”
Meanwhile, British forces in southern Iraq, centered in and around the key city of Basra, are redeploying. The remaining troops in the middle of Basra will now be quartered not in the city center, but at an air base on the outskirts of Basra. As the move is made, the total number of British troops in Iraq will again diminish, from 5,500 to 5,000. British military sources say the army is getting worn down, and want to focus on securing Afghanistan.
** BOXER IN GREENLAND. With hyperpartisan critics saying “Good, she should stay there” — and how clever is that? — California Senator Barbara Boxer is in Greenland this weekend with several of her fellow senators of both parties looking at the impact of the greenhouse effect. The chair of the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works said: “I think everyone who has seen this is changed. Imagine flying in a helicopter and seeing this massive glacier that’s five miles wide and 500 miles long…following it as it’s crashing into the sea. It’s moving and it’s melting and every single day, 24 hours a day, 20 million tons of ice comes off that glacier and streams into the ocean.”
Arkalo Abelsen, Greeland’s environmental minister, told the senators that when he was a child, the sea ice closed Disco Bay for six months. Now it lasts only a few weeks.
Schwarzenegger will have a lot to talk about at the United Nations in New York on September 24th.
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59 Comments
Jonas Blane:The crazy Arnold clones, I love it! The Terminator’s going to be 60, wow.
Jul 29, 2007 - 10:43 am Jonas Blane:The crazy Arnold clones, I love it! The Terminator’s going to be 60, wow.
Jul 29, 2007 - 10:43 am Ann:Greenland melting away and dumb Republicans calling global warming a fake. lol
Jul 29, 2007 - 10:52 am Bill Bradley:It is kind of hard to belive, but, yes, he’s going to be 60.
And he doesn’t look a day over …
Jul 29, 2007 - 10:59 am Bill Bradley:It is kind of hard to belive, but, yes, he’s going to be 60.
And he doesn’t look a day over …
Jul 29, 2007 - 10:59 am Adam:Hi Bill,
Still reading your good work. And as if you’re not busy enough, I’d be interested in seeing your reporting and analysis on the Devore initiative about allowing new nuclear power plants in the state.
What would be of interest to me (and certainly a lot of others) is Jerry Brown’s stance on new nuclear plants, because as AG he’ll write the title and summary of the initiative.
I’m also interested to know if any of the big Dems buy into the argument put out by the industry that we need new nuke plants to help us lower greenhouse gas emissions. Which would be a great argument if they could tell us why we shouldn’t be deeeply concerned about storing the radioactive waste in an seismically active state.
Keep on, Bill!
Jul 29, 2007 - 11:10 am Bill Bradley:Haven’t seen it and don’t know that Chuck DeVore has the firepower to get a real initiative going, on nuclear power or anything else.
France as you know — that bete noire of the American right — gets 90% of its electricity from nuclear power. And the US Navy has run an extensive nuclear power program for many decades without a hitch.
If there were to be more nuclear plants in California — and the ones here are mostly working fine, notwithstanding the very costly accident at San Onofre I revealed a few years ago — they would presumably be placed well away from the state’s well-scouted earthquake faults.
Jul 29, 2007 - 11:16 am Barbara:I am w/british friends in their 40’s. they loved Blair and give Brown high marks so far. they have made a lot of money in Persian Gulf and now Russia and Asia…they claim BLAIR uderstood FM impacts Economy…they assume Brown understands that too. they like his Finance Minister..milibrand not sure yet..but they say he has a very young government and that they think is needed…
Jul 29, 2007 - 12:02 pm Adam:Bill,
The Devore initiative has a lot of money behind it, including money from the French nuclear industry. It’s been sent to Brown’s office, and they are paying for $4 a signature, so I expect it’ll be on the June ballot.
I’m sure you’ve followed the Japan earthquake story and what happened to its biggest nuclear plant. As someone who lives across the water from one of our state’s two active plants (and yes, this is a seismically active area), I am of course concerned about this issue.
Thanks.
Jul 29, 2007 - 12:02 pm Bill Bradley:Interesing. Of course, most initiatives never go anywhere. I’m swamped, as you may have guessed. Do you have more details, or a link to something?
