Welcome to CaturSaturday: it’s September 28, 2024, and National Drink Beer Day. In England, that means a few pints of this, the world’s best session beer. The Beer Advocate says this of Landlord:
The drinkers’ favourite, a 4.3% classic pale ale with a complex citrus and hoppy aroma. A recent survey revealed that Landlord has the highest proportion of drinkers who call it their favourite ale. And it has won more awards than any other beer, winning both CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Britain and the Brewing Industry Challenge Cup four times. The ABV in bottle is 4.1%.
It’s also National Strawberry Cream Pie Day (don’t buy any if the second word is spelled “Creme”), Museum Day, National Wildlife Ecology Day, Fish Amnesty Day, International Rabbit Day, and International Right to Know Day.
Readers are welcome to mark notable events, births, or deaths on this day by consulting the September 28 Wikipedia page.
Da Nooz:
*The war is Lebanon is heating up as the IDF says it bombed Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut. (And there are unconfirmed reports that the head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, was been killed in an Israeli airstrike yesterday.)
Israeli forces destroyed several residential buildings south of Beirut, the Lebanese capital, on Friday afternoon, asserting that the central headquarters of Hezbollah was underneath them.
The airstrikes came shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel gave a defiant speech at the United Nations General Assembly, defending his government’s handling of wars in Gaza and Lebanon and vowing to continue fighting despite international calls for a cease-fire.
The target of the strike was Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, according to two Israeli and two American officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence. It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Nasrallah was in the buildings when they were hit.
Lebanon’s health minister, Firass Abiad, said that the strikes had caused the “complete decimation” of four to six residential buildings, adding that the number of casualties in hospitals was so far low because most people were still trapped under the rubble.
“They are residential buildings. They were filled with people,” Mr. Abiad told The New York Times. “Whoever is in those buildings is now under the rubble.”
It was the latest in a series of Israeli strikes on buildings in the Dahiya, a group of crowded neighborhoods south of Beirut where Hezbollah dominates, and one that is also home to shops, businesses and apartment buildings.
Najib Mikati, the Lebanese prime minister, said the latest attack south of Beirut proved that “the Israeli enemy pays no heed at all to the efforts and international calls for a cease-fire.”
Israel’s chief military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the strike had come after almost a year of Hezbollah firing rockets and drones at Israel. “Israel is doing what every sovereign state in the world would do,” he said.
Admiral Hagari said that Hezbollah had deliberately embedded its military operations in “the heart” of these residential neighborhoods, using Lebanese civilians as human shields.
I hope they got Nasrallah, because the optics of this, to the world, won’t be so great otherwise. And even if they got Nasrallah, you can hear the howls of rage that civilians were killed, even though Hezbollah, like Hamas, puts its headquarters among the civilian population. Hezbollah said it will stop firing rockets as Israel if Israel gets out of Gaza. But didn’t they learn the lesson that Israel has started retaliating seriously instead of timorously?
*As always, I’ll steal three items from Nellie Bowles’s weekly new summary in The Free Press, called this week “TGIF: Kink shaming.”
→ Trump will solve the national debt with this one weird trick: This week, Trump came up with a solution to the national debt via. . . cryptocurrency. No, you aren’t on the worst Hinge date of your life. This is real. And yes, the future of crypto could be the end of our national debt, according to the man who once was president and may be again. Take it from here, Trumpo: “Future of crypto? What does it look like?” he said at a recent cryptocurrency conference. “Well, I think it’s a good future. You know who knows about anything today. I’ll tell you what you look at values you look at where it’s come and where it came from. I think crypto’s got a great future. Maybe we’ll pay off the $35 trillion. I’ll write on a little piece of paper, ‘$35 trillion crypto.’ We have no debt.” Thirty-five trillion crypto. This is like when Michael Scott declared bankruptcy on The Office by declaring the word bankruptcy. Trump wants to mint a special DEBT COIN and try it that way, which it turns out is a pretty mainstream idea. Honestly, I have no idea how the debt works, so, you know what, sure. Why not. Let’s see.
→ Supreme Leader of Iran, King of Restraint: Did you know that Hezbollah is a benevolent community that never wants to use its power? Did you know that Israel is all but forcing Hezbollah to do violence?
What did Sky News publish as their headline? “Hezbollah has been provoked like never before by Israel and may be tempted to unleash its firepower.” They deleted it.
