I was listening to the financial channel on cable tv as usual and now they are trying to say that the recession is at an end and the economy is starting to turn around. Maybe, maybe not. I remember in 2007 when different guests would come on an say we were in a recession there was widespread denial until the high gas prices of the summer of 2008 pushed things over the edge. Now, just in time for the Xmas buying season they are trying to say things are looking rosy in order to make people feel good and spend money. But millions of people are out of work, millions of jobs have left never to return. In coming years historians will look upon this time as the beginning of the shift in world power, influence and finance. I wonder will western values still have the same force that they do now.