tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57645732011-04-21T21:48:10.265-07:00Thoughts, views and the occasional gripe about the world. Counting down to January 2009 since November 2004.Robnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4051100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1136530108550469462006-01-05T22:48:00.000-08:002006-01-05T22:48:28.563-08:00

With every passing day the status quo in the Middle East comes undone. Ongoing warfare in Iraq, an increasingly unhinged regime in Iran, an increasingly hard-pressed regime in Syria facing an increasingly headstrong Lebanon, and - with the incapacitation of Ariel Sharon - an uncertain situation in Israel accompanied by the rise of anarchy in the Palestinian territories: all these things augur a

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1135179173602262712005-12-21T07:26:00.000-08:002005-12-21T07:32:53.613-08:00

With the election of Evo Morales to the presidency in Bolivia, we can safely say that the Bush administration lost Latin America. It did so in spite of its earlier promises to pay special attention to the region. Hugo Chavez, who Bush has handled poorly - most notably by displaying an ill-timed exuberance when a coup seemed to have occurred in Caracas - now has a new ally. Who would have

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1134097447431414782005-12-08T19:04:00.000-08:002005-12-08T19:07:34.670-08:00

I've wanted to post here for some time, but hadn't quite felt like it. I have a backlog of observations I'd like to move off the runway. I felt like writing this months ago when Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for Israel to be wiped off the map. He has helpfully reminded me of what I originally wanted to sayAs reported today, Ahmadinejad made headlines around the world by denying

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1130280709315730872005-10-25T15:51:00.000-07:002005-10-25T15:51:49.390-07:00

As a perceptive Slate article points out, the new German coalition government is without one of Germany's most sincerely pro-American politicians, Joschka Fischer. Fischer - it should be remembered - stood to the right of Gerhard Schröder on the Iraq question - though a skeptic on the WMD question, he had no desire for a trans-Atlantic rift and none of Schröder's callow electoral motives. At

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1128400149378719312005-10-03T21:26:00.000-07:002005-10-03T21:29:09.386-07:00

I don't have much to say about Harriet Miers's nomination to the Supreme Court other than it seems mystifying if one reads it as anything other than an act of cronyism. Miers does not stand out in any way from the pile of prospective justices; only if her loyalty to the Bush clan is taken into account does she become notable. It is truly a special kind of loyalty when she has proclaimed Bush to

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1127928664206174822005-09-28T10:31:00.000-07:002005-09-28T10:31:04.280-07:00

Tom DeLay's indictment, coming on the heels of the announced investigation into Bill Frist's sale of stock, marks the further degeneration of the Republicans' grip on power. DeLay will fight this indictment to the bitter end - it's doubtful that anyone will be able to persuade him otherwise. The question is how many other Republicans he will take down with him. How many other representatives

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1127523163555632932005-09-23T13:42:00.000-07:002005-12-21T07:34:39.286-08:00

2005 has not been a terribly auspicious year for Bill Frist. Any elation he carried into the new year stemming from his role in ousting Tom Daschle must have dissipated by now. The winter and spring saw him getting embroiled in the entire Terry Schiavo mess and the concurrent battle over judges, in which he attempted to paint the Democrats as being opposed to "people of faith." To his eternal

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1127101261300773052005-09-18T20:31:00.000-07:002005-09-18T20:41:01.306-07:00

I had high hopes for the German election. It seemed time for a change, and as a committed Atlanticist, the prospect of an Angela Merkel victory was tantalizing for me. Merkel is no Tony Blair, but she's a long way from being Jacques Chirac. Under her leadership, Germany could resume its old role as the continental balancer between Britain and France, rather than serving as a sidekick to

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1126573539168893822005-09-12T17:47:00.000-07:002005-09-14T10:54:03.830-07:00

The culmination of the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip was followed - almost immediately - by the burning of the synagogues left behind in the deserrted settlements.At the eleventh hour, the Israeli government had decided that it would not demolish these buildings; this decision followed an emotional appeal to the cabinet by a panel of rabbis. The synagogues were entrusted to the tender

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1125685395806695152005-09-02T10:59:00.000-07:002005-09-02T12:57:20.700-07:00

Some foolish things have been said in the wake of Katrina, and in that category, one must cite the utterances of Germany's Minister of the Environment, Jurgen Trittin, who lay the blame for Katrina at the feet of the Bush administration in an article for the Frankfurter Rundschau without so much as a word of sympathy for the victims. Trittin's cold analysis has prompted outrage on both sides of

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1125633796153876452005-09-01T20:58:00.000-07:002005-09-01T21:20:20.263-07:00

At this moment, diehard Al Qaeda types are undoubtedly celebrating the flooding of New Orleans and the devastation of the Gulf Coast, attributing it to Allah's vengeance against the Great Satan or somesuch. I say this because some deranged clerics last January deemed the tsunami Allah's retribution against the sinful beaches of Thailand (but isn't it odd that Allah smote so many devout Muslims in

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1124889173206336752005-08-24T06:12:00.000-07:002005-08-24T06:12:53.256-07:00

I'm far from being a fan of Robert Novak, but I rather savor his latest column, which notes the waning of John Thune's star due to the decision to close Ellsworth Air Force Base. Novak casts the closures as the act of an indifferent White House, but the article inadvertently states as well that Thune's inexperience was a factor. : When the year began, Thune's political future seemed unlimited.

