The End of the World is Nigh !

Some things started by a favourite site of the Postan ..

Signs of the Economic Apocalypse, 7-31-06(Pic USS Arizona in Pearl Harbour Dec 10th 1941)

" ....Another week where a fading superpower with a decaying infrastructure, in thrall to a racist settler state, attempted to extricate itself from two losing wars by starting World War III. Again, we see that the markets have not really registered the significance of recent events but are reacting instead to short-term macroeconomic factors. So far the markets have ignored the massive war crimes ordered by criminal psychopaths in power in the United States, Israel and Great Britain. The dollar fell, but not by much, and did so out of the feeling that the Federal Reserve Board is less likely to raise interest rates. Gold rose, but it is still lower than it was two weeks ago. My guess is that the players in the oil, gold, and currency markets do not yet know how this all is going to play out. Let’s help them: Israel and the United States have already lost the war in Lebanon by the flagrant slaughter of innocent civilians, just as the United States lost the Aghan war when they bombed the first village. It may take time for events to play themselves out, but the war is lost. Israel and the United States no longer have any moral authority whatsoever (as hard as it may be to imagine now, at one point those countries did have some moral authority in the eyes of the world). And, the United States has run out of money. A currency collapse followed by a sharp drop in power cannot be far behind..... read on "

"Late last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals struck down a new rule by the Securities and Exchange Commission requiring mandatory registration with the SEC for most hedge funds. This may not strike you as the end of the world, but that’s because you’ve either forgotten what a hedge fund is or how much trouble the funds can get us into.....

...Actually, to give the devil his due, such a calling off of investigations into hedge funds is another example of how the world economy is being propped up by temporary measures. In other words, the investigation might cause what would be a normally healthy crash in hedge funds while calling off any regulation or investigation can buy a little time."

He quotes the always excellent Billmon
"...Earlier this week I linked to a commentary from William S. Lind in which he warned that war with Iran could result in the loss of the 140,000 man army America currently has bogged down in Iraq. This may have seemed far-fetched, given the enormous military disparity between the two sides. But Col. Pat Lang, a former intelligence officer, explains how and why it could happen:..."

"American troops all over central and northern Iraq are supplied with fuel, food, and ammunition by truck convoy from a supply base hundreds of miles away in Kuwait. All but a small amount of our soldiers' supplies come into the country over roads that pass through the Shiite-dominated south of Iraq . . .

"Southern Iraq is thoroughly infiltrated by Iranian special operations forces working with Shiite militias, such as Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army and the Badr Brigades. Hostilities between Iran and the United States or a change in attitude toward US forces on the part of the Baghdad government could quickly turn the supply roads into a "shooting gallery" 400 to 800 miles long." Christian Science Monitor by No Quarter


Which reminds me of the apparently cowardly Corporal Bluntschli (the chocolate cream soldier) in Shaw's "Arms and the Man" saying the wisest soldier didn't keep cartridges in his bag but food.... what is that news about the logistical problems of the UK forces in Helmand , Afghanistan, 3 squaddies to one square meal ? Not enough load carrying helicopters ? ...as you ask, Bluntschli the stupid Swiss soldier survived and married the lady.

Billmon again ...

Anyway Billmon again ...

"We're talking, on other words, about a potential debacle -- the worst U.S. military defeat since Pearl Harbor. Not because the Iranians are brilliant strategists or tough fighters (although they may be; we really don't know) but because the Iraq occupation has left the U.S. Army dangerously overextended, given its massive supply requirements."

"I don't know whether the Cheney administration wants to start the next world war by attacking Iran or not. At the end of the day, it's all up to our ignorant man child of a president, and I don't know if he even knows at this point. But what does seem apparent, however, is that if Shrub and company do want a world war, they may not be any better prepared to fight one than the guys in charge at Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941."

Think on...but I'm really rather glad I don't live in the Green Zone. I bet Mr Patey the recently past UK Ambassador to Iraq who sent such an interesting memo to Tony is also rather pleased.(Christian Science Monitor story) My Corporal Bluntschli, an ex FFL mercenary working for Kroll and USAID quit Iraq months ago saying it was too dangerous.