You know that old parable about blind men groping an elephant? Here's what Davos looked like to the Associated Press:
DAVOS, Switzerland — Europe's crippling debt crisis dominated the world's foremost gathering of business and political leaders, but for the first time the growing inequality between the planet's haves and have-nots became an issue, thanks largely to the Arab Spring uprisings, the Occupy movement and other protests around the globe.
The mood at the end of the five-day meeting in Davos was somber, and more than 2,500 VIPs headed home Sunday concerned about what lies ahead in 2012. Plenty of champagne flowed in this alpine ski resort — but the atmosphere was flat, and the bubbling enthusiasm of some past World Economic Forums was noticeably absent.
Despite some guarded optimism about Europe's latest attempts to stem the Eurozone crisis, fears remain that turmoil could return and spill over to the rest of the world. And there were no answers to the widening inequality gap, but a mounting realization that economic growth must include the poor, that job creation is crucial and that affordable food, housing, healthcare and education need to be part of any solution.
Fortunately, we have the Turkish press to give us the real story. Viewer discretion highly advised on that link, it involves young, good-looking topless Slavic women. I wouldn't want you to be offended. If you think you might be offended and would prefer to look at photos of those women cropped in such a way that they're not as likely to offend you, AP has the family-friendly version here.
Now that I have your attention, have a look at Christine Lagarde's speech from Davos. (She and her interlocutor are mercifully fully attired.)
Can you tell me exactly what she's calling for? Supposedly, she's "outlining what is needed to save the world economy from a downward economic spiral." Wouldn't we all wish such an outline to be a bit more specific? The only concrete proposal, as far as I can see, is to raise more money for the IMF. Given the extremity of the catastrophe we're given to understand will ensue absent "collective action," is it unreasonable to expect a bit more detail about what this action will be? And why is her interviewer just nodding reverently instead of saying, "That sounds a little fuzzy. What exactly do you mean? And who exactly has the authority to implement it?"
Is she really making much more sense than the women who are running around screaming and ripping off their shirts?
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Jul '10
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
In 20 years Europe is going to look back on this period and laugh about how stupid and unnecessarily painful the whole single currency thing always was. Greece will be cheerfully devaluing the drachma, Italy the lira, and so on. And if that breakup begins the restoration of democratic republicanism to the clockwork nation nihilism of Brussels, well, darn.
Aug '11
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
I'm a bit surprised that the Turkish press can show that much skin! Even if it is somewhat blurred. Thats more than you could show in the mainstream US press, isn't it? No way you're gonna see that on the NBC nightly news....
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
That's kind of the point I'm making when I say that I get very worried about the divorce between foreign news and reality. Nine times out of ten when I read news that's supposedly about Turkey, I wonder if the person who filed the report has ever set foot in this country. It just cannot be healthy.
Mar '11
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
Reluctantly, I followed the Turkish press link. Looks to me like another case of police overreaction. They should just have left the protesters alone until they got tired and went away.
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
From the photos, it looked as if the police were enjoying the show. But seriously, my point was that Lagarde was making no sense at all, which is a bit disturbing.
Mar '11
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
From the photos, it looked as if the police were enjoying the show. But seriously, my point was that Lagarde was making no sense at all, which is a bit disturbing. · 4 minutes ago
The expression "glittering generalities" does come to mind.
Apr '11
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
None of them are making sense, which is par for the course these days (see the 2012 GOP primary for another example). The topless babes echo the Occupy political lines which were created, bought and paid for by George Soros who was warmly and richly ensconced on the inside of those security fences.
Legarde of the french elite and the IMF, one third of the so called Troika (The European Commission (EC) and The European Central Bank (ECB) being the other two thirds) just told the Greeks that they will have to relinquish Greek sovereignty for an indefinite period of time to obtain the imminent bailout of 130 billion Euros (a figure that suddenly became 145 billion Euros this week with little explanation). The Greeks say no thanks. Someone will have to blink in the next week or so. If not the Greek/EU endgame is finally upon us.
Oct '10
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
Claire, this was done by IMF's “external relations” (aka PR/media affairs) office. The "interviewer" is talking to her boss, which explains the hard-hitting questions.
There was some substance regarding the Eurozone. Lagarde calls for “fiscal consolidation” that is “compulsory in some cases.” In other words, she wants more national sovereignty ceded to Eurocrats in Brussels in the case of Greece, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Portugal.
