Pakistan:
The attack on the Sri Lankan Cricket team marks a turning point in Pak's inner battle for identity and control.
Up until now, the Taliban consortium has been content to attack US and UN convoys, big wealthy hotels, India, Kashmir, and opponents in the Swat valley. This now is an attack on the Pakistan people themselves - an assault on the culture.
Most Pakistanis tended to see the fight against the Taliban consortium as the US business, and that they had no interest in doing that for them. They have been in denial for many years, while the array of different extreme Islamist groups has not only grown, but critically recently has come together under the leadership of one man.
They have been growing in power, and now they are ready. The attack on the cricketers marks the beginning of their push to take over Pakistan.
These Taliban groups were recently wiped out in the political arena during the elections - they have no popular support. But they have guns, and they have terror. Plus they have friends in high places.
Pakistan is still struggling to come to terms with this reality, and their President is not up to the task. The democratic political parties are in deadly combat with each other, and the time is ripe - expect to see much more. Already the Taliban has escalated their assaults and bombings in the Swat valley, at the same time as the government has given them more concessions to Sharia Law. This all since the cricketers assault. They have also bombed the Sufi shrines - their primary opponents on the moderate side of Islam.
Plus they are winning in Afghanistan.
It will not be long before foreign troops are in Pakistan. Already Zardari has asked the US to use it's drones to bomb Taliban forces in the border regions.
GFC:
The banking crisis is growing. I bet the nationalisation/control issue was exactly what Brown went to see Obama about. The flow of money is dry, and big changes are needed. All these interest rate cuts are no longer doing anything - because the banks get their money from the big US and European banks - only so much can be passed on by way of interest cuts, as the banks simply can't get enough money except at huge expense.
The core financial blood flow has been turned off. We ain't seen nothing yet.
Will Obama go to the next G20 summit? Maybe, maybe not, but if he doesn't the slide will turn into a free fall. And even if he does, the same will happen, because even he doesn't have the power or the money.
There is a big crunch coming not just for the people - but for those who have been running this show behind the scenes for many decades. They do not want to change their beliefs, and lose their power.
Plus their political arm, the right wing parties, still haven't got it - they are playing a dangerous game of spoiling all recovery attempts in the hope that they will fail, and thus allow them to regain political power. I see the same thing in US as in Aust.
We are in for a rough year. Lets hope it will only be one.