Message #162890

[Harconen]

Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, meets with Obama at the White House. At a joint news conference Obama comments, “I would suggest that (Iran’s President) Mr. Ahmadinejad think carefully about the obligations he owes to his own people. And he might want to consider looking at the families of those who’ve been beaten or shot or detained.” (Obama seems unable to comprehend that if Ahmadinejad cares so little about the citizens of his own country that he orders them shot and axed in the streets of Tehran he certainly cares less about surviving family members—or the opinion of an American president.) Merkel states, “Iran cannot count on the world turning a blind eye”—when it has so far done just that. Obama states the obvious, “There is no doubt that any direct dialogue or diplomacy with Iran is going to be affected by the events of the last several weeks. We don’t yet know how any potential dialogue will have been affected until we see what has happened inside of Iran.” (What has happened inside Iran is the brutal killings of perhaps hundreds of Iranian citizens who want freedom and democracy.) “The clock is ticking,” adds Obama, “at a fairly rapid clip.” (That is precisely what Ahmadinejad is counting on everyone watching the clock while he continues his nuclear program unabated.) [3716]

 

With Ahmadinejad’s plan to obtain nuclear weapons regardless of what the rest of the world thinks, his use of paid foreign terrorists to kill his own citizens as they demonstrate, and his clear disinterest in negotiating with the determined-to-negotiate-at-all-costs Obama, former Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton writes in a Wall Street Journal editorial that it may be time for Israel to strike Iran and take out its nuclear facilities. Bolton notes that “Tehran isn’t going to negotiate in good faith” anyway. He points out that “Unfortunately, the Obama administration has a ‘Plan B,’ which would allow Iran to have a ‘peaceful’ civil nuclear power program while publicly ‘renouncing’ the objective of nuclear weapons. Obama would define such an outcome as ‘success,’ even though in reality it would hardly be different from what Iran is doing and saying now.” That leaves “Those who oppose Iran acquiring nuclear weapons… with only the option of targeted military force against its weapons facilities.” Bolton concludes, “Otherwise, be prepared for an Iran with nuclear weapons, which some, including Obama advisers, believe could be contained and deterred. That is not a hypothesis we should seek to test in the real world. The cost of error could be fatal.” Obama seems willing to take the risk. [3717]

 

Successful investor Marc Faber warns that massive inflation is on the way. The Federal Reserve Board, which causes inflation by increasing the nation’s money supply, has been in existence since 1913. Since then, the U.S. dollar has lost 95 per cent of its buying power. “It took 100 years to lose 95 per cent (but) I think the next 94 per cent loss in purchasing power will happen very quickly,” says Faber. Many disagree with Faber and others who warn of inflation, and do not see it as a threat. That, however, may simply indicate that its eventual arrival may be sudden and drastic; the government cannot continue to print money without causing inflation—it is not a matter of if, but when. [3604]

 

On June 26, North Korea states that it “will never give up its nuclear deterrent… and will further strengthen it” if the United States remains hostile. In response to a U.S. pledge to defend South Korea, state-run newspapers in Pyongyang warn that is “asking for the calamitous situation of having a fire shower of nuclear retaliation all over South Korea.” [3601]

 

An environmental study that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suppressed because it conflicted with the Obama administration’s “global warming” energy tax plans is made public. The study argues that the EPA is incorrectly relying on outdated information and is ignoring new data related to the continuing decline in global temperatures, the impact of ocean cycles and solar cycles, and satellite information. Sam Kazman, chief counsel for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, states, “While we hoped that EPA would release the final report, we’re tired of waiting for this agency to become transparent, even though its Administrator has been talking transparency since she took office. So we are releasing a draft version of the report ourselves, today.” [3677, 3678]

 

It is reported that Michelle Obama wants a “bigger role” in supporting her husband’s political agenda. Communications chief Camille Johnston tells the Washington Post, “Her desire is to step out more and have deliverables. It’s about things that are coming up that we want to be a part of: child nutrition reauthorization act, prevention and wellness for healthcare reform.” Obama attends Rahm Emanuel’s daily staff meetings, and her press secretary is with Robert Gibbs at his daily press briefings. (Some argue that Michelle Obama is gearing up for her own political career, as did Hillary Clinton—but one assumes that no one would dare make that point in front of Obama.) [3609]

 

After South Carolina Governor Sanford “disappeared” for a few days (it was later learned he had flown off to meet with a woman in Argentina) Senator John Kerry (D-MA) stated on June 24, “Too bad if a governor had to go missing it couldn’t have been the governor of Alaska. You know, Sarah Palin.” The juvenile remark prompts Palin—Obama’s possible opponent in 2012—to respond on June 26. “Then Senator John Kerry… makes this joke saying, ‘Aw shoot, of all the governors in the nation who disappeared, too bad it couldn’t have been that governor from Alaska… But the way he said it, he looked quite frustrated and he looked so sad. I just wanted to reach out to the TV and say, ‘John Kerry, why the long face?’” [3610]