I hinted earlier this month that opponents of the Law of the Sea are terrified that Senate action on the treaty would expose their political weakness. Evidence is already turning up to support my claim.
Alexander Litvinenko, on his deathbed, accused Vladimir Putin of orchestrating his murder. Having ranted a few times on this blog about the current state of U.S.-Russia relations, I should say that I was pleased to see that Presidents Bush and Putin are planning to meet in early July.
After Zimbabwe won its election to Chair the Commission on Sustainable Development and Paul Wolfowitz held the World Bank hostage last month, international institutions were due for a boost. The month wasn’t all bad – after all, human rights groups did manage to help defeat Belarus in its bid for a seat on the U.N….
Last week, McCain and Obama traded barbs over the Iraq war. McCain first derided Obama for voting against the war supplemental, then Obama called out McCain for his farcical pronouncement that Baghdad is secure, and McCain finally ended the exchange by smugly correcting the Obama team’s spelling of “fla[c]k jacket.
In case you’re wondering why I’ve taken issue with so many officials who rail against dependence on imports of foreign oil, wonder no more. The NY Times published a story today on the fight over coal-to-liquid fuels in Congress.
While I was camping over the weekend I missed the release by Greenpeace of a leaked U.S. memo to Germany regarding the G8 text on climate change. In past years, when I’ve returned from meetings of the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) or the Conference of Parties (COP) to the U.N.
Steve hosted a really interesting reception last night on the USS Sequoia for people interested in U.S.-Cuba policy. I managed to get past my characteristic awkwardness in DC-style networking situations and it paid off, as I met some very smart and passionate individuals.
To no one’s surprise, Bill Richardson is officially a candidate for President. Richardson is showing well right now in Iowa, though some people doubt he can break through to the supposed “top tier” of candidates. I think he certainly has the potential; whether or not his candidacy really takes off remains to be seen.
Yesterday, Belarus ran for a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council – and lost badly. A few weeks ago, a Belarussian victory was seen as inevitable. Thanks to some great work by a few human rights groups and engaged governments, the tables have been turned.
Ron Paul and I have very few things in common besides our last name. We agree on very little, and we defend those few policy positions we happen to share on very different ideological and philosophical grounds.
