Yet another of the interminable Scottish days, when the slate of the sky seems to weigh as heavily as do those on the roof of a swaybacked cottage.. This is the time of year that brings on the feeling that one can almost sense the true isolation a closed sky affords..
It would appear that public opinion has, for once, had an effect on at least one of our bankers.. The Chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland has decided not to accept his bonus for last year's work.. Sir Philip Hampton announced he would forgo the £1.4million the Board had opted to award him.. Now this RBS statement came amid continued controversy over the bank's decision to award Stephen Hester, its Chief Executive, a £963,000 bonus.. a bone caught in the public throat when the fact the bank is 82% owned by the taxpayer.. Hester has not declined his whack of the pie..

Now this was only to have been expected..
As Spanish unemployment breaks through the 5 million barrier, the new government of Mariano Rajoy has begun to put pressure on the European Union to ease Spain's deficit targets, which are sending the country tumbling back into recession..
Rajoy's government is demanding greater 'realism' from Brussels as it struggles to rein in a deficit that ended more than two percentage points, or €20billion, above its EU-set 6% target last year..
EU officials are unlikely to greet his message with enthusiasm after continued wrangling in Athens over a deal with private creditors and a torrid day on the bond markets that pushed Portugal closer to needing a Greek-style rescue.. Brussels indicated that talks in Greece would take at least another 48 hours..
Just what they might manage to come up with before Monday's EU Ministers conference, is moot..

Might be interesting to keep an eye on Nigeria..
An Islamic fundamentalist group calling itself 'Boco Harum' has killed over a thousand in it's fight to force the country into a 'true Islamic State', governed my strict Shari'a Law.. Spokesman, Abu Qaqa, says "We will consider negotiation only when we have brought the government to their knees.. Once we see that things are being done according to the dictates of Allah, and our members are released [from prison], we will only put aside our arms.. but we will not lay them down. You don't put down your arms in Islam, you only put them aside."
Now there's a statement which we in the West would do well to remember..
Shari'a law is already in place across 12 states in the Muslim-majority north.. But few believe the group's radical ideology has traction in Nigeria's mainly Christian south, which is also home to millions of Muslims, yet has so far been out of the group's reach.

Seems that Greece is getting closer to some sort of an accommodation with it's creditors.. the European Union's Economic Commissioner, Olli Rehn, said 'they were very close'.. Of course, the last thing the EuroZone wants is Greece to default..again.. Such a scenario would almost certainly rattle the house of cards the European Union has become.. We should know by the weekend whether or not a deal can be reached.. at least by the time EU Ministers meet next Monday..
It would seem the only solution to this problem would be to drastically reduce the amount of interest Greece is paying on the trillion or so € it has 'borrowed'.. and should that come to pass.. watch Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy looking for a similar concession..
In fact, Spain's unemployment figures show there are some 5 million Spaniards on the dole.. That's 22.8%, the highest figure in 17 years.
Not encouraging..

Now.. in the States.. there are figures that would seem to indicate their economy grew by just over 2% this past quarter.. But let's not start thinking their problems are beginning to shrink.. These 'growth figures' are a direct result of manufacturers stockpiling their product, instead of offering them for sale.. This cannot be kept up, and we'll be looking at much lower figures in the very near future.. New car sales were up some 14%.. but that has to do with Pre-orders finally being filled following the tsunami in Japan. Don't look for GM or Chrysler to be posting higher sales figures..

Just yesterday we mentioned the public was entirely unhappy with the £million bonus handed the man at the helm of the Royal Bank of Scotland.. Now, it's become an issue for the Commons, and yet another bone for Labour to chew..
Mind you, this 'bonus' is not due to be paid for three years, and will be determined by the share price of the bank at that time.. But still, for those on fixed incomes who are struggling to maintain their utilities bills with their grocery bills.. such an 'incentive' is preposterous..

Grey. It's still grey.

Interesting to note, that while crime seems to be on the increase.. the number of Bobbies in England and Wales has fallen, and will continue to fall 'til 2015..
This due of course to government funding cuts, and truth be told, it's the old coppers who are taking the brunt of the redundancies.. Those who have served for 30+ years, and quietly being shuffled out the door..
Still.. they're keeping the numbers up in Scotland and Northern Ireland.. Might be an indication of where they're needed most..

Now what's really rankling the man on the street today, is the announcement from Royal Bank of Scotland.. That Chairman of the Board Steven Hester is to get almost a £million for his part in 'strengthening the banks position and bringing it back to, almost, respectability..
Yet, RBS is owned by the public, at least 82% of it is..
The public is wondering why that million wasn't used to pay down the bank's debt..
Needless to say, banking institutions are not well thought of these days on this Island..

