or Powell's or me• • •
"Mike and Jon, Jon and Mike—I've known them both for years, and, clearly, one of them is very funny. As for the other: truly one of the great hangers-on of our time."—Steve Bodow, head writer, The Daily Show
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"Who can really judge what's funny? If humor is a subjective medium, then can there be something that is really and truly hilarious? Me. This book."—Daniel Handler, author, Adverbs, and personal representative of Lemony Snicket
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"The good news: I thought Our Kampf was consistently hilarious. The bad news: I’m the guy who wrote Monkeybone."—Sam Hamm, screenwriter, Batman, Batman Returns, and Homecoming
December 06, 2008
New Tomdispatch
I've fallen behind on Tomdispatch. Their latest two articles are both well worth reading:
Who Are the Taliban?
The Afghan War Deciphered
By Anand GopalIf there is an exact location marking the West's failures in Afghanistan, it is the modest police checkpoint that sits on the main highway 20 minutes south of Kabul. The post signals the edge of the capital, a city of spectacular tension, blast walls, and standstill traffic. Beyond this point, Kabul's gritty, low-slung buildings and narrow streets give way to a vast plain of serene farmland hemmed in by sandy mountains. In this valley in Logar province, the American-backed government of Afghanistan no longer exists...
The police say they don't dare enter these districts, especially at night when the guerrillas rule the roads. In some parts of the country's south and east, these insurgents have even set up their own government, which they call the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the name of the former Taliban government)...
Just three years ago, the central government still controlled the provinces near Kabul. But years of mismanagement, rampant criminality, and mounting civilian casualties have led to a spectacular resurgence of the Taliban and other related groups...
The burgeoning disaster is prompting the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai and international players to speak openly of negotiations with sections of the insurgency.
Still Preparing to Attack Iran
The Neoconservatives in the Obama Era
By Robert DreyfussWhat, exactly, does Barack Obama's mild-mannered choice to head the Department of Health and Human Services, former Senator Tom Daschle, have to do with neocons who want to bomb Iran?
A familiar coalition of hawks, hardliners, and neoconservatives expects Barack Obama's proposed talks with Iran to fail -- and they're already proposing an escalating set of measures instead. Some are meant to occur alongside any future talks. These include steps to enhance coordination with Israel, tougher sanctions against Iran, and a region-wide military buildup of U.S. strike forces, including the prepositioning of military supplies within striking distance of that country.
Once the future negotiations break down, as they are convinced will happen, they propose that Washington quickly escalate to war-like measures, including a U.S. Navy-enforced embargo on Iranian fuel imports and a blockade of that country's oil exports. Finally, of course, comes the strategic military attack against the Islamic Republic of Iran that so many of them have wanted for so long.
—Jonathan Schwarz
Posted at December 6, 2008 12:10 PMI forsee an extremely smooth transition from the Bush Administration into the Obama Administration. Experience--its what counts, folks.
Posted by: Mike Meyer at December 6, 2008 02:03 PMThe new generation of The Best And The Brightest have been assembled and I'm betting that they will out-do the Bushies in pure mayhem. Closer to Israel, for one thing, and smart and evil trumps dumb and evil every time. Any takers?
Posted by: Don Bacon at December 6, 2008 02:10 PMNaw. Even Der Fuehrer didn't fight a three-front war.
The Israelis will likely hit Iran and then we will say that we regret the loss of "innocent lives" (OK to wipe out "guilty" lives, I suppose), but that Iran's nuclear threat to Israel's existence could not be tolerated.
Now more than ever is the right time to make peace in the ME a reality...blah blah blah
Obama and his crew are blah blah blah more than war war war, except in Afghanistan, where the deceased Osama must be found and stopped from being reborn.
Foreign policy should be more fun and less fuck-up.
Naw. Even Der Fuehrer didn't fight a three-front war.
The Israelis will likely hit Iran and then we will say that we regret the loss of "innocent lives" (OK to wipe out "guilty" lives, I suppose), but that Iran's nuclear threat to Israel's existence could not be tolerated.
Now more than ever is the right time to make peace in the ME a reality...blah blah blah
Obama and his crew are blah blah blah more than war war war, except in Afghanistan, where the deceased Osama must be found and stopped from being reborn.
Foreign policy should be more fun and less fuck-up.
So everyone acts exactly as expected. CHangey hope we can believe in.
Posted by: meshuga at December 7, 2008 04:23 PMmeshuga; The ONLY win for progressives this election is in empowerment of women and minorities. A solid win, no doubt, but still leaves open many, many more goals. (such as HONEST leadership)
Posted by: Mike Meyer at December 7, 2008 04:57 PM
