Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Can we lighten up on the doomsday scenarios?

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

We won’t go back.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Be a traveling stable for those who can’t find room at the inn.

We still have time to mess this up!

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

If marriage is the equivalent of selling yourself into slavery, women with self respect should reject the offer.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

It’s a doggy dog world.

It could be worse. Vance could have said “post-menopausal sows.” Waiting for that audiotape to surface.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

You are here: Home / Politics / America / Breaking: Israel Attacks Iran In Syria As It Prepares For War

Breaking: Israel Attacks Iran In Syria As It Prepares For War

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Netanyahu has decided to wag the dog!

From Haaretz:

Explosions were reported south of Damascus on Tuesday, shortly after the Israeli army announced it believes Iran is planning to carry out an imminent strike from Syria. Reports in Syria said Israeli jets entered the country’s airspace.

The reports come on the heels of U.S. President Donald Trump’s dramatic withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

Also Tuesday, the Israeli ordered communities in the northern Golan Heights, near the Israel-Syria border, to open shelters to the public after identifying “unusual movements” of Iranian forces in Syria, the military said in a statement.

The Israeli army believes Iran is making efforts to carry out an imminent retaliation against Israel. Intelligence officers and other specialized forces have been called up, though reserve combat units have not been drafted.

CNN reported that Pentagon officials are concerned about signs that Iran might be preparing a military strike against Israel from Syria.

Israeli military bases were preparing for a possible Iranian attack.

Israel believes Iran is determined to retaliate for the April 9 airstrike on Syria’s T4 airbase, which killed seven Iranian military advisers and members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Iran blames Israel for this attack.

The military said any Iranian strike against Israel will be met with a severe response, even as the working assumption is that Iran is has limited capabilities to engage in conflict with Israel.

The State Department has issued a travel alert for US personnel.

From the reporting, Israel appears to be mobilizing for war.

Now that the President and Prime Minister Netanyahu have decided to destabilize the limited stability left within the entire region in the name of actually stabilizing it, this is going to move fast. More specifically, the Israelis are going to try to move fast and break things in the hope that they can draw the Iranians into a direct response or via its proxy Hezbullah. My professional impression of Netanyahu is that he is not a good strategist, though he is a decent tactician. However, he has little self control. The Iranians have, perhaps, the best strategist from within the region commanding their forces in Syria.

Depending on what the responses are to the Israeli’s opening move, this could either pass quickly or quickly spiral out of hand. I have no way to handicap it with the information we have, though my professional estimation is that the Iranians have enough restraint to let cooler heads prevail. Expect the reporting on this to move and change rapidly.

Stay frosty!

Open thread.

 

Reader Interactions

205Comments

  2. 2.

    Yutsano

    This worries me. I have a friend who has lives in the US for years but could be subject to recall because he’s still an Israeli citizen. He’s been using English so long his Hebrew is fading. This would not be good.

  3. 3.

    ET

    This is all going to even very, very badly. And it goes without saying that OF COURSE this was timed with the tRump announcement…..

  4. 4.

    TenguPhule

    Depending on what the responses are to the Israeli’s opening move, this could either pass quickly or quickly spiral out of hand.

    i’m gonna go with option B.

  5. 5.

    Corner Stone

    My professional impression of Netanyahu is that he is not a good strategist, though he is a decent tactician.

    Just as a SWAG, I have never seen Bibi display all that much skill as a tactician either. He’s ham handed and looks to domestic politics first. If those are tactics then I guess I agree.
    Fucking south of Damascus.

  7. 7.

    TenguPhule

    The Iranians have, perhaps, the best strategist from within the region commanding their forces in Syria.

    Iranian Sun Tzu vs Dumb and Dumber.

  8. 8.

    Bonnie

    Every new day of this administration makes me extremely glad I never had any children. It has given me a new outlook on my life, which has more past than future. With any luck, I will die before Trump blows up the world.

  9. 9.

    Corner Stone

    IMO, I don’t see Iran falling into any stupid, blatant moves to escalate as Bibi wants them to. For God only knows why. He’s going to get his ass handed to him if Iran gets serious.

  11. 11.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    Since this is an open thread…

    My mother left me a 1960 Triumph Tr-10. She was the only owner before she left it to me. She had it fully restored in 1997, but it’s sat for the last eight or ten years, so it’ll need some work. I want to sell it. I’m in northern Virginia. If anybody knows anybody who might want this for $4000 or so, set me know at whittock(at)bista(dot)org.