Not that much has changed.. there's an ice warning out for most of the Island this morning..
We've been expecting to hear from the government.. and we're not that overwhelmed with the expected announcement that our economy will shrink slightly, or to be more precise, that it had shrunk over this past quarter..
Seems we're at the point, where we just want the government to do something that would show us at least a glim of the light at the end of the trouble. But it would seem that most are canny enough to realize that it wouldn't matter which Party had the reins.. we would still have to endure what fumbling economists come up with to recommend to the Exchequer and hope for the best.
It is of no help, that we're reminded at least three times a week, that emotionally, we're close to the edge.. We're still surprised that we hear, regularly, that some husband has run amok..killing his wife and children before turning the weapon on himself.. People are aware the trick is to walk the tightrope without looking down..
The problem being that there are those who have been walking the high wire for years, and who now find what was once a short fall, has now become an abyss..
We're becoming more insulated. News filters through from the US when Barack does something extraordinary.. We still get reports on what's happening in the EuroZone.. But for the most part, our news consists of local or national stories.. written with the decided twist towards inspiring some brief relief, however fleeting..
There are fewer gathering along the rail at the local these days, with pensions buying less and less for more and more.
But this is Great Britain.. and for the vast majority, it's still an attitude of a 'stiff upper lip'..
There's always the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics to look forward to..
Bread and circuses..

A new year.. and we face the same problems. In fact, things are going to get worse before they improve..
As our Prime Minister looks to the upcoming Olympics and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee to help boost our prospects, reports from think-tanks around the country paint a somewhat gloomier future for some.. Caps being set on housing benefits will leave some of those who depend on the social safety net out in the cold..literally. These changes to the system come into effect over the next few months.
Happy new year.
Mind you, the effects will be phased in as Council tenants come up for their annual rent review.. small comfort for those, especially in Scotland, where those on benefits outweigh those in gainful employment..
And for those who have work and use rail transport to get them to and fro.. will find their fares 11% more expensive, as of today. Passenger Focus Chief executive Anthony Smith points out "report after report.. the government's own McNulty review into the rail industry's costs.. show we have a very inefficient rail industry. The industry costs a lot to run. Those costs are being dumped on passengers, year after year, and we can't keep on doing this.."
Ahhh.. but we will..

One might wonder why..there have been such sporadic entries of late..
Simply put.. there has been so little of substance to record..
We have entered a period of almost worldwide ennui.. The political and diplomatic machines grind away.. Europe breathes for the moment with no change in the underlying problem, perhaps with a few anxious eyes towards the next default date for Greece, Portugal, and Ireland..
Mind you.. all in all it's become a situation that we.. those of us on this island.. are inured to.. We have a Prime Minister who has distanced us from the substance of the Euro crisis.. and while this has prompted some anti-British rhetoric from some French Ministers.. this taken with a smile.. They're only French, after all..
This is the center of the cyclone.. the calm between the anxiety of Christmas and the unbridled binge which is Hogmanay..
People aren't talking much about 2012.. We're walking blind into a fog of uncertainty and seem to be managing with some aplomb.. it's all exceedingly British, and one would truly have to observe it for a while, to make out the 'attitude' which imbues Brits.. from football hooligans to investment bankers.. there is this ineffable intangible sense of the ability to take whatever will come.
They may well be grey.. and will certainly turn greyer yet..
But despair doesn't seem to be on the agenda.

There is one international story which jumps out..
Now Canada's a pretty tolerant nation, as nations go.. and SouthWestern Ontario, the area stretching from Toronto to Windsor, is usually a paragon of stereotypical Canadian good manners and reservation..
But.. An issue is about to make a tempest in a teapot..
Bluewater, or Sarnia-Lambton County.. has raised an 'issue'..
The decades-old routine of handing out free Gideon Bibles in public schools has sparked renewed passions amid complaints the practice is discriminatory and no longer has a place in a secular education system.. This, after after a parent's objection led to the discovery the board had no policy on the issue...
Word that Bluewater officials were reviewing the practice in order to come up with a policy provoked a torrent of support for continuing the tradition..
“I'm not even a Gideon.. I'm just a concerned Christian parent in a country that's still 70 per cent Christian,” said Rev. Mark Koehler, pastor at First St. Matthews Lutheran Church in Hanover, Ont.. He continues.. “We've taken prayer out of school. We can't say certain greetings at Christmas time. We don't want further erosion of our Christian faith and heritage to happen.”..
Surely to whatever God there might be.. this particular 'issue' diminishes to insignificance when all the rest of the problems we face are considered..
Sometimes, you just have to shake your head..

