We are enjoying the Chinese greeting/curse "May you live in inyeresting times" Everything is upsidedown now - not just that phosphate down under. Nothing makes sense, we've entered an economical twilight zone. Below the best bit of insight I've found recently - enjoy!

SOCIALISM
> You have 2 cows.
> You give one to your neighbour.
>
> COMMUNISM
> You have 2 cows.
> The State takes both and gives you some milk.
>
> FASCISM
> You have 2 cows.
> The State takes both and sells you some milk.
>
> NAZISM
> You have 2 cows.
> The State takes both and shoots you.
>
> BUREAUCRATISM
> You have 2 cows.
> The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then
> throws the milk away...
>
> TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
> You have two cows.
> You sell one and buy a bull.
> Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows.
> You sell them and retire on the income.
>
> SURREALISM
> You have two giraffes.
> The government requires you to take harmonica lessons
>
> AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
> You have two cows.
> You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four
> cows.
> Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow has dropped
> dead.
>
> ENRON VENTURE CAPITALISM
> You have two cows.
> You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using
> letters of credit opened by
> your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity
> swap with an associated
> general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax
> exemption for five cows.
> The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an
> intermediary to a Cayman Island
> Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells
> the rights to all seven
> cows back to your listed company. The annual report says the
> company owns eight cows,
> with an option on one more. You sell one cow to buy a new
> president of the United States,
> leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the
> release. The public then
> buys your bull.
>
> A FRENCH CORPORATION
> You have two cows.
> You go on strike, organise a riot, and block the roads, because
> you want three cows.
>
> A JAPANESE CORPORATION
> You have two cows.
> You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary
> cow and produce twenty
> times the milk. You then create a clever cow cartoon image
> called 'Cowkimon' and market it worldwide.
>
> A GERMAN CORPORATION
> You have two cows.
> You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a
> month, and milk themselves.
>
> AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
> You have two cows, but you don't know where they are.
> You decide to have lunch.
>
> A RUSSIAN CORPORATION
> You have two cows.
> You count them and learn you have five cows.
> You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
> You count them again and learn you have 2 cows.
> You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.
>
> A SWISS CORPORATION
> You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you.
> You charge the owners for storing them.
>
> A CHINESE CORPORATION
> You have two cows.
> You have 300 people milking them.
> You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine
> productivity.
> You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.
>
> AN INDIAN CORPORATION
> You have two cows.
> You worship them.
>
> A BRITISH CORPORATION
> You have two cows.
> Both are mad.
>
> AN IRAQI CORPORATION
> Everyone thinks you have lots of cows.
> You tell them that you have none.
> No-one believes you, so they bomb the **** out of you and
> invade your country.
> You still have no cows, but at least now you are part of
> Democracy....
>
> AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION
> You have two cows.
> Business seems pretty good.
> You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.
>
>
> A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION
> You have two cows.
> The one on the left looks very attractive.