Here’s how The New York Times puts it: “Iran has so far refused to be goaded by Israel into a larger regional war that its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, clearly does not want, analysts say.” Iran, which funds Hamas and Hezbollah, is being goaded. The Supreme Leader wants no trouble, says The New York Times. He just wants to kick back and enjoy his evening prayers and certainly doesn’t want conflict with what he calls “The Great Satan” or “The Little Satan.” Why would you think that?
See, Israel, by not graciously accepting those rockets on their cities, is tempting Hezbollah. Jews are supposed to be weak and the world is supposed to mourn their deaths, but if Jews fight back it’s always evil (you’ll find that even the battle with Hezbollah is now being framed as “genocide”). . .
→ Swiss suicide pod: If the news depresses you a little and you want to really de-grow, then a group of Northern Europeans have a new, relaxing (suicide) pod. But this week the suicide pod people are in trouble because they placed it in a Swiss forest and let an American woman come and, well, suicide in the pod, which is illegal. They weren’t properly licensed. It’s very interesting to me how certain regions are becoming kind of death tourist destinations. We all have specializations, I guess. The Danes are the biggest sperm exporters in the world (no explanation needed). The French have beautiful specialty cheeses and wines. And Switzerland and Canada are where you go to end it all. Okay, the Swiss also have chocolate. The death pod seems pleasant enough, and the method is nitrogen gas, which also sounds pleasant enough. In New York, we’re subletting a beautiful old apartment with an extremely old stove that recently was leaking so much gas I felt light-headed and my lips started tingling. But do you know what I also felt: Kind of good! It felt like no more deadlines, no more laundry. It felt nice and warm and—okay, moving on!
*Once again I feel a kinship with Andrew Sullivan, who, in his latest column (“Harris for President“) says that he’ll hold his nose and vote for Kamala, because Trump is a known and dangerous quantity. (The difference is that I haven’t decided if I’m going to vote got President at all, or perhaps write in Gretchen Whitmer. And please don’t tell me I have to vote for one of the two.)
Looking back over the many presidential elections I’ve now witnessed in my life, I don’t think I’ve ever been as heartsick about the choice as this year. We live in a critical moment; the era of globalization and neoliberalism is coming to an end; the familiar structures of the post-Cold War settlement are being tested; climate and demographic change is generating an epic mass migration, as the global south moves relentlessly north.
And in the most important power center of the West, we have to choose between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, the venal or the vacuous, the awful or the empty, the malignant or the mediocre. I’ve tried and tried to be impressed by the Harris campaign so far, as have the handful of genuinely conflicted voters, and remain distinctly underwhelmed. Even in sycophantic interviews, Harris cannot answer a direct question, lurches from canned phrases to puréed pablum, offers policies that seem oddly estranged from our current discontents, and keeps her distance from any truly spontaneous or lively interaction.
Yes, “venal” for Trump and “vacuous” for Harris sounds about right. No, I don’t feel any “joy” about Harris, but I do feel revulsion for Trump. So does Sully:
. . . . we do not have a serious Republican candidate.
We have the most shameless charlatan in American political history — and there are plenty of competitors. He is unfit in every respect to be president of the United States. To say this is not a function of “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” It is not about being upset by “mean tweets” or grotesque rhetoric. It is not the same as falling for some of the worst Resistance myths — that Trump is a longtime Soviet/Russian asset. I’ve steadfastly called out the excesses of the Resistance. They have done as much harm to liberal democracy as good. I haven’t thrown out all my conservative principles as some have. But I can also see what’s directly in front of my nose.
Trump does not merely break norms. He has broken the norm, the indispensable norm for the continuation of the republic, the norm first set by George Washington when he retired from office, the norm that changed the entire world for the better: accepting the results of an election. This is the meaning of America, and Trump despises it. I do not think this is even within his personal control. He is so genuinely psychologically warped that he has never and will never agree to the most basic requirement of public office: that you quit when you lose; and that the system is more important than any individual in it.
He is not lying when he insists that he won in 2016 and 2020 by massive landslides in the popular vote. He believes it. He believes he will win by a landslide in November, and there is no empirical evidence that could convince him otherwise. If he loses the election, he will call it a massive fraud one more time, and foment violence to protest it. We know this more certainly than we know anything about Kamala Harris. He tried to leverage mob violence to disrupt our democracy once. If that was not disqualifying, nothing is. And nothing done by his opponents or enemies can justify or mitigate it.
