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Gary Edwards

Obama's Bait and Switch: Karl Rove describes how Obama's Policies Break His Campaign P... - 0 views

  • For example, Mr. Obama didn't run promising larger deficits -- but now is offering record-setting ones. He'll add $4.9 trillion before his term ends and $7.4 trillion if given a second, doubling the national debt in five years and tripling it in 10.
    • Gary Edwards
       
      Obama railed against the Bush deficits, accusing Bush of irresponsible stewardship. Obama promised fiscal responsibility.
  • Mr. Obama cannot dismiss critics by pointing to President George W. Bush's decision to run $2.9 trillion in deficits while fighting two wars and dealing with 9/11 and Katrina. Mr. Obama will surpass Mr. Bush's eight-year total in his first 20 months and 11 days in office, adding $3.2 trillion to the national debt. If America "cannot and will not sustain" deficits like Mr. Bush's, as Mr. Obama said during the campaign, how can Mr. Obama sustain the geometrically larger ones he's flogging?
  • Mr. Obama pledged "no tax hikes on any families earning less than a quarter million dollars." What he didn't draw attention to was $600 billion in higher energy taxes he wants to impose through a cap-and-trade system on carbon emissions. These taxes will hit everyone who drives, flips a light switch, or buys anything manufactured, grown or shipped.
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    Barack Obama won the presidency in large measure because he presented himself as a demarcation point. The old politics, he said, was based on "spin," misleading arguments, and an absence of candor. He'd "turn the page" on that style of politics. Last week's presentation of his budget shows that hope was a mirage.
Paul Merrell

Glenn Greenwald on Snowden docs: I'm saving the best for last - Salon.com - 0 views

  • Greenwald’s plans for the many Snowden documents yet to be released to the public:I think we will end the big stories in about three months or so [June or July 2014]. I like to think of it as a fireworks show: You want to save your best for last. There’s a story that from the beginning I thought would be our biggest, and I’m saving that. The last one is the one where the sky is all covered in spectacular multicolored hues. This will be the finale, a big missing piece. Snowden knows about it and is excited about it. Afterwards, there’ll be more to release—I made a promise to Snowden that we’d get as much of the archive out as possible—but I think the big media splashes will probably be over. But it takes time. We’re reporting on stories right now, finding things in the archive still that we’re trying to corroborate. We have one reporter who has done nothing but read documents, trying to cross-reference and make connections, every day since November.
  • And what he expects for 2016:Hillary is banal, corrupted, drained of vibrancy and passion. I mean, she’s been around forever, the Clinton circle. She’s a fucking hawk and like a neocon, practically. She’s surrounded by all these sleazy money types who are just corrupting everything everywhere. But she’s going to be the first female president, and women in America are going to be completely invested in her candidacy. Opposition to her is going to be depicted as misogynistic, like opposition to Obama has been depicted as racist. It’s going to be this completely symbolic messaging that’s going to overshadow the fact that she’ll do nothing but continue everything in pursuit of her own power. They’ll probably have a gay person after Hillary who’s just going to do the same thing. I hope this happens so badly, because I think it’ll be so instructive in that regard. It’ll prove the point. Americans love to mock the idea of monarchy, and yet we have our own de facto monarchy. I think what these leaks did is, they demonstrated that there really is this government that just is the kind of permanent government that doesn’t get affected by election choices and that isn’t in any way accountable to any sort of democratic transparency and just creates its own world off on its own.
Paul Merrell

Middle East updates / UN nuclear agency needs millions more for Iran monitoring - Middl... - 0 views

