MSNBC political analyst Richard Wolffe on Tuesday said, “The experiment of democracy, of untrammeled democracy inside the Middle East is most clearly demonstrated by the Palestinian authority with Hamas taking power in the Gaza strip.” Such transpired in the same lengthy “Hardball” segment wherein Chris Matthews called Sarah Palin “a cuckoo clock” and Newt Gingrich “a mortal enemy to our civilization” (video follows with transcript and commentary): RICHARD WOLFFE, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: And Chris, there’s a third came here, which I think Senator Graham kind of represents here, which is conservative opinion, which is more realpolitik, more realistic in saying, Let’s deal with the world as it is out there. And there’s that tension that played out between the conservatives and the neo-cons through the Bush years. What’s remarkable is seeing the sort of conspiracy side of this take ahold Newt Gingrich who is a self-styled historian or student of history, making some of the same kind of mistakes. You cannot see this region, never mind the rest of the world, purely in terms of the post-9/11 American political framework. You cannot just project out everything from the Bush era. And if you are, at least going to study the Bush era properly. I mean, the experiment of democracy, of untrammeled democracy inside the Middle East is most clearly demonstrated by the Palestinian authority with Hamas taking power in the Gaza strip. For those unfamiliar with the term, untrammeled means “not limited or restricted; unrestrained.” If that's how Wolffe sees Gaza at this point, it is him making political and historical mistakes, for Hamas has been preventing new elections in Gaza that could result in it being tossed out. As Commentary's Noah Pollak wrote in October 2009: [One man, one vote, one time] is the oft-repeated formulation that describes the problem with the participation of Islamist and terrorist groups in elections. They pretend to be committed to democratic politics so long as democratic politics provide a vehicle for them to take power. But the moment elections no longer favor them, they no longer favor elections. This has been the case in Gaza since Hamas took over. As the New York Times reported Tuesday: The Palestinian Authority announced on Tuesday that it would hold delayed local elections on July 9. The vote was originally scheduled for last summer, but it was postponed by disagreements over candidates within the Fatah movement…Elections were supposed to be held in both the West Bank and Gaza, but Hamas, which rules in Gaza, has said it would not allow them to take place. No election has been held in either territory since 2006. According to the Jerusalem Post, Hamas is still preventing these elections to occur in Gaza: The Palestinian Authority announced on Tuesday that it plans to hold municipal elections on July 9. Hamas responded by declaring that it won’t allow the vote to take place in the Gaza Strip…Hamas’s decision to boycott the elections means that they would take place only in the West Bank. Is this what Wolffe considers “untrammeled democracy” – when the party in power is preventing elections?
Continue reading …I missed posting this back in January, but it’s too funny not to. Stephen Colbert is warning us about the Threat Down from Sharia law and Muslim treats which may take over America. Ahhhhhhh…. Hannity: …the fears that Sharia law is creeping into the United States Steyn: There is something called “Creeping Sharia” Malkin: Are you familiar with the phrase “Sharia Creep?” Could Sharia law be creeping into everyday American life hidden inside a sandwich? Colbert: That’s right, a sandwich of death. Threat number three is radical Muslim snacks. Robertson: Halal is prepared according to the rules of Sharia law.. The only creeps in this clip are the wingnuts. Colbert is on a brilliant run and his writers need to be commended. Now pass me some Filet al Fish .
Continue reading …Dell unveiled a mighty business laptop lineup this morning, but only a few stood out — like this Dell Latitude XT3 convertible tablet PC with a quad-core Intel Sandy Bridge processor inside. Yes, it seems Dell’s decided to forgo the incredible battery life of its predecessor for potent performance instead, with this particular unit packing a 2.5GHz Core i5-2520M CPU and 2GB of RAM underneath that swiveling 13-inch display. While the prototype XT3′s screen seemed a little washed-out and viewing angles left something to be desired, we have to admire its matte dual-digitizer display, which takes multitouch input from at least three fingers simultaneously and also recognizes a pop-out stylus pen (the former responsive enough to navigate Windows 7 by touch alone, and the latter beyond our can’t-draw-a-straight-stick-figure ability to easily test). That sunlight-readable screen isn’t just for traveling artists, though, as Dell was quick to inform us that the XT3 is the company’s attempt to make a convertible tablet that corporate IT will accept as one of its own, thanks to the same magnesium frame and universal docking port as the rest of the new Latitude lineup . We can’t lie: we’d be pretty excited about the potential for awesome here, if we had any notion of release dates or price. Find some pictures below, and mosey past the break for a hands-on video. Gallery: Dell Latitude XT3 convertible tablet, hands-on Myriam Joire contributed to this report . Continue reading Dell Latitude XT3 convertible tablet, hands-on (video) Dell Latitude XT3 convertible tablet, hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 22:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Prosecutors in Italy will request on Wednesday an immediate trial for the embattled Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who is accused of paying for sex with an underage girl and later abusing his power to cover it up. The request, which means the prosecutors believe they have enough evidence in the case to skip a preliminary hearing, will add to the pressure on the 74-year-old premier, whose centre-right government is hanging on to power by a thread. Milan prosecutor Edmondo Bruti Liberati said
Continue reading …Al Jazeera speaks to Mona Seif, one of the protesters gathered infront of the parliament building in the Egyptian capital Cairo, calling for a dissolution of the assembly:
Continue reading …Google’s remained fairly mum on its TV experiment ever since a number of major networks blocked Google TV devices from accessing their online content, but you can bet that Logitech and Sony are still doing everything they can to unload inventory. If — for whatever reason — you’ve found yourself in the precarious position of needing a backup keyboard, EFO ‘s got a couple of comical solutions. The outfit’s new Google TV keyboard is named simply enough, and it’s also one of the smallest KB remotes in the history of KB remotes. That’s great for those who tend to shove their controlling devices into pockets and whatnot, and there’s even a touchpad that works vertically and horizontally — depending on preference, of course. Bluetooth ($75) and RF ($65) versions are available, with initial shipments to go out starting on the 15th. Head on past the break for a demo video, also known as the cutest thing you’ll see all day. Continue reading EFO’s diminutive Google TV keyboard makes us laugh, cry, exclaim EFO’s diminutive Google TV keyboard makes us laugh, cry, exclaim originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 22:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …A liquid gas pipeline exploded Tuesday at a petroleum plant outside Houston, sending balls of orange flame and thick black smoke into the sky and leaving one worker unaccounted for, authorities said. (Feb. 8)
Continue reading …Thanks to the Tea Party, today’s vote to extend the Patriot Act failed to pass. It had been introduced on the suspension calendar and needed 2/3rds to pass. When the Tea Party bloc broke with Republicans, there weren’t sufficient votes to pass it. It is expected to be reintroduced on the regular calendar next week and brought up for a vote again, this time with only a majority needed for it to pass, but with opportunities for longer debate and amendments.
