This week saw the return of comments here at Via Meadia. We made same changes to the system to improve the quality of the dialogue: 1. Comments can be voted up or down, and reader rankings will determine the prominence of each comment. This is an important tool, and we hope the community will take advantage of […]

Over at the New York Times, where the California Comeback tune is sung louder than anywhere outside Jerry Brown’s office, Timothy Egan has written a heartfelt paean to what he sees as the Golden State’s bright future. Egan boasts that, despite “California-hating naysayers” predicting a Greek style collapse, California in fact “is dreaming once again”: All […]

Natural gas began flowing out of the Tamar gas field off the coast of Israel yesterday, in a sign of Israel’s changing position in the global energy landscape. The Tamar field is the smaller of two adjacent reservoirs, and developing it was the largest infrastructure project in Israel’s history. A 150 kilometer pipeline, one of the longest of […]

The Rijksmuseum is reopening in Amsterdam after a ten-year restoration. This is a must-see museum that should be on everyone’s lifetime to-do list, and it sounds as if those of us who have been there already need to go back and see what they’ve done. The Financial Times reports: What has been done with the museum is […]

Writing for the Washington Post’s Wonkblog, Brad Plumer has a nice round-up of the costs and benefits of automating cars. After going through the litany of advantages, including higher efficiencies and roads more friendly to bikers and walkers, he brings up this criticism: More and more people will drive. Think about all the people who are not allowed […]

The Great Hugo has taken on a mystical religious aura in death. His followers are claiming fantastic things, including the claim that Chavez advised Jesus Christ in heaven that it was time for a Latin American pope. Chavez’ followers are not explaining why El Commandante recommended a conservative Argentine rather than a liberation theologian for […]

Escalating anti-Muslim violence in Burma is leading to the disappearance of hundreds of people. Reuters reports: The Muslims of Sit Kwin were always a small group who numbered no more than 100 of the village’s 2,000 people. But as sectarian violence led by Buddhist mobs spreads across central Burma, they and many other Muslims are disappearing.Their […]

America’s mainline Protestant seminaries are in crisis, but so far they seem to be spending more energy dodging tough choices than preparing for the future. A recent article at Inside Higher Ed describes the enrollment collapse at Luther Seminary in St. Paul. Luther is one of the most important Lutheran seminaries in the country, but its […]

With Francois Hollande’s government languishing in the polls, former French President Nicholas Sarkozy is facing a dilemma. Should he capitalize on Hollande’s struggles and prepare for a comeback in politics, or should he go into private enterprise to make his millions? A Financial Times report suggests that Sarkozy stands to make millions by leveraging his […]

Michigan’s unions are not taking their election defeats lying down. After their state—formerly the heart of union power in America—passed a right-to-work law last year, unions have been fighting tooth and nail to stop the law from going into effect. Earlier this month, a number of public unions signed long-term contracts with their employers, locking […]