The BLOGTOBER 2008 Album Reviews (03 of 23) The Sound of Animals Fighting, The Ocean and the Sun

Another weekday in BLOGTOBER 2008, another 2008 album that I've been really enjoying. This time it's The Sound of Animals Fighting turn to be put under the immodest microscope . . .

The Sound of Animals Fighting, The Ocean and the Sun [Zune.net, Amazon]

1) Intro
Just a little spoken word intro to get things kicked off (not sure which language, sounded Turkic to me, but I could be very wrong).

2) The Ocean and the Sun
The clicky-clack of old school typewriters is one of the sounds in the mix. Has a nice funky drummer beat under girding an ethereal swirl of vocals and various electronic effects. Interesting song, nice mix of influences, good execution bringing the disparate elements together.

3) I, The Swan
This one is a bit more ponderous and big sounding compared to the title track (in good ways). These folks like swirly, this has a nice swirl to it, a different swirl to the previous track, but swirly nevertheless. This song goes big and guitar heavy towards the end. Nice slow build to a big finish type song.

4) Another Leather Lung
Another solid track. Hard to describe, other than to say it's got well played complicated rhythms, interesting vocals, and builds to a big wall of noise finish as it gets more and more aggressive till it finishes in full on speed metal territory. Kind of awesome in its own way.

5) Lude
Big change of pace from the previous track, given the nature of this musicians collective, changeability from track to track and album to album is the rule, not the exception. Everything is recognizably part of this collective though, so it's not like the mood swings are inconsistent or off putting. I assume Lude is short for 'interlude' as that's all this track is, a delicate little guitar figure, sort of a palate cleanser between courses.

6) Cellophane
I suppose if comparisons to other performers are the way you relate to artists, and it'll help you get a handle on what this might sound like, for this track, think Kid A period Radiohead, and you'd be in the right ballpark (but with more French Horn). Great drumming, really challenging patterns, and vocals well suited to this song. Very listenable in a neo-prog sort of way.

7) The Heraldic Beak of the Manufacturers Medallion
What? Yeah, despite the title, this song ROCKS! Another crunchier more or less straight forward metal effort. These folks do metal well.

8) Chinese New Year
Another snippet, just the sounds of Chinese New Year, clanging gongs, kids singing, nothing to see here, move along . . .

9) Uzbekistan
Turns out Uzbekistan is very electronic, and kinda noisy. Who knew? Not one of the better tracks, but won't make you jump for the 'next' button if it comes up on random play, either.

10) Blessings Be Yours Mister V
Another loud and neo-progg-y track. Goes some interesting places, though. Nothing special, nothing horrible.

11) Ahab
Another short track, feedback shaped for your listening pleasure.

12) On the Occasion of Wet Snow
A more meditative and 'groovy' track than the others. Has a nice slow propulsive forward motion to it. Ends in a wall of noise, cause, that's what you do I guess. It's a skillful wall of noise, so it's forgivable.

All and all, this is a solid album, not every track works, and tonally it kind of jumps around, but if you like your grooves complicated, you can groove to this in a complicated manner.

The New Fragrance From Lancome . . .

EXCITABLY ANDY

Features notes of lavender, bear musk, scotch, and more than a hint of batshit.

And because I love the free market, and want to help Lancome get started with their great new product (their mens' fragrance line is woefully small), here's a mock up of what could be their first print ad (in The Atlantic for starters, naturally)

"I mean: what's the problem here? Why is this so hard?"

Excitably Andy just won't let the 'Sarah is really Trig's grandma' crap go.

What is wrong with this man?

(and what's wrong with me?, every time I tell myself I won't click on a link to his blog, I end up going over there any way, he's insane, but compelling in an insane sort of way)

(and I'm not demonizing him because he no longer agrees with my politics, I'm calling him insane cause his behavior, especially regards to Palin, can only be described as insane)

(and I noticed I typed 'excitably Andy' instead of 'excitable Andy' as intended, but I think after some consideration that 'excitably Andy' makes as much, if not more, sense)

Because Somehow Where You Shop and Eat Matter . . .

So, Joe Biden probably lied, or misremembered a few details about places he frequents in Wilmington.

In preparation for my 2016 run, I guess I should start cataloging the places I patronize.

