Andrew Sullivan highlights a new ad from Vladimir Putin’s campaign: Since it’s in Russian, here’s a translation: Allow me to (kinda) translate. A doe-eyed gal goes to a fortune teller, who kittenishly divulges: “We’ll find out, little beauty, who fate has in store for you.” “You know, I hope it’s for love.” Blink-blink-blink. “It’s my… first time.” [...]

Via the BBC:  Brazil wants more IMF power for extra eurozone funds Brazil has said that developing nations would be happy to provide more money to ease the eurozone’s debt crisis, in return for more power within the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Anyone with any knowledge of the 1980s (and later, for that matter) will [...]

The latest round of protests in Afghanistan prove yet again that it’s time for us to leave.

Via the BBC (Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez heads to Cuba for more surgery):  “Mr Chavez, 57, is expected to undergo an operation on a lesion which he says is probably malignant.” Why Cuba, one might ask? I think that Greg Weeks provided the basic answer earlier this week: The Hugo Chávez saga keeps chugging along. He [...]

This is one of the most draw-droppingly stupid 29 seconds I have experienced in some time.

After several days of protests sparked by the burning of several copies of the Koran by American soldiers, capped off today by an incident that resulted in the deaths of two soldiers, President Obama has sent a letter of apology to Afghan President Hamid Karzai: KABUL, Afghanistan — President Obama apologized on Thursday for the [...]

The protests in Afghanistan over the inadvertent burning of the Koran by American troops have claimed their first victims: Two U.S. troops have been shot to death and four more wounded by an Afghan solider who turned his gun on his allies in apparent anger over the burning of Korans at a U.S. military base [...]

Via the BBC:  Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez faces new operation Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said that he will have to have further surgery after doctors found a lesion during medical tests in Cuba. The 57-year-old had two operations in Havana last year to remove a cancerous tumour from his pelvis, and had said he was [...]

A pattern that never ends: Perceived insults lead to mayhem and murder.

France is moving into the 1970s, phasing out titles which distinguish between married and unmarried women.

The head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan is dealing with a rather sensitive public relations problem now that it’s been acknowledged that U.S. forces burned several copies of the Koran at a prison facility: BAGRAM, Afghanistan —Deeply angered over reports that U.S. troops had mistakenly burned copies of the Koran, Islam’s holy text, thousands of [...]

Yesterday the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff downplayed the idea of arming the Syrian rebels: (CNN) — The United States is not interested in providing weapons to opposition forces in Syria until it has a better picture of what those forces are, the top U.S. military officer said in an interview aired Sunday. [...]

Yet another sign that international intervention in Syria is most likely never going to happen.

China’s government may be more “efficient,” but it’s hardly a model for the rest of the world.

Is the United States a serious country? Should we be?

My previous two posts on Greece reminded me of something I meant to comment upon the other day.  On Friday’s Morning Edition there was a story on the Greek crisis that had the following observation that struck me: Resolving this crisis has taken years, and there’s a reason: a debt crisis has never really been [...]

Also via the BBC:

Via the BBC:  Greek MPs pass austerity plan amid violent protests Greece’s parliament has passed a controversial package of austerity measures, demanded by the eurozone and IMF in return for a 130bn-euro ($170bn; £110bn) bailout to avoid default. [...] The austerity measures include: 15,000 public-sector job cuts liberalisation of labour laws lowering the minimum wage [...]

Yesterday, rumors swept the Internet, primarily via Twitter, that the new leader of North Korea had been assassinated in Beijing: The claim that Kim, supreme leader of North Korea since the death of his father Kim Jong Il in December, had died apparently stemmed from a message sent out by a man who works near [...]

Via the BBC:  Greece bailout: Coalition fails to agree cuts Greek PM Lucas Papademos has failed to secure the support of his coalition for a raft of new austerity measures, after more than seven hours of talks. [...] A statement issued by the prime minister’s office said the aim of the meeting with the troika [...]

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti admits that the fight over the eurozone crisis is opening some old wounds.

I speculated last week that, notwithstanding the American public’s rather obvious war wariness,  making the public case for military action against Iran wouldn’t be all that difficult given the three decades of antipathy between the United States and the Islamic Republic that started with the Iranian Hostage Crisis. A new poll from The Hill would [...]

With the attacks on Syrian civilians seemingly getting worse by the day, the United Nations Security Council took up a resolution that would back efforts by the Arab League to bring an end to the crackdown, an effort that collapsed in failure as both Russia and China exercised their veto power: UNITED NATIONS — A [...]

Yes, the US Constitution has been the most successful such document in human history. That does not mean it is a good template for other countries.

