tagged w/ U.S. News
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Obama visits the former Nazi Buchenwald concentration camp.
For more news video by Current TV visit http://current.com/Obama visits the former Nazi Buchenwald concentration camp.
For more news video by... more
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FORMER US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld could soon be in trouble for the role he played in human rights abuses committed in the Guantanamo prison, a United Nations expert said.
"In a year or two, his responsibilities will be established. Wherever he goes, he will face difficulties," Leandro Despouy, who is Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, said in Geneva today.
A US bipartisan Senate report released late last year found Mr Rumsfeld and other top administration officials responsible for abuse of Guantanamo detainees in US custody.
It said Mr Rumsfeld authorised harsh interrogation techniques on December 2, 2002 at the Guantanamo prison, although he ruled them out a month later.
Mr Despouy said the "strong resistance" put forward by the former US administration to current US president Barack Obama's decision to close the detention centre has nothing to do with the officially cited reason of "national security" considerations.
Rather they are fearful that they may be taken to task once the detention centre is closed, said Mr Despouy.
The UN expert called on the international community to "support" Mr Obama's decision to close the prison.
"If we act in the perspective of human rights, we should support the efforts of those who want these responsibilities to be established," he said, referring to the harsh interrogation techniques used on the detainees.
He said the international community should help the US by taking in former detainees.FORMER US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld could soon be in trouble for the role he... more
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The head of China's second-largest bank has said the United States government should start issuing bonds in yuan, rather than dollars, in the latest indication of the increasing importance of the Chinese currency.
Guo Shuqing, the chairman of state-controlled China Construction Bank (CCB), also said he is exploring the possibility of issuing loans to trading companies in yuan, allowing Chinese and foreign companies to settle their bills in yuan rather than in dollars.
Mr Guo said the issuing of yuan bonds in Hong Kong and Shanghai would help to develop the debt markets in China and promote the yuan as a major international currency.
It was the first time the head of a major Chinese bank has called for the wider use of the yuan, although a chorus of senior government officials have already voiced their concerns about the stability of the dollar and have said the yuan should be used more widely.
"I think the US government and the World Bank can consider the issuing of renminbi bonds," he said, asking for a "mutual cooperation" between the US and China to promote Chinese financial services. He said bond issuance could be relatively small, at between 1bn and 3bn yuan (£100m to £300m).
HSBC and Standard Chartered have both said they are preparing to issue bonds denominated in yuan.
Mr Guo is a former head of China's foreign-exchange administration, which manages the country's $1.9 trillion foreign exchange reserves. He said he was confident the yuan would become a major currency in the medium-to-long termThe head of China's second-largest bank has said the United States government... more
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ATLANTA (MyFOX ATLANTA) - Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is one of just two airports in the U.S. that are serving as testing grounds for a new Department of Homeland Security program. The program checks the identities of non-U.S. citizens against a terror watch list.
The Department of Homeland Security is cracking down on foreigners who overstay their visas in the pilot program at airports in Detroit and Atlanta.
"It is really about bringing integrity back to the immigrant system and making sure we know who's here legally, who's here illegally and we can take appropriate actions," said Robert Mocny of the Department of Homeland Security.
In Atlanta, departing foreign nationals are directed to separate security lines where their fingerprints are scanned and verified.
In Detroit, the program is done at departure gates.
Former FBI agent and counter-terrorism expert Greg Esslinger said the program is welcome, if not overdue.
"If an individual has in fact been flagged for overstaying a visa of has some criminal activities that may be associated with them the hit would virtually instantaneous," said EsslingerATLANTA (MyFOX ATLANTA) - Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is one of just two... more
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Prior to Obama's Inauguration on January 20th, his economic team released a model projecting what the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan would do to the US economy and how many jobs it would create, etc. The report was written by Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein. The report in full is available here.
I would like to turn attention to Figure 1 which is located on page 4. That figure shows the estimated unemployment rate WITH the economic recovery package versus the unemployment rate WITHOUT the economic recovery package.
