Thomas Friedman

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Friedman: Please, Netanyahu, Don't Blow This Opportunity

Hamas leader's death could lead to a 2-state solution, if the prime minister is willing

(Newser) - Just how big is the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar? "It is impossible to exaggerate the importance," writes New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. The immediate aftermath of his death could usher in the end of the war in Gaza, as well as the return of Israeli...

Handling US Foreign Policy Isn't as Easy as It Used to Be

NYT 's Thomas Friedman says decades ago, it was like 'tic-tac-toe'; now it's like a 'Rubik's Cube'

(Newser) - If you've ever had aspirations to become secretary of state, reconsider. Out of all the top spots in US government, it sounds like the most impossible gig to tackle, writes Thomas Friedman for New York Times , mainly because "the job of running US foreign policy is far, far...

Dangerous Times: US at Odds With Russia and China
Stakes Are Huge as US
Battles Russia and China
OPINION

Stakes Are Huge as US Battles Russia and China

Thomas Friedman raises concerns about these 'uncharted waters'

(Newser) - The US is currently in conflict with Russia, and the confrontation is an obvious one playing out on the battlefields of Ukraine with American weapons. But Thomas Friedman writes in the New York Times that the US is simultaneously in a less obvious conflict with China—though the stakes are...

Friedman: To Defeat Putin, Kick Him in the Wallet

Globalization can be used to our advantage: op-ed

(Newser) - Some may argue that Vladimir Putin's actions in Crimea prove globalization isn't all that it's cracked up to be; Cold War-style politics haven't been wiped out forever. But Thomas Friedman argues that in order to stop Putin, we need to view him in the context of...

Palestinian President: We'd Let NATO Stay

Abbas says troops could remain in Palestinian state 'indefinitely': Thomas Friedman

(Newser) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has a security proposal for Israel: Work with us to establish a Palestinian state, and NATO soldiers can remain in it "for a long time, and wherever they want." In an interview with the New York Times ' Thomas Friedman and Jodi Rudoren, picked...

How Climate Change Fueled Syria's Uprising

Drought created refugees who were 'willing recruits' against Assad: Thomas Friedman

(Newser) - Before the uprising against Bashar al-Assad, Syria was stuck in a four-year drought the UN reportedly called the country's worst in decades. In 2008, a US embassy cable revealed by WikiLeaks predicted potential mass migration due to the weather—and the cable was right. "By 2010, roughly 1...

IQ Isn't Enough Anymore: You Need PQ, Too
IQ Isn't Enough Anymore:
You Need PQ, Too
thomas friedman

IQ Isn't Enough Anymore: You Need PQ, Too

That would be 'passion quotient,' says Thomas Friedman

(Newser) - Thomas Friedman wrote his The World Is Flat best-seller about our connected world in 2004. But that was mostly before the dawn of cloud computing, Facebook, Twitter, etc., he points out today in the New York Times . In the years since, the world has gone from connected to "hyperconnected,...

Thomas Friedman's Unusual Pick for Secretary of State

He thinks education chief Arne Duncan should replace Hillary

(Newser) - The top contenders to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state look to be John Kerry and Susan Rice. But if Thomas Friedman had his way, President Obama would shift education secretary Arne Duncan into Clinton's job. Yes, Friedman knows the chances of that happening are just about non-existent,...

John Roberts 'Took One for the Country'

 John Roberts 
 'Took One for 
 the Country' 
thomas Friedman

John Roberts 'Took One for the Country'

Thomas Friedman compares chief justice to a wounded war veteran

(Newser) - Sounds like Thomas Friedman has a new personal hero. His name: Chief Justice John Roberts. The judge's historic Supreme Court ruling on ObamaCare has "even touched some conservatives," writes Friedman in the New York Times . "It’s the feeling that it has been so long since...

Democracy Is Dead, Welcome to 'Vetocracy'
Democracy Is Dead, Welcome to 'Vetocracy'
Thomas Friedman

Democracy Is Dead, Welcome to 'Vetocracy'

Thomas Friedman says special interests rule because government can't act

(Newser) - The US isn't a democracy anymore. It's a "vetocracy," with a system designed to prevent anyone from doing much of anything, Thomas Friedman argues in the New York Times . The constitution's system of checks and balances "assumes—indeed requires—a certain minimum level of...

