An entirely commendable and even necessary push by Ireland to safeguard its economic sovereignty from the machinations of German and French Eurocrats reveals the crippling structural weakness of the EU. The FT reports: The Irish government has asked the European Union to amend its treaties in order to provide specific legal assurances that the country […]

The confusion and disarray in Washington’s policy making was starkly revealed last week as some Democrats and housing experts called on the government to continue backing jumbo mortgages, saying that the market is too weak to handle a drop in the size of loan guarantees. From the WSJ: If Congress doesn’t act, the maximum size […]

It is more and more clear that Europe has no good choices left.  The only thing more expensive than bailing out the eurozone’s PIIGS might be to let the eurozone go. The Economist explains why: If Germany were to leave, its Neue Deutschmark would soar as international funk money piled into a bigger, better Switzerland, […]

Possibly, or at least part of its government may be.The United States government believes it has evidence linking the Haqqani network, a terrorist organization which has repeatedly carried out attacks against US government personnel and positions, with the government of Pakistan. As ABC News (Australia) reports, The United States says there is evidence linking the […]

“Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale” is a new Taiwanese film about an aboriginal revolt against Japanese overlords in the 1930s. It’s violent (the Economist says “its violence is disturbing to the extreme”) but apparently historically accurate as these things go. And, much more importantly, it is stirring deep nationalist pride in Taiwan: In 1930 hundreds […]

England’s public sector trade unions, some of the hardest line defenders of the blue social model anywhere on earth, are taking a no holds barred approach to PM David Cameron’s public sector reforms, promising “long and hard and dirty” resistance which could threaten the 2012 London Olympics. The Economist reports: The casus belli is the government’s […]

Is this the future of health care in the United States? From an Economist report on health care in Spain: Health spending makes up 30-40% of regional governments’ budgets. Long-lived Spaniards are rightly proud that they enjoy free health care from cradle to grave. But soaring drug bills, an ageing population, slack cost controls and […]

Despite what you might conclude from reading the news (and sometimes this blog), green energy companies can be eco-friendly and profitable. The Economist reports: A new study by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) identifies 16 emerging-market firms that they say are turning eco-consciousness into a source of competitive advantage. […]

The virtual education movement received a major boost from London yesterday. From the Wall Street Journal: Pearson PLC on Thursday said it has acquired U.S.-based online schooling network Connections Education for $400 million in cash, as the U.K.-based publishing giant ramps up its extensive North American education operations. […]“Virtual schooling is an attractive choice for […]

As debt-laden Greece nears default, the EU is still in fundamental disarray over what to do. Yesterday’s dollar infusion by various central banks helped turn down the temperature, but the IMF’s bailout plan that would keep the Greeks afloat looks dicey. Reports the FT: Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, on Thursday raised […]