The facade of the US embassy is illuminated with a light installation by German artist Oliver Bienkowski showing an image of US President Barack Obama wearing a baseball cap and reading “NSA in da House” in Berlin is seen July 19, 2014. Image credit: Soeren Stache/AFP/Getty Images – Story Link HERE
WH Chief of Staff Denis McDonough held "intensive talks" today in Berlin to ease strained relations over spying/surveillance matters.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) July 22, 2014
WASHINGTON — In a sign of just how much German-American relations have frayed, President Obama sent his chief of staff to Berlin to try to smooth over the rupture caused by recent revelations of American spying on its ally, the White House said Tuesday.
Denis R. McDonough, the president’s chief of staff, met with his German counterpart in Berlin on Tuesday for what the White House called “intensive talks on the state of bilateral relations and future cooperation.” The American and German officials agreed to set up a dialogue “to address concerns of both sides,” the two sides said in identical statements issued by the White House and the Chancellery in Berlin.
The surprise trip by such a close confidant of Mr. Obama’s underscored the seriousness of the friction over recent disclosures about American espionage in Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel was already livid last year when she learned that her cellphone was being tapped by the National Security Agency, and the damage only deepened this month with the arrest of a German intelligence agent accused of spying for the United States.
Germany responded to the latest case by expelling the C.I.A. station chief in Berlin, who has now left the country. Mr. Obama and Ms. Merkel discussed the episode in a recent telephone call and American officials said Mr. McDonough’s trip originated from that conversation. The latest falling out came even as Mr. Obama is pressing Ms. Merkel to orchestrate a tougher European response to Russia’s intervention in Ukraine. (more…)
MOSCOW — Russia’s richest businessmen are increasingly frantic that President Vladimir Putin’s policies in Ukraine will lead to crippling sanctions and are too scared of reprisal to say so publicly, billionaires and analysts said.
If Putin doesn’t move to end the war in Ukraine in the wake of last week’s downing of a Malaysia Air jet in rebel-held territory, he risks becoming an international outcast like Belarus’s Aleksandr Lukashenko, whom the U.S. famously labeled Europe’s last dictator, one Russian billionaire said on condition of anonymity. What’s happening is bad for business and bad for Russia, he said.
‘‘The economic and business elite is just in horror,’’ said Igor Bunin, who heads the Center for Political Technology in Moscow. Nobody will speak out because of the implicit threat of retribution, Bunin said by phone on Sunday. ‘‘Any sign of rebellion and they’ll be brought to their knees.’’ (more…)
Despite the threats of violence and bombs thousands of Pro-Israel supporters joined Pam Geller to show unwavering support for Israel:
Meanwhile in Boston (more…)
LIBYA – An Islamist-led militia has stepped up its assault on Libya’s main airport, controlled by rival fighters, which the health ministry said on Monday had left at least 47 dead in a week.
The fighting, which erupted on July 13 and shut Tripoli international airport, also injured 120 people, according to figures for the week until Saturday.
The European Union condemned a fresh outbreak of violence on Sunday, two days after the collapse of a truce with the militia controlling the airport, which left five civilians dead according to local media.
A coalition of militias led by Islamist fighters launched an assault on the airport on Sunday, with clashes later spreading along the road to the capital. (more…)
White House Communications Director Ben Rhodes must really be annoyed with Secretary John Kerry this week.
Kerry and Wallace got into a heated exchange:
VICE News reported: On Thursday, July 17, 2014, a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet carrying 298 people was shot down over eastern Ukraine — allegedly by pro-Russia separatists. Residents in the area described bodies falling from the sky and landing in their own backyards. VICE News travels to the still-gruesome scene of the crash and speaks to residents who witnessed firsthand a tragedy that promises to dramatically alter the terms of the conflict.
(MICHIGAN) United Nations experts said Wednesday that Detroit’s decision to cut off water to residents who haven’t paid their bills may violate international human rights.
The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights put out a press release from Geneva citing three experts in response to reports that the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department is cutting off water access to thousands of residents in the city.
“Disconnection of water services because of failure to pay due to lack of means constitutes a violation of the human right to water and other international human rights,” said Catarina de Albuquerque, identified as an expert on the human right to water and sanitation.
“Disconnections due to non-payment are only permissible if it can be shown that the resident is able to pay but is not paying. In other words, when there is genuine inability to pay, human rights simply forbids disconnections.” (more…)
One of the more comical aspects to watching Hillary Clinton say her most significant accomplishment was she “rebuilt the image of the U.S. around the world“, is the abject ridiculous nature of the proclamation. Intelligent folk will remember the 2010 State Dept WikiLeaks controversy which led to Hillary spending the better part of the following year apologizing to every head of State for the belittlement from her staff.
Then again, there’s always THIS little nugget she likes to keep tucked under the rug.
Apparently things haven’t changed much. Today Secretary John Kerry took to twitter to defend his peeps yet again.
Always proud of @statedeptspox; she deals in facts #attacksareabadgeofhonor
— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) June 8, 2014
This stems from Jen Psaki being called out by the international EU community for absurd statements around Ukraine. Despite the New York Times rising to her defense, *cough* “she’s being misinterpreted” *cough*.
[Psaki] has also been criticized for using the phrase “carousel voting” to describe the alleged rigged elections in the east of Ukraine, but later admitted she did not know what the phrase meant. [Carousel voting is a term to describe the practice of bussing voters from polling station to polling station so they can vote multiple times]. Russian state TV has even coined the term “Psaking” to describe someone as stupid and incompetent, according to Buzzfeed. (link)
Doesn’t it just give you a warm and fuzzy feeling to know the visible image of U.S. foreign policy is now: (more…)