In France and America same-sex marriage is facing last-ditch resistance. There may be more to it than just fear of the gays.
Category: United States
Obama magic still works
Those who thought Obama had failed to deliver on his Middle East tour spoke too soon. The rapprochement between Israel and Turkey is a significant step.
Clipping back copyright overreach
The US Supreme Court strikes a blow against the ambitious claims of intellectual "property".
What happened yesterday
Simon Crean's spectacular failure yesterday illustrates a common failing among modern politicians – an aversion to actual, good-faith negotiation.
Could there be a libertarian Republican?
After being cheerleaders for authoritarianism for so long, some Republicans are starting to move a little in the other direction. Kentuckian Rand Paul is their spokesman.
The drawn-out death of capital punishment
Forty years ago, capital punishment in America was on the way out. Now it seems to be again, but there's been a long detour in the meantime.
Well, hello sequester
Tomorrow, the US government has to start the process of cutting $85 billion in spending. The cuts may eventually be halted by a broad budget agreement, but don't hold your breath.
Who lost Gaza?
If you were trying to promote peace, fostering civil war between Fatah and Hamas was a really silly idea. But who said the Bush administration was trying to promote peace?
State of the Union (and state of the media)
This year's State of the Union address provides little evidence that Barack Obama is bent on a radical transformation of America. But it does expose a major limitation of the mainstream media.
Why Lincoln matters
Spielberg's Lincoln is a great political drama. It also has a message for the modern Republican Party: one day they will have to choose whether they are the party of Lincoln or the party of the Confederacy.
The World is Not Enough 