Saturday Open Thread

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 01:02:07 PM EST
Tags: Dominque Strauss-Kahn (all tags)

Share This: Digg!

I just got back from the Farmers Market. Not too many things are worth getting up early on a Saturday, but the produce at the market is so far superior, I didn't mind at all.

Why is Kim Kardashian's wedding getting so much coverage? Does the media think she's the American equivalent of Princess Kate? I certainly don't and could care less.

Manhattan DA Cy Vance is expected to announce Tuesday whether he'll dismiss charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn. The latest: The DA is asking the accuser's lawyer for documents regarding settlement dicussions with Strauss-Kahn's lawyers in June. There are reports he offered to have the accuser stop cooperating with authorities if a settlement was reached. The private settlement discussions, held in mid-June, were reported by the New York Times on July 27. [More...]

Lawyers for Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Ms. Diallo had discussions in mid-June regarding sharing facts about the case and exploring a potential resolution.

The discussions did not include substantive talk about the case and ended without any agreement, according to a lawyer briefed on the discussions who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because the conversations were private. But a different person briefed on the matter said that Mr. Thompson had sought a monetary settlement.

Thompson denies the accusation. If Vance is going to dismiss the charges, it's probably better for him politically if he can blame the accuser's lawyer for torpedoing the case through improperly offering a money settlement rather than basing it solely on the accuser's false statements. Either way, I think charges will be dismissed Tuesday.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

< Roger Clemens' Prosecutors Seek Retrial | Dominique Strauss-Kahn: Accuser's Lawyer Predicts Dismissal >

Legal

Nothing on this site should be construed as legal advice. TalkLeft does not give legal advice.

TalkLeft is not responsible for and often disagrees with material posted in the comments section. Read at your own risk.

Saturday Open Thread | 57 comments (57 topical)

Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

My fall garden is in and (5.00 / 1) (#3)
by jimakaPPJ on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 02:48:40 PM EST

up. I should have fresh beans, squash, cucumbers and turnips in late September.

Speaking of gardens, I wonder what happened to Pickles??

Ha!! (5.00 / 2) (#12)
by Militarytracy on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 03:46:36 PM EST

Because one jerk deserves another :) Did the secretaries bring this beauty in for him or did he end up having to bring it in for himself and take the photo too :)

I know, I'm terrible....I will go to my corner now and ruminate on the fact that I have for my whole life allowed myself to suffer from this mean girl mentality and it is low and loathsome. This is one hell of a horrible display of those who might care about Tim Geithner giving a $hit about him though.

Really funny (5.00 / 1) (#37)
by ruffian on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 07:53:25 PM EST

Insert joke here. I like the "enough for all his friends" line.

You know MT, if you can't say anything nice...sit next to me.


: I almost feel sorry for him (none / 0) (#40)
by Militarytracy on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 08:09:55 PM EST

Then I remember what he did to everyone and else and NAH!

MT (none / 0) (#42)
by CoralGables on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 08:39:45 PM EST

we have to get you out of Alabama more often. Cupcakes are big. I had a Blueberry Cobbler at Cupcake on King Street in Charleston Tuesday


: I know gourmet cupcakes a big deal right (none / 0) (#54)
by Militarytracy on Sun Aug 21, 2011 at 12:09:14 PM EST

now, but so are gourmet custom fondant cakes. I can pick up a cupcake for a couple of bucks and throw some candles on it while I'm sitting at a stoplight, getting some beloved person a custom fondant cake for their 50th bday takes a bit of planning and caring :)
Maybe that is too much cake though, since everyone lately has been eating cake :)

Is there anyone else who just (5.00 / 1) (#22)
by observed on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 04:05:08 PM EST

loathes NPR?
Listening to those reporters just puts my teeth on edge. I'm not quite sure why, but they all seem to speak or be miked in a similar way which just drives me crazy.

: Gave up on NPR after Gulf War 1. (5.00 / 1) (#34)
by BBQinDenver on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 06:14:34 PM EST

Their non-stop "o boy we are at war and we love the chance to report it and support our government without question" did it for me. I considered it a direct consequence of the reliance on corporate financing of the system brought about by the Reagan years. I had been an ATC devotee from week one, May 1971. Is it better than FOX, NBC, CNN...
yes, but these days that's very faint praise.

: Also a listener from the 70s (2.00 / 1) (#41)
by brodie on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 08:13:46 PM EST

I detected a swing to the right at NPR sometime around the early 80s -- about the time their creative and aggressive president Frank Manckiewicz (RFK's press secy) was ousted and as carping from Rs in Congress about alleged too liberal programming got louder. The reporting about Reagan got soft while the network beefed up on its conservative commentators.
Liberals were thrown a few bones to keep them listening and contributing: appealing cultural reporting and a professionally produced and smooth-sounding set of two programs which were commercial free.
Politically NPR has been successfully neutered or worse by the Right since Reagan. That's thirty years of squishy soft centrist-corporatist reporting with tepid James Fallows/EJ Dionne occasionally representing the liberal pov.