It's becoming glaring evident.. the grey.. grey infusing the weather.. the landscape.. the faces of those on the bus..
Xmas is nearly upon us.. and already the desperation is beginning to
overshadow the some what forced outward show of increasing bonhomie and peace among men..
Those who might actually be content with their upcoming celebrations are rolling past those in the queues for their damp ride home.. comfortable in their particular peculiar existence, complete with at the very least, a BMW..
This Europe situation actually has the man on the street worried.. the extent varies from each to each.. but we know that should Europe disintegrate both financially and as a coherent entity tied by the €.. then the financial upheaval would be a virtual European Fukashima quake.. with the epicenter in France.. utter chaos..
Now there are some saying that this is not yet irretrievable.. the the European Central Bank could support bond issues.. But judging by the response of a German offering which sold something like 60% of the issue.. keeping in mind these were offering only 1.9% over ten years.. what economic gain is going to be gleaned by buying paper that could well be useless well before maturity..?
Grey.
The quiet resignation that what will need to be done, will be done.. even if it's a night out once a week.. a dinner with the girlfriend every fortnight.. they can be replaced with an evening cuddling on the couch in front of the telly..
It's that obvious.. the dimming of the ambition.. the preparation to accept what one has and what's more, to be damned happy to at least have that..
Britain is assuming yet another 'wartime mentality'..
We know, to put it bluntly, the excreta is about to hit the fan, and we are equally aware we are, each of us, individually, are powerless to stop it..
Time to find pleasures in the simpler things again..
Grey.
The faces on the bus, that is.. or the Tube.. or the commuter train..

This peripatetic journal, over the past few years, has been dedicated for the most part with matters political and/or economic.. and indeed these topics have been worthy of note. But the ball that was set rolling in the 1970's is still lumbering along.. and recent events have been reported on almost ad nausiam, with results already noted becoming fact..
Yet it remains to take a closer look at the attitude of the members of the silent majority.. Those who rise every morning, according to their individual schedules, make their ways to their various jobs within the light blue to the white collar, count the hours 'til they can either pick up a takeaway to be eaten in front of the television or head home to a wife, perhaps a family..
These are those who could well forget to exercise their franchise, perhaps with a fatalism which firmly believes if matters little which of the major powers forms the government, that either will face the Herculean task of repairing our economy, and our increasingly fractured society.. and at the moment is moot as to whether there is a palatable solution..
It's expected more than a million members of various unions will 'down tools' at the end of the month.. pensions at issue here..
But..bacl to those who still pay taxes, albeit with a vague sense of injustice as inflation passes 5% and petrol sets you back £1.34/l..
These are those who will wait patiently in a queue, in the rain, at the buss-stop, letting older folks board first..
Those among whom Edward George Bulwer-Lytton would have called 'the great unwashed'.. although applied in a non-pejorative sense.. The Urban Dictionary defines those defined by the term thus: "Can also be applied to a person who follows 'the crowd' and doesn't have a mind of their own." This might well apply to many who's lives are almost rigidly bound by routine..
And that, defines most of today's workforce..
When the news.. politics shows.. economic reports and the like are presented.. the average person is baffled at numbers in the trillions.. and likely has little to support an informed opinion on the collapse of the Euro.. trade checks and balances are not the stuff of common conversation..
And with good cause.. These are the people who are being hit hardest by ever increasing electricity and heating fuel costs.. These are the people who see their weekly shop costing £10 more.. despite supermarket adverts which claim you're actually saving.. These are those who would far sooner concentrate on their own economic squeeze..
This attitude of quiet resignation can be seen any day of the week by walking the High Street, especially this time of year. So many more out preparing for the holiday..
This attitude is stereotypically British.. Perhaps Dudly Moore and Peter Cooke said it best in one of their skits from 'Beyond the Fringe'.. When wife comes out to the garden to tell husband that .."war has been declared, with all the horrors it entails.." And husband answers "Never you mind the war.. just put on the kettle and we'll have a nice cup of tea.."

Indeed..

Yet another end to an era..
The last of the Cold War atomic 'bunker-busters' is in the process of being dismantled on a Texas Army base.. These bombs were designed to land softly on a target, then detonate on the surface.. simulating an earthquake.. This final relic was 600 times more powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima..
But.. as human nature demands..
That bomb, and those of it's ilk.. have been superseded by bombs that burrow into the ground and then explode..
Someone in the MoD must be wearing a wry smile..

Let's see now..
EU Finance Ministers have voted to give Greece the next tranche in their bailout loans.. flagrantly tossing cash down the loo..
And as this is written, the debate goes on in Parliament concerning a referendum on whether or not Britain should become a full member of the EU..
If this should come to pass, one would only hope that there be included a choice to return to Thatcher's 'single market'..
Now, it appears this is a major rebellion, perhaps the first of Cameron's Premiership.. as many as 70 Conservative members may refuse the whip, and vote for this issue to be brought before the people..
Should this referendum decide that this country should not only be in Europe, but in the heart of Europe, this diarist, for one, will look for residence in Canada..