  12. 12.

    Corner Stone

    Both Obama and now John Kerry are out volubly against this stupid decision. I bet Trump and Bolton are absolutely salivating at that development.
    Speaking of…where in the world is Gen J Kelly in all this?

  14. 14.

    TenguPhule

    @Bonnie:

    With any luck, I will die before Trump blows up the world.

    It has given me the determination to live long enough to piss on his grave.

  15. 15.

    Sab

    @Bonnie: Yeah. I have stepkids and stepgrandkids I love, but at least I am not responsible for bringing them into this world we have created.

  16. 16.

    TenguPhule

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Good thing we didn’t elect that nasty warmonger.

    We were told that if we voted for Hillary the US would be locked in endless unwinnable wars.

    So we voted for Hillary and it came to pass.

  17. 17.

    Corner Stone

    I wonder if Trump came out with this announcement several days before he had to because he thinks Iran is going to cave in the interim and give him big concessions?

  18. 18.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Bibi is expecting Trump to back him up.

    Bibi is about to learn the phrase, “But what have you done for me lately?” Trump doesn’t do shit for nobody who isn’t putting money in his pocket at that moment.

  20. 20.

    Dread

    So, assuming war results, which is almost a certain thing now… we’re going to lose ships, gas and oil prices will skyrocket (which will help Mother Russia), the Saudis will be the dominant bullies of the region, and we’ll end up in huge debt as we end up in yet another quagmire.

    But America, fuck yeah! right?

  21. 21.

    Frankensteinbeck

    which is almost a certain thing now

    Not even close to certain. I admit Bibi’s assholery here is the only thing that makes it even plausible, but the world is littered with people who thought they had a deal with Trump.

  22. 22.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    My idiot mother doesn’t understand the significance of any of this. “It will work itself out. You can’t change the world by yourself.” As if I didn’t know that already! I’m more worried about my friend who’s graduating this month. He was in Army ROTC and I’m afraid he’ll be sent into some hypothetical Iranian war to die for nothing. She couldn’t grasp that and continued to downplay my concerns. “He knew what he signed up for.” Yeah, I know. That still doesn’t make me less worried.

    I brought up that Iran controls the Persian gulf, which could cripple us economically. She then said that we should be more self-suficient and that it would “teach us”. I can’t even. I couldn’t even begin describe how silly that was. It would take time and money to make us more energy efficient, a goal that the current powers-that-be have no interest in pursuing.

    I hope all of Trump’s voters burn for whatever is going to come from this. What a bunch of stupid fucks. If this thing goes hot, they’re murderers by proxy, too.

  23. 23.

    Archon

    @Corner Stone:

    You’re joking right? The U.S unilaterally abrogating an agreement has made us isolated politically in the world, Trump and his party are staring at massive loses back home in November and the U.S Military has pretty much came out and said a war with Iran isn’t feasible.

    Considering all that why in the world would Iran make any concessions to Trump???

  25. 25.

    TenguPhule

    @Corner Stone:

    I wonder if Trump came out with this announcement several days before he had to because he thinks Iran is going to cave in the interim and give him big concessions?

    I have little doubt that is true.

  28. 28.

    Eural Joiner

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
    At least there’s that – my mom will just start quoting Scripture and looking pleased as peaches that we are just following “God’s Plan.” And, yes, she’s an elderly, white Baptist from the South who voted for Trump.

  31. 31.

    Archon

    All this does make me wonder. What if Trump thinks his only play is for us to be in the middle of a war when the Mueller findings come out? In that universe maybe Trump thinks he can call Mueller unpatriotic for trying to bring him down when American servicemen are risking their lives? Lord knows Republicans and a big chunk of the media would eat it up.

    Scary times ahead…

  32. 32.

    TenguPhule

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    but the world is littered with people who thought they had a deal with Trump.

    Iran is going to have to make a strategic decision based on the fact that Trump is a fucking asshole.

    This is sub-optimal.

  33. 33.

    Corner Stone

    @Archon:

    Considering all that why in the world would Iran make any concessions to Trump?

