By David Alexander and Madeline Chambers
DRESDEN, Germany (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama expressed hope on Friday of making serious progress in Middle East peacemaking this year and said Israelis and Palestinians had to "get serious" and make tough compromises.
On a visit to Germany, Obama repeated his call for Israel to halt settlement expansion in the West Bank, but he also pushed the Palestinians to improve security and pressed Arab states to match any Israeli peace steps with confidence-building gestures.
"The Palestinians have to get serious about creating the security environment that is required for Israel to feel confident. Israelis are going to have to take some difficult steps," he said.
Obama, who sees Israeli-Palestinian progress as crucial to repairing the U.S. image in the Muslim world, was speaking a day after delivering a speech in Cairo in which he offered Muslims a "new beginning" with the United States.
Germany is the third stop on a trip which started in Saudi Arabia. On Saturday, he will attend commemorations in France marking the 65th anniversary of the World War Two D-Day landings in France.
"I am confident that if we stick with it ... we can make some serious progress this year," Obama said of the peace process at a news conference in Dresden with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"The moment is now for us to act on what we all know to be the truth, which is that each side is going to have to make some difficult compromises."
After Dresden, Obama toured the site of the Buchenwald concentration camp, paying homage to the victims of the Holocaust, in which 6 million Jews died.
The visit will send a signal to Jerusalem that while he did not visit Israel on his maiden trip to the Middle East, its security is still central to U.S. foreign policy.
"To this day we know there are those who insist the Holocaust never happened, a denial of a fact or truth that is baseless, ignorant and hateful. This place is the ultimate rebuke to such thoughts," Obama said, with Merkel and camp survivors Elie Wiesel and Bertrand Herz standing behind him.
UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY
Obama has made finding a solution to the protracted Israeli-Palestinian conflict a top foreign policy priority and has plunged into Middle East politics, often a quagmire for his predecessors, early in his presidency.
Former President George W. Bush was seen as taking a hands-off approach to Middle East peacemaking until late in his administration. Muslims saw Bush as biased toward Israel.
"I believe with the new U.S. administration, with President Obama, there is a unique opportunity to see to it that the negotiation process is revived," Merkel said.
Obama said he was concerned his recent comments on the need for Israel to accept a Palestinian state were getting a disproportionate amount of attention. Palestinians needed to take steps, too, he said.
"We have still not seen a firm commitment from the Palestinian Authority that they can control some of the border areas that Israel is going to be concerned about if there was going to be a two-state solution," he said.
If this was not solved, the Israelis would have "trouble moving forward," Obama said.
He called on Arab states to "make some hard choices" by opening up trade and offering diplomatic exchanges with Israel if it made "tough commitments." Until now, Arab states have said Israel must fulfill its obligations under the 2003 "road map" peace plan before they will reciprocate.
Along with the Middle East crisis, Obama and Merkel also discussed the nuclear stand-off with Iran, the global financial crisis, climate change and the fate of prisoners at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay.
Obama is hugely popular in Germany, but relations between Washington and Berlin have been less than smooth since Obama took office in January. Facing an election in September, Merkel has resisted U.S. pressure to take inmates from Guantanamo and send more troops to Afghanistan.
The brevity of Obama's stay in Germany and his decision not to go to Berlin led to German media speculation of a rift, but the president dismissed this as "wild speculation."
(Additional reporting by Kerstin Gehmlich and Noah Barkin)
(Writing by Ross Colvin and Madeline Chambers; editing by Jon Hemming)
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/968952034?z00m=19760638
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin skyrocketed to the headlines when she became John McCain's surprise nominee for vice president in 2008 -- but even out of the spotlight of a national campaign, Palin continues to garner attention outside of Alaska.
Most recently, she made headlines for her take on accepting Alaska's portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 -- commonly called the stimulus plan. Andrew Sullivan of the Atlantic does a nice job of running down her waffling statements.
