Obama Administration Approving Only 35 Percent of Gulf Drilling Plans
A new report from a New Orleans-based group reveals that the Obama administration is approving just 35 percent of the oil drilling plans for the Gulf of Mexico so far this year. It is also taking an average of 115 days — nearly four months — to secure approval from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, […]
IDF to ‘Kidnap’ Soldiers Once a Month
A month after abducted soldier Gilad Shalit was released and amid fears that terrorists are planning further kidnappings, the IDF is planning to increase the frequency of its exercises and stage the kidnapping of a soldier once a month. According to a report on the IDF website on Tuesday, the monthly “kidnapping exercises” will begin […]
Yemen’s Saleh Resigns
Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh resigned Wednesday as president after almost 10 months of protests calling for him to quit, AFP reported. Saleh has ruled the fractious desert country for three decades. He was badly wounded by a bombing at a mosque in the presidential palace in June, but returned home after three months of treatment […]
His Position Has Improved, But Sarkozy Has a Long Way to Go
The polls show a tightening race between the incumbent French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the current favorite French Socialist Francois Hollande and they are in a virtual tie on the first ballot with 30%. When the French are asked about their second ballot opinion, the race is still Hollande’s to lose. He will mop up […]
Slideshow from the Presidential Debate
The spirited CNN debate hosted by The Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute provided a fantastic opportunity for Americans to hear from the presidential candidates about critical national security and foreign policy issues. We have put together a Flickr gallery of photos from before, during, and after the debate for you to browse. Take […]
Muslims Use “Taqiyya” to Deceive Non-Muslims About Islam; Lying Permitted (Commanded) in Islam
The Arabic word Taqiyya means “deceit” or “dissimulation.” Unlike the Christian or Jewish religions, Islam not only permits its believers to lie but actually commands it in some circumstances. For the most part, Muslims are not supposed to lie to one another; but, exceptions are made for smoothing over differences between friends (“He who makes […]
Arabist Snobs
by Daniel Pipes National Review Online November 22, 2011 Is knowledge of Arabic necessary to write about Arabs or make policy toward them? Yes, sniff some of those who have learned the language, known as Arabists. Antony T. Sullivan, for example, pulls rank in the journal Historically Speaking. Critiquing an article, “The Military Roots of […]
Tahrir Again: “Now Everyone is Angry”
(New Yorker) More violent clashes in Tahrir Square, and the crowd is only growing larger and more determined after the revolution has turned to a undesirable twist for Egyptians. The state security police have tried two or three times to take the square and have had to retreat, behind a cordon of tear gas, to the streets […]
China: U.S Sitting on Debt ‘Bomb’
China’s state media Tuesday blasted the United States over its “ticking debt bomb” and urged American lawmakers to be more responsible after they failed to agree on deficit-cutting measures. China is the world’s largest foreign holder of US Treasuries with a portfolio of around $1.15 trillion, prompting Beijing’s keen interest in the state of the US […]
Obamacare Oral Argument: What the High Court’s Order Suggests
When the Supreme Court agreed this month to hear the Obamacare constitutional challenge, it didn’t surprise most Court watchers, but the amount of time it set aside for oral argument is highly unusual. That is surprising for a few reasons, most of which should be unsettling to the current administration that is defending the law. […]
Super Failure: No Spending Cuts, and the Debt Keeps Rising
With the failure of the super committee to recommend at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction, Congress’s latest attempt at budget control has collapsed. There will be many analyses of why the process did not work, but it’s worth stepping back to recall what generated the need for this extraordinary procedure and what the exercise […]
