Epstein Secrets

ce and Canada national debt's are between 81.5% to 86.3% of their GDPs. Whilem Zimbabwe national debt is 70.3%, Mexico 43.8%, Venezuela is 45.5% and Vietnam is 38%. Obviously the US economy is in better shape than Zimbabwe, Vietnam and Mexico. And Singapore's economy which has a national debt ratio 100.

n will be, above all, a test of the maturity and realism of Italian voters." The mature, realistic action, presumably, would have been to return Mr. Monti — who was essentially imposed on Italy by its creditors — to office, this time with an actual democratic mandate. As Paul ICrugman wrote this week i

so broke right now. And the Republicans' refusal to acknowledge this is pretty much the whole problem. THIS WEEK'S READINGS Two months ago, when Mario Monti stepped down as Italy's prime minister, The Economist opined that "The coming election campaign will be, above all, a test of the maturity and reali

portantly, we have to ask, why are people not facing this truth, in light of all of the facts.... FINALLY we have come to terms that like the war in Vietnam which most people accept as a huge mistake, it is now more than ever evident, that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq may be larger mistakes. Because

"In one and a half years, everything changed," Mr. Tedeschi said. "People started feeling afraid, and they stopped spending money. All the promises Monti made to relaunch the economy and help us enhance productivity never materialized." Orders for Temeca's custom-built bedrooms, kitchens, windows and

ries in the region felt reassured and applauded quietly. Today, U.S. security ties with key Asian nations — India, Australia, Japan, Korea and even Vietnam — are better than ever. 2. China's massive foreign exchange reserves give it huge clout. China owns roughly $2 trillion in U.S. Treasury and mortga

K Prime Minister David Cameron, who sharply criticized the euro rescue plans yesterday, is a spectacular exception.) Much credit is being given to Mario Monti, the unelected technocrat Prime Minister of Italy, who has been widely praised as walking the fine line between implementing reforms that will brin

as we can see, they are right. The political changes at the top of Greece and Italy are promising. Greece's new prime minister, Lucas Papademos, and Mario Monti of Italy are internationally credible economists, committed to making painful but much needed reforms, including liberalizing labor markets, shrinkin

their economies are not now strong enough to absorb more austerity, including broad new taxes or further sweeping service cuts. Mr. Papademos and Mr. Monti should press their fellow European leaders for a new and better deal. Even with the best leadership, neither Greece nor Italy will be able, on their

atigue has set in. Recent US history has been characterized by cycles of enthusiasm about foreign engagement. In the mid-1970's, following the war in Vietnam, America, guided by President Jimmy Carter's moralizing impulse, opted for "regionalization" of its engagements. But, given that the Soviet threat st