Salman Rushdie issued a battle cry in Delhi this weekend. The NYT has a story on his speech, his first in India since he was forced to cancel a trip to the Jaipur Literary Festival because of death threats: There is a cultural war being waged in India today against freedom of speech, he [Rushdie] […]

Greens often hold up China as a model for smart policy because of things like its investments in solar power and high-speed rail. Via Meadia is now waiting for greens to celebrate the newest energy initiative to come from the People’s Republic: fast track frack. Bloomberg reports: China pledged to prioritize land approvals for shale-gas exploration, allow […]

Italy is not a good place to be young and, not surprisingly, there aren’t that many young Italians coming along. ISTAT reported in January that youth unemployment now stands at an astonishing 30.1 percent, a record high for the country. Rather than striking out on their own, young Italians are increasingly living with their parents […]

The most important piece of journalism out this morning is from Jeffrey Goldberg: a week of shuttling between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, meeting with current and former Israeli defense and security officials and intellectuals has convinced this experienced and well sourced reporter that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak believe that an […]

The following chart (courtesy Z/Yen Group [pdf] & Financial Times) lists the world’s top ten financial centers.A couple of noteworthy things about this chart: 4 of the 10 centers are in the US, UK, or Canada and 2 more — Hong Kong and Singapore — originated as British colonies, continue to have a close financial relationship […]

The decline of American manufacturing employment is an important topic. The nature of America’s trade relationship with China should receive serious discussion. The conditions faced by the workers who make our iPhones and iPads matter immensely.They deserve rigorous inquiry. They do not deserve Mike Daisey.A quick recap for those readers who may have missed the […]

A cruise down El Camino Real on your way to Stanford University takes you right through the heart of Palo Alto, the center of Silicon Valley. Innovation thrives there, where venture capitalists, electrical engineers and math nerds mix together in a potent brew of new technologies and businesses.The paradox of Palo Alto, though, is that […]

Last week we highlighted a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) that stated Iran’s oil production could plummet to levels last seen during the Iran-Iraq War three decades ago. The IEA has lately estimated that, from July onward, when EU sanctions come into effect, Iranian exports could be reduced by about 800,000 to one […]

Last week South Africa, one of the last major importers of Iranian oil to seek alternative sources, tightened the knot on the noose around Tehran’s neck.South Africa’s minister of energy, Elizabeth Dipuo Peters, has announced plans to have alternative sources to Iranian crude in place by the self-imposed deadline of May. This is a significant move—and […]

Since the fall of the British Empire back in the 20th century, many have believed that the British are doomed to forever pine for the glory days. Yet while Britain may never be as powerful as it was in its heyday, there are signs that reports of its decline, to paraphrase Mark Twain, have been […]