A Little Of The Old In And Out



(image via theguardian)

In: Benjamin Netanyahu. Israeli politics -- nay, Middle Eastern politics -- is so volatile as to defy prediction. This blog in 2006 (scroll to bottom of page) wrote off the thumoeideutic Netanyahu and his distasteful, super-aggressive and ultra-right wing brand of politics as relegated to the dustbin of History. Then, in 2007, he returned from that dustbin, dusted himself off, capitalizing on the sense of national insecurity over the "tie" (read: loss) of the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah war and increasing domestic doubts about the wisdom of Sharon's Gaza withdrawal.

Granted, it is the nature of Iranian diplomacy to stymie and cavil and cavort and bark and bray to tie up the West (already economically weakened) as it progresses, inexhoribly towards it's goal -- this time: nuclear capability. That bears an existential threat to Israel as, quite frankly, Achmadinejad's own disgusting Thumos -- evident when oil prices were on the rise, particularly -- concerning the dissolution of the state of Israel actually conjured Netanyahu's rise (and that of the even further right-wing Avigor Lieberman). Such is the manic, lunatic cosmos of Middle Eastern politics. If only Tzippi Livni had been elected and applied some feminine energy and light to penetrate the opacity of thumotic testosterone hanging over the heated military stalemate.

But oil prices have fallen. And Achmadinejad's Thumos has, geometrically fallen with the price of oil. Mathematicians of the future will calculate the precise proportion. No longer does the King of all Shi'ites swagger, telling audiences at Columbia, ridiculously, that there are no gays in Persia (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment). So we hope that Netanyahu sees this thusness, lowers the tone of his fascistic rhetoric, and behaves like an elder statesman and partner that President Obama can work with to achieve a two-state solution if that is even possible, in the cards, at this time. Our fingers are crossed but our cynicial radar is on high alert.



Out: The New York Times. By now, if you work in the media or in proximity to the media you have hear the joke: shares of the New York Times are seeling for less that the cost of the Sunday Times. Only, it isn't a joke. Baby -- it's for real. From Paidcontent:

"Now The New York Times Company will see how much support it really has from its non-employee family shareholders: the board of directors voted today to suspend the quarterly dividend for Class A and Class B shares. (The family trustees say full support; see the statement below.) It’s all about keeping as much cash as possible in an increasingly tough ad market—and an even tougher credit market. The decision follows last quarter’s dividend cut to $0.06 from $0.23 in Q308."

"Microsoft Corp.’s plan to eliminate U.S. workers after lobbying for more foreigner visas is stirring resentment among lawmakers and employees. As many as 5,000 employees are being shown the door at Microsoft, which uses more H1-B guest-worker visas than any other U.S. company. Some employees and politicians say Microsoft should get rid of foreigners first. 'If they lay people off, are they going to think of America first or are they going to think of the world first?' Chuck Grassley, a Republican Senator from Iowa, said in an interview. He sent a letter to Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer the day after Microsoft announced the job cuts last month, demanding Ballmer fire visa holders first." (Bloomberg)