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AQABA, Jordan (AFP) – US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday Palestinians should soon have their own state, though she has made it clear she does not expect a breakthrough before Barack Obama moves into the White House. "They are dignified people and I am certain the day is coming soon when they have a state that will be in accordance with that great national dignity," she said after meeting Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah, the West Bank's political capital, before heading later to Jordan. Rice has nevertheless tacitly admitted that Israel and the Palestinians were unlikely...

Black voters turned out in force and voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama. General Colin Powell endorsed him. An emotional Condoleezza Rice spoke Wednesday of how excited she was to see this historic event. Some are pointing to this as black racism. That's nonsense, and here's why.We're all aware of the history of race relations in this country. Even those of us who under no circumstances would have voted for Obama can at least breath a sigh of relief: Finally, race is no longer a barrier to the pinnacle of national and world leadership. As a bonus, we can now look...

The Bush administration conceded Thursday that an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by a year-end deadline is no longer possible. "We do not think it is likely it will happen before the end of the year," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said in Washington, while Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acknowledged as much at the outset of a Mideast trip meant to secure the modest gains from a year of U.S.-sponsored talks between Israel and one part of the fractured Palestinian leadership. Perino said U.S. advisers began to doubt the deadline months ago, as a corruption scandal and related political uncertainties occupied...

Today the President met with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi at the White House, the First lady also accompanied him to the National Gallery of Art in Washington and in the the Prime Minister attended a dinner at the White House. . Pray for President Bush -- Day 2951 & Pray for McCain/Palin - Day - 45 Enjoy Sanity Island

Today President Bush welcomed Prime Minister Tillman Thomas of Grenada to the White House. This afternoon, the President was joined by Vice President Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as he signed the United States - India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House. (Transcript) (Statement by President Bush) Today, I have the honor of signing legislation that builds on the growing ties between the world's two largest democracies, India and the United States. (Applause.) This legislation will enhance our cooperation in using nuclear energy to power our...

CBOT Rice Review: Slips As Lack Of Demand Weighs 3 hours ago CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--Chicago Board of Trade rice futures ended sharply lower Wednesday as a lack of demand continues to weigh on the market, an analyst said. November rice ended down 40 cents to $17.30 per hundredweight and January rice ended down 41 1/2 cents to $17.62. Prices have fallen sharply since hitting a high of $20.44 last month, when the market had rallied on concerns about the crop following hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Although the crop remains troubled, with lower yields expected, firstgrain.com analyst Ed Taylor said the...

E-voting expert Dan Wallach available to discuss November elections This week undergraduate and graduate students in an advanced computer security course at Rice University in Houston are learning hands-on just how easy it is to wreak havoc on computer software used in today’s voting machines. As part of his advanced computer science class, Rice University Associate Professor and Director of Rice’s Computer Security Lab Dan Wallach tests his students in a unique real-life experiment: They are instructed to do their very best to rig a voting machine in the classroom. Here’s how the experiment works: Wallach splits his class into...

President Bush delivered his weekly radio address today. The subject was, once again, the economy. The President and First Lady are spending the weekend at their ranch in Crawford TX. Today, they took a short trip to Midland TX where they visited his boyhood home. They also attended a barbecue fund raiser for several Texans running for Congress. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held talks Saturday in India on a visit to showcase a landmark bilateral nuclear deal, but last-minute hitches derailed the scheduled signing of the pact. Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged donor nations on Monday to follow through on more than $7 billion in aid pledges to the cash-strapped Palestinian government. "We need to make certain that everyone is paying attention to their Paris commitments to the Palestinians," Rice told reporters before a meeting to discuss aid to the Palestinians on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. At a Paris conference last December, donors pledged $7.7 billion in aid over the next three years, but the Palestinians say only a small fraction of that money has been paid. Arab nations, in particular, have...

