What Sanctions?

Well, it looks like U.S. and European sanctions against Iran are really kicking in.  Iran announced today it has made further advancements in processing nuclear fuel, and has threatened to stop selling oil to the EU.  Yeah, the sanctions are working all right.  Iran knows the U.N. has no teeth as long as China and Russia wield their veto power like a club...they really have nothing to fear by advancing their nuclear ambitions.

After the assault by Iranian terrorists on at least three overseas Israeli targets this week - does anyone really think Israel won't hit Iran - and hard - sometime very soon?

All the talking heads on TV say a war against Iran is a lose-lose situation because of the economic turmoil it will cause.  They need to stop for a second and consider the situation from Israel's point of view.  Israel was established to protect the Jewish faith and those who practice it from the kind of bigotry that led to the Holocaust and the 6-million Jews dead as a result.  Their choices are between extermination and wrecking the western economy.  That's not a lose-lose situation.  That's a life or death situation.  Their decision is a no-brainer.  Unless there is some dramatic breakthrough on the nuclear issue in Iran, and soon, there will be war.

Again, the U.S. 5th Fleet in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea regions better be on its toes.

No Oil, No U.S. Blood

I guess we only care about a country when it has oil to sell.  Syrian has none - just blood.

Does President Obama's complete withdrawal into isolationism mean abandoning all moral high ground to tin-horn dictators like Assad?  Apparently.

In the meantime, How many have to die?

Associated Press - Mourners carried a body during a funeral for a 10-year-old boy and rebel fighters killed during fighting in Idlib, Syria, on Thursday.

Religious Hypocrisy Runs Rampant

Oh - It's okay for religion to intrude into government, but not for government to intrude into religion?  I am sick of the hypocrisy of organized religion and the right wing-nuts.

Russia And China Together Again?

Russia and China have apparently lost some diplomatic credit in the Arab world (Outside Syria and Iran) for vetoing a UN Security Council Resolution condemning the Syrian attacks on its own civilian population.

But hold on here - connect the dots - and see what is really happening.  Russia and China have already made it clear they will not accept further UN Sanctions against Iran...and now they veto a resolution condemning Syria.

Like I said - connect the dots.  China and Russia back Iran, Iran backs Syria and also funnels weapons and cash to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas on the West Bank.  Obama doesn't want Israel going after Iran, and maybe for good reason.  Does Israel want to drag the U.S. into what could be a World War against Russia, China, Iran and Syria?  Of course not.  And I'm not saying things would ever go that far.

But any student of history knows WWI started for reasons economically similar, but over much less.  When tensions ratchet up this high, things can go wrong - and in this modern age - they can go wrong very fast.

President Obama also doesn't want any military intervention in Syria despite civilian deaths that already top what happened in Libya.  Now you know why.  He doesn't want to pick a fight with Syrian, Iran, Russia and China at the same time.  Would you?  I think it's a reasonable strategy not for the U.S. to get in too deep, not right now anyway.

Syrian Slaughter - No Intervention?

The Syrians are shelling one of their own cities - killing hundreds, wounding thousands.  But President Obama says this conflict should be resolved WITHOUT outside military intervention?  What makes this war different than the one in Libya?  I'm confused.

Plus, the U.S. evacuated all its diplomats from the country as Syrian forces intensified a shelling assault on the restive city of Homs.   The offensive began Saturday, the same day Syria's allies in Russia and China vetoed a Western- and Arab-backed resolution aimed at trying to end the brutal crackdown on dissent.

I guess we know where China and Russia stand - with their Iranian and Syrian allies, that's where.

The Clock is Ticking

Israel warns its embassies and outposts in America and around the world to look out for Iranian backed terror strikes.  Do they know something we don't - like a time table for an Israeli strike on Iran, triggering possible retaliation?  Probably.

And why can't the United States get a clue as to what Israeli intentions might be?  If you were planning and executing an air strike on Iran, would you tell the U.S?  Of course not.  We can't keep anything a secret.  Informing Washington before jets are in the air would be an unnecessary risk to Israeli pilots.  The U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain better be ready for anything at any time.

Record 1.2 Million Leave Job Force

Good Grief, I am sick of all this government led economic cheer-leading.  If you look at most headlines today, you'll see that unemployment has dropped to a three-year low.  Hip hip hooray!.  Look deeper people.  A record 1.2 million people left the job force last month, and the percentage of U.S. civilians employed dropped to a 30-year low.

Here's a blog posting by Tyler Dyrden:

"A month ago, we joked when we said that for Obama to get the unemployment rate to negative by election time, all he has to do is to crush the labor force participation rate to about 55%. Looks like the good folks at the BLS heard us: it appears that the people not in the labor force exploded by an unprecedented record 1.2 million. No, that's not a typo: 1.2 million people dropped out of the labor force in one month! So as the labor force increased from 153.9 million to 154.4 million, the non institutional population increased by 242.3 million meaning, those not in the labor force surged from 86.7 million to 87.9 million. Which means that the civilian labor force tumbled to a fresh 30 year low of 63.7% as the BLS is seriously planning on eliminating nearly half of the available labor pool from the unemployment calculation. As for the quality of jobs, as withholding taxes roll over Year over year, it can only mean that the US is replacing high paying FIRE jobs with low paying construction and manufacturing. So much for the improvement".

Well done, Tyler.  But let's not forget to be positive!  What a joke.