Shatters Like Glass

Hear ye, hear ye! Ye Ol' global economy - the end is nigh.

The housing crisis spreads to Canada from the US as July statistics show "a market that is unraveling". All over prices are creeping down, even in hotspots like Toronto and Calgary. In Vancouver, where housing prices doubled and many people I know, have personally shelled out for a house, "The stats are bad, and likely to get ugly".

As predicted, it's not going away and it's spreading globally. China is having to deal with the fact that demand for it's textiles n' crap is waning in the US. The UK's ballooned service sector has shrank for three months in a row.

The only good news is that the orgiastic free trade insanity being discussed by rich nations at the WTO was sank by poorer nations. Protecting farmers was a big issue. The Canadian Wheat Board, one of the last strongholds of collective farmer action was on the chopping block by the Conservative government.

Interestingly, a major free trade deal is in the works in South Africa. The Southern African Development Community" comprises Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe."

On Sunday "as part of the (SADC) efforts to deepen long term regional economic integration, the organ will launch the Free Trade Area (FTA)."

Of course, according to George Monbiot none of this bantering will mater unless we stop coal-power generation.