I'm in Madrid now on the Live Not By Lies (or, Vivir Sin Mentiras) book tour. It has been a very busy but encouraging day, talking to Spaniards about what’s going on in their country. I can’t get out of my head an intense conversation I had this morning with a woman from Venezuela, who escaped to Spain several years ago. She read the book, and felt compelled to tell me her story. She said that my book meant a lot to her, because she feels the same sense of anger and foreboding about the coming of soft totalitarianism to Spain that I report…

Ukraine will be on the agenda when President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Switzerland this week. Ukraine's security got a boost last month when U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed America's unwavering support for Kyiv's sovereignty. But instead of capitalizing on the U.S. endorsement and strengthening the Ukrainian government's position at home, Kyiv is playing into Putin's hands by implementing discriminatory policies against its own loyal ethnic minority citizens. In so doing, Ukraine risks alienating its closest NATO allies in the region just as it needs them the most. After the 2014 annexation of Crimea, Ukraine remains under threat. The country is de facto…

There are relatively few points of substantive agreement between the Trump administration, the Biden administration, and the D.C.-based foreign policy commentariat. But the idea that the United States and China are entering an era of aggressive great power competition seems to be nearly universal, with the primary disputes arising over its dimensions and the correct terminology rather than the basic premise. There is plenty of evidence to support that contention, to be fair. The United States and China have fundamental, potentially irreconcilable, differences in their views of the power balance in the Asia-Pacific region, the importance of democracy, the governance…

SpaceX put 60 Starlink satellites in space May 23, the first little chunk of an eventual 12,000-satellite-strong "megaconstellation" that the private company plans to place in orbit. Not long after the launch, observers and astronomers noticed something: This train of five dozen objects looked really bright overhead — unusually bright for artificial satellites. And this light show has many astronomers worried. "The Starlink satellites just passed directly overhead," Boulder, Colorado-based astronomer Alex Parker tweeted Saturday (May 25). "They were glinting, some as bright as Polaris. Quite an eerie looking thing. And yes, the stars are out." Parker, an expert in orbital mechanics, caused a stir…

Surveyed between the 12th and 31st May, businesses faced better economic conditions as a whole, but variability between sectors was pronounced.New vehicle dealers were particularly positive, their outlook bouyed by a 7.6% m/m lift in sales. Their confidence reading rose to 63 from 35, a near doubling.Compared to last year, higher reported consumer incomes are expected to have boosted spend in May, with retailers' business confidence now at 54, from 37, also above the break-even mark and into positive territory, while wholesalers saw confidence remain relatively high, at 63. In the provinces, businesses in KwaZulu Natal and the Western Cape showed…