Today is Wednesday, June 6, 2007, and the Kurds who live in northern Iraq are having the worst day ever. Apparently, Turkey temporarily invaded northern Iraq to chase Kurdish terrorists, a claim which Turkey vehemently denies. This after confirming it to the AP in the first story. Why does this matter? A bit of background on the entire region as a whole. You see, there's this ethnic group called the Kurds who have their own culture and customs, and they inhabit southwestern Turkey and much of northern Iraq. For about 2000 years, there was no problem with them existing how they did, because national borders weren't all that relevant. When the Ottoman Empire fell after World War I, Britain formed (artificially--without any real cultural purpose) Iraq, and in turn split the Kurds between two nations, Turkey and Iraq. The Kurds wanted their own state, and the Brits said no; Turkish Kurds and Iraqi Kurds have been agitating for independence pretty much since that point, and it occasionally turns violent. Apparently, Turkey had enough and decided to bite back. Or it didn't. It'll become more clear as time goes on. (This actually could go on to explain why Iraq is in such a nasty conflict now, but we'll save that for another day.)
In other news, the Republican debate was last night. PartyNeutral did not get the chance to watch it, as other things were going on, but PN did catch up on the aftermath, which, according to Newsweek, wasn't much to talk about. FOX perhaps put it best when it summarized the core Republican talking point: "we're not Bush." It's an interesting platform to run on--not opposing the other party, but really opposing your own. Which isn't to say there wasn't plenty of bashing Hillary Clinton and other Democrats, something Republicans have turned into a hobby in the post-Revolution era. Plenty of sniping also went at the Democrats after the debate from the chairman of FOX News, who said that Democrats who can't face a debate on FOX can't face al-Quaeda. Pretty sure that's not on the same level, but we'll see how that all pans out. Anyway, a lot of the substance of the debate focused on Iraq, naturally, and the Republican party's shortcomings. Immigration is also hot-button, and it will be interesting to see how McCain, who is attempting to rightify himself away from his usual centrist positions, fares in this arena. Word on the street is that Ron Paul is a shining star, but one needs to see it to believe it, and since we didn't see it....
The Republicans will give a few million dollars to whoever figures out how to clone Ronnie, or so sources say.
Word from the liberal blogs is that today marks the 6-month anniversary (or Friedman Unit) of the release of the Iraq Study Group's report, which the President basically ignored--and the general consensus is that progress isn't being made fast enough. Petraeus holds hope for the Surge, as do many in Congress who believe that it is either their last shot at reviving their lagging political fortunes, or it is actually the last shot for a chance at victory in Iraq. It has been an interesting four months: the surge has included many more troops than proposed and will include yet more before it is all through. Ironically, this is Bush's major Iraq policy change, the only major policy change not included in the Iraq Study Group report. It might not be a bad idea for Dick Cheney to invite Osama bin Laden out hunting....
According to Drudge and the Huffington Post, Hillary has seen a surge of her own, in the fundraising department. (link may go down). According to 'her people,' the big donors have continued to come through, maxing out at their $2300 per federal election limit, and smaller donors have also started to pick up steam. But the Obamapire Strikes Back, or so says that article on the Huffington Post. With roughly double the donors, Obama can afford to accrue generally smaller per-capita donations, due to the volume of donations he receives. The kind of money the candidates are raising is unprecedented--while PN can't find a link at present to back that up (official reporting on funds raised doesn't come out until July), $25 to $30 million five quarters before the Presidential election is quite an accomplishment. The general election will be a billion-dollar ordeal between the two Presidential candidates.
And finally, a gem of an article for Fox News, which should excite teenagers who aspire life in the Netherlands and all of the freewheeling that it implies. Kids there have discovered powdered alcohol which can be dissolved in water, yielding a 3% ABV content drink that supposedly, according to the article, tastes quite good. The kids invented the substance as a means to circumvent liquor laws, which dictate that only kids over 16 can purchase. Since this isn't a liquid, it's not subject to those laws. Clever, eh?
6/06/2007
6/05/2007
Slow News Day
PartyNeutral happens to be a bit busy today, so we'll only be taking links from CNN, because everything's right there and convenient. But don't think that we've gone liberal partisan hack on you. Today was a pretty slow news day as far as we could tell, although the big news is that Scooter has been sentenced.
