The EU should be stronger and more united. Great Britain should belong to the Union.
Die EU sollte stärker und geeinter sein. Großbritannien sollte der Union angehören.
L'UE devrait être plus forte et plus unie. La Grande-Bretagne devrait appartenir à l'Union.
Showing posts with label President Barack Hussein Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label President Barack Hussein Obama. Show all posts
Thursday, January 20, 2011
An All-American State Dinner for Chinese President
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: It was jazz on stage and a mix of Hollywood A-listers, big business types and prominent Chinese-Americans in the audience on Wednesday night as Michelle and Barack Obama threw a "quintessentially American" state dinner for Chinese President Hu Jintao.
What was for dinner at the hottest event in town? Meat and potatoes, washed down with apple pie and ice cream for dessert, of course.
Singer Barbra Streisand, her husband-actor James Brolin and action film star Jackie Chan were supplying some of the celebrity star power for the A-list guest list.
Big business turned out in force, too, including Microsoft's Steven Ballmer and JP Morgan Chase's Jamie Dimon, among others. Other big names: fashion's Vera Wang, Vogue's Anna Wintour, artist Maya Lin, Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan, and Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to add some gravitas. Bill Clinton made the cut, too. >>> | Thursday, January 20, 2011
China on Equal Footing with US as Hu Jintao Visits Washington
THE GUARDIAN: China's inferiority in 'hard power' has turned to Beijing's advantage, and signs of its growing 'soft power' abound
Hu Jintao, accompanied by the US vice-president, Joe Biden, receives a red-carpet reception at Andrews air force base in Maryland. Photograph: The Guardian
The last time Hu Jintao arrived in Washington, back in 2006, he was given a White House working lunch, and by all accounts never forgave George W Bush for the perceived insult.
In contrast, it is highly unlikely China's leader could find fault with the welcome laid out by the Obama administration: a private White House dinner tonight to be followed later in the week by a full state banquet, a 21-gun salute and all the pomp and circumstance of a review of the troops.
The message is absolutely clear – these are the world's two leading powers meeting together as equals. It is that sense of equal status that distinguishes this Washington summit from earlier such encounters. >>> Julian Borger, Ewen MacAskill and Phillip Inman | Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy to Bury the Hatchet
THE TELEGRAPH: He was the only Western leader who refused to join the scramble to ingratiate himself with Barack Obama.
Irritated by hysteria surrounding the newcomer, Nicolas Sarkozy spent the year after his election issuing veiled insults and patronising digs.
Elysée officials briefed behind the scenes that the US president was a "cold fish", telling Le Figaro that "relations were easier with Bush".
He went on to deride Mr Obama's calls for a nuclear weapons-free world as "naive" and bragged that while he had enacted a cascade of reforms, his US counterpart had placed "all his bets on one" by concentrating on health care. As he rode high in the polls, the French president even crowed that Mr Obama had "lost three elections" since taking office.
The insults were so regular that Mr Obama responded by turning down an invitation to the Elysée after the commemoration of the Normandy landings last June.
But after suffering wipeout in local elections this month and facing speculation that his marriage is on the rocks, Mr Sarkozy has suddenly found the tables have turned. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Monday, March 29, 2010
REUTERS: WASHINGTON - Iraqi Americans Wasan Alqaisi and Sumer Majid made a Fourth of July family picnic of kebab -- served on hamburger buns with slices of American cheese.
Celebrating Independence Day in the U.S. capital, the two Muslim women were doing what generations of Americans have done before them: blending their faith and lifestyle with a U.S. national identity.
Eight years after Middle East militants carried out the September 11 attacks, Muslim Americans are raising their profile, encouraged by the election of Barack Obama, a U.S. president proud of his Kenyan father's Muslim heritage.
The president, who is a Christian, used his middle name, Hussein, at his inauguration. He called for new dialogue with Islamic nations and named a special envoy for the Middle East on his second full day in office.
"We are more optimistic about the future for us here," said Alqaisi, an accountant. "They changed the way they communicate with the Muslim countries. We feel like we have more value here now. We hope that will continue in the future."
