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what looks to be happening so far is that the united states remains in high bluster mode, simultaneously being Shocked and Outraged while poo-pooing the impact, announcing new "security" measures while mentioning the obama administration's "commitment" to greater transparency at the news conferences.
i would think the information would be of interest to the rest of us, those of us who are not by profession obliged to pretend that raison d'etat overrides everything else...you know, like that whole pesky democracy thing. (to be clear, it is self-evidently not the case that the united states invented this tension--its as old as politics)....but i think it is better to know more rather than less about the way that, say, the real problems that pakistan has keeping itself intact as a nation-state generate concerns because they're a nuclear power, and it's kinda funny how if you really want to get the kind of concern for stability that was built into bretton woods for the colonial powers bestowed on you in this sad post-bretton woods days the key is to get nukes. then the international community gets real interested in maintaining whatever regime is in power in power because the alternative becomes simply x+nukes=bad.
i think it's interesting to know more rather than less about the machinations around iran, how it appears that the saudis and others have been trying to get the us to implement their conception of what a good regional balance of power is, figuring dealing with israel is bad enough...in this case, the us comes across looking *better* than it did based on it's own way of prepackaging this situation because in that packaging, particularly under the bush administration, indecision about whether to go after iran resulted in a need to prepare the grounds for an action should it come. plus there's this whole unilateralist ideology of the right that requires reality often be erased. but i think the cables make the obama administration's approach to iran look better.
north korea----not real concerned. i found the information released from china about dear leader to be interesting. i don't see a compromise of anything except perhaps something of the chinese relation with prk. worry is situational....but there's really little New or Scandolous.
the war in yemen could have been inferred, but it's unfortunate that after 8 years of the bush administration finding out that these inferences are correct provokes nothing but a weary "o good...another one..."
the assessments of international figures==so what? everyone does the same thing. it's part of the game. and everyone is still doing the same thing. most of this "security" stuff is bluster aimed at enabling there to be no disruption. this is an aspect of the raw material that shapes state department positions.
the spying on the un is shitty. petty, stupid, shitty. it should be stopped. maybe it will be. do i think the us is the only party engaged in it? probably not. but the us fobs itself off as an embodiment of virtue in the way no other place does. hoisted by its own petard.
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a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear
it make you sick.
-kamau brathwaite
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