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From Obama’s presser.
The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, beatings, and imprisonments of the last few days. I strongly condemn these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost.
I have made it clear that the United States respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and is not at all interfering in Iran’s affairs. But we must also bear witness to the courage and dignity of the Iranian people, and to a remarkable opening within Iranian society. And we deplore violence against innocent civilians anywhere that it takes place.
…
This is what we have witnessed. We have seen the timeless dignity of tens of thousands Iranians marching in silence. We have seen people of all ages risk everything to insist that their votes are counted and their voices heard. Above all, we have seen courageous women stand up to brutality and threats, and we have experienced the searing image of a woman bleeding to death on the streets. While this loss is raw and painful, we also know this: those who stand up for justice are always on the right side of history.
Certainly seems to be taking a harder line, but undoubtedly, won’t be hard enough for the tough-talking neocon anklebiters.
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shorter ankle-biters on Fox just now:
When did you stop beating your diplomacy ?
dear gaia, Krauthammer tried to make it sound like POTUS had taken his and McWar’s advice – hence, the ‘tougher’ language
I LOVED his smackdown of Tapper or Reid (can’t remember which idiot) about whether he was taking advice from McCain and Graham. “What do you think?!”
He makes them all look llike the whiny children they are.
Oh, puhleeeeeze! (re taking their advice)
Let ‘em all anklebite, Obama has steel mesh socks on when it comes to the Fox crew. He’s dealt with haters for a lot of his life…these guys are shrill and impotent.
I’ll drink to that.
Fuck the ankle biters at Fox.
Speaking of ankle biters, I notice Mika is sporting a sleeveless top in the pic on HuffPo. Is that an old look or is she channeling Michele? Scroll to the bottom.
I don’t understand – aren’t these “Islamic insurgents?”
Didn’t Obama offer to show the regime a few OLC opinions full of “things that are not torture that you can do” or rent 17 Uighur cages that will soon be empty out? Surely he at least anted up with some insight on how to draft the Executivollah Orders on surveillance and preventive detention without end?
You’d think he’d be willing to share his experiences with a fellow regime focused on putting down Islamic insurgents …
What’s that?
Oh, he was praising the insurgency and appalled at the acts taken to put it down?
Never mind.
Who knew that,
“those who stand up for justice are always on the right side of history”
was meant as the secondary laugh line to a “leave it to uighurs” joke.
Obama can act too much like a Republican for my tastes, but at least he’s an “adult” Republican. For all my criticisms on a lot of issues, I have to applaud the President’s response on Iran.
And I have to condemn most of the mainstream media for giving WAY too much coverage of the infantile and ignorant blathering of people like McCain, Graham, et al.
Why can’t the media just shush those idiots and tell them “the adults are talking now.”
Welcome back, BT!
We deplore it where we are not fomenting it. Where we are not fomenting it, we are ignoring it.
This is similar to the way we hold Bush Administration Torture Policy enablers accountable by looking foreward, not backward.
Better not to engage the neocon line. Its a no win situation. The MSM and the Neocons are red baiting Obama. He is beginning to nibble at the bait. It would be better not to say anything at all than to proffer empty rhetoric.
Obama has already expanded the war in Afghanistan and we are still in Iraq. If the Republicans can get Obama to make war with Iran and North Korea and elsewhere (they don’t care where), a draft will be needed. If Obama institutes the draft, he will be beaten by Sarah Palin/JEB 1n 2012.
Gee Obama, nice of you to find a voice to defend civilians in a foreign country on the other side of the globe. Where was your voice when Bush and Cheney eliminated American civilians during their “Pearl Harbor moment?”
frankly dear, because the media types are equally childish – flipping around afterwards watched both Mrs Greenspan and CNN/Bobblehead express childish wishful thinking about what they thought was emotion on POTUS’s part – un effin’ believable
f* Pearl Harbor, what about them “caging” us in Boston when he gave the keynote address in 04 … or ‘fencing us in’ in Denver ?!?!?
The MSM wants more war. The corporations that own the media also own the war machines. They want nothing from government except two things – more wars – and not to pay taxes. Ergo, they are Republicans.
Good thing Obama has American moral authority to back him up.
