Thursday Morning News and Views: Thanksgiving Day Edition

Happy Thanksgiving, Conflucians! I’m on my own today, so I thought I’d put up some news links for anyone else who happens to be around. My brother, sister-in-law and nephews went to Indiana for Thanksgiving with the rest of the family, so I won’t be dining with them. I could have gone to Indiana too, but I really needed some rest and time to myself over my short break. So I’m going to spend the day being grateful for what I have. I bought myself Thanksgiving dinner fixings from Whole Foods so I don’t feel too deprived.

It’s a gloomy day here in the Boston area. It was very foggy when I first got up and the fog still hasn’t cleared. What am I grateful for? I have a roof over my head, clothes to wear, enough to eat, books to read, and a teaching job for the time being anyway. I’m grateful that I completed by Ph.D. and have some time to read novels now. I’m very grateful to have this five-day weekend to rest up for final push at the end of the semester. And I’m grateful for The Confluence and all of you who come here to discuss politics with other disillusioned liberals.

So what’s the latest news? The New York Times has the latest on the couple who crashed President Obama’s first state dinner. It figures there’s a reality TV connection:

…the couple — Michaele Salahi and her husband, Tareq — are Virginians who have been auditioning for a possible role in a different housewives TV franchise: “The Real Housewives of Washington.”

They swept past the camera crews and followed the trail of other bigwigs attending the dinner.

But neither Mr. nor Mrs. Salahi, best known in the Washington area for promoting wine and polo in Virginia, were on the guest list for the event, a fact first reported Wednesday morning on the Washington Post Web site.

A White House official confirmed Wednesday that the Salahis had not been invited nor seated for dinner.

Apparently yesterday was “International Violence against Women Day.” I missed that: UN officials call for intensified efforts to eliminate violence against women

In Great Britain, there are plans to educate school children about domestic violence: I couldn’t find any statement from President Obama about “International Violence Against Women Day,” but I’m sure he made one [snark]. However Secretary of State Hillary Clinton didn’t forget the day:

“Today, a woman somewhere in the United States will be physically assaulted by her husband. In a remote village on the other side of the world, traffickers will lure a young girl away from her family and sell her into sexual slavery. In towns in every region of the globe, groups of men will harass young women as they attempt to go to school. And in a conflict-ravaged land, armed men will brutally rape a mother and her daughter, part of a deliberate strategy of war. Today and every day, women and girls all over the world will face violence simply because they are female. This gender-based violence not only harms the victims and their families, it shreds the fabric that weaves us together as human beings.

“Violence against women cannot be accepted as ‘cultural’ — it is criminal. Today, as we mark Elimination of Violence Against Women Day, let us recommit ourselves – men and women in every country – to work together to end these atrocities, to hold those who commit them accountable, and to support the survivors. No woman or girl anywhere in the world should have to walk in fear or live under the threat of violence.

Thank you Madame Secretary. I’m grateful today that you are working in our government and doing your best to support women in the U.S. and around the world.

In other violence against women news, Roman Polanski will be released on bail soon.

Legal experts say the bail probably will lengthen the battle over whether Polanski should be extradited to Los Angeles to face sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old more than three decades ago. The decision also raises other questions, given that Polanski fled from the United States just before his sentencing in 1978. Swiss justice officials repeatedly have denied his bail requests, saying he is a flight risk.

Under the terms of the bail, Polanski, 76, would be restricted to his chalet in Gstaad, a ski resort with mountain views. The village of 2,500 has long been known as a celebrity hangout, having been home to Elizabeth Taylor, Roger Moore and David Niven, among others.

The Swiss court decided to grant bail based on Polanski’s pledge of $4.5-million bail along with what the court called supporting measures, including electronic monitoring, which would alert the authorities if he tried leave home or remove a monitoring bracelet.

“It is very rare to get bail in an extradition case and especially in cases where the person’s fled,” said Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor and Loyola law professor. “This is a little like giving bail to O.J. after the Bronco chase.”

At least he spent some time in captivity. That may be the worse that will ever happen to him for raping and sodomizing a child.

This is really serious and yet I’ve heard little protest from liberals. Maybe I’ve just missed it somehow: Comcast may be close to buying NBC Universal

…after Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt met with NBC’s minority owner Vivendi SA, two people with knowledge of the situation said….

Immelt is negotiating a value for NBC Universal to persuade Paris-based Vivendi to sell its 20 percent stake and let GE push ahead with plans to sell a controlling interest to Comcast, the largest U.S. cable-TV service. They are less than $500 million apart and are discussing how much cash Vivendi may receive before the Comcast deal is completed, the people said.

Vivendi’s deliberations are the key to GE’s plans to create a joint venture combining NBC Universal’s film, cable-television and theme-park properties with networks owned by Philadelphia- based Comcast. Comcast would own 51 percent and may acquire full ownership over time. Vivendi may still decide not to sell.

I noticed there isn’t even the slightest discussion of news or journalism in the article. Whatever happened to the antitrust laws anyway?

Sarah Palin actually said something about the possibility of running for President, and Think Progress, and I assume other prog blogs, are drooling at the opportunities they will have to smear, deride, and degrade Palin in the years to come. I’m so happy that the progs will have something to be grateful for today.

In football, the Detroit Lions host the Green Bay Packers at 12:30PM. The game is on Fox. Then at 4:15, myiq2xu’s beloved Oakland Raiders travel to the Dallas Cowboys–that matchup will be televised on CBS. Finally, at 8:20PM, the New York Giants will play the Denver Broncos in Denver on the NFL Network. For myiq’s sake I hope the Raiders win.