"Predictions that Russia will again become powerful, rich and influential ignore some simply devastating problems at home that block any march to power," Feshbach reports.  "Sure, Russia's army could take tiny Georgia. But Putin's military is still in tatters, armed with rusting weaponry and staffed with indifferent recruits. Meanwhile, a declining population is robbing the military of a new generation of soldiers. Russia's economy is almost totally dependent on the price of oil. And, worst of all, it's facing a public health crisis that verges on the catastrophic."

The health crisis turns out to be a barometer of sorts -- and a warning of a far greater disaster that looms.  Russia is falling into the rank of nations with the lowest life expectancy and highest rates of early death.  No one appears concerned enough to do anything.

As Feshbach reports:

Recent decades, most notably since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, have seen an appalling deterioration in the health of the Russian population, anchoring Russia not in the forefront of developed countries but among the most backward of nations.

This is a tragedy of huge proportions -- but not a particularly surprising one, at least to me. I followed population, health and environmental issues in the Soviet Union for decades, and more recently, I have reported on diseases such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic ravaging the Russian population. I've visited Russia more than 50 times over the years, so I can say from firsthand experience that this national calamity isn't happening suddenly. It's happening inexorably.

According to U.N. figures, the average life expectancy for a Russian man is 59 years -- putting the country at about 166th place in the world longevity sweepstakes, one notch above Gambia. For women, the picture is somewhat rosier: They can expect to live, on average, 73 years, barely beating out the Moldovans. But there are still some 126 countries where they could expect to live longer. And the gap between expected longevity for men and for women -- 14 years -- is the largest in the developed world.

The recent military incursion into Georgia, brutal as it was, may represent a futile attempt to show force while Russia still has force.  The number of young men of military age in the population is crashing -- as is the number of young women who could give birth to future soldiers.

In order to understand this, consider this shocking headline from the St. Peterburg Times [Russia]:  "Experts -- 64 Percent of Russian Pregnancies End in Abortion."

As the paper reports:

The low birth rate remains one of the key reasons behind Russia’s ongoing demographic crisis. According to official statistics, every fourth teenage girl in Russia has some form of gynecological ailment or reproductive health disorder.

Each year in Russia, more than 64 percent of all pregnancies end in abortion, while in Western European countries the level is below 25 percent. By comparison, there are 10 to 15 abortions per 100 pregnancies in the U.K. and 5 or 6 per 100 in the Netherlands.

One in ten women who undergo an abortion in Russia is below 18 years of age, doctors say. Gynecological disease rates for teenage girls in 15-17 age group, have jumped by an alarming 30 percent in the last five years.

In a twist only Fyodor Dostoevsky might understand, Russian authorities, alarmed by the population collapse, declared 2008 as the 'Year of the Family.'  Government campaigns to encourage bearing children were launched, but with no apparent impact.  In a stunning disconnect, the government still offers free abortions.

What country can live with aborting 64 percent of its babies?  How can such a nation survive?  It has brought death into its own wombs.  The babies who are born are the lucky few.  The vast majority never see life outside the womb.

In recent days The Los Angeles Times has reported that a small pro-life movement has begun in Russia, but without much influence as of yet:

A fledgling antiabortion movement is beginning to stir in Russia. Driven by a growing discussion of abortion as a moral issue and, most of all, by a government worried about demographics, doctors and politicians are quietly struggling to lower what is believed to be one of the world's highest abortion rates.."

"The attitude has changed," abortion practitioner Alexander Medvedev said. "Even in community clinics, doctors are trying to dissuade patients from abortion. Now teenagers come to see us with already two or three abortions, and it's horrible.

The report indicates that some medical authorities and social observers are truly concerned, and exceptions for late-term abortions are harder to obtain. Nevertheless, the sheer number of abortions defies comprehension and appears unlikely to fall.  A reluctance to define the issue in moral terms means that authorities try to argue from the grounds of public health and population needs.  But once the moral ground is abandoned, so is the hope of any recovery.

Lincoln Steffens, an American apologist for the Bolshevik Revolution and the early Soviet regime, once infamously declared of the Soviets:  "I have been over to the future, and it works!"  Well, the current crisis in Russia may well be a warning of the future collapse of civilization.  Once a nation takes the Culture of Death into its heart, what rescue is possible?

________________________

The more familiar form of the quotation from Lincoln Steffens ("I have seen the future and it works!") was not made known until after his death and may be a misquotation supplied by his widow.

For more on the article go to Al Mohler  and other articles by Dr. Al Mohler Jr.

Anna Politkovskaja, 30 Agosto 1958 - 7 Ottobre 2006.

Due anni sono passati dalla sua morte e pochi giorni fa è arrivata la notizia del rinvio a giudizio di tre persone per il coinvolgimento nel suo omicidio; il processo prenderà il via entro la fine di questo mese.

Il giorno prima della sua morte, Anna aveva parlato in una trasmissione di Radio Svoboda di un articolo in preparazione sulle torture in Cecenia, con documenti fotografici e video. Un articolo mai concluso. I suoi colleghi della redazione della "Novaja Gazeta" pubblicarono poi i frammenti di materiale da lei raccolto:

"TI CHIAMIAMO TERRORISTA
L'uso della tortura nel programma antiterrorismo in Nord Caucaso

Ogni giorno ho sulla mia scrivania decine di cartelle: le copie degli incartamenti riguardanti cause penali di persone in carcere per "terrorismo" oppure, per il momento, solo indagate.
Perché qui la parola "terrorismo" è tra virgolette? Perché la stragrande maggioranza di queste persone sono state etichettate con questo marchio, quindi sono solo terroristi di nome, ma non di fatto. Nel 2006 questa prassi di "marchiatura dei terroristi" non ha semplicemente sostituito un’autentica lotta al terrorismo, ma ha anche trasformato in potenziali terroristi tutti coloro i quali desiderano vendicarsi. Quando i magistrati e i tribunali non agiscono secondo la legge e per punire i colpevoli, ma invece ubbidiscono a ordini della politica e vanno a caccia dei criminali designati dal Cremlino per compiacere la sua volontà in materia di antiterrorismo, le cause penali spuntano come funghi.

