Outside the Beltway

Pope Francis continues his world tour and has issued a paradox from his private jet.

With major theater chains having pulled out, Sony bowed to the inevitable, but now there appears to be proof that a foreign power is behind the Sony hacking attacks and threats of violence.

Russia’s own government is projecting that its economy will slip into recession next year. How that will impact Putin’s current belligerence remains to be seen.

The House Intelligence Committee has concluded that the conspiracy theories regarding the 9/11/2012 attack in Benghazi are not supported by the evidence. That’s unlikely to change anyone’s mind, though.

You thought the American combat role in Afghanistan would end on December 31st? Think again.

Who should own antiquity?

As usual, politicians and pundits are helping to create a climate of fear and concern about Ebola that is not justified by the facts.

The Khorasan Group is, functionally, al Qaeda. Or is it?

Americans have long been lampooned for not speaking a second language. Now our cousins across the Pond are getting it, too.

Institutional reform does take place in other democracies.

Viet Xuan Luong pins on a brigadier general’s star today, becoming the first Vietnamese-American officer to achieve that rank.

Reflections on a story making the rounds this Independence Day.

How long should we expect people to work?

There’s little evidence for the conservative contention that the President has damaged America’s position in the world.

Far right parties are succeeding in Europe because the mainstream parties aren’t offering an alternative.

Parties described as “far right” or “extreme right” have done very well in Europe’s most recent elections.

Cowardice. There really isn’t any other word for it.

Yes. Amanda Knox could be extradited.

The idea that Amanda Knox was subjected to what we consider “double jeopardy” doesn’t seem to withstand scrutiny.

The American justice system is unique.

Our profound condolences to Doug Mataconis on the loss of his father.

Is 435 the right number?

A State Department announcement about consolidation of diplomatic posts in Rome has led to the latest round of Obama Derangement Syndrome.

We spend more per capita than any other country in the world and yet we are outperformed on a key metric, life expectancy, by a large number of countries

The economy of the Euro Zone remains in quiet dire straits, unless you’re lucky enough to live in Germany.

The latest revelations about National Security Agency surveillance outside the United States have caused quite an uproar overseas.

Western military action in the Syrian civil war now appears likely.

Absent DOMA, the Full Faith and Credit Clause would seem to make gay marriage legal across the land.

Thanks to those new electronic cigarettes, ads for cigarettes are back on television for the first time since the Nixon Administration.

The French economy has drifted into recession for the second time in four years.

After months of impasse, a new coalition has been formed in Italy.

Habemus Papam

The main who coined the word “meritocracy” meant it as a pejorative term.