Last 3 'restaurants' I ate at:

NY Pizza & Pasta (mostly excellent pizza (sometimes undercooked), I believe Israeli owned, cause Israelis know pizza)

Ramen-ya (tasty ramen, but noticed after we finished eating that their health board rating has dropped to a "C", so may wait till they get back to an "A" before going back)

McDonalds (I haven't eaten a McDonalds burger in ages, so rather than my usual fast food fix of Jack n the Box, thought I'd give McDonalds a go and order something. Big mistake, was pretty nasty, the fries weren't terrible, though)

The last three shops I patronized (all on the same day):

Costco That's right, big box shopping rules. The membership pays for itself pretty quickly.

Target Practically WalMart, but not quite.

Home Depot I love me some wood (and tools).

Hopefully, the information above will help you in deciding whether or not to vote for me in the 2016 GOP primaries and caucuses.

At Least It Won't Be Kenan Thompson In a Wig . . .

SNL decides not to go looking to dig up Ellen Cleghorne, instead are rumored to be getting Queen Latifah to be their Gwen Ifill.

(I agree with one of the Defamer commenters, Tracy Morgan in drag might be teh funny, though)

The Biggest Selling Blu-Ray EVAH!!!

Iron Man, that is, in all of two days on the market.

Clearly, previous titles haven't sold that well, might be a signal that this is the beginning of the end for plain old DVDs, I would imagine this title is selling comparatively poorly in Standard Definition.

(it's definitely a film made for High Def)

I'm Surprised Michael Wilbon Even Came to Work Today . . .

Chicago Cubs superfan, Michael Wilbon, showed up on PTI (the best sportschat show on TV). He's predicting another 100 years of futility for the Chicago Cubs (I'll link the audio podcast when it's posted Monday).

I'm still not excited by the Dodgers, sure they're beating the best regular season team in the National League, and they have the hottest position player in all of the Majors with Manny Ramirez, but I stopped caring about the Dodgers (or baseball) a long time ago.

I'll Admit It, I'm a Big James Burke Fan.

After AJ Lynch's comment regarding my Ultimate Blame post, I'd have to place ultimate blame for my original post at the feet of James Burke for putting together his Connections episodes back in the late 70s (one episode from that first series in 5 parts collected at YouTube and embedded below for your convenience, as well as elucidation).

(so he was a bit wrong about what computers would bring, how could he have known back in '78 about the internet, blogs, YouTube, or that for a lot of people their computer would function primarily as their, 'big box o' porn')

The Ultimate Blame for the Mortgage Meltdown . . .

Many are in finger pointing mode at the moment with regards to our current financial crisis. I don't think the true culprit has yet been fingered, though. If you trace back the threads, and follow this back to the source, as I have done, you'll find indisputable proof that this crisis began with one group of people, a group that you'll be surprised as being responsible, but once I spell it out for you, will seem obvious in retrospect.

That group? Korean transmission makers from the late 80s, of course.

That's right, if Korean transmission makers of the late 80s had been more responsible in the kinds of transmissions they plopped into the Hyundai Excel none of this current mess would have happened.

That's because the roots of this began with the expansion of the CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) engaged in by the Clinton administration throughout the 90s. That engagement was based on follow through for campaign promises made by Clinton when he defeated Bush in '92. Clinton wouldn't have made those promises had it not been for his political grandstanding in the wake of the LA Riots of April '92. Those riots wouldn't have happened if those officers hadn't been acquitted in their criminal case for their rough treatment of Rodney King, and this is where the Korean transmission makers from the late 80s come into the picture.

The Hyundai Excel was a super cheap car, far cheaper than anything else on the market in the 80s (except the Yugo, but the Yugo was even crappier than the Excel). The Excel was a standard econobox mated to a somewhat inadequate engine, but they geared the transmission so that the car could go over 100 mph so long as you were going downhill or had a hurricane force tailwind. Had Rodney King not been speeding down the Sepulveda pass at speeds in excess of 100mph, the adrenaline levels of the cops that eventually stopped him would not have been nearly as high when he was finally confronted. Had the transmission been more responsibly geared, and he'd been travelling at 85mph instead of 100mph+, I posit that the officers would not have been as pumped or angry when they tussled with Mr. King. Instead of the international incident that followed in the wake of the videotaping of that traffic stop, it would have been just a routine case of a speeder who tried to run, and the cops would have been laughing at him for trying to outrun them in an Excel, instead of the adrenaline fueled frenzy that was caught on tape.

