Word: ii
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...rules are set in stone, and so the eagerly watching British media sputtered when the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, briefly put her hand on the back of Queen Elizabeth II as the two chatted at a reception. Etiquette is quite stern about this ("Whatever you do, don't touch the Queen!"). In 2000 John Howard, then Prime Minister of Australia, got plenty of criticism for apparently putting his arm around the Queen to direct her through a crowd. He denied actually touching her, but photographs suggest that he came quite close. (Another former Australian Prime Minister...
...times is a coincidence, but three times makes a trend, so Obama will have to be careful about his gift-giving in Europe. On Saturday, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs declined a British reporter's request to disclose the gift the President will give to Queen Elizabeth II. "We don't want to give away all of our good news," said Gibbs, raising the stakes even higher. Indeed gifts are not the only petty detail that can soil an international relationship. The British press has also harped on the fact that Obama once referred to the "special partnership" between Britain...
...Reform of international financial institutions. The World Bank and IMF originated in planning for post-World War II economic reconstruction, and there is broad agreement that their mandates need rethinking. The IMF needs a fresh injection of cash if it is to help stabilize economies in a mess, and developing world nations - who will lead the recovery, when it comes - are campaigning for a greater role in shaping the priorities of these institutions. Expect the issue to be punted downfield for further discussion later in the year...
...examination of the most basic and eternal tool in the game of nations. He does not dispute that the world has changed: globalization exists, as do Osama bin Laden and dirty weapons. The U.S. no longer possesses the military and economic supremacy it had after World War II, but it still has unrivaled power to lead - meaning the ability to build coalitions to attack the world's problems. Gelb is a prickly moderate. He does not mince words. "Republicans act like rabid attack dogs in and out of power, and treat facts like trash," he writes. "Democrats seem to lack...
...traffic is way down. Exports from Japan were almost 50% less in February compared with the same month in 2008; China's exports were down 26% in February. The World Trade Organization is predicting global trade will shrink by 9% this year, the steepest annual decline since World War II. This contraction is not only deep, it is also a latter-day rarity: global trade has increased continuously year after year since 1982. (Read "The Threat of a Global Trade...