Aung San Suu Kyi addresses both Houses of Parliament (UK), commentary on the Nordic model of inequality of outcomes and equality of opportunity, the race against time, the bank that broke Spain, the great 1800 divide, and Canada's one-person democracy.

Our good friend Ken of Tokyo/Hong Kong notes that the reality in Burma is extremely complex. 

Aung San Suu Kyi's address to both Houses of Parliament

 

'Basically, a half century of military madness has driven the country into the ground.  Two measures of this situation are that life expectancy is 10 years less than in Thailand, and only 1/4 of the country has regular access to electricity.  One of the strengths is that despite 2-3$/day per capital income, and really widespread poverty, the family structure has remained strong, and education has remained highly esteemed, such that the literacy rate is 94%, equal to China, and dramatically ahead of India.' -- KSC

Summing up the twin virtues.

Globalist -- The Nordic Model and the European Crisis
The crisis in eurozone has affected all countries in Europe.

Another plea to get going already.

Financial Times -- Race to save euro will follow ‘Grexit’
Following the re-run of the Greek parliamentary elections, we have a New Democracy-led coalition government.

Breaking Spain.

Financial Times -- The bank that broke Spain
Bankia has imperilled Madrid’s finances and driven it to seek a bailout.

The economic history of the world: prior to 1800 population size mattered entirely after 1800 productivity was the real driver.

Atlantic -- The Economic History of the Last 2000 Years: Part II
The graph above is an economic history of the world, after 1 AD, from a research letter written by Michael Cembalest, chairman of market and investment strategy at JP Morgan.

 

Meantime in Canada democracy gets a punch in the nose.

ipolitics -- Are we heading towards a one man government, with no checks and balances?
The list of allegations of assault on Canadian parliamentary democracy by the Harper government is a long one.