“I don’t think America should play the role of the leader of the peace process,” he said. “Instead we should stand by our ally. Again, my inclination is to follow the guidance of our ally Israel, as to where our facilities and embassies would exist.”

Now that's the kind of preening fealty to a foreign power we expect from the leader of the free world. Unfortunately, Mitt is the moderate in the Republican field, as Anshel Pfeffer points out at Haartz. I'll go kosher if Obama doesn't compete hard for the crown of "I love Israel best" over the next, very long year. So my guess is that this is the most moderate statement on Israel we'll hear.

Nothing after the break, because i'm too damned tired of the geopolitics wrapped up in the religious tradition of three, whiny, violent siblings in the back seat of the world's family car. If God were a proper father, He'd not only turn the damned car around, he'd smack the shit out of all of them and teach them how to behave.

A beautiful little film. Thanks to b. I recommend full screening this.

Afghanistan – touch down in flight from Augustin Pictures on Vimeo.

I know that everybody has their Guy Fawkes masks at the ready, just bubbling with revolutionary zeal based on a comic book-style movie. That's cool, i guess, but it might be more instructive to remember a non-fictional event of the 5th that probably has more value for the nascent protest movement in the United States. On November 5, 1916, a boatload of IWW members arrived at the dock in Everett, WA to support a shingle workers' strike. The Wobblies didn't give the sheriff the leader he asked for, they declared themselves all to be leaders. So the mob on the dock opened fire.

Because i am that lazy.

While reading this [thanks, Russ], i was struck by a disturbing thought.

What if right now does represent Israel's best chance to strike Iran? Thanks to the Arab Spring, a regional reaction against Israel would likely be slow and disjointed. We can assume that any condemnation from Saudi Arabia would be for public consumption only, both for sectarian and regional power reasons. I doubt that the Israelis are worried about Russian, Chinese or European reaction; that's for the US to handle. Off-hand, i'd include Turkey in the list for the US to handle, but i'll also admit that i don't know enough on that to comment with any authority.

It's still a profoundly stupid action for Israel to take and the US to support, because it could very well launch world war III. At this point, however, i wouldn't put any level of stupidity past Israeli and/or US leadership. Neither appears to exist or operate within the bounds of reality.

Anyway, it's just a thought that hasn't been fleshed out. Maybe the rest of you can help or debunk it. Please debunk it.

I read that when the occupiers of Zuccotti Park met with their new neighbors at a council meeting, the one thing residents pleaded for and threatened to withdraw their tolerance over was the drum circles. One man quipped that he'd kill his fourteen year old for playing drums 18+ hours a day. My mother probably shared his sentiments, even setting the minimum for a death sentence far lower. Honestly, it's understandable. I'd be ready to punch a hippie if there was an unending drum circle on my block ... mostly because i've been in enough of them to know that a lot of people think they can drum. That type love drum circles.

I wish that US foreign policy wasn't so reminiscent of the most annoying aspect of Occupy Wall Street. Again with the thumping for Iran.

So Twitter is abuzz with the news that the Port of Oakland has been shut down; major news sites are either ignoring the act or standing with reports from earlier in the day that the port is operating. That makes it sound like the general strike, focusing on the port, has been a failure. But then there's this:

The Port of Oakland was chosen as the protest site because the International Longshore and Warehouse Union has a rare contract clause that allows workers to honor certain community picket lines. If workers arriving for a 7 p.m. shift decide not to cross the line, a shutdown could result. LA Times

So i suppose that neither sort of report is true, or even knowable yet.

Update: All reports suggest that thousands have reached the port and blocked all entrances. The port authority issued a statement saying that maritime activity has been shut down. No word on longshore union.

For another week, Sean Paul is enjoying spectacular vistas, amazing wildlife and the kind of human interaction you can only get by going out and experiencing the world. (Lucky bastard, and thanks for the vicarious experience through photography) I arrived at the Agonist in ways i don't remember, but i stayed because this is one of those few sites with a diversity of opinion put forth by really intelligent, thoughtful people. So for the second half of SPK's trip, i'd like to tap into that and start a broad, and hopefully deep, conversation among Agonistas about work.

