Obama Administration: Restrictions on Cuba Travel and Commerce Relaxed

Obama Administration Loosens Restrictions on Cuba Travel and Commerce | Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP - JDSupra:


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Obama, Cigars, Cuba, Congress

Obama Wagers on More Cigars to Win Over Congress on Cuba Embargo - Bloomberg: "President Barack Obama billed opening Cuba as a chance for trade to promote political change, and he’s sending Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker on a trade mission there soon. He’s also wagering that more trade will change the political dynamic in the U.S. Congress. Winning over members of Congress is key, since they’re the only ones who can lift the five-decade-old economic embargo on Cuba or end the broad travel ban. “I believe greater engagement will help more and more Americans understand the economic potential of Cuba and the incredible entrepreneurial capacity of their people,” Pritzker said in an e-mail. “We will do all we can under these actions to unleash that potential.”The approach isn’t unprecedented for the U.S. -- it’s the basis of U.S.-China relations...."

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Obama, US Embassy, Havana, Cuba (video)

Obama: U.S. to Reestablish an Embassy in Havana -
“Today the United States of America is changing it’s relationship with the people of Cuba,” President Obama says in remarks at White House announcing steps to normalize diplomatic, trade relationship with Cuba. (Source: Bloomberg 12/17)

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Bush, Obama, US Military Corruption, Totally Worthless F-35

Never, ever, believe the "experts" in the Pentagon, or Washington, D.C.--

The War Nerd: More proof the US defense industry has nothing to do with defending America | PandoDaily: "...The armed services are trying to boost their worst aircraft, the totally worthless F-35, by trashing their best, the simple, effective, proven A-10 Warthog. The A-10 is popular enough that the USAF had to come up with a reason for wanting to get rid of it, and the one it produced is the sort of thing that would make any psych-therapist chuckle with glee: The USAF said it needed maintenance personnel to handle its precious new high-priced fighter, the F-35…and that the only place it could get them from was the maintenance crews currently keeping the A-10 flying. Nope, there were no other options! The only way to find a good crew is to gut the one effective ground-attack aircraft the USAF has in its inventory, in favor of the worst fighter ever designed. It makes no sense. I’ll just say that right up front. The reason it doesn’t seem to make any sense is that it doesn’t. There are no secret reasons here, no top-security considerations that justify any of this. It’s corruption, pure and simple. The sooner you understand that the US defense industry has nothing at all to do with defending America, and everything to do with making Dick Cheney’s buddies even richer, the more quickly you’ll be able to understand what’s going on. I used to believe the Navy was the most corrupt of all the services, but going by recent form I’d have to say that slimed-up torch has been passed to a new service. The USAF now wins as the most deeply corrupt of all. In fact, it’s no contest...." (read more at first link above)

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Islamist Ideology, Obama, Hillary, Susan Rice vs Charlie Hebdo

Jake Tapper: I'm ashamed by U.S. leaders' absence in Paris | CNN http://t.co/9rYhWQxI1X
— johnmpoole.com (@johnmpoole) January 12, 2015

Headline: America snubs historic Paris rally: Holder skipped out early, Kerry was in India and Obama and Biden just stayed home to leave no U.S. presence at anti-terror march joined by global leaders

Lesson from Paris: Do the opposite of Obama, Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice--remember the "blame it on the YouTube video" diatribe?--

New Yorker: "... Charlie Hebdo had been nondenominational in its satire, sticking its finger into the sensitivities of Jews and Christians, too—but only Muslims responded with threats and acts of terrorism. For some believers, the violence serves a will to absolute power in the name of God, which is a form of totalitarianism called Islamism—politics as religion, religion as politics. “Allahu Akbar!” the killers shouted in the street outside Charlie Hebdo. They, at any rate, know what they’re about. These thoughts don’t offer a guide to mitigating the astonishing surge in Islamist killing around the world. Rage and condemnation don’t do the job, nor is it helpful to alienate the millions of Muslims who dislike what’s being done in the name of their religion. Many of them immediately condemned the attack on Charlie Hebdo, in tones of anguish particular to those whose deepest beliefs have been tainted. The answer always has to be careful, thoughtful, and tailored to particular circumstances. In France, it will need to include a renewed debate about how the republic can prevent more of its young Muslim citizens from giving up their minds to a murderous ideology—how more of them might come to consider Mustapha Ourrad, a Charlie Hebdo copy editor of Algerian descent who was among the victims, a hero. In other places, the responses have to be different, with higher levels of counter-violence. But the murders in Paris were so specific and so brazen as to make their meaning quite clear. The cartoonists died for an idea. The killers are soldiers in a war against freedom of thought and speech, against tolerance, pluralism, and the right to offend—against everything decent in a democratic society. So we must all try to be Charlie, not just today but every day."