So, as you can see, a different transmission in the Excel King drove, a different result in that traffic stop, no beating, no riot, no riot, no campaign promise for an expanded CRA, no expansion of the CRA and threats by the Reno Justice Department to go after lenders for 'discrimination', and you wouldn't have the subprime boom encouraged by the Clinton administration and acquiesced to by Congress in the '90s.

It's all just one big chain of cause and effect, if you interrupt that chain at the beginning, the whole thing falls apart, so the ultimate blame for the current mortgage meltdown rests at the feet of Korean transmission makers of the late '80s.

The LA Times Must Have Known I Was Looking for BLOGTOBER Material . . .

Big puff piece in the LA Times profiling The Queen of YouTube, Kat Dennings.

(OK, maybe it's not a gift to me from the LAT, instead it's just pre-plubicity puffery in advance of Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist).

The BLOGTOBER 2008 Album Reviews (02 of 23) Terrence Howard, Shine Through It

I know, I know, Terrence Howard? Realy!? Really, really?!? Sure, why not?

Terrence Howard, Shine Through It [Zune.net, Amazon]

This ain't no joke, he clearly takes this seriously and isn't just cashing in on his fame. It's a challenging album, completely out of sync with the current Soul/R&B music scene, which makes it kind of endearing. It's also more in love without itself than it deserves to be, but that's not a completely bad thing for an album or an artist.

1) Love Makes You Beautiful
Could be a lost track from the first album of that other Terence (Trent D'arby). Howard's singing has the same raspy whisper his speaking voice often displays. He uses it to good effect on this track. Even the child chorus doesn't completely sink this song under the weight of its own pretentiousness. Don't get me wrong, definitely pretentious, just not sunk by it, still listenable, despite the absurd amount of seriousness.

2) Shine Through It
The title track, more strings, more children choruses sneaking in. Rocks out a bit after the bridge. Also includes some Sgt.Pepper-ery horns and the children chorus grows up into a full men's choir, interesting touch.

3) Mr. Johnson's Lawn
Get off my lawn you damn kids! OK, his singing on this song is hilarious. He does the opposite of a falsetto, he goes into a falsely deep register and adds a growl to his voice that isn't normally there (presumably he's playing his own father, or at least a father-figure). Don't let that affectation cause you to miss the really nice arrangement built up in this song. Plus, FLUTES! Can't go wrong with jazz-flute. Jazz-flute rock! (as previously discussed, hereabouts). The song's not done, either, it goes for a full latin vibe by the end completely different from the beginnning. Not bad at all (except for his vocals, they rankle a touch, but his normal voice would have sounded out of place with this arrangment, so I get why he does it).

4) Sanctuary
It's pretty pop this time, a touch beatles-esque (by way of late period Prince and the Revolution). Dude loves his strings, that's for sure. It's a pretty song, layered, driven by a very insistent beat, this song moves forward throughout. A bit bombastic (and insipid) lyrically, but you can't have everything.

5) No.1 Fan
Clock ticking, tinkly piano, and more strings, cause that's ROCK N' ROLL!!! Yeah, this is one to skip if you are buying these songs individually. It's waaaaay too theatrical. He's bringing all his actorly skills to his interpretation of this song, and it's ridiculous (and not in a so bad it's good way).

6) Spanish Love Affair
Naturally, with that title, you start the song with a bit of Spanish sounding guitar, anything else would have been a disappointment. But where to go after the extended flamenco-esque intro? Why more flamenco, of course, overlaid with a bit of Herb Albert-like brass action. Cheesy, but it works. Queso isn't always a bad thing. If that's him on guitar, he ain't bad (says in his bio that he's self-taught on piano and guitar).

7) Plenty
Interestingly soulful track. Reminds me a bit of someone you've never heard of (Bronx Style Bob), it's a solid track.

8) I Remember When
Whistling, and harmonica, and a bit of a doo wop feel. Nice change of pace. Kind of a throwaway, but the L'il Stevie Wonder-esque harmonica saves this song.

9) It's All Game
Talking intro, always got to have at least one song with a talking intro. Another quality jazzy track, other than the talking bit at the beginning, this is a smooth instrumental. Your like or dislike for this sort of thing in general will color your judgement of this track, I happen to enjoy this stuff in the right dosage. He's got a solid group of musicians around him, that helps, a lot. Could you hear something nearly identical at any good jazz club? Sure, doesn't make it bad.

