Putting aside the horrible shooting in Connecticut...
I'll say that the new actions by the Fed mattered -- not just in terms of the economy, but politically as well.
And for something that I suspect didn't matter, I'll go with the North Korea launch.
What else? What do you think mattered this week?
Saturday, December 15, 2012
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I gotta say, I'm proud of the North Korean launch. I don't think anything will come of it, as MADD is even worse from the point of view of a tiny nation which might miss the 'mutual' part and just be assured they'd be destroyed. It's the same reason crowds don't take down shooters: From any individual's point of view, the threat is too great.
ReplyDeleteI hope the Fed's announcement will lead to useful changes in policy. I doubt it will, though.
I gotta say, I'm proud of the North Korean launch. I don't think anything will come of it, as MADD is even worse from the point of view of a tiny nation which might miss the 'mutual' part and just be assured they'd be destroyed. It's the same reason crowds don't take down shooters: From any individual's point of view, the threat is too great.
ReplyDeleteI hope the Fed's announcement will lead to useful changes in policy. I doubt it will, though.
I assume you mean MAD rather than MADD :)
DeleteAhh, yeah... I guess I had extra destruction in there.
DeleteHmm, duplicate comments are astonishingly easy to accidentally do... I just hit the back button.
ReplyDeleteI'd say the Fed stuff matters a huge deal. Also some more developments in Syria and Egypt seem to matter, especially Russia distancing itself from Assad. Israel's foreign minister resigned because of a personal scandal, that might effect the upcoming elections there and at the very least it makes dealing with Egypt more complicated. It looks like we are going to have Chuck Hagel in Defense and John Kerry in State, and Japan is having an election right now.
ReplyDeleteLet me second your choice of Russia's comments on Assad. I figure it's been the Russian Naval Base in Syria (someone said Russia's only permanent base outside of the former Soviet Union?) that's been holding up action, as the US tries to balance interests, such as keeping Russia onside for possible action against Iran.
DeleteThat Russia is tossing Assad under the bus indicates that a mutually-satisfactory endgame can be worked out.
Also, am I the only one hearing that the 'Israel Lobby' has their nose all out of joint over Chuck Hagel? As there are about 92 members of the Senate who reflexively support Israel, this could matter.
What didn't matter this week? Last month's elections in the state of Michigan.
I don't know how much of a difference it will make, since the current party was probably going to be voted out anyhow, but the Japanese are voting in an atmosphere stoked by North Korea firing missiles over their heads and Japan and China scrambling jet fighters over a bunch of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea. Also, Japanese-owned stores and factories in China were recently forced to shut down after demonstrations and riots over those same islets. Somehow that doesn't seem to bode well.
DeletePersonally, I see the loss of the current Israeli foreign minister as more of an opportunity than a complication, but that doesn't mean anyone will take advantage of it.
the thing about the North Korean missile launch is, to me, that if it doesn't matter, that's fine. But if it does matter, it matters a whole hell of a lot.
ReplyDelete