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The Olympics: The London Model — Economist The city is trying to pull off a mightily ambitious games WHEN London unexpectedly beat Paris in the competition to hold the 2012 Olympic games, crowds cheered, the stock market soared and politicians congratulated themselves. But Britain is a nation of self-deprecating cynics. Even on the day of the successful bid in 2005, some commentators were carping about the cost of the games and the likelihood of disruption and transport problems. A rather good BBC sitcom, “Twenty Twelve”, pokes fun at bureaucratic absurdities and snafus: in the final episode, aired on July 24th, the Olympic Deliverance Commission realises that the opening ceremony’s fireworks will trigger the surface-to-air missiles that guard the site. The solution? Virtual fireworks. Read more …. Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials Turkey: Forgotten Ally in a Forgotten War — Richard Weitz, Real Clear World The time for patience in Syria is over — Washington post editorial The Realist Prism: Specter of WMD Changes Debate on Syria Crisis — Nikolas Gvosdev, World Politics Review Syrian revolution leaves the Party of God in search of a Plan B — Hanin Ghaddar, The National The Strange Rise and Fall of North Korea’s Business Empire in Japan — Armin Rosen, The Atlantic Who Will Take Care of Central Asia? — Fyodor Lukyanov, Russia In Global Affairs Analysis: US dilemma in South China Sea response — Matthew Pennington, AP What China Learned from the Soviet Union’s Fall — A. Greer Meisels, The Diplomat Turning Burma’s small steps into bigger ones — Karel Schwarzenberg, Washington Post Romney isn’t out to make the world swoon — Fouad Ajami, Washington Post
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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials — July 28, 2012
