Former President Bill Clinton claims health care reform is good politics, but the Senate must act fast and pass health care reform. Clinton, speaking with Senators at a luncheon today, said the worst thing Democrats could do is nothing.
http://bit.ly/3m4ZesFormer President Bill Clinton claims health care reform is good politics, but the... more
Former President Bill Clinton is to attend a luncheon with Senate democrats to heed the warning that if they fail to pass the health care bill, they will suffer on election day. A notice has been sent out that read, "All Senators should be aware that former President Clinton will be making a presentation on Health Care at tomorrow's caucus lunch. Senator Reid has requested that all Democratic Senators attend."
UPDATE: A debate between former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush was canceled, according to the New York Post, after the event's promoter advertised it as "uncensored, unedited and unpredictable."
"This event ... was supposed to be a discussion between the two former presidents, and has been canceled because it was not being billed as such by an overeager promoter," said Matt McKenna, a spokesman for Clinton.
STORY ARCHIVE: Bill Clinton and George W. Bush have agreed to a "smackdown" at Radio City Music Hall.
Well, there is not likely to be any head butting, but the two former presidents have agreed to debate foreign policy, economics and other issues of the day on the same platform on Feb. 25, 2010, according to MSG Entertainment, which bills the event as "The Hottest Ticket in Political History."
The debate, which will include a question-and-answer segment with an as-yet unnamed moderator, is part of MSG's speaker's series known called "Minds That Move the World."
Tickets will range from $60 to $1,250, with the upper-end including a cocktail reception before the event.
Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will go head to head in a debate at Radio City Music Hall next February, as part of a series pairing liberal and conservative thinkers called "Minds That Move The World."
The hype over a scheduled debate between former President Clinton and former President Bush -- which was billed as, "part of a series pairing liberal and conservative thinkers called '"Minds That Move The World,"' lasted less than a day. Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna quickly put an end to the fury this evening.
Mckenna said that an overeager promoter, seeking what, we may never know, hyped the event far beyond what it actually was. The Clinton aide is quotes as saying that there was really a scheduled event planned but it was supposed to be, "a discussion between the two former presidents." This news will obviously comes as disappointment to people who were looking for a knock down, drag out brawl in New York. It's probably a letdown for the promoter as well, seeing as they had priced tickets at $1,250 a pop.
It should be noted that as of 7:25 Eastern Time the Bush camp has not responded to a call for comment.
PRISTINA, Kosovo – Thousands of ethnic Albanians braved low temperatures and a cold wind in Kosovo's capital Pristina to welcome former President Bill Clinton on Sunday as he attended the unveiling of an 11-foot (3.5-meter) statue of himself on a key boulevard that also bears his name
Clinton is celebrated as a hero by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority for launching NATO's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999 that stopped the brutal Serb forces' crackdown on independence-seeking ethnic Albanians.
This is his first visit to Kosovo since it declared independence from Serbia last year.
Many waved American, Albanian and Kosovo flags and chanted "USA!" as the former president climbed on top of a podium with his poster in the background reading "Kosovo honors a hero."
Some peeked out of balconies and leaned on window sills to get a better view of Clinton from their apartment blocks.
To thunderous applause Clinton waved to the crowd as the red cover was pulled off from the statue.http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ap_on_re_eu/eu_kosovo_bill_clinton
PRISTINA, Kosovo –... more
Thousands of ethnic Albanians braved low temperatures and a cold wind in Kosovo's capital Pristina to welcome former President Bill Clinton on Sunday as he attended the unveiling of an 11-foot statue of himself on a key boulevard that also bears his name.
Clinton is celebrated as a hero by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority for launching NATO's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999 that stopped the brutal Serb forces' crackdown on independence-seeking ethnic Albanians.
This is his first visit to Kosovo since it declared independence from Serbia last year.
The year 1998 was dominated by the saga of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, but it also saw two horrific killings that led to a new federal law signed by President Obama.The year 1998 was dominated by the saga of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, but it... more
For a genuine presidential war on the press, see the one FDR waged in the 1930s.
How touchy can you get?
The White House fires a few pop-guns in the direction of Fox News Channel, and suddenly everybody from Louis Menand in The New Yorker to Michael Scherer in Time to Charles Krauthammer in the Washington Post is heralding the Obama administration's declaration of war on Rupert Murdoch's cable station.
