Hi from a US expat in Australia. I don't know if you would call Australia "emerging" but we export raw materials and import more manufactured goods than is healthy for us. Earlier this year the Aussie dollar (AUD) was almost on par with the USD and the banks here didn't underwrite as many dodgy mortgages so our "fundamentals" are not scary.

But - global financial institutions that needed cash NOW dumped their AUDs and yesterday the Aussie dollar hit a 5 year low. Our resources are cheap again (for China to buy them) and small businesses that buy things from overseas - well, I'm looking at the stock here and thinking that what we've got on the shelves will have to last us a looooong time.

Not whining! Whining is not Australian. (Although maybe as an expat I could get away with some.) Just saying, yes, it's already happened. Smaller economies, but still actual impact on people's lives. Thanks for your ongoing AWESOME blog...

This "Muslim" thing: I just cannot say enough how grateful I am for Colin Powell's firm statement that ON TOP of Obama not being a Muslim, if he were, there would be NO PROBLEM.

For many years I was married to an extremely patriotic US-born Muslim. (He passed so many security checks that he was offered a job by the NSA.) He and his friends from many countries educated me about the many faces of Islam, its history, and the spiritual peace and mental tranquillity that classical Islam offers its adherents. The first Gulf War was a nightmare for us (especially during Ramadan) and of course the ignorance of the general public has become even worse over time.

Can't we get the extremely fundamentalist Christians and the extremely fundamentalist Muslims to go to an alternate reality and fight there while the rest of us get on with restoring the rule of law, reducing our carbon footprint, et cetera?

In Australia, the "Liberal" party is the more conservative of the two large parties. Wikipedia: "The party's philosophy is generally liberal conservatism, although it has moved rightwards since the 1980s."

In coalition with the smaller Nationals (also misleadingly named since they focus on the interests of rural communities and primary industries), the Liberals were in charge at the Federal level from 1996-2007.

All this made trying to explain to Australian schoolkids (who were trying to follow our election, bless them) what USians mean when they say "liberal" ... even more challenging. :)

Have enjoyed the column a great deal! Looking forward to continuing to hear from you (but without quite so much stress). Hoping you and Salon can both hang on through the downturn.

So I have just very suddenly moved from Australia to Portland OR. Arrived just in time for this year's "Civil War" (oregon state versus oregon) during which I and the rest of the party were 100% confused about who the Ducks would play if they went to the Holiday Bowl. Being new to the area (grew up in Rose Bowl country) I ruined the fourth quarter surfing the web and shouting misinformation to the others. Am happy to read an article which explains what the bowls are really all about...

Trivia from Australian sports: the verb (and noun) "root" in Australia is a synonym for the f-word. A common insult is, "he couldn't organise a root in a brothel." So when they hear US media say things like "Everyone's rooting for USC" or whatever, it's ... awkward. Their word for our meaning of "root" is "barrack"; "She's barracking for Parramatta again this year" - that would be the Eels - don't get me started about cricket and rugby -

Hope all is going well in your new role.

Awesome article - and written under deadline pressure too - and exactly what I wanted to know.

As a researcher myself, I am amused by the fact that the passengers interviewed all describe such different experiences in terms of what they heard / felt / perceived. This is typical, and once they've repeated their stories a zillion times they'll be even more sure (and different)!

Always enjoy the column, especially the constant reminders about safety. My late grandfather helped design aircraft - (for example, worked on the team that did the L-1011's "hood scoop) - so that's me you might see, when I get a seat next to a jittery fellow passenger, making a napkin-drawing of an airplane wing from the side and showing how "lift" works. We all have to do our bit...

Thank you Garrison for reporting from the Mall. On TV we couldn't hear the booing - all 2 million of you (us) just seemed very very quiet and attentive.

And thank you for the way you continued to tell the truth throughout these last (very long) eight years. Too many moving words today to write much more but - thank you.