Via Meadia has been keeping track of the fracking revolution, which has turned America’s shale- and gas-rich regions into 21st-century gold rush territories. Brown energy is the gift that keeps on giving, and it is fast reversing the economic and demographic decline that had been strangling places like South Dakota and Kansas.The jobs are pouring […]

As Egyptians vote in their country’s presidential election, the ruling military council is busy figuring a way to publicly relinquish power while retaining a tight hold on its interests from behind the scenes. Egyptians are very much looking forward to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces handing over the keys of power to a […]

With Romney cruising unopposed toward the Republican nomination, the general election season has now begun in earnest. Romney has decided to begin his General Election campaign with a speech on a somewhat surprising subject: education. As the New York Times reports, Romney described the failure of American education to provide for minorities as “the civil […]

With the hopes for a comprehensive global carbon treaty all but crushed, American greens have largely moved on to a new environmental threat: fracking. Despite its potential to lower energy prices, provide jobs, and make America more energy independent, greens remain steadfastly opposed to the expansion of fracking, calling for a total ban on its […]

In Baghdad, representatives from the six global powers (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) are in the middle of discussions with Iran over its nuclear program. Initial reports have been positive: Iran indicated to the IAEA that it is willing to allow the agency to inspect some of its secret installations. […]

[yframe url=’https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39nMp5Sc0qs&feature=player_embedded’]The above clip is a short, eight minute homemade video by the blogger Sinostand, who cycled through Shandong province to catch a glimpse of the Chinese countryside. It is a part of China rarely seen by foreigners, as you can tell from the curious looks on the faces of many locals.The video is a visual representation […]

[Thanks to Via Meadia’s Man in Istanbul for this roundup of the top stories in Turkey over the last few days.]Throughout much of this and last week, the Turkish press has remained transfixed by allegations published by the Wall Street Journal that the intelligence for recent strikes in Uludere—in which 34 civilians were killed—was collected […]

Asian stock markets have been sliding, and concerns that Greece will exit the eurozone have sent them into a further slump. But regardless of whether Greece leaves or stays, China, Japan and India all face serious problems.A generation ago Japan was the big Asian success stories, and young people today won’t believe it, but Americans in 1980 […]

Jonathan Ive, Apple’s longtime head of design, is now a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Sir Ive Jonathan joined Apple in 1992 and has led the design team responsible for products like the iPod, iPad, iMac, and iPhone since 1997. The might make him one of the most influential product designers in the […]

The FT reports that the Syrian economy may have contracted by as much as 10 percent in the past year, while the Syrian pound has lost one third of its former value. Given that Syria exports 95 percent of its oil to the EU, international sanctions are threatening to further cripple the economy and could […]