Why Afghanistan Is a 'Fool's Errand'
 Why Afghanistan 
 Is a 'Fool's Errand' 
Thomas Friedman

Why Afghanistan Is a 'Fool's Errand'

We cannot export democracy, just support democratic institutions

(Newser) - It's no surprise that US policies are failing in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, and around the region—they're completely missing what makes countries succeed, writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times . The key, according to a new book, Why Nations Fail , is developing "inclusive" economic and political...

Hey, GOP: Bring Back Our 2nd Party

 Hey, GOP: 
 Bring Back 
 Our 2nd Party 
Thomas Friedman

Hey, GOP: Bring Back Our 2nd Party

GOP as useless as 7 vowels in Scrabble, needs new letters

(Newser) - Just like you get to throw in your tiles when Scrabble gives you seven useless vowels, so too do Republican voters keep picking again—and coming up with the same useless tiles, says Thomas Friedman in the New York Times . That's because the GOP is an out-of-date "captive...

Average Isn't Good Enough Anymore in America
Average Isn't Good Enough Anymore in America
Thomas Friedman

Average Isn't Good Enough Anymore in America

Globalization, technology have pushed out the average guy

(Newser) - Once upon a time, an average worker with average skills could expect an average lifestyle in America—but not anymore. "Today, average is officially over," writes Thomas Friedman of the New York Times . Average people can't expect the lifestyle they used to enjoy, because "employers have...

Thomas Friedman: Bring Back 'Sane' GOP of George HW Bush

 Bring Back 
 'Sane' GOP 
 of Bush 41 
Friedman

Bring Back 'Sane' GOP of Bush 41

Friedman misses the balanced conservatism of yore

(Newser) - With today's Republican Party being led around by Tea Party extremists, Thomas Friedman misses the adult supervision of George HW Bush, he writes in the New York Times . Calling him "one of our most underrated presidents," Friedman contends that Bush père brought foreign policy "deftness"...

Thomas Friedman: Stop Wasting $100 Billion a Year on Afghanistan, Pakistan Regimes
 Stop Wasting $110B 
 a Year on These Turkeys 
THOMAS FRIEDMAN

Stop Wasting $110B a Year on These Turkeys

As Arabs spread democracy, we prop up Afghan, Pakistan regimes

(Newser) - Democracy is on the march across the Arab world, so "What are we doing spending $110 billion this year supporting corrupt and unpopular regimes in Afghanistan and Pakistan that are almost identical to the governments we’re applauding the Arab people for overthrowing?" asks Thomas Friedman in the New ...

If Only We Had a Real Tea Party
 If Only We Had a Real Tea Party 
Thomas Friedman

If Only We Had a Real Tea Party

The current one is more like a tea kettle

(Newser) - The Tea Party movement you hear so much about on the news “is what I’d actually call the ‘Tea Kettle movement,’” writes Thomas Friedman of the New York Times , “because all it’s doing is letting off steam.” It has real energy, and...

Okay, Okay, I Praise China Too Much
Okay, Okay, I Praise
China Too Much
Thomas Friedman

Okay, Okay, I Praise China Too Much

Thomas Friedman: But it's because I'm worried about us

(Newser) - China is mocking us. At this year’s World Economic Forum, they aired a cartoon in which a runner representing America fell over panting, while others teased, “He ate too many hamburgers.” And given China’s incredible growth, they have room to tease, says Thomas Friedman in today’...

Wow, Russia Still Wants to Spy on Us! ... Wait, Why?
Wow, Russia Still Wants to Spy on Us! ... Wait, Why?
Thomas Friedman

Wow, Russia Still Wants to Spy on Us! ... Wait, Why?

Spy game flattering, but pointless

(Newser) - At first, Thomas Friedman was flattered. “Someone still wants to spy on us! Just when we were feeling down and out, the Russians show up and tell us it’s still worth briefcases of money to plant people in our think tanks,” he writes in the New York ...

It's Not BP's Fault. We Did This.
 It's Not BP's Fault. 
 We Did This. 
THOMAS FRIEDMAN

It's Not BP's Fault. We Did This.

And it's time to get real about energy independence

(Newser) - It's not like this is the first time, writes Thomas Friedman. We sat through the energy crisis of the '70s, the 9/11 attacks, two Gulf wars, a financial meltdown, and did nothing to end our nation's thirst for foreign oil. But maybe now, as we watch the toxic stain of...

Lefties Cross Over Declarations of Victory in Iraq

Critics say Friedman, others, are whitewashing the war

(Newser) - Scribes all over the place are using Sunday's election in Iraq to declare a victory in the US war there, and that has critics seething that they're just trying to justify their original support for a misguided and costly adventure. Several take aim at Tom Friedman for the column today...

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