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Reflections on a debate question Most reporters ask the same questions again and again, variations on a theme… “what did you do,” “what do you want to do,” and maybe even “what do you think of what somebody else did?” But, once in a while, an election cycle produces a defining theme, so one single average-sounding question can teach us a fundamental truth, or two, or three. Such a moment occurred when Bret Baier of Fox News asked the Republican candidates for the 2012 presidential nomination whether they found tax hikes so distasteful that they would walk away from a...

I don’t think I’ve ever seen an international issue clarified in as little time as the 26 hours or so it took to get from “1967 lines” to “No way.” And we have President Obama to thank for it. In all the discussion of how he was schooled and taken to the woodshed by Prime Minister Netanyahu, there has been little recognition of the fact that Bibi had no choice but to say what he did in the press conference on Friday. Obama isn’t the first American president to give short shrift to the fundamentals of negotiation; most of our...

Wading directly into the spending negotiations on Capitol Hill for the first time in weeks, President Obama on Saturday afternoon called the top Republican and top Democrat in Congress, telling them he supports a deal cutting another $23 billion from last year’s spending levels. In calls to House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, Mr. Obama also said time is running short, according to a White House statement recounting the calls. Mr. Boehner, in Republicans’ weekly radio address Saturday, said there is no final spending agreement but added Republicans’ pressure has pushed...

Obama urged to engage in direct, high-level dialogue with N. Korea By Hwang Doo-hyong WASHINGTON, July 27 (Yonhap) -- A senior U.S. senator Tuesday called on the Obama administration to engage in direct high-level dialogue with North Korea to break the impasse on nuclear talks and ease heightening tensions after the North's sinking of a South Korean warship. Speaking to a forum here to mark the anniversary of the armistice signed at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, Senator John Kerry (D-MA), called for "engaging in direct, candid, high-level dialogue" with North Korea with the goal being "to test...

pril 18, 2010 Taliban’s supreme leader signals willingness to talk peace Mullah Mohammed Omar, the supreme leader of the Taliban Stephen Grey in Kandahar The supreme leader of the Taliban, Mullah Mohammed Omar, has indicated that he and his followers may be willing to hold peace talks with western politicians. In an interview with The Sunday Times, two of the movement’s senior Islamic scholars have relayed a message from the Quetta shura, the Taliban’s ruling council, that Mullah Omar no longer aims to rule Afghanistan. They said he was prepared to engage in “sincere and honest” talks. A senior US...

We Can’t Trust Kim Jong Il, Or the People Who Do by Joshua Stanton What is the objective of negotiating with North Korea at all? How you answer that question may depend on whether you believe North Korea cheated on the first Agreed Framework with Bill Clinton. Even before Clinton left office, the evidence that North Korea cheated by trying to build a uranium bomb was too compelling for any responsible president to ignore, yet during the last decade, true believers in diplomacy with Kim Jong Il invested themselves in denying that evidence and blaming George W. Bush for North...

(IsraelNN.com) Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak informed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu there would be no Arab-Israeli negotiations without Jerusalem on the table. Abbas addressed the media in Sharm Al-Sheikh, following a lengthy meeting of his own with the Egyptian ruler. The two discussed the content of Mubarak's meeting with Netanyahu last week. For his part, Abbas reiterated his position that Israel must agree to a settlement freeze and to the PA's determination of which elements will be up for discussion. "But we have no preconditions," Abbas added.

I don't think Barack Obama has a clue when it comes to dealing with nuclear North Korea or almost-nuclear Iran. I think the chances of him successfully dealing with them -- and significantly diminishing their considerable threat against Western Civilization -- is virtually nil. These guys are going to be terrorizing us for a long time to come, unfortunately. The President really needs to ask himself: Why would a criminal state -- or Communist or Muslim tyranny -- ever "unclench their fist?" That's all they've got! That's how they live and thrive! That deadly fist is who and what they...

Gore held back from going to NKorea to negotiate release of two US reporters Posted: 09 June 2009 1044 hrs WASHINGTON : Former US vice president Al Gore was "held back" from travelling to North Korea to negotiate for the release of his two employees - journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee. That is according to Selig Harrison from the Centre for International Policy, who said Gore sought diplomatic backing from the Obama administration in a private meeting on May 11. Ling and Lee have just been sentenced to 12 years in North Korean labour camp. Neither Al Gore nor...

Diplomacy under way to free American journalists held in N. Korea: State Dept. By Hwang Doo-hyong WASHINGTON, April 16 (Yonhap) -- Diplomacy is under way to free two American journalists detained in North Korea for alleged illegal entry, the State Department said Friday, amid reports that North Korea is seeking to use the case to establish bilateral contact. "They are still there," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said. "We're working through a number of different diplomatic channels to try to see what we can do to get these folks released." Some analysts say North Korea aims to contact the U.S....

