'Is Obama the Worst President Ever?'

SOURCE http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/09/03/is-obama-the-worst-president-ever/ September 3, 2015 Is Obama the Worst President Ever? by Dave Lindorff Obama is on track to go down in history as one of the, or perhaps as the worst and most criminal presidents in US history. He started out, campaigning in 2008, as someone would would restore the rule of law in US international affairs and here at home after eight years of criminality during the Bush and Cheney administration, as saying he would end America’s wars and bring back an era of international cooperation and negotiation, and as saying that he would confront the dire threat of global climate change. On the basis of that promise, he won a dramatic election victory, raising hopes across the country and across many voting blocks. On that basis, he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize — the first time the award was given before anything had been done by the laureate being honored. And on the basis of that promise, people expected action on climate change. Instead, the president began backpedaling almost instantly. Instead of restoring the rule of law, he almost immediately announced that he would not permit his Justice Department to engage in any prosecutions of CIA, FBI, military of Bush/Cheney administration personnel for violations of international law or of US law. He introduced new secrecy rules, launched a record number of prosecutions of government whistleblowers, including an international manhunt to arrest or kill NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden which included the forcing down of a presidential aircraft carrying the president of Bolivia, wrongly suspected of flying Snowden from Russia to that Latin American country, and a secret espionage indictment against Wikileaks founder Julien Assange, who has thus been trapped for years in the little UK embassy of Ecuador which has granted him asylum. And most egregiously, Barack Obama, sabotaged the first international meeting on climate change held in Denmark, and has ducked every opportunity to have the US lead on reaching an international agreement to seriously reduce global carbon emissions. During the three Congressional electoral cycles and his re-election campaign in 2012, Obama studiously avoided pressing on any of these key issues, and especially on climate change. His position: “all of the above”, for energy development, has seen the US move, not towards carbon emission reductions, but towards expanded production of gas, oil and even coal extraction, making the US the largest oil producer in the world, and a major provider of dirty coal to both US electric companies and large coal using countries abroad, including China. Now we have this flimflam artist up in Alaska, talking about the crisis he has helped worsen, calling it an existential issue. And yet even as he speaks, the Shell Oil Company is towing a giant oil drilling rig up to the Arctic Ocean, thanks to an Obama administration permit, to begin drilling for oil in the shallow waters north of Alaska — drilling for yet more oil, that is, even as the world is facing a glut of the stuff, in a delicate region that would be devastated by a well blow-out, because ice would make containment an impossibility. Future generations of Americans will surely look back at President Obama as not just a con-man, but as someone who blew several trillion dollars on continued wars around the globe, as someone who terminally destroyed the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, instead of rescuing these documents as promised, and as the president who, when given the last real opportunity to reverse climate change, ducked the challenge and pandered to the corporations that selfishly wanted short-term gain over long-term survival for humanity and the biosphere. There are plenty of other criminal acts by this president to consider. On his watch, this first African-American president allowed an increased national police to become a fully-armed occupying army across the country. No American today is safe from abusive police who make up crimes and ignore the law at will, but paying a uniquely terrible price are African-Americans and other people of color, who once gave this president 90% of their votes or more, but who now are being gunned down with a grim regularity by mostly white cops who fire at the slightest provocation, even at unarmed kids. On his watch too, young children, fleeing US-caused gang violence in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and elsewhere in Latin America, have been sent back to their home countries illegally, or held in prisons in this country in violation of direct court orders. He also ordered his Justice Department not to prosecute the criminal bankers who willfully destroyed the US and the global economy to profit themselves and their institutions. This president, let’s be clear, has not just been incompetent and gutless. He has been a slick political fraud and both a common and a Constitutional criminal. In a just nation of engaged citizens, Obama would already have been impeached for any number of serious crimes, beginning with the failure to prosecute known war criminals of the Bush/Cheney administration, including the president and vice-president themselves. That’s not going to happen, because this is not a just nation of engaged citizens. But there will be a reckoning. History will judge this president harshly, as it has judged criminal leaders of the past, from Rome’s Nero to Italy’s Mussolini or Uganda’s Idi Amin. It may strike some as hyperbole to put President Obama in league with such universally acknowledged monsters as these, but when human beings begin dying by the millions because of climate-change caused famines, floods, droughts and international armed conflicts we will surely look back at the actions and inactions of this particular president, who had the opportunity to make a huge difference and chose not just to do nothing, but to make things worse, and will say his crimes perhaps exceeded theirs. Dave Lindorff is a founding member of ThisCantBeHappening!, an online newspaper collective, and is a contributor to Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion (AK Press). SOURCE http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/09/03/is-obama-the-worst-president-ever/ ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- What stood out for me: USA refuses to prosecute CIA, FBI, military [or] Bush/Cheney administration personnel for violating US or international law. Obama admin: = violated & continues to violate the Bill of Rights and the Constitution Obama admin: allowed militarised police to become a fully-armed occupying army across USA "No American today is safe from abusive police who make up crimes and ignore the law at will" Obama admin: introduced new secrecy rules Obama admin: launched a record number of prosecutions of whistleblowers Obama admin: engaged in international manhunt for whistleblower Edward Snowden Obama admin: forced down of a presidential aircraft carrying the president of Bolivia (wrongly suspected of flying Snowden from Russia to Bolivia} Obama admin: initiated a secret espionage indictment against WikiLeaks founder, journalist-publisher, Julian Assange (trapped for 5 years in the confines of UK embassy of Ecuador, which has granted him political asylum) Obama admin: =  ordered his Justice Department not to prosecute criminal bankers who destroyed the US & global economy for own profits Obama admin: = blew several trillion dollars on continued wars around the globe Obama admin: = pandered to corporations out for short-term gain over long-term effects on environment Obama admin: = expanded production of gas, oil and even coal extraction making the US the world's largest oil producer Thanks to Obama admin: USA = a major provider of dirty coal to both US electric companies + large coal using countries abroad, incl. China. Thanks to Obama admin: Shell Oil Company = towing a giant oil drilling rig up to the Arctic Ocean (Obama administration permit, to begin drilling for oil in the shallow waters north of Alaska) ꕤ ꕤ

