By Chris MeadHello from Walter Mead’s younger brother Chris. On my last birthday I found a large crate at my house, courtesy of Walter. Now I’m stuck with a large four-legged creature for a good portion of the rest of my life. (Walter is afraid I will send him a monkey in revenge for Riley, the […]

Every year on August 15, the date of Japan’s surrender in World War II, Japanese officials visit the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo to honor the country’s war dead. The shrine honors a number of convicted war criminals, and the visits anger Asian countries that greatly suffered under Japanese rule. This year’s visit comes with tensions […]

Does China now have its own Solyndra scandal?An article in Caixin online (h/t Marginal Revolution) traces the downward trajectory of Chinese company LDK Solar Hi-tech Co. Ltd, which has marked similarities to the Solyndra story. As in America, the government sent billions of Yuan to a promising solar company, only to be left holding the bag […]

The twilight battle over the effectiveness of sanctions against Iran is one of the most important world events happening today. There is a real chance that effective sanctions, consistently applied, could head off war with Iran.On one hand, the sanctions are clearly working. Iranian oil production is at a 20-year low, its currency has lost […]

A new study puts Social Security’s funding gap at $30 trillion dollars over the next 75 years. Meanwhile, the program has been paying out more than it’s been taking in since 2010. The Washington Post reports: The projected shortfall in 2033 is $623 billion, according to the trustees’ latest report. It reaches $1 trillion in 2045 […]

As regular followers of Via Meadia will know, WRM is currently in India for the month. He and AI staffer Peter Mellgard will be posting images from the various spots on their trip. 

The revolution in online education is gaining steam. In the past few months alone, new programs like Coursera and EdX have made remarkable strides in attracting the attention of major universities, and they are now beginning to experiment with new ways of monetizing their products. What’s the next step?In a new piece in the FT, Christopher […]

Today is Independence Day in India; I celebrated by driving through relatively traffic free streets in Kolkata, but not before I had to pass through enhanced security measures at the airport. The country was on alert because there were fears of terror attacks and hijack attempts to mark the 65th anniversary of Indian independence.All over […]

Russia has become the latest power to make a move in the Game of Thrones, sending a fleet to a disputed group of islands in the Pacific to strengthen their territorial claims in the Far East. Ownership of the southern Kuril Islands, which the Japanese call the Northern Territories and lie ten miles off Japan’s […]

Although the economy is far from a healthy recovery, there have been some mildly encouraging signs over the past few weeks. The housing market appears to be slowly pulling out of its slump and retail sales are beginning to perk up again. But unfortunately, things are getting worse where it counts most: small business.The Wall Street […]