“People like Hana must go back and save Lebanon. But they are tired, and not a little afraid.”

Pat – I absolutely believe you. The Lebanese diaspora is full of talented, tired people who just want to get on with their lives and not have to deal with the BS.

He now works for an insulation manufacturer, and she’s happily working in NEPA. Their grown children are beautiful.

People like Hana must go back and save Lebanon. But they are tired, and not a little afraid.

“if isreal has nukes ( and they have quite a few) then what is wrong with Iran having nukes?”

Ket – I try to keep out of this for a variety of obvious reasons, but this one is just too simplistic and jingoistic to ignore.

Due to basic geography and local weather conditions (winds from the desert to the east), Israels nukes are truly a weapon of last resort as they would inevitably poison that country and most Israelis realize this. The power of Israeli nukes is less in their existance and more in the IDEA of their existance in the fertile imaginations of the region. And even in existance – how many times has Israel used them in the past 35 odd years? Hardly a desparate threat.

The statement also relies on the concept that there are two balancing powers in the middle east – and you know I believe that this is patently untrue. Exclude Israel from the equation and you have many different power players and interests. The Sunni world, led by the Saudis also does not want to see Iran with nukes and if Iran developed them, you can bet that unstable Egypt, drunk on the memories of Nasserite pride and prestige would want them too.

It’s not an issue of dual balancing powers. It is a question of a multitude of nations, not necessarily friendly to each other, jostling for power and prestige in the Arab world. It would be the spark that would ignite a whole new arms race in the middle east.

I’m a lot less convinced than most that Israel is going to rush in to do the States dirty work in Iran. Bibi himself told one of the neocons “working groups” to shove off when they pushed this idea on to him, and he is hardly a left winger. The idea is a major wet dream of the right, including some in the Israeli right, but they have plenty to lose and Lebanon 2 was deeply unpopular. Israel tends to go for short sharp shocks, not protracted wars.

Not entirely true. I have some very dear Lebanese friends who fairly frequently express their disappointment that internally, Lebanese people are Christian/Sunni/Shiite/Druze first and Lebanese second. That lack of a unifying nationalism is the root of much of their problems. And don’t forget that while Hizbullah is funded by Iran, they are indeed a local group.

I truly hope they do get their act together, the country has a wonderful history and amazing potential, but the Lebanese people are Lebanons biggest problem. Until they actually stand up and do what’s best for Lebanon first, they won’t get anywhere. I know a lot of the Lebanese diaspora who feel the same way.

“Do you have a reference? That would be totally stupid. I thought both our relations and the Russia’s actions in the world were getting better.”

Newsweek, Fareed Zakharia article, from May I think. You’ll need to Google it. He was disappointed the speech hadn’t really been focussed on with all the Hillary/Obama fuss.

2526767 Sold
SLD 881 WESTWOOD AVE $645,000 11/18/2005

2805779 Sold
ACT 881 WESTWOOD AVE $649,000 2/11/2008
PCH 881 WESTWOOD AVE $624,000 3/20/2008
ACT* 881 WESTWOOD AVE $624,000 3/28/2008
U/C 881 WESTWOOD AVE $624,000 4/9/2008
SLD 881 WESTWOOD AVE $599,000 6/10/2008

You home home prices drop to 16% of their all time high?

That’s an interesting document. It shows that individual’s retirement savings have shifted from company backed pensions towards individual contributions to 401k plans.

What would be interesting to know is if companies that are abandoning their pension plans are still giving the same amount to their employees, either through employee matching funds or through increases in salary.

“Paul to hold rival event during GOP convention”
http://tinyurl.com/3j4thc

SAS