With a lot of hyperbole and histrionics flying from both sides, Stratfor has an insightful take on the significance of the Turkish flotilla incident and the danger it holds for Israel. I think I’ll write more later on the author’s take. But for now I’ll just link to it.
This has gotten some attention over recent weeks. But not that much. Back in 1979, in a different part of the Gulf of Mexico, a similar oil rig (Ixtoc I) blew up more or less like the Deepwater Horizon one did. And a similar amount of oil gushed out. Even more worrisome, Pemex (the Mexican state oil company) tried pretty much all the different approaches to capping the thing that BP is trying now (containment dome, top kill, junk shot, etc.). And they all failed. Eventually it took ten months to shut the thing down and the only thing that eventually got it under control was relief wells — which BP is working on now too but aren’t supposed to be ready until August.
And here’s the worst part. The Ixtoc well was only 160 feet below the water, not 5,000. Rachel Slajda has the story.
Richard Blumenthal and Mark Kirk are only the latest in a long line of politicians who, when given the chance, embellish, exaggerate, and just outright lie about their own military service records. Brian Beutler walks us down memory lane.
Wall Street invitation obtained by TPM: Come meet privately with the congressmen negotiating financial reform!
Interesting take on the ‘Freedom Flotilla’ incident from Debkafile, which is close to Israeli intelligence. Their analysis is basically that it was an Israeli screw up, coming into the situation unprepared and having the situation escalate out of control.
I think the best take I’ve seen on the boarding of the ‘Freedom Flotilla’ off Gaza comes today from Bradley Burston in Haaretz. Bernard-Henri Levy, speaking this morning at a conference in Tel Aviv, seems to have a similar take. Read More
The latest developments on the overnight raid by Israeli commandos on the flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists trying to break the blockade of Gaza to bring in relief supplies:
With the recent Blumenthal and now Kirk stories (and with Memorial Day upon us), it’s worth remembering that pols across the board have a long history of either wildly embellishing or just outright falsifying their own military records. Help us pull together a list. What are some of the best? Send tips to our comment email address at the upper right.