Is the sky blue? Was Armstrong the first man on the moon?

[lydy]

Do I really live in a world where US troops invaded an Iranian embassy and took hostages? (Calling them prisoners doesn't make it sound one whit better.) Was this only possible because Ted Koppel is no longer anchoring Nightline?

(The discussion may now dissolve into a muck of detail about embassies vs. consulates vs. who knew what and when they knew it, why the Kurds didn't think it was a good idea, and most of all, how this Doesn't Matter at All in the grand scheme of things. Knock yourselves out. But anyone who isn't at least a little alarmed by the ironic symmetry has no sense of poetry.)

Comments

[lydy.livejournal.com]

Do you read Informed Comment at all? Blog by Juan Cole, who really does know what he's talking about, serious expert on the area. (When talking about the various factions in Iraq, managed to greatly confuse me by tracing out six -- I have to go read that article again. It made considerably more sense than a simple Shia'a Sunni split, but not something I could get on a casual single reading.) Definitely worth reading. His comments on the political implications of the raid are sensible and useful.

It baffles me how some of my friends, good friends like marsgov, or even sometimes wise friends like apostle_of_eris can have pre-programmed reactions to any issue that touches on Israel. Usually, they have more nuanced views. I guess we all have our buttons. Don't even try talking to me about compromises on abortion. :-)

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Of course I read Juan Cole, all the time.

This is just nutty. The technicality about whether the building was, or was not, officially a consulate is completely besides the point. The in-country government can always find an excuse to raid a consulate. The point is that we are all better off in the world if consulates are secure places for diplomacy.

Shame on Bush for dragging us back 600 years.

B