Cameron and French President Sarkozy have had words over Britain's involvement in Wednesday's meeting of EuroZone Finance Ministers..
Sarkozy wanted attendance to be confined to those 17 countries which actually use the uro.. in fact.. the French Head of State said, somewhat bluntly.. "We are sick of you criticising us and telling us what to do."
The infighting between France, Germany, and Britain.. should we apply for full membership and take on the Euro.. would render the group impotent through endless debates on bailout payments..
And, are we willing to give that much power, legislative, judicial, financial, to a group which can only be compared to a sinking ship..?
The EuroZone’s debt crisis might already have pushed the bloc’s economy back into recession, according to business surveys that showed China’s economy taking a stride forward in October..
Purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs) today.. only served to underscore why Europe’s leaders are scrambling to identify substantial and lasting measures to contain a sovereign debt crisis that knocked EuroZone businesses into a second month of decline in October..
Not encouraging.. although there are those who would argue that the current situation is not a 'double-dip' recession, but merely a continuation of the damage caused in the US with the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac..
This worldwide problem, excluding China apparently, brings fond memories of 1988, when the situation was bad, but not nearly as bad as they are today.. or will be tomorrow..
British inflation is up to 5.2%.. if there is more quantitative easing, watch that figure climb..
The flash Markit EuroZone composite PMI, which measures business activity at thousands of manufacturers and service sector companies, sank to 47.2 this month from 49.1.. some way below the 50 mark that divides growth from contraction..
That was below every forecast from 19 economists polled by Reuters, to say nothing of the consensus for 48.8.. Survey compiler Markit said it was consistent with a 0.5% rate of quarterly decline in GDP..
“All in all this is a miserable report, highlighting the fact that the euro zone is falling into recession again,” said Peter Vanden Houte, chief euro zone economist at ING Financial Markets..
“The snail-like progress in the resolution of the European debt crisis is unlikely to alter this picture soon.”..

And so it comes to an end..
Mohammar.. out, not with a bang, but a whimper..

More later..

Another dinner party discussion which led us into dissecting our current worldwide situation..
Now.. as has been written here before.. figures which describe our National Debt.. are far and beyond comprehension.. Financial experts toss about sums which the man on the street cannot possibly imagine, and thus, in incomprehension, a certain comfort is associated with 'trillions' of Pounds Sterling.. of American dollars..
The latest reports have the UK public sector net debt in July 2011 at £940.1 billion.. or 61.4% of GDP.. Now, if all financial sector intervention is included..such as the Royal Bank of Scotland.. Lloyds.. et al.. , the Net debt in July 2011 was £2266.3 billion.. or 148.0 per cent of GDP.. This is known as the unadjusted measure of public sector net debt..
Now lets break that down into something perhaps a bit more understandable..
If we say, that taking all those at work into account and the various incomes they earn.. we could strike a mean amount for 'work hours'.. Lets set that at say, £30 an hour.. we get something close to 75 billion work hours, and that is the true measure of our debt..
This is the depth of the hole our particular government is looking at climbing out of.. Finding some 75 billion hours of productive work.. and that which it pays to each individual worker.. to be applied to an intangible electronic debtor against an equally intangible debt..
And further.. the cost of National debt is the interest the government has to pay on the bonds and gilts it sells.. In the first six months of 2010, the debt interest payments were £21.6billion, suggesting an annual cost of around £43bn.. or 3% of GDP..
And perhaps more disturbing.. it is estimated National debt will could rise close to 100% of GDP by 2012.. It is far and away above the government’s sustainable investment rule of 40% maximum..
But tell the man on the street, that what's needed is 75 billion of his and her hourly wage.. and a light might begin to come on..
Food for thought..
And more on this as the concept is digested..

Quantitative easing has hit Britain..
It must be said, that printing money to hand to the banks, so more is available for loans to small businesses.. is an insane solution..
While some jobs may be created.. this will do nothing for us in the long run.. as has been evidenced in the US..
Barack himself took some shots, in preparation for next years election campaign..
Obama spoke at a White House news conference after thousands of anti-Wall Street demonstrators protested at New York’s financial district and in several U.S. cities this week against economic inequality and the power of American financial institutions..
“I think people are frustrated and the protesters are giving voice to a more broad-based suspicion about how our financial system works,” Obama told reporters..
This from a man who can't seem to get his national unemployment figures below 9%..
But back here..
It's not hard to imagine what this will do to our ageing population as they claim their pensions for their 'golden years'.. annuity payments for those still working will continue to rise..
We are seeing big industry laying off workers by the thousands.. even the venerable BBC is cutting staff by 2 thousand.. and the Gods alone what those journalists.. presenters.. actors.. will find new employment..
What we can look for now, is inflation to begin rising.. despite the Bank of England holding interest rates at 0.5% until 2013, at least..
This situation as it stands today.. has the EuroZone in utter financial turmoil.. Britain not far behind.. the US imploding.. Japan struggling under the weight of shrinking world markets and the cost of natural disasters.. the entire world playing electronic Monopoly with sums of money which defy imagination..
One must wonder how long it will take to repair this worldwide problem..
Our grandchildren will still be struggling.. and what history will have to say concerning the first decade of this new millennium will reflect the fumbling manner in which our leaders have dealt with this situation..

And as the world continues to turn..

