NEWS,17.06.2013

Poll shows confidence in Obama slipping

Confidence in President Barack Obama has dropped below 50% to its lowest level in 19 months as Americans worry over broad government surveillance and other controversies, a poll showed Monday.
The tumbling approval numbers come as the White House faces criticism about a domestic program that gathers data on millions of Americans, the US tax agency's targeting of conservative groups which applied for tax-exempt status, and secret collection of journalists' phone records.
Obama's approval rating has now dropped to 45%, an eight-point slide since mid-May, according to CNN which conducted the survey.
Some 54% of the public say they disapprove of how the president is handling his job, marking the first time since November 2011 that a CNN poll showed a majority of Americans with a negative view of Obama.
It shows that for the first time in Obama's presidency, half of Americans do not believe he is honest and trustworthy.
"The drop in Obama's support is fueled by a dramatic 17-point decline over the past month among people under 30, who, along with black Americans, had been the most loyal part of the Obama coalition," CNN polling director Keating Holland said.
Fifty-one percent of respondents say that the existing National Security Agency program that scoops up a billion phone records per day - a programme leaked by a former defense contractor - is appropriate as part of counter-terrorism efforts.
But 43% say Obama has crossed the line in restricting civil liberties in order to fight terrorism, according to the telephone poll of 1 014 people 11-13 June.
"It is clear that revelations about NSA surveillance programs have damaged Obama's standing with the public, although older controversies like the IRS matter may have begun to take their toll as well," Holland said.
Obama opponents have seized on an inspector's damning May report which concluded that Internal Revenue Service agents inappropriately targeted tea party groups, to highlight abuse of power by the administration.
They also pointed to the White House's handling of a deadly attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya last 11 September, and revelations that the Justice Department ordered the seizure of reporters' phone records as part of a leak probe.
Number two House Republican Eric Cantor told CNN that the poll sends a "troubling" message to Obama in that the public is witnessing "a government that has abused its power, and, frankly, has lost focus on the issue that most Americans care about, which is getting people back to work".
But he held fire on the surveillance programmes themselves, saying he believed they strike a balance between civil liberties and national security.

Obama: Make peace permanent in N Ireland

US President Barack Obama on Monday urged young people in Northern Ireland to finish making "permanent peace" and set an example to other parts of the world stricken by religious conflict, violence and war.

Obama, accompanied by his wife Michelle, stopped in Belfast before leaving for the G8 summit, which is being held at a secluded lakeside hotel not far from the site of one of the worst killings in the province's conflict.

A 1998 peace agreement largely ended more than three decades of violence in the British-controlled province between mainly Catholic Irish nationalists seeking union with Ireland and predominantly Protestant unionists who want to remain part of the United Kingdom.

But militant nationalists, who include former operatives who split from the Irish Republican Army (IRA) after it declared a ceasefire, still stage sporadic gun and bomb attacks.

‘A courageous path toward permanent peace’

US leaders have a long history of promoting peace in Northern Ireland and Obama was eager to put his stamp on the issue.

"If you continue your courageous path toward a permanent peace...that won't just be good for you. It will be good for this entire island, for the United Kingdom, for Europe, and it will be good for the world," he told an amphitheatre packed with students.

Obama said people experiencing ethnic, religious, and tribal conflict elsewhere in the world were watching what was happening in Northern Ireland.

"You are their blueprint to follow," he said. "You are their proof of what's possible. Hope is contagious. They're watching to see what you do next."

He did not specifically mention the war in Syria, which is expected to dominate part of the discussions among leaders at the G8.

The summit site is 8km from Enniskillen, where an IRA bomb tore through a mainly Protestant crowd at a memorial service for Britain's war dead in 1987, killing 11 and wounding 63.

The deaths rocked support among Irish Catholics for the IRA and pushed its leaders towards dialogue with Unionists, which lead to a ceasefire and the peace deal.

‘Your choice’

The summit host, British Prime Minister David Cameron, is gambling that the remnants of the IRA are too weak to trouble the visiting leaders.

Obama said there was a time when no one could imagine that such a summit could be held in Northern Ireland.

He encouraged the students to move forward with the progress made by their political leaders and parents who helped achieve peace.

"Ultimately, whether your communities deal with the past and face the future united, together, isn't something you have to wait for somebody else to do that's a choice you have to make right now," he said.