Speaking of which, the long odyssey of Scooter Libby has come to an end. It all started in the Office of the Man Who Shoots Others In The Face, Dick Cheney. You see, Scooter was Cheney's Chief of Staff, and organized Dick's important day-to-day events. This whole Valerie Plame thing came along and messed things up--if you want long, boring reading, you can read up on pretty much everything you need to know about Plamegate here. But that isn't what I'm here for. You see, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is now headed to jail for 30 months and has been slapped with a $250,000 fine. Is it excessive? Read a conservative blog if you want to hear yes, a liberal one if you want to hear no. Our take? It was an interesting case that was a tad too convoluted for me to be comfortable, although the verdict is the verdict: it falls within sentencing guidelines and doesn't deviate either way. Don't be shocked if Bush steps in and commutes Scooter's sentence, though.
Following up on yesterday's entire William Jefferson thing, he's stepped down from his position on the House Small Business Committee, which is really a loss for him, or something, we're sure. I'm shocked that the Democrats haven't kicked him out entirely yet; their thing was supposed to be clamping down hard on corruption. But they haven't, at least not with respect to this issue, and it is the only major corruption thorn in the Democrats' side as of now. PartyNeutral wouldn't be surprised to see Jefferson kicked out of the House, either by purist Democrats or a handful of opportunist Republicans.
And, finally, in the irony department: Natalee Halloway's mom (you know, high schooler, alcohol, Aruba, never been seen since?) and Jonbenet Ramsey's dad (you know, murderer, never got caught, never been seen since?) are dating. Which is just completely and totally weird. One could say that misery loves company, but PartyNeutral can't quite ever recall something being quite as miserable, and as joined together, as these two. The CNN article notes that one of their lawyers declares them 'not [necessarily] romantically involved.' If you need your lawyer to say you're not sleeping with somebody...well, PartyNeutral is going to be neutral on this one, but we think you know where we stand.
In a similar vein, Paris Hilton is still in jail. 1 day down.
Speaking of which, the long odyssey of Scooter Libby has come to an end. It all started in the Office of the Man Who Shoots Others In The Face, Dick Cheney. You see, Scooter was Cheney's Chief of Staff, and organized Dick's important day-to-day events. This whole Valerie Plame thing came along and messed things up--if you want long, boring reading, you can read up on pretty much everything you need to know about Plamegate here. But that isn't what I'm here for. You see, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is now headed to jail for 30 months and has been slapped with a $250,000 fine. Is it excessive? Read a conservative blog if you want to hear yes, a liberal one if you want to hear no. Our take? It was an interesting case that was a tad too convoluted for me to be comfortable, although the verdict is the verdict: it falls within sentencing guidelines and doesn't deviate either way. Don't be shocked if Bush steps in and commutes Scooter's sentence, though.
Following up on yesterday's entire William Jefferson thing, he's stepped down from his position on the House Small Business Committee, which is really a loss for him, or something, we're sure. I'm shocked that the Democrats haven't kicked him out entirely yet; their thing was supposed to be clamping down hard on corruption. But they haven't, at least not with respect to this issue, and it is the only major corruption thorn in the Democrats' side as of now. PartyNeutral wouldn't be surprised to see Jefferson kicked out of the House, either by purist Democrats or a handful of opportunist Republicans.
And, finally, in the irony department: Natalee Halloway's mom (you know, high schooler, alcohol, Aruba, never been seen since?) and Jonbenet Ramsey's dad (you know, murderer, never got caught, never been seen since?) are dating. Which is just completely and totally weird. One could say that misery loves company, but PartyNeutral can't quite ever recall something being quite as miserable, and as joined together, as these two. The CNN article notes that one of their lawyers declares them 'not [necessarily] romantically involved.' If you need your lawyer to say you're not sleeping with somebody...well, PartyNeutral is going to be neutral on this one, but we think you know where we stand.
In a similar vein, Paris Hilton is still in jail. 1 day down.
6/04/2007
Welcome back!
PartyNeutral returns in all its glory after about a year and a half buried in the obscurity of Blogger. Which we don't mind all too much. If you're new to the system, this is a daily news analysis blog which covers the primary stories of the day--whether they be human-interest, political, worldly, or just interesting. Anyway, today was a busy day: we had the fallout from the Democratic debate, bad news about American soldiers missing in Iraq, Paris Hilton is in jail, and William Jefferson (D-La) looks like he'll finally be headed there to join her.
To lead off, the Democrats either "clashed and debated" (Fox) or "clashed and debated" (CNN)--no matter which way you cut it, the debate last night was contentious, although not vitrolic. The general consensus was that no clear winner emerged, in a manner similar to the first debate; Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton both came off stronger than they had in the previous showing, with Joe Biden continuing to solidify a lead in the second tier. John Edwards was incendiary with respect to attacking others, but his own positions oftentimes came up weak; he did not give nearly as well as he got. DailyKos's straw poll disagrees with my assessment (click see results), although many commentators see the debate as a draw (at best.) Gravel continues to be incendiary, but PartyNeutral did not notice nearly as much wit from him in this debate. Richardson and Dodd both continue to put up smart policy proposals, but are either stymied by the format or by the depth of their own plans this early. Look forward to the Republican debate tomorrow night. It should prove to be interesting.
