“With every passing day, it becomes clearer that America is far from witnessing the final dark hours of the war on terror - and that any suggestion to the contrary is an illusion. While the war of the drones is in full swing, the country continues to live in a state of democratic limbo that fills defenders of civil liberties with increasing consternation. For example, it has come to the attention of the students at Yale University that the Pentagon plans an interrogation training center there, which they would like to see led by a psychiatrist famous for his studies on how Arabs and Muslims 'lie.' Meanwhile, thousands of illegal Hispanic immigrants are stopped and asked to show their IDs, given a criminal record and imprisoned in the name of the Patriot Act.”
"The remarkable bidding and record prices set reflect a new era in the art market, wherein seasoned collectors and new bidders compete at the highest level within a global market.”
“The error in thinking that will become evident in the days to
come is that the U.S. and Russia
still think they're living in the Cold War, during which they
ruled the world via telephone.”
“To understand just how brave Angelina Jolie is, consider what she did not write in her op-ed in The New York Times: her decision to have a mastectomy
and forgo an oopherectomy.”
"Bloomberg is an emblem of mystery.
What a paradox for a man who made a
business out of providing information.
Nothing is written ... or documented.
There are no publicly available budgets.
But one thing is known: his Bloomberg LP—the group's flagship company - is
legally based in the state of Delaware, where banking privacy is kept best.”
“You can scream that
no data is secure until
you're blue in the face.
Few seem to believe it.
Governments and firms claim to respect data privacy, but they are babes in arms against
nerds in attics, including
those that they employ.”
“The inequality machine is reshaping the whole planet:
a globalized economy where
the winner takes all; trade
unions going to the dogs; and
the lightest taxation is for
those with highest income.”
“Bearing the hallmarks of a Cold War
spy thriller, Russian intelligence says
it has captured a CIA officer trying to
flip a Russian intelligence operative.”
“By writing of her double
mastectomy, Angelina Jolie
has normalized the idea of
life saving surgery and
flagged the need to make genetic testing affordable.”
“What bigger gaffe could
the IRS commit than the
singling out of groups that criticised the government for greater scrutiny? ...
Happily, the White House
doesn't seem to have been
at all involved in this idiocy.”
“According to Le Canard Enchaine, Great Chancellor of the National Order of the Legion of Honor Jean- Louis Georgelin has rejected Bob Dylan's candidacy on the grounds he is 'unworthy' of the Legion. Could it be that the anti-establishment icon
of Vietnam War protest and loose morals (he has long been addicted to heroin) displeases the chancellor?”
“Before three young women named Amanda Berry, Gina Dejesus, and Michele Knight were found last Tuesday in a Cleveleland Ohio house, many other people declared missing and confined for years around the world have reappeared.
Here are some of their stories.”
“A society views itself in the mirror of its insanity, and this compendium can be read as a disconcerting plunge into the
U.S. psyche. ... Diagnosing
sketchy problems and treating
them with real medications simply contributes to creating more illnesses ... Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies will continue to patent addictive
and lucrative molecules, taken
in ever-increasing amounts.”
“Can we still believe in a political solution in Syria in the context of an international conference? This
faint hope involves a number of requirements. The first is to keep the current tyrant out of all the negotiations. The second is not to let the agenda for talks be dictated
by a triumphant Vladimir Putin.”
“The really shocking thing about
the crime is how seamlessly it was integrated into the daily routine of a busy neighborhood. Unnoticed
and unobserved. A symptom of
a society that has proven itself
to be at best ... dysfunctional.”
“Two urge American military intervention: one to liberate the Chinese people and the other to liberate the people of Hong Kong. ... Another two raise environmental concerns.”
“Right-wing Senator Lindsey Graham said recently that the Guantanamo inmates are 'crazy bastards' - so dangerous that they should never be moved to the mainland. ...
The injustice is not Guantanamo itself, but in the concept of imprisonment without trial and without end. After all, in nations under law, even those considered 'crazy
bastards are entitled to a fair trial.”
“The theories revolve around the friendship that Tamerlan's father had with Aziz Batukayev, a crime boss known as the 'Al Capone of Kyrgyzstan' who has been accused
of being behind murders, gang war
drug trafficking and prostitution.”
“This Western impotence is precisely
what creates these extremists. It is
no surprise that the rebels believe
the great powers wish to let Syrians to kill one another until their nation
disappears as a state. For its failure
to assist a country being murdered, the West will long pay a price.”
“Once we see the image of Martin Richards (especially parents of young children), it brings a lump to our throats, as we imagine what his death means to his father, his mother and his sister. ... It would just be too cumbersome and costly, risky and time-consuming, and above all, hard to cover the costs, to take a stand for the memories of any Muhammads, Saidas, Abduls and Aishas who were collateralized by a drone when playing somewhere in the Hindu Kush.”
“The discovery that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was on a national terrorism watch list has put the spotlight on one of the most glaring flaws in U.S. gun laws: that even suspected terrorists can legally buy
weapons and even explosives.
"They want it as miserable as possible to be on hunger strike. ... Sometimes they use tubes
that are larger than necessary
circumferance wise [to force
feed them]. It's really like you
would treat an animal. These
men are real people. They've
been held here for 12 years without being charged with any
crime. They're seperated from
their families. They have no end in sight. They are desperate.”
“As questions of arms control experts grow over evidence that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons on a limited scale on several occasions, one incident in particular has come under scrutiny.”
“ A student named Thomas Herndon recalculated figures from star economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, discovering that the pair had committed an embarrassing computing error. ... This means that the supposed scientific foundation on which
austerity has been built, has collapsed. The '90-percent
rule' has been made obsolete.”
“It is possible - assuming the brothers are the culprits - that their actions were the result of insanity. In this case the tragedy would lose some of its potential to terrify - at least in the long term.”
“Zubeidat Tsarnaeva was on the verge of hysteria when she told a press conference on Thursday that she does not accept that her
sons carried out Boston attacks.”
“Before embarking on an indiscriminate killing spree, the hero of Scorcese's Taxi Driver stands in front of a mirror and threatens his own reflection with a gun. ... the act of violence in the case of a lone terrorist is aimed not only at those around him, but at himself.”
“These explosions were meant to be heard around the world - and their full impact to develop psychologically. Now, with a single blow, America has been thrown back to the traumatic period of slavery and fear, a period
that Obama had hoped to overcome.”
“'We got him!' Fugitive 'bomber' captured ALIVE after he was found hiding inside a BOAT in backyard of Boston home. Cops use flash-bang grenades and
gas to flush out Tsarnev.”
—
REPORTERS Louise Boyle, James Nye, Simon Tomlinson, and Jill Reilly
"What I can say is - I am really sure, I am like 100 percent sure - this is a set up. My two sons ... neither of them have ever talked about what they are saying now. My younger sons was raised in America since he was eight. My older son got into
religious politics five years ago.
He never talked about any jihad.”
—
--Zubeidat Tsarneva, Mother of Boston Bomb Suspects
“Nobody listens to what he says anymore, nobody is interested in winning his approval and nobody
much cares if Obama thinks they
have 'let the country down.”
“Without question, marathons will be better secured in the future. But whether a terrorist strikes doesn't only depend on the police. It also depends on how people react. The 78-year- old Bill Iffrig symbolizes the irrationality of sport, which can
triumph even amidst terrorism.”
“While they can't understand why anyone would target their city on one of the major
public holidays of the year, they will come to realise that the compassion, the heroism and the bonds created among citizens and strangers alike in the immediate aftermath of the explosions will always overcome the
evil, the hatred and deviousness that
characterizes those who are responsible.”
“Nations of human rights must defend themselves by respecting the values that their opponents seek to defile. ... The legitimate fight against terror
must be handled without emergency
legislation contrary to laws respecting
freedom - including those of enemies of freedom. It is a matter of political morality - and the only way to defeat the terrorists.”
“I saw at least six people down next
to me. They protected me from the
the blast. One lady expired. One gentleman lost both his (lower) limbs.
Most injuries were lower extremities.”
—
Dr. Allan Panter,
Witness to the Bostin Bombings
“Thatcher and Reagan deified the market. Because, according to them, it would have the benefit
of never derailing since - miracle of miracles - it regulates itself! ”
“This is no game. Truth be told, it is murder. Because a senseless war can be called nothing but murder. ... But
apparently, that is not a
concern of Americans.”
“The assault weapons ban - the type of semi-automatic rifle used so infamously in Newtown - was jettisoned last month. The complexity
of the bill, in particular when
it comes to the designation of 'assault weapons,' and industry pressure, for whom these toys, so similar to
military M16s, are a cash cow
to be milked, contributed along with the NRA to this alarming political retreat.”
“Alongside widely expected concessions to more clearly label Google’s own services, the U.S. group will also need to offer solutions that give more prominence to rival specialist search services.”
“North Korea has been condemned by both China and Iran after the reclusive state issued a catalog of
alarming threats against South
Korea, Japan and the United States.”
“The state of our cursed globe in 2013 warrants no expectation of a quick end to the billion-dollar business of supplying instruments of death to
oppressive regimes.”
“After his death, Jobs became a test for business leaders as severe as the biblical Book of Job is for committed
believers. ... According to the Book
of Job, God is a tyrant who gave
Satan a free hand to test Job.”
“I said to Margaret that I had no
instructions from the Politburo
to get her to join the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union. ... She broke into laughter.”
“She was the first woman voted
to lead a major Western power; the longest serving British prime minister in 150 years; the most dominant and the most divisive force in British politics in the second half of the 20th century. She was also a global figure, a star in America, a heroine in the
once Soviet republics of central Europe, and a point of reference
for leaders and politicians in France, Spain, Germany and Italy.”
“Within hours, the United States is capable of destroying the military of their enemy.
The message of the B-2s is
addressed as much to Beijing as it is to Pyongyang. China is indeed the main challenger to the Pax Americana. Its rise - and not Pyongyang's arsenal - is the main source of concern for neighboring countries. ... The Russians and Chinese aren't wrong to warn of the risk of an uncontrollable spiral.”
“It's what I call anti-drone. ... That's the sentiment. The material in the anti-drone clothing is made of silver, which is reflective to heat and makes the wearer invisible to thermal imaging.”
“The more dogged the regime becomes, the more grotesque
the impression it makes. Must
we take such buffoonery
seriously? Unfortunately, we
must. Nothing mobilizes people better than a powerful enemy - the same enemy that has been there for decades. That is why the regime must gradually raise the tension to prevent the nation from losing fear of the enemy.”
“If Reagan knew that weapons can bring peace - particularly in the hands of the 'good' cowboy - he also knew that government should stay
away from the ranch. Reagan left behind a model of capitalism that promises prosperity for all, as well as a handful of catchy witticisms and
scenes worthy of a good western.”
“As one of the top singers
of the last century declares bankruptcy, Jacqui Goddard investigates how a star once earning $100,000 a month
could be down to $1,000.”
“After Kim Jong-un declared that rockets were ready to be fired at
U.S. bases in the Pacific - a reply to the U.S. flying two B2 stealth
bombers to the Korean Peninsula
– the White House blamed North Korea for the rise in tensions.”
“It is particularly worrisome
to see a day approaching when
Russia and China assume the same privileges as the United States. ... The Terminator is not far off. We could soon see fully autonomous robots, or
drones, capable of deciding when to conduct a strike.”
“the provision’s success is viewed by many as a victory by companies like Syngenta, Cargill, Monsanto and affiliated PACs that have donated $7.5 million to members of Congress since 2009, and $372,000 to members of the Senate Appropriations Committee.”
“When the president's armored limo rolled out of a plane at Ben Gurion Airport, it turned out that it couldn't move: someone by mistake fueled it
with diesel instead of gas. Similarly, despite Obama's assertions that Palestinians have a right to their own fatherland, there is no indication they will have one anytime soon. As of now,
neither is there fuel for peace talks.”
“President Obama's words
were kind and comforting, especially when he spoke to
Israeli youth. Yes - they
were comforting for a society
whose every deed and action
is watched by a self-righteous global public that sets too high a bar. ... And then Obama pulled off a coup.”
“You take notes as a journalists and you write those down – but where do those notes go? You don't have to answer for the Guardian, but how would you
feel if the Chinese hacked into The New York Times and gone
into all of its servers. How would
you feel if you were a
Chinese dissident? You'd be worried.”
“Obama pulled off quite a trick - appealing to ordinary Israelis over the heads of their political leaders and cleverly borrowing a line from their national anthem to explain why Palestinians also
deserve to be 'free people in
their own land' - in Palestine.”
“Revolutionary romanticism often
fueled conflict during the Cold War,
in which America opposed the
allies of Soviet communism. ... In
this sense, the obsequies for Chavez
were just a general rehearsal for the chorus of lamentation that in some circles, Fidel Castro's inevitable disappearance are bound to bring.”
•Both leaders wear matching Israeli-blue neck ties
• Topics: Palestinian territories, Iran and Syria
• Netanyahu warns of 'enormous threats' in the region
“ It remains for the super-rich to atone for what is due to good fortune at least as much as to their extraordinary talents. ... These philanthropic gestures are not enough to make super-rich Americans admired, but they do
make them a bit more bearable.”
“British soldiers in Afghanistan are part of a campaign that attempted to 'impose an ideology foreign to
the Afghan people' which was
'unwinnable', says a damning
report by the Ministry of Defense.”
“Mr. Obama's desire to meet Ms. Awnay is in stark contrast to a snub delivered to Israel's only settlement university, Ariel, in the West Bank. ... Student representatives from the university have been pointedly excluded from the president's keynote speech.”