But the most baffling part to me is that, of the $930 million allocated for Alaska, she only rejected the $28.6 million slated for energy efficiencymeasures. The New York Times explains:
The stimulus funds for states' energy offices come with other efficiency-oriented stipulations. To be eligible for the money, governors must offer assurances that their state will not only strengthen its building code, but also that they will make energy efficiency and renewable energy a priority when spending the funds. The states are also supposed to make sure that utilities have incentives to help their customers make their homes and businesses more energy-efficient...
Sounds great to me. But Palin has other ideas, claiming that "mandating universal energy building codes" was a bad idea for Alaska. The problem is, rejecting that money is an even worse idea for our environment. The future of this planet depends on everyone -- including residents of Alaska -- to start conserving energy now. And the best way to get started is through government-funded programs like the state energy grants Governor Palin just rejected.
Even fellow Alaskan Republicans agree; Alaskan Senate Resources Committee Co-Chair Lesil McGuire (an Anchorage Republican) sent Palin a letter formally urging her to take the energy efficiency funds. The Anchorage Daily News reports that Senator McGuire "said in an interview that Palin herself set a goal of Alaska receiving 50 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2025. 'And then to come back and reject the implementation of an energy saving code the building community hasn't rejected and that other states are readily adopting, I think it sends a hypocritical message,' McGuire said."
Agree it's hypocritical? You can let Sarah Palin know! Demand that she accepts the $28.6 million in stimulus funds for energy efficiency programs today by signing this petition.
what is the complete story? This is not it.
Waterboarding: Clearly not all of the classified documents have been released and not all information is available. But it appears that 3 leading Al Qaeda detainees were waterboarded numerous times after which, at least one of them, indicated that there were new terrorist plots about which the US would learn when they happened. Speaker Pelosi and other Congressional leaders were informed of the decision to use the controversial interrogation method and did not protest at the time. Information obtained from these waterboarding interrogations tipped off US officials as to the plot to blow up the tallest office building in Los Angeles. That plan was then foiled by law enforcement and counter-terrorism officials. Therefore, it appears that the destruction of that building and potentially the loss of many thousand American lives was prevented by these interrogations. But others say that such methods should never be employed by a civilized society even to save many lives. There are certain things we just don't do. As you consider such a decision, I think it is important to think about what might have happened had the information not been obtained and the building destroyed. Would we now be investigating intelligence agencies for not doing enough to prevent it, which is what happened after 9/11? If your son, daughter, parent, or spouse were in that building, would you feel differently? Before you decide, you may also want to know that pilots and special operations forces (Navy Seals and the like) undergo waterboarding during training to teach them not to break under these types of interrogation tactics. - PER CONGRESSMAN JOHN CAMPBELL R-CA
4-27 -09 email
Subject: Tell Pesticide Peddlers: We support Michelle Obama's organic garden.
Dear Friend,
The Mid America CropLife Association (MACA) has a bone to pick with Michelle Obama. MACA represents chemical companies that produce pesticides, and they are angry that - wait for it - Michelle Obama isn't using chemicals in her organic garden at the White House.
I am not making this up.
In an email they forwarded to their supporters, a MACA spokesman wrote, "While a garden is a great idea, the thought of it being organic made [us] shudder." MACA went on to publish a letter it had sent to the First Lady asking her to consider using chemicals -- or what they call "crop protection products" -- in her garden.
I just signed a petition telling MACA's board members to stop using Michelle Obama's garden to spread propaganda about produce needing to be sprayed with chemicals. I hope you will, too.
Please have a look and take action.
http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/wh_garden/?r_by=-1831079-IJgxknx&rc=paste
Thanks!
This story is taken from Sacbee / Latest News / E-mail Alerts -- Breaking News
Bryan Edward Hall of Elk Grove, a U.S. Army staff sergeant, was among five American soldiers killed Friday in Iraq when a suicide bomber in a dump truck attacked a Mosul police station, military officials disclosed Sunday.
Hall, 32, had served in the military for 14 years and had been deployed in Iraq since September.