Foreign Service Updates

Bahrain UK Ambassador to Bahrain Ian Lindsay - end tenure Bahrain's HR achievements highlighted Gulf market important to UK http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/678428 World Report 2015: Bahrain https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/country-chapters/bahrain UK ambassador needs to maybe take a look at this report. Ukraine / Canada Father Raymond J. de Souza Roman Catholic priest of Archdiocese of Kingston, Ont. #Canada writes pro US puppet Ukraine propaganda #Ukraine - Goebbels would be proud: "...national journey is from lies to truth" Cookie Nuland's boy PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Quebec last week free trade agreement with Canada / push toward privatization and deregulation http://www.thewhig.com/2015/07/22/ukraine-also-at-war-with-corruption-from-within Canada embassy in Ukraine (amb. Roman Waschuk) was 'safe house' for #Ukraine coup protesters 2014 Bob Fowler Canada diplo under 3 govts says Canada playing w. fire / disruptive influence *Harper govt:  all mouth and no brain Ukraine:  appearance that Canada was an active participant in 2014 regime change.   http://ipolitics.ca/2015/07/13/former-diplomat-says-canada-should-scale-back-anti-russian-rhetoric/ Somalia Somalia & AU forces capture key militant stronghold / al Shabab lost all key towns, but control rural http://horseedmedia.net/2015/07/22/somalia-and-au-forces-capture-key-militant-stronghold/ Bolivia / Germany #Bolivia #LatAm #Merkel German embassy - explosion during protests /  miners protesting their working conditions http://en.europeonline-magazine.eu/german-embassy-in-bolivia-grazed-by-explosion-during-protests_403976.html