La produzione in serie di confessioni "spontanee" fornisce ottimi dati al programma di "lotta contro il terrorismo nel Caucaso del Nord". Ecco cosa mi hanno scritto le madri di un gruppo di giovani prigionieri ceceni: "...in realtà, queste penitenziari correzionali sono dei veri e propri campi di concentramento per i condannati ceceni, che subiscono ogni genere di discriminazione etnico-razziale. Non possono uscire dalle loro celle e dai blocchi di isolamento. La maggioranza, per non dire la quasi totalità, viene condannata con accuse inventate, senza che esistano prove a sostenerle. L' essere detenuti in condizioni terribili, il vedere la propria dignità umiliata, generano in loro un odio verso tutto e tutti. Quello che ritorna da noi è un intero esercito il cui futuro è stato rovinato...".
Dico la verità: ho paura del loro odio. Ne ho paura perché quest'odio, prima o poi, scoppierà e strariperà come un fiume in piena. E proprio tutti diventeranno degli estremisti, ma non quelli che li hanno torturati.
Le questioni dei "marchiati come terroristi" è il campo nel quale si scontrano faccia a faccia due diverse concezioni ideologiche di quello che succede nell'ambito delle "operazioni antiterroristiche nel Caucaso settentrionale": combattere l’illegalità con la legge? Oppure applicare  la "nostra" illegalità alla “loro”? Questo scontro provoca una pioggia di scintille che minaccia il presente e il futuro. Come risultato di questa "marchiatura a terroristi" c’è l'aumento del numero di coloro che non si rassegnano a questa situazione.

Non molto tempo fa l'Ucraina ha estradato, su richiesta russa, un certo Beslan Gadaev, ceceno, arrestato all'inizio di agosto durante un controllo documenti in Crimea, dove risiedeva in seguito a emigrazione forzata dalla Russia. Ecco alcune righe di una sua lettera datata 29 agosto: "...dopo essere stato estradato dall'Ucraina a Groznyi, sono stato trascinato in un ufficio, dove mi hanno chiesto se avessi ucciso membri della famiglia Salichovyi, un certo Anzora e un suo amico. Ho giurato di non aver ucciso nessuno e di non aver mai sparso una goccia di sangue, né russo, né ceceno. Loro hanno risposto: "No, li hai uccisi". Ho di nuovo negato. Dopo di che hanno immediatamente cominciato a picchiarmi. Per prima cosa mi hanno colpito due volte con un bastone vicino all'occhio destro. Quando mi sono ripreso da questi colpi, mi hanno fatto girare, mi hanno ammanettato e mi hanno infilato il bastone tra le braccia, in modo che non potessi muovere né le braccia, né le mani. Poi mi hanno afferrato, o meglio, hanno afferrato questo bastone, e mi hanno appeso a due armadietti, ad un'altezza di circa un metro. Subito dopo mi hanno avvolto un cavo attorno ai mignoli e, dopo pochi secondi, hanno cominciato a far passare la corrente e contemporaneamente a picchiarmi dove potevano con un manganello di gomma. Siccome il dolore era insopportabile, ho cominciato a gridare, a chiamare l'Altissimo, e a pregarli di smettere. Per tutta risposta, mi hanno messo sulla testa un sacchetto di plastica nero, in modo da non sentire quello che dicevo. Non so di preciso per quanto hanno continuato, ma ad un certo punto ho cominciato a perdere i sensi per il dolore. Dopo essersi accorti che stavo perdendo conoscenza, mi hanno tolto il sacchetto dalla testa e mi hanno chiesto se avrei confessato. Ho risposto che l'avrei fatto, anche se non sapevo di cosa stessero parlando. L'ho fatto solo perché la smettessero di torturarmi almeno per un po'.

Allora mi hanno tirato giù dagli armadietti, hanno tolto il bastone e mi hanno sbattuto per terra. Mi hanno detto: "Parla". Ho risposto che non avevo niente da dire. Al che hanno ricominciato a picchiarmi sull'occhio destro con il bastone con cui mi avevano tenuto appeso. I colpi mi hanno fatto rotolare sul fianco e, mentre ero quasi svenuto, sentivo che mi bastonavano dove capitava. Poi mi hanno riappeso agli armadietti e hanno ricominciato tutto da capo. Non so per quanto è durata, continuavano a farmi rinvenire con dell'acqua.
Il giorno dopo mi hanno lavato e mi hanno spalmato qualcosa in faccia e sul corpo. Più o meno verso l'ora di pranzo è entrato un funzionario del comune. Mi ha detto che erano arrivati dei giornalisti e che avrei dovuto confessare tre omicidi e alcuni furti e che se non l'avessi fatto avrebbero ricominciato a torturarmi e avrebbero anche abusato sessualmente di me. Ho acconsentito. Dopo l’intervista con i giornalisti, i miei torturatori, usando le stesse minacce a sfondo sessuale, mi hanno obbligato a confessare che tutte le percosse, da loro ricevute, me le ero invece procurate durante un tentativo di fuga.”

Zaur Zakriev, avvocato di Beslan Gadaev, ha comunicato agli esponenti di Memorial che nel territorio di Groznyi sono state perpetrate violenze fisiche e psicologiche sul suo cliente. Secondo la dichiarazione di Zakriev il suo assistito ha confessato di aver compiuto atti di banditismo nel 2004 nei confronti di esponenti delle forze dell’ordine. Ma nella questura di Groznyj hanno ottenuto da lui anche la confessione di crimini da lui non commessi avvenuti nel villaggio di Starye Atagi della regione di Groznyj. Secondo l'avvocato, le torture subite da Gadaev hanno lasciato evidenti lesioni sul suo corpo. I medici del reparto di isolamento 1 di Groznyi dove è attualmente detenuto Gadaev (accusato di "associazione a delinquere" secondo l'articolo 209 del Codice Penale della Federazione Russa) hanno stilato un rapporto che, in base alle visite effettuate su di lui, elenca numerosi segni di percosse, lesioni quali cicatrici, abrasioni, ecchimosi, bruciature, costole rotte, oltre che danni permanenti ad organi interni.
Per tutte queste violazioni dei diritti dell'uomo, l'avvocato Zaur Zakriev ha presentato ricorso al procuratore generale della Repubblica Cecena"

Anna Politkovskaja

Per le foto e le notizie sul video girato, qui.