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CIA: dysfunction, disorganization, incompetence, greed, deception

Nobody prosecuted, nobody lost their job--Bush and Obama--pathetic!

Report Portrays a Broken C.I.A. Devoted to a Failed Approach - NYTimes.com: "...The bitter infighting in the C.I.A. interrogation program was only one symptom of the dysfunction, disorganization, incompetence, greed and deception described in a summary of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report. In more than 500 pages, the summary, released on Tuesday, paints a devastating picture of an agency that was ill equipped to take on the task of questioning Al Qaeda suspects, bungled the job and then misrepresented the results..." (read more at the link above)

and (via politico.com):

New York Times A1, at fold, "Obama Faulted For Supporting Besieged C.I.A.," by Peter Baker: "Obama's attempt to find a balance on a polarizing issue inherited from his predecessor was seen by ... critics as a failure to hold the agency accountable." http://nyti.ms/1wgfdOs

ANDREW SULLIVAN, "How Obama Backed Impunity For War Crimes": "[T]o refuse to prosecute war crimes is to condone war crimes." http://bit.ly/1wBuUC0

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Election 2014, Obama, Economy, All in One Chart

You can't spin this:

The ratio between income and liability for households. Families are still carrying lots of debt, while income isn't growing. 

The Obama economy, despite how positive large parts of it look on paper, the average family has had no gain in income for six years and they are working harder to pay down the excess leverage (debt) from the 2000s. (source: One Chart Explains Democrats' Loss - Bloomberg View )


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Obama, the NSA, the No-Fly List, State-Secret Obsession

It's on Obama and the Democrats now--

The billionaire, the NSA and the no-fly list: America's 'state secret' obsession has gone too far | Trevor Timm | theguardian.com: "... When the Obama administration took over the final case accusing the Bush administration of torture and invoked state secrets again, the judges were visibly taken aback. Didn’t matter: on appeal, it was thrown out of court yet again. “The only place in the world where these claims can’t be discussed,” ACLU’s Ben Wizner said at the time, “is in this courtroom.” What’s truly revolting about this abuse of the state secrets privilege is that it used to be an issue Democrats ran against. President Obama said hewould reform it in his 2008 campaign, and vice president Joe Biden co-sponsored a bill to do just that. All the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted for state secrets reform as well, explicitly citing NSA wiretapping and torture as things that should never be kept classified from the American people – that should always be able to face a challenge in court. What have we heard since? Not a peep." (read more at the link above)

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A real Obama and Paul Krugman et al nightmare: Wayne Allyn Root

This is funny (and informative:), and a real Obama and Paul Krugman et al nightmare:

Book Discussion Murder Middle Class | Video | C-SPAN.org: "Wayne Allyn Root talked about his book, The Murder of the Middle Class: How to Save Yourself and Your Family from the Criminal Conspiracy of the Century, in which he argues that the American political class, Democrats and Republicans, including the Obama administration and its allies, are actively destroying the middle class in the U.S. and suggests ways for Americans to protect themselves before it’s too late. Mr. Root spoke at a Financial Policy Council event held in New York City." (video at link above)

People in the video:
Abdelnour, Ziad - President and CEO, Blackhawk Partners;

Author: Root, Wayne Allyn

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Yazidis from Iraq Tell of Harrowing Escape From Islamic State Militants (video)

Video - Iraq's Yazidis Tell of Harrowing Escape From Islamic State Militants - WSJ.com: "Salwah Khalaf and her family fled Sinjar in Iraq last week when they heard insurgents from the Islamic State were about to attack. WSJ's Nour Malas reports.

