The war on the young continues: this time in the healthcare sector. The WSJ reports that that while Obamacare remains stubbornly unpopular among the unwashed masses, one of its provisions is well-liked — the ability for young adults under 26 to be included on their parents’ health plans: The results could help President Barack Obama’s […]

Those oil sands must be a bigger draw than committing to anti-global warming measures, and who can blame Canada for that decision? Ottawa would have faced huge fines for failing to keep its emissions levels within the regulations of the Kyoto agreement, which Canada signed in 1997. The BBC has the news: Canada will formally […]

In a landmark case against political corruption, former French president Jacques Chirac was found guilty of embezzlement today. The Washington Post reports: The court said Thursday it had found Chirac guilty in two related cases involving fake jobs created at the RPR party, which he led during his 1977-1995 tenure as Paris mayor. He was […]

Clueless incompetence meets western and third world greed over and over in the fantasy world of do-gooding NGOs; a particularly chilling example comes from a Bloomberg story today about how children in Burkino Faso are beaten and abused to produce “fair trade” cotton and high priced Victoria’s Secret underwear.  After describing the horrific conditions under […]

“Extremely grim and complicated” is how the Chinese describe the global outlook these days; the Indians are warning that they and others face much worse conditions as Europe’s austerity drive kicks in. This (paywall protected) FT story offers a useful overview of the reaction in the two largest developing economies to the disquieting news coming […]

“There’s nothing wrong with China setting up a base in the Seychelles”. This is apparently what the Indian defense minister had to say when asked if China’s plans to build a naval port on the Indian ocean island chain was of concern to India. The Hindustan Times puts it this way: The Defence [sic] Ministry […]

Are Christians, Jews and Muslims arguing about which God to follow or about how to follow a common God in the best way? Fellow TAI blogger Peter Berger is one of the great students of religion in our time and he chews over this important question in his uniquely fair minded, comprehensive but readable and […]

The coastal town of Wukan in the heart of China’s industrial Guangdong province is under siege. Residents have blockaded city streets with tree limbs and armed themselves with homemade weapons. Nearby, police man their own roadblocks. The NYT reports: The conflict in Wukan…escalated on Monday after residents learned that one of the representatives they had […]

It’s a bad day for any tsar when he loses the support of the Russian Orthodox Church, a faith which historically has been kept on a short leash by generations of Russian rulers.  But that is the problem Prime Minister Puting faces this week when numerous members of the clergy and the Church leadership voiced […]

The New York Times published today a lengthy investigation of the Lebanese Canadian Bank and its ties to Hezbollah. More than serving as a hub for Hezbollah’s money-laundering and funding purposes, the bank, investigators say, is part of a web of Hezbollah operatives and Lebanese businessmen from Africa to South America who are integrally involved […]