How Obama’s China trip killed CopenhagenDespite all the fanfare around Obama’s trip to China, he failed to make any headway with the country in securing support for serious emissions targets, says Steve Clemons. As a result, Copenhagen is now dead.
Politics / The World
Nate Silver: Why Palin could still be the Republicans’ next presidential candidate
Despite many believing Sarah Palin’s days as a politician are over, Nate Silver reckons she’s still in with a chance to be nominated as the Republicans’ 2012 Presidential candidate. He gives 10 good reasons why.
The new EU President: meet the contenders
The European Union will announce its new President this week, following a rather sketchy closed-door process. HuffPo introduces the candidates and the bookies’ odds on their chances.
The world’s most corrupt governments
Watchdog Transparency International has released its annual list ranking the world’s most — and least — corrupt countries. Heading the list is Somalia, while Australia is the eighth least corrupt.
The Velvet Revolution: 20 years on
On the 20th anniversary of Czechoslovakia’s “Velvet Revolution”, Timothy Garton Ash looks at the other nonviolent uprisings it helped inspire over the proceeding two decades.
How the Nazis stole Christmas
A new exhibition of Nazi paraphernalia in Cologne shows how the Nazi Party tried to take Christ out of Christmas with swastika cookies and hand grenade tree decorations. Many of their “paganised” Christmas carols are still unwittingly sung today.
The case for a nuclear Iran
Gasp! Iran could be building “The Bomb”. Yep: just like Pakistan has bombs, Israel has bombs and North Korea has bombs. Does another one really matter? asks Aetius Romulous
Meet the Repulicans’ Next Big Thing
Meet the Republican Party’s great hope for 2012: South Dakota Senator John Thune — a fundraising heavyweight with a crack team of advisers who many are predicting could reinvigorate the embattled party.
49 million Americans go hungry
A new report from the US Department of Agriculture has found that one in six Americans went hungry last year — the highest number on record — as the country’s recession took its toll.
Sarah Palin’s Going Rogue: the reviews are in…
The most highly-anticipated book of the year, Going Rogue by former Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin is about to hit shelves, and the critics have weighed in. Is it scandalous? Insightful? Coherent? The WSJ wraps the coverage.
revealed UN secretly negotiating with Iran to lift nuclear sanctions
Documents leaked to the Times reveal the United Nations has been negotiating with Iranian officials to lift the country’s nuclear sanctions, allowing it to retain most of its nuclear program, in return for co-operation with UN inspectors.
What if we fail in Afghanistan?
It’s time to start asking: what happens if the US and its allies can’t prevent the Afghani Taliban from taking control of the country and restoring a second Islamic Emirate? Steve Coll explores some hypothetical outcomes (spoiler: none of them are good).
Honduras — sleight-of-hand, smoke and mirrors
The US State Department’s statement last weekend that the Honduran elections would be recognised whether or not President Manuel Zelaya was reinstated is a gross betrayal of the aspirations of many honest people, writes Warwick Fry.
The nine nations of China
We tend to think of China as one big monolithic empire, but in fact, it is more like nine very distinct and different regions, each with its own character and history. Patrick Chovanec redraws and rethinks the traditional map of China.
Sarah Palin goes rogue on Oprah: the liveblog
Can’t wait until Sarah Palin’s Oprah appearance hits our screens? Media Alley has a minute-by-minute account, including videos, as Palin talks Levi, 2012, Hillary and her new book.
The repugnant case of Omar Khadr
The US is still refusing to release or repatriate Canadian citizen and terror suspect Omar Khadr, who was arrested in 2002 in Afghanistan at the age of 15 and has been detained in Guantanamo Bay ever since, says Greg Barns.
China fails to fall in love with Obama
US President Barack Obama is on a diplomatic visit to China, but is struggling to win the country’s citizens over with his usually irresistible charms. Perhaps it’s because he’s being kept on a tight leash and well away from the media spotlight.
Former British Corporal: My entire unit abused Iraqi civilians
A former British soldier convicted of war crimes in Iraq claims his entire unit physically abused Iraqi detainees, kicking and punching them while down, threatening to set them alight and holding guns to their heads.
The big problem in prosecuting Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: torture
Prosecuting Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the confessed architect of 9/11, should be a no-brainer. But the torture he endured at the hands of Guantanamo interrogators may have ruined the entire case.
Life as a soldier in Afghanistan
A remarkable photo essay by AP photojournalist David Guttenfelder on the lives of American troops in Afghanistan gives a small insight into the fear and horror of the work, says W H Chong.
Why is America funding Pakistan’s spies?
The CIA is pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into Pakistan’s intelligence service, according to former officials, even though it’s widely suspected the agency is helping Taliban extremists.
World leaders give up on Copenhagen
The Copenhagen climate conference doesn’t start for another 22 days, but world leaders at the APEC summit have already agreed that reaching a legally binding deal on climate change at the conference will be impossible.
What next for Sarah Palin?
She’s about to launch a guaranteed best-seller and, despite not actually being a politician any more, continues to get more attention than almost any other political figure in the US. But is Sarah Palin the next Obama or the next Oprah?
NASA discovers water on the moon — or did it?
NASA grabbed headlines around the world with its announcement it has found “a significant amount” of water on the moon. But is 25 gallons of water really all that “significant”? It all sounds like a galactic-sized cash grab to Jon Wiener.
Kiwis voting system to go to referendum
Malcolm MacKerras has been trying to persuade New Zealand’s politicians to replace their Mixed Member Proportional electoral system with a better one.
