Arthur I. Cyr's blog

Technology and tradition, along with the remnants of tyranny, come together in U.S-Russian relations, and that has been very much in evidence in President Obama's visit to that nation. Overall, the president should receive high marks for effectiveness on this first leg of his latest Europe trip.

This week, political bipartisanship took a new turn. Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan has sent a letter to Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, offering to house prisoners. California’s prison system is overflowing while Michigan confronts the need to shutter facilities.

Rocket rattling by North Korea, including the reported intent to launch a long-range missile around July 4, has resulted in defensive countermeasures by the Obama administration. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has ordered deployment of a Lockheed Martin THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Air Defense) anti-missile system to protect Hawaii, a publicized possible target.

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.

The supreme leader of fundamentalist Islamic Iran, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has confirmed the legitimacy of the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He did so publicly at a prayer ceremony on Friday at Tehran University, symbolically reinforcing the close connection between very traditional Moslem religion and practical politics in this country.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal has been unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new commander in Afghanistan, and has followed up immediately by granting media interviews. Both developments are very significant for reasons that reach beyond the rising levels of Allied troops and violence in that beleaguered country.

Strange things are happening on the Korean peninsula. In the North, the return to an isolated, threatening stance by Pyongyang has abruptly terminated fitful cooperation to dismantle nuclear facilities. A second nuclear explosion, following the first three years ago, accompanied by long-range missile launches has definitely gotten global attention.

Instant American analysts often misread British politics, primarily because we use our own different political culture to explain theirs. The ruling Labour Party has just suffered a severe double defeat in elections for local county councils and the European Parliament. Drawing on our own personality-driven politics, pundits concentrate on Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

From ancient times to the present, amphibious military operations have been rightly regarded as particularly challenging. The largest such enterprise was the Allied invasion of France in World War II on June 6, 1944 – D-Day.

As the international community grapples with the latest thundering threats from North Korea, which for the second time in three years have been accompanied by a nuclear explosion, the principal forum is the United Nations.