    Because he is a very good negotiator and this is an aspect of maximum pressure that has caused the peace breakthrough between NK and South Korea. Why wouldn’t it work in Iran just as well? Push the limit ahead of time, sit back and let them come to him groveling for an extension or new concessions.

  35. 35.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @Major Major Major Major:
    I was pissed because I felt she was patronizing me on the one hand and was blissfully ignorant of the significance of this on the other. I know she’s busy but for fuck’s sake try to pay attention even if it is complicated/depressing. The reason the world is like this because far too many people don’t care and many are willing to tear down everything that has truly made this country/world great to enrich themselves and destroy groups of people they don’t see as human.

  37. 37.

    Archon

    @Corner Stone:

    Besides the Trump is “a very good negotiator” trope you still haven’t explained why Iran would come groveling to Trump with new concessions.

  38. 38.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @Archon:
    I don’t think the rally-around-the-flag effect is going to work so well this time. If things go tits-up badly enough, look for riots and mass protests the media won’t be able to just handwave it away like they did in 2003. Watch gas prices streak up into the sky like the Saturn V.

  41. 41.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @oatler.:

    Betty Cracker has created Butter Lambs annually for the last few years.

    I think she should now turn her attention to sculpting Butter Emails.

  42. 42.

    The Moar You Know

    That’s kinda mean.

    @Major Major Major Major: I doubt it. Kids are usually pretty honest about their parent’s failings.

    I love my mother, because she is my mother and did a pretty good job raising me, but she has become a vicious, mean, horrible person who only experiences joy in life when she is causing others misery. And that’s just simply true. She’d probably agree with most of that.

  43. 43.

    Ohio Mom

    I stop paying attention to the news for a couple of days and war breaks out.

    Clearly this is like the nervous flyer who keeps the airplane aloft by obsessing on it crashing or the person who keeps it from raining by carrying an umbrella.

    I promise not to let my mind wander again.

  44. 44.

    TenguPhule

    So on top of everything else, the coal miner murderer CEO is surging in WV GOP primary.

    Today officially sucks.

  46. 46.

    Dread

    @Frankensteinbeck: The fact that he has surrounded himself with people who have been pushing for war with Iran for years makes the probability of war now very high, in my opinion, because there will be no other options.

    Iran, if it is at all rational, will start to view nuclear weapons as essential to the survival of their government and begin research and reproduction immediately.

    The only factor that might keep us out of war with Iran now is the fickleness of Donald Trump.

  47. 47.

    Shana

    I see Jared’s done a great job on Mideast Peace. /snark/ in case it wasn’t obvious, you never can tell….

  48. 48.

    CarolDuhart2

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: It’s not going to work now. Right now. Back in 2002-2003 people were still stunned and angry over 911, and Bush, for his many flaws, wasn’t so determined to alienate as many Americans as Trump. Also, I think the anti-war movement has learned a few things since then-like we need to get ahead of this and protest right now!

  49. 49.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @The Moar You Know:
    @Major Major Major Major:

    Don’t get me wrong I love my mother. She’s very nice to me and has done a lot for me. She probably didn’t even see herself as being patronizing. But she can come out with some pretty awful shit largely out of ignorance. For one, she doesn’t seem to care about DACA recipients who have served in our military getting deported to countries that are foreign to them. But she usually hates Trump. I think she’s like a lot of Americans: very politically muddled (to us).

  51. 51.

    CarolDuhart2

    There will be no bipartisan cover either, Back in 2003 many Democrats were afraid that if they voted against the war, there would be a quick victory like 1991 and they would be pilloried for opposition. Not only that, but the echoes of being told they were unpatriotic for decades still held sway.

  53. 53.

    Mnemosyne

    You know you’re in deep shit when you need to hope that a repressive, theocratic state will act calmly and rationally in the face of provocation from a US ally.

    Fuck.

  54. 54.

    Corner Stone

    @TenguPhule:

    So on top of everything else, the coal miner murderer CEO is surging in WV GOP primary.

    He’s Trumpier than Trump. Long Live King Coal!

  55. 55.

    efgoldman

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Bibi is expecting Trump to back him up.

    Jews don’t believe in an afterlife; nevertheless, there is no circle of hell deep enough, hot enough, or punishing enough for Netenyahu

  58. 58.

    Sab

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: Hope you voted yes for issue one.

