The level of fury expressed by Beijing over South Korea’s recently announced decision to deploy the U.S. Army's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD) seems to have caught some in Seoul off guard. China's official mouthpiece, Xinhua, even carried an August 13 report suggesting that President Park could be "impeached" over the THAAD decision: "A South Korean opposition party candidate said it is possible to impeach President Park Geun-hye over her turning a blind eye to growing public opposition over the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) on the country's soil." Read more
Less than two months after Iran received $400 million in foreign currency in January, the world's top state sponsor of terror acquired another $1.3 billion in cash from the United States, based on statements of U.S. government officials. Read more
The best in books and arts from around the web, including: Classical architecture and California, the life of Colin Wilson, the real Robinson Crusoe, and more. Read more
The Defense Department has transferred 15 detainees—12 Yemenis and 3 Afghan citizens—from Guantanamo to the United Arab Emirates. The Pentagon's web page says nothing about the risks the detainees pose beyond the fact that the transfers supposedly "took place consistent with appropriate security and humane treatment measures." The DOD thanks the UAE "for its humanitarian gesture," implying that the transfers were necessary to promote human welfare. Read more
Coming into Rio, few people expected 31-year-old Michael Phelps, swimming in his fifth Olympics, to become the most decorated swimmer in this year’s games. With the swimming competition now completed, however, that's exactly what transpired. Read more
The Islamic Republic of Iran does not recognize the independence of the Republic of Kosovo. While the Balkan state of some 1.8 million people is 80 percent Muslim, few among them are Shia, save for some spiritual Sufis whose variety of Shiism is extremely heterodox when compared with Tehran’s theocratic ideology. Read more
Donald Trump used to love the polls, until the polls weren't useful anymore. Now he’s is taking matters into his own hands by conducting a poll of his own. Trump's campaign emailed his supporters earlier Monday, saying that he is now facing two opponents: Hillary Clinton and the media. Read more
In the latest episode of Conversations with Bill Kristol, University of Virginia professor Paul Cantor joins Kristol to talk about his recommended reading list. Cantor includes several writers through the ages, both well and lesser known, who might appeal to lovers of liberty and classical liberalism. Read more
Donald Trump delivered a strong speech Monday on thwarting terrorists and crushing ISIS while cleverly disguising it as an address on national security policy. Read more
Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger said Monday that Donald Trump should look into his campaign’s reported ties to the Kremlin and pro-Putin figures in Ukraine. Read more
I guess all the flacks in the vast Obama administration public relations apparatus are at the beach. What else would explain this inelegant quote from Robert Pear’s story today in the New York Times? Read more
Indiana Senate hopeful Evan Bayh has identified himself repeatedly in public records as a Washingtonian, according to a report, a revelation that fueled charges of opportunism from his critics Monday. Read more
Puerto Rico won its first Olympic gold medal Saturday when Monica Puig defeated Angelique Kerber to take the top prize in women’s singles in tennis. Puerto Ricans on the island and off were ecstatic—like Hamilton author Lin-Manuel Miranda, who celebrated in a series of tweets—as Puig joined Puerto Rican sports legends like baseball Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda, and Roberto Alomar; boxing champions like Wilfredo Benitez and Miguel Cotto; jockey Angel Cordero, Kentucky Derby and Belmont stakes winner Bold Forbes, and the horse's owner, Esteban Rodriguez Tizol—my grandfather. I wish my mother were alive to have seen Puig's victory, but she probably would've been more excited by the fact that legendary Puerto Rican entertainer (and aging Latina sex kitten) Iris Chacon liked one of my tweets about the gold medal. Read more
My friend Jay Cost (a fellow non-fan of the current Republican nomination system) outlines a scenario in which Donald Trump could lose to Hillary Clinton by an electoral-vote tally of 396 to 142. This is certainly possible, if the Trump campaign goes into a complete tailspin. But if Trump gets out of the current turbulence he has encountered (or has created) and steadies his campaign, the issues of the day favor him. Moreover, he’s not really that far behind. Read more
Police were called to a meeting of the Multnomah County, Oregon, Democrats late last week. According to the Oregonian, a "scuffle" broke out when a handful of Bernie Sanders supporters, led by one Leigh LaFleur (a prominent Wiccan supporter of the Vermont senator) disrupted the meeting by shouting. This prompted a "shoving match" when the meeting chair tried to boot LaFleur from the premises. Read more
The best in books and arts from around the web, including: David Cesarani’s final book, Christoph Irmscher on Teddy's hunting, how to live a shame-free life, and more. Read more
