There’s something to be said for self-awareness, and where its absence can lead an individual. Thursday’s Bloomberg View featured an attack by columnist Jeffrey Goldberg against the Persian Gulf state of Qatar, which he described as “The Attention Starved Teen of the Middle East.” Nothing should insulate Qatar or any government from harsh criticism, but Goldberg’s argument is notable for deep myopia, hysteria and essential hypocrisy.Goldberg’s piece takes aim at, among other things, the alleged dishonesty of Qatari foreign policy. Citing Qatar’s dual policy of good relations with Israel and funding of the Hamas-led administration of the Gaza Strip, Goldberg excoriates Haim Saban – an Israeli-American and another major funder of Brookings (along with the Qatari government itself) – for his public embrace of Qatari Prime Minister Hamid bin Jasim Al-Thani. Denouncing Qatar as “seeing nothing incongruous about maintaining open contacts with Israelis while funding an organization whose declared goal is killing Israelis,” Goldberg fails to grasp the distinction between preventing the economic collapse of the Gaza Strip and of funding terrorist attacks against Israel. Qatar explicitly falls into the former category. Saban, the Israeli government and the Israeli private sector are willing to talk to Qatar regardless of its relationship to Hamas, so why isn’t Goldberg?Continue Reading… … Read More
U.S. citizen sentenced to 15 years hard labor in North Korea
North Korea has sentenced American citizen Kenneth Bae to 15 years’ forced labor for unspecified crimes against the regime.Bae, also known as Pae Jun Ho, is accused of attempting to “topple” North Korea, according to state-run media. He has supposedly admitted the charges.”The Supreme Court sentenced him to 15 years of compulsory labour for this crime,” North Korea’s official news agency announced Thursday.Bae, 44, was detained in the northeast city of Rason on Nov. 3 after entering North Korea on a tourist visa.According to reports, he is a Korean-American who runs a travel company and was in the country to lead a tour group. A devout Christian, he had made several previous trips to North Korea to do humanitarian work, friends told the Associated Press.Continue Reading… … Read More
Must-see morning clip: Jon Stewart on rising tensions between North Korea and U.S.
Jon Stewart has a message for North Korea: “Your war-mongering’s a little retro,” mocking Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un’s binoculars and the North Korean army’s training exercises. “Look, I don’t know if you know this,” says Stewart, “but we’ve moved on from that Patton thing. War is a little more modern, now.” The Daily Show with Jon StewartGet More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook Continue Reading… … Read More
Arne Duncan rejects Tom Friedman’s nomination for secretary of state with a joke from the Onion
In a New York Times column yesterday, Thomas Friedman nominated Education Secretary Arne Duncan to take the post of secretary of state, saying, “Duncan is not seeking the job and is not the least bit likely to be appointed. But I’m nominating him because I think this is an important time to ask the question of not just who should be secretary of state, but what should the secretary of state be in the 21st century?”Duncan shrugged the fan-boy nomination, saying,”Last week, the Onion said I was going to become a male stripper.” He added, “The Onion is probably more accurate than Tom Friedman.”In other words: Thanks, but no thanks.h/t ABC News Continue Reading… … Read More
NYT Waves Goodbye to Three Amigos of Militarism
Not every politician gets a warm and fuzzy retirement profile in the New York Times. But not every politician is Joe Lieberman. Jennifer Steinhauer's piece (11/27/12) is a tribute mostly to Lieberman's close bond with Republicans John McCain and Lindsey Graham. The "Three Amigos" traveled the world together, advocating for one hawkish foreign policy idea after another: Their hawkish world views often placed them at odds with their respective parties, but together they secured a place at the center of every major foreign policy debate. That's mostly true of Lieberman, but it's hard to figure how McCain and Graham much [...] … Read More
Will Obama pursue a more progressive foreign policy?
Even though we come from different places, we share common dreams: to choose our leaders; to live together in peace; to get an education and make a good living; to love our families and our communities. That’s why freedom is not an abstract idea; freedom is the very thing that makes human progress possible — not just at the ballot box, but in our daily lives.One of our greatest Presidents in the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, understood this truth. He defined America’s cause as more than the right to cast a ballot. He understood democracy was not just voting. He called upon the world to embrace four fundamental freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. These four freedoms reinforce one another, and you cannot fully realize one without realizing them all.—Barack H. Obama, University of Yangon, November 19, 2012Continue Reading… … Read More