    Your mom is okay because she raised you, but she is also why I hate being in your congressional district. Jeez, you guys sent Trafficant to Washington for how many years? And now we are in the same district.

    We sent Seiberling, who opposed the Vietnam war, and then was instrumental in getting the Cuyahoga Valley National Park established. The National Park Service hated the idea, and now it’s one of the most heavily visited parks in their system.

    I can’t see Tim Ryan having that much vision.

  60. 60.

    Mnemosyne

    @Dread:

    Iran, if it is at all rational, will start to view nuclear weapons as essential to the survival of their government and begin research and reproduction immediately.

    They’re probably better off appealing to the remaining signatories of the JCPOA since the only country that would back Israel in this is the US.

  61. 61.

    Yarrow

    @TenguPhule: Tweet from yesterday.

    One GOP source tracking #WVSEN said they’ve seen three outside polls in last week: One showing Jenkins up, one showing Morrisey up, one showing Blankenship up.Buckle up. Tomorrow’s going to be a wild primary night.— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) May 7, 2018

  63. 63.

    TenguPhule

    @Raven Onthill:

    Do you think the USA will back an Israeli attack on Iran with troops?

    No.

    Trump is too chickenshit to order army troops into the field. Plus we have no troops to spare.

    It’ll be airstrikes.

  64. 64.

    Stuart Frasier

    As awful as he is, Blankenship probably represents the best chance of the Dems retaining the WV senate seat. If he won in the fall, he would vote exactly like a generic R and would be a thorn in the side of Cocaine Mitch.

  68. 68.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @TenguPhule:

    Iranian Sun Tzu vs Dumb and Dumber.

    Yes but the smart stratagy is to simply let the Israelis lob missiles at things until Israel makes itself a pariah state.

  70. 70.

    efgoldman

    @Ohio Mom:

    I stop paying attention to the news for a couple of days and war breaks out.

    Deja vu
    Deja vu
    We came home from my brother’s high school graduation in 1967 and turned on the TV to find what became the six day war raging.

  71. 71.

    dmsilev

    @Raven Onthill: Troops, no. I could imagine Trump ordering cruise missile strikes or similar; I’m sure he’s got people telling him that a strike would be easy quick and effective.

    Sigh.

  73. 73.

    mainmata

    I think Iran understands that a full-scale attack on Israel would not only overstretch their supply lines but leave them wide open to U.S. air assault so I don’t think that’s going to happen despite Bibi’s endless warmongering. At most I can see Iranian forces logistically supporting a Hizbullah foray (or series of forays) despite a history showing that’s never worked well for Syria (or Lebanon) before.

  74. 74.

    japa21

    @CarolDuhart2: Number 7 on that list:

    The United States could destroy all key elements of Iranian military power in virtually any scenario in a matter of weeks, if Washington had the support of Iran’s neighbours. It could inflict devastating damage in a matter of days.

    I have serious doubts on that. Fortunately, Trump probably believes it. Also, no way we have the support of Iran’s neighbors.

  75. 75.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Frankensteinbeck

    : Bibi is about to learn the phrase, “But what have you done for me lately?” Trump doesn’t do shit for nobody who isn’t putting money in his pocket at that moment.

    That’s what I am wondering; is this a repeat of Korea and Trump will simply bone Isreal as badly as he did South Korea and Isreal will be forced to negociate with Iran while Trump pats himself on the crotch for being the master negociator.

  76. 76.

    efgoldman

    @TenguPhule:

    Today officially sucks.

    Why? Manchin should beat him easily.
    And don’t give me any shit that Manchin is the wrong Dem. Who else, better, can get elected in WVa?
    [Spoiler: No fucking body]

  77. 77.

    Mary G

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: You can’t change her. You are right and she is an idiot, but that is what it is. Concentrate on the people who will listen and learn from you. The most valuable thing you can do for the world and America is register people in your state – Ohio is such a crucial one – and drag them to the polls if you have to, for every election.

  79. 79.

    Kay

    That’s upsetting. I just feel that is absolutely inevitable that Trump gets us into another war. The idea that anyone gave him an army is insane to me. I know he will use it.

    I feel as if the whole country knows it, on some level. That the big risk of making such a reckless decision and hiring him is always out there, over our heads.

