Oligarchs Rule Western World

Somewhere along the line, democracy died. Today, countries throughout the developed world are ruled by oligarchies, or plutocracies:

 

Iran v Israel: Size Comparison

Looking at the two belligerents, many don't seem to understand the size disparity between the two, Israel has a population of 10 million, while Iran a population of 91 million. 

In terms of geographic size, here's a few images to convey scale:

Firstly, Israel if it was an island west of France, and north of Spain in the Bay of Biscay:

Then Iran if it was overlaid Western Europe, it would stretch from Croatia and Slovenia, across Western Europe, taking in most of Germany, northern France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, England, Wales and Ireland:

And if Iran was overlaid the 48 contiguous states of the US:

It becomes obvious that defeating Iran is not a minor exercise, and probably not possible. A war with Iran could also close the Straits of Hormuz, shutting down the supply of oil to much of Southeast Asia and the Far East, but not China. That's because the Iran-China overland corridor is now fully operational and oil from Iran can go via rail to China, arriving much sooner than by sea, and without the Straits of Hormuz and Malacca as pinch points.

The way I see this; a strike on Iran is an act of self-harm. The cost to the western world and its allies would be major, possibly introducing a Depression, while China and Iran would just continue on. Russia appears to be sitting there watching things evolve and rubbing their hands together. 

The thinking now is the US will strike Iran this weekend. Don't do it.