"Is Rome Burning?"

I have a standard answer when my wife tells me she hears a "funny noise" in her car; I always say "Turn up the radio!" This is usually met with a smirk, followed by a plea to check it out. I had a friend whose wife drove for several weeks with her red oil light flashing, until one day the car stopped dead in its tracks, with a seized up engine. It would have been a good idea to watch those warning signs and do something. I recently had our crawl space insulated and sprayed for mold. I didn't have mold, but I believe it was a good idea to take some preventative action. Some people choose to ignore things until they are so far advanced in their damage, that they can't be repaired. I know of a farmer who had so much termite damage that his house nearly collapsed before he could move out. He just let it go too far, and ended up losing his house to insects. When I lived in Chicago, I saw good neighborhoods degenerate into "ghettos", because landlords chose not to keep up their property, and just bleed it for rent. You can now drive through sections of the city that are filled with abandoned buildings and empty lots. When there are problems, they should be addressed as quickly as possible before they are past the point of being salvaged.

The Middle-East is quickly becoming a "boiling pot" of violence and uncertainty. Tunisia, Egypt, Iran, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Syria, Lebanon, and, of course, Israel are a virtual "political earthquake" waiting to shake the world. Just yesterday, Israel seized a ship filled with arms that was bound for Egypt. The ship was dispatched from Syria through Turkey. Israel is not assigning any responsibility to Turkey in this incident. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists this was an action of self defense; and I have a tendency to believe him, as the overall sentiment in the Middle-East is extremely anti-Israel. Syria has been a behind-the-scenes supplier of anti-Israel dissidents and terrorists for a very long time, with little criticism from most of the international community. The Associated Press just released a story about Gadhafi troops getting closer to destroying a rebel held stronghold. Soon it will be too late to help the people of Libya; they are unable to stop the oppressor on their own. Unlike Israel, Libya is under the thumb of Gadhafi; they can't stop the attacks from his "stormtroopers".

The United Nations, NATO and the United States have done nothing of any real substance in the Middle-East to help calm the waters or aid the pursuit of freedom from oppression. Words of criticism and sanctions will do nothing to help those in desperate need of help. No statement of condemnation will stop a single bomb from destroying a home; no sanction will stop an atrocity from a dictator. We may be beyond the point of action already. The wringing of hands will do nothing. The United Nations, NATO and the United States are proving to be nothing more than spectators to this powder keg situation. We now will see the fruit of weak leadership as these endeavors into "paper diplomacy" fall away without regard from oppressive governments and terrorist supporters. We are watching our "International Nero Fiddle, as the World Burns"!

(This is my last blog until next Monday; watch the world while I'm gone!)