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Amoreiras as seen from the Campolide side.  As the world economy faces meltdown, I'm feeling oddly calm.  Part of me is convinced that this is probably, in the long term, a very good thing for the world. Part of me is worried about Papavit and his pension plan and Anonymousis and her mortgage... oh, and ours....ooh, a little bit of that calm just went walkabout.... Part of me is thinking that "hey, there's an abyss... and we're all heading for it... so that's all right then". Part of me is wondering why "everyone" is so shocked by all this crud, it happens regular as clockwork.  In my lifetime, going backwards  there was the mid nineties, late eighties, late seventies, to varying degrees, yes, but what did they think was going to happen?  Permanent growth and happy face stickers?  Idiots. Part of me is enjoying the spectacle of anguished looking stock brokers.  They DO earn too much.  And smug bankers... not so bloody smug. Part of me is sure that the 24 hour news media has blown this problem out of all proportion, creating a self-exacerbating prophecy. Part of me is just watching, strangely amused, as some odd/stupid/funny/mental things happen.... Iceland has a population of only 300,000.  It was one of the world's richest countries [per capita], but its economy was never any larger than that of Marks and Spencer.  So, am I being thick, or does that not make enough sense? How can an economy running on a population of less than that of Lisbon possibly have enough, let's say, depth, complexity or stability, with few natural resources other than hot water and fish to have inspired enough confidence in 300,000 British savers (including councils and charities, playing with their money) to put their money there.  And then Gordon Brown gets all antsy with them.  Gordon getting all hot under that starched collar is very funny to watch.  I'd like to tell Gordon that he's PROBABLY getting all antsy with the wrong people... I'd also like to invent a new global economic model, I have some great ideas... but they tell me I wouldn't get royalties on all world transactions based on my new model, nor would I be guaranteed the Nobel Prize, so, frankly, I can't be arsed. Etc., etc., etc.  Â
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That was a scary date. Never mind the petrol, save all the poly bags you can.
Must go. Cyborg hunters everywhe....
Greed remains, to me, the ugliest of sins. Others are more horrific, but greed is just plain ugly.
I was listening to some clever person explaining something very complex about the stock market this morning, thinking I'm really going to concentrate here and get the hang of it, but I glazed over in less than a minute, though I did feel better when it was obvious that Ed Sturton was having trouble keeping up.