US healthcare is even more expensive than we realized, and we have the graphs to prove it. Below are just three of many graphs comparing the costs of healthcare in various countries. They come from the annual survey of the International Federation of Health Plans via Ezra Klein’s Wonkblog.One typical reaction to these graphs is to argue that we […]

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, America’s largest public  pension fund, has truly outdone itself. In a characteristically Californian combination of poor financial management and green energy failure, Calpers has lost millions in green energy investments that saw an annualized return of negative 9.7 percent, according to the Washington Free Beacon. In light of these […]

Pope Francis scandalized some traditionalists by including two women (one Muslim, one Christian) in the group of inmates whose feet he washed at a juvenile detention facility in Rome.The foot-washing ritual is one of the oldest services in Christianity. In the time of Christ, slaves were supposed to wash the feet of their masters’ guests: […]

The 600-member congregation of the Batak Protestant Church near Jakarta, Indonesia, was getting too big to fit in Pastor Adven Leonard Nababan’s house every Sunday. Naturally, they decided to build a church.Indonesian law required the congregation to get consent from 60 non-Christian neighbors before beginning construction. Having done this, Pastor Nababan, mindful of Indonesia’s web of […]

Anti-Semitism is continuing its comeback tour of Europe. First it was in France, then in Hungary. Now the Times of Israel reports on anti-Semitism’s appeal in Greek political life: “Golden Dawn,” a party that that bolsters its grassroots support by demonizing Jewish ghosts: Its high-flying leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos declares: “There were no ovens. This is a lie. I […]

How many buses and Jewish community centers do you have to bomb for France to call you a terrorist group?Spiegel reports that Germany is finally putting pressure on the EU to label Hezbollah a terrorist group. The move comes after authorities began to suspect Hezbollah of involvement in a the bus bombing that killed five Israeli tourists […]

The milkman is back, but this time he’s driving a Google truck. Google is pioneering a new same-day delivery service that brings groceries and other items purchased online straight to your door. Here’s how it works: A mix of national, regional and neighborhood merchants are enlisting in Google Shopping Express. The best-known names on the list include […]

When the Presidents and other important officials from four African countries visited Washington this week, their trip was ostensibly to celebrate democracy and “good governance.” But the real story behind the visit by these representatives of Malawi, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Cape Verde is the increased attention Washington’s defense establishment is giving to Africa.“The leaders discussed […]

Here’s a sign that China’s assertive policy in the South China Sea is not paying any dividends: even countries otherwise predisposed to not rock the boat are speaking up. As of November of last year, newly issued Chinese passports feature a provocative watermark map that clearly depicts various disputed territories as China’s. Vietnam and the Philippines […]

Three of the world’s most dangerous rogue regimes have found themselves in a rare moment of accord with the US Senate. Iran, North Korea, and Syria blocked the much-ballyhooed UN arms treaty yesterday, a legally binding pact backed by the Obama administration to let the UN regulate the world’s conventional weapons market: “The achievement of […]