04 October 2008

Russia's President Predicted an Imminent American Calamity -- Now He Wishes to Cash In On the Enormous Opportunity He Sees

In the great game of international dominance, the leading contenders always look for opportunities and openings, to make a move. Russia's president Medvedev--just before the Russian invasion and ethnic cleansing of Georgia this past summer--predicted an imminent calamity for the US. Now, Medvedev hopes to seize the opportunity he perceives in the recent credit crunch and congressional bailout, to move Russia's interests to the forefront. Europe and the rest of the world doesn't seem to mind in the slightest.
President Dmitri Medvedev said Thursday that the U.S. crisis showed that "the times when one economy and one country dominated are gone for good." Speaking of the United States, Medvedev said the world no longer needed a "megaregulator."

Russia has argued that the freewheeling Anglo-American style of capitalism is to blame for the crisis, a position echoed by Germany and other Continental European nations. Medvedev even called it financial "egoism."

A drumbeat of similar pronouncements has been heard in Russia in recent days. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made a major speech Wednesday on U.S. financial "irresponsibility," blaming the plunge of more than 50 percent in the Russian stock market on the global economic slowdown and U.S. financial turmoil, rather than on any troubles endemic to Russia. _IHT
So Putin is blaming the US for Russian economic problems? Convenient. And Medvedev is asserting that the days of one-country dominance are over permanently? What a charming ignorance of history. Or is Russia secretly harbouring a desire for its own dysfunctional and demographically shrinking nation to take over from the US, as international hegemon? That appears more likely, than the literal interpretation of Medvedev's words.

It is true that the US dominance of international financial, political, and military affairs that began after WWII, is unlikely to last forever. China is leveraging its economic success into a rapidly expanding military strength on land, sea, air and space, which guarantees dangerous conflicts in the future.

Although Russia is shrinking in population and ability to mount a serious conventional military threat, its nuclear weapons technology and ICBM capability is being modernised just enough to keep Armageddon on the table. Russia's fossil fuel wealth--although incompetently managed--is sufficient to finance Russian belligerence and financing of proxy terror for many years yet.

The proximate and ultimate threat to US dominance, however, is US politics. If the US Democratic Party comes to total dominance over the US government--not just corrupt control of congress--several hugely destructive statist policies that have been smoldering relatively quietly, will burst into full flaming consumption of US reserve capacity to bounce back from adversity. It is not the large strike from the outside that will bring the US--and the entire western world as well--to its knees. It is the death from a thousand cuts, self inflicted, that weakens the nation to the point that it lacks the capacity--and eventually the desire--to get back up.

All of this is expected. It has always been expected. It is only a matter of timing. Everything changes, and it is up to the wise person to prepare himself for that change.

A few years ago, the Bush administration along with a number of Republican legislators (including Sen. McCain), tried to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac policies in order to preven exactly the credit crunch that we see today. They were blocked in that attempted reform by the same people who larded up the recent porky-pig bailout. One thing leads to another.

The credit problem is not actually a calamity for the US. It is how the credit problem was allowed to happen by those who are likely to be setting US policy for the next several years that is a calamity. The bailout did not reform the underlying problems. The bailout is a very expensive bandaid that papers over the problem--temporarily. There are much worse problems in the pipeline for the US, due to pop up from time to time.

After watching the way this problem was handled, we can fully expect that the next, larger crises will be handled similarly, with a resultant amping up of the underlying unsoundness of the foundations of the US hybrid economy and the US government's ability to affect national and international affairs in a constructive way.

Think of it as a nation-wide Hurricane Katrina on steroids and crystal meth. Think of the coming US governmental regime as Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco writ large. Think of all the corrupt DP political machines in the history of the US, all combined for one large cannibalistic glutton-fest at the public trough. At least, that is what the porky bailout combined with opinion polls suggests for the future.

Obama has charmed many US voters, and is the preferred candidate of most journalists, foreign leaders, and Hamas. Obama promises change, and change is one thing you can be sure of.

Labels: ,

Bookmark and Share

5 Comments:

Blogger Snake Oil Baron said...

As the greatest prophet of our time once said:

"Reply hazy, try again"

Even if Obama wins and a Democratic party congressional majority is left in power, will he and his handlers be able to do enough damage before the next congressional election to really screw up America's future? It takes a lot of work to permanently dismantle something as strong as America. I don't think the Dems have it in them.