>Adam :
Jul 29, 2007 - 12:08 pm Bill Bradley:Bill,
The Devore initiative has a lot of money behind it, including money from the French nuclear industry. It’s been sent to Brown’s office, and they are paying for $4 a signature, so I expect it’ll be on the June ballot.
I’m sure you’ve followed the Japan earthquake story and what happened to its biggest nuclear plant. As someone who lives across the water from one of our state’s two active plants (and yes, this is a seismically active area), I am of course concerned about this issue.
Thanks.
Jul 29, 2007 12:02 PM
FM?
>Barbara :
Jul 29, 2007 - 12:09 pm Barbara:I am w/british friends in their 40’s. they loved Blair and give Brown high marks so far. they have made a lot of money in Persian Gulf and now Russia and Asia…they claim BLAIR uderstood FM impacts Economy…they assume Brown understands that too. they like his Finance Minister..milibrand not sure yet..but they say he has a very young government and that they think is needed…
Jul 29, 2007 12:02 PM
meant FP foreign policy ..sory everyone is rushing me ..we are doing lunch in town ..toodles
Jul 29, 2007 - 12:30 pm richard locicero:Re Nuclear Power and the French. A good look at the French program is found in the book “Light Water” written by a HBS Professor. Some salient points:
1. All Nuclear Power Plants (indeed all power plants) in France are state-owned by Electricite de France.
2. The French settled on a standardized design for all nukes.
3. Mgt. comes from the top grads of the Ecole Polytechnique and the tech staff came through French military Nuclear Programs.
If you look at it the French program shares many of the same virtues - or vices - the Navy during the Rickover years. The admiral was famous for his iracsable ways and his interviews with new recruits were legendary - see Jimmy Carter’s “Why not the Best?” or Elmo Zumwalt’s account. Rickover felt that one one accident attributed to the power plant would kill the program so he was ultra consrvative in design and operation. he insisted that all skippers be “Nukes” - that is grads of his engineering program.
There are plenty of people who felt this made the Navy more safety conscious than militarily ready. But it sure made for a spotless safety record while he was alive and running it.
Jul 29, 2007 - 12:31 pm richard locicero:I’m glad Barbara’s Brit friends liked Blair - someone had to as his approval ratings were in the toilet. Gordon Brown is soaring for the simple reason that he ain’t Tony. And when the Brits pull out of Iraq this year that will solidify it.
Jul 29, 2007 - 12:34 pm richard locicero:And, finally, what will Senate Republicans feel when they learn that Arnold went on AIR AMERICA this weekend to have a lovefest over Global Warming with his cousin by marriage Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who hosts a program there?
Jul 29, 2007 - 12:37 pm Bill Bradley:You have a lot of bile on a Sunday, Richard.
You seem to have forgoten, or are not aware, that Gordon Brown has gone up for his strong response to the Islamic jihadist terrorist attacks, his managment of the massive flood across the UK, and, among conservatives, for reversing Blair’s marijuana policy.
Jul 29, 2007 - 12:42 pm Barbara:my Brit friend lives by Bloomberg.com. he says Bloomberg says that Brown wants talks with Bush to centeron trade and Darfur…if true then China just might come up in the conversation…btw Sarkozy has suggested a British french approach to solving Darfur…and Cecelia Sarkozy is getting credit for Libya’S release of Bulgarian nurses. she made two trips there prior to their release. I am ready for lunch waiting by the pool to go and my friend is on phone call and texting at the same time…now I could never do that…
Jul 29, 2007 - 1:10 pm Barbara:m r. Bradley I just finished this Boomberg piece “U.K. s BROWN Wants Talks in US TO FOCUS ON TRADE DARFUR….it is worth reading for background and an overview I can’t link it now but perhaps someone can…toodles
Jul 29, 2007 - 1:19 pm Dr. Moosa:Dear participants
May I draw your attention toward one of the most serious issue of forced melting of glacier and that is Siachen. The longest glacier of the world—know as third pole of the earth—being melted with unprecedented rate due to permanent presence of militaries of India and Pakistan. Here is the complete case of Siachen, please help to save this glacier…
Exchange Siachen confrontation for peace
Q. Isa Daudpota and Arshad H. Abbasi
Opinion-makers in India and Pakistan should tell their governments to stop ruining the future of our water supplies and our weather system. Bringing the troops down from Siachen would be the first step. want to read more please click
Jul 29, 2007 - 1:34 pm richard locicero:http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/16/stories/2007021604381100.htm
Bill, I think the fact that he plans to go along with the military and withdraw completely from Iraq just might have something to do with his numbers. Course what do I know - I only read the Brit press online and watch BBC News.
