Fareed Zakaria says that getting to liberal democracy requires that societies travel through a “narrow corridor,” one that allows the state to build power while allowing for the growth of a civil society that asserts itself and fights for rights. Read More at The Washington Post
Iran’s Opposition in Exile Wants Biden to Condemn Regime
Next week, Ebrahim Raisi, a hardliner who is ideologically and personally close to Iran's 82 year-old supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, will be inaugurated as Iran's president. This power transition comes as the country experiences a fresh wave of protests that started in Iran's southwest over water shortages earlier this month and...
Pfizer Data Suggest Third Dose of Covid-19 Vaccine ‘Strongly’ Boosts Protection Against Delta Variant
New data says that a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech C0VID-19 vaccine can "strongly" boost protection against the Delta variant - beyond the protection afforded by the standard two doses. Read More at CNN
Israel Wants to Have Its Ice Cream and Cybersecurity Too
July was a heavy month for the Israeli government dealing with a cybersecurity scandal along with an announcement from Ben & Jerry's withdrawing its ice cream from occupied Palestinian territories. Read More at The New York Times
A Tale of Two Recoveries
The Labor Department’s state jobs report for June shows an increasing divergence in economic recovery between states run by Republicans and Democrats, with Democratic states boasting significantly higher unemployment and slower job growth. Read More at The Wall Street Journal
Ian Bremmer: Make the COVID Vaccine Mandatory
Political scientist Ian Bremmer says that political division and disinformation are costing lives and that making vaccine uptake a requirement would prevent hundred of thousands of preventable deaths. Read More at GZERO
World’s 20 Best Airlines Are Named by Air Safety Website
This year's judging criteria for the “Top Airlines in the World” will, for the first time, include how airlines responded to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Read More at CNBC
Likely California Voters Now Almost Evenly Split on Newsom Recall, Poll Finds
A new poll shows that voter turnout will be pivotal in September's recall election as Californians are almost evenly divided over whether or not to recall Governor Gavin Newsom. Read More at Los Angeles Times
‘Upzoning’ in My Backyard? California Bill Won’t Turbocharge Home Building, Study Says
Despite Senate Bill 9 allowing for denser home building in single-family zones which would likely increase the state’s housing supply, a new report shows that the upzoning still probably won’t result in mass redevelopment. Read More at Los Angeles Times
Why Covid-19 Vaccines Work Well Against Delta Variant
COVID-19 vaccines designed to target the earlier version of the virus are holding up well against the Delta variant but researchers also indicate that people need both doses of the shots or a booster for the one-dose vaccines to provide full protection. Read More at The Wall Street Journal