Hall and four other soldiers from Fort Carson in Colorado were in their military vehicle when the blast occurred, Army officials said.
The other soldiers were Staff Sgt. Gary L. Woods Jr., 24, of Kentucky, Sgt. Edward W. Forrest Jr., 25, of Missouri; Cpl. Jason G. Pautsch, 20, of Iowa and Pvt. Bryce E. Gautier, 22, of Cypress, California.
All were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.
Hall had received three Army Commendation Medals, according to military records, as well as several Army Achievement, Good Conduct, and War on Terrorism medals.
The Friday attack caused the most American military deaths in any single incident in more than a year, the Washington Post reported.
Hi everyone,
The standoff in the Indian Ocean continues for a second day - with armed Somali pirates holding the captain of an American cargo ship on a lifeboat. A U.S. Navy Destroyer is now keeping close watch, and the FBI is sending in a hostage negotiating team to win the captain's release. Meanwhile, the cargo ship is on the move, toward Kenya, to carry out its original mission to deliver relief supplies. David Martin will have the latest.
David will be back later in the broadcast with an in depth report about the shocking increase of suicide among U.S. troops. He has an exclusive interview with a top general who admits the military needs to do more to address this problem.
Barry Petersen reports from the world's number one car market - China. Sales are booming there, and you might be surprised to learn that Ford and GM are selling lots of cars there. In fact, the Chinese market is providing a much-needed boost to Detroit.
When most people hear about spring break, they think of sandy beaches and late-night parities. But Dean Reynolds has a story about students from Howard University taking a different type of spring break, in order to inspire high school students.
See you tonight!
Katie Couric
I was still not starting sozial network "See the light! Be the light! - Let's organize!" because didn't have much time (after could not start group with this name here), but i am working on it.
If you have a chance and are interested you can always look still my continued post under http://changeforbetterworld.blogspot.com, i was inserting some points of interests from interviews with nobel laureate Joseph Stieglitz and James K. Galbraith - really something people should know about crisis and what to do and so financial participants will not precipitate world into chaos. Maybe i should find still some more of links into English about similar topics. It must be still continued. If you found some well news of Stieglitz into English can tell me, i would appreciate every message very much because these points are really important now. US will go something more to regulate the gamblers but why only after Europe was forcing on it.
I will maybe write something again from Asia next week because i will be there again. (Will be in Okinawa too and must not be a soldier to do it. - It's better to be your own free people and not under command authority - smiley)
"We the people" are still very necessary to let change still go on.
But all should remember same time that right wing were beginning to built right movement of neocons about 1976 after "lessons" of Watergate scandals and were using billions for it. Obama is now some days in Washington and we have the movement of change since last year, first for election and now to organize country. There was some time necessary too from well known words of Kennedy to the day first humankind could walk on the Moon. - So change will still go on, it's our job too and we must always take care the people faking now in only want have a lot critic against Obama but don't mean like spoken because it's only political game and we don't need some of the old back.
CAN YOU ALL CUT AND PASTE THE LETTERS AND SUPPORT ME ON THIS.. REMOVE EXIST TYPE IN BOXES AND INSERT THIS.. OR YOUR OWN.
http://capwiz.com/aarp/issues/alert/?alertid=12846746&type=CO
On behalf of millions of American families and businesses struggling in today's economy, I urge you to demonstrate your commitment to health care reform in the federal budget. Moving health care reform forward in 2009 is a critical first step to improve our nation's economy. PLEASE do not tax the poor to support middle class, making us less able, it costs more in the long run. SEE my poorly typed letter below. As you put together the federal budget, I hope you will also make the up-front AssESSMENTs of failure to help disabled be able and make investments needed to enhance the quality of care, expand coverage, and save money in the long-run. Please include enough funds in the fede ral budget to achieve meaningful health care reform, FOR ALL OF US. one issue-
To: ofainfo@dnc.org Subject: PLEASE STOP TAXING THE POOR Hello ALL, PLEASE FORGIVE MY DISABLED TYPNG NAD GET THE URGENT MESSAGE... On budget- do not do anymore tax the poor FOR the middle class. don't approve more cig taxes as mostly poor and anxiety prone (including veterans) smoke. and we have no REAL benefits from the tax we pay. the minimal stop smoking programs usually don't work. AND THEY ARE STILL CHEAPER THAN FOOD nad are better psyche care than we can get and easier to carry for the homeless.
