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Weekend Open Thread and Diary Rescue

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Sat Sep 08, 2007 at 11:59:08 AM EST
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If you're by a computer today and have something to say, here's a place.

If you'd like to post a diary, cross-posting is fine,I'll be back later to add a link here. Basic rules for diarists are here. If you don't yet have "diarist" status on TalkLeft, send me an e-mail and I'll adjust your permissions.

From the past few days:

What I'm thinking about today: Oprah's fund-raising for Obama. Does she have enough clout to sway an election? What do you think?

< Richardson's Op-Ed in WaPo | Iraq Policy In 2007 >

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    Weekend Open Thread and Diary Rescue | 21 comments (21 topical)

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    What are Oprah's ratings in Iowa? (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sat Sep 08, 2007 at 12:07:20 PM EST
    Oprah is actually a distraction for Obama now emphasizing the worst part of his candidacy and making it APPEAR substanceless.

    David Axelrod has done a HORRIBLE job for Obama. He should be canned.

    Not a problem IFF he steps up on Iraq within (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by Geekesque on Sat Sep 08, 2007 at 01:05:01 PM EST
    48 hours of the Petraeus testimony.

    Otherwise, he's probably done anyways.

    Parent

    What is her demographic in any state? (none / 0) (#11)
    by oculus on Sat Sep 08, 2007 at 05:20:54 PM EST
    Isn't she on during the usual work day?

    Parent
    Maybe now he can retire, (none / 0) (#2)
    by scribe on Sat Sep 08, 2007 at 12:18:06 PM EST
    and do us all a favor by leaving us alone and stop harming the country, too.

    Sensenbrenner wins lotto, again.

    Otherwise, I'll be convinced there is absolutely no justice, anywhere.

    Frankly, I like the story about the guy from Cape May, NJ who won.  A disabled Vietnam
    vet, he got the morning paper, saw they had the winning number, let his wife sleep in, and then
    went out and bought a new pair of pants.

    Ya gotto love lotto...... (none / 0) (#12)
    by kdog on Sat Sep 08, 2007 at 05:48:05 PM EST
    Try to make a semi-informed wager and you're liable to get your whole roll taxed, yet the state will gladly take your action on a 175 million to one shot.

    What a bunch of crooks....

    Parent

    Does she have enough clout to sway an election? (none / 0) (#3)
    by Dulcinea on Sat Sep 08, 2007 at 12:20:04 PM EST
    I hope not, but her audience isn't known for its analysis of the facts.  One example: she has most of her viewers convinced she has a great diet guru who helps her keep those pounds off. This hardly squares with her weight.  

    Oprah (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by robrecht on Sat Sep 08, 2007 at 12:26:37 PM EST
    I don't think Oprah helps with political and policy wonks, but imagine she would be hugely helpful in a general election.

    Parent
    When in NYC.... (none / 0) (#4)
    by kdog on Sat Sep 08, 2007 at 12:25:48 PM EST
    stay north of Canal St. if you don't like being watched and followed.  LINK

    One thing is undisputed: This is not your grandfather's surveillance. Unlike the thousands of stand-alone cameras already in place, the new system will stream real-time information to police.

    Also under consideration, he said, is an option to match faces captured on camera with images stored in a database -- a prospect particularly worrisome to privacy advocates.

    "Our primary concern is that the police should not be tracking the everyday movements of law-abiding New Yorkers," said Dunn of the NYCLU.

    Creepy with a capital C.

    My Neighborhood (none / 0) (#6)
    by squeaky on Sat Sep 08, 2007 at 12:33:41 PM EST
    Time for curtains and an ever changing disguise?  Hope that tge peepers are getting their jollies.  No doubt that's about all that the peepers are getting out of it and at our not so small expense.

    Parent
    I'm sure all the John Law's.... (none / 0) (#7)
    by kdog on Sat Sep 08, 2007 at 12:53:23 PM EST
    working the pc's are gonna love the zoom feature squeaky.

    Better draw them curtains tight when you're getting lucky, unless you wanna be spank material:)

    Parent

    No Kidding (none / 0) (#9)
    by squeaky on Sat Sep 08, 2007 at 01:13:48 PM EST
    Creeps are creepy. And you can be sure that these guys and gals are as creepy as can be. Most likely a few steps below the military pron ring that trafficked and got off on abu ghraib snuff.

    Parent
    Future-President Edwards kicks donkey (none / 0) (#10)
    by chemoelectric on Sat Sep 08, 2007 at 05:05:14 PM EST
    I just want to note that John Edwards was clear winner in Thom Hartmann's scientifically sophisticated call-in straw poll yesterday.

