All stories about "Politics"

Paul Mecurio is comedy's resident virtuoso; after graduating with high honors from Georgetown Law, Paul ditched a bright future in law for ... well, an even brighter career in comedy. He's even got awards to prove it. Let's see the firm Willkie, Farr and Gallagher hand out Emmys. We caught him in a brief moment between shows in the midwest and two headlining nights at New York's Comix (this Friday 26 and Saturday 27) and got him to dish on politics and why he's gotta have his 3am hot dogs with a side of "coffee milk."

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On Monday Billionaire incumbent Silvio Berlusconi won a third term as Italy's Prime Minister. The eyelifted conservative presented "an unexpectedly strong mandate to deal with deep economic and social problems." Most Italians are disillusioned with the county's current political situation and "doubt any government can quickly cure the ills of the European Union's fourth-largest economy." [Reuters]

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Last year's Miss Teen South Carolina isn't the only American in need of a lesson in geography. Stephen Hadley, the US National Security Advisor, seemingly doesn't know the difference between Tibet and Nepal. In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News' "This Week," when asked about President George W. Bush's attending the Beijing Olympics and his reaction to recent anti-Chinese/pro-Tibetan protests, Hadley refers to "Nepal" a handful of times but doesn't once mention Tibet.

Of course everyone makes mistakes, but this man is in charge of national security. Hadley has pretty much avoided the spotlight since following in Condoleeza's footsteps and taking his current gig. I guess now we know why. Video after the jump. [via; photo of Tibet map: o2ma]

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Swedish liquormaker Absolut Vodka has pulled an ad showing a map of North America from before the US stole nearly half of Mexico's land during the Mexican-American War and the Annexation of Texas. The ad only ran South of the border, but it managed to draw the ire of conservatives who watch Mexico's every move because they are scared of brown people. Thank god Absolut didn't dare to make an ad wishing anyone "Happy Holidays," then the right-wing culture warriors really would have been pissed. There's no word on whether or not Bill O'Reilly or Lou Dobbs is trying to start a movement to build a fence between the US and Scandinavia yet, but I'd recommend stocking up on lutefisk and cheap modish furniture just in case. [Yahoo News]

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France's President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has said that he will not attend the opening ceremony at this summer's Beijing Olympics unless "China opens a dialogue with the Dalai Lama." The ultimatum is one of three Sarkozy that has committed to. The French Elvis incarnate also asked that any violence against Tibetans be stopped, a clarification be made of recent Tibetan events, and political prisoners be released. [CNN]

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Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is finding himself at the center of a controversy for the second time in recent weeks. In mid-March, after pushing forward a $50 million campaign against teens' binge drinking, Rudd was publicly reminded of his "own drunken escapade" at a New York City strip club, Scores, back in 2003. Now, "the bookish and church-going" Rudd is making headlines for greeting US President George W. Bush with a "playful military-style salute" while the two were in Romania for a NATO meeting. Australian news sources have played the clip above over and over again, with some saying that the move "screams deputy sheriff" (a reference to the sensitive subject of Australia's troops in Afghanistan).

The gesture has offended some, who believe the salute was both unprofessional and "carried a subservient connotation many Australians won't like." One Australian Youtube member, who goes by dinxbeau, has created not one, not two, but four different response videos picturing Rudd as Hitler, Darth Vader and Superman, as well as one inspired by "Saturday Night Fever." See Rudd as Hitler and Superman after the jump. [BBC]

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NATO has denied both Georgia's and Ukraine's requests for membership. The international alliance, which currently has 26 members, "was split amid strong objections from Russia." Moscow's position is that granting Ukraine membership would be a "huge strategic mistake" for pan-European security, and Germany and France agrees. The US, however, had asked that Georgia, Ukraine, and Macedonia be approved for entry. Albania and Croatia, on the other hand, have been allowed entry. Separately, France's President Nicolas Sarkozy said that his country will return to the NATO military command, which was abandoned in 1966 as a "protest at the dominance of US commanders." [BBC]

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In the latest political sex scandal to hit headlines, Finland's Foreign Minister has been sacked for his bad behavior. Ilkka Kanerva was fired yesterday after Finnish media outlets published excerpts from over 200 suggestive text messages the politician had sent an erotic dancer. Over four decades his junior, the leader of the Scandinavian Dolls dance troupe, Johanna Tukiainen (pictured here), sold the text messages to the gossip magazine Hymy back in March. This comes three years after Kanerva, while deputy speaker of the parliament, received an "official rebuke" for "bombarding two models with text messages." While Finland has in the past been patient with politician's infidelities, "Kanerva's texting has proved his undoing because it has raised the hackles of Finland's long suffering women." Another one bites the dust. [Spiegel]

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