Latin America - Bolivia, Evo Morales | Venezuela

Fight Imperialism with Unity, Says Morales Evo Morales speaks at the University of Panama as part of the People's Summit, an alternative summit running in parallel to the OAS' Summit of the Americas, April 4, 2015. EFE Published 10 April 2015 (10 hours 37 minutes ago) U.S. imperialism is being challenged by regional organizations like CELAC, according to Bolivia’s president. Bolivian President Evo Morales accused the United States Friday of conspiring to undermine democracy in Latin America, including in his home country. During a keynote address to the People's Summit in Panama, Morales said the United States has been one of the most serious threats to Bolovia's national security, and his own presidency. “Where there is a U.S. embassy, there are coups,” Morales said. The president alleged the U.S. government has been plotting to overthrow him for years. “The (Bolivian) right-wing, the opposition and the U.S. ambassador have always conspired … against the (revolutionary) process,” he said. However, he said regional initiatives aimed at promoting Latin American solidarity are the region's best defenses against U.S. imperialism. “I think actually the member countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), are a threat to the neoliberal, transnational (corporations) … but will never be a threat to U.S. security,” he said. The People's Summit   Morales is the only world leader to deliver a speech to this year's People's Summit, though Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has also stated he will attend the meeting. The summit brought together close to 2,000 representatives from social movements across the Americas to discuss issues ranging from U.S. sanctions on Venezuela to Puerto Rican independence. Organizers say the summit is a grassroots alternative to the Summit of the Americas, which is also taking place in Panama this week. In a statement, organizers said the summit is a forum for “the voice of our peoples, to highlight problems the other meeting (the Summit of the Americas) doesn't address.” On Thursday, the People's Summit led a rally through the streets of Panama City to condemn U.S. imperialism and express solidarity with Venezuela. http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Fight-Imperialism-with-Unity-Says-Morales-20150410-0011.html COMMENT US efforts to subvert governments in Latin American countries is nothing new, so it's probably safe to take Bolivia President Evo Morales at his word.  :) Nothing else to add.  Brain's fried.  Think it's sleep deprivation.  If I'm woken, I cannot go back to sleep ... and then I can't switch off to sleep at the other end of the day.  Switch is temporarily out of order.  :)

Che Guevara - Hasta la Victoria Siempre

Che Guevara

C H E  G U E V A R A (1928–1967)   Ernesto 'Che' Guevara      Born Argentina ... Basque and Irish descent. Referring to Che's "restless" nature, his father declared "the first thing to note is that in my son's veins flowed the blood of the Irish rebels". Declassified CIA report: "Che is fairly intellectual for a Latino." Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist ... Radicalised by the poverty, hunger, and disease in South America. Saw capitalist exploitation of Latin America by the United States. CIA-assisted overthrow of Guatemala's social reforms President Árbenz solidified Guevara's political ideology. Collaborated with Fidel Castro with aim of overthrowing US-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. Pivotal role in the victorious two-year guerilla campaign that deposed the Batista regime. 1967 Félix Rodríguez, a Cuban exile turned CIA ... operative, advised Bolivian troops during the hunt for Guevara in Bolivia. About 30 minutes before Guevara was executed, Félix Rodríguez attempted to question him about the whereabouts of other guerrilla fighters who were currently at large, but Guevara continued to remain silent. Rodríguez, assisted by a few Bolivian soldiers, helped Guevara to his feet and took him outside the hut to parade him before other Bolivian soldiers where he posed with Guevara for a photo opportunity where one soldier took a photograph of Rodríguez and other soldiers standing alongside Guevara.  Guevara was asked by one of the Bolivian soldiers guarding him if he was thinking about his own immortality. "No," he replied, "I'm thinking about the immortality of the revolution." Guevara was shot nine times ... five times in his legs, once in the right shoulder and arm, once in the chest, and finally in the throat.  [Did not want a clean kill because wanted appearance of death in battle.] ... Guevara's body was lashed to the landing skids of a helicopter and flown to nearby ... where photographs were taken of him lying on a concrete slab ... witnesses were called to confirm his identity ... After a military doctor amputated his hands ... hands were preserved in formaldehyde to be sent to Buenos Aires for fingerprint identification. (His fingerprints were on file with the Argentine police.) They were later sent to Cuba. Cuba ... Ministry of the Interior building where Guevara once worked, is a 5-story steel outline of his face. Under the image is Guevara's motto, the Spanish phrase: "Hasta la Victoria Siempre" (English: Until Victory, Forever). ... Fidel Castro ... addressed a crowd of one million mourners: "If we wish to express what we want the men of future generations to be, we must say: Let them be like Che!  If we wish to say how we want our children to be educated, we must say without hesitation: We want them to be educated in Che's spirit!  If we want the model of a man, who does not belong to our times but to the future, I say from the depths of my heart that such a model, without a single stain on his conduct, without a single stain on his action, is Che!" [Source - Wikipedia- here.]