Jul 29, 2007 - 2:07 pm Bill Bradley:Sundays are good days to relax, Richard.
Gordon Brown is hardly being credited for something he hasn’t done, ie, withdraw from Iraq.
He is being credited for things he has done, which you totally, er, neglected to mention. And the principal of those are hardly left-wing.
Your hatred of Blair gets tedious.
Good coments on teh nuclear program.
Jul 29, 2007 - 2:15 pm Bill Bradley:Thank you for the alert on the glacier, Dr. Moosa.
Jul 29, 2007 - 2:19 pm Auros:The chief problem with nuclear is that if you bother to account for its subsidies, it turns out to be an order of magnitude more expensive than buying the same capacity by freeing up capacity through efficiency — for instance, offering people a new free refrigerator if they’ll turn in an old inefficient one. Small, unsexy stuff. And yet, astonishingly cheap. You can learn all about this stuff, in excruciating detail, here:
http://www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid231.php
I was present at all five lectures, and submitted one of the questions that was addressed in the Q/A session on transportation…
Jul 29, 2007 - 3:17 pm Capitol Boy:You could only go 115 miles an hour before you ran into traffic. That is terrible.
Jul 29, 2007 - 3:38 pm Jonathan Hemlock:Unless the new Prime Minister intends to shift the UK troops from Iraq to Afghanistan, I am afraid he is going to be very hard-pressed to pull out of Iraq. He won’t risk the rupture with the US.
Jul 29, 2007 - 4:53 pm Jonathan Hemlock:Unless the new Prime Minister intends to shift the UK troops from Iraq to Afghanistan, I am afraid he is going to be very hard-pressed to pull out of Iraq. He won’t risk the rupture with the US.
Jul 29, 2007 - 4:53 pm Jonathan Hemlock:Unless the new Prime Minister intends to shift the UK troops from Iraq to Afghanistan, I am afraid he is going to be very hard-pressed to pull out of Iraq. He won’t risk the rupture with the US.
Jul 29, 2007 - 4:54 pm Sullihan:But unlike here, the new PM gets to decide the date of the next election, (and the betting is that he wants it soon so he can have his own mandate) which means that the US/UK relationship will place second to PM/electorate relationship.
Jul 29, 2007 - 5:22 pm Dump Denham:Arnold isn’t the only one having a birthday!
Jeff Denham turns 40 tomorrow.
We got him a few presents — hundreds of DUMP DENHAM signs posted in his district.
Jul 29, 2007 - 5:38 pm Dump Denham:Arnold isn’t the only one having a birthday!
Jeff Denham turns 40 tomorrow.
We got him a few presents — hundreds of DUMP DENHAM signs posted in his district.
Jul 29, 2007 - 5:38 pm Bill Bradley:How thoughtful.
Jul 29, 2007 - 6:50 pm Bill Bradley:Another reason for an early UK election is David Cameron’s bad trip to Rwanda.
>Sullihan :
Jul 29, 2007 - 6:51 pm Sacramento Solon:But unlike here, the new PM gets to decide the date of the next election, (and the betting is that he wants it soon so he can have his own mandate) which means that the US/UK relationship will place second to PM/electorate relationship.
Jul 29, 2007 05:22 PM
Bill,
Make them go away on a Sunday. Please.
Thanks.
Jul 29, 2007 - 6:53 pm Bill Bradley:Now you’re in the realm of transnational power politics.
>Jonathan Hemlock :
Jul 29, 2007 - 6:53 pm Bill Bradley:Unless the new Prime Minister intends to shift the UK troops from Iraq to Afghanistan, I am afraid he is going to be very hard-pressed to pull out of Iraq. He won’t risk the rupture with the US.
Jul 29, 2007 04:54 PM
It was very disappointing.
>Capitol Boy :
Jul 29, 2007 - 6:55 pm Bill Bradley:You could only go 115 miles an hour before you ran into traffic. That is terrible.
Jul 29, 2007 03:38 PM
Who?
