Does the acrimonious process of raising the U.S. debt ceiling demonstrate the genius of the American system in action? According to this editorial from Brazil’s O Globo, the deal arrived at by feuding Republicans and Democrats was a lesson for other nations – particularly Brazil – about getting ahead of debt and tax-related issues. The O Globo editorial says in part: There will always be contradictory views on tradeoffs adopted in situations like this. You win some and lose some...

Will the U.S. Supreme Court rule according to its tendency to favor corporate America, or will it strike down recent state law that cracks down on undocumented immigrants in the United States – which would undercut the U.S. Chamber of Commerce? Columnist Arturo Balderas Rodríguez of Mexico’s La Jornada warns that the undocumented can’t count on the Court to protect their ‘fundamental rights.’ For La Jornada, Arturo Balderas Rodríguez writes in part: If the Supreme...

Can it credibly be said that George W. Bush and U.S. neoconservatives are partly responsible for the emergence of Norwegian terrorist and mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik? According to columnist K. Selim of Algeria’s Le Quotidien d’Oran, Western media has been careful not to draw the right conclusions about where a man like Breivik really came from. For Algeria’s Le Quotidien d’Oran, K. Selim writes in part: The profile of the criminal who plunged Norway into mourning really...

Delegitimizing those who win elections is not strictly an American preoccupation. According to this article by Louis Bassets of Spain’s El Pais, the struggle over the debt ceiling that is apparently winding down in Washington has analogues in other venues and countries, and is a trend that is pushing the world toward anarchy. For El Pais, Louis Bassets writes in part: Living on the edge and challenging each one another to a game of the “chicken” has become the widespread sport of ungoverned...

Have U.S. lawmakers lost the plot over the last few weeks? This editorial from Sweden’s Upsala Nya Tidning offers members of the U.S. Congress some practical advice about what to do about the U.S. debt ceiling, and some comparative politics just to remind them that America isn’t the only developed country struggling with debt and social safety net reform. The Upsala Nya Tidning editorial says in part: Now it’s really becoming embarrassing. We’ve been following the circus...

Should President Obama stop allowing himself to be ‘made a fool of’ and present Republicans with a ‘fait accompli’ on the U.S. debt ceiling? For Germany’s Financial Times Deutschland, Matthias Ruch argues that Republicans have only one goal – to defeat Obama – so he implores the president to stop playing the ‘fool’ and resort to the 14th Amendment of the Constitution to end the debt ceiling crisis. For the Financial Times Deutschland, Matthias...

Are people who warn of serious consequences in case of a U.S. default exaggerating? Not according to economist Sergio Sebold, who tells readers of Jornal Do Brazil of the dire consequences which will ensue if America fails to maintain the reliability of the world’s sole ‘zero-risk asset’: U.S. Treasury bonds. For Jornal Do Brazil, economist Sergio Sebold writes in part: Ever since the Declaration of Independence, Americans have issued Treasury bonds – as all countries do....

As members of Congress continue to rumble over raising the U.S. debt ceiling, they might spare a thought to the hundreds of millions if not billions of souls in other nations who are experiencing heartburn over their behavior. This editorial from Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun expresses concern that the debt ceiling brawl is hindering the recovery from Japan’s triple catastrophe last March. The Yomiuri Shimbun editorial says in part: The impending deadline has resulted in a heightened sense...

The normally retiring newspapers of Japan, the country that holds the second largest amount of U.S. debt, are letting out some of there inner tigers in reaction to the prolonged debt ceiling debate. This editorial from Japan’s Mainichi Shimbun implores American lawmakers to act responsibly so as not to plunge the world into another major financial crisis. The Mainichi Shimbun editorial says in part: It is of course natural for politicians in democratic countries to look toward the next election....

What does the emergence of a man like Norway’s mass killer and self-professed Tempar Knight Anders Breivik mean? This editorial from Germany’s Berliner Morgenpost outlines the striking similarities between two men that would appear at first glance to be polar opposites. The editorial from Germany’s Berliner Morgenpost says in part: Although he calls himself a Knight Templar, killing and not the Bible was what mattered to him. The message of Christianity would have hindered him...

As the United States nears the August 2 deadline for raising its astronomical debt ceiling, much of the world is watching with dismay. Frankfurter Rundschau columnist Thomas Spang writes that Tea Party lawmakers are close to achieving what America’s enemies ‘have only dreamed of.’ For Germany’s Frankfurter Rundschau, Thomas Spang writes in part: Not even warnings from the [financial services] industry are taken seriously by the radicals. An inability to pay does not exist....

Is America going the way of ancient Egypt and the Soviet Union? Columnist Avtandil Tsuladze of Russia’s Yezhednevniy Zhurnal writes that America built a pyramid based on a gold-backed dollar. It then proceeded to loot it for all it was worth by making it the global currency of choice, rejecting the gold standard and exploiting its inflated value – until now. For Russian’s Yezhednevniy Zhurnal, columnist Avtandil Tsuladze writes in small part: Having the dollar as the global...

