Obama Speech on Iraq Gets Mixed Reviews
Filed under: BBC, fox news, Iraq, news sources, Politico, politics, President Obama
It’s interesting that one of the best summaries about Obama’s speech on Iraq comes from the BBC, which has put together these quotes from various sources, and seems to have kept it fairly non-partisan. Not surprisingly, commentary on Fox News is pretty negative (Style over Substance), while Politico calls the speech subdued and suggests it’s a shift from Guns to Butter. It seems that most sources agree that Obama was pretty subdued overall, and seemed much more interested to bend this back into a move towards domestic policies rather than foreign policy actions. Underlying all of it, troops and their families are happy that the end of combat in Iraq has come.
Did NFL Rookie Brandon Spikes Make a Sex Tape?
This is one of those stories that isn’t going to just go away any time soon, this one will run all week and into the weekend, and maybe off into the NFL regular season. Rookie linebacker Brandon Spikes, from the Florida Gators and now with the New England Patriots, was apparently caught in a naughty video / cam show on popular site Chatroulette. According to a video from World Star Hip Hop dot com, he apparently is getting frisky with a busty lady friend, including some oral sex and the like. It’s a very graphic video, and apparently the tattoos on this guy match up with the player. His agent has come out and said the video is embarrassing. Even Fantasy Football league sites are abuzz, as this could lead to a suspension from the league for violating personal conduct rules.
Dancing With The Stars Season 11
Well, ABC certainly has managed to stir up interest with it’s list of participants in this years Dancing With the Stars. Season 11 promises to have it’s ups and downs that is for sure. The lucky celebrities (and want to be celebrities) including Jersey Shore’s The Situation and Bristol Palin, daughter of failed Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin. They even managed to dig up Jennifer Grey, mostly known for her role with the late Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing, and David Hasselhoff, although he cannot use KITT as a partner. Check out the official list here. The Washington Post has a great look at why these people are famous or could be interesing this season, read that here. Betting odds? We got there here.
Report: Two Possible Terrorists Arrested at Amsterdam Airport
Developing story: Two men, apparently American residents of Yemeni decent, were detained in Amsterdam when their flight from Chicago landed. According to this New York Times article, there was “a cellphone taped to a bottle of Pepto-Bismol, three cellphones taped together and several watches taped together” in one guys baggage. The bags were apparently not checked to the same flights or destinations, with lead authorities to pull the bags. Other stories mention that the two men, who originated from different areas, both made similar flight changes and other suspicious moves. US authorities have been reported to be concerned that this may have been a test run to see what materials and actions would get past security, and which would not. While they have not been charged with anything in the US, they may have been charged in Amsterdam. Bloomberg also has some more information here.
Paris Hilton Charged With Felony Cocaine Possession
This is one of those stories that will go on and on, as the wheels of justice turn slowly and the internet spins at light speed. Paris Hilton was arrested Friday night after a traffic stop in Vegas, where it turns out there was a substance in her purse. Clark County prosecutors have moved forward and charged her with Felony Cocaine Possession, which is a crime typically punishable by 1 to 5 years in jail. Of course, she says that cocaine was not hers, that the purse wasn’t always in her control, etc. All that is stuff for court, I guess. It may have been worse for her boyfriend, Cy Waits, who was driving the car at the time and was charged with DUI (apparently there was plenty of marijuana smoke in the car). Reports have it that he was fired from his job at Wynn and Encore, but there has been not confirmed at this point, plenty of no commnets. Overall, an interesting story that will likely resurface over and over again the next couple of months leading up to Hilton’s October 27th court date.
2010 Emmy Awards Winners and Fallout
The 2010 Emmy Awards have been handed out (oops, the Prime time Emmy Awards, separate from the soap opera / Oprah awards), and there are plenty of winners and losers. The biggest losers seem to be the series Lost, which didn’t win much of anything. CNN has a good list of Emmy winners here. One of the most watched awards was in the Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy series, where Conan O’Brien was nominated for the Tonight Show, which he was removed from by NBC. He didn’t win (that award went to Jon Stewart and the very outstanding The Daily Show), which removed one of the possible Emmy fall outs. If you wondered what the stars were wearing, check out the Emmy Awards Fashion show here.
