Latvia government has collapsed.

[dixiegrrrrl]

(I know it is a country most of us could not find on a map.
But this is important........)
*******************************************************

Latvia government collapses amid economic crisis
This plays into the fact that Latvia, and its neighboring countries, are in a depression. This economic contagion will be both converted into financial contagion through the banking system and transmitted as both financial and economic contagion to the wealthier western countries that have large economic claims on Latvia and do trade with them.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/amid-depression-and-linked-heavily-western-europe-latvias-government-collapses-today

[rcrush]

1. When does Victor Von Doom makes his world conquest plans known?

[Dr. Strange]

7. Latvia, not Latveria. Stupid comic book geek.

Wait, no. I meant to ask who is Victor Von Doom?

[formercia]

8. Or is it Lavatory?

Is Latvia in the crapper or is the crapper in the Lavatory.


Another country that fell for the 'American Dream.'

The boys bled them dry too. Loaned them a lot of money. Now it's time to break kneecaps.

[Javaman]

15. "Today the urinal, tomorrow..."nt

[athenasatanjesus]

11. Don't forget this ruins George Costanza's conversion plans.nt

[Omaha Steve]

2. We have a small Latvian community in Omaha

I knew several in High School.

[Warpy]

4. I knew a family in Boston

and was excited to sample the cuisine when they invited me to supper. They fed me spaghetti and meatballs. I was so disappointed.

So yes, I can find Latvia on a map. I've also been reading about the incredibly shaky state of their economy for some months, so this development is not surprising.

It is disheartening, though. They seemed to be off the radar that encompassed other shaky economies of Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain.

[abelenkpe]

3. This could be very bad

if this trend spreads. I hope that reason rules the day and that the citizens remain safe.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Now this is starting to look like a pattern

Oh never mind, let me go back to my sleep.

:-)

(By the way I CAN FIND LATVIA on a map, but I am weird that way)

[Joanne98]

6. I was posting about this last year. Contagion. Those countries all have the same

problems.

[Riktor]

9. Maybe I'm thinking of the wrong decade here, but...

... I can't help but think Russia is looking toward Latvia with greedy eyes at the moment. How eager they are to maintain their "spheres of influence" on the old Warsaw Pact, it seems likely they will quickly pressure the Baltic country into accepting Russian "aid", which will invariably come with numerous strings attached (much like our "aid" does).

With the Baltic nations as bitter as they are towards Russia, I don't know how eager they'd be to fall back into Moscow's fold, but with things as dire as they are, who knows what they will do?

[derby378]

10. It doesn't even have to be Russia...

Economic collapse has a nasty tendency to attract autocrats who promise to lead the people out of this mess in exchange for their freedoms and rights, which they're too poor to use right now anyway.

It certainly didn't hurt Hitler's aspirations. And he even had a ready-made scapegoat for all of Germany to blame.

[Max Stein]

12. People should watch this

Same thing happening all around.

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. Mea culpa....I withdraw the map remark.

This being DU and all, it certainly was not needed.
My bad.

We do seem to be of one mind when it comes to domino counting, yes?

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. Maybe not that earthshaking: Latvian PM asks opposition party to join government

RIGA, March 18 (Reuters) - Latvia's prime minister said on Thursday he had asked an opposition party to join his government, the day after the largest former ruling party quit the coalition and left him with a minority administration.

He also said he saw Latvia's 7.5 billion euro bailout programme as being safe despite the political shifts, saying opposition parties had said they would do nothing to put the country's financial stability in danger.
...
"We decided to start consultations with parties about support for financial stability issues as well as call on Latvia's First Party/Latvia's Way (LPP/LC) to join the coalition," Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters.

"I think that in the next few days, or in half a week, it will be clear whether we will obtain a parliamentary majority or we will continue to work as a minority government," he said.

http://www.forexyard.com/en/news/Latvian-PM-asks-opposition-party-to-join-government-2010-03-18T145412Z

[cutlassmama]

16. the EU is backing Greece too.

[mitchtv]

17. Latvia... you can smell the homophobia from

Helsinki. Since the Gays caused the genocide in Bosnia, next they can claim credit for the collapse of the Baltic nations. I have no sympathy for them or their church