Russian Analyst Predicts Decline and Breakup of U.S.

A leading Russian political analyst has said the economic turmoil in the United States has confirmed his long-held view that the country is heading for collapse, and will divide into separate parts.

Professor Igor Panarin said in an interview with the respected daily Izvestia published on Monday: "The dollar is not secured by anything. The country's foreign debt has grown like an avalanche, even though in the early 1980s there was no debt. By 1998, when I first made my prediction, it had exceeded $2 trillion. Now it is more than 11 trillion. This is a pyramid that can only collapse."

The paper said Panarin's dire predictions for the U.S. economy, initially made at an international conference in Australia 10 years ago at a time when the economy appeared strong, have been given more credence by this year's events.

When asked when the U.S. economy would collapse, Panarin said: "It is already collapsing. Due to the financial crisis, three of the largest and oldest five banks on Wall Street have already ceased to exist, and two are barely surviving. Their losses are the biggest in history. Now what we will see is a change in the regulatory system on a global financial scale: America will no longer be the world's financial regulator."

When asked who would replace the U.S. in regulating world markets, he said: "Two countries could assume this role: China, with its vast reserves, and Russia, which could play the role of a regulator in Eurasia."

Asked why he expected the U.S. to break up into separate parts, he said: "A whole range of reasons. Firstly, the financial problems in the U.S. will get worse. Millions of citizens there have lost their savings. Prices and unemployment are on the rise. General Motors and Ford are on the verge of collapse, and this means that whole cities will be left without work. Governors are already insistently demanding money from the federal center. Dissatisfaction is growing, and at the moment it is only being held back by the elections and the hope that Obama can work miracles. But by spring, it will be clear that there are no miracles."

Could happen. One of the many possibilities we are faced with as our economy hits the skids. I wonder, would the federal government let loose the reins of power it holds on the states should they decide to strike off on their own? Or, will we have another civil war, with the Feds unleashing the armed forces against its own citizens. Or, perhaps martial law will be in effect by the time the economy has collapsed completely, the population largely disarmed. I also wonder how many of our citizens are aware of the extent of our financial and political crisis. Certainly it seems that there should be a larger and louder outcry by now....but then again, that should have been the case years ago. Very uncertain future for sure. And, still, so many are determined to believe that it can't happen here...sigh...discouraging.

Common Sense: A Revolutionary Idea

Interesting little film...the link is in the title.

The Election: It Had to Be this Way

The Democrats winning Congress and the White House just had to happen. If we are ever going to change this country from an empire to a representative democracy, we have to rid ourselves of the notion that one corporate political party can do anything toward that goal. Barack Obama will be the catalyst for a new movement, away from false hope and false promises, not because he will deliver to the people of this country anything worthwhile, but because he won’t. This will be the final nail in the coffin of our corporatist society.

There are so many so-called “progressives” that have believed that it was the Bush Republican neo-cons that have gotten us where we are. This is wishful thinking. The Democratic 110th Congress did nothing but rubber-stamp every bill that was put before it. Democrats have blindly caved in to fear of being called “anti-patriotic” if they voted against the meaningless war in Iraq. They put their political fortunes ahead of their conscience at every opportunity, from Pelosi taking impeachment “off the table” to voting for the new FISA bill that granted telecoms immunity from illegally working with the executive branch to illegally eavesdrop on US citizens. They passed every military budget and went along with almost every Bush attack on our civil liberties.

While its nice to see that some people do realize that the hypocrisy and corruption are not limited to the Bush administration and the rethuglicans, but a systemic issue, I can't say that I share the writer's optimism that the American people will wake up to that fact. After all, we've already elected a demofascist majority in the Senate and House of Representatives on the promise of change...and the sheeple were quite convinced that would ensure a repudiation of all the insanity dealt out by the Bush cabal. Well....didn't happen. And, for those that didn't already know that there is no real opposition party, THAT should have been plenty of proof. AND YET...they are celebrating the election of Obama as if it will mean a damn thing. As I said before the infamous midterm elections and this one...the only issue these two parties disagree on is who should be dictator. The link to the rest of the article is...as always...in the title.