Thursday News Bucket

12 Comments

1. 

   CabinGirl on November 2, 2006 at 8:07 am

   continues being a total idiot about Mike Stark: AP/Yahoo

   Republican Sen. George Allen on Wednesday refused to denounce his supporters’ manhandling of a liberal blogger a day earlier, accusing his Democratic opponent of provoking the videotaped incident.

   Too bad there’s videotape of your guys going after Stark before he even asked the question, huh, Macaca? Hopefully we’ll be waving buh-bye to you Tuesday night.

2. 

   CabinGirl on November 2, 2006 at 8:12 am

   to any of you?  WashPo

   The biggest behind-the-scenes change in network coverage involves what has been dubbed the Quarantine Room. Determined to avoid a rerun of recent years, when its exit polls leaked out by early afternoon to the Drudge Report, Slate and other Web sites, a media consortium is allowing two people from each of the networks and the Associated Press entree to a windowless room in New York. All cellphones, laptops and BlackBerrys will be confiscated. The designated staffers will pore over the exit polls but will not be allowed to communicate with their offices until 5 p.m.

   The consortium, called the National Election Pool, is conducting no surveys for House races. The exit polling will take place for Senate and gubernatorial contests in 32 states with competitive races.

   The recent track record with such polling has been pockmarked with failure. There was, of course, the debacle of election night 2000, when the networks used polling data from Florida to prematurely award the presidency, twice, within hours. In 2002, the network consortium’s predecessor, Voter News Service, suffered a computer meltdown and pulled the plug on its exit polls. Two years ago, its sample was so skewed that the group’s surveys showed Sen. John Kerry beating President Bush well into the night.

   • 

     idredit on November 2, 2006 at 8:30 am

     Too many pot holes in those 3 graphs. When do polls close in the East and what of PT?

     Yep, we’re being set up for a wicked vote count.

     • 

       CabinGirl on November 2, 2006 at 8:32 am

       yeah, it tweaked my radar too.

   • 

     boran2 on November 2, 2006 at 9:09 am

     I don’t like the word consortium.

     • 

       CabinGirl on November 2, 2006 at 1:11 pm

       Yeah, it sounds so fancy-pants intellectual…

3. 

   CabinGirl on November 2, 2006 at 8:16 am

   tear Bush a new one: video

   Hitchens says he’s no longer a conservative and has no party, then talks about Bush living in fantasy world.  Sullivan joins in, and Paula Zahn seems totally taken by surprise that they’re not lauding the Preznit.  It would be funny if it weren’t so pathetically true.

   • 

     Alice on November 2, 2006 at 9:07 am

     Thanks for this link, Cabin.  I do my best to avoid Paula, but it’s a real pleasure to watch two pundits agree on the fact that our pResident is insane.

     Maybe we could get Congress to mandate a psychiatric examination along with his annual physical.  

4. 

   ask on November 2, 2006 at 8:24 am

   De Menezes officers in new fatal shooting

   Police marksmen who were involved in the shooting of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes on the tube last year took part in an undercover operation in Kent this week in which another man was shot dead.

   The officers are members of Scotland Yard’s CO19 firearms unit, who were supporting Flying Squad detectives attempting to stop a suspected armed robbery at a building society bank branch in New Romney on Tuesday evening.

   Last night, police would not last night go into detail about the incident, although the unnamed man, 42, reportedly opened fire first with a shotgun. The Independent Police Complaints Commission has begun an investigation after taking over an initial inquiry by Kent police.

5. 

   ask on November 2, 2006 at 8:26 am

   Iran begins 10 days of war games

   ran opened a sabre-rattling show of military might today by firing a long-range weapon said to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads and striking Israel and US forces in the Middle East.

   Revolutionary Guards tested a Shahab-3 missile at the start of 10 days of war games in a calculated rebuff to the west as it seeks to impose sanctions over Iran’s nuclear programme. The UN security council’s permanent five members – the US, Britain, France, Russia and China – plus Germany are locked in discussions over an appropriate punishment for Iran’s refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, which many in the west suspect is a front for making atomic bombs.

   • 

     CabinGirl on November 2, 2006 at 8:31 am

     …firing a long-range weapon said to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads and striking Israel and US forces in the Middle East

     And of course, we know who to thank for putting so many US troops within range.  How convenient for Iran.

6. 

   idredit on November 2, 2006 at 8:42 am

    

   “Objecting to harsh Interrogation Techniques, U.S. soldier killed herself.”

   Billmon  on `Coultergeist’  finds the nugget. Did s/he claim to be a woman on his/her voter registration form? Because that could be making a false statement right there.”

   Off the reservation, cut and running  Richard Perle, prince of darkness, in a recent interview:

   “I think we have an administration today that is dysfunctional,” …. “And if it can’t get itself together to organize a serious program for finding nuclear material on its way to the United States, then it ought to be replaced by an administration that can.”  

    ‘But President Bush , Perle emphasized, is not to blame for this sorry state of affairs.’

   Poor Condi and Johnny.

   Russia and China say No to backing Iran sanctions