My observation post here in Berkeley was obliterated by fire, putting me out of touch with the world just as many of our political, economic, and environmental crisis have gone from spinning out of control to spinning into crisis.
The Politics behind American Foreign Policy, American Economic policy, American Environmental policy and their practical applications have not changed with the change in Administration.
In terms of South Asian/Afgan foreign policy we are continuing to watch as our caustic political interference in, and corruption of, domestic Pakistani politics has once again destabilized all of Pakistan, just as we did under both Bush and Clinton.
Our purchase of
Zadari, the PPP president of Pakistan, has mortally wounded Benizar Butto's PPP party in Pakistan, and the specter of a real democracy threatening American influence has again risen.
The PPP was the personal property of the Butto family, and became the ruling party in Pakistan subsequent to her death.
Despite the Butto family's distrust, if not outright hatred of Zadari, butto's widower, he is now leading the PPP and has also become the main agent of American influence in Pakistan.
This practically means that Zadari can abrogate the processes of democracy and the conduct of Justice with impunity, with the full consent of the US.
Zadari expresses this power by allowing the US to attack Pakistan, and maintaining Musharraf's corrupted judiciary.
The lawyers who just marched against Zadari and his PPP government were previously a powerful part of the PPP.
The transformation of the PPP leadership into nothing more than a front for American Power has shattered their party.
Regional and local PPP police and civil officials refused to act against the lawyers. Many resigned, rather than use violence against the lawyers.
Zadari has continued to do our bidding in Pakistan by allowing the US to continue missile attacks on Pakistani Sovereignty, while simultaneously preserving and maintaining Musharraf's corrupt judiciary, but now under his control.
The easy shifting of American Support from Musharraf to the even more corrupted Zadari demonstrates that we have learned nothing from the previous failures and problems brought on by our support of corrupted Pakistani politicians and dictators.
More disturbing than our failure to learn, our stupidity, is the complete lact of democratic, let alone any conception of basic political ethics that would warn us away from supporting corrupted politicians and dictators.
Economics
Economically, the stock markets have again risen upward on a massive infusion of taxpayer cash and freshly printed money by the Democrats into the banking system, just as executed under Bush.
In the present case, the upward movement of the markets is merely riding the updraft created by the treasury and fed printing vast sums of money to buy our own American Debt, and the plan for the government to assume liability for the "toxic assets" held by American Banks.
This will turn out exactly the same as the stock rises that followed each of the massive government bailouts and "stimulus" programs during the last year, and this beartrap will soon snap shut after Wall Street pockets the money that Congress and the President so graciously gave the richest people in our country.
This means that the markets are currently rising on nothing more than printed money, worthless, and the deep-pockets promise that the US Govenment will pay the debts of the biggest theives in our country. The markets will soon fall again down to the level that the actual purchasing power of the American middle-class can support.
Because all of these short-term stimulus-based market rises are going to have to be paid for over the long term by borrowing on the global debt markets, the hangover from these irresponsible "stimulus" actions will continue to drag down our economy and markets after this little market rise is long gone.
Environment
Environmentally, the Central and South Eastern parts of the country are again being pounded by freak weather.
Massive flooding on the Mississippi, unseasonable cold from the north, conflicting with unseasonable hot mositure pushing upward from the South, has been the force that has changed the character of the seasons, changed when the seasons begin and end, and has made freak weather the norm in every season, in every part of the country.
The weather in the United States has CHANGED across our whole country. The seasons are no longer beginning and ending within their traditional ranges, nor are the tempertures during every season consistent with historical averages. Hell, the winds are blowing from different directions than traditional seasonal norms.
The weather in the United States has Radically changed during the past 35 years.
The middle of our contry is going to suffer under annually increasing incredible ice storms, out of season massive tornados, and amazing year-round fluctuations of freak weather.
What MUST be DONE
Until we end the corporate bribery that runs our parties and politicians, remove the incompentent and corrupt leaders who have "led" us into these problems, and repair the fundamental damage they have done to our democracy, we will continue to damage Pakistan, and every other country that seeks independent democracy.
Until we limit our corruption, our corporations will continue to corrupt our politicians and govenment, and drain our country of its wealth and rights. Our financial crisis will not stop, at least for the poor and working classes, until we end the political crisis that has prostituted our democracy to corporate/special interest greed.
If we cannot control ourselves, and especially our corrupted political leaders, our environment will continue to withdraw the bounty of nature from us, replacing natural bounty with nature's brutality, and we will come to know changes in the timing and temperture of the seasons that will not provide the crops necessary to feed the world's massive population.
background analysis
Democracy threatens US influence in Pakistan
Alex Wierbinski, Berkeley, Ca., March 24, 2008
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