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Frank Bruni in The New York Times on gay marriage gone corporate Starbucks recently endorsed same-sex marriage legislation in its home state of Washington, and the company has endured criticism from cultural conservatives as a result. "I mention Starbucks not so much to rally to its defense as to make a point about same-sex marriage ... It's the future. And the response of corporate behemoths based in the state of Washington reflects that," Bruni writes. Companies like Microsoft and Amazon are embracing it because demographics show overwhelming support among young people, whose lifetime loyalty corporations typically target. Politicians, too, "seem to read the trend lines and tea leaves," says Bruni. He closes with the anecdote of a Washington state representative, Betty Sue Morris, who voted against gay marriage in 1996 later to discover her daughter was gay. "Morris told me: 'Whenever someone opposes this, I always counsel: you never know. You never know when it will be your child or your grandchild. And you will eat your words.'"
James Dorsey in Bloomberg View on China's Syria veto China recently joined Russia to veto a condemnation of the Syrian regime at the U.N. Security Council. "Over the past year, a series of incidents in the region have tested China's non-interference policy, but without serious damage to the country's image. With China's veto of the UN resolution on Syria, Chinese determination to cling to a principle rooted in 19th-century diplomacy seems set to backfire," argues Dorsey. China's veto doesn't allow it to stay neutral, but puts it in Syria's corner, and threatens to "roil" other Arab states on whom China depends for oil. Conflicts and interests in the Sudan, Pakistan, Yemen, and elsewhere will eventually lead to conflict and force China to take stronger positions. "China's status as an emerging economic superpower demands that it become a more muscular global actor to pursue its interests."