“If he does, the judge has ruled, he might have to submit to a 'narco analytic
interview.' A narcoanalytic interview is a decades-old process in which patients are given drugs to lower their inhibition.”
“When the 115 cardinals from around the world parade into the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday
to elect a new Pope, a once
unthinkable scenario will
overshadow their deliberations – a pontiff from North America.”
“Today the Republicans have lost all sense of who they are, of their core values, and out
of the anger that
possesses them, blaming everyone but
themselves for their losses.
And Romnet laments that minorities and young people didn't hear his message. He should have begun by not
showing he despises them.”
“What currency in the immediate
future could replace the dollar as the reserve currency? The euro, the yen, and the yuan, at least, don't come into consideration, nor does any other currency.”
“Hugo Chavez' departure furnishes Barack Obama with an opportunity to repair U.S. ties with Venezuela, but also with other Latin American states. In particular, the change of leadership in Caracas could unlock
the eternal deadlock over Cuba.”
“The allegations, made by U.S. and Iraqi witnesses, implicate U.S. advisers for the first time.
It is also the first time that Gen.
David Petraeus has been linked
through counsel - to the abuses.”
“How did six Latin American leaders that had criticized U.S. policies and tried to create an alliance for more independent
and sovereign states, fall with
the same disease simultaneously?”
“The president of the United States cannot, and does not, bluff. President Barack Obama
is not bluffing. Israel's security is in our naked self-interest, beyond the moral impertive.”
“European audiences watch the Oscars with greater interest than ever, because they are now better able to enter the discussion. In the past, most American films being honored hadn't yet been shown in
Europe theaters, so viewers did not have a chance to understand the
nominees. Now there are virtually no movies that haven't been shown
in our theaters before the awards.”
“What will happen when this possible Pope, Peter Turkson, visits Portugal? Where will this subtle racism that the
U.N. says exists in Portugal be hidden?
And the marketing campaigns by the
Vatican? I can already predict a
collage with the U.S. president. Posters at the Vatican - Photoshop presentations with the face of Obama in the white robe of the Pope - and vice-versa. The
Vatican Obama will be an international superstar - and I can hardly wait.”
“The Truman's nuclear-fueled might
is shackled by a rancorous new fight between President Obama and his Republican foes. The two sides are locked into an apparently endless fiscal confrontation over radically
different political philosophies
on the very role of government.”
“Thanks to his personal interest and experiences, Kerry can help clear up some common misconceptions. Many
in the United States overestimate the importance of Asia and underestimate that of Europe. ... Kerry makes his inaugural visit at a time that presents an opportunity to reshape America's
images of both Asia and Europe.”
“Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's detractors have been growing as he has accumulated powers. ... the prime minister finds himself surprisingly isolated.”
“Bradley Manning faces spending the rest of his life in jail. It is not a sacrifice that should be made in
vain. The fight for accountable, open global diplomacy must be stepped up in response. The U.S.
military may lock away Manning, possibly for good. But whatever
the verdict, for millions, he
has already been vindicated.”
“In the case of Tiger Woods, caught having unappetizing extramarital adventures, Nike wasn't so fast to separate itself. ... Nike's relationship with Lance Armstrong, seven- time winner of the Tour de France, also lasted a long while. Too long, many thought. ... But in the case of Pistorius, this is the
first time a disabled athlete has inspired a wide audience. ... Experts advise, before launching an ad campaign featuring a star,
to play through many scenarios - including the worst-case ones. Then, in the event, one can faster and more ably respond.”
“Obama is a Europe-style social democrat, not a revolutionary. ... There is a lot of talk about economic recovery in 2013. But if there is any, it will be in America, not in Italy, nor in Spain, nor in any other
European country which is now at risk.”
“When the 'Leistungschutzrecht' ancillary copyright law is sent to the Bundestag for approval Friday, where it is likely to pass, Google
will have less to fear the future.”
“U.S. prosecutors are seeking to prove that al-Qaeda directly benefitted from access to the classified files Bradley Manning
leaked to Assange's WikiLeaks.”
“John Kerry's relationship with
Bashar al-Assad, cultivated on visits to Damascus in the years
prior to the regime's bloody crackdown, will give European leaders hope that he might help break the deadlock, potentially even constructing an exit deal
for the embattled Syrian leader.”
“There's no counting the number of
times Hungary has been kicked in the pants by the French administration, the German Bundestag, the European Union, Washington, and its place in Budapest, i.e.: the local American
Embassy. ... On Wednesday, Turkey provided a worthy example of how to honorably rebut censure from abroad.”
“Many Taliban have always said that they took up their arms to fight the occupiers and drive them out of the
country. It is
possible that now, many Taliban will lay
down their arms since they have
succeeded in achieving what they set out to do.”
“Even in a free market economy, the rules should be designed to prevent an online quasi-monopoly like Amazon from rising up in the first place. Or at least, to break
them up when they do rise up.”
“His re-election for a second term has infused Obama with confidence. In less than four years, the president leaves the White House. He could from now on adopt the gait of a lame duck. After all, he never has to win the consent of the voters again. ... But his agenda is ambitious, and Obama will defend it with the air of one who has decided to attack and is able to look beyond
the narrow politics of the moment.”
“After the War of Independence, the United States looked a lot like the euro zone, with some states crippled by debt. In the end, under a proposal by Alexander Hamilton, the federal government assumed
all the debt, thus securing the country's creditworthiness.”
“Warren Hill, a mentally disabled prisoner, has been spared the death chamber 30 minutes before
he was due to be executed by lethal injection in Georgia, despite a U.S. Supreme Court ban on
executions of learning disabled.”
“China summoned the North
Korea envoy and delivered a stern protest, and the foreign
ministry called for calm and denuclearization talks. But it stopped short of the harsh criticism it unleashed in 2006 when it described the North's first nuclear test as 'brazen.'”
“As a speech, it was lousy. ... Too dull for a campaign speech,
and too partisan for patriotic fanfare, it fell somewhere in
between and it landed with a thud.”
“WikiLeaks – the mission of which is 'to produce a more just society based upon truth' – has been guilty
of the same misinformation and obfuscation as those it sought to expose, while its supporters are expected to follow, unquestioningly, in blinkered, cultish devotion.”
“One of the biggest winners in these
summits is undoubtedly Cuba, which is represented by General Raul Castro.
The idea that Castro has reached the
presidency of an organization which encompasses all of Latin America and
the Caribbean is something truly
unexpected and exceptional. ...”
—
Former Nicaragua Vice President Jaime Morales Carazo
“This is a preventative strike designed to prevent fresh aggressions. That is the theory. ... Is the seizure of power by Islamists really a 'threat to Europe,' according to the formulation of Angela Merkel?
If it is, then why is France
the only country intervening?”
“The African-led support mission in Mali has already seen troops arriving from several countries including Nigeria, and is expected to take over operations from France. But the needs of the sudden and laborious mission have mushroomed and the
budget is likely to be $960 million.”
“If America had entered the dance, the situation would
have been quite different,
especially in London. But Mr.
Obama doesn't want the U.S. in a new war. ... The result:
many nations that generally
align with the U.S. found in
its absence of 'leadership' one
more reason to do nothing.”
“Even if France has long played a comparable role in Europe as a place of refuge and hope for migrants, the realistic change of
heart by U.S. Republicans should
by food for thought for French.”
“These petitions serve as an example
of what might occur in a purely online democracy. While the opportunity to address legitimate political interests in a more cost-effective manner would of course be fantastic, the risk of 'Death Star' initiatives would become a regular nuisance. ... Online democracy has the same disadvantages as spam emails.”
“The more we have become aware of the insufficient effectiveness of the military instrument, the more
we have relied on it, partly because the circumstances have allowed us
to do so by virtue of our extreme
logistical and technical superiority, and partly because in the absence
of political superiority as extreme,
we haven't known what else to do.”
“One might even suggest that Obama profit from the program of his rival
Romney. Someone should put it to him that the Old Continent is no less important than Asia. ... But is there anyone who can do it? Will European Union politicians muster the courage?
Unfortunately, this is quite unlikely.”
“Today, the Zurichsee-Zeitung can report that the naturalization of the most famous rock singer of all time will be made public with an official announcement by the municipality of Kusnacht. ...
Her interview with responsible
representatives was conducted in German, and she continues to
take German lessons. Tina
feels quite at home in the region.”
“The dossier on Obama's table pertains to the U.S. fiscal crisis, relations with China, the control of weapons of war on the U.S. market, and immigration reform. ... An American fiscal collapse
and strategic conflict with China would be more than enough fill the second
term of any United States president.”
“When you're the only man on earth mightier than Angela Merkel, and the
most promise-laden president ever,
one has to measure the time left to
fulfill such high expectations within months. ... An American president
during his first term is concerned
mostly with securing a second, and of his second four years, he has about 23
months to grow into a great president
- or a failure. To be very well aware of that, and to come out with a speech like Obama's on Monday: one has to be
a tough cookie and huge optimist, too.”
“In recent years, postmodernism has instilled in us that there is no such thing as truth. The concept
is thought to be a leftover from the Enlightenment. So logically, it is difficult to accuse someone of lying, deceit or fraudulent
behavior. If a concept has lost
its right to exist, it is no longer
possible to violate it. Without the truth, there are no lies.”
“America is not Europe.
With a great evangelical
Christian tradition, it
views things with equal
intensity, but forgives
more easily. It is less
likely to bear grudges.
It's no coincidence that
America is described as
the 'land of 2nd chances.'”
“One problem: No one was actually doing anything. A few scrolled or clicked, but the rest just stared. More disturbing: when our group
walked in, not one of them looked up from their desks.
Not heads turned, no eye
contact, and no reaction to stimuli ... They might as well have been figurines.”
—
Sophie Schmidt, Daughter of Google CEO Eric Schmidt
“The program for Barack Obama's
second term will be put forward in his State of the Union speech. The
president, who always sought to compromise with Republicans and was guided by one objective - his own defeat - has been replaced by
a White House resident determined to return blow for blow. Finally!”
“He must succeed with
his social initiatives like
reform of social security and medicaire - measures which could change the way Americans live and soften the devil-take- the-hindmost mentality which leaves so many
people so impoverished
in the richest country.”
“Obama wants to complete the Great Society project of such progressive forefathers as both Roosevelts and Lyndon Johnson, and make it sustainable in an
America that has unprecedented global competition. How he plans to do that, when he must share power with fiercely hostile Republicans in Congress for the foreseeable future, is a more interesting question.”
“There will be no more large- scale operations like those in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pressure on the Pentagon to economize will continue to grow. Land forces, in particular, will have to justify their existence. Faced with the choice of trimming social welfare or the military
budget, President Obama will no doubt choose the latter.”
“There it is: a world
made safe for U.S. trade and economic recovery, paid for by the peoples who have relied for too long on American military force. That,
essentially, is the
Obama foreign policy.”
“If the U.S. government says
we are a mega-conspiracy, a
mafia that created this to be
a criminal network of pirates, they're completely wrong ... for them it was about shutting it down and dealing with it later on the fly. They are
... hacking the legal system.”
“Russia, which is rapidly becoming extinct, has no moral right to hand her children over to other nations. ... Moreover, the United States is full of orphans of its own, with
astounding numbers being cited -
around 600,000, according to estimates from the year 2009.”
“What makes the Armstrong case so much more than the
latest felling of a sport cheat's reputation is the extent to which he once bestrode the world of cycling. Armstrong
dominated those around him, and he lied without conscience.”
“A Britain on the sidelines of
Europe, and even more out of Europe, would not be in the American interest and would not be in the interest of other major European partners.”
“Obama launched the biggest
challenge in two decades to America's deeply ingrained gun culture, announcing a sweeping set of proposals to ban automatic weapons, limit
magazines to 10 shots, require
universal background checks,
and better scrutinize mentally ill.”
“In narrow partisan terms, Obama can congratulate himself. He has achieved his goal - raising taxes on the highest earners for the first time in two decades. He has also managed to shove this deal down the throats of Republicans without having to offer wide-ranging cuts.
But future historians will perhaps
one day see Obama as a mediocre
president who lacked the needed backbone to end this period of
all-too-easy easy debt making.”
“The march was the most
prominent expression of public
anger so far against the heavily
criticized measure, which took
effect Jan. 1 after being passed
by the Duma with overwhelming
support and signed into law
by President Vladimir Putin.”
“The disgraced cyclist will open his heart on Oprah this week, in a
must-see TV moment. But seeking redemption after a public fall from grace is a complicated
task. Just ask President
Clinton and Tiger Woods.”
“This is not like sitting before
a judge or disciplinary hearing being properly questioned about the things he has done wrong. I doubt very much it will be a proper interrogation.”
“There is something disconcerting about sitting in a crowded cinema as an audience guffaws at the latest garroting or falls about in hysterics as someone is beheaded.”
“The U.S. political class has accustomed us to
watching as its disputes bring the global economy to the brink. ... This is a manifestation of the contradiction that has for so long differentiated U.S. political life. It is a conflict between the needs of a colossus that commands the global economy, and the dynamics of the political debate, carried on in terms that seem alien or even contrary to such imperial responsibilities.”
“Only the dissenters 'broke no promises.' And that could a very much to their advantage in the next election. They can present themselves to voters - and to the various hawks in their own party - as people of 'integrity.' But in reality, they have only maximized their own benefit
while relying on the majority
to pay the price for a result
that will benefit them as well.”
“In America, almost literally at the last second, a budget disaster
has been averted. For the first
time in 20 years, taxes on the highest incomes have been raised with some Republican support.
