Council on Foreign Relations

Australian

• Affecting Asia: Foreign Editor Greg Sheridan considers the effect of the global crisis on Asia and says forecasting the "end of American empire" will be the dominant cliche in international relations for some time, but as analysis it doesn't stand up.

Boston Globe

• Syrian Diplomacy: In an editorial, the paper comments on the establishment for the first time of diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria, and says the U.S. too has an opportunity to revive diplomacy with Syria - and needs to make the most of it.

Christian Science Monitor

• Black Voters: Political Analyst Earl Ofari Hutchinson considers why some African Americans may not vote for Barack Obama, and points out that blacks are as varied and diverse in their social and political views as any other demographic, and that includes embracing conservative social and religious positions.

Daily Telegraph

• Cut Rates: In an editorial, the paper considers Britain's economic plight and calls for further and urgent cuts in interest rates. Although inflation is at 5.2 per cent and well above the Government's 2 per cent target, the prospects at the moment are deflationary, not inflationary, it says.

Dawn (Pakistan)

• China Visit: In an editorial, the paper says that with the West preoccupied with the financial meltdown and Pakistan's Middle East allies balking at providing an emergency economic lifeline, President Zardari's state visit to China has assumed added significance.

Daily Times (Pakistan)

• Zardari In China: In an editorial the paper says without a proper understanding of how China manages its linkages with the world economy it would be unrealistic to pin large hopes to President Zardari's visit.

Financial Times

• Bush's Response: John Gapper comments on President Bush's response to the financial meltdown. He says Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson were forced to accept that they were either with European governments or the markets would be against them.
• Terrorist Threat: Joseph Nye of Harvard University considers the effect that the threat of a major terrorist incident might have on the United States presidential election, recalling a video tape issued by Osama bin Laden shortly before voting day in 2004.
• Ruling Afghanistan: Rodric Braithwaite, a former British ambassador to Moscow, says we will have to settle for a new bottom line in Afghanistan: a genuinely Afghan regime under a strong ruler who can impose himself on provincial governors, warlords, and assorted villains.

Guardian

• Saving The Banks: Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel economics laureate, writes of Henry Paulson's bank bailout plan that the fact that U.S. taxpayers might get trashed in the process is simply part of the collateral damage that has been a hallmark of the Bush administration.
• Canada Votes: In an editorial, the paper comments on Tuesday's general election in Canada. As the first election to take place in a developed nation since the credit crunch went ballistic, any clues as to how voters react under such volatile conditions were worth watching for, it says.

Independent (UK)

• European Unity: In an editorial, the paper says that as a result of the financial crisis, Europe could be closer to a common economic policy than it has ever been and, as the British involvement shows, one that is not restricted to the euro-zone.

Japan Times

• Somali Piracy: In an editorial, the paper examines the issue of piracy off the coast of Somalia, and says no matter what the purpose of hijacking, it has focused international attention on a situation that cannot continue.

Jerusalem Post

• McCain-Biden Ticket: Charley Levine, a media relations expert, writes that in a perfect world, a McCain-Biden ticket would have been the very best conceivable, both for Israel and America. They have, he says, wisdom, vision and all the right values and gut instincts - each of them.

Jordan Times

• Diplomatic Breakthrough: In an editorial, the paper says the news that Syria and Lebanon have established diplomatic ties is welcome and long overdue.

Middle East Times

• Afghan Goals: In an editorial, the paper asks what the United States wants to achieve in Afghanistan:  Is it to deny bases to al-Qaeda from which it could plan attacks against the United States? Or is it to defeat the Taliban, stand the central government on its feet, and develop the economy?

New York Times

• McCain's Answer: In an editorial, the paper says Wednesday night's debate was another chance for John McCain to prove that he is ready to lead this country out of its deep economic crisis. But, it says, he had one answer to almost every economic question: cut taxes and government spending.
• Persuading Mugabe: In a further editorial, the Times says it took a lot of international pressure to force President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe to accept a power-sharing deal with Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader; it will take a lot more to force Mugabe to respect it.

Sydney Morning Herald

• Mbeki's Credentials: In an editorial the paper expresses scepticism about Thabo Mbeki's credentials as a mediator in Zimbabwe. Having begun to reverse Mbeki's perverse policies in domestic affairs, South Africa's new government should go further and replace him with a more credible envoy in Zimbabwe, it says.

Times of London

• Generous Paulson: Economics commentator Anatole Kaletsky writes that Henry Paulson has been far too generous to bank shareholders. As a result, he says, there must be a serious risk that his sweetheart deals with the banking industry will unravel if the Democrats win the White House and both Houses of Congress on November 4.
• Bradley Effect: Columnist Ben Macintyre invokes the Bradley Effect - in which voters misrepresent their intentions to pollsters - and says that while Barack Obama seems to be cruising home, the unspoken legacy of racism could still scupper him.

Wall Street Journal

• Canadian Conservatives: In an editorial on the victory in the Canadian general election by the incumbent Conservative Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, the paper points out that in a time of great economic uncertainty, Canadians by a large margin went with the tax cutter over the tax raiser.
• Obama And McCain: Karl Rove, President Bush's former senior adviser, writes that Barack Obama still hasn't closed the sale, but adds that the past month has taken an enormous toll on the McCain campaign.
• Obama Abroad: Danielle Pletka of the American Enterprise Institute expresses concern that Barack Obama might be another "say anything" president. Such a president moves swiftly from state to state and country to country, adapting his talking points for the audience at hand, she writes; consistency is not his goal; he aims to satisfy his listeners.

Washington Post

• Final Debate: In an editorial on the last presidential debate, the paper says viewers could be forgiven if they felt like jurors in an interminable trial.
• Damaged McCain: Op-ed Columnist E.J. Dionne says that it's hard to see that John McCain said anything in the debate to repair the damage that's been done to his campaign.
• Free Markets: Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital, makes the case for free markets. So far, the economic disaster exacerbated by government policies is creating opportunities for further government interference, which will lead to bigger catastrophes, he writes.

Washington Times

• Anti-Arab Bigotry: Edward Ayoob, a lobbyist, says he was right to fear that this presidential campaign was going to result in anti-Arab American bigotry because Barack Obama's middle name is Hussein.