We're looking at the precursors for the next world war, probably.
Bet the "minority" turnout is extreme.
I agree with ya Trap. I think is cements the death of the Eurozone. Instead of it being a few years from now and with only a 75% chance of failing, I think this makes it sometime in the next year or two with a 90% chance of failing.
I'm not quite as optimistic that the US will come out on top however. For that to happen we have to get rid of our socialist problem here first...and that is much larger than just Obama and a few senators. At this point I'd be betting that China would come out on top frankly.
Despite the handicaps that the USA has imposed on itself we are still the strongest nation in the world.
China is a fraud. Trust me on that. It will collapse harder and faster than you might expect. Despite the handicaps that the USA has imposed on itself we are still the strongest nation in the world.
China is a fraud. Trust me on that. It will collapse harder and faster than you might expect. Despite the handicaps that the USA has imposed on itself we are still the strongest nation in the world.
Well, here's to hoping that is the case Trap! ::beertoast::
Over the past 30 years, China’s total fertility rate—the number of children a woman can expect to have during her lifetime—has fallen from 2.6, well above the rate needed to hold a population steady, to 1.56, well below that rate (see table). Because very low fertility can become self-reinforcing, with children of one-child families wanting only one child themselves, China now probably faces a long period of ultra-low fertility, regardless of what happens to its one-child policy.
The government has made small adjustments to the policy (notably by allowing an only child who is married to another only child to have more than one child) and may adapt it further. But for now it is firmly in place, and very low fertility rates still prevail, especially in the richest parts of the country. Shanghai reported fertility of just 0.6 in 2010—probably the lowest level anywhere in the world. According to the UN’s population division, the nationwide fertility rate will continue to decline, reaching 1.51 in 2015-20. In contrast, America’s fertility rate is 2.08 and rising.
The difference between 1.56 and 2.08 does not sound large. But over the long term it has a huge impact on society. Between now and 2050 China’s population will fall slightly, from 1.34 billion in 2010 to just under 1.3 billion in 2050. This assumes that fertility starts to recover. If it stays low, the population will dip below 1 billion by 2060. In contrast, America’s population is set to rise by 30% in the next 40 years. China will hit its peak population in 2026. No one knows when America will hit its population peak.
The differences between the two countries are even more striking if you look at their average ages. In 1980 China’s median (the age at which half the population is younger, half older) was 22. That is characteristic of a young developing country. It is now 34.5, more like a rich country and not very different from America’s, which is 37. But China is ageing at an unprecedented pace. Because fewer children are being born as larger generations of adults are getting older, its median age will rise to 49 by 2050, nearly nine years more than America at that point. Some cities will be older still. The Shanghai Population and Family Planning Committee says that more than a third of the city’s population will be over 60 by 2020.
This trend will have profound financial and social consequences. Most obviously, it means China will have a bulge of pensioners before it has developed the means of looking after them. Unlike the rest of the developed world, China will grow old before it gets rich. Currently, 8.2% of China’s total population is over 65. The equivalent figure in America is 13%. By 2050, China’s share will be 26%, higher than in America.
China will have a bulge of pensioners before it has developed the means of looking after them. Unlike the rest of the developed world, China will grow old before it gets rich. Currently, 8.2% of China’s total population is over 65. The equivalent figure in America is 13%. By 2050, China’s share will be 26%, higher than in America.
Spain's predicament is agonizing. To borrow at reasonable interest rates requires convincing financial markets that huge deficits are being reduced. But cutting spending and raising taxes risk deepening the slump, widening the deficit and fostering more street protests. The dilemma is plain: Austerity may produce more austerity, while the absence of austerity may produce a crisis of confidence. In addition, Spain's banks need more capital. Who will provide that?