In a scathing criticism of Moscow, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that Russia's policies have put it on a path to isolation and irrelevance. Rice called on the West to stand up to Russian aggression following its invasion of Georgia last month. "The attack on Georgia has crystallized the course that Russia's leaders are taking_ and brought us to a critical moment for Russia and the world," she said. The State Department released in advance the text of the speech Rice was delivering Thursday. The speech for a German Marshall Fund event reflected an escalation of rhetoric in...

Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic will travel to the United States to meet with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. During the visit to the US, the Minister will repeat Serbia's position that the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo-Metohija is unacceptable to Serbia. He will present the elements of Serbia's legal initiative before the UN General Assembly. The government yesterday authorised Jeremic to meet with the US Secretary of State, which is in line with provisions of the Action plan adopted by the previous government.

Barack Obama's efforts to counter the polling power of Sarah Palin were assisted yesterday by two of the most prominent women in American politics: Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton. Although President Bush and Dick Cheney, the Vice-President, were showering compliments on Mrs Palin, Dr Rice — the Secretary of State in their Administration — offered only the faintest praise. She failed three times to defend the Alaskan Governor from charges that she does not have the necessary experience to be vice-president. “She gave a terrific speech,” said Dr Rice. “You know, she's governor of a state here in the United...

Bush Owes His Successor A Tough Finish on Foreign Policy By JOHN R. BOLTON September 6, 2008; Page A11 As the Bush administration enters its last months, its pursuit of a "legacy," especially in foreign policy, becomes ever more frenetic. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's travel schedule is packed. State Department "signing ceremonies" are blossoming, even for agreements that would not have attracted high-level attention just last year. Editorial writers are being quietly encouraged to laud administration successes. While neither unique nor unexpected, the legacy frenzy masks what should be our real concern until Jan. 20, 2009: the risk of...

Palestinian source told Al Quds: Rice supports the creation of a Palestinian state on the borders of 67 - Jones to propose security arrangements Palestinian source told Al Quds: Rice supports the creation of a Palestinian state on the borders of 67Google translation:http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ar&u=http://www.alquds.com/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dal%2Bquds%26hl%3DenAl Quds (Jerusalem) Wednesday August 27 2008 -- Jerusalem - A high-level Palestinian source in the Palestinian Presidential Office told Al Quds that the American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice touched for the first time during talks yesterday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah ono the need to establish a Palestinian state on the borders of...

Secretary Rice Remarks With Palestinian President Abbas [negotiating Jerusalem now] They are dealing with all issues before them. No issue is off the table. Remarks With Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Secretary Condoleezza Rice Ramallah August 26, 2008 www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2008/08/108921.htm PRESIDENT ABBAS: (Via interpreter.) In the name of God, the merciful and the compassionate, again, we welcome Dr. Rice and thank her for her repeated visits, unprecedented level of visits - number of visits, unprecedented in the history of the region. These visits, if they indicate anything, they indicate basically the will and the determination of the American Administration to reach a...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday praised Sen. Joe Biden, the newly named Democratic vice presidential candidate, as a statesman and a "true patriot." "I am not going to comment on the politics of it. I will just say that Sen. Biden is obviously a very fine statesman," Rice told reporters as she flew to Israel for talks on Israeli-Palestinian peace. "He's a true patriot." The warm words were unusual from Rice, who generally steers away from commenting on the U.S. presidential election pitting Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona against Democrat Sen. Barack Obama of...

via translation - ALERT - The American troops out of Iraq end 2011 BAGHDAD - U.S. troops have left Iraq at the end of 2011 under the security agreement negotiated with the Americans who should be further examined by the highest authorities of Iraq, announced Friday by AFP Chief negotiators Iraqis. "At the end of 2011, American troops will withdraw from Iraq," Mohammed told al-Haj Hammoud.

via translation - ALERT - Condoleezza Rice arrives in Baghdad BAGHDAD - The U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived in Baghdad Thursday to meet with Iraqi officials when the negotiations on the future of the American military presence in this country are parking in their final phase, according to an AFP journalist .

