Some years ago there was a cartoon in The New Yorker showing Zeus in conversation with two other Olympian divinities. The caption read: “They call it monotheism. I call it downsizing.” Also some years ago, a Japanese philosopher (whose name I forgot) wrote that Western civilization has been dominated by two fallacies: monotheism, the belief […]

Olli Rehn, the European Union’s Commissioner for Financial and Monetary Affairs, has a level head and has occupied the hottest seat in Europe during the long financial crisis; Via Meadia therefore takes him seriously.  Reuters reports him saying earlier today that: “We are now entering the critical period of 10 days to complete and conclude […]

According to this report, two Iranians were kayaking off the coast of Thailand when their kayak overturned far from shore.  They were rescued from drowning by two Israelis who saw them struggling in the water and rowed back to shore. When they reached the shore the two, who introduced themselves as Mundar and Ali, hugged […]

Despite the seasonal feasts of free-range turkey (or tofurkey better still) and fair-trade mashed potatoes, Thanksgiving brought bad news for the global green unicorn hunters. Hopes for an international agreement to regulate the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) were dashed by Chinese and Indian refusals to go along with the plan. The Washington Post has the […]

With all the turmoil going on in the Middle East, one area that has been curiously quiet has been the Israeli-Lebanese border. In fact, it has been so quiet there that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) temporarily deactivated its anti-missile early warning system.  Monday night, however, the silence was broken by two Katyusha rockets. The […]

At the beginning of the year, I wrote that the coming changes to our workforce and the demise of the blue social model would strike at the heart of the Black middle class. One year later, it is clear that 2011 was a calamitous year for the Black middle class, and more is to come. […]

Despite the dismal economy and this Administration’s failure to inaugurate the progressive utopia its backers were hoping for, most liberals still support Obama and will vote accordingly. According to the Washington Post: Although African Americans remain the base group most broadly supportive of Obama, liberals and Democrats are very much in his camp as well. […]

Responding to Via Meadia‘s recent essay on Yale professor Harold Bloom’s attack on Mitt Romney, well-known sci-fi author Orson Scott Card had this to say: The Mormon Church has repeatedly made statements that directly contradict Orson Pratt’s statement about laws, as the Mormon Church officially refuses to support or oppose any party or candidate and […]

With pressure mounting on European leaders to do something about the sovereign debt crisis engulfing the continent, we now seem to be approaching an endgame of sorts for the euro drama that has dominated headlines for the past year. As usual, Southern Europe is the epicenter, as bad news from Italy has sent investors scurrying […]

For a disorganized and divided organization like the Arab League, this week’s decision to impose sanctions on Syria is a big move — the first of its kind. The Washington Post reports: The Arab League on Sunday overwhelmingly approved a series of economic sanctions against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, including freezing the […]