Vicepresidente de EEUU recibe a Yoani Sánchez

The VP dropped by a mtg w/ @yoanisanchez to discuss the challenges of civil society & free speech advocates in Cuba. pic.twitter.com/2iFwNfPUEd
— Office of VP Biden (@VP) abril 2, 2014

Putin landed troops in Crimea but Barack Obama and Joe Biden run round the White House

ITN

 

Former Pentagon chief Gates dings Obama’s leadership, Biden’s foreign policy chops

nbcpolitics

By Carrie Dann, NBC News

The former defense secretary who served under both President Barack Obama and President George W. Bush has less than glowing praise for America’s top two elected officials.
In a new memoir, “Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War,” former Pentagon chief Robert Gates writes that Obama lacked commitment to the decisions he made about his strategy in Afghanistan, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
“As I sat there, I thought: The president doesn’t trust his commander, can’t stand Karzai, doesn’t believe in his own strategy and doesn’t consider the war to be his,” Gates writes in the new book. “For him, it’s all about getting out.”
He also writes that the White House's national security staff lacked experience and tended towards  "micromanagement of military matters."
His words for Vice President Joe Biden are even more harsh, the paper reports.
“I think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades,” Gates wrote of Biden, whom he also described as a “man of integrity.”
Before becoming vice president, Biden served as the longtime head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
While critical of Biden, Gates appears to favor former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The NYT writes that Gates has “especially high praise” for Clinton.
The Washington Post adds, however, that Gates says both Clinton and Obama admitted to basing their opposition to the 2007  "surge" in Iraq in part on political considerations.
"Hillary told the president that her opposition to the [2007] surge in Iraq had been political because she was facing him in the Iowa primary. . . . The president conceded vaguely that opposition to the Iraq surge had been political. To hear the two of them making these admissions, and in front of me, was as surprising as it was dismaying," Gates writes, according to the Post.
Both Clinton and Biden are considered possible contenders for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.

Biden urges China to take steps to lower tensions in region

Berta Soler Meeting With Vice-President Biden

capitolhillcubans

Menendez Comments on Vice President Biden Meeting With Cuban Human Rights Activist Berta Soler

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement about Berta Soler’s meeting with Vice President Biden.

“Vice President Biden’s meeting with Berta Soler, leader of the Ladies in White, is a truly historic act of support for human rights defenders in Cuba. Through their acts of peaceful protest, Berta and the Ladies in White have remained an unwavering beacon of hope for the restoration of justice, human rights and democracy in Cuba. I commend Vice President Biden for standing with Berta Soler and the Ladies in White, and I look forward to my meeting with her in Washington next week.”

Here Are the 5 Most Interesting Things in Obama’s & Biden’s Tax Returns

TheBlaze.com

Becket Adams

The White House on Friday released President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden’s tax returns.

“Today, the President released his 2012 federal income tax returns,” White House press secretary Jay Carney wrote in a blog post on the White House website. “He and the First Lady filed their income tax returns jointly and reported adjusted gross income of $608,611. The Obamas paid $112,214 in total tax.”

“The President and First Lady also reported donating $150,034 – or about 24.6 percent of their adjusted gross income – to 33 different charities,” Carney said.

Here are five interesting things we discovered about the Obamas and Bidens via their 2012 federal income tax returns:

5. President Obama’s Income Has Declined

“President Barack Obama made less in 2012 than in any other year since taking office, with about 40 percent of the nearly $609,000 in income that he and first lady Michelle Obama reported coming from book sales,” the Associated Press notes.

4. The Bidens Donated $2,000 Worth of Clothing, Boots, Toys, Pottery, etc. to Goodwill

“A look at the Bidens joint filing reveals that $2,000 of [their $7,190 to charity in 2012] was in the form of ‘donated property’ given to Goodwill in Wilmington, Delaware,” the Weekly Standard notes.

Screen grab.

“[O]n June 25 of last year, the Bidens gave ‘Clothing, Boots, Kitchenware, Glassware’ totaling $400 to Goodwill,” the report notes. “Earlier, on May 16, the Bidens gave ‘Furniture and Exercise Equipment’ valued at $1,100 to the Ministry of Caring. And on May 27 of last year, the Bidens gave ‘Bicycles, Toys, Glasses, Pottery, Kitchenware’ valued at $500 to the same Goodwill.”

