Ray Takeyh | National Interest | 23 August 2012 China’s foreign policy isn’t driven by Mao’s ideology any longer; it's become pragmatic. As most revolutionary regimes do, given time. But Iran’s leadership still clings to policies derived from Khomeini’s ideological vision. Why? Comments Simon Wren-Lewis | Social Europe Journal | 23 August 2012 Oxford economics professor attacks logic of eurozone's austerity programme, and the belief that macroeconomic difficulties are due to bad government decisions rather than those of the private sector. Interesting throughout Comments Ferris Jabr | Scientific American | 22 August 2012 Non-human animals may be conscious. But not self-aware. "To be conscious is to think; to be self-aware is to realize that you are a thinking being and to think about your thoughts." Here's what research shows about self-awareness Comments Charles Crawford | Telegraph | 23 August 2012 "It’s not as easy as you might think to convey a message to another government accurately. Will your messenger convey the right message and only that message? Do you want your message to be precise, or ambiguous, or a bit of both?" Comments Martha Grover | Billfold | 24 August 2012 Wonderful recollections of working as a cheesemonger. "In the customer service world, in the world of giving the most of yourself away on a daily basis, there’s this paradox where in the end, you really give people the least" Comments John Jeremiah Sullivan | NYT | 23 August 2012 In-depth profile of the Williams sisters ahead of another challenge for the US Open. After a Wimbledon win for Serena and Olympic gold medals for both, they are very much back. Even if the US may not be their favoured hunting ground Comments | 
