Friday Open Thread

Today's open thread follows up on a number of yesterday's newsworthy stories.

• A group of New York City officials blasted CBS and its hit series "Survivor" on Thursday, a day after the network announced that the teams on the new season of the reality show will be divided by race, reports AP. Washington Post columnist Lisa de Moraes says a sagging Survivor plays the race card.

• Speaking of NYC, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin defends himself from critics that say he’s taking too long to clean up his city after Hurricane Katrina by dogging the Big Apple for taking so long to rebuild Ground Zero, according to CBS News.

• The New York Times provides an update on the Holocaust International Cartoon Contest in Tehran.

• Hugo Chavez says Israel's action in Lebanon "worse" than Hitler, reports AFP.

• Keeping the Hiter thought in mind, France says 15,000 UN troops for Lebanon too many, reports Reuters. Given their military record for the last hundred years, I guess the French would know something about all about not having enough troops to do any job.

• The Jerusalem Post reports that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, if he ever became the supreme decision maker in his country, would "sacrifice half of Iran for the sake of eliminating Israel."

• The State Department is investigating whether Israel’s use of American-made cluster bombs in southern Lebanon violated secret agreements with the United States that restrict when it can employ such weapons, two officials said, according to the New York Times.

• The Washington Post provides a Friday update on tropical weather: One tropical storm is expected to stay in the Atlantic but forcatsers warn that another system could strengthen in the Caribbean.

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