Posted by seumasach on September 1, 2013
Cailean Bochanan
1st September, 2013
In what Syrian media accurately described as “the start of a historic retreat” Obama backed out of missile strikes against Syria referring the issue instead to congress. So rather than commit political suicide himself he has given that option to congress: it is unlikey that they take it individually or collectively given the groundswell of anti-war opinion in the US.
Posted in Syria | Tagged: Obama's realist turn | 3 Comments »
Posted by seumasach on August 19, 2013
[This is very interesting coming from a source which Fox News describes as “a virtual mouthpiece for the administration”. Is Obama’s new direction leading to the inevitable clash with Wall Street?]
“Detroit’s problems are a reminder of broader challenges, identified but still unmet: protecting pensions; protecting municipalities from Wall Street; and, at long last, revoking the obscene privileges of banks that allow them to prosper on the failings of others.”
Editorial Board
15th August, 2013
The Detroit bankruptcy case has been cast as a contest between bondholders and pensioners that can be resolved only by shared sacrifice.
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: Obama agenda, Obama v. Wall Street, Obama's realist turn | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on August 17, 2013
[Although widely unnoticed the shift in US policy in the region is deep and far-reaching. This back down by Turkey is one result of it, the marginalisation of Qatar, Hamas and the the Muslim Brotherhood is another. The stage is being set for the Geneva 2 conference.]
16th August, 2013
ISTANBUL — Earlier this month, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan openly criticized al-Qaida-linked terrorist groups operating in Syria. Previously, Turkey’s government had been reluctant to criticize such groups, and has been frequently accused of supporting them tacitly, if not openly. But Ankara now appears to be distancing itself from them.
Posted in Global peace process, Syria | Tagged: Obama agenda, Obama's realist turn | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on August 10, 2013
Obama touts NSA surveillance reforms to quell growing unease over programs
9th August, 2013
Barack Obama announced the first public review of USsurveillance programs since 9/11 on Friday, in what amounts to the president’s first concession that the mounting public concern in response to disclosures by whistleblower Edward Snowden justifies reform.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: "War on Terror", Obama agenda, Obama's realist turn | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on August 7, 2013
And so will these debts be financed via the bailout of the banks?
6th August, 2013
Buoyed by an improving housing market, President Barack Obama on Tuesday proposed a broad overhaul of the nation’s mortgage finance system, including winding down government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He declared that taxpayers should never again be left “holding the bag” for the mortgage giants’ bad bets.
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: dollar collapse, fannie and freddie, Obama agenda, Obama's realist turn | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on August 4, 2013
A good analysis excepting only one thing: it is Obama who has lead the dismantling of the MB networks. This became clear when Kerry openly snubbed Morsi on his visit to Egypt. The US then arranged regime change in Qatar, the leading player behind the Arab Spring, and must be suspected of the same in Turkey and Egypt. Yes, the Arab Spring has gone into spectacular reverse but this is due to a no less spectacular policy shift in Washington.
30th July, 2013
WHAT a difference a month makes! The biggest gainers from the Arab Spring were Islamist parties dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood. Tunisians, Libyans and Egyptians were broadly sympathetic to their decades-long struggle to join the political mainstream and were, to varying degrees, prepared to give them the opportunity to govern. Their opponents say they had their chance and they blew it. Simmering discontent came to a head in all three countries on June 30, 2012 when 33 million Egyptians called upon their military to rescue them from a government that failed to live up to its promises. That call was heeded on June 3 — and is now being echoed in Libya and Tunisia.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Egyptian revolution, Muslim Brotherhood, Obama's realist turn | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on June 11, 2013
So this whole affair serves as a cue for Obama to “review” the Patriot Act which correlates with his apparent sidelining of Homeland Security
US lawmakers call for review of Patriot Act after NSA surveillance revelations
10th June, 2013
The White House has said it would consider congressional calls to review the Patriot Act after conceding that revelations over the scale of US surveillance activity had sparked “an appropriate debate”.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Obama agenda, obama revolution, Obama's realist turn | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on June 11, 2013
Obama under pressure as senator denounces ‘act of treason’
11th June, 2013
The Obama administration offered no indication on Monday about what it intended to do about Snowden. The White House did however say he had sparked an “appropriate debate” and hinted it might welcome revision of the Patriot Act, legislation introduced in 2001 which it claims gives legal authority for the programmes carried out by the National Security Agency.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: "War on Terror", national security agency, Obama's realist turn | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on June 11, 2013
Thierry Meyssan
10th June, 2013
For Thierry Meyssan, the Turkish people are not protesting against Recip Tayyeb Erdogan’s autocratic style, but against his policies; in other words, against the Muslim Brotherhood, of which he is the mentor. What started on Taksim Square is not a color revolution over a new building project, but an uprising that has spread across the entire country; in short, it is a revolution that calls the “Arab Spring” into question.
Posted in Syria | Tagged: Muslim Brotherhood, Obama's realist turn | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on June 9, 2013
7th June, 2013
The United Nations’ drone investigator says he expects a “significant reduction” in the controversial strikes by the US in the next 18 months.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: End drone strikes!, Obama agenda, Obama's realist turn | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on June 8, 2013
Obama, the US “bystander president”, must be doing something right since he is rubbing the neo-cons up the wrong way big time. Here is an outpouring of sour grapes from seasoned and out-of-season neo-con Charles Krauthammer
Charles Krauthammer
7th June, 2013
On Wednesday, Qusair fell to the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. Qusair is a strategic town that connects Damascus with Assad’s Alawite heartland on the Mediterranean, with its ports and Russian naval base. It’s a major strategic shift. Assad’s forces can now advance on rebel-dominated areas in central and northern Syria, including Aleppo.
Posted in Syria | Tagged: Obama agenda, Obama's realist turn | Leave a Comment »
In These New Times 