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1124831386335621212005-08-23T14:01:00.000-07:002005-08-23T14:09:46.346-07:00

Lord help me, I have to agree with Venezuela's ambassador, Bernardo Alvarez, to the U.S. on the subject of Pat Robertson's fatwa against Hugo Chavez. I think Chavez is a repulsive throwback and a regional problem, but when a man with Pat Robertson's influence calls for an assassination the White House has to do more than say that he doesn't represent US policy and that his remarks were "

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1124810441148751092005-08-23T08:13:00.000-07:002005-08-23T08:20:41.156-07:00

In one of the odder geopolitical developments of the year, Canada and Denmark are engaged in a territorial dispute over the Arctic territory of Hans Island, which is located just off of Greenland. A visit by Danish warships to the area earlier in the year has triggered the dispatch of two Canadian vessels as well.Needless to say, the odds of this ever escalating to blows are slim - perhaps

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1124808632464705412005-08-23T07:50:00.000-07:002005-08-23T07:50:32.536-07:00

Pat Robertson has called for the US to assassinate Hugo Chavez. Not quite a fatwa, perhaps, but still a clear violation of the 6th Commandment (you know, "Thou shalt not kill"). Why this man hasn't gone the way of Ezra Pound, I can only guess.

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1124804988722832762005-08-23T06:33:00.000-07:002005-08-23T07:01:28.213-07:00

While one can access Dailykos through a sidebar link from this blog, I don't do that very often. Kos, for the most part, fights the good fight and during the election year, the blog was a valuable source of campaign information. It was also something of an echo chamber, though less so than mydd. Still, after the election ended, I found the echo chamber dynamic of these blogs a bit wearisome.So

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1124169917607508112005-08-15T22:01:00.000-07:002005-08-15T22:25:17.630-07:00

Cindy Sheehan's vigil outside Bush's Crawford ranch began as high drama, but is rapidly turning into something no one wanted to see: the spectacle of a human lost in paroxysms of grief. What else is one to make of her recent statements? It certainly isn't fair to expect Ms. Sheehan to be stoic in her grief, but there is something demeaning about televising her agonized declarations that Bush

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1123186635231999762005-08-04T12:51:00.000-07:002005-08-04T13:17:15.290-07:00

The Sahel region has been in the news quite a bit lately. The belated international reaction to famine in Niger has yet to make a substantive impact. A coup in Mauritania has, for one brief moment, lifted that country to the top of headlines.The desert countries of the Sahel - in particular, Chad, Niger, Mali, and Mauritania - constitute an increasingly important region for American foreign

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1122936571357443372005-08-01T15:42:00.000-07:002005-08-01T15:49:31.366-07:00

John Bolton's recess appointment marks a dicey gamble on the part of the administration. Team Bush is no stranger to the fait accompli - indeed, these have worked for them more often than not. However, the recess appointment stinks of being a runaround. While the position of UN ambassador isn't one that Americans necessarily consider important, Bush's recourse to a recess appointment may well

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1122871425556556162005-07-31T21:39:00.000-07:002005-07-31T21:43:45.563-07:00

With the apparent death of John Garang in a plane crash the integrity of Sudan's peace process will be thoroughly tested. Garang was to serve as a counterbalancing force in the new Sudanese government. With their longtime nemesis gone, will Sudan's hardliners still accept a compromise peace with the Christian South? Or will they see the possibility of the SPLA unraveling just as the Angolan

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1122044050338078202005-07-22T07:54:00.000-07:002005-07-22T07:54:10.420-07:00

Tom Friedman's latest column is a brilliant and unusually constructive essay on the need to expose hatemongering in the world today. Too many people ask "why do they hate us?" choose their top 3-5 favorite answers (ones which usually reduce terrorism to some kind of converse reaction to the West, rather than a product of the actual goals, ideals, and methods of the terrorists themelves) and then

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1119150703500195642005-06-18T17:39:00.000-07:002005-06-18T20:11:43.530-07:00

An earthquake of unprecedented scale has rocked the EU over the past month. By any account, it began with the French rejection of the Union's constitution. At the least, the current row over the Union's budget is a powerful aftershock. It may be an equal or greater temblor altogether. At times of greatest stress, Jacques Chirac goes ahead and vents. A political leader of middling caliber,

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1119118420415785932005-06-18T11:00:00.000-07:002005-06-18T11:13:40.446-07:00

Former gulag inmate Pavel Litvinov's essay in the Washington Post provides a useful corrective to Amnesty International's hyperbolic assertion that Guantanamo constitutes the gulag of our age. When one compares the scale, intent, and operation of the two systems, the uselessness of the analogy is even more apparent. Moreover, there's something offensive in such casual use of the gulag as a

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1118450713500363192005-06-10T17:35:00.000-07:002005-06-10T17:52:17.840-07:00

It looks to be a long four years under the erratic guidance of Dr. Dean.Unsurprisingly, I'm annoyed at Dean's recent remarks. Declaring Tom DeLay guilty before the Hammer is judged by a jury of his peers seems a mite headstrong. It seems worse if one remembers that Dean hasn't always been so keen on prejudging trial outcomes. Back in 2003, he remarked:I will have this old-fashioned notion that

