 |  | 
September 18, 2012 | | 47 PERCENT GAFFE Sure it was a dumb move for Romney to denounce half of America when he claimed that “47 percent” of Americans are dependent on the government. But he was just channeling today’s GOP, writes The Daily Beast’s Michael Tomasky. DEADLY Fourteen people were killed Tuesday in a suicide bomb attack on a minivan carrying foreign workers near the airport in Kabul. The assailants were female. Afghan militants said the bombing is in retaliation for an amateur anti-Islamic U.S. film Innocence of Muslims, which has caused worldwide protests for more than a week, including an attack in Benghazi that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans. Meanwhile, U.S military announced on Monday that it would be ending the joint missions between U.S. and British troops on Afghan trainees after a deadly attack over the weekend that killed four Americans and two British soldiers. CRISIS What’s unfolding in the Mideast has the makings of a perfect storm in foreign policy. But as the world burns, the president fiddles, writes Niall Ferguson in Newsweek. BAIN-OUT There could be more damage to Mitt Romney than just the now-infamous “47 percent” remark. The Obama campaign on Monday attacked the Romney camp over a leaked campaign video where the Republican nominee brags about touring a Chinese factory as president of Bain Capital—and Romney’s campaign gave an official “no comment” on the story. In the video Romney describes the company as having crowded workers into crowded dormitories behind barbed wire while paying them only a pittance compared with American wages. Romney’s had a somewhat strained relationship with China, a point Vice President Joe Biden hit hard on the campaign trail on Monday, quoting the Chinese state media criticizing Romney’s claims of a hard line on trade between the two countries. SCANDAL A former police chief in China on Tuesday admitted that he defected and said he did not contest charges of bribe taking and illegal surveillance, a court official said. Wang Lijun, the former police chief in southwest Chongqing province, who exposed the cover-up of the death of a British businessman in February by going to the U.S. consulate, allegedly admitted in court that he tried to conceal the murder of the businessman by former party boss Bo Xilai’s wife, according to an official account of the trial. Foreign reporters were barred from attending the trial. Many have speculated that Wang would say Bo had ordered the cover-up—signaling more charges are to come for Bo. | | 
GET The Cheat Sheet A speedy, smart summary of news and must-reads from across the Web. You'll love the featured original stories on politics, entertainment, and more from The Daily Beast's diverse group of contributors.  GET Culture Beast Weekly cultural recommendations from The Daily Beast.
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment