A new UN report estimates that 60,000-plus people have been killed in Syria between March 2011 and today. Worse, the rate of casualties is increasing as the war drags on, as both sides begin to use heavier weapons. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay put it bluntly: “Collectively, we have fiddled at the edges […]

The New York Times reports that, in an echo of last month’s tragedy, seven more aid workers in Pakistan have been killed by two armed gunmen while returning from work. It is widely believed that this attack and others like it have been perpetrated by the Pakistani Taliban, which has earned a reputation for attacks against aid workers. […]

A U.S. non-profit with close ties to the Obama administration and center left politicians in Israel has commissioned two separate public opinion polls in Israel. Each found widespread support for a peace agreement, including among right wing Israelis.In both polls, respondents were presented with a two-state solution similar to the ones discussed at Camp David […]

Despite the earnest wishes of Western commentators, who were excited early on for the Tahrir Square Twitterati and other liberal Arab Springers, one of the biggest winners to emerge from the turmoil in the Middle East over the past two years has been the Salafi tendency. These ultraconservatives used to keep a low profile, writes […]

Illinois may be on the cusp of a public pension overhaul. After months of wrangling with Democrats in the legislature and with public unions, Governor Pat Quinn has called for the statehouse to pass a bill to shore up the state’s pensions system before the new legislature is sworn in next week. The New York […]

Thanks to online retail and changing shopping patterns, mall rats may soon become an endangered species. The Great American Mall has shaped our culture, and the generation that grew up hanging out there, in profound ways. But malls have been coming under increasing pressure from Amazon and other online companies for some time now: A report […]

Turkey is talking with the Kurds, the FT is reporting. A senior political adviser to Prime Minister Erdogan has admitted that his government has opened disarmament discussions with the jailed leader of the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan. Pointing out that after close to three decades of armed struggle with the PKK neither side […]

It was one of the nicest New Year’s Eves I can remember; with an old and dear friend I went to the first performance of Donizetti’s opera about Mary Queen of Scots.The NYT opera critic Anthony Tommasini gave a rave review to the Met’s New Year’s Eve performance of Maria Stuarda, and it was eminently […]

With the growing Via Meadia team I’d like to wish our readers a healthy, peaceful and prosperous New Year.  We’re grateful to all the readers who made 2012 the best year in the history of our young site, and we hope to serve you at least as well in 2013.Today, January 1, is the last […]

The big news in Israel last week: a politically marginal Arab woman and left leaning Palestinian activist had her political rights upheld, while a major right wing Jewish political leader with ties to the political establishment faces a tough investigation.An Israeli Arab candidate who took part in Gaza flotilla has been allowed to stand for […]