Must-See TV (on the Web)

It's one hell of a huge download (32 MB for Windows Media and 48 MB for QuickTime). But if you're on a broadband network, take a minute to go over to Crooks and Liars and check out this segment from Keith Olbermann's Countdown on how the Bush administration has used our color-coded terror warnings at opportune political moments. But if you're in the mood for something less cerebral, check out this symphony of Diet Coke geysers (set off by a Mentos candy); hat-tip to Schaf-t.

[Follow-Up] From today's Studio Briefing at IMDB:

Anti-war blogs on Monday said that an NBC report suggested that the arrest of the suspected plane bombers in England and the subsequent shutting down of British airports may have been contrived for maximum political show in the news media. The network, citing unnamed U.K. officials knowledgeable about the case, said that contrary to statements made by officials over the weekend, the attacks were not imminent; no plane tickets had been purchased by the suspects; some hadn't even applied for passports. (British police confirmed Monday that there was no truth to earlier reports that airline tickets had been found at the residences of the suspects.) The sources also said that British authorities had wanted to continue to run surveillance on the suspects but that Washington pressured them to move in quickly. The blog Truthdig asked why, "if the attacks weren't imminent, were so many flights canceled -- as though the suspects were actually at the airport, waiting at the gates? And why, if the attacks weren't imminent, did it all of a sudden become too dangerous to allow people to bring water bottles on planes?"