Friday News Roundup - Hour 2
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-09-02/friday-news-roundup-hour-2
A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top international news stories: Libya's embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi made a defiant speech on television, vowing to "keep fighting and never surrender" even as rebels gave loyalists until Saturday to surrender; the European Union announced plans for an oil embargo against Syria; and Iraq saw no U.S. casualties for the first time since the war began.
Guests
James Kitfield
senior correspondent, National Journal.
Anne Gearan
national security correspondent, Associated Press.
David Sanger
chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times.
Comments
Please familiarize yourself with our Code of Conduct and Terms of Use before posting your comments.
Diane, Please concentrate on the U.S.'s validity of our role in Libya. Are we free to bomb and kill other countries' people, making us terrorist? Please discuss the role of faith leaders in defending all humanity. It appears that faith groups are following corporate paths, accumulating riches.
Thanks Diane
I would like to know why the Republicans think that their debate is more important than the address that President Obama is going to make about jobs, especially after the report about job growth. They say they are patriotic, but I think what the president wants to do about jobs certainly is more important at this time. They could show that the future of the country's job is more important than their debate by gracefully changing their debate to another night.
Hi Diane and Guests,
One aspect of Gaddafi's fall that has been under-reported is how his allies, although maybe partners is a better word, have been effected. I just returned to D.C. after spending the last month in Liberia, and was amazed at how many large construction projects have ground to a halt because they were funded by Libya. Do you or the panel know if the funds that have been unfrozen for the rebel leadership have been taken from Gaddafi's works projects? Has there been any long-term plan presented by the rebel leadership about Libya's role abroad?
Thanks,
Jacob
It seems that there are parallels between the successful insurgent efforts in Egypt & Libya and and the unsuccessful efforts towards democracy in Iran: a questionable election leading to civil revolt in the streets. Why is it that Ahmadinejad was able to fight off the democracy movement while other dictators in the region were not?
Rich
Hudson, Ohio
Good show today on Libya.
Even more refreshing was your shutting down the use of the word Cr#.
Not a particularly offensive word, but thanks for making a stand for civility in the public discourse! We could use more of it.
hunnewell.anne wrote:
"I would like to know why the Republicans think that their debate is more important than the address that President Obama is going to make about jobs"
Let me spell it out for you, hunnewell.anne. The Republican debate has been scheduled for MONTHS. That involves the scheduling of a lot of people to bring everything together. The administration knew exactly what they were doing when they asked for time on Wednesday. They were trying to upstage the Republicans. There were many other times the President could have picked. Here is the takeaway, hunnewell.anne; the debate and the NFL schedule were set months in advance. As usual, the President is late to the party - so everyone else should just move?
Boehner was right to say no, although a better response might have been to just move the debate back an hour AFTER the President spoke. Then, once viewers were dizzy from his "pivotting to jobs" once again, they could have let him have it with all 8 barrels from the stage of the debate (oops, can I say that!). Actually, the President was smart to move to Thursday. He'll be much better off in a ratings war with the NFL than he would have been with the Republican debate.
Wow, what a "debate"!!!! 8 pro-corporate racists with sawed off shotguns after one little "wabbit." Newsflash: Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam are about to announce their candidacies. Listen as the President explains,"What's Up, Doc?"
Well he won't really 'splain, cause he can't and keep his financial backing. Bush and Obama now share in a scandal worse than Teapot Dome : escalating no-bid war contracts nearing a trillion and a soot pipeline to China right through the Heartland. Nope, it isn't a Warner Brothers cartoon. (And tarbaby trolls mentioning wabbits and shotguns in the same sentence merits a night out with the FBI. How many times can we waterboard one guy? Dance that extraordinary rendition of Dixie until your rubber band snaps, Gov. Perry supporters.)
Libya illustrates what happens when national wealth and power become concentrated in too few hands. The Gaddaffi reactor went critical. So let's do away with FEMA (while overfunding Homeland stormtroopers) and see how we fare when nuclear meltdown hits home. Bashar al Assad has picked out his new home in El Dorado, Santa Fe, NM... right next to Pervez Mustache.
Etaoin Shrdlu wrote:
Bravo to Diane for interrupting that caller who was spouting "excrement". Left, right, or center, I would hope people can keep a civil tongue in their mouths.
And anyone who can't state an opinion without mindlessly insulting anyone who dares to disagree (just because they disagree) is the true coward!
Ciao!
"mlloret wrote:
Good show today on Libya.
Even more refreshing was your shutting down the use of the word Cr#.
Not a particularly offensive word, but thanks for making a stand for civility in the public discourse! We could use more of it.
September 2, 2011 - 11:59 am"
Yeah, I would have preferred something like, bomb the blood out of them or bomb the guts out of them.