TAX HARD LIQOUR INSTEAD. TO SUpPORT only ONLY, ONLY! ALL THE PROGRAMS AND SHELTERS FOR THEIR RECOVERY. i spent 8 years homeless VA AnD LOCAL PROGRAMS DO FAMILIES, HEALTHY ADDICTS AnD HEALTHY UNEMPLoYED most say able to work in 30 days . some staffed by-the unsupervised recently recovered do real harm. THEY all discriminate against disabled.
PLEASE and no more POOR derived income going to those double above poverty level... WE CANT AFFORD IT. NO MORE HUD RENTAL ASSISTANCE TO THAT GROUP EITHER. CAN'T AFFORD TO RENT ON 60K A YEAR - fix your credit mess. More cigarette taxes that STILL wont benefit smokers or prevent smoking?! LOAD OF DOO DOO. Democratic Party leaders plan another try and are expecting success with fellow Democrat Barack Obama as president
. http://www.heartland.org/article/24637/Cigarette_Tax_Would_Triple_Under_35_Billion_SCHIP_Plan.html The proposal would take the federal excise tax on cigarettes from 39 cents to $1 a pack, on top of existing state and local taxes. Families earning up to four times the poverty level—about $83,000 for a family of four—could qualify for SCHIP coverage. SCHIP has been funded largely through federal cigarette taxes. Critics of the expansion proposal point to the irony of imposing sha rply higher taxes on cigarettes, whose buyers tend to come from lower- and middle-income families, because the very people SCHIP aims to help would be disproportionately hurt by this.
Sincerely, Darlene C. Matthews Irvine , CA 92614
PS: Systems can be broke, but not broken, if all the cogs work. OUR SYSTEMS ARE BROKEN.
some highlites are-A NEW VA to be built in Pendelton.( sandiego/oc border) more civilian jobs and more health care for vets......STIMULUS WILL HELP EDUCATION and PARENTS MUST PARTICiPATE. gonna make it more affordable to go to college too......going to free up SBA MONIES....to start business.......GONNA ENFORCE WORKER RULES FOR CONSTRUCTION... AND MAKE SURE WAGES AND INCOMES FOR WORKERS AND UNIONS CAN USE DAVIS- BACON TO HELP RESTORE BALANCE.............BOTTOM UP ECONOMIC GROWTH VERSUS TOP DOWN...........RETURN TO TAX RATES UNDER BILL CLINTON. THOSE OVER 250K PAY 3% MORE. Allows us to pay for health care reform help with disparities.......it's not socialism.EVEN BESiDES TARP MONIES Obama supports a credit card bill of rights ... and consumer safety laws.......on to Frustrations with the banking - .........banks purchased sub prime loans and bundled made them into stocks. People couldnt afford what they bought.so AIG did default swaps.... AND HAD NOt enough MONEY TO COVER... so all were making a lot of money and no checks. until foreclosures began due to economy. House of cards collapsed. Big banks are weakening can't afford to have all belly up. Whole economy is resting on the credit . No loans =no business.................WE HAVE TO COME UP WITH A PLAN TO SEPARATE ASSETS. RAISE CAPITAL TO LEND AGAIN ...AND THEY ARE ALL INTERNATIONAL SO IT'S AN INTERNATIONAL PROBLEM......................WE CANT GO BACK WE CAN LOOK FORWARD. GET OUT AND PREVENT IT FROM HAPPENING AGAIN.........MEN ARE LOSING JOBS FASTER THAN WOMEN...A FELON asked what to do ..WORKED STEADY FOR 13 YEARS NOW A MISTAKE 20 YEARS AGO KEEPS HIM FROM WORK.... feds are setting up programs to help. nad problem is about no jobs for any -not his past.investments in new energy future and mfg base will open up jobs. he worked for toyota...... the best.......We will have to work to create the fuel efficient cares to open jobs back up in the auto industry. committed 15 billion for new technologies every year already..........sorry on allthe typos...........