Now, this was prior to the passing and final draft of the AEEP. However, they took estimates as to the size and scope of the plan and by and large, they were fairly accurate. The final bill is estimated at costing $787 billion dollars while it was estimated in this report to be around $775 billion. The bill was signed into law less than four weeks after taking office.
Now, back to Figure 1. As can be seen, they estimated that by this time (June 2009), the unemployment rate WITHOUT the stimulus package would have been about 8.2%. With the economic package, it would have been a whopping 7.9%. That's a full 1.5% lower than what the BLS estimates the unemployment rate to currently be.
Obama's economic models, much like his policies, are failing horribly when tested against reality. It's quite clear that Obama's models are horribly inaccurate and overly optimistic, given that it was expecting the economy to turn around almost immediately upon his arrival at the White House as well as the magnitude of that error in analysis and prediction.Prior to Obama's Inauguration on January 20th, his economic team released a model... more
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http://www.fema.gov/media/fact_sheets/nle09.shtm
The above is a link to FEMA.GOV website page that details the upcoming nationwide training exercise in July 2009. This is directly cut and pasted the full text below from the site.
This is very alarming. This IS NOT an exercise for FEMA to practice disaster relief. This page states very clearly that this exercise will "focus exclusively on terrorism prevention and protection, as opposed to incident response and recovery".
AND THEY ARE BRINGING FOREIGN TROOPS INTO OUR TOWNS AND CITIES TO TRAIN TO POLICE US. As stated in FEMA website, "This year the United States welcomes the participation of Australia, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom in NLE 09."
Imagine, armed Mexican troops protecting us from "terrorism" in the United States! Don't you feel safer already? ¿Dónde están sus documentos?
Rumors of foreign troops on our soil have been circulated for a long time. BUT this is not a rumor. It is a blatant fact as stated by FEMA on their government website. THIS IS AN INVASION.
During Katrina the federal government went in and disarmed everyone, even law abiding citizens. Recently, Tennessee passed into law a bill that states that Tennessee residents undoubtedly have the right to keep and possess their firearms during martial rule. Why did they feel the need to do this? And what does it mean when our government is running martial law drills on a nationwide scale?http://www.fema.gov/media/fact_sheets/nle09.shtm
The above is a link to FEMA.GOV... more
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CNSNews.com) - Senior White House Adviser David Axelrod said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” yesterday that President Obama intends to promote a health-care reform plan that will include creating a government-owned health-care company and predicted that Congress will enact such a plan by the end of the summer.
Axelrod said that a government-owned health-care company would “give consumers a better deal."
Last week, Obama sent a letter to Senators Edward Kennedy (D.-Mass.) and Max Baucus (D.-Mont.), who are pushing efforts in the Senate for a national health-care plan. In the letter, Obama said he favored, as part of this plan, creating a government-owned health-care company.
“I strongly believe that Americans should have the choice of a public health insurance option operating alongside private plans,” Obama said in the letter to the two senators. “This will give them a better range of choices, make the health care market more competitive, and keep insurance companies honest.”CNSNews.com) - Senior White House Adviser David Axelrod said on CBS’s... more
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Hillary Clinton refused yesterday to rule out a pre-emptive Israeli military strike on Iran. It was the first time that a senior member of the Obama Administration had openly discussed such a possibility.
The US Secretary Of State, speaking a few days before elections in Iran that will determine the fate of President Ahmadinejad, also warned that the country would face retaliation if it launched a nuclear attack on Israel.
