Yesterday’s message from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was clear: We will not apologize for freedom.After violence erupted in Cairo over an anti-Islamic film produced in the United States, many were upset about an apologetic tweet from an Embassy staffer lamenting the existence of a film that attacked a religion so openly. Washington disavowed the tweet, […]

The NYT reports on the European Union’s struggle to investigate Gazprom’s pricing and policies, and the Kremlin’s rebuttal: President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia issued a decree on Tuesday that had the effect of prohibiting Gazprom, the state natural gas giant, from cooperating with European Union investigators trying to build an antitrust case against it.The […]

The Pew Research Center has a new report out that shows a strong decline in Indians’ satisfaction with their country’s direction and economy. Only last year, Indians were nearly as optimistic as the prospering Chinese, but now? Just 38% of Indians are satisfied with the way things are going in the country – a 13 […]

Reuters brings us the latest in a string of bad news on the pension front. A study by Loop Capital Markets found that nearly two-thirds of state pension plans are funded below the minimum healthy level of 80 percent.Yet more troubling than this finding is the fact that investors are commissioning such studies in the first […]

Islamist forces are consolidating their control of northern Mali, strictly enforcing sharia and instituting punishments like public whippings, stonings for adulterers, and dismemberment for thieves. The AP reports: Monday’s amputations occurred in the northern city of Gao, said Aliou Hamahar Toure, its Islamic police commissioner.He told The Associated Press by telephone that the five victims […]

In the Middle East you should never say that you are living in the worst of all possible worlds because things can always get worse.Serious unrest on the West Bank is breaking out, the result of immediate frustration over high gas prices, but more broadly from failed Palestinian diplomatic efforts at the UN, the absence […]

In an interview with the Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail, fellow blogger and AI board member Tyler Cowen touches upon many Via Meadia themes: Artificial intelligence will be a significant breakthrough. There are new developments almost every day. Cheaper fossil fuels, particularly natural gas, will spur short-run growth. And an increasing share of national income will go to capital […]

One of the things the Obama administration has never had any success managing is the relationship with Israel. As the election nears, things are running true to form, with Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials harshly criticizing Obama’s Iran policy in the press. The Washington Post reports: A day after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said […]

It’s been more than a year since the Arab Spring, and Egyptian liberals are looking as feckless and disunited as ever. With parliamentary elections approaching, several leaders have called for more cohesion among Egypt’s bitterly divided liberal parties. The hope is that if this time they buck all historical precedent and work together as a […]