Are Tunisia’s governing majority wolves in sheep’s clothing? Mr. Rachid Ghannouchi, the leader of the moderate Islamist party Ennahda which triumphed in recent elections, had several taped conversations leaked where he appears to discuss alcohol bans and the imposition of religious law as a means to gradually Islamizing Tunisian society. Ennahda spokesmen have claimed the quotes were […]

Despite President Obama’s 2009 Cairo speech “A New Beginning”, the killing of Bin Laden, and the extensive drone program, Islamic radicalism appears to be on the rise in a number of places around the world. This is obviously a threat to America, but it’s especially threatening to Islamic minority sects, like the tolerant and pacifistic […]

On Monday, Germany announced that it is about to be hit by a huge hike in electricity prices. Under the new rates, German consumers can expect to pay nearly $26 billion in surcharges on their electric bills next year in order to promote renewable energy. The program wasn’t supposed to increase costs for the average consumer, […]

On Thursday Leon Panetta became the first-ever U.S. Secretary of Cyber Defense (unofficially, that is). At a New York conference attended by business leaders, Panetta directly acknowledged cyber security as a real threat to national security, ominously warning that the U.S. is at a “pre-9/11 moment” and that “the attackers are plotting.”As the WSJ reports, Panetta’s comments were designed to raise domestic awareness […]

Two court cases point out a disturbing loophole in one of the green movement’s signature policies: carbon trading. In both cases, the defendant is charged with selling millions of dollars’ worth of fake carbon credits—in one case $42 million. The NYT has the story: Under the E.P.A. program, initiated in 2009, a producer who makes […]

Pensions paid to public sector workers are killing President Obama’s hometown, and his former chief of staff is declaring an all-out war to fix this problem before Chicago dies.Mayor Rahm Emanuel can’t fight this war alone, however. Chicago taxpayers fund both city and state retirement costs, so any changes made to Chicago’s pension system will require […]

The U.S. is preparing for a role it hasn’t held in quite some time: exporter of crude oil. Although America has long been among the world’s largest producers of crude oil, the high level of domestic consumption has meant that most of this crude remained within the country for processing and use. But now the […]

Is this Africa’s golden age? An age when dusty streets and tin-roofed houses are replaced by office blocks and beach resorts? Or is it just the next stage in the exploitation and corrupt mismanagement of African riches?Perhaps it’s both. Canada’s Globe and Mail takes a fascinating in-depth look at “Africa next”—an analysis of the continent’s economic boom […]

Iran’s oil output is at its lowest level in 23 years, the FT reports: Iranian oil production has plunged to its lowest level for more than two decades because of the impact of US and European sanctions, the International Energy Agency has said in a report that highlights the growing economic pain of the sanctions.Meanwhile, as […]

In Brazil, a major corruption scandal is coming to a close as 20 of 38 defendants, mostly government officials, have been convicted for their involvement in in a vote-buying scheme. The convictions go as high up as former presidential chief of staff José Dirceu de Oliveira e Silva, who was convicted Tuesday of organizing the […]