nobody panic.

RUSSIAN ANALYST PREDICTS DECLINE AND BREAKUP OF USA
Tue Nov 25 2008 09:04:22 ET

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."

He also cited the "vulnerable political setup", "lack of unified national laws", and "divisions among the elite, which have become clear in these crisis conditions."

He predicted that the U.S. will break up into six parts - the Pacific coast, with its growing Chinese population; the South, with its Hispanics; Texas, where independence movements are on the rise; the Atlantic coast, with its distinct and separate mentality; five of the poorer central states with their large Native American populations; and the northern states, where the influence from Canada is strong.

He even suggested that "we could claim Alaska - it was only granted on lease, after all." Panarin, 60, is a professor at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and has authored several books on information warfare.

The Latest Sign of the Apocalypse

This from the New York Post-

Asked about his perspective on social issues—gay marriage, abortion—Prince tapped his Bible and said, “God came to earth and saw people sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever, and he just cleared it all out. He was, like, ‘Enough.’ ”

I guess I don't know what to say. Except this: I can't wait for the new Prince & the Revolution Study Bible from Zondervan.

back to basics...

It's been a time of getting back to basics for me lately. I'm rediscovering the beauty of the Bible. Not that I ever stopped reading it, but one can read the Bible in different ways and to discover different things. Recently I've really enjoyed the simple beauty of passages like the 23rd psalm and the gospel of Mark. Both very different works, by the way. But similar in their simple, and profound beauty. For instance I've spent a lot of time considering the ways in which my Shepherd "makes me lie down in green pastures" and what that means for me on a day to day or moment by moment basis. And I've though a lot about the theme of rest in the book or Mark and how Jesus is continually in need of rest, but wherever he goes, people find him and his apostles disturb him and he can't even get through a meal or a prayer or a nap without interruption from people in need. And he always meets the need, without bitterness or self pity. And then I've been thinking a lot about the fact that I'm not Jesus. But I am his sheep. And the sheep can rest precisely because their shepherd does not. The implications spin out in a million directions.

In addition to the Bible, I've been rediscovering Bob Dylan's catalogue. I recently picked up The Bootleg Series Volume 8 as well as Bringing it All Back Home and Planet Waves. And I have come to a conclusion. I don't need to listen to any music other Bob Dylan. Nobody does, really. From now on, it's Bob and only Bob for me. It's like the atkins diet for my ears.

Here are a few songs for you that capture the tenor of our lives for the past few months. Why is it that listening to sad songs makes a guy feel better? Click the little blue triangle to listen to song segments, and for petesake- get your hands on some Dylan albums this year.

http://www.bobdylan.com/#/node/140
http://www.bobdylan.com/#/node/855
http://www.bobdylan.com/#/node/90
http://www.bobdylan.com/#/node/195