Wednesday, October 15, 2008

The Icelandic Saga

Interesting piece in BusinessWeek on the collapse of Iceland (http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/oct2008/gb2008109_947306.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily).

Interesting if, for no other reason, than this seems to be getting relatively little play, what with our financial system collapsing and all. It certainly is/was remarkable to see how a tiny country (smaller, population-wise, than my hometown of Omaha) could get so big on the global banking stage.

Of course, that's the wonderful thing about debt, isn't it? It allows you to get big REALLY fast. Then, of course, there's a reckoning and you get a whole lot smaller REALLY fast ... But nobody ever seems to remember that part until it's too late.

If I were Western Europe, I'd be a little more eager to help them out. After all, the last time the Vikings took it in the shorts, they sacked half of known civilization. Granted, that produced the material for bands like Amon Amarth to sing about today, so it's not all bad ...

But with Iceland possibly cozying up to Russia for assistance, maybe it's time to find a few spare dimes for our Viking brothers. After all, keeping Putin from making new friends in "our" part of the world is probably something that's in our long-term best interests.

2 comments:

Parkite said...

Ever been to Warren's house for dinner? Is Gorat's any good?

Stephen Simpson said...

Sadly, no. Never been invited to Warren's for dinner. I know the house/neighborhood, though, as I went to school near there.

Gorat's... the food is really good, but the place/neighborhood is a total pit (or was back when I lived there ... might have renovated since then).