If We and Israel Are the Destabilizing Bad Guys In The World...

...How come the only countries we attack tend to be the biggest, gaping, assholes? Doesn't it seem like once in a while (if we were the bad guys, remember), we'd attack some more normal country like Canada or Belgium or Mexico? 

Speculation

Seems no one has seen Mojtaba, so he might not be the successor after all. My guess: he's figuring out how to secure his family wealth and exit plan. 

Bad

I've heard this guy is worse than the father, so no, not a good sign.

And great line:

"I think this might be one of the few instances in modern history where a greater percentage of the society being bombed was supportive of military action than the society that was doing the bombing." -

So Now...

We can make fun of disabled people at awards shows. 

Where are the "punching down" people at?

Heard on a Podcast

Baby boomers hold more wealth in their retirement accounts than all the sovereign wealth funds in the world combined. Crazy. It partially explains why things cost so much, though in certain parts of the US. 

The Iran Thing

Look, I know nothing about any of this and am trying to figure out, like everyone, but a few things...

What are we (and Trump) doing?

Much of the discussion is about what we're doing wrong, but to discuss that, I feel we must first understand what we are doing at all. My impression is that a new theory and practice of war is developing. One modeled around the perceived success of Israel's operations against Hezbollah and Hamas last year. Israel, one-by-one, took down the small enemy forces surrounding itself, thereby significantly weakening their "grand enemy," Iran. (NOTE: Whether this is an intelligent strategy is a separate question altogether. It seems to me Trump concluded direct personal talks with Putin couldn't get a ceasefire, and he realized in fact, the US is facing a powerful coordinated enemy coined by Velina Tckahkarova as the "Dragon Bear." We are, in fact, already in Cold War 2.0. So how to win Cold War 2.0? We need to strike around the edges to punish anyone who decides to ally with the Dragon-Bear to reestablish deterrence. The other option is to wait for the Dragon-Bear to strike, in which case, we get surprises like Putin's invasion of Ukraine or Hamas's invasion of Israel. Anyhow, that is the best I can surmise about what is going on behind the scenes. 

Tactical efforts

Seems the war plan is to take out layer upon layer of the leadership structure to avoid putting boots on the ground. It seems like Trump keeps offering offramps to the Iranians but the Iranians no longer trust ceasefire options because they feel it will just weaken them more. Part of me is tempted to say it would've been smarter to do all this before Iran killed 30K protestors but it seems that was logistically impossible. I wonder if the mullahs did the massacres in a way to cement loyalty within the 15% or so parts of society who support them. They implicated masses of people in the crimes so that those 15% would fight to the death for fear of reprisals. 

Trump

Definitely not what Americans signed up for with Trump...voted for him on the promise of less Middle Eastern wars, but it should tell us something about the nature of that region that no matter who the President, their hands always seem to get pushed to take action.

The Israel Thing

Everyone who thinks we are "doing Israel's bidding" need explain to me why none of the other countries in the region try to similarly influence American foreign policy. Is it because they are too noble? Somehow I doubt it. 

Me

I hope it works. I'm worried it won't. What more to say?

Iranian Women

I'm sure none of the people who celebrated Kaepernick will similarly celebrate the Iranian women who refused to sing the national anthem of the Islamic Republic.

What Powerful Logic

This guy argues we are attacking Iran now because Israel feels it can no longer anticipate American support in a decade. 

Like all anti-Israel/anti-US logic, it ends up being circular and two things at once. We are attacking Iran not because we support Israel, but because we will eventually not support Israel. Makes a ton of sense.  

Money

There is money to be made by creating spaces either coded "no AI" or banned AI. Like one movie studio at least should simply say: we don't use AI at all. Or one news organization. Or internet site. Or schools.

Logging

Film: Love and Death

Enjoyed quite a lot...although in hindsight Woody Allen's creepiness seems maddeningly obvious. Not by the plot mechanics, by the way, but simply his face in this film. 

Film: The Pink Panther (2006)

The kids liked it and are now asking a lot of questions about Steve Martin and Clouseau...so the film deserves some credit.

Film: Clovers 

Weird to write about a friend's film...but screened at Slamdance. Terrific movie and hope it finds a wider audience. 

Make It Stick

Trump offering immunity to IRGC to lay down weapons. Never put your opponent on "death ground" meaning they cannot surrender. Then you force them to fight until the death. This is the mistake the Russians and Germans make, historically speaking.

Okay, Then...

10 books to read before one dies. 

Funny, I'm not sure how I would approach a list of movies...but here goes...

1) Casablanca (alt: His Girl Friday)

2) Psycho (alt: Rear Window or Vertigo)

3) Wizard of Oz (alt: Gone with the Wind)

4) The General (alt: Modern Times, Sunrise)

5) 400 Blows (alt: Bicycle Thieves)

6) Seven Samurai (no alt)

7) Pulp Fiction (no alt)

8) The Godfather (alt: Goodfellas or Chinatown)

9) Star Wars (alt: 2001, Terminator 2)

10) Lawrence of Arabia (alt: The Searchers, Shane)

An Important Thing To Remember

It can always get worse. 

No One Is Coming To The Rescue

The adults are gone. WGA staff strike against the WGA union and the union prez sends an email that sounds like she borrowed from the AMPTP template.

Meanwhile, the BAFTA awards ceremony situation...hard not to find the whole thing funny.

And I just attended a Slamdance screening. Great film but afterwards they had someone doing sign language to the audience. Is this a thing now for all film festivals? Do they check if anyone in the audience even needs sign language? What is the average audience size of these screenings? I'm so confused.

A Lying Communist Cocksucker

Mamdani knows damn well that wasn't a "snowball fight." He lies through his teeth because that is how communists take and exercise power.

Plastic Grocery Bag Ban

When they did it, I wonder if anyone considered the possibility of heavy rain and what it does to paper bags.

Logging

Film: Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai 

Got halfway through last night. Never enjoyed the film as much as I felt I was supposed to. Here's why - when I was younger, I expected a samurai action film, which it is not. It's an indy dramedy and understood in that context, considerably better...

TV: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms S1

Excluding the flashback episode, the runtime for the show I would guess is about 2 hours and 10 minutes which suggests to me a different format than television...

Anyone Else Find It Kinda Weird

How the Iranian protestors were just massacred and memory-holed. Why did the opposite thing happen with Gaza? Someone help me understand.

This Was Always My Concern With Trump

He's worked himself into a corner with Iran. 

I don't know what he expected. That a show of force would make religious fanatics capitulate to demands. Is he kidding? These people want death. 

Yikes

Jia Zhangke's AI short film. 

Most everyone can write, but great writers make it sing. Seems the future will be the same for AI video or whatever you want to call these things...