Wednesday-Night

Officials Counter Ahmadinejad Health Rumors
(NYT) The talk about his health comes at a time of increased pressure on Mr. Ahmadinejad, primarily for what critics call his mishandling of the economy in Iran, which has led to an inflation rate of 30 percent. His government faced one of its worst crises this month after street-bazaar merchants […]

China denounces Nobel contender
Oct 09 2008 17:10
(FT) Beijing responded to speculation that a jailed Chinese dissident might win the Nobel Peace Prize by denouncing him as a criminal and warning that honouring him would amount to meddling in China’s internal affairs.
6 October
Nobel Peace Prize May Go to Chinese Activist, Angering Beijing
Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) — Two […]

See also China, Beijing Olympics and Olympic Protest Primer
Armed Chinese police still occupy Lhasa six months after riots
The continued paramilitary presence in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, suggests that Chinese officials still fear an uprising similar to the deadly protests six months ago. The Guardian, the first Western news outlet to visit the […]

Curious Coincidence
David Jones writes in American Diplomacy
A Summing Up
Our parallel elections offer a Comparative Government 101 tutorial on operational differences between two vibrant democracies. We can appreciate that the strengths and weaknesses of each society are also reflected in the other and learn from comparing/contrasting solutions. Our coincidences are greater than our differences. […]

Whither Egypt?
With most of its people struggling, and reform blocked, Egypt faces an uncertain and possibly dangerous future
(The Economist) Today, a blinkered visitor might choose to see nothing of Egypt but posh beach resorts and gleaming factories, and hear of little but strong economic growth and a stable, secular government committed to reform. In the […]

New battle over Arctic oil plans
(BBC) The grey waters of the Arctic Ocean are the scene for a new battle over plans for a huge expansion in the drilling of oil and gas far beyond the Alaskan shore.
The governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, in her speech accepting her nomination as Republican Party candidate for vice-president […]

The U.S. 2008 Presidential Election: An Evaluation
by Rodrigue Tremblay
In his quite exhaustive analysis (excerpts below), Dr. Tremblay concludes
The 2008 American presidential election is a most unusual and interesting election, and it will be studied intensively in the coming years. My preliminary assessment is that this is still a presidential election for the Democrats to […]

Welcome home to all the summer’s happy wanderers. We have missed you - and you have missed some fascinating evenings - and look forward to catching up with your news, along with your thoughts on The News as it unfolds.
Speaking of unfolding,-  or more accurately, unravelling -, the Republican Convention will surely go down in […]

This fascinating counter view of the respective roles of the belligerents and those of the U.S. and the U.K. is a must-read. Pay close attention also to the comments regarding China.
From a neighboring state, the view of recent events in Georgia is somewhat different.
A few points for you to consider:
1. Neither Abkhazia, nor South Ossetia […]

The Medvedev Doctrine and American Strategy
(Stratfor) The fifth point is the critical one: “As is the case of other countries, there are regions in which Russia has privileged interests.” In other words, the Russians have special interests in the former Soviet Union and in friendly relations with these states. Intrusions by others into these regions […]