Tag Archives: Obama

In today’s not-news

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Israel is feeling a bit bipolar: the opposition isn’t happy but they should be, and most Israelis consider Netanyahu’s visit to Washington an “overwhelming success.” So, uh, either most Israelis are not in the opposition (unlikely, frankly, when you vote in lists, at least I’d like to think) or no one knows what to think and people are just making things up. Then again, the 47% figure cited does not instill much faith in the “most”-ness of this opinion. But I guess when half of Congress stands up to cheer your (misguided?) PM, that’s a success.

In other non-news, televangelist preaches aid to Israel. In this post-Apocalyptic world, should we really be worrying about whether “God’s hand stays with America”?

What Obama Said

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Short answer: Nothing new.

I was very hopeful in the beginning. As usual, President Obama laid out American values very well and, because I’m still a sucker for cheesy American freedom-speak,  hearing it applied

to the Middle East was musi

c to my ears. Unfortunately, as anyone who follows me on Twitter knows, I didn’t stay happy long. Continue reading →

What Should Obama Say?

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In an hour, President Obama is scheduled to deliver a major policy speech on the Middle East.  The word on the street is that he will announce aid money to

support Egypt and Tunisia as they transition to democracy, put pressure on countries like Bahrain and Yemen to implement reforms, and give Syria’s government a piece of his mind re:brutal crackdown on protestors.  There is a lot of speculation on how in-depth his remarks

will be on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but he will be sure to mention it. Continue reading →

In defense of understanding (#OBL)

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I received an email from a friend saying he was waiting for Obama to make a speech. It was 10 pm on a Sunday, East Coast, and he was in Central time – not a usual speaking hour.

Minutes later I got a New York Times New Alert saying Bin Laden had been killed. We hunted for a local NPR station – or any radio that wasn’t playing country or metal (we were in the woods of New Hampshire, driving back from a day of climbing) – while we speculated on what could have happened.
Continue reading →

What is Obama Waiting For?

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As Egyptian activist Mona Saif reports the events unfolding in front
of her eyes, she asks Al Jazeera listeners: If the world really cares
about what is going on here, why haven’t they done something? Why
haven’t they taken Mubarak out? Saif’s questions lead me to wonder
whether President Obama understands the significance behind her
frantic words. For decades, American governments have supported harsh
and repressive autocratic regimes all over the

Arab world in the
interest of preserving America’s geopolitical interests in the region.
This practice has always trumped support of the dignity and will of
people all over not only the Arab and Muslim world but South and
Central America as well. The U.S. has imposed countless wars on Arab
nations under the pretext of “installing democracy in the Middle
East,” as it bends over backwards to maintain the façade that the U.S.
is the global safe-guarder of human rights.
Continue reading →