Netanyahu has decided to wag the dog!
BREAKING: Israeli fighter jets strike Syria army position south of Damascus, Assad ally says https://t.co/E8kQM5ne56
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) May 8, 2018
Its going great so far, thanks for asking. #Breaking: Explosions Heard Near Damascus as Israeli Military Believes Iran is Planning Imminent Attack https://t.co/U1IXPc3lCA
— Noga Tarnopolsky (@NTarnopolsky) May 8, 2018
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.
#GolanHeights Security Alert: Due to the recent tensions in the region, U.S. gov't employees are required to obtain advance approval if they wish to travel to the Golan Heights until further notice. Consider carefully travel to the Golan Heights until the situation stabilizes. pic.twitter.com/GRrT3s1hdW
— Travel – State Dept (@TravelGov) May 8, 2018
From the reporting, Israel appears to be mobilizing for war.
#breaking: Israel opens air raid shelters on the Golan Heights
— Noga Tarnopolsky (@NTarnopolsky) May 8, 2018
#Breaking: Israel drafts reserve soldiers from military intelligence, home front & air defence commands. pic.twitter.com/NVHftp1Htx
— Noga Tarnopolsky (@NTarnopolsky) May 8, 2018
#Breaking: Israel’s education ministry cancels all school trips scheduled to go to the Golan Heights tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/JKsq4kQfXz
— Noga Tarnopolsky (@NTarnopolsky) May 8, 2018
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.
Corner Stone
This is fine.
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.
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…..
TenguPhule
i’m gonna go with option B.
Corner Stone
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.
TenguPhule
@Corner Stone:
Everything is fine. //
TenguPhule
Iranian Sun Tzu vs Dumb and Dumber.
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.
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.
JPL
@Corner Stone: Actually I said just f,,k.
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.
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?
Major Major Major Major
Good thing we didn’t elect that nasty warmonger.
TenguPhule
@Bonnie:
It has given me the determination to live long enough to piss on his grave.
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.
TenguPhule
@Major Major Major Major:
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.
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?
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.
oatler.
The Middle East War of But Her Emails.
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?
Frankensteinbeck
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.
? ?? 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.
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???
TenguPhule
@Dread:
You spelled Iranians wrong.
TenguPhule
@Corner Stone:
I have little doubt that is true.
Parfigliano
@Corner Stone: I hope so.
TenguPhule
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
Nobody signed up to die for bullshit.
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.
Major Major Major Major
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
That’s kinda mean.
TenguPhule
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
You could tell her that Hitler’s final solution worked itself out too.
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…
TenguPhule
@Frankensteinbeck:
Iran is going to have to make a strategic decision based on the fact that Trump is a fucking asshole.
This is sub-optimal.
Corner Stone
@Archon:
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.
Major Major Major Major
@Archon: everybody stop with the assuming that trump thinks anything at all.
? ?? 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.
Mayur
@TenguPhule:
He’d like that too much.
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.
? ?? 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.
CarolDuhart2
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: Your idiot mother will learn when gas is $7 a gallon and nobody can go anywhere because they can’t afford it and its rationed anyway.
japa21
@Corner Stone: You forgot the snark tags. Some people might believe you were being serious.
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.
The Moar You Know
@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.
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.
TenguPhule
So on top of everything else, the coal miner murderer CEO is surging in WV GOP primary.
Today officially sucks.
YetAnotherJay formerly (Jay S)
@japa21:
I believe somebody already has (@Archon:)
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.
Shana
I see Jared’s done a great job on Mideast Peace. /snark/ in case it wasn’t obvious, you never can tell….
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!
? ?? 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).
Raven Onthill
Do you think the USA will back an Israeli attack on Iran with troops?
How long will it take Iran to build a nuclear bomb?
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.
VeniceRiley
I was mad yesterday. I’m raging mad today.
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.
Corner Stone
@TenguPhule:
He’s Trumpier than Trump. Long Live King Coal!
efgoldman
@Frankensteinbeck:
Jews don’t believe in an afterlife; nevertheless, there is no circle of hell deep enough, hot enough, or punishing enough for Netenyahu
schrodingers_cat
What exactly is Israel hoping to achieve?
schrodingers_cat
@efgoldman: Neither do Hindus. To paraphrase Seinfeld, hell is other people.
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.
EBT
Israel expels head of Human Rights Watch. https://twitter.com/joedyke/status/993904419480752129?s=19
Mnemosyne
@Dread:
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.
Yarrow
@TenguPhule: Tweet from yesterday.
efgoldman
@Major Major Major Major:
If the foo shits….
TenguPhule
@Raven Onthill:
No.
Trump is too chickenshit to order army troops into the field. Plus we have no troops to spare.
It’ll be airstrikes.
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.
TenguPhule
@schrodingers_cat:
The leader is hoping to avoid prison for corruption.
Ohio Mom
@Yutsano: I suspect he will have plenty of company, Israel has had a big brain drain for a long time now.
CarolDuhart2
10 Things You Need To Know About Iran’s Military
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@TenguPhule:
Yes but the smart stratagy is to simply let the Israelis lob missiles at things until Israel makes itself a pariah state.
