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No one ever really 'learns' from history, because choices never present themselves in exactly the same way, and because you can always choose similarities and differences to fit current needs.

James Fallows

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James Fallows
Age: 75
Born: 1949
Born: August 2
Aircraft Pilot
Journalist
Speechwriter
Writer
Philadelphia
Pennsylvania
James Mackenzie Fallows
Ever
Currents
Needs
Fit
Really
Exactly
Way
Choose
Always
Present
Similarities
Never
Differences
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History
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More quotes by James Fallows

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For the record, I am sticking with my claim that the simultaneous degradation of air quality, water quality, water supply, food safety, soil quality, and other environment-related variables is the main challenge to China's continued development.
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It seems to be the case that for the people who actually are all in with Donald Trump - which is who knows: 35, 38, 40 per cent of the electorate - apparently nothing can dissuade them.
James Fallows
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A basic rule of life for reporters is that you should spend your time talking with and learning about people who are not sending you press releases, rather than those who are.
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Environmental disaster is the gravest threat to China's continued development. That's according to me, but it is not some wacko view.
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The air that people breathe in many Chinese cities has become dangerously polluted. Their food supply is subject to constant contamination scandals. Now it appears that not merely stagnant ponds but the water people draw from deep underground is already tainted.
James Fallows
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Racial prejudice boils down to the deeply anti-American message that some people are born to fail.
James Fallows
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Make the important interesting.
James Fallows
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Up or out greatly magnified the careerist emphasis on holding a position rather than doing a job.
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The whole point of constitutional democracy is the peaceful transfer of power of Al Gore passing the baton to George W. Bush, even though that election was very suspiciously called.
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I don't think anybody who is already with Donald Trump is going to be peeled off by his not knowing about NATO or why Japan does not have nuclear weapons, or things of that sort.
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The pandering and ignorance-across-party-lines represented by the John McCain-Hillary Clinton united front for a temporary reduction in the gasoline tax should make Americans hold their heads in their hands and moan [...] Please. This is embarrassing. It makes me long for the good old days of debating about flag pins on the lapel.
James Fallows
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In a time of transition for journalism all around the world, it's reassuring to know that some of the old ways endure.
James Fallows
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The demise of Google Reader, if logical, is a reminder of how far we've come from the cuddly old 'I'm Feeling Lucky' Google days, in which there was a foreseeably-astonishing delight in the way Google's evolving design tricks anticipated what users would like.
James Fallows
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Chinese emissions are a problem not just for its own people but also for the world. It has now overtaken the U.S. as the biggest carbon emitter most of the coal that is burned anywhere on Earth is burned in China.
James Fallows
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I have relentlessly beat the drum for Google's 'two-step' authentication systems for Gmail and other services, which radically reduce the likelihood that your account can be hacked from afar.
James Fallows
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I am about as pro-Google a person as you're going to find in the media. I've had friends at all levels of the company since its founding, and still do now.
James Fallows
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The hoary joke in the literary world, based on 'Dreams From My Father,' was that if things had worked out differently for Barack Obama, he could have made it as a writer.
James Fallows
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The amazing thing about Trump is that he is so completely predictable. Hillary Clinton knows that if she teases him about either his wealth, his taxes, the women who are coming after him or his preposterous claims of being against the Iraq war, he cannot resist.
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A rigid America is also weak and vulnerable, because it sacrifices its unique strength: the energy of people who think they can always make something new of their lives.
James Fallows
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There's no longer any surprise in noting that China has grave environmental problems.
James Fallows