>Sacramento Solon :
Jul 29, 2007 - 6:56 pm Sacramento Solon:Bill,
Make them go away on a Sunday. Please.
Thanks.
Jul 29, 2007 06:53 PM
Dump Denham.
Jul 29, 2007 - 6:58 pm Bill Bradley:Beyond a certain point, conservation is not a substitute for production.
>Auros :
Jul 29, 2007 - 7:00 pm Bill Bradley:The chief problem with nuclear is that if you bother to account for its subsidies, it turns out to be an order of magnitude more expensive than buying the same capacity by freeing up capacity through efficiency — for instance, offering people a new free refrigerator if they’ll turn in an old inefficient one.
Oh.
>Sacramento Solon :
Jul 29, 2007 - 7:02 pm Sacramento Solon:Dump Denham.
Jul 29, 2007 06:58 PM
Perhaps a brief conversation on the sex life of a flea would be more in order this Sunday evening.
Care to lead if off?
Jul 29, 2007 - 7:03 pm Bill Bradley:That would be no.
Jul 29, 2007 - 7:07 pm Bill Bradley:That would be no.
Jul 29, 2007 - 7:07 pm Sacramento Solon:Okay, be that way.
How about, did you see the article in today’s LA Times about Jerry wanting his old job back?
Jul 29, 2007 - 7:18 pm Bill Bradley:That’s not what it said.
That’s what some people are afraid it said.
Jul 29, 2007 - 7:22 pm Sacramento Solon:Then you have seen the article.
Jul 29, 2007 - 7:25 pm Bill Bradley:Good night…
Of course. Jim Brulte’s take was quite interesting. Since he has, unknown apparently to the author, been working with the only potentially viable Republican candidate on the horizon.
Jul 29, 2007 - 7:29 pm Sacramento Solon:That is very interesting. Somehow don’t think that has escaped the Governor General however.
Would that candidate currently have office space in 300 Capitol Mall, 17th Floor?
Jul 29, 2007 - 7:49 pm Bill Bradley:I don’t memorize politicians’ addresses.
Jul 29, 2007 - 7:57 pm Sacramento Solon:Okay…Insurance Commissioner.
Jul 29, 2007 - 8:00 pm Bill Bradley:It isn’t Tom McClintock.
Jul 29, 2007 - 8:09 pm Sacramento Solon:Okay, that stuns me. Truly does. Thought for sure it had to be him, especially since he has done such a great job as Insurance Commissioner.
Jul 29, 2007 - 8:16 pm Bill Bradley:Hasn’t he, though?
Jul 29, 2007 - 9:10 pm Jonas Blane:You lost me.
Jul 29, 2007 - 10:03 pm Ann:Poizner is too geeky. He’d never have a chance against Jerry Brown.
Jul 29, 2007 - 11:23 pm Bill Bradley:I was being facetious.
Jul 30, 2007 - 7:31 am Auros:Beyond a certain point, conservation is not a substitute for production.
But what is that point? We waste energy (and other resources, especially water) on a mind-boggling scale. Reductions in energy use on the order of 80% are entirely within the reach of existing technology, with 90% not all that much a stretch. A lot of these improvements would not even be particularly expensive, once you account for the fact that the capital investment would be paid back by energy savings within a year or two, often less. It costs less to stop wasting things than it does to continue doing what we’re doing. (Again, check out the RMI presentations for numerous case studies; a lot of them show payback periods of a few months.)
Unless you think that in the near future we’re going to need five times as much energy as we produce today, conservation and efficiency upgrades could cover all of our needs, for quite some time.
Jul 30, 2007 - 11:13 am Bill Bradley:That’s a very pleasant notion.
Don’t forget the population projections and the need to change out power under greenhouse scenarios.
Jul 30, 2007 - 11:55 am Bill Bradley:That’s a very pleasant notion.
Don’t forget the population projections and the need to change out power under greenhouse scenarios.
Jul 30, 2007 - 11:55 am NickM:Dump Denham - a year into his final Senate term. [He has a committee for a statewide race in 2010, but most people don’t expect he’ll win a statewide primary - low name ID, etc.]
Could they get any less relevant? How about “Stop Schwarzenegger in 2010″ signs?
Jul 30, 2007 - 2:44 pm