Today in 312, Constantine saw his vision of the cross and, according to Eusebius, Christ came to him in a dream and instructed him to bludgeon his enemies with the cross. So with the full favor of God, Constantine went out the next day and kicked some ass. With that, the marriage of Church and State was arranged. A young, upstart and possibly revolutionary religion would have its theology established in a way that pleased the state; in return, the young religion would grow in power. The persecuted (not really) became the persecutor, and it was a role the Church relished. It would grow to such power that it could replace the state. Where it has been removed from state power, it seeks to return. And only strong controls keep the state from claiming divine right.

Still paying for a vision and a fucked up dream after 1,699 years.

I think Matt Taibbi gets right to the heart of the matter at hand with this piece at Rolling Stone

Now of course there are probably people who dream of a Communist utopia, but they're going to be, um, like 1% of the population. Most people, and i figure this is why the Occupy movement holds as much support in polls as it does, just want a chance. In fact, it's hard to understand people who think things are just fine with the present economic system in the US. If what we're seeing is "pure" Capitalism, then Communism does have a pretty good argument. I've always been under the impression that Capitalism is supposed to be relatively merit based, but if you're getting free money then it has nothing to do with merit and everything to do with political influence.

You can say that the teargas canister to the face might have been a mistake. Lobbing the flash-bang grenade into the crowd trying to help the guy was not. If this kind of police behavior continues, i hope we can at least refrain from acting shocked when the kids start having riots instead of peaceful protests.

Via Ian's twitter stream comes a NY Times article on the latest drug craze among preschoolers: methamphetamine.

For God's sake, America. And you're surprised that kids grow up to get high on bath salts? They're taught that drugs are the answer to all of life's problems, and then told that some drugs are evil. Do you expect them to believe it or try more drugs?

I'm for decriminalization of all drugs, because while i don't think that most of us have a brain chemistry imbalance called ADHD, i also don't care if you want to responsibly use a maintenance dosage of methamphetamines to keep you focused and productive. Nor do i think you need a doctor's diagnosis to rationalize that behavior. I don't care if you want to shoot heroin as a hobby (all consuming hobby that it is). I do care if you steal my TV to support your habit, but then i'm upset about the stealing from me rather than what you do with the proceeds from that theft.

The Colom government in Guatemala recently issued a formal apology to the family of Jacobo Árbenz for the coup of 1954. He was blunt. The coup was a "crime [against] the Guatemalan society committed by the CIA and Guatemalans with bad intentions." As it so happens, my current work assignment is attached to the sale of turbine/generator set to a Guatemalan company.* I decided to ask Jose, the Guatemalan representative on site how he felt about the apology.

He hadn't heard the news.

"Extreme positions are not succeeded by moderate ones, but by contrary extreme positions."

If the reports are true, Oakland police used rubber bullets and flash grenades in addition to the standard tear gas while breaking up protests in Oakland last night. Rumors are also out about use of the dreaded sound cannon ... hey, what's a little domestic collateral damage in the name of stability and the status quo, right?

The Truthout report with video.

Absolutely the wrong path for municipalities to take. It's like trying to fight an insurgency by shooting at everything that moves. Oh wait, never mind. This should be expected from America's militarized police forces.

Slavoj Žižek writes about them in The London Review of Books.

Liberal communists are top executives reviving the spirit of contest or, to put it the other way round, countercultural geeks who have taken over big corporations. Their dogma is a new, postmodernised version of Adam Smith’s invisible hand: the market and social responsibility are not opposites, but can be reunited for mutual benefit. As Friedman puts it, nobody has to be vile in order to do business these days; collaboration with employees, dialogue with customers, respect for the environment, transparency of deals – these are the keys to success.

Even for a guy who describes himself as a socialist-libertarian, there might be just a touch too much irony here. This isn't a moniker tacked onto these people, it's what they call themselves.

Generation X is sick of your bullshit.

Quite the rant, followed by the best comment thread evah. Uphill, both ways, in the god-damned snow. Rabble rabble rabble. And get off my lawn.