What Sequester?!? Obama & Biden Live Like Roman Emperors on Public Dime

Pajamasmedia

Biden's Limo Services for European Visit Cost Taxpayers $321,665

breitbart

By Wynton Hall

CNN says limousine services for Vice President Joe Biden’s February trip to Europe cost taxpayers $321,665.

The contract information appeared on a federal government website.

News of the pricey limo services comes on the heels of reports that Biden’s London lodging cost taxpayers $459,388.65 for “136 hotel rooms for 893 room nights” at the Hyatt Regency London. And his one-night stay at the Hotel Intercontinental Paris Le Grand rang up to a whopping $585,000.50.

CNN suggested that the postings may have been an error, as similar cost information was not posted for past vice presidential travel.

John Brennan Sworn In On Constitution Without Bill Of Rights, Not Bible : Freedom Outpost

Freedom Outpost

By Tim Brown

Newly confirmed Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan took his oath in a swearing ceremony that was highly unusual. Brennan was not sworn in on a Bible. He was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden on a “first draft” of the Constitution, which does not contain the Bill of Rights.

The first draft included notations from George Washington. While this might sound historic and patriotic. It is anything but that.

So what is a “first draft” of the Constitution? According to Empty Wheel:

That means, when Brennan vowed to protect and defend the Constitution, he was swearing on one that did not include the First, Fourth, Fifth, or Sixth Amendments — or any of the other Amendments now included in our Constitution. The Bill of Rights did not become part of our Constitution until 1791, 4 years after the Constitution that Brennan took his oath on.
I really don’t mean to be an a*****e about this. But these vows always carry a great deal of symbolism. And whether he meant to invoke this symbolism or not, the moment at which Brennan took over the CIA happened to exclude (in symbolic form, though presumably not legally) the key limits on governmental power that protect American citizens.

Here’s how the White House pushed the symbolism of this ceremony:

Hours after CIA Director John Brennan took the oath of office – behind closed doors, far away from the press, perhaps befitting his status as America’s top spy – the White House took pains to emphasize the symbolism of the ceremony.
“There’s one piece of this that I wanted to note for you,” spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters gathered for their daily briefing. “Director Brennan was sworn in with his hand on an original draft of the Constitution that had George Washington’s personal handwriting and annotations on it, dating from 1787.”
Earnest said Brennan had asked for a document from the National Archives that would demonstrate the U.S. is a nation of laws.
“Director Brennan told the president that he made the request to the archives because he wanted to reaffirm his commitment to the rule of law as he took the oath of office as director of the CIA,” Earnest said.

The Bible has been used because as the oath is taken it calls the God of the Bible to witness against the person taking the oath. This nonsense of swearing in on the Constitution, even the one that we hold to now as was done by Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), or the Koran is utterly un-American and has not been historically done. The symbolism is clear: according to Brennan and the Obama administration, they will not swear to uphold American citizen’s rights or State’s rights, for that matter, in so cavalierly performing this mockery of an oath.

If you think this is unimportant, perhaps you weren’t paying attention when Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) was filibustering. I suggest you educate yourself a bit on that here.

Brennan has also been outed as a Muslim, which gives many cause for concern, seeing the growing calls for Shariah law, the State Department’s attempts to recruit jihadists, the Muslim Brotherhood’s infiltration of U.S. government, as well as a Muslim sympathizer in the White House.

Obama Administration Offers Direct Talks with Iran

frontpagemag

By Arnold Ahlert

On Saturday, the Obama administration’s efforts to maintain the fantasy that diplomatic efforts will get Iran to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons was again on display for all the world to see, courtesy of Vice President Joe Biden. During a speech at the Munich Security Conference, Biden contended that the United States “would be prepared to meet bilaterally with the Iranian leadership.” ”There has to be an agenda that they are prepared to speak to,” Biden added. “We are not just prepared to do it for the exercise.” The Iranians, meanwhile, are hailing the new approach the Obama administration is taking with Tehran and are no doubt looking forward to the extra time it will afford them to continue on the trajectory of their nuclear weapons program.

One is forced to ponder what outcome Biden could possibly be envisioning that would rise above the level of a futile “exercise,” given Tehran’s continual intransigence and the Obama administration’s indulgence of the regime’s games. The latest failure to move the needle occurred as recently as January, when nuclear inspectors from the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were denied access to the Parchin military complex southeast of Tehran. Parchin is where it has long been suspected that the Iranians are working on a nuclear trigger for a bomb. IAEA deputy inspector Herman Nackaerts expressed his frustration at the time: “We had two days of intensive discussions. Differences remain so we could not finalize the structured approach to resolve the outstanding issues regarding possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program,” he said at the time. The two side are scheduled to meet again on February 12.