Thanks for all were active again: U.S. House Passes 90 Percent Tax on Employee Bonuses
But it seems like we must still help President Obama! There can be other problems President Obama could need help. It's still a lot to change.
"Every six and half seconds, AIG loses the equivalent of the median household income in the US. Americans spent at world's largest retailer Wal-Mart Stores in the fourth quarter is $67.4 billion, so AIG's loss amounts to 92% of the spending! In other words, It's more like, It would take a person spending $1-million per day, everyday, the next 169 years to spend as much money as AIG lost during the fourth quarter, which lasted just 92 days."
- And one point more about tax money: over $ 90 billion were going from AIG to banks like Deutsche Bank, Société Générale, BNP Paribas, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS and some banks of US.
Marion Schmitz sent a message to the members of Organizing for America Orange County.
--------------------
Subject: Town Hall Meeting with President Obama this Wednesday in OC!
Latest info on our wall posts on OFA facebook group:
TOWN HALL MEETING WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA
Wednesday, March 18th
Doors Open at 1:30 PM OC Fair and Event Center
88 Fair Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
TICKET DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION
The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are required and will be available at the following ticket distribution location beginning at 10:00 AM Tuesday, March 17. Tickets will be limited and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis:
OC Fair and Event Center
(Enter at Gate 1 or Gate 10; Park in Lot A.)
Costa Mesa, CA
For security reasons, do not bring bags and limit personal items. No signs or banners permitted. The OC Fairgrounds will be charging $5/car for on-site parking.
See you there!!
To reply to this message, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?inbox/readmessage.php&t=1105202424124&mid=28966eG33820b8eG40e5883G0
From: SEDBTAC ADA Network [mailto:SEDBTAC-ADANETWK@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of SEDBTA ProjectSent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 1:45 PMTo: SEDBTAC-ADANETWK@LISTSERV.SYR.EDUSubject: Accessible Transportation...Please distribute widely
FYI: Emailed for Informational Purpose. Please follow contact information below. Do not respond to this email. In conjunction with a grant received from the Federal Transit Administration, (http://www.fta.dot.gov/) Meeting the Challenge, Inc. is conducting a survey designed to collect information from people with disabilities regarding their experiences with public transportation. We would like to invite all people with disabilities to participate. Information gathered will be used to determine what barriers still exist in public transportation for people with disabilities and will be used to create Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) technical assistance materials directed toward alleviating those barriers.
This is an on-line survey which can be accessed from this link: http://mtcinc.transit.sgizmo.com . It is estimated that it will take from 5 to 15 minutes to complete the survey. If you do not have internet access, you can participate by calling Meeting the Challenge at 1-800-864-4264 (select menu choice #2), Monday through Friday between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM (MT), and a staff member will assist you with the survey by telephone. If you prefer a paper copy of the survey, one can be obtained by calling the same phone number. Responses to the survey will be collected through March 31, 2009.
Please forward this e-mail to any individuals with a disability or to any groups serving individuals with disabilities that you feel would be appropriate respondents. We thank you for your participation and assistance!
Cristi L. Harris
Special Projects Director
Meeting the Challenge, Inc
(800) 949-4232 (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY)
(719) 444-0252 ext. 108
In times of need and crisis we can draw on a storehouse of knowledge laid down over many generations.
Our ancestors displayed both noble and ignoble behavior.
These traits are part of our history.In times of crisis these traits or qualities can come to the surface. Dormant wisdom was already noted in deep antiquity in stories, adventures, quests and myths.
