From the Economist….

With its other smaller allies, the PPP-led government will not fold. And if Mr Zardari is elected president, with the dictatorial powers that the job confers, as seems likely, the government will look more solid. If so, Mr Zardari might be seen to have bested both Pervez Musharraf, the former president, who resigned on August 19th to escape impeachment, and Mr Sharif, leader of the PPP’s biggest rival. For a man who recently stepped into the shoes of his dead wife, Benazir Bhutto, the PPP’s murdered leader, and who is reported to have serious mental illnesses, this would be an Olympian achievement.

Spengler is not the best writer out there. His writing is often hasty, his facts are sometimes dubious (although not as often as some his detractors would have it), and he is not particularly consistent. But he has one merit that outweighs all these sins. His is an original thinker.

That does not make him right, but it does make him an interesting read. His latest essay Americans play Monopoly, Russians chess is no exception. Almost everyone in America from far right conservatives to far left liberals would disagree with his conclusions. But if you are intellectually honest, formulating why he is wrong will require you to rethink your own viewpoint.

Georgia at War: What I Saw

Report from Tbilisi

The Georgian Mess

Paul Krugman is smart. There is no denying that. But he has established a well deserved reputation for being unfair and vindictive. Thus we are surprised to find ourselves making one of his columns rant of the week.

But his column entitled “The Great Illusion” is right on the money. The points he makes have been made by many others, but rarely so concisely.

Musharraf has two choices. He can dispense with any pretense of democracy or he can give up power. Since he has not dispensed with democracy yet, I think he is going to have to give up power. From The Nation…..

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Saturday that impeachment proceedings would start if President Musharraf did not resign within next two days.

“The President will have to make up his mind about resignation by today (Saturday) or tomorrow (Sunday) as there is no room for delay. Otherwise, the process of impeachment will start,” he said while talking to the journalists here at Multan Airport.

He pointed out that besides federation, its all four units also raised voice against President Musharraf. “Even opposition members are also in favour of his impeachment,” he claimed. He said that the president should seriously consider the demand of all sections of the society. “The federation of Chambers of Commerce as well as Ex-Servicemen Society have requested him to resign in view of condition of country’s economy,” he maintained.

Georgians being used for forced labor.

The fight over the black sea.

And a really good overview from the Wall Street Journal.

From Spiegel….

After promising to leave, Russian troops haven’t budged from Georgia in the wake of a surprising flare-up of violence in the Caucasus. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also wouldn’t budge in his posture toward Angela Merkel during a mini-summit on Friday. German commentators wonder if Russia cares about Europe at all.

Of course Russia cares about Europe. It is a tasty morsel. If Russia controls Georgia and the pipeline that goes through it, they will have greater power over Europe. But does Europe really care who its overlords are?