More, more, more*

I am currently working on posting 16 clips from Sunday/Monday to the site. There are at least 9 more from today that I haven’t even begun on yet. (Poor Max is crying. I think I could fry an egg on the keyboard at this point!) At least it’s my day off… have tossed all plans for getting RL stuff done today right out the window!

Patience, kids. It will happen, I promise!

* Oh, and you’re welcome for the earworm. Hopefully you got the Billy Idol one…

Sandstorm

Michael’s done five reports this morning, three on Domestic and two on International. There is a massive sandstorm hitting Baghdad today, and he definitely had some fun with it…

Removing these links; all are up on the site.

(And yes, he is one froopy dude who always knows where his towel is. And I’m disowning any of you who don’t understand that reference!)

An all-too-rare all-Michael-Ware All Things CNN post!

Yes, today’s post on ATC will be all-Michael, with this week’s International Desk, BackStory, The Situation Room, and American Morning clips. I do occasionally get to indulge…!

Post is up at 7pmET NOW! Stop by and comment if you have a chance, always nice to let people know we’re watching!

(Oh, and PS before Jodi hollers at me: yes, I mentioned Tommy, too!)

The latest from Baghdad

Michael was on International again a few hours ago (10pm Baghdad time). Délie has sent me the clip, but I am racing out the door for work, so here is a link to the fast/dirty version:

Deleted this link, as the full versions are now posted on the site.

Also, BackStory has posted a longer version of yesterday’s interview.

Baghdad

Délie says that Michael has been on International twice today, and he’s back in Baghdad. Nothing on Domestic so far, but Délie is trying to get the clips to me.

Here are a couple screengrabs she sent:

Iran so far away

The longer the protests go on in Tehran (and I know it’s only been a few days so far) the more convinced I become that they are being allowed to go on, rather like a parent letting the kids run around the playground and be all kinds of rambunctious knowing that they will tire soon and be ready to fall sleep. If there was a huge crackdown, that would show fear on the part of Those Who Shall Remain In Charge, a fear that they must regain control of the situation, outside witnesses be damned. (See: Myanmar last year.)

But in Tehran … gracious allowance of youthful exuberance. It’s almost condescending. “Oh, let the kids and the women protest and Twitter and talk to the foreign media. After all, they can’t hurt us.” And I fear they are right. This time around, anyway.

Knowing that the Revolutionary Guard Corps has so easily stolen the election, so blatantly (almost casually!) declaring results faster than Wolf Blitzer did on November 4th … that makes me very uneasy. Not just for Iran, but also for Iraq. We already know how hip-deep the Corps is there; thanks to Michael we’ve been warned about that for years. But what of the upcoming Iraqi elections later this year? Exactly who will be pulling the strings there?

And what might erupt in the streets of Baghdad afterwards?

Day 2 on the Cairo speech

A second day of reaction to the president’s speech, and more fireworks.

First, Michael appeared on The Situation Room to discuss the problems of trying to get Guantanamo Bay closed. He made a point that I have long been wondering about — why are we in America so afraid to take these prisoners onto American soil? Because it may spur more attacks from extremists? Is that a reason to ask other countries to take them? I don’t follow the logic there, and I am tired of us sounding (and acting) like we are so scared of the bad guys that we want other countries to stand in front of us. You know what? 9/11 won’t be the last time there is an attack on American soil and it won’t be the last time American civilians die at the hands of crazy people who hate us. What happened to “I regret that I have but one life to give my country”? I would rather be killed, would rather everyone I care about was killed, than to see this country cowering in fear. We have the SuperMax prison, it’s time to get serious about these guys. If we could deal with McVeigh, we can deal with these guys. Damn, people.

Anyway, on Campbell Brown’s program, Michael ‘debated’ Bush’s speechwriter. What a joke the guy is. His contention is that Obama insulted the troops by admitting that Guantanamo was bad and the Iraq war was a mistake. (No, jackass, he wasn’t insulting the troops; he was insulting your former boss.) On top of that, the guy had the f-ing nerve to compare himself to the troops because he was in the Pentagon on 9/11. Now, I can only imagine the horror of being there on that day, but to say that one single act of violence equates with the day upon day, month upon month grind of being under threat from enemies that surround you in a hostile land … get real. It would be like saying, “I was once in a store that was robbed at gunpoint. I could have been killed! So I know what it’s like to be a cop facing danger every day.” No, cupcake, you really don’t. And by the way, you insult our troops by coming anywhere near that assertion. (Oh, and he visited Iraq four times, so he’s ready to compare his knowledge of the place to Michael’s. I bet he never even left the Green Zone. Pffft.)

Reaction to Obama’s Cairo speech

Michael was on The Sit Room this afternoon to discuss the speech. I’ll have the clip up ASAP (I’m not at work today, so I can get on it now.) Here’s hoping he sticks around for 360 as well…