This situation really has me peeved. I'm trying to look at both sides of the coin, but Russia is really seeming to take things too far in their aggression. It seems like they are just trying to flex their muscles to...

Iran says it will talk but will not give up program first.It would seem to me that if you want to stop someone from doing something and you are truly using ALL diplomatic channels, that we should talk to them and tell them why they need to stop, not ask them to stop and them come and tell them why they sould not proceed.

George Bidault ( previous French prime minister) once said, "a good diplomatic agreement was one with which all parties were equally dissatisfied."

The current economic crisis is similar in some ways to what Japan experienced in the early 1990’s, however the (government) policy response is very different.After the 1989 Japanese equity market crash, the Bank of Japan continued to raise rates.

I found this article in the Sun Sentinel : Florida plan advises hospitals to bar some patients in event of severe flu pandemichttp://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-swine-flu-crisis-propublica-sboct18,0,2336680.story?

As Cheney said "never let a good crisis go to waste". 

For example, the Federal Reserve began buying more mortgage-backed bonds to keep the market afloat and at the same time instituted a mortgage bailout for borrowers hit financially by the crisis.

This is a once in a lifetime (hopefully) crisis. 

Now there is a homeless crisis in LA County.I colleague of mine tried Bakersfield with some success. 

Some believe the GLOBAL sovereign debt crisis, unfunded mandates, and faltering economies have a very, VERY real chance of becoming a "perfect storm" that will make 2006-2008 look like a one-year-old's birthday party with only grandparents in attendance.