Snowden dismisses claim he is Chinese spy

The young intelligence technician who leaked details of the vast US programme to monitor private internet traffic on Monday dismissed claims that he was working as a Chinese agent.
"This is a predictable smear that I anticipated before going public," Edward Snowden said in an online interview hosted by the Guardian newspaper in which he was asked why he had gone to Hong Kong before making his revelations.
Earlier, AP reported that Snowden defended his disclosure of top-secret US spying programs in an online chat and attacked US officials for calling him a traitor.

He adds the government will not silence him by jailing or, in his words, murdering him.

The Guardian said that its website hosted an online chat with Snowden, in hiding in Hong Kong, with reporter Glenn Greenwald receiving and posting his questions.

Snowden says he did not reveal any US operations against what he called legitimate military targets, but instead showed the NSA is hacking civilian infrastructure like universities and private businesses.

US officials say the data-gathering programmess were legal and operated under court supervision.

An e-mail to the NSA for comment was not immediately returned.

Merkel: US helped foil terror plot

Germany's chancellor says US intelligence was key to foiling a large-scale terror plot, acknowledging her country is "dependent" on co-operating with American spy services.

But Angela Merkel also told broadcaster RTL on Monday that she was "surprised" to learn of the scope of recently leaked US spying programmes.
Merkel said the US must clarify what information on people's communications is monitored and how, reiterating that she will raise the issue in talks with President Barack Obama in Berlin on Wednesday.
However, Merkel said security services could have not foiled a 2007 terror plot without "tips from American sources".
Four Islamic extremists were then arrested while preparing an explosive device with power equivalent to more than 400kg of TNT that authorities said was meant to attack American soldiers and citizens in Germany.

