Quickie News Update
I have to do a lot of stuff tonight, and at this point I have only an hour and a half to do it. That probably means that I'll only get half of it done, but I'm going to post four news stories anyway.
A Taliban spokesman was captured recently, and claims that Mullah Mohammed Omar, the fugitive leader of the Taliban and former dictator of Afghanistan, is living in Quetta, Pakistan under the protection of various members of the Pakistani intelligence service known as ISI. (Fox, BBC) A Pakistani military official, however, has called these claims "absurd and ridiculous".
The al Qaeda affiliate in the Philippines is the Abu Sayyaf Group. Filipino soldiers have killed Abu Sulaiman, also known as Jainal Antal Sali, a key leader of Abu Sayyaf. (Fox, CNN, BBC)
After three previous failed attempts, China has successfully tested a ballistic missile capable of destroying another satellite by ramming it from its orbit. The test has been promptly condemned by other world powers. (Fox, CNN, BBC)
And, in yet another display of why it's a bad idea to give Democrats too much political authority, the House of Representatives has passed a bill requiring oil companies to pay billions in retroactive royalties and taxes, due to an eight year loophole. A bill passed during the Clinton Administration omitted a standard clause requiring the payment of royalties on oil drilled from public lands. In an effort to increas tax revenue, House Democrats passed the bill in an attempt to retroactively tax that oil revenue. Congressional Republicans have pointed out that there is nothing illegal about the current bill. Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of economics will realize that retroactively charging oil companies royalties and taxes when energy prices are already at unprecedented highs will only cause oil companies to charge more in order to make up the difference; far from raising tax revenues from big oil, this bill will punish the American people for no reason. For this reason, I'm firmly against it.
More news will appear as my schedule permits.
A Taliban spokesman was captured recently, and claims that Mullah Mohammed Omar, the fugitive leader of the Taliban and former dictator of Afghanistan, is living in Quetta, Pakistan under the protection of various members of the Pakistani intelligence service known as ISI. (Fox, BBC) A Pakistani military official, however, has called these claims "absurd and ridiculous".
The al Qaeda affiliate in the Philippines is the Abu Sayyaf Group. Filipino soldiers have killed Abu Sulaiman, also known as Jainal Antal Sali, a key leader of Abu Sayyaf. (Fox, CNN, BBC)
After three previous failed attempts, China has successfully tested a ballistic missile capable of destroying another satellite by ramming it from its orbit. The test has been promptly condemned by other world powers. (Fox, CNN, BBC)
And, in yet another display of why it's a bad idea to give Democrats too much political authority, the House of Representatives has passed a bill requiring oil companies to pay billions in retroactive royalties and taxes, due to an eight year loophole. A bill passed during the Clinton Administration omitted a standard clause requiring the payment of royalties on oil drilled from public lands. In an effort to increas tax revenue, House Democrats passed the bill in an attempt to retroactively tax that oil revenue. Congressional Republicans have pointed out that there is nothing illegal about the current bill. Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of economics will realize that retroactively charging oil companies royalties and taxes when energy prices are already at unprecedented highs will only cause oil companies to charge more in order to make up the difference; far from raising tax revenues from big oil, this bill will punish the American people for no reason. For this reason, I'm firmly against it.
More news will appear as my schedule permits.
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