Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

All hail the time of the bunny!

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

“But what about the lurkers?”

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

In my day, never was longer.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / War / Well, This is Fucking Horrifying

Well, This is Fucking Horrifying

by | 114 Comments

This post is in: 

Good god this is going to be awful and we will inevitably get sucked in:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just released a statement on the strikes.

“Moments ago Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival. This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove the spread,” he says.

“In recent months, Iran has taken steps that it has never taken before, steps to weaponise this enriched uranium,” he adds.

“If not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time. It could be a year. It could be within a few months, less than a year. This is a clear and present danger to Israel’s very survival.”

We are going to get sucked into this and this is going to create generations of Osama’s.

Reader Interactions

114Comments

  2. 2.

    Suzanne

    One of my friends noted, “They’ve got to do something with all the weapons we give them”.

    Fuck.

  3. 3.

    Captain C

    Netanyahu will do anything, sacrifice anyone to stay out of jail.  His brother gave his life for his country, to save hostages.  Netanyahu would happily let the current hostages die and his own country burn to stay out of jail.

  4. 4.

    Harrison Wesley

    It’s been an interesting ride. Oh, well. I don’t think political messaging is going to be of much assistance here, will it?

  8. 8.

    Suzanne

    CNN is saying that it is looking likely that the strikes took out much of the general staff, including the head of the military.

  9. 9.

    HinTN

    @Suzanne: Leaving hotter heads to respond. FFS

    Iran is a bigger power than Israel has skirmished with in recent times. Israel may have good intel but this could go sideways for them fast.

  10. 10.

    Suzanne

    @Interesting Name Goes Here: You know, I have to note…. 50,000 people are dead in Gaza, including 15,000 children, and there’s a cohort of Americans who say nothing about that. Despite the fact that our tax dollars are providing the weaponry. But they make sure that their voice is heard criticizing pro-Palestine protestors for not voting the right way in our election. Forgive me if I think that’s fairly despicable.

  11. 11.

    Interesting Name Goes Here

    @Suzanne: The pro-Palestinian folks should be happy.  They got what they wanted.  Genocide Joe is gone.

    And the price of being rid of him is that the genocide got turbo-charged and is expanding out to new countries now.

    But criticizing them is despicable?  OK.

  12. 12.

    HinTN

    Anyone think Iran hasn’t been watching what Ukraine is doing 1) to their Shaheds and 2) to Ruzzia with their own UAVs?

    I’m not sure Israel is ready for this.

  14. 14.

    No One of Consequence

    @HinTN:

    Oh I think that a relatively young Iranian population, who is rather well educated (on the whole), can do the math supporting asymmetrical warfare. What does one patriot missile cost? How many drones with explosive ordinance could be purchased/made for an equivalent cost?

    From Wikipedia:

    Export cost: About US$2.37–2.5 billion for a battery; US$6–10 million (FY 2018) for a single missile

    welp…

    -NOoC

  16. 16.

    Another Scott

    Bibi’s cartoon bomb diagram at the UN was September 27, 2012.  He’s wanted this for many, many, many years.

    Grr…

    Peace and comfort to the innocents – tonight and in the future.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  18. 18.

    Interesting Name Goes Here

    @Suzanne: They could have been orders of magnitude less worse had the protestors not contributed to handing the nation over to a bunch of manosphere-huffing, Sopranos-cosplaying, elitist-wannabe, obnoxiously bigoted and racist jackasses.

    But I suppose we’ll never know now, will we?

    This is what they wanted.  They should have read the fine print.  They signed up for the class, and the time to drop out has passed.

  22. 22.

    MadiX

    In theory, there’s probably a way in which this makes sense as retaliation for Iran’s past attacks.

    In practice:

    • It’s a clear war of aggression. The attacks Iran made on Israel were laughable, so the retaliation argument is weak at best.
    • Netanyahu. Enough said.
    • Israel’s allies in the area will only get involved to the extent that Iran threatens them as well. Jordan was all in when their airspace was threatened by Iran but didn’t do shit against the Houthis.

    This is probably vaguely sort of justified if you look at it from a certain angle, but it’s a really bad idea.

  23. 23.

    bbleh

    Boy I’ll bet the Saudis are upset about all this! /s

    I wonder how much of that is filtering back to the TACO guy and influencing his … impulses.

  24. 24.

    azlib

    This action by Israel was inevitable given the insane foreign policy stances of this administration. I am sure any sane MIddle East analysts are horrified.

