Top 5 Political Travel Destinations

The holidays are coming close, but not before that hurdle called final exams or papers. Given all of that, we might not be interested in paying attention to some of the depressing stuff that’s going on around the world. Here’s a tongue-in-cheek listing of top worldwide locations that offer some insight to our current world politics or economics.

By Paul Li [politics bureau chief]

5 Brasilia, Brazil. Maybe it should be Sao Paolo or even Rio de Janeiro. The point is, its Brazil. More importantly, they’re having their first female president take power next year. Dilma Rousseff, a former Marxist urban guerrilla fighter, won the second round, of presidential elections on Oct. 31, and with it, the honour of leading Latin America’s largest economy. As additional perks, she’ll get to oversee Brazil’s preparations for the 2014 Football World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Busy agenda ahead.

4 Bretton Woods, U.S.A. Ah, scenic New Hampshire, the granite state that borders Quebec. Institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization can all point to their birth to events that resulted in the United Nations conference held here in 1944. It is here that the US dollar became the new gold standard for international finance. While the world has moved on from such system, the US dollar is still the widest used reserve currency, and unfortunately there’s always someone claiming that the solution to all problems lies in returning to the gold standard (including Robert Zoellick, current head of the World Bank).

3 Seoul, South Korea. Earlier this year, Toronto had a bad experience with the G20 meeting. Seoul had an easier time with it, not much came out of the meetings, but then, there weren’t any riots either. Alas, their luck did not last, and their Northern neighbour decided to let loose the dogs of war. So far, just the puppies. And on a small island. Still, not the best of Novembers.

2 Dublin, Ireland. Home to the Gaelic games, beautiful scenery, Lord Kelvin and George Bernard Shaw. Also, the latest site for economic crisis within the Euro zone. Since 2008 banks have struggled to pay back their loans, and since the government promised to guarantee every single loan made by banks, the Government is on the hook for billions. So the taxpayers are on the hook for billions. Prime Minister Brian Cowen has negotiated EU and IMF backed assistance, but no it seems it is his government that needs help, as former allies have deserted him in the days since the bailout was announced.

1 New York City, NY. Yes, the Big Apple is still at the top of the world in most respects even this one. Here, you can find the headquarters of the United Nations and the famous (or infamous, if you prefer) Wall Street of financial meltdown fame. It is also home to the Plaza Hotel, where Japan and Germany famously agreed to devaluate their currencies in the face of US pressure. While the latter didn’t suffer too badly, some critics point to the agreement as the beginning of the Japanese economy’s 25-year economic doldrums. So, in that particular case of being told by the US to “sign the dotted line or else.” Maybe Japan should’ve taken the or else.