US'll Put Being Pressed on Nigeria to fold in the arms - Hillary Clinton

US'll Put Being Pressed on Nigeria to fold in the arms - Hillary Clinton

The United States has said that it will vigorously put pressure on the Federal Government to make changes that will be beneficial to Nigerians.

The US Secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, made this known while presenting an overview of the President Barack Obama administration’s agenda on human rights and democracy at the Georgetown University in Washington DC on Monday.

The US government regularly focuses on human rights, good governance and democracy issues, including an annual human rights reports as mandated by the US Congress in its relationships with governments of other nations.In her speech, Clinton classified some governments under three categories.

The first are those that are able but unwilling to make changes desired by their people while the second are those willing but unable. The third are governments that are both unwilling and unable.Nigeria and Cuba were listed by Clinton as those in the first category, while young democracies in Africa came under the second.

The United States has said that it will vigorously put pressure on the Federal Government to make changes that will be beneficial to Nigerians.

The US Secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, made this known while presenting an overview of the President Barack Obama administration’s agenda on human rights and democracy at the Georgetown University in Washington DC on Monday.

The US government regularly focuses on human rights, good governance and democracy issues, including an annual human rights reports as mandated by the US Congress in its relationships with governments of other nations.In her speech, Clinton classified some governments under three categories.

The first are those that are able but unwilling to make changes desired by their people while the second are those willing but unable. The third are governments that are both unwilling and unable.Nigeria and Cuba were listed by Clinton as those in the first category, while young democracies in Africa came under the second.

She did not mention such young democracies in her speech that was gazzetted and made available on Tuesday by the State Department to a US-based Nigerian news agency, Empowered Newswire.Congo was the only country mentioned by Clinton as being among nations that belong to the third category of ‘unwilling and unable.’

In the speech, the Secretary of State said Washington would vigorously put pressure on Nigerian and Cuban leaders to end repression, improve on their human rights records and democratic practices.
She said, “like Cuba or Nigeria, (these) governments are able but unwilling to make the changes their citizens deserve. There, we must vigorously press the leaders to end repression, while supporting those within the societies who are working for a change.”

In the case of countries where “governments are willing but unable to establish strong institutions and protections for citizens,” the Secretary of State said the US would “extend our hand as a partner to help them try to achieve authority and build the progress they desire.”
Three former US Ambassadors to Nigeria, including Mr. Walter Carrington, had recently expressed the view that Nigeria‘s global significance was declining.
Referring to countries like Congo and others ” where governments are both unwilling and unable,” Clinton said, “We have to support those courageous individuals and organisations who try to protect people and who battle against the odds to plant seeds for a more hopeful future.”

She said that in all countries, human development must be part of “our human rights agenda.”
Clinton said, “Because basic levels of wellbeing - food, shelter, health, and education - and of public common goods like environmental sustainability, protection against pandemic disease, provisions for refugees - are necessary for people to exercise their rights, and because human development and democracy are mutually reinforcing.

“ Democratic governments are not likely to survive long if their citizens do not have the basic necessities of life.”Referring to US President Barack Obama‘s acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize last week, Clinton reiterated Obama’s position that ”while war is never welcome or good, it will sometimes be right and necessary.”

The Secretary of State added that the same set of values in the US Declaration of Independence were also ”the promise of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the prerequisite for building a world in which every person has the opportunity to live up to his or her God-given potential and the power behind every movement for freedom, every campaign for democracy, every effort to foster development, and every struggle against oppression.”
She declared that the US government’s human rights agenda for the 21st century was ”to make human rights a human reality, and the first step is to see human rights in a broad context.”

Clinton said, “People must be free from the oppression of tyranny, from torture, from discrimination, from the fear of leaders who will imprison or ’disappear’ them.
“But they also must be free from the oppression of want - want of food, want of health, want of education, and want of equality in law and in fact.

”I don‘t need to tell you that challenges we face are diverse and complicated. And there is not one approach or formula, doctrine or theory that can be easily applied to every situation.”
She added that sometimes the US government ”will have the most impact by publicly denouncing a government action, like the coup in Honduras or violence in Guinea.”

“Other times, we will be more likely to help the oppressed by engaging in tough negotiations behind closed doors, like pressing China and Russia as part of our broader agenda. In every instance, our aim will be to make a difference, not to prove a point,” the Secretary of State said.
According to her, the US ”will hold governments accountable for their actions, as we have just recently (done) by terminating Millennium Challenge Corporation grants this year for Madagascar and Niger in the wake of government behavior.”