If you’re accusing Bush and Cheney of being behind the events of 11 Sep 2001 where’s your proof? And I’m not talking about the suppositions put forward in all of the conspiracy documentary flix, which I’ve watched. Come up with some solid evidence that would stand up in a court of law. Until such time as you can do that all’s you’ve got are suppositions and theories. We all know that the govt is covering up a ton of shit, one example being the other surveillance videos from around the Pentagon, but building a case any further than that is pure fantasy. Solid evidence, please. I’m not gonna waste my time on theories.
Moral Authority, warrantless wiretaps, surveillance and preventive detention without end.
I thought we voted for a promise to end Shock-n-ya’ll.
And Obama still hasn’t gotten me my sparkle-pony! Hurmpf. I’m leaving!
I’m not interested in conspiracy theories either. I’m interested in conspiracies.
Citizen Southern Dragon:
“Fuck the ankle biters at Fox.”
Naw…I’ll pass thanx. Everyone else has already had a shot at ‘em and now they’re gettin pissed on so I’ll jest sit back and laugh at the fascist motherfuckers.
Obama just has to realize that regardless of the stance he takes on this issue, he is going to be attacked from the right, and the misinformed.
Here is a perfect example of misinformation being spewed, Congressman Darrell Issa style…
http://progressnotcongress.org/?p=1919
Where was the outrage when Americans were subjected to threats, beatings and unwarranted arrests during the war protests and political conventions. Thanks to the Rethug destruction of the Constitution and the Democratic President’s apparent reluctance to restore it, America has absolutely zero standing to criticize anyone on the abuse of human rights. Dissenters appear to be courageous only when they’re dissenting in some other country.
Tapper, if I saw what you are mentioning….And our Pres. was having a ball, baiting & laughing. Whatever else one says….he has a great smile and amazing sense of humor.
I doubt that this is just anklebiting, even if the usual anklebiters are being used as the mouthpieces. One plausible, if perhaps America-centric, way to interpret recent events is that Obama’s election put a scare into the warmongers and extremists, both here and in Iran. Our manifest repudiation of blustering Bushismo at the polls provoked something similar towards blustering Ahmadinejadery.
I don’t read the Iranian opposition as particularly pro-American. They certainly aren’t anti-revolutionary, if their leaders are anythng to go by. But they seem practical and tired of dangerous Iranian provocations and wild-eyed posturing, much as, I suspect, Americans were with respect to our own. They also have corruption and an economic crisis to contend with.
The AIPAC crowd, Leiberman, and the other neoconmen are frightened by this. Ahmadinejad, the Supreme Leader, and the faction behind them are frightened for the same reasons. Each group needs the other, because, without the other to whip up indignation and fear, each gets judged on its own actions.
So Iran’s crazies decide they won’t give up power just because they lost an election and are bound to under their own laws.
Our crazies don’t have that option because they managed it twice and then lost the third time around. So the anklebiters are prepped and launched. NPR trots out its usual rightwing talking heads. All of them attack Obama for doing the sensible thing, keeping quiet, and letting the pragmatists and rational folks in Iran get on with their affairs. Because, if Obama can be goaded into a hard line, they stand a chance, if only a slim chance, of reviving their beloved Nuclear-Armed Iranian Collossus Astride America’s Oil Lifeline.
Funny how the media gaggle has turned into a smarmy and smirky bunch of dickwads now that Bush has left.
Respect for the office seems to be on the wane.
Go figure.
-G
Citizen bonkers:
Whatever conspiracy there was will never be fully uncovered because it was planned and implemented through international corporate channels and the US government’s role, if any, was passive when the executive was informed of the plans. That’s why we don’t use up political energy right now on investigating Ninja windmills…there’s a ton of stuff to use our energy on because the unelected folks that would have had a hand in any conspiracy are still makin’ policy and carryin’ out actions on behalf of the corporate oligarchy. We’ve got to get Obama’s back and keep kickin’ the real issues forward…if Obama succeeds then there will be plenty of time in a second term to go after the fascist super structure in the security state aparatus.
The strident people who wanted to bomb the Iranians out of existence are annoyed with Obama this week for not being more supportive and protective of them. Status quo American media crazymaking. Watch out for that pendulum.
Citizen robspierre:
Alsolutely crystal clear analysis…you get a Norske Medal of Citizenship for that one.
