Tag Archives: Obama
Trump versus the media
Unfortunately, the mistrust of science and critical thinking in this country is a growing problem. Trump like a snake oil salesman knows this and panders to this mistrust. If we are not careful, we will listen to what Trump says and forget to watch what he does.
Ralph E Stone GlobalNewsCentre.com
(SAN FRANCISCO) Low Energy Jeb [Bush], Little Marco [Rubio], Lyin’ Ted [Cruz] pathological Ben [Carson], and Crooked Hillary [Clinton] were all quite effective labels used by Donald Trump on his march to the White House. With the destruction of 16 primary challengers and a well-known political figure in his rear-view mirror, Trump has now zeroed in on his old opponent, the media. Why? Because the media is out to get him. Or maybe they are just fact checking.
Gun violence, as American as apple pie
As President Obama has argued, states with gun control laws tend to have lower gun-related death rates.
Ralph E. Stone Global News Centre
(SAN FRANCISCO) Another mass killing in the U.S. This time in San Bernardino — 14 dead, 21 wounded. We say ho-hum as gun violence has now become an expected event in our every day lives. Consider that since 2006, there have been more than 200 mass killings in the U.S. Americans have seemingly come to accept gun violence as long as it doesn’t directly effect them or their love ones personally.
Thoughts on the Paris attacks
Sudden shocks such as the Charlie Hebdo and Paris massacres have been used to justify the French to bolster its security and intelligence forces and introduce new surveillance laws. In ordinary times, such laws might have been vigorously opposed by the populace. When security trumps privacy, the terrorists win.
Ralph E. Stone Global News Centre
(SAN FRANCISCO) France and the free world are in mourning following the horrible Paris massacre on November 13 by at least seven gunmen, killing 129 and wounding another 352, 99 critically.
Bernie Sanders: drawing massive crowds yet still considered a “long shot?”
Bernie Sanders
Sanders favors, among other things, universal healthcare, free public college education, a $15 minimum wage, keep and expand social security, is pro women’s rights, is pro gay rights, and is an advocate for climate change.
Ralph E. Stone Global News Centre
(SAN FRANCISCO) Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an unabashed democratic socialist, is making quite a splash in the media and on the campaign trail, drawing massive crowds wherever he goes. The question is, can an independent, democratic socialist win the Democratic nomination for president? What follows is my view of the Sanders’ campaign to date.
Letter to Jeb Bush: torture is never justifiable
Remember what went on at Abu Ghraib, at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp and our extraordinary rendition program (secret abductions and transfers of prisoners to other countries where torture was used)?
Republican candidate for president, Jeb Bush. Photo via Wikipedia
by Michael Vadon.
d animals for sport.
Ralph E. Stone Global News Centre
(SAN FRANCISCO) Mr. Bush — or Jeb if you don’t mind — I was greatly disturbed to hear that if you became president you won’t rule out the resumption of the use of torture arguing that brutal questioning methods might be justifiable and necessary in some circumstances. Jeb, torture is never justifiable.
President Obama banned CIA torture by executive order in January 2009. I urge you to reconsider your statement concerning torture and agree to leave President Obama’s executive order in place. I don’t want a president who would use torture.
Nobel Peace Laureates endorse violence
Given the systematic atrocities planned, organised, sponsored, financed and committed by the US government throughout its history, which have been carefully documented by one author after another, one can only presume that the authors of the letter are delusional, incredibly ignorant or utterly devoid of compassion for those who have suffered or are still suffering from the extraordinary violence inflicted by military and economic forces controlled by the United States elite.
Robert J. Burrowes Global News Centre
(TASMANIA) In a recent letter to US President Barack Obama twelve Nobel Peace laureates declared their support for the long history of US elite violence against Native Americans and enslaved Africans, as well as the US imperial violence around the world that has butchered tens of millions of people over the past 200 years. See ‘US: An End to Torture: Twelve Nobel Peace Prize laureates write to President Barack Obama asking the US to close the dark chapter on torture once and for all. Obama responds’. http://thecommunity.com/no-to-torture/
Iran political fulmination versus diplomatic deal
Fulmination, as in “to issue a thunderous verbal attack or denunciation”.
Dr. James Wall Global News Centre
(CHICAGO) Blessings upon New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof for pointing out that “fulmination” is the right word to describe opposition to the diplomatic deal President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have just reached with Iran and the P5+1 major world powers.
The latest on closing Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp
Opponents of normalization argue that Cuba has a repressive regime with a poor human rights record.
Ralph E. Stone Global News Centre
(SAN FRANCISCO) On July 20, 2015, the U.S. and Cuba reopened embassies in each other’s countries that had been closed since 1961. As the freeze between the two countries thaws, I would expect the the commercial, economic, and financial embargo imposed by the U.S. on Cuba since 1960 will be ended in due time. However, normalization of relations between the U.S. and Cuba will not be complete until the Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp is closed and Guantánamo is returned to Cuba.
President Obama: support African Civil Society during upcoming visit to Sub-Saharan Africa
In April 2014, six Ethiopian bloggers and three journalists associated with the Zone 9 blogging collective were accused of “creating serious risk to the safety or health of the public” and arrested under the country’s vague anti-terrorism law.
William Nicholas Gomes, Global News Centre Human Rights Ambassador
(LONDON) Ethiopia and Kenya face grave and worsening human rights challenges. In this letter to US President Barack Obama, Wiliam Gomes asks the US political leader to keep these issues at the forefront of your discussions. The longstanding crackdown on human rights groups and journalists in Ethiopia and the use of so-called “anti-terror” laws to stifle the legitimate work of civil society actors in both Kenya and Ethiopia underscore their overall failure to adhere to democratic principles and international human rights standards.
The Nuclear Agreement with Iran is good for the US
The main opposition to the agreement with Iran comes from Israel. The Israelis fear Iran dominance in the region and want an Iran hobbled by sanctions.
Ralph E. Stone Global News Centre
(SAN FRANCISCO) On July 14th, the U.S., China, France, Germany, Great Britain, and Russia reached an agreement with Iran to “to limit Tehran’s nuclear ability in return for lifting international oil and financial sanctions.” In reality, the negotiations were less about curbing nuclear proliferation and more about international trade and U.S. prestige. On balance, this Iran nuclear agreement is realistic, pragmatic and, on balance, good for the U.S.
Opponents of the agreement wanted an Iran unconditional surrender. However, these were negotiations — a dialogue between Iran and six nations with a goal of reaching a mutually beneficial outcome.
Is Bernie Sanders really the only Socialist running for president?
mrctv.org
Bernie Sanders proudly calls himself a socialist. Everyone knows where he stands on the issues. He doesn’t consult pollsters before taking a stand.
Allan Brownfeld Global News Centre
(WASHINGTON DC) Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is attracting a great deal of interest in his challenge to Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. In New Hampshire, he has been less than ten points behind Clinton in some polls and he has been attracting impressive crowds in Iowa, New Hampshire and elsewhere.
As Congress considered trade legislation, Clinton ducked questions about the bill while Sanders, who opposed the legislation, said it was embarrassing to see the party’s leading candidate hide from the biggest issues of the day. In Sanders’s view, “You can be for it or against it . But I don’t understand how on an issue of such huge consequences you don’t have an opinion.”
