According to press reports, the Philippines and the United States are exploring ways to expand U.S. military presence in the region, including increasing Navy port visits, increasing the size and frequency of military exercises, rotating maritime patrol aircraft, and possibly even rotating U.S. soldiers through Philippine military facilities. Philippine defense and foreign ministry officials met with their U.S. counterparts last week for the second Bilateral Strategic Dialogue to discuss various options, as they reaffirmed their commitment to the Manila Deliration in a joint statement. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and …
Would you be outraged if the Department of Justice shut down The Foundry without any warning and blocked access for more than a year? That’s exactly what happened to a hip-hop blog called Dajaz1.com, which was falsely accused of criminal copyright infringement. The blog posted music from artists promoting their work. But federal authorities viewed it differently. They seized the domain name, then shared virtually no information with its owner for more than year. Only recently did they quietly drop the case. The government’s handling of this hip-hop blog is …
Catching you up on clips, commentary and news of the day. Sign up for the daily email update from Scribe. House forces pro-forma sessions to avoid recess appointments – Pete Kasperowicz The dead remain on Wisconsin voter list – M.D. Kittle Twitter’s ‘Who to Follow’ List Overwhelmingly Promotes Liberal Pundits, Media Outlets – Aubrey Vaughan Another View: Drastic solutions needed for permanent debt fix – William Beach U.N. subsidies: Get the ax – Tribune-Review An unintended consequence of the debt deal? Obamacare cuts could come – Tina Korbe What’s Ailing Wall …
President Ali Abdullah Saleh, although badly wounded, plans to return to Yemen on July 17 to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of his ascent to power. The United States has contributed to the international pressure for Saleh to agree to a peaceful and speedy transition of power in Yemen, but the political process has stalled due to his refusal to compromise and prolonged absence after being wounded in an assassination attempt.
By now most people are familiar with the ongoing debate about how far government should be able to go in monitoring Internet communications. Such was the topic of a recent discussion at the Voice of America building in Washington, D.C. Judging by the remarks of the event’s panelists, especially those of Ambassador Philip Verveer, the State Department’s Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy, there seems to be a considerable diversity of opinion within the government itself on the issue of cyber security. There are some very good reasons for …
It’s difficult to know how to react to the ‘new’ TSA security rules announced by the Obama Administration. On one hand, the good news is that the Administration is abandoning the silly process put in place after the Christmas Day plot of targeting 14 suspicious countries for secondary inspection. Any terrorist with half a brain would recognize that this is easily avoidable by simply flying through another country, not on the list. However, the Administration has announced that its new policy would involve “surgically targeting” terrorists on “characteristics of suspected …
Today, TSA announced a new round of security checks for international flights. Extra security in the wake of the failed underwear bound bomb for Detroit made sense as a measure of over abundance of caution. A rash of new permanent procedures, however, appears more like a knee-jerk response than anything else. Requiring one hundred percent inspections on travelers from 14 “terrorist” countries is a kind of feel good, but useless idea. Terrorists route their attacks through the international air hubs that are not the most suspicious. Nor is geography an indicator …
Fears that pro-Teamster protectionists in Congress would seek to kill the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “Cross Border Demonstration Project”, that has allowed a carefully selected group of Mexican trucking operators full access to the U.S. road network have been realized. The Supplemental FY 2009 Omnibus spending bill (aka “Porkulus II”) that is currently being rushed through Congress by the Democrats contains sections (SEC. 135) that impose onerous new safety inspection requirements on the Mexican carriers as well as (Sec. 136) directly barring new funding for the USDOT pilot program. Since it is …
Hong Kong is the most economically free country in the world. One of the reasons it has maintained that status for 14 straight years is its top-notch port security. Heritage’s James Jay Carafano was there this week to inspect its ports and other security measures put in place to combat the terrorist threat. His missives were published on the Weekly Standard’s blog. The World’s Most Important Port Seeking Military Cooperation in Asia Food for Thought from Hong Kong A Container Security Plan to Copy Perils of the Sea Look East …