She added that Washington was ready ”to help governments that have committed to improving themselves by assisting them in fighting corruption and helping train police forces and public servants.”She disclosed that the US government would also “support regional organisations and institutions like the Organisation of American States, the African Union, and the Association of South-East Asian Nations, where they take their own steps to defend democratic principles and institutions.”

Don't Fullbrother Met Barack Obama while in China : He said

Don't Fullbrother Met Barack Obama while in China : He said

BEIJING – President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he met briefly with a half brother who lives in China and who recently wrote a semi-autobiographical novel about the abusive Kenyan father they share.Obama, who spent three days in China during his first official tour of Asia, acknowledged the meeting in an interview with CNN. He offered no details. An aide said later that the meeting took place Monday night after Obama arrived in Beijing, the Chinese capital.
The White House had declined to say whether the president and Mark Ndesandjo would meet. And no White House official mentioned the visit until Obama did when asked about it.
"I don't know him well. I met him for the first time a couple of years ago," Obama told CNN. "He stopped by with his wife for about five minutes during the trip."
Describing the meeting as "overwhelming" and "intense," Ndesandjo told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday that he had long anticipated the chance to welcome his famous brother to China.

"I think he came directly off the plane, changed some clothes and then came down and saw us," Ndesandjo said. "And he just gave me a big hug. And it was so intense. I'm still over the moon on it. I am over the moon. And my wife. She is his biggest fan and I think she is still recovering."
In the CNN interview, Obama said he hadn't read his brother's book, "Nairobi to Shenzhen," which features a protagonist who is the son of a Jewish mother and an abusive father from Kenya.
Ndesandjo has revealed in previous interviews that his father, Barack Obama Sr., beat him and his mother. The president also wrote about his father, who abandoned him as a child, in his best-selling memoir.
"It's no secret that my father was a troubled person," Obama said. "Anybody who has read my first book, 'Dreams from My Father,' knows that, you know, he had an alcoholism problem, that he didn't treat his families very well. Obviously it's a sad part of my history and my background but it's not something I spend a lot of time brooding over."
Ndesandjo said he bought tickets months ago to fly from the southern boomtown of Shenzhen, where he has lived since 2002, to Beijing, in hopes of reconnecting with his brother. The two last met in January when Ndesandjo attended Obama's inauguration as a family guest.

The three chatted on Monday, with Obama being introduced to Ndesandjo's wife, a native of Henan, China, whom he married a year ago, he said. He gave few details of what they discussed.
"All I can say is, we talked about family, and it was very powerful because when he came in through that door, and I saw him and I hugged him, and he hugged me and hugged my wife. It was like we were continuing a conversation that had started many years ago," he said.
The two men did not grow up together. Ndesandjo's mother, Ruth Nidesand, was Barack Obama Sr.'s third wife. Before arriving in Beijing on Monday, Obama had been in a townhall-style meeting with students in Shanghai, and joked that a family gathering at his house "looks like the United Nations."
President Obama's father had been a Kenyan exchange student who met his mother, Kansas native Stanley Ann Dunham, when they were in school in Hawaii. The two separated two years after he was born.
The senior Obama married Ndesandjo's mother after divorcing the president's mother. They returned to Kenya to live, where Mark and his brother, David, were born and raised.

Obama Sr. died in an automobile accident in 1982 at age 46.Ndesandjo lives near Hong Kong and earns a living as a marketing consultant. For most of that time, he has maintained a low profile, with few people knowing of his connection to the U.S. president.

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Super Girl Obama : She is Good Girl.

Super Girl Obama : She is a G

President Obama has sent the Senate far fewer judicial nominations than former President George W. Bush did in his first 10 months in office, deflating the hopes of liberals that the White House would move quickly to reshape the federal judiciary after eight years of Republican appointments.ood Girl.

Mr. Bush, who made it an early goal to push conservatives into the judicial pipeline and left a strong stamp on the courts, had already nominated 28 appellate and 36 district candidates at a comparable point in his tenure. By contrast, Mr. Obama has offered 12 nominations to appeals courts and 14 to district courts.

president Obama Today calle for a New Relationship with Iran on Embassy in Tehran

president Obama Today calle for a New Relationship with Iran on Embassy in Tehran

President Obama today called for a new relationship with Iran in a statement that marked the 30th anniversary of the takeover by Iranian militants of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.The seizure of the embassy by radical students marked the beginning of Iran's turn to hard-line policies. Fifty-two Americans were held hostage for 444 days.

