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With the national Holocaust Memorial Museum serving as a powerful backdrop, President Obama today announced new measures intended to crack down on human-rights atrocities in Syria and Iran, saying the United States has to do everything in its power to prevent those nations’ regimes from killing more of its people.
Speaking to an audience that included Holocaust survivors, Obama said that further sanctions against today’s authoritarian rulers is in part a recognition that the threat of genocide is a stark reality, even decades after the systematic killing of millions of Jews in Nazi Germany. The Holocaust later sparked an unofficial slogan: “Never again.”
“Remembrance without resolve is a hollow gesture. Awareness without action changes nothing,” Obama said shortly after touring the museum with survivor and author Elie Wiesel. “In this sense, ‘Never again’ is a challenge to us all -- to pause and to look within.”
The president said he would be authorizing U.S. officials to issue sanctions against leaders found to be using new technologies like cell phones and the Internet to commit abuses against their citizens. He said that one outcome of steps like this would be the fall of the Assad regime, although he did not put a timeline on when that would happen.
“These technologies should be in place to empower citizens, not to repress them. And it’s one more step that we can take toward the day that we know will come -- the end of the Assad regime that has brutalized the Syrian people -- and allow the Syrian people to chart their own destiny.”
Obama added that such sanctions did not mean he believes the United States should always intervene “every time there’s an injustice in the world.”
“We cannot and should not,” he continued.
But, he added, the United States takes seriously the threats of genocide around the world.
“This is not an afterthought. This is not a sideline in our foreign policy,” he said, adding that his Atrocities Prevention Board, the formation of which he announced in August 2011, would meet at the White House for the first time today.
He also told of a private moment between himself and Wiesel during their museum tour as they “looked at the unhappy record of the State Department and so many officials in the United States during those years” -- an allusion to the United States’ failure to accept refugees from the Holocaust until 1944, years after the genocide had begun.
“He asked, ‘what would you do?’” Obama recounted of Wiesel.
The author and Nobel Peace Prize winner, who introduced the president, warned against staying on the sidelines amid the current atrocities around the world, noting that the United States could have done much more to reduce the scope of the Holocaust.
“Why did America not open its doors to more of the doomed; it could have,” Wiesel said. “Why did not the allies bomb the railways going into Auschwitz?”
And he seemed to question the current policy in Syria and Iran, bemoaning the fact that the leaders of those two countries were still in power.
“Have we learned anything from it? If so, how is it that Assad is still in power? How is it that the Holocaust's No. 1 denier is still a president?”
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Oh goody, what will Obama do that would possibly help this situation? Send in Hoffa's Union thugs with baseball bats?
JUSTICE FOR DANIEL ADKINS!!!!!!!
The unions are doing pretty well
ruiningrunning this coutry.. let's send all the mobbed up Union bosses to Syria! Problem gone.... fegitaboutit! lol!Hey where are the Rev's Al and Jesse?
Why no rallies demanding justice for Daniel?
Where is all the mainstream media coverage?
.
.
What a bunch of racist hypocrites!
.
.
http://nation.foxnews.com/daniel-adkins/2012/04/09/black-male-shoots-unarmed-hispanic-remains-free-media-mum
Where is the outrage and the cry for JUSTICE from the usual loudmouths on this site?
Where is Feisty? Where is Bev? What about GingerbreadMama or any of the other hypocrites?
Hey Sarah where are you now?
Oh... I know... that whole group is visiting Rev. Al and Rev. Jesse where ever they are...
Disgusting racist hypocrites!
(show me the clown nose, fisty!)
I am sure Iran and Syria are trembling in their boots ... NOTTTTTTT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who knows though, after the elction, Obama "will have a little more FLEXIBILITY" so maybe they need to just give Obama his "space". Really folks ! This is nothing more than another photo opportunity to make it appear like Obama is concerned with their plight. LOL !! Netanyahu is too smart for that.
“This is not an afterthought. This is not a sideline in our foreign policy,” he said, adding that his Atrocities Prevention Board, the formation of which he announced in August 2011, would meet at the White House for the first time today
I've never heard of this development. Maybe the press was too busy reporting on the Republican Clown Circus to inform the American people of what the President is doing to save people's lives.
