News Analysis
Indian "Slut Walk" Fizzles in Bhopal

The “Slut Walk” — apparently a gift to world culture from the vibrant city of Toronto — is a demonstration in which a group of women dress in scanty clothing to march through the streets as a protest against the harassment and worse of women dressed like, well, Sports Illustrated swimwear models.Thanks to our globalized […]

The Panda, The Bear, and the Bag of Mongolian Coal

I like stories about seemingly trivial issues that open a window onto big geopolitical events.  This  Washington Post story on the international implications of Mongolia’s huge coal reserves is a case in point.  China is the natural market for Mongolia’s high quality coal, and the Mongolians are building a rail line to ship the coal […]

Top Obama Aide Rebukes Bush Generosity to Developing World

They told Glenn Reynolds that if he voted for John McCain the US would take harsh stands against the developing world, and they were right!A “senior administration official” has told the Washington Post that the Bush administration made such generous concessions to developing countries that the Obama administration can’t make progress on the Doha Round […]

UK Army To Shrink To Pre War Levels — Pre Boer War Levels, That Is

New cuts proposed by Britain’s cash strapped government will reduce the British Army to its smallest size since the late nineteenth century — since the Second Boer War started in 1899, to be exact.At that time Britain ruled one fourth of the earth’s surface and one quarter of the world’s population. A few people are […]

Holy War In China?

As if life wasn’t hard enough for a rising superpower, China now faces the prospect of a holy war — at least according to Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong.A storm is brewing over the Chinese government’s recent rush to consecrate bishops without Rome’s approval.  Excommunications have been hurled; so far, Hu Jintao has […]

Persecuted in Pakistan

From time to time in Pakistan, Christians have quietly found an opportunity to speak with me about the conditions of their lives.  Many live in constant fear of violence and suffer systematic discrimination and exploitation as a result of their faith.This story about the problems of poor Christians in Lahore matches up well with other […]

God Mobs, Bombs Explode Across Nigeria

Holy Bombers and God mobs have been wreaking havoc across the most populous and second most oil-rich country in Africa.  Worse is to come;  hot religion is on the march.There’s nothing new about God mobs in Nigeria, but globalization enables local movements like Boko Haram to connect with regional and international counterparts like al-Shabab and […]

Bet You Can't Eat Just One

Nutrition scientists have made a shocking discovery, the paper of record records: we eat fatty foods because — we want to.  Apparently fatty foods spark chemical reactions in our brains that trigger the ‘want’ mechanism, and the next thing you know that whole bag of chips is just gone! The next step has already been […]

Bachmann and the Beast of Revelations

News that Michele Bachmann has ended her membership in a brand of Lutheranism that condemns the Papacy as Antichrist is a sign that the forces making America a tolerant country as well as a religious one are still at work.  In national politics, bigots can’t win.The Catholic vote isn’t large enough to elect a Catholic […]

Stories You Can Ignore: Breathless Updates on Debt Ceiling Talks

The Washington Post reports that  the “grand bargain” option of $4 trillion in cuts over ten years is reviving as an option.Big deal.The brouhaha over the coming debt meltdown has obsessed the media for the last two weeks. Some of the most talented journalists in the country are trying to get the latest rumors and […]

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