It’s all getting a bit Tricky Dick in the White House

President Barack Obama is just as vulnerable to scandal as his predecessors, believes Tim Stanley

CIA chief makes surprise trip to Israel for Syria talks

Obama’s Nixonian Umbrella

by Amy Davidson

At times, Obama’s answers about one slipped to another. The approach he has settled upon seems to be to present himself as a repairman: “My concern is that if there is a problem in government we fix it.” Benghazi? More embassy security. I.R.S.? He wouldn’t want them coming after him, either. Seizing A.P. phone records? Maybe a press shield law. But here one saw him least detached, which is also why this might be the one scandal of the three that really lasts. 

Catfight - and it's US vs EU

AsiaTimes - Pepe Escobar

Forget about the Pentagon "pivoting" to Asia; nothing compares with the catfight developing between the United States and European Union over a free-trade pact proposed by Brussels, feared by many in Europe, and now pursued with a vengeance by Washington. Much lies in the hands of a European determined to be a personal winner in this transatlantic tussle, whatever its revolutionary potential.

Harming the Press

by Margaret Talbot

The Strange Creation of the Obama Scandals

By Jonathan Chait

Holder’s claim on the ‘Fast and Furious’ criminal citation

Glenn Kessler 

Attorney General Eric Holder said a U.S. Attorney made his own decision not to pursue a criminal prosecution of Holder. But he got that wrong.

Why the GOP hates Eric Holder

Rachel Weiner

The relationship between Holder and Republicans has gotten even worse.

“I don’t, frankly, think I’ve always been treated with respect, and it’s not even a personal thing,” he said toward the end of the hearing. “That’s one thing. But I am the attorney general of the United States.”

Obama’s shrinking presidency

George F. Wil

Recent scandals don’t help the president in his campaign for trust.

Leaving aside the seriousness of lawlessness, and the corruption of our civic culture by the professionally pious, this past week has been amusing. There was the spectacle of advocates of an ever-larger regulatory government expressing shock about such government’s large capacity for misbehavior. And, entertainingly, the answer to the question “Will Barack Obama’s scandals derail his second-term agenda?” was a question: What agenda?

France threatens to take euro crisis to 'higher plane', says hedge fund boss

Stagnant economy, weak President and car burnings are signs of a looming crisis in France, says billionaire investor Michael Hintze.

“A loss of confidence in France would shift the eurozone’s troubles to a higher plane. France lies not only at the core of the eurozone, but is also one of the original architects of the European Union. Clearly, a loss in confidence in France would likely have far-reaching consequences; its impact on the EU, the broader global economy and markets.” 

Where's all the money gone?

AsiaTimes - David Vine

Set foot just about anywhere other than the Chinese, Russian, and Iranian parts of the Eurasian landmass, and you're likely to find some kind of US base, installation, or shared facility. Private contractors have made fortunes off that global garrison, raking in US$385 billion to build and support American bases abroad since 2001.

There's been so much cost gouging that any attempt to catalog it across bases globally would be a mammoth effort. The $31-$60 billion in contracting fraud in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars alone, as calculated by the Commission on Wartime Contracting, which the United States Congress established to investigate waste and abuse, suggests the global total could be astronomical.  Since 2001, US taxpayers have effectively shipped hundreds of billions of dollars out of the country to build and maintain an enormous military presence abroad, while major Pentagon contractors and a select group of politicians, lobbyists, and other friends have benefited mightily.

Christianity faces catastrophic collapse 'after decade of immigration'

John Bingham

New analysis of the 2011 census shows that a decade of mass immigration helped mask the scale of decline in Christian affiliation among the British-born population.

Christianity declining 50pc faster than thought – as one in 10 under-25s is a Muslim

 Dr Fraser Watts, a Cambridge theologian, said it was “entirely possible” the people identifying themselves as Christians could become a minority within the next decade on the basis of the figures. “It is still pretty striking and it is a worrying trend and confirms what anyone can observe that on many churches the majority of the congregation are over 60,” he said.

The Virtues of Austerity

There are two ways to manage either a company or country during a downturn. One is a knee jerk reaction to cut costs. The other path is based an unshakable belief in your innovativeness, and is the path Steve Jobs took at Apple. To do so we must learn the difference between good and bad austerity, and between smart and dumb stimulus.