Undiplomatic Kerry

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has been quoted  as saying that his dealings with Iran won't be based on "trust." That's a strange way of doing diplomacy. One can understand that there can be no blind trust in diplomacy or whatever else, but trust there must be. Also, it's rather stupid to say these things publicly, because they undercut any effort to deal with the other party successfully.

Evidently, Kerry is responding to Netanyahu's comments about Iran. The U.S., held hostage by Israel in these matters, has to appease him, by appearing to pay attention to his warnings about Iran's new leader.

Even by speaking out as stupidly as Netanyahu.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Belgian Buggery

The Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal won't go away; instead, it keeps growing every day.  Take the story out of Belgium, where a report has been issued that details what went on, including more than a dozen suicides linked to the abuse perpetrated by priests and  a cover up that continues to this day, when a Belgian bishop suggested that a complaint be withheld until 2011, when the bishop who covered up for the offending priest will retire.  With each passing day, it becomes more and more difficult to hold that this behavior was just the work of a few rogue priests.  There are just too many cases all around the world, for anyone to believe such a thing. This is clearly a major problem which the church tried to hide from the authorities and recklessly let it continue, without any regard for children elsewhere, by transferring priests.  There is no excuse for this unpardonable sin.
Read more

Columbus' Curse

Although it wasn't altogether new, the 1992 celebration of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America made it fashionable to malign Columbus big time.  From Indians from all over the Americas, who still hold a  grudge against the Spanish conquistadores , to latter-day revisionist historians, everybody got into the act of pissing on the erstwhile "Grand Admiral."  Year after year we keep hearing the same old story: he wasn't the first to come to America (everybody and his brother had been here before); if he was, it was only because he had some maps given to him by somebody else (or stolen) from somebody else; it was just a fluke, etc. It has become politically correct to badmouth Columbus. I suppose all those purists would have preferred that he stay home, leaving us all in a  perpetual Garden of Eden, untouched by the European culture.  This is nonsense.  No matter if, objectively, he wasn't the first to set foot on this part of the world or whatever adv
Read more

I Won't Be Charlie

I suppose that there are people who have a death wish. Even those who support the French satirists will come to realize that Muslim-baiting of this sort cannot continue. It is simply untenable to go on provoking Islamic people in this way. Let's get one thing clear: there are no absolute rights . Every freedom or right has limits. People have begun to make the point that in Europe, including France, negating the Holocaust is a crime. Why can't someone express that outrageous opinion, and yet make fun of a deeply-held religious belief? Either both things should be allowed or none should be permitted. The double standard is clear. Different media around the world have abstained from publishing the latest cartoon, surely out of concern for their safety, but also because, as The New York Times has argued, they will not publish something that is "offensive and gratuitous." Eventually, if the French cartoonists insist on this course of action, others will come around to
Read more