Through The Looking Glass

You know youve entered a world of funhouse mirrors when Vladimir Putin warns the US against blind faith in the state's omnipotence and China warns against the dangers of protectionism.

Interesting. The world has a lot to lose from a weak and radically different America.

Obama is going to be much, much worse for this country than even I had imagined.

Greek Riots

Interesting article from the Telegraph on the origins of unrest in Greece. Incidentally, in the article he mentions conditions in Spain:

I am a little surpised that the riot phase of this long politico-economic drama known as EMU has kicked off so soon, and that it has done so first in Greece where the post-bubble hangover has barely begun.

The crisis is much further advanced in Spain, which is a year or two ahead of Greece in the crisis cycle.

The picture is going to get very ugly as Europe slides deeper into recession next year. The IMF expects Spain's unemployment to reach 15pc. Immigrants are already being paid to leave the country. There will be riots in Spain too (there have been street skirmishes in Barcelona).

I'm glad my offspring is now safe at home in Canada.

Irony Alert

From Forbes:

What television lacks in entertainment it makes up for in irony these days. A new show that aired in Britain on Monday and claimed to unravel the mysteries behind the global financial crisis, may look a little awkward once it gets to the bit about tax-evasion and dodgy, off-balance sheet funds. Its main sponsor? The Cayman Islands.

The British overseas territory isn't only a popular off-shore tax haven--it is also where many large banks parked the toxic debt securities in the last few years before the credit crisis erupted, leading to huge write-downs, losses and now, layoffs.