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STELLARTON, N.S.—The world's most influential diplomat and Ottawa's most eligible bachelor seem to be hitting it off. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay enjoyed a chummy — and unusual — visit to MacKay's Nova Scotia riding yesterday. In stark contrast to the usual government visits where diplomats do business on the fly, Rice spent 23 hours in Canada, many of them in MacKay's riding of Central Nova, a languid locale that couldn't be further from the diplomatic hell holes to which she's usually dispatched. "Peter, your foreign minister and your MP, invited me here....

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Halifax today to thank Canadians for helping the United States on Sept. 11. She's escorted by Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)

Condi used the Civil War as an example to support the effort in Iraq. Money quotes from her interview in Essence Magazine. Secretary of State Rice compared the Iraq war with the American Civil War, telling a magazine that slavery might have lasted longer in this country if the North had decided to end the fight early. "I'm sure there are people who thought it was a mistake to fight the Civil War to its end and to insist that the emancipation of slaves would hold," Rice said in the new issue of Essence magazine. "I know there were people...

GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel has overtaken US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as the world's most powerful woman, according to a Forbes Magazine list published today. This time last year, Germany's first female chancellor was riding high in opinion polls as leader of the then-opposition conservative Christian Union but did not even feature in the ranks of Forbes's top 100 most powerful women. And besides Chinese Vice President Wu Yi, who slid one place this year to number three, the rest of the top 10 are business executives, topped by the chief executive-designate of PepsiCo, Indian born and educated Indra...

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage has resigned as expected a day after his boss and close friend, Colin Powell, announced he was stepping down, a State Department official said on Tuesday. Armitage, a barrel-chested former Navy officer who closely managed the day-to-day operations of the State Department's worldwide bureaucracy, tendered his resignation to Powell on Monday, the official said. "He came in with the secretary and is leaving with him," said the official, who asked not to be identified. Armitage was respected among diplomats and lawmakers for his candor. He was always expected to leave at the same...

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has flunked her first foreign policy crisis in the Middle East . She went to the turbulent region last month in the early days of the war that began when Hezbollah forces in Lebanon crossed into Israel and kidnapped two Israeli soldiers. Rice had orders from President Bush to oppose any immediate ceasefire, which was hardly the proper policy by the United States if it wanted to end the suffering among Israelis and Lebanese. Rice apparently was dispatched to the Middle East to pass on to Israel the message that it has...

Rice calls Lebanese PM to warn him that if the UN Lebanon resolution is not implemented, “We will not be responsible for the consequences” August 13, 2006, 10:18 PM (GMT+02:00) Earlier, Israeli FM Tzipi Livni put in urgent calls to the US secretary and the French foreign minister in an effort to salvage the ceasefire from Iranian-backed Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s 12th-hour retraction of his consent.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has flunked her first foreign policy crisis in the Middle East. She went to the turbulent region last month in the early days of the war that began when Hezbollah forces in Lebanon crossed into Israel and kidnapped two Israeli soldiers. Rice had orders from President George W. Bush to oppose any immediate ceasefire, which was hardly the proper policy by the U.S. if it wanted to end the suffering among Israelis and Lebanese. Rice apparently was dispatched to the Middle East to pass on to Israel the message that it has the green light...

Syrian Author Colette Khuri Attacks U.S. Secretary of State Rice: "It is the Internal Ugliness of This Woman That Reflects on Her Looks" The following are excerpts from an interview with Syrian author Colette Khuri, which aired on Syrian TV on August 3, 2006. TO VIEW THIS CLIP: http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=1224 Colette Khuri: "There are people in America and Europe who do not know that resistance makes you walk with your head high. How can they possibly call it terrorism? They do not realize that the world's greatest terrorist is Bush, who in my opinion resembles Nero." [...] Interviewer: "Let's talk about...

I am very disappointed in the way things appear to be going in the war between Israel and Hezbollah and the efforts of the rest of the world to bring a de-escalation in the fighting. President Bush has been working hard writing a peace and ceasefire agreement for Israel and Hezbollah. It infuriates me to think that we are spending our time writing truces with terrorists who's only life goal is the genocide of Israel and the annihilation of western civilization. We must look incredibly ridiculous to the enemy. Bush's attempt to make peace with Muslim terrorists is in complete...

