Reply #2: Its fascinating in the same way as watching a car crash...

[shaayecanaan]

everything seems to happen in slow motion, you see the panels crumple, the occupants slump in their seats, the pieces of debris flip and spin in the air. If it weren't for the human interests at stake it would be a thing of beauty, an act of poetry in motion.

I remember a Chinese dissident artist did a piece in which he was photographed with a piece of silicone tubing stuck up his arse, and the other end in his mouth. He was commenting on the Chinese state, but I think the criticism could be better made of the US. I think it aptly summarises the American body politic today.

This whole Israel issue is only a small part of things, of course, but it is an excellent example of plutocracy in action. Politicians openly acknowledge that they are acting contrary to US interests, but that domestic political constraints are forcing their hand. Its compelling, in a perverse way, to imagine just how far the US will go, how far will they sail headwind into a gale with the mainsail unfurled. Surely at some stage, the tiller will yield, or the mast will snap. Meanwhile you can see the cracks appear, and hear the crazing of the timbers under the strain.

I have to say, I am glad I am not an American citizen. A burning house always looks better from the outside.