Taking Bin Laden’s Side
by Nicholas Kristoff
8.23.10
I don’t always agree with Mr. Kristoff, but his logic is solid here. Bin Laden fears Muslim clerics who can cite the Koran to denounce terrorism. American opposition to the community center will only bolster Al-Qaeda’s recruiting efforts, just as strong advocates as Feisal Abdul Rauf and Daisy Khan offering an olive branch in [...]

Warming Seas Drive Massive Coral Death in Indonesia
by Climate Progress
I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but how much evidence do we need to make this case. The catastrophic climactic effects of global warming are happening now, not thirty, forty or one hundred years in the future. Thus, the time to act is now [...]

Where would people live in a borderless world?
by Joshua Keating, Foreign Policy
8.20.10
According to the annual Gallup poll, Singapore, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and Canada were the big winners.
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/08/20/where_would_people_live_in_a_borderless_world

Tell me where have you been? Around the world and I’m back again
Ezra Klein, The Washington Post
6.4.10
“I left China feeling pessimistic about the country’s economic prospects, though I sincerely hope that I’m wrong. Pessimistic, in this context, isn’t meant to imply the country’s collapse. Rather, I think that economic growth will drift down from the [...]

Reid Pushes to Move Energy Bill in July
By Alexander Bolton, The Hill
6.4.10
“Reid asked the chairmen to recommend legislation to deal with the Gulf oil spill before July 4 so that leaders can include those ideas in the comprehensive energy package.
““I think it is extremely important that you each examine what could be included in a [...]

The Israeli flotilla attack: victimhood, aggression and tribalism
by Glenn Greenwald, Salon
6.4.10
“A prime cause of this inversion is the distortion in perception brought about by rank tribalism. Those whose worldview is shaped by their identification as members of a particular religious, nationalistic, or ethnic group invariably over-value the wrongs done to them and greatly under-value [...]

What Makes Elena Kagan Tick?
by Neera Tanden, The New Republic
6.4.10
“People who complain about Max Baucus seem to forget that not so long ago the likes of James Inhofe chaired Senate committees. And if you worked in a Democratic administration, those folks made your job a tough slog. Back in the Clinton White House, I was [...]

Race to Sanity
by David Brooks, The New York Times
6.4.10
“Fourth, the administration has encouraged local officials to raise educational standards. The feds are not imposing national standards. But the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers have come up with blueprints of what kids should be learning in math and English. According [...]

China’s Foreign Policy: Speak Softly or Perhaps Not at All
by Matthew Yglasias, Think Progress
6.4.10
“But to me it looks more like a policy of “masterful inaction.” China is focused on economic growth, on trying to secure international acquiescence to its rule over Tibet, and to trying to reintegrate Taiwan into PRC rule without sparking a destructive [...]

Pacific Islands are Actually Growing
by Brian Fung, Foreign Policy
6.3.10
“If you thought rising tides spelled certain doom for islanders across the globe, though, think again. A new study by the University of Auckland finds that over the course of 60 years, 80 percent of tracked Pacific islands actually stayed the same size — or even grew — [...]