"This event helped set the United States and Iran on a path of sustained suspicion, mistrust and confrontation," Obama said in his statement. "I have made it clear that the United States of America wants to move beyond this past, and seeks a relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran based upon mutual interests and mutual respect."

The United States and its allies are pressing Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions and to end the processing of uranium that could be used to make a weapon. Iran insists its nuclear program is for the peaceful generation of electricity.The United States has called for stepped-up sanctions if Iran continues its policy, which is being negotiated.

In Iran, violence marked the anniversary as protesters and security forces clashed. Obama praised those in Iran who are working for rights.Earlier, Obama in his statement praised protesters who took to the streets after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election in June.
"I'm an optimist by nature, I've been an optimist my whole life," he said. "I'm optimistic in the sense it hasn’t ended, but I'm not optimistic it's going to go anywhere fast. We'll see what Iran wants to do with the offer we made."

If given the chance to address Ahmadinejad directly, Laingen said he'd suggest the nation follow the paths of countries like Brazil, South Africa or Liberia, which backed off nuclear ambitions.

"I would say 'Let's get off the dime, let's start talking,'" Laingen said. "Let's come to an appreciation and get on with the need to find a way to focus on our common interests."

Noting Wednesday's anniversary, President Obama insisted he wants the U.S. and Iran to move beyond the "path of sustained suspicion, mistrust and confrontation" that has followed the hostage crisis.

The crisis "deeply affected the lives of courageous Americans who were unjustly held hostage, and we owe these Americans and their families our gratitude for their extraordinary service and sacrifice," Obama said in a statement issued late Tuesday.

"This event helped set the United States and Iran on a path of sustained suspicion, mistrust, and confrontation," the statement continued. "I have made it clear that the United States of America wants to move beyond this past, and seeks a relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran based upon mutual interests and mutual respect. ... We have made clear that if Iran lives up to the obligations that every nation has, it will have a path to a more prosperous and productive relationship with the international community.

"Iran must choose," Obama said. "We have heard for 30 years what the Iranian government is against; the question, now, is what kind of future it is for. ... It is time for the Iranian government to decide whether it wants to focus on the past, or whether it will make the choices that will open the door to greater opportunity, prosperity and justice for its people."

President Barack Obama Told His Goverment Must "get serius" abou reducing Debt

President Barack Obama Told His Goverment Must "get serius"

President Barack Obama Told His Goverment Must "get serius" abou reducing Debt
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday that ground since Januaty bur mote jobs would be lost before a full recovery is in place. Speaking at a White House meeting of his Economic Recovery Board, Obama said the current pace of job losses was "distressing and would not improve quickly.Adderessing the panel of business and labor leaders and econonists, the president said it will require"bold, innovative action" on the part of the goverment and private industru to bring the unemploymet rate dowon and paul Volcker.

Early failures don’t always portend a failed presidency.
“A president whom we all admire like John F. Kennedy had to get through the Bay of Pigs before he moved on to his record of accomplishment,” says Mr. Widmer of Brown University.
At least, he adds, Obama has not endured disaster, even if he has yet to pull off a signature piece of legislation in the vein of what Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson achieved early. In the first 100 days alone, Roosevelt pushed through 15 major bills, a record that matched the extraordinary circumstances. By August 1965, less than seven months after winning the presidency in his own right, Johnson had launched Medicare, Medicaid, and the Voting Rights Act.

Prevention of an economic collapse may be Obama’s greatest achievement to date. But at a Democratic Party fundraiser on Oct. 20, Obama expressed chagrin at “collective amnesia on the part of some folks” over where the economy stood nine months before. “We were seeing an economic crisis unlike any that we had seen in generations,” he said. The stimulus, he added, has “made a difference in the lives of families across America.”
Some historians are dubious that Obama deserves all the kudos for saving the economy.
“If he gets credit for that, you also have to give credit to [then-Treasury Secretary Henry] Paulson and Bush for rescuing the financial system in the fall,” says Alvin Felzenberg, author of a book on presidential ratings, “The Leaders We Deserved.”

