Harry Reed, Parliamentarian

If you are following the domestic health care policy bill/debate, you’re undoubtedly picking up the fact that the Senate Majority Leader is not only the political go-to guy for his party (along with the go-to gal, Nancy Pelosi in the House), but he’s also a strategist in Robert’s Rules—of necessity:

At some point, Mr. Reid will have to push for a vote to end debate. And to do that, he will once again need the support of 60 senators — either the entire Democratic caucus or some Republicans to make up for any defections.

At least four senators — three Democrats and one independent — who voted yes on sending the measure to the floor for debate have already publicly threatened to block any effort to get a vote on final passage.

Mr. Reid succeeded in getting the bill to the Senate floor with no clear path to a final vote to get it off the floor.

via Rough Race to the Finish for Senate Democrats – Prescriptions Blog – NYTimes.com.

The Latin America Left | Newly Elected President in Uruguay

Following the path of Brazil, Chile, and Peru, Uruguay solidifies the socialist hold on government:

The victory by Mr. Mujica, a farmer and Socialist senator, completed an improbable journey. He helped found the Tupamaro movement, inspired by the Cuban Revolution, and waged an urban guerrilla war robbing banks and businesses and seeking to install a Marxist-style government here. He spent almost 15 years in prison.

His running mate, Danilo Astori, is the buttoned-down former finance minister under Mr. Vázquez who shares credit for the macroeconomic policies that improved Uruguay’s social conditions after a financial crisis at the beginning of the decade.

Mr. Mujica, who has piqued the Argentine political establishment by criticizing President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, said in an interview Sunday on Argentine television that he would “fight hard to have a good relationship with Argentina.”

via Leftist Wins Uruguay Presidential Vote – NYTimes.com.

Trial of Khmer Prison Official Nears End

If you haven’t been following this case—an interesting story of international justice and the challenges inherent to tribunals–you should.  Previous reportage of accusations against Duch and the Khmer regime are horrifying, fascinating, and will make your soul feel heavy with the “man’s inhumanity to man.“

After admitting his guilt and asking for forgiveness, Duch (pronounced DOIK) seemed on the final day of the trial on Friday to think that he had done enough, asking the court to set him free.

Duch’s plea seemed to contradict a carefully constructed strategy to seek leniency by admitting guilt, apologizing and cooperating with the court. He faces a possible term of life in prison for crimes against humanity and other crimes. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of 40 years, taking into account his cooperation and the five years he already spent in a military jail. The judges are expected to announce a verdict early next year.

via News Analysis – Moving Beyond Khmer Rouge’s Ghosts – NYTimes.com.

Iran and the Limits of International Organizations?

To get back up to speed on Iran and the multilateral approach to its alleged nuclear weapons program–first, there was the slap–backed with the P-3’s blessing:

In a blow to Iran, the board of the U.N. nuclear agency on Friday overwhelmingly backed a demand from the U.S., Russia, China and three other powers that Tehran immediately stop building its newly revealed nuclear facility and freeze uranium enrichment.

via Diplomats – Iran Censured at UN Nuclear Meeting – NYTimes.com.

And now, intransigence:

Iran angrily refused Sunday to comply with a demand by the United Nations nuclear agency to cease work on a once-secret nuclear fuel enrichment plant, and escalated the confrontation by declaring it would construct 10 more such plants.

Both countries, historically opposed to sanctions, had voted in favor of a resolution by the I.A.E.A. demanding that Iran stop work on a formerly secret enrichment plant. By refusing to accept that resolution, one senior administration official said, “Ahmadinejad may be doing more to assemble a sanctions coalition than we could do in months of work.”

The White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said of Iran’s declaration: “If true, this would be yet another serious violation of Iran’s clear obligations under multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, and another example of Iran choosing to isolate itself.”

via A Defiant Iran Vows to Build Nuclear Plants – NYTimes.com.

So now what? Back to sanctions?  Military action?  Something new?

Growing, Yes, but India Has Reasons to Worry – NYTimes.com

Not only is India’s largest democracy with some challenging problems to address as it develops and grows–it lives in a tough neighborhood.  Take a look at what surrounds this vast country as a way to better understand its national interests:

For all the talk of a new era of Indo-American collaboration, Americans tend to view India through the narrow prisms of two shared concerns — a battle against Islamic extremists, and the benefits of international trade. But India is a complicated country in a complex part of the world — buffeted by internal insurgencies, surrounded by hostile neighbors, marginalized until recently as underdeveloped

via Growing, Yes, but India Has Reasons to Worry – NYTimes.com.

Not a Fan of the UN Population Fund

From the WSJ Opinion page, an argument explaining why some find UNFPA, also known as the UN Population Fund, to be on a fool’s errand:

Now the Fund has gone a step further, arguing that the scourge of reproduction is not just a question of raw numbers, but that humanity itself is destructive. “No human is genuinely 'carbon neutral,' especially when all greenhouse gases are figured into the equation,” the report tells us in a section entitled “At the brink.” “Therefore, everyone is part of the problem, so everyone must be part of the solution.”