Hello Everyone, I happened to see a bald eagle's nest and rattlesnake yesterday, a very positive sight as it reveals that the bald eagles are recovering. You can see them here: http://www.flickr.com/dmathew1

I am seeking advice from freepers on salary negotiation. I appreciate any advice you can offer. Maybe there are hiring managers out there that can share some tips. To be honest, I don't have much with salary negotiations. A few times, I've been told that this is the typical salary and I took it. Not too smart. I was told that this job's salary ranges from 40-70 k/a. I've been offered 45k/a. Actually, with my experience and qualifications, I probably should be paid closer to the upper range (~65k/a). I know times are hard, and I should take what I...

Obama and the democrats told us the Iraq war wasn't working and wouldn't work because of intransigence by the Iraqi government. Even when the surge worked, Obama said it didn't matter because the Iraqi government failed to meet political and economic benchmarks needed for national unity and to end the (nonexistent) civil war.Now Obama goes to Iraq and supports the supposed withdrawal position of the Iraqi government. Am I the only who sees the incredible inconsistency here? According to Obama the Iraqi goverenment couldn't deliver, it couldn't be trusted when it reported progress, its military moves were destined for failure.But...

"I have been charged by the president with making sure that none of the tyrannies in the world are negotiated with," Vice President Cheney reportedly declared in a White House meeting on North Korea in December 2003. "We don't negotiate with evil; we defeat it." Cheney's call to battle resounded last week as the Bush administration slammed former president Jimmy Carter for talking to Hamas, the extremist Palestinian group that now runs the Gaza Strip, and began to have its own second thoughts about closing a new nuclear deal with North Korea. Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain also chimed...

PALM SPRINGS – A state senator has introduced legislation that would enable a large group of Indian tribes to expand existing casinos or build large new ones without further negotiations with the state. Sen. Jim Battin, R-Palm Desert, said his proposal would allow all 61 tribes that negotiated gambling agreements, or compacts, with former Gov. Gray Davis in 1999 to have up to 2,000 slots each, the number many tribes believe were promised by the deals. But the California Gambling Control Commission had voted to limit all tribes in the state to roughly 60,000 slots, based on the commission's interpretation...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger learned the art of political negotiation in a setting that's oh so California - soaking in his backyard hot tub. Keynoting a gathering of Silicon Valley business leaders Friday, the Republican governor explained how his wife - former television news anchor Maria Shriver - came to support his 2003 gubernatorial bid. "We were sitting in the Jacuzzi. I said, 'Maria, here's an idea. What do you think about this, me running for governor?" Schwarzenegger said to peals of laughter. "I said, there's a recall, there's only a 2-month campaign. I think we can work our way through...

One of Norway's most internationally known diplomats, Jan Egeland, confirmed Friday that he'd gladly negotiate with al-Qaida, if it could help spread understanding and hope. "I wouldn't rule out conversations with the devil if it could help victims out of the depths of hell," Egeland told Aftenposten.no. Egeland, who helped broker Middle East peace pacts and most recently was the UN's foreign aid coordinator, was responding to a Reuters article about the possibility of negotiating with terrorist groups. In the article, Egeland won support for his views from former Anglican church envoy and hostage negotiator Terry Waite, who noted that...

TEL AVIV – Washington's announcement of talks with Iraqi militants about a cease-fire arrangement is a "big victory" for the insurgency and demonstrates the U.S. now recognizes the legitimacy of so-called terror groups, Palestinian terrorist leaders told WND. In a briefing with reporters earlier today, Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno said U.S. commanders at all levels are being empowered to reach out for talks with militants, tribes, religious leaders and others, including insurgents and sectarian rivals. "We are talking about cease-fires, and maybe signing some things that say they won't conduct operations against the government of Iraq or against coalition forces,"...

Will the U.S. Tolerate a Nuclear-Armed N.Korea? With six-party nuclear talks stalled over the delayed remittance of North Korea’s US$25 million from a Macau bank, there are increasing calls for the U.S. to forge diplomatic ties with the Stalinist country regardless of its nuclear arsenal. The president of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, George Schwab, made the argument in an interview with Radio Free Asia recently. He said that it would be better to accept North Korea with a couple of nuclear weapons than letting it develop more while the multilateral disarmament talks drag on for another two...

`NK Must Address Human Rights for Normalization With US' North Korea needs to meet international standards, especially in human rights, in order to normalize ties with Washington, the Yonhap News Agency reported Tuesday quoting the top U.S. envoy to the six-nation denuclearization talks. ``It's a price of admission to the international community,’’ Yonhap quoted Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill as saying Monday in Washington. The envoy said it was ``very, very wrong’’ for Pyongyang to hold up nuclear negotiations over a banking issue but said he was still convinced the communist regime was committed to implementing a Feb. 13...