Peer Review : Web Focus : Nature
Nature Peer Review Trial and Debate. December 2006. The peer review trial described below has now closed. Nature ‘s analysis of the results is published within the peer-review debate …

Bible and Archaeology Debates Biblical Archaeology Review
Bible and archaeology debates among scholars, researchers and archeologists concerning artifacts, ossuaries, bone boxes, seals and forgeries.

Kissinger preconditions

The Early Word: G.O.P. Debate Reviews – The Caucus Blog – NYTimes.com
Viewers tuned into last night’s debate among Republican presidential candidates witnessed their pointed attacks on one another and, of course, on Democratic front-runner Hillary …

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Right Wing News is the best source on the net for conservative news, views, & interviews. … You may not realize it, but there was another debate last night. It was the "Values …

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State Polling Summary: September 5 – 23

enough time has elapsed since the conventions to drain off some conclusion about their impact, and bout tenable reactions to the debates. the shelve further down compares the predicted national race based on calculating the swing from 2004 in have polling versus the federal polling during the same period.

McCain, Obama wary of fueling gay-marriage debate
NEW YORK (AP) – Proposed bans on same-sex marriage are on the ballot in three important states this fall, rousing passions on both sides, yet neither John McCain nor Barack Obama …

The Page – by Mark Halperin – TIME
The Page by Mark Halperin. Politics updated by the minute. … The Obama and McCain campaigns released the following statement on the Presidential Debates

Economics 101: Presidential Debate in Doubt?
Sneak Peek: Presidential Debate in Doubt? … Can Obama and McCain Walk and Chew Gum at the Same Time?

The State and National polling are in good agreement. Interestingly both show McCain benefited more from the conventions than Obama: National Polling finds a 4.1% bounce for McCain while the State Polling finds a smaller bounce (2.7%). The table below shows the Obama recovery since the initial McCain. This table is a made up of a 4 day moving average of the swing in State Polls and a 4 day moving average of national polls. It clearly documents the Obama recovery:

In looking at the massive data ( there have been 234 state polls in September, versus 86 in August, 77 in July and 87 in June), I found something very interesting. The table below shows the swing to Obama according to Bush’s performance.

What it shows is fascinating: the McCain improvement came largely in states where Bush won by at least 5 points. More on the flip, including a look at pollster leanings…. This suggests the Palin pick help solidify wavering support in the immediate aftermath of the GOP convention. But note too, how little impact she has had in the Battleground states where the race will be won or lost. McCain gained only 1.7% in the battleground states. Since September 13, Obama has clearly gained ground and now appears to be in a better position than he was in August.

McCain, Obama in tight race as debates loom
Barack Obama and John McCain are virtually tied in some of … McCain, Obama in tight race as debates loom … Battleground (September 14-17), CNN/Time …

From this I draw a few of conclusions:

*The underperforming theory of convention bounces appears to have been correct in this cycle. McCain was underperforming in strong GOP areas before the convention, and as a consequence benefited more from the conventions than Obama did. *The fundamental structure of this race has changed little since July. This represents an accomplishment for Obama given the August disasters other Democratic candidates have experienced. * The Battleground states exhibit substantially less volatility at this stage than others. This is probably because the battle has been joined in those states for months, and as a result opinions are more entrenched than in the rest of the country. This suggests to me that national polling changes are going to be less relevant by the day, since the swings in those polls is likely a result of changes in states that will not be decisive anyway.

The Page – by Mark Halperin – TIME
The Page by Mark Halperin. Politics updated by the minute. … John McCain looks forward to debating Barack Obama as often as possible, but it’s disappointing that Senator Obama …

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive …
McCain has raised the prospect of town halls with Obama before.

