One non-argument against "Lausanne":is that we are giving up sanctions and not getting enough in return. Sanctions aren't good in themselves.The opposite is true. To the extent they have any effect at all they're a self inflicted wound..They're a source  at the very least of annoyance to many Iranians and a loss of some export opportunities for us.And even some import opportunities. Caviar anyone?

Great.

How can I be pleased  when I don't know what's in it? Easy.

If there are things that need fixing we can start trying to fix them.As Tom Peters said a million years ago "Do it ,fix it."

You can't fix a deal that hasn't been done.

Some  of those involved in the "Process" ,maybe many of them, agree that the two sides reached a point where there was an Israeli offer which Arafat considered accepting. But the"Right of return" stood in the way.

In retrospect those optimists resembled a long ago New Yorker cartoon: two scientists stand in front of a black board covered with equations while one of them points at a spot in the middle and says "here's where a miracle occurs."

False alarm. Ignore.

Everything that we've written here about Ferguson missed the point. Including my "contributions"  of course. In fact them especially...A million years ago,or to be more precise,  yesterday, Erica and I had an exchange about whether  Wilson shot at Brown  while he was going away, or only after Brown turned and started back.

Somehow I'm reminded of a comment by the ceo of my company about a suggestion of mine " Who the hell cares about (what I'd just recommended).?"

have in common.

We're looking at them in the rear view mirror.

Getting convicted for murder through the court system is a very long, carefully choreographed affair.12 citizens are chosen carefully to participate, two teams of smart people who have passed difficult bar exams make the case for and against conviction and then those jurors are sequestered and argue with one another until they reach a conclusion.

and where I don't

I disagreed with  trashing  Florissant street. That wasn't protesting, it was rioting.

"        "          with a woman on the web today shouting that the police were killing  "our babies" Michael Brown was not a baby.But

I agree that the  police who shot the 12 year old  Tamir Rice in Cleveland were killing a baby. 

I disagree with the criticism of  Darren Wilson for telling Michael Brown to move on to the side walk

I  agree  Wilson should not have shot -and wounded- Brown when he was running away

for Obama's immigration plan. Krugmann in his  column today get's it right, as he usually does.

Surprising lack of comment here. 

Since the end of 2010 Obama’s only been able to do those things the Constitution permits the President to by himself.

Starting Jan 1 of next year       Obama’s only going to be able to do those things etc . etc.

You can’t lose what you haven’t got. And what Obama hasn’t got today is the same thing(s) he hadn’t got last week :a majority.

Hmn. How do I put this.?Maybe Limbaugh ,Hannity et al are right. That at least until we have sufficiently  larger data base providing evidence to the contrary, the prudent course is to quarantine  every arrival from Ebolaland. .

Why have so many health-care professionals been infected? The easy answer is ‘because they haven’t followed the protocols’. Really? Even though they knew that they were risking their lives and possibly the lives of many others by such carelessness?

on Youtube. To discuss the Ebola case now at Bellvue.

It's now over. Seemed to have been well rehearsed. That's a purely descriptive comment not any sort of  assessment But that was as it should be. No benefit to anybody if they had presented poorly. We're dependent on these guys

. Probably was useful for Cuomo in the coming election. ​

The initial response to Obama's announcement of our attack on Isis/Isil was "oh good" . Wars are always popular on their second day of course.

But we're just beginning to get the criticism from the left  , being consistent with its opposition to all wars-fair enough-and we'll soon be hearing from John McCain, seemingly ,his   opposition to all peace.

Since ,wisely, no one asked I'll volunteer a Flavian comment.

As soon as I finished praising Obama for not trying to  aid the "good guys" in Syria he promised to start.

It's explained as being help to the gg to fight ISIL. Good luck!

Whatever the announced justification  let's hope we do nothing to weaken Assad in combatting ISIL. He isn't decapitating Americans-ISIL is .

Nothing in our experience with Maliki- or anyone else in the Middle East- suggests that we can micro manage the gg . The only thing we can  be sure will happen is that we will spend a lot of money and then the gg will fight someone. Of their own choosing.

NO won. As of 12 15 EDT BBC formally projects a victory for NO and I'm going to bed

Update

As of midnight,EDT  No  is ahead by @140,000 

As of 10 15 EDT the No votes are ahead. Only 3 rural areas have finished counting and all 3 were heavily NO.

This just in

Comhairie nan eilan siar

The names amused me so I started doing this and now I've been sort of caught up

Yes               No

46.58 %           53.42%

10 55 Here comes the yes vote

Dundee votes

53,620              39,850

ISIS is executing Americans.

Assad is fighting ISIS.

We want ISIS to be defeated so they stop executing Americans.

Any effort Assad diverts to defeating the "good guys" weakens his ability.to defeat ISIS..

And gives it more time to execute Americans.

Our aiding the "good guys"  would have increased his need to divert effort from defeating ISIS 

Therefore it would have been "stupid" for Obama to have accepted the advice from McCain and others to aid the good guys. And Obama doesn't do stupid things.

How should any  Sunni neighbors be willing to join Obama's Coalition? Particularly since they don't actually have to reject us, just condition their participation on a quid for which we can't come up with the quo. For example our requiring Bibi to make  some reasonable sounding but impossible concession e.g.calling off last weeks announcement of a significant settlement expansion in Gvaot,(Don't hold your breath).

Our first child had autism. Which was then a sort of mystery. Or worse because the leading theory was that a child's autism had been caused by its unfeeling mother.

Around 1960 this began changing and one of reasons was the work of a British psychologist who said of course mothers aren't perfect, who is? But mostly they're good enough.