Good news out of Texas for those who–like Via Meadia–hope to see fracking develop into a safe and effective component in our national energy toolbox: transparency is on the way. Reports the Times: Starting Feb. 1, drilling operators in Texas will have to report many of the chemicals used in the process known as hydraulic […]

The world is full of bachelors but associates are harder to find. Texas recognizes the problem and is working to get it students to work learning job-related skills at two-year community colleges. It’s about time. According to the NYT, “the state’s population of skilled laborers is aging and approaching retirement, and there are a dearth […]

War can cause young soldiers to dehumanize their opponents? The pressures of combat may erode moral sensibilities? Who would have thunk it? Apparently not the ace reporters chasing the Afghan ‘pee-gate’ story at the New York Times–so they spoke to experts who kindly explained the obvious: Reprehensible behavior, combat veterans and military experts say, is […]

Posting may be a little irregular during the next few days.  I am leaving for the UK today, returning at the end of the week. While there I will be giving a talk in the Old Library of All Souls College (Oxford) on American power in the 21st century.  The talk is at 8:30 PM […]

The Euro-mess took another turn for the worse over the weekend following news that Standard & Poor’s has downgraded the debt of a flock of European countries, most notably France.  Last night markets weakened across Asia as once again the rest of the world looked at Europe and wondered just how those people were going […]

You hear a lot of rumors and scenarios in Pakistan, but one that keeps popping up is what might be called the “soft coup” option.  The version that backers of the military keep floating involves a declaration from the Supreme Court, backed by the army, that the civilian government has violated some essential point of […]

Global warming, it turns out, is holding off Earth’s next Ice Age. A study by Cambridge University researcher Luke Skinner suggests that sometime in the next 1500 years a devastating new Ice Age will descend on Planet Earth, but greenhouse gasses, keeping the planet warm, will hold the ice back. Climate science continues to surprise.The […]

As Scottish nationalist leader Alex Salmond prepares for what could be a historic meeting this week with British Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss the timing and content of a referendum on Scottish independence,  some new poll numbers are shaking up elites on both sides of the border.The English, the polls seem to be saying, […]

Pakistan’s civilian and military governments are holding peace talks this weekend. The army chief and the president got together and talked after weeks in which each side has been seen as trying to turf the other out. Rumors of coups, ‘creeping’ or otherwise, have roiled the press — and have often emanated from credible military […]

A dispatch from Syria‘s crawling, lickspittle official media tells us that Syrian President Bashar “Butcher” Assad has issued a general pardon for all Syrians who have committed crimes during the last ten months.  Acts covered by the pardon range from participation in peaceful demonstrations to deserting the military.Not mentioned are the crimes of ordering troops […]