Let the games begin

China’s leaders would instead prefer outsiders to focus on how much the country has changed and how much it is at ease in the world. The official slogan of the games, “One world, one dream”, reflects this (albeit with an unintended hint of Maoist ideological conformity). --The August 2nd issue of The Economist

The Economist leads this week's issue with several sharp criticisms of China, and after reading each, it is pretty hard to ignore the Orwellian vibe coming out of Beijing. While criticizing the communist regime seems to be America's favorite past time, I think these are articles definitely worth reading before NBC raises its lights on next week's coverage.

Need a book?

Lone Survivor:

The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10

With the proliferation of top ten summer reading lists, let me share one more amazing book: Lone Survivor, by Marcus Luttrell. Luttrell, a Navy SEAL, bares the tolls of war in this gripping account of a "reconnaissance mission" along the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border. His team's initial task - to document the activity of an al Qaeda leader rumored to have a small army in a Taliban stronghold - quickly deteriorates:

The SEALs scrambled across the unforgiving terrain toward their target, but after daylight broke the mission started to go awry. Three goat herders--and their goats--happened upon the SEALs. The Americans recognized that they had a potentially lethal problem: The herders glowering at them were likely Taliban sympathizers who would report the Americans' presence.

With deep misgivings, the SEALs resolved to let the herders go--a decision they quickly regretted. Radio communications problems prevented the SEALs from calling headquarters for assistance; moving across the mountainsides with little cover in daylight would almost certainly attract enemy attention. All they could do was hunker down. And then the shooting started. Dozens of Taliban fighters had taken up a position above the SEALs and were pouring lead down on them.

(~from the Wall Street Journal's Weekend Interview)

Five days later, only one of those SEALS -- Luttrell -- made it out alive. A tremendous read...

Red, White, and Green

A link to an exceptional article and video from Tom Friedman -- he of The World is Flat fame -- that ran in the New York Times a few months ago. While I missed reading it when it came out, one of our former professors (Ronni Burns) brought it to my attention.

Consider Friedman's assertion that "we have not even begun to be serious about the costs, the effort and the scale of change that will be required to shift our country, and eventually the world, to a largely emissions-free energy infrastructure over the next 50 years." Next, take a step away from your personal position on energy and the environment. (Be assured that he frames his opinions in such a way "not meant to trump the traditional Republican and Democratic agendas but rather to bridge them when it comes to addressing the three major issues facing every American today: jobs, temperature and terrorism.")

No, no paper required for competing in a flatter, greener, world; instead, just a provocative article to kick start a discussion. Enjoy.