by Daniel Pipes July 21, 2011 A.J.P. Taylor wrote this memorable passage in English History, 1914-1945 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1970): Until August 1914 a sensible, law-abiding Englishman could pass through life and hardly notice the existence of the state, beyond the post office and the policeman. He could live where he liked and as […]
On August 5, Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister and heroine of Ukraine’s 2004 pro-western Orange Revolution, was arrested during her trial. Tymoshenko was in court defending herself against charges of overstepping her authority and allegedly making an illegal gas price deal with Russia in 2009. The presiding judge, Rodion Kireyev, accused her of systematically […]
The Obama Administration has in recent months made efforts to improve relations with Cuba contingent upon the release of Alan P. Gross. A subcontractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Gross was arrested in December 2009 for making the Internet available to members of Cuba’s minuscule Jewish community. He was sentenced to 15 […]
Last week President Barack Obama praised Presidents Yayi of Benin, Condé of Guinea, Issoufou of Niger and Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire as models of Africa’s democratic progress. Since gaining their independence, many African countries have suffered poor governance and widespread instability due, in part, to the unwillingness of African leaders to leave office or support […]
Neglected news out of the Crazy from the Heat Department is word that the global overpopulists are in a terrific snit because soccer superstar David Beckham and his wife, Victoria, dare to continue producing children. Talk about a crime against nature. Fortunately, as The Wall Street Journal noted, the Beckhams had the good sense not […]
In the midst of a world embroiled in economic turmoil, a few nations have managed to do surprisingly well—among them, Estonia. After near economic collapse during the 2008–2009 financial crisis, the country has managed to successfully bounce back with substantial GDP growth, a vibrant trade environment, and a notable budget surplus. During the first quarter […]
The Obama Administration’s plan to increase funding for the U.S. nuclear weapons complex has little chance to succeed under the newly negotiated debt ceiling deal. The bill mandates a cut of $44 billion for discretionary budget authority in “security” spending from the President’s FY 2012 requested level. Automatic spending cuts, if triggered, would impose up […]
A new study says the growing practice of tele-medicine abortions, in which women are prescribed abortion-inducing medications without having a physician present, is “safe and successful”—but that declaration is dangerously deceitful. The truth is that at least 3,534 women have been mildly to fatally affected by the pill in question, Mifepristone, which was approved by […]
Fmr. Gov. Sarah Palin responds to a report that Vice President Joe Biden said Republicans were “terrorists” during a closed-door meeting with Congressional Democrats about the debt compromise. Palin says “enough is enough” and she’s “not going to sit here and take it anymore” when it comes to the left accusing the Tea Party of […]
According to public employees’ unions, federal employees are substantially underpaid, and this year’s pay freeze is just one more slight against workers who could easily earn much more outside the government. It is curious, then, that so many people without federal jobs are lining up for them, apparently hoping to become “underpaid” themselves. Even out […]