Like other immigrant groups in a country of immigrants, Muslims were drawn to the United States seeking opportunity and relief from poverty in their home countries. Arabs went to industrial centers, south Asian Muslims to the West Coast. Some arrived to study in universities; some arrived as slaves.
A 2007 Pew Research Center study says 21 percent of Muslim Americans arrived from abroad during the 1990s.
The September 11 attacks put a magnifying glass on what until then had been a largely invisible Muslim American community, prompting many to organize. The Patriot Act limited civil liberties. Many felt they were being profiled. The Council of American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil liberties and advocacy group, said more than 60,000 people were subject to new government actions such as interrogations, detentions, raids and the closure of charities.
CAIR reported a 64 percent increase in the number of civil rights complaints in the year after September 11, 2001. >>> Wendell Marsh | Sunday, July 12, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Obama's Climate of Fear
TOWNHALL: Recently I had a long lunch with an old friend. He sits on the board of one of the largest and most successful publicly traded regional banks in America. He got his seat when that regional bank acquired the very successful community bank he built from the ground up. I will not name him or this bank, but I will pass on a few things he said to me.
He said, “Our bank’s leadership team and others I know at the local or regional level feel paralyzed and intimidated by the climate of fear created by the Obama administration. We believe we are targets of a very deliberate conspiracy.
“The new and proposed regulations will remove every competitive advantage of the community bank, and make every bank identical, forced to operate exactly as does Bank of America,” he explained. “Then, absent competitive opportunity, all of the independent banks will be greatly de-valued and handicapped. They’ll be vulnerable and easily rolled up into the handful of remaining giants … the small bank’s wealth made into fresh food for the insatiable hunger of the big banks’ deficits and losses. This is, I and others believe, the next step in Obama’s plan to take total control of the financial system and money supply, a requirement of dictatorship.“
What is most significant about these statements is the person making them. This is not some freak like the fellow Mel Gibson portrayed in the movie “Conspiracy Theory.”. He’s not somebody stockpiling food in a cabin hidden away in the woods, to escape to when anarchy erupts. Not anybody you would expect to hear express such thoughts. And he’s not a lone voice.
Another friend is the CEO of a mid-sized company that had been on an impressive trajectory of growth for the past three years but is now stalled. He and his advisers have reversed their viewpoint in the last few months. They are eager to sell the company if possible now rather than later. Why? They believe Obama is deliberately, systematically destroying the economy as a whole and is specifically targeting small business for extinction – because it’s too difficult to exercise dictatorial control over millions of small enterprises. >>> Dan Kennedy | Friday, July 10, 2009
President Signs Anti-Smoker/Anti-Liberty 'Family Smoking And Tobacco Control Act'
Photo: Diggers Realm
DIGGERS REALM: Last week I reported on the Family Smoking and Tobacco Control Act in my article "First They Came For The Smokers.... President Obama signed that law today which in essence not only further vilifies smokers as the bane of society, but claims it will lower health care costs, bans tobacco brands from sponsoring sports and entertainment events and will "save the children". American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, CEO John R. Seffrin actually said it finally "put an end to Big Tobacco's despicable marketing practices".
Some things they failed to mention that the bill will do is further infringe on personal civil liberties in this country, have an impact on southern states that produce tobacco and create a further black market and crime for cigarettes as they become more expensive.
As I noted in my article, there were a few curious things in the bill which gave certain "classes" of people preference over others. For instance they have banned all flavored cigarettes, including things like cherry, coffee and the pretty popular clove, but allowed menthol to continue to be used in cigarettes. Menthol seems to be the major preference of black smokers (and was introduced as an exception by the Black Caucus into the bill).
Not a smoker? You should still be concerned. The government is now telling companies which flavorings they can use in products, which companies can sponsor sporting and entertainment events and which agriculture industries deserve to exist.