Right on! I haven’t heard that depth of denial for a long time! Remember, conspiracy analysis is not conspiracy theory.
From a very reputable blogger in the 911 Truth milieu, George Washington, these thoughts might pry open some closed minds…
~~and this, on the point about the Bush Admin. potential involvement in the events of 911…
President Obana has given the cool and proper responses to Iran. Now, if he and we can just apply this same idea of allowing freedom to choose ones rulers to the American-occupied nations of Afghanistan and Iraq. We need to withdraw out armed forces and our mercenaries and let the Afghanis and Iraqis make their own decisions.
Agreed. I think that even though Obama is hardly a “revolutionary” it doesn’t mean he can’t stir up some truly revolutionary impulses. A little hope goes a long way and may even have some consequences unintended by the one who initially packaged up and marketed that hope.
Freedom’s funny that way.
Obama has had to play the the safe card given his previous declarations on establishing a better political and diplomatic relationship with Iran. The country, at this point, had given him no other alternative than to condemn the treatment of not only its people, but foreign journalists and correspondents.
Evan
http://www.beyondrace.com
The same people that think Obama is weak and feckless also think he’s a ruthless, steely eyed fascist ready to march them off to workcamps.
-G
My question is, what’s the point of pursuing the 911 conspiracy. I personally believe there was some level of foreknowledge if not outright involvement by the neo-cons. But I also don’t think we’ll ever get actionable proof.
Even if you could ferret out the details what will it accomplish? I already think they’re a bunch of evil douches, my opinion of these folks couldn’t get any lower.
I also think this crowd is already guilty of some heinous crimes which can be documented and the hard evidence is already out there in the public domain. But we can’t even get any kind of legal action based on evidence that’s already uncovered and in public, why would I think digging up some sketchier evidence would do any good.
I’m not saying the 911 conspiracies are wrong (though they can’t all be right), I’m not even saying I don’t occasionally like to foray into that realm of speculation. I’m just saying we only have so much time and energy in this life and I think we’d be better served focusing it on some more pressing issues.
But that’s just my take on it. I’m sure others disagree and that’s great. We don’t march in lock-step like some others I could name.
Totally with ya. I don’t want to brand anyone who starts talking about 9/11 stuff to be considered a nutcase. Sure, some are just as in any group, but most I’ve ever spoke with can defend their positions pretty well and could be on to something. If they ever are able to prove something definitive, I’ll be applauding them.
Plus, any study of history shows that something like a 9/11 conspiracy is very possible, since similar things have been done before.
Translation – allow the Taliban to rule unimpeded once again. It seems to me the Afghans already made their decision – to allow Al Qaeda and their Taliban enablers a “home country” to train, plan and execute terrorist attacks on innocent people in the West that don’t share their revolting religious extremists dogma. Your using Afghanistan and Iraq in the same sentence is an attempt to create some moral equivalency between the two. It does snot exist and clearly reveals what your true agenda is.
Allow me. 9-11 conspiracy theorists are lunatics and nut cases.
Chuckie cheeze todd might want to consider the possibility that the POTUS is a wee tad smarter than he…and act accordingly in the future.
Naw…….he’s a villager and they know it all.
Too bad he’s on msnbc so neither Keef or Rachel will poke any holes in his little bubble tonight but it sure has been fun reading some of the take-downs on him in the lefty blogs this afternoon. :-)
Simple pleasures; gotta get them where ya can.
And where was The Chosen One when the Israeli thugs were murdering 1500 Palestinians?
Who is he? I think the brand is separating from the man, and am wondering do we have an authoritarian follower as pres.? Status quo patriarchy in terms of finance and military is who he seems to be following. Say it ain’t so. I want to believe it ain’t. But after Gaza and Goldman … now Pakistan and the torture stuff… he can’t be proactive, only reactive. it is heartbreaking. And then the right wing crazies, yeah, so manipulative and hysterical and crazymaking in their wrong-headed accusations. Doesn’t excuse what he is and isn’t doing, despite their irrationality. And the press is so amoral and petty and shallow and amnesia-like, they might as well be commentating on a sports game, not life and blood issues. They are so titillated by hissy-fit right wing, they skew reality in respecting them.