I wouldn't be surprised if they found the Libyan delegate having drinks with the Iranian delegate in a gay bar. Me thinks he doth protest too much! Idiots. And these are the people we helped "liberate." We should have just left them alone to slaughter themselves. Would have been the best thing we could have done for the world.

Well, I still don't think that an air attack on Iran will work or is necessary. If the Israelis attack, there is no guaranttee they will destroy all of their targets, making the whole effort very dangerous. It will also start a major war throughout the Middle East. So I don't think bombing is the way to go. What the Israelis and the United States should do is put all of their efforts into massive covert operations for regime change in Iran. Elections are coming up in Iran and that would be a perfect opportunity to support every pro-democracy and pro-western group in the nation. Give them the money, weapons, and training to stand on their own and overthrow the government. We know that the Iranian people are already motivated and most of them hate the mullahs. It could work, and the support we give the rebels through Kurdistan would make the difference. I think this would be a better and safer bet than bombing targets, which would not only outrage the Iranian people, but would also alienate them from and unite them against the west. Let's give it a chance and see what happens.

"If Iran strikes Israel, America would unequivocally back our friend with whatever force projection needed. For energy-seeking and jingoistic reasons, China and Russia would quickly engage militarily to support Iran."

Well, I'm not so sure about that. If Iran attacked Israel first, China and Russia know the United States would assist Israel in any way possible. But, then again, since Iran would get hammered in such a confrontation, China and Russia may NOT want to get involved in a losing poposition. China and Russia would know that such an attack was wrong and that it could seek oil elsewhere. I'm not so sure China and Russia would risk global nuclear war over Iran. If Iran clearly started the war, they may just let Iran twist in the wind and let us hamer Iran. China and Russia know when to cut losses and this may be one time that it's better to throw an "ally" under the bus than get incinerated in a nuclear exchange. Now if Israel or the United States attacked Iran first, then that's a different story. China and Russia could feel that they had world opinion on their side and would support Iran. But NOT if it was the other way around, and the Gulf arab states would never support Iran. Iran should NOT get too cocky just because it has a few trade agreements with Russia and China. The Russia and China are totalitarian states, but they're not stupid. Better let Iran die than have the whole world (as well as themselves) die with it.

"The fact is the Syrian people are forming the same kind of militias that the Libyan people formed that ultimately with our help brought down Gadaffi."

Well, yes, they brought Gadaffi down, but the Libyan militias are still fighting now and are quickly turning Libya into a failed state, just like Somalia. Is that what we want for Syria, to have yet another Somalia? Perhaps if we start supporting western secular factions within Syria instead of Islamic militias (like we did in Libya), we might get better results. And if there are no pro-western factions, then let them fight it out on their own. Who needs to get involved if there isn't anything in it for us? After all, if there are only Islamists in Syria, then whatever replaces Assad can't be that much worse than Assad himself. So let them eat each other. We need to stop getting involved in other people's civil wars, unless there are at least some factions fighting that want a pro-western government.

"Greece to make official offer to private investors by Friday"

And I still don't understand why this isn't considered bankruptcy? When you can only pay 30% (or less) on your debt, you are bust, right? So why are the credit agencies even listening to any of this? Greece has no possibility of paying back any of the debts it already has, let alone future ones. Its economy is in shambles and unemployment is horrible. There is no up side to this, so I'm not really understanding why anybody would even want the new bonds, especially if you have to wait 30 years to collect on your investment. This is just kicking the can down the road some more, but I'm surprised that the Germans have not decided that we've already reached the end of the road.

The US Navy had better get more mine warfare ships in the Gulf as soon as possible. Now we only have four Avenger mine countermeasure ships (MCM) ships based at Bahrain. We're going to need a lot more if the Iranians mine both the Persian Gulf AND the Straits of Hormuz. Four is just not enough, especially if the Iranians replace mines in areas that have already been swept. It's not hard to do and the Iranians learned a lot about mining during the "Tanker Wars" of the 1980s. We should not take this threat lightly and if we do, it will be our own fault if it brings shipping in the Gulf to a halt.

The Greeks just passed the "austerity" bill, kicking the can down the road for a little while longer. I just don't know why Germany or anybody else would give them any more money, though, because the Greeks have no way of paying it back. Predictably, the stock market futures are already going up. What fools. Talk about grabing at straws. The markets will take any news to pump up the value of their stocks. Don't fall for it. I think it will only be a matter of months before this foolishness ends, and badly, espcially for the Europeans who are already in a major recession.

"The new cutbacks, which follow two years of harsh income losses and tax hikes—amid a deep recession and record high unemployment—have been demanded by Greece’s bailout creditors in return for a new batch of vital rescue loans."

Greece's deep recession and high unemployment make it almost impossible for any real growth in the country, which then makes it impossible to pay back the loans it still ows, even with a 70% "haircut" to its bondholders. But even if the Greek parliament votes for this nonsense, it won't mean anything. The Greeks will probably ignore most of the laws or find a way around them. I just don't understand who would want to loan Greece a dime right now, espcially since it can't pay anything back. But I think the European Central Bank will give them the money just to prevent a bigger disaster from happening in Europe. It's the ultimate in kicking the can down the road some more. But even the Germans will get tired throwing their own money away on a losing bet.

"Greece exhibits first major ‘regeneracy’ in this generational crisis era."

Well, I don't really know what all the "suspense" is about with the vote in Greece. The country is already broke and it has absolutely no way of paying back the billions of euros it has already been given. Another 130 billion euro loan will only make matters worse and with no economic growth in the country and a poor economic outlook in the future, I doubt Greece will be able to pay back anybody soon, even by giving a 70% "haircut" to its bondholders. I just don't see where they go from here. More "austerity measures" will only make ecnomic matters worse in Greece, but I'm sure their parliament will pass it just to kick the can down the road for a little longer. I just don't see who would be foolish enough to give them any more money and, if you're only paying back 30% on your loans, you're already bankrupt. Seems like thier only hope is for a complete default, don't pay anybody back, and start from scratch. After all, what is the European Central Bank going to do if they don't get their money back, invade Greece? At this rate, who knows.

"There is a way to defeat Iran without any mass conventional military might. Covert operations have worked in our past. They were arguably the key tactic used to defeat the Russians during the Cold War. Iran has many pro-democracy movements founded deep inside the nation. These groups have nothing to do with the Sunni dominate Muslim Brotherhood, they are pro-western, and should be supported by the United States."

This is the heart of what our strategy with Iran should be. There is no point in bombing, let alone invading, Iran. Bombing would only lead to a lot of casualties and collateral damage and would not destroy all of Iran's nuclear capabilities. Invading would be even worse and would only solidify Iranian hatred for us. But if we gave massive support to every pro-democracy movement in Iran, supplied them with weapons, money, and training using Special Forces coming out of Kurdistan, we could allow the Iranians to achieve regime change on their own. It is possible and it's about time we use covert actions in a smart way, with almost no casualties on our side. Let the Iranian people find out that there is a cost for freedom and that freedom is not free. Let them bear the burden and let them achieve the victory that should be theirs. And, after all, whatever government replaces the mullahs can't be worse than the mullahs themselves. Let's not repeat the same mistakes we made in 2009 after the last Iranian "elections." If we do this now, the Iranians may actually achieve the regime change we so desperately want. And the growing civil war in Syria shows that the people are at least trying to overthrow one of the worst dictators in the world. It can and should be done.