I once asked an uncle what happened to the Boomers. He replied, "We got older and tired. We had to get up early to pay the mortgage." And changing things stay the same, "Generation X is tired. It’s a parent now, and there’s always so damn much to do. Generation X wishes it had better health insurance and a deeper savings account. It wonders where its 30s went. It wonders if it still has time to catch up."

link fixed ~ tina

It looks like the takeaway from the ever-widening swathe of xenophobic immigration laws is that crops rot in the fields. I'm guessing that houses don't get built either, but that's immaterial at the moment since houses wouldn't be getting built anyhow. We're in the perpetual Great Recession. Given that, a scapegoat will be required. Sorry, Mexicans who are just trying put food on the table. You're going to need to shoulder the burden of destroying our social safety net and taking jobs from hard-working Americans. If it weren't for you, there would be enough money for Alabama to educate its children (you've got a lot to answer for on that count). And so, our response will include walls and guns and probably drones. Our bleeding heart president will deport millions of you. Most importantly, we'll enact laws to run you out of not just towns, but whole states. Even the teachers will be tasked with reporting your children to the authorities.

We're full up on tired, poor, and huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Not all of us hate you, but those who do will be the loudest. They'll plant indecent stories about you in the subconscious of the barely conscious American voter. And you'll lose.

Then we'll have to answer the question, "What comes next?"

Ole Robert Gibbs sure let the cat out of the bag, didn't he? Take that hippies, and by hippies i mean everyone to the left of and including Richard Milhous Nixon. Not sure that perpetual war for no discernible reason is a good way to spend our children's tax burden? You must want to raze the Pentagon...or maybe levitate it with good vibes. Not sure that the administration did everything in its power to get every American access to quality, affordable health care? You must be a Socialist, no, worse...you wish you were Canadian. The Kucinich line was a throwaway, we all know who's holding the leash. What all you radical, pinko, dope smoking lefties don't understand is this: pragmatism.

You probably think that pragmatism means looking for ways to remedy situations within realistic constraints.

In November of 2000, Americans sat on the edge of their seats waiting to find out who would be the next president. Protests were held, counter protests were organized to meet the challenge and everyone had an opinion. The 2000 election remains capable of igniting passionate debate. Some look it as the time that the Supreme Court stole an election for George W. Bush. Some mark it up to Al Gore having the campaign skills and spinal fortitude of a slime mold. There are those who rue Florida's hanging chads and aging Jewish voters for Buchanan. And not a few still point to those tense days as proof that Ralph Nader is a festering sore on the ass of the Republic.

Any or all of them could be right. But when you read Alexander Zaitchik's new book Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance you'll turn the last page with the understanding that election 2000 brought something far more sinister than Bush/Cheney down upon America. Worse, you'll know that it ain't over yet.

This week saw a fine example of political gamesmanship from the Obama administration. He let down his base yet again by opening up certain portions of the U.S. coast to offshore petroleum drilling in an attempt to undercut his (supposed) foes across the aisle, and upped CAFE standards. The former has gotten a lot more press than the latter. Neither are quite what they seem.

All the opponents he hoped to undercut with the announcement are still unsatisfied, because he left some areas untouchable. That's not going to make his environmentalist supporters feel any better, but no matter as the administration seems to believe that there is an infinite amount of room under the bus.

So to make them feel a little better, he tossed them a bone by raising CAFE standards. This man knows hollow, political gestures like he was born to make them. CAFE sucks. It's a system designed to be gamed, and this grand announcement doesn't change that.

A funny thing happened to me the other day. I walked into a conversation at work about the health care reform bill, and without any provocation i got to hear an interesting view on the matter from a thoughtful, intelligent man who's every bit a capitalist. He attends church regularly and describes himself as a right-leaning libertarian. He's from a staunchly Republican family. He likes Rush Limbaugh. In other words, he's a far cry from a bleeding heart, dirty-fucking-hippie liberal as you're likely to find. You know what this man said? He said that he's in favor of universal coverage, but that the bill being voted on looks like hell and that he can't see how it will fix any of our health care problems.

Now tell me that this bill is the best we can hope for, and do it without blaming what we're getting on evil conservatives. This bill is not the best we can get, but it is exactly what Obama and the DLC types wanted...because they're not on your side.

Oh god, if this is what The Economist is going to pass off as informed debate then letting my subscription lapse was an incredibly wise financial and emotional decision. I have to wonder if people like Boaz and Kamarck get their jobs because of or in spite of inane, ideological drivel? Obama is a failure - and he's a huge failure - because he's working within the frame established by asshats like these two.