While Kula is away, the mice have come out to play... many thanks to Theghostofkarlafayetucker, Ashiado, and of course, Patch Adam, for holding down the fort this week. Following is my attempt to hang tough with these fine folks and bring you Friday's Morning Reaction.
Yesterday NCrissieB reminded us that we should enjoy the excellence of No Drama Obama, so I shall start this off with a reminder:
For international news, I visit sites like news.sky.com and Watching America. Sky is based in the UK, and Watching America translates articles from around the world into English. Where do you look for international news?
I'm still swept up in the delight of the election, and have loved the pictures from around the world. Here's one from the picture gallery at Sky News:
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I guess the big news is that President-elect Obama has resigned his position as Senator, effective Sunday. I thought that would happen later, like after the lame duck session, where his vote will be sorely needed. I suppose that inserting himself as President-elect slash Senator on the important stimulus package vote would not be elegant. What are your thoughts on this?
Well, that WAS the big news, until the "leaked" news about Hillary Clinton is being considered as Secretary of State. This happened last night, as I heard it directly from Andrea Mitchell's mouth, which is who it was told directly to by Obama's Transition Team. Is this a LEAK? From No Drama Obama? If so, it's likely intentional and Hillary has already accepted.
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Did anybody participate in or see the California major earthquake drill?
AP said millions participated in the drill, which was based on a fictional magnitude-7.8 event, with an estimated 1,800 people killed and $200 billion in damage.
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Obama's Team is talking to people around the world...
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Africa: Expect No Special Favours, But Continents Will Get Its Due
His foreign policy staff have enlisted the help of nearly 500 - mostly voluntary - foreign policy advisers, to help shape their initial policy papers. Of these, about 25 have commented on the draft Africa position paper - a four-page document that outlines the approach that an Obama administration will use to shape its engagement with the continent. I cornered one of the 25 in the post-election euphoria.
snip
An Obama administration is likely to shape its Africa policy responses around a different perspective of engagement. We are likely to see a move away from a singularly altruistic lens, with engagement couched in predominantly humanitarian terms, and "poverty" or "helping those in need" in the headlines.
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Time says Obama's First Diplomatic Test is Keeping Cool with Russia.
Obama politely returned Medvedev's congratulatory Nov. 8 phone call and laid out for his Russian counterpart his own view of the U.S.-Russia agenda. Aides say Obama and Medvedev discussed substantive issues in the call, but missile defense didn't come up. The Russian President responded positively to Obama's understated reaction. "The Russians were very congratulatory, so it was a good and productive call," says an Obama aide.
No Drama.
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Obama, Seoul 'See Eye to Eye on N.Korea'
Barack Obama’s position on the North Korean nuclear issue is "very similar to ours," a government official said Monday. Hwang Joon-guk, the deputy leader of the South Korean delegation to six-party talks, visited the U.S. from Nov. 5 to 8 and met with Frank Januzzi, the chief of Obama’s Korea policy team, at a forum organized by the U.S. National Committee on American Foreign Policy in New York.
"I don’t think there will be a drastic change in the North Korean nuclear issue between South Korea and the U.S.," Hwang said. "It seems Obama’s team is emphasizing the need for the North Korea to improve relations with South Korea and Japan."
No Drama. Oh, and emphasizing nations actually talking to each other? How novel!
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And in other news...
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LOL... Greg Sargent at TPM says Breaking: Obama Worked Out This Morning, Reporters Couldn't See Him. In this moment-by-moment urge to have some news, the TV pundits and intertubes are looking for anything to say about Obama. "Do you think this?" or "Do you think Obama thinks this?" And most of the time, the answer is along the lines of "I dunno."
Give the man a break! It's only been what... 10 days?
I decided not to mention Palin, in spite of the fact that she once again spoke in circles in front of the Republican Governors' Convention, and took one more jab at President-elect Obama. Oops, I mentioned her.
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This pootie pic is the epitome of how I feel, enjoying the excellence (and no drama) of President-elect Obama:
Okay, I'm more than ready to welcome Kula back, and give her a HUGE virtual hug! What's on your mind this morning?