Hurricane Earl Threatens Leeward Islands
On the sad anniversary of the arrival of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans 5 years ago, Hurricane Earl is starting to churn up pretty good in the Atlantic, likely to come in contact soon with the leeward islands and perhaps Puerto Rico. The storm at this point (noon EST Sunday) has winds of 75mph, but is expected to strenghten. There are Tropical Storm and Hurricane watches all over the area. The route that this storm takes in the next 24-48 hours will be signfiicant for people living in the US and the Caribbean. While none of the current projections have it making landfall in the US, there is always some potential. Keep your eye on this storm, as it may be a major news maker in the next few days, and may even play havoc with outdoor events on the East coast for labor day weekend.
UFC118 Results
Hot off the presses, as it were, here are the results from last nights UFC 118, according to the Wikipedia page:
Preliminary card
* Welterweight bout: United States Mike Pierce vs. Brazil Amilcar Alves
Pierce defeated Alves via submission (cross-body armbar) at 3:11 of round 3.
* Welterweight bout: England Nick Osipczak vs. United States Greg Soto
Soto defeated Osipczak via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
* Middleweight bout: United States Dan Miller vs. United States John Salter
Miller defeated Salter via submission (anaconda choke) at 1:53 of round 2. This bout aired on Spike TV after the Lauzon vs. Ruediger fight.
Preliminary card (Spike TV)
* Lightweight bout: England Andre Winner vs. United States Nik Lentz
Lentz defeated Winner via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27).
* Lightweight bout: United States Joe Lauzon vs. United States Gabe Ruediger
Lauzon defeated Ruediger via submission (armbar) at 2:01 of round 1. This bout aired on PPV following the Edgar vs. Penn fight.
Main card
* Welterweight bout: United States Nate Diaz vs. United States Marcus Davis
Diaz defeated Davis via technical submission (guillotine choke) at 4:02 of round 3.
* Lightweight bout: United States Kenny Florian vs. United States Gray Maynard
Maynard defeated Florian via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
* Middleweight bout: Brazil Demian Maia vs. Brazil Mario Miranda
Maia defeated Miranda via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
* Heavyweight bout: United States Randy Couture vs. United States James Toney
Couture defeated Toney via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 3:19 of round 1.
* Lightweight Championship bout: United States Frankie Edgar (c) vs. United States B.J. Penn
Edgar defeated Penn via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45).
report: Paris Hilton Caught With Cocaine in Car
Up front, let’s get the usual disclaimer stuff, this is only a report, Paris Hilton is innocent until proven guilty, blah blah… but hey, here is the deal on what will certainly be a hot media topic in the next day or so. According to CNN, “Paris Hilton was released from a Las Vegas, Nevada, jail Saturday morning after being arrested late the night before on suspicion of cocaine possession, police said Saturday.” . Apparently she was the only passenger in a black Escalade that was pulled over by police, who noted the smell of marijuana smoke and arrested the driver. A search of the car (and it’s contents) turned up an unknown amount of coke. Hilton was arrested, and released around 2:30am from jail, as she is not considered a flight risk.
Update, here is the official statement from her Lawyer:
Paris Hilton was released this morning on her own recognizance. This matter will be dealt with in the courts not in the media and I encourage people not to rush to judgment until all of the facts have been dealt with in a court of law. There will be no interviews and no more comments at this time
So take that for what it is worth!
Glenn Beck Restoring Honor Rally
One thing for certain, Glenn Beck knows how to stir up a crowd. That is why this weekend’s Restoring Honor rally in Washington is going to be a top discussion topic at the virtual watercoolers for the rest of the weekend and solidly into next week. The “non political” event is scheduled on the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech, which has any number of the usual suspects (Rev Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, etc) up in arms. The inclusion of past Republican VP candidate and confirmed Tea Party supporter Sarah Palin pretty much makes the non-political thing a non-starter. The Washington Post has an interesting article on how the networks are approaching the coverage. Obviously Fox News is all over this like a dirty shirt (Beck is a “popular” talk show host on that network), others seem less interested in coverage. Beck has been pushing this deal for almost a year, as the time that he would reveal his 100 year plan for the US. Again, not political, but… No matter the outcome or the attendance, this event is certain to be top shizz for the weekend.
