Amanpour: Obama’s 100 days of foreign affairs

Judging by the hysterical reaction in some quarters, to President Obama’s handshake with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, or his bow to Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, you would think that America’s national security rested solely on body language not sound policy. But just for the record, let’s not forget that President George W. Bush kissed and held hands with the same Abdullah after 9/11, while also looking deep into the soul of Vladimir Putin.

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Thailand revokes former PM Thaksin’s passport

Thailand’s government said Wednesday it has revoked the passport of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who it accuses of helping stoke anti-government hostility that flared into deadly street protests this week. The state-run Thai News Agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungwat saying Thaksin’s passport was annulled from April 12, when his supporters stormed a venue forcing the cancellation of a major Asian summit

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Pentagon looks to move battle against pirates ashore

As the Defense Department weighs options to prevent a repeat of the drama that unfolded on the seas this weekend, those who patrol the waters say pirates must be rooted out before they leave land. Pentagon planners are preparing a variety of options for dealing with Somali pirates, and a United Nations resolution gives them the authority to conduct operations inside Somalia. “The ultimate solution for piracy is on land,” said Vice Adm.

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Can the West cultivate ideas from Cuba’s ‘Special Period’?

Since the revolution in 1959 Cuba has been many things to many people, but the collapse of the Soviet Union meant few have seen the island state as a vision of the future. As worries about “peak oil” grow in developed nations, the communist republic is proving to be an increasingly popular example of how to cope when the spigots run dry, for the simple reason: they’ve already been there. With the loss of supplies from oil-rich Russia in 1991, and a U.S.

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City floating on the sea could be just 3 years away

A floating city off the coast of San Francisco may sound like science fiction, but it could be reality in the not-too-distant future. The Seasteading Institute already has drawn up plans for the construction of a homestead on the Pacific Ocean. One project engineer described the prototype as similar to a cruise ship, but from a distance the cities might look like oil-drilling platforms

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