61 days

WAR
* ellsberg: "The question is: Will it be Israel as Cheney prepared us for recently who makes the attack (or Iran), or will it be us? It could well be that the game here is that Israel is making such strong noises in doing it, knowing that it would entirely set the Middle East on flame. That the US will give an excuse for a strike--that we had to forestall the Israelis--it would've been even worse, and we had to do it because otherwise the Israelis would do it, better that we did. One theory that is even worse in the Middle East is the Israelis taking action like that before we do. That's just a conjecture. The Israelis have used their influence before in that fashion. They've even threatened before at various times that if we didn't act forcefully they would have to use nuclear weapons." LINK
go read the rest... really. go read it.

* raymcgovern: "What seems clear is that all but the most incorrigible ideologues and the criminally insane realize that an attack on Iran would make the debacle in Iraq seem like child’s play. And yet chances appear good that the ever-narrowing circle of advisers around President Bush will persuade him to do just that..." LINK

* ritter: "Why June 2005?, I asked. 'The Israelis are concerned that if the Iranians get their nuclear enrichment programme up and running, then there will be no way to stop the Iranians from getting a nuclear weapon. June 2005 is seen as the decisive date.'...
Whether this attack takes place in June 2005, when the Pentagon has been instructed to be ready, or at a later date, once all other preparations have been made, is really the only question that remains to be answered." LINK
june05 is with us in 61 days.
scottritter gets press in rawstory and aljazeera.

* i love the footage of the new hostages - they scan the line of em, and then zoom in on the pretty white-ish girl. i wonder if that is in the original video, or in cnn's rework (ive only seen the footage there so far).