The United States took 20 years before it dared do something about this trend and raised taxes
on the wealthiest citizens. How much time will we need?”
“While the foremost democracy
in the West is paralyzed, China is
forging ahead. ... This week Mr.
Obama boasted he had fulfilled his mandate by raising taxes on
the rich. In fact, by failing again
to clear up America's fundamental
fiscal trouble, he and Republicans
build a Brussels on the Potomac.”
“Obama has taken all the Bush
changes and he basically put them into the establishment,
he has codified them. It is an
Orwellian state. It might not be oppressive on the surface, but there is no place to hide.
Some part of you will end up
in the database somewhere.”
“Imagine our surprise when, after waiting another hour- and-a-half in the hallway, the meeting ... ended! The press had been duped, and the discussion of the children's issue had been conducted without us. Like cockroaches, senators scurried out of the
room, averting their eyes.”
“A rapidly accelerating interconnectedness was an inescapable fact of life across the planet. The Internet, social media, mobile telephony, instant digital publication and satellite communication ensured that events, both significant and trivial,
benign and malign, were a
shared global experience.”
“In 1985, U.K. singer Sting released
a famous song called Russians. It was an impassioned plea to halt the Cold War between the Soviet Union and
the United States. He sang, 'I hope the Russians love their children too.' Back then, the fact that the answer was 'yes' was taken for granted. Today, it looks far less obvious. ... In America and Europe, people simply cannot fathom
that Russia's legislature could invent
anything like the Dima Yakovlev Bill.”
“Photographs of poor suffering children who will now never see the American dream are migrating from blog to blog.
The gut-wrenching, not Christmassy
tales of the fate of orphans who couldn't
be spirited away in time, are being
passed around. Duma members have
brought down an avalanche of bitter and angry questions on their heads.”
“The question is, are such tragedies a result of America's very liberal gun
laws? Up to last Friday, four of five
shootings with the largest number of fatalities over the last thirty years and caused by 'lone gunmen' took place outside the United States. ... Sick minds cannot be controlled by laws.”
“Like a vampire in the sun, the pro-gun arguments crumble in the light of facts. Ultimately, the interests of a $1 billion industry that sells millions of guns in the
U.S. anually must be weighed against innocent lives. A ban on
assault rifles for private citizens must be the first consequence of
this horror. Gun legislation, far
less focused on commercial interests, must be the next.”
“The AquAdvantage salmon is an Atlantic salmon engineered with two extra genes – one from the Pacific Chinook salmon and one from an eel-like species called the ocean pout – which together
boost the fish growth hormones
so it puts on weight year round.”
“it seems grotesque, but gunmakers
in America once advertised their
deadly products directly to teenage
boys, marketing them as the perfect Christmas present. And if the wife resisted, Winchester had the answer.”
“In the case of the Second Amendment, a constitution designed to be a document
of freedom instead imprisons
the U.S., shackling it to an
outdated rule that makes it
easy to kill schoolchildren.”
“Why does one country consider itself
entitled to expand its jurisdiction to the entire world? ... Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, people are kept in prison for years without being charged, they walk around in shackles like in the Middle Ages. ... They have legalized torture inside their own country. ... Can you imagine what it would be like if we
Russians had at least something similar?”
“When our media is corrupt, when our acedemics are timid, when our history is filled with half-truths and lies, our civilization will never be
just ... 2012 has been a good year.
We have released nearly a million documents ... we have exposed
the massive surveillance state.”
“When controlling a drone over Somalia from a U.S.
military base, the inhibition threshold for pulling the trigger is extremely low. ... Drones inflict little political cost on the aggressor. A war that doesn't claim many victims of one's 'own' can be
more easily justified to the
population. So are drone missions designed to make
armed intervention palatable to a war-weary society?”
“It is past time to for America to tighten
gun controls. Yet there are reasons for
Swedes to turn the spotlight on ourselves.
In Sweden, an open and accessible society are highly valued, and that includes our
schools. Should we reconsider this?
... The answer may be a painful one.”
“There are 270 millions guns
in America, and 40 percent of the population owns at
least one. There are at least 650 million small arms circulating on our planet, one for every ten people, which kill at least 500,000 human beings a year. That's one
death every 60 seconds: 300,000 a year in war, 200,000 in murders or suicides'
“In the 21st century, the idea
that one needs a machine gun at home to defend against a
possible invasion may be an anachronism. ... But it doesn't
matter. An American leader
who advocates the removal of this right would have to
change the U.S. Constitution.”
“I had two ambitions when I was stationed
in America. The first
was to be proficient in Spanish. The second was to learn to shoot. ... to put it crudely, to know how a gun
worked and to be
able to shoot straight.”
“It is past time for Obama to show he can act. Restoring the ban on the use of assault rifles would be a first step. But he must go further. He must initiate a national dialogue with Congress and throughout the country on gun control. ... Obama must seize this tragic moment and prove his presidency. This
time, speeches will not do.”
“It may not feel like it, but 2012 has been the greatest year in world history. That sounds
extravagant, but it is
proven by evidence.
Never has there been
less hunger, less illness
or greater prosperity.”
“I would often tell my astonished
American husband how, at
age four, the neighborhood children
and I walked to kindergarten all by ourselves, and would describe
Finn's school, with its strict rules, as a kind of military academy on 'Sesame Street.' ... Today I see
things differently. As far as I'm
concerned, they can turn his school into Fort Knox - and I take my hat off to the fact that to my son, the school manages to look
as welcoming as Sesame Street.”
“It used to be Rock 'n' Roll that caused
people to became 'psychotic,' and over recent years, the reason has become gaming. One moment of thought and self reflection would come in handy here: Doesn't this boy live in a good
neighborhood - and are gun weapon
really necessary? Nah, of course not! Let's all stay nice and stupid and
blame those pixels on the PC screen!'
“Obama has been presented
with a historic opportunity. In the outpouring of anguish
and horror over the shooting in Newtown, one is reminded of the public reaction in the
U.K. to Dunblane, which saw
two significant, incremental
changes to British gun laws.”
“ Horrified anti-gun campaigners said America’s citizens MUST now abandon their centuries-old right to bear arms in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre. ... They begged President Obama to bring
in strict gun control laws now to stop maniacs like Lanza having such easy access to weapons.”
“In response to the Magnitsky Act, Parliament approved a draft bill
targeting Americans alleged to
have violated the human rights of Russians. The bill would see
alleged American rights abusers banned from entering Russia, their Russian assets seized and
their companies in Russia frozen.”
“Other major economies like the U.S., China and Japan, refused to sign up to
similar promises, leaving businesses in
the U.K. and Europe at a disadvantage.'
“Neoliberal dogma
forbids the type of
intervention called for to stop climate change. To save the
earth, humanity
must articulate a
new kind of politics.”
“Usually in America, the rule is
that high unemployment and poor economic data invariably lead to a loss of power. That was evidently not the case with this election. In spite of the unfavorable economic data, voters had in the back of their minds that 'he prevented the worst.'
—
Dr. Karl Rudolf Korte, Universitat Duisburg-Essen
“The penetration of the East German Stasi was reported to
be 10% of the population –
one in 10 acted
as informers – but Facebook penetration in countries like Iceland is 88%,
and these people inform much more frequently and in much more detail than they ever were in the Stasi. And they're not even getting paid to do it!”
“We should ask ourselves - is everything in order with human
rights in the U.S.? There are U.S. officials who have been seen to be involved in, to put it bluntly,
some extremely bad things.”
“On our side are those who abhor American tyranny and European gay pride parades. The West is imposing its rules and values on the rest of the
world. Figuratively speaking,
U.S. hegemony is a cancer on
the planet - and It must be removed before treating the headache that is the Islamic world or the cold that is China. No one says that the world after America will be
ideal and harmonious. But the biggest threat will be gone.”
"The FBI has access to the data collected - which is basically the e-mails of virtually everybody in
the country. All Congressional members are under surveillance, too. No one is excluded. This can happen to anyone if they become a target for whatever reason ...
retroactively going over every- thing they've done ... going back at least ten years.”
“Fugitive software pioneer John McAfee is on the run from Belize police, who say he is a person of interest in the murder of his
Belize neighbor, Gregory Faull.”
“On election night, Dick Morris's head exploded, leaving shards of baseless
braggadocio strewn across cyberspace. Reality will do that, sooner or later.”
“On Dec. 3rd officials from more
than 150 countries, plus do-gooders,
geeks and other interested parties,
will meet in Dubai to argue over
how to run the network - and
fight over who should control it.”
“A passive posture leaves the field open to more activist states, such as Iran, and regimes that use violence by bombing and strafing their own people, oblivious of the demands of decency and proportionality.”
“The sons of a CIA scientist who unwittingly took LSD and fell to his death in 1953 have sued the
American government, saying that the CIA killed their father.”
"What's happened over the last ten years is the ever decreasing
cost of intercepting data from
each individual to the degree where now, it is cheaper to intercept every individual than
it is to do so to individual people.
... The utopian alternative is to try and gain independence for the Internet - to declare its
independence versus the rest
of the world. ... that is really quite a very important ... considering the brute nature
of states and their cronies.”
“The Independent has learned that Mr. Perepilichnyy was a key witness
against the 'Klyuev Group,' a network
of corrupt Russian officials and mob figures implicated in a series of multi- million pound tax frauds and the death in custody of the whistle-blowing Moscow lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
“For America, this is also about taking a global stand. After the military coup of 1988, the Americans isolated Burma and imposed severe sanctions. Now Obama wants to make it clear to North
Korea and the mullahs in Tehran that
good behavior will bring big benefits.”
“Who knows? Maybe an jailed lawmaker will at last force
parliament to act on the issue
[of medical marijuana].
Those who buy cannabis for personal use from a drug dealer runs the risk of incurring a fine,
while those who grow it, not
wanting to deal with dealers,
risk up to six years in jail.
“The role played by Egypt's president, whose membership with the Muslim Brotherhood has facilitated relations with Hamas. But Morsi's military alliance with the United States has helped substantiate Obama's bid for newly-rejuvenated ties with the Islamic world, which
he announced in his famous
2009 comments in Cairo.”
“There are armchairs in which it is not good to sit for too long.
'We new men are no better
than those who came before us,'
confessed Emperor Hadrian. 'Power only serves to soil us.'
“After the first episodes of this drama series, we can fully disclose that U.S. generals are pitiful, helpless creatures, who are utterly defenseless against feminine charms. At least that's what one must assume after the first dramatic episodes. ... What else, one wonders, could possibly happen now? This is no simple matter for the script
writers, but with parameters like this, adherence to reality is hardly necessary.
“Following her brave 'medical choice,' a lot of people realized that her inner beauty is equal to her outer beauty. This is down to her maturity, wisdom and bravery, commitment to human
rights around the world.”
“Washington come under fire when it intervenes in the region (in Libya) or when it does not (in Syria). ... Pleas to the U.S. for help toppling Assad, in particular from Turkey, stand out against the backdrop of continuing strong anti-Americanism.”
“Putin clearly sees Obama's
decision to keep the U.S.
out of military involvement in the Syrian conflict as an open gateway for a Russian military comeback to the Middle East after a 21-year absence, armed with a
wide array of weapons for
winning over new clients.”
“The new direction of things may
derail U.S. plans for a superpower
deal to bring the horrific Syrian
crisis to a close. The local players, Khamenei, Assad and Nasrallah, are getting ready to grab the wheel and push the U.S. and Israel out of the driver's seat. ... All the parties concerned, from Washington and Moscow, to Jerusalem, Tehran,
Damascus and Beirut, were waiting
on tenterhooks to see who would
make the next move in the crisis.”
“Dr. Khalife said in two consecutive sentences that the Israelis should have stayed 'at home in Chaldea,' but that
Palestine is 'Arab' in the 'middle of
the Arab world.' So he denounces an invasion that took place 1,800 years before Christ, but endorses one that occurred 700 years after Christ. By
his logic, the Arab people should
have 'stayed home in Arabia.' ...”
“For everything Israel has done, it remains the number one enemy of the Syrian people. But by exercising the military option, Israel has been able to do what the entire
world and Arabs with them
have been unable to do.”
“Truman's America became complicit in the second terrorism and second genocide carried out by Israeli Jews, when in 1948, he reimposed this
spoiler state, dissolved for 2000 years by the anathema of Jesus Christ [the
separation from, or death of, Jesus].”
“The views of these two sheikhs may be as diametrically opposed as the color of their headgear, but both are issuing fatwas for political and sectarian purposes. With the Syrian regime's stubbornness and persistence in resorting to force,
and the fragmentation within the Syrian opposition, we are seeing an almost perfect reproduction of the Iraqi scenario, which has so far produced nothing but destruction.”
“Years ago, the George W. Bush administration was deliberately engaged in a false diagnosis of pregnancy
- WMDs allegedly held by
Saddam - and America gave
birth to a devastating, unjust
war against Iraq.
Obama learned the lesson well - but did he learn it too well?”
“While statesmen of other nations seem to make declarations without having any intention of standing behind their words, Israel will not tolerate Syria's crossing its red lines. And that is an important message for
mullahs of the Islamic Republic, too.”
“The recent pilgrimage of Gulf leaders to the White House - their new Kaaba -
proves that the objective of their trip was to create and implement a chemical
weapons conspiracy against the beating
heart of Arab nationalism ... Syria.”
“Russian support for Syria is not only a matter of Moscow's desire to retain its Mediterranean 'warm water' port or the global geostrategic struggle between the Russia-China camp and the U.S.-Europe camp. While these
are important, they aren't primary.”
