Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion of Walker Percy

[Ken Armstrong <armstron AT ohiou.edu>]

Sometime after 9/11 I saw a newspaper article stating that Al Quaida 
operatives thought that after the destruction of the towers, the American 
people would overthrow the Bush government, or at least vote W out next 
election. Instead, 9/11 mostly likely gave him a second term.  The Russian 
"analyst" here doesn't seem to exhibit any more sophistication in his grasp 
of the USA than the Al Quaidans.  And the quotient for his self interest I 
suppose is obvious.

Ken Armstrong


At 11:26 PM 11/25/2008, you wrote:
> Here is an interesting, albeit disturbing article, that sounds like a
> version of the U.S. as portrayed in Love in the Ruins.
>
>
> 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.
>
>
> --
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