NEWS,01.11.2012

Bloomberg endorses Obama over climate change

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has endorsed US President Barack Obama for a second term, citing the importance of Obama's record on climate change.The endorsement follows the devastating blow dealt to the New York area by superstorm Sandy."Our climate ischanging,""And while the increase in extreme weather we have experienced in New York City andaround the world may or may not be the result of it, the risk that it might be given this week's devastation should compel all elected leaders to take immediate action."Bloomberg said Obama had taken significant steps to reduce carbon consumption, whereas Republican challenger Mitt Romney had backtracked on earlier positions he had taken as governor of Massachusetts to battle climate change.Obama 'honoured' The nod from Bloomberg, a Republican turned independent, comes after Obama won praise from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, for his quick reaction to the storm."I'm honored to have Mayor Bloomberg's endorsement," Obama said in a statement."I deeply respect him for his leadership in business, philanthropy and government, and appreciate the extraordinary job he's doing right now, leading New York City through these difficult days."'Divisive populist agenda' But Mayor Bloomberg also criticised Obama in his article, accusing him of embracing a "divisive populist agenda".He also said Obama had "devoted little time and effort to developing and sustaining a coalition of centrists, which doomed hope for any real progress on illegal guns, immigration, tax reform, job creation and deficit reduction".However, Bloomberg concluded that on a number of issues dear to him, Obama stood closer to him than Romney, who he chastised for changing some of his positions - including his policy on climate change."If the 1994 or 2003 version of Mitt Romney were running for president, I may well have voted for him because, like so many other independents, I have found the past four years to be, in a word, disappointing," Bloomberg said.'Work not yet done' Obama returned to the campaign trail for the first time in four days on Thursday, declaring "our work is not yet done" and reviving his successful 2008 campaign slogan: change.The president, who won the White House four years ago thanks in part to his themes of "hope" and "change," had largely avoided the same themes until now.Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, sought to portray himself as the new candidate of change, Obama aimed to reclaim that mantle in a neck-and-neck race with just five days to go before Election Day on November 6."I know what change looks like because I've fought for it," Obama told a crowd of some 2,600 on an airport tarmac in Wisconsin, one of a handful of battleground states that will determine the winner of the election.Obama said Romney's proposals to reduce regulations for banks and cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans were examples of policies that had led to the economic problems that he inherited when he became president in 2009.'Salesman' Romney "Governor Romney has been using all his talents as a salesman to dress up these very same policies that failed our country so badly - the very same policies we've been cleaning up after for the past four years - and he is offering them up as change," Obama said."Well, let me tell you Wisconsin, we know what change looks like. And what the governor is offering sure ain't change."The Romney campaign, boosted by their candidate's surge in the polls over the past month, dismissed Obama's arguments."We've said all along this election is a choice between the status quo and real change  change that offers promise that the future will be better than the past," said Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg."President Obama's misguided policies and broken promises have let down millions of Americans, and we can't afford four more years like the last four."Obama conceded that he had not been able to make progress on all the changes he promised in 2008, but he noted as he repeatedly does that he ended the war in Iraq, repealed a policy that prevented gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, and ordered the US mission that killed Osama bin Laden.Keeping a slightly more positive tone, Obama drew distinctions with Romney without being as aggressive as he has been in recent weeks.He did not mention the word "Romnesia" - the term he has used to delight crowds when describing what he says are Romney's tendencies to shift positions.But he kept up strong criticism of his opponent. Obama portrayed the Republican challenger as someone who would not bring bipartisanship to Washington - a promise Obama also made four years ago and has had trouble keeping.Superstorm Sandy Obama, who has focused his campaign primarily on appealing to middle class Americans, also used a section of his speech to praise the record of former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, who has become the top surrogate for Obama in the final days of the campaign.The remarks were Obama's first at a political event since Sandy devastated parts of the eastern United States earlier this week.The president spent three days off the campaign trail to oversee the response effort.Obama opened his remarks with a nod to the suffering experienced by those affected by the storm, and aides said he would be briefed about the recovery process throughout the day.Meanwhile, Romney returned to campaign attacks against Obama, hitting the Democrat for proposing more governmentbureaucracy.Romney returns to Obama criticism Romney swept into must-win Virginia looking to increase turnout among Republican voters in a conservative area of the state to help offset the Democrats' advantage the northern area.Virginia went for Obama in 2008 but may flip for the Republican this year."Turnout here makes a big difference," Romney told a crowd gathered inside a window and door factory.The former governor of Massachusetts had not mentioned Obama's name in two days of events this week as he toned down campaign rhetoric while Americans along the East Coast reeled from the superstorm Sandy.But with the recovery now under way, Romney resumed his standard campaign fare of singling out the president for criticism.He leaped on a comment that Obama made in an interview aired by MSNBC on Monday in which the president said he would like to create a new government agency headed by a "secretary of business' to try to help businesses create jobs."I've said that I want to consolidate a whole bunch of government agencies. We should have one Secretary of Business, instead of nine different departments that are dealing with things like giving loans to SBA (the Small Business Administration) or helping companies with exports," Obama had said.This comment bolstered Romney's charge that the president wants to expand government rather than boost the private sector."I don't think adding a new chair to his cabinet will help add millions of jobs on Main Street," Romney said.The race for the White House remained effectively tied on Thursday, with Obama backed by 47% of likely voters and Romney supported by 46% in a Reuters/Ipsos daily tracking poll. That margin has been constant in the online poll for three days running and is statistically insignificant.

No fuel as NY pumps run dry

 

Drivers and homeowners scrambled to secure fuel for their cars and generators in the US Northeast on Wednesday as storm-hit petrol stations started to run dry.More than half of all petrol service stations in the New York City area and New Jersey were shut because of depleted fuel supplies and power outages, frustrating attempts to restore normal life, industry officials said.Reports of long lines, dark stations and empty tanks circulated across the region, with some station owners unable to pump fuel due to a lack of power. Others quickly ran their tanks dry because of intensified demand and logistical problems in delivering fresh supplies.The lack of working petrol stations is likely to compound travel problems in the region, with the New York City subway system down until at least Thursday and overland rail and bus services severely disrupted. Homeowners running back-up generators during the power cuts may also run short of fuel.“I don’t have any lights and need this gasoline for my generator,” said Abdul Rahim Anwar at a Getty service station in Gowanus, Brooklyn, as he put two full jerry cans into his trunk.Tempers flared as a queue of at least 30 cars spilled down the street, with drivers blaring horns, shouting and getting out of their cars. Pump attendant Nadim Amid said the station had already run out of regular gasoline and only had a tiny amount of super unleaded and diesel left. One driver, a doctor who asked not to be named, said she had driven from New Jersey, where half of all businesses and homes are still without power. More than 80% of filling stations in the state were unable to sell gasoline as of Wednesday morning, said Sal Risalvato, head of the New Jersey Gasoline, Convenience, Automotive Association.“It’s going to be an ugly few days until we can see both power and supplies restored,” Risalvato said. Petrol stations on New York’s Long Island and the city borough of Staten Island also reported shortages, while lengthy lines were seen in the borough of Queens. Commuters may see higher prices at the pumps in the coming days, though oil traders said it will also dampen demand for fuel and increase stockpiles in the region.A source at the US Environmental Protection Agency said it has received a request from a state hit by the storm to waive a clean gasoline requirement to help ease increase supplies. Gas but no power, power but no gasKevin Beyer, president of the Long Island Gasoline Retailers Association in Smithtown, New York, estimated that less than half of all stations were able to sell fuel from Wednesday morning.“I have gas in the ground but no power. For many others they’re facing the opposite problem, with power but no gasoline. For the few stations that are lucky enough to have both they’ve got huge lines out front,” Beyer said.Beyer estimated it could take until the end of next week to get all fuel stations operating again.The problem is not a severe shortage of fuel in the Northeast, but widespread power outages and the storm-related logistical problems of getting the fuel from refineries and terminals to those who need it.Jenn Hibbs, an account director at marketing firm Marden-Kane in Garden City, Long Island, said there was only one fuel station open within 16km of her house. Friends were sharing tips on Facebook about where they could get fuel, but two lines for gas leading to the service station were both over half a mile long.“It’s making people think about whether they can get to work, whether they have enough gas in the tank to get there and back,” Hibbs said.

