In an interesting twist in the still-unfolding Arab Spring story, two separate Arabmonarchs have individually told President Assad of Syria to take a hike after nearly the entire Arab League said basically the same thing. It sure seems like the needlessly brutal putting-down of democracy protests has driven a wedge between Syria and the rest of the Arab world, which is not exactly something I figured would happen, and it does appear that the regime is making rapid progress in isolating itself. Good news, though we’ll see if it makes any difference.
It is a little odd that Lebanon supports Assad still–one has to assume some form of Stockholm syndrome is at play…
Update: Now Turkey’s getting in on the anti-Assad fun too. Admittedly, the impression of Arab solidarity is overblown by superficial media coverage and Caliphate-obsessed neocons, but it’s pretty extraordinary to see such a significant fracturing of the region. It’s a sign that the Syrian protests are doing something, at least.
As we all know by now, you’re as likely to be injured in a terrorist attack as much as we are likely to ever suffer an appropriate reaction to a mass killing after 9/11. Just sayin’. (0comments)
The Obama Administration is threatening to veto SOPA/PIPA’s cousin CISPA. Much as I rag on those guys at times, they have a very good record on opposing these sorts of internet invasion bills, and I’m happy to give credit when it is due. (1comments)
Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford must appear in court two days after running for a vacant congressional seat to answer a complaint that he trespassed at his ex-wife’s home, according to court documents acquired by The Associated Press on Tuesday.
> more ... (0comments)
Given that the bill itself seems to be redundant–a bill requiring the NLRB to observe quorum rules?–to the extent that voting for it is essentially a slap at labor, the Republican no votes here are probably a legit accounting of which House Repubs aren’t completely antagonistic to labor. The number appears to be ten, though > more ... (4comments)
I honestly hadn’t given it too much thought, and was probably disposed against it just because of who was for it, but Emily makes a very strong case for why Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard ought to be released from prison. She argues that it makes sense on humanitarian and political grounds, and I agree with > more ... (0comments)
At over 90 miles per hour, he had his penis out [the window]… he was masturbating… and that’s when it got really, really bad. I wouldn’t look over any more, and I wrote his tag number down on my hand, which I believe he noticed, and he exited very quickly.
An unintentional libertarian anthem/meditation from Sully at the Dish:
By then, the subtleties, the mixes of CBD and THC, the nuances of sativa and indica strains will all be turned by the genius of the free market into something quite marvelous. We will finally have made of this weed what was long made of the simple grape.
And we will all be happier.
Jack Shafer says “Foreign Correspondents”:
Pyongyang reliably remains defiant; talks have resumed or been proposed, canceled, or stalled, while a U.S. envoy seeks to lure the North back to those talks to restart the dialog; North Korea is bluffing, blustering, or is engaging in brinksmanship; tensions are grim, rising, or growing—but rarely reduced, probably because > more ... (0comments)
If it’s okay with you, I’m just going to take a powder on this one. It’s only minimally news, we knew that Obama wants to cut “entitlements” already, only now he’s just putting it in an official document that is going to be duly ignored by Paul Ryan in a matter of months. The article > more ... (0comments)
Plebs is coming to ITV:
httpv://youtu.be/xlm1VAN4XXQ
Somewhat tangentially, I ran across a Cicero quote just recently impuning the moral fiber of the poor; it reminded me of our own current and continuing struggle with the morality of poverty:
Gaius Gracchus passed a grain law: this delighted the plebs, for an abundance of food could now be had > more ... (0comments)
Fourteen. I’m a little under that, with zero on most days. Really, Facebook is only still useful to me as a way of handling event correspondence, which coupled with the (fairly nominal but needless and annoying) social effects of closing my account is the reason why I still have it. In a word, inertia. Y’all > more ... (2comments)
What with one thing or another — brain cells giving their final, weak-ass fuck; supposed leaders of society running around like they lost their damn minds; dogs and cats, living together, mass hysteria — I find I can no longer tell what’s an actual news story anymore, and what’s some made-up middle-school fart-type-joke.
Via the Raw > more ... (2comments)
Ketchikan’s KRBD recently broadcast a story about Congressman Don Young (R-AK). In one segment, Young waxed nostalgic about Tha Browns of his youth:
My father had a ranch. We used to hire 50 to 60 wetbacks to pick tomatoes, you know. It takes two people to pick the same tomatoes now. It’s all done by machine.
Today’s > more ... (0comments)
New Hampshire is moving forward with repeal of the state Stand Your Ground law. Of course, New Hampshire is a “blue” state generally. But it’s quite gun-friendly, with a pronounced libertarian ethos. So this could be a somewhat risky move, and if you read the article, it looks like the paranoiac NRA-loving assholes are in rare > more ... (0comments)
You know what pisses me off? Any jibber jabber at SCOTUS about hurting the fee fees of backward states like Alabama. The question is whether legislating against gays marrying (like legislating against different races marrying) violates equal protection. None of this has anything to do with whether southern governors will have a Sad, or > more ... (1comments)
