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20 May 2010 00:45

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Politics, World: Thailand’s use of military force may hurt long-term

  • Was the military force used against the Red Shirt protesters a good idea? At least one expert says no. “By opting for a military rather than a security solution, the government has lost the opportunity to craft a settlement for an orderly transition,” said University of Leeds professor of southeast Asian politics Duncan McCargo. McCargo notes that the Red Shirts had lost their leader and the country had the chance for diplomatic talks (including some mediated by the UN), but passed on them them. Now, the country has deep, violent conflicts instead of compromise. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Apr 2010 10:04

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Politics: McCain on Iran policy: U.S. needs to be willing to “pull the trigger”

  • I didn’t need a secret memo from Mr. Gates to ascertain that. We do not have a coherent policy… We have to be willing to pull the trigger on significant sanctions.
  • Sen. John McCain • Speaking on Fox News Sunday this morning. The senator claims that the secret memo leaked by the New York Times yesterday merely states the obvious. He wants to push for more sanctions, saying the U.S. has long held a loaded gun at Iran’s head but has been afraid to “pull the trigger.” Somebody likes using metaphors to get his point across! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Apr 2010 21:13

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U.S.: Secret memo: The U.S. doesn’t know what the #(&$ to do about Iran

  • This is according to a note sent by man, myth and legend Robert Gates. While the U.S. has a solid short-term strategy for the country (including sanctions), a memo from Gates in January hints that they might be a little lost as to what to do if those measures don’t work. The note set off a tizzy, according to sources hiding behind the shoulders of anonymity. Why? There’s a significant fear that Iran will bump up against the Nuclear Non-Prolifieration Treaty, getting all the elements of a nuclear weapon without actually building one. (Hint: That’d be really bad.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Apr 2010 20:50

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Politics: World leaders just can’t get enough of Barack Obama!

  • Jeez, can you make it any less obvious you’re talking about Bush? The Atlantic Wire notes that, despite Obama’s 47 percent approval rating in the States (his lowest point ever), world leaders can’t seem to get enough of him. Russian president Medvedev puts it this way: “He’s very comfortable partner, it’s very interesting to be with him.” Does Michelle know? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Apr 2010 10:57

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U.S.: Obama decides to fix U.S.’s Nuclear Posture, cut back big time

  • We are going to want to make sure that we can continue to move towards less emphasis on nuclear weapons … [and to] make sure that our conventional weapons capability is an effective deterrent in all but the most extreme circumstances.
  • President Barack Obama • Discussing his decision to scale back the nation’s nuclear powers, limiting exactly when the weapons can be used. Don’t think he’s going to go all soft on us, though. He’s leaving an exception for “outliers like Iran and North Korea” just in case they decide to try any funny stuff. You know, like threatening to drop a nuke on the U.S. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Mar 2010 10:54

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Tech, World: Google and China are just about done with each other

  • Now Google suddenly wants to break its promise, and if it’s not satisfied it will criticize China for a worsening of the investment environment. This is entirely unreasonable. What has changed is not China’s investment environment. It is Google itself.
  • Chinese official media source Xinhua • Regarding Google’s decision to move out of the Chinese market (a decision reported by the Financial Times today but not formally announced). To a degree, they’re totally correct. Yeah, Google changed. They decided that they couldn’t do censorship anymore, and were optimistic they could get China to bend for them. Not so much. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Mar 2010 10:20

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World: Turkey’s PM tries to remind Armenians who’s the boss

  • 170,000 the number of Armenians currently living in Turkey
  • 100,000 Armenians could be forced out for living there illegally
  • » Why them, why now? It’s a purely political statement by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey’s upset that the U.S. and Swedish governments are pushing to label the atrocities Turks enacted on Armenians during World War I as genocide. The two countries have a fragile diplomacy going on, and while Turkey has let the Armenians peacefully live in Turkey, it’s something that could be taken away. source
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14 Mar 2010 11:30

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World: Benny Netanyahu: We done (#^&(@ up that settlement thang

The Israeli Prime Minister admits it was a bad idea – “It was hurtful and certainly it should not have happened” – but won’t back down in the row with the U.S. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Mar 2010 12:07

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World: The U.S. is trying to help Somalia have a government again

  • There are limits to outside engagement, and there has to be an enormous amount of local buy-in for this work.
  • U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson • Regarding the off-in-the-distance assistance  the country is giving the Somalian government in re-capturing Mogadishu, its capital, block by anarchy-ridden block. Why now? Simple. The U.S. is scared about the anarchic country’s increasing ties to Yemen and al-Qaeda. (Oh, and the pirates.) But they’re trying to help in a way that doesn’t bring back memories of the U.S.’ 1994 retreat from the country, which led to the anarchic state of affairs in the first place. “This is not an American offensive,” Carson said. “The U.S. military is not on the ground in Somalia. Full stop.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Mar 2010 23:36

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World: Define “genocide”: The U.S. reignites WWI-era tensions with Turkey

  • The U.S. calls the World War I-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks “genocide.” Turkey pulled its ambassador from the U.S. today after the a house panel changed its stance on one of Armenia’s darkest hours. The House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee made the decision in committee, voting 23-22 to tell Obama to refer to it as such. It’s unclear if it’ll reach the floor. Many historians refer to the killing of as many as 1.5 million Armenians as genocide, but Turkey views this as an affront to their honor. Not that this isn’t an awful issue, but it seems like bad diplomacy to change stance seemingly at random. (In fact, the Obama administration was wary on lighting this particular fire.) But on the other hand, we bet Armenians don’t feel that way. So we can see both sides of this. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink
 
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