After finding the body of one abducted American soldier in the Euphrates River, it appears that his two companions, who he was captured with, have also been killed. A group linked to al-Quaeda claims responsibility, although there is no confirmation beyond the video which they have put out for distribution. This type of news is often the hardest to swallow; it is one thing for U.S. soldiers to die while on patrol, but being captured is often a difficult reality for families and fellow soldiers to deal with. al-Quaeda is also refusing to release the bodies of the American soldiers, a genuinely dishonorable move by all accounts of the laws of war and the rules of battle.
On a lighter note, Paris Hilton is now in jail. Which is great news for everyone, everywhere. There isn't much of a negative effect on society for incarcerating Paris; it saves us from one of a few drunken, out-of-control party girls, although we must say we thoroughly enjoy reading about their nightly escapades on TMZ the next morning. Hopefully she'll do something ridiculous in jail, like smuggle in coke or try to escape, or something, for excitement.
Before diving into the final piece, a bit of background on William Jefferson, a Democrat from New Orleans, Louisiana. The Feds investigated him for corruption and taking bribes, which, while not standard in today's Congress, is not especially unusual. Somebody gave him a $100,000 cash bribe, an undercover-style sting which was designed to see if he'd take it. He did. It wound up in his freezer. The Feds raid his house, he claims he has no idea where the cash came from. Which brings us to today: he's been indicted. Which is fantastic, and it's ridiculous that he's even been allowed to run around unindicted this long. He's crooked. That's kind of clear. I suppose all of the recent shake-ups at the Justice Department have prevented them from putting together a solid case on him, but still. The Bush administration is supposed to be tough on terror, but even tougher on any Democrat they can possibly slander--and this time it was true! Not really slander at all! Apparently, Rove is getting lazy, or something.
To lead off, the Democrats either "clashed and debated" (Fox) or "clashed and debated" (CNN)--no matter which way you cut it, the debate last night was contentious, although not vitrolic. The general consensus was that no clear winner emerged, in a manner similar to the first debate; Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton both came off stronger than they had in the previous showing, with Joe Biden continuing to solidify a lead in the second tier. John Edwards was incendiary with respect to attacking others, but his own positions oftentimes came up weak; he did not give nearly as well as he got. DailyKos's straw poll disagrees with my assessment (click see results), although many commentators see the debate as a draw (at best.) Gravel continues to be incendiary, but PartyNeutral did not notice nearly as much wit from him in this debate. Richardson and Dodd both continue to put up smart policy proposals, but are either stymied by the format or by the depth of their own plans this early. Look forward to the Republican debate tomorrow night. It should prove to be interesting.
After finding the body of one abducted American soldier in the Euphrates River, it appears that his two companions, who he was captured with, have also been killed. A group linked to al-Quaeda claims responsibility, although there is no confirmation beyond the video which they have put out for distribution. This type of news is often the hardest to swallow; it is one thing for U.S. soldiers to die while on patrol, but being captured is often a difficult reality for families and fellow soldiers to deal with. al-Quaeda is also refusing to release the bodies of the American soldiers, a genuinely dishonorable move by all accounts of the laws of war and the rules of battle.
On a lighter note, Paris Hilton is now in jail. Which is great news for everyone, everywhere. There isn't much of a negative effect on society for incarcerating Paris; it saves us from one of a few drunken, out-of-control party girls, although we must say we thoroughly enjoy reading about their nightly escapades on TMZ the next morning. Hopefully she'll do something ridiculous in jail, like smuggle in coke or try to escape, or something, for excitement.
Before diving into the final piece, a bit of background on William Jefferson, a Democrat from New Orleans, Louisiana. The Feds investigated him for corruption and taking bribes, which, while not standard in today's Congress, is not especially unusual. Somebody gave him a $100,000 cash bribe, an undercover-style sting which was designed to see if he'd take it. He did. It wound up in his freezer. The Feds raid his house, he claims he has no idea where the cash came from. Which brings us to today: he's been indicted. Which is fantastic, and it's ridiculous that he's even been allowed to run around unindicted this long. He's crooked. That's kind of clear. I suppose all of the recent shake-ups at the Justice Department have prevented them from putting together a solid case on him, but still. The Bush administration is supposed to be tough on terror, but even tougher on any Democrat they can possibly slander--and this time it was true! Not really slander at all! Apparently, Rove is getting lazy, or something.
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