<p>WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Polish counterpart signed a deal Wednesday to build a U.S. missile defense base in Poland, an agreement that prompted an infuriated Russia to warn of a possible attack against the former Soviet satellite.</p>

President and Mrs. Bush Saddened by Death of Zambian President Levy MwanawasaLaura and I are saddened to hear of the passing of Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa. President Mwanawasa was a champion of democracy in his own country and throughout Africa. As President of Zambia, President Mwanawasa launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign and dedicated himself to improving the welfare of all Zambians. As Chairman of the Southern African Development Community, President Mwanawasa worked tirelessly to uphold the values of good governance, speaking out against human rights abuses and threats to democracy when many others were silent. On behalf of the United...

In the equation which makes up the odious, criminal and murderous Bush regime and its murderous, criminal and odious foreign policy, the constant factor is constituted by a teacher, promoted to positions way above her personal and intellectual station by a gullible fool of a President. This teacher, whose sheer incompetence as National Security Advisor and as Secretary of State is today so blatantly apparent, goes by the name of Condoleeza Rice.

Nato united in the face of Russia’s failure to withdraw from Georgia today, freezing regular contacts with Moscow and declaring that there could be “no business as usual under present circumstances”. However, there will be no Nato troops rushing to Tbilisi to put military muscle behind the tough statement issued at an emergency meeting of the alliance’s 26 foreign ministers in Brussels. Military assistance will be restricted to training exercises and talks about prospective membership of the alliance. David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, who flew off to meet Mikhail Saakashvili, Georgia’s President, in Tbilisi after the meeting, emphasised that he...

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday that Russia is playing a "very dangerous game" with the U.S. and its allies and warned that NATO would not allow Moscow to win in Georgia, destabilize Europe or draw a new Iron Curtain through it. On her way to an emergency NATO foreign ministers meeting on the crisis, Rice said the alliance would punish Russia for its invasion of the Georgia and deny its ambitions by rebuilding and fully backing Georgia and other Eastern European democracies. "We have to deny Russian strategic objectives, which are clearly to undermine Georgia's...

JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel's cabinet voted on Sunday to release about 200 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to president Mahmud Abbas aimed at bolstering slow-moving US-backed Middle East peace talks. The August 25 release will coincide with a visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice aimed at encouraging the negotiations, which have shown little visible sign of progress since they were revived in November. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokesman Mark Regev called the move a "confidence-building measure" towards Abbas, adding: "We hope the release will help strengthen the peace process." The list, which will be considered for final...

President Bush and Secretary of State Rice met in Crawford today and then addressed the media about the situation in Georgia. President Bush welcomed Russia's signing of a Georgian cease-fire agreement as a "hopeful step," but also sternly warned Moscow that it must withdraw troops immediately and cannot claim two breakaway Georgian provinces as its own. President Bush Discusses Situation in Georgia The focus of the President’s Radio Address today was Global Diplomacy. FULL REMARKS OF RADIO ADDRESS

Rice to visit Poland to sign missile shield deal WASHINGTON (AFP) — US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday she would travel to Poland in coming days to ink a deal on installing US interceptor missiles on Polish territory. "I'm going to Poland to sign a missile defense agreement in the next couple of days, after the NATO meeting," she told Fox News Sunday. Foreign ministers of the 26 NATO members are due to meet in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss the crisis in Georgia, after a five-day war between Tbilisi and Moscow over the pro-Moscow region of South...

Washington has toughened its stance towards Russia as it sought to limit the damage to its prestige over the crisis in Georgia. On the defensive after criticism that its response to the crisis has failed to stop Russia from prolonging its military operations in Georgia, the Bush administration lashed out at Moscow. Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, said that Russia's reputation was now "in tatters". But this did not stop Russia from searching for a fresh pretext to extend its occupation of Georgian territory. While President Dmitry Medvedev announced that a troop withdrawal would finally begin on Monday,...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16, 2008 – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today she expects Russia, which reportedly signed a cease-fire deal with Georgia, will begin to withdraw its forces “expeditiously” from the former Soviet republic. Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev today signed a French-brokered peace deal, a day after Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili endorsed the agreement, which includes a drawdown of troops to levels that existed before Russia invaded its neighbor last week, according to news reports. “Now that President Medvedev has reportedly signed the cease-fire agreement, I assume that Russian forces are going to begin to withdraw expeditiously,” Rice...

Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, warned Russia that it must withdraw its troops behind the boundaries of two disputed Georgian enclaves as she secured a ceasefire agreement that leaves open the possibility of continued incursions. America's chief diplomat arrived in the Georgian capital Tblisi for talks with a deeply suspicious President Mikheil Saakashvili, who sought to strengthen guarantees of a complete Russian pullback. In the end, the pro-Western Georgian leader had little option but to accept the accord on a day that Russia threatened to target Poland with its full arsenal. Before the arrival of international monitors, Russia...

This morning, after receiving an update from his national security team on the situation in Georgia, President Bush delivered a brief statement from the White House Rose Garden. (Transcript) The United States and our allies stand with the people of Georgia and their democratically elected government. Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected. Moscow must honor its commitment to withdraw its invading forces from all Georgian territory … The people of Georgia have cast their lot with the free world, and we will not cast them aside. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Tbilisi, Georgia today and met...

Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice is holding a press conference at the State Department. It was being covered by Fox.The hot quote by Rice is her telling Russia "this is not 1968" where they can go into a country and topple the government like was done by the Soviets to Czechoslovakia.

Is anybody else watching Condi's State Dept. press conference? She's laying it out straighter than I've ever seen before from Foggy Bottom.THe big highlight was when a Russian "journalist" badgered her, saying that the US response to 9-11 was over-reaction and the Russian operation in Georgia was far more justified than our response to 9-11. She smoked him. Big time. She told him that this is not 1968, that things have changed and Russia cannot overrun a country and its government unchallenged anymore.

Live from Tblisi on Fox News and CNN. Georgian President has been speaking for a while.

Choosing expediency over principle, the United States and its allies are pushing Georgia's pro-Western government to accept major concessions in a cease-fire with Russia. Despite warnings of serious consequences for Russia for its invasion of the former Soviet republic, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heads to Georgia on Friday to try to persuade its leadership to agree to a deal that expands the mandate of Russian troops on Georgian territory. The French-mediated proposal calls for the immediate withdrawal of Russian combat troops from Georgia, but allows Russian peacekeepers who were in the flashpoint separatist area of South Ossetia before last...

ALERT - Condoleezza Rice arrives in Tbilisi MOSCOW - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived in Tbilisi Friday to affirm the support of Washington to face Georgia in Moscow, has seen an AFP journalist.

Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, is set to land in Georgia in a strong show of support for Tbilisi over the conflict with Russia. Ms Rice, who is hoping to secure President Mikheil Saakashvili's agreement for a French-brokered peace plan, earlier said: "It is time for this crisis to be over. Georgia, whose territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty we fully respect, must be able to go back to normal life." The US warned Russia of the "profound implications" for their relationship caused by Moscow's military action in Georgia. However Mr Saakashvili, who had earlier criticised his western allies...

Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, has threatened Russia with international isolation unless it keeps to a peace deal with Georgia brokered by Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President. As she was despatched for Tblisi by George W Bush, in a strong show of US support for Georgia, Ms Rice said Russian troops' violations of the truce since the agreement was reached have "only served to deepen the isolation into which Russia is moving", as Moscow confirmed its troops remain in the state. There is a "very strong, growing sense that Russia is not behaving like the kind of international...

Mideast edition, Thursday, August 14, 2008 ARLINGTON, Va. — President Bush has ordered the U.S. military to begin a humanitarian mission in Georgia. "This mission will be vigorous and ongoing," Bush said Wednesday at the White House, adding that a U.S. C-17 aircraft with humanitarian supplies was on its way to Georgia. Russian troops and tanks invaded the country last week in response to a Georgian offensive intended to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia. The Russian president later ordered Russian forces to halt their drive into Georgia, but it was unclear Wednesday whether Russian troops had moved further...

