New York Times (July 5)
“A quarter of a millennium is long enough to make a nation feel permanent, as though it had always been here and always will be. But the founders… knew that they were making a wager, not a guarantee.” So far, the U.S. has surmounted seemingly existential challenges. “Each time the Republic proved more durable than its mourners predicted, not because of any magic in the system, but because enough people decided the alternative was unacceptable and went to work. Democracy is not a sheltered structure we live inside. It is a habit we must practice — or lose.”
Tags: Challenges, Democracy, Durable, Existential, Founders, Guarantee, Habit, Nation, Permanent, Practice, Surmounted, U.S., Wager
Seeking Alpha (May 27)
“Japan has lost its status as the world’s top creditor nation for the first time in 34 years, even as the country has maintained a strong investment appetite abroad. While its overseas assets topped JPY 500T ($3.47T) for the first time ever in 2024, it still trailed Germany’s international investments,” which rose to JPY 569.65T ($3.96T).
Tags: 2024, 34 years, Germany, Investment appetite, Japan, JPY500T, JPY569.65T, Nation, Overseas assets, Status, Strong, Top creditor
Washington Post (May 21)
The world’s newest nation is descending into “war, chaos and human suffering.” The United States helped birth the nation four years ago and “now must exercise more leverage and commitment to save South Sudan.”
Tags: Chaos, Human suffering, Nation, New, South Sudan, U.S., War
Washington Post (November 25)
The Iran nuclear talks have been extended, which may prove a good thing. The talks resemble “a labor negotiation in which it’s too costly for workers to go on strike or for management to impose a lockout, so the two sides continue without a contract while negotiations proceed.” Whether this will ultimately lead to success, however, will largely depend on whether Iran decides to be a nation or a cause, pragmatic or zealous.
