From Germany’s Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung , on the blackout (from 8/16): “With this dark day from New York, the United States has made a fool of itself. A country that claims the right to wage global campaigns for democracy and prosperity cannot allow its domestic infrastructure to become run-down. Such economic backwardness destroys its own credibility. It is in crass contrast to the self-confident, partly arrogant attitude of U.S. politicians and military officials. That is why it should become more difficult for the United States in the future to maintain or even increase its influence in the Arab region, for instance. Those who sit in the dark at home cannot be an illuminating example for others, irrespective of whether they are sabre-rattling at the same time.”