As President Obama extends “an open hand”, seeking direct talks with Tehran in his attempt to halt its nuclear programme, Mrs Clinton appeared ready to unnerve the Iranian leadership with talk of a pre-emptive strike “the way that we did attack Iraq”. She said that she was trying to put herself in the shoes of the Iranian leadership, but added that Tehran “might have some other enemies that would do that [deliver a pre-emptive strike] to them”. It was a clear reference to Israel, where Binyamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister, has talked about the possibility of military action to halt Iran’s nuclear programme — something he views as a threat to the Jewish state.Hillary Clinton refused yesterday to rule out a pre-emptive Israeli military strike on... more
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Eager to show action on the ailing economy, President Barack Obama promised Monday to speed federal money into hundreds of public works projects this summer, vowing that 600,000 jobs will be created or saved.Eager to show action on the ailing economy, President Barack Obama promised Monday to... more
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Broadway's Tonys seemed a family affair this year, with an outpouring of generosity from winners to losers despite the domination of the evening by ``Billy Eliot,'' which won 10 awards, and one actor bringing his wife to the stage to stand by him while he accepted his prize.Broadway's Tonys seemed a family affair this year, with an outpouring of... more
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So last week, Newsweek printed a heroic front-page article detailing the antiscientific medical swill Oprah Winfrey has been routinely doling out to her audiences. This nonsense includes, of course, Jenny McCarthy, as well as dangerous quackery by Suzanne Somers and others. The article really slams Oprah hard, as well it should.
Unsurprisingly, Oprah has released a statement about this, and it’s full to the brim of fail. I wouldn’t call it a lie, but it’s spinning like a newborn pulsar:
For 23 years, my show has presented thousands of topics that reflect the human experience, including doctors’ medical advice and personal health stories that have prompted conversations between our audience members and their health care providers. I trust the viewers, and I know that they are smart and discerning enough to seek out medical opinions to determine what may be best for them.
That, to be blunt, is baloney. First off, it’s wrong. She pounds home the New Age nonsense from Somers and McCarthy, giving them a platform to relentlessly mislead and misinform people millions at a time, and on those shows rarely gives more than very brief lip service to actual medical research.
Second, it’s at best a cop-out to say that her viewers will do more research. She has to know that’s almost certainly not true! The Oprah imprimatur can rocket a book up the best-selling list, as it has for Somers and McCarthy, as well as many others. Clearly, a vast horde of people will go out and buy what she tells them to because she’s the one who told them to.
And what she’s telling them to buy is dangerous medical nonsense.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/06/07/oprah-shame-on-you/
* * * * While I watched once Opera had a supposed animal expert on who said when a dog is licking you it's only a power move to show you whose boss. What ? ? ?So last week, Newsweek printed a heroic front-page article detailing the... more
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Lebanon's pro-Western coalition declared victory early Monday, as local television stations reported the faction had successfully fended off a serious challenge by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah and its allies to grab the majority in parliament.
Official results for Sunday's election were not expected until later Monday, but the winners were already celebrating by shooting in the air, setting off fireworks and driving around in honking motorcades.
The election was an early test of President Barack Obama's efforts to forge Middle East peace. A win by Hezbollah would have boosted the influence of its backers Iran and Syria and risked pushing one of the region's most volatile nations into international isolation and possibly into more conflict with Israel.
"I present this victory to Lebanon," Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said on television after stations projected his pro-Western coalition was winning. "It is an exceptional day for democracy in Lebanon."Lebanon's pro-Western coalition declared victory early Monday, as local... more
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President Barack Obama returned home from abroad Sunday to find that his own oratory laying out an ever-more-ambitious agenda, both in foreign and domestic policy, is ratcheting up demands for concrete achievements.
President Barack Obama toured the Sphinx and pyramids outside Cairo on Thursday with Egyptian antiquities expert Zahi Hawass.
."Expectations are rising with every speech," said Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat professor for peace and development at the University of Maryland, who was consulted by White House aides on the president's speech to Muslims in Cairo on Thursday. "And the more issues you articulate, the more pressure you create to produce actual policies and achievements."
While the president is popular among many Europeans, he returned from his second trip to Europe with little more progress on key issues than he achieved during his first trip there in April, including over committing additional troops for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Mr. Obama on Saturday marked the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in France before an audience sprinkled with a dwindling number of veterans from that day.
"D-Day was a time and a place where the bravery and selflessness of a few was able to change the course of an entire century," the president said in Colleville-sur-Mer, France.
