Hillary's Great Red Diplomatic Moment presenting a gift to Russian FM Sergei Lavrov with a wrong Russian word inscribed will no doubt get some flunky tossed to the sharks off the east coast of Florida. Seems Ms. 3 AM Phone Call used the Russian word peregruzka, thinking she was saying "reset"s in resetting the US-Russian relationship after the Bad Bush 43 Daze. She asked Lavrov if she had gotten the right word and Sergei, no gentleman he, replied that she had not. The word the Foggy Bottom Diplo-Flacks chose, it seems, means "overcharge"--think what Russia does to its natural gas customers in Europe. Check out the 29-second video clip, in which HC says "We worked hard to get the right Russian word...."
As for making nice with nasties, soldier-blogger Michael Totten offers examples of nasties playing nice and warns that "the personal is not political" in diplomacy. Good advice--given in English, so no translator needed. Meanwhile, Iran test-fired a new air-to-surface antiship missile that could be used to close the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, through which most European & Japanese (and Chinese) oil passes. Not to worry, though, as it was a nice missile.
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