Day Six?

Doesn't matter. Brits are losers.

Several comments from Blair and others over the last few days on Iran: "Don't they know what this looks like to the rest of the world?" Yup. Brits are losers.

To be fair, that exact question has two nearly opposite answers over the last six days. The first three days: How do they look? Iran looks just like the rogue state it is. The last three days? Britain looks just like the cowardly nation it is.

They're afraid to fight. This isn't a rational consideration of consequences, after all, they do have the United States on their side. They're just afraid to fight.

This is terribly hard to understand but I suppose it's because if they had to fight they would have to admit that there's such a thing as an enemy and then they would have to admit that their own multicultural society is in very bad shape and they're soon going to have civil war. They will have civil war, but my, it would be so unpleasant to have to face it just this afternoon.

I do understand the problem. They're Christians, and a Muslim, ardent in his faith, can smell a Christian a continent away. But a Christian, European that is, and modern, thinks he's left all that silliness behind, and is "advanced"; he doesn't recognize that that Christian stuff is what he's made of, it's the shape of his mind even if not of his faith, and he still gives off the ordor.

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I note the United Arab Emirates has stated there will be no attacks from their territory. That's because they want to be on the side of the winner and they've already picked the winner, Iran. This wasn't the same response given last summer when Israel first attacked Hezbollah. Then, while of course some perfunctory criticism of Israel was necessary, they in fact were pulling for Israel because they wanted to see Hizbollah crushed as a defeat to Iran, the one nation in the gulf they truly fear. It wasn't until they saw Israel getting "whipped" that they went back to they're visceral orrientation and pulled against the Jews. But that first impulse put them in bad standing with Iran, and Iran is big, and Iran is just across the gulf. This time they're playing it smart. They're pulling for the winner from the outset. The winner is going to be Iran, they're going to be there forever. In fact the Emirates would like to see Iran pulverized. But Britain won't do it, and probably not the United States. A hand slap, probably that at the most, but the Mullahs will be angry to have had their hand slapped, so UAE plays it safe and goes with the Persians. If somehow the US does attack, all for the better, but the Emirates has kept its nose clean.

They wouldn't be so very public about their clean nose if they had any faith in the US.

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Saudis playing something of the same game:

Saudi King Abdullah, whose country is a close US ally, on Wednesday slammed the "illegitimate foreign occupation" of Iraq in an opening speech to the annual Arab summit in Riyadh.

The US looks like a loser now. This is nose clean statement that they're no longer on the ship. To be referenced later if useful.

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Meanwhile France has difficulty with "youths", and the Washington Post finds more failure in Iraq. The Washington Post merely wants failure, and is making its contribution; the French actually face failure.

France's presidential candidates have been exchanging fire over why the simple arrest of a fare-dodger turned into a full scale riot, with the Left claiming that Nicolas Sarkozy's repressive policies have brought anti-police sentiment to an all-time high.

Ségolène Royal, the Socialist candidate, said the riot was a legacy of Mr Sarkozy's time at the interior ministry - including the November 2005 riots - which had worsened animosity between police and young people from ethnic minorities.

"Naturally passengers should pay for their ticket. But for a simple stop-check to degenerate into such violent confrontation proves that something is not right any more," she said.

She is so right and the "something" is so clear.