Peace, Just Not There

The Middle East once again threatens to boil over: Israel, Egypt, Syria, Libya, Iran, Iraq---there's no conflict-free zone. Elsewhere, however, there are nascent signs of peace.

Google and Apple are talking about resolving all litigation [bold added]:

The companies have been exchanging proposals on using binding arbitration to reach a licensing agreement over patents that are essential to comply with industry standards on how phones operate. Such an agreement could lead to a global settlement of all of their patent disputes, Apple said in a Nov. 15 filing.

Stocks rose on Friday after signals from both parties that the impasse over the "fiscal cliff" may be resolved:

the top lawmakers emerged from the White House meeting, which lasted more than an hour, with uncharacteristic optimism that they would reach a deal in coming weeks. [snip]

Leaders from both parties and aides to Mr. Obama said they agreed to make concessions to achieve a deal. For Democrats, that included a willingness to curb entitlement programs, such as Medicare. For Republicans that meant a willingness to raise tax revenue.

Of course, the devil is in the details, but at this point any deal is better than no deal. Let's hope that the emotion surrounding Thanksgiving next week is one of gratitude, not fear or disappointment. © 2012 Stephen Yuen

"He loved that part of the world, he loved the people, he spoke the languages and he really loved his job."

Chronicle photo

His murder marks a possible turning point, not only for this year's Presidential campaign, but also for America's entire Middle Eastern policy. Before his death becomes a symbol and rallying cry in the coming weeks, let's take a moment to honor the man.

Ambassador Christopher Stevens grew up in Piedmont and went to UC-Berkeley and Hastings Law School. Son of a cellist and stepson of a well-known music critic, Ambassador Stevens was destined for a life in the foreign service:

He could often be found practicing his Arabic, studying Middle Eastern history or rehearsing lines for musicals at Cal - in which he often played characters with a maturity beyond his years, said Austin Tichenor, a childhood friend and Berkeley classmate.

"He had a gravitas about him, which suited him well in the foreign service, I suspect," Tichenor said. "It always tickled me to see him do official State Department speeches because he's so serious, he has his ambassador face on. But when you got him one-on-one, he was just funny."

John McCain:

"Chris Stevens is one of the finest people I've ever known in my life," McCain said. "He loved the Libyan people. They loved him. He and I were down there on election night and people were saying, 'Thank You America.'"

"I guarantee you the one thing Chris Stevens did not want is for us to abandon Libya."