Bull or Bear?

I concede it is a no brainer question considering the direction of markets, not to mention economic releases and Bernanke's latest testimony. We have been and continue to remain in a Bear market environment ever since the subprime turmoil of August last.
What is also certain is that this crisis is unprecedented in its nature. It does not compare to the dot com collapse or the '87 crash as multiples are not the catalyst, it doesn't compare to LTCM which was a very focused event, it doesn't compare to the Asian currency crisis nor the Russian defaults. Only if we go back to the Great Depression can we draw some parallels, but even then the comparisons are very limited.
Like today, a great unwind followed the market crash of 1929 as households and businesses had piled and were sitting on mountains of debt. But unlike today, Central Bankers were not as sophisticated and did not have much history to rely on, the flow of information was far from light speed, there was no computing power to speak of and you didn't have the type of coordinated and collegial support amongst the various institutions that we observe today.
These differences together with the fact that this crisis originated in the U.S. also means that there is a greater probability for it to be resolved in a shorter time frame. The U.S. is more likely to take losses on the excesses of the past or turn the page, so to speak, than a country like Japan which ended up paying a monumental price for their stubborness in keeping bad debts in their books for so long.
So the bear will eventually turn into a sustainable bull but it is anyone's guess as to when that will occur. The only effective way to exploit this uncertainty is by remaining diversified and ensuring that the portfolios are rebalanced whenever such action is necessary. The rest is just hot air...