syria

[Hofstadter]

my draft registration finished going through a month or two ago.

i irrationally feel like i will be dying in syria soon.

[les revenantes]

Parliament shot it down.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national ... olo/68887/

At least England's head won't be in America's arse like 10 years ago. At least you've learned from your past mistake(s), ask America the same question ?

[semisynthetic]

Weak leadership and ineptness all the way round, from an "Arab Spring" that ignited the North of Africa, to rudely and without the level of sophistication required to discuss intelligently with our Allies, is what definitely helped cause the P.M. to say "No Thanks". A "Coalition" of "1" is faulty Unilateralism, much like "leading from behind". When the members of the POTUS own party runs for cover, you know the whole business was FUBAR absolument.

Lies, outright obfuscation of Benghazi and what ACTUALLY happened there, while the "video" story is still being sold like last months milk as "fresh". OVER ONE YEAR AGO! and still no answers or accountability. The level of distrust within this country is so undeniable and palpable, that it is no wonder our "foreign" policy has no credibility with the World. This Administration's understanding of "Foreign Policy" is as Foreign as its understanding of Capitalism.

Better to watch this situation very carefully than to be dragged into a Conflagration that cannot be stopped short of unnecessary annihilation with help from "Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee" who cannot even get their talking points straight before the Senate, House or Televison Cameras. It is embarrassing. And Worrisome, which is much worse. The World has filled with Instability and the USA looks weaker than Jimmy Carter turning down his thermostat. I say watch and wait and learn from these costly and "amateur hour" mistakes.

The REAL spot on this situation is not Damascus, but Tehran.

[Hedspace]

excellent interview

http://vimeo.com/73934796

Andrew Bacevich is asking the important questions about America’s role in the world and specifically why we should go into Syria. Is a military response justified and if we take action, where does it stop?

A graduate of West Point and Vietnam veteran, he served for 23 years in the military before becoming a professor at Boston University.

[les revenantes]

America's global influence certainly has been diminished quite SIGNIFICANTLY. The memory of the invasion of Iraq more than 10+ years ago are still fresh and vivid. Where were those ' weapons of mass destruction ' that our intelligence has suggested ? The blind leading the blind. Obama's and America's foreign policy is dodgy at best.

America's first response ( no suprise here ) is to ATTACK AND DESTROY. It took Putin to broker a deal to ' eliminate the chemical warheads ' with Syria. Bloody Putin of all people, can you believe that ?!

" It is better to sweat during peacetime than bleed during war " - chinese proverb

[Stuart X.Hunter]

Surely it's a GOOD thing that American influence or power is weakening, no?

What are Americans opinions on America's foreign policy? Not it's effectiveness but it's goals.

Sx

[Hedspace]

Not so much a view on US foreign policy but a very interesting insight into whats happening to the economy closer to home which may or may not account for why the US is weakening as a whole

[spzretent]

Bernie Sanders is an All Star. As is Elizabeth Warren. They have the finger on the pulse of what is happening in this country. The real pulse. Not the imagined, fear mongering, racist and homophobic right wing who protect exactly the people bernie Sanders is rallying against.
The gulf is getting wider a\nd wider too.

[semisynthetic]

The decline of currencies and the middleclass, AND the ramifications of printing TOO MUCH MONEY with nothing to back it are Important for us to be aware of and voice our discontent.

But, the complexity and magnitude of the problem are so great, they make people's eyes glaze over, or they just blindly follow the Idealogue they are dependent upon.

So I thought of how things worked and what comparative value money has now and when I was a kid. I picked up empty pop bottles to sell for a nickel each - their deposit price. 5 bottles was a quarter; and then quarters were almost solid silver, unlike today. Silver closed around $20.00 an ounce, so my 5 pop bottles would cost $5.00 for deposit in todays increasingly worthless money. Simplistic, but illustrative. Just going to buy GROCERIES is VERY INFORMATIVE of the devaluation; tiny packages and big prices!

The FED and Government print and waste on such a scale, that I want to show you what happened to the Weimar Republik, after WWI, when paper money was printed out of any value at all. The shame of it all is, the young people of this country are going to pay the bill. If you think BOTH parties are not to blame, I suggest you are incorrect.

Below are 2 notes, one is a Weimar Republik 100,000 Mark Note; it would buy a 1/2 loaf of Bread. About 20 YEARS earlier, before this insanity of printing money into worthlessness, is a 5 Mark note, that in its day would have bought a nice meal and a large Beer. Before the red herring of Germany's involvement in WWI is trotted out, this has happened in many countries who made the same stupid mistake of printing their currency out of any value.

OK, here are 2 Excellent examples; I could have used a half dozen OTHER countries who made the same mistake, but I knew where these notes were without looking. Some countries had TRILLION unit currencies, a boxful would buy a meal. I have a photo of a little old lady with a WHEELBARROW full of money to go the store; I couldn't find it quick enough to use here.

By the way, just compare the Quality of each Note compared to the other. Decline and discontent; what happened after the Weimar Republik? HINT: The date on the Weimar 100,000 Mark is 1923. Something about a beer hall and a maniac with a Charlie Chaplan facial hair choice. That is MUCH more than a HINT!
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