It's kicking off in the Middle East

[MrMark]

Turkey issues new warnings to Syria - Friday 5 October 2012 | World news | guardian.co.uk

Things still look unstable out there. I blame the Top Gear incursion a couple of years back..

[Old Hack]

In 1992 I was in Turkey and Syria for 6 weeks and there were weekly border 'skirmishes' then. Truth is, they don't like each other, and I don't think they ever have. I think Syria has, in modern times, always suspected that they would be turned over by Turkey in some way.

[shaunbhoy]

PS Can't be arsed to check but are problems in Iran all due to sanctions? Their oil industry has been in steep decline for decades.

They are if you believe Mr I'madinnerjacket!!

[BrilloPad]

Syria vs Turkey
N Korea vs S Korea ( North and South Korea 'on the verge of nuclear war' - Telegraph )
Japan vs China
Afghan vs France (Afghan bid to 'de-friend' France - Telegraph)

Any semi-final predictions?

[EternalOptimist]

Turkey vs Syria who are supported by Iran, who are in turn hated by the Saudis who etc. What they need is a unifying purpose. Why not blame the Jews? Always worked, that one.

PS Can't be arsed to check but are problems in Iran all due to sanctions? Their oil industry has been in steep decline for decades.

Turkey is a menber of Nato. If they decide to get stuck in, and call us in to help
it would be like a proxy war, where we get what we want with minimum risk and losses.
I can see the attraction to the US and to the UK (and even Israel)

In fact, if we wound the bastids up enough, we could set them off all the way to the Chinese border

[xoggoth]

Turkey vs Syria who are supported by Iran, who are in turn hated by the Saudis who etc. What they need is a unifying purpose. Why not blame the Jews? Always worked, that one.

PS Can't be arsed to check but are problems in Iran all due to sanctions? Their oil industry has been in steep decline for decades.

[eek]

From Iran

Completely OT. It looks as if the basket case that is the Iranian economy has caused its first street response. Tehran saw localised but significant enough riots. The core of angry mob? Traders, in particular money traders. Reports suggest other areas have also kicked off.

In short, they shut down their shops in some of the bazaar areas of the city, then went out and stood around, set fire to some things and played games of chase with the police.

The problem at the tip of the economic iceberg is the Iranian currency which, despite crude attempts at manipulation by the Iranian government is getting to the not worth the paper its printed upon stage versus the global currency of the street, the US dollar. Iran has long enjoyed a healthy retail based currency and gold trading market and the government has been using the traders as a useful scapegoat by clamping down on their activities.

The regime has shipped in the IGRC militias already to force shops back open and get the trouble of the streets. Already they've blamed Hashemi Rafsanjanis son as being behind the trouble. He was recently arrested on corruption charges.

Of such sparks are bonfires made? That we wait to see because the fires are truly small at this point.

Hashemi has his supporters, have no doubt. The Green Movement itself hasn't gone away, in fact its quite well organised and has a lot of third party governmental contacts abroad. It was sorely disappointed by the Western, see US, response last time it took to the streets. If this is their queue they may well have to accept at the outset that the US is unlikely to change its habit of fiddling around the edges in some overblown belief that they can persuade the current regime to somehow be friendly.

Is Sas their economic guru?

[MrMark]

BBC News - Turkey hits targets inside Syria after border deaths

Looks very unstable. But I suppose it always has...