The aftermath of the Egyptian revolution continues to offer Israel more comfort than many expected – but also, over the weekend, a warning.
The latest good news is a poll. Despite fears that the demise of President Hosni Mubarak would also spell the end of Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel, nearly two-thirds of Egyptians in a …
Now that an El Paso, Texas, jury has acquitted Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles of perjury, the buzz back in Miami is that at least he got the fair trial that people in communist Cuba are usually denied. Now, say Cuban exile leaders, it’s time to put the whole ugly Posada drama to rest. But Friday’s verdict only throws into sharper …
Since the international community found itself stepping in to try to stem burgeoning humanitarian disasters in Libya and the Ivory Coast, much has been made of the principles behind the interventions. A cadre of liberal internationalists (in Europe, often lapsed socialists) saw in the two countries — particularly in Libya — a mandate …
Here is Global Spin’s latest installment of five rental movies that explain the week’s news. Compiled by Ishaan Tharoor and Tony Karon
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAoKkjGZTIM&feature=related]
No Man’s Land
Haunting the build up to the U.N.-sanctioned interventions in Libya and the Ivory Coast was the specter of …
On May 5, Britons are invited to vote in a referendum about voting. They will decide whether to abandon the U.K.’s current first-past-the-post elections (FPTP) in favor of an Alternative Vote (AV) system, which isn’t really much different from FPTP except that voters rank candidates in order of preference, and as candidates are …
Stalemate — Libya is deadlocked. TIME’s Tony Karo offers five reasons western intervention is unlikely to continue and mulls what come next.
On Language — The Economist parses the results of a massive (but not satistically controlled) study of English-language ability, linking fluency to factors like wealth and export …
That which has been obvious for some time now is finally being officially acknowledged: Libya’s power struggle is stalemated, and is likely to remain that way on the basis of the current level of NATO commitment. That was the grim assessment in congressional testimony Thursday by General Carter Ham, the U.S. commander who led the initial …
France’s predominant role in international operations like the NATO-led mission over Libya–or this week’s United Nations helicopter strikes in Ivory Coast–have generated a flurry of media reports suggesting formerly Clark Kent-like French diplomats have shed their earlier mild mannered restraint, and have started wading into …
The Chinese authorities are interviewing detained artist and activist Ai Weiwei for “economic crimes,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Thursday. The comments, at a regularly scheduled afternoon press conference, are the first official acknowledgment that Ai, who was detained on Sunday while trying to fly to Hong Kong, is under …
New Lineup — Obama’s is about to shake up his ‘war team,’ reports the New York Times. Find out who’s out (Gates) and who might be in (Patraeus? Panetta? Another dude with ‘p’ name?).
Hold Your Fire — Should Mexico call for a cease-fire with the drug cartels? asks Ioan Grillo. Watch our video on narco-rappers, here.
Imperial …
Updated: April 7, 2011
Another U.S. Ambassador in Latin America bit the WikiDust this week. This time it was a leftist rather than a conservative government pushing the yanqui envoy out, but the reason was similar – and similarly lame. WikiLeaks recently released a confidential U.S. diplomatic cable from 2009 – which the Spanish …
Judge Richard Goldstone’s Sunday op ed in the Washington Post reconsidering the allegation in his 2009 UN report that Israel had deliberately targeted Palestinian civilians in its 2008/9 Gaza war was greeted with premature euphoria in Israeli circles. Goldstone himself made clear, Wednesday, that he has no intention of withdrawing any …
About ten hours before a warplane roared down the Red Sea, crossed into Sudanese airspace and let fly a missile at a sedan, killing both of the people inside, Maj. Gen. (ret.) Amos Gilad offered a piece of advice about secret military actions to audience of diplomats and journalists in a Jerusalem hotel.
“Never boast,” Gilad said. “Be …
