first?

watertiger!

Ned!

McCloud!

Oh. My. I could have had the prized “0″ if I’d not gotten wrapped up in reading all the goodies that watertiger linked!

Must get my priorities straight!

Re: picture - American Idol meets Idle American*

*I use the term ‘American’ loosely

The photos from Israel’s latest atrocity are sickening.

You’ve been warned.

I managed to avoid Taylor Hicks’ses “singing” until that Ford commercial.

Join me, America, in boycotting Ford Motor Company. In your hearts, you know I’m right.

I am outraged by Israel’s killing of 60 or more civilians, including many children, in Lebanon. I am outraged by Hezbollah’s practice of hiding among civilians as it stages its attacks on Israel, that makes this kind of thing more likely to happen. I am outraged by the Bush administration’s refusal to demand an immediate ceasefire because it might imply some kind of criticism of Israel’s aggression. I am outraged and I do not know who to blame.

Jim @ 8,

He doesn’t sound particularly “soulful” to me.

Then again, I don’t watch Fox.

EPU’d from last thread.

A tragedy in Seattle last Friday brings Jews and Muslims together in solidarity.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.c.....on30m.html

When all is seems doomed to failure, we can always provoke North Korea.

We gotta get one in the win column sometime before the 2006 elections.

http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/200.....7/28.htm#9

-GSD

American Idol meets American Idiot.

-GSD

I have a message from zennurse, whom I just talked you. She says to tell all fdl lambshers that she’s well and misses/loves you all.

Her computer is not feeling well, but she hopes to get it back from the geeks soon. In the meantime, she’s got a lead on a temp replacement, which we’ll try to get working tomorrow. I let her know she’s sorely missed here.

“He doesn’t sound particularly “soulful” to me.

Then again, I don’t watch Fox.”

It’s Brit Hume Soul. He and Mort Kondracke do a version of Rubba Biskit at the al-Foxeera Christmas Party and Talent Show. Greta Van Susternan thinks it’s so funny, she wishes she could move her face to laugh.

GSD - i think ‘idiot’ is too kind

Bush sure does love photo ops, doesn’t he? Why doesn’t he have his photo taken with a bunch of dead, mangled bodies of children in the Middle East? I bet that would get him some attention.

thanks scarecrow

What, me worry?? Except Mad’s cheerleader has a decent soul.

that first kitty does a great impression of the Liebushman campaign to date

Rayne #5:

It’s really not a biggie. Heck, I get referred to as a “big zero” all the time even though I’ve only done it on FDL once.

Jim #8:

Have you seen Ford’s financials lately? Apparently there’s already a highly successful boycott of Ford products by Americans from all walks of life.

WTF? I’m famous. Well alrighty.

Take that demons who live under my bed!

Just in case anyone missed it: Attaturk’s The Douchebag Suite, a brief photo-essay.

pol — African-Americans tend to be overwhelmingly religious and overwhelmingly Democratic with no perceived inconsistencies whatsoever…

*ilson

I’m not African-American, but “overwhelmingly religious and overwhelmingly Democratic” works for me. And I don’t see any inconsistency with it either . . .

;)

Face the Snark?

Sad to say, there is not much in the news that brings on that ol’ time snarky satisfaction. It’s more like waking from an air condiditioned dream, to find one’s self being shoved into a blast furnace.

missing zenn — thanks, scarecrow!

Hey, thanks Watertiger.

I can now see AND walk.

Take that demons who live under my bed!

Demons to Driftglass: S’okay — we’ll be here; waiting . . .

the cat videos are killer . . . I am still laughing!

US urges Israeli “restraint” after Qana bombing.

*Snark quote: My GOD, How can they urge restraint on terrorists?

Isn’t that what most rational actors have been saying and the US was pooh-poohing for the past 18 days? Now the US urges restraint? What a bunch of fucking flip-floppers.

I never knew I was going to witness the death of America at the hands of incompetent idealogues.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/200.....MlJVRPUCUl

-GSD

Peterr — as you know, there’s so much anguish and gnashing of teeth about how Democrats dont recognize religious elements — Black politicians quote the Bible a lot more than the Federalist Papers or Thomas Jefferson …

Sad to say that it’s true - hard to get snarky about current events.

