Akkam’s Razor

More on Iran:  Have we lost our minds?  Attacking Iran, which we have neither the manpower nor monetary resources to accomplish, is quite possibly even more stupid than invading Iraq.  Yes, their President is a lunatic (hmmm…), but why should we consider following the same gameplan that worked so splendidly in Iraq again?  And using nukes?  No, that won't enrage the Muslim world at all.  And $80 plus oil won't slow our economy any further…

China snubs "W":  I wonder how the White House feels after being snubbed by Hu Jintao, Chinese President, meeting with Microsoft founder Bill Gates prior to our own President, despite the fact they have much to discuss.  Just goes to show, our diplomatic relationships are meaningless so long as they have the support of the business community.

Nationalism on the March (creeping towards fascism and isolationism): It's so ridiculously easy to see where the world is going, and what we're doing (and not doing) to push it down the cliff…

I am so not an economist, but it looks like we have been dealt an unwinable hand…the Fed signals it's done with raising interest rates, causing the stockmarket to rally, but increasing oil prices are beginning to rumble throught the economy, starting with wholesale inflation, and eventually rippling up into consumer's pockets, necessitating more rate increases.  Of course, raising interest rates causes the cost of borrowing to go up, threatening the growth of the economy and threatening to stall the stock market, as well as popping the real estate bubble.

Trade-off on Human Rights:  I love how our [US] decisions on a country's stance on human rights vary based on whether or not ( 1.) we view the country as a friend or competitor and ( 2.) if they have oil.