The starting point for understanding the deterioration in the relationship between the U.S. and Russia lies in Washington rather than Moscow. After 1989, Russia was a defeated power. Despite the fine words and some limited gestures, the Americans have treated it like one. Their policy has been one of encirclement.

Always beware your moment of triumphalism: such emotions are a poor steer on the future.

The world is fortunate - for the time being, at least - that it has an American president in Obama who is prepared to take a conciliatory and concessive attitude towards America's decline and that it has a Chinese leadership which has been extremely cautious about expressing an opinion, let alone flexing its muscles.

Now, I know it's a widespread assumption in the West that as countries modernize, they also westernize. This is an illusion. It's an assumption that modernity is a product simply of competition, markets and technology. It is not. It is also shaped equally by history and culture. China is not like the West, and it will not become like the West.

In football, like in life, you must learn to play within the rules of the game.

I'm JaVale McGee, the basketball player, funny guy, whatever, whatever. But I'm just really passionate about music and I don't want people to look at it like 'Oh he's just doing it to get famous.' I'm already pretty famous as is, so I'm not really trying to do it for the money.

What I like is to bring the best team for the fans, and if we have that then we need to perform and we need success, but that is what I like and what I have had all my life in football.

We play a sport. It's a game. At the end of the day, that's all it is, is a game. It doesn't make you any better or any worse than anybody else. So by winning a game, you're no better. By losing a game, you're no worse. I think by keeping that mentality, it really keeps things in perspective for me to treat everybody the same.