"NIMBY"? Not In My Back Yard! The US Administration and establishment have, in effect, reinvented the "cold war" with their provocation of Russia in the Caucasus. Aided and abetted by a still supine US media, their misrepresentation of the situation differs little if any from their performance in the attack and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. The political opposition of the US has, to this point, gone along all the way, just as they have gone along with everything the Bush Administration has done since 9/11.
But as the Global Report in this issue makes abundantly clear, the stakes now are much higher and the situation much more dangerous than it was in 2001 or 2003. The reason for this is simple. The situation in the world's financial system is much worse than it was back then, or indeed at any other time in post WWII history. For the past month or so, ever since the Fannie and Freddie bailout took place and the Treasury had its credit limit raised by nearly $US 1 TRILLION, a false sense of security has descended like a fog over US financial markets in particular. Again, in appearance at least, the US government has successfully implemented a NIMBY policy writ large. "Sure, there are lots of 'bad' things going on in the world. Sure, the financial system is precarious in lots of places. BUT NOT IN MY BACKYARD!"
How long it lasts beyond Labor Day (September 1) will be interesting. Whether it can last until the US can get their Presidential election safely out of the way and the new President inaugurated is VERY doubtful. But however long it does last, the true measure of the REAL situation is the level of mindless belligerence being displayed in front of an ever more distrustful world by the US "authorities".
All Privateer subscriptions are in Australian Dollars:
