Weekend thoughts
Those missing CDs
Apart from providing endless fodder for fake eBay auctions and amusing photos, one thing that I hope comes out of Revenue-gate is a desire to keep tabs on data protection, privacy and computer security in all public bodies. To that end, I think the Government should cause to be published, all in one place, the relevant policies from every bit of government. A Royal Commission should investigate and make recommendations on whether current procedures are sufficient and whether a standardised set of policies would be preferable.
Pakistan
Nawaz Sharif has been allowed back into Pakistan. General Musharraf seems to have done very well, since coming to power, by playing both sides (or as many sides as there might be) against the middle; democrats against tribal areas against Islamists against the US, claiming that he’s really friendly to each one and that they need to back him to keep the others at bay. I wonder if he might try to play Sharif off against Benazir Bhutto; they don’t get on and neither would want to see the other bettering them. Deals between Musharraf & Bhutto and Musharraf & Sharif seem to have occurred, not least over re-entry to Pakistan, when perhaps what’s needed is a deal between Bhutto and Sharif. That’s probably pretty unlikely.
The economy
The renminbi is undervalued and not allowed to float. The result seems to be the large US trade deficit and consequently weak greenback, which seems to be encouraging the US to consume more of its own production. Instead of the US being a customer for Europe, it’s going to start becoming a competitor. If there is a downturn in 2008, Gordon Brown may have to blame the little gnomes in Zurich Beijing. Moreover, the EU and US will have to present a united front to China (and, indeed, India) if they want to increase the amount by which those currencies float. What effect that will have on EU-US relations, I don’t know.
xD.
November 26th, 2007 at 10:12 am
Regarding the RMB, there’s an excellent article on p.13 of today’s FT saying that Bretton Woods is going up in smoke.
November 26th, 2007 at 10:35 am
On the surface level, Dave, this:
a desire to keep tabs on data protection, privacy and computer security in all public bodies
is a fine thing to aim for but it’s not as if it’s the first time.
Looking more deeply, it’s very much a necessity that people perceive their current institutions as incompetent so that the EU “fix” apepars that much more attractive.
The fact that the EU is generally perceived as corrupt is a mainly English phenomenon. I know of many in Europe who thnk it is the best thing since sliced bread.
And when you sit backand think about it, we take the incompetence as read - we asume incompetence. But why?
When I worked for HM Customs, we were not allowed to go home until any penny astray was somehow found. Not accounted for - found. Thee was a genuine feeling top down that the thing must run correctly.
That was in the 70s. So why such gross incompetence now on such a widespread scale? Surely it’s because it’s more relaxed from the top down. And why would that be?
December 15th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce