Fourth July Two Thousand Nine

Item 1: "The Wall Isn't Falling" by Fareed Zakaria

- The three most powerful forces in the modern world are democracy, religion, and nationalism
- Iraq-based Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is Iranian, probably more revered in the entire Shia world than any other ayatollah, and he is opposed to the basic doctrine of velayat-e faqih that created the Islamic Republic of Iran - His own view is that clerics should not be involved in politics, which is why he has steered clear of any such role in Iraq

Item 2: "The Pitfalls fo the Public Option" by N. Gregory Mankiw
- Consumer choice and honest competition are indeed the foundation of a successful market system, but they are usually achieved without a public provider
- A market participant with a dominant position can influence prices in a way that a small, competitive player cannot

Item 3: "Iran and Beyond" by Gen. Wesley Clark
- revolution in Iran in 1979 - the military as an institution dissolved and starting with or indicated by 5,000 Iranian air force cadets who just refused to follow orders and basically wouldn't support the government and basically let it collapse

Item 4: "Africa and the International Court" by Kofi Annan
- International Criminal Court - 108 states, including 30 African countries, representing the largest regional bloc among the member states - Five of the court’s 18 judges are African
- African opponents of the international court argue that it is fixated on Africa because its four cases so far all concern alleged crimes against African victims
- The I.C.C., as a court of last resort, acts only when national justice systems are unwilling or unable to do so

Item 5: "Russia Must Re-focus with Post-Imperial Eyes" by Zbigniew Brzezinski
- three central goals - first, to advance US-Russian co-operation in areas where our interests coincide - second, to emphasise the mutual benefits in handling disagreements between the two countries within internationally respected “rules of the game” - third, to help shape a geopolitical context in which Russia becomes increasingly conscious of its own interest in eventually becoming a genuinely post-imperial partner of the Euro-Atlantic community
- To the Russian leadership, the two long-term challenges to its power come from the US and China - Both countries would suffer grievously, while Russia would greatly benefit, if a US-Iranian crisis triggered a surge in energy prices

Item 6: "Just Do It" by Thomas L. Friedman
- The two greatest environmental presidents in American history were Teddy Roosevelt, who created our national park system, and Richard Nixon, whose administration gave us the Clean Air Act and the Environmental Protection Agency - George Bush Sr. signed the 1993 Rio Treaty, to preserve biodiversity
- House cap-and-trade energy bill - goal of reducing U.S. carbon emissions to 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020

Item 7: "That '30s Show" by Paul Krugman
- Since the recession began, the U.S. economy has lost 6 ½ million jobs - take into account the 100,000-plus new jobs that we need each month just to keep up with a growing population, we’re about 8 ½ million jobs in the hole - the Obama stimulus plan aims to create 3 ½ million jobs by late next year
- Right now the risks associated with additional debt are much less than the risks associated with failing to give the economy adequate support