Sarah palin and katie couric

Obama rejects McCain call to delay debate
Barack Obama rejected John McCain‘s call Wednesday to delay Friday’s debate because of the economic … said. “If there were ever a time for both candidates to hold a debate …

As I have written before, in the summer I was extremely concerned about the percentage of state polls that were done by Rasmussen. The table below shows that Rasmussen has done only a quarter of the state polling thus far in September: a good thing. This means electoral projections are far less dependent on just one pollster.

This table shows the average swing that each pollster has found. Obviously these numbers are to some extent dependent on the states polled, but they suggest Strategic Vision and Quinnipiac lean right (which both did in ’04) and PPP leans Democratic. Note too how little difference there is between Rasmussen, Survey USA and ARG. Earlier this summer SurveyUSA found consistenly smaller leads for Obama, in part I think because they tend to push undecideds harder.

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Dancing With The Stars – Premiere – The Top 13 Perform – VIDEO

ETA: Brooke Burke and Derek Hough had the highest score of the night, and I take back what I said about the heavy lifting. Compared to the other women, she executed the most complicated steps and did them well. Toni Braxton was also really good. Some other favs: Lance Bass and Misty May-Treanor. And can I say that Alec Mazo is HOT. There. I said it! I’m not down with the karaoke versions of popular songs. ABC, you have a hit show, why so cheap? Jeffrey Ross, the comediene, will probably be eliminated tomorrow. What do you guys think? BTW, deadline to sign up for the DWTS pool is 9 pm ET tomorrow night.

I’m re-caping Dancing With The Stars as a first time watcher, so this should be interesting! Kids, watch out for questions I may have a few…

This is the biggest Dancing of the Stars Ever! Two dances the first week! Two Stars Eliminated! Whee!

Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris introduce the “Stars” of Season 7!

Video and Recap…after the JUMP…

Cody Linley and Julianne Hough – The Cha Cha – Cody is Jake Ryan on Hannah Montana. He’s the youngest contestant at 18. Cody can’t keep his mind off of Julianne’s HOTNESS. The dancing is energetic if not very smooth. Len Goodman says he came out full of confidence and high energy. Bruno tells Cody to focus on the feet. Carrie Ann sees incredible potential. They are doing the Quickstep tomorrow. EEP! The scores: Len – 6, Bruno – 6, Carrie Ann – 6 18. 1-800-868-3401

Rocco DiSpirito and Karina Smirnoff – The Foxtrot – Karina is injured, but she’s dancing anyway. Rocco swears he’s never danced before. Well, that could have been worse. He’s a bit of a clodhopper. At least he didn’t trip. Bruno thought it was a mess, and says he lost the timing part of the way through. Carrie Ann thought it was really cute. Len says he needs more finesse. Carrie Ann – 5 Bruno – 4 Len – 5 – 14. 1-800-868-3402

Toni Braxton and Alec Mazo – The Cha Cha Cha – Alec brags that he’s the first winner of DWTS. Toni is excited for about a minute, then launches into a big story about her medical woes with Alec. I’m impressed Toni’s got quite the fancy footwork! Carrie Ann thought it was fantastic and more like a week 5 routine. Len thought it was a good mix of basic and tough steps and gives her advice on her knees–keep them straight! Bruno calls her slinky, sultry and sexy. Carrie Ann – 7, Len – 7, Bruno – 8 – 22. Best score so far! 1-800-868-3403

Antonio cromartie

Maurice Greene and Cheryl Burke – The Fox Trot – Maurice is mumbling, I can’t understand a word he’s saying. OMG, Maurice, you should be gliding across that dance floor not shuffling. Yikes. Len says there were parts that were wild, parts that were wacky, and parts that were wonderful. Bruno says he has a great presence on stage, but his footwork and posture were poor at times…he needs to work on that. Carrie Ann said the Foxtrot parts were stiff and slow. Carrie Ann – 6 Bruno – 6 Len – 6 – 18. 1-800-868-3404

Brooke Burke and Derek Hough – The Cha Cha Cha – Brooke Burke has had 4 kids? I missed something, somewhere. She tells Derek the kids are part of the package. Something tells me Derek is unfazed. He tells Brooke she’s got “hyper-extended legs” that will make her lines look beautiful. Is it just me, or did it seem like Brooke didn’t have much heavy lifting there? Carrie Ann says her body is designed to dance, great energy, great strength. Bruno says “What a debut.” Len says, “Best dance so far.” Carrie Ann – 7, Len – 8, Bruno – 8 – 23. 1-800-868-3405.

