who is tough and holding on?, page-22

russell - some of what you say may be true but i think you may be subscribing to conspiracy theory for the most part.

the chinese are clever traders but they were given the greatest boost of all time by the sub-prime mortgage meltdown which has led to what is now called the global financial crisis. i don't believe the chinese orchestrated too much of this - sure they pegged their currency but that was to enable them to enter the world stage. what we are seeing is a paradigm shift - the western capitalist system has failed due to that most despicable of human traits : greed. and the chinese just happen to be in a position to take greatest advantage of it.

the current financial crisis is of a scale we have never seen before (not too many of us experienced the great depression firsthand) and governments readily admit they don't really know how to fix it. rudd and swan are way out of their depth here but so would little johnnie and peter. a 60's investment banker may have acquired some wisdom but i doubt would have the answers to the current crisis.

the australian governments aren't about to make some incredibly wise investment - the only really smart one that comes to mind is when gough bought "Blue Poles". it's a pity they don't sell it, we would make a killing.

history does not repeat itself - sometimes it approximates itself.

as a long term oxr holder i feel very much disenfranchised - we wet nursed this baby with our hard earnt cash only to have it whisked away by a foreign adoption agency.