Kim Dotcom's extradition hearing has begun in New Zealand. It is expected to take 4 weeks. It's being heard together with the extradition requests for his MegaUpload partners, Finn Batato, Mathias Ortmann, and Bram van der Kolk. [More...]

Season 3 of Senor de los Cielos on Telemundo ends Monday night with the Gran Finale. Since April or May, there have been 104 episodes and I've watched them all. (Season 1 and 2 are still available on Netflix, and on DVD through Amazon and Ebay.)

I would be sad the show is ending, except filming for Season 4 is already underway, and it seems like most of the main characters will be returning. (Spoiler photos here.) [More...]

The 2015 Emmys are tonight. Andy Samberg is hosting.

So far, I'm not liking what I see on the red carpet. Here's Heidi Klum. This is one of the worst, worn by Kiernan Shipka of Mad Men. Too much tummy on Padma Lakshmi of Top Chef and I doubt chartreuse looks good on anyone. [More...]

Here's a new open thread, all topics welcome.

13 more former prison officials and guards have been arrested and detained over the escape of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, including the ex-head of Mexico's prison system, Celina Oseguera Parra, and the ex-warden of the prison at Altiplano, Valentín Cárdenas Lerma, both of whom were fired days after El Chapo's escape (use Google translate for this and subsequent links).

Celina Osequera Parra is the most interesting of the arrested officials. [More...]

0-2 last night. I'm on fire! Reverse the following picks:

Mississippi +7 (3 units) @ Alabama; @ Kentucky +3 1/2 over Florida; Stanford @ USC; Rutgers +9 @ Penn State; South Carolina +17 @ Georgia; BYU +18 (4 units) @ UCLA; Northern Illinois @ Ohio State -35); East Carolina +4 1/2 @ Navy; Georgia Tech -2 @ Notre Dame; Auburn -7 @ LSU; Nebraska @ Miami Florida -3; Northwestern @ Duke -3; Nevada +35 @ Texas A&m; South Florida +7 1/2 @ Maryland; Wake Forest @ Army +7; Illinois @ North Carolina -7; Connecticut +22 @ Missouri.

Go Gators!

Open Thread.

It's Friday! Just 2 more working days until Monday!

My CFB sneak peek with games tonight:

New Mexico v @ Arizona State -27

Florida State v. @ Boston College +8 1/2

Open Thread.

Our last open thread is just about full. I put up a thread for tonight's Republican debate. Here's a thread for all other topics, your choice.

For those of you who "forgot" our comment rules in my absence last week, it's time to remember them. I banned one person today for name-calling and insulting character attacks on another commenter, and I won't hesitate to do the same to anyone else who engages in such conduct here. It just needs to be called to my attention.

Thanks to everyone for their positive comments about my moving disaster. They were very heartfelt and comforting.

There's a Republican debate on tonight on CNN. Is anyone watching? Here's a place for your thoughts on it.

While the idiotic "oppo research" (no actual research involved) from David Brock and his Correct the Record organization (FTR - it was despicable and idiotic imo, which, unfortunately for Clinton, is too common in her "allies" see Davis, Lanny) has been the lead takeaway from this brouhaha, I'd like to note the Sanders response (really smart imo). From McClatchey:

“They suggested I’d be friendly with Middle East terrorist organizations, and even tried to link me to a dead communist dictator,” Sanders said in a fundraising email that criticized a super political action committee called Correct the Record, which supports Hillary Clinton. [My emphasis]

Sanders is referring to the late Hugo Chavez. Strictly speaking, Chavez was NOT a dictator, he was duly elected multiple times. But he was an authoritarian, and, imo, bad for Venezuela.

More

Not in a million years could I have anticipated what happened during my move last Thursday. To make a long story short, one of the movers set my new home on fire during the move-in.

This was no little fire. It was more like a big bonfire. It started in the second bedroom and spread to the living room, and burned through the hardwood floors down to the core. The entire place was covered in ash. The smell got into everything -- couch, bed, rugs, and more.

The place is now uninhabitable and the fire restoration experts say it will take a month to repair. [More...]

One of these days, I'll dive in to the politics thing again, as opposed to just eGhazi. But today is not that day.

Open thread.

Also too, I ranted about Iowa/NH going first on Daily Kos Radio. I start at about the 47 minute mark.

Daily Kos Radio's KITM podcast (AUDIO): Kagro in the Morning, Tuesday, September 15, 2015 http://t.co/7OAMkHFt2J via @dailykos

— Armando (@armandodkos) September 15, 2015

Classified emails passed through commercial email services like Google and AOL on their path to or from a private server maintained by Hillary Clinton when she was secretary of state, but so far, the government appears to have done little to retrieve or secure the messages.

Also too, the FBI appears to have done nothing to capture the "classified info" sitting in the State Department's unsecured system. It's as if no one really gives a sh*t about the "classified info" that isn't on Hilary Clinton's server. Gerstein writes:

Tough first week - I stand at 7-9 (-5 units) ATS. Today I turn it around. The picks (in bold):

Wake Forest vs. @ Syracuse -4; Army +7 vs @ Connecticut; Houston vs @ Louisville -13; Temple +7 vs @ Cincinnati; Fresno State vs @ Mississippi -30(3 units);East Carolina +21 vs @ Florida; LSU -4 (5 units) vs @ Mississippi State; Hawaii vs @ Ohio State -41 (3 units); South Florida +29 vs @ Florida State; UCLA vs @ UNLV +30; Oregon vs @ Michigan State -4 (3 units); Boise State vs @ BYU +3; Kentucky vs @ South Carolina -7 (3 units) ; Toledo vs @ Arkansas -23 (3 units); Notre Dame vs @ Virginia -13; Minnesota vs @ Colorado State +5 (3 units); Georgia -21 (4 units) vs @ Vanderbilt;Miami Ohio +31 vs @ Wisconsin; Buffalo + 17 vs @ Penn State; Bowling Green +8 vs @ Maryland; Oregon State +15 vs @ Michigan

Go Gators!

Open Thread.

Tough first week - I stand at 7-9 (-5 units) ATS. Today I turn it around. The picks (in bold):

Wake Forest vs. @ Syracuse -4; Army +7 vs @ Connecticut; Houston vs @ Louisville -13; Temple +7 vs @ Cincinnati; Fresno State vs @ Mississippi -30(3 units);East Carolina +21 vs @ Florida; LSU -4 (5 units) vs @ Mississippi State; Hawaii vs @ Ohio State -41 (3 units); South Florida +29 vs @ Florida State; UCLA vs @ UNLV +30; Oregon vs @ Michigan State -4 (3 units); Boise State vs @ BYU +3; Kentucky vs @ South Carolina -7 (3 units) ; Toledo vs @ Arkansas -23 (3 units); Notre Dame vs @ Virginia -13; Minnesota vs @ Colorado State +5 (3 units); Georgia -21 (4 units) vs @ Vanderbilt;Miami Ohio +31 vs @ Wisconsin; Buffalo + 17 vs @ Penn State; Bowling Green +8 vs @ Maryland; Oregon State +15 vs @ Michigan

Go Gators!

Open Thread.