Sunday Night Open Thread

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Sun May 30, 2010 at 08:56:30 PM EST
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Atrocities continue in Afghanistan, here's an awful report of child brides forced to marry older men. Two run away, are caught, returned to the home village where they are publicly flogged with 40 lashes. It was videotaped, and the videos were released today by human rights groups.

A video going viral on You Tube tells the story of a two year old in Indonesia who smokes 40 cigarettes a day. His parents say he's addicted and won't stop. Story here.

Here's an interesting report on why the Vietnamese resist drug treatment.

The Gulf oil spill is likely to continue until August.

The damage to the shorelines of Gulf states such as Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida is literally only the surface of the problem: The damage to the sea floor could be extensive, and oil could also devastate marine life between the Gulf floor and its surface, as well as in coastal areas far from the leaking wellhead.

There's a new "Breaking Bad" tonight on AMC.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

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Sunday Night Open Thread | 17 comments (17 topical)

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Piracy (5.00 / 1) (#12)
by squeaky on Mon May 31, 2010 at 01:15:01 PM EST

What are they thinking? Does Israel no longer care what the world thinks anymore. I guess until there is an international boycott, and the US stops sending billions Israel will continue its lawless actions.

Greenwald expresses it well:

It hardly seemed possible for Israel -- after its brutal devastation of Gaza and its ongoing blockade -- to engage in more heinous and repugnant crimes. But by attacking a flotilla in international waters carrying humanitarian aid, and slaughtering at least 10 people, Israel has managed to do exactly that. If Israel's goal were to provoke as much disgust and contempt for it as possible, it's hard to imagine how it could be doing a better job.
Don't tell it to CNN, which seems to be going out of its way to portray attacking a ship in international waters as a "sovereign right" which the Israelis merely mismanaged by shooting a bunch of people. (Funny, it seems like only yesterday that this sort of thing was called "piracy.")
This was unjustifiable for any reason.

digby

I do so enjoy my no-longer-available (none / 0) (#1)
by oculus on Sun May 30, 2010 at 10:45:58 PM EST

tiny Sony wireless TV. All the better to watch and listen to Sunday night baseball while re-potting fuschias into hanging baskets.

Gulf Coast v Niger Delta (none / 0) (#2)
by squeaky on Sun May 30, 2010 at 10:47:35 PM EST

With 606 oilfields, the Niger delta supplies 40% of all the crude the United States imports and is the world capital of oil pollution. Life expectancy in its rural communities, half of which have no access to clean water, has fallen to little more than 40 years over the past two generations. Locals blame the oil that pollutes their land and can scarcely believe the contrast with the steps taken by BP and the US government to try to stop the Gulf oil leak and to protect the Louisiana shoreline from pollution.
"If this Gulf accident had happened in Nigeria, neither the government nor the company would have paid much attention," said the writer Ben Ikari, a member of the Ogoni people. "This kind of spill happens all the time in the delta."
"The oil companies just ignore it. The lawmakers do not care and people must live with pollution daily. The situation is now worse than it was 30 years ago. Nothing is changing. When I see the efforts that are being made in the US I feel a great sense of sadness at the double standards. What they do in the US or in Europe is very different."

Time to figure out how supporting these companies and fast. Our lifestyle has a really ugly side, and this is one example of the damage we leave in order to live high on the hog. Sad..

Interesting review of new bio of Somerset (none / 0) (#3)
by oculus on Mon May 31, 2010 at 12:09:02 AM EST

Maugham: LAT

LAT/USC poll re Arizone immigration law: (none / 0) (#4)
by oculus on Mon May 31, 2010 at 12:12:21 AM EST

LAT

: Polls (none / 0) (#7)
by squeaky on Mon May 31, 2010 at 12:40:52 AM EST

Go figure:

As federal and oil industry officials battle to stop the flow of oil in the Gulf of Mexico, 50 percent of those polled still favor offshore drilling while 46 percent are in opposition of increased drilling for oil and gas off U.S. shores, according to a recent Gallup poll.

This is crazy. U.S. refuses Paris to (none / 0) (#5)
by oculus on Mon May 31, 2010 at 12:32:32 AM EST

Mexico City flight permission to fly over U.S. airspace because one of the passengars has an outstanding warrnat. AP

OBL? (none / 0) (#6)
by squeaky on Mon May 31, 2010 at 12:37:57 AM EST

Or the second in command of al qaida?


Don't know yet, do we. Maybe one (none / 0) (#8)
by oculus on Mon May 31, 2010 at 12:44:56 AM EST

of the top dogs we keep killing over and over again.


Or even worse (5.00 / 1) (#10)
by CoralGables on Mon May 31, 2010 at 09:03:08 AM EST

Polanski ;)


: The thought did cross my mind. Is (none / 0) (#11)
by oculus on Mon May 31, 2010 at 11:57:42 AM EST

he a "person of interest" to the TSA?

Anybody else watch 'The Special Relationship'? (none / 0) (#9)
by Militarytracy on Mon May 31, 2010 at 05:58:41 AM EST

I wonder how accurate about personal conversations it is? One of the final scenes was of Clinton warning Blair about the Bush administration when they were at the Prime Minister's country residence together saying goodbye to each other as joint leaders, and the Supreme Court was ruling on the Florida election fiasco. Clinton asks him what he's going to do with Bush. Blair admits that everyone close to him wants him to back off from a tight relationship with the U.S. now and focus his attention on domestic policy, but Blair likes what he has gotten done with a close U.S. administration relationship and he wants to continue on that "getting things done" road. Clinton tells Blair that these guys play rough. Their administration has been born in controversy, national shame, and illegality, and it is my bet that is how they will go out. And he asks Blair what business he has being center left from the country that he represents with people like that? Then Clinton questions whether Blair is center left any longer or if he ever really was? The last scene was a genuine photo and question op with the once world beloved Tony Blair meeting with Dubya for the first time at Camp David. It was garnished with this old Conway Twitty song which was so perfect.

Does Digby ever take a day off? (none / 0) (#13)
by oculus on Mon May 31, 2010 at 02:40:43 PM EST

Interesting post on Obama's earlier statements as to why he approved of additional off shore oil leases vs. present situation.

Haaretz Gets it Right (none / 0) (#14)
by squeaky on Mon May 31, 2010 at 03:30:32 PM EST

No matter how one looks at the conduct of the Israeli government and the IDF, it is hard to understand how stupid and tragic it was. Time and again, Israel tries to prove that what can't be solved by force can be solved by more force. Over and over, the policies of force fail. The problem is that with each failure, the part of the world in which we would like to belong is losing patience with us.

Haaretz

Well worth a read

Good to learn Limbaugh does (none / 0) (#15)
by oculus on Mon May 31, 2010 at 03:49:08 PM EST

not seek the attention of the public: Drudge Report

RIP Louise Bourgeois (none / 0) (#16)
by squeaky on Mon May 31, 2010 at 06:23:54 PM EST

Pictures here

Obit Here

Another great one bites the dust... She lived a looooong life though. Feisty till the end...

: oh no! (none / 0) (#17)
by The Addams Family on Mon May 31, 2010 at 08:01:39 PM EST

wow sorry to hear that