But he doesn’t think much of Harris, either, though she’s not “venal”:
There’s something missing here, and that is not entirely surprising given the circumstances of Harris’ rise. In California, she existed within the hot-house of a one-party state, with no serious competition from the right. In the Senate, she played it safe. In 2020, her presidential campaign collapsed before the first primary, after she attacked Biden from the left on race. She became vice president only after Biden explicitly ruled out any men from his search, and then implicitly any white women, undercutting his veep’s credentials from the get-go. She then became the least popular vice president in polling history. Her signature issue — the Southern border — is the greatest single liability for the Democrats, after inflation.
And so the rushed coronation always felt a little forced, the “joy” a little contrived, and the enthusiasm a product more of relief at Biden’s departure than Harris’ arrival. She gave a terrific convention speech, and decided simply to ignore almost all her previous far-left positions, without explicitly renouncing them. She’s just about getting away with it. At best, she represents a continuation of generic Democratic rule in the White House, a female Biden with a very different, but just as American, ancestry. (And this is a great thing, however tainted it has been by the stain of DEI. For America to have a female president at long last, and one who has not campaigned explicitly on those identity lines, is something to celebrate. I will gladly do so.)
How will Harris resolve the open-ended war between Russia and Ukraine? What is her strategy for containing China’s nationalist aggression? How will she handle a Jewish state digging itself into a deeper and deeper hole in the Middle East? I have no idea, except to guess a replay of Biden’s manifestly flailing improvisation.
Domestically, she seems wedded to something like the industrial and immigration policies of the Biden administration as of 2024 — a bigger role for government in the economy, and some small tightening of asylum rules alongside a general amnesty. In the culture war, we know exactly what she is: an equity leftist, a strong believer in race and sex discrimination today to make up for past race and sex discrimination yesterday, and a politician who favors redefining womanhood to include biological men, and conducting medical experiments on gay, autistic and trans children, based entirely on self-diagnosis. These are her values, they are the values of every Dem special interest group, and she assures us they have not changed. I believe her.
In other words, she represents the status quo. She is the standard-bearer of our current elites, who have launched a sustained campaign to promote and excuse someone who is very much one of them. She is the daughter of leftist academics, reared in Berkeley and Montreal, championed by the Dem machine in California, a protégée of Willie Brown, a darling of Nancy Pelosi. She didn’t forge a path like Obama, or grasp the center as he did; she rose with the machine and will not trouble the machine. I have yet to hear her say a single interesting or memorable thing in her entire career. Have you?
What about “What can be. . . unburdened by what has been”? LOL!
At any rate, Sullivan decries Harris’s wokeness, but spends most of the column damning Trump. You can see how conflicted he is, for he sees Trump as having ruined the conservatism that Sullivan embraced most of his adult life. And so, when he goes to the polls, he’ll tick the box for Harris:
So I will vote for Harris, despite my profound reservations about her. Because I have no profound reservations about him. I know who he is and what he is. I know what forces he is conjuring and the extremes to which he will gladly take his own personal crusade. To abstain, though temptingly pure, is a cop-out. I vote not for Harris as such, but for a conservatism that can emerge once the demon is exorcized.
And exorcize it we must. Now, while we still can.
*Actress Maggie Smith, one of the greats, has died at 89.
Maggie Smith, one of the finest British stage and screen actors of her generation, whose award-winning roles ranged from a freethinking Scottish schoolteacher in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” to the acid-tongued dowager countess on “Downton Abbey,” died on Friday in London. She was 89.
Her death, in a hospital, was announced by her family in a statement issued by a publicist. It did not specify the cause of death.
American moviegoers barely knew Ms. Smith (now Dame Maggie to her countrymen) when she starred in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” (1969), about a teacher at a girls’ school in the 1930s who dared to have progressive social views — and a love life. Vincent Canby’s review in The New York Times described her performance as “a staggering amalgam of counterpointed moods, switches in voice levels and obliquely stated emotions, all of which are precisely right.” It brought her the Academy Award for best actress.
She won a second Oscar, for best supporting actress, for “California Suite” (1978), based on Neil Simon’s stage comedy. Her character, a British actress attending the Oscars with her bisexual husband (Michael Caine), has a disappointing evening at the ceremony and a bittersweet night in bed.