The direct declaration came not from Barack Obama, but underlings Anita Dunn, who called Fox the communications arm of the GOP; David Axelrod, who said Fox isn't really a news station; and Rahm Emanuel, who invoked the president's views to say, "It's not a news organization so much as it has a perspective." The closest His Obamaness has come to criticizing Fox on the record was in June, when he complained of "one television station that is entirely devoted to attacking my administration."
o get a genuine picture of what a war on the press looks like, you can't fan the pages of Nexis for grouchy things George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, or even Richard Nixon said about reporters, newspapers, and networks. You've got to go back to the 1930s, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt raged against the press like noisy clockwork.
Roosevelt's fury couldn't have been more displaced, in part because newspapers and reporters received him like a conquering hero after his 1932 election, reports Graham J. White in his 1979 book, FDR and the Press:
The initial victory of Franklin Roosevelt over the Washington press was swift and glorious. Demonstrating a virtuosity that amazed them, the new president took the Capital correspondents by storm, winning, from the outset, their affection and admiration; securing, over the crucial early stages of the New Deal, their allegiance and support.
Roosevelt especially disliked "interpretive reporting," which Time and Newsweek were popularizing, writes Betty Houchin Winfield in her 1990 book, FDR and the News Media. Roosevelt recoiled when a reporter asked him what interpretive angle the president would take if he were to write a piece about the Democratic Party's 1934 landslide victory. "I think it is a mistake for newspapers to go over into that field in the news stories," Roosevelt said. His prescription for what reporters should do for readers: "Give them the facts and nothing else." (One can almost see Dunn and Axelrod giving Fox the same advice.)
The president reserved his greatest disdain for press proprietors, whom he blamed for what he considered unfair and distorted coverage. "It is not the reporter" who is responsible for "colored news stories and the failure on the part of some papers to print the news," Roosevelt said in December 1935. "It goes back to the owner of the paper."For a genuine presidential war on the press, see the one FDR waged in the 1930s.... more
By ROBERT BURNS
AP National Security Writer
ISLAMABAD (AP) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton opened a three-day visit to Pakistan on Wednesday, praising the government for pressing a high-risk military offensive against extremist forces in a volatile region near the Afghan border.
"I give the Pakistani government and military high marks for taking them on," she said. "That wasn't what they were doing before."
Speaking to reporters traveling with her from Washington, Clinton said she would seek an update from Pakistani officials on their military campaign in South Waziristan, which began Oct. 17. She said the campaign has important ramifications for the struggle against Islamic extremism.
"Clearly these people are allies in a network of terrorism that includes al-Qaida and therefore we believe that what the Pakistanis are doing in standing up to extremism in Pakistan is in our national security interests," Clinton said.
Last spring Clinton raised eyebrows in some quarters by telling Congress that the Pakistani government was abdicating to the Taliban and other extremist groups by not taking them on militarily.
Clinton said her visit is intended to convey the Obama administration's support for Pakistan - not just its military efforts but also its cooperation with Washington on a range of other issues, including the war in Afghanistan.
Clinton said the relations between Islamabad and Washington developed a lot of "scar tissue" over the years.
"We are turning the page on what has been for the past several years primarily a security, anti-terrorist agenda," she told reporters on the flight from Washington. Anti-terrorism "remains a very high priority, but we also recognize that it's imperative that we broaden our engagement with Pakistan," to include issues like education, energy and employment.
Clinton also hoped to put a better face on the U.S. image among Pakistan's predominantly Muslim population, where anti-Americanism is running high. To that end, she was scheduling an unusually large number of interviews with a range of Pakistani media.
"It is fair to say there have been a lot of misconceptions about what the United States intends for our relationship with Pakistan," she said, adding, "It is unfortunate there are those who question our motives. I want to clear the air."