If you think it stops at cigarettes and tobacco then just wait a little while. They will be going after soda soon, determining that cherry Coke is too enticing for young children and is affecting their weight. Or perhaps they will go after Burgers that contain cheese because some people just like cheese a little too much and can't resist, thus putting their health at risk. >>> Digger | Undated
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
The Sickening President, Barack Hussein Obama!
President Obama: "The danger is when any country thinks it can impose values on another country"
BBC: US President Barack Obama has told the BBC that the US cannot impose its values on other countries.
But, in his first interview with a UK broadcaster, he said the rule of law, democracy and freedoms of speech and religion were "universal values".
"These are values that are important, even when it's hard," he said.
Speaking ahead of a trip to the Middle East and Europe, Mr Obama said closing the Guantanamo Bay prison was a way that America could set a good example.
Mr Obama told BBC North America Editor Justin Webb that he wanted to deliver the message "that democracy, rule of law, freedom of speech, freedom of religion ... are not simply principles of the West to be hoisted on these countries".
He said there were "obviously" human rights issues to address in some Middle Eastern countries, but there were some "universal principles that they can embrace and affirm as part of their national identity".
"The danger, I think, is when the United States, or any country, thinks that we can simply impose these values on another country with a different history and a different culture," he said. Obama Gives Pledge on US 'Values' >>> | Monday, June 01, 2009
Monday, June 01, 2009
Obama’s Visit Is Dividing Egyptians
THE NATIONAL (UAE): CAIRO – Since the May 8 announcement that the US president, Barack Obama, would deliver his long-awaited speech to the Islamic world in Egypt, the country has been gripped by “Obamamania”.
“‘Obama Flu’ is a new epidemic that hasn’t appeared except in Egypt,” wrote Ammar Ali Hassan, a political analyst, in the independent daily newspaper Al Masry Al-Youm last month. “This plague carries definite indicators that it’s more lethal than bird and swine flu, because its doesn’t attack the respiratory system, but the mind, heart and nerves.”
Mr Obama is scheduled to give his speech on Thursday in Cairo. The visit has been hailed by the state media as a victory for the Egyptian regime against those who criticise its human rights and democracy records and a boost to Egypt’s role in the region.
On the other hand, many human rights activists, bloggers and critics of the regime were upset by the choice of Cairo, as they saw it as a US retreat on its push for democracy in the region and unnecessary boost for the government of Hosni Mubarak, the president, at their expense.
“We can’t deny our shock from Obama’s planned visit to Egypt,” said Abdel Halim Qandil, the spokesman for Kefaya, an opposition group. “When he comes to Cairo, he will be Mubarak’s, not the Egyptian people’s, guest. This visit will have a negative impact on Obama’s image, who is popular in Egypt.”
“Obama’s choice for Egypt wasn’t surprising, shocking or contrary to expectations,” said Ayman Nour, a leading figure in the opposition. “Egypt, with its size, people, location and history, is bigger than its regime and what it stands for.”
“The speech targets the Muslim people, not their governments, and addressing them with a new language by a president who has Islamic family roots,” Manar el Shorbagi, an assistant professor of political science at the American University in Cairo, said.
“In other words, the pragmatic Obama wants to close the ideological page of his predecessor and start a new page based on interests. To do so he has to address Muslims’ minds to reach their feelings and Cairo is the best place to do so, as Egypt is not only country of Al-Azhar and Islamic moderation, it’s also where political Islam, both intellectually and militancy, originated,” she said.
The US Embassy in Cairo confirmed on its website yesterday that Mr Obama will deliver his speech at Cairo University. >>> Nadia abou el-Magd, Foreign Correspondent | Monday, June 01, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama Will Pledge to Heal Rift with Islam
Obama fawning over the Saudi king in a disgusting act of extreme dhimmitude. From now on, it would be more appropriate to call the president Barack Hussein Abdulmalik (Abdulmalik means 'slave of the king'). Are we going to witness a repeat nauseating performance like this when Barack Hussein Obama visits the Saudi king in Saudi Arabia, I wonder? Photo: Google Images
President Barack Obama will offer a "personal commitment" to bridge differences between the United States and Muslims in a eagerly anticipated speech in Egypt this week.
