Good news: The racial demography of America’s prison populations is inching slowly toward reflecting the nation’s general demography. Blacks make up 12.6 percent of the US population but represent 38 percent of America’s prisoners. This is still far too high, but the numbers are trending in the right direction, thanks in large part to revisions […]

The Washington Post headline blares: “China is happy with John Kerry because it thinks he’ll drop the ‘pivot to Asia’”. The Post article itself gets its ammunition from this Liz Economy post over at CFR which rounds up some of the reactions to the new security team from around China. The mood is upbeat. China Institute of International […]

Never let it be said that there is not considerable entertainment value in political life. Watching the First Lady at the Oscar ceremony trying to position herself for post-White House celebrity is pretty funny—to me at least. Gazing upon the affection that the Italian electorate still has for Silvio Berlusconi is more than amusing; it […]

Egypt is set to explode, according to former Finance Minister Samir Radwan. Joblessness stands at 74 percent for people under 30, according to government figures. This figure is unlikely to improve, the FT reports: “I expect unemployment to increase because there are no signs that the economy is picking up,” says Mr Radwan. “Already some […]

Via Meadia readers might be interested in a series of events called “Blogging and the New Public Intellectual”, coordinated by our own Walter Russell Mead and Bard’s Prof. Roger Berkowitz. There are several events in NYC in the coming weeks.Blogging and the New Public IntellectualWe live in the age of the blog. Public intellectuals and […]

Lars Hedegaard, a Danish polemicist noted for his strong criticisms of Islam and Muslims is now getting a notable show of support—from Muslims in Denmark. A recent attempt on Hedegaard’s life has Copenhagen’s Muslim community taking a stand for freedom of speech: “They have changed their approach,” said Karen Haekkerup, Denmark’s minister of social affairs […]

Bob Woodward, one of America’s most seasoned and well-respected journalists, is in the media spotlight for an op-ed criticizing the White House over the sequester. The MSM didn’t miss a beat jumping into the he said/she said story of an alleged retaliatory threat from the White House. But once again, the media is completely missing the real Bob […]

Jews today face hostility “unparalleled since the dark ages of the Second World War,” said Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) at a hearing yesterday on rising European anti-Semitism. According to the Religion News Service, Smith called the hearing to investigate and discuss recent anti-Semitic crimes in Europe.We’re glad the US government is finally taking serious notice of European anti-Semitism, which, following a […]

If Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is disappointed that Obama’s didn’t give his full-throated support to Japan’s claim on disputed islands in the East China Sea, he’s not showing it. In a rousing speech in Parliament that drew cheers from other lawmakers today, Abe cast himself in the role of Margaret Thatcher—the Iron Lady—and vowed that a […]

I saw Argo a few weeks before the Oscars, and I liked about 99 and 44/100 of it. Once the plot action starts, the tone, images, language and emotional pitch of the main characters all seem high-quality replicas of historical reality. Not that I have any expertise in making or evaluating film as an art […]