He really wants to blame anyone except himself and anything except his own energy policies for higher gas prices:
The Obama administration is blaming Israel for the recent rise in global crude oil prices, according to a Sunday report in The World Tribune. The rise in fuel prices is deemed as harming the U.S. economy and has also hurt Obama in the polls as he seeks re-election in November.
UPI:
ERBIL, Iraq, July 11 (UPI) — Iranian forces are stationed about a 1 1/2 miles inside the Iraq border as part of an operation targeting Kurdish militants, a border official said.
A source inside the border patrol in the northern Kurdish provinces of Iraq said Iranian forces crossed the border during the weekend in pursuit of members of the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan, or PJAK.
“The Iranian force is still stationed at the same positions it penetrated into on Sunday, following clashes between both sides,” the source told the Voices of Iraqi news agency.
Stationing troops inside another nation’s borders without permission is generally referred to as an “invasion.”
But did you hear about it on the evening news? If the websites are any indication, no, you didn’t.
CNN’s top stories in World (all of these are as of the time of this writing and may change):
Pakistani official downplays U.S. decision
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and Pakistan’s U.S. ambassador discuss the latest rift in U.S.-Pakistani relations. FULL STORY
Top World Stories
- Brown ‘shocked’ by new hacking claims
- Protesters target U.S., French embassies in Syria
- U.S.: Iraq must go after Shiite militia
- 6 police hurt in Northern Ireland riots
- Japan announces new nuclear safety tests
- Dozens dead after ship sinks in Russia
- At least 64 dead in India train crash
- 44 schoolboys die in road accident
- Yemen’s Saleh, top U.S. anti-terrorism official meet
Reports: Ex-UK PM targeted in hack attack
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown had his personal information targeted by elements of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, reports say. Full story
World’s first double leg transplant done in Spain
Clinton: Syria’s Assad has lost legitimacy to rule
NYT: Suspect freed in Afghan mutilation case
High levels of radiation in Japanese beef
Egyptians demand justice for slain protesters
‘Metal coffin’: 128 dead as Russia boat sinks
Maybe ABC has something…
International News
Death Toll at 67 in India Train Wreckage
More bodies have been pulled from wreckage of derailed train in northern India.Russian Cruise Ship Sinks, 90 Missing
Hope is fading for about 90 still missing day after cruise boat sinks in Volga.Kate Speaks as Royal Couple Leaves for Home
Kate says she “really enjoyed” the as royal couple leaves U.S. for England.Brit Bishop Loses Appeal for Denying Holocaust
Bishop Richard Williamson does not believe Jews were gassed in World War II.Music Festival Lures Fans to Arctic Circle
Festival-goers must make a journey that includes airplanes, boats and walking.Panetta: Al Qaeda’s Defeat ‘Within Reach’
New Defense Secretary begins first tour of war region as head of Pentagon.
Watch: U.S. Embassy Vandalized in Syria
Syrian government supporters attack the American and French embassies.
Okay, maybe CBS:
Top World NewsPrince Albert, Charlene wed in MonacoSome 2,000 headliners gather to watch the religious ceremony capping two days of wedding events Read Blog
- First double leg transplant carried out in Spain
- Qaddafi opponents have a stronghold in the west
- Sunk Russian boat was damaged, overcrowded
- Diplomacy in the age of Facebook
- Russian neo-Nazis get life sentences for murders
- Murdoch papers reportedly targeted Gordon Brown
- U.S. to protest Syrians’ attack on embassy
- Filipinos catch 13-foot croc in hunt for killer
I guess one country invading another just doesn’t qualify as news anymore.
One more avenue for the Iranian thugocracy to oppress the Iranian people:
TEHRAN, Iran—Iran’s state TV says the country has launched its first cyber police unit in the latest attempt by authorities to gain an edge in the digital world.
The Internet has been a key outlet for Iran’s political opposition since the disputed presidential election in 2009. Iran also has been trying to boost its web defenses after the Stuxnet computer worm made its way into computers involved with its nuclear program.
Any bets on whether or not the only thing allowed on the Iranian internet will be state-approved propaganda?
Gotta love a man with this sort of honesty and integrity. Robert Bernstein writes:
AS the founder of Human Rights Watch, its active chairman for 20 years and now founding chairman emeritus, I must do something that I never anticipated: I must publicly join the group’s critics. Human Rights Watch had as its original mission to pry open closed societies, advocate basic freedoms and support dissenters. But recently it has been issuing reports on the Israeli-Arab conflict that are helping those who wish to turn Israel into a pariah state.
