Thomas Friedman was on The Daily Show last night to promote his book, Hot, Flat, And Crowded 2.0. It is the exact same as the original, except it is in paperback. While on the show, he talks about how he had just had a lunch that day with President Obama and a bunch of other opinion columnists (sea bass, really?). He tried to make a Salahi joke (gets beaten to it) and talks about how at the lunch President Obama was trying to get his ideas out to them beforehand and in a more private venue. Friedman also talks about how Obama never used the word "surge" at the lunch, and how really 30k more troops won't make that much of a difference at what they are trying to do, which is basically to clear, hold, and build. Friedman also says that he really doesn't think that this somewhat small troop increase will work to meet those goals. He also stated that he really doesn't care for fish, in particular sea bass.

According to Thomas Friedman's "Hot, Flat, and Crowded", from the time he was born in 1953, to 2053, the population on Earth will have gone from about 2.63 billion and tripled to about 9 billion, that's just unbelievable.