Timelines.

The AP headlines this story, “Obama says Iran a year away from nuclear weapon.” Read the excerpt below. Is that what he’s saying, or is he saying that it would take them a year to build one if/when they get eventually cracking full-bore on weaponization? Prediction: When 2013 comes and goes without any resolution, diplomatic [...]

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1514 to ... 3.

The Falkland Islands held a plebescite yesterday to make a statement on self-determination, and a statement they delivered. When asked whether they chose to remain in the United Kingdom as a self-governing territory or opt for any other status, 1,514 people voted to remain British. They barely edged out the alternative, squeaking past by just [...]

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UN warns conflict becoming "overtly sectarian."

Change in direction, or political cover?  Either way, the Assad regime won’t be happy to hear Vladimir Putin talk about how the impulse for change after 40 years of single-family rule is understandable. At the same time, Putin’s statement earlier today isn’t exactly a reversal of Russian policy, either: Russia realizes changes in Syria are [...]

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"This is about domestic politics."

Now that North Korea has successfully tested their long-range missile capabilities, what comes next? After two previous launches, what followed was a nuclear-weapon test — and that may be what’s coming now, too. With South Korea about to hold national elections, both Reuters and CBS report on the likelihood of seeing the nuclear hat trick, [...]

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Hmmm.

First, the US delegation decides to stick around for one of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speeches at the UN, and then the highest-ranking US diplomat at Turtle Bay takes a powder when Israel’s Prime Minister gets up to speak.  Instead, UN Ambassador Susan Rice chose to attend a luncheon in which she wasn’t even the highest-ranking American [...]

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Free thinking.

These questions are all multiple choice. Who said it? A) U.S. government official, B) a blasphemy law advocate, or C) a college professor? Answers are hyperlinked below each question. Tell me how you did in comments. It’s trickier than it should be, unfortunately. 1. “It is frustrating. On the other hand, we [have a] government [...]

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Smart power strikes again.

I doubt anyone reading Hot Air will mind this, but it looks like the UN won’t get a chance to dictate terms of the Second Amendment any time soon.  Yesterday evening, talks on an international arms-trade treaty collapsed when the US and a few other nations demanded an extension of time before committing to a [...]

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“Never in my life would I have expected USDA to be opposed to farmers and ranchers."

Yes, that would be the US Department of Agriculture, which is supposed to promote agriculture.  Agriculture includes cattle ranching as well as farming (and dairies!).  One of the most significant duties of the USDA is to rate the quality of meat so that consumers can be sure they’re eating healthy food.  So why did the [...]

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Entire families shot in their homes by Assad's forces.

Remember when the Obama administration demanded that Hosni Mubarak had to go “yesterday,” bombed Moammar Qaddafi, and then insisted that Syrian dictator Bashar Assad was a “reformer”?  The city of Houla became the latest recipient of Assad’s “reforms,” as 108 people got massacred by government forces and their allies: The U.N.’s human rights office on [...]

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Protests, followed by shelling in Homs.

Let’s see. Brutal dictator agrees to cease-fire after massacring his own people for months when they have the temerity to demand political change. Guns stop firing, brutal dictator remains in power, protests erupt. What could go wrong? Syrian troops fired shells into rebel-held neighborhoods in the central city of Homs on Saturday killing at least [...]

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We'll see.

Could the civil war that has claimed 9,000 lives, according to a UN estimate, be coming to a close?  Special envoy and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan announced today that Syria’s Bashar Assad has accepted in principle a cease-fire agreement based on a six-point plant from the UN Security Council.  However, Annan warned that [...]

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Can't wait to hear from Saudi Arabia on this one.

Stop me if you’ve heard this joke before.  A Saudi, a Cuban, and an American political group walks into a room — and the American political group asks them to tell the US to be more fair about its voting practices.  Haven’t heard this one?  You may get a chance to see it in action [...]

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What could go wrong?

After a week of Afghans rampaging over burned Korans, a series of Islamist landslides in Egypt’s elections, and now grave desecration at a war cemetery for Allied heroes in Libya, anyone else eager to risk more American lives to help? “Foreign capitals across the world are looking to the United States to lead, especially now [...]

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"Friends."

Supposedly they’ll only be discussing diplomatic options, but let’s not kid ourselves. A senior U.S. official told the Telegraph two days ago that military intervention “may not be avoidable.” Jonah Goldberg fantasized a few days ago about a “permanent global clubhouse for democracies based on shared principles,” i.e. a UN for the good guys. Thanks [...]

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Plus a sneak peek at his new book and his CPAC speech.

Yesterday I had the chance to spend some time with Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), the conservative stalwart who has spent the last several years trying to fight off attempts from members of both parties to impose a ruinous cap-and-trade system to control energy production and usage in the US.   He now has a book coming [...]

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Shame.

Via The Right Scoop, here’s a heartwarming story from Turtle Bay that will have you saying “awww.”  Or perhaps, “errrr…” The UN General Assembly offered a moment of silence to honor a world leader that passed away this week — and it wasn’t Vaclav Havel: The 66th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on [...]

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