“In the two long years since the Syria conflict erupted, the
United States has unwittingly
showed much about its foreign policy preoccupations and its motives, all of which point to a nation losing its superpower
status and world policeman role.”
“From now on, Arab childbearing should be Westernized. I don't mean that that
Arab men should marry only women from
the West, but also from China, Asia and
Africa. Perhaps then, our Arab and 'Mid-
Eastern traits' as they call them, will
diminish and eventually disappear, and
thus become like a form of camouflage.”
“While very reluctant to embroil America in the Syrian war, those 'red lines' would be discounted as
meaningless by the world, the
Mideast and most of all, Israel, if
President Obama holds back now.”
“America has failed to learn even a single lesson from its misadventures, starting with its defeat in and pullout from Vietnam, where it lost more than 65,000 soldiers, all the way to
its failure to succeed in Afghanistan.”
“In recent years, Canada's radical government has put into practice a policy of harassing Iran, and it is
clear that in this case, Ottawa is pursuing these hostile actions.”
“This holy war against Syria, backed by Arab oil, will 'set the record straight'
and change the borders according to
Israeli interests, thus entrenching the dominance of the religiously-based Jewish state.”
“Those who want to fight America can join al-Qaeda, which has been doing so for two decades since it dragged U.S. soldiers through the streets of Somalia. But those who seek to build state and civil relations must not proceed down
this disastrous path. Anyone who thinks otherwise can go live in Kandahar.”
“It is laughable for Assistant Secretary Uzra Zeya to deny
her country's support for new
regimes that suppress liberty, particularly religious liberty. All of us know that these dark
forces greatly resemble the
ones ousted in the first place.”
“What crime did the participants of the Boston Marathon commit that Saudi Arabia felt the need to avenge itself against them? What crime did a ten-year-old boy commit to make him worthy of murder in front of his mother, and while he happily
watched and supported his father
as he participated in the race? ...
A strict stand against this corrupt
government, which is so full of
hatred and criminal
tendencies toward humanity, must be taken.”
“ If the Saudi Foreign Ministry fails to act or respond to this demand, which I consider to be one of the entire nation, what is to stop us from launching a public campaign to raise money to hire a respected U.S. law firm to defend us against such defamation and incitement
of hatred toward our nation?”
“DEBKA File's sources conclude that the brothers were double agents, hired by U.S. and Saudi intelligence,
to penetrate Wahhabi networks which, helped by Saudi money, have spread across the restive Russian Caucasus.”
“With all due respect to the human soul, which is sacred wherever it is found, one
cannot compare events in Boston to the explosions and shelling my people have had to endure, without knowing where they come from or when they will end. All they know is that from time to time, there will be piles of corpses.”
“The plague of blood unleashed
after Sept. 11 is now impacting everywhere. Boston has been struck by the plague like other
places in the world; innocent
people have been murdered and maimed. The world is no
longer safe; all are threatened. ”
“The victims in Boston and other places are suffering as a result of
a ball of fire striking at America
for its ever-growing involvement
in terror, based on the proverb:
'they have sown the wind, and
they shall reap the whirlwind!'”
“Will the Boston bombings be
the start of a terror transition for America, and an end to America's support for Wahhabi terrorism and its masterminds in the Gulf? Or will it serve as a pretext to launch a new war,
as occurred after September 11?”
“DEBKA File's counterterrorism sources can disclose that the investigation has homed in on a suspected terror cell of
Saudi nationals, possibly tied to al-Qaeda.”
“Iraq's new power elite is annoyed
by American or British investigations, independent or official, into the
justifications for the invasion. Because such inquiries expose the lies and fabrications that were utilized at the time, and uncover their miserable roles in enticing the occupiers by pledging Iraq's wealth in return
for speeding the U.S.-led invasion.”
“Another world war may be coming.
What America wants is the support and training of a 'moderate' force to shield Jordan and combat 'extremist
groups' - which the United States contributed to creating!”
“What happened in that decade of
darkness was something Iraqis had not seen in over 200 years. ... The politicians running Iraq today were the only ones who clapped
for the invading American troops”
“The orgy of evil committed
by America's elites began long before its savage forces were unleashed so violently against
Iraqis. Now that elite, which
committed these countless and
unimaginable crimes, boasts as if it did something righteous.”
“To say that what's happening
in Syria poses no risk to U.S. security is nonsense ... The positions taken by Obama, not just today but yesterday as well,
demonstrate both a lack of foresight and weak leadership.”
“The issue is about more than John Stewart's
message to President Morsi, his surprise at the fact that Bassem's satire is considered an insult to the president, and Stewart's view
that silencing Bassem and his program does
not befit the leader of a country like Egypt,
home to one of history's great civilizations.”
“The inevitable convergence
of the crises in Korea and Iran confronts America's three top officials, President Obama, Secretary Kerry and Defense Secretary Hagel, with their most challenging global test.”
“We have repeatedly told you [the U.S.] that we are not after nuclear weapons. You say you don't believe us. ... Why should we believe you? When you aren't ready to accept an honest and logical remark, why should we accept your words, which have been so often proven false?”
“As they sat on their plush seats, they allowed the illegitimate child of Qatar and the CIA to sit amongst them. They called him the representative of the
Syrians, who haven't recognized him, so that they could make him a puppet they can tell anything they like to. ...
And they had the insolence to shed crocodile tears for the Syrian people
and blame the 'regime' for the crisis
in Syria and the way it continues.”
“Saudi and Qatari delegates were heard hurling shrill abuse at one another and exchanging blows in private meeting
rooms outside the assembly hall. All
summit activity was abruptly halted.”
“Obama may yet leave his mark as a policy maker deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize he was awarded at the beginning of his
termS. That will allow America
to escape its growing isolation and doubts about it that infuse
people in this part of the world.”
“The apology represented a lack of respect for IDF soldiers who
risked their lives encountering armed Turkish activists ... but the U.S. president acted for the benefit of all sides while keeping
in mind his nation's best interests.”
“Rather than as a leader of the world's greatest power, Obama arrives in Israel 'repentant,' having been publicly rebuffed and humiliated by the Israeli prime minister during his first-
term, and so, determined not to allow it to happen again.”
“America's game plan in
the Mideast is now clear:
Whenever there are new plans for war, Washington and Tel Aviv lift their voices about proceeding with the peace process.”
“They protest to express not only their right to oppose Obama's visit, but to oppose all positions of the
U.S., which invariably gives cover for the occupation, and with its continuous financial, military and political support, provides it with
every tool for murder. In return, we, the victims, are whipped.”
“Few people had any
illusions that the U.S. intended to be an honest broker in the peace process, but Obama's visit to Israel is managing to take despair and outrage by Palestinians and Arabs to an entirely new level.”
“We share the sense of pressing
need to resolve the Palestinian-
Israeli conflict. But we reject the idea that the U.S. or any other state can facilitate peace or that hostility in the region toward the U.S. is in any way connected to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict.”
“As a Channel 10 reporter
told Army Radio in regard
to what she considers the
over-the-top Obama-mania that has gripped the nation,
if this is the way the nation greets Obama, what's left to greet the Messiah? We
are a country that feels isolated – unaccepted and
hated in the region, and misunderstood abroad.”
“He saved many poor people
from poverty with his policy
equitably sharing oil wealth.
On paper, while this seemed fair, in fact, the way he went about it was not. Rather than of teaching people how to fish,
Chavez gave them the fish. ”
“No U.S. president, under the current circumstances, is going to risk any political capital by moving forward
with peace efforts; U.S. officials are busy dealing
with the domestic economy,
the global economy, and
in regard to the Middle East,
with the repercussions of Arab uprisings and Tehran.”
“The truth we don't know why Obama is coming to Israel. The
Obama Administration
has not shown where its Israel policy is going.
And Obama's Republican
opposition is not in a position to push him.”
“His convictions made him more Arab than the Arabs of petroleum, the slaves of America and the dinar. ... The average Arab citizen, who sees no strength or dignity in his
own head of state, is struck by
the tragedy of Hugo Chavez' death. ”
“The Iranian nation has strong bonds with other revolutionary
nations. No one should think a vacuum will emerge in relations due to the death of Chavez.”
“The Islamists had two more objectives: To be in position for cross-border attacks on Israel and Jordan – perhaps in the course of U.S. President Barack Obama’s March 20-22 visits to those countries; and
to use the 'liberated' Syrian Golan as launching pads for a
war of attrition against them.”
“The U.S. administration refuses to recognize that a change has taken place in Egypt, and so a change in discourse must go along with that. There is no longer any point in talking about Egypt as if it were
a state of the U.S. union.”
“As long as nations live and
struggle for independence, justice and kindness, he is alive. And I have no doubt that along with Christ the Savior, heir to all saintly and perfect men, he will be resurrected, bringing peace, justice and perfection to all.”
“General Sisi got testy when Kerry
told him, 'Israel's security is our first concern,' and he rejected a U.S.
offer to help out in the Sinai. ... Sisi
said that Egypt's Armed Forces know perfectly well what it is entrusted to do, which is to control the border
and protect Egypt from all threats.”
“Every extremist operation has taken place because of
the injustice meted out to the Palestinians. ... Given how evident the reason for their ill favor in the world, it would be a joke if after two dozen years spent, the U.S. was still unaware. ... Either they have blinkers
on, or take the people of the region for morons.”
“Nigerians were taken aback
at reports that for a passing 45
minute glance, she was paid a $500,000 fee by the Nigerian
sponsors. We wonder which celebrity value or quality the organizers of the Lagos event thought she would bring that warranted inviting her at such
a huge cost. But beyond money
matters, we worry about the psychological damage that the act of idolizing and glorifying a character with such loose moral fiber does to our frustrated
generation of younger people.”
“MacFarlane's crudeness – befitting the creator of Family Guy – was equally
offensive to Jews, women, and Hispanics (he also voiced racial insults against Denzel
Washington, Eddie Murphy).”
“Although the U.S.-engineered sanctions do not directly target
medicines, importing such items from abroad has become almost
impossible due to restrictions on the banking system, which is
unable to transfer needed funds.”
“Prime Minister Maliki, commander-
in-chief responsible for security in the
country, refuses to descend from the fragile throne he ascended to years
ago through an open deal between
the United States and Iran. Maliki was
put there as a cover for their mistakes.”
“The politically-motivated choice was re-enforced by the surprise presenter: Michelle Obama. ... Awarding the Oscar for best
picture to the film Argo reveals
how Hollywood insiders sacrifice quality and artistry for the sake of political slogans and distortions.”
“If Iran's rulers were truthful about the animosity they claim to feel toward the Great Satan,
they would never have helped
support its occupations. Iran's 'support' for the resistance is based on interests that are purely Iranian. It has nothing to do with love for the resistance,
and everything to do with its
expansionist aims, which the fall of Assad would imperil.”
“The losers are America, the Gulf emirates and Saudi Arabia,
Israel and Turkey. Obama's idea of a democratic, liberal 'Arab
Spring' has now collapsed.'”
“Liberating Kuwait, after Saddam conquered it under the cover of night, dispensed huge amounts of pain and suffering among Iraq's people. Thanks to Saddam, Iraq's people were scattered across
all of the nations of the earth.”
“Let us silence the sky-is- falling cries proclaiming
a crisis and predicting disaster. Americans and Israelis should celebrate their deep, enduring relationship, cemented by Obama's foreign policy formula from his second inaugural address: 'our
interests and conscience.'”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran does not want to see a proliferation of nuclear weapons. In fact, there is
nothing for the U.S. to worry over, because the Islamic Republic of Iran considers the possession or use of
nuclear weapons a crime against
humanity, and calls for getting rid
of all weapons of mass destruction.”
“Tehran's claim to have sent a monkey into space – highlight
its role in the division of labor
Pyongyang and Tehran have
over years of collaboration:
Pyongyang focused on a nuke;
and Tehran on the long-range
rocket technology
for delivery.”
“The presence of the masses - old, young, women and men - at Azadi Square, 34 years after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, is the most divine blessing, and as such, calls for a lifetime thanksgiving. ... the people are protecting this great capital, the source of dignity and independence, and showcase their presence whenever needed.”
“There is panic in the camp of the Great Satan and his devilish
surrogates. Allah-o-Akbar (God is Great), the Islamic Revolution continues to act as a catalyst. The revolution that Imam Khomeini dubbed an explosion of light has triggered the Islamic Awakening.”
“You (Americans) point a gun at Iran and say either negotiate or we will pull the trigger! You should know that pressure and negotiations don't go together, and the [Iranian] nation will not be intimidated by such tactics.”
“The supreme leader said such negotiations 'would solve nothing ... You are holding a gun against
Iran saying you want to talk.
The Iranian nation will not be
frightened by any such threats.”
“The long-term solution will be up
to the capacity of Yemenis to create a democratic state in which those who are now disaffected will work for change without taking up arms
against the state. Legitimacy will be
denied all organizations betting on
the force of weapons to pursue and achieve their political objectives. ”
“A fly landed on the forehead of the president - and he isn't just any old president. ... Playing on the nerves of a president who
in his hands holds the keys to the nuclear arsenal and rules over the affairs of three quarters of the planet. ... Without uttering a word, that fly taught us a lot: Force is a ghoul that no longer
frightens anyone - even a fly!!”
“Police seized a large number
of documents from the homes
of suspects, which revealed
plans by their organization, the Revolutionary People's Liberation
Party/Front to murder politicians,
judges, prosecutors and police.”
