That Was The Week That Was

Politique
-Sarkozy-brokered cease-fire agreement for Russian-Georgian war halts major fighting. Russia occupies much of Georgia proper. US Air Force and Navy delivering humanitarian aid.
-US and Poland agree outline of missile defense deal, reportedly includes US obligation to defend Poland militarily (on top of NATO responsibility). Russian deputy chief of the general staff responds by threatening nuclear strike on Poland.
-Nigeria officially cedes potentially resource-rich Bakaasi peninsula to Cameroon, honoring 2002 ICJ judgement and proving there is hope yet for the international system.

Economia
-Eurozone economic activity contracts 0.2%, first quarterly contraction since euro’s inception 10 years ago. US inflation surges, highest since 1991 (chart breakdown here)
-Report by Greenwich Associates finds that 60% of surveyed US and European institutional investors expect another major financial firm to fail in the next 6 months.
-Alan Greenspan says US housing prices will bottom in first-half of ’09, credit crunch far from over. In unrelated news, bubble surrounding Greenspan’s head still strong after 15 years.

The Rest…
-Michael Phelps becomes greatest Olympian of modern times- reveals cause of global food crisis.
-Obama smear book, The Obama Nation, reaches #1 on NYT Best-seller list. Author Jerome Corsi is head “swift-boater” who sunk the Kerry campaign in 2004. Learning from Kerry’s fatal error, Obama campaign releases 41-page response, entitled Unfit for Publication.
-Latest 2008 US Election poll numbers.