EBT
@Major Major Major Major: So is his mother.
efgoldman
@Ohio Mom:
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.
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.
Mr Stagger Lee
@Corner Stone:Might as well have R. Kelley as his Chief of Staff.
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.
japa21
@CarolDuhart2: Number 7 on that list:
I have serious doubts on that. Fortunately, Trump probably believes it. Also, no way we have the support of Iran’s neighbors.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Frankensteinbeck
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.
efgoldman
@TenguPhule:
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]
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.
efgoldman
@schrodingers_cat:
Burying Bibi’s legal troubles.
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.
Sherparick
@TenguPhule: For gallows humor, that’s pretty good.
Corner Stone
@Mr Stagger Lee:
Ummm, that would actually be a pretty good fit.
NSFW (probably)
Piss on you (Chapelle video)
? ?? 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.
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.
Kay
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?
trollhattan
@Corner Stone:
China people can rejoice!
Yutsano
@schrodingers_cat: They’re trying to provoke the US into attacking Iran for them.
Brachiator
@Archon:
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.
Major Major Major Major
@schrodingers_cat:
…Seinfeld?
Sab
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: Yay you. Thanks for voting and thanks for responding to me.
How is your mom re your grandfather. She must be having a difficult year.
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.
rikyrah
@TenguPhule:
He is the perfect GOP candidate ??
schrodingers_cat
@Major Major Major Major: I remember a character on that show, probably Elaine, expressing similar sentiments.
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:
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.
Baud
@efgoldman:
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.
rikyrah
@VeniceRiley:
Come sit by me. We can be pissed together.??
Baud
@Elizabelle:
The Rudy Gulianis of the Left will always be Noun – Verb –
9/112002 AUMF Vote. Ignore them.Chris
@Corner Stone:
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…
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.
rikyrah
@Kay:
We knew, Kay.
And , it’s why there will be no Forgiveness for those who put us in this position.
NONE ???
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.
Elizabelle
@Baud: Good advice. I have had enough of the Eeyorism today.
Major Major Major Major
@schrodingers_cat: it’s originally from Sartre.
rikyrah
@Baud:
He killed 29 people. That’s what distinguishes him .
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.
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.
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?
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. https://pagesix.com/2018/05/08/vanessa-trumps-first-love-was-member-of-violent-street-gang/?utm_source=twitter_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site buttons&utm_campaign=site buttons
? ?? 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!
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.
Brachiator
@Baud:
Theresa May ain’t got no balls.
Angela Merkel, on the other hand…
Jeffro
You know I meant to throw this out there earlier but who the fuck goes on field trips to the Golan Heights?
Corner Stone
@Elizabelle:
“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.
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.
Platonailedit
Well, NOW the twitler deserves that danged Nobel, surely?
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@Gin & Tonic:
Did you hear about Ford ceasing all domestic sales of cars aside from trucks and SUVs?
rikyrah
ICYMI
Hope all those MAGA voters in Louisiana have a room set up for Grandma and Grandpa now that Medicaid was gutted and 30,000 are being kicked out of the nursing homes.??
https://twitter.com/SarahConnor2017/status/993696166159306752?s=19
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Gin & Tonic: There’s a reason I bought a Prius just after Trump came into office.
ETA: The kid is thinking of getting a new car soon, I’ve told here “Get a hybrid”.
rikyrah
@Baud: ok, now I understand your point.to me, he would just be further proof of who they are.
ruemara
@Major Major Major Major: If she is, she is. Thank Minerva my Christian mother is black and has no truck with this foolishness.
The timing of this is so coincidental.
Baud
@Stuart Frasier: I guess. Frankly, I’d just like to keep the focus on our side. They’ll do what they do.
rikyrah
@Quinerly:
It can get ugly, and he isn’t smart enough to know that he should just sign the papers.
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.
Captain C
@Corner Stone: You speak really good wingnut.
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.
Steve in the ATL
@Quinerly: dating a gang member isn’t half as bad as working for Donald fucking trump
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.
Frankensteinbeck
Putin does not want the US to go to war with Iran, and Putin has Trump’s balls in a vice.
Brachiator
@Quinerly:
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.
Baud
@Frankensteinbeck: Maybe Putin should get the Nobel Peace Prize.
debbie
I’ve had NPR on all day and I heard nothing about this attack.
Stuart Frasier
@Baud:
Bad candidates have cost the Republicans some very winnable senate seats in the recent past.
Corner Stone
@Elizabelle: You’re in for a treat.
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
This is for you. TPM
Baud
@Stuart Frasier: I hope it happens again.
Corner Stone
@Quinerly: I am unsure how this becomes a problem?
debbie
He is a rabid dog and he will get a lot of us killed.
Brachiator
@Elizabelle:
Barry Lyndon and Ridley Scott’s The Duellists have some of the best lighting and cinematography that I’ve ever seen in any movies. Interesting stories also.
Ah, here we go, a great video short, How Kubrick Achieved the Beautiful Cinematography of Barry Lyndon.
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/
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Oil was at $45 on election day 2016.
Luckily the $1.50 tax cut will offset the spike in gas prices.
