we ll begin today s show in europe. voters in france and greece made their anti-austerity feelings known last weekend and stock markets plunged. we ll have a panel on the big picture and what it means for politics in the west. then robert zellik will step down as head of the world bank. his exit interview here on gps. next we go to israel which has anoinlted a king. what in the world does it mean? and, finally, the curious case of the guy who has come to be known as american french fry brother. a cultural lost in translation all the way from china. you won t want to miss it. first, here s my take. everyone is looking at europe these days as economic and political protests mount across the continent. the downward spiral in europe has produced a great debate over the virtues of austerity. the idea that government with large budget deficits must reduce these deficits mainly by cutting spending. if they don t get their spending in order, they won t be able to borrow money and wil
afghanistan this week, it is now increasingly clear that the united states is winding down its massive military commitments to the two wars of the last decade. we are out of iraq and we will soon largely be out of afghanistan. threats remain, but they are being handled using special forces and intelligence. finally, after a decade we seem to be right sizing the threat from terrorist groups. or are we? we leave the battlefields of the greater middle east, and we are firmly committed to the war on terror at home. what do i mean by that? well, look at the expansion of federal bureaucracies to tackle this war. since september 11th, 2001, the u.s. government has created or reconfigured at least 263 organizations to tackle some aspect of the war on terror. 33 new building complexes have been built for the intelligence bureaucracies alone, occupation 17 million square feet. the equivalent of 22 u.s. capitals or three pentagons. the largest bureaucracy after the pentagon and the depa
why lyndon baines johnson could get things done in washington and the lessons for today. and is china changing from a company into a country? i ll explain. first, here s my take. whatever you thought of president obama s speech on afghanistan this week, it is now increasingly clear that the united states is winding down its massive military commitments to the two wars of the last decade. we are out of iraq and we will soon largely be out of afghanistan. osama bin laden is dead, al qaeda is a shadow of its former self. threats remain, but they are being handled using special forces and intelligence. so finally, after a decade, we seem to be right-sizing the threat from terrorist groups. or are we? while we leave the battlefields of the greater middle east, and we are firmly committed to the war on terror at home. what do i mean by that? well, look at the expansion of federal bureaucracies to tackle this war. since september 11th, 2001, the u.s. government has created or re
china have hit a brick wall. why and who will take their place as the next hot emerging markets? then andrew sullivan on why he had to wait almost 20 years to get a green card in the united states. it s a fascinating, troubling story. we re also going to look at the war on drugs in mexico. could it actually be working? first, here s my take. a new poll in the united states shows that americans are still deeply frustrated at the slow pace of the economic recovery. that s understandable. unemployment stays stubbornly high. i was just in europe, and they think america is booming. consider this. the u.s. economy is on track to grow between 2% and 3% this year. in europe, by contrast, half the euro zone economies are going to actually shrink this year and not one major european country will grow over 1%. last thursday christine lagard, the head of the international monetary fund and former french finance minister, said there were dark clouds hanging over the global recovery an
states. it s a fascinating, troubling story. we re also going to look at the war on drugs in mexico. could it actually be working? first, here s my take. a new poll in the united states shows that americans are still deeply frustrated at the slow pace of the economic recovery. that s understandable. unemployment stays stubbornly high. i was just in europe, and they think america is booming. consider this. the u.s. economy is on track to grow between 2% and 3% this year. in europe, by contrast, half the euro zone economies are going to actually shrink this year and not one major european country will grow over 1%. last thursday christine lagard, the head of the international monetary fund and former french finance minister, said there were dark clouds hanging over the global recovery and that the euro zone was at the epicenter of potential risks. borrowing costs for countries like spain, italy, and greece are rising again. what is going on? didn t it look like the europeans ha