Ted McGinley and Inna Brayer – The Foxtrot – Ted feels all macho and above the “dancing” thing. A paycheck is a paycheck I suppose. Inna is the “new girl in town.” The fake version of “God Only Knows” is totally distracting me. Is this show so cheap they won’t pay for the original versions of songs? Uhm. The dancing wasn’t bad. Bruno says he turned from Cary Grant into Steve Carell. Len says it was suave and his footwork was good. Carrie Ann says he has to overcome his fears, he’s got

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Toonami: The End of an Age

(little did i know when writing this article, was that i was writing it on the age of toonami’s last showing. create how utterly frantic i was to learn that it was about to vaporize forever, right after i had spent so much time reconnecting with it. this is my childhood and it’s probably your childhood too. if you’re view especially nostalgic, i suggest going to the toonami digital arsenal which has most of the content that was ever shown on toonami. notwithstanding up to date, i submit this to you as a eulogy. let us look back and retain as we reach the end of an age):as we follow entirely with out bitterly cerise cartoon network retrospective, we come to a score of definite avocation; a topic that always brings up memories, controversy, POSSLQ = ‘Person of the Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters’ and scorn. i speak of advance of the toonami programming block, which is now over 11 years old. if there were any monument to cartoon network’s success, any marker of progressive sparkle, any forthright testimony to the network’s golden years (and any indicator of its current problems) toonami would be it.journalism leading article about toonami is like writing about world war ii. it’s been done probably one too many times. not to mention, all and sundry has his or her own personal story to tell. it was just that sort of program. toonami put the sang-froid in weekday afternoon. it defined the fight in action cartoon. it oozed design, but did not indifference substance. it taught us life lessons; it brought us culture. it represented everything that was right with cartoon network.which made its downfall all the more symbolically tragic.

Olmert tells cabinet he will quit

to an outsider, to someone who never got to experience toonami during its heyday, the attraction might be perplexing. what made a mere two hours of goggle-box so special? the answer is hidden in the personal stories of veteran viewers. the likes of which are more common than you may muse over. there are several fansites you can go to reminisce apropos the block. many of them are banded together in an effort to restore the toonami of old. and make no mistake, when people talk close by toonami, they are referring to the toonami of old.(toonami: the inspiration)for me, i remember watching toonami the first time it ever aired. i don’t know how i managed to be tuned into cartoon network at the very moment, but i distinctly remember watching this bump, and then watching the very first episode of dragonball z. and for a kid who had was being raised on old hannah barbara cartoons and loony adapt shorts up to that point, dragonball z was a jolt. i had seen nothing like it; my friends had seen nothing comparable to it. there were aliens, and fighting, and people floating in midair, punching each other faster then humanly possible. it had perverted veteran men, cute girls, guys who could destroy whole planets, guys who could turn into gigantic rampaging beasts, people who could power up their power levels and people who could just beat the shit completely of each other in general. it was exciting. it was fun. it was addictive.it was also completely ridiculous.united of toonami biggest accomplishments was the popularization of anime in the us. some might think that claim a two shakes of a lamb’s tail fantastical, but you have to understand; before toonami, anime was a relatively exclusive enterprise. it was basically meagre to the people who could spend the time and the endeavour to import the tapes from japan, learn japanese, and translate the shows themselves. identical making unmixed fansubs (which would be no small feat during the vhs days). with a hardly exceptions (like speed racer, voltron, robotech and other early 1980s anime that despite some popularity, failed to get a foothold in the us market), the american public has not really heard of anime. not to the extent that it does now, when you don’t have to venture farther then your municipal best buy to find the stuff.

