Anna Nicole Smith's Burial Clearance Tops News Stories

Playback Editor

When Anna Nicole Smith's burial clearance becomes the country's top story, we may be headed for trouble.

With all the conflicts going on in the world today, from war on multiple fronts to a monster hiccup in the stock market, to have the burial clearance of Anna Nicole Smith as the number one story in the country sends one of two messages.

The first is that our eye is way off the ball, very much like the days prior to 911 when shark attacks were the page one headlines attracting our attention. The second is that perhaps we are so tired and drained by reality that we want to zone out in morbid fascination and watch the Anna Nicole soap opera unfold as a selected form of escapism.

There is no getting around the fact that we have entered a shake out period. Realities are being shifted. Even Axis of Evil members like Iran and North Korea realize that the time allotted for putzing around is coming to an end.

While Iraq remains a mess, the invasion's ultimate mark upon history may not be the war alone but the consequences of ignoring a President crazy and stubborn enough to refuse to allow business as usual. Like him or not, George Bush has shaken up the world and made everyone aware that a corrupt international community could not self serve, play ostrich and still dictate the foreign policy of the United States.

History is written over decades, not months and time will tell.

Joe Klein: Some Honest Questions. It's About Time

Joe Klein is sizing up our current international political climate and asking some honest questions about the concept of "allies" and acting unilaterally.

February 28, 2007 9:11

Where Are the Allies?
Posted by Joe Klein Comments (30) Permalink Trackbacks (0) Email This
Given the arrogance and distemper of the Bush Administration, it's kind of tough for even our best friends, like the Brits, to remain solid U.S. allies these days...but I've got to say that Max Boot raises an important point in his column today.

Our NATO allies simply aren't pulling their weight in Afghanistan. This is a "good war" against some really bad actors--the Taliban and Al Qaeda. If we can't get NATO to do more than some flaccid, Sarajevo-style peacekeeping, then you have to wonder about the future of the alliance...although I suppose that NATO is still good for its initial purpose, to repel an attack on the European democracies. But if the Europeans aren't going to join us in the fight they agreed to undertake against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan--if we are truly all alone--it damages righteous liberal arguments about multilateralism as a precondition for military action and bolsters the neoconservative assumption that we're the only country in the world with any military spine. That would be very bad news, indeed.

Update: I must say I'm disappointed by the inability of many commenter's to see past their opinions of Max Boot and deal with the very disappointing failure of the Europeans to stand up in Afghanistan. Ezra Klein makes a similar point here about the perils of ideological myopia.

Given the arrogance and distemper of the Bush Administration, it's kind of tough for even our best friends, like the Brits, to remain solid U.S. allies these days...but I've got to say that Max Boot raises an important point in his column today.

Our NATO allies simply aren't pulling their weight in Afghanistan. This is a "good war" against some really bad actors--the Taliban and Al Qaeda. If we can't get NATO to do more than some flaccid, Sarajevo-style peacekeeping, then you have to wonder about the future of the alliance...although I suppose that NATO is still good for its initial purpose, to repel an attack on the European democracies. But if the Europeans aren't going to join us in the fight they agreed to undertake against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan--if we are truly all alone--it damages righteous liberal arguments about multilateralism as a precondition for military action and bolsters the neoconservative assumption that we're the only country in the world with any military spine. That would be very bad news, indeed.

Update: I must say I'm disappointed by the inability of many commenters to see past their opinions of Max Boot and deal with the very disappointing failure of the Europeans to stand up in Afghanistan. Ezra Klein makes a similar point here about the perils of ideological myopia.

U.S., Iran and Syria to Meet Over Iraq

In a strategic change of policy, the U.S. has agreed to meet with Iran and Syria to discuss strategies in stabilizing Iraq.

The mere fact that all parties are speaking is a huge, positive step. Expect nothing made public right away but without discussion there is no hope of resolution. However, there is a logic in having such conversation taking this long to come about.

The U.S. has upped the ante and Iran is feeling the heat. At the end of the day only fools want war and Iran, which was riding high this past summer as the U.S. media barbecued Bush on a daily basis while proxy Hezbollah instigated war with Israel, has been taken down as few pegs. The Iranian population is greatly frustrated with the over-the-top antics of their "president," the country is facing U.N. sanctions that can hurt their vulnerable economy and the U.S. has made it know they will retaliate if Iran continues to meddle in Iraq. Iran has been made quite accountable.

Now let's hope the Mullahs at the end of the day have the same instincts for survival in the upper leadership as the rest of the human race.

U.S. Set to Join Iran and Syria in Talks on Iraq

By HELENE COOPER and KIRK SEMPLE
Published: February 28, 2007
WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 — American officials said Tuesday that they had agreed to hold the highest-level contact with the Iranian authorities in more than two years as part of an international meeting on Iraq.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/28/washington/28diplo.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1172664358-cEdktgrsmgK4rWgH9bxTNQ

Thomas Friedman on Israeli Economy and Politics

Thomas Friedman offers an inside perspective on Israel's current economic boom and who it effects and how it creates a mirage that can and will most likely burst.

Outsource the Cabinet?

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: February 28, 2007
Yes, it’s true, a picture is worth a thousand words — but some are worth a whole dictionary. I came across one the other day on BBC.com. The story was headlined “Israeli Minister in Vision Gaffe.”

http://select.nytimes.com/2007/02/28/opinion/28friedman.html

US Market Poised for Big Rebound: CNN Money

This morning the U.S. indicators predicted a big rebound on Wound Licking Wednesday after Black Tuesday 07.

Wound-licking Wednesday
U.S. stocks poised to rebound from huge selloff; GDP revision, Bernanke testimony on tap.
February 28 2007: 6:23 AM EST

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were poised for a big rebound at Wednesday's open, less than a day after a huge selloff that included the Dow industrials' biggest one-day drop since 2001.

At 6:21 a.m. ET, Nasdaq and S&P futures were sharply higher after the worst day for stocks since the first day of trading following the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/28/markets/stockswatch2/index.htm?postversion=2007022806

Tokyo Slides 2.9% , Shangi Rebounds...

Today's latest market update after Black Tuesday 07

Tokyo Slides 2.9%, Shangi Rebounds ...
The Wall Street Journal, February 28, 2007

Investors Reassess Economic Outlook
Asian markets skidded for a second straight session, with the Nikkei 225 index falling more than 500 points. But investors in Shanghai-listed stocks bucked the very trend they'd begun a day earlier, bidding shares into positive territory. A dramatic plunge in stocks world-wide is forcing global investors to re-evaluate their appetite for risk.
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