Previously, Greece, Portugal and Ireland succumbed to similar predicaments. After interest rates soared on their bonds, they had to be rescued by loans from other European countries, the European Central Bank and the IMF. The trouble is that Spain's economy is twice as big as Greece's, Ireland's and Portugal's combined. And financially precarious Italy has an economy that's 50 percent larger than Spain's. Is there enough money to bail out these countries?
In truth, no one has a neat solution to end Europe's financial nightmare. Maybe Spain and Italy will escape calamity. Or perhaps more last-minute loans will buy time until the rest of the world economy revives and pulls Europe from the abyss.
Or perhaps not.
The weaker Europe becomes, the more it may drag down the rest of the world through three channels: damaged confidence and investment, fewer imports, and less credit to businesses and households. Remember: Europe is about one-fifth of the world economy, roughly equal with the United States. The 27 members of the European Union are the world's largest importer (excluding exports to each other), just ahead of the United States. And European banks operate globally.
The foreboding is undisguised. "For the last six months, the world economy has been on ... a roller coaster," Olivier Blanchard, the IMF's chief economist, said last week. "One has the feeling that, at any moment, things could well get very bad again."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/9219770/Francois-Hollande-beats-Nicolas-Sarkozy-in-presidential-election-first-round.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/9219770/Francois-Hollande-beats-Nicolas-Sarkozy-in-presidential-election-first-round.html)
So I have to wonder since Sarkozy is supposed to be the conservative in the race ... will the leftists here trot this out and scream about how this proves that Obama is going to win in November?
I bet they do bring up.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/9219770/Francois-Hollande-beats-Nicolas-Sarkozy-in-presidential-election-first-round.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/9219770/Francois-Hollande-beats-Nicolas-Sarkozy-in-presidential-election-first-round.html)
So I have to wonder since Sarkozy is supposed to be the conservative in the race ... will the leftists here trot this out and scream about how this proves that Obama is going to win in November?
I bet they do bring up.
Doubtful that the screamimg will last long . A quick reversal back to the socialist bent will hasten a european economic disaster ... hopefully before November . World markets are already jittery about the prospect of a return to the same old sh*t .
( I've been saying "sh*t" a lot in my posts this morning ... Must reflect my world view ... )
QuoteChina will have a bulge of pensioners before it has developed the means of looking after them. Unlike the rest of the developed world, China will grow old before it gets rich. Currently, 8.2% of China’s total population is over 65. The equivalent figure in America is 13%. By 2050, China’s share will be 26%, higher than in America.
Long before the 2050 time of pensioner-bulge, China's majority male population will be restive and resentful of the lack of possible female mates. These excess of truculet males are known as "cannon fodder".
Far-right National Front candidate Marine Le Pen obtained a surprising 18% of the vote in the first-round of France’s presidential election Sunday night. But who will those votes go to in the second round?
Le Pen shocks France as far right hits historic heights (http://www.france24.com/en/20120423-france-marine-le-pen-national-front-nicolas-sarkozy-francois-hollande-election)
Woke up to an interesting twist over there in France this morning...QuoteFar-right National Front candidate Marine Le Pen obtained a surprising 18% of the vote in the first-round of France’s presidential election Sunday night. But who will those votes go to in the second round?
Looks like about 18% of the voters over there in France actually don't want to commit economic and cultural suicide.
Under a first-past-the-post system, socialist contender François Hollande would have won Sunday’s presidential election in France: he garnered 28.5% of the vote, while the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy lagged a bit behind with 27.1%.
Right-wing populist Marine Le Pen received 18.2%. Neo-communist Jean-Luc Mélenchon received 11.1%, and centrist François Bayrou received 9.1%. Five other candidates — including the Green Party’s Eva Joly and local Lyndon Larouche activist Jacques Cheminade — received less than 7% combined.
However, France uses the two-round electoral system (along with beacons of democracy such as Afghanistan, Argentina, Ukraine, and Zimbabwe). Sunday’s ballot was thus no more than a preliminary test — the real election will take place on May 6, when French voters will decide between the two frontrunners only. And here is a splendid paradox: every poll points to a Hollande victory, yet statistics show there is a potential conservative majority and that Sarkozy may still win.
