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Friday Open Thread

If you don't have to go to court or the jail after that, then you can stay here and thread. There's lots going on. You can read the winners of the bipartisan Weblog Awards here, and nominate your favorite blogs for the just liberal blogs' Koufax Awards here.

Then there's torture, spying on Americans, the Patriot Act and the immigration acts now being considered by Congress to rant about.

On a lighter note, a hairstylist in Aspen has been accused of stealing Kevin Costner's laptop. So, whatever strikes your fancy is fine here.

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  • Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#1)
    by ras on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:04 PM EST
    The top story has to be the successful Iraqi elections; truly historic. Congrats to all who made them possible. Many said it couldn't be done; they were wrong. So again, congrats to all who contributed.

    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:04 PM EST
    Ras: Check this site, it never happened, don't know what you are talking about.

    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#3)
    by John Mann on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:04 PM EST
    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#4)
    by Slado on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:04 PM EST
    TL doesn't even provide a thread for the elections? Seems if you want to criticize the war you should also admit when something good happens. Anyway here is a great "opinion" piece from Kaplan at TNR Iraq The signifigance of yesterday's vote and how well it went should not be marginalized. The media seems to take these elections for granted even though they spent years telling us they wouldn't happen or wouldn't work. For one day lets all agree that this was a great moment for Iraq and hopefully the start of the end of the war and the beginning of a new Middle Eastern democracy.

    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#5)
    by profmarcus on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:04 PM EST
    unfriggingly believable... Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - the one who got away cnn's anderson cooper reported early this morning that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was in custody in iraq some months previous and was released "because he wasn't 'recognized'..." the keystone kops are starting to look like consummate professionals... http://takeitpersonally.blogspot.com/

    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#6)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:04 PM EST
    profmarcus, Didn't you mean "unfriggingly TOO believable..." ? ;-)

    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#7)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:04 PM EST
    I hope the newly erected Iraqi leaders will serve the people of Iraq, and the people of Iraq find some of the peace all of us here in the US enjoy. We chose their country as the place to draw the fire of terrorists. They deserve an end to that policy.

    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#8)
    by pigwiggle on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:04 PM EST
    Dadlaer-
    “Are you saying at a higher RATE”
    Yes
    “or more white people simply DIED?”
    Nearly the same number.
    “And please link if you can to some stats you're using.”
    Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals CNS news is reporting that in New Orleans ~37% of the dead were white compared to the representation in the New Orleans population of 28% (in 2000). ~59% of the dead were black compared to a representation in the New Orleans population of ~67%. So, white folks died at a significantly disproportionate rate. From the latest count of claimed bodies at the LDHH website you will see some different numbers, 47% white 49% black. They don’t make the distinction between New Orleans and the remainder of the state. But most of the dead folks are from the New Orleans levee break. Careful here, if you look at statewide stats you have the opposite trend. Anyway, the point. All other things equal we would expect the representation of color among the dead to be proportionate to that in the general population. The meme, for lack of a better word, was that the white folks made it out of New Orleans because they had money and left all the black folks to die. I heard casual talk of genocide (here), talk of the National Guard being sent to shoot black folks, all kinds of crazy histrionics. It turns out the reality was far different. People here engaged in the same wild projection of their prejudices that the media did; there were no gang rapes in the super dome, there were no little girls (throat slit) stuffed in freezers at the convention center, no helicopters were shot at, and there wasn’t a third world style genocide of black folks in New Orleans. Black folks weren’t rampaging like animals, and we weren’t seeing the US’ third world exposed. Just some foolish folks who tried to ride out a storm and an incompetent local, state, and federal response.

    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#9)
    by Lora on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:05 PM EST
    A historic election in Iraq is a wonderful thing. However those who vote truly decide nothing. The ones who count the votes make the ultimate decision, whether in Iraq or in the good old USA. Which is a perfect segue into the latest in e-vote fraud: Diebold has long insisted that votes could not be changed on their memory card. However this week a Finnish computer expert changed the results of a test election in Florida using a Diebold optical scan system, with an altered memory card the size of a credit card. His hack left no trace. The printout before the ballots were scanned showed zero votes and the printout after the ballots were scanned showed the altered votes. The results were uploaded to a GEMS central tabulator which recorded the altered votes as correct. Folks, millions of votes could be changed and no one would know. Here's the link.