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1117896095961861572005-06-04T07:33:00.000-07:002005-06-04T07:41:36.023-07:00

The murder of Samir Kassir illustrates one painful reality that Americans need to face about Lebanon: it is fairly likely to descend into violence if the standoff between pro-independence and pro-Syrian forces continues. The forces supporting Syria are too ruthless and too well armed to be cowed by students in Beirut. Hezbollah is lining up alongside the Syrians, and Bashar Assad will probably

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1117725368907471392005-06-02T08:16:00.000-07:002005-06-02T08:16:28.246-07:00

Every few months, one gets a timely reminder of why Pat Buchanan is such a loathsome individual. Last May he asked insipidly if opposing Hitler in World War II was "worth it." At the least, one might have hoped that he'd stay quiet for a few months, having vented his spleen.The revelation of the identity of Deep Throat has once again given Buchanan occasion to remind us what a noxious guy he is

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1117661578483219292005-06-01T14:03:00.000-07:002005-06-01T14:37:03.066-07:00

This classic line from Van Halen seems apt when considering the results from the French and Dutch referenda on the EU constitution. The French result was forecast in advance, but is still a shocker. It might have been closer, particularly after the government pulled out all the stops. Chirac has egg on his face, and it really couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. As the New York Times notes,

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1116464623110026542005-05-18T17:41:00.000-07:002005-05-18T18:03:43.146-07:00

What is one to make of George Galloway's appearance before the Senate? A thunderous victory for opponents of the war? A damning indictment of the anti-war opposition and the UN?Both, probably.Lefties savoring Galloway's damn-the-torpedoes replies to Norm Coleman's inquisition can go to bed happy, not pausing to ask themselves who they just got into bed with (a contemptible blowhard who mourns

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1116365984078321862005-05-17T14:39:00.000-07:002005-05-17T14:41:47.943-07:00

Last November, South Dakotans traded in a general for a lieutenant, replacing Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle with the oh-so-conservative John Thune, who pledged that he would carry more influence for his state in Washington than a hated Democrat. Especially in terms of keeping South Dakota's military bases open. Especially the very large Air Force base at Ellsworth.See where I'm leading?

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1116253502102201312005-05-16T07:25:00.000-07:002005-05-16T07:25:02.166-07:00

Ron Brownstein makes some good points in this article - mainly that the next few censuses are likely to observe a demographic shift away from the Northeast and upper Midwest and toward the South and Southwest. The dire implications of this for Democrats are readily apparent. The fleeting fantasy of winning outside of the South will move further out of sight. One question, though: how much of

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1116216581858178152005-05-15T21:09:00.000-07:002005-06-04T07:42:43.396-07:00

There are two basic lessons to be learned from the recent episode of a now-withdrawn Newsweek story and the fatal riots it has sparked in Afghanistan and elsewhere:#1: Newsweek is a shitty magazine. Clearly they rushed this to publication. At this point, I can't help but remember their shamelessly exploitative (and yet content-free) cover interview with Timothy McVeigh, or another cover feature

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1116089591627950522005-05-14T09:53:00.000-07:002005-05-14T09:53:11.696-07:00

I'm pleased at this opportunity to quote The Fixx. The hold placed by Barbara Boxer on John Bolton's nomination is welcome news. It prolongs a debate that was never really concluded. Every additional week that Bolton (and Republican moderates) twist in the wind is a welcome one. Bolton is a disastrous nominee. Significantly more so than Rice or Gonzales This may get to the filibuster stage

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1115964149023710362005-05-12T23:02:00.000-07:002005-05-12T23:02:29.086-07:00

Fred Kaplan astutely describes today's proceedings in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Just a few weeks ago, that august body gave us cause to hope that sanity was prevailing in the Senate. Bolton's nomination - clearly the battiest of this inaugural year - seemed to be swirling around the bowl. Ohio's George Voinovich had uttered his now-famous words of doubt, tying the vote. A lot

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1115905235925254822005-05-12T06:40:00.000-07:002005-05-12T06:40:36.190-07:00

Once again, George Galloway has been accused of receiving bribes from Saddam Hussein. This time, the accuser is the U.S. Senate. The inherent problem with this new attack on Britain's most contemptible windbag is the source: the Senate is hardly in a position to seem an impartial investigator. For this to bear any weight, the British government and press will need to pore over the Senate's

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1115725640417485292005-05-10T04:47:00.000-07:002005-05-10T04:47:20.696-07:00

George Mitchell has contributed his own opinion to the debate over the nuclear option. He adds some facts that his successor, Bob Dole, somehow omitted:Between 1968 and 2001, both parties used filibusters to oppose judicial nominees. In 2000, the last year of Bill Clinton's presidency, Republican senators filibustered two of his nominees to be circuit judges. They also prevented Senate votes on

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1115599839029527832005-05-08T17:50:00.000-07:002005-05-09T02:45:18.246-07:00

CNN's report that Labour MPs are calling for Blair's ouster is one of the less impressive pieces of reporting I've read recently. Essentially, their article assesses the depth of exhaustion with Blair by talking to his enemies within Labour. It makes no effort to find MPs in the middle of debate, but instead settles for the people acting to undo him - most of them opponents of his over the Iraq

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1115479098066507762005-05-07T07:47:00.000-07:002005-05-07T08:18:18.336-07:00