  26. 26.

    Harrison Wesley

    Fortunately Your Favorite President will resolve the situation to everybody’s satisfaction within 24 hours. Bigly.

  28. 28.

    Elizabelle

    Two national leaders, who should be in prison for corruption, but they’re in office precisely to avoid that outcome.

    Today is just death from the sky.

  29. 29.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Marc: I agree with your assessment of blame.  Did then, still do now. As for name-calling, not my favored approach to discourse, but you get to choose.

  30. 30.

    MagdaInBlack

    @Marc: Yeah, I’m not a fan of the “shoulda/coulda/woulda” rehashing either. This is where we are and ya, it sure is shaping up to be a stunner.

  31. 31.

    Jackie

    @Harrison Wesley:

    Fortunately Your Favorite President will resolve the situation to everybody’s satisfaction within 24 hours. Bigly.

    WAIT!! What happened to the two weeks timeframe? It’s ALWAYS two weeks.

  32. 32.

    Gvg

    @Suzanne: I think the problem is the protestors who are honest, we’re so stupid/blind/ incompetent that they made it likely that a worse enemy would gain power and both result in more Palestinian deaths AND endanger us and them here in the US.

    The other part is the suspicion that not all the protestors were honest, some of them really wanted this. Not just the agents of Russia, there really was some real hatred of Israel. Some of that is even earned, but plenty was just nasty tradition.

    This is the reason it is so hard to have a logical debate about Israel. As soon as you make any criticism about them, that you could make about anyone else not Jewish lsraeli, some of the people who come to the discussion turn out to be bigots. You can’t stay on topic and just examine the subject when multiple people with different flavors of reality distortion views are screeching. Add in that not all of them even realize they are displaying bigotry and I think it’s no wonder politicians avoid the subject so much. It’s only the young who think nobody has ever tried to discuss it.

  33. 33.

    sab

    Arabs in the USA have traditionally been Republican since forever.They held their noses and voted for Biden, and he did what he has always done, so they felt betrayed. This was just business as usual

    ETA Oblivious to ethnic cleansing and genocide was a new low but also typical USA foreign policy.

  35. 35.

    Jackie

    @MagdaInBlack:

    I’m not a fan of the “shoulda/coulda/woulda” rehashing either. This is where we are and ya, it sure is shaping up to be a stunner.

    I agree, and we’re likely to be lambasted for this.

    Yesterday was yesterday. We need to focus on NOW and FORWARD.

  37. 37.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @Interesting Name Goes Here: How many people supportive of the Palestinian cause actually voted for Trump? Or failed to vote? Are we really trying to blame the loss in 2024 on some of the least influential & politically powerful groups in America, no matter how loud they can be?

    & not facilitating Israeli warmongering was the sensible course of action from a foreign policy (even cold realpolitik) perspective, & not becoming complicit in the Israeli war crimes & crimes against humanity in Gaza was the morally upright thing to do. Do these considerations count for nothing?! Not a word of criticism for the “Israel, right or wrong” interest groups that have long been effective in constraining US regional policy away from the sensible & the morally upright, including during Dem administrations?

  38. 38.

    No One of Consequence

    I’m not going to re-open any old wounds. I will, however, say this:

    If you are 100% pleased with everything your President does, then you are not paying attention.

    I believe that Obama should have been impeached. He ordered a lethal drone strike on a US citizen on foreign soil. Knowingly. Without, to my understanding, observation of Due Process. If that is so, it is a clear Constitutional violation of the deceased rights, with malice aforethought, requiring impeachment. Did I want that? Hell no.

    But was I furious to learn that he did in fact, do so? Indeed.

    This, from the President I was most proud to have voted for, twice. The second time? Knowingly. Am I a bad person? Perhaps. I have earned the title before. Did I understand that to NOT support Obama would have been to support his opponent? Yes, yes I did. The math wasn’t that hard, and I am not so childish as to believe that a protest vote in a Presidential contest is anything other than Privilege. My eyes were open during the general, but also the primaries. Woulda, coulda, shoulda. Well, Al Gore was fat, and W loved him some Political Philosopher Jeebus. Pity the two couldn’t have been switched in place when it really mattered: on Sept 12  2001.

    Whole lot of dead people might still be alive had we chosen competence over conformity. Was true when Gore lost. Was true when Hillary lost. Was true when Kamala lost. It will be true when Pete loses too, I fear.

