Hundreds of Pakistani Christians have fled Islamabad following blasphemy accusations against a young Christian girl (who may have Downs Syndrome). While some have returned home, CBS reports, many Pakistani Christians are still living in a state of fear and uncertainty: . . . Nooran Bashir, who had fled a few hours after the girl’s arrest, was back in […]

One of the principal roadblocks to creating a vibrant Indian manufacturing system is the issue of land rights. Indian landholdings are normally quite small, and because the land is often very fertile, farmers are reluctant to give up the only occupation they have ever known, especially when caste and identity are also linked to occupation.Here’s how […]

One of today’s more colorful news stories comes from the West Texas town of Lubbock, where Judge Tom Head, now the official Via Meadia State Loon of Texas, warned that the reelection of President Obama would lead to blood in the streets and a UN takeover of the town. The New York Times reports: “He is […]

Iran is raising the stakes in the Syrian conflict. The Wall Street Journal: Iran is sending commanders from its elite Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and hundreds of foot soldiers to Syria, according to current and former members of the corps.The personnel moves come on top of what these people say are Tehran’s stepped-up efforts to […]

Consumers say they have little hope that the economy will improve, and businesses now appear to share the sentiment. The Financial Times reports that orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft were down this past July for the fourth time in five months.This is a key sign that businesses are preparing for tough times ahead. In particular, firms are […]

Today we celebrate one of the world’s least notable anniversaries: the 84th year since the signing of the Kellogg-Briand Pact, which outlawed war for the better part of the past century and won its authors the Nobel Peace Prize. This immodest treaty aimed at nothing less than permanent elimination of war as an instrument of national policy and […]

For the past few weeks while WRM has been traveling in India, The American Interest‘s Adam Garfinkle has been pitching in essays to keep Via Meadia going. With the big boss back, Adam has returned to writing at his own blog on AI, “The Middle East and Beyond“. One of the “Beyond” subjects he sometimes returns […]

On Saturday, 39 were killed and more were injured in an explosion at Venezuela’s Paraguaná Refinery, one of the largest in the world. This is only the latest in a string of accidents that the state owned oil company, Pétroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), has racked up in past years. The New York Times reports that—once again—faulty state supervision of the […]

While the rest of the world obsesses over the fate of Pussy Riot, in the more distant corners of Russia a far more significant phenomenon is underway: the spread of radical Islam. The New York Times reports that, since the beginning of Ramadan, the normally peaceful city of Kazan in central Russia has been hit […]

Who is Mitt Romney? It’s a question Via Meadia has been pondering for some time, and it appears we’re not alone. An editorial in The Economist does a good job explaining why Romney needs to let voters in on who he is and what he really believes: But competence is worthless without direction and, frankly, character. Would […]