tagged w/ President Obama
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By Eriq Gardnercurrent.com
Tonight, President Barack Obama delivers the fourth and last State of the Union in his first term. The speech is being delivered amid intense partisan bickering and an economy that might be improving, but still is a long ways off from delivering anything near equality and stability for the country’s 300-plus million citizens.
What to expect? No doubt the rhetoric will be sharp, and the pomp and grandeur high. Will it be powerful as well? Lyndon B. Johnson, who delivered the first SOTU in primetime, once complained that his speechwriters had given him “50 pages of vomit.” We’ll trust Obama’s keen sense of oratory won’t let that happen. Will it be succinct? Jimmy Carter’s last SOTU was 33,667 words long and Bill Clinton once droned on for nearly an hour-and-a-half. Unfortunately, in past SOTUs, Obama has shared the tendencies by his Democratic predecessors to go long. Will it be entertaining? Harry Truman in 1947 was the first one to give his SOTU on television, and unfortunately, the production values haven’t greatly improved since then.
But there’s still reason to tune into Obama’s big speech tonight for the chance it will be memorable.
Here are some big things to watch tonight:
By Eriq Gardnercurrent.com
Tonight, President Barack Obama delivers the... more
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By Reuters
Monday, January 23, 2012
GENEVA (Reuters) – The United States is still flouting international law at Guantanamo Bay, despite President Barack Obama’s election pledge to shut the facility, the United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay said on Monday.
“It is ten years since the U.S. Government opened the prison at Guantanamo, and now three years since 22 January 2009, when the President ordered its closure within twelve months. Yet the facility continues to exist and individuals remain arbitrarily detained – indefinitely – in clear breach of international law,” Pillay said in a statement.
Former President George W. Bush set up the camp at a U.S. naval base in Cuba after U.S.-led forces invaded Afghanistan to expel al Qaeda which had launched the September 11 attacks in 2001.
Eight prisoners have died at Guantanamo, two deaths ascribed to natural causes and the rest classified as suicides, and many detainees have said they were tortured. Only six trials have been completed in 10 years.
“While fully recognizing the right and duty of states to protect their people and territory from terrorist acts, I remind all branches of the U.S. government of their obligation under international human rights law to ensure that individuals deprived of their liberty can have the lawfulness of their detention reviewed before a court,” Pillay said.
“Where credible evidence exists against Guantanamo detainees, they should be charged and prosecuted. Otherwise, they must be released.”
Obama had planned to move some detainees to the United States, but Congress blocked funding for that plan and tightly restricted all transfers out, demanding his administration must notify congressional intelligence committees and guarantee the prisoner will not engage in terrorism.
Pillay urged Congress to enable the administration to close the camp.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/23/u-s-flouts-law-at-guantanamo-despite-obama-vow-u-n/
(Reporting by Tom Miles)
"So how bout it BO... Got anymore BS Campaign Slogans???"By Reuters
Monday, January 23, 2012
GENEVA (Reuters) – The United States is... more
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KB723
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4 months ago
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Back at the height of the massive Gulf oil spill in 2010, there was quite a bit of controversy about just how much crude was blasting out of the well. According to new documents that a watchdog group released on Monday, there was heated debate among the scientists who evaluated the flow rate as well.
For the first few weeks after the spill began in April 2010, BP misled the public about how big it was, and the government repeated BP's estimate without question. And when the government released its own estimate in late May of up to 25,000 barrels per day, that too was controversial—and proved to be far lower than the actual size, which was more like 53,000 barrels of oil per day.
Now, an email released by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) traces efforts to downplay the spill size in the initial weeks back to the White House. The group released a May 29, 2010 email from Dr. Marcia McNutt, the director of the US Geologic Survey and head of the government's Flow Rate Technical Group (FRTG), that was released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. The email came after scientists on the flow-rate team complained to McNutt about how the spill figures were conveyed to the press, and in response she cited pressure from the White House as the reason the numbers were low-balled. Rather than reporting that the lower-end estimate of the spill was 25,000 barrels per day, officials cited that figure as the higher-end estimate:
"I cannot tell you what a nightmare the past two days have been dealing with the communications people at the White House, DOI, and the NIC who seem incapable of understanding the concept of a lower bound. The press release that went out on our results was misleading and was not reviewed by a scientist for accuracy."
McNutt's email reportedly came in response to complaints from scientists on the team about how the flow rate had been handled. PEER also filed a complaint against Dr. William Lehr, a scientist at the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) who was the team lead for the FRTG's plume analysis team. PEER argues that Lehr "manipulated the scientific results" of the team's experts and understated the spill rate in what it communicated. From PEER's release on the complaint:
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Lehr was leader of one of the most important FRTG teams, the “Plume Team” which analyzed videos of the oil leaks to produce the first estimates. Three of the 13 Plume Team experts used a technique called Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to estimate a leak rate in the range of 25,000 bpd. But three other experts on the Plume Team reported that PIV was underestimating the size of the leak by more than 50%. Those three experts used a different technology to correctly peg the leak rate at 50,000 to 60,000 bpd.
Yet Lehr did not tell the public or key decision makers that there was a deep split on the Plume Team. In the Plume Team’s Final Report, the body of which Lehr wrote, he reported that "most of the Plume Team used PIV" which produced “consistent and accurate” estimates. These underestimates were repeated to the public and media.
