Archive for the ‘North America’ Category
Notebook, 23 July 2011: Where the press goes . . . anyone know where that might be?
Well, she went there.
Jennifer Rubin, writing for The Washington Post, didn’t wait for facts to emerge, couldn’t restrain her impulse to giver her inner demons sway, but went right for the jugular—her own as it turns out:
A massive explosion rocked a government district in Norway’s capital Friday, killing seven people and injuring many more, and a shooter at a political convention on an island north of Oslo appeared to have inflicted more casualties, in incidents police are treating as connected, a police spokesman said.Thomas Joscelyn explains at the Weekly Standard Web site:
Just one year ago, authorities in Oslo broke up an al Qaeda-directed bomb plot that originated in northern Pakistan. Good intelligence, including intercepted emails between an al Qaeda planner and the Oslo cell, prevented the plotters from assembling and launching their bomb. . . .
Oslo was not as fortunate today. . . .
We don’t know if al Qaeda was directly responsible for today’s events, but in all likelihood the attack was launched by part of the jihadist hydra. Prominent jihadists have already claimed online that the attack is payback for Norway’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan.
(Emphasis mine.)
Notebook, 16 June 2011: Told you so . . .
During the ramp up, the rhetoric surrounding Qadhafi and his violent crackdown on protesters was bad enough. While I’m not even thinking about defending some of his actions, the rhetoric was demonic. Qadhafi is no worse than the al-Khalifa royal family in Bahrain, the al-Sauds, Bashar al-Assad in Syria or the regime in Khartoum. Unfortunately for him, Qadhafi had Lockerbie in his past and that sealed his fate.
While I reading that more and more Americans are having trouble with the White House’s actions regarding Libya, and while I have definite opinions about the War Powers Resolution (which I’ve been fairly strident about), this post is about the diplomatic and human fallout.
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More Reaction to UNSC Res. 1973 w/ Update
Joshua Keating and David Bosco at Passport report:
“The fissure in the UN between a Western-led interventionist group and a “sovereignty bloc” led by Moscow and Beijing, but with real appeal to key emerging powers like Brazil, South Africa and India… may be one of the most critical dynamics at the UN. For the moment, the West still has the pull to carry the day. Whether that will be true a decade from now is anyone’s guess.”
Which brings up some real questions about the future.
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The globalization backlash… UPDATED
Friday, 10/24/08, 6:00 AM
Background: The opening for the US equity markets is a few hours away, and already both the S&P and Dow futures are locked limit down, that is, futures trading has been suspended for a half hour or until the markets open. The FTSE 100, DAX, and CAC 40 are sharply down, as were the Asian markets overnight. All this while OPEC announces a 1.5bn barrel cutback in oil production.
Diplomacy is indeed the art of the possible. It requires endless patience and readiness to pounce on any opportunity, and lo, the current financial crisis rears up. While I take anything coming out of the Russian press with a huge dose of salt, this story from the Rossiyskaya Gazeta, George W. Bush Called to Order points to an amusing plight the free-wheeling, open-market neocons (or neoliberals, whatever you want to call them) have placed themselves in.
That open global markets lead to a de jure loss of a little bit of American sovereignty. (Where it hurts, too—in the Amerikan business sector.)
Of course, this depends on what agreements come out of the ongoing negotiations, as well as what new financial sector regulations are adopted in the U.S., but the point is, because the mess caused by Amerika’s pro-business, anything-goes climate has spilled over our borders, Amerikan financial titans have little choice but to take seriously any impositions foreign finance ministers might wish to make. Not that I think they particularly care, but Amerikan exceptionalism lies at the core of everything their political bedfellows believe in. Still, I wonder to what extent the $700bn Paulson bailout plan is an ideologue attempt to maintain the notion of Amerikan economic hegemony.
What a change from Bretton Woods. Amerikan exceptionalists must be tearing their hair out.
UPDATE: In a similar vein, Philip Stephens writes in FT, Globalisation and the new nationalism collide. Well, I wait for an Obama administration, and whatever change he can manage amidst America’s current political climate. Strong job growth for America’s working class would loosen up American attitudes fairly quickly.