In real life, prizes had begun coming Ms. Smith’s way in the 1950s, when at 20 she won her first Evening Standard Theater Award. By the turn of the millennium, she had the two Oscars, a Tony, two Golden Globes, half a dozen BAFTAs (British Academy of Film and Television Awards) and scores of nominations. Yet she could go almost anywhere unrecognized.
Until “Downton Abbey.”
She was of course the “breakout star” of that series, and I did watch a few episodes. But I still remember her mesmerizing performance in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” (1969), which nabbed her a Best Actress Oscar. The movie made me read Muriel Spark’s book, which was equally good. The whole movie is on YouTube, and I’ll put it below. If you haven’t seen it, watch it!
You may remember Oliver’s recording of the movie’s theme song, “Jean,” also released in 1969. It’s schlocky but I like it a lot, and here it is. (It was written by Rod McKuen, who recorded an inferior version.)
*Pygmy hippos (Choeropsis liberiensis, one of only two species of hippo) are endangered, but are also adorable, especially the babies. And one of them in a Thai zoo, Moo Deng, has gone viral; I expect you’ll have heard of her. The AP’s story:
Only a month after Thailand’s adorable baby hippo Moo Deng was unveiled on Facebook, her fame became unstoppable.
Fans unable to make the two-hour drive to Khao Kheow Open Zoo from the Thai capital Bangkok to see her in person can watch her video clips online, or simply scroll through social media to savor meme after meme.
Zookeeper Atthapon Nundee has been posting cute moments of the animals in his care for about five years. He never imagined the zoo’s newborn pygmy hippo would become an internet megastar within weeks.
Cars started lining up outside the zoo well before it opened Thursday. Visitors traveled from near and far for a chance to see the pudgy, expressive 2-month-old in person at the zoo about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Bangkok. The pit where Moo Deng lives with her mom, Jona, was packed almost immediately, with people cooing and cheering every time the pink-cheeked baby animal made skittish movements.
. . . Moo Deng, which literally means “bouncy pork” in Thai, is a type of meatball. The name was chosen by fans via a poll on social media, and it matches her other siblings: Moo Toon (stewed pork) and Moo Waan (sweet pork). There is also a common hippo at the zoo named Kha Moo (stewed pork leg).
“She’s such a little lump. I want to ball her up and swallow her whole!” said Moo Deng fan Areeya Sripanya while visiting the zoo Thursday.
Look at this cutie!
Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili once again sees signs of winter coming on:
Hili: The last apple fell from this apple tree.A: So what?Hili: It’s safe to walk here.
Hili: Spadło ostatnie jabłko z tej jabłonki.Ja: I co z tego?Hili: Tu można już bezpiecznie chodzić.*******************
From Cat Memes:
From America’s Cultural Decline into Idiocy. Kids!!!
From Jesus of the Day:
Did you know that Masih could sing? She does so, but mainly for political reasons. Here she is as one of the “warm-up” acts for Richard Dawkins “His Last Bow” tour. She sings, too!
If Lady Gaga were born in Iran, she’d be in jail right now, just like Zara, who’s imprisoned for daring to sing one of her songs.
I couldn’t sing Gaga’s anthem at this event, but I raised Zara’s voice by singing a love song to see if men would get ‘aroused.’ Yes, this is the… pic.twitter.com/ZwkVGC5eyX— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) September 26, 2024
From Luana, who says, “Take a look at the comments!”
We are thrilled to announce the launch of Muslims for Harris and have an amazing lineup of speakers. Please register using the following link https://t.co/4DldAFi3AG#MuslimsforHarris #MuslimWomenforHarris #HarrisWalz2024 pic.twitter.com/rdyHsdajEg
— Muslims for Harris (@Muslims_Harris) September 26, 2024
From Simon, who says, “Well, that should focus the mind.” Indeed; I heard it on the news on Thursday night:
Taylor County asking residents who defied the mandatory evacuation order to write their name and birthday on their arm or leg in permanent marker so they can be identified. A sobering message. #Helene #FLwx pic.twitter.com/ynblAw4I5C
— Florida Tropics (@FloridaTropics1) September 26, 2024
Also from Simon, who suspected (correctly) that I’d approve of this message:
Governing Mayor of Berlin @kaiwegner gives a straight forward answer to “why is there an Israeli flag hanging outside your office?”.
