The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) film school has received a $10 million gift from Former EBay Inc. President Jeff Skoll to launch the Skoll Center for Social Impact Entertainment, “dedicated to promoting social change through entertainment and performing arts.”
I don’t often comment on affairs in my native South Africa, which I follow somewhat sporadically these days, but a recent speech by former finance minister Trevor Manuel caught my attention and deserves to be singled out. Manuel rose from
In a conference call with reporters Wednesday morning, Mark Dubowitz, an Iran expert and executive director of the nonpartisan Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that Congress has tools at its disposal to resist efforts by the Obama administration to circumvent
With all the ballots from last week’s election nearly counted, California’s politicians can return to Sacramento, secure that the state’s massive spending can continue. And with that spending comes thousands of job openings in state government. The capital city’s local
In Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal, the indispensable Bret Stephens explained why an Iran deal–which he still regards as unlikely–would be worth less than the paper on which it is printed. Should President Barack Obama emerge, Neville Chamberlain-like, and wave the
The Obama administration is touting a new deal on greenhouse gas emissions between the U.S. and China, according to which the U.S. will decrease its emissions more rapidly now, and China will stop increasing its emissions around 2030. The deal
SANTA MONICA, California — A small business owner who operates pony rides and a petting zoo is fighting back against the animal rights activists who convinced the city council to cancel her annual contract next May. Tawni Angel, the owner
Momentum–of a sort–is building behind the idea that California governor Jerry Brown ought to run for President in 2016. On Friday, the same day that former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown argued that Hillary Clinton might lose after all unless
Palestinian terrorist Rasmieh Odeh, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prision in Israel over 40 years ago for her involvement in bombing a supermarket in 1969, was convicted Monday of lying to immigration officials when she applied for
Aaron David Miller, one of the most prominent analysts of U.S.-Israel relations, conducts an extended thought experiment in Foreign Policy today about the possible impact of a Hillary Clinton presidency on the alliance. His conclusion is that Clinton “would indeed
At Foreign Policy, Trita Parsi makes the best case possible for President Barack Obama’s recent letter to Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Parsi’s argument proceeds on the assumption–we cannot know for sure, since no one outside the White House has seen
Ema Shah is a superstar in Kuwait and the Arab world. Known for her singing and her musical style, which blends pop and classical influences, she is also a pioneer for women in the region, choosing to dress as she
The Ivanpah solar project, partly owned by Google, is now seeking a $539 million federal grant to help pay off a controversial $1.6 billion loan it has already received from taxpayers. The project, notorious for frying birds in midair with
LOS ANGELES, California — On Sunday, Nov. 9, the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall passed without notice in West Los Angeles. Whether that is because we have forgotten the significance of that event, or because communism
Loretta Lynch, President Barack Obama’s choice to replace Eric Holder as Attorney General, would likely sail through confirmation hearings under normal circumstances–i.e. even when Democrats had not gutted the filibuster rule in a cynical act of partisanship, and when the
Veteran California politician Willie Brown has warned this weekend that presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton “is going to lose” in 2016 “[u]nless there are some serious readjustments to the Democratic operation.” Brown made his remarks in his regular
On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal revealed that President Barack Obama had sent a “secret letter” to Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in late October. The letter supposedly focused on proposals to cooperate in fighting the Islamic State terror army. Yet the
From left: Speaker of the House John Boehner, President Barack Obama, outgoing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. In back: Democratic Party mastermind and Andrew Breitbart nemesis John Podesta Not pictured: incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
The most astonishing thing about the Republicans’ 2014 midterm election victory is not how many seats or governorships the party won. Nor is it how wrong the polls were, or how tone-deaf President Barack Obama remains. No–the truly amazing thing
In 2006, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wrote a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush, which was promptly ignored. The context was mounting international pressure on the Iranian regime, especially the UN Security Council, which was nearly unanimous in demanding
There were two messages from Republicans on the morning after their sweeping victory in the 2014 midterm elections. One was that voters had elected Republicans to stop President Barack Obama’s agenda. The other was that voters had elected Republicans to
The Republican wave election of 2014 was the result of voter dissatisfaction on a variety of fronts. As in 2006, when voters elected Democrats on the strength of frustration with the Iraq War, foreign policy was a major part of
Republican gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari may have lost decisively to Governor Jerry Brown, but he won more than 40% of the statewide vote, an important threshold that may establish a foundation for his future political ambitions. Moreover, at 41.3% of
As the 2014 midterm election wound to a close, left-wing pundits repeated the error of their conservative rivals in 2012, claiming that the polls forecasting doom were skewed. It turns out that they were right–but in entirely the wrong direction.