No Amy, you didn't hear about it because the liberal clown circus failed to print it. They didn't want people to know that he was continuing to enlarge the size of government with yet another agency that we didn't need.
JUSTICE FOR DANIEL ADKINS!
Let's make Our Government big. Small government does not work, for a nation as great as the United States.
Job1
I hope you are being sarcastic in that post. Our government is already completely out of control and you want MORE? Can't you see that that is what W. Bush did? You know the guy you demonize? But CONTINUING of expanding government out of control is OK if Dems are in charge? If you weren't being sarcastic please take off your political party hat before it sucks the rest of your brains out.
Yea so it can be even more inefficient and corrupt. (trust me it IS possible) What a complete MORON.
How long has this been going on in Syria, Iran and other countries? Only now, with the campaign in full swing does he even make this feeble gesture as if he really cares.
“This is not an afterthought. This is not a sideline in our foreign policy,” he said, adding that his Atrocities Prevention Board, the formation of which he announced in August 2011, would meet at the White House for the first time today.
As he continued to grow government, he and his administration formed a board in August 2011 that was so important that they met for the first time today; 8 months later. There were already agencies in place to handle problems like this. I guess he felt as the rest of us do that the people he has in his administration are utter failures so he had to bring in more.
Seems to me we lent a hand to France and their involvement in Libya for the atrocities there.
What agencies are already in place?
JUSTICE FOR DANIEL ADKINS!
Hey blearyeyed... what about the ENTIRE STATE DEPARTMENT? Poor Hilary... Barry is stomping on her turf!
leftliberalliars: "I guess he felt as the rest of us do that the people he has in his administration are utter failures so he had to bring in more."
Perhaps if you'd actually read up a little on the subject before commenting, you could have avoided making such an embarrassingly erroneous statement. This board will be made up of existing personnel, some of whom were appointed by previous Presidents:
"President Obama also recognizes that in order to counter atrocities more effectively, the U.S. government must prioritize this effort, strengthen and expand the tools available to us, and establish a level of organization that matches our commitment. In 2010, he created the first-ever White House position dedicated to preventing and addressing war crimes and atrocities. And in August 2011, he issued Presidential Study Directive 10 (PSD-10), declaring the prevention of mass atrocities and genocide to be a "core national security interest and core moral responsibility" of the United States, ordering the creation of a whole-of-government Atrocities Prevention Board (APB), and directing the National Security Advisor to lead a comprehensive review to assess the U.S. government's anti-atrocity capabilities, and recommend reforms that would fill identified gaps in these capabilities.
President Obama announced today that he has approved the recommendations generated by the review, and he has directed his Administration to take a range of steps to strengthen the U.S. government's ability to foresee, prevent, and respond to genocide and mass atrocities, including:
The APB will help the U.S. government identify and address atrocity threats, and oversee institutional changes that will make us more nimble and effective. Because strong organization and a whole-of-government approach is needed to counter atrocities effectively, the APB will include representatives of the Departments of State, Defense, Treasury, Justice, and Homeland Security, the Joint Staff, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Office of the Vice President--all of whom are at the Assistant Secretary level or higher and have been appointed by name by their respective Principals."
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/04/23/fact-sheet-comprehensive-strategy-and-new-tools-prevent-and-respond-atro
JoAnne: if you'd actually read up a little on the subject before commenting, you could have avoided making such an embarrassingly erroneous statement. This board will be made up of existing personnel, some of whom were appointed by previous Presidents:
No, This is how many government agencies have started and grown in our history. So you may want to think about the long range effects of actions rather than the typical knee jerk reaction that you and other liberal loons employ.
If I were the
GNOPfiscal hawks, I would focused on getting their own fiscal house in order before complaining about anyone else!From AP:
What do they call people like this?
Oh, yeah... DEADBEATS!!!
"What do they call people like this? Oh, yeah... DEADBEATS!!!"
....and TeaPeople!
What does Feisty's post this have to do with the topic of this thread?
Never willing to discuss the topic at hand but always eager to spread the propaganda and hate!