More like this please. pic.twitter.com/6yVrvtx0cT
— The Mossad: Satirical and Awesome (@TheMossadIL) September 24, 2024
From Malcolm. I think this is very interesting but I worry that they killed all the ants by doing this:
Over the course of 3 days scientists pumped 10 tons of cement into an abandoned ant hill. After weeks of digging, the colony’s intricate & impressive structure is revealed. This one
[From: Ants! Natures Secret Power]https://t.co/heShSCF3bm
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) September 23, 2024
From the Auschwitz Memorial, one that I reposted:
A ten-year-old French girl was gassed to death on arrival at Auschwitz. Her smile was gone forever. https://t.co/AkHG58RKQn
— Jerry Coyne (@Evolutionistrue) September 28, 2024
Two tweets from Dr. Cobb. First, an amazing poem:
oh my god pic.twitter.com/U89qPtVLig
— Joseph Fasano (@Joseph_Fasano_) September 26, 2024
Make mine mayo instead of vinegar (though I like lemon on the fish.
What type of chip topping person are you?https://t.co/A3onoDicj0 pic.twitter.com/cUyDuYHAix
— VeryBritishProblems (@SoVeryBritish) September 26, 2024
The chip shop guide definitely missed one, at least around here:
Chip Spice: You’re from Hull
From what I gather though this phenomenon has migrated to the wider community and is even available in major supermarkets, also under the name of American Chip Spice, which was new to me and, according to Giggle, orginated in Yorkshire… no idea about that one, I just knew it as generic chip spice. Forty years ago when I lived in Hull you would have been regarded as weird if you went anywhere else and asked for chip spice, just like if you asked for a breadcake rather than a bap. Times change.
And where is tarter sauce? It is served with fish and chips pretty much ubiquitously in the USA.
Salt, but no vinegar, thanks.
[If it matters, I grew up in New Zealand.]
Round here (SE England) the Belgian habit of mayo is gaining popularity.
I was in Scotland for two weeks this month, and several Landlords passed my lips. It is a wonderful beer, with just enough flavor to be interesting but not so much as to overwhelm. The low carbonation of the hand pumped ale doesn’t fill you with gas, and the 4% ABV means you can drink a few and still wake up the next day and get the job done.
Right now I am growing the necessary quantity of yeast to make a batch of my own.
For many years, I have had to get used to buying Landlord in bottle; thankfully, most supermarkets, and retailers such as Majestic, usually stock it.
Imagine my delight to find that two of my local pubs have started selling Landlord on draught! It provides a whole new focus for my frequent country walks.
When texting, I always use complete sentences, avoid abbreviations, and use correct punctuation. If that triggers someone, that’s a bonus.
Same here!
I’ve had students who would send me emails with writing that emulates how they would speak with their besties. Imagine the worst spelling and contractions whenever remotely possible.
It triggers me. Oh, how it triggers me.
My own sister does that, and she’s a teacher! Ceiling Cat help us!
In Messenger, anyway, dbl spacing at the end of a text thought automatically places a period. So there is a little sanity somewhere.
Me too!
I think there is something to be said for the argument that if Trump were to win, he be constrained on all sides by forces pre-warned about his potential, bad behavior. We, in fact, saw this in his first term. Harris, on the other hand, would step into a role where she has nothing but allies, including the MSM. Of the two the later is more dangerous. She would continue the dangerous and feckless policies of Biden, and, as Tim Walz himself has said, we can’t survive another four years of this.
The Trump campaign has put out what it feels is Harris’s “Project 2025”:
–Citizenship for 20 milliion illegals
–Ban gas-powered cars
–Replace police with social workers
–Ban fracking
–Transgender surgeries for minors
–Taxpayer-funded reparations
–Pack the U.S. Supreme Court
–Government and Big Tech censorship
–Cashless bail for violent criminals
–Federal takeover of all elections
–Use tax dollars to fund abortions
–Enforce racist affirmative action
–Mandate vaccinations
–Require government approval to buy a gun
Wow. That Harris list is shocking. But wait a sec– I don’t see the section about outlawing cats and dogs for food. Huh.
There is nothing to be said that if Trump wins, he would be constrained. We already know who and what he is, which is a corrupt, ignorant con artist who only says and does what he perceives to be in his immediate interest. He is objectively unsuited to hold public office. He will only accept election results that he wins, which is fundamentally incompatible with our electoral system. Try as I might, I struggle to understand the psychology of his enablers and supporters. And I would bet good money that none of those Trump propaganda points that you uncritically share will ever to come to pass.