Times of danger and crisis were times of heroes and heroines who emerged from obscurity in service to the greater need.
We are in such times today.
Just look around you and you can see ordinary people achieving extraordinary things.
These forces of hidden wisdom emerge when noble, virtuous, and selfless qualities of heart and soul are ignited by recognition of the desperate needs being faced by family, community, nation and our planet.
The over mental, linear and intellectual concentration can result in a loss of access to these hidden forces available to us.
To tap into this reservoir of wisdom and slowly become part of its rhythm requires clear thinking, a quiet calm mind and a heart that embraces the common good selflessly.
Tap into the heart of wisdom for real CHANGE.
Link to this post: http://changeforbetterworld.blogspot.com/2009/02/big-first-step-well-begun-is-half-done.html
This is my last post i had begun Feb. 18 and was still actualized so you can find a lot news in one site and not only my own new picture (art) of course. What is to find there in addition for example:
And here the link to click again: http://changeforbetterworld.blogspot.com/2009/02/big-first-step-well-begun-is-half-done.html
Yes we can!
Let's use the member of campaign of change to help Obama and get the change.
Cable news and right wing blogs are swarming with the revisionist history on the New Deal. Arm yourself against lies, spin and propaganda by reading info from a number of sources.
Here down a article about this topic. [Media Matters is a progressive media watchdog and fact checking organization which has received accolades from numerous sources (except the right wing media which often gets debunked by Media Matters).]
The link to digg it and for article: Conservatives Cherry-Pick 1930s Unemployment Figures
Summary: Columnists Mona Charen and George Will continued a trend among conservative media of responding to comparisons between the current economic situation and that of the 1930s and between Barack Obama and FDR by attacking the New Deal. In separate columns, both Charen and Will cherry-picked unemployment figures to assert that the New Deal did not reduce unemployment. But historians and progressive economists have noted that unemployment fell every year of the New Deal except during the 1937-38 recession; further, Nobel-laureate Paul Krugman has said it was a reversal of New Deal policies, not a continuance of them, that contributed to rising unemployment in 1937 and 1938.
Yes we can! Best wishes, Steffen
http://changeforbetterworld.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-way-to-say-goodbye-to-neocons-bush.html
Formal Petition to Attorney General-Designate Eric Holder to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute any and all government officials who have participated in War Crimes.
You can Digg it: My_way to say GOODBYE to neocons, Bush and Cheney!
A picture from me to say goodbye from most bad president of US and all neocons.We can only hope many people will long enough remember. Bush had a lot bad gifts for the change! Let's take care the poor and normal people will not have to pay now too much after the rich made profit in good time!And what's with impeachment now?! What's with hidden knowledge of Sept. 11 2001?[ Maybe an explanation of picture: it's made like an "egg laying wool milk sow" a metaphorical-idiomatic term in Germany]
Yeah, and here you can see something new about neocons were bringing to us - for me to say: don't forgive Bush and neocons and there is still a lot to work of. We will and can do this too - Yes we can!I got now message too like "If anybody can clean up the mess bush left, it's President Obama." - Yes and Obama likes people helping still to do the work - help him! We were a big and strong movement and so people got knowledge back how strong people can be together! Whistleblower: Bush's NSA spied on EVERYONE (already 4255 Diggs) The NSA had access to ALL YOUR COMMUNICATIONS, regardless of who you were or whether or not you were communicating internationally.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/HelpTheNonMilitaryDisabled
Homeless and failed by both the county/ city and VA for about a decade.
creating losss and hell wasting my healht and life and potential.
and spending a lot of charitable and taxpayer money to do it.
PLEASE SIGN PETITIONS COmmEnT IN ONLINE NEWSPAPERS and if you can ,GET OUT THERE TO AN EVENT
Please help celebrate MARTIN LUTHER KING'S DAY and help make change.
MLK MADE THIS FUTURE POSSIBLE
HELP OBAMA MAKE IT HAPPEN !
GOT MLK?
