Though we already weighed in the other day on the Obama administration’s change of heart (and, seemingly, policy) over what to do next in Syria, we’d be remiss not to point to our colleague Adam Garfinkle’s essay on the same subject. As always, Adam is both erudite and incredibly entertaining to read. A taste from […]

The other day we noted a Pew poll which indicated that a majority of Americans was comfortable with the recently-revealed NSA surveillance program as long as it kept them safe–an outlook we attributed to a Jacksonian mindset. Well, it turns out that the attitude may not be quite so quintessentially American after all. Buried in […]

Despite Europe’s problems, thrifty and well-organized northern European countries have so far managed reasonably well—but that is beginning to change. Negotiations in the Netherlands next week will focus on how to cut the country’s budget deficit by €6 billion, or one percent of GDP, to meet EU budget laws. The WSJ reports: The government aims […]

The wheels are falling off of Germany’s green energy revolution. In recent years Europe has attempted to position itself as a first mover and global leader in renewable energy, and Germany has led the way with ambitious domestic programs to boost solar and wind energy. But green hopes are giving way to economic realities: Europe […]

Though we were cheered earlier this week by the prospect of a new farm bill passing that could, among other things, curtail the wasteful $5 billion a year direct cash subsidy program to farmers, it appears that the agriculture lobby has figured out creative new ways to keep getting its government handouts: price floor guarantees. […]

Detroit has been skirting bankruptcy for a while now, and today Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr met with the city’s creditors to discuss plans to restructure the city’s obligations. Creditors would have to take a hit on any such deal, but it’s stunning to see just how big it could be: The New York Times reports that […]

Religion used to give Americans a sense that a successful life involves more than status and material gain. As its cultural authority has waned, our standards have become more worldly. So argues David Brooks in an insightful column on the connection between the decline of religion and inequality: [Under Judeo-Christianity] your place is not determined by […]

After posting solid growth for most of this year, the Chinese economy has taken on a darker outlook as the yuan weakens against the dollar and foreign investment dries up. The yuan’s “recent decline indicates that international investors are taking a gloomier view of China’s slowing economy,” reports the WSJ.Meanwhile, the big banks are cutting […]

A number of medical devices are vulnerable to cyberattacks that could render them ineffective or worse, according to recent studies. Now regulations are underway that would require manufacturers to build cybersecurity features into their devices before recieving FDA approval. The Washington Post reports: Computer viruses and other malware increasingly are infecting equipment such as hospital computers […]

Nicaraguan lawmakers approved a plan by a Chinese investment company to build a massive canal from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific yesterday, even though the plan contains no specific route and virtually no details on financing or economic feasibility. Nicaragua is one of the western hemisphere’s poorest countries, and its government is dominated by supporters of President […]