10) She Was Mine
Seriously working the strings and the whistling again. A bit of a Minnie the Moocher feel to this track (musically, not lyrically). Has an old fashioned walking bass line mated with some strings, and his raspy voice. It's all a nice combination.

11) War
Not sure what to say on this track, it's got a big sound to it, a bit Broadway-ish in its feel, and his vocals are distorted through the first half of the song (as if played through a scratchy loudspeaker). The whole thing's got a nice big feel to it, even as it meanders a bit and really doesn't make any sort of coherent point thematically, lyrically, or musically.

So that was that, not a great album by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a decidedly unexpected album and while full of pretense and artifice, doesn't seem like a pure vanity project. It's got its problems, this album, but overall it's an enjoyable listen, unlikely to be exactly like anything else in your collection, and is a great change of pace. Don't expect perfection, but if you like something a little different (even if it's swamped a bit by its own ambitions), you should give it a listen.

"so many questions"

This time, she has placed a mannequin on a lavatory next to two supermarket check-out counters. Four horse-shoes and bits of discarded wood dangle from wires attached to the mannequin's head. They appear to bear no relevance to the check-out counters on which the artist has arranged bowls and spoons, as well as empty jars with the remnants of food. Scattered across the floor are piles of tiles and broken pottery in a plastic bag.

Sophie O'Brien, one of three Turner Prize curators, saw deep meaning in the installation, explaining that the artist was “searching out the language of objects - things we overlook in our daily life” - and making us look at them with “fresh eyes”. She claimed that the artist had placed each found object with extreme precision.

Her colleague, Judith Nesbitt, the Tate's chief curator, added: “It's as if the narrative has been stripped away. You're left trying to make sense of the objects to each other and to ourselves.”

She applauded the artist for prompting “so many questions” from the viewer.

Times of London, regarding a new exhibit at the Tate for the artists nominated for this year's Turner Prize.

Somehow I suspect that JMW Turner might not be in accordance with the curators had it been possible to give him a voice in choosing the recipient of the prize named for him.

That whirring sound you hear coming from a certain crypt at St. Paul's Cathedral?

You guessed it, Turner, turning in his grave.

(note, while I still think Marcel Duchamp was one of the premier artists of the 20th century, and his Fountain one of the seminal works, that was then and groundbreaking, this is now, and this kind of crap has become tedious and conventional)

I Feel Inadequate (BLOGTOBER 2008 Edition)

This is my eighth post today, woohoo!!
That's what I call a BLOGTOBER BLOGBURST!!!
Except, when I look at Instapundit's output for the same day, I see that he was on his 8th post by 8:06AM, that was well before I even got up this morning.

The bastard, making me look bad, every day is a day during BLOGTOBER for Prof. Glenn Reynolds. Frankly, I think he's an addict, he needs counseling, good thing his wife is a shrink.

To be fair to me, I'm pretty sure even with his dozens of post today, I'm confident I have him beat on non-quoted word count (though he has two wordy for him posts, one on Gwen Ifills, and a related one on media bias)

(and I know his wife isn't actually a 'shrink' aka psychiatrist, she's a forensic psychologist, but if I acknowledged that, the joke wouldn't work, and it's always better to sacrifice accuracy in the service of a joke than sacrifice the joke)

A Random Selection of Text From the New Senate 'Rescue' Bill (Pages, 176, 76, 353)

(hat tip Tammy Bruce, here's a link to the PDF of the text, hosted by the Senate Conservatives Fund)

176
O:\AYO\AYO08C32.xml S.L.C.
1 ‘‘(B) is measured at the source of capture
2 and verified at the point of disposal or injec3
tion.
4 ‘‘(2) RECYCLED CARBON DIOXIDE.—The term
5 ‘qualified carbon dioxide’ includes the initial deposit
6 of captured carbon dioxide used as a tertiary
7 injectant. Such term does not include carbon dioxide
8 that is re-captured, recycled, and re-injected as part
9 of the enhanced oil and natural gas recovery process.
10 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED FACILITY.—For purposes of this
11 section, the term ‘qualified facility’ means any industrial
12 facility—
13 ‘‘(1) which is owned by the taxpayer,
14 ‘‘(2) at which carbon capture equipment is
15 placed in service, and
16 ‘‘(3) which captures not less than 500,000 met17
ric tons of carbon dioxide during the taxable year.
18 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULES AND OTHER DEFINITIONS.—
19 For purposes of this section—
20 ‘‘(1) ONLY CARBON DIOXIDE CAPTURED AND
21 DISPOSED OF OR USED WITHIN THE UNITED STATES
22 TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—The credit under this sec23
tion shall apply only with respect to qualified carbon
24 dioxide the capture and disposal or use of which is
25 within—

