News of the Week
*************** Despite Reports of Brutality Toward Civilians, Syria to Join U.N.'s Human Rights Council By Ben Evansky The brutal crackdown by Syrian President Bashar Assad may finally be getting the attention of world leaders -- but apparently not enough to stop Syria from becoming the newest member of the U.N. Human Rights Council. **************** Syrian army tanks shell city at heart of uprising By DIAA HADID, Associated Press CAIRO – Syrian army tanks shelled the old quarter of a city at the heart of the country's six-week-old uprising Sunday, as military reinforcements rolled in to join a siege that has lasted for nearly a week, a witness said. *************** War & Terror *************** Obama to nominate CIA Director Leon Panetta as defense secretary President Obama will nominate CIA Director Leon Panetta this week as secretary of defense, replacing Robert M. Gates as part of a series of national security shifts that will also place Afghanistan war commander Gen. David H. Petraeus in the top CIA job, U.S. officials said. *************** PJM Exclusive: Stuxnet Has Completely Paralyzed Iran’s Bushehr Plant Iran may even have to junk it and start from scratch. by 'Reza Kahlili' Contrary to the claim made by the Iranian Center for Non-Military Preemptive Defense, the Stuxnet virus has disabled Iran’s nuclear centers *************** Karzai Told to Dump U.S. Pakistan Urges Afghanistan to Ally With Islamabad, Beijing *************** Australia to be port of call for Chinese navy John Garnaut CHINESE warships could be heading to Australian ports this year after the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, took "a few small steps" towards military transparency and co-operation with President Hu Jintao. National *************** 72% Say Taxpayers Not Getting Their Money’s Worth from Public Schools Voters overwhelmingly believe that taxpayers are not getting a good return on what they spend on public education, and just one-in-three voters think spending more will make a difference. *************** Governor’s givebacks show political mastery By Jon Ralston I hate what Gov. Brian Sandoval is doing. But I love how he is doing it. Sandoval’s intransigence on taxes, be they sunrise of new ones or sunsets of old, is infuriating because of the potential consequences to crucial state services. His refusal to listen, while he claims to be listening, and his preternatural affability, as he refuses to budge, only makes any criticism seem futile. *************** Thaddeus McCotter, guitar hero and 2012 dark horse: A Michigan star rises in Washington *************** Union Official, Professor Teach College Course in Violent Union Tactics How to College Course on Violent Union Tactics College Course: US Flag Is Racist, How-To Defeat America In Iraq And Afghanistan *************** How the Obama administration is Using Executive Power to Support Union Goals:What The NLRB’s Recent Complaint Reveals by Ron Radosh Last week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed a complaint against Boeing that the firm cannot open a new factory in a “right to work” state, South Carolina, because the move was undertaken to avoid strikes that plagued the firm’s factory in Puget Sound, Washington. Is this a new departure for the Board, and does it in any way go way beyond its original mandate? *************** Mass. lawmakers say sex ed website 'disgusting' By Bob Salsberg BOSTON—Massachusetts public health officials said Tuesday they would be willing to consider changes in the content of a sexual education website aimed at teens, after critics in the Legislature complained that the site had graphic and "disgusting" descriptions of sex acts and downplayed the risks of abortion. *************** Discord in Harvard’s education school Protesters want more focus on social issues The recent denial of tenure to a prominent Harvard scholar whose work focuses on grass-roots organizing has sparked student protests over the direction of one of the nation’s most influential education schools. *************** Superman announces that he is going to give up his U.S. citizenship *************** The SaVE Act: Trading Liberty for Security on Campus By Wendy Kaminer New legislation meant to protect college women from sexual violence goes too far in attacking freedoms and defining "healthy" relationships *************** Two Liberal Victories at Court By David Weigel This is a big win for gay groups -- King and Spalding, whose attorney Paul Clement was hired by the House to defend DOMA, is dropping out of the case. *************** Paul Clement resigns from law firm over DOMA decision By: Byron York Former solicitor general Paul Clement has resigned from his law firm, Kind & Spalding, over the firm's decision to back out of a commitment to defend the Defense of Marriage Act against a constitutional challenge. Economy
& Taxes *************** The Hidden Tax: Regulation Compliance fees have surpassed — surpassed! — the deficit. by Michael Swartz We see what Uncle Sam makes us pay every April. But a new edition of an annual report shows there’s an insidious fee we pay on a daily basis. *************** U.S. Effort to Remove Drug CEO Jolts Firms By ALICIA MUNDY A government attempt to oust a longtime drug-company chief executive over his company's marketing violations is raising alarms in that industry and beyond about a potential expansion of federal involvement in the business world. *************** Most Americans say U.S. in recession despite data More than half of Americans say the U.S. economy is in a recession or a depression despite official data that show a moderate recovery, according to a poll released on Thursday. *************** None Dare Call It ‘Stagflation’ Economic growth in the first quarter slowed to an anemic 1.8% annual rate, which isn’t the only bad news, as Larry Kudlow explained on Twitter: 1.8% growth, 8.8% unemployment,3.8% inflation spells stagflation. *************** Wal-Mart: Our shoppers are 'running out of money' By Parija Kavilanz, senior writer NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Wal-Mart's core shoppers are running out of money much faster than a year ago due to rising gasoline prices, and the retail giant is worried, CEO Mike Duke said Wednesday. *************** Palin vs. Krugman by Don Surber The Fed bet $900 billion it didn’t have — and it lost. *************** China May Start New Sovereign Funds to Invest in Oil, Gold: Reports China's central bank is considering setting up new investment funds to diversify holdings in the country's swelling foreign exchange reserves, the world's largest stockpile, local media reported on Monday. *************** International *************** Inside Every Leftist Is a Little Authoritarian Dying to Get Out Posted by Michael F. Cannon I’ve been meaning to write about how ObamaCare’s unelected rationing board — innocuously titled the Independent Payment Advisory Board — is yet another example of the Left leading America down the road to serfdom. (Efforts to limit political speech — innocuously called “campaign finance reform” — are another.) *************** Pub singer arrested for racism after Chinese passers-by hear him perform Kung Fu Fighting By Daily Mail Reporter A pub singer has been arrested on suspicion of racism for singing the classic chart hit Kung Fu Fighting. *************** The Equal Earth Amendment If this proposal is to have any teeth, we need to ensure that a new seat specifically for Mother Earth is added to the hallowed hall of the UN. *************** China's Ghost Cities *************** Opinion *************** Why the ‘Age of America’ isn’t over As you may have seen, the IMF has “set a date for the moment when the ‘Age of America’ will end and the U.S. economy will be overtaken by that of China.” As Reagan might say, “I utterly reject that view.” *************** What’s Left of the Left Paul Krugman’s lonely crusade. By Benjamin Wallace-Wells *************** Even U.S. can't afford generous defined benefit systems By: Michael Barone The defined benefit is dying. Barack Obama is struggling to keep it alive, but it's apparent that it's something that even as bounteously rich a society as ours can't afford. *************** America’s Ever Expanding Welfare Empire A fundamental misconception about America’s welfare state misleads millions of voters to reflexively support ever bigger and more generous government. William Voegeli fingers the attitude in his book, Never Enough: America’s Limitless Welfare State: “no matter how large the welfare state, liberal politicians and writers have accused it of being shamefully small” and “contemptibly austere.” *************** |
News of the Week Mainpage
Follow me on Twitter: @ThePoliticalHat
