It's not often one can sit through the course of a day, and watch a major pillar of the British economic community.. a vast provider of mortgages throughout Britain.. drop more than 30% of it's value..
To see queues of Northern Rock depositors waiting for their turn to get into their local branch, and withdraw at least a major portion of their savings..
And then to see the immediate response from the other High Street banks, to up their percentages on savings deposits.. Notably, term deposits..
It has been quite correctly pointed out though, that if the Bank of England didn't itself believe that this horrendous crash of NR is only a temporary measure, it would never have opened it's purse-strings. The central bank appears to be honestly of the opinion, that the British economy, while heavily involved with American investment, can weather an American recession.. The EU, despite Angela's anguish at the continued devaluation of the $Am and the Deutchmark..will survive, if by simply adopting the skilled from the new member countries, and allowing enough transfer subsidy payments to allow what was a strict Communist citizen, with at least enough money to feed themselves slightly better than they could before..
The Middle East, of course, is snickering at the whole issue, quite openly, behind its collective hands.. with the only sliver of democracy, the only pro-Western force in the area, is tiny Israel.. and it has it's own problems..
South America's just beginning to understand what fortunes can be made by governments willing to trade oil, for clout. Not to mention vast sums of money..
Ahhh.. we live in interesting times.
Imagine for a moment.. Picture a map of the Eastern Med.. North Africa..
Algeria.. Libya.. Morocco..Egypt.. Israel.. Saudi Arabia.. Iraq.. Iran..Pakistan.. and curving up around to the north..Turkey.. Kazakhstan.. Armenia..
And then there are, of course, those who follow Islam throughout Indonesia..
These are countries the West has treated with, to be exceedingly kind... benign contempt for generations...
Perhaps, truth be told, not always so kindly.
These are also Muslim States. Some of them are immensely rich.. some, obviously aren't..yet..
Consider. What the Jihad issued against the West originally stated, as one of it's goals, the 'return of the Caliphate'..
Now imagine that map, ten years from now, with all of the 'Calphate' countries painted red.. the way the British Empire used to be represented on world maps.. The Caliphate does not necissarily need to be worldwide immediately.. and the Levantine mind, as mentioned before, plans in terms of generations..
Imagine 'the West'.. We'll paint it blue..
Imagine the EU..
Divide the world into what you see developing before you..
Don't forget Russia.. China.. India.. entities unto themselves yet joined at the hip by economic necessity..
Extrapolate... taking all the factors available.From the rise in gas in the States because of the recent damage caused by Hurricane Felix.. to the lack of bread on the shleves in Chinese markets.. to the 'pasta revolution' in Italy.. to the disasterous British outbreaks in livestock diseases..
To the effect on the Middle East, when we've finally allowed 'the last foot to leave the ground'..
To as many pieces of the Puzzle as you can assimilate..
Drop a comment on your assessment..