White House officials have closely tracked the response to the president's address to the Muslim world, and they said that response has been overwhelmingly positive -- among Arabs and beyond. Mr. Telhami said Mr. Obama's even-handed, tough assessment of the Israeli-Palestinian issue and his promises of progress have grabbed the region's attention and stimulated constructive debate.
* * * * * President Obama continues to fill his plate. The world awaits to see if he is biting off more than he can chew. Perhaps at times he is. But in him is a charismatic leader, courageous in his convictions and confident in his decisions who, despite the antics of cynics and fault finders, is giving our country and the world a new sense of hope. He most likely will not be able to fully live up to the expectations of a threatened and anxious world but our times are calling for a willingness to give his ideas and ideals a chance to change it.President Barack Obama returned home from abroad Sunday to find that his own oratory... more
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PASSAIC, New Jersey (WABC) -- There was a rally against police brutality in New Jersey. It follows Friday's release of a surveillance videotape showing a police officer beating a man outside a bar in Passaic.
The man is Ronnie Holloway and he was badly beaten back on May 29.
Holloway and another woman, claiming the same officer beat her, were at Saturday's rally.
The protestors say the case of Ronnie Holloway is just too much to ignore.
CLICK ON PIC TO START VIDEOPASSAIC, New Jersey (WABC) -- There was a rally against police brutality in New... more
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GOV. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday disputed claims that illegal immigrants caused California's $24.3 billion deficit, while he praised their economic contributions and said he is "happy" they have access to services.
The Republican governor, answering wide-ranging questions from The Bee's editorial board and its readers, also vented about roadblocks to his authority posed by political foes and warned that government can't sustain the current level of "unbelievable benefits" for public-sector workers.
In response to dozens of questions from readers who say the state ought to wipe out the deficit by eliminating services for illegal immigrants, the governor said it is a "myth" that those immigrants are to blame.
He said the cost of services to illegal immigrants, which has been estimated at $4 billion to $5 billion annually, is a "small percentage" of the deficit California faces.GOV. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday disputed claims that illegal immigrants caused... more
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Speaking before Rockefeller sponsored Planned Parenthood's 'Action fund' banquet July 17th 2007, candidate Barack Obama made his public announcement that his 'first act as President' would be signing FOCA ("Freedom of Choice Act") It was.
The "Freedom of Choice" act amounts to de-regulation of the abortion industry and provides free federally funded abortions on demand. Obama is that 'colored minister with social-service background and engaging personality' Sanger envisioned.
Planned Parenthood's slogan last year -- "why should I be punished with a baby?"-- was featured in television commercial campaigns.
Obama mouthed this very slogan at a campaign speech in Johnstown PA:"I have two daughters. If they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTB1-TtwWdQ
PLANNED PARENTHOOD TARGETS BLACK ABORTIONS
PLANNED PARENTHOOD operates the largest chain of abortion clinics in the US. It has more than 850 "Health Centers" (abortion centers), 80% are in minority neighborhoods. The organization performed 22 percent of all abortions in 2005 (260,000 out of 1.2 million abortions.)
According to a Fox TV story, "Blacks do, indeed, have much higher rates of abortions than whites or other minority groups. In 2000, while blacks made up 17 percent of live births, they made up more than twice that share of abortions (36 percent). If those aborted children had been born, the number of blacks born would have been slightly over 50 percent greater than it was.
The comparison with whites and other minorities is striking. Whites made up 78 percent of live births, but only 57 percent of abortions. Non-black minorities had 7 percent of live births and 5 percent of abortions. Data from 1973 on indicate that black women's share of abortions has consistently been at least twice their share of live births."
