President Bush riding his troubles away with the Chinese Olympic cycling team on mountain bike trails in Beijing, China Last week, on the eve of President Bush’s 8-day diplomatic tour of Asia, I wrote this article in which I predicted that the highlight of his trip – a Beijing summit with Chinese President Hu Jintao… Read more.
Archives for November 2005
Fox reprieved as Castro puts Chávez back on his leash
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black…. News and Politics Read more.
EXTRA: Bob Woodward traded journalistic principles for access to power (and a string of political best sellers)
Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward has often referred to the “imperial presidency” to describe the accretion of power in the executive at the expense of the (constitutionally co-equal) judiciary and legislative braches of the U.S. government. But given the startling revelations this week about his role in the CIA leak investigation, one might now refer… Read more.
Publishing tycoon Lord Conrad Black: A royal thief…?
Yesterday, the imperial name of Lord Conrad Black of Hollinger International Inc. was added to the rogues gallery of corporate crooks – which includes Ken Lay of Enron, Bernard Ebbers of WorldCom, Dennis Kozlowski of Tyco and the Rigas family of Aldelphia Communications – that will be recorded in the annals of history as royalty… Read more.
Update: Martha reverts to bitchy diva after getting her goose cooked on Apprentice spin-off
Alas, The Apprentice starring this friendly and “reformed” Martha Stewart showed more style than substance and delivered more hype than ratings… Ironically, Martha Stewart was never quite so successful in business as she was when her stint in prison prevented her from doing business. Indeed, as I noted with cynical awe in this previous article,… Read more.
Fighting bird flu…by vaccinating 14 billion chickens?
Can you imagine these vaccinated chickens being “finger lickin’ good”? Much has been made in the international media about the looming pandemic of (avian) bird flu. Yet, it has been difficult to reconcile “informed” fears that this H5N1 strain of the flu could kill more people than the reported 50 million who died from a… Read more.
One small step for Israelis and Palestinians, one giant leap for peace in Middle East
Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of State Dr Condoleezza Rice – with EU Foreign policy chief Javier Solana (L) and international envoy to the Middle East James Wolfensohn – announcing the historic agreement she brokered between the Israelis and Palestinians to open the borders of the Gaza Strip to allow free movement for Palestinians within the territories… Read more.
Bush bids his Washington troubles adieu…
If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen! Therefore, it was fortuitous for President Bush that he was scheduled to leave Washington yesterday to attend the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in South Korea, as part of an 8-day diplomatic tour of Asia. But unlike his predecessor Bill Clinton – who… Read more.
Venezuela’s Chavez warns Mexico’s Fox: You better not mess with me amigo…
At the recent Summit of the Americas, Chavez (L) eyed Fox (standing at attention) like a hunter stalking his prey Fallout from the recent Summit of the Americas in Argentina seems to have affected diplomatic relations between Venezuela and Mexico more than between Venezuela and the U.S. as was generally anticipated. And, things took a… Read more.
Africa’s first female president restores hope for Liberia (and all of Africa)
On Friday, with 99% of the votes counted, the National Elections Commission declared Harvard-trained economist Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf the winner in Liberia’s run-off presidential election Liberia is the only African nation never colonised by European imperialists. And this is probably due in large part to the fact that it was originally inhabited by black American settlers… Read more.