Politics & Current Affairs

In his Big Think interview, the prospective GOP presidential candidate takes aim at what he calls the “fourth bubble,” i.e., government spending.

The Wall Street Journal says European taxpayers deserve clarity on just who benefited from the ‘Irish bailout.’ “It was the creditors of Ireland’s banks.”

Talk to the workers who are hurting most in this epic downturn, and you’ll find they are overwhelmingly out there on their own. No one has their back. Which is why unions matter.

Although mainstream media have devoted few resources to covering the collective bargaining battle in Wisconsin, it is alive and well—police have recently taken the side of the protesters.

Rolling Stone magazine caused turmoil in the U.S. military this week reporting that a commander in Afghanistan ordered a “psychological operations” team to manipulate U.S. senators.

Heavy gun fire has been heard raking the streets of Tripoli, as Libyan dictator Colonel Gadaffi makes a defiant stand. There can be no doubt now that he will stop at absolutely nothing to hang on to power. What, if anything, should the international community be doing to help? 

The U.S. Army illegally ordered a team of soldiers specializing in “psychological operations” to manipulate visiting American senators into providing more troops and funding for the war.

The question raised by the wave of protests spreading across the Middle East is not whether to deal with autocrats, but how to deal with them.

Twitter and Facebook may be the civil uprising tools du jour, but they certainly weren’t the first. Photography galvanized support for the African American Civil Rights movement.

The problems facing the United States, from national debt to foreign policy, may be the result of having too many elections, according to economist Dambisa Moyo.

Conservative candidates are more attractive physically than their liberal counterparts, according to a new study. This trend could benefit right-leaning candidates at the ballot box.

The crowds mobbing the Wisconsin Capitol in Madison are right: Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill is indeed an attack on organized government workers. And it’s about time.

Public unions have been a 50-year mistake. The argument for public unionization wasn’t moral, economic or intellectual. It was rankly political.

For members of the world community, many of whom long condoned authoritarian regimes in the Arab world, Libya presents a critical test.

There is something more powerful than economic self-interest, hatred of Wall Street kingpins, Republican trickery, or even liberal self-congratulation. And that something is condescension.

While a deeply flawed insurgent force in many ways, the Taliban is a uniquely 21st-century threat. And just like their allies in al Qaeda, this new Taliban is more network than army.

This week the World Trade Organization meets to revive the Doha Development Round of talks. Economist Daniel Altman explains why little will be gained—and why that isn’t such bad news.

The 2012 presidential election is going to be the most expensive ever, thanks to the Citizens United court ruling.

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron wants private companies, voluntary groups and charities to be given the right to run schools, hospitals and vast swathes of public services.

On Sunday morning President Ali Abdullah Salih gave a speech in front of roughly 30,000 supporters in Sanaa.  Foreign journalists were invited to document the event and see the widespread […]

Protestors and opposition leaders in Bahrain are calling on the Sunni king to dissolve the government. Will these protests successfully usher in a revolution or be stifled like in Iran?

It was heartening to see that there are tens of thousands of people protesting in Madison day after day. That’s the beginning, maybe, of what we really need here: a democracy uprising.

The situation in Bahrain is approaching a fever pitch, and the neighboring Saudis are expected to intervene to rescue the ruling Bahraini family and shore up the regime.

THIS week a powerful section of Britain’s political class demonstrated beyond any remaining doubt that they now inhabit a parallel universe to the rest of us. For most people out […]

The war in Afghanistan is based on four lies, including the premise that NATO allies are there to fight international terrorism. Negotiating with the Taliban is the only solution.

Yemen may be a fractured society, but I have faith that we can unite against a nepotistic regime that has plundered our resources and given us little but misery.

Bill Clinton’s labor secretary says President Obama’s budget proposal hinges on major cuts that ensure that Republicans get to control the conversation on spending.

David Cameron’s speech is heavy with rhetoric. But if personal responsibility means anything, it is that people must choose to be charitable, not be forced by the state to be so.

Even if Berlusconi leaves the soon, he will leave behind a toxic legacy, one in which the media cynically undermine democratic norms and women have been robbed of their dignity.

The White House touts as tight-fisted a budget proposing a record $1.645 trillion deficit for fiscal 2011, due largely to a new surge in spending to 25.3% of GDP.