Seeking a Panglossian view of Syrian banking reforms

[peterthooper at juno.com]

That Voltaire - is "Pangloss" as fraught in French as it is in English?

While suffering the pangs of loss, one glosses over everything (pan-gloss) to avoid making it even worse, and looks for the bright side...

I read recently that "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from Monty Python's _Life Of Brian_ is the most requested song for English funerals. 

>From Wikipedia:
n 2001, Syria legalized private banks and the sector, while still nascent, has been growing. Foreign banks were given licenses in December 2002, under Law 28 March 2001 which allows the establishment of private and joint-venture banks. Foreigners are allowed up to 49% ownership of a bank, but may not hold a controlling stake. As of January 2010, 13 private banks had opened, including two Islamic banks....

Syria has taken gradual steps to loosen controls over foreign exchange....

To attract investment and to ease access to credit, the government allowed investors in 2007 to receive loans and other credit instruments from foreign banks, and to repay the loans and any accrued interest through local banks using project proceeds. 



A new election and preterition, as Pynchon wrote of the water mills in England.

Suppose the newly preterite were those who became the rebels...why, in this best of all possible worlds, would Western powers, presumably gung-ho globalizers, support them against the Assad government which rolled out these changes?

Once those changes occur, they become nearly impossible to roll back (like gun rights, alas), so it doesn't matter as much who rules anymore. A diffuse coalition government might  bargain less stringently with foreign lenders as to "project proceeds"...or, less cynically, might foster human rights reforms (which the West cherishes so dearly) at a timelier pace than Assad.

One hopes for the latter!

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Meghan Markle Confirms Unfortunate News
track.volutrk.com
http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3131/5cef8017b4003176829st01vuc