Are we on the brink?

Today was a fine day for me, but the world at large had a stinker.

The markets took a massive haircut, with the usual chicken littles screaming about a financial armegeddon. I’m not so sure, but it doesn’t fill one with confidence.

What does freak me out is less financial, and more political. As a resident of the USA, I can confidently say we no longer have a President. This isn’t some MAGA talking point; since Mr Biden decided to stand down two weeks ago, he has essentially exitted stage left. Meanwhile, Kamala is bouncing around from rally to rally, so she isn’t holding the reins. Perhaps it’s Hunter? Perhaps they have Chat-GPT running the Free World. Again, it doesn’t fill one with confidence.

Finally, it looks like the situation in the Middle East could go from bad to worse in a blink of an eye. No one REALLY knows what happens next after this bombing in northern Israel, but the possibility of a full scale invasion of Lebanon is now right on the cards. Last week, the Supreme Court removed the exemption from conscription that Ultra-Orthodox Jews previously enjoyed; it will be only a matter of time until they are put into the front. The invasion of Gaza seems to be going on longer than was hoped for, with no clear end in sight. It would be helpful at this point in time to have a US leader who could manage this situation, but, alas, see the previous paragraph.

Notable other events include nothing short of the worst sectarian violence the UK has seen since The Troubles, and Venezuela continues to speed-run it’s How to ruin a country mission.

Are we on the brink? Only time will tell.