Did these guys ever read a history book?

It's amazing to me how ignorant our "leaders" are.  Both parties need to require their elected lap-dogs to attend a class and educate them on the realities of the Mid-East.

President Brick O'bama has okay-ed the use of US surveillance drones to keep an eye on ISIS forces (the ultra-radical Islamic terrorist group) operating in Syria and Iraq.  What he hasn't authorized is the use of force against ISIS fighters across that line in the sand marking the border between Iraq and Syria....we don't want to violate Syrian airspace.

Here's the problem with that thinking: SYRIA AND IRAQ AREN'T REAL COUNTRIES!  Neither are Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, or Saudi Arabia.   They aren't now and never have been.  

They are "nations" with borders arbitrarily set up by the victors (Britain and France) after World War I.  During that Great War the two decided quietly to divvy up the Mid-East after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), who was fighting along side eventual losers Germany and Austro-Hungary.  

According to the Sykes-Picot Agreement France would exercise their sphere of influence over the northern part of said territory (the current areas known as Syria and Lebanon), while Britain would oversee their sphere of influence over the southern part (now known as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, and Israel).

But "national identity" was a foreign concept to the Arabs.  Their society was (and still is) organized around "families", which are part of "clans", which are part of "tribes".  They routinely band together to form temporary alliances when their short-term interests merge.  But when their interests change those alliances break up and new alliances with former enemy tribes take their place.  Regional politics are always fluid, therefore national boundaries are meaningless to them.

They don't give a rats ass about "borders".  Kurds don't see themselves as Turkish Kurds or Syrian Kurds or Iraqi Kurds.  They have no allegiance to any nation-state.  To say that we shouldn't violate "Syrian" airspace is a farce, as there is no Syria, and therefore no Syrian airspace to violate.  There are only various families and clans and tribes which congeal now and then into interest groups.

I'm not saying we should or shouldn't go after ISIS forces across that mythical line on a map that defines Syria, but just that that shouldn't enter into our decision.  And above all, we should give up on trying to introduce "democracy" to the people of the region.  They will never swear allegiance to any "country".  Why should we waste American lives and national treasure trying to set them up?

Screw 'em!

S

So now I've pissed off Germany, too?

"I had...a bad...experience!"  from The Italian Job.

Earlier this week I said some rather disparaging things about India, and immediately my technology tools all went kaput.  This necessitated a call to Yahoo customer service, which of course is contracted out to a couple of semi-English speaking idiots in....INDIA!   It has been suggested to me this was simply Karma coming home to roost with a vengeance.  (NOTE:  Just as I typed this, the battery compartment door on my wireless keyboard popped open and the batteries fell out.  That's creepy!)

Yesterday my car's driver side power window wouldn't open, and I remembered there was a fuse that controlled just the driver's side front window.  The other 3 windows worked fine.  So while I was out making my rounds I stopped in to my mechanic and asked him to please check it.

He got in my car (an Audi), turned on the key, hit the "down" switch....and it came down.  DAMN!  So it was just me?  Am I jinxed or what?

Then he tried to close it, and just as happened to me....nothing.  Now it was stuck down*.  Yes.  I AM jinxed.

What have I done to piss off Germany?  I like Germany, especially their cars.  *sigh*

I need the weekend to hurry up and get here.  *pout*

S

*They got it back up temporarily. It wasn't the fuse.   Replacement parts are coming pronto from Canada.  I'm just thankful they aren't coming from #$%^& India.  ;)

Investment advice....5 cents. Hurry, this deal won't last long.

How's this for some twisted logic:  The CEO of Germany's Deutsche Bank is telling his corporate customers that they should prepare to look elsewhere to borrow money to grow their businesses.  

He says his bank, like all European banks, are being told by the wacko regulators they have to put more money in reserve TO COVER LOSSES DUE TO BAD LOANS they've made.  (This means they need to put a pot of money off to the side to cover the stupid high risk/high profit potential loans they've made that didn't pan out, money that now won't be available to loan out to customers.)

So it's the banking regulator's fault business loans will now be harder to get?

Ummm....try this Mr. Greedy Banker:  Only make loans to quality, credit worthy customers.  Then you wouldn't have all those horrible losses.  Greece is/was NOT a quality, credit worthy customer.  Nor was Ireland, or Italy, or Portugal.  (Of course then you wouldn't have your whopping big bonus either.  Ohhhh....now I get it!)  

As for my own investment strategy, I'm playing it safe.  I've put everything I have into Gallagher's Sledge-O-Matic, becoming the exclusive North American distributor for his fantastic "slicing / dicing / cuts Julianne fries but you gotta hit  that sum bitch juuuuust right" miracle kitchen device. 

Cha-ching!

S

I've got all the answers. It's the questions that trip me up.

So now leaked information has come out that says the NSA has paid $278M to media companies (Google? Yahoo? etc) for access to their customer's data.  What a waste!  They could have just come straight to me in the first place and for a whole lot less than that I would have "cc'd" them on all my emails from the get-go.  We could have cut out the middle men and saved the taxpayers a bundle.

I don't quite understand what's fixing to happen in Syria.  With the aid of maybe France....the Germans and Brits have opted out....the US stands ready to strike Syria in retaliation for their use of chemical weapons.

We've announced probable targets are their Ministry of Defense building, their Secret Police HQ, their Republican Guard barracks, certain military warehouses, etc, ALL OF WHICH ARE BY NOW UNDOUBTEDLY EMPTY.  And we've said we have no desire to target Bashar Assad personally....we're not looking for "regime change".  And we have no idea how to measure whether or not we're successful.

Yeah boy, that's a well thought out plan.  Can't we just hit a few keystrokes and cyber-fry all their computers and be done with this?  Yes, I know....they can retaliate and maybe fry ours, too.  Feces occurs.  I'll chance it.  (Which just reinforces my case for good 'ol yellow pads and #2 pencils.  :)

IMO we should either kick the ever-lovin' shit out of them or stay home and let's watch football.  And since cruise missiles cost more than we have left in petty cash, I say "pass the nachos".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hereby declare the long Labor Day weekend begins the second I click "Publish".  (The boss won't mind.  Go ahead and mention my name.)

Y'all have fun and stay safe.  ;)

S

"Now you see it....now you don't."

I recently read that the Greek government, which we all know is an economic basket case, is about to finalize a treaty with Switzerland that will allow them access to the records and the money, estimated to be up to 20 billion Euros, that wealthy Greeks have parked in Swiss banks as a tax dodge.  This follows on similar treaties that Germany, Austria, the UK, and I believe the US, too (?) have negotiated, all to catch tax cheats and bring in more dollars, pounds, and Euros to the respective government coffers.

The problem is, however, that there is a lag time of many months after signing a treaty before it goes into effect.  The wealthy, some say with the help of their Swiss bankers, are using this interlude to move their money to new tax shelters being set up in wealth-friendly Hong Kong and Singapore.  In other words, it's still out of reach of the tax revenooers.

Here's my question:  In this country at least, the wealthy argue that their taxes should be cut dramatically because it is they and their money that create jobs.  If billions of dollars (some say TRILLIONS of dollars) are constantly on the move in this giant shell game of tax dodge, how is that creating jobs?

Somebody please 'splain it to me.  What little business acumen I have doesn't understand how this ultra-high-roller game is played.  Seems to me this is just making the case for those who argue "the rich get richer".  What am I missing?

S