China, for most of the past 2,000 years, has been a major world power, says Malcolm Rifkind. Indeed, for most of that time France, Britain or even Rome can be seen as modest empires in comparison. We often forget that, because the past 150 years of China's history were the exception, with internal collapse, political impotence and international humiliation. That is now in the past and, whatever the problems, it is healthy that China is now taking its rightful place. The stakes are high, but the Chinese are cautious and thoughtful people. Americans, and the rest of us, can remain watchful but relaxed, even as the dragon awakes.     Malcolm Rifkind Daily Telegraph
Full article: China is a power to be watched, but not feared
Recession could kickstart the old powers and stifle the emerging ones
Europe and US must unite or be history's losers

I just can't get interested in these Olympics, admits Matthew Parris. Nor am I hearing others talking much about them. There's plenty in the media, of course, particularly about the politics, China, human rights, drug tests, smog, etc; but about the games themselves, the contestants, the big contests - very little in the street, pub or bus. I sense a withdrawing tide of public interest in the whole institution, and in the events as events. The Olympics are choking themselves: choking themselves with puffed-upness and officialdom; choking themselves with money, with ceremony and committee, and with grandstanding and the trappings of state. Choking themselves with pride. Matthew Parris The Times
Full article: Beijing: G8 with Lycra
Olympics in pictures
Olympics: latest news

Julie Burchill has accused us greens of being posh hypocrites, says George Monbiot. In fact, environmentalism is the most politically diverse movement in history. I remember sitting in a campaign meeting during the Newbury bypass protests and marvelling at the weirdness of our coalition. In the front row sat the local squirearchy: brigadiers in tweeds and enormous moustaches, titled women in twin sets and headscarves. At the back sat the scuzziest collection of grunge-skunks I have ever laid eyes on. Sure, we are hypocrites. Every one of us, almost by definition. Hypocrisy is the gap between your aspirations and your actions. Greens have high aspirations – they want to live more ethically – and they will always fall short. But the alternative to hypocrisy isn't moral purity (no one manages that), but cynicism. Give me hypocrisy any day.  George Monbiot The Guardian
Full article: I'd rather be a hypocrite than a cynic like Julie Burchill
Are we lying about our concern for the environment?

The credit crunch is the latest in a long line of financial bubbles and bursts that have marked, and marred, the industry ever since speculators went mad in the craze for tulips in the early 18th century, says Adrian Hamilton. But what makes this crisis different from those bubbles and banking crises we have had in the past is that this has been a crisis in the capital markets themselves and the confidence in the instruments traded in them. With the advantage of hindsight, there will be a great host of new regulations introduced nationally and internationally to improve oversight of the banks. The deeper question remains: does this financial tempest herald an end to a whole system of finance or merely its correction?   Adrian Hamilton The Independent
Full article: It's not all the fault of the banks
Edward Luttwak: America and Europe can rise from the ashes