Thursday, December 15, 2005

I wonder if Mike stands on corners in a spandex outfit?

Germany loses big if Iran faces sanctions:
Germany has more to lose from any economic sanctions on Iran than other Western countries as it is the world's biggest exporter to the Islamic republic, a leading German industry group said on Thursday.

"Our exports of goods and services to Iran are worth around 4 billion euros ($4.8 billion)," Michael Pfeiffer, a foreign trade expert at the German Chamber of Industry and Trade (DIHK), told Reuters. That was up from some 3.6 billion euros in 2004.
...
Pfeiffer said a Western embargo would be disastrous for Germany, struggling with a double-digit unemployment rate and sluggish economic growth. "With our unemployment problem and weak economy, this wouldn't be good at all," Pfeiffer said.
...
Pfeiffer said sanctions were generally not an effective weapon. "We saw that in Iraq," he said, adding: "One must remain in dialogue with a country like Iran".
There's no slut like a dumb slut.