    I hate when Hartmann does that, but results are results. :)

    Michigan loses; again. (none / 0) (#13)
    by oculus on Sat Sep 08, 2007 at 06:22:41 PM EST


    Jenna Six (none / 0) (#14)
    by glanton on Sat Sep 08, 2007 at 10:06:07 PM EST
    Jeralyn,

    I'm coming to this Jenna Six story only recently, and am still struggling to figure out the truth about what happened there.  Have you blogged about this case anywhere?

    DARFUR, when war is the only path to peace. (none / 0) (#15)
    by Aaron on Sun Sep 09, 2007 at 12:50:48 PM EST
    DARFUR AT THE ICA:

    [...we want a war to impose peace. Otherwise, we are fooling ourselves....]

    [The aim is to end the killing. Samantha says 9,000 U.N.-African Union peacekeepers won't be able to do that. A very clear calculus. Also correct. Neither will 26,000 peacekeepers. In fact, the lessons of peacekeepers is that they don't end the killing. Look at Lebanon. The war in the former Yugoslavia, the war of the Serbs against the Muslims of Bosnia and of Kosovo did not end until the allies, with American leadership and broad European support, began to drop bombs on Belgrade.]

    Make the bin Laden video public! (none / 0) (#16)
    by Aaron on Sun Sep 09, 2007 at 02:08:05 PM EST
    I am still unable to find anything more than a one or two minute clip of the full 30 minute bin Laden video anywhere on the Web.

    Why are all the major media providers acting in collusion to keep this video from the American people, and the People's of the world?

    At whose behest is this being done?

    Where is our free press?

    Hard to believe that in this day and age, where so many in privileged positions are able to view this video, and yet no one is willing to broadcast or even leak the full video or a transcript of the video.

    I call upon someone, anyone who is in possession of this video to make it public, and disburse it to the various bloggers who are in a position to disseminate this information.

    Stop the suppression of information, information is vital to the maintenance of a healthy democracy and freedom.

    As a citizen of the United States of America, I demand this.

    Transcript and Analysis (5.00 / 1) (#18)
    by squeaky on Sun Sep 09, 2007 at 02:25:19 PM EST
    From Juan Cole:

    [The video] contains a clear threat: to escalate regional jihadi resistance against the US troops in Iraq.

    Bin Laden, however, is not now and perhaps never has been a credible actor in Iraq. Most Iraqis are nationalists and would not want a Saudi telling them what to do. He made a big but perhaps unavoidable error in attacking the Shiites, and so denying his movement a nationalist platform. Al-Qaeda in Iraq is a small cult of hyper-Sunni bigots and serial murderers. Instead of playing Abdul Nasser, who attracted the allegiance even of many Shiite Arabs in his day, Bin Laden long ago chose to play the role of a cultist, a David Koreish with better explosives.

    A lot of jihadis consider Bin Laden a jinx, since he brought ruin on the Arab Afghans, who were killed, captured or had to go to ground.

    And, the Iraqi Sunni Arabs are from all accounts increasingly acting to exclude the foreigners from their struggle against the Shiite government. The main antagonist of the US in Iraq has all along been elements in the local Sunni Arab population.

    PDF transcript

    Parent

    Thanks so much Squeaky (none / 0) (#19)
    by Aaron on Sun Sep 09, 2007 at 04:05:47 PM EST
    You get a BIG KISS for this!  :-)

    Parent
    My Pleasure (none / 0) (#20)
    by squeaky on Sun Sep 09, 2007 at 05:38:57 PM EST
    I think Cole's analysis is spot on as well. One thing that is interesting is that he does not take credit for 9/11. He says "were I to claim such a thing".

    It will be interesing to see if there is any ambiguity when another translation of the text comes out.

    Parent

    After your initial plea, (none / 0) (#17)
    by oculus on Sun Sep 09, 2007 at 02:11:25 PM EST
    I started checking the news videos on AP.  Nada.

    Parent
    BushCo in Kurdistan (none / 0) (#21)
    by squeaky on Sun Sep 09, 2007 at 10:21:12 PM EST
    emptywheel notes the first oil contract goes down in Kurdistan.
    It is Hunt Oil Co. a big Bush patron, with possible ties to the CIA.

    Most interestingly, this deal suggests those close to Bush believe the US will retain its ties with Kurdistan, as a distinct entity, for some time. There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that recent developments in Iraq reflect a slow, but irreversible, split into three countries. If that happens, Turkey, Iran, and Syria are sure to be mightily involved in attempts to destabilize Kurdistan. But never fear, because Hunt Oil will be there, looking for oil. Among other things, I'm sure.

    If I had to guess, I'd suggest this is pretty solid evidence that BushCo has grown comfortable with the idea of Iraq splitting apart.
    Weekend Open Thread and Diary Rescue | 21 comments (21 topical)

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