John Negroponte presentation

Today at the Japan Society, the US Dep. Secretary of State gave a speech about the state of U.S.-Japan foreign relations. He’s been in this capacity for just a year, and now he’s already on the way out. Previously, he was the ambassador to Iraq.  A towering, big-bodied man, he spoke in slow, well-thought phrases, and gave a sense that things are going to change much from here.

A brief outline of his speech: The US-Japan economic partnership is the most lucrative in the world, grossing 40% of global GDP. From the U.S. point of view, Japan is a “1st order partner,” and a cornerstone of the American policy in Asia. He outlined 5 challenges for the US-Japanese cooperation: terrorism, nuclear non-proliferation, development and “openness” of world financial markets, Burma, and climate change.

OK, now, how about his take on things we actually care about, like North Korea and the China-U.S. relationship? Negroponte confirmed, once again, that the U.S. is committed to the abductions issue with North Korea. Commenting on a quote form N. Burns, in which he said, “The China-US partnership has responsibility for world peace,” Negroponte twisted the words slightly, insisting that China needs to be a “responsibly stakeholder.” Further, he added that China can take “no benefit without contribution as a partner in a better world.”

the power of Charles Barron

We had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing NY City Councilman Charles Barron yesterday at his office near city hall. Originally from Harlem, he was a Black Panther in the 60’s, a National Black United Front member in the 70s, and a lifetime radical voice in the black community. In other words, he’s about the best person we could have interviewed for opinions on the black vote in NY city.

The subject of the interview: voting trends in his district in Brooklyn, and more specifically, his take on the divide in the black vote between Hillary and Obama. Mr. Barron made it clear from the beginning that he’s campaigning for Obama, and that he finds the establishment’s (read: Harlem) tacit support for Hillary nonsensical and motivated by merely political reasons. He thinks that now that Obama is a legit candidate, the black leaders who endorsed Hillary (Rev. Calvin Butts, Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Fla) may be thinking twice.

But the most memorable part of the interview wasn’t something that can be put into words. The charisma in this man, and lack of compromise in every belief he holds, was truly inspirational. He deadpanned “America is a racist country,” like he’d never considered sugarcoating anything. On commenting on why Obama can’t mention race in his campaign (“because the white people will get scared and think he’ll only support the blacks”), he admitted that he’d do that same thing if he were running for president. “But,” he admonished, “once I got elected, you better believe I’d help out the blacks first!”

Assassinations in Lebanon…

And why there isn’t more said about them. Since 2005, many Lebanese government officials have been murdered in car explosions–Rafik Hariri, Pierre Gemayel, and most recently, Wissam Eid, to name a few. Eid, 31, was one of the country’s top terrorism investigators, whose work included looking into the 2005 slaying of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Gemayel was an anti-Syrian politician and scion of Lebanon’s most prominent Christian family. Former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who had many enemies in Syria.

Are these attacks attributable to Syria, as everyone assumes? Or are they planned and executed from a complex web of connections involving Israel, US, and other forces who wish to impede Lebanon’s reach toward democracy? For all of the U.S.’s tough talk about Syria (Axis of Evil etc), why hasn’t Washington done or said more about these attacks?

Sarmad Ali

I met Sarmad last weekend through a mutual friend. When he said, “I’m from Iraq,” he sparked my attention for the rest of the night. He’s the first Iraqi I’ve met in America, the only one I’ve met outside of Europe. It brought this simple phenomenon back to me: that for as much attention we devote each day to Iraq, very few of us have actually met an Iraqi. This is largely not from lack of trying: since the war began, millions of Iraqis have fled to Syria and other nearby countries. Here in the US, only 486 Iraqis have been granted refugee status since 2003. Ostensibly, the government wants to keep Iraqis far away because their mere presence brings the war much closer and more real. Sarmad is real, and after meeting him, talking with him, eating with him in Queens, his story and articles hit much much harder. 

He’s a reporter for the WSJ, and runs their Iraq blog. Read his front page article about searching for his dad, who’s been missing for over a year. Then try to think about the war in whatever light you previously had thought about it.

Sinaloa cartel weapons

In yet more news from Mexico involving the drug cartels and weapons. The police discovered a house full of weapons in Mexico City.

Clashes with Zeta in Mexico

The continuing violence in Mexico doesn’t get enough attention. Since F. Calderon took office, he’s devoted his attention to fighting the cartels and gangs who control the gun and drug trade. So far, his policy of using Federal troops to address the problem has exacerbated the situation, as shown be the increasing brutality of altercations along the border. Last week, in a gun battle outside a school in Tijuana, 6 civilian hostages were slain.

This is the latest update on the government’s efforts.

“These days, it is easy to form the impression that a war is going on in Mexico.” Military trucks topped with machine guns circle streets in border towns. Residents feel safer from the increased police presence, but most realize that no matter how hard the government may try, the problem won’t go away easily. The complex network of cooperation between the gangs and local police and city dwellers makes it difficult for the government to get anywhere.

Suicide bombers in Iraq–where from ?

From this article in WP.

A US army envoy found a cache of immigration records of more than 600 men who came to Iraq from surrounding countries for suicide missions.

“Suicide attacks by the Sunni group against Shiite targets sparked the sectarian violence that swept Iraq in 2006 and the first half of last year. Al-Qaeda in Iraq carried out more than 4,500 attacks against civilians in 2007, killing 3,870 and wounding nearly 18,000, the military announced yesterday. Based on the Sinjar records, U.S. military officials in Iraq said they now think that nine out of 10 suicide bombers have been foreigners, compared with earlier estimates of 75 percent.”

ETHNIC CLASHES

Was is planned and premeditated? So asks the NY Times in this article.

“They were from the Kalenjin ethnic group and said they had killed 20 people this month. They were armed with bows, arrows, clubs and knives. Some wore animal skins with cellphones tucked in the folds.”

Can we please get pictures of this?

Whereas Kenya was once thought of as the light of Africa, the inexorable tribal disputes, which have always been precariously bubbling, finally erupted. And now, Kenya is not a progressive democratic country. It is, as article says, “guided by traditions that celebrate a warrior culture,” similar to the other malevolent countries in Africa.

“This is ethnic cleansing,” said Alfred Mutua, a spokesman for the Kenyan government. Yes, it is, and it resembles what happened not too long ago in Rwanda. There was always animosity toward Kikuyus from the other tribal factions like the Kalenji, Masai, and Luo, over special treatment for Kikuyus. And, violence along these rifts has broken out before, and like now, was triggered by politics. This time, there is now proof of government involvement leading up to the elections.