The media is abuzz this morning over the leaked video of Mitt Romney speaking in what he believed to be a closed meeting, claiming that 47 percent of Americans are hopelessly dependent on government, pay no taxes, and that he was “not to worry about those people.” This is the latest gaffe for a Romney […]

Tensions between China and Japan continue to rise. Japanese factories, shops, and even cars were attacked across China during riots over the past few days. Time has excellent photos of the protests.Official media warn darkly of more Chinese economic pressure to come as some Japanese firms shut down production in China, Bloomberg reports: Fast Retailing […]

None of President Obama’s big policies in the Middle East have worked out as he hoped. That whole “fix the peace process by pushing the Israelis” thing turned out to be an unmitigated disaster. Coming into office, President Obama was sure he’d be able to straighten this out; he’s been the least effective president in […]

Less than two months ahead of the election, Obama is losing support from a surprising group: black pastors. As the Washington Post reports, a number of black pastors see the election as a choice between Obama’s support of same-sex marriage and Romney’s Mormonism, and are advising their congregants to skip the vote entirely. “When President Obama made the […]

The violent outburst of anti-Americanism that started around 9/11/12 continues to spread eastward across the Muslim world. At first a Sunni Arab phenomenon, the riots have now spread as far as Pakistan and Indonesia. Even Shia Hezbollah leader Nasrallah has come out in favor of the violence, in what appears to be a sad unity […]

Henrique Capriles, the biggest challenger to Hugo Chávez for the Venezuelan presidency, had a tricky time getting to his campaign rally last week. Fighting between rival supporters of the two candidates erupted when Chávez’s supporters cut off Capriles’s route from the airport to the rally. Capriles was then forced into a helicopter, followed by a […]

The American Interest has reviewed Hungary’s democratic deficit four times this year: Charles Gati’s essay, “Hungarian Rhapsodies”; Francis Fukuyama’s “Do Institutions Really Matter?” and his “What’s Wrong with Hungary?” (these two posts prompted an outburst of some 800 responses, mainly from angry Hungarian readers defending the government of Viktor Orbán and its policies); and finally […]

Pope Benedict XVI is earning his pay.He was on top form in Lebanon over the weekend, delivering a message of peace and prayer for the Near East. During the trip, he repeatedly argued for religious tolerance and chastised those who had succumbed to the temptation to commit acts of violence in the name of God. […]

The dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands continues to heat up, as nationalistic anti-Japanese protests are spreading across China in response to Tokyo’s purchase of the islands. In response, some Japanese firms have chosen to suspend operations at their factories in China. Reuters has the details: The weekend protests mainly targeted Japanese diplomatic missions but also shops, restaurants and car dealerships in […]

In less than 20 years, Amazon and other online shopping companies have revolutionized the way we shop. Books, electronics, airline tickets, and even diapers are all now easier to buy online.One industry, however, has largely held the line so far against the online shopping revolution: clothing. Given the importance of a good fit, physical stores where […]