On Thursday, President Obama met with Republicans to discuss a debt deal. We don’t know exactly what was proposed, but news reports before the meeting suggested that Mr. Obama is offering huge spending cuts, possibly including cuts to Social Security and an end to Medicare’s status as a program available in full to all Americans, regardless of income. Obviously, the details matter a lot, but progressives, and Democrats in general, are understandably very worried. Should they be? In a word, yes. Now, this might just be theater: Mr. Obama may be pulling an anti-Corleone, making Republicans an offer they can’t accept. The reports say that the Obama plan also involves significant new revenues, a notion that remains anathema to the Republican base. So the goal may be to paint the G.O.P. into a corner, making Republicans look like intransigent extremists — which they are.

Trying a campaign that really is green, Coca-Cola and World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines have put up a billboard in Manila that they say helps to promote the environment: The 60-by-60-foot sign is made up largely of living plants, which absorb carbon dioxide.The billboard, planted on Manila's busiest street, was created by Momentum Philippines, collaborating with McCann Erickson Philippines and Starcom MediaVest Group. The billboard uses 3,600 pots of Fukien tea plants, which can each absorb an average of 13 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Recycled Coca-Cola bottles were used as pots. The plants, which are potted in a mixture of industrial byproducts and organic fertilizers, are watered by an efficient drip irrigation system called trickle irrigation or micro-irrigation.

Chile's government has promised $4 billion in education reforms in response to mass student protests in the country.President Sebastian Pinera proposed on Tuesday the formation of an education fund that will help increase scholarships and grants for students seeking higher education.The announcement follows protests by tens of thousands of students last week in Chile's capital Santiago. Many students complain of prohibitively expensive tuition and difficult university entrance requirements.

Now that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has publicly conceded that he has cancer — after his regime had accused independent media of being “agents of imperialism” for speculating that his prolonged stay in Cuba was due to a serious illness — here are three scenarios of what may happen in Venezuela. All of them point to turbulent times ahead.Scenario 1: Chávez beats the odds. The Venezuelan president, who has been hospitalized in Havana since June 10, returns to his country to continue his cancer treatment at home and recovers in time to run for the December 2012 elections. Despite his sagging popularity, which according to a recent Keller and Associates poll has dropped to 41 percent, while 53 percent of Venezuelans reject him, Chávez draws public sympathy for his illness. It’s hard for opposition leaders to criticize an ailing Chávez for his disastrous economic management.

It will take more than a problem with antenna reception on the iPhone 4 to affect Apple's brand.This is a company that has faced setbacks before and bounced back to become the world's most valuable brand--worth $57.4 billion, according to Forbes. In a list dominated by tech brands--they made up 30% of the top 50 ranked by Forbes--Apple ( AAPL - news - people ) squeaked by longtime nemesis Microsoft ( MSFT - news - people ), worth $56.6 billion, and Google ( GOOG - news - people ), which came in fifth on the list with a brand value of $39.7 billion. Steve Jobs' creation is among a number of resilient brands, including corporate ones, that have thrived despite business troubles or setbacks. Apple shows just how a brand can survive and thrive even when a parent company stumbles. Apple's sales in the late 1990s plummeted 46% over a four-year stretch while the company lost money seven times over eight quarters. The stock was trading for less than $4 (split-adjusted) in 1997 before company cofounder Steve Jobs, who had been ousted, rejoined Apple.In Pictures: The World's Most Valuable Brands