Last year, the United States okayed a weapons shipment from Qatar to Libyan rebels. Now the New York Times is reporting that some of these weapons fell into the hands of Islamist militants: “The weapons and money from Qatar strengthened militant groups in Libya, allowing them to become a destabilizing force since the fall of […]

In early 2011 protestors stormed the streets of Madison, Wisconsin, to protest Governor Scott Walker’s plans to reduce collective bargaining rights for most of the state’s public unions. A similar drama has been playing out in Michigan. Once again, a mix of union members and rank-and-file Democrats stormed the streets of the capital to protest the state’s […]

Obama administration foreign policy took a turn once again toward the aggressive, with Secretary Clinton vowing to do more to promote democracy and human rights in Russia and among its neighbors: “There is a move to re-Sovietize the region,” Clinton lamented.“It’s not going to be called that. It’s going to be called customs union, it […]

A number of plans have been proposed to help New York deal with the fallout from Hurricane Sandy. Many of them are unworkable, but there are a few gems in the mix—if it weren’t for the fact that rebuilding the city’s destroyed infrastructure will be extremely costly and New York isn’t exactly flush with cash at the […]

India’s movement towards economic reform has been painstakingly slow and halting at times, but a vote Wednesday by the lower house of Parliament may be a good sign of things to come. After two days of debate, the lower house voted to allow foreign  supermarket investment (read, Walmart) into India. While it is the upper house […]

American counterterrorism officials are pushing the Obama administration to allow U.S. forces to pursue terrorists in Africa, even if they aren’t affiliated with al-Qaeda. The WSJ has the story: The move, according to administration and congressional officials, would be aimed at allowing U.S. military operations in Mali, Nigeria, Libya and possibly other countries where militants […]

With Assad reportedly activating his chemical weapons stash for potential use, the Obama administration is tying itself up in knots trying to parse nuances in the meaning of the word “move” and backing away from previous threats to intervene: When Mr. Obama warned against moving chemical weapons, administration officials said he did not mean shifting the […]

Could a free trade agreement between the U.S. and EU be in the cards? With Obama’s reelection and economies on both sides of the Atlantic still in the doldrums, we’re seeing an increasing willingness on both sides to undertake bold steps to stimulate growth. The Washington Post has more: Obama is considering making a trans-Atlantic […]

A new study commissioned by the Obama Administration predicts “net economic benefits” from exporting liquified natural gas: In all of these cases, benefits that come from export expansion more than outweigh the losses from reduced capital and wage income to U.S. consumers, and hence LNG exports have net economic benefits in spite of higher domestic natural […]

We’re already used to using cell phones for a wide range of things—GPS navigation, videos, games—but this is a new one: The mechanics already present in most cell phones could be utilized to help seismologists map earthquakes and warn those in danger. BBC News has the details: “Nowadays, smartphones carry all sorts of sensors, and we […]