The iPad, Copenhagen syndrome and well, yes, the economy

Whether or not it’s just a big iPhone, the launch of the iPad was eagerly awaited. But around the World the audience hesitated in breaking out in the kind of raptures that are normally seen when Steve Jobs take centre stage. He didn’t seem too impressed either. We’ll have to wait and see but I admit I’m not Googling for the nearest Apple dealership and my credit card sits nicely tucked away in my purse.

Yes, I admit I’ve been quiet about the economy lately. And to be frank I don’t think there’s anything to celebrate just yet. I guess you saw that Standard & Poor issued a warning to Japan about its borrowing (this kind of warning normally comes just before a downgrading of a country’s credit rating), the UK’s borrowing is in the news for all the wrong reasons and soon Greece may qualify for the joke that went around the World about Iceland not too long ago. Missed that? Ohh here it is: “What’s the capital of Iceland?”  “Five pounds, fifty” or some similar small amount of money in your local currency.

To a Dane, the headline “Obama and the Copenhagen Syndrome” had to spark an interest. It was a piece in the WSJ Europe edition by Bret Stephens. Stephens describes the Copenhagen Syndrome as a belief in your own ability to create a miracle. It is the Copenhagen Syndrome because Obama twice recently has come to Copenhagen hoping to dramatically influence a decision, first about the host city for the 2016 Olympics and most recently at the UN climate change summit. On both occasions Obama arrived late, maybe expecting his presence to alter the situation, and on both occasions the decisions did not go is way. In the case of the 2016 Olympics Chicago was overlooked in favour of Rio de Janeiro and most recently at the UN climate change summit, well you can say the World was overlooked in favour of money.