Obama, Romney get back to campaigning

President Barack Obama returned to full-force campaigning on Thursday, ending a three-day pause to manage the federal response to the historic storm that battered the East Coast. He holds slim leads in many of the key US battleground states five days before the 6 November election.Polling, however, also shows Obama locked in a tie nationwide with Republican challenger Mitt Romney, who tempered his criticism of the president this week to avoid the appearance of seeking political advantage in the midst of a natural disaster.Both candidates faced a day of trying to strike the right tone in an intensely stressful race.Battleground statesObama's lead in a majority of the nine so-called battleground states could determine the outcome. Those states are neither reliably Republican nor Democratic, giving them outsized importance in the US system for choosing the president. The winner is not the candidate with the most popular votes nationwide but the one who manages to accumulate at least 270 electoral votes in state-by-state contests. Those votes are determined by a combination of a state's population and representation in Congress.Despite a Romney surge nationwide after the three presidential debates, polling shows Obama holding on to leads in enough of the all-important swing states - most notably Ohio - to win at least the necessary 270 electors. No Republican candidate for the White House has ever won the election without capturing Ohio.Both candidates are battling to win over the thin slice of the electorate that remains undecided while ensuring that their supporters go to the polls. SandySuperstorm Sandy was bound to hurt turnout in hard-hit New Jersey and New York, but both are heavily Democratic, and it was unlikely to have a significant effect on results. Election officials were promising every effort to have polls open or direct voters to alternative locations where necessary.This week's storm, and the federal government response to the devastation, could serve to cause voters to make up their minds.The contest between Obama and Romney, at heart, has been an argument over the role of the federal government in the lives of Americans.Obama believes Washington can have a positive effect. Romney believes the government should become much smaller and, therefore, collect much less in taxes.Obama has been given high marks, even from some of his harshest Republican critics, for his handling of this week's storm crisis and the dispatch of massive federal aid to victims. Romney has been forced to answer questions about his earlier campaign statements that the key federal emergency relief organisation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Fema, should turn its role over to the states.Heavy travelAs his campaign resumes, Obama will try to make up for lost time with a heavy travel itinerary in the coming days, including rallies on Thursday in Wisconsin, Nevada and Colorado.Obama spokesperson Jennifer Psaki said the president remains focused on the storm recovery, but must resume campaigning because of the "reality" of Tuesday's election and the need to continue making the case for Americans to give him four more years in the White House.The partisan sniping continued this week from the candidates' surrogates and their running mates. Much of it focused on Romney's new television and radio ads in critical Ohio that suggest automakers General Motors and Chrysler are adding jobs in China at the expense of workers in the Midwestern swing state. Vice President Joe Biden said the spots were "one of the most flagrantly dishonest ads I can ever remember".Obama's campaign planned to keep pressing its criticism of the ads as it seeks to block Romney's prospects for a breakthrough in Ohio and other Midwestern states where the auto industry is deeply important to the economy, the most important issue in the 2012 election.The Republican ticket hasn't backed away from the ad. Running mate Paul Ryan said in a statement that "American taxpayers are on track to lose $25bna s a result of President Obama's handling of the auto bailout, and GM and Chrysler are expanding their production overseas".FactsIn fact, Chrysler is adding 1 100 jobs to its plant in Toledo, Ohio. It's also adding production facilities in China as demand for cars there grows. Because of trade rules, it's easier for companies to build cars for the Chinese market in China. It's also more efficient. Japanese automakers, for example, have plants in the US to meet American demand.Romney was campaigning Thursday in Virginia, while Ryan was appearing at events in Nevada and Colorado.Biden had two events scheduled in Iowa. Obama was starting his day in Wisconsin, making up an event that was cancelled earlier in the week because of the storm. He had a rally planned later in Las Vegas, as well as Boulder, Colorado, a heavily Democratic area.More than 19 million people have already voted in the presidential, either by mail or in person. No votes will be counted until 6 November, but some key states are releasing the party affiliation of those who have voted.Democrats have an edge in votes cast in battleground states Florida, Iowa, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio. Republicans have an advantage in Colorado.

