Word: specializer
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...maybe not. In the past few weeks, another rival to the dollar - created in 1969 but dormant for most of the time since - has made a spectacular re-entry onto the world scene. It goes by the ungainly name of special drawing right (SDR), and it is the currency not of some foreign rival but of the Washington-based and traditionally U.S.-dominated International Monetary Fund (IMF). It isn't even really its own currency, since it derives its value from a "basket" that contains dollars, euros, yen and pounds. (See 25 people to blame for the financial crisis...
...dollar's status as global reserve currency. But borrowing trillions isn't really a ticket to long-run prosperity. In fact, the current economic crisis may have been spawned by huge imbalances in global trade and capital flows that are in part the product of the dollar's special status. Global demand for dollars supplanted demand for U.S. products and services, argues Columbia University economist and longtime SDR fan Joseph Stiglitz, resulting in trade deficits, the decline of U.S. manufacturing - and years of supereasy mortgage credit. (Read "Is the Almighty Dollar Doomed...
...sure this is such a bad thing. There's a reason we tell our kids they're special and can do anything they want. A monolithic culture that puts a ceiling on personal expectations isn't very interesting. One that celebrates differences and self-expression tolerates not only diversity but also the opportunity for individual greatness. Sure, that means some selfishness and entitlement and a few Tila Tequilas, but it also means greater freedom. And it's a whole lot more entertaining. By the end of the year, I'm hoping...
...tried to find a program in Mexico that would work for him. There was a trip to Puerto Vallarta for dolphin therapy, which yielded little. They went to Morelia - the hometown of Margarito's wife - and found that the public schools would offer him only one hour of special education every three days, compared with 24 hours each week in St. Helens. All of which they could handle in the short term if it meant waiting out the recession in Mexico and returning to the U.S. when jobs were available again...
Obama has spoken of peeling away "moderate" Taliban members from extremists and reintegrating them into society. The easiest way to do that would be to provide opportunities and jobs. "It's not just about winning hearts and minds," says Ettore Francesco Sequi, the European Union's special representative to Afghanistan. "We also have to fill stomachs. That's the way we - and the Afghan government - will succeed...