The time between Xmas and New Years is like a dead zone. But, since some people, including me, will sometimes have something to say, I'm going to fill it with open threads.

Here's one, all topics welcome.

Worst Media Internet Practices of 2015 (Worthy of a Boycott of Sites That Use Them)

1. Auto-playing videos on news sites that slow or hang my computer. I continue to refuse to link to any site that has auto-play video and I close the window as soon as I see it. Worst offenders: CNN, ABC and local news, but almost everyone is doing it now. Fewest might be Reuters and NY Times, but even they do it sometimes.

2. News articles republishing unconfirmed facts without doing any independent investigation to verify. There's no excuse for lazy. San Bernadino is this year's best example.

[More....]

A drug cop in Ponce, Puerto Rico took three of his fellow cops hostage and shot and killed them today.

Our condolences to the families and loved ones of the slain officers.

Pointing out the obvious: Stricter gun laws wouldn't have prevented this tragedy.

One of the slain officers is believed to have shot the alleged killer officer in the arm: [More...]

I've only binge-watched one series so far this weekend -- Netflix' Frankie and Grace with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda. They play two 70 year olds who are married to law partners. In the first episode, the law partners announce they are leaving their wives to marry each other, and reveal they've been secretly having an affair for 20 years. There are 13 episodes. It has many recognizable stars. Parts of it are very funny. Lily Tomlin has been nominated for a Golden Globes award for her performance and it's been renewed for a second season. Jane Fonda looks terrific.

The beach house where most of it was filmed is very nice (although not as nice as Diane Keaton's beach house in the Hamptons in "Something's Got to Give."

I'm not finding much else to watch despite all the offerings. What are you binge-watching on this weekend? Are you using Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, or your cable service?

ISIS leader al Baghdadi released a new audio speech today. I haven't seen a full English translation yet (a French one is available.)

In it, he threatens Israel:

"With the help of Allah, We are getting closer to you every day," al-Baghdadi told his Israeli listeners. "The Israelis will soon see us in Palestine. This is no longer a war of the crusaders against us. The entire world is fighting us right now."

The ISIS leader continued, "The Israelis thought that we forgot Palestine and that they had distracted us from it. That is not the case. We have not forgotten Palestine for one moment."

This is the first public audio speech since May. I don't think he's been seen since mid-2014 when he announced the Caliphate. As to when this message was made, Haaretz says it was after the beginning of the Russian airstrikes.[More....]

Stephen Silva, the long time friend of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was sentenced in federal court this week to time served for his possession of a weapon with a partially obliterated serial number and distribution of heroin. (History and details here.)

Why the break? He cooperated and testified at Tsarnaev's trial that he loaned Tsarnaev a Ruger P95 9mm pistol. He said Tsarnaev had told him it would be used to rob students who attended the University of Rhode Island. The gun was used after the Marathon bombing to kill MIT officer Sean Collier. (Tamerlan is alleged to have used the gun days later in the Watertown shootout. An officer testified Tamerlan threw it at him when he ran out of bullets.)

Last night while rummaging around the Internet, I found the transcript of Silva's testimony here. Not surprisingly, it contains many details I don't recall the media reporting when covering his testimony or sentencing. The sentencing pleadings by both sides contain even more details. Recap below: [More...]

What's Christmas Eve without Darlene Love?

It's the day before Christmas.....
We wish you all a happy and healthful holiday.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome. [More...]

Real Housewives Star Teresea Giudice, has served a year for tax fraud, and left Danbury yesterday and went home. (I guess she was able to bypass the Halfway House.)

Gov. Jerry Brown gave Robert Downey Jr. a Xmas Eve gift of a pardon.

The Somalian Government has banned Christmas and New Years' celebrations on the ground they have nothing to do with Islam.

"We warn against celebration of Christmas, which is only for Christians," Sheikh Mohamed Kheyrow, director of Somalia’s ministry of religion, said on state radio. "This is a matter of faith. The Christmas holiday and its drum beatings have nothing to with Islam."

He said the ministry has sent letters to the police, national security intelligence and officials in the capital Mogadishu instructing them to "prevent Christmas celebrations."

al-Shabab, which controlled Mogadishu until 2011, used to do the same thing. Since Somalia is almost entirely Muslim, what's behind the new ban? It's not entirely clear, but one theory: Fear of attacks.[More...]

Iraqi forces have been moving in on ISIS in Ramadi for 2 weeks. Only 6,00 to 1,000 ISIS fighters remained at the start of the new offensive. Yesterday Iraqi Forces reportedly moved into the town center. The U.S. says there are now only 250 - 350 ISIS fighters remaining. What about civilians?

Iraqi airplanes dropped leaflets on Sunday urging residents of Ramadi to evacuate within 72 hours, warning of an impending operation and suggesting two evacuation routes. Colonel Warren estimated that thousands or even tens of thousands of civilians were still in the city; hundreds of thousands have fled.

The U.S. says Ramadi will be cleared of ISIS in 2 to 3 days. Then what? [More...}

Christmas is just around the corner. I hope that as you're putting a little something in the pocket of your babysitter, doorman, housekeeper, shoe shiner, hairstylist, secretary, whomever, you will remember the bloggers whose sites you visit and read day after day, whether for enjoyment or enrichment, and make a note to add them to your gift list. If you'd like to give to TalkLeft, just click on the graphic below. You can use paypal or a credit card.

All amounts are welcome, it's the thought and appreciation behind the gift that counts. [More...]

The House Judiciary Committee has released Tashfeen Malik's immigration application saying her visa vetting was insufficient. The 21 page document is available here.

I don't really see the reason for the Committee's criticism of her visa vetting (other than the obvious that after the fact we know she was a terrorist.) Her story on the application is fairly consistent with what Syed's now estranged parents claim. [More...]