Sunday Morning with Coffee and the Blog

In years past Sunday morning was a time to pick up the paper and retreat to a quit place with a cup of coffee to peruse the major events and opinions of the past week, laid out amid the fresh ink and ads of what once had been a tree. Today, the electronic media has largely replaced that method for educating one's self on the events of the day.

The follow articles caught my fancy and I am endorsing them over to all those interested to read and expand one's viewpoint. I don't agree with everyone, but each is excellent in the level of craftsmanship of their arguments.

Leading off:
Mark Safranski of Zenpundit who links a post by Tom Barnett and adds comments that make more sense to the average reader. Barnett on Peters analyzing Putin.

Mark says:

One departure for me from Peters and from Tom ( at least in the sense that he did not mention it) is that I do not see Putin as consumed by anger or temper in his moves against Saakashvili, though Putin may very well have a temper.

And the welcome return of abu mugqawama aka, Andrew Exum, who has returned to the blog he founded to offer these wise words. Back like Jordan, wearin' the 45 .

Nuts, that took long enough. I told Charlie last week that I would be willing to help out on the blog a bit, and she only took five days to send me an invitation. No wonder this blog has gone straight to hell in my absence. (Not really. You guys have been great.)Now don't everyone get all excited. I'm still semi-retired. I just told Charlie that I would blog once a week -- in the first person no less! -- to help out with the load now that Kip has done rode off into the sunset.

And a view of the crisis on Wall Street by Steve DeAngelis;

Amidst all the bad news continuing to emanate from Wall Street and the accusations of corruption, greed and incompetence aimed at corporate executives who permitted it to occur, Americans haven't take much thought about the effect all of it is having on emerging markets around the world. As troubles in the American economy ripple around the globe, fears of a recession or depression are starting to grow and some countries appear on the cusp of economic panic ["Russia Again Halts Stock Trading," by Philip P. Pan and Anthony Faiola, Washington Post, 18 September 2008].
Read it in full:
Wall Street and Emerging Markets

Turning to look at American politics from across the pond, is an essay from economist Martin Wolf in the Financial Times.

He begins:

We are all Americans now. By this I do not merely mean that the leadership of the US shapes the world in which we live. The world we live in is the world the Americans or, more precisely, the Anglo-Americans have made. The US will retain a huge influence. How will it use it? That is the question we should ask about the presidential election. The choice also seems clear: it is between those who expect a world of conflict and those who believe in seeking co-operation.

What the presidential choice could mean

Prolific blogger Fabius Maximus challenges all, to open their minds and explore the issues with him as he posts on the emerging financial crisis gripping the nation.

Slowly a few voices are raised about the pending theft of taxpayer money

What do we know about the financial crisis? What are the key questions?

A vital but widely misunderstood aspect of our financial crisis

Op-Ed column from Thomas Barnett Barnett: America's hard-learned lessons from Iraq


Finally, a short report from Michael Yon on what happened to the French last month in Afghanistan, where he asks: Please read this short dispatch

So grab a second cup of coffee and go back and enjoy your Sunday blog.