The address at the University of Cairo on Thursday is the centrepiece of Mr Obama's second overseas tour as president. The trip begins in Saudi Arabia and includes stops at a former concentration camp in Germany and ceremonies in Normandy to mark the D-Day anniversary.
Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, said the president would "review particular issues of concern, such as violent extremism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict" and "discuss new areas for partnership".
"The speech will outline his personal commitment to engagement, based upon mutual interests and mutual respect," he said.
It is intended to be the president's most striking attempt – delivered in the heart of an Arab capital – to reassure Muslims of American goodwill and to repair the damage done to his country's reputation by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the controversial tactics of George W Bush's "war on terror".
The effort started at Mr Obama's inauguration and continued in Istanbul, when he said Islam had nothing to fear from the West.
The president, whose middle name is Hussein, is likely to play up his Muslim associations, having downplayed them for domestic consumption.
Denis McDonough, the deputy national security adviser, said that Mr Obama had "experienced Islam on three continents before he has been able to visit the heart of the Islamic world".
He cited the president's "upbringing" in Indonesia, where he spent four years as a child, and how Muslim Americans were "a key part of Illinois and Chicago", Mr Obama's base. >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | Sunday, May 31, 2009
YOUTUBE: A Tale of Two Bows, Starring Barack Obama
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Torture Memo Has Put US in Danger, CIA Tells Barack Obama
The decision to release the ‘torture’ memos was the decision of a rooky. – Mark
Michael Hayden, who led the CIA under President Bush, said that the release of the memos would make it harder to get information from terrorist suspects. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: President Obama visited the CIA headquarters yesterday to placate officials dismayed by his decision to release top secret “torture” memos, a move that has provoked accusations that he is willing to compromise America’s safety out of political correctness.
Mr Obama’s first visit to the CIA, to boost morale there and shore up his own reputation, came as his decision to release the memos detailing brutal interrogation sessions of terror suspects continued to attract criticism.
There were claims from inside the agency’s ranks that the move had undermined its ability to extract vital intelligence from America’s enemies, and could even blow the cover of some secret operatives.
Michael Hayden, who ran the CIA under President Bush, said before Mr Obama’s visit that the release of the memos had compromised the CIA’s intelligence gathering work and, in effect, aided America’s enemies.
Mr Obama sought to assure CIA staff that they still had his support and that he was prepared to draw a line under the agency’s dubious recent practices.
“Don’t be discouraged by what’s happened the last few weeks,” he said. “Don’t be discouraged that we have to acknowledge potentially we have made some mistakes — that’s how we learn. >>> Tim Reid in Washington | Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Terrorism: Al-Qaeda No.2 Unimpressed by Obama
Ayman Al-Zawahiri. Photo: GoogleImages
ADN KRONOS INTERNATIONAL (AKI): Dubai - Barack Obama's election as US president has failed to lift America's status in the Muslim and Arab world, and is a victory for Al-Qaeda, according to a new audio message allegedly from the terror network's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The video was posted on key jihadist websites on Monday.
The authenticity of the tape is yet to be verified. The purported message is in Arabic and, unlike previous ones, contains no English subtitles. The message is edited with extracts from recent Arabic TV interviews with Arab political analysts.
"In our view, America is still the country that kills Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. It is the country that steals our assets and occupies our lands, and which props up thieving and corrupt Arab regimes.
"The Islamic nation has opted to revive Islam and refuses to give in to oppression. Killing or capturing people casts the US in an even worse light. The US airstrikes in Pakistan pour oil on the flames and will lead to further defeats for that country," al-Zawahiri says.
Obama's election was actually a political triumph for Al-Qaeda and the result of US defeat in Iraq, the message says.
"Obama's victory is nothing more than the recognition by the American people that (former president George W.) Bush's policies had failed, and that the administration was lying when it claimed to have defeated the mujadeen (holy warriors)," al-Zawahiri says. >>> | Monday, April 20, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Barack Obama Reveals George Bush's 'Torture' Techniques
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has disclosed the controversial CIA interrogation techniques of the Bush administration, including the threat of stinging insects, simulated drowning and depriving prisoners of sleep for up to 180 hours.