It's really frustrating how unnecessary the West's decline is. There was absolutely never any need to deliberately import hostile foreigners who created nations-within-nations, and now threaten to replace the hosts.
If one did not vote in the first round is he permitted to vote in the second?
Mr Sarkozy, who has been in office since 2007, had promised to reduce France's large budget deficit through spending cuts.
The socialist candidate has promised to raise taxes on big corporations and people earning more than 1m euros a year.
He wants to raise the minimum wage, hire 60,000 more teachers and lower the retirement age from 62 to 60 for some workers.
Hollande's victory could have far-reaching implications on Europe's debt woes. According to the Associated Press, Hollande has promised a 75-percent income tax on the rich and "wants to re-negotiate a European treaty on trimming budgets to avoid more debt crises of the kind facing Greece."
Indeed, Hollande's victory will be seen as a challenge to "German-dominated policy of economic austerity in the euro zone, which is suffering from recession and record unemployment," the New York Times said.
During their respective campaigns, both candidates had promised to balance France's budget within five years.
My in-laws are going to France this summer. I wonder how fast this will destroy the country? You're probably right LV, about a year. It's tough to guess though because France is at the edge of the cliff right now. A small nudge and it's going over.
My in-laws may want to re-think this vacation I think...
The euro fell to a three-week low as French Socialist Francois Hollande was elected President and Greek voters flocked to anti-bailout parties, stoking concern austerity efforts in Europe may be derailed.link (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-06/euro-falls-to-three-week-low-after-hollande-wins-french-election.html)
My in-laws are going to France this summer. I wonder how fast this will destroy the country? You're probably right LV, about a year. It's tough to guess though because France is at the edge of the cliff right now. A small nudge and it's going over.
My in-laws may want to re-think this vacation I think...
I would guess this summer will be ok because if they hire all those people for teaching positions and lower the retirement age it will take a few months for that to kick in and the full effects won't be felt until next year when they begin to see the money dry up.
and a side note:QuoteThe euro fell to a three-week low as French Socialist Francois Hollande was elected President and Greek voters flocked to anti-bailout parties, stoking concern austerity efforts in Europe may be derailed.link (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-06/euro-falls-to-three-week-low-after-hollande-wins-french-election.html)
My in-laws are going to France this summer. I wonder how fast this will destroy the country? You're probably right LV, about a year. It's tough to guess though because France is at the edge of the cliff right now. A small nudge and it's going over.
My in-laws may want to re-think this vacation I think...
I would guess this summer will be ok because if they hire all those people for teaching positions and lower the retirement age it will take a few months for that to kick in and the full effects won't be felt until next year when they begin to see the money dry up.
and a side note:QuoteThe euro fell to a three-week low as French Socialist Francois Hollande was elected President and Greek voters flocked to anti-bailout parties, stoking concern austerity efforts in Europe may be derailed.link (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-06/euro-falls-to-three-week-low-after-hollande-wins-french-election.html)
If it was France alone I wouldn't be questioning it because I think you'd be right. Trouble is there is the Greek situation you've linked as well as the other countries all on the verge (Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain) and Merkel is losing some control in Germany as well. (http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20120506-42381.html) I'm just wondering how fast this will happen now. There's a lot of factors here if things start the downhill slide fast we could be looking at riots in Europe this summer or fall.
Obam will be out extending his hand in support and frienship as soon as he can.
Obam will be out extending his hand in support and frienship as soon as he can.
Are you kidding ? Stymie called him first thing and invited his Commie ass the White House . No sh*t !
In what appears to be an ironic cosmic joke, Reuters is reporting that French President Francois Hollande's plane was struck by lightning on its way to Berlin.
According to that report, it was forced to turn back to Paris.
Hollande was on his first trip as the president to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Don't taze me, God!
::hysterical::