“It's necessary to refer to the many
ways Arabs humiliate themselves before the Americans to the point
that some Arab rulers allow them to bomb their own populations,
like in Yemen, and to accept U.S.
deployment on their territory to destroy another Arab country, as still others bring in the Americans to establish military bases on their soil and even pay their expenses.”
“Just as the ties between the Jewish state and the U.S. are
strong in such profound ways, so too were the ties between
Jews and the movement for civil rights headed by King.”
“It appears to not be enough for
Iraq's government that the nation has already lost thousands of lives
and billions of dollars since the
American invasion. They seem
willing to risk losing even more.”
“The indifference of the White House reflects a contempt for the legitimate demands of Iraqis and a collapse of
American values unseen in its history.”
“I think everyone understands that only Israel’s citizens are those who will be the ones to
determine who most faithfully
represents Israels vital interests.”
“The year 2013 is considered an ominous one to Europeans and Americans, as many associate the
figure with crises and disaster. But while people in the West are pessimistic about the number
13, in our Arab and Islamic world we have no such belief .”
"Building on the international success of Al Jazeera network
and Al-Jazeera English - the purchase of Current TV opens the way for Al-Jazeera America. It is expected that the channel will be available in more than 40 million homes across the U.S.”
“Retired General Norman Schwarzkopf is a hero, and has been credited by God for the liberation of my nation of Kuwait from brutal Saddamist occupation. We mourn his passing, because he instituted his military plans professionally, forcing aggression onto its heels and into retreat.”
—
Mubarak Boursali, Kuwaiti Student at University of Kentucky
“ Your great role in liberating Kuwait is
second only to Allah's. When you freed Kuwait from an oppression that made men cry even before women, you were
a great commander. Thank you to all who participated in our liberation. Thank you
to our brothers - wherever they are.”
“The early years of the 21st century witnessed the spread of animated series for adults, which surpassed all that came before them in their mockery of American society and its values. ... These series call a 'spade a spade,' sometimes eliciting huge
reactions among the general public. ”
“After Moscow spent its time closely following developments
on the ground, it now
seems they have concluded that nothing further can be gained by buying time for the Assad regime.”
“In view of our sources, Obama decided to pull the formidable
warship fleet away from Syria in an effort to defuse the military
tensions that have been rising among Iran, Turkey and Syria.”
“After decoding, our experts have discovered that the drone had not carried out even a single nuclear
mission over Iran. this shows that the nuclear issue is just a pretext
for America to pressure Iran.”
—
Aerospace chief of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps., General Amir Ali Hajizadeh
"We are dissapointed that the
developed countries are in the process of looking at low ambition
levels under the 2nd committment period. We call on the them to raise their ambition, consistent with what is required by science
... and the principles of the
convention [on climate change].”
“Facing Syria now are 10,000
U.S. fighting men, 70 fighter-
bombers and up to 17 warships, including the three Iwo Jima
amphibious vessels, a guided
missile cruiser and at leasr
10 destroyers and frigates.”
“Your country is not the center of the world. The international system has
no center. Even states that claim hegemonic positions like America or
Russia cannot be regarded
as centers of the system.”
“None of the Mideast capitals
are talking openly about this eventuality to avoiding causing a panic. ... However, oblique references to the peril and preparations for action came
from U.S. officials on Monday.”
“Hawks and butchers on both sides knew all along how the other would react. Once again they have shown Obama that unless a decisive leader facilitates solutions, none of these
issues will ultimitely be resolved.”
“The U.S. has never evacuated American citizens from Israel. The U.S. notice doesn't say whether a possible evacuation would include the U.S. forces
on American bases in Israel.”
“Unlike Turkish vengeance, American vengeance develops slowly until it reaches a breaking point. ... Obama's
reelection, which all but Netanyahu took into consideration, could have been much less painful and damaging to Israel had the prime minister
conducted himself somewhat differently.”
“The reason he won is that
God gave it to him . Second,
he has the knowledge of loving all people, and doesn't have knowledge of division, which is also why he won ... As much as I have to thank the American people for this, the victory is also Africa's.”
—
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S Maternal Grandmother, Sarah Obama
“On behalf of the Government and people of Kenya and on my
behalf, I convey congratulations to you, for your well deserved
victory. I commend America's people for showing their confidence in your leadership.”
“The final stage of the U.S. presidential competition consists of televised debates with live audiences, in which
the two candidates sit and face
one another on an open stage,
i.e.: it can be seen by Chinese, Americans, Indians and even
Saudis in the Arabian Peninsula.”
“Hamas is setting its sights firmly on the most sensitive locations within their reach, e.g., Israel’s nuclear reactor and air force bases and the American X-band radar
station in the Negev desert.”
“In churches and mosques, prayers are being uttered to ask God for their son's victory. ... 'We know he was elected by
God, and we must take our joint prayers and petition Him so that he hands Obama another term,' says Florence Otieno.”
“Only a transformation in the structure of Arab states, and the way they treat their own people and the outside world, will cause Western
nations to sit up and take note.”
“The reservations on the part
of both candidates reflect the
erosion of our strategic position in the four years of the Obama
presidency compared with Iran's
rising influence in the region.”
“The delay in recognizing
Palestine means the
country
is steadily losing
more land,
and an unstable
atmosphere
is being created for the
Palestinian people. People
need to know if they are
living in a state,
nonstate,
or a semistate. ... they are living in a powder keg.”
“Obama’s campaign advisers
believe that his willingness to
engage Iran's leaders directly on their nuclear program, in contrast to Romney's tougher stance, will appeal to the
American voter's reluctance
about U.S. military action. ”
“Bearing the fact that Maliki is heavily subsidized by America
in mind, and that Americans
seeks to topple all of Maliki's allies, one can assume that Washington, which brought
Maliki to power in the first
place, began considering the idea of abandoning him soon after he visited Russia.”
“This painful attack directed at the U.S. administration will not pass without retaliation, which will be far-reaching, and will be aimed at influencing political and military alliances in Libya and throughout North Africa. ”
“While many Jews in Israel and the
U.S. still believe in the commitment of U.S. Jewry to Israel, liberal Jews have already chosen Obama, the Democratic Party and their American identity over their Jewish identity.”
“There, stupidity reigns. Before
things get any worse and before
crude oil prices hit $200 barrel,
Americans need to elect a leader that has respect for international law, common sense and their own welfare at heart (not Israel's)!”
“If these reactionary regimes did for the Palestinian people half of what they've
done against Syria's people, Palestine would already have been returned to the Arab fold, and the obnoxious Zionist occupation would have been defeated.”
“Israel’s leaders were struck dumb and caught unawares by
Iran's audacity in springing an
overt act of belligerence on
their own and U.S. military
installations in the Negev. Israel officials have vowed to
respond to a clear act of war.”
“This is one of the CIA's most dramatic scoops in many years, and an epic disaster for Iran.
One of Ahmadinejad's personal
cameramen brought with him
an intelligence treasure trove
of photographs and videos of top leaders visiting their most
sensitive, secret nuclear sites.”
“A clandestine, vast and heavy
war has been waged against
iRAN on a global scale and our
colleagues at the Central Bank and other relevant bodies are working hard to find solutions … this is a real battle."
“In America, both Republicans
and Democrats are accused of using Israel against each other to win votes ahead of elections. But now the tables seem to have turned as Netanyahu and Barak accuse each other of harming ties with the U.S.
for the sake of political gain.”
“According to Iran's Central Bank, people keep a large amount of foreign currency
and gold in homes, which has a negative
effect on the economy.
Unfortunately, some people think that their capital will vanish and flock to the currency and gold markets, which increases the demand and prices."
—
COMMANDER of Iran's National Police, General Esmail Ahmadi Moghadam
“France's insistence on upholding
principle of libery is admirable,
but it must ask itself if by printing the anti-Islam caricatures it is not violating the third principle of the revolution – brotherhood – as the
cartoons insult the Muslim minority.”
“God Almighty has promised us a man of kindness. ... The arrival
of the ultimate savior, the Christ
and the righteous, will begin an
eternally bright future for man.
Their arrival will breathe new life
into the frozen body of the world."
“He drew a pretty diagram, but he failed to draw an effective
international road map toward stopping the nuclear program. ... Setting a red line unilaterally restricts Israel's maneuvering room and isolates the threat
as a Jewish problem rather than an international one.”
“The seething reaction of
Muslims, which pays homage to Islam's Prophet (PBUP) and reflects deep hatred toward the enemies, is a wonderful
and important turn of events.'
"During the past months, attacks by terrorist militias of Israeli settlers have become a daily reality, with at least 535 attacks perpetrated since the beginning of this year. We are facing
relentless waves of attacks against our people, our mosques,
churches, our
homes and schools.”
"In 2009, they [Iran] brutally put down mass protests for democracy in their own country. Today, their henchmen are participating in the slaughter of tens of thousands of
Syrian civilians, which includes
thousands of children, who directly
participating in this murder ... And
of course, Iran’s rulers repeatedly deny the Holocaust and call for Israel’s destruction almost on a daily basis, as they did again this week from the United Nations.”
“Debka File's military sources report exclusively that when the Shabbiha is slapped into its new military shape, Bashar Assad will have at his disposal
an extra 60,000 professional Alawite soldiers under arms – the nucleus of a Syrian Revolutionary Guards Corps.”
"Egypt respects free expression that is not used to incite hatred. One that is not directed toward one specific religion or culture. A free expression that tackles extremism and violence. Not
free expression that
deepens
ignorance and ignores others. But we also stand firmly against the use of violence in expressing objection to these obscenities.”
“Come, let's hold a global public
trial of the West to prosecute them for crimes against humanity and against the peoples of our region, such as those of looting our resources and the worst kind of exploitation of our people. ...
The second step is to boycott it,
provided that such a boycott is effective, decisive and true. ...
We will not die for failing to deal
with the West or its products. ”
"Remember that the American political and social experience was borne of civil war, which
the nation had to go through to solify unity. The Europe we
see now experienced terrible wars to achieve a unity that could not be achieved by arms or hegemony. ... I sat this to assure whoever cares about
our world, that what is going on in our region is historic.”
—
Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani
“One cannot divorce the release of the anti-Islam film from the rampant Islamophobia in American society, where racists and
extremists claim 'Western civilization is threatened with destruction at the hands of a Muslim plan
for global domination!'
“Not only was the Prophet's message routinely rejected,
but he was often chased out,
cursed at, and physically assaulted. His example was to endure all personal insults and attack without retaliation
of any sort. As he
is our
greatest example, this
should be the reaction of all Muslims.”
A new set of cartoons regarded
as inflammatory by Muslims has
been run by French satirical
newspaper Charlie Hebdo. What are the ramifications of the cartoons and the controversy over a trailer of an unreleased film, 'The Innocence of Muslims.'
“Tehran is no longer hanging
about waiting for its nuclear program to be attacked in order to punish Israel, but is
preparing to launch strike on
Israel from Lebanon, Syria.”
“If, as it claims, the United States believes in freedom to the extent that it gives its citizens the right to burn the American flag if they like … is it also possible to allow the production of
films doubting the validity
of the alleged Holocaust? ”
“Crass manipulations of the sacred inevitably end up succeeding. All
that is needed is an obscure person to decide that he wants to become famous by planting the seeds of
insult of the Prophet of Islam. ... the worst part of this entire affair is our propensity to fall into the coarsest of traps thanks to an incapacity to put reason over
emotion - and manipulation.”
“What happened to the
U.S. consulate in Benghazi is an offense to Islam,
strengthens its enemies, and will tend to drive away anyone interested in Islam
and seeking its victory.”
“MP Walid Jumblatt accuses Israel of being behind a U.S.
-made film insulting Islam's Prophet Mohammad, saying
it may be part of the Jewish state’s campaign against the
re-election of Mr. Obama.”
“Debka File's counter-terror
sources report
that far from being a spontaneous raid by
angry Islamists, the attack
was a professionally-executed
terror operation by an al-Qaeda assassination team.”
“It is Americans who have every right to hate Shiites - because
Shiites are ungrateful. All they have is thanks to the Americans,
who uprooted Saddam's regime and handed them power after
centuries of Sunni persecution”
The two hour movie called
'Innocents of Muslims' is said to have cost $5 million to make, portrays the life of the Prophet Mohammad, and touches on themes of
pedophilia, homosexuality.”
“On behalf of the the presidency, government and the Libyan people, we offer deep condolences to the American government, people and
families of the ambassador and the
other victims [who were killed].”
In this two-part documentary, Al Jazeera follows the stories of people caught up in the anti-
terror crackdown that came
after 9/11, who speak out
about the injustices they have
had to endure and their fears of rising Islamophobia.
“His acceptance speech makes one wonder: Is it possible for such a vacuous figure to lead the most powerful nation on earth? ... With the end of the speech, a pressing question
came to mind: Will such a vacuous character become the first president to reduce
America to deterioration,
weakness and humiliation?”
"Anglo-Saxon culture is the source
of modern civiliation. The problem
with Arab societies is that were
occupied - like Egypt and Iraq - is
that the colonists left too early -
before democracy was established.”
“I am outraged by the cheapness of the use of the term 'existential
threat.' Isn't it enough for us to say
'serious' and 'grave?' All historical
comparisons to the Holocaust come out of ideological school of thought.”
—
Former Military Intelligence Chief Major General Uri Saguy
“The image of Hillary
in South Africa dancing enthusiastically
exposed the ethical tone deaf head of American diplomacy. That picture tells residents of the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo all they need to know
about the cruelty of United States foreign policy.”
We discuss the possibility
of a strike, consequences for the entire world, and whether this is a ploy by Netenyahu to distract its general public from its
domestic problems like unemployment and a protest movement against social injustice.”
