- David Cameron's unsentimental EU speech.
- Does the G20 have too much on its plate? Democracy Arsenal continues the debate, responding to this Interpreter post.
- Reviewing Kim Jung Un's first year as North Korean leader: 'The Ice Age in North Korea is coming to an end. Although the pace of change is glacial, its direction is unmistakable: the economic engine is warming up, political ice is melting, social mores are relaxing, and the country is beginning to open up.'
- Monument to globalisation: an entertaining and only half-joking proposal for a giant McDonald's outlet that offers every variety of localised Maccas fair. (H/t Kottke.)
- Speaking of globalisation, here's a profile of Amancio Ortega, founder of the fashion behemoth Zara. (H/t Browser.)
- The big foreign policy speech Shinzo Abe never delivered.
- Stephen Walt:
Restraint is not something the United States does very well, and the recent "pivot" to Asia is probably a harbinger of more to come. Fiscal constraints will put some limits on what the United States can do, but you can bet that the Pentagon sees a coming conflict with China as a major force driver and will push hard for an assertive approach and the preservation of our current "forward presence." Similarly, China's own level of restraint has declined as its relative power has grown, and Deng Xiaoping's strategy of the "peaceful rise" has been gradually giving way to a more assertive nationalism. If China's economic growth rate does not slow significantly, I wouldn't expect a lot of restraint on either side.