Still think ANYONE in Washington DC knows what they are doing? Republicans, Democrats, Bush, Obama--they are all responsible for what is now happening in Iraq and Syria and the rise of ISIS (members of which the Obama administration trained and armed to oppose Syria's Bashar al-Assad. Regime change, nation-building--what a disaster!


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Chicago Gun Violence, Part III -- Fourth of July in the Windy City

Chicago Gun Violence, Part III -- on the Fourth of July Weekend Holiday in Obama's Hometown --

82 shot, 14 fatally, over holiday weekend in Chicago - CBS News: ".... As of early Monday morning, the station reports no one was in custody for any of the weekend shootings."

And did Obama Have Anything to Say?

Silence. Denial. Failed Leadership.

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FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Still "Doesn't Get It"

Tom, nobody wants your stinkin' proposal for internet "fast lanes" -- Obama should have never appointed a lobbyist as FCC Chairman--he's clueless, tone-deaf, or deeply compromised by the special interests he once represented --

POLITICO Morning Tech - POLITICO.com: "The FCC Chairman continued the one-man show in defense of his net neutrality [sic] proposal in California Wednesday, but the groups first opposed to the now week-old plan are still unhappy. “Tom Wheeler still doesn’t get it. People aren’t flooding his phone lines and filling his in-box because they’re confused about his proposal,” Free Press CEO Craig Aaron said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “They understand all too well that his plan would create a pay-to-prioritize Internet with fast lanes for the few.” ... The Progressive Change Campaign Committee is blasting an email to their membership today (nearly 1 million people) reviving a 2007 campaign forum in which the president promised to make sure his FCC backs net neutrality. Wheeler’s proposal undermines Obama’s promise, PCCC argues. Full video and petition pitch here: http://bit.ly/R1JD5Q

You wonder how people like Tom Wheeler ever get to these kinds of positions of power in DC -- it tells us more than we want to know about the sad state of the US government and the influence of money in politics.

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Obama, Democrats, Delusion and Denial

Washinton Post 1-col. lead, "Obama approval rating at new low: POLL POINTS TO PERIL FOR DEMOCRATS -- Most favor GOP-held Congress to check president," by Dan Balz and Peyton M. Craighill: "Obama's approval rating fell to 41 percent, down from 46 percent through the first three months of the year and the lowest of his presidency in Post-ABC News polls. Just 42 percent approve of his handling of the economy, 37 percent approve of how he is handling the implementation of the [ACA a/k/a Obamacare] and 34 percent approve of his handling of the situation involving Ukraine and Russia." http://goo.gl/LrlGIA Graphic of Obama approval/disapproval over six years http://goo.gl/b4kTBQ

(tip to: Politico Playbook)

Waiting for the Democrats and their sycophants in the media to spin this! LOL! Although, they will probably just ignore and deny reality -- just like they have been doing in the Obama White House for a long time. It must be nice to be able to live in a bubble of denial and delusion.

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The Obama Effect: Will It Defeat Hillary in 2016?

Obama ended up not being hope and change but instead, more of the same. The irony is that Obama may not only have defeated Hillary Clinton in 2008, but poisoned her chances to win in 2016:

Obama Effect Inspiring Few to Seek Office - NYTimes.com: "...“If you were to call it an Obama generation, there was a window,” said John Della Volpe, the director of polling at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University. “That opportunity has been lost.” He said the youth who came of voting age around the time of the 2008 election have since lost interest in electoral politics, and pointed to a survey he conducted last year among 18- to 29-year-olds....“We’re seeing the younger cohort is even less connected with him generally, with his policies, as well as politics generally,” Mr. Della Volpe added, referring to Mr. Obama...."

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NSA abuses, Google Search

NSA abuses - Google Search (March 24, 2014, screenshot):

Note the time progression, and the lies. Historians will have a field day with the Snowden revelations on all the NSA abuses. Screenshot above shows that probably the two biggest liars will prove to be Obama and Mike Rogers. Unbelievable that nobody in the White House had the sense to advise the President to come clean on this early and reform, or at least stop this--but no, they just compounded their problems, and lying, and history will be the judge.

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Obama, Liar in Chief?