Leg shackles on the floor at at the U.S. Naval Base, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Photo: The Telegraph
The US government released four memos written by the Justice Department in 2002 and 2005 to provide legal cover for methods that have been widely criticised as torture and which the new president has already disowned.
They exposed in graphic detail how 28 al-Qaeda suspects were questioned at CIA secret prisons, revealing the use of forced nudity, facial and abdominal slaps and the use of confined space and "stress positions".
They considered locking suspects in a box with an insect which they claimed was a stinging insect. >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | Thursday, April 16, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
End to Travel and Money Ban as Barack Obama Opens Up to Cuba
Mr Obama indicated that he was willing to engage with the Communist regime. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: President Obama yesterday loosened the American embargo against Cuba by lifting curbs on family travel and money transfers, as well as allowing US telecommunications companies to operate on the island for the first time in almost half a century.
The announcement, made only days before Mr Obama travels to Trinidad for a Summit of the Americas, represents a significant crack in the hardline policy adopted by Washington since the Communist revolution in Cuba in 1959.
Although the US trade embargo has been left largely intact, the White House indicated that it would consider further measures including the introduction of direct commercial flights if Havana responded by expanding democratic rights.
“President Obama has directed that a series of steps be taken to reach out to the Cuban people to support their desire to enjoy basic human rights and to freely determine their country’s future,” Robert Gibbs, a spokesman for the White House said. >>> Tom Baldwin in Washington | Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Iran Has a Problem as 'Great Satan' Turns on the Charm
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama's conciliatory and nuanced approach towards Iran confronts its leaders with their greatest foreign policy dilemma since the end of the war with Iraq almost 21 years ago, says David Blair.
If Iran's leaders had the power to choose between a belligerent America threatening "regime change" and a conciliatory US President hailing their "great and celebrated culture", they would probably prefer to bask in firebreathing threats.
When the "Great Satan" looks suitably wicked – and throws around epithets like "axis of evil" – Iran's leaders can sit back and relax. They can afford to stage "Death to America" rallies and be as intransigent as possible.
Their difficulties only arise when the "Great Satan" stubbornly refuses to be remotely satanic. President Barack Obama's conciliatory and nuanced approach towards Iran confronts its leaders with their greatest foreign policy dilemma since the end of the war with Iraq almost 21 years ago.
Mr Obama's message on the occasion of Iran's New Year was a carefully crafted attempt to unsettle its leadership. Iran's "accomplishments" in art and culture had "made the world a better and more beautiful place", said Barack Hussein Obama, the son of a Muslim who carries the name of the founder of the Shia faith.
With his words carried in Farsi subtitles, Mr Obama added that Iran's many achievements had won the "respect of America and the world". This was a calculated appeal to the country's 70 million people, roughly two thirds of whom are under 30.
Any visitor to Tehran is struck by how young Iranians have embraced Western – and specifically American – popular culture. This does not simply extend to fashion, films, music and the regime's famously futile attempts to ban satellite dishes. What struck me on my last visit was how the bookshops outside Tehran University sell dictionaries of American idiom and helpful guides on how to adopt an American accent. >>> By David Blair, Diplomatic Editor | Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Democrat Anger at Obama Overkill
The AIG saga has prompted some senior Democrats to distance themselves from Obama. Photo courtesy of TimesONline
TIMESONLINE: Concern is mounting at the president’s tactics
WHEN the White House announced last week that President Barack Obama will be returning to the nation’s television screens on Tuesday for a prime-time press conference that will postpone the latest episode of American Idol - the talent show watched by 25m viewers - fans of the programme were quick to respond.
“Stop, please stop, Mr O, we can’t take much more,” one angry viewer wrote on an Idol-related website. “Not again!” complained another. “It’s the same speech he’s been giving for the past year.” When the People Have had Enough of Their Saviour >>> Tony Allen-Mills | Sunday, March 22, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has launched an upbeat strategy over the economy in the face of approval ratings that have dipped below those of George W Bush at the same stage of his presidency.