Doesn’t mean I won’t try… ;-)

Billmon picks up some more of today’s Gideon Levy column in Ha’aretz.

http://billmon.org/archives/002597.html

Almost sounds like Freud after the Nazis came to power, that Thanatos was eclipsing Eros in the human pshcye. Let it not be so.

Frankly I think we’d be better off with Clay Aiken as our Secretary of State.

He could always threaten to start performing in front of the Israelis, Hezbollah, etc. if they didn’t start playing nice.

Oh, and of course Kathy Griffin as Preznit.

Pat Buchanan says on “The McLaughlin Group” (on PBS) that the Israeli’s have killed 20 in Lebanon for every Israeli killed. Buchanan goes on to say it’s 3:1 that Liberman will NOT be returning to the Senate after the upcoming election. I’ve never before read or heard anything on which I have agreed with Pat Buchanan. And for this. I am astonished. At myself.

drifty,

that whole ‘demons’ thing might be my fault - have been sending all your pieces about him to David Brooks - someone busy hacking away with crap like “rabid-venomous lambs” may have completely lost it and sent ya those gobelins upon reading your gorgeous prose

ssshhh neuro

I am outraged and I do not know who to blame

If Rove sees that he’ll think he’s got you primed to vote Republican and blame Michael Mooore.

Oh, man, at first I thought this post was published by Reuters and that I had entered an alternate universe. It was really nice there, while it lasted, by the way. Now, back to grim reality!

Oklahoma kiddo

” I’ve never before read or heard anything on which I have agreed with Pat Buchanan.”

I have read or heard Pat Buchanan say several things lately on which I agreed with him–or at least I agreed more with him than with the Bushians. Could it be that the insanity of Bushworld is causing Buchanan to evolve before our eyes into something approaching human?

al-Scooter @ 12:35 pm (#34) - Sounds like the U.S. just prior to the start of the Iraq War. Of course, we know what enlightened decision-making came out of that intellectual environment.

In today’s Orwellian world, one of the barf bag ironies that passes for snark — the facts as they are, rather than how they are reported:

“Today, Preznit Clusterfuck threw a tantrum because the IDF shelved Operation on to Damascus, and Hezbollah has emerged as a stabilizing and unifying force in Lebanon. They have offered cease fire terms which caused several heads to explode in the Israeli Cabinet.”

Has anyone heard the much used talking point that “Iran provoked this war” to get the news of their nuclear program off the front page?

Frankly, I think a more realistic talking point would be that America provoked this to get the Iraq war off the front page. You know so that people won’t be reading these stories:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/200.....marines_dc

-GSD

neuro & Mary

Blame is easy - it’s accountability that’s hard.

I guess the other possibility is that the insanity of Bushworld is reaching such new extremes that Buchanan looks rational and moderate by comparison.

Hey watertiger, thanks for an as per usual great post. Jesus’ General’s photo of what I presume is Sgt. Mark Vecchione’s Mom and widow really broke me up.

the “Iranian Fomented Distraction” story was being pushed hard early in this kerfuffle but it’s kinda quieted down hasnt it?

Have been watching the T.V. and the constant horrible images. But we have us another post-Katrina like — reporters are actually reporting facts — moment. They are talking about all the dead and towns being deserted and the home base t.v. anchor is asking ‘but, but weren’t there bad guys hiding in those houses’? The reporters are saying ‘well Israel says there was, but…’.

Israel is spinning as hard as it can with lots of people, especially that Francona guy on MSNBC saying Israel needs another 14 days to get rid of those rockets. The reporter says they have been bombing ‘rocket sites’ for 14 days and the rockets have increased into Israel. They are not even been hindering rocket attacks, let alone stop them. Hard to come up with an answer for the talking [paid republican shill] anchors.

And,as Bush plays on, President Cheney–I mean VP Cheney continues working with the neocons to make decisions for the “decider”.

Booman had an interesting post about the meeting in Beaver Creek, CO on June 16. Cheney, Netenyu and possibly Rumsfeld were present.
Beaver Creek: Road to Armageddon

Snip:
“…Cheney and Netanyahu (and possibly Rumsfeld) met in mid-June to discuss how to address the threat of Iran going forward. Then Netanyahu met with Olmert, Barak, and Peres to convey America’s thinking. And now we are expected to believe that the attack on Hezbollah (Iran’s proxy) was the result of a cross-border incursion and not a pre-planned and coordinated policy of the United States and Israel. I don’t believe it. Do you?”…
Snip: … “The Beaver Creek meeting was hosted by William Kristol’s American Enterprise Institute, and they are now looking to derail any diplomatic solutions to the crisis in Lebanon. Their target is Condoleezza Rice…”

Nope, I don’t believe that it wasn’t preplanned and with Cheney & crew being right in the middle of it all.

