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01 Feb 2011 14:44

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World: Obama to Mubarak: Don’t run for reelection this fall

  • finally! The Obama Administration seems to have officially given up on Egypt’s current regime, as the President indicated via diplomat that he doesn’t want Mubarak to run for reelection this fall.
  • but… While Mubarak is expected to announce he won’t seek another term, it seems crazy to think he’ll be able to continue governing even that long. Is a transitional government in play? source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jan 2011 11:30

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Politics: Obama’s China ambassador Jon Huntsman plots his resignation

Just a couple weeks after rumors started circulating about a 2012 presidential run, Obama’s ambassador to China is stepping down soonish. Coincidence? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jan 2011 11:44

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World: Two presidencies, two tactics: How Obama, Bush handled Egypt

  • 2005 In the wake of protester arrests, and emphasizing free elections, Condoleeza Rice angered Egyptian leaders with this statement: “For 60 years, my country, the United States, pursued stability at the expense of democracy in this region here in the Middle East, and we achieved neither.”
  • 2009 Obama made his own speech in Cairo, emphasizing “the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed” and “confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice” while noting “there is no straight line to realize that promise.”  Mubarak’s folks were thrilled. source
  • » Ultimately, though: While these American statements resonated with the leadership, they didn’t really resonate with the people of the country, who are working from their own muse. And based on the current deck of cards, the U.S. may have trouble holding any influence at all due to their history with Egypt: “It’s not clear to me that the protesters will take seriously expressions of solidarity from a country that’s been backing autocratic regimes,” said the International Crisis Group’s Robert Malley, who suggests that American leaders will back themselves into a corner if they say anything, whether supportive of Mubarak or the protesters.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jan 2011 11:05

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U.S., World: Dear Obama and co.: Egypt doesn’t need reform; it needs change

  • By nightfall, it seemed clear that only two events could end their revolution: a massive use of force by the Army or Mr. Mubarak’s yielding of power. The United States should be using all of its influence – including the more than $1 billion in aid it supplies annually to the Egyptian military – to ensure the latter outcome. Yet, as so often has happened during the Arab uprising of the past several weeks, the Obama administration on Friday appeared to be behind events.
  • An editorial by The Washington Post • Offering up their take on the situation in Egypt, and the Obama administration’s response. It’s worth noting, by the way, that there appears to be a point where the U.S. was far ahead of the game in Egypt – they helped a young dissident, who was helping to plot an uprising for 2011, all the way back in 2008. The U.S. Embassy in Cairo gave him the opportunity to go to the U.S. to attend a summit for activists. So clearly, this whole thing has been on American radars for a while. But, the problem is that the Obama administration appears to be arguing for a situation which doesn’t match the reality in Egypt. Reform isn’t the problem here. Mubarak could have reformed a long time ago. He’s been in office three decades, though. That’s too long for any world leader, no matter how beloved. Instead, this is something else entirely.  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Jan 2011 18:58

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U.S., World: Posted without comment: Obama’s latest statements on Egypt

Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

28 Jan 2011 02:12

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World: Three interesting findings from Wikileaks’ Egypt-focused cables

  • tactics Obama’s people have tended to be harsher about Egypt in private than in public, a change from the more critical Bush years.
  • blogs While the Egyptian government claims they don’t block free speech, they may be forced to act when “people are offended by blogs.”
  • torture Diplomats noted one case where a number of detainees were both shocked and deprived of sleep, making them zombie-like. source
  • » Obama’s not-very-harsh words: It’s clear that Obama’s comments on Egypt, made during a YouTube town-hall style thingy, try to tow that public/private line noted above. “I’ve always said to him that making sure that they are moving forward on reform – political reform, economic reform – is absolutely critical to the long-term well-being of Egypt,” Obama said. “And you can see these pent-up frustrations that are being displayed on the streets.” Dear Obama administration: There’s a point where a chummy relationship doesn’t work anymore.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Jan 2011 18:46

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U.S.: Who’s this Jay Carney dude? A wasted opportunity, that’s who.

  • We have no clue who this Jay Carney loser is. But we don’t like him. He looks like a square whose nose doesn’t completely fit on his face. We had a lot of hopes and dreams about helping the Obama administration on its long road towards triangulation, but now, the dream is dead. This loser, who once worked at some lame-ass publication that nobody’s ever heard of called “Time”, used to be Biden’s press secretary before they moved him over to Obama’s job. Had he kept said job, we would’ve been totally cool with him. But, now, Jay, it’s war. You’re about as suited to this job as Jim Varney would’ve been. You guys have phonetically similar names. That’s not a coincidence. Like Mr. Varney, you will be considered a laughingstock in your industry. And we’ll be sitting over here, waiting for you to fall down, ready to gain what is rightfully ours. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

27 Jan 2011 12:24

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Politics: Ex-McCain staffer Mark Salter behind anonymous Obama book “O”

Step One: Write an anonymous novel about your ex-boss’ former opponent. Name it “O” Step Two: ??? Step Three: Profit! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Jan 2011 13:35

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U.S.: The high cost of unfunded tax cuts

  • $1.07 trillion could have been our deficit in 2011 source
  • » Not to belabor the point: The extension of the Bush-era tax cuts, which the President hashed out with Republicans, was a compromise granted to a political party that claims to be concerned about the deficit. You might therefore think the deal wouldn’t staggeringly increase the deficit, but you’d think wrong. This news will invariably be spun into another story about reckless liberal spending, but remember: this was the war trophy the Republican Party got out of the President, unfunded expenditure be damned.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 1 Comment • Permalink

26 Jan 2011 10:35

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Politics: Obama giving Wisconsin tender love and care today

  • yesterday Obama took his dog-and-pony show into a joint session of Congress and made a State of the Union address. Wisconsin’s very own Paul Ryan responded.
  • today Obama’s headed to Wisconsin today. Now it’d be a better match if, say, he was heading to Janesville instead of Manitowoc, but coincidence? We think not. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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