Arthur I. Cyr's blog

Regarding aggressive intelligence gathering, the Obama administration is now clearly at war – with the Obama administration. Very soon after assuming office, President Obama opted not to pursue prosecution of intelligence professionals who may have gone beyond the law during the Bush administration.

Former President Kim Dae-jung of South Korea died this week at the age of eighty-five. His extraordinary career demonstrates the triumph of discipline and determination over tremendous barriers. He also personifies the long-term value of tolerance and forgiveness.

The release last week of Euna Lee and Laura Ling, the two journalists held by North Korea, is cause for celebration and also an opportunity to pursue change by Pyongyang. North Korea’s aging, inbred and isolated ruling clique confronts very extreme poverty, stagnation and global isolation.

Former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are both making headlines. His surprise visit to North Korea has successfully secured release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling, young journalists held hostage. Her well-planned visit to seven nations in Africa has addressed important policy concerns ranging from economic development to combating terrorism.

The international economic recession began in banking and finance but has now spread far beyond. The production of goods as well as services has been very hard hit in the long established advanced industrial economies of Europe, North America and elsewhere, though China continues to drive growth in Asia.

While the Obama White House and Washington generally is mired in complex debate over health care reform, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has just taken Asia by storm.

“From the ground up,” was President John F. Kennedy’s smooth recovery remark after retrieving a medal he dropped at an awards ceremony for U.S. astronauts. That remark was seen by an exceptionally wide television audience, reflecting great public excitement about exploration of space in the 1960s.

On July 16, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates provided a tour de force on U.S. national security policy. Speaking at the Economic Club of Chicago before a notably attentive audience, he bluntly addressed life and death in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and beyond.

London
The killing in Afghanistan of eight British soldiers in twenty-four hours at the end of last week has heightened debate over involvement in the war and underscored the very human costs. Pictures of the generally very young British troopers lost are prominent in the media. Beleaguered Prime Minister Gordon Brown is facing sharp attacks from opposition Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.

LONDON - The Internet and cell phones are blessing and bane, combining the enormous advantages of readily available information with dangerous alien invasion.