Rice swipes at IAEA, urges bold action on Iran - Yahoo! News

Rice swipes at IAEA, urges bold action on Iran - Yahoo! News:

"SHANNON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice scolded the U.N.'s
atomic watchdog agency on Wednesday over its Iran strategy and called for
diplomacy with 'teeth' to end Tehran's nuclear plans. While repeating the U.S.
stand that 'all options' remained on the table -- a reference to military action
against Tehran -- Rice sought to ease fresh concerns over talk of war."

I am strongly against a war with Iran, but I believe that it may need to happen. It doesn't have to happen, and being hold honest and up front about the potential for the use of force is what is needed. It could not only help prevent the escalation, but if force is resorted to at least it isn't a surprise. Every party should understand what is on the table and what needs to be done.

Condi's "Closest Female Friend"

The Gist: Condi's "Closest Female Friend"

"There have long been questions about Rice's sexual orientation and her
personal life in general. As Kessler notes, 'She has built a wall of privacy
around her that is never breached.' But Kessler had access to Rice's closest
friends and to Rice herself, and he reveals some eyebrow-raising information
that hasn't been out there before. In the book and on the show, Kessler
described how Rice's 'closest male friend' is openly gay, a man by the name of
Coit D. Blacker, a Stanford professor (Rice served as the provost as Stanford in
the late 1990s for six years) and a Democrat who served in the Clinton
administration. Blacker, whose partner is also mentioned, advised Al Gore's
campaign in 2000, while his close friend Rice served as a chief confidante for a
president who has tried to make gays into second class citizens in the U.S.
Constitution. But wait, it gets better."

I just wanted to touch on this to say how immature it is that we are talking about her private life in this way. She is a womyn who wants her private life respected and it should be. I know that she is also a public figure and a certain amount of interest in who she is comes with that. She must know that too, and understand the choice that she has made. The bigger question is what value does this information have, beyond its clear gossip value.

Talking Points Memo | Rice's legacy

Talking Points Memo Rice's legacy:

"... Ms. Rice is working hard to reshape her legacy in her remaining 16 months
in office. She is cooperating with a range of authors who have lined up to write
books about her.... Although both the Kessler and the Bumiller books are
expected to be critical of Ms. Rice on many points, State Department officials
say that it is unusual for a sitting secretary of state to cooperate with so
many biographies. But then again, few of her predecessors had multiple authors
jostling to write books about them. "

Rice is an interesting person, and the way she will be viewed in history is complex. She is aligned closely with the president and the war in Iraq - among other policies. She has been loyal to the president, but she hasn't been the source of many of the problems that have been laid at her door. The war in Iraq for example started while Powell was Secretary of State. She has had an influence of her own inside the administration, which seems to be different than the policies of the president. I am sure that as information comes out about Rice we will hear more about how she actually pushed against the president. She has been a strong womyn in government and a strong African-American in government. At the end of the day, is the taint of the president so powerful that all these other things will be overlooked.

Rice & Ripken - Condi Rice takes a special envoy to China to get them...

Rice - Iran is Main Threat to Mideast - The Ag - News Summary - News in Brief - TIME

Rice - Iran is Main Threat to Mideast - The Ag - News Summary - News in Brief - TIME:

"Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has kicked off her Middle East tour with
some verbal fireworks for Iran. Traveling with Defense Secretary Robert Gates,
Rice told reporters that ' Iran constitutes the single most important,
single-country challenge to... US interests in the Middle East and to the kind
of Middle East that we want to see.' Rice and Gates will be rubber stamping a
series of Mideast arms deals with Israel, Egypt and the Gulf states, including
Saudi Arabia in order to 'counter terrorism and improve stability in the
region,' CNN reports."

I think that arming more of the regions countries creates more of a stalemate. A stalemate is like a mexican standoff, you have a group of people all pointing guns at each other. In this situation bringing more people with guns into the situation on any side does little to change the real balance of power. It just serves to make it that much more deadly if the standoff ends violently.

The only way that there is going to be stability in the region is getting Iran to disarm. Arming its enemies is not going to give Iran a motivation to disarm. It is going to do just the oppposite. I don't believe that Iran is developing nuclear fuel for power, but being out gunned by its neighbors is one good reason it would want nuclear arms. Pakistan developed nuclear arms because it knew that if it came down to a conventional war between itself and India, India could mop it up. It developed nuclear weapons to off set the imbalance in the terms of conventional warfare. Doing the same in the Persian Gulf will have the same results.

Al Sharpton Utterly Failed to Attack Condi Rice Rape Jokes, Said Imus Was Worse | NewsBusters.org

Al Sharpton Utterly Failed to Attack Condi Rice Rape Jokes, Said Imus Was Worse NewsBusters.org:

"Rev. Al Sharpton showed up to debate May 15 on the CNN Headline News program
“Showbiz Tonight.” But he didn’t say a single word against Opie and Anthony or
one word in defense of Condi Rice. He insisted that the Imus gaffe was much more
offensive! "

The President of Black People thinks its okay to talk about raping womyn, who are black if they happen to be conservative and work for the White House. If this does not show the depths of Sharpton's lack of real concern about the political issues he trumpets, I don't know what does. Sharpton is a political demagogue, and his existence is founded on that and nothing else.

Firedoglake - Firedoglake weblog » Nancy Forces Condi Off Her Butt

Firedoglake - Firedoglake weblog » Nancy Forces Condi Off Her Butt

Could it be true that the expected trip to Syria by Condoleeza Rice is a reaction to a similar trip made by Nancy Pelosi trip. Pelosi's trip was strongly critised by conservatives who claimed that she was supporting terrorists and that she was a traitor. It will be interesting to see how a trip by Rice is greeted by the same people. It should be pointed out that the trip by Rice is being supported by the president, which makes it different. I doubt that Pelosi really went to Syria for anything other than political reasons relating to domestic power struggles.

America needs to talk to these countries, I believe that to be true, but we also need to speak to the world with a clear and solid voice. Right now like it or not, President Bush is the political voice of this country and while that does not mean we need to support his words, I do think that should limit actions taken to oppose them over seas.