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Stone Soup success

The Friends of the Concord Agriculture Committee’s first Stone Soup Dinner, held Sunday evening at the Gardens at Buttrick Mansion on Liberty Street, was a huge success, with more than 300 people attending the event.

watch the slideshow

The Stone Soup Dinner, a folk tale which reveals the pleasures of creating and sharing a meal, inspired the Concord Agricultural Committee to enlist local farmers, retailers and citizens to bring their harvests, products and talents together for an evening of community fellowship.

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Geez, did we all watch those conventions! Obama, Palin, McCain and the Delaware guy

The folks over at Nielsen’s who watch people watching television have gone through their numbers again for the last week of August and first week of September.

And for an allegedly politically inattentive people, we sure watched a ton of convention coverage of the current presidential election.

In fact, most of the households in America watched, according to Nielsen.

“Nearly two thirds of all U.S. households (64.5% or 73.2 million homes) tuned into at least one of the 2008 political conventions,” Nielsen reports today.

McCain, Obama tangle over Wall Street crisis
(Reuters)

“This is about 120.1 million people. Viewership levels for the two conventions were essentially tied, with about half of all households watching each one.”

Nielsen also uncovered some revealing details about the convention audiences:

The ubiquitous Mark Silva has some more details over at the Swamp here.

–Andrew Malcolm

Photo credit: Associated Press

Hey, you can have all of these Ticket backgrounders and political alerts sent directly to your cell instantly for free by going here to register at Twitter.

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Gun-Barrel Justice

Art mimicks life. In Reform Era I — late 1800s and early 1900s — many works of art helped trigger the revolt of the ordinary people against the Robber Barons and their Gilded Age. We’ve come full circle to a new Gilded Age, to the need for Reform Era II. Will art play its role? At least one crew of film-makers thinks so.

Rove Grounded After Admitting Palin “Is Not The Most Qualified Candidate?”

rove admits it was a “political” pick– so what happened to “america at the outset?”in an attack to get out onwards of the new ny times/cbs polling information that shows that mccain’s “palin bounce” has gone plainly, republican festival strategist karl rove admitted last continually that the subsiding excitement over the in great measure unqualified alaskan is to be expected and that she was just a “political pick.”rove then slyly tries equating obama’s careful selection of a knowledgeable, tested, and experienced statesman, joe biden, with mccain’s irresponsible and cynical choice of a superficially attractive and totally diversionary wasilla hockey mom and moose hunter. even with that stretch, rove had to admit palin “is not the most qualified office-seeker.” rove is reflecting, due to the fact that his own reasons, of course, what a lot of republicans are saying privately, that palin is spectacularly unqualified for serious office. this morning nebraska republican senator chuck hagel went public with his dismay at the choice. “she doesn’t beget any foreign policy credentials. you depart a passport for the first time in your life last year? i funds, i don’t know what you can power. you can’t bring up anything… i meditate on they ought to be just upright about it and stop the nonsense about, ‘i look out my window and i see russia and so therefore i know something about russia,’” he said. “that kind of horror is insulting to the american people.”while we’re on the topic of rove, i foist i could ask him what his strategy is about keeping all his candidates from debating their democratic challengers. we went over a few of the cowardly republicans– particularly shakin’-in-his-boots randy kuhl, randy forbes and gordon smith– on sunday. yesterday we saw several other republicans slink away from challenges. all three of the miami-dade pure-wing republicans, the diaz-balart brothers (aka- tweedle dee and tweedle dum) and ileana ros-lehtinen refused to commit to debates. ros-lehtinen, in fact, who is constant scared contemporary that she sees her shallow ratify evaporating, “said she has no time for a debate any point between now and the election.”meanwhile, up in pennsylvania’s lehigh valley, charlie dent’s floundering re-election campaign is besieged from all sides. still recovering from the firing of a gop operative and whilom dent staffer because viciously racist and misogynistic rantings– which dent has refused to disavow– dent stumbled damagingly by voting against this week’s comprehensive verve reckoning just as the huge so-called “donations” ($75,831) he was taking from big oil were exposed.as a substitute for of defending his record or debating democrat sam bennett, dent has decided to be prostrate on hiding out in washington and conducting a rovian smear campaign against his disputant. bennett keeps accepting debate invitations from media outlets and close colleges, all of which dent turns down. bennett’s campaign has rubbed his nose in his own dirt by putting out a list of the leading ten reasons dent dodges debates:1. our nation needs change. dent has had it his way in washington for four years and four out of five times charles w. dent with george w. bush. 2. folks fall short of to bring that change homewards. dent attacks sam’s work to help clean up lehigh valley communities as “money wasted” while his only two legislative accomplishments in four years are renaming record-offices. 3. pennsylvania has suffered 1400 casualties in iraq. dent went to washington, sly there were no wmd’s and suppress votes to use trillions of dollars in iraq. 4. when our troops are gone, dent votes to tax military families, and when they come home base, he says no to their healthcare and job training. 5. wages are falling and the affluence hole is growing while dent makes three times the income of the normally lehigh valley voter. then he votes no for fully raising the minimum wage and ensuring equal pay for equal work. 6. 212,000 pennsylvania kids are uninsured as dent accepts taxpayer-funded healthcare. then he votes no for expanding it for kids and military reservists. 7. companies like mack trucks crop jobs in the lehigh valley and their mega millionaire ceo’s still cut …

