[Lexington]

1. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Dear Leader of Argentina, mocks the Chinese after begging them for money, and apparently not getting any because the Chinese are not idiots and wanted, you know, things in exchange for their money such as rice and oil:

-- Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner mimicked the Chinese accent in a tweet, replacing r’s with l’s, as she met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to raise investment in the recession-hit South American economy.

“Did they only come for lice and petloleum?” Fernandez wrote in Spanish on her Twitter account in reference to 1,000 businessmen who attended a conference where she spoke. A minute later, she wrote “sorry, the levels of ridiculousness and absurdity are so high they can only be digested with humor.”

Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is making fun of Chinese accents on Twitter while on official business in the country. In a tweet on Wednesday, first reported by Bloomberg, she wrote about her trip, replacing "r"s with "l"s in the words arroz (rice) and petróleo (petroleum).



She then tweeted a non-apology:



Translation: "Sorry. You know what? It's just that the ridiculousness and absurdity is so high, that it can only be understood through humor. If not, it's very, very toxic."

The problem with this — beyond that it's incredibly insulting to the Chinese — is that it's bad for Argentina's economy.

Fernandez needs China. Badly. Since last year, Fernandez has been working with Chinese President Xi Jinping on a currency swap to get cash to her country and replenish Argentina's notoriously low reserves.

Last fall reserves hit their lowest level in some time, at about $22 billion. The country's exports, mostly commodities, are really cheap, and its balance of payments is off. Meanwhile, because of outstanding debt and legal issues (mostly with American hedge fund manager Paul Singer) it's tough for Argentina to raise money in international financial markets.

Between October and December Argentina received about $2.3 billion from China, but conditions for commodities and for the country are not improving. The country will need more.

Now is not the time to make Xi angry.

And it's not the time for Fernandez to sound flippant either. Last month the news broke that an Argentine prosecutor investigating the decades-old terrorist bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires was found dead.

The man, Alberto Nisman, was found shot to the head in his apartment in what was meant to look like a suicide. No one believed that story, in part because he was about to present the findings of his investigation to the Argentine legislature. He learned the Fernandez government had covered up the bombing, which was perpetrated by agents of Iran, to secure energy-for-food deals with Iran. Argentina is energy poor.

As yet Nisman's allegations will not be presented to a court. Two judges who have been asked to hear the case have declined. Meanwhile on Tuesday a draft of an arrest warrant for Fernandez and other members of her government was found in Nisman's garbage.

So now is not the time for jokes of any kind, really.

2. Erdogan, Dear Leader of Turkey, pontificates on inflation, interest rates, and the independence of the central bank:



"There are still those who don't understand that if you cut interest rates you'll cut inflation" - the joke is that it's not "still" like there are people who think that low interest rates cause higher inflation, most sane people think that.

Also about the independence of the central bank: just yesterday, Recep, you seized a private bank associated with a political rival. So don't whinge about how independent and cute your central bank is today. This seems to be a thing autocrats do unironically.

3. Alexander Lukashenko, Dear Leader of Belarus, complains about his own people:

Here's how the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko explained the policy at a Jan. 29 press conference:

Folks, everything depends on you. If you start running from one exchange office to another trading in those unfortunate Balarusian rubles for hard currency, we will not wait for the National bank to run out of international reserve. You, households and businesses alike, will force us to let the national currency float freely to some degree. And that's what we had to do. So what do you want from me? I didn't even ask you, the population, to stop doing it, knowing that you as true Belarusians would not listen. And you went off... Last year you bought, according to the newspaper's statistics, 60,000 cars!.. Mainly from Russia, you've taken out all there was in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Okay, to be fair, Lukashenko said that last Thursday. The editorial is from today (it's about The Other Ruble's problems). Still, it's perfect. "I didn't even ask you because I knew you wouldn't listen."

[Beren]

Lukashenko blames the people, while Erdogan and Kirchner are simply stupid. Lukashenko still can be right.

[Potemkin]

Erdogan seems to have all the understanding of economics of one of the illustrious medieval Ottoman sultans - which is to say, almost none at all. That would be fine if this was, say, 1427 AD, when every other political leader in the world had a similarly shaky grasp of even such basic concepts as inflation. But in the 21st century, it's going to put Turkey at a severe disadvantage.

And Lukashenko is like any other garden-variety despot - he seems to think of the masses as some multi-headed hydra with a hive mind whose every collective action is calculated and deliberate. In reality, of course, the 'masses' don't exist - there are only individual people acting as rational economic agents and not giving a flying fuck what anyone else is doing. This leads to certain collective results of these individual actions which may (or may not) be detrimental to the nation as a whole. Hence, of course, the need for governments and the wise hand of a Great Helmsman on the tiller. Notice I said "wise"....

