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Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Presidential inauguration

By Ken Herman | Tuesday, May 23, 2006, 02:50 PM

Like everyone, President Bush is wrapping up details for Friday’s big inauguration of the new president of the Union of the Comoros.

President Bush today picked Frederick Schieck, deputy administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, to lead the U.S. delegation to the inauguration of Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi.

As everyone knows, Comoros is a group of islands at the northern mouth of the Mozambique Channel, about two-thirds of the way between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique.

At least that’s what the CIA’s World Factbook reports.

We also learn from the CIA that Comoros has endured 19 coups or attempted coups since winning independence from France in 1975.

Population: 690,948

Size: Just over 12 times the size of Washington DC

Religion: 98 percent Sunni Muslim, 2 percent Roman Catholic

Capital: Moroni

Economic overview: ” One of the world’s poorest countries, Comoros is made up of three islands that have inadequate transportation links, a young and rapidly increasing population, and few natural resources.”

Only other member of official U.S. delegation to inauguration: James McGee, ambassador to Madagascar.

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Hillary’s Hint?

By Scott Shepard | Tuesday, May 23, 2006, 01:48 PM

After her wonkish speech on energy policy at the National Press Club this morning, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton declined - as expected - to address a question about whether she intended to run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008.

But during her speech, she appeared to take an oh-so-slight shot at a possible rival for that nomination, her husband’s running mate, former Vice President Al Gore. One the one hand, she praised Gore and his movie, “An Inconvenient Truth,” which premieres Friday as part of Gore’s efforts to warn Americans about the catastrophic consequences of global warming. On the other hand, she hinted that it will take more than a Cassandra to solve American’s energy problems.

“Now, thanks to former Vice President Al Gore, who has been a committeed visionary on global warming for more than two decades, everyone can see those consequences for themselves at a local movie theater,” Clinton said. “But this is not a time, I would argue, for handwringing or despair, despite the formidable challenges we confront. We can fix these problems together by changing to a clean energy future fueled by innovation and efficiency.”

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Blair and Bush to meet

By Ken Herman | Tuesday, May 23, 2006, 10:41 AM

The White House announced today that British Prime Minister Tony Blair, fresh from a visit to Baghdad, will be in the building Thursday and Friday for discussions “on the full range of issues on our strategic agenda.”

Included will be support for the new Iraqi government, stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons, peace in the Middle East, ending violence in Darfur and promotion of free trade.

For now, neither side is saying whether the meetings will lead to any announcement concerning specific plans for troop withdrawals from Iraq. The two leaders, both under heat at home, will hold a joint press availability on either Thursday or Friday.

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