: Yes (none / 0) (#36)
by lentinel on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 07:40:26 PM EST

I loathe it as well.
I remember when, in New York, the local NPR affiliate announced that it would be airing a few corporate sponsor messages - one before and one after each program. The honcho announcing this assured his skeptical audience that this would in no way influence the quality or content of programming.
Strangely, NPR soon shifted to the right- supporting every war and waving the flag as often as humanly possible.
They probably fattened the wallets of their executives and on-air personalities, but they lost me as a listener.

: Not in general, but Steve Inskeep drives me up (none / 0) (#39)
by ruffian on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 07:57:03 PM EST

the wall. His voice, his interviewing style, the whole thing.

: oh yeah (none / 0) (#45)
by The Addams Family on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 08:51:41 PM EST

Scott Simon, for being an all-around narcissist blowhole
Cokie Roberts, for her snarky adherence to GOP talking points & general attitude of knowing it all while knowing nothing, actually
Nina Totenberg, for breathlessly revealing that Douglas Ginsburg had smoked marijuana
who was it that said NPR stands for "nice polite Republicans"?

I've been catching up on Dr Who--watching (none / 0) (#1)
by observed on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 01:28:35 PM EST

season 5 on netflix.
I'm not enjoying this season as much as earlier ones.
Matt Smith has some interesting aspects to his portrayal, but he's too histrionic for my taste.

I am a huge Doctor Who fan ... (none / 0) (#6)
by Robot Porter on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 03:27:10 PM EST

and I loved revived series. I thought it was the best thing on TV either side of the pond. That's how I felt, that is, util season six where everything went off the boil.

This is Matt's second season. It's been split into two parts. The first aired in the spring. And the second part starts next weekend. So far it's just been rather dismal.

There was one exception. An episode written by Neil Gaiman. But the rest was absent the magic, emotionalism, and originality of the first five seasons. It suddenly seemed dull, emotionless and cliche ridden.

I'm hoping it was just an aberration and things get righted in the second half of the season. But the promos for the first episode have me worried.

And if you don't like Matt you're going to be really lost. Because his performance is one of the few things holding the show together.


Actually I DO like him, but (none / 0) (#7)
by observed on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 03:31:20 PM EST

he's overacting at times---perhaps to make up for a weak partner. The girl playing pond is pretty f*cking dull.


: Oh, he gets that under control ... (none / 0) (#28)
by Robot Porter on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 04:17:38 PM EST

by season six that's pretty much gone.
Yeah, Karen Gillan is attractive, and in interviews seems like a very lovely person, but she's not much of an actress.

I don't understand... (none / 0) (#35)
by desertswine on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 07:25:34 PM EST

British TV. Is a "season" only six episodes?


What is the best place to start for a newbie? (none / 0) (#38)
by ruffian on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 07:55:14 PM EST

Should I go back a few seasons? Can you give me a 'start at season x' point?


Went our local farmer's market (none / 0) (#2)
by MO Blue on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 01:37:21 PM EST

late morning. Would have gone a little earlier but it rained this morning. Produce was great. Bought a different type of garlic which is supposed to be spicier than other types. I guess I'll find out if it is something I purchase again or not.

: Channeling Emeril... (none / 0) (#4)
by Mr Natural on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 03:17:34 PM EST

b "Kick it up a notch!""

Any MS gurus here? (none / 0) (#5)
by observed on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 03:26:40 PM EST

I have a Dell computer, which means that phone help is like waterboarding. I could send my computer in for repair, but maybe there's an easier fix. My ATI Mobility Radeon program is corrupted (according to the techs I took it to), so I have to keep that program uninstalled. This lets my computer run, but the resolution suffers, especially with movies, it seems.
There are lots of similar programs out there.
How can I tell which one might work on my computer?

What you say makes no sense ... (none / 0) (#8)
by Robot Porter on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 03:34:28 PM EST

is this a desktop or a laptop?


Laptop. how does this not make sense? (none / 0) (#9)
by observed on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 03:36:18 PM EST

I'm repeating what the techs told me, and what they said seems accurate. If I keep this program uninstalled (it keeps getting re-installed with updates), my computer runs.
It's a Dell Studio, I forget the model number.


Why did doesn't make sense ... (none / 0) (#11)
by Robot Porter on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 03:46:23 PM EST

is the Radeon is your graphics processors. If you uninstalled the program that runs it you'd get no picture at all. Unless you had some type of back-up processing which laptops don't generally have. Though the behavior your describing sounds like a low-end graphics chipset.

Do me a favor go to "device manager" and list everything it says under "display adapters".


There is nothing under display adapters (none / 0) (#14)
by observed on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 03:48:16 PM EST

now. The Radeon is the only program which lists there.


Actually, the video defaults to VGA (none / 0) (#15)
by Mr Natural on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 03:49:08 PM EST

in the absence of a driver.


: Is there another program I can use to (none / 0) (#17)
by observed on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 03:50:16 PM EST

replace this, without paying money?

: Hmmm ... (none / 0) (#18)
by Robot Porter on Sat Aug 20, 2011 at 03:52:03 PM EST

yeah, but I thought he was actually doing an "uninstall" from device manager. Not just uninstalling the driver.
Is that all your doing, Observ