Pakistan Said It Killed 60 Militants and Lost 11 Soldiers as an Attack force

Pakistan Said It Killed 60 Militants

Pakistan said it killed 60 militants and lost 11 soldiers as a 30,000-strong attack force pushed into Taliban's tribal stronghold on the second day of a major operation.Taliban fighters offered fierce resistance as ground troops, backed by warplanes and artillery, pushed into South Waziristan, the mountain headquarters of the notorious Tehrik I Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Militants detonated roadside bombs and opened fire on helicopter gunships. Villagers, some of them women, waved white flags and troops searching houses discovered large weapons caches, the military said.In a statement it said tactical heights near Razmak, a mountain village at the northern edge of South Waziristan, had been captured following fighting that killed 10 militants and two soldiers.
The Taliban denied the army claims, and a spokesman insisted the guerrillas had inflicted "heavy casualties" and forced the invading soldiers back into their bases. "We know how to fight this war and defeat the enemy with the minimum loss of our men," Azam Tariq told the Associated Press from an undisclosed location.
The conflicting versions were impossible to reconcile. Inaccessible at the best of times, much of South Waziristan has been sealed off since the operation started on Saturday morning. Phone connections to Waziristan and nearby areas have been disconnected.The fight, pitting 30,000 soldiers against 10,000 Taliban and al-Qaida miltants, according to the army, followed two weeks of audacious assaults in cities that left over 175 people dead and underlined the militant threat to national stability.
(Left: Supporters of the Pakistani religious party Jamaat-e-Islami gather around a U.S. flag after setting it on fire during a rally against the recently-signed Kerry-Lugar bill, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009 in Karachi.)Intelligence officials said Saturday that the ground troops were advancing on two flanks and a northern front of a central part of South Waziristan controlled by the Mehsuds. The areas being surrounded include the insurgent bases of Ladha and Makeen, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to brief the media.
As many as 150,000 civilians - possibly more - have left in recent months after the army made clear it was planning an assault, but as many as 350,000 could still be in the region. The United Nations has been stockpiling relief supplies in a town near the region, but authorities are not expecting a major refugee crisis like the one that occurred during the offensive this year in the Swat Valley.Over the last three months, the Pakistani air force has been bombing targets in South Waziristan, while the army has said it has sealed off many Taliban supply and escape routes. The military has been trying to secure the support of local tribal armies in the fight.

Review News Focuses on Civilian Effort in Afghanistan Strategy President Barack Obama

Review News Focuses on Civilian Effort in Afghanistan Strategy President Barack Obama

President Obama, convening his fifth war council meeting in as many weeks, pressed his senior national security advisers Wednesday on the political situation in Afghanistan and the effort to train the country's security forces, officials said.
Allegations of fraud in the Afghan presidential election over the summer have raised questions about the legitimacy of Hamid Karzai's government, complicating U.S. efforts to partner with him. Meanwhile, the country's security forces are seen as ill-equipped to confront an insurgency that is gaining strength.
"We've been at war eight years, and we realize now we're starting from scratch because very little work has been done building a credible Afghan partner," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks
Such factors are figuring prominently in the debate over the Obama administration's strategy in Afghanistan, official say. Although the discussions also include making a decision on whether to deploy tens of thousands of additional U.S. troops, an administration official said the president was "very focused on the complexity of the situation" Wednesday -- looking past the military aspect of the equation and toward the civilian effort
Obama has said he will make a decision on U.S. troop levels in the coming weeks, and White House officials said that timetable is still in effect, with another war council session scheduled for next week.
But in Britain, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced Wednesday that he would send an additional 500 troops to Afghanistan -- triggering media reports there that U.S. allies had reached a preliminary conclusion about boosting troop levels.

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Pakistan: which 19 died on the Taliban

which 19 died on the Taliban

Pakistan will launch an operation against militants in restive South Waziristan "imminently", Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said.
He was speaking after troops stormed a building at an army base in Rawalpindi, rescuing dozens of people taken hostage in an attack by militants.
Mr Malik blamed the attack, in which 19 died, on the Taliban and al-Qaeda whose strongholds are in South Waziristan.
One militant, thought to be the group's leader, was arrested. Mr Malik said the government had given its approval to an operation in South Waziristan, and it was now up to the army to decide on its timing.
"The operation is imminent," he said, according to Reuters news agency.The army has been preparing for a major operation in South Waziristan since it successfully cleared the Swat valley of militants in September.
The standoff killed 20 people, including three captives and nine militants, who wore army fatigues in the audacious assault. The rescue operation began before dawn Sunday, ultimately freeing 42 hostages, the military said.
One attacker, described as the militants' ringleader, was captured.
The attack on Pakistan's "Pentagon," home to the nation's most powerful institution, showed the continued strength of insurgents allied with al-Qaida and the Taliban despite military operations and U.S. missile strikes that have battered their ranks. It was the third major attack in Pakistan in a week and threatens to deflate the army's growing popularity in the wake of successful operations against the Taliban in the Swat Valley, Buner and Bajur.
The attack on Rawalpindi, an army town to the south of the capital, Islamabad, prompted US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking during a visit to London, to say militants in Pakistan were increasingly threatening the authority of the state.But she said the US saw no evidence they were going to succeed, or that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal was at threat.

