Machiavelli should have added a chapter to his book on advice to princes about vacations: Don’t go on safari during a national economic breakdown. If you do, don’t break your hip so you have to be medivaced, from southern Africa back to Europe, in a private jet.Such is the situation for the King of Spain. A […]

Following a one-day meting between Iran and a group of world powers in Istanbul on Saturday, some diplomats are cautiously optimistic that they’re making progress. Iran’s nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jaleeli, met with representatives of the six governments—the U.S., UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany—for the first time in more than a year, and, according to the […]

Aspiring young lawyers may want to read a new piece in the Wall Street Journal before sending in those law school applications. The Journal reports that, while the legal profession as a whole is beginning to see major price increases after the lean years of the recession, these higher fees are concentrated at the top […]

When people think about what will happen to jobs as the blue model continues to crumble, most have a picture in their heads of the type of change that is happening, and it is based on the experience of the last thirty years. Manufacturing jobs are going away. Professional and white collar jobs will continue […]

It was seven years ago that a Danish newspaper’s caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad enraged many Muslims across the Middle East. The effects of that backlash are still felt today in Denmark, where four alleged terrorists are in court over a retaliation plot in 2010 to open fire on a newspaper event attended by Danish […]

The election is still more than six months away, but the 2012 presidential campaign system is now officially underway: the Gallup organization has begun to release daily tracking polls.The first poll shows Mitt Romney with a narrow lead over President Obama — Gallup describes it as a “statistical tie.” The Rasmussen poll, the other daily […]

Once considered a rising Asian giant, Japan today is a cautionary tale about the perils of stagnation and economic mismanagement. Among other problems, a once robust industrial sector is falling prey to foreign competition and automation, forcing many plants to lay off workers. Japanese analysts now worry that over-reliance on an industrial base may be strangling […]

When North Korea’s dramatic missile launch last week ended ignominiously after just 90 seconds, much of the world—including Via Meadia—couldn’t help indulging in a sly chuckle. But there may be a more serious upside to the North’s humiliation. As the Financial Times reports, Pyongyang’s renewed commitment to missile development could provide the Obama administration with […]

New York City’s hyper-competitive public schools are infamous for the stress they inspire in parents, who spend thousands of dollars and lose months of sleep to ensure that their children win acceptance to the top schools. Clever entrepreneurs in New York are taking advantage of this situation by providing expanded tutoring programs geared specifically towards […]

The latest from the BBC brings welcome climate news—unless, that is, you’re one of those hysterical green activists who have been peddling predictions of global apocalypse. Richard Black, the BBC’s environment correspondent, reports: Some glaciers on Asia’s Karakoram mountains are defying the global trend and getting thicker, say researchers.A French team used satellite data to […]