The Greek Finance Ministry has announced that they won't be able to meet the deficit-cutting moves, as stipulated implicitly in the terms of their 'bail-out loans'..
No surprise there..
The country’s deficit this year is expected to reach 8.5% of GDP, or €18.69-billion ..$25.2-billion U.S.. higher than the targeted €17.1billion.. $23.1-billion.. That would have called for a reduction to 7.8%.. And, there's more.. They have a €2billion hole in their budget.. and yet even more.. that next years recovery rates won't be reached either..
Since May 2010.. Greece has been reliant on regular payouts of loans from a €110billion .. $150billion.. bailout from other Euro Zone countries.. Germany for the most part, but French Banks are heavily exposed as well.. and the International Monetary Fund.. It was granted a second €109billion package in July.. but details of that deal remain to be worked out..
The 2012 budget is projected to reduce the deficit to €14.68billion..$19.82billion, or 6.8% of GDP..
Excluding serving Greece’s debt, the budget is projected to have a primary surplus of €3.2billion, or 1.5% of GDP, meaning that Greece’s debt will stop growing, as a percentage of GDP..
Or so they'd like to think..
But with the government 'suspending' some 28 thousand public sector workers on partial pay, and an unemployment rate closing in on 15%.. they are simply creating yet more of a social vacuum..
Already, there have been sometimes violent demonstrations against the current 'austerity cuts' in most major Greek cities..
But in truth.. what has Greece to offer it's people in the way of employment..? There is no heavy industry.. in fact, beyond shipping, wind and water generated electricity and tourism.. Greece brings nothing to the table..
Once again, let us pose, as a possible solution.. true integration of the European Zone.. take those with practical skills who cannot seem to find work in Spain and Italy.. those who have been turned away from closing factories.. and rather than pouring money into maintaining a debt which cannot feasibly ever be paid.. And instead offer incentives for big business to build manufacturing plants.. employing those unemployed Europeans with work in Greece.. Simultaneously, Greek unemployed would work alongside, learning the trade so to speak..
The establishment of new industry is an absolute necessity for any economy.. and it seems only too obvious that the solution for economies the likes of Greece.. Portugal.. Eire.. Spain.. Italy.. is to attract foreign investment.. To provide true growth means expanding the tax base and reducing State expenditures.. and that means jobs.. and this is a course of action which must be made with some expediency.. for we have spawned a truly 'Lost Generation'..
The alternative is something thoroughly unpleasant to imagine.. Literally millions throughout the West living just at, or just below, what would be considered the poverty line.. The end of any vestige, if any remains now, of a 'work ethic'.. simmering unrest with any government elected to power, as the rich still get richer while the poor get poorer, accompanied by a general malaise.. ennui..
Admittedly, that's not the end of the story..
This has happened before..
Ahh.. Laetus Agricola..

Natural disasters abound..
The Philippines has been battered.. Rescuers scrambled today to deliver food and water to hundreds of villagers stuck on rooftops for days because of flooding in the the north.. where back-to-back typhoons have left at least 59 people dead..
Typhoon Nalgae slammed ashore in northeastern Isabela province Saturday.. then barreled across the main island of Luzon's mountainous north and agricultural plains.. still sodden from fierce rain and winds unleashed by a howler just days earlier.. Nalgae left at least three people dead Saturday..
Typhoon Nesat killed 56 others and left 28 missing in the same region before blowing out Friday..

It is a matter for some thought.. the lengths the Eurozone will go to prop up what must eventually become yet another grand gesture..
To all intents and purposes, the one economy that is in the black, is being dragged down by 16 other member countries who are struggling to fight off impending bankruptcy..
The German Parliament has voted, by some majority, to the establishment of a 780bn Euro 'bailout fund'.. something short of the €3trillion that was suggested as necissary by the US Treasury Secretary..
The problem has been, and remains, the lack of productivity endemic in the countries which have already recieved emergency loans, and those which teeter on the brink of needing funds to stave off bankruptcy..
It appears Greece will get it's next tranche of loans, and that should hold off the wolf at the door for another few months, but, the question remains, what can be done in the short term to improve the situation..?
And the answer is glaringly obvious..
Nothing.
We are caught in a carolsel.. where bankrupt countries are being kept afloat without any significant changes to their economic situations..
This can end with only one scenario.. That being the end of the Euro, and that will be accellerated by the German people's dissatisfaction with the loaning of their capital to prop up failures..