Over the years, Che Guevara was just a cool-looking t-shirt to me.

'He was a revolutionary' was enough for me.  

The detail wasn't important enough for me to remember -- it was all vague and foreign.

Today, focusing on the detail of the man's life, I'm really moved.

Not a lot moves me emotionally.  But this did.

He wasn't an economist.  He saw inequity.  He wasn't a cosseted politician.  He was an Independence Fighter.  He wasn't a theorist.  He was a Realist.  

He put his life on the line, despite the odds.

He was instrumental in training men who thwarted a $13.1 million US-sponsored CIA invasion of Cuba (see also Cuban oil refineries US-controlled corporations:  Shell, Esso and Standard Oil).

He could have chosen an easy path in life, but he died in pursuit of higher aims for his people.

Che Guevara was Dr. Ernesto Guevara, Independence Fighter; not some wayward stirrer.

History has proved that Che Guevara did not live, or die, in vain.

C O U R A G E

C H E  G U E V A R A

(1928–1967)

WTO TALKS - INDIA STAYING STRONG

WTO talks down to the wire, India holds out fe Bureau | New Delhi | Published: Jul 31 2014, 01:08 IST Even as Thursday’s deadline for signing the protocol for the trade facilitation agreement (TFA) at the WTO loomed large, India remained obdurate, asserting that the pact — expected to ease customs rules and potentially add $1 trillion to the world economy — could not be a done deal till it saw progress on the food security issue. Visiting the US commerce secretary Penny Pritzker, however, sounded optimistic about finding a solution to the vexed issue “over the next couple of days”. Secretary of state John Kerry, before starting for India on Wednesday morning, had expressed the hope that India’s opposition to TFA would wither away, adding that this was a test case for the country’s commitment to advance liberalisation of global trade and investment. Kerry arrived in India in the evening on a three-day visit. ... http://www.financialexpress.com/news/wto-talks-down-to-the-wire-india-holds-out/1275271

WTO (World Trade Organisation).

Re:  adoption of free trade facilitation protocol for Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).

WTO is negotiating an easing of 'customs and rules'.

WTO says 'public stockholdings' of food/grain must not exceed 10% of grains produced by a country. 

But this is on the basis of a 1986-1988 stockholdings 'base price', and India is challenging on the basis of rising INFLATION.

Hey, I learnt about inflation. 

So the WTO 10% (dollar?) figure doesn't take into account rising inflation and India is like a trade union for food/grain reserves, asking for the reserve to be brought up in step with inflation?

Fair call, India.

India points out that there's a potential $1 TRILLION to the world economy coffers.  Go India! 

India standing firm:  insists no shift in its stand.

India wants TFA implemented ONLY as part of SINGLE UNDERTAKING ... INCLUDING the PERMANENT SOLUTION ON FOOD SECURITY.

For Food Security Against Food Security WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION vs FOOD SECURITY INDIA CHINA CUBA PAKISTAN BOLIVIA VENEZUELA

Deadline is on 31 July 2014.  Support of two-thirds of member countries is required to implement the TFP.