Continue reading …Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey said Monday that MSNBC's Chris Matthews “seems to be slipping out of touch with reality.” On Tuesday, the “Hardball” host proved Armey's point by calling Sarah Palin “a cuckoo clock” and Newt Gingrich “a mortal enemy to our civilization” (video follows with transcript and commentary): CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Let’s start with the conservative split, first time I’ve seen one in years. Richard Wolffe’s an MSNBC political analyst and Ben Smith is national political reporter for Politico. Richard, I want you to take a look at some of these clips. We got Gingrich. We got Beck. We got Kristol. We got Palin. And we got Lindsey Graham. Let’s take a look at, first of all, Newt Gingrich. He says he doesn’t support — he said the United States shouldn’t support the Muslim Brotherhood or talking with them, in fact. Here’s what he told CNN. Let’s listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NEWT GINGRICH (R-GA), FMR. SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, FOX CONTRIBUTOR: Secretary Clinton apparently said that we wanted to reach out to the Muslim Brotherhood. I think this is absolute total misreading of history. The Muslim Brotherhood is a mortal enemy of our civilization. They say so openly. Their slogan says so openly. Their way is jihad. Their method is death. For us to encourage in any way the inclusion of the Muslim Brotherhood is fundamentally wrong. (END VIDEO CLIP) MATTHEWS: I think if you look closely at Newt Gingrich, you see a mortal enemy to our civilization. Nice equivalence. Because Gingrich called the group that assassinated former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat a mortal enemy to our civilization, Matthews felt it's appropriate to similarly refer to a former Speaker of the House. Getting Armey's point? But there was more: MATTHEWS: Here’s Glenn Beck last Thursday on the radio. Let’s listen to his thoughts. (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) GLENN BECK, HOST, FOX NEWS “GLENN BECK”: I want the left to know I plant my flag in this soil. Groups from the hard-core socialist and communist left and extreme Islam will work together because they are both a common enemy of Israel and the Jew. Islam wants caliphate. Communists want a communist new world order. They’ll work together and they’ll destabilize because they both want chaos. (END AUDIO CLIP) MATTHEWS: And he’s the same person out there saying that the two President Bushes, in the way they directed our bombing campaigns in the two Iraq wars, were really working with this new Muslim world order. Actually, that's not what Beck said last Tuesday. Here's the actual quote: BECK: There's one place that we told our bombers not to bomb. Does anybody know what it was? Two wars in Iraq. We said no bombing there. Ancient Babylon. Ancient Babylon. Why? Because the Bible tells us that that is the seat — right here — of power of a global, evil empire. From those few sentences, Matthews concluded that Beck was saying that both Presidents Bush were working with a new Muslim order. Is that what you take away from those 52 words, or is Armey's point really sinking in? But Matthews wasn't nearly done cherry-picking: MATTHEWS: Bill Kristol, by the way, knocked conservatives who are supporting Mubarak. Here’s what he said on “MORNING JOE” today. Let’s listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BILL KRISTOL, “WEEKLY STANDARD”: I don’t think conservatives or Americans in general should be on the side of dictators against what seems to be a genuine democratic protest. (END VIDEO CLIP) Kristol spoke with the “Morning Joe” crew about Beck for three minutes, and had far more to say on this issue than the 24 words Matthews and Company cherry-picked: But here was possibly the coup de grace: MATTHEWS: Well, let’s take a look. Here’s Sarah Palin, to get the full look at this. She took a swipe at President Obama’s handling of Egypt. Let’s listen to her, Palin. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SARAH PALIN (R-AK), FMR. GOV., FOX CONTRIBUTOR: It’s a difficult situation. This is that 3:00 AM White House phone call, and it seems for many of us trying to get that information from our leader in the White House — it seems that that call went right to the answering machine. And nobody yet has — nobody yet has explained to the American public what they know. And surely they know more than the rest of us know who it is who will be taking the place of Mubarak. (END VIDEO CLIP) MATTHEWS: She talks like a cuckoo clock. In fact, I think when she gets that Sarah Palin named patented, that’s what she should sell, cuckoo clocks with her coming out every hour or half hour. To sum up, Matthews on Tuesday called a former Speaker of the House of Representatives “a mortal enemy to our civilization,” and a former Vice Presidential candidate a “cuckoo clock.” I don't know about you, but Armey seemed spot on Monday.
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