National interests

US boasts of “universal values” for national interest:Chinese Ambassador

Last Friday, Ambassador Fu Cong, China’s deputy permanent representative to the UnitedNations Office at Geneva, refuted the accusations on China's human rights situations bythe United States on behalf of Japan and a few other countries during the 31st session ofthe UN human rights council, calling that the "universal values" U.S. boasts of are merely"national interest" under a gorgeous coat.

Fu made it clear that infringement upon China’s judicial sovereignty would not beaccepted. He stressed that combating illegal and criminal activities in accordance with lawfalls within the judicial sovereignty of China and no one shall go beyond the law in thename of "human rights defenders".

National interests

Money, Not Ideas, Driving Clinton Global Initiative

Contrary to the image painted of the Clintons by both their friends and enemies, they have always been less about ideas and beliefs than they have been about money. One need look no further than their record: the collection of an astonishing $3 billion in contributions and donations over the course of their public lives. No one comes even close.

Dig into those numbers and you see the predictable sources of money that rise to the top: Wall Street and investment banks, lawyers and law firms.

But the story of the Clintons and their pursuit of money is even more interesting when we discover how it has evolved over time. The source of their money has changed depending on the positions of power they have held. (Early donors from Arkansas, like Walmart founder Sam Walton, gave early but stopped after $6,000.)

National interests

Dealing with Bad Allies: The Case for Moral Realism

UNFORTUNATELY, IN both the Cold War and the so-called War on Terror, U.S. leaders have had a tendency to lump almost everything into the “vital interest” category. That is unfortunate on several levels, not the least because such thinking provides a rationale for unnecessarily embracing repulsive regimes. The reality is that for any nation, but especially for the United States, vital interests are few in number. National survival is obviously the most important interest, but the preservation of political independence, domestic liberty and economic well-being from external threats all are part of the mix as well. How secure those vital interests are depends heavily on both the threat environment and the capabilities of the adversary in question.