For a brief moment, the Baltic states are in the news. Bush has just visited Riga, Latvia before heading to the Netherlands, Russia, and then Georgia. While in Latvia, he has spoken of both the terrors of the German occupation and the annexation of the Baltic states into the Soviet Union. He has accepted the fundamental point made by the Baltic leaders, notably Latvian President Vaira

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1115408055506992702005-05-06T12:23:00.000-07:002005-05-06T12:34:15.936-07:00

The news from Northern Ireland is disheartening. The more moderate Ulster Unionist Party has lost 4 seats to the hardline Paisleyite Democratic Unionist Party. One of those MPs to lose his seat was the Nobel Prize-winning David Trimble, who did so much to get the peace process going seven years ago. Since only 18 seats were contested in Northern Ireland, this is a political earthquake, marking

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1115383514912260912005-05-06T06:02:00.000-07:002005-05-06T05:45:15.260-07:00

Well, it was a very mixed night for Blair and Co. The percentages are not yet in, but the basic forecast is a Labour majority just above 60 seats. The Tories have gained more than 30 seats, in large part due to strong performances in London and the East Midlands. Perhaps as surprisingly, they won 3 seats in Wales and 2 in Scotland, which puts them in their best position in either region since

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1114964927023728242005-05-01T09:11:00.000-07:002005-05-01T09:28:47.026-07:00

As a brief followup to the below post, let me list some of the advantages that the Brits have over our electoral system:Question Time - There is no American equivalent to Question Time, which is why we import it and show it on C-SPAN. Question Time is a marvelous half hour of political entertainment -politics as smackdown. At its best, it offers the dramas of the parties confronting each other.

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1114962816735888752005-05-01T08:27:00.000-07:002005-05-01T09:29:38.166-07:00

Only joking. It's time for another British election. I haven't followed the politics of Albion too terribly closely lately, but have been trying to get a sense of where this one is heading. It's a strange campaign, marked more by the weaknesses of the major candidates than their strengths. Let's see: Tony Blair (Lab.) is still coping with the consequences of the Iraq war, which has soured

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1114594018255600032005-04-27T02:26:00.000-07:002005-04-28T06:49:15.330-07:00

Bob Dole has spoken on the filibuster issue. It ain't pretty.His second paragraph insinuates that he'd like Frist to act cautiously. His last paragraph argues that Frist would be justified in obliterating the filibuster.Dole is, ultimately, a funny guy to argue for restraint with the filibuster. Twelve years ago, he was the one who greatly increased the usage of this device - maybe not against

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1114478024508562982005-04-25T18:13:00.000-07:002005-04-25T18:13:44.506-07:00

Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit Israel tomorrow. This is a remarkable milestone, marking the emergence of a new partnership. Russia and Israel have been historically antagonistic - at least as long as Russia was part of the Soviet Union. Since the dissolution of the USSR, post-Soviet Russia has moved closer to a genuine partnership with Israel. This hasn't resulted in

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1114216047495825572005-04-22T17:27:00.000-07:002005-04-22T17:34:13.053-07:00

A lingering consequence of Il Duce's greatest crime, the brutal invasion of Ethiopia, is in the process of being redressed. During the 1935 invasion, Italian troops stole an ancient Ethiopian monument: a 24m tall obelisk situated in the ancient city of Axum. Despite a postwar UN resolution (in 1947), Italy hung onto the relic. In 2002, it was struck by lightning, enraging Ethiopians who had

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1114006832544163132005-04-20T07:20:00.000-07:002005-04-20T07:21:05.753-07:00

Wow, Tom DeLay is seriously going around the bend. If the ethics cloud wasn't enough to occupy him, he's now publicly attacking Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Reagan appointee for "judicial activism." This is apparently fallout from the Schiavo verdict. This goes in tandem with his calls to hold the judiciary "accountable" for its actions.This guy seems intent on kicking out one of the fundamental

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1113945311539953172005-04-19T14:05:00.000-07:002005-04-19T14:37:51.053-07:00

I just happened upon one of the more entertaining hours of C-Span I've seen in a while: the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's deliberations over whether to vote on the nomination of John Bolton for UN Ambassador. Recent allegations have further indicated the possiblity that Bolton might be truly mad. A US AID worker, who was situated in Kyrgyzstan in 1994, has written that, after she

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1113786087731526132005-04-17T18:01:00.000-07:002005-04-17T18:01:27.730-07:00

This Post editorial, Beyond the Pale, captures one troubling aspect of conservative practice in this country. Tom DeLay, John Cornyn, and others are making none-too-disguised threats against the judiciary. Not in the "rule this way or we'll shoot you" sense - but what emerges clearly is a determination to call the judiciary in to answer for decisions that go against conservative values. This

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1113775151782276632005-04-17T14:46:00.000-07:002005-04-17T15:00:55.406-07:00

I've tended to be suspicious of the line that Bob Dole is, in the end sum, a grand old guy. Yes he served his country valiantly in World War 2, but the experience seemingly made him a very bitter guy afterward, as evidenced by his bizarre "Democrat wars" crack during the 1976 campaign. He very probably ensured that his Kansas opponents wound up on Nixon's enemies list. During Clinton's first

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1113661056213650442005-04-16T07:13:00.000-07:002005-04-16T07:20:11.613-07:00

