The United States confronts two major foreign policy challenges: China, and the weak and restless. The alternatives for China are well known, and there is consensus about which of these is most attractive; Romney would not have followed a different course from the one that has been chosen by Obama. In contrast, there is no […]

Two positions have been eliminated on China’s Politburo Standing Committee, including the powerful head of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee. That committee oversees China’s internal security apparatus and has a declared budget of more than $100 billion—larger than that of the Chinese military.It’s not entirely clear what motivated the decision; Chinese politics are notoriously […]

The Financial Times reports this week that confidence among homebuilders has hit a six-year high following reports that sales of previously-owned homes are again on the rise: After the five weakest years in its postwar history, the housing sector is starting to regain some vigour against a backdrop of record-low mortgage rates, a bottoming out of […]

The age of missile defense proceeds apace. South Korea, wary of its northern neighbor’s arsenal, is talking to the Israelis about an extensive arms deal, likely involving a purchase of Iron Dome technology: The [Israeli] Ministry of Defense is in talks with South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd to purchase four patrol boats […]

The Guardian usually takes a pretty strong stand on the green side of environmental issues. Its editors lambast politicians the world over for failing to do more to curb greenhouse gasses or to promote renewable energy, and its reporters often push a green agenda.But now even the Guardian is signing on to the energy revolution narrative […]

A group of Islamist leaders have refused to join the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces, the Associated Press reports: “We are the representatives of the fighting formations in Aleppo and we declare our rejection of the conspiratorial project, the so-called national alliance,” the statement [posted online on Sunday] said. “We have unanimously […]

We may not drop off the fiscal cliff until January, but for the Postal Service the day of reckoning has already arrived. The New York Times reports that the Postal Service posted a staggering $15.9 billion loss for the past fiscal year, adding to the embattled agency’s woes. This is the latest depressing step in a downward […]

Greens may have even less to fear from fracking than before. The Wall Street Journal reports that an increasing number of energy companies are now cleaning and recycling their wastewater for use in future wells, not only reducing water usage but also lessening the need to inject contaminated water into the ground, as well as the […]

Via Meadia is hiring!We are pleased to announce that Via Meadia is looking for three new staff writer positions: a senior writer and two junior writers. All would likely be relatively recent college grads; the “senior” writer would have some experience and expertise in important domestic policy issues that Via Meadia follows — or intends to follow as we expand […]

More bad news for the Malthusians means more good news for everyone: In Brazil, a huge, formerly empty and infertile region is likely to become one of the most agriculturally productive regions in the world, helping to keep global food prices low for the next half century. The Washington Post reports: Brazil is expected next […]