The US has cancelled a joint naval exercise with Russia after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned that Moscow's attacks on Georgia jeopardised its integration into international institutions. The cancellation of the military exercise, set for next week, is the first concrete disapproval from the US over Russia's military operations in Georgia and South Ossetia. "I can assure you that Russia's international reputation and what role Russia can play in the international community is very much at stake here," said Ms Rice. The exercises were to involve warships from Russia, France, Britain and the US in the Sea of Japan...

U.S. Keeping N.Korea on Terror List 'Indefinitely' North Korea remains on a list of state sponsors of terrorism from which the U.S. had been expected to remove the Stalinist country on Monday. A diplomatic source in Washington said U.S. President George W. Bush decided to postpone the removal since North Korea failed to agree on a verification regime for the nuclear programs and stockpiles it has declared. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Japan's Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura by phone about the policy change. By law, the U.S. president could have removed the North from the terrorism list on...

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States suggested on Sunday that Russia was interested in "regime change" in Georgia after Moscow rejected Tbilisi's offer of a cease-fire in the separatist region of South Ossetia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had told U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the president of Georgia "must go," the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, told the Security Council. Khalilzad then looked straight at Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin and asked if Moscow was looking for "regime change."

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended Israel's right to make its own decision about whether it takes military action against Iran, in an interview released over the weekend. "We don't say yes or no to Israeli military operations. Israel is a sovereign country," she said in response to a question from The Politico Web site as to whether she was concerned that America would be blamed in the case of an IDF attack on the Islamic Republic

GAZA, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Three Palestinian students from Gaza made a personal appeal to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday to allow them to study at American universities after their student visas were revoked. A U.S. diplomat said this week that visas for the three, who won prestigious Fulbright scholarships, were withdrawn after "new information" was received about them. Rice had previously championed efforts by the three Gaza residents to secure exit permits from Israel, which maintains a tight blockade on the Hamas-controlled territory. "We were very disappointed to hear that after all of your efforts ......

Election '08: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says America "will be fine" under Barack Obama. While respecting a busy diplomat's wish to keep out of presidential politics, she couldn't be more mistaken.Is the secretary of state auditioning for a post-government career with an all-girl pop group? Telling Politico and Yahoo News that "Oh, the United States will be fine" under a President Obama sounded more like the infatuated lyrics of the Chiffons' 1963 number-one hit "He's So Fine" than the sober reflections of a member of the president's cabinet. "That handsome boy over there" the Bronx songbirds swooned over, for...

In an interview with Politico and Yahoo News released Thursday, Rice was asked if she would feel secure with a president Obama. "Oh, the United States will be fine," she responded. "I think that we are having an important debate about how we keep the country safe," she said, pointing to the Middle East and Iraq.

A few days before he left on his eight-country world tour, Barack Obama wanted to discuss the trip with an old contact in Washington: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Obama's phone call was in part a courtesy, but over three years of occasional phone conversations, the two have quietly discussed everything from foreign aid to the Middle East and nuclear proliferation. Obama and Rice have come to have a certain respect for each other, says an Obama aide familiar with their conversations, because both take an intellectual, sober view of foreign affairs. "They've had good exchanges," the aide says. "Does...

Can democracy survive the closing of a major political party – the ruling political party in the country? Imagine if the Supreme Court had convened to discuss banning the Democratic Party. Something no less momentous is happening in Turkey this week.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iran Tuesday not to delay a decision on an international offer of incentives if it halts sensitive nuclear work, ahead of a Saturday deadline. "The Iranians should know that this is not going to be a matter that they can stall," Rice told reporters after talks with her Italian counterpart Franco Frattini at her office. "The world is watching...," she said. Asked if there was no satisfactory response from Iran, Rice said, "We have been very clear that we have two tracks -- if one track is not working, then we are going...

Israeli and Palestinian officials have confirmed that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is putting heavy pressure on both sides to hammer out a “document of understandings” detailing progress in the peace process before the UN General Assembly convenes in September.

The President and Mrs. Bush are at the WH this weekend. The President delivered his weekly radio address from the WH. In Focus: Freedom Agenda