This week's protests may be the most chaotic scenes Hong Kong has experienced since a violent, anti-British riot racked the city in 1967 – and many residents are taking it as evidence that the "one country, two systems" framework is fundamentally flawed, a recipe for political gridlock and social unrest.
Just as the Tea Party has turned Congress into a paralysed, self-hating institution, an alliance of anti-European Union parties could give Europe its own version of "gridlock" if they win enough of the popular vote in next year's European elections.
He did not spell out a clear position on any of the other major budget measures, though he said he did not want to see "gridlock" in parliament.
Even on the most generous reading, his proposals offer immense opportunities for a Westminster version of the gridlock that has brought the US system of federal government almost to its knees.
But the gridlock is most damaging to Republicans who, four months after electoral gains that gave them control over both chambers of the legislature, have allowed bitter internal divisions to impede effective government.
On the other hand, Canberrans speak fondly of how easy it is to get around – unlike the gridlock of Sydney and Melbourne.
But as the US hits political gridlock over the debt ceiling yet again, can it really be said that there is any "right" system as such?
The ethnic politics that has created gridlock in postwar Bosnia has become the norm in Brčko, too.
To protest UAL's decision and show solidarity with their peers, more than 100 students gathered outside the Royal Courts on Tuesday, causing gridlock for central London drivers by marching to UAL's Holborn offices and creating a roadblock, before marching back to Central Saint Martins.
A year ago who would have expected to hear phrases such as 'authority of the House of Commons', 'an elected House of Lords' and 'recipe for gridlock' being beamed out on Radio 2? The post of constitutional affairs spokesman is one of those imaginative Tory euphemisms forced upon the party after May 1.
For him, cycling offers a way to overcome congestion – rather than joining the motorised gridlock, he can zip through one of Kathmandu's many narrower, quieter alleyways to get wherever he needs.