Heather mallick

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Ari Melber: Kennedy’s Premature Obama Tears

Randall Kennedy, the award-winning author, Rhodes scholar and esteemed Harvard Law School professor, is worried that Obama will lose.

So worried, in fact, that he has already begun analyzing why Obama will lose, if he loses, and the repercussions of that loss, if there is one, in an expansive essay for The Washington Post:

if obama loses, i things resolve feel disappointed, frustrated, hurt. i’ll conclude that a fabulous break has been exhausted. i’ll believe that american voters have made a huge mistake. and i’ll think that an important ingredient of their error is racial prejudice — not the mean, snarling, display intolerance that terrorized my parents in their youth, but sooner a vague, urbane, muffled-key prejudice that is chameleonlike in its capacity to adapt to original surroundings and to flog even from those firmly in its grip. if obama is defeated, i will, conducive to a brief rhythm, be stunned by feelings of dejection, anger and resentment. these purposefulness at best be the stronger because the climate of this voting year so clearly favors the democrats, because this was supposed to be an referendum the republicans couldn’t away… (emphasis added.) he’s in stages two and four of kubler-ross, and it’s only september! it’s generally dicey to interpret the sense of an event that has not yet occurred. unusually if you float “racial prejudice” as a key grounds.

kennedy is an astute teacher of race in america, but he’s deflated wrong to announce than any obama loss have to be driven by racial prejudice.

We don’t know what will happen. But just to indulge Kennedy’s hypothetical: If this is a close election, decided by a single state, say, or a few points nationally, then it would simply track with the last two presidential races. You know — when white Democrats lost to a Republican candidate that many experts, reporters and most of the liberal establishment thought should definitely lose.

It is entirely possible that Obama can transcend racial prejudice and win the election; or transcend race and still lose for other reasons.

Now Kennedy could end up being right, too. If Obama loses in a blowout, underperforming compared to traditional Democrats, or losing blue states because white working-class Democrats rushed to McCain, then we can have that conversation about racial prejudice.