In addition to the U.S. partnership with Islamabad in fending off insurgent efforts to destabilize the government, Washington sees Pakistan as central to its strategy in neighboring Afghanistan. Taliban militants seeking to overthrow the government in Kabul find haven on the Pakistani side of the border.By ROBERT BURNS
AP National Security Writer
ISLAMABAD (AP) -- U.S. Secretary of... more
Author Paul Slansky provides a guided tour of the torrid realm of public life. Politics and sex, elected officials getting caught with their pants down, makes for interesting reading in The Little Quiz Book of Big Political Sex Scandals.Author Paul Slansky provides a guided tour of the torrid realm of public life.... more
Lewis and Clark brought two bear cubs to Thomas Jefferson, and Martin Van Buren had tiger cubs. Perhaps most interesting was the alligator that John Quincy Adams kept in a bathtub. But the most popular pets, as one might expect, are dogs and cats.Lewis and Clark brought two bear cubs to Thomas Jefferson, and Martin Van Buren had... more
A former "Late Show" intern came forward Saturday to say she is one of David Letterman's former flings.
"I was madly in love with him at the time," Holly Hester told TMZ.com. "I would have married him. He was hilarious."(New York Daily News)
A former "Late Show" intern came forward Saturday to say she... more
I write to you, America, as a Muslim-American who is frustrated at seeing both sides of my identity spreading myths about each other. In part one of this two part article, I address America from a Muslim perspective. In part two, which will follow in the coming weeks, I shall write to the Muslim community, from an American perspective.
Dear America,
Our world today is assaulted with myriad headlines describing rising extremism and terrorism, and political instability in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Middle East. Despite the plethora of bad news, most recently we have seen a day of hope marked by the end of Ramadan, where Muslims from all nations, social classes, and sects openly united in the spirit of humility, brotherhood, thankfulness, and peace.
As human beings, you and me have a tendency to let the negative marginalize the good and the true. But in this Ramadan the unity and the message of peace and humility that nearly a billion Muslims have exhibited should not go unnoticed, nor should it be underestimated.
America, even though you are part of us (Muslims) and we are a part of you, you often fear and misunderstand the one thing that unites the billion of us around the world is peace, love, and spiritual strength. You fear our religion, Islam. I write the following to not accuse anyone or apologize on behalf of any group. In part one of this article, I speak to you America, as one Muslim who is part of the majority of Muslims standing against the Ahmedinijads, Bin Ladens, and Taliban and Al Qaeda. These men have stolen my voice... our voice. The actions of a violent minority have for too long trumped the selfless and righteous actions of the moderate majority who do good in the name of Islam.
Firstly, Muslims are not a violent people and Islam is not a violent religion. I fear you overlook the fact that the faith of Muslims has been monopolized by the corrupt despots of Muslim countries and Muslim extremists. And it is the extremists whose power is bolstered by a media that has paralyzed the voice of the Muslim majority, who in fact abhor violence and terrorism.
It can be confusing even to me because on one side we only see Muslim extremists on the TV preaching hate in the name of Islam and we barely hear the majority. As I will touch on in part two of this article, Muslims have even marginalized themselves. But America, Muslims are a community of over a billion people, most of whom live in poverty within developing countries governed by oppressive, abusive, authoritarian regimes. These very regimes remain bunkered against an alienated group of extremists who are taking to the gun instead of a potentially rigged ballot. It is our mothers and daughters and sons who are being killed on a daily basis by either violent extremists or botched missile attacks by NATO. We are against violence and terrorism America, be it from Muslim extremists or NATO bombs. We are against violence because it is we who are the primary target of most terrorist attacks today. And while we may disagree with your military actions and policies, we look up to the principles that make up America... I speak of the freedom to be critical of yourself as a society and government; the opportunities awarded by the most comprehensive education system in the world; and your effortless ability to adapt in an ever transforming world.
Bill Clinton is speaking out, claiming the vast right wing conspiracy is alive and well, and working towards President Obama's failure. Clinton may be stating the obvious, but his remarks are an important attempt to set the record straight.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Is the vast right wing conspiracy real, or a figment of Clinton's imagination?Bill Clinton is speaking out, claiming the vast right wing conspiracy is alive and... more
On Monday, USA Today ran a front-page article on the soon-to-be-released book chronicling a series of secret interviews Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor Branch held with President Bill Clinton throughout the Clinton presidency. The piece focused on a bizarre episode in which Russian President Boris Yeltsin during a visit to Washington in 1995 ended up in his underwear and drunk on Pennsylvania Avenue, trying to hail a cab. As for the Lewinsky affair, Clinton told Branch, he "just cracked" under political and personal pressures. USA Today also noted that Clinton and Al Gore had an explosive conversation following the 2000 election. But the newspaper provided only a few details on this meeting.