So what has changed? Nothing on the part of the Iranians. Yet Biden insisted that Iran still had time to change course and resolve the issue through diplomacy. ”The ball is in the government of Iran’s court,” said Biden. “It is well past time for Iran to adopt a serious good-faith approach to negotiations. Abandon the illicit nuclear program and your support for terrorism and there will be meaningful incentives.”

Watered-down sanctions and poor oversight are already incentive enough for Iran to stay the course. For instance, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko revealed that an audit of U.S. defense spending in Afghanistan shows that the Pentagon may have spent a “significant amount” of money for fuel purchased from Iran, due to a “lack of oversight” on the billions of dollars of taxpayer funds used to support the Afghan military. ”The fact that the United States has paid for the acquisition and delivery of imported fuel for the Afghan National Security Forces — nearly $1.1 billion for the Afghan National Army alone between fiscal years 2007 and 2012 — raises concerns that U.S. funds could have been used to pay for imports of fuel potentially in violation of U.S. economic sanctions against Iran,” said Sopko.

No doubt this is due to a certain level of bureaucratic sloppiness that is endemic to the kind of ever-expanding government this administration champions. And while that may be somewhat understandable, this administration’s ongoing diplomatic approach seems destined to do little more than give Tehran the time it needs to finally cross the nuclear weapon threshold.

Thus it was completely unsurprising that Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi was pleased with Biden’s offer. ”As I have said yesterday, I am optimistic, I feel this new administration is really this time seeking to at least divert from its previous traditional approach vis-a-vis my country,” Salehi told the German Council on Foreign Relations. Salehi, who also attended the Munich conference, went further. “I think it is about time both sides really get into engagement because confrontation certainly is not the way,” he added.

Such a statement is a typical rewriting of history. Negotiations between some combination of the P5+1 countries (United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany) and Iran have been ongoing for a decade. In all that time, not a single proposal has gained acceptance from all the parities involved. Such orchestrated futility is the essence of what a diplomatic approach has produced. Yet once again the P5+1 is offering Iran another chance to engage in negotiations on February 24, possibly in Kazakhstan. While Salehi called this “good news,” the Iranians have yet to accept. Even if they do, Salehi has offered a hint as to where they are likely to go. ”And another thing: this issue of the nuclear file is becoming boring,” he said during the same interview.

In London, Hossein Mousavian, one of Iran’s former nuclear negotiators, also hinted at the likely futility another round of multilateral negotiations would produce, claiming that they are meaningless without “parallel dialogue” between the Obama administration and Iran. “I believe they should start immediately. They should put all issues on the table. They should start with issues of common interest like Afghanistan in order to create a positive momentum,” he said.

Senator John McCain, who also spoke in Munich, proved once again that willful blindness with regard to Iran is a bipartisan problem. He favors direct talks with Tehran as well, even as he cautioned that optimism may be unwarranted. ”I think we should learn the lessons of history and that is that no matter what the talks are, if you still have the fundamental problem–and the fundamental problem is Iranians’ commitment to acquisition of a nuclear weapon–it doesn’t matter to a significant degree,” he said. ”We’ve seen this movie before. And obviously, I think any venue we would support, but to have grounds for optimism I think would be a mistake.”

After more than ten years of fruitless negotiations, one might be forgiven for wondering when anyone involved in this ongoing fiasco will “learn the lessons of history.”

That would be anyone on the Western side of the equation. Iran is learning that the Obama administration is seemingly determined to find some sort of accommodation with the fanatical mullahs , and nothing says this better than the president’s attempt, and likely success, in getting Chuck Hagel appointed Secretary of Defense. In 2007, Hagel voted against designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group. In 2008 Hagel, like Biden, also favored direct negotiations with Iran, despite noting that “they support terrorists, they support Hezbollah. They’ve got their tentacles wrapped around every problem in the middle East. They’re anti-Israel, anti-United States. Those are realities. Those are facts.” In his Senate hearing last week, Hagel “explained” his reasoning in a jaw dropping moment when he noted that the U.S. had never “designated a part of a legitimate government [Iran]” as a terrorist organization. Realizing his mistake he corrected himself. Iran’s government is “recognizable,” he said.

