Stormy Weather - Sunday Update

This Isn't the Return of History

-Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek

The Georgia attack will go down not as the dawn of a new era 

of Russian power but as a major strategic blunder.

Europe Must Back Ukraine for Peace

 - David Miliband, The Guardian

It is not an act of hostility towards Russia for Europe to

support Ukraine, but a positive move towards lasting peace

Ex-Soviet States Fear Russia
- Otto Luchterhandt, Der Spiegel 

Moscow's recent offensive in the Caucasus region has former Soviet republics worried.
They see it as a return to old imperialist policies and fear they could be the next victims
of Russian aggression. How much at risk are Ukraine and Moldova?

 

Palin Made Impression from the Start
- Washington Post

Far from being a last-minute tactical move or a second choice when

better known alternatives were eliminated, Palin was very much in
McCain's thinking from the beginning of the selection process,
according to McCain's advisers. The 44-year-old governor made every
cut as the first list of candidates assembled last spring was slowly
winnowed. The more McCain learned about her, the more attracted he
was to her as someone who shared his maverick, anti-establishment instincts.
 

Joe Biden's deep (but mythical) blue-collar roots
-Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune


Joe Biden once got in trouble for plagiarizing a speech and inflating his academic record.
So it will not surprise you to find that his famous working-class background turns out to be mythical.

But it may surprise you to learn that Biden isn't the one who has trouble with the facts.

The Audacity of Hype
- William Safire, NY Times

BY choosing the venue of a vast outdoor stadium as John Kennedy did for
his “new frontier” acceptance, and by speaking on the anniversary of
Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” address, Barack Obama — whose
claim to fame is an ability to move audiences with his words — deliberately
invited comparison with two of the most memorable speeches of our recent history. 

What a mistake.