Looking for answers: five of the best in current commentary

1. Europe's troubled economies, especially Greece, can take a lesson from Ireland

From The Times: "In the great Greek drama, there are few heroes, but any prize should go to Dublin. The Republic of Ireland has done a lot to get out of its own troubles, which were similar to those of Greece -- worse, in a way, given that it has already had to rescue its banks."

2. How technology is giving power to the masses against the elites

From the Beirut Star: "The heroine of the United States’ Tea Party movement, Sarah Palin, is as much a creature of twittering and the vast new blogosphere as she is of television and radio -- perhaps more so. Indeed, the shift of public debate from the mainstream press to the Internet has helped to break down the authority of traditional elites: newspaper editors, political columnists, academics, politicians."

3. What American Muslims can do to counter Islamic terrorists

From the Miami Herald: "The Department of Homeland Security should initiate a community partnership with groups and provide training and education to Muslim community leaders and other groups who join in. Though Muslims have no monopoly on violence, it is their challenge to rid their community of this menace -- to claim that no Muslim will harm his country and that we will protect the homeland, America."

4. Google, having hurt newspapers, now tries to help them

From The Atlantic: "If news organizations stop producing great journalism, says one Google executive, the search engine will no longer have interesting content to link to.... [The] goal is a reinvented business model to sustain professional news-gathering."

5. Baltimore school chief on how to reduce bullying

From the Baltimore Sun: "The number of suspensions in city schools is down 33 percent since 2007 and is expected to decline further this year. This trend reflects our clear approach to discipline: Incidents of violence need to lead to suspension; incidents that are not violent need a range of responses that should keep the children in school."