Nausicaa

She lived her life under a costant threat but she never drew back from telling the truth about what she saw, whether it was human rights abuses in Chechnya, Vladimir Putin's colonial policy in the Caucasus region, Chechen terrorism or state terrorism.

"I think the duty of doctors is to give health to their patients, the duty of the singer to sing, and the duty of the journalist is to write what this journalist sees in reality," she said.

She would not stop reporting what she saw, so she was stopped.

The least that we can do is to remember her and her work and try to follow her example of strenght and integrity.

På dagen idag, 7 oktober 2006, mördades den ryske journalisten, Anna Politkovskaja utanför sitt hem i Moskva. Ingen mördare är gripen och lär aldrig gripas heller.

Anna Politkovksja gjorde sig känd som en orädd och modig kvinna som ständigt kritiserade Kreml och förre presidenten Putin för dennes agerande i Tjetjenien. Det tjetjenska folket har i och med mordet på Anna förlorat en viktig länk ut i världen för deras situation.

För Anna var Tjetjenien viktigt och hon avslöjade mycket av de brott som den ryska armén gjorde sig skyldig till.
Jag har haft Tjetjenien i blickpunkten sedan det andra Tjetjenienkriget blossade upp 1999 och har läst många av de vittnesmål som Anna skrev om och fått veta mycket av de grymheter som det tjetjenska folket varit utsatt för, främst av den ryska reguljära armén.
Men hon har också skrivit om de unga pojkar som rekryterats till armén, om det våld och död de utsätts för av sina överordade, jag lägger in en video i slutet av inlägget så får ni själva se hur de funkar i den ryska armén.

Vi som jobbar med Tjetjenien har snabbt märkt att fokuseringen och belysningen av Tjetjenien direkt försvann efter mordet på Anna och det för ju misstankarna till att den ryska statsledningen, eller delar av den, ville bli av med Anna och vi ska också komma ihåg att hon utsatts för flera mordförsök.
Att mördaren har samröre med eller haft med den ryska underrättelsetjänsten FSB är nog ingen dålig gissning och att han hålls gömd av FSB är nog heller ingen dålig gissning.

Vi ska också komma ihåg att Ryssland inte är någon demokrati  utan snarare en postsovjetist diktatur med demokratisk fernissa.

Sist måste jag ta tillfället i akt att reda upp en missuppfattning.
Jag har ofta när jag beskyllt Ryssland för övergrepp i Tjetjenien blivit beskylld för att vara proamerikan. Det är så horribelt att kalla mig för något sådant så man baxnar, men jag tror att den argumentationen är rester från det kalla krigets dagar, då man höll på den ena eller andra sidan.

Så, man kan kritisera USA och Israel, som jag också gör och samtidigt kritisera Ryssland, Kina för deras brott mot mänskligheten.
USA, Israel, Ryssland, Kina är länder med imperialistambitioner som medvetet hamrar mot länder som vill vara sina egna och det är ok att kritisera dem alla, vilket man borde om man vill vara trovärdig.

Fördömmer man Israel för deras politik på Västbanken förstår jag inte att man inte kritiserar Ryssland för deras politik i Tjetjenien.

Nedan den utlovad videon om den ryska armén. Starka bilder

Ziua de astăzi (7 octombrie) este una absolut normală, pentru marea majoritate dintre noi. Nu însă şi pentru cei care, de-a lungul timpului s-au născut într-însa. Iată, să luăm spre exemplu această zi corespondentă anului...1582. Ei bine, în acest an nu a existat o zi de 7 octombrie deoarece, din cauza realinierii calendarului gregorian după bunul mers al celor 4 anotimpuri (care pe atunci încă mai existau!), au fost sărite zilele dintre 5 şi 14 octombrie. În 1949 (7 octombrie) se naşte avortonul Republica Democrată Germană care încă mai există pe hainele tineretului nostalgic după propriul creier (în primul rând)... Bine. Mergem mai departe.

Sincer să fiu, mi-ar fi plăcut să se nască astăzi Eric Satie, unul dintre compozitorii mei preferaţi. În schimb, aproape de această zi, mai exact în 11 octombrie, a murit Jean Cocteau, o altă mare slăbiciune a mea. Ca de altfel şi Francis Poulenc, care a avut, totuşi, minimul respect să vină în astă lume pe un 7 (eh, ianuarie). Exact astăzi, de data asta am noroc, a venit pe lume Enki Bilal, unul dintre cei mai creativi, prolifici şi interesanţi autori francezi de benzi desenate. Himmler şi Putin au văzut lumina zilei tot în această noapte... Şi nu vă mai plictisesc.

Important este un singur lucru. În fiecare secundă, astăzi, s-au născut, se nasc şi se vor naşte mii de oameni, mii de necunoscuţi... ce au facut şi / sau vor face istorie. Fie că numele lor vor ajunge pe buletine de vot, fie că se vor transforma în simple numere pe la vreun spital de lunatici, greutatea, importanţa, necesitatea lor de a exista este egală. Unii încep să scrie istorie din 7 octombrie, alţii din 11 ianuarie..., gesturile fiecăruia dintre aceştia, chiar dacă necunoscute, fiind fundamentale (indiferent că se petrec în curtea casei - din Mozambic, Groznâi sau Sibiu - sau în Parlamentul european) pentru trecut sau viitor!

Dacă fiecare începe pagina sa albă cu ziua în care a ieşit pe lume, să fim siguri că nu va mai opri niciodată din scris... Căci istoria nu are nevoie de timp pentru a exista.

Vă las în compania unui mare născut astăzi: Yo-Yo Ma.

P.S. Dar dacă casa nu are curte?!

When reporters tried to leave the designated press area and head toward the bleachers where the crowd was seated, an escort would dart out of nowhere and confront him or her and say, "Can I help you?'' and turn the person around. When one reporter asked an escort, who would not give her name, why the press wasn't allowed to mingle, she said that in the past, negative things had been written.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/now-even-the-su.html

``Russia wants to show that it's a financial power and is willing to help solve the global crisis,'' said Beat Siegenthaler, chief emerging markets strategist in London at TD Securities Ltd. ``There are more questions as to why Iceland was not able to get a similar loan from the Nordics or from the European Central Bank or the U.K.''

