A new Pew survey paints a grim picture of U.S.-Pakistani relations. According to Pew’s numbers: A 74%-majority of Pakistanis see the U.S. as an enemy, and most think U.S.-Pakistani relations have failed to improve over the last few years. Moreover, for a growing number of Pakistanis, enhancing the relationship between the two countries is not […]

State and local pensions in the US are currently in the middle of their gravest yet, but many people — deceived in many cases by union leaders and politicians trying to keep the scam operating for just a little while longer — continue to deny that there is even a crisis. Alarmingly, this includes a […]

As the banana war between the Philippines and China dies down, Max Boot has some strong words for the Obama administration’s handling of the incident. He criticizes the U.S. decision to remain neutral between a regional friend and America’s chief competitor: The Chinese leadership must figure they have a better chance to assert their claim […]

On Tuesday Via Meadia blogged about a decision by a court in Cologne that ruled “the body of the child is irreparably and permanently changed by a circumcision.” Our take was that by banning what for thousands of years has been seen as a core element of Jewish identity, law and tradition, the court was […]

European leaders have gotten a bad rap over the past few years for their timid and inept handling of the largest crisis Europe has faced in a generation. Unfortunately, things are likely to get worse before they get better.Europe has an immensely confusing and byzantine system of chairmen and secretaries, capped off by its rotating […]

At a time when so many establishment paragons have failed, it’s reassuring that we still have people like Bob Zoellick serving this country. From U.S. Trade Representative to Deputy Secretary of State to head of the World Bank, Zoellick’s talent and determination have proved invaluable, and we at Via Meadia are pleased to see that […]

Bit by bit, the international community is learning just how unpleasant the Libyan afterparty can be. It’s not just that ex-Qaddafi mercenaries and terrorists have taken over a huge part of Mali. Other Sahel countries are fragile too, and the U.S. announced that it believes that Africa’s three most visible Islamist terror groups in Africa—Al […]

One of the byproducts of China’s rapid modernization is its increasing dependence on oil from the Middle East. China now gets about half of its oil from the Persian Gulf countries, and its never-ending thirst for crude has profound geopolitical ramifications.Keith Johnson of the Wall Street Journal has a neat summary highlighting the importance of […]

If you want to understand why liberalism doesn’t work very well anymore, travel up the Hudson River a few miles from New York.Mayor Bloomberg’s ban on large sodas isn’t the only thing inciting New Yorkers this week. Controversy is heating up over a bridge that maybe never should have been built.The longstanding plan to rebuild […]

To anyone struggling to make sense of the euro crisis, the FT has some helpful advice—watch Italy: Although Italy does not have Spain’s banks, Greece’s economy, or Ireland’s deficits, it is easy to forget how close to the edge Rome reached last summer under the erratic leadership of Silvio Berlusconi. It may not be an […]