Wow: The Obama administration overturned a ban preventing a wealthy, politically connected Ecuadorean woman from entering the United States after her family gave tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic campaigns, according to finance records and government officials. The woman, Estefanía Isaías, had been barred from coming to the United States after being caught fraudulently …
In Ukraine, Tensions Remain High
I haven't been blogging for the past two days because I have been laid low by The Worst Cold In The History Of Ever. Any hopes that in the time that it took me to recover, the Ukraine crisis could be resolved, seem to have gone out the window. Ukraine remains worried that Russia may launch …
Spheres of Influence and Bubbles of Ignorance
Let's go over some of the fundamental tenets of the realist theory of international relations (I know that I have written them before, but I ask readers to indulge me so that I can set the table for the rest of this blog post). Realists generally believe the following:The world is fundamentally anarchic. There is …
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Chutzpah, Thy Name Is “Snowden”
So, Edward Snowden wants clemency now from the very country which he betrayed and whose national security he put in peril via the disclosure of secrets that compromised sources and methods. To say the least, I am not sympathetic to the plea. The hype to the contrary notwithstanding, neither Snowden nor Bradley Manning are heroes, and …
Edward Snowden: Hero of Transparency
Or, you know, not: Since he publicly acknowledged being the source of bombshell leaks about the NSA two weeks ago, Ed Snowden has portrayed government secrecy as a threat to democracy, and his own leaks as acts of conscience. But chat logs uncovered by the tech news site Ars Technica suggest Snowden hasn’t always felt that …
Edward Snowden’s Dubious Achievement
To be entirely fair to Edward Snowden, there are whistleblowers who stand with him and who applaud what he has done in exposing NSA surveillance programs and techniques. But it is also worth noting that there are plenty of whistleblowers who think that Edward Snowden has done the cause of whistleblowing no good whatsoever:When Edward …
On the Obama Administration’s Embarrassment and Edward Snowden’s Insincerity
The fact that Edward Snowden was able to leave Hong Kong, transit through Russia and fly to Ecuador for asylum has to be humiliating for the Obama administration, especially in light of the "resets" in diplomatic relations that the administration has been seeking with China and Russia. I am sure that the president and his …
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