The New York Times reports that China is now trying to reign in the anti-Japanese protests after damage was done to one Japanese consulate and Japanese visitors were attacked. The funny thing about nationalism is that this genie is loath to go back into the bottle. Beijing is trying to cope with a monster of its own making - having tried to used the protests as a weapon against Japan in

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1113178315997934022005-04-10T17:03:00.000-07:002005-04-10T17:42:17.563-07:00

I agree with The Times on the transparent nature of the recent anti-Japan protests in China. Japanese evasion of wartime atrocities is old news, though the last decade has seen a growing willingness by Japanese leaders to address what was done and apologize for it. The value of having Japan as an adversary, though, has increased in China. Japan has legitimate cause to worry about China's

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1111788744640376702005-03-25T14:12:00.000-08:002005-03-25T14:12:24.640-08:00

Good God, this is a Great Column!! From EJ Dionne, of course - A Thin View of 'Life' (washingtonpost.com): What does it mean to be pro-life? As far as I can tell, most of those who would keep Schiavo alive favor the death penalty. Most favored allowing the assault weapons ban to expire and oppose other forms of gun control. The president makes an excellent point when he says we 'ought to err on

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1111465122532819012005-03-21T20:18:00.000-08:002005-03-21T20:20:10.290-08:00

A Good WinTeam Bush came away with a key victory lately, when the EU conceded that lifting the arms embargo against China might not be such a good idea after all. Maybe the decision was due to the immense storm of executive and legislative pressure against the move leaving an EU envoy "pummelled." Or China's promise to attack Taiwan if it made any moves hinting at independence might have been a

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1111354226364419582005-03-20T13:30:00.000-08:002005-03-20T13:30:26.363-08:00

Where's Karadzic? Another Bosnian Serb general has been surrendered to the war crimes tribunal. All in all, the tribunal has made more progress than anyone might have expected of it back in 1995. Still, it's been 10 years since the end of the war, and one has to wonder why no one has arrested the two chief architects of war crimes: Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic. According to Carla del

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1110842056261793752005-03-14T15:14:00.000-08:002005-03-14T15:14:16.263-08:00

A Giant Returns I refer of course to former NAACP President Kweisi Mfune, who has just announced his intention to run for the vacant Senate seat in Maryland in 2006. Mfune will bring immense experience and credibility to the Senate - helping the Democrats to speak with authority on issues of race. I wasn't too worried about the Maryland race, but any concerns I had vanished when I read that

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1108596610924249972005-02-16T15:28:00.000-08:002005-02-16T15:30:10.926-08:00

A Hiatus of SortsThe political world is as interesting as ever, but I'm unlikely to post much about it in the next few weeks or so. Catch you after the Ides of March.

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1107536736715638972005-02-04T08:52:00.000-08:002005-02-04T09:05:36.716-08:00

What John Edwards is up to I supported John Edwards during the primaries and was glad to see Kerry pick him as a running mate. I don't really subscribe to the "Blame Edwards" theory of the election - no one I've read has yet formulated a scenario for an electoral win with someone else (ie "opportunity cost"), nor have I seen any arguments that list serious damage done to the Kerry campaign by

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1107324432217114102005-02-01T22:07:00.000-08:002005-02-01T22:07:12.216-08:00

I'm not thrilled about it, but it looks as though Howard Dean will be the next DNC chair (or so the New York Times would have it). My objections to him are below, and there's not too much to add, though I am disappointed that he's chosen to quarrel publicly with Harry Reid over the issue of judicial nominations. If he's in office, he won't serve the position well by airing disputes in public.

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1107141670191891452005-01-30T19:21:00.000-08:002005-01-30T19:21:10.190-08:00

Believing in the Vote Fred Kaplan is a pretty skeptical guy where the Iraq mission is concerned. When indicates that today's elections in Iraq were a big deal - and in a number of ways a success - that is praise not easily won. It was easy to doubt the viability of the democratic process in Iraq as the death toll mounted over the last month. But the butcher Zarqawi's pledge to murder Iraqi

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1106801782358392042005-01-26T20:56:00.000-08:002005-01-26T20:56:22.356-08:00

The World Looks to America, We Look to . . . Chile? I must confess some befuddlement at reading that Bush's Social Security reform scheme is based on a Chilean model developed under Augusto Pinochet. It's beyond me to assess the success or failure of the Chilean system - the above Reuters article does so to some degree, as does this New York Times article What is odd to me is this

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1106780332583875492005-01-26T14:58:00.000-08:002005-01-26T14:58:52.583-08:00

More on the Rise of the Vigilant Passenger A deranged man who tried to storm the cockpit of a Southwest flight didn't stand much of a chance: Egyed exchanged punches with a flight attendant before passengers joined the scuffle and subdued him, authorities said. 'They used duct tape to tie him up,' FBI spokeswoman Judy Orijuela said. I'd wager that a large part of the reason that air travel

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1106709655845827242005-01-25T19:20:00.000-08:002005-01-25T19:27:15.130-08:00

Penny Wise, Pound Foolish A recent RAND study advises against equipping airliners and airports with systems designed to foil portable surface-to-air missiles. RAND's concern is that the installation of these systems will cost $11 billion, with an added $2.1 billion annual maintenance cost. That sounds like a lot of money, but consider the cost of an American airliner being shot down by