India suggested a postponement of adoption of TFP and outlined steps towards resolution by a date in December.

*Note:  there is a couple of other issues at stake. Bali Package (a big one) ... and LDC.

Bali Package is yet another trade agreement 'to lower trade barriers'.

LDC issues relate to Least Developed Country ... it's a United Nations designation of a country (I think) on the basis of:

lowest indicators of socio-economic development, with the lowest Human Development Index ratings of all countries in the world.  [wikipedia]

So there is some formula the UN apply for rankings of countries on socio-economic development.

Formula:  (1) Poverty assessment (2) Human Resource assessment (ie the labour force) (3) Economic Vulnerability ... eg. are exports stable etc.

Gee, sounds like estimating the quality of cattle.

All this stuff is worked out by economists and I guess it affects the trade deals that countries are party to and, I think, the concessions that countries may receive.

As I'm new to looking at politics and economics, this information is best double-checked.  LOL.

This is just my take at the moment.

Stand firm India ... world economy wants those trillions.

PS ... Love how John Kerry wants India's opposition to 'wither away'.  Bet he does.  LOL.

GAZA - BOLIVIA MAKES A STAND - DECLARES ISRAEL: TERRORIST STATE

Declaring Israel a 'terrorist state,' Bolivia's president ends free entry for Israeli visitors Published July 30, 2014 Associated Press LA PAZ, Bolivia – Bolivia's leftist president has declared Israel a "terrorist state" because of its offensive in the Gaza Strip, and his government will now require Israeli citizens to obtain a visa to visit the Andean nation. President Evo Morales already broke off diplomatic relations with the Jewish state in 2009, calling Israel's treatment of Palestinians "a genocide." The action announced Wednesday will especially hit young Israelis, who often travel for extended periods, with South America a popular destination. Other South American countries, including Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru, have recalled their ambassadors from Israel in protest over the fighting in Gaza. Source - Fox News - here.

As it states, President Evo Morales has strongly spoken out -- and spoken out before.

Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru have withdrawn their ambassadors from Israel.

That's a pretty strong message from Morales.


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GET A LOAD OF THIS!


President Evo Morales

Widely regarded as the country's first democratically-elected president to come from the indigenous population, his administration has focused on the implementation of leftist policies, poverty reduction, and combating the influence of the United States and transnational corporations in Bolivia. A democratic socialist, he is the head of the Movement for Socialism (MAS) political party.

July 2013 flight diversion
Main article: Evo Morales grounding incident

On 2 July 2013, Bolivia's foreign minister said that the diversion of Morales's presidential plane ... when Portuguese, French, Spanish and Italian authorities denied access to their airspace due to suspicions that Edward Snowden was on board the aircraft, had put the president's life at risk. France apologized for the incident the next day.  The presidents of Argentina, Ecuador, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela, Morales's political allies in the region, gathered to demand an explanation of the incident.

Aftermath

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asserted that "a head of state and his or her aircraft enjoy immunity and inviolability"

France apologized for the incident immediately.   The Spanish ambassador to Bolivia apologized two weeks later, citing inappropriate procedures.  The Italians have made no such apology.

On July 3, Jen Psaki, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, acknowledged that the U.S. had been "in contact with a range of countries across the world who had any chance of having Mr. Snowden land or even transit through their countries". 

On September 20, Evo Morales announced a lawsuit against the U.S. government for "crimes against humanity" for repeatedly blocking presidential flights, after an incident in which authorization for an overflight of Puerto Rico by President Maduro of Venezuela was delayed, although U.S. authorities said that they were entitled to three days' advance notice. Maduro had been en route to arrive in Beijing for bilaterial talks with the People's Republic of China.

In the aftermath of the incident, eight Latin American countries – Bolivia, Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela – voiced their concerns to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who asserted that "a Head of State and his or her aircraft enjoy immunity and inviolability".   Ban also emphasized that it is important to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.

[wikipedia]

VIVA BOLIVIA!