Human Rights not an Important Issue with China- Hillary Clinton.

When asked about Chinese Human rights abuses, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, pretty much said that is on the backburner and that the global economic crisis and global warming are more pressing. Although human rights talk by the government has almost always been about lip service. It seems like the first time that a high ranking official mentioned that human rights is of secondary importance. Telegraph

Its a sad day for international human rights and one can expect China to use its rising leverage against the US and expect the US government to take a softer line against Beijing. With the global recession getting worse, China maybe one of the few countries that could gain from this crisis and it's more then just the financing of US debt.

Police Chief of Mexico Town Resigns due to Drug Cartel Pressure.

The police chief of Ciudad Juarez a city with a population of 1.3 million across from the US city of El Paso Texas, resigned after receiving threats from local drug cartels. Two officers were killed on friday both had notes demanding that the chief of police resign or that an officer will be killed every 48hrs until he does so.-Al Jazeera Due to its location to the United States, it as a major drug smuggling route, so drug gangs are jockeying for power and influence vis-a-vis the Mexican government.

Questions to answer: Can the United States continue to ignore what is going on across its southern border? What will happen if these drug cartels continue to gain more power right outside our border, Whats going to to happen to our drug war? Are our border states going to be the next battleground with narco-terrorists, who kidnap and kill with impunity?

Learning about the Islamist Mindset.

Spiegel Online interviewed a former Islamist on their mindsets. Perhaps we already know what fosters radicalism, whether its alienation, violence against Muslims or just religious perversion. The interview with Ghaffar Hussain a former member of Hizb ut-Tahrir explains what may radicalize Muslims. In Europe many young Muslims feel marginalized and do not feel connected with their society or with their parents generation. Like a reason why people join gangs, they want to belong feel a part of something. Many conservative and extremists Muslims preach about the idea of the Islamic nation and that it should be united and strengthen. They show violent images of attacks against Islam or Muslims and our taught that they should fight against them. The West has corrupted most Muslims and they should not follow their example, for they are not real Muslims. Its a very interesting interview and has references on how to deal with this issue.

Middle East Peace goes Through Ramallah

As the Israeli elections come to an end and the victorious parties try to make a coalition government, whatever government forms, whether it is a national unity goverment under centrist Tzipi Livni or a right-wing government under Benjamin Netanyahu, they are going to have to find a way to deal with the Palestinian issue. There is gridlock going on and it could last years unless a pragmatic leadership in Gaza and in Jerusalem comes to play. Unless Israel wants to further weaken Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' hand in the West Bank, the Israeli government must give him concessions.

Abbas is slowly becoming marginalized by being a accused of collaborating with the Israelis especially during the Gaza war. If concessions are not made and the status quo remains, the radical Hamas Movement may be able to extend its influence from Gaza to the West Bank. The Israelis need to understand that Abbas', Fatah, rule in the West Bank has kept peace in that part of the region and should make the West Bank and example of what peace could look like under its moderate leadership. To do this Israel must give up its settlements in the West Bank and make all of its land contiguous and open trade. When prosperity come to the West Bank, the Palestinians in Gaza may demand the same thing and demand a better government, which could lead to a victory of the moderates.

If this scenario does not come in to play the status quo may continue and lead to a victory Hamas. Many Israelis understand that demographically they cannot keep all of the settlements. Relinquishing in the future may play in the hands of Hamas and the forces of extremism.

US Trained Ugandan Soldiers fail to Stop the LRA in Congo

The US has trained and aided the Ugandan Army for counterterrorism and to fight the rebel Lord Resistance Army(LRA). The US may have provided logistics for the Ugandan Army to dislodge the rebels from their camps in Congo. - New York Times The operation failed and the Rebels escaped by breaking up into smaller bands, where they attacked local villages, raping and pillaging them. These rag tag Rebels are one of the most brutish in all of Africa, has a history of kidnapping and raping , especially children, as well as enslaving them for their army. They want to toppled the government and creat a government based on the Ten Commandments. The failed offensive mentioned in this article reminds the world that this group needs to get stamped out, with a little more international cooperation, at the very least, their top leadership, led by Joseph Kony, can be taken out.