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Published Thursday, October 30, 3008
Friends, do you see that faint glimmer of light in the distance? Is it... could it be... the finish line?? Twenty months tweaked on the endless sugar rush of presidential politicking hasn't given rise to hallucinations; the election really is this Tuesday. But one mental hurdle remains before you can break your poll addiction for a couple of years: where to watch the returns? For those of you in New York City, there's no better place to be than downtown watering hole Tom and Jerry's, where your Activate editors play host to a democratically debacherous election party. The neighborhood-y bar boasts a big screen, election-themed drink specials, and a friendly crowd that (probably) won't riot when the winner is declared.
To understand how we got all the way here (politically speaking), check out this week's fascinating Q&A with Christopher Hayes, the Washington, DC editor at The Nation. Hayes is as comfortable quoting HL Mencken as he is explaining the connection between farming and voting on Tuesdays. Lastly, whether you're dressing up as sexy Sarah Palin or sexy Bob Barr, Activate wishes you a truly spooktacular Halloween. By this time next week, one party will have a very sweet treat — although charges of trickery can't be far behind.
US Special Operations forces staged an attack across the Iraq border into Syria on Sunday, reportedly killing eight people and capturing at least two others. The daylight raid, which echoes a similar strike last month in Pakistan, marks by far the most open incursion into Syrian territory since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Officials in Damascus condemned the US government's "cowboy politics" and warned that any future territorial breaches will result in a military confrontation.
Although the US has refused to publicly acknowledge the strike, anonymous reports confirm that American forces entered Syria to target an alleged Iraqi insurgent, Abu Ghadiya, who is accused of smuggling militants across the border. Ghadiya is believed to have died in the attack.