Andrew Exum notes that most analysts who call for military intervention fail to specify the particulars.

We need to have opinions on a subject as serious as war with Iran.

Everything the critics say about the decision is right–and so is the decision.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced this afternoon that the timetable for U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan is being accelerated: BRUSSELS — In a major milestone toward ending a decade of war in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said on Wednesday that American forces would step back from a combat role there as early as [...]

The BBC is reporting on a leaked NATO report claiming that elements of Pakistani intelligence are directly aiding the Taliban in Afghanistan even as the U.S.-led NATO forces are fighting them: The Taliban in Afghanistan are being directly assisted by Pakistani security services, according to a secret Nato report seen by the BBC. The leaked [...]

Via the BBC:  Eurozone unemployment hits new record The jobless rate in the 17 countries that use the single currency was 10.4% in December, unchanged from November’s figure which was revised up from 10.3%. Some 16.5 million people were out of work in the eurozone in December, up 751,000 on the year before. The highest [...]

The well-respected aid group Doctors Without Borders is suspending its work in the jails in the city of Mistrata based on what it calls evidence of widespread torture taking place right under the new regimes nose: BENGHAZI, Libya — Doctors Without Borders has suspended its work in prisons in the Libyan city of Misrata because [...]

Mitt Romney’s view of the ideal relationship between the United States and Israel is, at the very least. quite odd, and, potentially, dangerous.

Censorship or sound business practice?

The son of Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is among a group of Americans who are being barred from leaving Egypt: CAIRO — The Egyptian authorities have blocked the son of a United States cabinet member and at least five other American employees of two Washington-backed nongovernmental organizations from leaving Egypt in an apparent escalation [...]

My latest for The Atlantic explains, “Why We Should Be Glad the Haditha Massacre Marine Got No Jail Time.”

One year later, Egypt’s revolution remains unfinished.

We, as a country, need to remember that do not hold levers that allow us to move events this way or that

The combined value of Apple’s stock is more than the GDP of some countries.

It isn’t often when a Presidential primary debate causes an international incident, but Rick Perry managed to do it last night when he asserted that Turkey was now ruled by “Islamic terrorists” and that it should be kicked out of NATO: BAIR: Governor Perry, since the Islamist-oriented party took over in Turkey, the murder rate [...]

Huntsman’s tactics reinforced his fellow Republicans’ natural skepticism of his candidacy.

Greg Weeks explains.

Via the BBC:  Mohamed ElBaradei will end Egypt presidency bid Mr ElBaradei, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005, said he had taken his decision in protest at the way Egypt’s military rulers governed "as though no revolution had taken place". [...] "My conscience does not permit me to run for the presidency or [...]

The Daily Mail reports that Kim Jong-Un and his underlings are punishing citizens perceived not to have sufficiently mourned the death of his father: North Korea’s hardline regime is punishing those who did not cry at the death of dictator Kim Jong-il, according to reports. Sentences of at least six months in labour camps are [...]

The United States is sending a warning to Iran not to play games with the Straits Of Hormuz: WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is relying on a secret channel of communication to warn Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that closing the Strait of Hormuz is a “red line” that would provoke an American response, [...]

Via the BBC:  Mexico drug war deaths over five years now total 47,515 That number is since 2006 and the escalation of the drug war by President Felipe Calderon. According to the piece, while the murder rate continues to increase on an annual basis, the growth rate has slowed: The PGR said that the 11% [...]

A testament to the state of the banking industry in Italy and the resilience of a criminal network declared dead many times over the years (Reuters) – Organized crime has tightened its grip on the Italian economy during the economic crisis, making the Mafia the country’s biggest “bank” and squeezing the life out of thousands [...]

At the very least, something tells me this is a really stupid thing to do when you are running a country that has no money: The Greek government is being denounced by the National Confederation of Disabled People after it added pedophiles, exhibitionists, and kleptomaniacs to the list of disabled people entitled to state benefits. [...]

This shouldn’t be at all surprising: WASHINGTON — A nearly two-month lull in American drone strikes in Pakistan has helped embolden Al Qaeda and several Pakistani militant factions to regroup, increase attacks against Pakistani security forces and threaten intensified strikes against allied forces in Afghanistan, American and Pakistani officials say. The insurgents are increasingly taking [...]

The problem with Europe may not be the Euro, but the fact that there really aren’t any Europeans.

Given the increasing tensions between the United States and Iran in the Straits of Hormuz, this is good to see: (CNN) — U.S. sailors from a carrier strike group whose recent presence in the Persian Gulf drew the ire of Iranian military officials have rescued 13 of the Middle Eastern country’s sailors from a hijacked [...]