NEWS,19.09.2012

Russia expels 'meddling' USAid

Russia on Wednesday said it had given USAid until 1 October to halt its work as the US aid agency was meddling in domestic politics, a move that risks sparking a new diplomatic crisis with Washington.The termination of the US Agency for International Development's activities may also harm the operations of a string of NGOs that rely on its funding, including the vote monitor Golos that showed up irregularities in recent polls.The unexpected move appears part of an increasing crackdown in Russia on civil society after President Vladimir Putin's return to the Kremlin for a third term in May amid an outburst of street protests"The decision was taken mainly because the work of the agency's officials far from always responded to the stated goals of development and humanitarian co-operation," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement."We are talking about attempts to influence political processes - including elections at different levels - through its distribution of grants," it added.USAid's activities "must be halted from October 1", it added, giving a short deadline that had not been revealed by the Americans when the decision was first made public in Washington on Tuesday.'Heavy blow'Anxious Russian NGOs expressed fears for their future financing - more than half of USAid's annual budget in Russia had been spent on democracy and civil society programmes as well as a substantial chunk on health projects."I am very sorry that the USAid office is closing," said Arseny Roginsky, the chairperson of Memorial, Russia's best-known campaigner for human rights and the preservation of historical memory across the country."It is impossible not to see here the continuation of the isolationist policy" of the Russian authorities, he added. Without giving further details, he described the material help of USAid as "significant".Lilia Shibanova, the director of Golos, described the halt in USAid's operations as a "heavy blow".She said there was now serious concern for the funding of its monitoring of local elections on 14 October, two weeks after the deadline for the closure of the USAid office."The problem is that as soon as Russian business starts giving funds to monitor elections it comes under pressure," she said.No need of 'external leadership'Viktor Kremenyuk, analyst with the USA-Canada Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that while the move was not an outright U-turn in foreign policy, it was a Kremlin "gesture aimed at worsening relations between Russia and the US"."Russia wants to say 'we do not need your help, we can stand on our own feet'," he said.The foreign ministry statement said that Russian civil society was "quite mature" and the country - now itself a foreign donor - was in no need of "external leadership".The expulsion of USAid comes after Putin signed a law forcing NGOs that receive funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents". He has even compared organisations like Golos to the disciple Judas who betrayed Jesus.A senior US administration official said that Washington regretted the decision, which according to a US government source also affects the future of 13 US staff in Moscow and 60 Russian staff."This is a difficult day for USAid," said the official, who asked not to be named.Similar incidents It is unclear whether some if any US funding of the organisations can continue but the official said that President Barack Obama's administration was committed to promoting civil society in Russia."Over the coming weeks and months the Obama administration will be looking at ways to advance our old foreign policy objectives using new means," said the official.The United States had first learned of the measure when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended the Apec summit in Vladivostok earlier this month, the official said.The departure of USAid echoes the 2007 clampdown on the activities of the British Council cultural agency which poisoned relations between Moscow and London. The US Peace Corps had also been asked to leave Russia in 2002.

