Supporting the Separation of Church and State
Posts Tagged ‘Foreign Relations’
RSS Roundup 5-16-08
Categorized: Politics
Tagged: Barack Obama, Christianity, Feminism, Foreign Relations, Good Science, Racism
Good morning everyone. Its finally Friday! Sadly I’m still sick so all that means is that I will have the next two days to sleep. This may sound sad but right now that sounds like the best thing in the world. Even though I haven’t quite shaken this bug I feel a lot better and I’m in a great mood. So lets get started on ruining that.
Rape Charges Dismissed Because Victim Not A Virgin
Melanie Ross, a rape victim from Georgia, had her case dismissed in large part because of her past sexual history. Against federal and state law the trial judge ordered Ross to disclose her entire personal history under the premise that prior sexual conduct is proof of consent. Because as we all know only virgins can be raped!! Read the rest here before I start swearing. This story pisses me off.
Bush Travels to Israel to Celebrate 60 Year Anniversary
Somehow he finds time to make a false and misleading political attack against Obama. Playing monkey see monkey doo McCain and Leiberman follow the leader. Of course they are playing dumb now (if playing is the right word) on their attempted Nazi smear. Joe Bidens excellent statements on Hardball are the video of the day below.
Everything Else You Need To Know
- Following up on the Marietta bar owner who is selling racist Obama: Curious George T-Shirts. Turns out that the company that owns the Curious George image is rather unhappy about the usage of their property ans is considering suing his racist ass. (h/t Melissa McEwen @ Shakesville)
- Congress passed the Farm Bill with a veto proof majority. Of course no bill is perfect but this bill should be better than nothing. I’m not up to speed on this bill so if I get time I’ll post more on it when I am better educated. Comments on this are more than welcome.
- Republicans in Congress blocked passage of the Iraq funding bill due to its inclusion of measures to help pay for the war and to increase veterans benefits. Both issues that Republicans oppose.
- Republicans also apparently hate first responders.
- UC Berkeley is going to court over their Understanding Evolution web site because they had the gall to say the truth. Specifically the truth that “some religious beliefs explicitly contradict science”. In crazy world saying the truth is a violation of the separation of church and state. (h/t Richard Dawkins)
- Obama sent out a flyer titled “Faith, Hope, Change” to voters in Kentucky in an effort to gain support among evangelicals. I think its a good move and its about time liberals stood up to the popular misconception that only Republicans can be Christians.
- Eric Zorn has listed 8 reasons why Obama should destroy my dreams of a unity ticket. Some of them are pretty good. Damn you and your logical arguments. (h/t Logan @ Loganotron)
Video of the Day
Joe Biden, who says that Bush’s smear against Obama was Bullshit, appears on Hardball to discuss the subject more. Its worth watching until the end because as always Biden does an excellent job of pointing out the many errors in this attack.
US Officially Recognizes Kosovo
Categorized: Politics
Tagged: Foreign Relations, Kosovo, Serbia, U.N.
Sunday Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia and sent letters to 192 countries asking them to recognize their declaration. Through Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, the US has officially announced its support of Kosovo. Several EU nations plan on doing the same including Germany, France, Italy, and Britain.
Serbia has a strong ally in Russia and Russia has already appealed to the UN security council to stop the “illegal” declaration of independence by Kosovo. Russian President Vladimir Putin argues that declaring independence without UN approval is a very dangerous precedent to establish and could encourage widespread separatist movements across the EU. Serbia has recalled its ambassador to the United States and has made it clear that it will never accept an independent Kosovo.
Kosovo has been administered since 1999 by the UN and NATO in response to Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic’s killing of more than 10,000 Albanian separatists in Kosovo. While some countries agree with Russia that this move by Kosovo defies law, many believe that Kosovo should be given different consideration due to the history between it and Serbia, the fact that 90% of its population is Albanian, and its purported commitment to a multi ethnic nation under the rule of law.
Kosovo is home to around 100,000 Serbs who have started rioting to express their displeasure with Kosovo’s move toward separatism. Like many others in the EU, they feel that by going around the UN and appealing directly to other countries to recognize their independent status, Kosovo has acted illegally and this makes the declaration impossible to endorse. In a part of the world rife with changing borders, ethnic tension, and tentative political stability, Kosovo’s push for independence leads many to fear that it will be a spreading phenomena with global consequences.
UPDATE
China now joins Russia as a superpower against Kosovo’s independence. Both countries have veto power on the UN Security Council and have vowed to stop Kosovo from being able to join the UN. What does this mean for the US? While Serbia has already stated that they will not use force to keep Kosovo from separating, they will use all diplomatic means available to them, as will their allies in this. At a time when the US is leaning heavily for Russian support in stalling Iran’s nuclear weapons program this could mean a turnabout on that already rocky partnership.
Posts
