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Mac (Peter Riegert), an ambitious mid-level executive at a Texas oil company is selected — mainly because his name seems Scottish — by his eccentric boss (Burt Lancaster) to travel to Scotland on a two-pronged mission: 1) to negotiate the purchase of Ferness, a remote fishing village with a beautiful beach that happens to be the perfect location for building a refinery to process North Sea petroleum, and 2) to keep his eyes peeled for anything unusual happening in the night sky. [more inside]
posted by theory on Apr 11, 2021 - 10 comments

Russia fires cruise missiles at targets in Syria and Iran, and the U.S. suspends their rebel training program. FIFA's ethics committee suspends Sepp Blatter for 90 days, and all his replacements are either being investigated themselves or might be soon. The U.S. asks Toyota how come so many of their trucks have gotten in the hands of ISIS. And Now: John McCain's Favorite Joke. Main story: North Dakota's oil rush, and the environmental and human cost to the state. LWT produced a video appeal to North Dakota to hold oil companies to greater account for their malfeasence, and paid for a billboard in the state saying "Be Angry. (Please.)" YouTube (20m) [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Oct 12, 2015 - 18 comments

ISIS gains an ally in Boko Haram. Ireland accidentally legalizes a number of psychoactive drugs for a day. Brazil prepares to investigate politicians taking bribes from oil companies. And Now: Newscasters Who Don't Know About You. Main story: NCAA is a billion dollar industry, but with many problems with how it treats its players (YouTube 21m). Last Week Tonight introduces the hashtag #soybeanwind and ends with an ad for their more realistic NCAA simulator video game.
posted by JHarris on Mar 16, 2015 - 6 comments

The Man of Steel has a new love interest and a new nemesis. [more inside]
posted by Ik ben afgesneden on Jan 25, 2015 - 8 comments