    The world will be even more scary tomorrow morning. If for no other reason than conformity isn’t all that likely to help us out of this mess. And competence doesn’t interest the American people enough.

    And as for blame for 2024: Lay it squarely where it belongs: The citizens that could not be bothered to vote. Had they shown up and did their part, unlikely we would be here right now.

    Alas,
    -NOoC

  39. 39.

    Another Scott

    @Marc: Bibi loved showing Democratic presidents that they couldn’t boss him around without consequences.

    Bibi probably felt it was time to knock 47 down a peg or few for his snub as well. And no time like the present, amirite??

    :-/

    Haaretz.com (from May 14):

    Analysis | Trump’s Snubs: What Netanyahu’s Declining Global Prowess Means for His Fortunes at Home

    U.S. President Donald Trump continues to humiliate Benjamin Netanyahu, but Bibi’s fading clout on the global stage doesn’t stop there. What if Israel loses its influence in the policymaking halls of U.S., the Middle East and Europe all at once?

    Dahlia Scheindlin

    May 14, 2025

    In the dirty language of diplomacy through violence, Hamas’ decision to release the Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander on Monday carried several stinging messages to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Hamas conveyed that it will grant Israel’s greatest wish, unconditional hostage release, but to satisfy U.S. President Donald Trump, and never for Netanyahu.

    [ paywall starts ]

    These people run on spite, and fear of a world where they are not in control.

    Like Biden, 47 can’t cut Israel off (or not for long), because the MAGA / GQP folks, the MSM, the “conservative, religious” leaders and organizations, etc., etc., would go nuts, among other things.

    Grr…

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  40. 40.

    Socolofi

    Huh. Looks like every foreign leader has learned TACO also applies to foreign policy. Trump isn’t going to do anything to Israel, so they can, and will, do whatever they want.

    The super cynic in me wonders if Trump let Bibi know they were close to some kind of deal with Iran, so Bibi intentionally scuttled it by launching an attack.

  41. 41.

    Interesting Name Goes Here

    @YY_Sima Qian: Oh, I’m well aware that it wasn’t just them, but given the current situation and how this week’s theme seems to be “You get a monkey’s paw, and you get a monkey’s paw, and you get a monkey’s paw, and you get a monkey’s paw”, I think it’s only fitting that that particular shining moment of OOPS gets a bit of a revisit.

  42. 42.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Jackie: I think we can and should do both.  Knowing how we got here is at minimum essential to not repeating the mistakes of the past.  I recall derisive comments on this very blog about Democrats historically choosing to look forward and not back, allowing the unaddressed sins of the past to fester. Maybe we shouldn’t keep doing that.

    Back to the OP, Israel (Bibi) is running amok. And we don’t have any adults in the White House. Oy vey.

  43. 43.

    Suzanne

    @Gvg: I agree, for the most part. I talk about it much less than I used to, because I very much don’t want to be misinterpreted. This issue specifically seems to be impossible to discuss without causing offense. Okay,

    But I am incredibly repulsed with the tenor of some remarks I’ve seen, as if Gaza was only worth giving a shit about if the protestors in the U.S. voted for Dems. It’s gross. They’re not instruments for us.

    A valued commenter here phrased it well…. “Politics is for something”. I am just as heartbroken about last year as anyone else, but I wanted to win because politics is for something, including the people of Gaza.

  44. 44.

    YY_Sima Qian

    Israel dropped entire residential buildings to target individuals, at a time when the buildings a re full of people asleep, w/ complete disregard for collateral damage (just like in Gaza). I’ve went there before, but it is increasingly difficult to distinguish Israel conduct in the region from Russian conduct in Ukraine.

    Based on the tit for tat over the past year, I get the sense Bibi wants this war much more than Khamenei. However, w/ all of the top Iranian military & IRCG brass targeted & killed, Khamenei doesn’t have much of a choice now, Bibi is directly threatening the viability of the Islamist regime.

    I will be pleasantly surprised if Iranian retaliation is limited to military facilities, & Dimona.

  47. 47.

    Harrison Wesley

    @YY_Sima Qian: I think a lot of the relationship involves the American insistence on the reality of the unipolar rules based order. This continuing nasty fantasy of American hegemony requires our allies/vassels to regularly spank the wogs who disagree with the arrangement. We support Israel in actions detrimental to both our countries in pursuit of this crap.

  48. 48.