Young Life to Barack Obama

Young Life to Barack Obama

Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August-4 1961 .


His parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced .
Barack Obama attenHis mother remarried, and the family moved to Indonesia in 1967 .
His father, Barack Obama, Sr, came from Nyangoma-Kogelo, Kenyaded schools in Jakarta until he was ten years old

Wallpaper : Look at Carefully

Wallpaper : Look at Carefully

He has carefully built a campaign around his background – the son of a Kenyan goat herder and a white Kansan, first black president of the Harvard Law Review, community organizer on the south side of Chicago, civil rights attorney, accomplished state senator – and his powerful personality. His address before the Democratic National Convention in 2004 instantly catapulted him to political celebrity, with some saying it eclipsed nominee John Kerry’s moment.
Obama voiced opposition to the Iraq war at a rally in fall 2002, something that consistently draws his biggest applause. He has promised to begin a withdrawal immediately, and to have only a minimal presence in Iraq within 16 months, and the war is central to his campaign. Only those with the sense to oppose the war from the start can be trusted to end it, he says – an obvious dig at the other frontrunners, Sen. Hillary Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards, who voted for the 2002 resolution giving President Bush the authority to use force in Iraq.

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US President Surprising world :Win the Nobel Peace prize

US President Surprising world

A surprised world greeted the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to U.S. President Barack Obama with a mixture of praise and scepticism on Friday.In its announcement, the Norwegian Nobel Committee hailed Obama's "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples".
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg made clear the award carried big expectations, saying: "This is a surprising, an exciting prize. It remains to be seen if he will succeed with reconciliation, peace and nuclear disarmament."Mr Obama is the first US president to win the prize since former US President Jimmy Carter in 2002. Theodore Roosevelt won the prize in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson won it in 1919.
The prize was invented by the Swedish industrialist and inventor of dynamite Alfred Nobel, and was first awarded in 1901.As Sweden was at the time united with Norway, Nobel designated the parliament in Norway to elect the peace prize committee. Swedish academies are responsible for other prizes.

Barack Obama is Looking for ......

Barack Obama is Looking for

Kevin Nix, spokesman for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which represents gay and lesbian members of the military, said the president did little more than repeat his campaign pledge on the issue. "He missed an opportunity tonight" to set a timetable, Mr. Nix said. "We'd like a bill in Congress in 2010."
Mr. Obama's comments could also spark criticism from conservatives and some supporters who say the administration must set priorities, as the nation grapples with continued high unemployment, a recession, and two wars.
Any attempt to change government policy concerning gay people could further divide an already polarized Congress. The administration needs lawmakers' cooperation to pass legislation to overhaul the nation's health-care system, a top priority for Mr. Obama. The administration is also trying to secure passage of new financial-industry regulations and could turn to Congress to request more troops in Afghanistan.
Congress passed the law popularly known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in 1993. Subsequent efforts by then-President Bill Clinton to repeal it ran into opposition from the military and Congress, which after 1994, was controlled by Republicans.
It's far from clear when, or if, Mr. Obama's pledge would have any practical impact on the armed forces. Besides that the president didn't give a timeline for his pledge, eliminating the "don't ask, don't tell" rule would also require congressional action. Lawmakers may be unwilling to take up such a politically contentious issue while they tackle health-care legislation and other matters.
Advocates of repealing the rule point to polling data showing that service personnel have become far more accepting of homosexuality, suggesting that such a move could be less disruptive today than it would have been in the 1990s. At least 13,500 personnel have been discharged since 1994 over their sexual orientation, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a nonprofit group working to repeal the ban.
A 2006 Zogby poll found that three-quarters of the military personnel surveyed said they were comfortable around gays and lesbians, while 78% said they would join the military even if gays were allowed to serve openly. Just under 25% of the respondents said they knew someone in their own unit who was gay.