  82. 82.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @Sab:
    I did vote yes for Issue 1. I’m convinced it’s better than rhe status quo and a step in the right direction. Also voted for Cordray and said yes for all the local tax levies, including the emergency tax levy for our school district. Mailed in my ballot nearly a week ago. Vote by mail really is convenient :).

    Left the US House race with Tim Ryan blank. They were all idiots; one of them was apparently crazy too, some guy who had all of his three names listed. I’ll vote for Ryan in the fall, as he’ll win the primary, but that’s only because he’s better than a Republican.

    Traficant was an embarrassment and was emblematic of the local Democratic party around here. They candidates are often Republican-lite even in the primaries. Despite being a Democratic stronghold, we’re still not California.

  83. 83.

    No Drought No More

    “Take what you have gathered from experience”.. and observation, too.

    R.O.T. means Russia Owns Trump. Trump is a traitor to the United States of America.

    Pompeo landing in N. Korea is akin to GW landing on the aircraft carrier;

    That Israel chose to attack today is no coincidence;

    it would be far easier for congressional democrats to call what has happened today the plot to war it is, were it not for their radio silence concerning the Bush-Cheney plot to war since 2003.

  84. 84.

    Kay

    John Harwood
    @JohnJHarwood
    Follow Follow @JohnJHarwood
    More
    Jeff Flake says “overwhelming advice” of Trump’s military and diplomatic advisers was to stay in Iran nuclear deal

    But the President is a petty, small vindictive person so it was much more important he repudiate Obama.

    He won! Everyone else loses, but in the nasty, mean-spirited Trump Administration they can put this one up on the “win” board, so who gives a shit about anyone else?

  87. 87.

    Brachiator

    @Archon:

    All this does make me wonder. What if Trump thinks his only play is for us to be in the middle of a war when the Mueller findings come out?

    Trump generally doesn’t think. At all. He certainly does not think ahead or strategically. At best, Trump either believes that there will not be a war or that the US will win any war quickly. I don’t think he ever thought that a Mueller would be investigating him.

  90. 90.

    Jack the Second

    My only hope is that, because everything Trump touches turns to shit, whatever “war” he starts with Iran is just going to be an embarrassing affair with lots of talk and bluster and very little action (like the reported one with Stormy Daniels), and such an embarrassment that even future warmongers want nothing to do with Iran in the future.

    Of course, after we finally have our war with Iran, I’m worried that the hawks are going to have nothing left to get hard about but China.

  93. 93.

    Elizabelle

    I don’t see us getting into a war. Aside from Fox World, the American people truly does not want this.

    Donald Trump should not be allowed to park cars at a resort, much less lead our country into war.

    We can stop this.

    @No Drought No More:

    it would be far easier for congressional democrats to call what has happened today the plot to war it is, were it not for their radio silence concerning the Bush-Cheney plot to war since 2003.

    Because nothing changes in 15 years, and no one ever learns. FALSE.

    You guys are making me want to vomit, seriously.

    On the brighter side, I am attending a screening of Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange tonight. Will be less disturbing than anything found in the mediasphere tonight.

  94. 94.

    Baud

    @efgoldman:

    Why? Manchin should beat him easily.

    I don’t know about that. But I think Manchin would have an equally tough time with any of the GOP candidates. I don’t understand why our side cares so much about Blankenship.

  97. 97.

    Chris

    @Corner Stone:

    IMO, I don’t see Iran falling into any stupid, blatant moves to escalate as Bibi wants them to. For God only knows why. He’s going to get his ass handed to him if Iran gets serious.

    All things being equal, I agree with you. The fly in the ointment is what happens if Israel eventually goes so far that the Iranians have no choice but to retaliate (for public opinion if nothing else). If things remain limited to Syria, they probably won’t, but…

  98. 98.

    Gin & Tonic

    @CarolDuhart2: I’m in Sweden right now. Gas is about $7 a gallon and has been for a while. People drive everywhere anyway, they just don’t drive moron trucks and SUV’s that get 12 miles a gallon.

  100. 100.

    trollhattan

    @Elizabelle:
    An interesting film to vid with a group. Hopefully they’ll set up a Korova Milk Bar in the lobby.

    Went to a “Big Lebowski” screening last year and the white Russian concession had a yuge line.

  104. 104.

    Baud

    @Chris: At this point, it’s up to Europe to have some balls. Maybe they can help us out for a few years until we deal with the mess at home.

  105. 105.

    Elizabelle

    @trollhattan: I will know what a Korova Milk Bar is after the movie, I guess.

    And yeah, White Russians. Who knew the Big Lebowski was going to be such a cult classic? Suspect it’s screened annually here, and just about any place that has a cinema series.

  106. 106.

    Baud

    @rikyrah: I get that. But why do we care if Republican voters pick him over any other Republican in the Republican primary? Do we think their party still has some dignity left to lose?

  108. 108.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @Sab:
    She’s doing much better now. The first month or two was tough but she doesn’t talk about it anymore and has moved on. We know he’s no longer suffering. Thank you for asking!

  109. 109.

    trollhattan

    @Elizabelle:
    The book comes with a much needed glossary, just hang in there with the slang. It’s…intense. Not a date flick then or today.

  110. 110.

    Brachiator

    @Baud:

    At this point, it’s up to Europe to have some balls.

    Theresa May ain’t got no balls.

    Angela Merkel, on the other hand…

  111. 111.

    Jeffro

    You know I meant to throw this out there earlier but who the fuck goes on field trips to the Golan Heights?

  112. 112.

    Corner Stone

    @Elizabelle:

    On the brighter side, I am attending a screening of Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange tonight. Will be less disturbing than anything found in the mediasphere tonight.

    “On the brighter side”? Either you haven’t ever seen the movie….or shit is a lot more fucked than I am picking up on.

  113. 113.

    Stuart Frasier

    @Baud:
    While we should care who Republicans nominate for President, individual R senators are essentially interchangeable. We should root for whoever is easiest to beat, like Todd Akin and Roy Moore. Blankenship is clearly the candidate most likely to blow it for the Republicans.

  115. 115.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @Gin & Tonic:

    People drive everywhere anyway, they just don’t drive moron trucks and SUV’s that get 12 miles a gallon.

    Did you hear about Ford ceasing all domestic sales of cars aside from trucks and SUVs?

  122. 122.

    CarolDuhart2

    @Gin & Tonic: European nations have invested millions in mass transit. So $7 a gallon gas is no real hardship. And they are also pretty compact as well, with few places that can’t be connected easily if need be.

    Here in the states? Sprawling suburbs with noy a single transit line in sight. States where towns are separated with miles of farmland, prairie, and little else.

  124. 124.

    Elizabelle

    @Corner Stone: Have not seen the movie, and trollhattan has me wondering if I should sneak in something flasklike. No ingredients for White Russians, alas.

    ETA: Know “Orange” was considered shocking in 1960s, and probably still is. Next week is Barry Lyndon.

  126. 126.

    TheDr

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): Sounds compelling (no free cash or garage space for me though). If it was restored to working order, you’re looking at some expenses to clean out and replace as needed the fuel system, other fluids,etc., but if it’s otherwise in good shape someone could have a fun little run-about for $5500 all in. Might be worth checking out bringatrailer.com to see if your price is in the right ballpark. Good luck finding it a new home.

  128. 128.

    Brachiator

    @Quinerly:

    OT… Haven’t read too many comments today. Anybody post this Page 6 piece about Don Jr’s soon to be ex dating a gang member when she was 15.?This divorce could get ugly.

    This is the Trumpette involved in a divorce? OK. I guess going back to a gang member might be considered a step up, compared to the piece of shit that is Don Jr.

  131. 131.

    Stuart Frasier

    @Baud:
    Bad candidates have cost the Republicans some very winnable senate seats in the recent past.

  133. 133.

    Baud

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    This is for you. TPM

    Our new Secretary of State thinks Kim Jong Un is referred to as “Chairman Un”.

    Today what we’re hoping to do is – there have been discussions between that day to now, and we’ve continued to develop both administratively and sort of begin to put some outlines around the substance of the agenda for the summit between the President and Chairman Un. And today we’re hoping to nail some of those down to say – to put in place a framework for a successful summit between the two presidents.

  136. 136.

    debbie

    My professional impression of Netanyahu is that he is not a good strategist, though he is a decent tactician. However, he has little self control.

    He is a rabid dog and he will get a lot of us killed.

  138. 138.

    Sloane Ranger

    I wonder where the Intel that Iran was about to attack Israel came from?

    It wouldn’t surprise me if Mossad planted it in order to justify this as a pre-emptive strike. Bibi hopes to draw Iran into some sort of counter strike he can use to get the Armageddonists and neo Cons to push Trump into war.

