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28 Jan 2011 20:09

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Politics: The Guardian: Assessing the diplomatic damage in Egypt

  • The revolution threatens not only Hosni Mubarak’s regime but the strategy the US and Britain have constructed in the Middle East. The hesitancy with which President Mubarak reacted last night was matched only by the perceptible shift in the emphasis of the statements by the U.S. secretary of state, Hillary Clinton.
  • An editorial by The Guardian regarding Egypt • In an editorial about Egypt which we thinks relates well to a question we just answered on Tumblr not that long ago. The Guardian makes their point pretty well, we’d say: “Faced with the conflicting needs to keep an Arab partner of Israel afloat and to respond to demands for democratic reform, the U.S. would choose the first every time.” The Guardian makes three points: First, a regime change would possibly damage long-term diplomatic goals; second, if Mubarak has any chance of leaving office peacefully, he’s going to have to free Mohamed ElBaradei and other prisoners, and open up the Interwebs; and finally, this juggernaut may be too difficult to stop at this point. source

09 Jan 2011 11:17

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World: Hey everybody! Think good thoughts for Sudan today

  • Today, southern Sudan votes for independence: In potentially heartwarming news, Southern Sudan could be placed in charge of its own destiny if the vote in the country favors an independent state. As we noted last night, Obama has been pushing for this. Considering the recent electoral strife in the African continent (looking at you, Ivory Coast), it would be great news if this particular election went well. source

08 Jan 2011 22:59

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World: Obama to Sudan: Please keep voting process peaceful. Please?

  • As the referendum proceeds, voters must be allowed access to polling stations; they must be able to cast their ballots free from intimidation and coercion. All sides should refrain from inflammatory rhetoric or provocative actions that could raise tensions or prevent voters from expressing their will.
  • President Barack Obama • In an editorial, published in the New York Times, emphasizing the need for an honest vote in Sudan tomorrow, where they’ll be deciding whether to split the southern part of the country from the main country – a vote that Obama has long pushed for diplomatically. Obama suggests that if Sudan follows through with the vote without incident, the Khartoum region’s government could be taken off a list of state sponsors of terrorism. He also emphasizes that Darfur is also important to this peace process: “There can be no lasting peace in Sudan without lasting peace in the western Sudan region of Darfur.” We’re totally with him on this. source

09 Dec 2010 21:33

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U.S., World: Smart idea: TSA pats down India’s American ambassador

  • We are going to take it up with the government of United States, and I hope that things could be resolved so that such unpleasant incidents do not recur.
  • Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna • Reacting to the shoddy treatment that the Indian ambassador to the U.S., Meera Shankar, got recently. That’s right, an ambassador got chosen for a pat down. But here’s the thing. Foreign leaders have the clout to make them stop. Regular people? They don’t. source

09 Dec 2010 10:56

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World: China’s top diplomat meets with North Korea’s top manchild

“Hey buddy, how’s it going? We hear you’ve been up to a lot of stupid crap in the last few weeks. That’s OK, we’ll forgive you anyway.” source

07 Dec 2010 22:39

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World: The U.S. decides to let Israeli settlement deal fall through

  • That sound you hear is that of the U.S. dragging its tail between its legs. After attempting to making an offer to Israel to give them some fighter jets in exchange for a temporary delay of their building ambitions, the deal fell apart. The hope was that the delay would encourage Israel and Palestine to create firm borders, but in the end, the U.S. wouldn’t offer anything up to Israel in writing, and Palestine wouldn’t rekindle peace talks over a temporary settlement-building halt. The U.S. is playing down the diplomatic failure (which was kind of a bum deal anyway) and instead moving on to diplomatic talks between Israel and Palestine next week in the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, by the way, will be making a speech about the Middle East on Friday. source

01 Dec 2010 22:28

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U.S.: Should U.S. State Department employees read Wikileaks?

  • NO a sternly-written memo told them not to go there source
 

29 Nov 2010 00:19

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U.S., World: Five random facts from Wikileaks’ diplomatic cable leak

  • one China was behind the hack attack that led Google to temporarily withdraw from the country. (Duh.)
  • two Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah wants the U.S. to attack Iran to kill off its nuclear program. (Hmm.)
  • three The Afghan vice-president came a-knockin’ in the UAE with $52 million dollars in his luggage.
  • four The U.S. worries about Silvio Berlusconi’s tight friendship with Vladimir Putin, but not Leo’s.
  • five Obama would only meet with Slovenia if they took a Gitmo detainee from the U.S. Wow. source

28 Nov 2010 11:22

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World: China wants to get North, South Korea back to negotiating table

  • 2008 China, North and South Korea, Japan, Russia and the U.S., had six-party disarmament talks about North Korea’s nuclear program. The North walked out when it became clear it was an intervention.
  • 2010 China, looking to help ease things between on-the-brink-of-war North and South Korea, is pushing for another round of talks. China says it won’t be like last time; South Korea is thinking about it. source

06 Nov 2010 10:53

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U.S., World: India trip: Obama chooses Mumbai hotel attacked by terrorists

  • We visit here to send a very clear message that, in our determination to give our people a future of security and prosperity, the United States and India stand united.
  • President Barack Obama • Explaining why he chose to stay in, of all places, a Mumbai hotel that was infamously attacked back in 2008. Around 30 staff members and guests at the Taj were killed in November 2008, out of 164 overall deaths. Beyond commemorating the memories of those killed in the terrorist attack, dude’s working out some deals on his tour of India, including a $4.1 billion agreement to buy military transport planes from Boeing which would support 22,000 jobs. source