"Marlin saved itself by facing a truth that few threatened manufacturers can stomach: It was failing because it had gotten everything wrong. It had the wrong customers; it had the wrong products; it had the wrong prices. Greenblatt realized--just in time--that even wire baskets could be innovative. The simplicity of Marlin's technology is not what we typically associate with innovation--there's no algorithm, no microchip, no touch screen. Instead, Marlin learned how its products could help its customers, providing the quiet innovation that can give a fellow U.S. factory a critical edge and help keep jobs in the United States."

"Many analysts believe that the financial system represents a major vulnerability for China's economic development, whereas others, equally respected, think that the financial system is adapting effectively to China's more developed status and will continue to provide the necessary fuel for the rest of the economy."

"To the extent that this new lending is based on Africa's strengthening economic fundamentals, the recent spate of sovereign-bond issues is a welcome sign. But here, as elsewhere, the record of private-sector credit assessments should leave one wary. So, are shortsighted financial markets, working with shortsighted governments, laying the groundwork for the world's next debt crisis?"

"The hard edges of Syria's frontlines—dogmatic, revolutionary, Islamist or pure murderously sectarian—almost melt away outside the oilfields. New lines emerge pitting tribesmen against battalions, Islamists against everyone else, and creating sometimes surreal lines of engagement."

"Austerity has failed. It turned a nascent recovery into stagnation. That imposes huge and unnecessary costs, not just in the short run, but also in the long term: the costs of investments unmade, of businesses not started, of skills atrophied, and of hopes destroyed."

Obama is right to invest in Europe. He is right to devote special attention to Germany. But he should not expect any immediate return on his investment.

Beijing's push for rapid urbanization aims to promote growth, but the socioeconomic effects remain unclear.

Which style of Islam will prevail in Tunisia?

"To capitalize on the twin desires of Asian countries for closer ties with each other and for greater American presence, the United States must double down on its commitment to rebalance attention and resources to Asia."

"[The] country's defense experts and policy makers are now addressing systemic reform and modernization issues, and are talking about breaking down barriers to cooperation with civilian industry and market-driven management."

To capitalize on the twin desires of Asian countries for closer ties with each other and for greater American presence, the United States must double down on its commitment to rebalance attention and resources to Asia

"Yet, while Australia, Japan and Southeast Asian nations in particular may quietly welcome strengthened U.S. defense and diplomatic engagement, there are concurrent hopes that the U.S. will prioritize greater business, cultural and educational engagement as part of its "pivot". Such ventures would add substance to the official rhetoric that an economic "pivot" is also underway."

"[U.S.] secrecy policy is founded on a set of principles so broadly conceived that they do not provide unequivocal guidance to government officials who are responsible for deciding whether or not to classify particular topics."

Never solely a military organization in the traditional sense, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)—also known as the Pasdaran (Persian for "guards")—has seen a significant expansion and diversification of its domestic roles since the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005.

This report discusses the history of constitutional interpretations and legislative responses relevant to the collection of private information for criminal investigation, foreign intelligence gathering, and national security purposes. Next, it summarizes the relevant statutory frameworks and changes made by the USA PATRIOT Act and subsequent measures

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) provides a statutory framework by which government agencies may, when gathering foreign intelligence information, obtain authorization to conduct wiretapping or physical searches, utilize pen registers and trap and trace devices, or access specified business records and other tangible things.

The NSC staff has emerged as a major factor in the formulation (and at times in the implementation) of national security policy. Similarly, the head of the NSC staff, the National Security Adviser, has played important, and occasionally highly public, roles in policymaking. This report traces the evolution of the NSC from its creation to the present

"True, Turkey's annual GDP growth has averaged 5% over the last decade of rule by Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AKP). But this should not lead anyone to conclude that Turkey is a development success story. If we have learned anything from the extensive research on growth and development that now exists, the key to sustainable progress lies in a country's institutional design."

"Former and current US officials describe a Chinese enterprise that goes well beyond conventional espionage – a deliberate, co-ordinated and well-resourced strategy to steal the intellectual property of American companies that has been going on for years and is gathering pace."