[Beren]

And Lukashenko is like any other garden-variety despot - he seems to think of the masses as some multi-headed hydra with a hive mind whose every collective action is calculated and deliberate.

He thinks of the masses as children that can panic easily and must be controlled. Not by an iron fist, but a firm hand for sure.

[fuser]

I am just wondering, don't these people (specially Erodgan) have things like advisers, they come free with these sort of posts.

Seeing Erodgan's continued fall makes me nervous for I see my own PM in him.

[Potemkin]

He thinks of the masses as children that can panic easily and must be controlled. Not by an iron fist, but a firm hand for sure.

Correction - he seems to think of the "masses" as a child, which needs the stern hand of a loving but strict Father to curb its childish excesses and wilful disobedience. It's a psychologically interesting frame of mind, and seems to be common among the more intellectually limited type of despot.

[Beren]

Correction - he seems to think of the "masses" as a child, which needs the stern hand of a loving but strict Father to curb its childish excesses and wilful disobedience. It's a psychologically interesting frame of mind, and seems to be common among the more intellectually limited type of despot.

Precisely.

However, it's a somewhat understandable concept, but Erdogan and Kirchner just proved themselves stupid.

[Lexington]

4. Dear Leader Mugabe of Zimbabwe trips, photographers made to delete photos (apparently one got away with it):

[Potemkin]

However, it's a somewhat understandable concept, but Erdogan and Kirchner just proved themselves stupid.

No arguments there. Erdogan, in particular, makes Lukashenko look like Albert Einstein.

[Far-Right Sage]

On Kirchner's comment, yes, it was an incredibly irresponsible thing to say on a public platform, but rather than serving as an indictment of the Argentine government, I see this as one in a long series of reminders as to why there is something so pointless, puerile, and totally not befitting any head of state or serious political leader to have a "Twitter" social media account.

I don't see anything that Lukashenko said above which was in error. He simply has a more blunt, honest, sharp, and undiplomatic speaking style than the average bullshitting world leader today, because he is an actual leader rather than a figurehead empty suit, and I don't consider that necessarily a negative thing at all. He knows his people and is candid about their nature.

And besides all that, it doesn't surpass my favorite popularized Lukahshenko quote of all time:

We are responsible for this ourselves. We took on so much democracy on the eve of the election that everyone -- both you and me -- started feeling sick.

There was so much democracy that it was sickening.

[Potemkin]

We are responsible for this ourselves. We took on so much democracy on the eve of the election that everyone -- both you and me -- started feeling sick.

There was so much democracy that it was sickening.

Translation: in any righteous family, the paterfamilias is in charge, not the child.

[Beren]

We are responsible for this ourselves. We took on so much democracy on the eve of the election that everyone -- both you and me -- started feeling sick.

There was so much democracy that it was sickening.

I love the man, I really do. He is full of fun, if you don't live in Belarus.

[fuser]

Erodgan is more fun than Lukashenko, Lukashenko is very limited whereas Erodgan has a range of topic be it history or economics, the man never fails to deliver.

[Beren]

Erodgan is more fun than Lukashenko, Lukashenko is very limited whereas Erodgan has a range of topic be it history or economics, the man never fails to deliver.

But Lukashenko has a way better style than Erdogan does. He could be in The Daily Show as well!

[Lexington]

Erodgan has a range of topic be it history or economics, the man never fails to deliver.

Could even do a Wes Anderson movie with this kind of style.

[Beren]

Could even do a Wes Anderson movie with this kind of style.

I have to surrender, Erdogan beats everyone!

[fuser]

lol victory in an Internet debate

Thank you, Erodgan.

Never change.

[Istanbuller]

"There are still those who don't understand that if you cut interest rates you'll cut inflation" - the joke is that it's not "still" like there are people who think that low interest rates cause higher inflation, most sane people think that.

Also about the independence of the central bank: just yesterday, Recep, you seized a private bank associated with a political rival. So don't whinge about how independent and cute your central bank is today. This seems to be a thing autocrats do unironically.

What is wrong with this according to you?

I don't see anything wrong in what he says. He is the President and has every right to talk about whatever he wants. Who do you expect to talk about economy and politics if you don't want politicians do that? Computer Programmers? Physicians? Biologist?

[KlassWar]

What is wrong with this according to you?

Low interest rates are inflationary, and high interest rates are deflationary.

[fuser]

You don't have to be an economist to understand that.

lower interest rate = people borrowing more money = people expending more money i.e buying more goods = increase in prices of good i.e. inflation.

But we are talking about Erodgan.