I've obtained a copy of the book, and that encounter, as Clinton recalled it to Branch, was more than dramatic; it was also weird.
During the discussion, Clinton told his vice president that he was disappointed that Gore had not used him in the last ten days of the 2000 campaign in strategically significant states--Arkansas, Tennessee, New Hampshire, and Missouri. But Clinton said he could understand that. What was more upsetting for him, Clinton remarked to Gore, was that Gore had not crafted a more winning message during the campaign, that he had not campaigned on any grand themes. Clinton insisted to Gore that he hadn't cared about how Gore had referred to Clinton—and his personal scandal—during the campaign. Paraphasing this portion of the conversation, Branch writes that Clinton told Gore, "To gain votes, he would let Gore cut off his ear and mail it to reporter Michael Isikoff of Newsweek, the Monica Lewinsky expert."
At one point in the conversation, Gore told Clinton that he was still traumatized by having been caught up in the fundraising scandals of the 1996 Clinton reelection campaign, and he indicated that he blamed Clinton. Clinton could hardly believe this, and he told Branch that Gore was probably in shock from the election or unhinged, remarking, "I thought he was in Neverland."
In this same conversation, Gore pressed Clinton for an explanation of his affair with Lewinsky, noting that Gore had stood by him throughout the ordeal without Clinton ever confiding in him. There was little to say, Clinton replied. But Clinton did say that he was sorry. Gore responded that that this was the first time Clinton had apologized to him personally. This angered Clinton, who countered that he was only repeating what he had already said publicly. Moreover, Clinton noted, Hillary had more to resent that Gore did, and she had just campaigned successfully for Senate by unabashedly citing the Clinton-Gore record—not running away from it. Gore responded with his own anger, insisting that Clinton's character had been at the root of his failure to win the White House. Clinton acknowledged that he had not confessed to those closest to him, but that he was glad he had not talked more about the affair, for that would have made the controversy even worse.
The 707-page book, titled The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President, is a fascinating read, full of the most inside information on the policy fights, political tussles, and personal controversies of the Clinton years. I haven't finished the book, but here are other intriguing portions that caught my attention:
(click the link)On Monday, USA Today ran a front-page article on the soon-to-be-released book... more
“So why did the Israeli government boycott the commission? The real answer is quite simple: they knew full well that the commission, any commission, would have to reach the conclusions it did reach.”
--------------
The important points come near the end: that the rather conservative findings of the report (and its acceptance of Israel’s dubious right to self-defense–dubious because Gaza is effectively occupied), have acted as a "bombshell" in Israel because Goldstone calls for action, and because the report contributes to the fraying of Jewish support for Israel and to the "Legitimacy War" that Israel has been losing in the eyes of the world. "A historic contribution" to the Palestinian struggle for justice, Falk concludes.
-------------
Uri Avnery (Israeli peace activist, and former Knesset member), “On the Goldstone Report” 19 Sept 2009
Richard Goldstone, former judge of South Aftica’s Constitutional Court, the first prosecutor at The Hague on behalf of the International Criminal Court for Former Yugolavia, and anti-apartheid campaigner reports that he was most reluctant to take on the job of chairing the UN fact-finding mission charged with investigating allegations of war crimes committed by Israel and Hamas during the three week Gaza War of last winter. Goldstone explains that his reluctance was due to the issue being “deeply charged and politically loaded,” and was overcome because he and his fellow commissioners were “professionals committed to an objective, fact-based investigation,” adding that “above all, I accepted because I believe deeply in the rule of law and the laws of war,” as well as the duty to protect civilians to the extent possible in combat zones. The four-person fact-finding mission was composed of widely respected and highly qualified individuals, including the distinguished international law scholar, Christine Chinkin, a professor at the London School of Economics. Undoubtedly adding complexity to Goldstone’s decision is the fact that he is Jewish, with deep emotional and family ties to Israel and Zionism, bonds solidified by his long association with several organizations active in Israel.