Should China’s people feel pride that the state of California contracted over two dozen giant steel modules for the San Francisco Bay Bridge out to a firm in Shanghai rather than building them in America? In this article from the state-run Beijing Youth Daily, the author, Wang Chuantao, mixes in equal measure national pride over the progress this represents for the “Made in China” label, and self criticism, by acknowledging that Chinese should demand construction standards at...

For a nation recovering from one of the greatest series of cataclysms in recorded history, the victory of the Japan women’s national football team over Team USA in the FIFA World Cup was an invaluable elixir. According to this editorial from Japan’s Mainichi Shimbun, what made Japan proudest was when Japan’s national team circled the stadium with a huge banner thanking the world for its backing during the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear crisis. The Mainichi Shimbun editorial says in...

Do Mexicans have a right to feel intruded upon, now that the United States has admitted allowing high-powered weapons to be sold to representatives of the Mexican drug cartels? Excelsior columnist Jesus Ortega Martinez writes that the recent U.S. sting operation ‘Fast and Furious’ undermines the Mexican state, violates international law and endangers innocent people on both sides of the border. For Mexico’s Excelsior, Jesus Ortega Martinez writes in part: The North American authorities...

Is it time that a law be passed rewarding or punishing politicians based on their performance in office? The idea, suggested by American comedian Andy Borowitz, sounds appealing. Unfortunately, as columnist Patrik Etschmayer of Switzerland’s News laments, who would pass it? For Switzerland’s News, Patrik Etschmayer writes in part: In one of the very amusing articles on his Web site The Borowitz Report, American comedian Andy Borowitz has conjured up the satirical vision of a law under...

Is the last shoe in the global debt crisis about to drop? Folha columnist Patricia Campos Mello writes that with a possible slowdown on the horizon and a municipal debt crisis that may amount to 30 percent of China’s GDP, the ‘bond buyer of last resort’ for both America and struggling E.U. countries may no longer be capable of coming to the rescue. For Folha, Patricia Campos Mello writes in part: It is now emerging that local governments in China are laboring under excessive debts...

Have Republicans gone too far with their absolutest positions on raising the U.S. debt limit and demanding tax cuts without any new revenue? Try as one might, there are precious few people abroad who see the economic world like the Republican Tea Party faction does. Salzburger Nachrichten columnist Thomas Spang writes that U.S. Republicans have already lost their attempt to ‘get Obama into trouble,’ and that the best they can hope for is that ‘Tea Party newcomers’ see reason...

For columnist Fyodor Lukyanov of Russia’s Gazeta, America’s ugly debate about raising the U.S. debt ceiling serves as a disturbing counterpoint to Greece’s flirtation with bankruptcy. According to Lukyanov, it is precisely the sense of fruitless confrontation in Washington that is the greatest source of American discouragement. For Gazeta, Fyodor Lukyanov writes in part: On the day the Greek Parliament voted for draconian budget cuts intended to save the country from bankruptcy,...

It is time to celebrate – that is, unless you are the ‘Great Satan’ or any other devil in human form. Because today is the birthday of the Mahdi, also known as the Muslim Messiah. And according to Iran’s state-run Kayhan, it’s time to prepare ourselves for his return. Kayhan columnist Seyyed Ali Shahbaz informs us of the Mahdi’s imminent arrival – along with Jesus Christ – who it appears will be assisting with the Mahdi’s assignment to create...

Does the U.S. political crisis demonstrate what Beijing has been saying for years: that it is dangerous for U.S. creditors to allow the dollar to continue as the global currency of choice? According to this article by Li Xiangyang for the state-run People’s Daily, until the dollar is dethroned, holders of U.S. sovereign debt ‘must either endure the enormous immediate financial risk brought about by a U.S. default, or hold additional U.S. debt at their peril.’ For the People’s...

Is the United States doing enough to put an end to the drug violence south of the border? According to this editorial from Mexico’s El Universal, while the Obama government has taken tiny steps in the right direction, opposition from the U.S. gun lobby and the legalization of marijuana in 15 U.S. states has hindered progress. The editorial from El Universal says in part: The weapons that kill thousands of people in Mexico every year come, in the great majority of cases, from the United States. The...

Is there any truth to the notion that it would be no big deal if the U.S. Congress failed to lift the debt ceiling? According to Die Zeit columnist Christoph von Marschall, the world is cowering in fear over the fact that there are some U.S. lawmakers who fail to acknowledge the catastrophe of such an unprecedented event. For Die Zeit, Christoph von Marschall writes in part: The clock is ticking relentlessly. If Congress doesn’t act, in three weeks the United States may not be able to pay...

When it comes to the question of the U.S. defaulting on its debt, it seems that the old adage ‘when the U.S. coughs, the world catches cold’ isn’t completely outdated. According to this editorial from Brazil’s O Globo, the fortunes of billions may depend of the vicissitudes of America’s cartoonish yet deadly serious political debate. The O Globo editorial says in part: On the calendar of the global crisis – the most severe since the 1930s, September of 2008 is...

Is the burgeoning rivalry between China and the United States destined to worsen the split between North and South Korea? This editorial from South Korea’s Hankyoreh warns that the territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas may put Korean unification even further out of reach than it already is. The Hankyoreh editorial says in part: The question of whether China will support North Korea militarily if war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula is once again becoming a topic of discussion....