Japan cabinet approves plan to exit nuclear energy

Japan's cabinet has approved a new energy plan to cut the country's reliance on nuclear power in the wake of last year's Fukushima disaster, but dropped a reference to meet a nuclear- free target by the 2030s, ministers said on Wednesday.Since the plan was announced on Friday, Japan's powerful industry lobbies have urged the government rethink the nuclear-free commitment, arguing it could damage the economy and would mean spending more on pricey fuel imports.Trade Minister Yukio Edano, who also oversees the energy portfolio, said the cabinet had approved the new energy plan."But whether we can become nuclear free by the 2030s is not something to be achieved only with a decision by policy makers. It also depends on the will of (electricity) users, technological innovation and the environment for energy internationally in the next decade or two," he said.In abandoning atomic power, Japan aims to triple the share of renewable power to 30 percent of its energy mix by the 2030s, but will remain a top importer of oil, coal and gas for the foreseeable future.Finance Minister Jun Azumi told a separate news conference that there needed to be flexibility in the policy to avoid putting a burden on the public in a country where nuclear supplied 30% of electricity before Fukushima.All but two of Japan's nuclear 50 reactors are idled for safety checks after an earthquake and tsunami in March 2 011 devastated the Fukushima Daiichi plant, causing the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.Under the new energy plan, there should be strict implementation of a 40-year lifetime for reactors. It also said existing reactors shut after Fukushima should be restarted only if a new nuclear regulator confirms their safety and there should be no construction of new reactors.The newly established Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) will decide whether reactors currently under construction are safe enough to start commercial operations, Edano said.Asked if newly built reactors could run beyond the 2030s, Edano said a decision on this would be decided later.Reactors currently under construction include the 1,373-megawatt Shimane No.3 unit of Chugoku Electric Power Co's and the 1,383-megawatt Ohma unit of Electric Power Development Co's.

Wealth surge for richest Americans

The net worth of the richest Americans grew by 13% in the past year to $US1.7 trillion, Forbes magazine said today, and a familiar cast of characters once again populated the top of the magazine's annual list of the US uber-elite, including Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Larry Ellison and the Koch brothers.The average net worth of the 400 wealthiest Americans rose to a record $US4.2 billion, the magazine said.Collectively, this group's net worth is the equivalent of one-eighth of the entire US economy, which stood at $US13.56 trillion in real terms according to the latest government data.But the 13% growth in the wealth of the richest Americans far outpaced that of the economy overall, helping widen the chasm between rich and poor.Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft Corp, topped the list for the 19th year in a row with $US66 billion, up $US7 billion from a year earlier.Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive of insurance conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, stood second with $US46 billion, followed by Larry Ellison, head of software maker Oracle Corp, with $US41 billion; and the Koch brothers, Charles and David, who run the energy and chemicals conglomerate that bears their name, Koch Industries, were tied for fourth with $US31 billion, Forbes said.The ranks of the top five were unchanged from a year earlier.Two notable names dropped from the top 10, however.Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, also active in conservative political causes, fell to the 12 spot from No. 8 last year, and financier George Soros dropped five spots to No. 12 from the No. 7 position one year ago.The disappointing stock market debut of Facebook also took a toll on the fortune of its founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.His net worth fell by nearly half to $US9.4 billion, and he slid to the No. 36 slot from No. 14 a year ago, Forbes said.

NEWS,17.08.2012

What U.S. and Iranian Leaders Can Do to Avert War

 

It is clear that if U.S. and Iranian political leaders continue down the present course they will almost certainly lead us into another bloody war. Out of empathy for those who will do the fighting and dying, here are a few things they can do to avert conflict:

• U.S Political Leaders: Have the courage to stand up publicly to AIPAC lobbyists and their supporters who would pressure you to send our troops into another preventive war. While it remains unclear whether the Ayatollah Khamenei is sincere or engaging in strategic deception when he says that nuclear weapons are forbidden to Iran, he is almost certainly more likely to pursue them if he feels that his government is being backed into a corner with no way out.

• Iranian Political Leaders: Disavow statements made by President Ahmadinejad that have been interpreted as genocidal toward Israel. Your president's threatening statements in the context of your nation's nuclear pursuits -- whether peaceful or not -- have arguably done more harm to your cause than almost any other statement you've made or action you've taken. Israel not only appears to be poised to attack you unilaterally but will probably draw the U.S. in as well if it does. Your president's inflammatory and threatening rhetoric may result in a conflict that will likely cause great suffering to you and your people. On the other hand, the international community would undoubtedly be more open to your pursuit of nuclear energy if you distanced yourself from such irresponsible and seemingly irrational statements.

