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Obama Okay With Drone Strikes In Pakistan

Obama’s acknowledgment, in a global Internet video chat event Monday, that U.S. drone strike target tribal areas in Pakistan brought some tough questions and cautious responses during a White House news briefing on Tuesday. One human rights group has urged the administration to clarify legal justifications for the use of drones. In Monday’s video chat on Google, Mr. Obama responded to a question from a young man in Brooklyn, New York, who noted that the president had ordered more drone attacks in his first year in office than his predecessor in the White House, George W. Bush. The man then asked how the president believes drone attacks, which he said cause “a lot of civilian casualties,” help the United States and whether they are worth it.

Obama at first remarked about a Monday New York Times report about the use of unarmed drones in Iraq to help ensure security for U.S. diplomats. But then he addressed the general issue of drone strikes and what he called a perception that care is not taken in their execution. “I want to make sure that people understand that Read more

2012: 02/01
CATEGORY: National Issues
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Obama’s Muslim Brotherhood Win In Egypt’s Elections

The Muslim Brotherhood, the biggest winner in the first round of Egypt’s elections, has threatened to take to the streets if there is any attempt to manipulate results. The group, a moderate Islamist movement banned for decades under the rule of deposed autocrat Hosni Mubarak, gained 36.6 percent of votes cast on November 28-29 for parties in a new lower house of parliament. “We will take to the streets if there is any cheating in the elections or manipulation of the constitution,” its leader Mohammed Badei told Egyptian television in comments reported by the press on Tuesday. A new constitution is to be drawn up next year once a lower and upper house of parliament have been elected by March. Obama And The Muslim Brotherhood Cairo 2009

The new civilian powers are set to face a fierce struggle with the army, which has already indicated it wants to retain many of the privileges of the Mubarak era, including oversight over military-related legislation. Barack Obama has declared that all opposition groups should have representation in the next Egyptian government, which essentially ensures that the Muslim Brotherhood will be part of that government. Obama first reached out to the Brotherhood when he chose the leader of a Muslim Brotherhood-linked group that had been named an unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas terror funding case to give a prayer during his inauguration ceremonies. Read more

2011: 12/06
CATEGORY: International Events
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Thousands Protests Against Putin After Russia Vote

Several thousand people protested in central Moscow on Monday against what they said was a fraudulent parliamentary election, shouting “Revolution!” and calling for an end to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s rule. The protest, a day after an election in which Russians sharply reduced the parliamentary majority held by Putin’s United Russia party, appeared to be one of the biggest opposition demonstrations in Russia in years. Police said they arrested 300 people including prominent activist Ilya Yashin and opposition blogger Alexei Navalny after the protesters marched towards the Lubyanka Square that houses the feared FSB security service. The observers said there had been “serious indications of ballot box stuffing” in a harsh verdict on the election that suggested United Russia could have suffered an even bigger decline in support if the voting had been completely fair. Around 250 were remained detained by Tuesday morning.

Potesters initially gathered in the rain on a tree-lined boulevard where they had permission for a rally. They denounced the vote as shameful and shouted “Russia without Putin!” Many protesters then tried to march out onto a major street and were confronted by a chain of police officers who locked elbows and divided the surging crowd into two parts. Navalny has won a huge following on the Internet for exposing corruption at state-owned firms and he coined the phrase, which has now been taken up by all the opposition, “swindlers and thieves” to describe United Russia. The result was Putin’s worst election setback since he came to power 12 years ago and signaled growing weariness with his domination of Russian politics as he prepares to reclaim the presidency in an election next March. President Dmitry Medvedev said Sunday’s election was “fair, Read more

2011: 12/06
CATEGORY: International Events
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Libya Unrest Heading Into Civil War, Obama Hiding

2011: 02/21
CATEGORY: International Events
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Bahrain Army Open Fire On Innocent (Warning Graphic Video)

2011: 02/19
CATEGORY: International Events
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Hosni Mubarak Resigns (video)

Protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square celebrate as they respond to news of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation. It was announced by vice-president Omar Suleiman on the country’s state TV

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2011: 02/11
CATEGORY: International Events
National Issues
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Hosni Mubarak Refuses To Step Down

President Hosni Mubarak told the Egyptian people Thursday that he would delegate more authority to his vice president, Omar Suleiman, but he defiantly refused to resign his post. In a nationally Read more

2011: 02/10
CATEGORY: National Issues
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Obama Chamber Of Commerce Speech (transcript)

Obama is speaking to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at 11:30 AM ET. Obama and the Chamber sparred in the lead-up to the 2010 midterm elections, but the two are now seeking common ground.

