Monthly Archives: December 2013

December 29, 2013 Iran, Turkey’s New Ally? By VALI R. NASR WASHINGTON — A bribery and corruption scandal has plunged Turkey into crisis, seriously undermining Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s authority. Mr. Erdogan now faces serious challenges from both secularists … Continue reading →

December 29, 2013 Bombings Jolt Russia, Raising Olympic Fears By STEVEN LEE MYERS MOSCOW — A deadly suicide bombing at a crowded railroad station in southern Russia on Sunday, followed by a blast in a trolley bus on Monday in … Continue reading →

December 28, 2013 When Demons Are Real By T. M. LUHRMANN SOME months ago, on a warm Friday evening in Accra, Ghana, I found myself in an all-night prayer session with a charismatic evangelical church. All-night prayer has become wildly … Continue reading →

December 17, 2013 Vaclav Havel’s Fairy Tale By SLAWOMIR SIERAKOWSKI Against the backdrop of today’s petty politics, the stories of great political leaders like Mohandas K. Gandhi or Nelson Mandela look like fairy tales. Let us recount the adventures of … Continue reading →

December 27, 2013 Police Salaries and Pensions Push California City to Brink By RICK LYMAN and MARY WILLIAMS WALSH DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. — Emerging from Los Angeles’s vast eastern sprawl, the freeway glides over a narrow pass and slips … Continue reading →

December 26, 2013 With Shrine Visit, Leader Asserts Japan’s Track From Pacifism By HIROKO TABUCHI TOKYO — Shinzo Abe’s past year as prime minister has concentrated chiefly on reviving Japan’s long-ailing economy. Yet in Mr. Abe’s mind, the country’s newfound … Continue reading →

December 17, 2013 Vaclav Havel’s Fairy Tale By SLAWOMIR SIERAKOWSKI Against the backdrop of today’s petty politics, the stories of great political leaders like Mohandas K. Gandhi or Nelson Mandela look like fairy tales. Let us recount the adventures of … Continue reading →

Silence of the Generals Posted on December 15, 2013 | 16 Comments During the Vietnam War, America’s general officers developed a bad reputation for hovering above the fight in helicopters, calling the shots from a safe distance but never truly … Continue reading →

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) wants to look tough on budget issues. In aneditorial published in USA Today explaining his decision to lead the passage of a budget that reduced the value of already-earned veteran pensions by an average of $84,000 … Continue reading →

December 15, 2013 More Retailers See Haggling as a Price of Doing Business By HILARY STOUT Pay no attention to the price on that tag. Or even the markdown. This year some shoppers are quietly taking the art of bargaining … Continue reading →