The Foreign Secretary spoke his mind on the Middle East — and became a target in Washington WHEN JACK STRAW was replaced by Margaret Beckett as Foreign Secretary, it seemed an almost inexplicable event. Mr Straw had been very competent — experienced, serious, moderate and always well briefed. Margaret Beckett is embarrassingly inexperienced. I made inquiries in Washington and was told that Donald Rumsfeld, the Defence Secretary, had taken exception to Mr Straw’s statement that it would be “nuts” to bomb Iran. The United States, it was said, had put pressure on Tony Blair to change his Foreign Secretary. Mr...

CONDOLEEZZA RICE is coming under sustained criticism on several fronts. Some, even within the White House, have started referring to the “Condi Rice show” — suggesting that the Secretary of State spends too much time on television talking to a domestic audience and not enough in international negotiations. A senior Republican expressed unhappiness at the way that she was snubbed recently by Fouad Siniora, the Lebanese Prime Minister. “Henry Kissinger would never have been turned away from any capital,” he told The Times. Richard Armitage, who was deputy to her predecessor, Colin Powell, has publicly attacked her for ignoring opportunities...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush, and the dogs, are vacationing at their Crawford, TX, ranch for the next couple of week. However, no president is ever truly on vacation. Today, through White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, who is at the ranch, President Bush issued a statement saying he is pleased with the draft UN resolution regarding the war in the Middle East. Here is an excerpt from the widely circulated AP story: Bush Happy With Draft U.N. Resolution By NEDRA PICKLER, The Associated Press Aug 5, 2006 12:11 PM (46 mins ago) CRAWFORD, Texas -...

JERUSALEM, July 31 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Monday she believed a ceasefire can be reached this week to end fighting between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. Here is an edited text of her comments: "This morning, as I head back to Washington, I take with me an emerging consensus on what is necessary for both an urgent ceasefire and a lasting settlement. I am convinced we can achieve both this week and I am convinced that only by achieving both will the Lebanese people finally be able to control their country and...

Last update - 05:47 30/07/2006 Hezbollah leader: Israel continuing aggression at U.S.' behest Nasrallah threatens to fire missiles at central Israel By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent and News Agencies Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday vowed to fire rockets on communities in central Israel if the military operation in Lebanon continued, and accused Israel of being an American "slave." "The bombardment of Afula and its military base is the beginning ... Many cities in the center [of Israel] will be targeted in the 'beyond Haifa' phase if the savage aggression continues on our country, people and villages," Nasrallah said...

ALARM - Rice will not go to Beirut, not of negotiation without cease-fire BEIRUT - the Secretary of State American, Condoleezza Rice, is not waited any more Sunday in Beirut, and the Lebanese government is directed towards a suspension of the negotiations if a cease-fire is not declared, indicated to AFP an official source which required anonymity.

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush are spending a quiet Saturday after two exceptionally busy weeks. Tomorrow they will attend a tee-ball game on the South Lawn before the President travels to Florida later in the day. The First Lady continues her round of campaign events for Republican candidates next week. Here is a very important item of news that may have escaped notice amid the momentous events taking place in the Middle East last week. (As always, the following are excerpts. Click link embedded in titles to read entire articles.) Bush Administration to Unveil Detainee Legislation...

Excerpt - KUALA LUMPUR : US top diplomat Condoleezza Rice won rave reviews Thursday for her musical performance at Asian security talks, despite skipping the traditional rowdy skits in favour of a sombre piano recital. With North Korea firing off missiles, carnage in Lebanon, rockets raining on Israel and killings convulsing Iraq, Rice was in no mood for the kind of frivolity staged in previous years. In keeping with her "serious" mood the Secretary of State performed two pieces from the brooding repertoire of Johannes Brahms -- a solo Intermezzo number two, and Brahms Sonata for violin and piano, opus...

The international talks in Rome, which broke up without agreement on a ceasefire call, gave Israel "authorization" to press its offensive in Lebanon, Justice Minister Haim Ramon said Thursday. "Yesterday in Rome we have in effect obtained the authorization to continue our operations until Hezbollah is no longer present in southern Lebanon," Ramon told army radio. He was speaking ahead of a cabinet meeting that is due to decide whether to expand the offensive, now in its 16th day.

The role of the international force that will be sent to Lebanon following a cease-fire will be to assist the Lebanese army to deploy in the south, ensure that Hezbollah does not rebuild its positions there and ensure that quiet is maintained along the Israeli-Lebanese border, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed Tuesday. However, government sources said, this force will not be responsible for disarming Hezbollah nor will it be stationed at the border crossings between Lebanon and Syria in order to halt the flow of weapons from Syria to Hezbollah. Israel has...