This impending switch in roles between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladmir Putin has some senior Russians a tad wary..
Former leader Mikhail Gorbachev says this could set Putin up for another..possibly..12 years in the drivers seat..
Saturday was the day Putin announced his plans to run for the Presidency again, and barring some kind of revolution, this amounts to the prospect of another Kremlin leader for life.. a tradition that stretches back 450 years to the reign of Ivan the Terrible, Russia's first Czar..
No matter how popular or effective a leader may be, that seems like a long commitment, and Putin's ruling party, United Russia, made every effort over the weekend to cast it as the shining path to the glory of the nation. "The return of Vladimir Putin to the post of President is totally logical, because he remains our national leader,".. said Andrei Isaev, a senior Party boss..
The concern is.. that this could lead to another 12 years of the status quo, of political stagnation. Alexei Kudrin, one of Putin's most trusted advisers, who has served as Russia's Finance Minister for 12 years, said on Sunday that he wanted no part of it. "I see no role for myself in the new government," Kudrin told reporters during a trip to Washington..
Now there is a small cadre within the Kremlin.. a small faction of Kremlin liberals who have lobbied for President Dmitri Medvedev.. a self-styled Westernizer and reformer, to stay on for six more years. But his re-election would have required a reversal of Putin's grand political strategy.. In 2008, when the constitution barred Putin from taking a third consecutive term as President, he chose a successor from among his most loyal lieutenants.. the weakest and least independent among them was Medvedev, and when he was chosen, it seemed clear that he would be little more than a placeholder President, warming Putin's seat until he could legally return in 2012.
This is a situation that should be closely watched, for if Putin returns, it could well mean a reversal of the relaxation of Russian relations with the West.. and a reversal of the new freedoms the Russian peoples now enjoy due to Medvedev's more liberal moves.. greater freedom of the press, fewer restrictions on the political opposition and the easing of state control of the economy..
Given the unstable position Europe is presently in, a more restrictive Russia would only deepen the depression generally felt throughout the Eurozone..
As said, this bears our attention..

Another situation which will bear our scrutiny..
China's top security official visited Pakistan today in an effort to strengthen ties with a country whose relationship with the United States is growing more tenuous by the day..
Pakistani officials and commentators have been talking up their country's relationship with Beijing, with some suggesting it could one day replace the United States as Islamabad's main foreign benefactor..
China's Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu was met by his Pakistani counterpart, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who brushed aside questions on the timing of the visit..
"Lets not talk USA here. I am here with my friend China," he told reporters. "China is always there for us in the most difficult moments."..
You bet they are.. now..
There was a time not so long ago, that the only country which supported Pakistan was the US.. pumping money directly into their economy, and maintaining strong diplomatic ties..
But, it seems the US support has had too many price-tags.. the likes of the killing of Osama..
The last thing we need, is to lose the status we now have with Pakistan, relinquishing it to China.. who's ultimate goals are as shrouded as that country is large..

And with the United States..
It appears to be a case of 'here we go again'..
Congress is once again allowing shutdown politics to bring the federal government to the brink of closing..
For the second time in nine months, lawmakers are bickering and posturing over spending plans.. The difference this time is that everyone agrees on the massive barrel of money to keep the government running for another seven weeks..
"It is embarrassing," Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., admitted Sunday.. Warner asked: "Can we, once again, inflict on the country and the American people the spectacle of a near government shutdown?"..
At issue is a small part of the almost $4 trillion budget intended for an infrequent purpose, that being federal dollars to help victims of floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters and whether some of the expense should be offset by cuts in other government spending..
This sort of crisis management has cost Congress credibility in the eyes of the electorate, with about eight in 10 Americans disapproving of the institution's performance after this summer's debt crisis.. this is the reason Moodys downgraded the nation's ratings as a result, unnerving the world's financial markets..
And here we go again..
And there is yet another pressing problem on Barack's plate.. Unemployment in the South is losing him votes by the hundreds of thousands.. The South has gone from having the lowest unemployment rate, to the highest..
Several Southern states.. including South Carolina, whose 11.1 percent unemployment rate is the fourth highest in the nation.. have higher unemployment rates than they did a year ago.. Unemployment in the South is now higher than it is in the Northeast and the Midwest.. which include Rust Belt states that were struggling even before the recession..
And with Congress playing it's self-serving game.. the White House needs what can be done to be done now..
But again, what good does it do the GOP to get them to play ball.. what concessions before the end of this term..
At what cost, Barack..?

That financial 'black hole' we've spoken of for years is becoming a reality..
Meetings of the IMF in the US are suggesting discounting.. forgiving.. forgetting completely.. Greece's overall debt by 50%.. The plan also envisages an increase in the size of the Eurozone bailout fund to 2 trillion Euros..
When will we learn that tossing our cash into a futile attempt to prop up any economy that cannot support itself, is as much as flushing it down the loo..
Should this keep up, we will soon find us all in a never ending circle of 'quantitative easing'.. profligate printing of specie by our own Treasury.. leading to massive inflation.. growing unemployment.. and what will amount to a global depression..
Now, 'global' might not quite be accurate.. Russia and China have the internal resources to lose international markets.. their populations alone could keep them afloat, and while even with those two countries the water may lap at the gunnel's, they will not suffer to the depth the West will..
Their populations are already inured to what we would consider 'intolerable' living conditions, and restrictions through State regulation..
But, as we said, the 'black hole' solution appears to be in motion..
Over the weekend, the G20 reasserted its commitment to "a strong and co-ordinated international response" to the crisis, but analysts warned this would not be enough to satisfy investors..
And that's a harbinger of things to come..

A couple of items of note..

