Over the weekend it was revealed that the CIA has been running secret anti-terrorism programs that were kept from Congress at the order of Vice President Cheney. This morning, we find out that the program had to do with secretly capturing or killing Al Qaeda operatives. Is anyone in the world surprised that Dick Cheney was running a secret CIA assassination program? Like… anyone? I would be upset if Dick Cheney saw Munich and DIDN’T say, “Well gee, that looks like a good idea.”
Confirmation hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor begin today. The Washington Post unwittingly details how Supreme Court confirmation hearings are kabuki theater. No one doubts that she is going to be nominated, but every group involved has their own specific goals and statements to make. Of course, the Post article treats this all as deadly serious. For example, “Conservatives are hoping to use the Sotomayor hearings as a way to motivate their base if they can successfully portray her as an activist judge whose “empathy” for certain groups guides her rulings more than court precedent or the written law.” WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN!?!?
Have you had enough of Sacha Baron Cohen’s junk? Apparently you are not alone. Bruno was the top movie in the country this weekend with a stellar opening day of $14.4 million. However, Saturday revenue for the film dropped 39%, one of the largest second-day drops ever. This is bad news for the film and indicates that audiences bought tickets expecting another Borat and instead got another Ali G Indahouse.
Massive rioting in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang region in northwest China, has left more than 156 dead and more than 1,000 injured. The whole thing is confusing and uses a lot of words I can’t pronounce, but it is generally kind of like Nepal without the adorable monks. Here are a few bullet points to guide you through it:
China is made up of a large number of disparate ethnic groups, the largest being the Han Chinese who control everything. Urumqi is populated by Uighurs, who are ethnically Turkish/Chinese.
The Chinese government has historically oppressed the Uighurs while extracting all the mineral wealth (oil) from their area they can. Uighurs feel they have not gotten their share of China’s rapid economic growth.
Some Uighurs feel that a lot of restrictions and recent public works projects are actually designed to drive them out of the region so it can be repopulated with Han Chinese. The Chinese government is afraid that expressions of Uighur pride and nationalism is the first step towards and open revolution and an attempt to create a breakaway nation.
For now rioting probably continues and there are disputes over whether most of the deaths have been caused by the rioters or by the police. The Internet has been cut for large areas of China and where it is still on sites like Facebook and Twitter are blocked. Read more about this issue here. If any of our many readers (Ok well, two) who are China experts want to correct me, I welcome their thoughts in the comments.
There were 7 new U.S. casualties in Afghanistan yesterday, reflecting the intensified fighting there. With more U.S. soldiers in the region and with those soldiers pushing out into areas that had been largely written off to Taliban or tribal control, this is probably only the start of increasing casualty numbers.
Though it is already old news, I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention that over the weekend Republican 2008 Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin announced she is resigning as Governor of Alaska. The Governor’s resignation and the odd timing (Fourth of July weekend) leaves many wondering if she is resigning just ahead of some sort of scandal or if this is all part of a master plan to gear up for 2012. I sort of suspect that she might just want to pull the plug and get out of the public spotlight since she must realize she has become a national punchline, right? However, after resigning in a hastily-assembled (an adjective I hope is never used to describe my resignation from anything) back yard press conference at 4 p.m. on Friday, Palin spent the night posting weird legal threats/manifestos on Twitter and Facebook. Sarah, if you are really trying to get out of the public spotlight then there is an old saying that applies here: “Ur Doing it wrong.”
The coup in Honduras continues today. Ousted and exiled former President Manuel Zelaya tried to fly back into the country over the weekend with media and international leaders in tow but was prevented from landing by military trucks blocking airport runways. The military occupied the airport in Tegucigalpa and clashed with the hundreds of thousands of protesters who turned out to greet the President. The President, who strikes me as disturbingly media-savvy, did live interviews with various Latin American TV and radio outlets while his plane circled the Honduras capital. Though one’s gut instinct is to root for the embattled President-in-exile, it is worth reading this Slate article that points out that the President made horrible decisions for his country and was running roughshod over the constitution there before he was ousted.
Your “this-is-an-outrage” fact of the day: The health-care industry is spending $1.4 million a day lobbying Congress to influence the current debate over the future of our nations health care system.
You “this-is-not-news” story of the day: The head of MI6′s wife put photos of him up on facebook. I don’t think his identity is a secret though, so why do we care?
I am not Jewish, but the majority of my closest friends growing up and in college were Jewish so I like to think I kind of get it. That being said, it strikes me that Old Jews Telling Jokes isn’t really about the chosen people. It is more an effort to preserve and appreciate a certain cultural period and style of humor that has been relegated to family reunions and my dentist. Also, it is a slickly designed site and a great way to kill some time. New videos are posted every Tuesday and Thursday that feature some of New York and New Jersey’s most illustrious citizens telling classic jokes and you can subscribe via RSS or iTunes.
U.S. Marines in are in the middle of a major offensive in the Helmand River valley in southwestern Afghanistan. This area has been controlled by the Taliban and poppy harvests and opium smuggling there provides major financing for the insurgency. So far there has not been any major resistance as most Taliban fighters have chosen to slip away rather than face the U.S. head on. However, holding the area and getting the farmers to grow something other than poppies will be the real test. Reuters has a great Q&A for anyone who has basic questions.
Meanwhile, in low-profile celebrity deaths, actor Karl Malden also died this weekend at the age of 97. I have a soft sport for character actors and remember Malden from his amazing performance in On The Waterfront – a great film if you find yourself with extra time this weekend.
Though it is already old news, I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention that over the weekend 