'Disney and the decline of America's middle class'
Daniel Currell at The New York Times
America's "middle class has so eroded in size and in purchasing power — and the wealth of our top earners has so exploded — that America's most important market today is its affluent," says Daniel Currell. Only "after the economic shock of the pandemic" did Disney "seem to more fully abandon any pretense of being a middle-class institution." Compared "with the past, a Disney trip is more expensive, to be sure, but perhaps more important, it feels much more expensive."
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'Obesity treatments should be up to doctors, not insurers'
Lisa Jarvis at Bloomberg
As "evidence grows supporting the potential health benefits of obesity drugs like Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly & Co.'s Zepbound, so too — frustratingly — do the barriers to accessing them," says Lisa Jarvis. Decisions are "too often made not by doctors in consultation with their patients, but behind closed doors between drug manufacturers and the middlemen." In the "case of obesity drugs, it's forcing doctors and patients to spend excessive time and resources navigating coverage."
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'Why American presidents love Pakistani strongmen like Asim Munir'
Mohammad Hanif at Time
Pakistan has "all the trappings of democracy, a parliament, a prime minister, judiciary, a noisy press but after putting the country's most popular leader Imran Khan behind bars two years ago, the army calls the shots," says Mohammad Hanif. It's "no surprise that Trump instead of wasting time with civilian figureheads extended his hand of friendship to the man who matters." America has "always had a soft spot for Pakistan's military dictators because they see them as a one window operation."
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'Europe must get real on Russia-Ukraine'
Andrew Day at The American Conservative
The "acceleration of U.S. diplomacy on Russia-Ukraine last month led to greater irritation with the old continent," says Andrew Day. The "Europeans really do seem to be throwing obstacles onto the road to peace." The "Europeans must take a more realistic view of the conflict and of its belligerents' relative military capabilities." If Ukraine "wants to retain a sovereign, albeit truncated, state after the war, then it should embrace the imperfect deal that Trump is trying to secure."
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