    YY_Sima Qian

    Well, entirely unsurprising comment from Fetterman:

    U.S. Senator John Fetterman @SenFettermanPA

    Our commitment to Israel must be absolute and I fully support this attack. Keep wiping out Iranian leadership and the nuclear personnel. We must provide whatever is necessary—military, intelligence, weaponry—to fully back Israel in striking Iran.

  49. 49.

    Interesting Name Goes Here

    @Suzanne: They were instruments for the people who worked hardest and screamed loudest to deliver the world of today.

    Tell me, where are their voices?  It’s been very quiet since November.

  50. 50.

    Shalimar

    So the USA, Russia, Israel, and North Korea are the Axis powers in this world war.  I don’t think anyone would have guessed that 10 years ago.

  51. 51.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Suzanne: I differentiate between support for the beleaguered people of Gaza and *some* cynical protestors who helped undermine the Democratic candidate. The suffering in Gaza is horrific and deserves attention.

  52. 52.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @Socolofi: Here is hoping Trump gets pissed that Bibi took away his long coveted Nobel Peace Price. Not that TACO will do anything.

  53. 53.

    Marc

    @Another Scott: Like Biden, 47 can’t cut Israel off (or not for long), because the MAGA / GQP folks, the MSM, the “conservative, religious” leaders and organizations, etc., etc., would go nuts, among other things.

    If Trump had quietly warned Israel not to attack, it would be one thing, but he did so publicly.  Providing immediate help would be a significant loss of face for Trump. Watch, there’s a good chance he’ll make Bibi grovel first.  Meanwhile, all those Navy ships sitting around out there might have some sort of problem with intercepting the missiles this time.  Don’t defy the boss.

  54. 54.

    HopefullyNotcassandra

    @Marc: no doubt.

    You know who actually has freaking immunity not mass produced in goyper imaginations?  A senator, in his home state, asking a member of the executive branch a question

    Article I, section 6, clause 1 of the Constitution of the United States

    SECTION 6. Clause 1. The Senators and Representatives. . .  They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

  56. 56.

    YY_Sima Qian

    This about sums it up:

    Ali Vaez @AliVaez
    A non-NPT nuclear weapon state just attacked an NPT non-nuclear weapon state!

    Laura Rozen @lrozen
    likely a soon to be ex NPT stat

    Dr. Jeffrey Lewis @ArmsControlWonk

    Starting to think the play here is to destabilize the regime more than cripple the nuclear program. It’s quite a bet by the Israelis.

    It takes a lot to make the cynical & nasty Islamist authoritarians in Tehran to appear the aggrieved party.

  57. 57.

    PatD

    @Marc: I could go two ways on this. Part of me think Trump actually set Iran up with promises of a deal while actually signing off on Israel’s attack. Maybe there’s a personal angle with that alleged Iranian assassination plot.

    Scenario 2 is that Bibi thought Trump might actually make a deal and took his shot at scuttling it. If that’s the case, Trump will find a way to get even because he’s a snake and takes everything personally.

  58. 58.

    Jackie

    I wish this was getting more attention:

    Trump acted “illegally” when he federalized California’s National Guard for deployment to Los Angeles protests over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, a federal judge said in a Thursday order blocking the administration’s action.

    FFOTUS is probably thrilled Israel/Iran is hogging the news. BOTH are important, but MSM is shouting SQUIRREL and the decision that Trump had no right to sic the National Guard on L.A. is being mostly ignored by Israel’s attack on Iran.

  59. 59.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @me: Much better from Joaquin Castro:

    Joaquin Castro @JoaquinCastrotx

    The administration – and Steve Witkoff – were about to start the next round of negotiations to reach a deal with Iran. This attack by Netanyahu is pure sabotage. What does “America First” even mean if Trump allows Netanyahu to drag the country into a war Americans don’t want?

  60. 60.

    YY_Sima Qian

    Well, there are still some sober people in the DOD:

    John Hudson @John_Hudson

    NEW: A US defense official says this attack, which Israel says will continue over multiple days, will provoke a significant Iranian response that the Israelis will then ask the United States to help counter despite the fact that it just blew up the delicate US diplomatic talks

  61. 61.

    BellyCat

    Can anyone explain why Fetterman has such an erection for Israel’s aggression, regardless of innocent civilian deaths?

    I clearly can’t keep up…

  62. 62.

    RevRick

    How will Iran respond? Will they heave missiles at Ras Tanura? Close off the Strait of Hormuz? Sink some oil tankers?

