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...]

Update: My thoughts: The U.S. just got handed a price tag of $120,000. a year to warehouse these four men should they be convicted. (Per Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, June 16, 2015, the annual cost of housing a prisoner at a Bureau of Prisons facility is $30,621.00.) For what? Creating and running the most successful file uploading and sharing business ever? Yes, some people, including Dotcom and his partners, may have improperly allowed site users to share copyrighted material, for which Hollywood is owed money. So sue them. Prison is not the answer to every conceivable economic and social ill.

Update: Summing up:Kim Dotcom can be extradited. The court decision must be approved by Justice Minister Amy Adams (requirement of the Extradition Act.) Once the decision is signed off on, Kim Dotcom and the others have 15 days to appeal. {More...]

Let me stipulate a few things: (1) Debbie Wasserman Schultz, along with the entire Dem Establishment, from the top, President Obama, to the lowliest local official, wants Hillary Clinton to be the Dem nominee, (2) The debate schedule is travesty and is designed to minimize the exposure of Clinton opponents and (3) if there is a chance for the Dem Establishment to swing a close race to Clinton, they will take it (think Super Delegates.)

Now that that is out of the way, let me tell you about the easy “fix” the Dem Establishment COULD have done to insure a Clinton victory that would ALSO have been good for our democracy and our Party — end the Iowa/NH stranglehold on going first in the primary process.

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Decision here.

It's wrong imo and the logic imperils the entire trademark registration system as well as the prohibition against disparaging commercial speech (see Trademark Dilution Act for example.) Federal Circuit has just created a huge mess.

My earlier post on the subject here.

Update: For some reason, the "recent comments" in the sidebar have been disappearing. The only thing I can think of is perhaps some commenters used too many characters in the subject line of their comments, making them not fit in the space. So can you please try using short subject lines in your comments for a while so I can see if that's the problem? Thanks.

It's been days since our last open thread. Here's a new one, all topics welcome.

Is something wrong with Donald Trump? Who makes these kinds of comments?

Donald Trump launched an aggressive attack on Hillary Clinton on Monday night, saying she was "disgusting" for using the restroom during the latest Democratic debate and that she was "schlonged" by a male political opponent.

... "She was favored to win, and she got schlonged," Trump said, turning a vulgar noun for a large p*nis into a verb.

"Schlonged?" I haven't heard that word since I was a kid. And why is it so "disgusting" that Hillary went to the bathroom? My response: Beware of the candidate who thinks his sh*t doesn't stink.

Ivanka should come out and disassociate herself from her father's spew of garbage. He is beginning to sound out of control.

If you respond in comments, please do not use profanity, as your comment will be deleted. You may use asterisks in place of a letter or two as I have done. [More...]

Update 12/22: Judge approves extradition. Bail continued. Appeals next.

The New Zealand courts tweeted a few hours ago that the decision on Kim Dotcom's extradition will be released tomorrow afternoon. More from the New Zealand Herald here.

I'm sending good thoughts his way. [More...]

I barely knew he was in the race, but Lindsay Graham today ended his campaign for the Republican nomination for President.

It's time for several other Republicans to follow his lead.

Caution: Spoilers ahead, don't read if you haven't watched the Homeland finale.

Season 5 of Homeland wrapped up last night. I think this Variety recap is the best.

For me, it was an okay season, but not one of the best. There were too many subplots going on in each episode, I never felt like I had a grasp of what was happening. [More...]

OMG, the announcer made a mistake announcing the winner of Miss Universe. He announced the winner was Ms. Colombia.

After the applause they crowned Ms. Colombia, and she was waving to the crowd with her flowers and little flag of Colombia when the show host came back to the stage and said "Ok Folks, I have to apologize, the First Runner is Colombia. Ms. Universe 2015 is Philippines."

He read the wrong name. Ms. Colombia, who doesn't speak English and used an interpreter all night, had no idea what happened. Either did Ms. Philippines, the intended winner, even though she does speak English.

[More....]