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The government was also criticized for its handling of an August 2010 report on where the oil went, for which Lehr also served as the lead scientist. (I've requested comment from NOAA and the White House, and will update this post to reflect that when I receive it.) UPDATE: Scott Smullen, a spokesman for NOAA, said it is "not appropriate to comment" on this matter because it is still in litigation.
It's not entirely clear from PEER's release, though, what was real reason for the inaccurate figures—a single scientist giving inaccurate information, the White House pressuring him to do so, or the White House screwing up the reporting of the figures. Whatever it was, it resulted in the public getting a dramatically inaccurate impression about the size of the spill.Back at the height of the massive Gulf oil spill in 2010, there was quite a bit of... more
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Boris Rasin is a Brooklyn-based multimedia artist. He has shown his paintings, drawings, installations and public interventions in numerous galleries and festivals. He is a founding member of the art collective Concerned New Yorkers. His political cartoons have appeared in numerous blogs, including Gothamist, as well as the Funny Times. Boris is a graduate of the Cooper Union School of Art (05).Boris Rasin is a Brooklyn-based multimedia artist. He has shown his paintings,... more
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I thought this was pretty cool.
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Why have we not heard more about this? This guy needs out support for his willingness to stand up for the rest of us on NDAA.Why have we not heard more about this? This guy needs out support for his willingness... more
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Raise a finger and Air Obama
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Money from US used to fund genocide in S. Sudan?
Obama seeks $1.2 trillion debt limit rise
Pentagon condemns Marines’ behavior in graphic video, as unit identifiedMoney from US used to fund genocide in S. Sudan?
Obama seeks $1.2 trillion debt limit... more
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January 11, 2012, marks 10 years since the first detainees were transferred to the U.S. detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. According to U.S. authorities, 779 detainees have been held in Guantánamo, the vast majority without charge or criminal trial. Presently 171 prisoners are incarcerated there. The continued operation of the detention facility is a symbol of how the United States has failed to respect the rule of law and human rights in its response to 9/11, and how it is still failing a decade later.January 11, 2012, marks 10 years since the first detainees were transferred to the... more
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Stephen Hawking to turn 70, defying disease
Texas police kill 8th-grader carrying pellet gun
Stymied by Congress, Obama to boldly seat nomineesStephen Hawking to turn 70, defying disease
Texas police kill 8th-grader carrying... more
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Why is it that the 'God' so many right-wing evangelicals worship seems to only speak to racists, idiots, masochists and assholes? Take Pat Robertson for example. His 'God' has been telling him some crazy crap over the years. Now Pat claims that God told him who will win the 2012 general election (but he's not allowed to say) and that Obama is a radical will bring calamity, division and collapse to America.
http://veracitystew.com/2012/01/03/god-warns-pat-robertson-obama-will-collapse-america-video/Why is it that the 'God' so many right-wing evangelicals worship seems to... more
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This blog tries to present stories that fly under the radar of mainstream media but in this case I will make an exception. This will be the only time I will write an article about the 2012 Republican Presidential Candidates because I feel that none of these people will win the presidency- no matter how hard they try. To make my point – here is a quick summary on the candidates so far.This blog tries to present stories that fly under the radar of mainstream media but in... more
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-Well sweet hippies, my holiday mess has been cleaned up and the left overs aren’t left over anymore. Things are back to every day round here.
I expect that most of the huggy-kissy, “love yous” from midnight Sunday are put away for another year. Some of them are year round though and those are the really wonderful ones.-Well sweet hippies, my holiday mess has been cleaned up and the left overs... more
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Walter Block Endorses Ron Paul, explaining in the process why Ron Paul is NOT anti-semetic.Walter Block Endorses Ron Paul, explaining in the process why Ron Paul is NOT... more
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Statement by the President on H.R. 1540:
Today I have signed into law H.R. 1540, the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.” I have signed the Act chiefly because it authorizes fundingStatement by the President on H.R. 1540:
Today I have signed into law H.R. 1540,... more
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In an eventful year, we can now reflect on 2011. Through tsunamis, uprisings, economic meltdowns, political theater and phone-hacking scandals – this blog has tried to present these events with some clarity and candor. Without further adieu, this blog present our recognition of events and people who shaped this year.In an eventful year, we can now reflect on 2011. Through tsunamis, uprisings, economic... more
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Earlier this week, it looked like Congress would go home for the holidays without preventing a tax increase that would mean millions of American families would have about $40 less in each paycheck.But then something pretty incredible happened.It began when we asked everyone to show us how that missing $40 would affect them and their familiesEarlier this week, it looked like Congress would go home for the holidays without... more
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Recently, former Secretary of Labor made some valid observations on President Obama’s speech in Kansas about economic equality. He said that he was encouraged and is willing to help the President bring a mandate in his second term. Mr. Reich, on his blog elaborates the key points which will help bring about economic equality:
- Tax Financial transactions
- Use tax revenue to create good schools and access to higher education
- Resurrect the Glass-Steagall Act
- Cap the size of Wall Street
- Require big banks that got bailed out to modify mortgages of Americans that owe more than their homes are worth.
These points are very insightful but overlook some facts: President Obama has tried to implement these ideas but has been obstructed by Congress- on both sides of the isles. Furthermore, I blame Mr. Reich and the Clinton Administration for putting the U.S. economy in this position.Recently, former Secretary of Labor made some valid observations on President... more
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