Obama and Cameron Share a Laugh... and a Love-in: Extraordinary Display of Back-slapping in Official Behind-the-scenes Pictures of Visit to U.S.

MAIL ONLINE: PM concludes three-day visit with Barack Obama by delivering controversial endorsement of four more years of his presidency

David Cameron concluded a three-day love-in with Barack Obama by comparing him with Theodore Roosevelt and delivering what was seen in the U.S. as a controversial endorsement of four more years of his presidency.

In another extraordinary series of exchanges between the two leaders, the Premier ladelled praise on Mr Obama for pressing the ‘reset button on the moral authority of the entire free world’.

In return, the President hailed Mr Cameron’s leadership and ‘commitment to dignity’, paying tribute to the way he and his wife Samantha contended with the death of their disabled son, Ivan, in 2009. » | James Chapman | Friday, March 16, 2012

Marine Le Pen Defends US Trip Despite Political Snubs
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Marine Le Pen, the French far-right candidate, said her trip to the United States remained a success despite scoring meetings with only a small handful of political figures.

"Even before I left for the United States, the French media said it was already a failure. That's not at all the case," she told a throng of French journalists.

Miss Le Pen, of the anti-immigrant National Front party, had an agenda filled more with visits to centres of power like the US Capitol than with meetings with political leaders.

But the office of Republican representative and presidential hopeful Ron Paul said he had a "quick private meeting" with Le Pen earlier Wednesday.

"They primarily discussed monetary policy and the gold standard," spokeswoman Rachel Mills told AFP. » | Wednesday, November 02, 2011

Vegemite on Agenda for Gillard and Obama
Mar 8 - Australian prime minister Julia Gillard and President Obama discuss the pros and cons of vegemite [sic] during a visit to a Virginia high school. Lindsey Parietti reports

June 26: President Obama and British Prime Minister Cameron talk at the conclusion of the G20 conference in Ontario, Canada. Photograph: Fox News
Cameron's First U.S. Visit Overshadowed by Lockerbie Bomber Outrage
FOX NEWS: In an effort to defuse what will likely be the biggest point of contention in their Tuesday White House meeting, British Prime Minister David Cameron is expected to tell President Obama that the release of convicted Pan Am Flight 103 bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi was "wrong."

In their first White House meeting, the two leaders are also expected to discuss Afghanistan, BP's handling of the oil spill in the Gulf and its alleged role in the release of al-Megrahi.

In an interview with BBC news, Cameron, who was elected prime minister in May, said he "deeply regrets" the pain the decision caused but asserted that the release of al-Megrahi in August of last year was the decision of the Scottish government alone.

"All I know is, as leader of the opposition, I could not have been more clear that I thought the decision to release al-Megrahi was completely and utterly wrong," be told the BBC.

Al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 and sentenced to life in prison for his role in the December 1988 bombing which killed 259 people on board and 11 people on the ground in Lockerbie, Scotland. >>> Anne McGinn | Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Binyamin Netanyahu: We will Continue to Build in Jerusalem
Photograph: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: Binyamin Netanyahu insisted today that he will not halt building projects in east Jerusalem, despite calls by the US for him to do so.

The defiant statement came after the Israeli Prime Minister returned from a bruising visit to the White House, where he was given a public dressing down for his controversial settlement policy.

"The Prime Minister's position is that there is no change in Israel's policy on Jerusalem that has been pursued by all governments of Israel for the last 42 years," his office said in a statement.

Those include implementing a strict freeze on construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Israeli troops withdrawing to areas they occupied before the beginning of the Palestinian Intifada ten years ago, and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Mr Netanyahu's spokesman, Nir Hefez, said that the US had not agreed to allow Israeli to continue building in east Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and is now home to 200,000 Israelis. He had earlier hinted that such a deal was possible, but later retracted the statement.

Analysts in Israel agree that Mr Netanyahu faces a choice of which crisis he wants to contend with: he can bow to the US demands and risk a split with hardline nationalists and ultra-Orthodox parties in his coalition, or stick to his guns and face down an increasingly hostile US administration at a time when Israel needs US backing to tackle a potentially nuclear Iran. >>> James Hider in Jerusalem | Friday, March 26, 2010

Obama to Press Netanyahu on Two States, Settlements
REUTERS: Obama to push two-state solution to conflict / Common ground seen on Iran nuclear issue / Restarting Israeli-Syrian peace talks on agenda

WASHINGTON - Days before a White House summit, the Obama administration signaled on Saturday that the U.S. president would press Israel's new government to endorse Palestinian statehood and halt settlement expansion.

But senior U.S. officials downplayed prospects of a confrontation between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday as they grapple with rare differences between Washington and its close ally.

"The president does not believe it's going in a bad direction," one Obama aide told reporters when asked about the refusal so far by Netanyahu's right-leaning government to embrace a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.

Administration officials said Obama would push that principle, the cornerstone of U.S. Middle East policy for years, in his talks with Netanyahu, which are aimed at reviving the stalled peace process.

"Two states living side by side in peace and security -- my guess is they'll discuss that, and it's an issue they'll continue to work through," an official said. >>> Matt Spetalnick | Saturday, May 16, 2009

Pope ‘Ashamed’ of Abuse by Clergy
Photo of President Bush meeting Pope Benedict courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Pope Benedict XVI has said he is "deeply ashamed" of sexual abuse by clergy in the US Catholic Church.

The Pope vowed to work to prevent paedophiles from becoming priests as he flew to Washington at the beginning of his first visit to the US as pontiff.

In recent years, the US Catholic Church has paid $2bn (£1bn) to settle clergy sexual abuse cases.

US President George W Bush made the unusual gesture of greeting the Pope on his arrival at Andrews Air Force Base.

During his trip, the Pope will address the UN, celebrate two masses, pray at Ground Zero and visit a synagogue.

The Pope told reporters on board the flight to Washington: "We will absolutely exclude paedophiles from the sacred ministry." Pope ‘Ashamed’ of US Clergy Abuse >>>

BBC:
Pope May Find US on His Wavelength >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)