Australian foreign aid

This never happened during the Trump administration. Many outsiders were recruited, far more than normal, but few had even a modicum of relevant experience. Those who did, for instance the individuals charged with the Iranian and North Korean nuclear portfolios, could never overcome the obstacle posed by flawed presidential policy. The challenges faced by both career and political appointees in keeping administration policy on a responsible, or indeed simply legal path, were revealed during the Ukraine-related impeachment hearings. … [Read more...] about For Joe Biden, an experienced foreign policy team

Cawthorn — now armed with a handgun, he said — took shelter in the office of a colleague. “It was a great bonding experience,” he said. “But it literally felt like a scene from The Lord of the Rings. You kind of see the orcs — Helm’s Deep, or taking over Minas Tirith, whatever — it just looks like the enemy is on something that they’re not supposed to be on … And the worst part was they’re all waving these American flags and these MAGA flags, and you want to say, ‘You don’t represent me at all. That’s not my movement. You’re not part of my party one bit if you’re taking this kind of extreme action.’ One can say, ‘You can only push somebody so much, and they watched the Black Lives Matter people do this all summer,’ blah blah blah — but at the end of the day, there’s no excuse for it.” … [Read more...] about What Madison Cawthorn Saw at the Insurrection

He said Boris Johnson had spent the last few years “cosying up to people who don’t have Britain’s interests at heart – thumbing his nose at our friends, breaking international law and courting the idea that he’s ‘Britain’s Trump’”. … [Read more...] about Keir Starmer outlines ‘optimistic’ future for UK with Biden as president

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden on Saturday filled out his State Department team with a group of former career diplomats and veterans of the Obama administration, signaling his desire to return to a more traditional foreign policy after four years of uncertainty and unpredictability under President Donald Trump. … [Read more...] about Biden fills out State Department team with Obama veterans

Microsoft was able to prevent an attack on a policy aide for Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill last year. California congressional candidates Hans Keirstead and David Min, who were both defeated in neighboring districts, and Alabama congressional candidate Tabitha Isner have also faced similar attacks over the past year. The methods of the attacks were either through repeated attempts to hack into the candidates' campaign websites or through email phishing attacks. While it's not known for certain whether the attacks on Keirstead and Min were at the hands of Russians, the style resembled the Russian attacks on McCaskill and Isner. … [Read more...] about Election Hacking: Security Upgrades Are Too Little, Too Late for 2018 Midterms, and Race is Already on for 2020, Experts Say