    Trump’s speech was written by Bolton IMO. To paraphrase part of it, an invasion of Iran will be a cakewalk, the poor Iranian people are the victims of an evil tyranny and we will be greeted as liberators, with young girls throwing off their Hijabs and scattering rose petals before our soldiers marching feet – just like Iraq/

  139. 139.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Crude futures in New York topped $70 a barrel for the first time since November 2014 as traders brace for a re-imposition of U.S. sanctions on Iran that risks disrupting exports from OPEC’s third-largest producer. Oil has rallied 16 percent in the past four months as OPEC and allied producers crimp a global glut and geopolitical risks multiply in the Mideast region that’s home to almost half the world’s crude.

    Oil was at $45 on election day 2016.

    Luckily the $1.50 tax cut will offset the spike in gas prices.

  141. 141.

    debbie

    @Elizabelle:

    I second CS. Clockwork Orange is brilliant but very disturbing. There are parallels to today, especially with the old Ultra V.

  147. 147.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Elizabelle:
    If you want to be shocked, when you watch the movie remember that in the book, the women were 10 year old girls.

    Truthfully, I shouldn’t say much about the book. I didn’t get very far. I wasn’t enjoying it enough to wade through the dialect.

  148. 148.

    Cermet

    The ass-wipe israeli leader wants a proxy fight, eh? All the ones the israelis have fought in the past, they have lost. Can’t happen to a worse bunch of shit-head people – that is, the religious far right and their ass-wipe leader. Too bad so many good people on both sides may suffer if this occurs. Of course, the Iranian’s may decide the loss in life is not worth it. Guess we will see. As the famous line says: “and the center did not hold.” Me thinks it is approaching (fortuitously, very slowly so we can still mitigate some of it; the main battle is lost: AGW (2 C at least) and running out of cheap, non-coal based energy with no quick replacement is now unavoidable. But we still have time to take steps that will help.)

  149. 149.

    Bill Arnold

    @Jeffro:

    You know I meant to throw this out there earlier but who the fuck goes on field trips to the Golan Heights?

    It’s a common field trip on Israel tourist tours. (mine fields to the left and right, in a 4WD vehicle; that sort of thing.) Also Mount Hermon. There’s probably more.

  150. 150.

    Cermet

    @debbie: You want parallels to our unfolding future, maybe? Look no further then Soylent Green – got AGW, destruction of our eco-system, over population with resource depletion, and even the gun culture mostly correct.

  155. 155.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @Gravenstone:
    Yeah, that too. The high-end cars will always sell well. Are car sales in the US that bad?

  156. 156.

    B.B.A.

    @Bill Arnold: I visited, in my past life as a Zionist, for which I’ll be atoning for the rest of my days.

    The Golan is in Syria, by the way. Israel has been illegally occupying it for 51 years. Just for the record.

  157. 157.

    Sab

    @debbie: I am so old that I remember when Israel had elections it took them weeks to cobble together a government.

    Since the monster Netanyahu started running, they elect his government right off the bat.

    It’s deeply disturbing. They aren’t making themselves safer. They are just making themselves more unpleasant internationally.

    They are a tiny country with a population about the size of Scotland, substantially smaller than LA. They really need to start thinking about how others view them. Right now, I don’t think anyone is rooting for them except evangelical Rapture nuts and elderly Jewish Americans.

  158. 158.

    Elizabelle

    @Brachiator: Thank you! I’m excited about seeing it on a big screen. Will check out your link later.

    Series has been mostly featuring war movies, so I have not seen a lot of the Kubrick. And they did not include Dr. Strangelove. Or 2001. Or Lolita. For whatever reasons, film programmers got stuck on a lot of war and gangster movies this spring ….

  161. 161.

    trollhattan

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
    “Light trucks” (pickups, SUVs, vans) are now 65% of the US market. I most often drive a car, one that sits pretty low, and usually feel as though I’m in a canyon driving in traffic. Trump and Pruitt effectively want to push that % to 80.

  163. 163.

    Quinerly

    @Corner Stone: I read that the divorce had become acrimonious. Page 6 has always been Trump friendly. This kind of stuff wasn’t in the news pre divorce. I could really care less. We can put it in “the can’t make this shit up” basket. I was looking for gossip to take my mind off of today’s seriousness.

