Third Party Peace Talks Resume, Too Much Caffeine and Guns, Man...

Jackson Diehl
Trita Parsi

"Iran is the 21st century equivalent of 1930s Russia — a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. The Iranians haven't stumbled upon this mystifying state coincidentally, and the enigma isn't the result of outsiders' failure to try to understand them. Rather, the Iranian government has a deliberate policy aimed at confusing the outside world about its goals and decision-making processes." - Trita Parsi

Turns out that the American the Pakistanis caught in Karachi may not be Adam Gadahn after all, who can tell? After all, we all look alike in our long hair and bushy beards...

Joe Biden is beginning a Mid East tour today, hoping to get the negotiations process started again, after it was halted when Israel tanked on into Gaza 14 months ago. The PLO has agreed to restarting indirect negotiations with the US as one intermediate role, giving a time line of four months to produce something concrete. Some little thing, like the reduction of a blockade.

Israel has also agreed, but instead of announcing their participation, they have made a press release that they are starting a new housing project in the West Bank area, right where they had previously announced a building moratorium. "Oh, did we say that?" an official asked, looking coyly into the camera... I guess what they meant was that the Mossad would not try to assassinate anyone in the West Bank for the next 10 months...

The Palestinian question can be answered in six months. Like it or not, the side with all of the power to grant are the Israelis. If they ever had been serious, this could have been finished and done with 20 years ago and the world would have been a different place. No al-Qaeda, for instance, and a healthier economy with a Palestinian state working with the Israeli state... You have to wonder who has been befitting from this horrible status quo. Granted, both the Israeli military and politicians get lots of money from the US, as does the PLO. Hamas would loose influence once a state has been negotiated, to be replaced by a more moderate business class interested in getting rid of all older,corrupt politicians. It also would take the wind out of the sails of the right wing extremists in Israel, and the next elections would see the end of nationalistic fervor in exporting all of those with dark skin... It could only better relations with every other Mid Eastern country, and strengthen existing business ties for Jewish businesses that already have quite a bit invested, albeit quietly, in places like the Gulf states.

there's a storm a'brewing...
A lot can be made over those wacky Californians. In the melting pot of Hollywood make-believe,Silicon Valley inventiveness, runaway youth, and silver-haired MILF's, trends are often born and relayed out to the nation past each Oscar season. But the latest craze is for a bunch o' guys putting on their camos, getting together and meeting in solidarity. It ain't fashion, but it sure is fun.

Yep, I'm talking about those virtual cowboys strapping guns on their flabby hips and strutting into the nearest Starbucks or pizza parlor, some 148 times so far: "You gotta problem with that!?" "A grass-roots effort among some gun rights advocates is shifting attention to a different goal: exercising the right to carry unconcealed weapons in the 38 or more states that have so-called open-carry laws allowing guns to be carried in public view with little or no restrictions. The movement is not only raising alarm among gun control proponents but also exposing rifts among gun rights advocates.


In recent weeks, the practice has expanded as gun owners in California and other states that allow guns to be openly carried have tested the law by showing up at so-called meet-ups, in which gun owners appear at Starbucks, pizza parlors and other businesses openly bearing their weapons."

“Our point is to do the same thing that concealed carriers do, We’re just taking off our jackets.”

I am of mixed emotions on this. The John Wayne, fictitious cowboy part of me says, how cool is that? While the unarmed part of that is now a senior citizen is more frightened by it. The only problem with carrying a gun is that sooner or later you will find an excuse to use it. The more off-kilter among us will manufacture a reason. And since the latest uses of citizens shooting at others have come in the form of right wing extremists shooting at doctors, security guards or middle school pre-teens. I'm leaning towards  it isn't a good idea...

We would have to drastically change our laws, making it so that shooting a gun in public is not a jailable offense. Killing someone would have to be seen in a different light, perhaps we could color code them like we do with Homeland Security Threats. I would rather that everyone had tasers or something that would make the other person instantly fall asleep, thinking outside of the box and not escalating or provoking more violence in our culture. These guys are enjoying the in-your-face confrontations, and enjoying the intimidation they are creating, telling me that they are latent sadists rather than someone interested in freedom. It's ringing suddenly has a hollow sound... Hey, since it is coming out of Cali, it's really a new kind of porn, giving new meaning to the term of strapping one on... hold still, you wascally wabbitt...