    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#10)
    by fafnir on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:05 PM EST
    [Pascal Bensimon] told the Aspen Daily News that someone put drugs into his drink at the wedding, and that he never stole Costner’s $1,500 Apple Powerbook or a digital camera.
    At least the hairstylist has good taste in computers. :)

    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#11)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:05 PM EST
    FYI, all 20 San Francisco Police officers who were suspended as a result of the video "scandal" have been reinstated after the invesitgation exonorated them. Thanks to Heather Fong and Gavin Newsome, they got free money from the city. Good for them.

    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#12)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:05 PM EST
    BTW, I'm still waiting for T-Chris to ammend his comments in this thread. I've printed it and am wondering if I should send it to the F.O.P. and the family of Officer Jones.

    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#13)
    by Jlvngstn on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:06 PM EST
    FYI: SF
    But Police Chief Heather Fong said an investigation was continuing and officers could still face discipline. "This does not signify the conclusion of this matter,'' Fong said. The officers were suspended last week after portions of the 28-minute video were released. Scenes included a white officer running over a black homeless woman and a traffic cop pulling over a woman to ogle her. Mayor Gavin Newsom and Fong quickly condemned the clips, calling them racist, sexist and homophobic. Sixteen of the officers were allowed to return to work in the field, while eight were assigned to administrative duties that don't involve public contact, said police spokesman Sgt. Neville Gittens. Among those assigned to administrative duty was the video's creator, Officer Andrew Cohen. He later apologized for its negative impact and vowed to work toward improving relations between police officers and the community. Cohen has defended the video as satirical, saying it was a spoof for an office holiday party as a send-off for a retiring captain.


    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#14)
    by Peter G on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:06 PM EST
    Reauthorization of expiring PATRIOT Act provisions has failed in the Senate, 52-47! says AP

    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#15)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:06 PM EST
    Peter G, Sununu said it best after the vote. "Those that would give up essential liberties in pursuit in a little temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security," said Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H.

    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#16)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:06 PM EST
    Edger, That is a paraphrased quote by Ben Franklin.
    Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.


    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#17)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:06 PM EST
    Macro, Thanks. Even better. Sununu travels in good company.

    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#18)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:06 PM EST
    JL, Thanks for the clarification. My best guess is this is over and they are waiting till the furor dies off in hopes it will just go away. Fong way overreacted at first, IMO. Perhaps my comments were premature, but I believe time will bear them out.

    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#19)
    by Jlvngstn on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:06 PM EST
    It did seem like suspending 24 was excessive to me also, but i also was offended by what i saw. Isn't it standard to suspend while investigating or is that argued with the unions?

    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#20)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:06 PM EST
    The "Bizarro Award of the Year", if it hasn't been invented yet, should be. Here's my nominee:
    Brazil city proposes ban on death The bill states that "offenders will be held responsible for their acts" Municipal regulations normally ban anything from smoking in public places to parking in certain zones. But officials in the Brazilian town of Biritiba Mirim, 70km (45 miles) east of Sao Paulo, have gone far beyond that. They plan to prohibit residents from dying because the local cemetery has reached full capacity. Biritiba Mirim, a town of 28,000 inhabitants, not only wants to prohibit residents from passing away. The bill also calls on people to take care of their health in order to avoid death. Of course the bill is laughable, unconstitutional, and will never be approved Gilson Soares de Campos, aide to the mayor "I haven't got a job, nor am I healthy. And now they say I can't die. That's ridiculous," Amarildo do Prado, an unemployed resident, told local media.
    Heh! :-)

    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#21)
    by BigTex on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:06 PM EST
    Kudos for keeping on the thread Patrick. Earlier, it could be argued that TC had not read the comments. At this point TC has made more entries, so he has had the opportunity to see the comments in the thread from earlier.

    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#22)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:06 PM EST
    JL, I don't know how it is in other states, but unless the offense is serious, you usually get desk duty w/pay, or if you're sent home, it's with pay, until the investigation is concluded. Suspensions w/o pay prior to a complete investigation where punishment is the goal are rare and maybe even prohibited by the Peace Officer's Bill of Rights. I'm not positive on that last point.

    Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0) (#23)
    by Jlvngstn on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:06 PM EST
    thanks P.