At Human Rights Watch, we always recognized that open, democratic societies have faults and commit abuses. But we saw that they have the ability to correct them — through vigorous public debate, an adversarial press and many other mechanisms that encourage reform.
That is why we sought to draw a sharp line between the democratic and nondemocratic worlds, in an effort to create clarity in human rights. We wanted to prevent the Soviet Union and its followers from playing a moral equivalence game with the West and to encourage liberalization by drawing attention to dissidents like Andrei Sakharov, Natan Sharansky and those in the Soviet gulag — and the millions in China’s laogai, or labor camps.
When I stepped aside in 1998, Human Rights Watch was active in 70 countries, most of them closed societies. Now the organization, with increasing frequency, casts aside its important distinction between open and closed societies.
[snip]
Human Rights Watch has lost critical perspective on a conflict in which Israel has been repeatedly attacked by Hamas and Hezbollah, organizations that go after Israeli citizens and use their own people as human shields. These groups are supported by the government of Iran, which has openly declared its intention not just to destroy Israel but to murder Jews everywhere. This incitement to genocide is a violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Leaders of Human Rights Watch know that Hamas and Hezbollah chose to wage war from densely populated areas, deliberately transforming neighborhoods into battlefields. They know that more and better arms are flowing into both Gaza and Lebanon and are poised to strike again. And they know that this militancy continues to deprive Palestinians of any chance for the peaceful and productive life they deserve. Yet Israel, the repeated victim of aggression, faces the brunt of Human Rights Watch’s criticism.
It’s a shame that Bernstein stepped down from leading HRW in 1998, otherwise they might not be having the problems he writes about.
Kudos to Mr. Bernstein for his intestinal fortitude, and kudos to the New York Times for printing it.
First Russia’s Foreign Minister, now the man-behind-the-throne Putin himself, are indicating that Obama’s capitulation on missile defense hasn’t done a thing to bring Russia closer to a strong stance on Iran… if anything, Obama’s weakness is making Russia feel it’s okay to move away from a strong stance:
BEIJING (Reuters) – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned major powers on Wednesday against intimidating Iran and said talk of sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear programme was “premature”.
Putin, who many diplomats, analysts, and Russian citizens believe is still Russia’s paramount leader despite stepping down as president last year, was speaking after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Moscow for two days of talks.
“There is no need to frighten the Iranians,” Putin told reporters in Beijing after a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
“We need to look for a compromise. If a compromise is not found, and the discussions end in a fiasco, then we will see.”
“And if now, before making any steps (towards holding talks) we start announcing some sanctions, then we won’t be creating favourable conditions for them (talks) to end positively. This is why it is premature to talk about this now.”
Clinton failed to secure any specific assurances from Russia on Iran during her visit, leaving her open to criticism at home that she had not received anything from Moscow after earlier U.S. concessions on missile defence.
Earth to President Obama! International diplomacy isn’t Christmas gift-giving. Giving the Russians what they want doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to give us what we want.
I fear not only for our nation, but for this world.
From no less an impeccable lefty source than the New York Times:
MOSCOW — Denting President Obama’s hopes for a powerful ally in his campaign to press Iran on its nuclear program, Russia’s foreign minister said Tuesday that threatening Tehran now with harsh new sanctions would be “counterproductive.”
The minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said after meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton here that diplomacy should be given a chance to work, particularly after a meeting in Geneva earlier this month in which the Iranian government said it would allow United Nations inspectors to visit its clandestine nuclear enrichment facility near the holy city of Qum.
“At the current stage, all forces should be thrown at supporting the negotiating process,” he said. “Threats, sanctions and threats of pressure in the current situation, we are convinced, would be counterproductive.”
But, but, but… wasn’t stopping Iran supposed to be a quid pro quo for Obama canceling missile defense plans for eastern Europe? Indeed it was, at least that’s what we were told.
In short, Obama got rolled by Russia. He should have learned from the greatest of modern presidents, Ronald Reagan: “Trust, but verify.”
I thought I hadn’t awakened from my sleep and was still dreaming when I heard that our most highly esteemed potentate and savior of the world, President Barack Hussein Obama, had won the Nobel Peace Prize [Article - Obama says he'll accept Nobel as 'call to action'].
