With the government up and running again, the long-awaited discussions over a US-EU trade deal are starting up again as well. But the short hiatus hasn’t changed anything as far as the negitioations go: France still refuses to give any ground on agriculture or l’exception culturelle (movies, TV, and music, essentially). The FT reports: “Red lines” insisted on […]

Yet more poll evidence is showing that American Jews are not the primary source of American pro-Israel feeling: Only 40 percent of Jews believe that God gave Israel to the Jewish people, but 82 percent of Evangelicals and 47 percent of white Protestants believe this. More African American Protestants believe that God gave the country […]

[With this essay, I’m returning to a series that I began late last spring on the five most important problems facing the American people today. Readers who want to go back and look at the first essays in this series can look here, here, and here. The first problem treated in the series was the […]

This week, WRM paved the way for a return to his “Big Five” essay series, covering America’s five make or break challenges in the coming decades. But first, he looked at the significance—if any—of the recent budget battle, the topic that’s captured the undivided attention of the media and chattering classes in recent weeks. Here’s […]

More and more health care watchers are questioning whether enough young adults will sign up for insurance under the ACA to keep the system afloat. The latest is centrist think tank The Brookings Institute, which has a new report out on Obamacare entitled “The Affordable Care Act: A User’s Guide to Implementation.” The report argues, among […]

[WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 18: Local residents Sandy Milia (L) and her 2-year-old grandson Henry (2nd L) are greeted by a National Zoo staff member dressed as a panda as they wait for the zoo to reopen at 10am on October 18, 2013 in Washington, DC. The Smithsonians National Zoo reopened to visitors after the […]

It’s been a magnificent start to the Met’s season as spectacular singing has electrified audiences and made the old hall ring. I’ve been to two performances in the last week; Norma last Monday and Eugene Onegin last night. At both the audiences rose for rare standing ovations.Norma has one of the most demanding roles in the […]

Canada’s top energy minister is confident that his country can hold its own in the world’s liquified natural gas (LNG) market. There’s plenty of demand for LNG these days, especially in Asia, where Japan is struggling to meet its energy needs after shutting down its nuclear reactors after the Fukushima disaster, where South Korea is […]

Something different is happening in Japan. The military is sexy again. Amid a tense atmosphere of territorial conflict with most of its neighbors, and at a time when seemingly every Asian country is beefing up its armed forces, Japan’s military is enjoying a noticeable increase in popularity.Take, for example, “Mr. and Ms. JMSDF.” It’s an online […]

According to a new survey by BFM TV, a French station, nearly one in two French voters (46%) think Marine Le Pen is the best opposition candidate to take on the ruling Socialist party. That’s a lot of support for a far right politician who once compared Muslim blocking French streets during prayer times to […]