Despite the impeccable credentials of the commission members, and the worldwide reputation of Richard Goldstone as a person of integrity and political balance, Israel refused cooperation from the outset. It did not even allow the UN undertaking to enter Israel or the Palestinian Territories, forcing reliance on the Egyptian government to facilitate entry at Rafah to Gaza. As Uri Avnery observes, however much Israel may attack the commission report as one-sided and unfair, the only plausible explanation of its refusal to cooperate with fact-finding and taking the opportunity to tell its side of the story was that it had nothing to tell that could hope to overcome the overwhelming evidence of the Israeli failure to carry out its attacks on Gaza last winter in accordance with the international law of war. No credible international commission could reach any set of conclusions other than those reached by the Goldstone Report on the central allegations.
In substantive respects the Goldstone Report adds nothing new. Its main contribution is to confirm widely reported and analyzed Israeli military practices during the Gaza War. There had been several reliable reports already issued, condemning Israel’s tactics as violations of the laws of war and international humanitarian law, including by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and a variety of respected Israeli human rights groups. Journalists and senior United Nations civil servants had reached similar conclusions. Perhaps, most damning of all the material available before the Goldstone Report was the publication of a document entitled “Breaking the Silence,” containing commentaries by thirty members of the Israel Defense Forces---continued below“So why did the Israeli government boycott the commission? The real answer is quite... more
The United Nations nuclear assembly voted on Friday to urge Israel to accede to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and place all atomic sites under the world body's inspections, in a surprise victory for Arab states.
The resolution, passed narrowly for the first time in nearly two decades, expresses concern about "Israeli nuclear capabilities" and calls on the International Atomic Energy Agency chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, to work on the issue.
The Middle East resolution, sponsored by Arab states, was backed by 49 votes to 45 against in a floor vote at the IAEA's annual member states conference. The vote split along Western and developing nation lines. There were 16 abstentions.
-----------------more at the link
Its about time... the worlds starting to wake up to Israels arrogance .The United Nations nuclear assembly voted on Friday to urge Israel to accede to the... more
In a landmark decision, Britain’s trade unions have voted overwhelmingly to commit to build a mass boycott movement, disinvestment and sanctions on Israel for a negotiated settlement based on justice for Palestinians.
The motion was passed at the 2009 TUC Annual Congress in Liverpool today (17 September), by unions representing 6.5 million workers across the UK.
---------------more at link
Its growing every day. Israel needs to change her way, not yesterday-today.
“Non-violence is not inaction. It is not discussion. It is not for the timid or weak… Non-violence is hard work. It is the willingness to sacrifice. It is the patience to win.” César Estrada Chávez (1927 – 1993) was an American labor leader, and civil rights activist.In a landmark decision, Britain’s trade unions have voted overwhelmingly to commit... more
In a document published by The Israel Project entitled “The Israel Project’s 2009 Global Language Dictionary”, Dr Frank Luntz unmasks a modern-day propaganda campaign that would have made Napoleon and Machiavelli proud. He writes:
There is NEVER, EVER, any justification for the deliberate slaughter of innocent women and children. NEVER. The primary Palestinian public relations goal is to demonstrate that the so-called “hopelessness of the oppressed Palestinians” is what causes them to go out and kill children. This must be challenged immediately, aggressively, and directly.
The emotional appeal to saving children works, but the appeal is based on two lies:
(1) that Palestinians generally (not only suicide bomber extremists) are the ones who kill children, while Israelis (not individual extremists, but Israel's armed forces) never slaughter Palestinian children.
(2) The second falsehood is that the Palestinians have a public relations goal that must be challenged when, in fact, the Palestinians have proven to be hopeless and goalless when it comes to public relations. Unlike Frank Luntz, the Palestinians have no effective PR voices. They can't even get their ambassador in the UK to speak out to the British public about Israel’s lies and propaganda.
--------------------story at link
Americans AND the world needs to take note. If we allow this lobby to regain their power in America, the wold loses. Just look at their campaign...excerpts are within this information at the link as well as a rightful and truthful analysts.
Lets do away with the rhetoric and hate towards people. If the right and Israel really wants peace, they would have a better attitude. Peace has always been in Israels hands, but if it is not benefiting Israel, they figure who needs peace when war and killing gives us more.In a document published by The Israel Project entitled “The Israel Project’s 2009... more
