Morning

Tuesday has arrived once again. And I’m here in my usual place. This morning I’m trying to see through the darkness and see if I can tell what is causing the neighborhood dogs to bark. I even heard our cat making noises; and she’s all the way down at the other end of the house and inside the garage. My flashlight reveals nothing out of the ordinary and all is quiet now, but it did remind me of the stories about how animals can predict earthquakes long before they occur. Could it be?

I have been checking my Google Alerts this morning and now I’m not sure that I should have included “Iran” in the list of news items that I want Google to seek out for me. Far too much information!

I guess I’m not being honest…I really do look forward to reading the alerts. I only wish that they were of a more positive nature. Trying to deal diplomatically with the leaders of Iran has to be one of the worst jobs you could find yourself in. I was reminded of the diplomat’s difficulties during the first Iranian crisis, the holding of American hostages. At that time, Iran wouldn’t talk directly to the U.S, but insisted that all communications go through a third party. Can you imagine what is lost in the translation? That’s another reason to make certain that open and direct communication remains an option.

Of course you won’t find Iran and Israel talking to each other; the two antagonists that most need that kind of approach. Those two are already using the world’s news media to launch their pre-emptive strikes against one another. The only consolation is that their angry words of war are not killing the innocent. Not yet.