Two Major Seismic Shifts

More power to the corporate elite. First the big merry-go-round with the Saudis - massive US arms deals for nearly everybody in the Middle East, in return for Saudi support for the Iraqi government, in return for a US promise to pull back (at least) forces. The whole picture is not clear, but this is all part of a comprehensive deal (presumably what Condi Rice has been doing for the past six months). Justin Raimondo has some informed analysis...

The Bush administration is setting off a regional arms race that is practically forcing the Iranians to go the nuclear route. After all, the U.S. is not about to invade North Korea, and everyone knows the reason why. If a nuclear arsenal is what it takes to stave off the American wolf and its Sunni allies, then that is the course the Iranians will take. They tried to negotiate, remember, and were rebuffed – and the latest negotiations are likely to be sabotaged by Vice President Dick Cheney, just like last time.

The antiwar movement is focused exclusively on Iraq, but that Rubicon was crossed fours years ago: now we approach the River Styx, the demarcation line between the world of the living and Hades, the land of the dead. As we make the approach, ghosts and demons weep and wail, warning us away – yet we keep on going, walking blindly ahead, until we're standing at the edge of oblivion.

It won't take much to push us over – and it's a long way down.

Meanwhile (speaking of Hades), Murdoch is crowing about his Dow Jones deal. The Age has a look at the local implications. I wonder how Tim Dunlop is sleeping tonight?

So it goes, so it goes...