• U.S. Political Leaders: Stand up for American principles by imposing real political and economic costs on Israel for its settlement expansions and denial of Palestinian rights. Continued economic aid should no longer be a given but, rather, should be contingent upon the Israeli government's demonstrated progress in this area. American policymakers' selective application of human rights standards on this issue is an affront to the Muslim world as well as to American values and can only exacerbate the U.S.-Iran diplomatic situation.

• Iranian Political Leaders: Fully comply with IAEA inspections to allay the international community's concerns over alleged clandestine nuclear weapons sites. Time is needed to build trust. Set aside your pride and compromise on higher levels of uranium enrichment in order to avoid provoking U.S. and Israeli alarm. Viewing the unfolding of events from the U.S., it appears that American policymakers are poised to make the same foolish mistake they made with Saddam Hussein: that the absence of proof that your government is not engaged in nefarious activities means that you must be. Don't play into the hands of U.S. and Israeli hawks by playing Saddam's guessing game.

• U.S. Political Leaders: Acknowledge the courage behind such concessions if Iranian leaders commit to them and offer them more in return: not only alleviation of sanctions but positive economic and political incentives as well.

While there is no guarantee that these steps will lead to a peaceful outcome, continuing down the current road will only lead to greater economic deprivation and bloodshed. Though the current diplomatic impasse may appear insurmountable, commit to a renewed effort while there is still time. You owe it to the men and women you will be sending into battle if you fail.

Is Italy in Denial of Its Public Debt?

 

This week, the amount of government debt of Italy at the end of June was published: 1,972 billion euros. By this time it must have exceeded 2,000 billion euros ($2.4 trillion).Mario Monti, the Prime Minister cum Minister of Finance, toured the capitals of Europe to obtain support for Italy, indicating that Italian sentiment would turn anti-Euro without such help. He chose Berlin to accuse Germany of profiting from the European sovereign crisis. Needless to say, it immediately backfired. It was, to put it bluntly, particularly stupid. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal he stated: What we ask is that European authorities certify Italy's good conduct by translating that into interventions to keep spreads within reasonable limits. I have often told Merkel that, if this isn't done, she risks finding herself before an Italian parliament that repudiates Europe, monetary stability and the euro and is not friendly toward Germany.What is worse, however, is that he sent completely contradictory messages: he said that the European crisis was reaching the end of the tunnel.The reality is much scarier: Italy is facing 500 billion euros of refinancing and deficit financing between now and the end of 2013. The measures taken by the Italian Government did not translate into an interest rate decrease, let alone a debt decrease.When he states that Italy does not need a bail out he is right: not that Italy is not in need, but that there is no way the current resources, even if they were entirely allocated to Italy, would be sufficient to bail the country out.What is currently missing, however, is a serious crisis debt management. It would be perfectly possible to launch a consolidation bond issue, open to holders of 2012 and 2013 debt. With a maturity of 5 years and an interest rate of 5 percent it would not require any haircut from the banks and it would help the country bridge the reimbursement gap of the next two years.But Italy is scared to propose what would be a voluntary transaction. Should there be an increase in its refinancing rates, it would be a disaster.This lack of debt management might create the perfect conditions for a European tornado that would affect global markets everywhere. France would definitely be next. The main source of discontent for the investors is not only those facts. It is the benevolent way with which the Italian Treasury is handling the problem, shortening the maturities of its bonds,and not increasing its refinancing risk.We are talking about actions, not words. E la nave va...

World execs have confidence in Obama

Twice as many business executives around the world say the global economy will prosper better if incumbent US president Barack Obama wins the next election than if his Republican challenger Mitt Romney does, a poll showed on Friday. Democrat Obama was chosen by 42.7% in the 1 700 respondent poll, compared with 20.5%for Romney. The rest said "neither". The result was different among respondents in the United States, where a slim majority thought Romney would be better for their businesses than Obama.Obama maintains a seven-point lead over Romney among registered voters in the race for the November 6 presidential election, despite the fact Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the future, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last week. The FT poll was conducted before Romney picked Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate at the weekend, a move that could dramatically shift the election debate between two sharply contrasting views of government spending and debt. Romney's choice for running mate gave him no immediate boost to his White House prospects.