The World at Large
I almost forgot there was a world beyond Katrina.
It seems the complete media dominance of Hurricane Katrina has begun to subside, and with the Roberts hearings in a lull, there is acknowledgment of a world around us.
This past weekend there were elections in both Afghanistan and Germany. The Afghan elections were marked by a surprisingly peaceful day, with very little violence (contrary to what many expected and predicted). The ballots will start being counted tomorrow (Tuesday).
The German elections have left that country confused. Incumbent chancellor Gerhard Schröder and his Social Democratic Party received only 34.3 percent of the votes cast, meaning they lost the majority they enjoyed with their coalition partner Green Party. The right-of-center Christian Democratic Union, led by Angela Merkel, received the highest percentage of votes at about 35.2 percent. But their main coalition partner, the Free Democratic Party, failed to get enough votes to achieve a majority. With no clear winner, things are somewhat up in the air. It does seem, however, that Schröder has lost his majority after leading the country for seven years. Mrs. Merkel would be the first woman to hold the position of chancellor. More on this to come.
Perhaps most startling is news of a breakthrough in the multilateral negotiations with North Korea about their nuclear weapons program. A preliminary agreement was announced that North Korea has agreed to end their nuclear weapons program in exchange for economic, security, and energy benefits. Well...not so fast. That was what the media was originally reporting. An article on the Times website dated September 19 ran the headline "North Korea Says It Will Drop Nuclear Efforts for Aid Program." I do not think this made it into the print edition. And then, again on the website, this time dated September 20 (even though it is not yet the 20th), there is an article with the headline, "U.S.-Korean Deal on Arms Leaves Key Points Open." It seems the deal is not the deal everyone thought it was.
So what's the story? It appears an agreement was made, and signed, but that this agreement is vaguely worded and fails to address a date as to when disarmament would occur. The other problem is that the agreement hints at discussions, "at an appropriate time," of a civilian nuclear power plant. The plant, a light-water reactor, would not be able to produce fuel for nuclear bombs as efficiently as existing plants in the country. But President Bush has long held that this was not an acceptable concession. Over the last day the White House has said that the only appropriate time for such a discussion would be long after all existing nuclear plants are shut down and invasive inspections are carried out. North Korea, however, has come out and said the U.S. "should not even dream" it would dismantle its nuclear weapons until it receives a new plant. Thus the problem.
In any case, these are at least signs of progress after months of stalemate. And signs of life in the world around us.
It seems the complete media dominance of Hurricane Katrina has begun to subside, and with the Roberts hearings in a lull, there is acknowledgment of a world around us.
This past weekend there were elections in both Afghanistan and Germany. The Afghan elections were marked by a surprisingly peaceful day, with very little violence (contrary to what many expected and predicted). The ballots will start being counted tomorrow (Tuesday).
The German elections have left that country confused. Incumbent chancellor Gerhard Schröder and his Social Democratic Party received only 34.3 percent of the votes cast, meaning they lost the majority they enjoyed with their coalition partner Green Party. The right-of-center Christian Democratic Union, led by Angela Merkel, received the highest percentage of votes at about 35.2 percent. But their main coalition partner, the Free Democratic Party, failed to get enough votes to achieve a majority. With no clear winner, things are somewhat up in the air. It does seem, however, that Schröder has lost his majority after leading the country for seven years. Mrs. Merkel would be the first woman to hold the position of chancellor. More on this to come.
Perhaps most startling is news of a breakthrough in the multilateral negotiations with North Korea about their nuclear weapons program. A preliminary agreement was announced that North Korea has agreed to end their nuclear weapons program in exchange for economic, security, and energy benefits. Well...not so fast. That was what the media was originally reporting. An article on the Times website dated September 19 ran the headline "North Korea Says It Will Drop Nuclear Efforts for Aid Program." I do not think this made it into the print edition. And then, again on the website, this time dated September 20 (even though it is not yet the 20th), there is an article with the headline, "U.S.-Korean Deal on Arms Leaves Key Points Open." It seems the deal is not the deal everyone thought it was.
So what's the story? It appears an agreement was made, and signed, but that this agreement is vaguely worded and fails to address a date as to when disarmament would occur. The other problem is that the agreement hints at discussions, "at an appropriate time," of a civilian nuclear power plant. The plant, a light-water reactor, would not be able to produce fuel for nuclear bombs as efficiently as existing plants in the country. But President Bush has long held that this was not an acceptable concession. Over the last day the White House has said that the only appropriate time for such a discussion would be long after all existing nuclear plants are shut down and invasive inspections are carried out. North Korea, however, has come out and said the U.S. "should not even dream" it would dismantle its nuclear weapons until it receives a new plant. Thus the problem.
In any case, these are at least signs of progress after months of stalemate. And signs of life in the world around us.
posted by rtkelly at 9:21 PM
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