  164. 164.

    Bill Arnold

    @B.B.A.:

    I visited, in my past life as a Zionist, for which I’ll be atoning for the rest of my days.

    I visited too, if that wasn’t clear, with an American (reform) Jewish tour group. Parts of the trip were fine, regular people and places, parts, like the Golan Heights day, were near-pure propaganda. (Caught a flu with fever that day.) Was told that the mine-field warning signs were stacked several deep so that the tourists could steal them.

  165. 165.

    Quinerly

    @Brachiator: The piece is a rollicking read. Pictures and all. She took him to the prom after he served a year plus in the pokey.

  166. 166.

    gbbalto

    @trollhattan: One reason I got the six speed stick shift Civic sI – enough power/acceleration to avoid those fools.
    ETA: with some decent gas mileage.

  168. 168.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    So does Cohen make it to June 1 without falling from a balcony?

  173. 173.

    Brachiator

    @Quinerly:

    The piece is a rollicking read. Pictures and all. She took him to the prom after he served a year plus in the pokey.

    Took a look at it. Yep. A fun read.

  174. 174.

    trollhattan

    @gbbalto:
    Bet you climb out with a shit-eating grin after every drive. Civic SI and Golf GTI always guarantee entertainment.

  175. 175.

    Corner Stone

    @Quinerly: I am sure DJT JR wants either more money than he is entitled to, or wants to use these allegations as threats to reduce/change child care payments. But not sure how the decisions of a minor are going to outweigh 5 kids and several years of lawful marriage between adults. He’s had at least one publicized affair for goodness sakes. I guess we’ll see.

  176. 176.

    debbie

    @Sab:

    Don’t leave out the Jewish Trump supporters! I got a few of them in my family. :/

  177. 177.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @trollhattan:
    Yeah, well where does that leave people like me who don’t want to drive a gas-guzzling monstrosity?

  186. 186.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Sab:

    Maybe that’s one of the surviving two models.

    Nope. One is the Mustang and the other one is a soon to be introduced Focus crossover that is supposed to be similar to the Subaru Crosstrek.

  188. 188.

    Corner Stone

    @Quinerly: Vanessa T sounds exactly like the kind of attention seeking lowlife scumbag I expected her to be. Maybe their kids don’t deserve their parents but at this point I’m thinking sterilization makes sense.

  189. 189.

    Quinerly

    Greg Pence has won the Republican primary for an Indiana congressional seat. TPM reporting.

  191. 191.

    Corner Stone

    @rikyrah: Cohen is such the weak sister in this knot of a relationship. He’s either singing or dead here pretty shortly.

  193. 193.

    Quinerly

    @rikyrah: MSNBC has been on it for a couple of hrs. Big piece in The Daily Beast. Stormy’s atty to be on LOD tonight.

  194. 194.

    ruemara

    @Sab: I love mine. And lately, so do people who want to run into me. Yesterday, it was a bicyclist. (yes, she ran into me. I was exiting a parking lot but stationary, checking traffic)

    Plus side, they’re very durable.

  200. 200.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Archon:

    Considering all that why in the world would Iran make any concessions to Trump???

    Now imagine you’re working through this reasoning while having the mindset of a crooked New York real-estate guy, who’s used to being able to pay pennies on the dollar by first shaking hands on a deal and then having a screaming fit full of threats and blandishments out of the blue.

  201. 201.

    Brachiator

    @B.B.A.:

    Airbus is European though. I thought Europe was sticking with the deal.

    Still a problem.

    IranAir had ordered 200 passenger aircraft: 100 from Airbus SE (AIR.PA), 80 from Boeing and 20 from Franco-Italian turboprop maker ATR. All the deals are dependent on U.S. licenses because of the heavy use of American parts in commercial planes.

  204. 204.

    Jay

    @EBT:

    Were made in the USA for now. Now the parts for those contracted sales are no longer needed. Soon, the parts probably wont be made or sourced from the US.

    China’s 25% of all Airbus sales.

  205. 205.

    J R in WV

    @Timurid:

    The Israelis should be bombing West Virginia.

    Really? Do you know where this blog you’re fucking with is home based?

    Fuck you with a farm rake, you pied scum sucker!~! I will never read another word of nonsense you have to contribute.

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