Last week we asked why Keynesian policies haven’t worked in China, despite nearly ideal conditions for such a stimulus. A new post by Minxin Pei at The Diplomat may have answers.As Pei notes, China’s growth numbers actually did look rather good during the worldwide recession, due in large part to stimulus efforts. But these positive […]

Temporary tattoos and microchips in the bloodstream that broadcast medical information:  are these the future of medicine? A story at the NY Times “Bits” blog suggests we might not be far away from such revolutionized healthcare: Later this year, a Boston-based company called MC10 will offer the first of several “stretchable electronics” products that can be put on things […]

China’s next president has disappeared. The blogosphere is erupting with rumors and speculation about why the presumtive leader of the world’s most populous country can’t be found just weeks before he is set to assume the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. The FT reports: Over the past week Mr Xi has cancelled at least four […]

Today’s Wall Street Journal has good news from the solar industry. Following major scandals from 2011, the solar industry is set for a record year in 2012, with an estimated 2,500 megawatts of power projected for installation.This must be good news for Obama, right? Not exactly. Although solar installations are indeed way up this year, the […]

Less than a month into the school year, the Chicago Teachers Union has launched a strike after failing to reach an agreement with Mayor Rahm Emanuel over salaries, job security and performance evaluations: City officials said that negotiations had resumed Monday and that two issues remained unresolved: the fate of laid-off teachers and whether they […]

As summits go, it wasn’t too bad. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Vladivostok resulted in no agreements about maritime territorial disputes in Asia, no progress on what to do about Syria, and only a few swipes at the EU from Putin. But at least the talks didn’t make any problems worse.The Chinese president and […]

At Via Meadia, we’ve been closely following the burgeoning energy revolution in shale gas and oil. Owing to the fact of ongoing research in extraction methods finally coming to fruition, the U.S. was already headed toward full energy independence, with profound implications for both its foreign and domestic policies.It turns out that this was only […]

“The East is Red”, Mao used to say. We’re not sure this is what he had in mind. The Daily Mail has the best collection of photos on this phenomenon on the internet right now.The Mail goes on to report that it’s not the first time something like this has happened in China: Last December, the […]

Pension reform is possible, folks. Even by Democrats. Even in Rhode Island.Fred Hiatt devoted his WaPo column yesterday to a quick profile of Gina Raimondo, the Rhode Island state treasurer who is proving that even Democratic politicians—from deep-blue states no less—can touch the third rail of politics and live: How did Raimondo do it?In her […]

Germany’s obsession with austerity is endangering the euro and Europe, says George Soros. Germany must either get with the program or abandon ship: “Lead or leave: this is a legitimate decision for Germany to make,” the billionaire financier and philanthropist said in an interview with the Financial Times. “Either throw in your fate with the […]