According to "Klan Parenthood," A black baby is three times more likely to be
murdered in the womb than a white baby. Since 1973, abortion has reduced the black population by over 25 percent. Twice as many African-Americans have died from abortion than have died from AIDS, accidents, violent crimes, cancer, and heart disease combined. Every three days, more African-Americans are killed by abortion than have been killed by the Ku Klux Klan in its entire history. About 13 percent of American women are black, but they submit to over 35 percent of the abortions."Speaking before Rockefeller sponsored Planned Parenthood's 'Action... more
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The Obama administration is considering a change in the law for the military commissions at the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, that would clear the way for detainees facing the death penalty to plead guilty without a full trial.
The provision could permit military prosecutors to avoid airing the details of brutal interrogation techniques. It could also allow the five detainees who have been charged with the Sept. 11 attacks to achieve their stated goal of pleading guilty to gain what they have called martyrdom.
The proposal, in a draft of legislation that would be submitted to Congress, has not been publicly disclosed. It was circulated to officials under restrictions requiring secrecy. People who have read or been briefed on it said it had been presented to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates by an administration task force on detention.The Obama administration is considering a change in the law for the military... more
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When the World's Biggest Celebrity and his wife had their glam-date in Paris, part of their Family Dream Weekend in Paris, their food taster was on hand, ready to die for his president. I don't blame the The One for it. Lord knows the American oppression of France has been severe, and the black and Muslim immigrant communities have been hit the hardest. I suppose there is Secret Service agent assigned this duty.
Still, this AFP report makes it clear the chefs were not amused, though they made the best of it.
"They have someone who tastes the dishes," said waiter Gabriel de Carvalho from the "La Fontaine de Mars" restaurant where Obama and his family turned up for dinner on Saturday night.
"It wasn't very pleasant for the cooks at first, but the person was very nice and was relaxed, so it all went well," he said on the Itele news channel
The royal style has never played well in republican France.
http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/french-news/President-Obama_s-French-food-tested-by-_taster__53344.htmlWhen the World's Biggest Celebrity and his wife had their glam-date in Paris,... more
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Image: President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy participate in a bilateral meeting at the Prefecture in Caen, France, 06 Jun 2009U.S.
President Barack Obama said Saturday he is going to take a "very hard look" at the U.S. approach toward North Korea because of what he described as "extraordinarily provocative" actions by Pyongyang.
Mr. Obama said the United States does not intend to continue a policy of rewarding provocation and called on North Korea to respond to diplomatic efforts aimed at persuading Pyongyang to get rid of its nuclear weapons.
The U.S. president made the remarks during a press conference in Normandy with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy.
North Korea recently conducted nuclear and missile tests.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Saturday his country will not let North Korea use its nuclear threat to win concessions, and he called for Pyongyang to return to six-party disarmament talks.
In a Memorial Day speech honoring the Korean War dead, Mr. Lee said there will be no compromises with North Korea when the country threatens the South's security.
The statement came the day after the U.S. government indicated it may impose unilateral financial sanctions against North Korea, in addition to whatever punishment the United Nations delivers in response to Pyongyang's recent nuclear and missile tests.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-06-06-voa14.cfmImage: President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy participate in a... more
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U.S. counterterrorism officials have authenticated a video by an al Qaeda recruiter threatening to smuggle a biological weapon into the United States via tunnels under the Mexico border, the latest sign of the terrorist group's determination to stage another mass-casualty attack on the U.S. homeland.
The video aired earlier this year as a recruitment tool makes clear that al Qaeda is looking to exploit weaknesses in U.S. border security and also is willing to ally itself with white militia groups or other anti-government entities interested in carrying out an attack inside the United States, according to counterterrorism officials interviewed by The Washington Times.
The officials, who spoke only on the condition they not be named because of the sensitive nature of their work, stressed that there is no credible information that al Qaeda has acquired the capabilities to carry out a mass biological attack although its members have clearly sought the expertise.
The video first aired by the Arabic news network Al Jazeera in February and later posted to several Web sites shows Kuwaiti dissident Abdullah al-Nafisi telling a room full of supporters in Bahrain that al Qaeda is casing the U.S. border with Mexico to assess how to send terrorists and weapons into the U.S.U.S. counterterrorism officials have authenticated a video by an al Qaeda recruiter... more
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