The Caucasus, the long neck of land separating Europe and Asia that runs between the Black and the Caspian Seas, is one of the least stable places on earth. Few parts of the world match this one for ethnic and religious diversity, tension, hatred, and fear: the frozen conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan; Kurdish independence […]

Play nice with your neighbors, and they will repay you. That seems to be the new mantra in India’s political and business circles. Diplomats and businessmen are touting a new, benevolent, and open-handed approach to neighbors like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and even Pakistan.The offensive is not aimed at forming political alliances against China, nor […]

Politico is shedding some light on a three year-old sound bite that continues to haunt the Obama Administration: Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s comments that American gas prices should be as high as Europe’s: “Somehow,” Chu said, “we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe.”Unsurprisingly, Republicans have […]

When Obamacare passed after nearly a year of grueling debate, the Democratic faithful popped open the champagne and celebrated a hard-fought victory. Eight short months later, that success turned to ashes. Republicans delivered a “shellacking” to the Democrats in the midterm elections, hammering them on a healthcare bill that has remained stubbornly unpopular despite predictions […]

Like the whole world, Via Meadia has been following the news from Iran, trying to get a sense of its intentions. That’s been tough even by normal Iranian standards. One day, they vow to close the Strait of Hormuz; another, they invite the IAEA for talks. One day, they denounce the West and all its […]

…a nation where witchburning, even if only of “lower caste women” who no doubt have been very offensive in their way, is probably not on the brink of successful democracy. From the Telegraph: Dengani Mahato died after she was severely beaten, doused in kerosene and set alight for allegedly practising witchcraft, Gopal Bhandari, a superintendent […]

Bigotry is bad; how hard is that to remember?Apparently, very hard for a lot of American liberals who have allowed their dislike and suspicion of Republican politics to lower their defenses against cheap and ugly religious bigotry.  Nasty, ill-founded slanders against alleged Mormon plans for theocracy are spewing forth from news organizations and writers who, […]

In a move that will surprise no one, the ruling North Korea’s Workers’ Party announced Monday that Kim Jong-un will formally inherit his father’s place as Despot-in-Chief during a Party conference in mid-April. (With the transmission of supreme power underway, will Kim the younger also take on his father’s title as the world’s largest consumer […]

Regular readers know that Via Meadia (along with Winston Churchill), is a strong proponent of the future economic and energy benefits of faux meat. We are happy to report that the first “shamburgers” should be coming off the grill in October—albeit for the paltry sum of $348,000 each and with a 10–20 year timetable for mass production. But […]

We’ve lost track of the number of definitive, this-time-we-mean-it, final fix to the Greek mess coming out of Europe.  The most recent bailout package announced for Greece comes—as usual—just in time, for the umpteenth time, to avert a debt default in March with a rescue package of €130 billion. The deal leaves bondholders taking an […]