"When you're in a school system and people look like you, and they're just as bright as you are, and they're kicking those As out and those 96s and 97s like you, you also know that you're surrounded by people just like yourself who are achievers, " says Waynette Arnum.

CNN: Principal's tough love, high expectations gets kids into college

But mainly it is because picking a fight with an all-important trading partner, and the biggest foreign holder of American public debt, does not seem a bright idea when you are the one who will be blamed for the economic consequences.

ECONOMIST: Lexington: The China-bashing syndrome | The

Chances are good that if you are a successful professional today, you were a pretty bright fifth-grader.

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What you would hear here is eight bright young people who are a generation or two removed from political instability and grinding poverty.

NPR: Chengdu Youths Discuss Life in China

Purveyors of Germanic audio gear bright and shiny, Burmester has announced some new bits of are-you-kidding-me expensive gear for those with money to burn.

ENGADGET: Burmester's 087 surround processor gives ultra-rich a "more affordable" option

On the plus side, the keypad is awesome with large, easy-to-press buttons that even the fattest fingers would have no trouble using, and the screens are bright and reasonably colorful (though the 220 x 176 resolution never lets you forget that you're dealing with a lower-end device here).

ENGADGET: Hands-on with the ZTE C79 Mobile