Commentary on when the state is stupid, using the debt bomb in Europe, did the ECB pull a fast one, the Durban shuffle, was that press on the Chinese brakes too hard, and assisting death.

A ferry monopoly where the boats leave from opposite shores just once a day, at the same time.

Washington Post -- Testing the waters of economic liberty
In 1927, seven years before the board game was created, Washington State decided to play monopoly.

Hell we won’t pay. (ed’ s note – shades of Bob White)

Telegraph -- Talk of 'nuclear default' sums up Left's anger at EU dictates
Tempers are fraying in austerity-racked Portugal. A top socialist politician was taped at a party dinner calling for diplomatic warfare against the EU's northern powers and issuing threats of debt default.

 

Is that it then? (ed’s note – not so fast)

Economist -- Is everything fixed?
AT THE European Central Bank's last meeting, Mario Draghi did not announce any plans to scale up purchases of sovereign debt and, indeed, he indicated that previous statements interpreted as a promise to do so were in fact no such thing.

So what happened in Durban?

Financial Times -- Climate change: The great regrouping
It is being called the huddle that made history.

Quote worth quoting.

“For the first time, large emerging economic powers such as China, India and Brazil agreed to legal constraints on their emissions. “That would have been unthinkable” at the last two big UN conferences in 2007 and 2009, says Anthony Hobley, head of climate change at Norton Rose, a legal firm. “It’s a recognition of the reality of the shifts in global power.”

China slowdown.

Asia Sentinel -- Hard Landing Coming for China?
The most recent macro data releases from China give rise to the strong conclusion that Chinese policymakers have unwittingly hit the monetary brakes too hard and thus the balance of risk has finally tipped slightly in the direction of a hard landing in 2012.

Moving closer to assisted suicide.

Project Syndicate – The Death of One’s Own
Dudley Clendinen, a writer and journalist, has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a terminal degenerative illness.