One Way Up: U.S. Space Plan Relies on Russia

Russia's bid to control Caspian energy
By William Courtney and Kenneth Yalowitz
Boston Globe Op-Ed
October 4, 2008

The correlation of forces is hardly all in Moscow's favor. The international community is outraged at Moscow's anschluss of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and is pressing Russia on its policy aims. Western leaders have voiced support for Georgia, underscoring its strategic location, developing democracy and Western orientation. Energy investors - already dismayed by the shabby treatment of Russia's biggest international energy investor, BP - now see Russia as an even riskier place. The steep declines in Russia's hard currency reserves and stock market, even before the recent international financial turmoil, reflect this.

Explosion Kills 7 Russians in South Ossetia

President Eduard Kokoity of South Ossetia said he had “no doubt” that Georgian special forces were behind the explosion. The acts, he said, “undermine international efforts to stabilize the situation and torpedo the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan.”

The blast comes six days before a Russian deadline to pull back from the so-called “buffer zone” outside South Ossetia, yielding a large swath of land back to Georgian control. European Union monitors began patrolling the buffer zone on Wednesday, in accordance with a cease-fire agreement brokered by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and agreed to by Russia. President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia agreed to adhere to the timetable for withdrawal.

“The last terrorist act in South Ossetia proves that Georgia has not abandoned the policy of state terrorism,” Mr. Kokoity told the Interfax news agency.

Yeah, right. Show me the bodies. Why in God's name would the Georgians do something like that? Isn't "proves" kind of a strong word for speculation about something that happened about 10 minutes ago and that 10 seconds ago you were referring to precariously as having "no doubt" about? What's next? Do I hear "genocide"?

$45 Billion in investments being withrawn from Russia

To Smother Rebels, Arson Campaign in Chechnya

E.U. Deploys Monitors in Georgia

By Imran Anwar

Just like any movie that does well. This article is a sequel to the one from last week. If you did not read it, what are you waiting for, read it here first.

Let’s get back to the business of American business being driven out of business, by the perfect storm of perfect storms that partly formed, and partly were created by the Bush administration, that we discussed last week.

Thanks to Bush and Cheney the big oil companies were able to rape and plunder the American consumer for the last full year. They did this by causing prices to be higher than they had ever been. They brought the economic engine of the United States to a standstill.

Just as I had predicted, oil prices that were previously blamed on China and India buying a lot of oil, have suddenly, and miraculously, started dropping. I am, oh, so sure, that this decline in oil prices has nothing to do with the upcoming elections and the dire straits that the Republicans find themselves in.

During this same period, the United States dollar, which is as close to a global currency as there ever was one, has been in freefall. Sure, my fellow Pakistanis are hurting because the Dollar seems to be rising as the Rupee continues to fall against it. But in reality, the Rupee would have been even more significantly lower against the dollar, had the dollar itself not become so weak during the Bush administration.

In most countries a falling currency usually leads to greater exports. However, unfortunately for us Americans, we hardly have anything left to manufacture, so all we can export are Hollywood movies (that soon end up on pirated DVDs), some Boeing aircraft (that I can bet China is reverse engineering as I write this) and maybe some software – (that is not being pirated around the word already).

As a result, high oil prices first ground the American economic engine to a halt. Then, money that was being invested in real estate and the stock market started disappearing as that bubble started to burst.

During this time, due to extremely poor oversight of the banking and mortgage industries, some of the largest, oldest and most respected banks in America were caught with their pants down. Assuming that the good times would continue forever, they had been buying up bad mortgages hand over fist. This was also true of two government backed organizations, nicknamed Fannie and Feddie, that also just went belly up with the US government having to bail them out. Today, AIG, one of the largest insurance companies also got a government bailout. All this time, consumers, and ordinary shareholders are bleeding to poverty and financial death.

As a result, when the consumer cash flow stopped these banks found themselves holding billions and billions of Dollars of worthless paper representing real estate that had lost a huge portion of its value compared to the bubble prices that they purchased at.

Some of these stories may sound familiar to my fellow Pakistani readers, who suffered from stock market and real estate market manipulations, reportedly at the hands of the highest leaders of the previous understanding administration. Congratulations, you are not alone. You have something else in common with Americans. You too were ripped off by your leaders just as Americans were.

It is amazing to see the surreal way my fellow Americans are worried about totally insignificant things. They wonder whether Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama loves his country or not, because his plane does not have an American flag painted on it.

Others are wondering if the talented but increasingly unstable Lindsay Lohan will end back in rehab soon. Yet others are so excited that a new season of TV shows and trash reality TV is going to start soon.

Others are lining up to see the latest Batman or some similar blockbuster movies. Hundreds of thousands of others are busy discussing how good or bad a quarterback Bret Favre will be for the New York Jets. America’s future jetting towards disaster is far from their minds.

Thank God there are shows like Saturday Night Live, whose former star Tina Fey came back to do a skit on Sarah Palin. I encourage you to check out the NBC video of this skit. Or, see if you can watch some great comedy but done by real American media heroes like Jon Stewart with The Daily Show and Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report, on Comedy Central. They, it seems, are some of the few people calling it as it is, but is anyone listening. Do check them out on Apple’s iTunes Store (where yours truly also offers a free podcast to listen on your iPod or computer) or at http://www.comedycentral.com/ .

And all through this, the neo-con evil manufacturing factory is in full swing - trying to instill and install a medically, and some say mentally, unfit John McCain as president.

It is almost as if they are making a movie called The WoManchurian Candidate. Many concerned and patriotic Americans are wondering if the game plan actually is for McCain-Palin to be elected by hook or by crook and then the neo-cons hope for a quick demise of John McCain.

He is already a very old man with high risk of stroke, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, 6 types of cancer in his past, former chain smoker, who takes Ambien to sleep. The neo-cons are hoping he succumbs to his medical conditions, so that this woman can be remote controlled to literally control the United States, and the world, far better than could have been done under an incompetent and now lame-duck George W. Bush.

I shudder to think of this perfect storm of perfect storms, all eying the United States, and any state that happens to be of strategic importance to the USA, especially Pakistan.