  • 2:53 P.M. Assad: U.S.-led airstrikes not serious or efficient Syrian President Bashar Assad said in remarks published Wednesday that U.S.-led airstrikes targeting Islamic State group militants in his country are neither serious nor efficient, claiming they have failed to produce any tangible results.
  • Assad spoke in a rare interview conducted Nov. 28 in Damascus with Paris Match magazine, his first in months. His comments critical of the U.S. airstrikes appear intended to give the impression that his forces are the most effective in fighting Islamic extremists. "You can't end terrorism with aerial strikes. Troops on the ground that know the land and can react are essential," the magazine quoted Assad as saying. "That is why there haven't been any tangible results in the two months of strikes led by the coalition."
  • 12:47 P.M. Iran has never conducted air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq, official says Iran has not launched any air strikes against Islamic State targets in neighboring Iraq, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday. "Iran has never been involved in any air strikes against the Daesh (Islamic State) targets in Iraq. Any cooperation in such strikes with America is also out of question for Iran," the senior official said on condition of anonymity. (Reuters) 6:30 A.M. Iran has conducted airstrikes against ISIS forces in Iraq, a U.S. official confirmed Tuesday.
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  • 12:52 P.M. Kerry: U.S.-led efforts against ISIS having a 'significant impact' The U.S.-led coalition has inflicted serious damage on ISIS, carrying out around 1,000 air strikes so far in Iraq and Syria, but the fight against the militants could last years, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday. (Reuters) Read the full story
  • Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby was asked by reporters if the U.S. was aware of Iran's involvement over Iraq, following recent media reports of possible strikes by Iranian jets. "We have the indications they have flown these missions in recent days in eastern Iraq," Kirby said in broadcast remarks. The strikes were not coordinated with the U.S., and may be the first time Tehran has launched manned aircraft from inside Iran to strike Islamic State targets in Iraq, Kirby was quoted as saying by the Navy Times. He said the U.S. would not take a position on the flights, saying it was Iraq's airspace and up to Iraq to decide who could fly over it.
  • "We ask that they do those things in keeping with the idea that we don't further inflame sectarian tensions inside Iraq," Kirby said. He said the U.S. was aware that Baghdad has "communications" with Tehran about military activities. Iran has offered help to the coalition against Islamic State but its request was refused by the U.S., which has vowed it would not coordinate with Iran on military actions inside Iraq. Washington is concerned that Iran, which backs the majority Shiite government, will provoke further resentment among Iraq's Sunni minority.
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    Who to believe about what?
Paul Merrell

Remarks With Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird After Their Meeting - 0 views

  • SECRETARY KERRY: (In French.) It’s an honor for me to be here, a privilege for me to represent President Obama, the United States of America, and all American citizens in expressing our deep solidarity with our country’s closest ally. Just as you have so often stood with us, we’re proud to be here, standing with you today.
  • I again congratulate the people of Ukraine on Sunday’s elections, a bold and clear choice for democracy, for reform, and for European integration, which is their right to choose. I am concerned, however, at plans for another so-called local election in eastern Ukraine on November 2nd, which Russia has said it will recognize. This would be a clear violation of the commitments made by both Russia and the separatists that it backs in the Minsk agreements. And the United States, along with the rest of the international community, will not recognize so-called separatist elections, unless they happen within the framework of the special status law passed by Ukraine’s parliament and signed by President Poroshenko. We continue to support Ukraine in its efforts to promote reform, fight corruption, pursue a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the east, and ultimately end the occupation of Crimea.
Gary Edwards

bayareapatriots2 : Edward Snowden Quotes About U.S. Government Spying That Should Send... - 0 views