(show me the clown nose, fisty!)
JUSTICE FOR DANIEL ADKINS!
sickofthebickering: What does this have to do with the topic of this thread? Never willing to discuss the topic at hand but always eager to spread the propaganda and hate!
Isn't that the truth!
In the short time I have been coming here I have noticed that Feisty tries to use First Read as her playground while acting like the school bully.
My money says she has a mustache!
leftliberalliars says..... whaaaa..whaaaa..whaaa
SickOfTheBickering says.....me too
SotB, carrot top is the cut and paste queen of FR. Yawn! But I have to say she is persistent, even if most of her posts are just tired old retreds from wacko left websites. Why else would her nickname, carrot top, come from a Vegas lounge act? She's just that funny! lol
Can't wait until Obama's permanent vaction begins on Jan 1, 2013!
SOTB: "What does Feisty's post this have to do with the topic of this thread?"
I don't see you complaining about J. Merle Stanley re-posting the same unrelated comment FOUR times already on this thread, though.....
Jim Silver: "Obama's permanent vaction begins on Jan 1, 2013!"
You might want to check your copy of the Constitution on that one, Jim - I think the 20th Amendment still says the term ends on January 20th - conincidentally enough, the same day President Obama's second term will begin.
Fun fact, though:
"This year the legal date of inauguration falls on a Sunday, so it's being moved to the following Monday. That date is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the second time the inauguration will fall on that holiday. The first time was President Bill Clinton's second inauguration, in 1997."
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/schumer_to_run_presidential_inaugural_JF1srozsVxY7rf1hFOMSnI
There's a certain poetic justice in that, don't you think? Dr. King would be very proud.
J Merle Stanley's posts are indeed repetitive. They do, however, highlight the total hypocrisy of MSDNC.
No lefties can give an adequate explanation of why ABC released pictures of the back of George Zimmerman's bloody head ... they are in absolute denial. They have so much "invested" into Trayvon's death being unlawful that they refuse to admit it may have been justifiable under Florida law.
JoAnne dear.... I'm pretty sure Jim knows the date, lol. We are all aware that Jan 1, 2013 will be the end of an error.... and a beginning of healing.
All Barry will be doing from Jan 1 to the 20th is to take pack up as much of the Presidential flatware he and Michelle can carry! He'll also be removing the letter M and R from all of the White House keyboards.... lol
Steve,
January 20, 2013
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_inauguration
Thank you, President Obama for speaking the truth. We know the GOPer chicken hawks would prefer the US invade both countries. One need only see clips of the GOP debates, listen to Senator McCain or Dick Cheney or the neoconservatives who think war is always the best choice to come to that conclusion.
The chicken hawks are the only people in this country who aren't weary of war. Of course, their children don't have to fight the endless wars and they get tax cuts and so don't have to pay for the wars either.
steeler -- really? so if are a republican you can get someone else to go to war for you? and only republicans get tax cuts? and republicans don't pay taxes?
are you expressing your opinion or do you contend what you say is fact?
The author and Nobel Peace Prize winner, who introduced the president, warned against staying on the sidelines amid the current atrocities around the world, noting that the United States could have done much more to reduce the scope of the Holocaust.
It is one thing to read and study the Holocaust. It is quite another to travel to these death camps. I find that I can no longer read about the Holocaust after visiting the Auschwitz and Majdanek camps in Poland. It is too horrible to comprehend. Elie Weisel. A man who has never let us forget. Nor should we.
As far as the allies not bombing Auschwitz railways, I don't know. Precision bombing was not good back then. Plus the Germans were quite good at fixing bombed railways. Russia was the closest to these camps, fighting on the eastern front and it was assumed they would get there before we could do any real damage. It was the Russians who liberated those camps.
However, when the allies wanted to help the Poles during their uprising, Russia refused to assist. REFUSED.
But the Holocaust didn't just happen. Treatment of the Jews in Europe was pretty well known in the 1930's. No one was prepared for war back then. World War I had devastated Europe and no one was in the mood for another war. So they all just appeased Hitler and his quite willing cold blooded murderers until it was too late.
