I Didn't Watch the VP Debate.

Last Wednesday (3/10/12) I stayed up to watch the first US Presidential debate and Thursday didn't go so well. So as a result I didn't bother stay up to watch last night's Vice Presidential debate and I'll pretend it was my choice. I will have to look it up on Youtube over the weekend though because apparently the Republican Paul Ryan's grip on reality is as weak as his boss Mitt Romney's. According to Twitter Ryan accused Obama of loosening sanctions on Iran. Obama of course has brought India and China into the oil embargo on Iran and had Iran excluded from the SWIFT banking transfer system so if anyone were to buy Iranian oil Iran can't be paid for it. So far this has had the effect of wiping around 35% off the value of the Iranian Rial, seen imports drop by around 70% and seen the cost of staple foods rise by around 75% leading to riots in the streets in and mass arrests. So seriously at this point Israel bombing Iran would be considered the soft option.

Also today the European Union (EU) has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize amid snorts of derision. The award actually makes a lot of sense though because the 60 years in which the EU (and it's forebearer the European Coal and Steel Community) has been in place have undoubtedly been the most peaceful 60 years in Europe's entire history. The EU has also helped overthrow dictators in Greece and Portugal and it's work reaching out to Eastern European nations played a vital role in making sure that the collapse of the USSR was far less bloody then it was. I think the deciding factor though was the way in which the EU has worked to smooth the edges of competing and often aggressive points of view in response to the Eurozone financial crisis. I know that from the outside this has often looked confused and chaotic but the last time Europe faced a financial crisis this bad it lead to the rise of Adolf Hitler, the Nazi Holocaust and the Second World War which certainly puts a few riots in perspective. Hopefully the award will now give the EU the boot up the bum it so desperately needs on Syria.

09:55 on 12/10/12