On Tuesday, the Washington Note conveyed the news that Af/Pak Envoy Richard Holbrooke’s doctor had grounded him pending angiogram tests and was not permitting him to travel to the Afghanistan on a well publicized trip with General David Petraeus this week.
I just ran into Kenneth Rogoff, former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, in the run down but historic commons pub of Kings College at Cambridge University Rogoff is over-the-top accomplished, but just one essay of his made me a fan — written in 2004, Rogoff authored an oped titled “A Debtor’s Empire” that…
(Graffiti in Israel: “Where are you, Anat Kam?”) Max Blumenthal is helping to break a huge story in Israel that involves journalists, leaks, accusations of alleged treason, illegal assassinations, house arrests, a Haaretz editor in hiding, and personal conscience.
Tonight I’ll be joining MSNBC Countdown host Keith Olbermann near the top of the hour, around 8:05 pm EST, for a discussion of President Obama’s Nuclear Posture Review. There is a lot of news today.
This morning, I spent a couple of hours watching Richard Holbrooke interact with his interagency team before, during and after an all hands SRAP (Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan) meeting at the State Department. Holbrooke is good to his people — affirming, serious but on their side.
The White House has announced that it will delay a Treasury Department report reviewing whether China is manipulating its currency. This delay is likely tied to three goals of the US. First, the US wants to stop the slide in US-China relations.
Happy Easter everyone. I’ve been enjoying the day reading Charles Kupchan‘s excellent new book titled How Enemies Become Friends: The Sources of Stable Peace. As far as I’m concerned, this is one of the real must reads of this season.
I am catching up on some work today that is keeping me from the blog, but I wanted to share this photo of a striking mural painted by Stevan Dohanos in the Alvaro de Lugo Post Office in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. Happy Easter to those into resurrection, coconut cake, rabbits and eggs.
Today, the Huffington Post sent out a clip of an interesting essay by former IMF Chief Economist Simon Johnson challenging Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s take on financial reform. The essay also appeared at Johnson’s must read personal blog, Baseline Scenario.
