A cartel is an organization of producers that agree to coordinate prices and production. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a cartel of twelve countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, … read more
Yesterday’s suicide bombing in Lahore, Pakistan, could prove to be an important moment in Pakistan’s struggle with its own extremists. The bombing—which apparently involved 100kg of explosives aimed at the local ISI headquarters and killed at least 40 people—was conducted … read more
The markets are sending the Obama administration the clearest of messages that the administration would be foolhardy to ignore. For not only are rapidly rising U.S. government bond interest rates and a weaker U.S. dollar likely to sap vitality from … read more
In the “what’s wrong with the Arab world” category, the new University of Maryland/Zogby International public opinion poll has fodder galore. Do they hate us? Yes they do, more or less, with 78 percent having a somewhat or very unfavorable … read more
The LA Times reports this morning that, as part of a major shift in counterterrorism policy, the Obama administration will be moving the FBI to the front and center of counterterrorism policy. The “policy shift will replace a CIA-dominated system … read more
The latest issue of the peer-reviewed journal Intelligence features some provocative new research. Let me quote from the abstract of Lazar Stankov’s article, “Conservatism and Cognitive Ability”: Conservatism and cognitive ability are negatively correlated . . . At the individual … read more
Arnold Kling argues that the rising yield curve means that the short-run effect of the stimulus bill is negative. Long-term interest rates have risen. In my view, this is perfectly rational, and it shows that the short-run effect of the … read more
Environmental groups, especially the Center for Biological Diversity, are determined to have species listed as endangered by climate change under the Endangered Species Act. In the last few years, the Fish and Wildlife Service has been petitioned to list the … read more
