Where's My Dog At?

Dog Island. The FAQ is priceless. They even have an 888 number. (via Metafilter)

The World is their Chessboard

This well reasoned article argues that Operation Iraqi Freedom should have been titled Operation Mid East Conquest. The theory of those in the administration is that a regime change in Iraq will lead to a domino of regime changes in nearby authoritarian countries which will eventually lead to an end to terrorism, a golden age of American hegemony and all kinds of right wing wet dreams. (via rc3)

There is a startling amount of deception in all this--of hawks deceiving the American people, and perhaps in some cases even themselves. While it's conceivable that bold American action could democratize the Middle East, so broad and radical an initiative could also bring chaos and bloodshed on a massive scale. That all too real possibility leads most establishment foreign policy hands, including many in the State Department, to view the Bush plan with alarm. Indeed, the hawks' record so far does not inspire confidence. Prior to the invasion, for instance, they predicted that if the United States simply announced its intention to act against Saddam regardless of how the United Nations voted, most of our allies, eager to be on our good side, would support us. Almost none did. Yet despite such grave miscalculations, the hawks push on with their sweeping new agenda.

The lure of the animal

Hehe. I can explain the context of an embarrassingly large number of these quotes.

These are the Chili Peppers

The LA Weekly interviews the band after their second album with guitarist John Frusciante back in the saddle.