onegoodmove: Links With Your Coffee

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Billmon on the Debacle in Lebanon.

Israel's debacle obviously is not on anything like the same grand scale as Louis Napoleon's. If the IDF were willing to pay the blood price, it could still push Hizbullah back far enough to claim a temporary "victory." If the Israelis were willing to embrace genocide, they could probably "disarm" Hizbullah by destroying it completely. Such things have been done in the past, although in this case the act would have to be played out in full view of a global television audience.

Right now, though, the Israeli government seem to be quailing before those two options. Curiously, it also seems more willing to allow the home front to go on being bombarded than it is to sacrifice the lives of the soldiers who are supposed to protect the home front. The reasons for this are not clear to me, but then I'm not an Israeli.

What is clear is that the failure of Israel's blitzkrieg (and at the moment, it looks like a catastrophic failure, at least politically) will have enormous repercussions in the Middle East, just as the downfall of Louis Napoleon had in late 19th century Europe. By betting the ranch on a quick, decisive victory, the Anglo-Israeli alliance has committed both a crime and a mistake. The architects may escape punishment for the former, but I think the latter is going to come back to haunt them, and probably very soon.

Another day another Bush Administration lie. Worst fucking president ever!

Playing the Atheism Card Against Pat Tillman's Family

You're So Lame song parody by Don Davis with apologies to Carly Simon and note that the song really isn't about James Taylor. It's Bush that's the lame one. Though had it been me I would have played the blame game in the chorus, as in You're to blame, you problably think Iraq was a good move, You're to blame, I bet you think Iraq was a good move, Don't you? Don't you?
Dumb People Make Children Cry PBS fires young, female kiddie-show host over old, naughty video. Smart people groan

It must be said: The biggest threat to children today is not sex or silly videos or sweet TV hosts. It's witless, sexually confused adults. It's trembling bipeds who never have sex and who never drink and who never do drugs and who never have sex while drunk and on drugs while hanging from the ceiling, laughing. They are the true danger to us all. It even says so in the Bible: "Beware, ye who eat food from cans. Beware the whiny and the self-righteous and the humorless hand-wringers, for they shall poop upon the earth." I think it's in Leviticus.

Lebanon: Hezbollah backs peace proposals

Denmark 'happiest place on earth'

If it is happiness you are seeking a move to Denmark could be in order, according to the first scientist to make a world map of happiness.

A nation's level of happiness was most closely associated with health levels.

Prosperity and education were the next strongest determinants of national happiness.

I want and I could use some of this.

Comments

Average_Joe | July 31, 2006 1:52 AM | Reply

The CBS thing happened once before, long ago, to a guy named Paul Reubens. A talented, Emmy-award winning childrens' entertainer (who had a history of doing adult-oriented entertainment as well, with the same character) was publicly humiliated for something very private, that nobody had any reason to know, and which he never admitted he did.

Lost his TV show. Lost his career. And every time he has tried to make a comeback since, every newspaper covering him always mentions the 'masturbating in an adult theater' story.

I have to ask: what do you think people go to an adult theater for? The previews? The popcorn?

Why does the public feel they have the right to know everything about everybody, and to judge them as well?

cowboy | July 31, 2006 12:29 PM | Reply

Of course Danes are happy. What other country has a place like Tivoli?

That, and a saner outlook on sex and violence.

Some people would rather retire in Costa Rica but I would rather have an authentic Danish pastry each morning when my 401(k) matures.

RacyT | July 31, 2006 1:09 PM | Reply

FYI Canadians - we clocked in at #10...

http://www.physorg.com/news73321785.html

Average_Joe | July 31, 2006 3:41 PM | Reply

Yeah, but that was only after they announced, via the CBC, that the US placed so low.

Nothing perks Canadians up like misery in the US.

Jo Ann | July 31, 2006 4:31 PM | Reply

More nonsense from Average_Joe. Where's his proof for this outrageous comment about all Canadians?

thomasmccay | August 1, 2006 4:22 AM | Reply

I have no statistical proof for the opinion I am about to give.

Joe: I'm a US citizen who has lived in Canada for many years. I believe there are very few Canadians who get any pleasure from seeing misery in the US. Quite the opposite is true.

Things that effect America effect us as well.

That happiness list only confirms what many Canadians already believe. America is a great place to make money but you don't want to live there, or raise your kids there.

In deed, we love beating America at anything. Of course we do. You're the big guys with the guns, the money, the population. And our next door neighbors.

I went to a big high school with a really good football team. Beating us was always a really big deal for the smaller and rural schools we played against. Beating our school at anything was a sign of success be it football, spelling bees, chess, or science projects. tournaments.

That sort of competitiveness is a long, long way from enjoying your misery. Yeah, and we're better loggers and our beer is the best. :)

It amazes many of us, that a country so full of promise, so very rich at the very top, has so much poverty, so much illness, so much despair, for so much of it's population.

We don't enjoy your misery, we fear it, because too many of you don't seem to care. And you spend so much wealth and energy spreading that misery around, as though you were doing the world a favor.

You make too many assumptions Joe. Those assumptions don't often jive with the objective reality.