Dim Bullets in a Dark Tunnel

98th Street tunnel, Henry Hudson Parkway

  • The new quagmire: Seven questions for Barack Obama on Afghanistan. With hindsight of Mary McCarthy’s Vietnam memoirs and penned by retired Air Force lieutenant colonel.
  • Greenwald calls Jane Harman a bunch of names although strangely, hypocrite isn’t one of them. Jeff Stein delves further into the mess.
  • Socialist Andre Damon pretty cynical about everything.
  • Reese Erlich seems to think loosening policy toward Cuba will bring more illicit drug trafficking.
  • Jessie’s bond-trader friend whacks at the Wells Fargo earnings piƱata.
  • Tom Engelhardt ruminates on the constant stream of civilian casualties that largely go unreported on these shores.
  • Dems want to sweep torture hearings under the rug as much as Bush flunkies do.
  • Israelis hawking first-class propaganda junket??!?
  • Bank stress test: a) too big to fail b) too big to fail…
  • Tiny violin playing for pro-torture Judge Bybee.
  • Texas sheriff prosecution for waterboarding by Reagan’s DOJ ignored by current torture advocates.
  • New York food banks stressed.
  • Polish pianist stops the show with anti-U.S. tirade.
  • The new terror alert: Swine flu hype conveniently killing off the torture story. Includes a history of “flu oddities.”

Fixer Upper For Sale

The Wall Street Journal reports Obama’s poll numbers are really starting to slip. While this may be true, the MSM’s insistence that this has been true all along is false, partly because MSM coverage of the stimulus has been disingenuous. Obama’s centrist approach will keep him afloat for a little while. So the fringe is starting to fray.

Other stuff from Richard:

  • Chas Freeman’s on his withdrawal from the National Intelligence Council. Discusses the smear machine in front of the Israel lobby. Politico’s Ben Smith comments.
  • CIA reports Israel likely to go the way of South Africa.
  • Naked Capitalism still skeptical about bank behavior. The Japan model is just kicking the can down the road.
  • The left and the right both fascinated that the FBI’s terrorist watch list has hit 1 million. Keeping track of a million terrorists must be pretty easy!
  • Tom Engelhardt gives a history lesson in American imperialism in light of rhetoric over Afghanistan. (very long)