The Knoxville News Sentinel, is an excellent example of a Media Outlet that works closely with the Republican Party, abetting cover ups of massive cop and public corruption and encouraging the Bush / NRA Militia to carry guns in Churches, Parks and Bars, alway ready to throw their bodies in front of the Obama Juggernaut rushing to destroy our Democracy and install Communism / Facism.
The paper gladly prints the very worst filth (at least the very worst filth from Gentile mouths) against President Obama and Liberals.
Yet, the KNS Editor went through their entire Comment Archive and changed every Cr__ to Phooey.
Monte Haun mchaun@hotmail.com
E.S.- "a true coward" or a "truth-telling Howard"?
I was cleaning my cats' litter boxes when the expletive hit the Diane-fan and believe me I agree we need to keep DRShow discourse hygienic, but maybe not "sanitized." Listerine doesn't cure potty-mouth, or veiled threats. Joe Pyne them right off the air, Diane. (and he only had one leg)
If only for a few seconds, it was worth hearing some honest passion and real world contact, in contrast with the buttery lies of the panelists. Of course this guy wasn't shut down for his vocabulary, but for being disgusted with the cruel empire the US has become, and he wasn't calling Diane a coward because she was afraid of the "c" word, but because she was using it as a pretense to shut him down. I wish he was the one with the show. When the government finally withdraws funding from NPR, then you can change your name to reflect what you already are: NWR - National Weathy Radio, because even though we are forced to pay (a small amount), you represent the interests of the wealthy donors, just like the rest of the politicians. An aside - when we first moved to Canada, they had no language restrictions on the CBC. It was refreshing, like being in a room full of adults for a change. But thanks to the prissy bluenose Harper government, it's just like in the US now - we're afraid of little words, but we don't hesitate to bomb the guts out of people.
As to Diane Rehm cutting off that caller, I think he was over, and particularly because he continued after she warned him, yes he should have been cut off. However, he was bringing up a legitimate point for the discussion, which I think was US credibility. That was NOT answered. Also, on some shows (not this one) she has let her guests get away with putdowns of callers and avoiding a caller's question by spouting a non-answer. Albeit, the putdowns are not of the level of this caller today, but respect works two ways.
We all want good, respectable people to use the correct language, but, some may have a valid comment with a word that is not acceptable...ie: crap. That word is better than the word, "sh--." Check out American Slang, Robert Chapman, Second Edition....Hopefully, callers who have the phone number but not the computer instructions will be told at the beginning of every hour that they must use the "proper" language...do you have a bleep? Is this a white, upper class thang..just askin' Judith Claire, WDC
Well, Ms. Rehm is a proper, white lady and listeners should know that they must be ladylike /gentlemanly or they ain't got no business talkin' on her show. Find one of "your own kind" of show or no go on WAMU. As Bill Cosby would say....some folks need to get out more.
Grady Lee Howard wrote:
"8 pro-corporate racists"
There goes Grady Lee Coward - throwning that "racist" term around with no basis again - the last bastian of the flaming liberal who absolutely CANNOT argue an issue. Just call 'em a racist, right GLC - just like he did with me - called me a racist and then when I challenge him to show ONE SINGLE racist statement in my dozens and dozens of posts and he CAN'T do it. Instead, he slinks around these boards after the show is over when he knows he will not have to confront me.
C'mon GLC. One post that indicates I am a racist. ONE. Man up, retract, or shut up.
Diane,
The main topic that I continuously notice missing in any discussion regarding the Islamic regime in Iran is the following: the genius of the Islamic regime in the past 30 years after the 79 revolution, has been to create militia groups such as the Basij and the revolutionary guards whose sole purpose has been to maintain the Islamic regime. These groups have been organized to function like the regular army but whose purpose has been to defend the regime against internal revolts as supposed to foreign aggression. For over 30 years, members of these groups have received subsidized food and housing, education for their children and other perks and a standard of living which they could not get if the regime were to fall. In other words, these groups have a direct economic advantage and incentive in keeping the Islamic regime in place. Whether religious fanatics or not, these groups will fight any group which would threaten the existence of the Islamic regime to maintain their economic viability. There are going to be power grabbing infights amongst the leaders of the regime but we should not confuse this with the willingness of the revolutionary guard or the Basij to change the fundementals of the status quo.
continued..
The uprising in the Arab world is more similar to the situation in Iran during the 79 revolution than the the current so called green revolution.The reason being that the military tried to support the shah of Iran for a while but as the protests grew, the regular army soldiers joined the movement since they did not have any real incentive to fight their own people to keep the Shah in power. This is very similar to what is happening across the Arab world. Some will hold onto the power longer like Gadafi and some will go sooner like Hosni Mubarak but they will all fail in the end. However, I am not so confident about the movements in Iran, because there is a group of people whose numbers are as large as the regular army and whose way of life will come to an end if the regime were to change in Iran and this has nothing to do with their religious belief and everything to do with their economic well being.