Actually, her economic logic is unassailable. You can’t have a common currency without common fiscal policy or you end up exactly where Europe is now: defaults in all but name (soon it will be in name too). What’s sensible economically is hard politically. Eurocrats did nothing as countries flagrantly ignored strict fiscal rules and debt-to-GDP limits.
Eventually economic reality always intrudes on political fantasy. Soon the German people are going to decide if the fantasy of Euro-nationalism is worth hundreds of billions of their hard earned Euros being shipped to others who use it to continue living beyond their means. You can imagine how the average German citizen feels about that, which is why Eurocrats get heart palpitations whenever putting it to a democratic vote comes up.
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
Good point, I missed that.
What I find most disturbing in all of this is the idea that no one can handle the truth, so it's best to feed them this endless pap. It's an eternal fantasy that never works out.
Jul '11
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
Normally the concept of "Hot Naked Ukrainians" would fill me with glee, but these chicks are nuts and gave me flashbacks to girlfriends past.
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
I shouldn't have mentioned the naked Ukrainians. It's distracting from Lagarde. I wanted to call attention to what she said with an amusing introduction, not focus on the naked women.
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
Or, rather, I wanted to call attention to what she didn't say, and to make the point that it's just not good for the world when figures like this say nothing real and get away with it. She obviously does know the real argument, as HVTs quite correctly points out, but she won't make it. Why not?
Sep '10
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
While I have no idea what specific things the Ukranians are protesting it is fascinating that we all notice the sense of "entitlement" among those who take to the streets but the public assumes that people like Christine Lagarde are "entitled' to make decisions for the small folk...as Russ Roberts has said, "there is no WE".
Sep '10
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
Viewer discretion highly advised on that link, it involves young, good-looking topless Slavic women.
The next time you produce a book or Kindle Broadside, you may want to include a tongue in cheek teaser on the traditional inside blurb that "some readers may be offended by discussion of young, good looking topless Slavic women." and then include some text about women driving around in convertibles.
Edited on Jan 30 at 5:31amMay '10
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
From the photos, it looked as if the police were enjoying the show. But seriously, my point was that Lagarde was making no sense at all, which is a bit disturbing. · 1 hour ago
This is a surprise? I've never heard Lagarde make sense.
Oct '10
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
She’s masking her desire for centralized, unaccountable control of other people’s money because she’s cleaver enough to know that it doesn’t sell well outside Davos. Also, it’s not a great resume builder to have a worldwide financial meltdown when you head something called the International Monetary Fund.
Finally, she doesn’t have the emotional wherewithal to say, “It’s actually not possible for human beings to do a better job than free markets at coordinating across dozens of polities, cultures and economies. The IMF made sense in the immediate aftermath of a global conflagration that wiped out much of the world’s productive capacity. But then it went on to make a mess of “the third world” by helping to keep untold millions enslaved to authoritarian kleptocrats. Now it’s of zero utility in the Eurozone crisis (which is why I’m reduced to being interviewed by my own staff). I really don’t deserve my huge salary and perks because nothing good will come of what we do here.”
Dec '10
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
Pseudodionysius: Viewer discretion highly advised on that link, it involves young, good-looking topless Slavic women.
The next time you produce a book or Kindle Broadside, you may want to include a tongue in cheek teaser on the traditional inside blurb that "some readers may be offended by discussion of young, good looking topless Slavic women." and then include some text about women driving around in convertibles. · 17 minutes ago
Edited 16 minutes ago
The (insert ethnicity to be disparaged) topless-bottomless joint: No hat, no shoes
May '11
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
Trying unsuccessfully to follow her droning, the only thing I heard was this unelected, self-important person saying is that she will require compulsory reform from some countries. Yeah? Her and what army?
Sep '10
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
To add to the confusion I thought originally Claire had said the young topless women were in the interview as a backdrop, so I've now wasted time I didn't have trying to find them in the video while listening to these two droning ninnies to the point that I've memorized their bilge.
Aug '10
Re: World Economic Forum Somber Amid Europe Debt Crisis Until Hot Naked Ukrainians Show Up
Well, now I know how to say "topless" in Turkish. It's not a voluptuous country, and the opportunity had never come up, though I had certainly seen üstsüzlük (I have to guess that would be the noun) in any number of Turkish newspapers. But with FEMEN, so with Davos: I can't help but think Turkish news outlets have no idea what's really going on with either, and show this stuff simply because it is so unlike anything that actually goes on inside Turkey.