Perhaps the most influential of the Arab nations, Saudi Arabia, has finally entered the modern world.. King Abdullah has granted the franchise to women.. and further, to their right to sit on the highly influential Shura Council..
To date, the kingdom has been enforcing a strict version of Sunni Islamic law..
This 'Westernisation' process through North Africa and Asia has sprung up with amazing rapidity, and in fact, flies directly in the face of centuries of tradition..
Just goes to show what incentives cars, larger salaries, education, and in no small part, the Internet, has been..
Betimes the old Chinese saying comes to mind though..
"May you not live in interesting times.."

Now, private talks have been ongoing, to allow Greece to default on next months interest payments, while still remaining in the Euro.. But one must question the wisdom of this course of action.. Christine Laguard has admitted, that should those who have had 'bail-out' loans begin to default, or should another country declare themselves as in need, the IMF would not have the means to pull more fat from the fire..
However, It is believed that policymakers feel they need to concentrate on recapitalising banks and boosting the funds of the European Financial Stability Facility.. the plan to increase the EFSF's financial firepower could see the money available to bail out EU banks and member states rise from 440bn Euros to about 2trillion Euros..
He added that the plan could also enable the European Central Bank (ECB) to buy more Italian and Spanish bonds to prevent those two countries needing a full bailout..
There appears to be little point to continuously bemoan the good money being tossed after bad.. it is a course the EU appears doggedly set on, to preserve the tattered integrity of this grand experiment..
And meanwhile, there is not a nation on this earth that's not watching with some trepidation.. for if.. when..the European Union ends.. we'll need all those bureaucrats which have been made redundant..

And, the next area of conflict to keep the engine of war turning over, could well be Pakistan, especially with the growing tensions at the Afghani border..
Afghan defense officials warned Pakistan on Sunday to stop firing rockets and heavy artillery into the northeast of the country or the military will respond with force.. Pakistan denied it was responsible..
Separately, a U.S. official confirmed an attack on a facility used by American officials in Kabul..
"The situation is fluid, and the investigation is ongoing," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation..
It's been ten years since the combined forces of Britain and the US drove the Taliban from power..

Just a couple of brief notes..
It was a combative President Obama today, as he demanded that the richest Americans pay higher taxes to help cut soaring U.S. deficits by more than $3 trillion.. He promised to veto any effort by congressional Republican to cut Medicare benefits for the elderly without raising taxes as well..
"This is not class warfare. It's math," Obama declared, anticipating Republican criticism, which was quick in coming..
House Speaker Boehner, whom Obama singled out in his speech for having "walked away" from a "grand bargain" during the debt-ceiling debate in July, said the president's approach was unhelpful..
"This administration's insistence on raising taxes on job creators and its reluctance to take the steps necessary to strengthen our entitlement programmes are the reasons the president and I were not able to reach an agreement previously, and it is evident today that these barriers remain," he said..
Indeed.
And this is the problem Barack's going to face for the remainder of his tenure.. battling the GOP who today called Barack's plans to 'tax the rich' out and out 'class warfare'..
This may be the template we see for the remainder of Obama's term in office.. a constant fight with a Republican House.. and obstacles constantly being thrown in the path of a smooth passage of any bills..

Our own Business Secretary Vince Cable told this years LibDem Conference, that we are in the equivalent of an 'economic war'.. In a bleak assessment of the future, he said the era of ever-rising living standards had ended and people were just worrying about "how to survive"..
Now he's taken a page from this blog..
Vince also has called for higher taxes on the higher earners.. taking a page from Barack's speech..
The sad fact of the matter is, that we, the middle class, are in for quite a while of hand-to-mouth living, as prices rise and jobs disappear..
To suggest anything else, would simply be a Pollyanna view on the current situation..
And the least we can expect from government these days.. is accurate and honest assessments..

While not offering anything in the way of a concrete solution, our Chancellor, George Osborne has announced that things are dire within the EuroZone, and has urged those countries involved to get a grip on things..
Nothing like stating the obvious..
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner attended the Warsaw meeting of Finance Ministers yesterday.. and has some rather scathing things to say about the state of European finances, but he too, had nothing in the way of concrete suggestions to remedy the situation..
It is an unfortunate fact that Europe is our major market for exports, and with the extent of the decay, it is uncertain just how many countries will be able to maintain dealing with a strong Pound Sterling.. This is a major concern, for while we in Britain might have a tenuous hold on our particular situation, that would change dramatically should French and German banks continue to expose themselves to unrecoverable debts.. loans made to Greece.. Ireland.. Portugal..
And if the situation deteriorates further, with the possibility of major EuroZone countries the likes of Italy and Spain needing bailouts.. we will find ourselves knee deep in someone else's privy..
A few days ago we posted a breakdown of what the situation is today, for those dependent on Government Social Services.. If the Euro falls, and well it might, we will find ourselves in a position wherein our only hope is to devalue our own currency, to improve it's chances of maintaining a place in the global marketplace..
That would not be good for Cameron and the Tory Party, but indeed, we would be reduced to frantically grasping at straws, electing perhaps Labour back into power, with, once again, no palliative solutions to keep this island afloat..
It would seem, that we must inure ourselves to the pain of paying for the past 50 years of profligate borrowing, regardless of who's running the country..
There doesn't seem to be many alternatives..
Even Canada thrown it's oar into the fray.. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says world leaders will continue to push Europe to tackle its debt crisis in order to prevent a ripple effect on economies around the globe..
"It's imperative that the Europeans deal with the sovereign debt situation, and deal with their banking situation, make sure that banks are adequately capitalized. Otherwise we run the risk of a large shock emanating from Europe," Flaherty said in an interview with CBC Radio's 'The House'.. broadcast today..

