If you only read one article this year on how politicians following Bernard Lewis’s wrongheaded theories have buggered up chances of Middle Eastern democracy (and whether the situation is salvagable), make it this one. An excellent read.

In other news, America needs to cut its current account deficit now or face a long and deep recession. That’s Japan-levels of long and deep. Given the economic competence and willingness-to-take-unpopular-decisions of the people in charge at the moment, it’s probably time to buy shares in repo companies and loan sharks.

Speaking of sharks, we should reintroduce them to Britain’s lakes and seas. I actually wholeheartedly approve of George Monbiot’s suggestion of adding more wild animals to the UK (he suggests wolves, bears, lynx, wild boar and bison): it’ll make the countryside much more exciting, and has no drawbacks (I don’t count ‘farmers being eaten’ as a drawback, so much as a socially useful way of reducing headcount in that pointless, dying industry).