“After war-mongering for over a year, America's mainstream media like The Washington Post and New York Times have been forced to admit that armed
terrorists and not government
forces are the ones who are
indiscriminately killing citizens.”
“You are called to build on that legacy
to ensure that your country fulfills its
own promise and takes its place as a
leader among nations and as a force for
peace, opportunity, equality, democracy,
and to stand up always for human
rights at home and around the world.”
“As thousands of athletes from around the world are competing for gold, silver and bronze medals at the London Olympics, American
President Barack 'Hussein' Obama is competing against Republican Party presidential candidate Mitt Romney for an Olympic medal from Israel
- oh excuse me - I meant
the Israeli satisfaction medal.”
“For many onlookers around the
world, it not long ago seemed
impossible for a U.S. politician to arise that was more ignorant than former President George W. Bush,
but Mitt Romney’s international tour seems to have killed these hopes.”
“They need Obama out. Because as a second-term president, he
may become an immortal hero of
the Chinese, Russians, Islamists
and the rest of the people who 'support' Israel and the West.”
“I heard some of your remarks and you said that the greatest danger facing the
world is the Iranian regime possessing nuclear weapons capability ... Mitt,
I could not agree with you more.”
“Syrians who have risen up in a quest for freedom, dignity and a happier life will fail to
achieve them if the global community remains passive after Assad’s fall. Syria and the entire region are headed toward a very dangerous
situation, as terrorist groups
expand and exploit the crisis.”
“Just as GOP leaders have found their Congressional
caucus somewhat ... hard to control, Netanyahu also cannot count on his fellow Likudniks in the Knesset to roll out the red carpet
for his visiting friend Mitt.”
“How, with this scale
of mindless carnage,
can the U.S. deign
to issue directives to others? … One cannot blame the rest of the world for saying that Big Brother would be better off watching over its own brood and figuring out how its own brand of domestic policies is affecting its collective, disturbed mindset.”
“The elimination of Assad’s top security tier, leaders of his brutal campaign of suppression against the Syrian uprising sent shock waves reverberating across the
Mideast. Armies are on high alert.”
“One tomato struck an Egyptian official in the face, while shoes and bottles of water were flung at armored vehicles carrying the Clinton convoy. … The political affiliation of the protesters was unclear, as protests are now
the ‘norm’ since Mubarak's fall.”
“In an interview with Yedioth Ahronot this month, Allen said
even though he has criticized Israel in the past, he supports Israel. Since his wife is eager to visit the country, the couple will likely visit in the near future.”
“When was the last time we read anything about
what should be the goal - getting rid of the over 20,000 'declared' nuclear weapons found on almost
alll the world's continents?”
“The Syrian ruler was given a 'last warning' through intelligence channels in the West
to leave its warheads
and shells loaded with mustard gas, sarin and cyanide where they are. If he dared move them, they would be
destroyed from the air,”
“Those who nuclear-bombed Arafat were under the illusion that they could dispirit the
Palestinians. It's as if Hiroshima had disappeared or faded away. On the contrary, Hiroshima has
become a shrine to the world's
people who want to meditate on
the results of crime and injustice.”
“A more detailed analysis will be needed but the missiles launched may be a modified anti-ship missile or KN-02 surface-to-surface missile derived from Soviet era SS-21 with a range of about 120 kms.”
“It's different this time, because the president is being questioned by some of his staunchest supporters. It's so bad that liberals are questioning whether they were wrong to give
him a break on other controversies.
... If a Democrat president loses Jon
Stewart, can he hang on to liberals?”
“The Venezuelan right and the U.S. president himself, are trying to downplay the incident, calling the possibility that Timothy H. Tracy might be a U.S. spy 'absurd' and even 'ridiculous.' ... I'm not going to speculate on whether
the guy is a shoemaker or a film-
maker. An intelligence agent (in
other words, a spy) need not have, written out in his CV, a course in
spying from the CIA or Mossad.”
“We urge the government to show
utmost transparency and objectivity in dealing with Mr. Tracy's case. And
given that this a matter of a movie professional whose work has been brusquely interrupted for political reasons, we urge his quick release. By failing to do so, the government of Venezuela is directly infringing on the right to gather and distribute
information [and news] in this nation.”
—
PETITION Signed By Many of Venezuela's Leading Filmmakers
“Mr. Abassi is accused of entering the United States specifically to advance a terrorism plot. ... The FBI says that 10 days before the arrests, Mr. Abassi was caught discussing plots to get fake U.S. work permits in order to 'remain in
the U.S. to engage in 'projects' tied to
terror activities, including recruitment."”
“The efforts of the Nobel Peace Prize winner in the White House are designed to continue the war against drug trafficking. In four years, he has yet to lift a finger to change the repressive approach of the anti-drug strategy imposed
by his nation on the entire world.”
“Japan's pacific constitution was adopted under the guidance of
the U.S. military after WW II and is one of the cornerstones of lasting peace in East Asia. ...
Because of Japan's dismissive attitude toward its war crimes, its planned constitutional
revisions are raising alarm bells.”
“Now in his second term, Obama can no longer delay closing Guantanamo. His inaction mars the image of
America and encourages those who condemn the president for not translating
his beautiful talk into reality.”
“President Pena Nieto should insist on a resolution of the migration issue.
It is through such a strategic alliance
that the U.S. can go from democracy of migrants to a democracy of citizens.”
“You can be for or against the vision, actions and projects of Barack Obama, but you cannot deny that he is far more than a mere politician: he is an nfluential politician with the
'power, manners, authority, grace and inspiration' needed
to intervene to win benefits and advantages for others. ... I repeat my question: Do Costa
Ricans have truly influential
politicians - or just politicians?”
“A consensus appears to slowly be emerging that at some point in the
next months or year, Obama will likely order a no-fly zone and, perhaps, some targeted airstrikes. To sell this to the American people
and wider world, Washington will
once again call on Ottawa and a
handful of other Western capitals
to ask them for their support.
“I have friends that shook President
John F.
Kennedy's hand when he
came,
but that cannot happen now.
Look
at all this security; the whole city of San Jose is shut down.”
“While here we bury the dead
of this war, there they provide the places and conditions for marijuana consumption. Nor is there any evidence that political forces in the United States are willing to halt the free sale of
guns, nor is there any sign that a serious crusade against money
laundering is on the horizon.”
“Much would be different if Hirohito was questioned and tried. He could
have admitted to Japan's militarist excesses and left an apology on the historical record. If so, his water carriers, including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, would not have the audacity to deny this past.
“Following deadly attacks in Boston and an attempted poisoning of the president with ricin, Costa Rica will employ 1,000 police officers, 180
intelligence agents, 150 traffic cops
officers and an unknown number of
U.S. Secret Service agents to guard
U.S. and Central American presidents.”
“The magical surrealism of Venezuela these days is the latest chapter in th e Bolivarian Revolution, this time with
a new protagonist: U.S. man Timothy
Hallet Tracy ... alias, 'El Gringo.'
“When does an innocent filmmaker go to a country without a film crew? To our knowledge, Tim Tracy was alone in Venezuela. ... As we know, agents of the CIA, NSA, Mossad, etc., have agents who are disguised and have a thousand ways of entering countries undetected: as filmmakers,
mountain climbers - even diplomats.
“By holding itself out as the role model for human rights and arrogantly seeking to impose its model on other countries
not only hinders human rights progress
in America, it is disastrous for progress
on human rights around the world.”
“Despite having begun a family, everything points to Tamerlan Tsarnaev never forgetting his roots and being stuck between two worlds that could not be
reconciled, especially with
Islamism posing such a terrible threat and one of the principle enemies of the United States.
“Canadian immigration authorities tried to deport one of the Toronto VIA Rail terror suspects nine years ago but never did so because, as a stateless Palestinian, he could not be sent to any other country.”
“With good grace, we must resign ourselves to the inconveniences that we as citizens must endure, such as an erosion of civil liberties, privacy, and respect for individual rights that play such a fundamental and distinctive role in democratic societies. This is a terrible fight against an enemy in the shadows.”
“Wartime operational control is the
authority to control the military in time of emergency. It is symbolic of a nation's sovereignty. ... And if the U.S. refuses to return this exercise
of sovereignty, we should demand it.
It is humiliating to watch ourselves as we refuse to accept something -
even when the U.S. is offering it.
“Detectives, who spent months on the case, claimed the duo relied on 'direction and guidance'
from al-Qaeda-tied terrorists in
Iran as they plotted carnage here.”
“Excuse me, next time the U.S. struts the world stage, claiming American exceptionalism, setting itself out as leader of the
the so-called free world,
it risks being dismissed
as a nation of idiots.
“The balance of opinion among terrorism and security experts is that the Boston marathon bombing was the work
of either a disgruntled or unhinged individual probably with no links
to Islamic extremism.”
“The always-ambiguous relationship of the U.S. authorities toward terrorism includes the direct use of the practice in its state terrorism form, or in its
advocacy against governments that
the U.S. considers hostile. Recall, for example, the long history of terrorist
attacks perpetrated by the CIA in Guatemala, Cuba and Nicaragua, or the bloody bombing of civilian targets in various parts of the world and at
various times by the U.S. armed forces.
“It would be tempting to blame,
allege, belittle and bemoan, but ultimately, the reality is that humanity the world over feels unsafe. How can we protect ourselves once and for all from hate and despair? No single nation
has the answer ... we all suffer.”
“A country under attack, like the United States in 2001 and now in Boston, has the right to defend itself. But the trauma ends up being reflected in the laws of exception that, in turn, endanger civil rights. It is a fine line that separates a nation's defense from upholding protections of the individual.
“After nearly a decade of polarizing experience with hate crimes, Islamophobia and the suspension of civil liberties under laws like the U.S. Patriot Act, it is only recently that the U.S. has enacted stronger protections for minorities and free speech. There is a real risk that Monday's bombing and Obama's promise that the attackers would feel the 'full weight of justice' may lead to the
rollback of these rights.”
“The sense of fear the 9-11 attacks generated around the world cost
the world dearly, psychologically
and economically; the bloodshed in Boston has sent similar shock waves.”
“Among the posts most shared was by a Chinese journalist in New York
who said American coverage of the tragedy holds lessons for China. 'All
Web sites and TV stations
report live there is no reporting ban.'”
“Preventing troublemaking on China's doorstep means ending the vicious cycle of tension on the peninsula; preventing any party from stirring up trouble; and
saying no to the use of force
for a resolution of the issue.
“Our enemies say if we give up our
nukes, they will help us. This is just a dastardly attempt to break our will to remain independent and keep us defenseless. Such a clumsy trick won't
work on the people of penninsula.”
“The bureaucracy and security
forces may become increasingly demoralized and vulnerable to
infiltration. The danger of assassination of Mrs. Gandhi or her son, Sanjay, might increase.
“In today's world, the law
of the jungle is the wrong
answer to security concerns. Nor does diplomatic realism mean that one nation can trample on interests of
others in pursuing its own.
"Others prophesied the decline of the West. He inspired America
and its allies with renewed faith in
their mission of freedom. Others hoped at best for an uneasy cohabitation with the Soviet Union. He won the Cold War - not only without firing a shot, but also by
by inviting enemies out of their
fortress, turning them into friends.”
“I had the honor of knowing
Kim Il-sung, who wa a notably courageous and revolutionary figure. ...we remind North
Korea of her duty to nations that have been its good friends, and it would not be right to forget that such a war would greatly affect more than 70
percent of the planet's people.”
“The basis for a soft-landing
of this entire situation are
normalizing the North Korean
economy, and a guarantee of
the DPRK regime's security. Until that happens, Pyongyang will continue to make trouble.
“The criminalization of undocumented migration in the United States and the
violations of human rights that come
with it, is a strategy that results in huge political, economic and corporate profit, the very existence of which contradicts the founding principles of that country.”
“The possibility that nuclear leakage could pollute underground water supplies cannot be ruled out. ... The Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan
is a lesson. Fukushima Prefecture, where agriculture was a key industry,
is highly contaminated, and food
production has been severely hurt.
China can't afford to risk a repetition
of Fukushima's crisis in its Northeast.”
“U.S. nuclear missiles on mainland Korea are prepared to strike the DPRK, and its nuclear strike forces are amassing. If the provocateurs do manage to ignite a war, the army and people of the DPRK will utterly destroy the aggressors, their
facilities and their military installations.”
“Under the Treaty of San Francisco, in exchange for Japanese independence, Okinawa was isolated from Japan and remained under U.S. military rule. As
the head of every Okinawa city knows,
Apr. 28, 1952, the day the Treaty came
into effect, is called 'Humiliation Day'
in Okinawa. Not a single one of them
will vote in favor of holding an event
to celebrate 'Restoration of Sovereignty
Day' - justifiably and understanably not.”
“How did the system of checks and balances go so wrong? How did the U.S. unite so completely around a position that was so flawed? ... Ten
years on, no answers are expected. Worse, it almost appears as though the U.S. does not want to know.”
“Marshal Kim Jong-un said that
in view of the current situation, he has judged that the time has come to settle accounts with
the U.S. imperialists. If, in the event the imperialist aggressors recklessly provoke the DPRK with their huge strategic force, Marshal Kim said that the Korean People's Army should mercilessly
strike the American mainland.”
“Those who have become angry with President Karzai should appreciate his boldness. The entire nation backs his
perceptions. The nation fully grasps this very stark fact: that Taliban have always been foreign proxies and
cannot be loyal to land of Afghanistan.”