What the Hell? Why is this 'carbon sequestration' crap taking up line after line of text within a financial system rescue package (this one small provision starts on 175, ends on page 180. If this crap is important on its own, it shouldn't be glommed on to a bill designed to stop a ongoing financial emergency. Even if you are an enviro-nut who believes that the Earth is in the Balance, there's still no excuse for gumming up this bill with this crap. Pass a clean bill, without these riders and attachments. Stuff like this seems like a tacit admission that the current crisis isn't viewed by Congress as a crisis, but instead it's just another opportunity to get favored earmarks snuck through. Grrrrrrrr, Arrgggggghhhhhhhhh (sorry, the more I think on this, the less verbal I become). On to the next random page:

O:\AYO\AYO08C32.xml S.L.C.
1 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
2 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Over3
sight Panel such sums as may be necessary for any
4 fiscal year, half of which shall be derived from the
5 applicable account of the House of Representatives,
6 and half of which shall be derived from the contin7
gent fund of the Senate.
8 (2) REIMBURSEMENT OF AMOUNTS.—An
9 amount equal to the expenses of the Oversight Panel
10 shall be promptly transferred by the Secretary, from
11 time to time upon the presentment of a statement
12 of such expenses by the Chairperson of the Over13
sight Panel, from funds made available to the Sec14
retary under this Act to the applicable fund of the
15 House of Representatives and the contingent fund of
16 the Senate, as appropriate, as reimbursement for
17 amounts expended from such account and fund
18 under paragraph (1).
19 SEC. 126. FDIC AUTHORITY.
20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 18(a) of the Federal De21
posit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1828(a)) is amended by
22 adding at the end the following new paragraph:
23 ‘‘(4) FALSE ADVERTISING, MISUSE OF FDIC
24 NAMES, AND MISREPRESENTATION TO INDICATE IN25
SURED STATUS.—

Well at least this is actually about financial crap. This is the minutiuae pertaining to the establishment of an 'Oversight Panel' to be composed of two purely DEM appointees, two purely GOP appointees, and one joint appointee to a five person panel charged with watching our money as it is funneled to the various entities that our tax money will be used to prop up. The very end part, about amending the act to prohibit misrepresenting FDIC insured status suggests that previously banks could claim an asset was covered under FDIC even if it wasn't (afterall, why clarify a rule that was already in place?). That's nice to know, and may in part explain some of the Freddie/Fannie Mess (empty promises of government backed securities that weren't really government backed). Now on to the final page for perusal

O:\AYO\AYO08C32.xml S.L.C.
1 ‘‘(b) COUNTY PAYMENT.—For each of fiscal years
2 2008 through 2011, the Secretary of the Interior shall cal3
culate for each eligible county that received a 50-percent
4 payment during the eligibility period an amount equal to
5 the product obtained by multiplying—
6 ‘‘(1) the 50-percent adjusted share for the eligi7
ble county; by
8 ‘‘(2) the full funding amount for the fiscal year.
9 ‘‘SEC. 102. PAYMENTS TO STATES AND COUNTIES.
10 ‘‘(a) PAYMENT AMOUNTS.—Except as provided in
11 section 103, the Secretary of the Treasury shall pay to—
12 ‘‘(1) a State or territory of the United States
13 an amount equal to the sum of the amounts elected
14 under subsection (b) by each county within the State
15 or territory for—
16 ‘‘(A) if the county is eligible for the 25-
17 percent payment, the share of the 25-percent
18 payment; or
19 ‘‘(B) the share of the State payment of the
20 eligible county; and
21 ‘‘(2) a county an amount equal to the amount
22 elected under subsection (b) by each county for—
23 ‘‘(A) if the county is eligible for the 50-
24 percent payment, the 50-percent payment; or

OK, now my head is just swimming. I have no clue as to properly deciphering what is up with this, but as I go backwards and forwards from this page, it seems to be about BLM land, and possibly agricultural subsidies, but don't quote me on that. Either way, it's clearly not about banking, credit, foreclosures, or anything that should be in this bill. The part preceding this is all about funding roads to rural schools, cause I guess if we had more of those, none of this mortgage meltdown would have happened in the first place.