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1106315916006762212005-01-21T05:58:00.000-08:002005-01-21T05:58:36.006-08:00

Just like four years ago, I skipped the inaugural speech. Reading the transcript is an altogether calmer affair, however. Bush is clearly quite comfortable in his self-designed role as a crusader for freedom. He has all the confidence of a true evangelist. And, to the extent that he's referencing democracy as an ultimate solution to global ills, I can largely agree with him. A hint of

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1105711798485447672005-01-14T05:35:00.000-08:002005-01-15T09:01:38.696-08:00

No Thank You, Howard I have to confess my general lack of enthusiasm for Howard Dean as head of the DNC. I frankly don't see why people are enthusiastic about having him there, unless, of course they are former Dean supporters. The record of Dean's candidacy gives one no ground for confidence that he'd manage the party efficiently. While he showed real success in raising funds, he showed real

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1105288769046499812005-01-09T08:38:00.000-08:002005-01-14T06:10:41.663-08:00

Newt Gingrich is thinking about a 2008 presidential run. Lovely.

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1103071284255039652004-12-14T16:41:00.000-08:002004-12-14T16:41:24.256-08:00

EJ Dionne is right this time. The coming Democratic debate won't really be that tired old Left or Right? debate. No, no, no. It's about how to match the GOP's organizational advantage. What's surprising about the debate is the extent to which everyone is talking about running across the map. Retire that old Left v. Right schema. That dog doesn't hunt anymore.

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1102867294835997472004-12-12T08:01:00.000-08:002004-12-12T08:01:34.836-08:00

For once, I find myself disagreeing with EJ Dionne. That may be healthy. Part of the problem of coining a name for what you see as an ideology is that you get to make implications for the motivations of those you see pursuing it. Thus, Getalongism is coined, implying a weaker will on the part of those Democrats pursuing it. Actually the emphasis of this article is on how bizarre it is for

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1102775242090367752004-12-11T06:27:00.000-08:002004-12-11T06:27:22.090-08:00

Silvio Berlusconi truly has nine lives.

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1102173971554972282004-12-04T07:26:00.000-08:002004-12-04T07:26:11.553-08:00

Good Riddance to Tommy Thompson In the Washington Post: Thompson used an afternoon news conference about his departure to reveal that he worries 'every single night' about 'food poisoning' on a massive scale. 'I, for the life of me, cannot understand why the terrorists have not, you know, attacked our food supply, because it is so easy to do,' Thompson said. 'And we are importing a lot of food

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1101696501942659982004-11-28T18:48:00.000-08:002004-11-28T18:48:21.943-08:00

Goodness, has it been two weeks? Don't say you weren't warned. One notable bit of news from overseas: Nicolas Sarkozy has seized the reigns of the governing party in France. Sarkozy is the next big thing in French politics - an extremely popular right-of-center politician who gathered acclaim from his management of the Interior Ministry before being shifted over to finance. Jacques Chirac

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1100148205428007862004-11-10T20:35:00.000-08:002004-11-10T20:43:25.426-08:00

Weekend at Yasser's Of Yasser Arafat it must be said that classic line about the old Thane of Cawdor: nothing in his life became him like the leaving it. Arafat lay suspended between worlds while his place of burial was debated in a political argument devoid of any but the most spurious significance. His batty trophy wife even chimed in. Up to a point, Arafat was a successful publicist for

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1099954853099432412004-11-08T14:54:00.000-08:002004-11-08T15:01:42.633-08:00

A Thought on Cote d'Ivoire Why attack France? France is a first world power with a robust, capable military. Outside of Britain, it is the country in Western Europe best able to project force, and is pretty unapologetic about it. Gung ho, you might say. Nonetheless, the government of Cote d'Ivoire seems intent on attacking the French presence in their country. Why? They could simply be

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1099954267649765052004-11-08T14:51:00.000-08:002004-11-08T14:51:07.650-08:00

John Kerry won't be going away anytime soon, and that's a good thing. With the loss of Daschle, the Senate Democrats need all the star power they can get. Kerry won't likely be a candidate for the presidency again, but he can serve as a valuable spokesman for the party in the Senate. He can help draw the spotlight to the minority's efforts. At this point, the Senate is all we have left. The

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1099777800423088442004-11-06T13:50:00.000-08:002004-11-06T13:50:00.423-08:00

France at War? Government forces in the Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire) has attacked French troops supervising a disintegrating ceasefire. France incurred a lot of resentment in the country for seemingly forcing it to bargain with separatists in the north. French troops have been onhand for two years, but the government seems to have decided to target them. France has retaliated by destroying the

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1099539651391610942004-11-03T19:40:00.000-08:002004-11-05T10:57:29.853-08:00

The Exodus Continues Hungary has announced plans to withdraw its troops from Iraq by March. As allies go, Hungary is a pretty serious one. The anti-Americanism that complicated the Spanish deployment is not present in the case of Hungary. They're in good company, though. Poland is pulling out, as is the Netherlands. Back in 2003, Hungary committed itself to a pro-American policy,

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1099500919968233472004-11-03T08:45:00.000-08:002004-11-04T04:45:02.050-08:00