“There is a persistent opinion that since forces of our ally the United States were involved, there was
little choice but to back the war.
At first glance, this may sound logical and reasonable, but ideas like this conceal real danger. That would mean that Japan follows
whatever the U.S. does and asks
for, and suggesting a cessation of
independent thought. This is a way
of thinking too warped for words.”
“Oil was one of the few reasons still standing when all of their stated excuses for going after the dictator evaporated. Bush wanted to blame Saddam for
Sept. 11 – the dots won't join;
Cheney had the notion of Iraqi agents meeting Bin Laden's guys in Prague – didn’t happen; Iraq was buying yellow cake in Niger – documents were forgeries;
Iraq had a mobile bio-weapons lab on a truck – lies; Curveball
said it was all true – but too bad Curveball was a nutter.”
“Although the Iraq War was a foreign policy catastrophe - neither George W. Bush nor Tony Blair has offered any kind of apology. Nor have they been forced to face accusations that
they committed war crimes.”
“One must not sit idly by if Abe's purpose is to use National Soveriegnty Day as a stepping-stone to his goal of revising the Constitution. ... The old Constitution led Japan down the road of militarism, plunging it into reckless wars that brought devastation to other Asian nations and peoples as well
as to Japanese themselves.”
“British counter-terrorism expert Ben Ammerson, U.N. special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights, was appointed to conduct a probe. ... The report shows as false the dominant Obama narrative - that drones in Pakistan are
precise and effective, and that they make America safer.”
“During a 2012 power struggle, there was an attempt on the life
of Kim Jong-un, an intelligence source in Seoul has told the JoongAng Ilbo. According to him,
South Korea intelligence believes
Kim Jong-un's latest ratcheting up of tensions through a series of threats are linked to the incident.”
“All the most sophisticated methods
of attack, including a nuclear strike,
await orders to fire on the correct
targets. They are the ones, the arch criminals, who have systematically violated the Armistice Agreement since the moment it was adopted.”
—
Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea
“The deification of Chavez has more earthly and short-term
goals: preserve the movement, win elections and maintain
authoritarian controls to keep the nation's economic crisis from
destroying any plans for survival.”
“It is clear that the genie has escaped the lamp, and if that weren't enough, the genie
has gone marvelously over
to the side of the eternally
forgotten and humiliated.”
“From now on, one must speak of Venezuela and Latin America as before and after Chavez, and it wouldn't be rash to speculate
that like few peopel in history,
the changes he began carry
the imprint of irreversibility.”
“The right's colonial mentality
and interests bind it to states
at capitalism's heart, specifically the United States, which has historically had a relationship of conflict with our continent. ... The right doesn't understand Latin America, nor can it. Its mind goes blank before what the imperial powers send to our countries; it reacts with only acceptance and happy resignation
to the interests of such powers.”
“His death opens the possibility that Venezuelans could move
into a democratic normalization unthinkable while the towering
figure of the 'Comandante' lived.”
“Obama - the commander-in-chief of drone murders, the maintainer of the anti-democratic blockade of Cuba, the violator of the law who kept Bradley Manning imprisoned without trial for years, should know that there is no turning back history. In Latin America, largely because of actions taken by Hugo Chavez, it no longer matters much what is said in Washington.”
“As the two sides face off in a 'chicken game' of large-scale military exercises - and under a pseudo-state of war, many observers are voicing growing
fear of a potential military clash.”
“President Morales said, 'I'm nearly convinced that comrade Chavez was poisoned.' The Bolivian president also noted that the 'empire has all
of the tools' necessary to conduct operations to defeat governments, leaders and social movements that oppose capitalism, 'but when it fails to overcome them, it takes up the task of ending the life of a leader.'”
“Divisive - Hugo Chavez supported the poor and the working class, rather than U.S. interests and local elites. ... Anti-U.S. - He showed the United States Venezuela was
not part of its backyard.”
“Abe was apparently ignorant of the fact that the people of Okinawa regard April 28 as a 'day of infamy' because the
prefecture stayed under U.S.
control for another 20 years.”
“The appearance of a man wearing not only earrings - but with pierced lips and tattoos everywhere, was shocking. To see Kim Jong- un seated next to such a tall, bizarre-looking giant, and showering him with gifts, made Kim look like an immature leader.”
“Now, the Afro-American politician has been forced to decree, against
his own will, plans that will trigger enormous damage to the already
maimed U.S. economy. ... while the
government of a minor economy
like Argentina's has found it possible to advanced its agenda of social and economic transformation despite
pressure and destabilizing campaigns.”
“We have no doubt - the time will come for a medical board to be formed to prove that he (Chavez) was attacked with this disease. ... We have no doubt that the historic enemies of the
nation sought a way to damage the health of our commander.
There have been several cases
like this - the most notorious being that of Yasser Arafat,
the former leader of Palestine.”
“Part of the reason I'm not crazy about Oscar is that it
isn't Chinese. Don't get me wrong. I'm no xenophobe. I am a patriot! We've got our own movie awards. ...
the reason for the lack of popularity of our awards
likely lies in the political orientation of our state and in the awards themselves.”
“Since revision by the Abe
administration of Japan's
stance on history could
severely damage relations
with neighboring nations
like South Korea and China,
the U.S. government is
concerned stability in the
Asia-Pacific region could be
be compromised, which it regards as a priority.”
“Dear respected Marshal Kim Jong-un and his wife
Ri Sol-ju came to watch.
Greatly excited to see the game along with Kim Jong-un, the players and
audience broke into cheers.
Dennis Rodman was also there and came over to offer a bow to Kim Jong-un. Kim Jong-un warmly welcomed
him and permitted Dennis Rodman to sit next to him.”
“When you ram ships; hurl glass containers of acid; drag metal- reinforced ropes in the water to damage propellers and rudders; launch smoke bombs and flares
with hooks; and point powerful lasers at other ships, you are,
without any doubt, a pirate, no matter how high-minded you believe your purpose to be.”
—
U.S. FEDERAL COURT JUDGE Chief Judge Alex Kozinski
“During the match, Rodman, who wore dark glasses and a hat, sat to the left of Kim Jong-un. Without translators, the two spoke directly
and laughed, witnesses there said.”
“Talk about an odd choice ... The free-spirited, hard- partying, heavily tattooed,
NBA champ sticks out like a sore thumb
in the staid,
buttoned-down despotism.”
“Among the many elements of a South Korea-U.S. policy targeting North Korea, it is likely that strengthening those promoting internal
discord will be one of them.”
—
Park Hyung-jung, Korea Institute for National Unification
“We consider these accusations that China's military is engaged in hacking
to be a demented attempt by the U.S. to establish Internet hegemony by putting the hat of the villain on China. ... China has no obligation to foster ties when the American people spit at them. Our entire society will work
together to strengthen ourselves.”
“Our governments confirm that should Japan participate
in TPP talks, all goods
will be subject to
negotiation. As the outcome will be determined
during the talks, Japan is not
required to make a previous commitment to unilaterally
eliminate all Japan tariffs.”
“Many people, in the midst of a 'muckraking frenzy,' damage confidence in the government and public officials, which also reduces support for China's government during foreign disputes. Even patriotism is questioned and mocked, and among some circles, 'universal
values' have become the fashion.”
“With China's continuing attempts to expand its maritime jurisdiction on one side, and a nuclear-armed North Korea on the other, peace and stability in the far east is at stake.”
“The irony is that as Latin American states call for U.S. migration laws to be more benign and compassionate toward our fellow citizens, they fail
to acknowledge that their treatment of their Latin American brothers is a far cry from the benefits granted by the government of the United States.”
“China should stick to being a reconciler and harmonizer, and not join one side in confronting the other. It is
unlikely China will become allies with North Korea, but it is even more unlikely that it would join an alliance with
the U.S., Japan and the South.”
“The notion of a 'global theater of battle' has terrifying implications, which moves humanity closer to the sphere of barbarity. With this legal defense, U.S. drones would exterminate al-Qaeda terrorists in London or Sao Paulo, while Israeli
drones would assassinate Hezbullah
militants in Lebanon and their China counterparts would eliminate Uygur separatists in Kazakhstan.”
“Brazilian officials have tried,
alone, to force discussion of the monetary policies of the
U.S. and the eurozone, and their effects on the foreign exchange market. In this,
there has been little success.”
“The Strategic Defense Initiative, also called Star Wars ... lured the Soviets into an arms race it couldn't win. ... Let's do a Reagan: play along with the North in a game that it calls its own, but statistics show it can never win.
Official data show our population is twice as large as that of the North; our Gross Domestic Product 40 times the North's and Gross National Product per capita close to 20 times larger ... All Pyongyang needs may be a little push.”
“I believe the presence of Calderon at Harvard contradicts the values of ?? representative democracy, critical
thinking, personal and intellectual
honesty that the university promotes. I hope that the Kennedy School will reconsider and be sensitive to the feelings of millions of Mexicans.”
“Like a souvenir, you [Prime Minister Abe] would like to bring signs of progress on the Futenma Air Base relocation
to the U.S. president. Could this be the reason for your visit to Okinawa? If so, you are not welcomed here.”
“in fact, North Korea's defiance is deeply rooted in its powerful sense of insecurity after years of confrontation with South Korea, Japan and a militarily superior
United States. Pyongyang's latest nuclear test appears to be another
example of a desperate attempt
to try and keep the threat at bay.”
“The third nuclear test, coupled with the North's successful missile launch
last year, was designed
to deliver a message to
Washington stronger than
anyt before. Conducting it on the eve of Obama's
State of the Union speech
adds even more punch.”
“The Seoul group of traitors
consists of unmatched villains
and hooligans who are intent on exterminating the nation in collusion with outsiders [on sanctions]. ... The group of traitors should stop its foolish act, and finally understand the fierce nature of the historic stand-off between the DPRK
and United States government.”
—
Statement of North Korea's Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification
“'If we win the presidency,
will take a serious look, with
total impartiality, and review this decision, which was taken
in haste, by the Ecuadorian government. ... There is an independent judiciary in
Sweden, and justice is not
handled like it is in Ecuador.”
—
Former President and Current Candidate Lucio Gutierrez
“Upon being seated as the emporary president of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, Cuba
ended the continental isolation
that began 51 years ago. ... Now, half a century later and with the same communist ideology, the Cuban regime has broken through the policy of continental exclusion
animated by the United States.”
“Let us get used to the idea that it is possible to create wide-ranging hemispheric forums without the United
States and Canada. Despite all the sarcasm in the press,
CELAC isn't doing a bad job, particularly when countries like the U.S., Japan and China all call for observer
status at CELAC summits.”
“Countries that fail to clean up their
own backyards pay a very heavy price.
Being depicted as Pakistan is in the
film Zero Dark Thirty is that price.”
“America's handiest method of struggle is the 'values offensive.' In this respect,
the U.S. has many roads to penetrating China. The Chinese public has a very low level of resistance to these values, and in fact is widely receptive to them.”
“One of my most interesting sociological experiences in the United States was a visit
to a gun show in Texas. ... It was amazing to watch the
children. They were all over,
looking at the weapons, even
picking them up as though they were pieces of fruit or
vegetables, with no move
from the parents. There is something wrong with a
society so fascinated by
weapons. It just isn't normal.”
“The island's nomination to lead
the 33-nation organization - that excludes the United States and Canada - was described by some governments as a Cuban victory without precedent since 1961,
when Fidel assumed power after the revolution that ended the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. ... The Santiago Declaration calls on Washington ... to end the economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba.”
“Any airline that continues to use these aircraft despite such reports and concerns is putting prestige and profit before safety. Such airlines must take heed of these issues and reconsider the
importance of putting safety first.”
“The interpretation of analysts and politicians is clear: their opposition to Mitt Romney was in retaliation for his party's anti- immigrant position. It has never been more costly for a U.S.
politician to oppose this reform.”
“Quaid was denied because he
lacks a passport. Quaid sought permanent resident status in
Canada claiming he was being sought by'Hollywood star-
whackers.' He claimed the
group killed actors David Carradine and Heath Ledger.”
“Neither Barack Obama nor his opponents from the NRA
mention the harmful fireams being smuggled into Mexico.
They ignore us. Those killed by U.S. bullets do not exist. ... The denial is cheap because of the passivity of those who govern Mexico: when it has
to do with the United States,
most officials prefer silence.”
“At the heart of this matter is the
brigandish logic of America, which is that a peaceful satellite launch by
states antagonistic toward America should not be permitted. And why not? Because any carrier rocket can be converted into a long-range
ballistic missile that threatens the U.S. From this it is clear that the
U.N. Security Council is in fact
a marionette of the United States.”
“The U.S. is witnessing a remarkable change in the domestic production of energy - gas and oil extracted from metamorphic rock - which is lowering the cost of production in the country.
Battles in Congress tend to galvanize public attention. But Barack Obama's
place in the history books may depend
more on the actions of his government in accelerating, and not hindering, the
economic transition now underway.”
“The sad moments overshadowed the happy ones in Obama's first term, since the number of things he cannot do is far greater than those he can. Even his own doctor admitted that Obama looks
eight years older than four years ago. ... Whether the next four years will be easier remains a mystery, but one thing is for sure: constantly up to his neck in
problems at home and abroad, Obama will never look any younger.”
“U.S. Embassy cables made
public by WikiLeaks show that pressure from the U.S.
to purchase the drones may have been greater than the Korean government's actual interest in buying them ... If these cables are credible, the government is pushing to buy weapons that cost an astronomical sum of money
just to satisfy U.S. interests.”
