Realignment Continues

Newton's Third Law states that "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction." Well, it may be difficult to apply this priniciple with scientific exactitude in the context of political discourse, however, there can be certain lessons learned. Noam Chomsky has observed the obvious principle that people don't say "here's my throat, please cut it." And other nations are taking actions against US aggressiveness making US imperial designs ever more difficult. Venezuela, ever the US gadfly, continues its military buildup, and continues to establish key alliances and partnerships such as with El Salvador and other Latin American and Caribbean nations, has influenced the drive for nationalization of gas companies in Bolivia, and possibly even may enter into a deal to provide uranium to Iran. Chavez's threat to the imperial designs of the US become even greater as discoveries in Venezuela may make it the country with world's largest amount oil deposits, exceeding even Saudi Arabia. The rush towards populism has transformed South America, and threatens to scoop up Mexico.

Yet it is not only South of the Border where radical transformations are taking place. Russia has been quietly taking steps to tilt the scales away from US empire by reaching out to the Islamic world, potentially strange bedfellows who quite recently fought against each other. Russia is also being blamed for the sudden rise in Iranian military firepower, though Russia is denying responsibility. As weazl has noted, Russia has every incentive to assist Iran, while keeping its public face as a impartial broker-peacemaker, and Iran has been one of Russia's largest clients, so without speculation on the Russian role on any one piece of military equiptment, is it clear that the Russians have been an invaluable source of assistance to Tehran.

Meanwile, back at the Center for Psychopaths (Washington), perhaps the single most prestigious journal on US foreign policy, the Journal of Foreign Affairs, reveals the complete mental imbalance of the warmongers by publishing an article claiming that the aptly-named doctrine MAD, or Mutually Assured Destruction, a cornerstone of deterrence and detente for over a half a century, may be ending -- namely, that the US will have a nuclear supremecy unmatched by any other nation. American policy makers have really been drinking too much of the funny Kool-Aid to think that they can blow the rest of the world up and nobody will notice. Russia has, and it only heightens the tension between these nuclear adversaries.

And according to polls data, key US ally Silvio Berlusconi will lose his upcoming election. But let weazl be the first to say that the stakes for empire are simply overwhelming, and democracy is CLEARLY at risk in Italy. It is quite likely that vote rigging will result in Berlusconi retaining his post. In the unlikely event that Berlusconi loses, weazl readers should go buy champaigne and drink a toast to anti-empire. A major blow will have been struck.

We'll have the answer within days.