    The assumption that Iran will directly attack Israel is not necessarily true. A regime with a strong apocalyptic bent might feel that their best strategy might be to cripple the West, since they believe that Israel is wholly a creation of the West.

  63. 63.

    Marc

    @Jackie: I noticed, just as I noticed that Newsom told the NG that their deployment would be over as of noon tomorrow.  I’ll wait and see if that actually happens.

  65. 65.

    Jackie

    @Marc:

    Newsom told the NG that their deployment would be over as of noon tomorrow.  I’ll wait and see if that actually happens.

    Trump has until noon (I think) to appeal. So it’s going to be iffy – time wise. I have faith Newsom and CA will ultimately persevere. <fingers crossed>

  66. 66.

    YY_Sima Qian

    Jack Reed also not mincing words:

    Idrees Ali @idreesali114

    A strong statement from Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, against Israel’s attack on Iran: “Israel’s alarming decision to launch airstrikes on Iran is a reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence.”

    Reed Statement on Israeli Strikes on Iran
    WASHINGTON, DC-Tonight, after Israel carried out large-scale strikes throughout Iran, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services
    Committee, issued the following statement: “Israel’s alarming decision to launch airstrikes on Iran is a reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence. These strikes threaten not only the lives of innocent civilians but the stability of the entire Middle East and the safety of American citizens and forces. While tensions between Israel and Iran are real and complex, military aggression of this scale is never the answer. “I urge both nations to show immediate restraint, and I call on President Trump and our international partners to press for diplomatic de-escalation before this crisis spirals further out of control. President Trump must be crystal clear with the American people and the international community in charting a way forward. The world cannot afford more devastating conflict born of short-sighted violence.”

  67. 67.

    YY_Sima Qian

    Also:

    Ihab Hassan @IhabHassane

    BREAKING: The Israeli army has decided to seal off the entire West Bank. Millions of Palestinians are now living under a complete military lockdown.
    …

  68. 68.

    Aziz, light!

    President Trump must be crystal clear with the American people and the international community in charting a way forward.

    Okay, sure, why not?

  70. 70.

    Archon

    @RevRick: Iran is actually in a position to play the aggrieved victim here in the world of global opinion. They can say not only did we make a good faith deal only for the next President to tear it up but when we got back to the table to renegotiate with the guy who already broke the deal we get attacked by the US client state.

    Iran is obviously a bad actor but at this point I don’t see them as worse actors than the United States.

  72. 72.

    Jackie

    Waaay off topic, but this caught my attention skimming headlines:

    LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo unexpectedly vetoed a bill on Thursday that would have required voters in the swing state to show a photo ID at the polls — a conservative wish list across the country and and something that has long been on the governor’s legislative wishlist.

    The move brings a dramatic end to one of the legislative session’s most surprising outcomes: A partisan deal that combined the requirement for voter identification with a Democratic-backed measure to add more drop boxes for mail ballots that Lombardo had initially vetoed.

    The bill came together in the final days of session and passed mere minutes before the Democratic-controlled Legislature adjourned just after midnight on June 3. Lombardo had been expected to sign it.

    In his veto message, Lombardo said he “wholeheartedly” supports voter ID laws but that he felt the bill fell short on addressing his concerns about ballots cast by mail, because such ballots could still be accepted “solely on the basis of a signature match” under the bill.

    Because it “would apply voter ID requirements unequally between in-person and mail ballot voters and fails to sufficiently guarantee ballot security, I cannot support it,” he said.

    https://apnews.com/article/nevada-new-voter-id-law-cdb217073dcf2e974dcd300a0bd37eff?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share

  74. 74.

    Marc

    @Archon: Iran is obviously a bad actor but at this point

    On the top 10 list of bad actors, Iran is below several of our “friends” and “allies.”

  75. 75.

    prostratedragon

    Escalation:

    “ICE” as snatching people from churches now. Never forget they said this👇🏾

    MAN AT CHURCH: “We don’t want this in our property.”

    ICE: “The whole country is our property.”

    No IDs shown, non-government out of state plates, basic tactical vests that just say police. Who are these men?

  76. 76.

    Jackie

    @prostratedragon: Just read that. GRRRR

    The Trump administration can maintain control of several thousand National Guard troops in California and continue to deploy them in Los Angeles, a federal appeals court ruled late Thursday, pausing a lower court ruling that determined President Donald Trump’s federalization of the guardsmen was unlawful.
    The ruling by a three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals keeps in place Trump’s directives authorizing the deployment of at least 4,000 California National Guard troops and several hundred Marines pending further litigation, even as state leaders cast the military presence as unnecessary and escalatory.

