2008 has been a year that in many ways defies easy summation.  Granted the words “utter disaster” “meltdown” “beginning of the end” could all come to mind, but so could “amazing triumph” “realization of hope” “beginning of change” and the like.  It all depends on how you want to look at it, and which parts you’d like to focus on.

I think the best I can do is… “it could be worse” and right now that’s true.

But the world continues to spin, and in it’s spinning we draw to the end of the year and the beginning of the next.  Sadly the calendar and various night spots are the only places where the strike of midnight matters.  For all things that matter, it’s just another day.  There’s been a lot of things I’ve wanted to touch on these past few days, I just really haven’t known how to go about it.  The economy isn’t great, and we all know it, though that seems to be a big focus for our incoming Prez and his Cabinet, so maybe there’s hope for at least some improvement, though for every bailout and stimulus check the money still has to come from somewhere and it’s likely that our kids and grandkids and perhaps beyond will still in some form or fashion be dealing with the fallout from each dollar spent… I don’t know where it all will come from other than just continued printing of money and exchanging cash for debt which devalues each cent and increases inflation and all around just further plunges us into the depths of economic failure… but there are those much smarter than I working on this case and hopefully they have a plan that while beyond my comprehension will nonetheless help to improve the financial state of the country.

However, there are other fears on tap, not manufactured fears heightened by changing color scales and random warnings, but actual threats to the well being of all peoples of the world.  Iraq’s security has improved beyond the holdouts who will likely continue to try to fight what is in their mind the good fight long after we’ve left and Iraq has been governing itself for decades, but while one warfront lessens in severity another picks up as the war in Afghanistan, so oft neglected while Iraq gained in focus, continues to escalate and grow in new and different ways, changing in dynamic, and requiring untried tactics to gain ground in the conflict.  And while American continues to fight in Afghanistan and along the border of Pakistan, Pakistan develops greater tension along the border of another of it’s neighbors in India, spawning most recently from the horrible terrorist attack and hostage situation in a hotel in India that has reportedly been traced back to Pakistan.  On top of that, the UN is still working on a commission to look into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto who was aiming to lead Pakistan into a new progressive future.  Then there’s the new escalation of force by Israel against the Palestinians in Gaza and specifically Hamas following the end of the cease-fire and Hamas’ continued rocket attacks even during the cease-fire, the show of force which is dividing the Arab community as many extremists turn on their various country’s leaders for not taking a hard enough stance against Israel and/or for Hamas in a conflict that many are worrying could prove to be a rallying point for extremists and a growing source of violent intent and action.  In addition there’s been a raise in gas prices as a result of predictions that oil routes could be shut down due to violence and protests in the Middle East (in the grand scale of things, hardly the worst thing to spawn out of all this madness, but it still effects us so it’s worth mentioning).  Our incoming leadership has been strangely quiet about all of these world events as opposed to his revealing of plans regarding the economy, instead deferring to the current President George W. Bush and taking cues from him on what the country will do in response to all of these events and conflicts.

Like the economy I have no answers about any of these conflicts, they spawn from years upon years of issue between various social and religious factions along and about many different borders, and each conflict has it’s own intricacies that will require great care and consideration, as the clock continues to tick down the minutes to midnight and the end of 2008, I can only hope for resolutions to the many conflicts that face our world and a stabilization that would benefit us all in the next year.  I’m not holding my breath, and crossing my fingers would make it really hard to type any more of these late night rants, but regardless of what comes next… perhaps as some mantra that will just make it easier to get through the day remember that “it could be worse.”

While Iraq has been holding steady and Afghanistan has become the focus point for major military troop movements, there’s another country in the Middle East that is under turmoil.

The Pakistani Prime Minister was the target of an assassination attempt Wednesday afternoon.

The attack took place in Rawalpindi, the garrison city near the capital. However, Sherry Rehman, the Pakistani information minister, said Mr. Gilani was not traveling in any of the cars in the motorcade. “This motorcade had left Islamabad to pick him up from the airport,” she said. “But the prime minister used a different route.”

He’s the latest in a series of politically based attacks in the past year.  Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated this past December while aiming for the Presidential seat recently vacated by Pervez Musharraf (who himself was victim of multiple assassination attempts during his time in office).

Last month suicide bombers were responsible for the deaths of 80-some people outside a weapons factory. Just before that, bombers caused massive injuries and deaths when they targeted an emergency room in Dera Ismail Khan.

In addition to all the bombings and assassination attempts and successes, NATO is finding strife in Afghanistan after a helicopter transporting international forces opened fire on a Pakistan village near the border of Afghanistan killing 7 people, according to a Pakistan Army spokesman.

Pakistan and America have been at odds over how to handle the issue of insurgent forces utilizing the mountainous region on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.  America asserts that Pakistan has not been active enough and Pakistan holds the opinion that America has been reaching too far into Pakistani territory with their rocket attacks and other maneuvers.