On Being Wrong A few of the forecasts I made yesterday were right. Those happened to be the easy ones. All things considered, I might as well have picked a Catholic to be the next Pope. On the big races I was way off. Maybe it came down to a few states and maybe it was fluky - Kerry did come through in iffy states like Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Maine and Pennsylvania. Yesterday's mid-day

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1099398946878655462004-11-02T04:24:00.000-08:002004-11-02T04:35:46.876-08:00

Daschle in South Dakota I'm going to go further out on a limb and forecast a Daschle victory. Daschle has a proven track record of helping South Dakota. He is the model of an effective small state politician - how many other senators drive through each of their state's counties each year? His opponent has waged a fairly nasty campaign in a state with an avowed preference for civility. I

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1099369262557277262004-11-01T20:05:00.000-08:002004-11-01T20:21:02.556-08:00

Forecasting I believe John Kerry will win tomorrow. In spite of what seems to be a mounting pile of reports of contemptible tricks by GOP operatives (falsely reporting a change in precinct location, making false claims that people with parking tickets who vote will be sent to jail, acting to preemptively disqualify minority voters) I think that a groundswell of popular support - particularly

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1099157113131013722004-10-30T10:20:00.000-07:002004-10-30T10:25:13.133-07:00

After a night's sleep on it, I'm convinced that the bin Laden video will not really shape the campaign. The coverage I've seen of it online has a certain evenness to it - the preferred spin is that it is rattling both campaigns, and that it does not help one in particular. Add that to the factors I noted yesterday, and it starts to seem that the net effect here is just an escalation of the

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1099095564238973432004-10-29T17:08:00.000-07:002004-10-29T17:19:24.236-07:00

Heavens to Betsy, what's all this to do about the bin Laden video? We've all had a pretty good inkling that the bastard was still alive and there has been no shortage of audio tapes from him or his deputy. For good measure, Al Qaeda decided that Allah wanted them to blow up some Egyptians and Israelis earlier this month. There was no noticeable impact on the American presidential election.

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1099017487325630542004-10-28T19:28:00.000-07:002004-10-28T19:38:07.326-07:00

The Outlook We're approaching the final weekend and it's looking tight but somewhat favorable for Kerry. Polling of battleground states is getting intense now. Ohio is looking good - close but Kerry leads in most polls. Florida is a tougher call to make - Dubya seems to be leading at least as often as Kerry, or you have outright ties. Kerry would still do well to put some weight down there.

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1098829550660774092004-10-26T15:25:00.000-07:002004-10-26T15:25:50.660-07:00

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by the Nader campaign over a court decision to keep Nader off the ballot in Ohio. This follows an earlier ruling by the Court that Nader was ineligible to appear on the ballot in Pennsylvania. Nader is still on the ballot in Florida, Wisconsin and Iowa, among other key states, but this is a really blow to his spoiler aspirations. OH and PA

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1098239415617541442004-10-19T19:27:00.000-07:002004-10-19T19:30:15.616-07:00

The Big Three In 2000, they were MI, PA and FL. Gore conceded OH early and was rewarded with a surprisingly narrow loss. Oops. This year, Kerry wants OH very badly. MI has been more solidly pro-Kerry than it was for Gore. In fact, it's been more reliable than MN or WI. PA has been largely in Kerry's camp, except during the horrible month of Bush ascendance. FL - well who knows what the

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1098219741986098932004-10-19T14:02:00.000-07:002004-10-19T14:02:21.986-07:00

Spain Disrupts Terror Plot Spanish authorities said Tuesday they disrupted a plot by a cell of Islamic radicals to blow up a Madrid court complex that serves as the home for the country's top anti-terrorism investigators and judges. I guess that Iraq pullout didn't do the trick? Quick, find something to pull out of!

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1098214537311350882004-10-19T12:35:00.000-07:002004-10-19T12:35:37.310-07:00

Winona LaDuke 1996: Campaigns as Ralph Nader's vice presidential running mate 2000: Campaigns as Ralph Nader's vice presidential running mate 2004: Endorses John Kerry and declares that she is voting her conscience. Beautiful.

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1098189764376520372004-10-19T05:42:00.000-07:002004-10-19T05:45:33.900-07:00

Corporate Stalinism Jonathan Lieberman, the Washington bureau chief of the Sinclair Broadcasting Group, criticized the company for its choce to air an anti-Kerry film as news. He was fired yesterday. Sinclair's stock has dropped from around $7.50 to $6.49. Given how low it is already, that's a significant plunge. Stock analysts have expressed concern that the company's politics are leading

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1098136020952295882004-10-18T14:47:00.000-07:002004-10-18T14:47:00.953-07:00

Let's hear it for Indian law enforcement The infamous criminal Veerappan, who has been linked to 120 deaths and the killing of some 2000 elephants, was shot and killed. Veerappan got international attention when he kidnapped the acclaimed actor Rajkumar. This is a major domestic triumph for India, though most credit may go to the Tamil Nadu state government. While alive, Veerappan was

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1098104336441384552004-10-18T05:58:00.000-07:002004-10-18T05:58:56.440-07:00

The Washington Post has a decent look at the SD race this morning, but not one that looks too deeply at the polling trends in the race.

