My colleague Will Dobson already explained earlier today just how uncomfortable things are going to be tonight when President Obama arrives for his dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the wake of the steady NSA leaks we’ve seen in the past 48 hours. But with the Guardian’s latest scoop this afternoon—detailing Obama’s previously-secret request for a list of possible cyber-targets—things moved one big step closer to Peak Awkwardness for the international duo. At this point, with only hours to go before the much-anticipated meeting, the only way things could get even more awkward is if the Sunnylands Retreat offers complimentary copies of this week’s Brokeback Mountain-themed Economist:
Cover of this week’s The Economist
You can read the full Economist cover story here, which appears to have gone to print before the NSA story hijacked the news cycle.
Read more on Slate about the NSA’s secret snooping programs, and follow @JoshVoorhees and the rest of the @slatest team on Twitter.