So much hatred in this world throughout history because of the color of our skin or differences in religion. Too many people (millions upon millions) on the sidelines not speaking up or fighting back. And because of it, millions upon millions died, in Europe and Russia.
What we are hearing out of today's right wing is just plain sad. Racism is alive and well.
Now we have Stand Your Ground. Just another law for more violence and killing. Against each other. Guns. Gas Chambers. Lawful executions. What the hell is the difference?
Lawful executions ? Wow !! How about denial of reality ? How about a witness who saw Trayvon on top of Zimmerman banging his head against the ground ?? How about ABC pictures of the back of George Zimmerman's head ???
You libtards are so entrenched in your ideology, you would not understand reality if it bit you in the butt !
J Merle..... I would agree with you. Justice should be served and the individual who shot Mr. Adkins should be charged so his guilt or innocents can be determined in a court of law. Would you agree that this is the proper way similar situations should be handled?
More on topic......
Obama is right to negotiate and exhaust all non-violent tactics as he attempts to participate in resolving this problem that confronts the entire world community.
Yes campdog and do you also advocate a $10,000 bounty on the head of the accused paid for by the National Hispanic Association, and of course the protests and speakers that is the justice we seek. I am sure you are right on, right.
About the topic our POTUS is standing behind Assad the true leader of the Syrian people, remember.
Bob Jones..... What did you read in my post that would give you the idea I am in favor of any organization placing a "bounty on the head" of anyone?
I advocate for the rule of law and due process.... Do you have a problem with that?
As for the "protests and the speakers", aren't you doing that right now? Protesting what you think is an injustice and speaking out in support of your point of view? Good for you. Now keep using your powers of persuasion to bring others to your cause.
campdog now we will need for the police chief to be forced to resign in the Daniel Adkins case. I was only stating that in similar situations recently nothing has been allowed to be settled in a court of law but everything that has happened so far has happened in the court of public opinion. Justice for Daniel Adkins should be served with protests, and speakers calling for an end to racism against Whites and Hispanics. Would you agree that this is the way this situation should be handled. I am not speaking for J. Merle Stanley I am speaking for me.
Bob Jones.... Squeaky wheels get the grease. It has nothing to do with racism and everything to do with our short attention span.
Mr. Martin was killed under some questionable circumstances and given the amount of time that had lapsed it seemed as if no person in authority was going to step up to assure justice would be done. Now it seems the voices of some have brought attention to the matter and the process of law has begun. Now the issue may be settled in the court of law and not in the court of public opinion.
Mr. Adkins is no less deserving than Mr. Martin. If some feel as if Mr. Adkins has not been well served by the legal system then by all means, bring on the protests and the speakers calling for a fair review of the shooting incident as well as an end to racism against whites and Hispanics....
But let's not compare apples and oranges as we discuss these two similar situations. From what I have read, the individual that shot Mr. Adkins did not stalk him. He did not ignore the directive of law enforcement and pursue Mr. Adkins. And while the individual that shot Mr. Adkins may be a card carrying racist of the first degree, there is absolutely no evidence that I have seen to support that supposition.... unfortunately, the same does not hold true for Mr. Zimmerman.
Bob Jones.... Squeaky wheels get the grease. It has nothing to do with racism and everything to do with our short attention span.
Mr. Martin was killed under some questionable circumstances and given the amount of time that had lapsed it seemed as if no person in authority was going to step up to assure justice would be done. Now it seems the voices of some have brought attention to the matter and the process of law has begun. Now the issue may be settled in the court of law and not in the court of public opinion.
Mr. Adkins is no less deserving than Mr. Martin. If some feel as if Mr. Adkins has not been well served by the legal system then by all means, bring on the protests and the speakers calling for a fair review of the shooting incident as well as an end to racism against whites and Hispanics....
But let's not compare apples and oranges as we discuss these two similar situations. From what I have read, the individual that shot Mr. Adkins did not stalk him. He did not ignore the directive of law enforcement and pursue Mr. Adkins. And while the individual that shot Mr. Adkins may be a card carrying racist of the first degree, there is absolutely no evidence that I have seen to support that supposition.... unfortunately, the same does not hold true for Mr. Zimmerman.