And that assumes that they win. It is not quite election day yet.

Saturday, 04 October, 2008  
Blogger al fin said...

I understand what you are saying, Baron. My postings on this issue are not meant to be arguments, because it is too late for that. Either a person understands the complex dynamics of what is happening, or they do not. Many of the destructive changes the Democratic Party has instigated are essentially irreversible in this political climate. The expansion is built into the system, and will only accelerate--but at different rates, depending upon who is elected to lead.

Nations depend upon their economic systems to support everything else. Economic systems depend upon freedom of information, free flow of capital, contractual integrity, freedom from excess regulation and taxation, a realistic view of the world and how it works, a continuing supply of sound thinking and well-educated citizens, and access to energy--physical and mental.

Everything about the US Democratic Party platform is geared to attack one or another of the foundations of a strong economy. The US has withstood the attack for several decades now, but there is a limit to what a country can withstand when it is beseiged from both inside and out.

The election of Obamanation will result in the permanent implacement and acceleration of long-term mandates, regulations, and taxes. It will bring new activist judges to continue the destruction of constitutional safeguards, and the total liberation of trial lawyers. It will embolden journalists in their open bias and intentional narrowing and diminishing of the public's political vision.

Too many things will happen simultaneously to corrupt and weaken an already corrupt and weak constitutional republic. Either one understands the problem, or one does not.

Sunday, 05 October, 2008  
Blogger Linda Morgan said...

The proximate and ultimate threat to US dominance, however, is US politics.

Amen.

I'll give Bush, McCain and other assorted Republicans credit for having tried to blow the whistle on Freddie and Fannie years ago. But in the end, as a body, they effected no better leadership than their esteemed colleagues across the aisle.

Trotting Paulson over to Congress waving a 3-page urgent request for .7 trillion dollars and warning everyone that total economic collapse would answer any protest was a despicable act which underscores Bush’s notably challenged communication skills, to say the least.

Suspending his campaign (as if the cameras and microphones wouldn't follow him) to sweep into Washington and plead for, essentially, instantaneous acquiescence to the administration's breathtaking demand was no feather in McCain's cap. Again, to say the least.

We might think, although we really won’t ever know, that they bit the bullet and did what had to be done in obtaining this “very expensive bandaid.” But even if the bandaid somehow delays a total bleed-out it worsens the underlying conditions by getting Washington and all its follies even more deeply entrenched in financial markets. Plus, as you indicate, it puts us on the hook for delivering up ever more expensive emergency measures on next to no notice and with next to no questions asked.

I don’t think there’s much more than bankrupt tradition at this point that makes me prefer McCain to Obama. McCain occasionally sounds soothing notes of small-government conservatism, but does he mean it? And if he means it, can he effect even the smallest particle of it? More fiscally conservative, liberty loving legislators than he have proved utterly impotent to slow our slide into socialism. And eight years under a Republican-headed executive branch have brought us to this lurid spectacle of the snatching up of tax monies by the hundreds of billions of dollars to throw wildly at looming disaster.

The answer to government perfidy – even that which can be honestly laid at the door of the Democrats – isn’t more Republicans. I don’t know what it is for sure, but it’s definitely going to involve lots of Oynklent Green.

Great blog, AF!

Monday, 06 October, 2008  
Blogger Richard Morchoe said...

The difference between McCain and Obama is the difference between two skydivers.

One forgets the parachute, the other throws his away.

The landings the same.

Monday, 06 October, 2008  
Blogger al fin said...

Yes, Linda. Republicans have done nothing to indicate they are willing to act to reform government overreach. Democrats are driving the car over the cliff, but Republicans are riding along as long as they can.

I despised Republicans much more than Democrats until I woke up one day in the 90s are realised what Democrats were doing. Since then my contempt for the US Democratic Party has only grown.

The two parties are both bad, very bad. But not equally bad.

The destruction of the US economic and social foundation is much greater under policies of Democratic legislators and executives, on a national level. Various state governments are exceptions to that rule.

Monday, 06 October, 2008  

Post a Comment

“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act” _George Orwell

<< Home

Newer Posts Older Posts
``