The greatest Superhero movie never made
Sep. 27th, 2003 03:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sombrefanRead this article about the Orson Welles Batman movie and gasp. Gregory Peck as Batman and "George Raft signing up for Two-Face (after Bogart turned it down), James Cagney as The Riddler, Basil Rathbone as The Joker and Welles' former lover Marlene Dietrich as a very exotic Catwoman". Bloody hell, that would have been amazing.
Meanwhile this item in today's Times made me wonder about the US intelligence community.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,175-832349,00.html
September 27, 2003
US spies mistake a wee dram for weapon of mass destruction
By Sam Lister
AMERICA’S hunt for weapons of mass destruction is either more thorough than was previously imagined, or the Pentagon is getting thirsty.
US defence agents based in Virginia have admitted to monitoring a Victorian whisky distillery in the Western Isles as part of the latest phase of their war on terrorism.
Managers of the Bruichladdich distillery, on the isle of Islay, were stunned to discover that they were under surveillance by US secret services, which had it marked as a potential terrorist threat.
Mark Reynier, the distillery’s director, initially received an anonymous e-mail requesting that he mend one of several webcams he had installed at his plant for the benefit of whisky-lovers. A second e-mail revealed, whether by accident or design, that the sender was from the US Defence Threat Reduction Agency, a unit responsible for tracking weapons of mass destruction.
Mr Reynier pushed for an explanation, which went unanswered until last week when the agency explained that plants such as his were monitored because the whisky distilling process was very similar to that used to manufacture chemical weapons.
“I could not believe it, it was so surreal it was just ridiculous,” Mr Reynier said. “I set up the webcams so that enthusiasts of Islay whisky could see the distillery at work, but I never imagined it was going to be used for this. It really makes you wonder what the Americans are up to some times.”
Mr Reynier, 41, recently installed seven webcams around his plant, which he bought and renovated three years ago. The Scottish distillery, which was founded in 1881, still uses all the traditional techniques but has a state-of-the-art computer system installed to improve the whisky-making process.
Ursula Stearns, a spokeswoman for the Defence Threat Reduction Agency, said that such facilities were of interest because the difference between distilling a good whisky and making chemical weapons was “just a small tweak”.
An e-mail sent to Mr Rey- nier explained that the agency was engaged in the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, with a mission “to safeguard the US and its allies from weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high explosives)”.
An agency spokesman confirmed that sites such as distilleries were of interest, although monitoring plants such as that in Islay “was not high on (the) list of missions”.
He said: “We all know about this day and age, when you can go to chemical processing plants and somebody with another intent can take that equipment and create something that is not intended to be there.
“The United States is part of the Chemical Weapons Convention and as such we are committed to the process of destroying chemical weapons. That includes monitoring and visiting commercial facilities where they would be able to make chemical weapons.”
Meanwhile this item in today's Times made me wonder about the US intelligence community.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,175-832349,00.html
September 27, 2003
US spies mistake a wee dram for weapon of mass destruction
By Sam Lister
AMERICA’S hunt for weapons of mass destruction is either more thorough than was previously imagined, or the Pentagon is getting thirsty.
US defence agents based in Virginia have admitted to monitoring a Victorian whisky distillery in the Western Isles as part of the latest phase of their war on terrorism.
Managers of the Bruichladdich distillery, on the isle of Islay, were stunned to discover that they were under surveillance by US secret services, which had it marked as a potential terrorist threat.
Mark Reynier, the distillery’s director, initially received an anonymous e-mail requesting that he mend one of several webcams he had installed at his plant for the benefit of whisky-lovers. A second e-mail revealed, whether by accident or design, that the sender was from the US Defence Threat Reduction Agency, a unit responsible for tracking weapons of mass destruction.
Mr Reynier pushed for an explanation, which went unanswered until last week when the agency explained that plants such as his were monitored because the whisky distilling process was very similar to that used to manufacture chemical weapons.
“I could not believe it, it was so surreal it was just ridiculous,” Mr Reynier said. “I set up the webcams so that enthusiasts of Islay whisky could see the distillery at work, but I never imagined it was going to be used for this. It really makes you wonder what the Americans are up to some times.”
Mr Reynier, 41, recently installed seven webcams around his plant, which he bought and renovated three years ago. The Scottish distillery, which was founded in 1881, still uses all the traditional techniques but has a state-of-the-art computer system installed to improve the whisky-making process.
Ursula Stearns, a spokeswoman for the Defence Threat Reduction Agency, said that such facilities were of interest because the difference between distilling a good whisky and making chemical weapons was “just a small tweak”.
An e-mail sent to Mr Rey- nier explained that the agency was engaged in the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, with a mission “to safeguard the US and its allies from weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high explosives)”.
An agency spokesman confirmed that sites such as distilleries were of interest, although monitoring plants such as that in Islay “was not high on (the) list of missions”.
He said: “We all know about this day and age, when you can go to chemical processing plants and somebody with another intent can take that equipment and create something that is not intended to be there.
“The United States is part of the Chemical Weapons Convention and as such we are committed to the process of destroying chemical weapons. That includes monitoring and visiting commercial facilities where they would be able to make chemical weapons.”
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US intelligence? What an oxymoron that is :)
Date: 2003-09-27 10:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-09-27 11:00 am (UTC)And once again...
Date: 2003-09-27 10:49 am (UTC)Re: The Orsen Welles Batman movie
Date: 2003-09-28 06:36 am (UTC)