    NBC News

     

  78. 78.

    Jackie

    @Jackie: Update:

    New York Times: “The administration quickly filed an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Court, which temporarily stopped the ruling from taking effect while it considers the case.”

    Everything beyond this is paywalled.

  79. 79.

    YY_Sima Qian

    The butterfly fluttering its wings:

    Afshon Ostovar @AOstovar

    If nothing else, Israel is forcing a generational turnover in IRGC leadership. The ruling generation has been ideologically inflexible but also bore the scars of the Iran-Iraq war. That made them wary of direct, open conflict. The incoming generation might not be as cautious

  80. 80.

    JaySinWa

    @Jackie: here is the germ of the article

    The administration quickly filed an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Court, which temporarily stopped the ruling from taking effect while it considers the case.

    The restraining order from District Judge Charles R. Breyer, which would have taken effect Friday at noon Pacific time, delivered a sharp rebuke to President Trump’s effort to deploy thousands of troops on the streets of an American city, a move that has contributed to nearly a week of political rancor and protests across the country.

    Paywall free link https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/12/us/la-protests-trump-marines-ice?unlocked_article_code=1.Ok8.8KTT.VJKFQ5FQbWzo&smid=url-share

  82. 82.

    NotMax

    Haven’t yet read the comments so maybe someone already mentioned that Netanyahu has been saying Iran is six months away from a nuclear weapon for like 20 years.

  84. 84.

    Kayla Rudbek

    And in other news, the Federal Circuit is dealing with the tariff appeal cases (why they have jurisdiction is something that I need to go research, but in my experience watching all the patent cases coming out from them, whatever the status of the law is, the Federal Circuit can always mess it up) https://patentlyo.com/patent/2025/06/federal-circuit-tariff.html unfortunately paywalled, maybe Reuters Legal will have something about it in the morning

  90. 90.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    The only good thing I found in this nightmare is that I learned about the Pentagon Pizza Index on Reddit: namely, if pizza joints around the Pentagon suddenly get a flood of orders, that’s an indication that a lot of DOD people suddenly have their noses to the grindstone, and thus, something major is about to go down and it’s probably going to be Bad News.

  94. 94.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @Captain C:

    This. Bibi is only blowing up everything to save his ass from prison. At this point I think the government of Israel is totally out of control and we should stop supplying them with war materials.

    I am so over anything to do with Israel at this point. You can’t fly straight when you only have a right wing.

  95. 95.

    Martin

    Unrelated but much of the US semiconductor industry is furloughing at least part of next month due to drop in demand due to tariffs.

    That was the industry that was supposed to be ascendent, and to my knowledge they’ve never needed to furlough before.

  96. 96.

    Baud

    Potemkin socialism

    U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States had a “golden share” in U.S. Steel (X.N),  as part of a deal for Nippon Steel (5401.T), to buy the iconic American company.

    It was not immediately clear what structural element of the deal Trump was referring to, but he said the share meant that Americans would have a 51% share in ownership of the steelmaker.

    “We have a ‘golden share’, which I control, the president controls,” he told reporters at the White House. “If that gives you total control, it’s 51% ownership by Americans.”

    Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel did not respond to requests for comment.

     

    Apparently the deal isn’t official yet.

  97. 97.

    Aussie Sheila

    @Baud:

    Yes, exactly that. He’s losing it imo.

    The people he hopes are listening aren’t and the ones who are listening are either scoffing or feeling betrayed.
    Either way, he’s fucked. Not right away, but by the end of your summer, I’m betting he’s a laughing stock.

  98. 98.

    prostratedragon

    @Bruce K in ATH-GR:

    Justin Ling:

    Trump is convening the national security council tomorrow…

    …at 11am.

    No rush or anything, man! Had a good night sleep. Maybe squeeze in a round of golf beforehand.

    Margarita can make a nice brunch.

  99. 99.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    @Aussie Sheila: I dunno – one of my nightmares is what the current Washington maladministration will do if they get truly desperate, and I worry that when they do take whatever desperate action comes into their minds, “minimum safe distance” will be somewhere beyond Earth’s outer Van Allen radiation belt.

