Keyword: Barack Obama

The US, Israel and the Durban Review Conference

Picture: Barack Obama Stephen Greenberg - The way Barack Obama handled Israel and the Middle Eastern crisis was always going to be a litmus test of his ability to really change mainstream politics in the US. However, recent events indicate his unwillingness - or incapacity - to take on the powers that be in Washington and to forge a new, honest direction in US politics. Notable amongst these events was the US administration's early March decision to boycott the UN's World Conference against Racism billed as the Durban Review...

Noam Chomsky: Obama's Stance on the Gaza Crisis is Similar to the Bush Position

Picture: Barack Obama Democracy Now - JUAN GONZALEZ: President Obama has made his first substantive remarks on the crisis in Gaza since being elected. Obama was speaking at the State Department, flanked by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as he named two key envoys. Retired Senate majority leader George Mitchell, who negotiated a lasting agreement in Northern Ireland, will be Middle East envoy. And Richard Holbrooke, who brokered a deal in the Balkans in the mid-1990s, will be envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. In his...

Obama and Gaza

Author of the book, "American Raj," Eric Margolis argues that Hamas is regarded by US-backed governments in the Middle East as a threat.  These states tend to be monarchies, dictatorships and oligarchies that do very little for their people, while Hamas delivers a revolutionary message against corruption, he says. Margolis contends that there was a collusion between the United States, israel, Egypt and Britain to lock up Gaza, put it under siege and try and crush the life out...

A Message From Progressive Americans to President Obama: Ten Things to Avoid

Picture: www.art.com Alternet Staff - As Inauguration Day arrives, the citizens of our country are on the edge of their collective seats waiting to see who the real Barack Obama is, and how he will step up to address the worst economic crisis since the Depression. Adding to his burden, Obama is following George W. Bush, who may go down as the most failed and destructive president in history. As a result, in addition to the financial disaster, Obama inherits two wars and a huge array of counterproductive policies perpetuated by...

Bush's Unconscionable Legacy

Picture: Steve Garfield Democracy Now - American President George W. Bush held his final news conference this past week. Bush fervently defended his record, saying he made the nation safer following the 9/11 attacks, rejected the idea that the nation’s moral standing has been damaged over the past eight years and defended the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina. Amy Goodman speaks with veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas. She’s the most senior member of the White House press corps and has...

Obama, America and the Rise of the Non-White World

Picture: Thoth, God of Knowledge Saliem Fakir - It would be a squint-eyed view to read in Obama’s victory just a historic moment for African-Americans in the United States of America (USA). It should be granted that Obama’s entry through the front door of the White House rather than the back door, once reserved for black cleaners only, does mark a turning point in black history. African-Americans have come a long way since the days of slavery, the civil rights movement and many other sacrifices they have had to make to claim...