Expanding the Security Council?
French and EU President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a call from the floor of the UN yesterday to expand the Security Council and G8. Declaring that, "The 21st century world cannot be governed with the institutions of the 20th century," he argued that inclusion of today's emerging powers is not just "a matter fairness" but a necessary condition ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on September 25, 2008 12:52
John McCain: Shadow President?
John McCain is taking advantage of Barack Obama's "foreign vacation" in Hawaii and using the crisis in Georgia to showcase his foreign policy prowess. He's dispatched his minions, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, to Georgia. TPM's Greg Sargent figures, The idea is to showcase himself as a man of action during a time of international crisis and to remind people that the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 14, 2008 08:47
Georgian Forces Retreat, Wonder Where Friends Are
Georgian forces have been routed and have retreated from their South Ossetia province after being outmatched by the Russians. Now, many Georgians are wondering where their Western allies are. Tony Halpin for The Times of London: As a Russian jet bombed fields around his village, Djimali Avago, a Georgian farmer, asked me: “Why won’t America and Nato help us? If they won’t ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 11, 2008 08:50
By Any Other Name…
Jonah Goldberg has sparked a minor blogospheric furor for a recent column in which he castigated Barack Obama, John McCain, and others for promoting a compulsory national service program, which he compared to slavery. There's a weird irony at work when Sen. Barack Obama, the black presidential candidate who will allegedly scrub the stain of racism from the nation, vows to ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on July 8, 2008 13:26
G8 and EU Growing Pains
Two articles cited in today's Small Wars Journal roundup have almost nothing to do with wars, small or otherwise, but are nonetheless interesting in showing the state of flux of some key international institutions. Steven Erlanger reports on a bold attempt to forge a "Union of the Mediterranean" which would be something of a minor league for the European Union. Perhaps the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on July 7, 2008 08:49
Bush: Skipping Olympics an ‘Affront’ to China
President Bush reiterated his intention to attend the opening ceremonies in Beijing and stated that doing otherwise would be an "affront" to the Chinese people. President Bush said Sunday he does not feel the need to boycott the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics to state his opposition to China's human rights record. Skipping the event would be an "affront" to ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on July 6, 2008 08:25
Homosexual Sets World Sprint Record
Tyson Homosexual ran 100 meters in a wind-aided 9.68 seconds at the U.S. Olympic trials today, in what would have been world record time. I mean, Tyson Gay. Leftie People For the American Way's Right Wing Watch blog reports that, In addition to blocking traffic from websites they don’t like, it looks like the web-geniuses behind the American Family ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on June 30, 2008 19:32
U.S. Foreign Policy in the Post-Bush Era
Fareed Zakaria argues that John McCain's foreign policy would be bellicose whereas Barack Obama's would be conciliatiatory but, as Dave Schuler notes, both are "confrontational" and "interventionist," just with slightly different priorities. Zakaria points to a recent McCain speech: Not only does it declare war on Russia and China, it places the United States in active opposition to all nondemocracies. It proposes ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on April 28, 2008 07:52
What Will We Do About Tibet?
The Chinese government continues to put down anti-government demonstrations by Tibetans both in Tibet and in China proper: The flagship newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party called Saturday for efforts to "resolutely crush" anti-government demonstrations by Tibetans, while Beijing urged people to turn in those on a "Most Wanted" list of 21 protesters. As Chinese troops smothered Tibetan-heavy areas to avert additional ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on March 22, 2008 08:50
William F. Buckley, Jr., RIP
Kathryn Jean Lopez has the sad news that "William F. Buckley Jr., died overnight in his study in Stamford, Connecticut. After year of illness, he died while at work." Sad news, indeed. More from AP: Author and conservative commentator William F. Buckley Jr. has died at age 82. His assistant Linda Bridges says Buckley died Wednesday morning at his home in Stamford, Conn. ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on February 27, 2008 11:32
