The alleged Iranian assassination plot against Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in the US (if the allegations hold up) is not news in the sense that it doesn’t tell us anything new or represent anything new about the structure of relations in the Middle East.  But it is very important news about the temperature of Saudi-Iranian relations, […]

Brace yourselves.  This week’s Economist — the only real newsweekly in the English language and must reading at the Mead manor, where we would as soon watch network news as read Time or Newsweek — has bad news and really bad news on the pension front.The bad news is that corporate and public pension plans […]

Waiting for me in my (very comfortable and well appointed) hotel room in Beijing was a friendly notice from the Public Security Bureau.  In addition to some helpful advice about what to do in case of fire or other disaster, and a warning not to bring guns or explosive chemicals into the rooms, comes the […]

A new anti-democratic plague is spreading across Eastern Europe, suggesting that the inevitable march toward democracy may be a little more complex than ideologues wish.  Last week it was Ukraine’s jailing of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko; this week it is developments farther west that are making the news.The New York Times discusses the situation in […]

As the NYT reports, Indian students are having an increasingly tough time getting into top domestic universities: This summer, Delhi University issued cutoff scores at its top colleges that reached a near-impossible 100 percent in some cases. The Indian Institutes of Technology, which are spread across the country, have an acceptance rate of less than […]

From Red Hook to Albany to Detroit to Beijing: I’ve made it to China in reasonably good shape and am ensconced for the night in the Sheraton Great Wall Hotel.  Not a bad spot, and the check in was fast and efficient.These days, it takes a while to realize you are in China.  In the […]

President Obama said Friday he would send armed advisers – about 100 – to central Africa to help hunt down one of the world’s genuine bad guys – Joseph Kony, head of a murdering, kidnapping, torturing and raping group of thugs who call themselves the Lord’s Resistance Army. Obama seems to have a thing for […]

An important op-ed in the New York Times (a phrase one doesn’t hear all that frequently these days) makes some points I’ve been making on this blog about the need for the US to develop a new Pakistan policy.  Pakistan’s army is in direct opposition to the US on core strategic issues in Afghanistan, and […]

Each year, the EU spends $75 billion on farm subsidies, fully two fifths of the EU’s annual budget. Considering the economic turmoil already consuming Europe, this year’s debate over agricultural subsidies promises to be entertaining, especially as greens start shouting for environmental restrictions on farming. The WSJ reported yesterday: The [European] commission also wants to […]

Russian research scientists are mad as heck and they aren’t going to take it anymore!  They recently took to Moscow’s streets to stage a protest the regulatory behemoth that keeps getting in the way of their work.  The WaPo reports: The protesters were not asking for more money (for the most part) but more discretion […]