Bit of overreach there Dr. B.
best,
D.A.
NYC
“The Trump campaign has put out what it feels is Harris’s “Project 2025”
Gee, I wonder if they’re lying.
*eyeroll*
The Governing Mayor of Berlin’s message is crisp and clear. How do you think Kamala Harris would answer that question if an Israeli flag were flying at the White House, say, during a state visit?
And it’s truly sad to see the smiling face of Helene Zeligfeld, erased. Thanks to you, Jerry, she is remembered.
Guys – there’s this foolish conspiracy theory that Harris is a communist. Don’t fall for it!
They say Marxist thought which can be read in the Marxist literature is expressed in Harris’ speech, like she’s sophisticated in concealing Marxist thought and objectives in plain sight —but really it’s just kind of quirky, off-angle Americana, is all.
And even so, Communism is so 1950s and won’t work anyway, so there’s no issue, really.
I must remember this line, “Israel, by not graciously accepting those rockets on their cities, is tempting Hezbollah” because it was perfectly written.
Poor Hezbollah. They’re innocently living their lives (like the Amish) and for absolutely no reason Israel attacks them.
The IDF and Hizbullah both confirmed the death of Nasrallah.
It’s a great day for Israel.
I came to announce that the IDF has said this. Hizbullah too? That’s wonderful!
The clincher for me was the magnitude of the blast.
You don’t send bunker busters to whack a janitor.
Still not sure it was the best idea though – imagining a “sad and ronery” Nasrallah, friendless under a Beirut apartment basement was possibly a better outcome than the new, fresh, punk faces the Lebanese “resistance” and Shia bullies will put forth next.
But given the circumstances, to quote the Sopranos: “He’s gotta go.”
Better minds than mine are at work in Tel Aviv and my hat off to them.
D.A.
NYC
There is no need to worry. Hezbollah already annointed the successor, Hassan Khalid Yassin. He was probably the shortest ruling leader of a terrorist organization. A few hours after his nomination Israel facilitated his journey direct to Allah. For the moment there is no new leader.
Hello my friend M.K.!
I saw that guy’s short tenure.
Hezb might find themselves in the same conundrum that (for awhile) the Taliban has faced and ISIS routinely does.
Did you know the US has whacked 2 or 3 “Heads of ISIS”? – it is an incredibly dangerous job.
Basically – and I do hope this happens to Hezb – soon after announcement the top guy is killed. This not only makes running such an org difficult – it automatically selects for reckless, suicidal, bad judgement “leaders”. Which does lead to rudderless governance.
I like that.
“You can’t extinguish an idea” some of my critics allege, which is partly true but blasting the top guy is a good strategy.
keep well my friend,
D.A.
NYC
There’s definitely a mole in the ranks and may he live long and prosper.
Unsure about whether this is a great day for Israel (for Netanyahu, sure). Killing the top brass won’t kill Hezbollah. Israel hasn’t been as unsafe as it is now for many decades. With sensible policies, it would have been possible to come to some agreement with Iran, whose population is not really a fan of Hezbollah support, as the money is sorely needed elsewhere, and its leaders for a long time were ready to do a lot to get the sanctions lifted. But the sensible/pragmatic people in Iran lost any clout they might have had via nearly 30 decades of stupid Netanyahu and US policies. Possibly Netanyahu’s game to now “solve” the problem the military way before Iran gets nuclear bombs will pay off, but it’s a va banque game.
I don’t expect Hizbullah or Lebanon to become our BFFs now, but Nassrallah had the blood of many Israelis on his hands and deserved to die.
Nearly all Israelis are happy with his death and are proud of the way it came. Virtually the entire top Hizbullah leaders are out of the game. This makes the war easier for us now.
They still have the capacity to hurt us, but they had it before too, and they used it.
Netanyahu is not the issue. He has to go for other reasons.
A senior IRGF General, some bloke called Abbas Nilforoushan, was also apparently killed in the same attack, along with others engaged in a Hezbollah leaders’ conference in a bunker below a civilian property. How sad.
Oliver’s recording of Jean reminds me of one of my favorite iTunes playlists that I have called Guilty Favorites. Within are songs that I like but am either slightly or very embarrassed about. It’s a long list.