President Obama was gracious in his acceptance speech. He had the same feeling of shock and surprise that millions upon millions of people experienced when it was announced that he had won the Nobel Peace Prize. He acknowledged that he was not deserving of the prize and didn’t view the award “as a recognition of my own accomplishments,” but rather as a recognition of goals he has set for the U.S. and the world. Mr. Obama said, “I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many transformative figures that have been honored by this prize.” But, he said, “I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the challenges of the 21st century.”
What accomplishments? Community organizing? Being a state senator? Performing the duties of a U.S. Senator for the sum total of two years? Talking about hope and change? By transformative figures, I am guessing that President Obama is excluding the late bloodthirsty terrorist Yasser Arafat. It should give us all a warm fuzzy that Obama is accepting the award as a “call to action”. You mean like giving the barbaric Taliban in Afghanistan a role in the government there [Article - Obama Focusing on al Qaeda, not Taliban]? Continue reading
President Obama said that Iran has another uranium enrichment facility, which is in clear violation of U.N. resolutions [Article - 1. Iran Reveals Existence of Second Uranium Enrichment Plant | 2. Leaders React to Iran’s Nuclear Facility | 3. Iran's key nuclear sites].
This is no revelation to those who have been researching and investigating Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Iran has been building up its nuclear program since 1974. The program was in stasis for a few years as a result of the 1979 revolution, but started back up in the 1990s.
The G.W. Bush administration had been ramping up pressure on Iran to cease enriching uranium for the express purpose of producing weapons. However, this was seen by state-run media and leftist politicians as a tactic to divert attention away from Iraq, Afghanistan and the global war on terror. Not surprisingly, their views on Iran have changed, since Obama became President.
What the present leaders of European nations and the United States fail to recognize is that Iran and other nations like it don’t play by the so-called rules. They don’t care about world opinion. They share the same goal, that being world domination, at any cost. There can be a million sanctions against Iran and it won’t stop them in their quest to destroy those who don’t share their world view or their fanatical ideological views [Article - Ahmadinejad: Iran 'Will Never Negotiate' Over Nuclear 'Rights'].
I share the same sentiments as Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu in his most recent address to the U.N. General Assembly: Continue reading
President Obama’s announcement to scrap missile defense systems for Poland and the Czech Republic came on the 70th anniversary of the Russian invasion of Poland [Article - 1. EDITORIAL: Obama's anniversary gift to Russia | 2. Obama not smooth on Gdansk | 3. Clinton: Not about Russia, but Iran 4. Russia's Putin says U.S. shield decision positive].
History records:
On 17 September the Red Army crossed the Polish border in the east, in fulfilment of the secret agreement within the Nazi-Soviet Pact, and ended any prospect of Poland’s survival.
Historical reference: Invasion of Poland
The invasion, which was done in tandem with Nazi Germany, ushered in the most deadly and destructive war in world history. No other war before or after, has caused as much destruction of property and as many deaths as World War 2 did.
It shouldn’t be surprising to anybody that Obama, who is a product of those who taught leftist revisionist history, would be unaware of a moment in history that is indelibly marked in the hearts and minds of the Polish people. Another great moment in the annals of Obama foreign policy [Article - Barack Obama vows to 'change the world']. After all, part of his presidential campaign was run on repairing the world reputation of the United States: Continue reading
President Obama has decided to scrap the missile defense systems in eastern Europe [Article - 1. Barack Obama surrenders to Russia on Missile Defence | 2. Analysis: Shelving missile shield may coax Moscow to help curb Iranian nuclear ambitions]. The groundwork for the defense system was laid down by President George W. Bush in response to long-range nuclear missile threat, particularly in reference to possible future missile launches from Iran. The Obama decision pleases Russia and has invoked mixed feelings from people in Poland and the Czech Republic. It has been assessed that eastern Europe is not under any serious threat from a long-range missile attack [Article - 1. East Europe: Rancor, relief on missile shield plan | 2. U.S. scraps missile defense shield plans | 3. President Obama Retreats on Third-Site Missile Defenses].
Efforts will be concentrated on defending against short to medium-range missiles instead. It has been proposed that a more mobile, multi-homing defense system be implemented, rather than using ground-based missile defenses that do not have multi-homing capabilities.
Remember the words of Barack Obama, before he was elected as President:
For your reading pleasure: Continue reading