Please forgive bad grammar in my #48 comment. I do know how to write grammatical sentences. But my keyboard and my kitty sitting with his paws hanging down pawing at my moving fingers, do not.

scarecrow, thank you so much. I have been thinking of zen frequently. I am happy to hear that it is a pc issue and not something else. Zen has also been great about linking FDL’ers to watertiger, so it’s so appropriate you would mention it on this thread.

“…causing Buchanan to evolve…” if so: “Strange days have found us”. (from a Doors tune)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5229762.stm

Huge rally challenges Mexico poll

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets in Mexico to support the left-wing candidate in the disputed 2 July presidential elections.

“Hold on, the people are rising,” they chanted as they marched to Zocalo, Mexico City’s main public square.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is seeking a full recount of the vote which saw him lose to conservative Felipe Calderon by half a percentage point.

The Federal Electoral Institute has until 31 August to decide.

The dispute has paralysed Mexican politics, correspondents say.

A president-elect must be declared by 6 September to replace Vicente Fox on 1 December.

Whether or not Iran was a behind the scenes prime mover of this unfolding disaster, they are definitely the beneficiaries.

Everything Commander Codpiece has done in the Middle East has accrued to Iran’s benefit — you’d think that Chalabi’s INC had been infiltrated by Iranian spies.

Oh, wait — they were . . .

grandmatoo at $49, nope — not much unplanned happens with this bunch. Israel is our surrogate in starting this and the world knows it. Hence the FedEx’ed bombs being sent. Once bombs starting going off in Syria (oops accidental so sorry screams Israel) and syria responds — well there you have their most hoped for war. Right before elections.

shoephone - that’s a regenerating article. I don’t mean to be sexist, but the part about when women get together they can work across faith lines — I think that’s why so many fundamentalists are so anti-women. Having voices that focus on resolving with everyone’s children alive and families whole, even if it means sharing wealth or geography, robs those sects of the hate they need to thrive.

I’ll admit women have to claim Rice and Coulter (I’m mostly sure) and men get to retort with Ghandi and Hugh Thompson, Jr.

But in general I think fundamentalism squelches womens voices in self defense.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

driftglass - you are famous to me, whether it is demons or dustbunnies under your bed. Even if it’s Rude Pundit (which might not exclude either of the other two categories *g*).

GrandmaJ & grandmatoo –

This is why Iran has the power to stop this disaster cold. All they have to do is step on the oil catheter that’s tied into Cheney’s veins, and the animatronic sack-of-hate will disintegrate before our eyes.

John C and Teddy SF, others: — I’ll pass that on, as I’ll see zen tomorrow when we try to get the temp on line. With any luck, she should be checking in tomorrow nite or Tuesday.

For some truly shocking and faith shattering images.

This is our world folks. Congratulations Condi, George, Deadeye Dick, Rummy, David Brooks, Michael Ledeen, Richard Perle.

*Be warned, graphic images of death.

http://www.aljazeerah.info/News archives/2006 News Archives/July/18 n/Graphic Pictures of Massacred Ter Hafra Southern Lebanese Children.htm

OT–

Let the users die. Vile policy:

In the wake of more than 400 deaths nationwide from heroin laced with the painkiller fentanyl, some needle exchange programs are giving addicts prescriptions for a drug to keep on hand to halt an overdose.
…
But others say naloxone is best administered by trained paramedics and that the prescription approach might appear to condone drug use.

Why is this even a debate?

Presidential adviser Karl Rove said Saturday that journalists often criticize political professionals because they want to draw attention away from the “corrosive role” their own coverage plays in politics and government.

Buchanon said flat out in print before the elections that Bush was terribly, horribly wrong on Iraq. Wrong wrong wrong.

Then he encouraged Republicans to vote for him anyway because it was a worse thing to vote for a Democrat than to start an unprovoked senseless war of aggression that was damaging our country and being entrusted to idiocy and a oija board to guide it.