So is Hagel’s cluelessness. It is all the more amplified by another gaffe during which he said he supported the Obama’s administration policy of “containment” with regard to Iran, even though the administration has repeatedly ruled that out as an option. In fact, Iran would probably like nothing more than to be at the stage of “containment” after securing a nuclear weapon.

So what policy should the United States be pursuing with regard to Iran? Writing for PJ Media, Middle East expert Andrew McCarthy explains that focusing solely on nukes is “delusional.” “Exportation of their Islamist revolution, hatred of America and, within that sweep, the destruction of Israel have been the operating premises of Khomeinist Iran since 1979,” he writes. “The facilitation of terrorism–a barbaric way to pursue national interests–has been the regime’s principal means of operation. The mullahs have killed or aided and abetted in the killing of thousands of Americans, and every day they try to kill more. The regime is an incorrigible enemy of the United States. There should be nothing they can do at this point, after over 30 years of this, to convince us otherwise.”

Apparently the Obama administration remains unconvinced. Though ten years of pursuing diplomacy have produced no tangle results, this administration still believes it is capable of getting an apocalyptic regime to alter its divine objective: hastening the second coming of the Twelfth or Hidden Imam whose re-emergence must be preceded by a period of chaos. And as the U.S. continues down the road of appeasement, expect fanatical Iran to respond accordingly.

Pastor Manning: Your President Has No History; All Records Sealed

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Biden in '16? The hints are heavy

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Biden: 'I'm Proud To Be President'

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NRA ’disappointed’ with gun task force; recs coming by Tuesday

 

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Gun control by Decree

The White House and the nation's leading gun lobby will meet face-to-face Thursday amid an intensifying effort in Washington to craft new gun control measures, in what could be a testy session.

 

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Biden: 'Executive action' can be taken on guns

www.wnd.com 

(POLITICO) Vice President Joe Biden indicated Wednesday that the president will be able to take executive action to combat gun violence as he kicked off one of several meetings this week in response to the Newtown shooting.

“We’re here today to deal with a problem that requires immediate action, urgent action,” Biden said at the start of a meeting with leaders from gun control groups and several victims of gun violence.

“The president is going to act. There are executive orders, executive action that can be taken. We haven’t decided what that is yet, but we’re compiling it all … as well as legislative action, we believe, is required,” he said.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/01/biden-executive-action-can-be-taken-on-guns/#pCj6G1YxK7PijfhH.99

Boehner: Door open to gun proposals

By NBC's Luke Russert

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, wouldn’t shut the door on bringing up recommendations from Vice President Biden’s commission on gun violence in the House next year.

“We join the president in mourning the victims of the horrible tragedy in Connecticut,” Boehner said in response to a question from NBC News during press conference at the Capitol. “He's appointed Vice President Biden to lead a commission, and when the Vice President's recommendations come forward, we'll certainly take them into consideration.”

But the top House Republican wouldn’t commit, either, to allowing votes on specific gun control measures – like renewing the assault weapons ban or limiting ammunition magazines’ capacity – that Democrats have called for in the wake of last week’s elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn.

President Barack Obama tasked Biden on Wednesday with leading the task force on gun violence, which the president said he wanted to produce specific recommendations by next month. The panel was prompted by the tragic Newtown shooting, which claimed the lives of 20 children and 6 teachers at an elementary school.

"The president is absolutely committed to keeping his promise that we will act and we will act in a way that is designed -- even if as he says we can only save one life -- we have to take action," Biden said at a meeting Thursday with cabinet and law enforcement officials.

Boehner’s words Thursday mark a relatively open stance by the speaker, who enjoys an “A” rating by the National Rifle Association. Back in July, after the shooting at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colo., Boehner resisted calls for new regulations on guns saying: "The president has made clear that he's not going to use this horrific event to push for new gun law and I agree."

Plain Speaking From Biden in Moscow Speech

By ELLEN BARRY

MOSCOW — Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who two years ago introduced the idea of a thaw between the United States and Russia, used a speech at Moscow State University to criticize Russia’s legal and political systems, a move likely to irritate the country’s leaders.

Russia's state-controlled television paid scant attention to the speech by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Russians, he said, “want to be able to choose their national and local leaders in competitive elections. They want to be able to assemble freely, and they want the media to be independent of the state. And they want to live in a country that fights corruption.

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Plain Speaking From Biden in Moscow Speech