Washington Post (March 8)
“Obama has chosen to carry out hundreds of drone strikes against al-Qaeda targets in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, including one against a U.S. citizen, without any public accounting…. That is not how a democracy should operate…. The administration could greatly increase the legitimacy and sustainability of the strikes by openly laying out the criteria under which they can be carried out and by seeking congressional authorization.”“Obama has chosen to carry out hundreds of drone strikes against al-Qaeda targets in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, including one against a U.S. citizen, without any public accounting…. That is not how a democracy should operate…. The administration could greatly increase the legitimacy and sustainability of the strikes by openly laying out the criteria under which they can be carried out and by seeking congressional authorization.”
Tags: Accounting, Authorization, Criteria, Democracy, Drones, Obama
Washington Post (March 28)
During his trip to Israel, President Obama “spoke more bluntly about Israel’s occupation and the case for a Palestinian state than any U.S. president has in the past…. Obama has recognized and employed the strongest — and perhaps only — path toward peace and a Palestinian state: an appeal to Israel’s conscience.”
Tags: Conscience, Israel, Obama, Occupation, Palestine, Peace, U.S.
New York Times (February 24)
The Obama administration is drawing up plans for research to create an “activity map that would show in unprecedented detail the workings of the human brain, the most complex organ in the body.” This would be “a breathtaking goal.” Few scientific programs, including the space race and the human genome projects, “were as daunting as the brain project…. The brain project will have to create new tools to explore an organ that is the seat of human cognition and behavior. A task of that magnitude can truly capture the imagination.”
Tags: Activity map, Brain, Human genome, Imagination, Obama, Space
Businessweek (January 23)
Is North Korea’s cycle repeating itself? “It starts with a long-range rocket launch. The United Nations punishes the act with sanctions. And Pyongyang responds by conducting a nuclear test. It happened in 2006, and again in 2009.” Before deciding whether to complete the cycle that began with a December 2012 test, Kim Jong Un will probably wait to evaluate the emerging foreign policies of incoming South Korean President Park Geun-hye and President Obama’s second term. He may be inclined to break the cycle because ordering a nuclear test “would risk additional sanctions at a time when Kim wants to revive the economy.”
Tags: Kim Jong Un, North Korea, Nuclear test, Obama, Park Geun-hye, Rocket launch, Sanctions, South Korea, U.N.
Washington Post (January 22)
On Monday, President Obama’s second inauguration ceremony was held, coinciding with Martin Luther King Day. The crowds were smaller than four years ago, but this deeply significant event was still one of the best attended second inaugurations. “It’s easy for Americans to take for granted their quadrennial renewal of democracy, the peaceful acceptance by the losing side that knows, for certain, it will have another chance. Monday’s ritual reminds us to celebrate this inevitability, which people in many other countries can only envy.”
Tags: Democracy, Inauguration, Martin Luther King Day, Obama, U.S.
New York Times (December 27)
“Just before the Christmas break, negotiations on the so-called fiscal cliff ended on an absurdist note.” House Republicans rejected the President’s “overly generous budget deal,” as well as “their own leadership’s proposal.” This is unacceptable. “No deal means the end of federal unemployment benefits” for 3 million people and an increase in payroll taxes for 125 million households.
Washington Post (December 20)
“Proponents of the Obama administration’s ‘pivot,’ or rebalance of attention and resources, toward Asia should be heartened by the results of Japan’s parliamentary election. The Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) landslide victory in the lower house Sunday augurs well for a reinvigorated relationship between the United States and Japan.”
Washington Post (November 8)
“It’s still about jobs. What will determine the core success of President Obama’s second term is progress — or the lack thereof — in reducing long-term unemployment. We know this from exit polls, which ranked the economy as the top issue (selected by about 60 percent of voters) and, more important, from common sense.”
New York Times (November 6)
“President Obama’s dramatic re-election victory was not a sign that a fractured nation had finally come together on Election Day. But it was a strong endorsement of economic policies that stress job growth, health care reform, tax increases and balanced deficit reduction — and of moderate policies on immigration, abortion and same-sex marriage.”
Tags: Economic policies, Health care, Jobs, Obama, Re-election, Taxes
Bloomberg (November 2)Bloomberg (November 2)
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent, endorsed Democratic President Obama. Obama’s position on climate change was a major factor in the endorsement. “Our climate is changing. And while the increase in extreme weather we have experienced in New York City and around the world may or may not be the result of it, the risk that it might be – given this week’s devastation – should compel all elected leaders to take immediate action.”
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent, endorsed Democratic President Obama. Obama’s position on climate change was a major factor in the endorsement. “Our climate is changing. And while the increase in extreme weather we have experienced in New York City and around the world may or may not be the result of it, the risk that it might be – given this week’s devastation – should compel all elected leaders to take immediate action.”
Tags: Bloomberg, Climate change, Extreme weather, New York, Obama
