Happy Anniversary, People’s Republic of China! Thanks for the Revival!

Today, of course, is the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.  On 1 October 1949, Mao Zedong mounted the Tian An Men and announced that the Chinese people had stood up. Above: the Tian an Men (Gate of Heavenly Peace) in the centre of the photograph, taken from the Beijing …

Trying to Get India and Pakistan Together is Easier Said Than Done

The current administration, for all of the strange things it is doing these days, is right to at least try to facilitate this: The foreign ministers of Pakistan and India, meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York at the weekend, did not agree on the resumption of formal …

The Warning Signs of Power Corruption in Organisations

Seen this kind of thing before, from the blog of attorney Chris Banescu: Here is the risk inherent in leadership: The greater the leader’s power, wealth, authority, and influence, the more likely the leader could succumb to ethical lapses and moral failings. The risk increases if the organization has a culture that lacks financial or …

Iran and its Nuclear Weapons: The Only People Who Will Do Anything

"Cuban missile crisis in slow motion" is a good way to describe the situation: Graham Allison, a Harvard professor who is one of America’s leading security strategists, likes to speak of the U.S.-Iranian nuclear confrontation as “the Cuban missile crisis in slow motion.” Well, on Friday morning, that slow-mo process started moving a little faster, …

The Real Socialists Hit the Streets

A few days ago I wrote a piece on how the "socialists" who are in the ascendant in our government have sold out. Evidently the real articles--and their anarchist friends--have hit the streets of Pittsburgh: Police fired canisters of pepper spray and smoke at marchers protesting the Group of 20 summit Thursday after anarchists responded …

The Socialists Have Been Bought Off

The situation, as described by The Hill's Brent Budowsky, is a revolutionary's dream come true: The great fault line in American politics today is not Democratic versus Republican, left versus right or black versus white. It is between the core political and financial power centers and the great silent majority of Americans who want to …

Pork Gets in the Way of Progress

This is the core problem with our government these days: Last week the Center for Public Integrity reported that almost 1,800 "special interest groups" have already hired 2,100 lobbyists and spent an estimated $45 million to lobby Congress on transportation in the first half of this year. The center, which tracks money in politics, says …

My Thoughts on Jimmy Carter and the Race Issue

Jimmy Carter's made quite a splash with his accusation that opposition to Barack Obama's policies--be they health care or otherwise--are racially motivated. When I think of someone with Jimmy Carter's background going on in this fashion, my thoughts turn to this, from Thomas Sowell's Black Rednecks and White Liberals: The cultural values and social patterns …

Pelosi Sees Violence. But Did Her Supporters Cause Some?

She certainly sees it: “I have concerns about some of the language that is being used because I saw … I saw this myself in the late '70s in San Francisco,” Pelosi said, choking up and with tears forming in her eyes. “This kind of rhetoric is just, is really frightening and it created a …

Why This Recovery Isn’t Going the Way It Should

The banks simply have not resumed lending as before: In a normal economic cycle, a flood of capital market liquidity would fuel a recovery. However, there is nothing normal about this cycle as major channels of finance in the real economy remain blocked. Increased corporate issuance and rallying equities may raise the amplitude of the …

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