It is a scary thought. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to withdraw cash from what is left of my stock market account, so that I can go with my fellow American friends to watch some football games and movies. I hear a great new funny horror flick called “The WoManchurian Candidate” is being filmed around the country!

The writer is a New York and Miami based Pakistani-American entrepreneur, Internet pioneer, writer and TV personality. He can be reached through his web site http://imran.com .

No sé si han oído hablar de un estado catatónico de espiral económica decreciente y dudas en los mercados: terror psicológico, llamado "crisis". Habrán oído que los norteamericanos harán pagar a sus ciudadanos el pato, los europeos tres cuartas partes de lo mismo (ayer el BCE dijo que los tipos no se tocan). No se si recuerdan el tema de Georgia de hace un mes. Imagino que no, porque han pasado tantas cosas: que si Agüero es mejor que Messi, y cosas así...

El problema sigue y el gigante duerme. El problema de Osetia dejó a las claras lo que es la UE: nada. Un organismo montado para levantar los aranceles y que el capital fluya feliz por el continente, pero, políticamente: nada. Ni se atreve a pestañear a USA, ni tuvo cojones a decir a los rusos que qué pasaba, que el chiste de los chechenos hizo gracia, pero que ésto era pasar de castaño a oscuro. Se hubieran meado en su cara y es normal. ¿Han leído algo sobre ello en El País, El Mundo, el ABC y esos otros dos de risa? ¿Han oído cómo le afecta la crisis a Rusia? ¿No les resulta chocante desconocer el impacto en una economía tan cercana? ¿Saben qué medidas ha tomado Putin en los últimos meses? y lo que es más importante ¿Saben que Putin hace meses que no preside el gobierno ruso?

Hoy ha pasado esto. Pues nada, a dormir y a callar. A ver si hay manta para todos. Feliz finde.

Too bad, I wanted Governor Palin to fall flat in front of her Alaskan boots last night in the Vice-Presidential debate. Instead, she impressed me and I'd bet a lot of other viewers in America (about 80% felt she did better than expected). But no way did she beat Senator Biden. Biden was crisp, articulate and at times even strongly accentuated the important points. Palin, on the other hand, contributed a lot more cringe-worthy words and phrases, trying to play the please-all, do-harm-to-none mother from Alaska. This was sugar coating with a very bad taste.

Some of her hiccups you probably have already heard. "Drill baby drill?" And "My brother who I think is the best school teacher in the year?" "Say it isn't so, Joe!" Her arrogance is akin to the GOP convention some weeks back, but there's not a touch of reservation, more so appalling with her short track record in national politics. Alaska is an important state, but I don't doubt for a second that it's in its own world because of the huge geographical separation.

The biggest hoo-ha also came under Palin: "Policy ad partisanship all coming together at this time recognizing he (McCain) is the mean to leave... to lead." Maybe Palin isn't all that supportive of McCain? She also mentioned that running with McCain was simply "a nice thing." Talk about pleasantries.

And the misses just keep on coming. Calling General Petraeus a "great American hero" and John McCain "another hero" is in my mind a bad move to try and coax the American voter's hand into writing down McCain in the ballot form. McCain served his country with honor in the Vietnam war, but I believe his patriotic feelings are getting personal because of the way Vietnam turned out and hence he refuses to concede Iraq as a defeat. It's also not a very widely known fact that McCain had extra-marital affairs during his first marriage. Coupled with Bristol Palin's teen pregnancy, I don't see how they can take care of a country when they can't take care of their own family relationships.

Has anyone thought of the prospect that Palin will be President? I think it's a scary proposition. Matt Damon certainly does so:

Damon's reference to Putin wasn't a side remark. If you wondered where that came from, recall Palin's abysmal response to foreign policy questions when posed by CBS' Katie Couric:

Suddenly the visual image of Palin shying away from Putin's demeaning stare becomes all the more possible and frightening. Americans need to understand this when they vote. Can Palin deal with Maliki, Karzai and Kim Jong Il? This isn't an attack on a woman's capability to be president. I won't be blunt, this piece is all about Palin's capacity to lead the most rich and powerful nation in the world today. I'm not American so I don't have an electoral vote, but as an outsider I believe there are some dark days ahead if Republicans do win, nothing is changed, and Palin replaces McCain.

Come traspare dalle parole di Ermes, ci sarebbe da dare ragione al prof.Sartori - almeno per cio' che riguarda l'affermazione contenuta nel titolo - ma, temo, solo in un senso che includa anche lui...

Sull'Alitalia, credo ormai ci sia ben poco da dire. Si puo' convenire sulla pre-potenza di certi sindacati, sui danni provocati da alcune posizioni di rendita e di potere di certe categorie (ed io non sono affatto un simpatizzante dei sindacati collettivi di ordine nazionale); non credo si possa pero' dimenticare di citare che il salvataggio di Alitalia sia stato poco trasparente, affidato ai "soliti" nomi del "solito" cerchio di potere nazionale (politico ed economico); che si sia appoggiato su clamorose intermediazioni politiche, da parte di alcuni dei poteri piu' rappresentativi della Repubblica Italiana.

Ne' credo si possa obiettare che l'Alitalia continuera' a soddisfare, in un modo o nell'altro, la sua voracia, proprio grazie alla mala fede ed alla mancanza di buon senso dominanti nella forma mentale, sociale, filosofica, economica e politica del paese Italia.

Non credo ci sia, quindi, da meravigliarsi quando si legge che gli ammortizzatori sociali per il personale Alitalia saranno pagati, in parte, dagli stessi viaggiatori.

Ancora: la supposta crisi USA-Russia. Ma perche' il fabbisogno di petrolio di Europa e Stati Uniti finisce per obnubilare i nostri pensatori? Leggendo Sartori sembra quasi che, in virtu' della nostra supposta dipendenza dal petrolio sovietico, sia normale dover accettare ed assecondare qualunque capriccio provenga dal Cremlino. Anzi, gli errori strategici iniziano quando ci si permette di indispettire Putin e la sua Russia, come pare abbia fatto il solito, incapace, intollerabilmente ed irrimediabilmente disastroso Bush.

Ma e', questo, "buon senso"? E' lecito, tollerabile, soddisfare la propria sete di petrolio, bevendo dal calice della sopraffazione, della prepotenza, dell'autoritarismo; diventando omertosi testimoni, ed infine complici di chi cerca - anche con discreto successo - di diventare il nostro burattinaio? Bisognerebbe chiederlo al prof. Sartori, che, invece, sembra piu' preoccupato di conservare un certo livello di sicurezza e di ordine; piu' preoccupato che non venga urtata la suscettibilita' del presidente Putin, evidentemente vittima del poco buon senso dell'Amministrazione Bush.

Ovviamente nessuna parola sul servilismo con il quale alcuni paesi europei collaborano con il nuovo zar di russia: devo dedurne che in questo risieda maggiore buon senso?

And, Joe doesn’t get off the hook either for this snore fest.  As I stated before, Joe has lost a bit on his fastball, witness how he tried to “characterized” John McCain.  Thought for a moment he was having a stroke but Joe Biden soon recovered to “bore again”.

So what’s the final scorecard on Sarah?

Round 3:  The VP  Debate

Here are my running comments as this debate bores on:

Some sample Sarah comments: “They don’t like America!” she said of foreign oil producers.  Well, they like our money.  About global warming, “Climate change is occurring but there are cyclical changes.” (paraphrase)  She doesn’t want to argue about it , but we got to “clean up the problem”. Huh?

Sarah’s answers are a long, rambling, run-on sentences, I mean does this woman ever take a breathe? Please, get some oxygen to your brain, Sarah! Take a  breath will you?

Same sex couples?  She’ll be tolerant and, get this, she digs diversity! She doesn’t support anything but one man and one woman. But then again Joe and Obama weaseled out on the gay issue.

As to Iraq, remember that Bush money pit? “We got to win in Iraq” and then it’s off to Afghanistan, she said. Who’s Talibbany by the way?  Iran, guess what, no nukes says Sarah. Why?  They hate America! Okay but where’s the beef?  And don’t bother looking Joe’s way.  He and Obama look like they are content to run the clock out thinking they have a lead. Hey, there are 30 plus day left in the election!

So far, no major faux pas from Sarah but I think I fell asleep at one point.  Boring!  But nuclear weaponry sounds so annoying coming from her.  Still, better that Bush’s pronunciation of nu-cu-ler.

I think the audience either passed out or left the debate out of indifference it was so quiet. I’m not into the moderator, Gwen either.  I understand she is a black conservative but hey she’s boring.  Think there’s a common thread here?  Where’s Tina Fey when you need her or for that matter Hillary?

Oh no, Sarah’s pushing that Washington outsider crap.  Please you’re a politician, that’s the very definition of an insider. Opps, did she just make a comment about changing the VP role?  Who does she think she is? Dick Cheney?

Oh no, Joe just had another senior moment, he seems to skip every so often like an old warped record! Ah, he just restarted and is attacking McCain's maverick credentials! Good for him, I thought we would have to ge the paddles out to resuscitate him.  Then at one point Joe gets verklemptwhen talking about raising his family.  Way to show your softer side Joe!

Final comments:

Sarah is going to fight for the middle class! We are blessed and she is proud to be an American. Yikes, what a cliche fest!

As for Joe...zzzzzzzz

That's it?  No knock out but are Sarah's scoccer Mom values enough as we near a financial meltdown?

Round 2: Katie Couric Interview

I sat down sat again with my wife to watch the Sarah Palin interview with Katie Couric. As Sarah mumbled a bizarre answer, my wife turned to me and said “What the hell? What a dope!”

I had to agree, it was another embarrassing train wreck of an interview. The woman can’t put two thoughts together, never mind express them in a coherent fashion. As Sarah was talking or should I say stumbling, I was saying to myself, okay this is how you should respond. Instead she gave a long rambling, incoherent commentary about Alaska, national security and her Russian neighbor. Then I had my epiphany: Sarah’s like Dan Quayle, only not as pretty. Really, it was Dan Quayle and losing one's mind speech all over again. Doesn’t matter though, neo-cons like Silly little Freak still love Sarah because she has "values". I just guess that intelligence is not one of those shared values. No wonder why this country is sinking so fast!

I am not saying Sarah is stupid like George Bush stupid, really somebody please do a brain scan on him, but she was clearly coached and if I was Vladimir Putin I would definitely want to invite her to my next poker party. If Bush got all weepy looking into Putin's eyes you can only imagine what Palin's response will be to the Russian dictator.

So what of Sarah Palin and her religious beliefs? Well, five to six years ago she was a member of a Pentecostal church, the Assembly of God to be exact. Now these rocket scientists believe in a literal bible, talking in tongues, faith healing and, how can we forget, the ever popular end-of-times. We have had so many end of times I don’t were to begin. This type of inspired lunacy leads to such clear thinking as “it’s God's will that is being done in Iraq.” Funny, I thought that was the work of a mediocre son looking to clear his daddy’s historical record but, hey, what the hell do I know? I mean we went in there to separate those heathens from the WMD’s right? Eh, okay the weapons weren’t there but we did bring freedom to the Iraqis, right? You know freedom from boredom as the local militia executes the men in your family but hey that’s God’s plan and you can’t argue about the big picture, right?

The good news is that God’s plans are not just relegated to simple matters of war. No way! Did you know that a new pipe line is a task from God? Me, I was thinking Exxon-Mobil but I guess I think way too small. Really, Palin said this. God's will is to be done developing our natural resources, never mind all we are doing is feeding a nasty oil habit and that the sooner we can move to something alternative the sooner we can tell the idiots in the Middle East what they can do with their oil.  Ask Sarah about Creationism and she'll reply sure Creationism should be taught in school!  We don’t have a lick of proof that it can’t stand up to rigorous scientific review but hell proof didn’t stop us from invading Iraq.

Round 1: Charlie Gibson Interview

Being independently minded, I sat with my wife and we watched the first interview on ABC first hand before anybody had an opportunity to tell us how to think about the interview. I’m sorry but as I sat there I found it be both embarrassing and uncomfortable to watch. I replayed it several times on the DVR watching their facial expressions and their body language and it reeked of pure train wreck! Charlie looked like a pained, almost constipated school teacher and Sarah Palin resembled the proverbial moose caught in the headlights.

