Anonymous | Economist | 10 August 2012 Imagine a secret memorandum drafted by Merkel's advisers with a Plan B for eurozone. One that contemplates the effects of a Greek exit, even ramifications of a wider disbanding of currency in S Europe. Here's what it might look like Comments Hans-Jürgen Schlamp | Spiegel | 9 August 2012 It might seem wholly incredible to anyone outside Italy, but Silvio Berlusconi the "macho clown" of Italian politics could be on course for a comeback. "I'm climbing back into the ring. Without me, they will sink" Comments Michael Wood | Nation | 7 August 2012 On the new Complete Poems of Philip Larkin. His best work "concerns something like the unpronounceable loss of what we were never going to have, or a complicated refusal of what was not quite on offer" Comments Marc Lynch | Foreign Policy | 8 August 2012 This summer has not been kind to the Arab uprisings, says Marc Lynch in this excellent sit-rep. But missteps were inevitable. This is only the beginning of a generational change in Arab politics. Take the long view Comments Max Fisher | Atlantic | 9 August 2012 Centuries before the Islamic Republic or even Islam, Persian athletes fused spirituality and strength training in a practice called Varzesh-e-Bastani. Its legacy may still persist in Iran's success in wrestling and weightlifting Comments Keith Ridgway | New Yorker | 8 August 2012 Charming short blogpost on writing, and the wonder of fiction. "Fiction gives us everything. It gives us our memories, our understanding, our insight, our lives. We use it to invent ourselves and others" Comments | 
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