I think the people who knew and refused to be responsible may be the worst, but then, I also think quite a few of those who are still selling the snake oil know and knew, but are still weaving the lies.

So maybe there is still one category lower.

GrandmaJ,

Francona is the very definition of ‘tool’ - he has been well compensated to be a 100% wrong on everything Middle Eastern

met him long time ago on the eve of the Iranian Revolution - sitting in Tehran Inter-Continental Hotel with a gaggle of USAID(spooks),USAF guys, and some Iranian military (SAVAK) - assuring me not to worry my pretty little head about some ‘outside rabble’ - “the Shah’s Peacock Throne was secure”. Listening to that little voice in the gut, and not US experts, I later held an entire crew in an Istanbul hotel and declined the return trip - idiots

whenever my hubster sees the retired military talking heads, he always muses if they’re so badass, why did they stop at Lt. Col. ? -lol

oops, here’s the link for my #61:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITI.....index.html

By the by, here’s what Bush means when he says he’s considering closing Gitmo:

The controversy over the US-run detention centre at Guantanamo Bay is to erupt anew with confirmation by the Pentagon that a new, permanent prison will open in the Cuban enclave in the next few weeks.
Camp 6, a state-of-the-art maximum-security jail built by a Halliburton subsidiary, will be able to hold 200 prisoners.

“I’ll admit women have to claim Rice and Coulter (I’m mostly sure) and men get to retort with Ghandi and Hugh Thompson, Jr.”:
From wikipedia and in the absolute finest tradition of the U.S. military…“
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Thompson joined the US Navy in 1961 — then US Army in 1966 and trained as a helicopter pilot. He volunteered for the Aerial Scout Unit and assigned to Task Force Barker to fly over Vietnamese forests and try to draw enemy fire to pinpoint the location of troops. Serving as one door-gunner, his Crew Chief was Glenn Andreotta and his other door-gunner was Spc Lawrence Colburn, both of whom would later receive recognition for heroism for their role at My Lai, though Andreotta died three weeks after the event.

After coming across the dead bodies of Vietnamese civilians outside My Lai on March 16, 1968, Thompson set down their OH-23 and the three men began setting green smoke markers by the prone bodies of the Vietnamese civilians who appeared to still be alive to call in medical assistance. Returning to the helicopter however, they saw Captain Ernest Medina run forward and begin shooting the wounded who had been marked - and the three men moved their ship back over the village where Thompson confronted Lt. Stephen Brooks who was preparing to blow up a hut full of wounded Vietnamese; he left Andreotta and Colburn to cover the company with their heavy machine guns and orders to fire on any American who refused the orders to halt the massacre. None of the officers dared to disobey him, even though (as a warrant officer) Thompson was outranked by the commissioned lieutenants present. Colburn later recounted the following dialogue.[1]

Thompson: Let’s get these people out of this bunker and get ‘em out of here.
Brooks: We’ll get ‘em out with hand grenades.
Thompson: I can do better than that. Keep your people in place. My guns are on you.

Thompson then ordered two other helicopters (one piloted by Dan Millians) flying nearby to serve as a medevac for the 11 wounded Vietnamese. While flying away from the village, Andreotta spotted movement in an irrigation ditch, and the helicopter was again landed and a child was extracted from the bodies, and brought with the rest of the Vietnamese to the hospital at Quang Ngai.

Thompson subsequently reported the massacre, whilst it was still occurring, to his superiors. The cease-fire order was then given.”

Thanks Mary, my gender does not always receive such kindness as you routinely provide, which is kind of understandable given the real savageness of the ongoing history of sexism in the world. I’ll “see” your Hugh Thompson, Jr. and raise you a Rosa Parks.

Gawd, watertiger, you done it again. Thought I’d start easy-like, with the cat videos, and work my way up in complexity to the d r i f t y area. … But I may have to put the next phase of that project off a bit. Think I broke various ribs just over the cats, nemmind their commenters. Sample:

Riggsveda Says:
July 26th, 2006 at 5:53 am
Assymetrical cat on bear warfare! Is the cat supported by a rogue state? Does the cat hate freedom? Will little bear children ever be safe to shit in the woods again?

Someone must warn Tai Shan!