I’m sorry but the look on her face was priceless. It’s amazing how the Ben Stein fundamentalist creationist crowd regurgitates everything that is thrown at it by the cynical Republican conservatives, by the way the very same conservative wing that was all but ready to throw McCain under the bus. Then McCain goes out and drafts the fundamentalist Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential trophy candidate and she say goes around saying “god tasked us to do this and god speaks to us” and the next thing you know McCain is called “McBrilliant” by the vicodin-laden gas bag named Rush Limbaugh.

The Sarah Palin Files:

More: Palin and the Charlie Gibson Interview: She's No Hillary!

More on Hillary: No Political Catfight with Palin

More on Palin "Governor Palin You're No Hillary Clinton!"

More on Palin with this story,"Apparently-Bristol-Palin-is-no-Chelsea-Clinton-Either"

Our founding fathers, Winston Churchill and every crazed meglomanaic (Stalin, Hitler, Napoleon) that caused such havoc to the world would cringe, manipulate and then dismiss this saucy, spunky little number for what she is: at best, an unknowingly stupid Sycophant that can help McCain win because 'their neoconservative base' is filled with loonies; at worst, another dangerous woman that makes Katherine Harris look sane by comparison.

A Harris quote from the Florida Baptist Witness (August 24, 2006) :

"We have to have the faithful in government and over time, that lie we have been told, the separation of church and state, people have internalized, thinking that they needed to avoid politics and that is so wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers. And if we are the ones not actively involved in electing those godly men and women and if people aren’t involved in helping godly men in getting elected then we’re going to have a nation of secular laws. That’s not what our founding fathers intended and that’s certainly isn’t what God intended. … we need to take back this country. … And if we don’t get involved as Christians then how could we possibly take this back? …If you are not electing Christians, tried and true, under public scrutiny and pressure, if you’re not electing Christians then in essence you are going to legislate sin. They can legislate sin. They can say that abortion is alright. They can vote to sustain gay marriage. And that will take western civilization, indeed other nations because people look to our country as one nation as under God and whenever we legislate sin and we say abortion is permissible and we say gay unions are permissible, then average citizens who are not Christians, because they don’t know better, we are leading them astray and it’s wrong."

But this isn't about Harris, but Palin. They undoubtedly share the same world view. A very small world view coming from a very large body of land up north. William Seward would be aghast at the utter lack of gravitas this Palin chick (she's a chick without anything clicking upstairs) has in running a state, and gulp, possibly coming to a White House near you.

Or as Bob Herbert delicately treads the feminist waters in his recent article: 

For those who think Sarah Palin is in that league, there is no problem. But her unscripted public appearances would lead most honest observers to think otherwise. When asked again this week about her puerile linkage of foreign policy proficiency and Alaska’s proximity to Russia, this time by Katie Couric of CBS News, here is what Ms. Palin said she meant:

“That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land — boundary that we have with — Canada.”

She went on, but lost her way midsentence: “It’s funny that a comment like that was kind of made to — cari — I don’t know, you know? Reporters ...”

Ms. Couric said, “Mocked?”

“Yeah, mocked,” said Ms. Palin. “I guess that’s the word. Yeah.”

I do declare. I need to go back to moose hunting 101, or cook me up some vittles later up there on the polar caps. Or maybe get some of that Texas Tea that paw told me about.

This lady makes Dan Quayle look like a Rhodes scholar, Phi Beta Kappa, supergenius that Wiley Coyote would hire. But not this voter.

[caption id="attachment_414" align="alignleft" width="207" caption="Which one is the supergenius? Quayle or Palin?"][/caption]

 

I just hope Biden doesn't bore us to death tonight. Take this lady out the frame. Peel her. Show her for what she is.

A poor choice to run a Wendy's.

That's All FOLKS!!!!

P.S. to Palin: If you don't know lady, look it up on Wikipedia!!! At least you'll have something to say when KGB Putin stares into your eyes and thinks, "this lady is hot, but she sure is a dumb one. I almost feel sorry for the American people. Almost."

But let me step back for a moment. Admittedly, the debate was not a train wreck (more like an episode of The Brady Bunch, sans kids and dad on the right side of the stage, but more on that later), and for that, the Republicans can all breathe a collected sigh of relief and get back to the matter of trying to make their presidential candidate look presidential. Good luck with those numbers, and too bad about Michigan, guys.

As to her actual performance in the debate, I will say that she exceeded my expectations. Palin did not fall of the stage. She pronounced multisyllabic words. She was able to string together sentences. Granted, they were her sentences, and not necessarily related to the questions she was asked. Palin declared early on that she was going to use her own game plan: "I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people and let them know my track record." Well, okee dokee, governor. And that's exactly what she did. If she didn't like the questions, she went back to something she was more comfortable with, as in "I'm still with that tax thing." I counted at least six mavericks. Please, no more, and at least two contradictions, increase regulation in one answer, while reigning in government to get it out of the way in another. But does the woman even know what an "Achilles Heel" is? It's not a good thing, but that didn't stop her from going on for 90 seconds about her positives, including a supposed (incorrect) Reagan reference to the City on the Hill.

I wish that format had been stricter so that Ifill had done more follow-up as Lehrer did and had made the candidates answer the actual questions. Both candidates had a few factual errors, but Palin was prepped well on her key points and stuck with them—over and over and over again. Joe Biden, god bless him, managed to be succinct most of the time, not condescending, and to hammer Palin with facts. He was better after the first forty or so minutes when he finally decided to become more aggressive, and I loved it when he finally called her on the maverick thing.

But what I could not take, could not stand, absolutely could not abide for one more second was the bless his heart, you betcha, doggone it, "say it ain't so Joe, there you go again" (awkwardly stitched together Reagan reference), supposedly joe(?) six pack-speak that was meant to endear Palin to the common people. Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't want a common person in the presidential or vice presidential seat. I want individuals in both seats. I want to know that the person in charge and the person who is next in charge will be able to lead this country in times of peace and in times of crisis with a cool head and an above average intelligence, a savvy articulate negotiator who will be able to go toe-to-toe with any world leader and not come off as some kind of backwoods idiot, a person who will be able to stare down a Putin or a Kim Jong-Il, will be able to garner the respect of someone like the iron maiden British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher—a person like Barack Obama, a person like Joe Biden.

