Is This The Last Week?

It's being widely reported that Russia says they are going to start fueling Iran's nuclear reactor a week from today, on 8/21. 

While most Americans are "sleeping in", paying attention to sports, and the usual crap, the mid-east is heating up.  In June, I posted a piece based on Donald Sensing's "Sense of Events" blog that noted many Israelis are expecting war soon.  Let's go over a few things that are approaching and tie them together.

First, there was that silly border skirmish between Israel and Lebanon when an Israeli team started trimming a tree.  Even the UN admits that tree is in Israel, not Lebanon.  What's going on?  Isn't it a common military tactic to probe your enemy?  Find what they respond to and how?  There is a lot of speculation that Israel intends to use the opportunity to reduce as much of their enemies as possible.  It is a matter of survival to them. 

Second, there is the next flotilla getting put together to try and break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza (tons of supplies come in by land).  This will be this September.  This attempt will feature a boat named "Audacity of Hope", and among those coordinating is Bernadine Dorn, wife of Bill Ayers, and - at the very least - someone who has been closer to the president than anybody I've ever known.

Then there's Iran and this reactor.  Fueling this reactor complicates things for the Israelis.  If you bomb a reactor with fuel rods in it, you have a much more serious contamination problem than if it's not fueled.  It adds pressure to do something "while you still can". Iran has played a master game of delay, asking for negotiations, putting everyone off, all the while working as hard as they can to get the bomb.  Time is running out.

Remember this hour glass in "The Wizard of Oz"?