Israel had been preparing for this invasion since their pull-out in 2000, when it became obvious no one was going to stop Hizbullah from stockpiling Katyushas. They prepped for every contingency, and responded with an operation they knew would work. Except it didn’t. The IDF was shocked by Hizbullah’s ability to throw them back on ground they knew every inch of. This action will be intensively analyzed in military colleges all over the world, and there is only one sensible conclusion that can be drawn: the best blitzkrieg army in the world was beaten by guerillas, and Israel narrowly (so far) avoided being trapped into an even more expensive sitzkrieg war like the US is stuck in. The age of the blitzkrieg army is over, and the age of militias has returned.

The immediate implications of Hizbullah’s victory are unclear, but it would appear that Olmert and the Israeli military are undergoing a crisis of confidence, and must be seriously mulling the following questions:

1) can Israel realistically execute the US plan to completely encircle Iran by closing it off from the eastern Mediterranean?

2) does a “no” answer above necessitate a direct strike on Iran’s nuclear capabilities with nuclear-tipped bunker-buster bombs which the US recently supplied?

3) if 2 is “yes”, then how bad is a wider war going to hurt when Russia further upgrades Iran’s weaponry?

In any case, the price of doing the US’s dirty work in the Mideast just went way, way up. Israel was beaten on the ground and stalemated in the air, which means that they can’t protect themselves against missile strikes. They severely miscalculated the protection their air power affords. Any of those missiles hitting Haifa or Tel Aviv could be nuclear.

It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that Israel must either undertake full-scale nuclear war on Iran or seek a diplomatic solution from a position of weakness. Long-term, any clear-headed leader would greatly prefer the latter. If I were an Israeli, I would be seriously questioning my military alliance with the Bush Administration. Israel is now more vulnerable than it has been at any point in its history, thanks to the Bush Administration’s fuck-ups. And as an American I know that supporting Israel, giving them nukes, and egging them on against Syria and Iran will surely lead to mushroom clouds in Israel, and probably then in our own cities. Mark my words: Russia and China will not sit idly by and watch their energy futures go up in smoke in the Mideast, and their leaders are far, far smarter than the sadistic imbeciles running our country.

the Preznit is making a statement on CNN. He expressed regrets over the loss of life and says he will work with the UN on a just and durable ceasefire.

George — call the damn bank and put a stop-order on those $3 billion in checks to Israel. That’ll get their attention! Call Fed-Ex and cancel the shipments of weapons to Israel!

the war’s over, Hezbollah won

what do we do now george ???

*ilson46201 69 - was that before or after the annual White House tee-ball game?

“says he will work with the UN on a just and durable ceasefire”

“Peace With Honor”

Rorschach, I am so sorry!
I took so long writing I found myself once again warped into the EP Universe, and missed the melancholy end of your story.
Humanity’s capacity for gratuitous cruelty never fails to astound me, but never surprises me, though the lunacy that is unfolding Lebanon has broken my horror meter.
Then I come here, or listen to Beethoven, or read about the work of Doctors Without Borders or the other efforts to atone for our conspecifics’ awfulness, and the thing with feathers alights upon my heart again.

the war’s over, Hezbollah won

what do we do now george ???

That brush over by Crawford’s looking mighty thick!

Is “work with the UN on a just and durable ceasefire” code for “we won’t do shit until this decades-long conflict resolves itself” or does it just mean “we won’t do shit until Israel decides to stop attacking Lebanon?

No worries, Hypatia.

Prof. Juan Cole at Informed Comment http://www.juancole.com/2006/0.....i-war.html

The Israelis appear to be engaged in a concerted campaign of ethnic cleansing in the Shiite towns and villages of southern Lebanon, and are indiscriminately bombing all buildings in the area south of the Litani River. They have chased hundreds of thousands of residents out, and are destroying the property they left behind in a systematic way, rather as they destroy the houses belonging to the family members related to suicide bombers. In other words, the Israelis are engaged in collective punishment on a vast scale. They maintain that rocket launching sites are embedded in these villages. But since Hizbullah keeps firing large numbers of rockets, it does not actually appear to be the case that the Israelis are hitting the rocket launchers. They are demonstrably hitting civilian houses and apartment buildings in a methodical way. There is no independent evidence that this civilian building in Qana was used for any military purpose. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has called for an international investigation and an immediate ceasefire, and he summarily sent Condi Rice away until she brings such a proposal.

