I’m copying below the full statement of Acting Ambassador Alejandro Wolff to the Security Council on climate change as a security risk. The foundational elements of Wolff’s statement are not new, but their inanity never ceases to make my jaw drop. They are usually repeated loyally by Harlan Watson, the chief U.S.
I’ve been away from the blog recently working on a number of things, some of them related to U.S. energy and climate policy. Lots to report. A colleague of mine thought it’d be worth sharing what James Woolsey is up to, and I agree.
Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol just announced that Khartoum will allow U.N. peacekeepers to join with African Union forces in Darfur. Reports differ on whether the U.N.
It may be a little late, but Tom Lantos is weighing in on Congressional fact-finding trips – and he’s not pulling any punches.
My significant other is a teacher and is not involved in policy work. As a concerned citizen, she bought a Save Darfur t-shirt and wears it occasionally. One night last month, she wore her shirt out to a gathering of my friends, most of whom work in political and environmental nonprofits and businesses.
If one wants to make the comparison even more striking, current spending on all “international programs” – that is, all U.S. non-military engagement with the world, accounts for 1.2% of the federal budget. That includes humanitarian relief, diplomacy, international organization funding, poverty and disease programs, U.N. peacekeeping, and a number of other critical international initiatives….
I’ve learned that a writer who calls him or herself “Influence Peddler” is using my post here as a jumping off point for his/her argument that Democrats will suffer in the 2008 elections because of Iraq.
At long last, a member of President Bush’s inner circle has publicly “broken up” with him. Matthew Dowd, who was inspired by Bush’s style as Texas governor, switched parties and took a high-ranking post on the Bush-Cheney communications team. Six years later, he’s a Bush supporter no more.
Peter O’Toole’s performance as T.E. Lawrence in the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia should remind us that all of us, of all political stripes, are dealing with stereotypes that could throw our foreign policy way off course. The prevailing Republican view is well-documented.
AP is reporting a very important story today about Indonesia’s battle for control over H5N1 avian flu strains with the World Health Organization. WHO should have access to the viral material and should share it with pharmaceutical companies working on a vaccine. But Indonesia’s gripes are legitimate and deserve to be taken seriously.