Meanwhile, back in the States.. Obama is keeping up his appeal for public support of his $447 billion proposal to boost jobs and consumer spending by urging Americans to press Congress to pass the legislation. "No more division or delay," he said..
In his weekly radio and Internet address today, he focused on a message that has become central to a presidency struggling to address stubbornly high unemployment numbers and dipping approval of his handling of the economy..
The president announced his jobs legislation to a joint session of Congress last week and has since gone outside Washington to build a case for its passage. He has been to Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina..
"The No. 1 issue for the people I meet is how we can get back to a place where we're creating good, middle-class jobs that pay well and offer some security," he said..
A laudable sentiment, but again, it begs the question..'How..?'
His address came in the face of sobering public opinion ratings for the president..
A New York Times/CBS News poll released yesterday.. showed nearly half of those surveyed worried the economy was headed for another recession.. and nearly three out of four said they believe the country is on the wrong track..
Mind you, four out of four have no idea whatsoever, as how this mess might be sorted out..

The American Ambassador to Pakistan said in remarks broadcast today.. that there is evidence linking the Haqqani insurgent network to the Pakistani government.. a charge that could raise tensions in an already strained anti-terror alliance between Washington and Islamabad..
The U.S. and NATO blame the Haqqani network for many of the attacks in Afghanistan, including this week's strike on the U.S. Embassy. The group.. affiliated with both the Taliban and al Q'aida and its army of several thousand fighters is widely assumed to be based just over the Afghan border in Pakistan..
U.S. officials have long suspected links between the Pakistan military and the Haqqani network..
But needing Pakistani cooperation to beat al Q'aida and stabilize Afghanistan.. they rarely say so publicly and as directly as Ambassador Cameron Munter did in his interview with Radio Pakistan..
Meanwhile, floods in that country have displaced millions of people, and left them stranded.. homeless.. and without aid of any kind, so far..

The storm clouds are gathering over Greece..
The American Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, has flown to Poland to throw his two cents in concerning the EU debt crisis.. Now as for the next tranche of bailout payments to Greece, European Finance Ministers will wait until October to decide whether the situation can be saved by pouring cash into a leaking bucket.. the majority of analysts agree Greece will default on it's next interest payments.. which leaves few options for that beleaguered country..
The one solution, as we mentioned some months ago, is for Greece to leave the EU temporarily, lose the Euro and return to the Drachma, and devalue the currency as low as the markets will bear..
But, what then of all the billions already loaned..? French and German banks are dangerously exposed.. and investors in those countries could see their own house of cards wobble should none of this cash come home..
The markets have closed here.. but investors seem uncertain.. with the exception of France's Cac, which closed down about 1% on the heels of uncertainty in the banking sector, the rest ended the day flat..

In perhaps an optimistic moment.. at a campaign fundraiser last night in Washington, President Obama said he believes his chances of being reelected in 2012 are “much higher” than they were in 2008..
“Over the last couple of months there have been Democrats who voiced concerns and nervousness about, well, in this kind of economy, isn’t this just.. aren’t these just huge headwinds in terms of your reelection?” Obama said..
“And I just have to remind people that, here’s one thing I know for certain: the odds of me being reelected are much higher than the odds of me being elected in the first place.”..
Obama made the remarks before a gathering of 50 donors to his reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee who each paid $35,800 to attend..
Yet history cannot be ignored.. No American President has ever been re-elected, with an unemployment level over 7.2%..
As we write, it stands a full two points above that level, with the private sector unable to keep up with the layoffs in the Public Service..
That, does not look as though it will change much in the next 15 months or so..
Obama attended two intimate $35,800-per-couple fundraisers last night, assuring donors that he will push Congress to pass his economic initiative and expressing confidence in his ability to win a second term.. Comparing his drive to get the public behind his $447 billion jobs proposal to a political campaign, Obama declared.. "We intend to keep the pressure up," he said. "Folks are ready for action.".. Now, there's an understatement if ever there was one..
Best of luck with Congress.. the GOP has no great desire to pass legislation that could reflect well on the President, regardless of the good it may do their constituents.. The general view is, that this 'recession' will last longer than the run-up to the next election, and if the Republicans can use this to their advantage, they will..
We've already seen how 'playing politics' is indeed a game in the US..
They appear to have lost their way in the overall Game..