He refrained from doing so even when he was presented with strong evidence that an attack on a tribal gathering he convened in Kabul in June was carried out by the Haqqani network, one of the three leading insurgent groups, which has close links to Pakistan's intelligence service.

ECONOMIST: Rumours fly as Karzai talks to Pakistan

Indeed Poland was supposed to peg its currency to the Euro as a pre-condition for joining something that it (very wisely) has refrained from actually doing.

FORBES: How Austerity Is Failing in Eastern Europe In One Chart