I have peered behind the curtain at the deli, and I dared to observe the sausage getting made. Now I feel sick, it's enough to turn you into a vegetarian.

Random numbers, generated at Random.org (your one stop shop for all your random needs!).

UPDATE: Crap, Ace at Ace of Spades HQ has to ruin a perfectly good rant by injecting some facts into the discussion. As is taught in your basic 10th grade civics class (or should be, anyway), spending bills can only originate in the House, so to be able to vote on this immediately the Senate used a procedural trick by tacking on the new bailout 'rescue' provisions to a pre-existing pork-laden piece of thoroughly earmarked pig droppings. Doesn't make the pig-droppings any less unsavory, but it does mean that the actual rescue plan is anywhere near the totality of the 451 pages in this bill (even if that has been implied by just about every news report of the bill).

The process of coupling and amending and subverting one bill meant to serve a particular end and then transforming it into something else entirely to force Congress critters to vote for stuff they normally wouldn't want to vote on is another matter entirely. Seems like micro bills are the way to go. Each provision is its own bill with its own vote, the general bill should be part of a discussion, but each discrete unrelated chunk should be put to separate up or down votes. That'd cure a lot of this nonsense and force these folks to be a little more accountable for their actions. But that'd be a big change to the current process, and a completely separate issue than the one at hand.

(d'oh! I've got Congressional disease, I just attached an unrelated rider to one of my own posts, this nonsense is contagious!!!)

This IS Very Good News (Very Good Indeed, Yes?), SO Naturally the NYT Ends the Article with a Critic of the Bill . . .

The United States opened a new chapter of cooperation with India on Wednesday night as Congress gave final approval to a breakthrough agreement permitting civilian nuclear trade between the two countries for the first time in three decades

It's about time. India can be our best friend in Asia, and a bulwark for us against three potential rivals/threats. India can help us against agressive Islamist, Russia, and China, but only if we embrace India and help them thrive as the world's largest democracy.

India's far from perfect, but they have the potential to be a much better ally for us than China can (so long as China remains the strange semi-free market/very totalitarian hybrid it currently is), and a friendly India that we cooperate with will be to both our benefit.

So, of course, the NYT has to find some way to paint this as a negative given that the Bush Administration isn't allowed any foreign policy victories, here's the end of the article:

The United States-India Business Council, which promoted the deal, estimates that India may spend as much as $175 billion over the next quarter century expanding its nuclear industry to cope with rising energy demands. Companies like General Electric, Westinghouse and Bechtel will now be able to compete for contracts.

“This is one of those historic, important, tectonic shifts in relations with another country,” said Ron Somers, the council’s president. “This is a country we need to be partnering with and I would argue will be shaping the destiny of the 21st century.” Michael Krepon, co-founder of the Henry L. Stimson Center, a research organization in Washington, called the promise of big dollars and American jobs “pure fantasy” and predicted that the United States would regret further opening the nuclear door.

“There will be a reckoning for this agreement,” he said. “You can argue till you’re blue in the face that India is a special case. But what happens in one country affects what happens in others.”

The Washington Times published Michael Krepon's Op-Ed on the subject, and I find his analysis wanting. Cooperating with India won't weaken the goal of non-proliferation, working with India won't spawn any greater nuclear competition between India, Pakistan and China than already exists. That genie is out of the bottle, and in short order, Taiwan, Japan, and a united Korea might join them in the Asian countries with big nasty bombs club before 2020 (I leave out Iran because Iran will simply not be given the chance to join that club, their government is too erratic, too supportive of terrorism, and too hell bent on the destruction of Israel for any responsible United States government to turn a blind eye to their activities). This agreement doesn't make that eventuality any more or less likely, it's simply a matter of the proliferation of technology and states exercising their right to self determination and taking actions that they feel are part of their motivated self-interest.

Asia's a dangerous neighborhood, with very large countries posing existential threats to smaller nations, that's the reason why WMD proliferation will happen over the next 12 years, not anything to do with one agreement between the United States and India. The experience of the five original nuclear powers proves the defensive effectiveness of WMD, it's a worthy goal to lessen their proliferation, and it's a high priority to keep these weapons away from non-state actors or failed states, but these weapons remain attractive for good reason, and ostracizing India in perpetuity for developing their own nuclear capacity will not serve the goal of reducing WMD, nor will it prevent the inevitable escalation of a local arms race in the region.