Empires & Data

Check it out. Very Cool.

http://empires.findthedata.org/

Dictators

For some good FP reads for today I've got a theme for you: dictators.


First, I'd advise checking out the new NPR Intelligence Squared debate on dictators: Click here. The debate revolves around elected Middle East Governments and the previous dictators.


For an interesting story on the differences between the Monarchs of the Middle East: Click here.



Have Fun Mates.

Bad Move For Ukraine

It looks like Ukraine will never get into the EU or NATO the way it's been handling itself these past years. To find the latest step in a sad string of events click here.

Good Job Turkey

Breaking headline of Today: Click here. Turkey is going at it as it should. The United States is unlikely to interfere heavily in the region, so that leaves action up to regional powers such as Turkey. Turkey is well situated to help bring its style of government and democracy to the rest of the Middle East. Good job Turkey.

Economic Decline In China

China is slowing down. Its growth has gone from 10 to 7.5 percent. While this doesn't seem like such a bad thing when compared with the United States steady 3 percent growth over the past thirty years, it may be the beginning of a steady decline in growth. China's growth could stop at 6 percent, 5 percent, 4 percent, or it could drop into a depression. Fareed Zakaria states that:

"China is slowing down, dramatically. If it continues, it will have a profound impact on the rest of the world. GDP growth has dropped from about 10 percent last year to 7.6 percent in the latest quarter. Now that might not sound like much, but it might just be the beginning: like a dropping ball, we don't know if it has hit bottom yet. What we do know is that it will have widespread effects." Read the rest of the article here.

What I view as the real problem is not going to be the economic problems for China or for the West. Whatever happens in China the rest of the world will adapt. China's economy will probably not fall through the floor.

The issue is political. What will happen when the government stops providing growth to the people? What happens when the corruption, the lack of representation, and lack of opportunities come down on the government's head?

Iran's Crisis

Will a currency crisis bring down another regime? Boris Yeltsin was basically thrown out due to Russia's crisis in 1998 while in 97 Estrada in the Philippines was effectively ousted due to his country's own currency shock.

Iran is seeing its own currency crisis playing out in slow motion. 25 percent inflation and a lack of exports and imports has seen the effects of sanctions by the US and speculation.