  • "The great fear that I have regarding the outcome for America of these disclosures is that nothing will change. [People] won't be willing to take the risks necessary to stand up and fight to change things... And in the months ahead, the years ahead, it's only going to get worse. [The NSA will] say that... because of the crisis, the dangers that we face in the world, some new and unpredicted threat, we need more authority, we need more power, and there will be nothing the people can do at that point to oppose it. And it will be turnkey tyranny."
  • "I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant."
  • "I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions, and that the return of this information to the public marks my end."
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    "Would you be willing to give up what Edward Snowden has given up?  He has given up his high paying job, his home, his girlfriend, his family, his future and his freedom just to expose the monolithic spy machinery that the U.S. government has been secretly building to the world.  He says that he does not want to live in a world where there isn't any privacy.  He says that he does not want to live in a world where everything that he says and does is recorded.  Thanks to Snowden, we now know that the U.S. government has been spying on us to a degree that most people would have never even dared to imagine.  Up until now, the general public has known very little about the U.S. government spy grid that knows almost everything about us.  But making this information public is going to cost Edward Snowden everything.    Essentially, his previous life is now totally over.  And if the U.S. government gets their hands on him, he will be very fortunate if he only has to spend the next several decades rotting in some horrible prison somewhere.  There is a reason why government whistleblowers are so rare.  And most Americans are so apathetic that they wouldn't even give up watching their favorite television show for a single evening to do something good for society.  Most Americans never even try to make a difference because they do not believe that it will benefit them personally.  Meanwhile, our society continues to fall apart all around us.  Hopefully the great sacrifice that Edward Snowden has made will not be in vain.  Hopefully people will carefully consider what he has tried to share with the world.  The following are 27 quotes from Edward Snowden about U.S. government spying that should send a chill up your spine..."
Paul Merrell

Snowden 'overwhelmed' by public response | TheHill - 0 views

  • Edward Snowden says he is “overwhelmed” by the public reaction to his disclosures about the government's mass surveillance programs.“I was really worried ... that this would be a two day story, then everybody would forget about it and we’d move on.” he said during a video question and answer session hosted by the PEN American Center on Tuesday.Snowden spoke to the event from Moscow, where he has been since fleeing the U.S. in 2013 after leaking classified information about the National Security Agency (NSA) collecting information on millions of Americans' phone calls.ADVERTISEMENTHis disclosures led to a public outcry, which Snowden hailed, and Congress passing broad reforms to the NSA.But he said that there was still need for vigilance and further reforms. He also warned against secrecy in national security programs, noting that the surveillance programs "were passed without meaningful debate at all."The NSA program collected data on the phone numbers involved in calls and their duration but not the actual content of conversations. It is set to expire at the end of the month.Under the reforms, the government must now obtain a warrant to access phone data that will be stored by private companies.
  • Critics say that Snowden endangered national security, but his supporters say he acted as a whistleblower and drew appropriate scrutiny to the government's programs.Activists such as Snowden and PEN America Center have championed reforms and sought to increase protections for whistleblowers.The event took place on the same day the group released a report outlining the risks that government contractors face when leaking classified information.
Paul Merrell

BBC News - Dilma Rousseff to address Brazilians over protests - 0 views

  • Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is set to address the nation over the country's worst unrest in two decades. Earlier on Friday she held an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss how to end more than a week of protests. They began as demonstrations over transport fare rises in Sao Paulo, but quickly grew into nationwide rallies against corruption and other issue.
Paul Merrell

More Is Needed to Beat ISIS, Pentagon Officials Conclude - The New York Times - 0 views

  • Pentagon officials have concluded that hundreds more trainers, advisers and commandos from the United States and its allies will need to be sent to Iraq and Syria in the coming months as the campaign to isolate the Islamic State intensifies. In meetings with President Obama’s national security team in recent weeks, military officials have told the White House that they believe they have made significant progress in the fight against the Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria, administration officials said. But to deal a lasting blow to the extremist Sunni militancy, also known as ISIS and ISIL, they believe that additional forces will be needed to work with Iraqi, Kurdish and Syrian opposition fighters on the ground in the two countries. Continue reading the main story Related Coverage U.S. Relies Heavily on Saudi Money to Support Syrian RebelsJAN. 23, 2016 U.S. Revamping Rebel Force Fighting ISIS in SyriaSEPT. 6, 2015 Obama Administration Ends Effort to Train Syrians to Combat ISISOCT. 9, 2015 In the past, the Pentagon’s requests for additional troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan have been met with skepticism by Mr. Obama, and his aides have said he has resented what he has regarded as efforts to pressure him. But the rise of the Islamic State has alarmed the White House, and a senior administration official said Thursday that the president is willing to consider raising the stakes in both Iraq and Syria.
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