President Brack Hussein Obama realizes that being downbeat on the economy doesn’t pay. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Mr Obama is changing his rhetorical course after criticism from fellow Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, that he has sounded too negative in the first weeks of his presidency.
This week he will speak forcefully to Congress and the public about the need to pass his $3.6 trillion budget, which will double the national deficit, while stressing his belief that there is hope ahead.
Mr Obama's sky-high approval ratings have fallen in the past couple of weeks amid widespread gloom over the economy. His approval rating is between 56 and 60 per cent, lower than George W Bush's at a similar stage of his presidency. Barack Obama Goes Upbeat on Economy After Popularity Declines >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | Sunday, March 15, 2009
Obama Talks to Indonesia, Saudi Leaders on Economy
THE WASHINGTON POST: WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama discussed the global economic crisis with his Indonesian counterpart on Friday and explained his commitment to forging better relations with the Islamic world, the White House said.
The U.S. president also discussed the economic crisis and the upcoming Group of 20 summit of developed and developing nations in phone calls with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and President Gloria Arroyo of the Philippines, the White House said in a statement.
In a wide-ranging conversation with Indonesian President Bambang Yudhoyono, Obama spoke of the need for close cooperation in confronting the economic crisis, it said.
"They agreed to advance our comprehensive partnership with a focus on issues, including education, health care, climate change and counterterrorism," the statement said.
"The two leaders also discussed regional and international issues, including the president's commitment to a new and different kind of relationship with Islamic communities around the world," it said. "They also discussed how to make progress on democracy and human rights in Burma."
Obama spent part of his childhood in Jakarta and attended school there. After a previous conversation, Yudhoyono told a local newspaper that Obama had greeted him in Indonesian. >>> Reuters | Friday, March 13, 2009
Barack Obama 'Too Tired' to Give Proper Welcome to Gordon Brown
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama's offhand approach to Gordon Brown's Washington visit last week came about because the president was facing exhaustion over America's economic crisis and is unable to focus on foreign affairs, the Sunday Telegraph has been told.
Sources close to the White House say Mr Obama and his staff have been "overwhelmed" by the economic meltdown and have voiced concerns that the new president is not getting enough rest.
British officials, meanwhile, admit that the White House and US State Department staff were utterly bemused by complaints that the Prime Minister should have been granted full-blown press conference and a formal dinner, as has been customary. They concede that Obama aides seemed unfamiliar with the expectations that surround a major visit by a British prime minister.
But Washington figures with access to Mr Obama's inner circle explained the slight by saying that those high up in the administration have had little time to deal with international matters, let alone the diplomatic niceties of the special relationship.
Allies of Mr Obama say his weary appearance in the Oval Office with Mr Brown illustrates the strain he is now under, and the president's surprise at the sheer volume of business that crosses his desk.
A well-connected Washington figure, who is close to members of Mr Obama's inner circle, expressed concern that Mr Obama had failed so far to "even fake an interest in foreign policy".
A British official conceded that the furore surrounding the apparent snub to Mr Brown had come as a shock to the White House. "I think it's right to say that their focus is elsewhere, on domestic affairs. A number of our US interlocutors said they couldn't quite understand the British concerns and didn't get what that was all about."
The American source said: "Obama is overwhelmed. There is a zero sum tension between his ability to attend to the economic issues and his ability to be a proactive sculptor of the national security agenda.
"That was the gamble these guys made at the front end of this presidency and I think they're finding it a hard thing to do everything." >>> By Tim Shipman in Washington | Saturday, March 7, 2009
WORLD NET DAILY: If President Reagan's foreign policy with communist nations, Muslim dictatorships and other various evil empires like North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Libya, China and the old Soviet Union was characterized by the philosophy "Peace through strength," then surely it can be argued that Obama's foreign policy philosophy is "Peace through begging." >>> Ellis Washington | Saturday, March 7, 2009
Barack Obama Chooses Turkey for His First Presidential Visit to a Muslim Nation
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama will visit Turkey next month, fulfilling a campaign pledge to travel to a Muslim country during his first 100 days in power.
Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, made the announcement on Saturday as she met with the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, seeking to enlist Turkish help in moving forward the Middle East peace process.
Mr Obama's visit to Turkey will be an opening step in his long-standing promise to improve relations with the Muslim world. The visit, which will follow the G20 summit in London on April 2, is expected to coincide with the Second Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations, due to be held in Istanbul on April 6 and 7. The forum seeks to "address some of the ongoing tensions and divides across cultures and religions".
Making a major speech there on US-Muslim relations will enable Mr Obama to tick off another campaign promise. Although by choosing Turkey, which is generally regarded a bastion of moderate Islam, he will opting for a less challenging political environment than if he were to travel to the heart of the Arab world. >>> By Tim Shipman in Washington | Saturday, March 7, 2009
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Obama Visit to Turkey Will Not Include Major Speech
WASHINGTON — President Obama will visit Turkey next month as part of a broader international trip, but an administration official said on Saturday that it would not be the site of the major address that he pledged to deliver in a Muslim capital during the opening months of his administration. >>> | By The New York Times | Saturday, March 7, 2009
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: As the Dow keeps dropping, the President is running out of people to blame.
As 2009 opened, three weeks before Barack Obama took office, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 9034 on January 2, its highest level since the autumn panic. Yesterday the Dow fell another 4.24% to 6763, for an overall decline of 25% in two months and to its lowest level since 1997. The dismaying message here is that President Obama's policies have become part of the economy's problem.
Americans have welcomed the Obama era in the same spirit of hope the President campaigned on. But after five weeks in office, it's become clear that Mr. Obama's policies are slowing, if not stopping, what would otherwise be the normal process of economic recovery. From punishing business to squandering scarce national public resources, Team Obama is creating more uncertainty and less confidence -- and thus a longer period of recession or subpar growth.
The Democrats who now run Washington don't want to hear this, because they benefit from blaming all bad economic news on President Bush. And Mr. Obama has inherited an unusual recession deepened by credit problems, both of which will take time to climb out of. But it's also true that the economy has fallen far enough, and long enough, that much of the excess that led to recession is being worked off. Already 15 months old, the current recession will soon match the average length -- and average job loss -- of the last three postwar downturns. What goes down will come up -- unless destructive policies interfere with the sources of potential recovery.
And those sources have been forming for some time. The price of oil and other commodities have fallen by two-thirds since their 2008 summer peak, which has the effect of a major tax cut. The world is awash in liquidity, thanks to monetary ease by the Federal Reserve and other central banks. Monetary policy operates with a lag, but last year's easing will eventually stir economic activity.
Housing prices have fallen 27% from their Case-Shiller peak, or some two-thirds of the way back to their historical trend. While still high, credit spreads are far from their peaks during the panic, and corporate borrowers are again able to tap the credit markets. As equities were signaling with their late 2008 rally and January top, growth should under normal circumstances begin to appear in the second half of this year.
So what has happened in the last two months? The economy has received no great new outside shock. Exchange rates and other prices have been stable, and there are no security crises of note. The reality of a sharp recession has been known and built into stock prices since last year's fourth quarter.
What is new is the unveiling of Mr. Obama's agenda and his approach to governance. Every new President has a finite stock of capital -- financial and political -- to deploy, and amid recession Mr. Obama has more than most. But one negative revelation has been the way he has chosen to spend his scarce resources on income transfers rather than growth promotion. Most of his "stimulus" spending was devoted to social programs, rather than public works, and nearly all of the tax cuts were devoted to income maintenance rather than to improving incentives to work or invest. >>> | Tuesday, March 3, 2009
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: It was jazz on stage and a mix of Hollywood A-listers, big business types and prominent Chinese-Americans in the audience on Wednesday night as Michelle and Barack Obama threw a "quintessentially American" state dinner for Chinese President Hu Jintao.