“The 2012 Latino vote is a juncture of unprecedented importance that could lose its novelty on the public
agenda. Another unexpected event may occur that quickly causes U.S. people to close
off the possibility of 'amnesty' for illegal immigrants. The best course would be to exploit the current situation.”
“Only a handful of crackpots
think people would prosper
entirely without government. Obama's speech does a good job refuting them. But once
justification for government is conceded, the question becomes how much more of it is needed at the margin. On that he is much less persuasive.”
“Right now, the entire Okinawa Prefecture Assembly, 41 mayors from within the prefecture, and
all 41 city assemblies, oppose the
Henoko plan and demand the base
be relocated outside of Okinawa.
How far is Japan's government willing to 'subordinate itself to the United States' to curry favor
with it? Is Okinawa a 'souvenir' for the Japanese government
to hand over to the United States?”
“The White House is trembling with fear and the entire society is in pandemonium. America's rulers like
to call brightly lit
streets and very tall buildings standing in a row 'civilization.'
But in quiet corners of its small towns, what governs is the law of the jungle.”
“America is the most corrupt in the world - not China. Where does this great breakdown [of corruption] come from? It came
from the world, the U.S. … If our own countrymen don't support our country, who will?”
“Obama's Hail Mary pass
should be to amend the Constitution, and by so
doing, provide further evidence that the Nobel
Peace Prize he won when
his achievements were minimal was justified. If
Mr. Obama has failed to
achieve global nuclear disarmament, he must at
least disarm his citizens.”
“In 2008, China and Russia issued
a proposal for a treaty prohibiting
the deployment of arms in space,
but they were rebuffed by the U.S. ... Against this background, it is essential for China to have the capacity to confront U.S. satellites.”
“When it comes to incriminating
us, America's ruling circles are brazen. While we launched a satellite for peaceful purposes, they are shooting off space weapons helter-skelter in
violation of global space law.”
“In a democracy like the U.S., tax increases and spending cuts, the very medicine needed to cure its chronic debt disease,
have long proved unpopular among voters. So politicians have chosen to kick the can down the road again and again. ... But as we all know, the can will never disappear.”
“What goes
on in the American suburbs and the types of
neurosis they create, with all of their
invisible, solitary and often suffering
individuals, is something everyone seems to
find interesting - yet
half the world seeks to create
imitations
of such 'havens' with their identical
homes, baptizing them with bucolic names.
The marketing says these are great places
'to
raise children' away from it all. Are
they?”
“It's a known propensity of American
life to repress social problems with
the externalization of evil. ... This externalization of evil produces a spectacular catharsis on film, as the Soviets, extraterrestrials, and more recently, Islamic terrorists, are annihilated. But the genre of school
massacres - which have similarities to Islamic terrorism - in addition to the tragedy itself, brings an added
difficulty: lack of an external enemy.”
“Every day is our Christmas. Every meal is our Christmas.
Every meal, we take a little portion of the food we are eating, and we offer it to the spirit world on behalf of the four-legged, the winged, and the two-legged. We pray,
but not like most Christians.
We thank the Grandfathers
and we thank the Great Spirit.”
“The number of mental patients with personality disorders has gradually risen, and their friends,
relatives and societies have failed
at every level to offer the proper
care and concern. If a 'fuse' is lit, a 'bomb' will explode. At that moment, these apparently meek
lambs may become great butchers.”
“The regulatory framework in the U.S. allows any citizen
to own guns, except convicts
and the mentally ill. It's a way of culturally reaffirming the
concept of heroism, which is personified by cowboys and soldiers in their use of high- powered weapons - and in
which warmongering is seen
almost as high patriotism.”
“We've never seen Obama cry. Yet the president nicknamed 'no drama
Obama' fought back tears as he read a short statement after the massacre on Friday, in which he lamented the lost innocence of the children who survived the killing. Victoria Soto didn't cry, but she did save her
children. How many children is
U.S. President Obama ready to save?”
“Since the years of Ronald Reagan, the U.S. has systematically cut funding for
people with mental disorders. Incredibly, many of these people can buy, without
further delay, arms of every description.”
“If a day in which 20 boys and girls younger than 10 years of age are murdered isn't appropriate, when will there ever be an appropriate moment? What Carney argued is that this emotional moment is not the most suitable for a debate on an issue so dear to Americans, which makes sense. But when we talk about school children as targets of a shooter, is there any way to take emotion out of the equation?”
“The availability of weapons among the U.S.
population doesn't in itself serve to explain the often exasperating massacres that occur
there. Canada, Sweden and Finland also have high levels of per capita weapons ownership
without leading to such mass murders. This
suggests a collective propensity toward barbarism in that country which has never
been explained, and which should begin to
be discussed as quickly as humanly possible.”
“It is essential to consider,
individually and collectively, how to build a world that rejects and condemns this
violence, and just as vital, its promotion, whether direct or indirect. We must courageously absorb the sad lessons that this horrible act holds for us. We must be able to assert, and to promise the families of the victims, that their sacrifice is not in vain.”
“What's certain is gun and ammunition
sales will surge as people stock up in fear of bans. This has been the pattern after all recent mass killings. The best- selling products will be military-style weapons and ammunition of the sort used to kill Newtown's children.”
“For the moment, Obama has stuck
his head in the sand. Handguns and assault rifles are a blight that make the U.S. one of the world’s most murderous societies, on a par with
South Africa and Colombia.”
“The fact is we've been daydreaming. ... What is the purpose of Kim Jong-il's nuclear strategy? It is very clear. After reaching agreement on a peace treaty with Washington, it is to break the South Korea-U.S. military alliance.”
“China must not cooperate with the U.S., Japan and South Korea by imposing sanctions on
Pyongyang. China will veto allS
radical resolutions made by the three countries. At the same
time, the North Korea should
be made to pay for its actions.”
“Talking about 'historical' films or novels presents a contradiction in terms. History is based on documents and archives, while fiction is imagination and representation. On the other hand, I think it would be a
grave error to underestimate the great value of the great novels and films that address historic themes in an intelligent way, especially when they present ideas to us that we had never considered, like happened to me when viewing Lincoln.”
“The rocket is estimated to have
a range of more than 13,000 km,
a distance long enough to put all
of America within striking range.
The launch was a total surprise.”
“The U.S. will continue to sabotage regional integration in South America - a priority of both Presidents Lula and
Dilma - by means of bilateral pacts and drawing a line across the Pacific. New military bases will be built and attempts will be made to remove progressive
governments from power, either with
support for right-wing forces or coups.”
“Now that there is limited space in the
atmosphere for emissions from emerging
countries, will the wealthy nations cut their carbon footprints to make space for the rest to grow? Climate change talks are about sharing the world's ecological
and economic space. In Doha, developing countries asserted the need for equity. But the U.S. deputy negotiator said he
couldn't 'sell' the idea of equity to the U.S. Congress. This will undoubtedly be the
mother of all battles in the years to come.”
“The U.S. took on 192 nations to reject the principle of equity
and application of the principles of the U.N. climate convention.
The poor nations like the small island development countries
and the least developed states got the least out of the deal.”
“The Unha-2 [that was launched] in 2009 could only hit Alaska. The Unha-3 rocket being launched this time around can target the U.S. West Coast ... The fact that
it can reach the continental U.S. makes a big difference in terms
of our overall strategic posture.”
“Lamentably, I suspect the public perception of all this, is that he came to hide in a country with a feeble justice
system and a pricey lawyer. We'll see whether this event is resolved without bias.”
“McAfee has cast a net and pulled the world in to watch.
With the economy a shambles, poverty expanding, draconian police measures being imposed that infringe on human rights, and the murder rate rising every year, this is the worst
time for the prime minister to have so many eyes on Belize.”
“Since they forever seek to
reform the global system,
U.S. lawmakers should feel a
sense of responsibility. That requires them to stop partisan interests from getting in the way of proper economic decision making and better look after the interests of the American people.”
“When the reporter asked him why he would not discuss Ecuador, he dropped the timeless phrase: 'because Ecuador is insignificant.' ... As of the writing of these lines, there is no official reaction, which doesn't coincide with the ordinarily loose tongue of the leader (Rafael Correa) and the agility that usually characterizes his government's
formidible propaganda machine.”
“The vote in the U.N. last week was an unprecedented triumph
for the Palestinians, marked the
return of the Palestinian Authority to the global stage, and represents the greatest personal achievement
of the septuagenarian Mr. Abbas.”
“The gift of a lack of brain matter leads beauties like her to remove from their
shoulders any negative reaction resulting from deep feelings or profound thought. There is nothing like a marked frivolity to
help relieve the dark
circles under one's eyes.”
“The history of capitalist development in the 19th and 20th centuries registers the presence of certain countries with high levels of development, wealth, and quality of life, and with low national propensities for expansion or imperialism. These countries, once outposts of the British Empire, today operate as little 'happy hinges' of the military structure and global power of the United States.”
—
Dr. Jose Luis Fiori, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
“Until they are withdrawn, there can be no stability, and thus their withdrawal should proceed as fast as possible. ... Pakistan must make America realize that there is nothing sacred about 2014 - and
certainly nothing sacred
about the end of that year.”
“Between cocaine paste and marijuana,
absorbed in the debate about ways of
counting homicides, confronted with a deterioration of the issues and debate, are we in Uruguay are doomed to
missing the core message of a
universal colossus like Ben Franklin? ”
“In a multipolar world, there is little space left for hegemony.
The U.S. should be a constructive
cooperator which treats other nations with equality, which will result in more U.S. profits than
would be the case if it keeps acting as a hegemonic intruder.”
“Our battle today is
with historic oppression and generational trauma. Seeds of doubt and shame planted hundreds of years ago continue to take root in the darkness of each new generation, winding
their way through Indian
Country communities.”
“Far from protecting residents, the Japanese Army actually slaughtered them and forced them out of their
shelters. Can we really ask elderly survivors to 'accept and tolerate' suffering described as the 'nadir of
grotesqueness?' The plaintiffs have placed their last hopes in this trial, and as the nation's bastion of human rights, the Supreme Court should
address their demands head on.”
“The Petraeus affair is a godsend for comedians and a delightful distraction for a public which, as in any society since the dawn of history, thoroughly enjoys the long and spectacular fall
of those who from atop Mt.
Olympus.
Meanwhile, young Americans and
innocent civilians keep dying in wars
led by generals in love with themsleves.”
“The plain truth is that the Federal Police have been infiltrated by crime to the point that 14 if its officers were used as hired
assassins to kill, in an undercover operation,
as they did so out of uniform and traveling
in private vehicles - two foreign agents,
whose presence and operations on national territory constitute are, by the way,
also pressing matters of dubious legality.”
“Thailand is a constitutional democracy, but the scenario on the streets makes it look more like anarchy. ... Although not perfect, there is a lot to learn from America's elections, especially how to concede defeat and move on. Perhaps losing factions and opposition parties in Thailand should listen to Mitt Romney's concession speech for little inspiration.”
“Obama brought a paltry $170 million in aid to Myanmar. Unless he is able to ensure this amount of aid every month, this will prove a weak bargaining chip when it comes to
altering China-Burma ties.”
“The international community is often critical of Israeli inaction, but America invariably comes to
the help of the Zionists anyway. This is a tactic that has allowed
the Mideast crisis and aggression of the Jewish government to linger on for over six decades.”
“With Obama's visit to Myanmar, the nation's future will be more or less tied to America's global strategic outlook.
China is now encircled by nations friendly or accessible to the U.S.”
“The events of the past week in Gaza underscore that unless he musters the political courage - and integrity as a statesman - to address the Palestinian
issue, all his talk of a transformative
agenda for the Middle East is baloney.”
"Instead of being repressed, the right of people to assemble together must now be fully respected ... Instead of being
stifled, media censorship must continue to be lifted. As you take these steps, you can draw on your progress.”
“Democracy doesn't always triumph in elections. Not always. ... But sometimes it does. ... For example, it just happened in the U.S., where Barak Obama won. ... And he did it confronted by those who believe the world is still Uncle Tom's Cabin, and that Darwin
and the state are inventions
of Freemans and communists.”
“The Burma government continues to deny that the Muslim Rohingya people are citizens - even though many families have been in the country for generations. ... One hopes President Obama will use his visit to try and influence Thein Sein to make a commitment to
off the Rohingya people citizenship.”
“Today it turns out that united - whores, junkies, and queers are a powerful electoral force which has stood up to elect a new kind of Western leader. Colombian politicians should
take note of the trend lines.”
“Obama should now give a
more liberal orientation to his
his government. Since he is
no longer bound to defend his
reelection, he will have far wider political latitude and should become much more involved in decisions regarding minorities, returning to a
conviction to his first agenda.”
“With so many voters with so many reasons to reelect the president, despite the dismantling of his myth, it was no surprise, perhaps, that he performed well at the polls.”
“The agent of change and hope has become
the status quo. The Obama who electrified the U.S. electorate in
2008 is gone. The grey man in his place faces a skeptical America and will have a hostile House of Representatives on
his hands. Now the
really hard work begins.”
“Four years ago tonight, we Canadians were feeling awfully sorry for ourselves. You’d just elected the coolest, hippest
president since JFK. Today, we wouldn't change places with you for anything.
Canada has held its own while you've
gone downhill. America is flat broke;
so are California, New York and Illinois.”
Help Support Worldmeets.us
Worldmeets.us is a non-partisan, volunteer-based, not-for-profit organization that operates solely in the public interest. The opinions expressed in articles posted by Worldmeets.us are not necessarily those of Worldmeets.us, its sponsors or its volunteers.
Apr. 30, 00:02:45 
