...foreign policy is a matter of costs and benefits, not theology.

The tallest building in the world is now in Dubai.

The Berlin Wall wasn't the only barrier to fall after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Traditional barriers to the flow of money, trade, people and ideas also fell.

Street protests in Saudi Arabia might warm our hearts, but they could easily lead to $250 a barrel oil and a global recession.

Thanks to the Communist Party of China, we now know the path to poverty alleviation is Capitalism.

But as the arms-control scholar Thomas Schelling once noted, two things are very expensive in international life: promises when they succeed and threats when they fail.

I am an American, not by accident of birth but by choice. I voted with my feet and became an American because I love this country and think it is exceptional.

It all looks American because America, the country that invented mass capitalism and consumerism, got there first. the impact of mass capitalism is now universal.

You know, when the cost of capital goes down, when credit becomes cheap, people start taking greater and greater risks.

In a world awash in debt, power shifts to creditors.

Democracy is also a single ideology, and, like all such templates, it has its limits. what works in a legislature might not work in a corporation.

Some stories, you use up. Others use you up.

Interestingly, the more Americans report knowing about Muslim countries, the more likely they are to hold positive views of those countries. (p. 155)

Pain makes me grow. Growing is what I want. Therefore, for me pain is pleasure.

What we need is a machine that will let us see the other guy's point of view.

Training of the mind and body leads to awareness of the soul

I get a lot of letters from people.

Some of the fans look at me as a villain or not a nice guy for some reason. I don't feel like that's the case, personally.

The best theory comes from string theory, which states that dark matter is nothing but a higher vibration of the string. We are, in some sense, the lowest octave of a vibrating string.

I want people to think about the connection between mothers and daughters. I like the idea of continuity of life and generations.

I have an incredibly dark, mysterious, witchy side and another side that's very bubbly and cheerleader-esque.