source of : online.wsj.com

Obama was speaking to America's largest gay group: Washington

America's largest gay group: Washington

US President Barack Obama has said he will end the ban on gay people serving openly in the military.
He said he would repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that allows gay people to serve in the military if they do not reveal their sexual orientation.
Mr Obama was speaking to America's largest gay group - the Human Rights Campaign - in Washington.
He had been criticised by some in the gay community for the lack of action on gay marriage and the military issue.A big gay rights protest march is planned in Washington for Sunday.
Disquiet
Mr Obama was addressing thousands of gay and lesbian people at a fundraising dinner in the US capital. He said the US had made progress on gay rights and would make more.
On the military issue he said the US could not afford to lose those people who had much needed skills for fighting.
"We should not be punishing patriotic Americans who have stepped forward to serve the country," Mr Obama said."We should be celebrating their willingness to step forward and show such courage."
Mr Obama did not give a timetable for repeal of the policy, passed by Congress in 1993, under which thousands of service members have been discharged.
The US president has repeatedly pledged to tackle issues important to the gay community.But he has faced criticism for what many in the gay community see as lack of action on his promises.Mr Obama asked the audience to trust his administration.
“I appreciate that many of you don’t believe progress has come fast enough,” Obama said. “Do not doubt the direction we are heading and the destination we will reach.”
A day after the president’s remarks, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he expects the ban to be lifted, but he said it’s critical that the administration have the support of military leaders.
A Republican on the committee, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, agreed with Levin that support within the military is important and said such a policy decision shouldn’t be based on a “campaign pledge.” Both senators appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
There was also this puzzling bit of explanation from the Nobel committee's chairman, Thorbjoern Jagland: "Some people say, and I understand it, isn't it premature? Too early?. Well, I'd say then that it could be too late to respond three years from now. It is now that we have the opportunity to respond - all of us."
Say what? If we wait three years to actually see what the president accomplishes, it will be too late to award him the Peace Prize? Just what dread future does the Nobel committee envision?
Perhaps they are worried that with President Obama overseeing war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, with the Middle East remaining a tinderbox, with nuclear disarmament a near impossibility, and with climate-change treaties facing an increasingly cool reception, there is almost no hope that the president will be able to win the Peace Prize based on his record. It is therefore best to honor him for his rhetoric of change and for the committee's hopes of a better future.

President Barack Obama Restated His Campaign Pledge

Obama Restated His Campaign Pledge

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama restated his campaign pledge to allow homosexual men and women to serve openly in the military, but many in his audience of gay activists were left wondering when he would make good on the promise.
"I will end 'don't ask-don't tell,'" Obama said Saturday night to a standing ovation from the crowd of about 3,000 at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay civil rights advocacy group. He offered no timetable or specifics and he acknowledged some may be growing impatient.
"I appreciate that many of you don't believe progress has come fast enough," Obama said. "Do not doubt the direction we are heading and the destination we will reach."
A day after the president's remarks, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he expects the ban to be lifted, but he said it's critical that the administration have the support of military leaders.
The closest thing to Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize from the left-leaning Euros in 2009 is Sally Field winning the Academy Award from left-leaning Hollywood in 1985.
Call it a gush-fest.
You'll remember her acceptance speech for its faux fawning sentimentality. Field had already won an Oscar for 1979's "Norma Rae," but then she got her second one for "Places in the Heart," and decided that since she was among friends, she would let her hair down.
"...I've wanted more than anything to have your respect. The first time I didn't feel it, but this time I feel it, and I can't deny the fact that you like me; right now you like me!"
Apparently, that's also what we learned from the Nobel committee: They like Barack Obama; right now they like him.
“He repeated his promises that he’s made to us before, but he did not indicate when he would accomplish these goals and we’ve been waiting for a while now,” said Jones, national co-chair of a major gay-rights rally scheduled for today on the National Mall.
Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said he was encouraged to hear Obama’s pledge but added “an opportunity was missed tonight.” He said his group “was disappointed the president did not lay out a timeline and specifics for repeal.”
Obama also called on Congress to repeal the Defense Of Marriage Act, which limits how state, local and federal bodies can recognize partnerships and determine benefits. He also called for a law to extend benefits to domestic partners.
He expressed strong support for the HRC agenda of ending discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people but stopped short of laying out a detailed plan for how to get there.“My expectation is that when you look back on these years you will look back and see a time when we put a stop against discrimination ... whether in the office or the battlefield,” Obama said.Obama’s political energies are focused on many issues, including managing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the economic crisis and his ambitious plan to reform the health care system.The HRC holds out hope of seeing more action.“We have never had a stronger ally in the White House. Never,” Joe Solmonese, the group’s president, said at the dinner before the president spoke.