Opinion - The Christian Science Monitor

Like a marathoner at the finish line, China seems whipped. It struggled two decades to host the Olympics that open in three weeks. It has spent about $50 billion, pumped up its athletes, spiffed up Beijing, and fended off calls for a boycott. Now it may wonder if the effort will be worth it.

Cambridge, Mass. - Dear Friend (if I may still call you that),

London - Who says we have to have a poorer life? Who says that suddenly the tap gets turned off and we all have to sit in darkened rooms eating crusts?

Cambridge, Mass. - For the past 18 months, the country has enjoyed one of the most exciting presidential races in history, and naturally enough we have been asking: Who will win? But with troubles deepening here and abroad, the question increasingly becomes: Can the winner govern effectively?

Los Angeles - If taxpayers were not already frustrated enough by the performance of public schools, their mood was probably not improved by the release of contrasting manifestoes in June by two prominent organizations dedicated to improving education.

Americans are split down the middle on the presidential candidates' withdrawal plans for US troops in Iraq, and the two men are ardently pointing out their differences. By the November election, though, this debate may be largely diminished, if not moot.

Homes in flood zones should rely only on private insuranceRegarding Steffen Schmidt's July 9 Opinion piece, "Better buffer than levees": Buyouts are not the answer. The issues are systemic, caused primarily by the poor planning and misguided goals of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

New York - As newspapers struggle for readership, publishers seeking to expand their market need look no further than their opinion pages to see who is missing: women.

Washington - Environmentalists claim that capping greenhouse-gas emissions and creating a market for emissions trading – a policy prescription called "cap-and-trade" – would reduce carbon dioxide output and with it the risk of global warming.

Four years ago, the US declared the conflict in Darfur to be genocide. Later the UN found "serious" human rights violations by Sudan. Now an international court is ready to finger Sudan's leader for genocide and war crimes. Do such edicts on behalf of justice help stop mass killings by a ruthless government? That's not likely in Darfur.

Doing business in China is beginning to cost real money. Not that Chinese workers are buying second homes or anything like that: Their average wage is still a little short of a dollar an hour. But so many Chinese have now left their villages for the factories that the once bottomless pool of new young workers is beginning to run dry, and the wages of assembly-line employees are rising 10 percent a year.

Washington - Three decades ago, during an earlier energy crisis, Ronald Reagan strode into an Atlanta hotel for a political meeting. As he approached the auditorium, someone asked:

Americans can be good at collective sacrifice. During World War II, they were encouraged to buy war bonds and lived with rationed gas, coal, and foods. During the 1970s oil crisis, they had to slow down to 55 m.p.h. But what about now, when the country faces pricey challenges, from global warming to over-heated healthcare costs?

Joint Base Balad, Iraq - Imagine standing on the sidelines of a summer league lacrosse match in an upper-middle-class suburb somewhere in the Northeast, chatting with parents about upcoming vacation plans, their children's struggles finding summer jobs, and which teachers to avoid. Want to bring the conversation to an awkward silence? Just ask if any of their teens have considered serving in the military.

PARIS - A few days before we flew to Barcelona last month to attend a wedding, international headlines filled with news that truckers had blocked roadways leading to Spain's major cities, leaving some store shelves bare.

Americans are little aware of how much they rely on federal assistance to help pay for a home. No longer. The mortgage crisis has finally caught up with two government-backed giants in home finance. Once the crisis passes, it may be time to further privatize the American Dream.

Thomaston, Maine - I would like to thank the man who helped me during my recent flight from Maine to Orlando.

Sarasota, Fla. - Sir John Templeton was many things to many people.

Think of Turkey and the lively Grand Bazaar of Istanbul comes to mind, or the massive dome of Hagia Sophia. But its political fame is as the world's longest-lived democracy in a Muslim country – an example that Islam and civil liberties can coexist. Now that democracy faces a severe test.

Brooklyn, N.Y. - Stories of online cruelty are easy to come by these days.

With continuous cross-border attacks from Pakistan fueling a resilient insurgency, Afghan President Hamid Karzai finally snapped. If Islamabad did not move more forcefully against Islamic militants in the country's tribal region, he declared recently, Afghan forces would enter Pakistan and do it themselves.

The world's rich nations agreed on a "vision" Tuesday to cut carbon emissions by half within 42 years. But half of what? Some cite 1990 as the start year. Others say from now. Either way, the world need not wait to see the kind of dramatic change that a sky-cleaning vision can bring. An example started this week.

Seattle - This week more than $2.3 million in government disaster assistance grants was approved for Illinois residents affected by the flooding. Rather than continue spending massive amounts of government money on haphazard cleanup efforts after disasters that hit the Midwest and Louisiana, let's take some realistic measures.

New York - As the crisis in Zimbabwe deepens, the international community – and particularly African leaders – can play a significant role in saving the important Southern African country from political and economic implosion.

Ongoing drought and thickening underbrush are lengthening California's wildfire season. That justifies the governor's call for more money to fight the flames, but like the mega-fires already burning on the coast, the challenge is so much bigger than cash for fire engines.

Boston - Chinese citizens have generally been a submissive people. What is extraordinary is that tens of thousands of protests are taking place in China every year.

While the CIA and the Pentagon search in vain for Osama bin Laden in the mountains of Pakistan, an Al Qaeda affiliate has been quietly building up terrorist bases in the jungles of Bangladesh under the protective aegis of a new military regime in Dhaka allied with Islamist forces.

Last week, Barack Obama came out in favor of federal spending for faith-based social work – not the Sunday bean-pot suppers but the soup-kitchen kind that helps the disadvantaged. He would improve on what Presidents Clinton and Bush started, but also add this troubling detail: He wants such taxpayer-funded charities to lobby Congress.