North Korea Threatens War Against Japan, South Korea, USA

March 9, 2009

The DPRK threatens war against South Korea and its allies if anyone interferes with their planned “satellite launching for peaceful purpose.” They call it a communication satellite, but the US calls it a thinly-guised ballistic missile test, designed to carry a nuclear warhead that could hit American targets.

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Crook: The End of the American Exception?

March 8, 2009

During PBS’s NewsHour With Jim Lehrer last Friday, the program’s resident pundits, David Brooks and Mark Shields, had an interesting exchange about President Obama’s first budget. They agreed that the administration aimed to be “transformative” — and Brooks conceded, “I think we all want that.” The real question, he said, is how transformative.

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White House Excuse for Brown Meeting Flub: Obama "Too Tired"

March 8, 2009

Sources close to the White House say Mr Obama and his staff have been “overwhelmed” by the economic meltdown and have voiced concerns that the new president is not getting enough rest. British officials, meanwhile, admit that the White House and US State Department staff were utterly bemused by complaints that the Prime Minister should […]

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When Will the Bull Return?

March 8, 2009

The stock market is crashing—slowly, and in plain view of the people who count on it most. The 53% plunge in the Dow Jones industrials since October 2007 has wrecked the college- and retirement-savings plans of millions of investors. It has permanently lowered the long-term investment projections of private endowments and pension funds. It has […]

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Specter Faces Make or Break Moment: Will he Run as Indie?

March 8, 2009

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) does not have the fall-back option of running as an independent should he lose his 2010 primary election, giving the senior lawmaker strong incentive to abandon his party this year.

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If You Build It, They Won't Come

March 8, 2009

Monuments to bad timing: the Yankees, Mets, and Cowboys construct oversized New York/Dallas style luxury arenas, with tripled ticket prices for teak trimmed seats, high definition scoreboards, Belgian-style fries and wine bars. But no one can afford to come, and that $1B in naming rights you thought you were getting? About that…

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Finally Getting Some Folks in the Building: Three New Treasury Nominees

March 8, 2009

The Treasury Department finally starts to staff up in the wake of several nominee withdrawals. One of the luxuries of academic life is the lengthy hiring processes, plowing through hundreds of resumes to find just the right person. In politics, you can’t hold it off til next semester waiting for someone better to come along.

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Barone: Bringing Back the 70s

March 7, 2009

“Animal spirits,” said John Maynard Keynes, are the essential spring of capitalism. We depend on the animal spirits of investors, high earners and entrepreneurs for a growing economy.

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Yoo: Bush Admin Planned for Mumbai Style Attacks

March 7, 2009

Suppose al Qaeda branched out from crashing airliners into American cities. Using small arms, explosives, or biological, chemical or nuclear weapons they could seize control of apartment buildings, stadiums, ships, trains or buses. As in the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, texting and mobile email would make it easy to coordinate simultaneous assaults in a single […]

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Robinson: Neither Moderate Nor Centrist, What Buckley, Gergen, Brooks Realize Now

March 7, 2009

“To see what is in front of one’s nose,” George Orwell famously asserted, “needs a constant struggle.” Congratulations this week to three journalists who have finally taken up that constant struggle: Christopher Buckley, David Gergen and David Brooks. All three used to insist that Obama was some species of centrist or moderate. Now that Obama […]

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