March 22 is U.N. World Water Day

One of the interesting side benefits to working for a global financial services giant is having a corporate intranet that highlights world news and philanthropic events.  In the past few days, my attention has been solely focused on March Madness, rinsing all the winter grime off my truck, and following the Health Care Reform legislation that passed the House of Representatives yesterday evening.  So it’s great to be able to come to work and learn about events that are bigger than my narrow daily view usually provides!

Today, I found out that March 22 is “World Water Day”, a yearly event promoted by UN-Water to highlight issues around water quality and availability worldwide.

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China & Iran, Saudi Arabia & the U.S.A

This article makes me wonder what the U.S. is playing at, while I realize that in international politics everyone is out for themselves this move just seems ridiculous. Saudi Arabia cannot afford to confront Iran directly, agreeing to give the Chinese the oil they need if Iran’s exports are curtailed will, make no mistake about it,  lead to a direct confrontation between Iran and Saudi Arabia. I have three reasons why Saudi Arabia should, at least in public, decline this ludicrous request.

1. Saudi Arabia cannot afford a direct confrontation with Iran. The Iran-Iraq war proved that if there is a war in the region there will be no winners (unless of course Israel is involved, and I doubt Israel will want any part of a Saudi – Iran war)

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