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1097936683488329652004-10-16T07:14:00.001-07:002004-10-16T07:24:43.490-07:00

There's Something About Mary Cheney The Vice President's daughter has been in the news lately, with a lot of press being given to her parents' indignant reaction to John Kerry's having mentioned her at the debate. Pollsters are attributing a slight jump in Dubya's polls to this. Frankly, I think this is a tempest in a teacup. Dubya's favorable numbers jumped 2 points - within the margin of

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1097866965995189232004-10-15T12:02:00.000-07:002004-10-15T12:02:45.996-07:00

And Now in West Virginia In WV's Eastern Panhandle, a GOP stronghold, Democrats received phone calls telling them that they were not eligible to vote on election day. A local NBC station reports that several of these voters then verified that they could vote. The calls they received were traced to the local Republican headquarters. See a pattern?

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1097861912984199202004-10-15T10:38:00.000-07:002004-10-15T12:49:29.823-07:00

Good News From Ohio Kenneth Blackwell - the Midwestern equivalent of Katherine Harris - was trying to prevent Ohio voters who show up at the wrong precinct from getting provisional ballots. An Ohio judge has ruled that they are indeed entitled to ballots if they are still in the correct county. This is good news. Blackwell will appeal, but at least for now I can feel some gratitude for the

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1097857057862825472004-10-15T09:06:00.000-07:002004-10-15T09:17:37.866-07:00

The behavior of the Sinclair Broadcasting Group is another reason to think that our democratic system is in danger of starting to look like Russia's. The short of it is that Sinclair, which owns 62 television stations across the country, is forcing its affiliates to show an anti-Kerry documentary. This is a blatant effort to influence the election. Normally, broadcasters are required to

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1097855017776936572004-10-15T08:43:00.000-07:002004-10-15T08:43:37.776-07:00

Democracy in America? I've not been a big fan of Paul Krugman. I think he's wrong a lot of the time. Last year, I thought his monomania about Bush led to his writing some truly shitty columns about Tony Blair and Mohammed Mahathir. But, things change in an election year. In an instance of pigs taking wing, I'll favorably cite a column of his. Actually, Krugman's latest is a helpful list

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1097673227555789072004-10-13T06:13:00.000-07:002004-10-13T06:13:47.556-07:00

Dissension in SD One recent mini-scandal in South Dakota is undermining John Thune's efforts to unseat Tom Daschle. Six Republicans have resigned over allegations of cheating in filling out absentee ballot applications. Individuals not qualified to do so have been acting as notaries Former GOP governor Bill Janklow, who still speaks for a lot of South Dakota Republicans (in spite of his

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1097672802359792062004-10-13T06:06:00.000-07:002004-10-13T06:06:42.360-07:00

Oklahoma . . . The Lesbian State? The GOP is running a deranged maniac for Oklahoma's Senate seat. Tom Coburn says weird shit whenever he opens his mouth, but his oddest statement has to be his recent claim that "lesbianism is so rampant in some of the schools in southeast Oklahoma that they'll only let one girl go to the bathroom." A school superintendent from SE Oklahoma has gone on record

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1097633830437713572004-10-12T19:17:00.000-07:002004-10-12T19:17:10.436-07:00

Those Fuckers! Excuse the profanity. I don't know what else to say when reading the following story from a Las Vegas-area TV station: a Republican affiliated voter registration company collected registration forms outside of supermarkets but only submitted those from people registering Republicans. Forms by avowed Democrats were shredded by company supervisors. Untold numbers of Nevadans

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1097453472215980382004-10-10T17:11:00.000-07:002004-10-10T17:11:12.216-07:00

I'm not normally one for this sort of speculation, but the bulge does look pretty fishy. Maybe Kerry should bring a short-range radio jammer on stage and see what happens.

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1097445853327977872004-10-10T15:04:00.000-07:002004-10-10T15:04:13.326-07:00

The Turning of the Tide In 2000, the Oregonian endorsed Bush. They have not repeated that shameful mistake in 2004. Oregon has not been as volatile this time out - it has been close but Kerry has generally led there. Still, this speaks to a broader shift in opinion about Bush; hopefully one we'll also see in Ohio, Florida and Missouri

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1097421150348189742004-10-10T08:12:00.000-07:002004-10-10T08:12:30.350-07:00

Nader Out of Luck Luck, Wisconsin that is. The Washington Post reports from a small pacifist commune in the Western part of the state on a political segment that should by Saint Ralph's natural base. Leaders of several peace organizations across the country say that Nader is unlikely to earn widespread backing from their members this year. "I think a lot of us are wondering why he is running

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1097413612877699672004-10-10T06:06:00.000-07:002004-10-10T06:06:52.876-07:00

Don't let anyone tell you the second debate was a draw. Gallup adheres to the tie narrative, but buries the fact that independents thought Kerry won 53-37. Independent voters are still out there and are disproportionately likely to be wavering or undecided. Kerry and Edwards have done better with this group in opinion polls and debate scoring and this will count for them.

Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5764573.post-1097358009305300072004-10-09T14:36:00.000-07:002004-10-09T14:40:09.306-07:00

One of the great things about the town hall format debate is that you can see audience reactions. These can reveal a lot about how the candidates are doing. One woman was consistantly visible behind Bush. Let's call her "Meg." She was visibly irked by his statement, at one point covering her face with her hands. For much of the rest of the debate she had a sour expression on her face when

Robnoreply@blogger.com