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More lists! Foreign Policy Magazine provides the top 20 best-sellers on foreign policy of 2005 (as measured by Barnes & Noble).

Follow the hyperlinks for BL Show interviews:

1. The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Subject: walmart
One of the more disturbing aspects of the Wal-Mart health care policy is the fact that the Walton Family has a net work of over $70 billion dollars (according to Forbes). What would Wal-Mart’s health care policy look like if the Walton's were willing to give up $1 billion or $2 billion of those $70b and give it back to their workers? What impact could this amount of money make on the lives of their thousands of employees?
-MM

Subject: the health insurance discussion
Two things that need a bit of reflection:
(1) in the comparison of the usa to europe you cannot think only about comparing health care costs. if you add the higher taxes and the lower rate of corporate welfare in europe, it becomes less clear why american corporations are complaining.
(2) we, the citizens of this country are not CONSUMERS of health care. Health care, and education should not be treated as products. We are not consumers when we call the police or the fire department, nor when people are send to fight wars for us. All of these services (and i might add to it appropriate housing) are a part of what a government should provide to its citizens. And if it costs more money, everybody should pay more taxes, and those who do not need to think about it should pay much more. It is hard to believe that those at the top will spend much less (at least in the us) if they have a bit less. Needless to say taxes money isn't money that is out of the market, it gets back there through slightly different channels.
-OG

One more article on today's agenda : "French Told CIA of Bogus Intelligence" (LA Times) by Tom Hamburger, Peter Wallsten and Bob Drogin in the LA Times from last Sunday. Drogin will be a guest this morning at 10:06.

A new opinion poll for Time, ABC News, the BBC, NHK and Der Spiegel suggests Iraqis are not only optimistic about their future, but strongly favor a democratic system of government. We'll talk more about it this morning.

Got some tidbit to share? Email us!

Judge orders $25k/day fine for transit workers if they strike (NY Sun)

Federal Marshals to patrol public transportation around the nation (Washington Post)

Penatgon plans more fake news for Iraq (USA Today)

US tied for sixth in ranking of countries that jail journos (NY Times)