Key from above :

They maintain that rocket launching sites are embedded in these villages. But since Hizbullah keeps firing large numbers of rockets, it does not actually appear to be the case that the Israelis are hitting the rocket launchers.

CNN just announced that “Mr. Bush is the first Little Leaguer to become President.”

That’s reassuring.

here’s a little song what we made:

Nedrenaline!

neuro #75:

Last we heard, Olmert wants another 10-14 days for his little housecleaning expedition. We’ll gradually begin to get serious (or as serious as we can get without actually changing policy) starting in about a week or so.

Until then, look for more stall-and-spin pirouette.

Earlier on KPFK, Ian Masters interviewed an Isreali journalist from Ha’aretz who thought that diplomacy was by no means over and that Condi could be woking with the Euros and Isrealis to put something together. We’ll see.

*ilson46201 @ 1:27 pm (#78) - All the rockets I’ve seen that have been identified as part of Hezbollah’s arsenal are katyushas - truck-borne unguided rockets. This means that any house with a driveway pointed in the general direction of Israel is a potential launching site.

The last of the cat videos was anything but funny. Poor cat was berserk with terror, and the man holding him did everything wrong.

The Rove thing on reporters made me laugh. Do I smell fear?

We are at that point in the movie where the dragon slayers (or ghostbusters or whatever) have unleashed their most potent weapon on the monster, with no effect — and everyone, including the monster, knows it.

‘What do we do now, Tonto?’

JohnC - I’ll see that with a MLK. *g* There are lots of very good guys around - they just don’t get the press.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Following up on Rorschach’s link:

You won’t see this story handled this way by WaPo. The new jail in Gitmo. You wonder if they are worried about being kicked out of rendition prisons and are going to just murder or transport what they have left to GITMO, especially if the Italian investigation gets worse for them.

But don’t worry, whatever happens it will be legal. This guy named Bradbury says so. Not this one http://www.raybradbury.com/ this one http://www.sourcewatch.org/ind......_Bradbury . Although I can understand how you might mix up a science fiction writer and a lawyer in DOJ.

The story:
http://news.independent.co.uk/.....204499.ece
New maximum-security jail to open at Guantanamo Bay
Does the subheading count as “snark?”
Far from winding down, the controversial US detention centre is expanding

I’m in a bit of a funk on the snark front. And is this part snark or just a shake of the head at how pathetically morally corrupt we’ve become when the Brits dredge up this notveryold official statement of the President of the United States?
Speaking in the Rose Garden in June following the suicide of three prisoners, Mr Bush said: “I’d like to close Guantanamo, but I also recognize that we’re holding some people that are darn dangerous, and that we better have a plan to deal with them in our courts.”

Thanks Marclord at 1:10.

rorschach 74 - there’s brush at the White House that needs clearing too.

‘What do we do now, Tonto?’
What do you mean “we” white man?

I think that “just and durable” language is there to provide Bush plenty of wiggle room. If a ceasefire is endorsed by the rest of the world, he can decline to support it either because it is not “just” (not pro-Israel enough) or “durable” (a permanent solution that may take decades more to negotiate, kind of like in Iraq). But meanwhile, he can continue to claim to be seeking a ceasefire.

By the way, I am not anti-Semitic or even anti-Israel. I think this latest slaughter has just temporarily tilted my perspective a little. It is hard to justify.

Bush just said that “our sympathy goes out to those who have lost their lives today.”

I think it’s a little late for “sympathy” to do them much good.

“I’ll see that with a MLK. *g* There are lots of very good guys around - they just don’t get the press.”
I fold. :)

MarcLord #68. It does look like Israel’s gotten itself (& the region) into a no win situation.

But, not to worry, Cheney & his neocons have a plan: … “Ledeen, writing in the National Review on July 13th, could hardly restrain himself. ‘Faster, please,’ he urged the White House, arguing that the war should now be taken over by the U.S. military and expanded across the entire region….’ ” –boomantribune.com (linked at my #49 comment).

