The Dish

Thai pro-government demonstrators dance and sing during a small rally at the Victory Monument in Bangkok on May 6, 2010.Thailand's embattled premier Abhisit Vejjajiva said on May 6, the lower house of parliament will be dissolved in September, paving the way for November polls in a bid to end a crippling political crisis. Photo by Pedro Ugarte/AFP/Getty Image.

Michael Knights calls it for Iran:

Iran has successfully stymied the development of a strong nationalist government in Baghdad for at least another four years — the ultimate payoff for its virtuoso performance in manipulating Iraqi politics. With the U.S. government's horizon limited to its military withdrawal, an exhausted Washington does not appear capable of making such fine distinctions and will likely greet the formation of a new Iraqi government, any government, with relief.

Orr reviews Iron Man 2. He thinks Downey was overshadowed by the suit:

[T]he movie gradually succumbs to the excesses that typically adhere to the genre: too many characters, too many storylines, too much CGI…Iron Man 2 is a perfectly diverting action film—particularly following the extreme clunkers of last season—but it's a reminder that Downey is at his best when given, as he was to a substantial degree last time out, a one-man show. I, for one, will keep my fingers crossed for … Man 3: Tony Stark Unplugged.

Andrew Martin attacks ridiculous little bikes.

"In the realm of practical politics, two things must happen – both of which are likely. There must be one more General Election to disillusion Labour optimists as to the measure of their political strength, standing by themselves. But equally on our side there must be a certain change.

The Liberal Party is divided between those who, if the choice be forced upon them, would vote Conservative, and those who, in the same circumstances, would vote Labour. Historically, and on grounds of past service, each section has an equal claim to call itself Liberal. Nevertheless, I think that it would be for the health of the party if all those who believe, with Mr. Winston Churchill and Sir Alfred Mond, that the coming political struggle is best described as Capitalism versus Socialism, and, thinking in these terms, mean to die in the last ditch for Capitalism, were to leave us.

The brains and character of the Conservative Party have always been recruited from the Liberals, and we must not grudge them the excellent material with which, in accordance with our historic mission, we are now preserving them from intellectual starvation. It is much better that the Conservative Party should be run by honest and intelligent ex-Liberals, who have grown too old and tough for us, than by Die-Hards. Possibly the Liberal Party cannot serve the State in any better way than by supplying Conservative Governments with Cabinets, and Labour Governments with ideas," – J.M. Keynes, in a speech given to the Manchester Reform Club in February 1926.

Behold.

The Jon Stewart generation?

A reader writes:

Your reader commented, "If there are other documented examples of this kind of behavior, they need to be compiled into a single place so we can get a handle on exactly what kind of society we are running here." There is; Radley Balko has compiled a map of botched paramilitary police raids at Cato.org. I think at this point the map might be outdated (the last year available to search is 2008), but it gives you a good idea of how often this occurs in the US. Balko has done extensive work on this subject. I suggest you point your readers to his 2006 paper on the rise of military tactics in fighting the drug war.

Another writes:

Balko's been regularly posting stories of what he calls "puppycide" for a couple of years now.  A search of the term yields 130 results.

Another:

Just wanted to bring to your attention a couple of news articles published today in Columbia's local papers: "Chief details SWAT incident" and "SWAT raid prompts police review of policy".  I think what's important to take away from this is our local police department is learning from its mistakes while at the same time explaining to the public why it acted as it did.  I don't disagree that our drug laws are sorely in need of rethinking, but people have to keep in mind that at this point the laws are what they are, and it is incumbent upon our police officers to see that they are enforced. 

We are lucky here in Columbia, Missouri to have a relatively progressive police chief (on the job for a little over a year) who has been making great strides in making our police department more receptive, and in particular accountable, to the public.  If the public wants the drug laws changed, they need to appeal to the legislators who can make those changes a reality.  Our police department will address this incident professionally, changes to procedures will be made to ensure that the serving of 10-day old warrants will not happen in the future, and the law will continue to be enforced.

What I have found most troubling in the many, many comments I have read regarding this incident is the automatic presumption that our police department did everything wrong.  Heavy-handed?  Yes.  Killed an innocent dog?  Maybe, maybe not.  I know from personal experience that very dangerous and violent people abuse pit bulls and other animals in an abhorrent manner, using them as guards and warning signals to provide cover for illegal activities, and putting them in the position of meeting a violent end when the inevitable search warrant is served.  Who is the worse offender in this scenario?