Brinkmania

Whoa Boy, are we on the edge today ...

A bombing in Lahore - suspected Taliban militants detonated a car bomb outside police facilities in Lahore, Pakistan, killing 30 and wounding 250.  It's believed they acted in retaliation to the military's push to clear militants from the Swat Valley.  Whatever the reason, this attack on what is considered the most important cultural center in Pakistan is another step towards chaos in the troubled nation.  Pakistan is sliding ever more quickly towards the brink, and the skids have been greased, if somewhat inadvertently, by America's war in Afghanistan and our support of the now-ousted Pervez Musharraf.  It will take no less than peace with neighboring India and a commitment to review and revise its national structure for Pakistan to survive.

North Korea talks tougher  - North Korea tests a nuclear bomb.  South Korea is spooked and joins a US-led international plan called the Proliferation Security Initiative, which proposes to stop any transport of unauthorized nuclear materials by ship (i.e., a form of blockade). North Korea gets really steamed, calls this action a violation of the 1953 armistice that ended (paused?) the Korean War, and says it will no longer honor the treaty.  On the brink, instantly.  Will anyone pay attention?  After all it seems that North Korea has managed its relationships with just about everyone else save China in an on-the-brink all-the-time manner anyway.  We might end up in a 'boy cries wolf' tale, only with an even grimmer ending than usual.

GM on the Green Mile - Grim endings? The pardon from the Governor hasn't come, and the executioner's got an itchy injection finger.  General Motors may be facing the long walk without a last meal, or last rites.  How could so mighty an institution have come to this?  Chrysler, we can understand.  After all, it's been in big trouble before, but GM?  Truth is, GM and the other American makers have been in court for a while now, barely managing to stay their sentencing.  The economic meltdown delivered a verdict, though, and now the punishment begins.  For all of us ...