If Obama says it, it is probably a lie -- this is beyond the "if you like your health insurance, you can keep your health insurance" bald face lies (2009-2013), but also covers everything else, including national security -- Glenn Greenwald makes the point in a recent interview --

Omidyar's New Site Hopes to Beat the Surveillance State Bloody: "..."You know, there's a lot of debates about journalism and how it should best be practiced, but I think everybody ought to agree that journalism is supposed to be about informing the public of the truth, and especially debunking official lies," Greenwald said. "And a big part of our story and why we wrote it and published it was because you have President Obama running around saying that we only kill or target people when there's a near certainty there won't be civilian deaths, and, of course, we know that to be completely false"...."

Completely false = LIE

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Obama makes Frank Underwood look like a Sunday School teacher

Yeah, that Frank Underwood --

"Obama Will Appear At Two Super PAC Events," by HuffPost's Sam Stein: "[T]hese events [will] not be fundraisers. Instead, the president [will] speak before gatherings hosted by House Majority PAC and Senate Majority PAC in order to draw an audience ... After he [is] gone, ... the checks [will] be exchanged. But Obama's decision to even make these appearances -- which was reported in late February -- reflects another step in his continued embrace of a campaign financing system that he has long deplored." http://goo.gl/r0UZhk (source: Mike Allen, Politico)

Hope and $$$Change!

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Obama Blew It, Secession of Crimea from the Ukraine

Russia Has Legitimate Interest in Ukraine: Klau: Video - Bloomberg: "March 6 (Bloomberg) -- Thomas Klau, Senior Policy Fellow at European Council on Foreign Relations, discusses the historic relationship between Russia and Ukraine, and possible actions from the EU amid the crisis. He speaks on Bloomberg Television’s “The Pulse.” (Source: Bloomberg)"

Russians Back Secession of Crimea and Pressure Kiev - NYTimes.com: "Leaders of both houses of Russia’s Parliament said on Friday that they would support a vote by Crimea to break away from Ukraine and become a new region of the Russian Federation, the first public signal that the Kremlin was backing the secessionist move that Ukraine, the United States and other countries have denounced as a violation of international law."

I am disappointed and amazed at the sophomoric Obama administration, particular the White House staff who think they are somehow being smart or cute by ridiculing President Putin. Putin is no Mitt Romney. And Obama and his administration have made a big mistake and repeated miscalculations in their handling of the Ukraine issue, particularly Crimea. The Russian naval base on Crimea is the equivalent of the US naval base at Pearl Harbor before Hawaii ever became a state. Crimea was part of Russia long before the Soviet Union came into being. It was nominally made a part of the Ukraine by Soviet Union premier Nikita Kruschev (himself a Ukrainian) but that had no practical effect since the Ukraine was then part of the Soviet Union. The majority of people on Crimea are ethnically Russian and speak Russian. Does Obama really think Putin is going to allow Ukraine, with Crimea in tow, to join the EU and NATO and take away Russia's Pearl Harbor--even when the majority of Crimeans want to be allied with, or part of, Russia? For more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimea and here.

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Obama's Big Brother Government in the Newsroom

1984 is here in the form of Obama's Big Brother Government --

Ajit Pai: The FCC Wades Into the Newsroom - WSJ.com: " . . . The government has no place pressuring media organizations into covering certain stories. Unfortunately, the Federal Communications Commission, where I am a commissioner, does not agree. Last May the FCC proposed an initiative to thrust the federal government into newsrooms across the country. With its "Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs," or CIN, the agency plans to send researchers to grill reporters, editors and station owners about how they decide which stories to run. A field test in Columbia, S.C., is scheduled to begin this spring. . . ."

Update: Obama's FCC apparently now doing a healthcare.gov-type redo --
FCC backs off newsroom study - POLITICO.com: "Shannon Gilson said Friday in a statement, adding that a revised study will be released within the next few weeks. Additionally, she said media owners and journalists will no longer be asked to participate in the pilot study."

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US Senator Rand Paul vs Obama and the NSA

Not everyone on Capitol Hill is scared of the national surveillance state -- enter US Senator Rand Paul (read his full article at the link below--excerpt follows):

The NSA is still violating Americans' rights, despite what James Clapper says | Rand Paul | theguardian.com: "The notion that if the NSA had informed us they were monitoring every American would somehow make it OK, does not make it OK. Explaining why you are violating the Fourth Amendment does not invalidate the Fourth Amendment."

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