The last thing this country needs is another president like George Bush who cannot find the verbs in his sentence. We have a whole industry devoted to Bushisms. It's a national pastime.* Bless our collective hearts, but we just don't need the humiliation again.

Please. Winks? Crinkling of the nose and opening the eyes really big like a high school cheerleader?Shoutouts? This was not a PTA meeting or a Wasilla town council meeting for gosh's sakes. "Hey, can I call you Joe?" It was phony and condescending from the first moment. More and more, Palin reminds me of Carol Brady of The Brady Bunch, with her big family and her can-do attitude and her absolutely sunny attitude. But even as a child, I knew that there had to be something wrong with Mrs. Brady; I imagined that she was probably a secret alcoholic (I know it was the early cynic in me), but how else could you put up with that group of kids and that irritating husband and one bathroom? You would have to be a bitch behind closed doors when no one was around, but only the other moms would realize it. The other dads would be thinking of ways to get in your pants because you looked so good for having so many kids. And it was the men in the audience in particular who found this endearing. Pat Buchanan post debate declared Palin a clear winner, and in his commentary used the word "attractive" no less than four times in his description of the candidate. That definitely is a clear indicator of a good vice president. How could I miss that?

But perhaps the worst offender was Rich Lowry of the National Review's "The Corner," who wrote, "when Palin dropped her first wink, [I] sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, "Hey, I think she just winked at me." And her smile. By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America. This is a quality that can't be learned; it's either something you have or you don't, and man, she's got it" (10/3). Thanks to Keith Olbermann's Countdownfor sharing the wonderful bit of pure ickiness, which just goes to show which part of their brains male supporters are using when they are assessing Sarah Palin's qualifications.

This was a vice presidential debate that was viewed by 70 million people around the world. Have some dignity. At least the Todders wore a dark suit and a tie.

And PLEASE, it's noo-clee-ar, not noo-cue-lar. DAMN!!

*For a really good read on how to diagram Sarah Palin's sentences, see this article in Slate http://www.slate.com/id/2201158/

Obama's letter began like this...

Thank you for inviting me to participate in the meeting yesterday to discuss lobbying and ethics reform proposals currently before the Senate. I appreciate your willingness to reach out to me and several other Senate Democrats to discuss what should be done to restore public confidence in the way that Congress conducts its business. The discussion clearly underscored the difficult challenge facing Congress.

and ended like this...

Given the state of affairs in Washington, we have a historic opportunity to make fundamental changes in the way our government operates so that the actions we take as public officials are responsive and transparent to the American people. Thank you again for your interest in this important matter.

McCain's started this way...

I would like to apologize to you for assuming that your private assurances to me regarding your desire to cooperate in our efforts to negotiate bipartisan lobbying reform legislation were sincere. When you approached me and insisted that despite your leadership's preference to use the issue to gain a political advantage in the 2006 elections, you were personally committed to achieving a result that would reflect credit on the entire Senate and offer the country a better example of political leadership, I concluded your professed concern for the institution and the public interest was genuine and admirable. Thank you for disabusing me of such notions with your letter to me dated February 2, 2006, which explained your decision to withdraw from our bipartisan discussions. I'm embarrassed to admit that after all these years in politics I failed to interpret your previous assurances as typical rhetorical gloss routinely used in politics to make self-interested partisan posturing appear more noble. Again, sorry for the confusion, but please be assured I won't make the same mistake again.

and ended like this...

As I noted, I initially believed you shared that goal. But I understand how important the opportunity to lead your party's effort to exploit this issue must seem to a freshman Senator, and I hold no hard feelings over your earlier disingenuousness. Again, I have been around long enough to appreciate that in politics the public interest isn't always a priority for every one of us. Good luck to you, Senator.

You can imagine what it sounded like in between.

What ever you may think about the ethics discussions and bipartisanship at the time, this reveals something potentially troublesome about John McCain.

What would letters between McCain and Putin look like? McCain and Kim Jong-Il? McCain and Zadari? Whatever level of respect these men may or may not deserve, I would imagine in order to better relations with them it might benefit the president to seem...diplomatic?

Can John McCain do that when his dander's up?

-Marc-

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev forms new Russian political party to challenge Putin

FBI Prevented Agents from Telling 'Truth' About 9/11 on PBS

Ultrasound technology speeds up wound coagulation and halts bleeding

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd wants federal control over home loan regulation

Major military exercise staged days before 26 dolphins died - "The MoD has confirmed that sonar "dipper" devices were used seven times by Merlin and Lynx helicopter crews in the week before the incident. The mid-frequency sonar used, which is just beyond the range of human hearing, has been associated with strandings of marine life in the past.

Sonar on a similar frequency was also being used by one of the Type 23 Royal Navy frigates on the regular training exercise commonly known as the "Thursday War".

FDA experts say melamine, the chemical which set off a Chinese sourced scandal, is OK in small amounts, even if eaten every day

New application uses cellphone's own GPS to tracks your "carbon footprint"

Cambodian and Thai soldiers get in firefight  over 11th century temple

Australia, Japan, and South Korea pull more Chinese milk containing products off shelves

http://www.236.com/video/2008/the_best_of_sarah_palin_cd_9332.php

Benjamin Franklin powiadał, że pojęcie demokracji najprościej daje się objaśnić głosowaniem dwóch wilków i owcy, co cała trójka zje na obiad. Po czym natychmiast dodawał, że w takiej sytuacji o wolności można mówić jedynie wówczas, gdyby należycie uzbrojona owca zdołała podważyć wyniki tegoż głosowania.

Besides, I think it maybe far worse than all that.  I would lean towards either its a Russian setup to justify some new action, probably not a return to all out war but maybe expanding the "security zones" or justifying harsher measures against the few ethnic Georgians left.  Or this is the start of a grass roots resistance by the Georgian people.  If that's the case things could get really ugly, not only for Russia (obviously) but for Georgia also as it would be likely to provoke a response, which would likely inflame things further, leading to more resistance and more reprisals etc.