  100. 100.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @Baud: A “golden share” is one that gives the holder de facto veto power over major corporate decisions, even if the share is only 1%. The PRC government (or government investment funds) often holds 1% such “golden share” in private companies in what it considers “strategic” industries. The “golden shareholder” typically does not get involved in day to day operations, or otherwise drive corporate directions aside from exercising the veto power.

    The USG has often accused PRC companies where the PRC government holds such “golden shares” as being the CPC regime’s puppet or proxy. By that logic, US Steel will become a puppet or proxy of the Trump regime

    However, Trump probably did not understand what “golden share” means when Bessent explained it to him.

  101. 101.

    Aussie Sheila

    @Bruce K in ATH-GR:

    I always put my trust in the broad electorate. Note, not in the political leadership offered from time to time.
    Despite the terrible circumstances of the moment  I retain my optimism in the ability of people to do what needs to be done to secure their own security and happiness.

    Terrible things may happen, but it won’t go unnoticed or unavenged.

  102. 102.

    Baud

    @YY_Sima Qian:

    However, Trump probably did not understand what “golden share” means when Bessent explained it to him.

     

    100%. What’s left of Trump’s mind stopped at the first syllable.

  103. 103.

    YY_Sima Qian

    A chilling thought for all involved (including Israelis), if true:

    Esfandyar Batmanghelidj @yarbatman

    So the Israeli strikes did not actually target Iran’s main enrichment facility…
    Netanyahu is goading Iran into weaponizing its nuclear program. He wants to turn Iran into a pariah state. In other words, Israel’s attack was about preventing the future of a non-nuclear Iran.

  105. 105.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @sab: That would be a much greater strategic roll of dice than w/ Hamas. A nuclear Iran raving mad & out for revenge really is an existential threat to Israel, even one that is a pariah in the eyes of the West. Far more than an Iran that forever holds the prospect of getting nukes as a point of leverage, & financing a regional “arc of resistance”.

  106. 106.

    Noskilz

    We’re definitely living in interesting times.

    I’m sure whatever is in store for the region won’t be good – our govenment is run by delusional idiots, Netanyahu has done something dangerously unwise while he is already seemingly engaged in about 3 other conflicts, Iran is going to want to make some kind of suitable response, etc… – but we can’t be sure what will happen next, and how events unfold will matter.

    Let’s  keep tabs on events as they unfold and do what we can to mitigate the damage when we can without jumping straight to taking for granted  the most catastropic scenario possible, This is the Stupid Ages  so maybe the worst possible thing will happen, and things will definitely be worse than necessary, but it also seems like things are so weird in so many places that is very difficult to be sure of what happens next beyond “probably nothing good.”

  107. 107.

    Ken B

    @Marc: A load of air defense munitions intended for Ukraine was diverted to ‘the Middle East’ earlier this week.

    Someone in the Trump administration knew this was coming, and is clearly okay with it.

  108. 108.

    brantl

    @Suzanne: ever worked for a company that got caught making the wrong decisions and had to pay the price for it even though you didn’t work for them when they made the decisions I have, it’s just like that.

  111. 111.

    brantl

    @Gvg: The Israeli government’s policies earned a great deal of that hatred. An awful lot of it was earned.

  112. 112.

    brantl

    @HopefullyNotcassandra: he wasn’t either going to nor returning from a session of the house. He was in the building outside of his jurisdiction that should be quotes, but he shouldn’t have been attacked either.

  113. 113.

    HopefullyNotcassandra

    @brantl: speech and debate clause immunity extends to the lawmaker doing their duty outside of the physical building.  Senator Padilla was detained while attempting to question the secretary of Homeland Security during a press conference.

    The speech and debate clause has afforded immunity to a lawmaker who published “The Golden Fleece of the Month Awards” because that was part of his publishing duty.  http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep443/usrep443111/usrep443111.pdf

    https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S6-C1-3-1/ALDE_00013300/

    The second link includes a lengthy discussion of the speech and debate clause, as well as how our courts have interpreted it to date.

    What matters is was the lawmaker, in this case Senator Padilla, engaged in his legislative duties (broadly construed)?  If the answer is yes, the lawmaker is immune.

    Clearly Senator Padilla was present as a Senator from California, asking a question of a member of the executive branch as a Senator from California

    There is no doubt the speech and debate immunity clause applies in this instance.  The Goypers know it too.  This is why they are pushing that he was disrespectful and not wearing his senate pin.  Both claims are irrelevant.

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