That sounds like a somewhat totalitarian formulation to us, even if the Fund goes out of its way to shed its image as a eugenics-advocacy group by swapping the term “population control” for “population dynamics.” Indeed, the Fund—unusually for a U.N. organ—favors efficiency when it comes to culling our ranks, citing one finding that “dollar-for-dollar, investments in voluntary family planning and girls' education would also in the long run reduce greenhouse-gas emissions at least as much as the same investments in nuclear or wind energy.” Even better, the report says other studies indicate that avoiding one billion new babies by 2050 would save as much energy as building two million one-megawatt wind turbines. The environmental argument extends equally to human welfare—the report notes that “the use of voluntary family planning directly decreases child mortality.”

via U.N. Population Fund Supports Population Control – WSJ.com.

What It Means to Be French, c. 2009

Is Sarkozy an opportunistic pol or a public intellectual…or both?  The latest from a debate on French identity–with an undertone of the immigration question:

Having pulled a number of unhappy or disenchanted Socialists into his government, Mr. Sarkozy is facing serious unhappiness in his own party, the Union for a Popular Movement. So by raising issues of immigration, national identity and the Islamic veil, Mr. Sarkozy is trying to assuage his party’s concerns about a “globalized,” more racially and religiously diverse France, which can sometimes seem pretty far removed from Racine, if not from the farces of Molière.Mr. Sarkozy is also trying, some analysts say, to pull in support from the far right, the National Front supporters of Jean-Marie and Marine Le Pen.

via Memo From Paris – France Debates Its Identity, but Some Ask Why – NYTimes.com.

Steering the State – Former Secretary of State George Shultz @ Carnegie Endowment

You may not have time to watch the entire speech but at least review the PDF transcripts for a big picture, 30,000-mile high view of where Former Sec State Shultz thinks the Administration should be heading on a variety of key issues:

American Economic Primacy: The United States has a terrific political system and the most creative and dynamic economy the world has ever seen. Right now, however, the United States is not at its best. It must control its government spending to maintain its global economic position and prevent deficits that will stretch to the far horizon.

Global Engagement: Direct diplomatic engagement is irreplaceable, but the United States must do more than merely engage with others. The United States must engage them on the basis of its strengths. Discussions with Iran, for example, have gone nowhere because the United States has engaged Iran with a weak hand.

Afghan War: Initial military successes by the United States and the coalition forces were compromised by an attempt to create an Afghanistan that had never previously existed—one with a centralized government and a strong national army. Any future approach must recognize the fact that Afghanistan is a bottom-up, rather than top-down, country, and thus change must be instituted on a local rather than national level.

Terrorism: While the United States must be careful in using force for preventative action, especially in other countries, the use of force is a critical component in fighting terrorism and should be considered as a preventative measure. Furthermore, financial considerations should never be a factor in the fight against terrorism, as a government’s first and primary job is to protect its citizens. In Afghanistan, for example, the United States should not compromise its goal because of rising costs.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation: Nuclear disarmament is beyond partisan politics and should be approached as a nonpartisan issue. This will be increasingly important when the Senate is called upon to ratify and re-ratify upcoming nonproliferation treaties.

via Salon Luncheon with Former Secretary of State George Shultz – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Speaking for Islam – A Series on Link TV

The big think series offered by CNN hit a mass audience, but tend to be more generic; PBS does a fine job but has an even narrower audience.  On the sparse end of the audience spectrum is a worthy interlocutor in the programming offered by Link TV—especially this wise series asking “Who Speaks for Islam?”  Don’t miss BYU Kennedy Center featured author, Reza Aslan , among others in a fascinating discussion on how Islam is portrayed, the relationship between religion and violence (especially relevant and important for Latter-day Saints on historical and current issues, such as frontier violence and social policy debates), and other points at Who Speaks for Islam? | Link TV

 

 

 

And You Thought Your Credit Card Debt Was High?

Payback time is coming for the U.S. of A., and the implications for making policy, domestic and foreign–as well as a host of other debates–is only getting started.

In concrete terms, an additional $500 billion a year in interest expense would total more than the combined federal budgets this year for education, energy, homeland security and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.The potential for rapidly escalating interest payouts is just one of the wrenching challenges facing the United States after decades of living beyond its means.The surge in borrowing over the last year or two is widely judged to have been a necessary response to the financial crisis and the deep recession, and there is still a raging debate over how aggressively to bring down deficits over the next few years. But there is little doubt that the United States’ long-term budget crisis is becoming too big to postpone.Americans now have to climb out of two deep holes: as debt-loaded consumers, whose personal wealth sank along with housing and stock prices; and as taxpayers, whose government debt has almost doubled in the last two years alone, just as costs tied to benefits for retiring baby boomers are set to explode.

via Payback Time – Wave of Debt Payments Facing U.S. Government – Series – NYTimes.com with a tip o’ the hat to William Perry, economy watcher and course instructor.