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Published Saturday, March 07, 2009 by Michael K..
Just to temper all the boundless optimism and exuberance around these parts lately, Russian academic Igor Panarin estimates that we here in the US have less than a year before we descend into civil war, fragment into six region-states, and - lest you think there's no upside to all this - give Sarah Palin to Russia. Alaska would have to go along with her, but that's a small price to pay, isn't it? The WSJ has the story.
"There's a 55-45% chance right now that disintegration will occur," he says. "One could rejoice in that process," he adds, poker-faced. "But if we're talking reasonably, it's not the best scenario -- for Russia." Though Russia would become more powerful on the global stage, he says, its economy would suffer because it currently depends heavily on the dollar and on trade with the U.S."
Yes, yes, obviously, Professor Panarin. What we really want to know is, what kind of leader is Kris Kristofferson going to be for Heartland?
About me
Michael K.
Observing the things in my personal cosmos: music of a catchy sort, soccer, hockey and other sports, theories of place, media and culture, academic life, history, nature, politics, the international, the parochial. You never know what you might get.
For generosity of the spirit.