America sits in 2008, a place craving change, empowered by messengers that claim change will come or enraged by suspected empty promises to speak out against those that use the word “change” an a mantra they feel hypnotizes and blinds the easily swayed. As the economy, the infrastructure, the media, the government, and even our own public fails us- and leaves us wanting more, we sit back hoping change for the better will come. But while we focus on our place in the world, and even tighter on our place in the country, our communities, and our jobs (or lack there of in too many cases), we must make sure we don’t become so narrow viewed as to neglect everything that happens in the rest of the world. With that in mind, here are some of the happenings from around the globe in brief (or not so brief) form.

We’ll start with a little U.S. citizen abroad news- Barack Obama has pulled out yet another wining nomination against Hillary Clinton in the Democrats abroad vote. This brings it now to 11 straight victories for Obama. Particularly of note for this vote is the fact that it was the first time online voting was permitted. “(S)aid Christine Schon Marques, the group’s international chair, in a phone interview from Geneva. “Many people overseas are very concerned about the war in Iraq; they’re looking for change.”” There’s that magic word again… Change. Also of note is the fact that Republicans do not hold global primaries. So I guess Republicans who work in Antarctica are S.O.L.

In nuclear news, forgetting the fact that we don’t want anyone (read: Iran) getting nuclear power, or the potential for nuclear weapons… oh wait… India is reaching the end of it’s deadline for a pact with the U.S. allowing the U.S. to send nuclear fuel and technology to India. Yes, that’s right, while we sit and stress over the fact that Iran wants to gain nuclear power for it’s country, here we seek to increase the potential for an already nuclear country to build more nuclear weapons. Regardless of whether the country is an ally or not- there are fears that this move could lead to a new nuclear arms race in the region- given that Pakistan and China are already nuclear as well, and the Communist parties in India fear that the move could give the U.S. too much influence in their country.

You know, mentioning nuclear armed Pakistan, a “friend” of ours who really always has our best interests at heart- it’s important to note what’s going on there given that many of the terrorists we’re fighting and searching for are training and hiding out in the mountains around their borders. The elections that took place in Pakistan have really shaken things up in that country, taking the bulk of power in parliament away from current President Pervez Musharraf’s party the PML-Q, and giving it to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the Independents, and the Pakistan People’s Party. The PPP (the party of recently assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and the PML led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif are now seeking a way to work together despite political differences, to reform a more democratic Pakistan, moving away from the military based rule of Musharraf- who is blamed for recent increases in violence, lack of democracy and rights, and increasing living costs with decreasing quality of living (sounding familiar?). Of course, to make matters more complicated- not only do the two new majority parties have different aims in their political agendas, they also will be unable to elect their current leaders should they seek to build a new governing body- due to the fact that they did not contest seats in the elections. The candidate from the PPP who did contest a seat- is dead. And we thought our election system was screwed.

To make matters the world over even more fun- there’s a whole new country that the governments of the world are split on whether to recognize or not, and even the people in this new country aren’t all in the boat that they want to be divided away from the country they used to be part of. Of course, I’m speaking of Kosovo recently declaring it’s independence from Serbia. So heated is the split between Serbian loyalists, and the Ethnic Albanian government and majority of the citizens, that violence is breaking out at an alarming rate. Most recently Serbs displeased with the recent independence have lashed out- destroying the U.S. embassy, as well as UN and NATO property.

Kosovo, which is 90 percent ethnic Albanian, has not been under Belgrade’s control since 1999, when NATO launched airstrikes to halt a Serbian crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists. A U.N. mission has governed Kosovo since, with more than 16,000 NATO troops and KFOR, a multiethnic force, policing the province. But Serbia — and Kosovo’s Serbs, who make up less than 10 percent of Kosovo’s population — refuse to give up Kosovo, a territory considered the ancient cradle of Serbs’ state and religion.
Earlier Thursday, police estimated that about 150,000 people had attended a rally in the Serbian capital. The crowd waved Serbian flags and carried signs reading ‘‘Stop USA terror.’’ One group set fire to a red-and-black Albanian flag.

Another country’s people who fear that the U.S. is having too much influence in their homeland- to really drive home their point, not only did the destroy the embassy- but “(g)roups also broke into a McDonald’s restaurant and demolished the interior.” Ronald McDonald could not be reached for comment.

I know I’m probably preaching to the choir here- but too many folks I know talk about how much they don’t care about what happens in the rest of the world because it doesn’t affect them, but if it can’t be seen how all of these events influence what is, and what will be happening in our country in the future, and by influencing our country- having effects on our own lives, then maybe I’m just wrong and have lost the thread, and should go pick up an issue of People or US Weekly, watch a little American Gladiators, and go to bed.