NotMax
Add this to the mix.
Now Iraq is regularly bombing Syria . . . to Blast ISIL Remnants
debbie
@Elizabelle:
I second CS. Clockwork Orange is brilliant but very disturbing. There are parallels to today, especially with the old Ultra V.
AliceBlue
@rikyrah:
They’ll just blame the Democratic governor.
trollhattan
@Elizabelle: @Brachiator:
Yeah, Barry Lyndon is sumptuous, a visual feast.
SiubhanDuinne
@Baud:
Oh Jesus. I can’t EVEN.
Steve in the ATL
@Sloane Ranger:
Dude, Balloon Juice After Dark doesn’t start until 10 pm!
Brachiator
For anyone feeling down by the events of the day, this video will lift your spirits.
Guaranteed!
Céline Dion – Ashes (from the Deadpool 2 Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Trust me.
You’re welcome.
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.
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.)
Bill Arnold
@Jeffro:
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.
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.
NotMax
@trollhattan
Beautiful to look at, excruciating to sit through.
Gravenstone
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: and the Mustang.
Sloane Ranger
@Steve in the ATL: That’s OK then. It’s 11.35pm here in the UK :-)
Bill Arnold
@Sloane Ranger:
I’m wondering, though that’s a good guess. Whoever it was, I would not mind if they suffered an aneurysm or stroke or heart attack. In my very-irritated opinion.
(Anyone have any suggestions for stylometry tools? e.g. http://blog.revolutionanalytics.com/2016/12/stylometry.html )
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@Gravenstone:
Yeah, that too. The high-end cars will always sell well. Are car sales in the US that bad?
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.
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.
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 ….
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Chairman Un, Chairman Mao, you ain’t gonna make with anyone anyhow.
Elizabelle
@Frankensteinbeck: Hmmm. Think I will read the book later. Anthony Burgess, I believe. Think I own a copy but have never cracked it …
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.
Timurid
@TenguPhule:
The Israelis should be bombing West Virginia.
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.
Bill Arnold
@B.B.A.:
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.
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.
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.
Quinerly
@rikyrah: some prom dress. I got a kick out of the pics. Leonardo De Caprio dodged a bullet. ?
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
So does Cohen make it to June 1 without falling from a balcony?
mozzerb
@Brachiator: Even Theresa May has more sense than to get involved in this one.
I hope.
Quinerly
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: I guess you, too, are watching the breaking news. This is really big if true.
Quinerly
https://www.thedailybeast.com/michael-cohen-took-cash-from-russian-oligarch-after-election
JPL
@Quinerly: ATT confirmed that they paid him for insight about the president.. hahahahaha
Brachiator
@Quinerly:
Took a look at it. Yep. A fun read.
trollhattan
@gbbalto:
Bet you climb out with a shit-eating grin after every drive. Civic SI and Golf GTI always guarantee entertainment.
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.
debbie
@Sab:
Don’t leave out the Jewish Trump supporters! I got a few of them in my family. :/
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@trollhattan:
Yeah, well where does that leave people like me who don’t want to drive a gas-guzzling monstrosity?
Omnes Omnibus
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: Don’t buy American.
Sab
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: We US car drivers are driving Hondas, assembled in Ohio.
Quinerly
@Corner Stone: TPM has picked it up.
Sab
@debbie: Yikes!
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@TenguPhule: I blame Cocaine Mitch
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@Omnes Omnibus:
@Sab:
I have a Honda Civic now, but I really wanted to drive a Ford Fiesta sedan
Omnes Omnibus
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: Buy used.
ETA: I’d opt for the hatchback.
Sab
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: Maybe that’s one of the surviving two models.
Honda FITs are phun.
Omnes Omnibus
@Sab:
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.
rikyrah
Did you see this about Cohen and AT&T?
THREAD
https://twitter.com/renato_mariotti/status/993995739805208576?s=20
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.
Quinerly
Greg Pence has won the Republican primary for an Indiana congressional seat. TPM reporting.
rikyrah
Dolt45 just cost Boeing $ 20 billion
https://twitter.com/MikeDorning/status/993959164216037376?s=20
Corner Stone
@rikyrah: Cohen is such the weak sister in this knot of a relationship. He’s either singing or dead here pretty shortly.
TenguPhule
@rikyrah: Airbus will be toasting Donald Trump tonight.
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.
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.
rikyrah
Breaking down the Cohen/ AT&T payment like a fraction
https://twitter.com/HoarseWisperer/status/993989186930794497?s=20
EBT
@TenguPhule: Airbus had their license pulled too~ 40 billion not entering the economy.
Aleta
@Quinerly: There’s another one?
B.B.A.
@EBT: Airbus is European though. I thought Europe was sticking with the deal.
Quinerly
@Aleta: and he looks like PWee Herman.
Matt McIrvin
@Archon:
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.
Brachiator
@B.B.A.:
Still a problem.
EBT
@B.B.A.: >10% of airbus components are made in the USA, so they have to comply.
Calouste
@EBT: What percentage of Tupolevs is made in the USA?
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.
J R in WV
@Timurid:
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.