Europe

The Economic Times reports: 

Berlin
As the Obama administration and U.S. allies seek to punish Iran for making no concessions in the latest round of negotiations over its nuclear activities, Switzerland has snubbed them by refusing to take part in the European Union’s sanctions efforts.

The New York Times profiles the mayor of Thessaloniki, Yiannis Boutaris, the Scott Walker of Greece:

Steve Hayes, with Rick Klein and Charles Krauthammer, last night on Fox News:

A male Greek politico attacked two female politicians on national television:

If you haven't already, go ahead and add Mark Steyn's latest column to your weekend reading assignments. This might be the ur-Steyn column in that the effervescent and witty prose makes the message that we are well and truly doomed palatable; it explains European politics in a concise and understandable way to us geographically isolated Yanks; and Steyn is yet again hammering home the message that culture is the source of the West's economic and political woes: 

America is the best house in a run-down neighborhood: The famous BRICs are crumbling.

Could we be slipping into another one of those summers of Europe riding down the rails to catastrophe? A disaster that all can see coming but that none seems to have the tools or the will to prevent.

The tide sweeping from Greece across Europe and into the United States is washing away support for austerity, in some cases reinforcing opposition to it, largely from the left. President Obama is delighted at this support for his refusal to cut spending in the face of mounting deficits, and the Republicans are feeling beleaguered at what they see as the disinterment of the body of works of John Maynard Keynes.

While the debate continues over how to deal with an Iran that has nuclear ambitions, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has other things on his mind.

This business with Greece goes on and on, and one begins to think, automatically, of Sisyphus and his rock. Only in this case, you start pulling for the rock.