Below are the president’s remarks:

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Please, have a seat. Thank you very much, Tom, for the gracious introduction. I want to make a few other acknowledgments. To Tom Bell, the Chamber Board President, thank you for helping to organize this. There are some members of my administration I want to make sure are introduced. My Chief of Staff, Bill Daley, is here. (Applause.) Senior advisor Valerie Jarrett, who is interfacing with many of you and has gotten terrific advice from many of you, is here as well. Secretary Ray LaHood, our Transportation Secretary. Ambassador Ron Kirk, who is working hard to get trade deals around the world. Our Small Business Administration Administrator Karen Mills. My director of the National Economic Council, Gene Sperling, is here. And I also want to make mention, Fred Hochberg, our Export-Import Bank Chairman; Elizabeth Littlefield, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation President. And I also want to acknowledge a good friend, Paul Volcker, the outgoing chair of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Thank you all for being here. (Applause.)

2011: 02/07
CATEGORY: National Issues
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Black Eyed Peas Super Bowl 2011

During Where is the Love?, the pop star got a little political and changed the lyrics to mention two issues – education and unemployment. “In America we need to get things straight / Obama, let’s get these kids educated / Create jobs so the country stays stimulated.”

The “Yes We Can” Song and music video, written and directed by Will.i.Am of the Black Eyed Peas and Jesse Dylan (Bob Dylan’s son), was inspired by Obama’s New Hampshire Speech.

2011: 02/07
CATEGORY: National Issues
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Obama Egypt Speech Intensifies Violence And Chaos (transcript)

6:44 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening, everybody. Over the past few days, the American people have watched the situation unfolding in Egypt. We’ve seen enormous demonstrations by the Egyptian people. We’ve borne witness to the beginning of a new chapter in the history of a great country, and a long-time partner of the United States.

And my administration has been in close contact with our Egyptian counterparts and a broad range of the Egyptian people, as well as others across the region and across the globe. And throughout this period, we’ve stood for a set of core principles.

2011: 02/03
CATEGORY: Transcripts
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Obama And The Muslim Brotherhood, Cairo 2009 (transcript)

I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning, and for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt’s advancement. Together, you represent the harmony between tradition and progress. I am grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. I am also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: assalaamu alaykum.

We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world – tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of co-existence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars. More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam.

2011: 02/01
CATEGORY: Obama
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Obama’s “Together We Thrive” Arizona Shooting Tragedy (Transcript)

Obama has paid tribute to the six victims of last Saturday’s shooting rampage in the southwestern state of Arizona, telling an audience that they represented “what is best in America.”

Mr. Obama addressed thousands gathered at a memorial service Wednesday evening at the University of Arizona in Tucson. His remarks focused largely on the six people killed in the rampage, including a nine-year-old girl.

“To the families of those we’ve lost; to all who called them friends; to the students of this university, the public servants gathered tonight, and the people of Tucson and Arizona: I have come here tonight as an American who, like all Americans, kneels to pray with you today, and will stand by you tomorrow.

“There is nothing I can say that will fill the sudden hole torn in your hearts. But know this: the hopes of a nation are here tonight. We mourn with you for the fallen. We join you in your grief. And we add our faith to yours that Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the other living victims of this tragedy pull through.

“As Scripture tells us:

“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall; Read more

2011: 01/12
CATEGORY: National Issues
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Gabrielle Giffords Shot

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head by a gunman at a public event in Tucson on Saturday. There are conflicting reports about whether she was killed. The Pima County, Ariz., sheriff’s office told member station KJZZ the 40-year-old Democrat was killed. A hospital spokeswoman said Giffords was in critical condition and undergoing surgery.

At least eight other people, including members of her staff, were injured. There also were conflicting reports on the number of deaths at the scene, but President Obama, in a statement, said “we know that some have passed away” and that Giffords was “gravely wounded.”

Giffords (born June 8, 1970) is an American politician and the U.S. Representative for Arizona’s 8th congressional district. She is a member of the Democratic Party, and was the third woman in Arizona’s history to be elected to serve in the U.S. Congress. The district encompasses the southeastern part of the state. It includes all of Cochise County and parts of Pima, Pinal, and Santa Cruz counties.