As recriminations fly post-Copenhagen, one writer offers a fly-on-the-wall account of how talks failed

Copenhagen was a disaster. That much is agreed. But the truth about what actually happened is in danger of being lost amid the spin and inevitable mutual recriminations. The truth is this: China wrecked the talks, intentionally humiliated Barack Obama, and insisted on an awful "deal" so western leaders would walk away carrying the blame. How do I know this? Because I was in the room and saw it happen.

China's strategy was simple: block the open negotiations for two weeks, and then ensure that the closed-door deal made it look as if the west had failed the world's poor once again. And sure enough, the aid agencies, civil society movements and environmental groups all took the bait. The failure was "the inevitable result of rich countries refusing adequately and fairly to shoulder their overwhelming responsibility", said Christian Aid. "Rich countries have bullied developing nations," fumed Friends of the Earth International.

Paul Krugman*

A menos que algum legislador acabe fazendo alguma trapaça, a reforma da saúde será aprovada pelo Senado esta semana. Pode me colocar entre aqueles que acham que essa aprovação foi uma enorme conquista.

Trata-se de uma lei bastante falha e passaremos anos, talvez décadas, consertando-a, mas é um enorme passo à frente.

E, contudo, foi por um triz. O que mostra que o Senado - e, portanto, o governo dos Estados Unidos como um todo - se tornou inquietantemente disfuncional.