Listen To Me Summary

Listen up, America! Global reactions to Obama's Afghanistan speech

On Wednesday night, President Obama announced plans to bring home 33,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by fall 2012.  In a prime-time speech, President Obama outlined a plan for what is being called the 'beginning of the end' of the longest war in U.S. history.

Much of the world was also watching and listening to the speech.  Here is some of what they had to say in response:

Pakistan - A prime-time speech by the president outlining a drawdown of U.S. troops in Afghanistan is “just a misnomer, a clever attempt at sophistry,” writes and editorial in Pakistan’s Nation .  Reducing levels by 33,000 troops by fall 2012 will still leave the lion’s share of the 100,000 U.S. troops currently in Afghanistan.  Obama’s announcement, in summary, says the editorial, “does not give much of a solace to the beleaguered Pakistanis who have been the victim of persistent militant backlash of the war on terror.”

China  – “[Obama] has in effect acknowledged that the U.S. has forfeited the ambitions it had when it waged the war in Afghanistan almost 10 years ago,”  China Daily  says of the president’s drawdown plans.  The editorial goes on to say, “the U.S. still has a long way to go before it can shrug off its responsibilities in Afghanistan. Even after it completes scheduled troop cuts next summer, two-thirds of its armed forces will remain, along with dozens of military bases, because Afghanistan's geopolitical position is too important for the U.S. to ignore.”

U.A.E. - “Part of this is political sleight of hand. Heading into 2012 elections, Mr Obama is manoeuvring between hawks and doves in his electoral base,” writes an editorial in the Abu Dhabi-based National . “Regardless, the U.S. will surely continue to have a tactical military presence in Afghanistan, including troops, drone capabilities and special forces, for the foreseeable future.”

Lebanon - “The U.S. withdrawal signals a moving back to square one, and not in the direction of peace and prosperity,” says an editorial in Lebanon’s Daily Star .  “Billions of dollars were spent on reconstruction and 'nation-building,' but the end result was a government, headed by Karzai, that has become a watchword for corruption, inefficiency and cronyism,” the editorial says. “Does Washington intend to just move on, or has it learned anything from all of this mayhem?

Weaponized Urbrainium: Tiny Book Review: Medium Raw by Anthony ...

WARNING: I am a liberal atheist with delusions of relevance. So, if you find political, sexual, religious, sarcastic, humorous, insane, and/or nerdy content offensive, this is not the place for you. You should leave the internet post haste and remove yourself to a convent immediately (or monastery if you happen to be male). Otherwise, stick around and attempt to make sense of the insane ranting of a clearly delusional and confused mind. Maybe I've just watched too much of Bourdain's Travel Channel show, but a lot of this book I already knew.  Not the majority of the content mind you, just a bunch of it. Which is fine considering my fondness for the author.  My experience with his show ensured that I read the whole book in his voice, so it was sorta like a weird combination of audiobook and normal book for me.  That said, I haven't read any of his previous books, so I didn't experience the deja vu on a larger scale that my boss claims he got after reading Kitchen Confidential  then A Cook's Tour , all the while having watched No Reservations .  My boss claimed that he found little difference between Confidential and Tour and figured Raw was no different.  I've got nothing to base that on.  I did find "Raw" quite entertaining and it took me an elapsed week to finish reading it (NOTE: For me, a week is a relatively short period of time to spend reading a book as I read fairly slowly.  The speed in which I read is indicative of how interested I am in the book.). In any event, Medium Raw  was a fun little look into Bourdain's world, or rather a look at many of the celebrity chefs and cooks out there today through his jaded eye.  I'm not exactly well versed in this world, never having visited most of the places (OK, any of the places) he mentions, and barely being aware that most of these people existed before reading this book, so I might not be the best judge of his accuracy.  His treatment of vegetarians never seems to get too personal, though his distaste for them, the reasons for which he explains in detail near the end of the book, show through quite well.  So do his opinions on the organic food movement.  He does a great job of showing them in perspective with the majority of the world I think though.

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Summary of world broadcasts, Asia, Pacific

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