Neurophius #79: It’s too bad we can’t pull him from the big league right now & send him back to the little league; or to Crawford to cut brush again–those were the good old days–I liked it much better when I didn’t have to see & hear him make idiot statements on TV multiple times daily.

grandmatoo

“I liked it much better when I didn’t have to see & hear him make idiot statements on TV multiple times daily”

So did I. I have turned off my TV. No more minute-by-minute idiocy updates, at least for now.

neurophius @ 1:36 pm (#89) - My opinion has gradually changed on this issue. Over the last decade or so the Israelis have become increasingly callous about their dealings with their neighbors. They are the predominate military power in the region now, which makes it hard to think of them as the underdogs just trying to survive. I’m not I’m anti-Israel yet, but if they don’t acquire a sense of proportion I’m going to be there someday.

As for the anti-semitic label, to me it’s becoming increasingly easy to ignore. It’s used far more nowadays by people who’d rather label the folks who disagree with them than to argue the merits of Israel’s actions. It’s hard to blame them under the circumstances.

‘She’s got Prada boots, a Chanel suit
You know diplomacy is such a scene, whoa-oh’

…But K-K-K-Condi’s a puppet

;>)

Forgive me if this has been covered (our internets were out today until just now) but Josh Marshall is reporting a story about Israel being in serious talks with Syria as to how it doesn’t want to expand the war and also mentions the US pressuring Israel to attack Syria.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com

Oklahoma kiddo, for you:

The Doors
Strange Days
Strange days have found us
Strange days have tracked us down
Theyre going to destroy
Our casual joys
We shall go on playing
Or find a new town

Yeah!

Strange eyes fill strange rooms
Voices will signal their tired end
The hostess is grinning
Her guests sleep from sinning
Hear me talk of sin
And you know this is it

Yeah!

Strange days have found us
And through their strange hours
We linger alone
Bodies confused
Memories misused
As we run from the day
To a strange night of stone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....arch=crash

and you’re little dog too,
No, I think you are the first to link to that today.

John Casper 1:36 pm — I don’t know which punch line I like better…that one, or “You’re gonna’ die.”

Heh.

Watertiger, see my take on that photo:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blo.....dol3.0.jpg

My new name for W.: American Doofus

OK,
This is amazing FOX, yep Fox, is reporting that the war by Isreal has completely backfired and that it has had th effect of INCREASING arab man in the street for Hezbollah. And that the attack on Qana has boomeranged bigtime and outrage against US, UN and Israel is going through the roof.

FDL book salon is up.

Wow. CNN reporting that Israel has announced a 48-hour suspension of air strikes. Does not appear to cover artillery shelling.

I have to remind myself that every time the media report on the range of the Hizbollah rockets, they do not mention that the range of the Iraeli aircraft covers the whole of Lebanon, and beyond. Non-parallel reporting takes it toll on our thinking about how each side perceives the other’s threats.

The anchor bunny from FOX is calling bullshit on the Israeli Defense Force spokesman. She is asking hard questions and giving him no quarter.

looseheadprop #101

Fox reported that???

I’m going to look out my window to see if pigs are flying…

FOX unable to confirm 48 cease fire. But says there has not been any sound of shelling for a couple hours so far

Breaking news from MSNBC: Official: Israel to suspend air assault in south Lebanon for 48 hours.

Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14100258/

Kofi Annan asked for a 72 hour ceasefire to get humaniatarian aid in and civilians out.

it’s NOT a ceasefire

it’s a “cesseation” of the bombing campaign

so that woudl mean that Israel is going to CEASE the activity of FIRING bombs into Lebennon

but it ain’t no ceasefire

these fuckers couldn’t spin any faster if the tried

that’s chicken noodle network for ya

Josh Marshall, linked at 1:54 above, says:

“…there do appear to be forces in Washington — seemingly the stronger ones, with Rice just a facade — who see this whole thing as an opportunity for a grand call of double or nothing to get out of the disaster they’ve created in the region. Go into Syria, maybe Iran. Try to roll the table once and for all. No failed war that a new war can’t solve.”

How can we stop them?

Mary, John C, Rayne et al.

Remarkable, isn’t it, that — wherever they are across the globe, including Bush’s USA — the more patriarchal a culture is, the more toxic to its own and neighboring peoples? Perfect correlation there.

Fox now reporting that Israel has not agreed to a ceasefire, but rather a 48 hour suspension of shelling.

Now the Fox person on the ground is saying it is only 24 hours suspension

24, 48, whatever — what’s the Hebrew for “UNCLE!”?