I, for one, would love to see your list! 🙂
I second this.
Not possible. But here is one in the top 10 songs that I shamefully love.
+1
🙂
Gotta love the outfits!
Sadly, not available in the US. 🙁
The obit quote describes Maggie Smith’s character Jean Brodie as a teacher who “dared to have progressive views.” The writer needs to watch the movie. Miss Brodie was an admirer of Mussolini and Franco. She glorified Il Duce to her students. The “dared to have a love life” remark also is a distortion of the movie. She tries to orchestrate a liaison between a student and teacher. Miss Brodie is not a feminist icon or a good role model.
Just BTW, Bill Maher’s most recent “New Rule” about the U.S. Constitution is pretty good, IMO:
The responses to the “Muslims for Harris” tweet are interesting: they consider Harris completely unacceptable due to her rather modest support for Israel.
One said: “These people have no standing in our community.”
I wonder who they’re voting for?
Yeah, I don’t get it either!
How on earth can they think voting for Trump will be more… what??
I have no idea what they’re thinking!
Consider that it is unlikely Hezb can even issue checks to its members and “charity” people. Who has the connections now? – many dead – and those dollars need to keep being distributed in Dahiya (just means “suburbs” btw in Arabic) to the faithful. Hezb must be in complete disarray, on their backs.
And more interestingly… Let’s say there are 100 big shots running all of Hezb Lebanon Inc. Now let’s say at least 50 are dead, the top 25 among them.
Israel has known the org’s next move at every moment, probably for decades.
So there are “traitors” about! TRAITORS! (Israel doesn’t guess where to shoot.)
They know because of “traitors”.
Consider also that in low information/censored environments conspiracy theories flourish. Iranians – who have never enjoyed free argument in public – are particular aficionados of conspiracy theories. Like all victims of dictatorships so you have to imagine the suspicions are next level. “Can I trust Mohammed?” “Can I trust Tariq?”
Now if you’re a member still alive and with your testicles…(not important enough to have been issued a beeper, but you do have juice in your little Shia town).. the likelihood that any of the guys you know, trust, give and take orders from/to are traitors – calling Mossad when anything happens – has just increased by 50%. Who can you trust, even in the best case scenario? This is their biggest conundrum, bigger than any recent missile loss.
It is very game theory isn’t it? As a former options/equities trader and M.E. pol watcher this is fascinating to me. Even moreso since I’ve spent time in Beirut and followed M.E. pol all my life. Amazing times.
D.A.
NYC
I like this very much, since I worry that the next guy will just step into his place. Pls keep your analyses coming!
Interesting perspective I hadn’t thought of. I had imagined that the Mossad had read their smartphone communication/locations like an open book (which is why they bought pagers at some point). The Hamas used paper communication to prepare their October attack, and apparently that worked.
David, who or what is M.E. pol? And what was the name of your website? Liked it but forgot the name, and Google gives me lots of David Andersons who can’t be you.
M.E. pol is Middle East politics.
So many David Andersons!
I’ve written for forbes and counterpunch but most of my column is at:
https://democracychronicles.org/author/david-anderson/
and syndicated in some other places. Sometimes various Jewish papers except when I’m being the atheist I am! 🙂
I usually post here also for my WEIT friends.
best and thanks,
D.A.
NYC
Speaking of checks and funds, is there any thought that the personal wealth of the Hamas & Hezbollah kingpins who have ceased to be will be tied up in (presumably Swiss?) bank accounts accessible to nobody for a long time?
I for one am happy to see the Hili feature restored to full glory! Thank you, I know this is a lot of work.
“The Danes are the biggest sperm exporters in the world (no explanation needed).”
Oh, great! Just what the world needs. More Viking fingers.
I trust that the below versions of “Jean” are not too embarrassing or schlocky. (I assume that the melody/lyrics of the song itself are not.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9V7kpzf7YI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qW_TXONRak
Bonus, from just a few hrs ago, I think. Per CBS:
A senior general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps was also reportedly killed in the strike, Iranian state media said Saturday. General Abbas Nilforoushan, 58, had been identified as the deputy commander for operations by the U.S. Treasury. The treasury sanctioned Nilforoushan amid the monthslong protests over the death of Mahsa Amini after her arrest and death in custody, saying that he led an organization “directly in charge of protest suppression.”