I agree with Rachel Maddow. Fox News is not news. It’s a political operation. See the cutaway above by Fox as soon as Sarah Palin is mentioned at a Giffords shooting vigil as well as this good commentary by John Amato.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Sarah Palin has just put out a pretty weak statement regarding the tragic shooting of House Member Gabrielle Giffords and the killing of many others, including a federal judge.

[The speech can now be watched any time above.] At the Center for Strategic and International Studies today, from 12 noon until 1 pm EST, Japan Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara will speak. His presentation will run here live at The Washington Note.

Courtesy of defense analyst and businessman Harlan Ullman and his wife, I had the opportunity to meet and talk extensively with Pakistan Punjab Province Governor Salman Taseer at their Georgetown home on May 17th this past year. The intimate reception was comprised mostly of senior level Department of Defense and Department of State officials.

Jonathan Pollard was paid for his espionage by a foreign government. Whether that government was the Soviet Union, China, Great Britain, or as it turned out — Israel — Pollard was a compensated enemy of the US national interest and convicted.

I have yet to meet the Washington Post‘s new online oped contributor, Jennifer Rubin, who has chastised Zbigniew Brzezinski for unrealistic realism but I look forward to a chance to seriously discuss the evolution of US foreign policy thinking and how each of the boxes views the others.

During the 2008 presidential election, Hillary Clinton took a very tough line on China — arguing then that President George W. Bush should boycott the Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies because of China’s policies on Tibet and Darfur.

Foreign Policy magazine asked those attending its major gala release at The Corcoran of the 2010 FP100 Top Global Thinkers to feel free to comment and send in thoughts on who should have been on the list and did not make the cut for one reason or another.

(photo credit: Kori Schake; click image for larger version) My friend Kori Schake sent in this beautiful pic of Rainbow Canyon in the Panamint Range. Tomorrow everything heats up again on TWN — Afghanistan, Israel/Palestine, Iran, Cuba, America’s jobs and infrastructure deficits, and more. More then.

Happy New Year to all from Oakley the Amazing Weimaraner, Buddy & Annie! — Steve Clemons