Kennedy didn’t even wait for that, though. By the end of his essay he hit Stage Five, acceptance of that potential Obama loss:

Wonkette: The D.C. Gossip ” sarah palin
As America Burned, Sarah Palin Tanned, In A Tanning Bed, In The Governor’s Mansion … Get That Sunny Alaskan Tan, All Year Round! Monday, September 15th, 2008 …

but i hope that soon thereafter [an obama defeat] i’ll muster up solace and encouragement in contemplating this unprecedented development: a major political party nominated a black man for the highest house in the catch, and that squire waged an intelligent, indomitable campaign in which various millions of americans of all races enthusiastically supported an african-american gonfalon-bearer. i hope that i’ll take to heart the wisdom offered by [one] of my students. “obama losing,” one wrote, “would be hurtful, but it still spells great proceed. . . . interchange will come — the wheels have been set in motion.”… even if barack obama loses in november, he will have bequeathed to all america something that should bring security and pride to even the most disappointed of his followers. he has reached the edge of the pinnacle. and shown that we can stand atop it. (the end; emphasis added.) what? obama’s nomination already was historic and exciting. people celebrated it when he clinched the delegate lead in may — in real habits — and again form month, during that whole symbolic convention thing. so i don’t reflect on many supporters commitment be talking about the edge of the pinnacle if he loses in november.

Why should they? If the Democrats lose a third straight presidential election, there will be angry soul-searching on every topic — from politics to policy to race. And it won’t be pretty.

Celebrity News Examiner: The next big non-issue: Sarah Palin had a …
The next big non-issue: Sarah Palin had a tanning bed installed in the governor’s mansion by local Celebrity News Examiner expert, Liz Barrett.

STLtoday.com – STLtoday.com: News – Forums – Current Affairs – Topic …
I know several women that have tanning beds in their home and they aren’t rich … Sarah Palin’s private tanning bed in the governor’s mansion! RAMS TALK …

Miami university riot

Agonizing over the contours of that debate, however, is as premature as Kennedy’s essay — and this blog post.

– Ari Melber writes for The Nation and The Washington Independent, where this piece first appeared.

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(CNN) — Special-needs residents in the city of Houston and Harris County will begin evacuating Thursday morning as Hurricane Ike headed for the Texas coast, officials said.

Earl Barnes waits to be evacuated Wednesday at a senior citizens center in Corpus Christi, Texas.

more photos »

Eq

A mandatory evacuation for residents in surrounding low-lying areas of Houston will begin Thursday afternoon, officials said.

"We strongly urge you to evacuate before tomorrow," said Judge Ed Emmett, Harris County’s chief executive officer, at a news conference Thursday with Houston Mayor Bill White.

Government offices and schools will be closed Friday in Houston in anticipation of the hurricane. Officials are still deciding whether to put a contraflow system in place, or reverse highway lanes to make them one way to help with evacuations, Emmett said.

Seven other counties have begun partial or full evacuations.

Forecasters said the storm could slam into the Texas coast — south of Galveston — as a powerful Category 4 storm late Friday or early Saturday.

Because of the size of the storm, forecasters warned weather in areas along the Texas coast could be dangerous even before Ike hits.

Watch how the hurricane has grown in size »

Don’t Miss

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Melvin Guillard Pulled From UFC 90 Card

Fronted by Chris Nelson

While I’ve enjoyed, so to speak, the tributes to the late Evan Tanner, the rest of the world goes on.

From Sherdog:

Melvin Guillard will not meet Spencer Fisher at UFC 90 on Oct. 25 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., Sherdog.com has learned. Reasons for Guillard’s removal from the card were not immediately known. In Guillard’s absence, Fisher will face Shannon Gugerty, an up-and-comer who will enter the bout on an eight-fight winning streak. “Melvin is off the card, and they went through three or four opponents and settled on Gugerty,” Fisher told Sherdog.com.

Can’t say I’m disappointed. While Guillard has a nice little KO reel, he wasn’t advancing in the division, was too chaotic, and tested positive for cocaine – an unholy trifecta I thought should have had him drummed from the UFC. I don’t know how final this is, but I’m hoping it is permanent. The UFC brass needs flashy knockouts, but they need respectable fighters more.

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